"Probiotic supplementation during pregnancy and then for the infants after birth could reduce the incidence of eczema. Mothers were assigned to receive daily supplements of Lactobacillus reuteri (BioGaia, 100 million colony forming units) or placebo from gestational week 36 until the birth of the child. After this point, the infants were then supplemented with the same product for the first 12 months of their lives, and followed until age 24 months. The incidence of eczema was similar between the two groups, reported Abrahamsson (approximately 35 per cent). The L. reuteri-supplemented group however had less IgE-associated eczema during the second year, eight versus 20 per cent, respectively.
Immunoglobulin E (IgE) is the predominant antibody associated with an allergic response.
Reactivity of the children towards skin prick tests, a common test for allergy, was also less common in the probiotic-supplemented group, and significantly for children of allergy-suffering mothers - 14 versus 31 per cent, respectively."
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Save Fatty
Fatty is just not getting any smaller. On Friday, he weighed 16.8. Sigh. This is not the best picture of Kitty, but I posted it so you can see his fat butt hanging off the windowsill (indicated by the red arrow). Oh, sweet Kitty, what are you eating?
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Hooray for Planet Bike
A couple of months ago, I bought a Planet Bike arm strap from my local bike store that was reflective and also had a highly-visible light that worked in solid or blinking mode. I was looking for something to make my signal arm more visible, for those lovely situations when the bike lane just ends in the middle of the road and I have to merge into traffic, or for simply when I need to turn.
I really liked the arm strap and it seemed like cars were more responsive to me signaling a need to merge or turn. However, this morning, the strap on it broke completely. I emailed Planet Bike, thinking that they wouldn't be able to do anything for me, but to let them know of the faulty craftsmanship in an otherwise nice product. They emailed me back in about one minute asking for my address to send me a replacement!!! Needless to say, I am quite happy with the customer service I got from Planet Bike and will continue to give them my business.
I really liked the arm strap and it seemed like cars were more responsive to me signaling a need to merge or turn. However, this morning, the strap on it broke completely. I emailed Planet Bike, thinking that they wouldn't be able to do anything for me, but to let them know of the faulty craftsmanship in an otherwise nice product. They emailed me back in about one minute asking for my address to send me a replacement!!! Needless to say, I am quite happy with the customer service I got from Planet Bike and will continue to give them my business.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Weather
We had some weird weather for Portland this weekend. I was working outside on Saturday and noted that it felt like "the south," meaning like North Carolina. It was sticky and hot. In the late afternoon, Mick and I went to go see the new Indiana Jones movie and when we came out, I saw this cloud in the sky. Cool, huh? Anyway, later that night we had a thunderstorm, which was neat only because we never have them here. The downside was that there were power outages, flash flooding, and lightning strikes.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
B6 Deficiency
"Researchers at Tufts University have suggested deficient vitamin B6 levels across large sections of the US population which could be reduced via supplementation."
Their study found that 3/4 of women on the pill who were not taking B6 supplements were deficient. Women of childbearing age are also at risk. I was told by a doctor once that taking a B6 supplement would help with PMS because it helped regulate sex hormone levels.
B6 is important for your heart and immune system. Deficiencies can cause anemia. Take care of yourself!
Their study found that 3/4 of women on the pill who were not taking B6 supplements were deficient. Women of childbearing age are also at risk. I was told by a doctor once that taking a B6 supplement would help with PMS because it helped regulate sex hormone levels.
B6 is important for your heart and immune system. Deficiencies can cause anemia. Take care of yourself!
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Things I saw today
1) Two robins with worms in their mouths.
2) A pink dogwood and white dogwood in bloom.
3) No less than 25 slugs. The largest was about 8 inches long.
4) A dead squirrel with some of its head eaten. Well, it looked like something had been eating it.
5) Some lilacs in bloom.
6) A single sprouted seed from the zinnias I planted.
7) Mentaljr's dirty socks stuffed down into the couch.
8) Hundreds of little daisy-looking flowers.
9) Trilliums.
10) How much my sweet husband loves me.
2) A pink dogwood and white dogwood in bloom.
3) No less than 25 slugs. The largest was about 8 inches long.
4) A dead squirrel with some of its head eaten. Well, it looked like something had been eating it.
5) Some lilacs in bloom.
6) A single sprouted seed from the zinnias I planted.
7) Mentaljr's dirty socks stuffed down into the couch.
8) Hundreds of little daisy-looking flowers.
9) Trilliums.
10) How much my sweet husband loves me.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Sigh
Today the post office was doing a food drive. This morning, I went through the cabinets and found some food that I didn't think we were going to eat and put it in the yellow bag provided by the post office. I put the bag on the porch by the mail slot. Then, I went to go open up the ice cream shop.
Later in the day, I was telling Mick about how I had cleaned out the cabinets this morning for the food drive and how I had found some food that had expired in 1999! (Don't worry, I threw this food away.) He said, oh, I saw the bag of food on the porch and brought it in for you. I thought someone had brought you a bag of food and that you would be happy.
Oh, well. Maybe they'll pick up the food on Monday.
Later in the day, I was telling Mick about how I had cleaned out the cabinets this morning for the food drive and how I had found some food that had expired in 1999! (Don't worry, I threw this food away.) He said, oh, I saw the bag of food on the porch and brought it in for you. I thought someone had brought you a bag of food and that you would be happy.
Oh, well. Maybe they'll pick up the food on Monday.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Confessions of a Budding Conspiracy Theorist
I am one of those grocery shoppers who has the stores memorized. I know where things are and about what they cost (give or take some coinage). This helps me be very efficient in my shopping, which is important to me because I am busy and not rich.
Recently, ALL the stores I go to have been rearranging their shelves. I don't mean that they're switching the order of the brands on the cereal aisle; they're moving the cereal to where the automotive supplies used to be and the automotive supplies to where the feminine products used to be. The three stores that I frequent are doing this: Costco, Fred Meyer, and Trader Joes. Why are they doing this?
Theories:
1) It's the end of some fiscal year. The stores realized that their sales are down. They are trying to confuse shoppers into spending more time in the stores (and possibly buying more goods because they are wandering down all the aisles looking for item X and happen upon item Y) by completely rearranging the products.
2) The price of gas is causing the stores to raise their prices. They don't want the customers to notice an all-around price increase, so they confuse them by moving everything around. (If this is true, it is working somewhat -- by the time I find the item I am looking for, I either a) can't remember what it cost before because I used all of my brain to find the item, or b) am so happy that I found the item that I forget to look to see what it costs.)
3) Possibly, coincidentally, they've all run out of shelf space in their stores and hired someone to help them better organize the stores' layouts so that more items can fit.
Recently, ALL the stores I go to have been rearranging their shelves. I don't mean that they're switching the order of the brands on the cereal aisle; they're moving the cereal to where the automotive supplies used to be and the automotive supplies to where the feminine products used to be. The three stores that I frequent are doing this: Costco, Fred Meyer, and Trader Joes. Why are they doing this?
Theories:
1) It's the end of some fiscal year. The stores realized that their sales are down. They are trying to confuse shoppers into spending more time in the stores (and possibly buying more goods because they are wandering down all the aisles looking for item X and happen upon item Y) by completely rearranging the products.
2) The price of gas is causing the stores to raise their prices. They don't want the customers to notice an all-around price increase, so they confuse them by moving everything around. (If this is true, it is working somewhat -- by the time I find the item I am looking for, I either a) can't remember what it cost before because I used all of my brain to find the item, or b) am so happy that I found the item that I forget to look to see what it costs.)
3) Possibly, coincidentally, they've all run out of shelf space in their stores and hired someone to help them better organize the stores' layouts so that more items can fit.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Hmmm
Dear Barack Obama,
Please help me understand how you are committed to the environment and energy conservation when you send me a pamphlet EVERY DANG DAY on glossy color paper that explains to me how to vote. I understand that campaigning for president takes resources, but seriously, if I can't figure out how to vote from the mailing of the pamphlet I got today or yesterday, how will I figure it out from the one I get tomorrow? And really, how dumb do you think voters are? Put the ballot in the envelope and mail it. We've been doing it for years. Apathy is the reason people don't vote; it's not because they can't figure out how.
Sincerely,
Me
Please help me understand how you are committed to the environment and energy conservation when you send me a pamphlet EVERY DANG DAY on glossy color paper that explains to me how to vote. I understand that campaigning for president takes resources, but seriously, if I can't figure out how to vote from the mailing of the pamphlet I got today or yesterday, how will I figure it out from the one I get tomorrow? And really, how dumb do you think voters are? Put the ballot in the envelope and mail it. We've been doing it for years. Apathy is the reason people don't vote; it's not because they can't figure out how.
Sincerely,
Me
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
LOL Fatty
This reminded me of Kitty. I never let him outside because of the coyote, so he often looks longingly out of the window.
Monday, May 5, 2008
La Feminista
Today a guest speaker came and gave a talk on the future of operating systems. While the subject was interesting, there was something the speaker kept saying that really distracted me. He talked about how installing programs on unix can be a pain; you have to copy things to bin, lib, etc, ... directories. He said, "My wife doesn't want to do that when she installs programs." When he said that I was taken aback. Why does it matter what his wife wants to do when installing programs? He kept talking about difficulties for users of operating systems and used his wife as an example over and over. He once used his mother-in-law as the example. I couldn't figure out if his wife was a computer admin or a regular user. Towards the end, someone asked him a question and he explained that his wife is an RN and uses a computer for her work.
So, was he just nervous and forgot to tell us what kind of user his wife was? Or should we assume that his wife is a non-expert computer user because she's a woman? (The former is probably the truth; he didn't seem like a bad guy.) I know you probably think I'm paranoid, but when you are sometimes the only woman in a room of computer scientists, or (more usually) one of very few women in a room of computer scientists, and you end up at conferences at hotels like this, you tend to get a little paranoid. Also, I have a bee in my bonnet from perusing slashdot last week. Every now and then, someone posts something about someone's girlfriend testing some software and even she could use it.
Please everyone out there, when you describe the user of your system, stop using your girlfriend, your wife, your mother-in-law as the "clueless" computer users. Why don't you just say, "a typical non-expert user" or something like that? It is really getting under my skin that we should just assume that these women aren't experts because they are women. It's like the Geico commercials -- so easy a {caveman, woman} could do it.
So, was he just nervous and forgot to tell us what kind of user his wife was? Or should we assume that his wife is a non-expert computer user because she's a woman? (The former is probably the truth; he didn't seem like a bad guy.) I know you probably think I'm paranoid, but when you are sometimes the only woman in a room of computer scientists, or (more usually) one of very few women in a room of computer scientists, and you end up at conferences at hotels like this, you tend to get a little paranoid. Also, I have a bee in my bonnet from perusing slashdot last week. Every now and then, someone posts something about someone's girlfriend testing some software and even she could use it.
Please everyone out there, when you describe the user of your system, stop using your girlfriend, your wife, your mother-in-law as the "clueless" computer users. Why don't you just say, "a typical non-expert user" or something like that? It is really getting under my skin that we should just assume that these women aren't experts because they are women. It's like the Geico commercials -- so easy a {caveman, woman} could do it.
Spring has sprung
I woke up on Sunday with that old, familiar feeling of my nasal passages being simultaneously swollen shut and full of thick snot. Lovely, I know, but just be glad you're not me. Thankfully, a couple of years ago, someone turned me on to the neti pot. See that shiny pot in the picture? That is what a neti pot looks like. It's like a little flower pot, very cute. What you do is fill it with lukewarm salt water and pour the water into one nostril and let it drain out the other nostril (over the sink!). After you pour 1/2 of it into one side, switch and pour through the other side. This technique helps me so much more than anything else I have tried, including those stupid saline spray things. This really gets the allergens out of your sinuses so that they stop irritating you and you feel better.
I usually put 2 cups of water in a measuring cup with 1 tsp salt. Then I put it in the microwave for 1 minute. Then, I stir it up and put it in the neti pot and pour it through. If I am really congested, it can be frustrating because it is hard to get the water to go through. You just have to wait while it drips, drips, drips until finally it breaks through and streams. Seriously, if you have nasal allergies, you should try this. I bought mine from heathandyoga.com. They gave me a good product and good service.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Save Fatty
Kitty was at 16.2 lbs this week. Kitty's fatness is deceiving. When he stands up, he looks like a skinny cat with a hanging tummy, you know, like all marmalade male kitties have. However, when lying down, the fullness of his fatness is revealed.
The vet said that I should follow the feeding instructions on the bag for a 12 lb cat. It says I should feed 3/4 to 1 cup per day. I measured and I am only feeding 1/2 cup. Why is Kitty so fat?
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Best Bread EVER
My friend Candy gave me this bread recipe that she got from Tom who said he got it out of the Oregonian. Wherever it came from, I love it. It makes the kind of lovely bread that you get in Italian restaurants that you can't stop eating. I have attempted to make this style of bread before with dismal results. However, this recipe seems to be foolproof (yes, I am the fool here). Also, it's easy to make.
The ingredients:
3 cups flour
1-1/2 cups water
1 tsp instant yeast
3/4 tbsp salt
What you do:
First mix up the dry ingredients. Then add the water and mix. It will make a very wet, sticky dough. Cover the bowl and leave it for 12-18 hours. Yup. Just leave it sitting there.
This is a picture of the dough just sitting there on my kitchen table. Easy!
This is a picture of the dough after 12 or so hours. After it's done doing it's thing, you remove it from the bowl and let it rise for 2-3 hours. Candy said the best way to do this is to use a proofing basket. I had no idea what a proofing basket was, so I looked it up. It's a basket (surprise!) that dough is put in to rise. The idea is that air gets to all sides of the dough so that it will make a nice crust and the dough is already shaped the way you want it to be baked (e.g. oblong or round). Well, I don't have a proofing basket, so until I get one I am improvising. The first time I made this I used a colander. It was okay, but the flour didn't adhere to the sides of the colander so the dough stuck to it badly. The second time I did this I used a floured towel on the counter. I also had major sticking problems -- the moisture from the dough made the towel stick to the counter. The third (and most recent) time I made this I did the following, which worked better than the first two attempts. I put a cooling rack on the counter. On top of that, I put a pizza pan that had holes in it.
Here's a picture, so you know what I'm talking about. On top of the pizza pan, I put a floured kitchen towel.
And, because you've never seen a floured towel before, here's a picture of that. Ha ha. No, I put this here so you would see the inordinate amount of flour I put on the towel. Even with this much flour, I had some minor sticking. Further conversations with Candy revealed that she doesn't have the sticking problem with her proofing basket, so I plan to go out and get one at some point. Okay, now you swirl out the dough from the bowl with a fork and plop that sticky dough ball onto the floured towel. Then you put a whole bunch of flour on top of the dough ball.
Here's what the dough looks like after that. So sad and deflated. Now, you put another towel on top of the dough (or wrap up the sides of the bottom towel) to keep dust, bugs, and Kitty, Ben, and Chew hair off of it. Let it rise again for 2-3 hours. When it's getting close to done rising, turn on your oven to 450 F. After the oven is hot, put an oven-proof vessel that has a lid into the oven to get hot. I use a pyrex bowl. I just went to go see what size it is, so that I could tell you, but it doesn't say on it what size it is. Weird. Well, it's medium-sized. How's that? When the vessel is hot, plop the dough into it.
This is what the dough looks like now sitting in the hot pyrex bowl. It is no longer sad and deflated! Now, put the lid on the bowl and put it in the oven for 30 minutes. After that, remove the lid and bake for an additional 5 or so minutes. The amount of time in the oven without the lid will determine the hardness and brownness of the crust.
Look at how beautiful that is. Now eat all of it!
The ingredients:
3 cups flour
1-1/2 cups water
1 tsp instant yeast
3/4 tbsp salt
What you do:
First mix up the dry ingredients. Then add the water and mix. It will make a very wet, sticky dough. Cover the bowl and leave it for 12-18 hours. Yup. Just leave it sitting there.
This is a picture of the dough just sitting there on my kitchen table. Easy!
This is a picture of the dough after 12 or so hours. After it's done doing it's thing, you remove it from the bowl and let it rise for 2-3 hours. Candy said the best way to do this is to use a proofing basket. I had no idea what a proofing basket was, so I looked it up. It's a basket (surprise!) that dough is put in to rise. The idea is that air gets to all sides of the dough so that it will make a nice crust and the dough is already shaped the way you want it to be baked (e.g. oblong or round). Well, I don't have a proofing basket, so until I get one I am improvising. The first time I made this I used a colander. It was okay, but the flour didn't adhere to the sides of the colander so the dough stuck to it badly. The second time I did this I used a floured towel on the counter. I also had major sticking problems -- the moisture from the dough made the towel stick to the counter. The third (and most recent) time I made this I did the following, which worked better than the first two attempts. I put a cooling rack on the counter. On top of that, I put a pizza pan that had holes in it.
Here's a picture, so you know what I'm talking about. On top of the pizza pan, I put a floured kitchen towel.
And, because you've never seen a floured towel before, here's a picture of that. Ha ha. No, I put this here so you would see the inordinate amount of flour I put on the towel. Even with this much flour, I had some minor sticking. Further conversations with Candy revealed that she doesn't have the sticking problem with her proofing basket, so I plan to go out and get one at some point. Okay, now you swirl out the dough from the bowl with a fork and plop that sticky dough ball onto the floured towel. Then you put a whole bunch of flour on top of the dough ball.
Here's what the dough looks like after that. So sad and deflated. Now, you put another towel on top of the dough (or wrap up the sides of the bottom towel) to keep dust, bugs, and Kitty, Ben, and Chew hair off of it. Let it rise again for 2-3 hours. When it's getting close to done rising, turn on your oven to 450 F. After the oven is hot, put an oven-proof vessel that has a lid into the oven to get hot. I use a pyrex bowl. I just went to go see what size it is, so that I could tell you, but it doesn't say on it what size it is. Weird. Well, it's medium-sized. How's that? When the vessel is hot, plop the dough into it.
This is what the dough looks like now sitting in the hot pyrex bowl. It is no longer sad and deflated! Now, put the lid on the bowl and put it in the oven for 30 minutes. After that, remove the lid and bake for an additional 5 or so minutes. The amount of time in the oven without the lid will determine the hardness and brownness of the crust.
Look at how beautiful that is. Now eat all of it!
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