Vox Publica

In the 1950's and 60's women in many countries were prescribed thalidomide as a sedative and to help them deal with morning sickness. The drug causes terrible birth defects and the children of pregnant women taking the drug were often born with horrible malformations including shortened arms, hands extending directly from the shoulder, and the absence of the thumb and the adjoining bone in the lower arm. 15,000 children worldwide were born with these serious deffects before the drugs were pulled off the market.

Fast forward a few decades and absence of the thalidomide is rearing its ugly head again. The drug has been approved in the US to treat a rare type of leprosy, and is used in Africa also to treat AIDS. And with its use, come more tragedies.

This little boy, Freddie, was born in Kenya. His parents tried to get him a visa to the UK for treatment, and after a media campaign they eventually succeeded. He died of a fungus infection a few days ago.

Number Of Iraqi Civilians Slaughtered In America's War? More Than 655,000
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article15266.htm

Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged) In Bush's War 2882
http://icasualties.org/oif/

The War in Iraq Costs
$345,425,604,750

See the cost in your community
http://nationalpriorities.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=182

They got off easy

Vox Publica now has a new look. In reality, I've imported the entries to a newer version of Movable Type, the blogging program I use. I just like the look better. Alas, a new blog comes with a new RSS address, this one is: http://www.voxpublica.org/atom.xml - so if you are subscribed to my blog, change it. If not, this may be a good time to subscribe ;-)

Doing the change in blog has been a pain. Not so much for Vox Publica, but for Human Rights Listings, a blog I keep where I post jobs, internships, conferences and so forth in human rights. I haven't found a way to export the notifications, so I'm afraid I may have to enter them one by one. That would *really* suck. Anyone has a solution?

The kids are playing a game in their room, I'm at my desk with a glass of fresca, some pain in my thigh (Meralgia Paresthetica, one of the many "gifts" from pregnancy that did not go away), and inability to concentrate in much. So I decided I'm going to review some of the items I bought/got for Christmas or around that time. I'm doing it for Amazon, but copying the reviews here. Though I'm quite unhappy with Amazon for how slow they are to ship items with their "free super saver shipping" - I signed up for a free month of Amazon prime for December, so I did most of my Xmas shopping at Amazon after all.

Toys

Scientific Explorer's Spa Science Chemistry Kit

I bought this kit for my 7yo, and she and her 4yo sister enjoyed making soap & bath salts (we still haven't made the bath fizzes). It's a fun activity for a mom to do with her girls. That said, the kit of mostly valuable for the recipes. Most of the items in the kit (oatmeal, baking soda, citric acid, sea salt, rose petals) I already had at home, and the others (fragrances, 1 glycerin soap) I could buy at Michael's for far less money. But I'm not sorry I bought it as a first kit.

Horton Hears a Who! - You to the Rescue!

I bought this game for Xmas and we haven't played it yet. Still, I did take it out of the box and put it together, and realized that the elephant headband does not come with the velcro it needs to pick up the "balls". I don't know if it's a general problem or just the one in my box. I need to buy some velcro now :-(

My Little Pony So Soft Pony Walking Sweet Steps

I got this for Mika last year, because it's what she really, really wanted (I can't believe I paid that much for it!). As predicted, she liked it and played with it for a while - and put the pony in the walker a few times in the following year - but mostly the walker just occupied space. I finally gave it away last month, with no objections from her. Now, the pony she really likes, still plays with and sometimes she sleeps with it.

Deluxe Magic Set

I got this for Mika (my 7yo). The set is nicely constructed, good quality, mostly wood. Mika learned a couple of tricks that she liked very much, but then lost interest. Some of the tricks seemed a little complicated. But if I was going to buy a magic kit again, I'd probably get this one because of the quality.

Kitchen Items

Pyrex Smart Essentials 8 Piece Mixing Bowl Set

I got this as a present (after requesting it) and I'm very happy with it. The bowls are of thick glass, the lids seal well, and in all it's quite good quality for the price. I've used them a lot already.

Ginsu International Traditions 2-Piece Stainless Steel Carving Set

Yes, Ginsu knives. I have to admit that Mike laughed when I told him I'd bought a set. I once again went back & forth between buying a good-quality set or the cheapest I could find. Finally, I decided to go with cheap. So far, so good. The knife is certainly better at cutting meat (both raw & cooked) than my very expensive chef's knife. It's pretty long, I assume that's the case of all carving knives, so it's only actually good for cutting large pieces of meat - a simple steak knife works best for smaller pieces. All in all, I'm quite happy with the set.

Cuisinart MultiClad Pro Sauce Pan

This pan is larger than what I wanted, but that's my fault for not realizing how big a 1.5qt pan would be. It's made of thick metal, good quality, nicely fitting lid - can stand high heat.

KitchenAid K45SS Classic 250-Watt 4-1/2-Quart Stand Mixer

I think this is the starting (cheapest) model of KitchenAid mixers, but it's definitely good enough for me. I mostly use it for cookies & cakes, though I've made pizza dough in it a couple of times. It's definitely strong enough for any task I might need it for. BUT, and here is the BUT, it doesn't do a good job of reaching the bottom of the mixing bowl. For example, if I need it to beat a couple of eggs, it really can't (I use a whisk instead). You also need to keep pushing down the dough that accumulates on the side of the bowl if you want an even mix. But this is my first standing mixer, and for all I know, that's a problem with all of them. In all, I really like it and would buy it again.

Home Stuff

Ralph Lauren "Studio" Comforter

It was time to buy a new down comforter, after having ours for 8 years, and I had no idea what to buy. They range in price for about $100 (this is almost as cheap as you can get) to $500. We use our comforter year-round without a duvet (too hot) or sheets (they always roll down anyway), so I needed something nice to the touch and durable - and machine washable, as I'm definitely not having it dry cleaned every couple of weeks. After much soul searching as to how much I should spend in a comforter, I decided to go for cheap - and I'm glad I did.

This comforter was crisp when we got it, but it's softened down and it's quite pleasant to the touch. It's the perfect warmth - not too hot, not too cold (we live in the Bay Area in California, our nights are usually chilly year round). I've machined washed it several times already, and so far it's held its down in each square. I don't really know why it's so much cheaper than other comforters, but I'm quite pleased with it.

DeLonghi DFH132 SafeHeat Fan Heater

I got this for Mike's office for Xmas. It's very warm and works well when he turns it on - but there isn't an on-off switch, and this seems to be very inconvenient for him, so he often doesn't turn it on. If I was to do it again, I'd buy a heater with an on-off switch instead.

Apparel

California Golden Bears Felt Applique Long Sleeve T-Shirt

Got this for Mike when it was on sale. Nice shirt, kind of cheap applique, but good value.

Jewelry

Blomdahl Silver Titanium Hoop Earring

Got this for Mike last Christmas. He wanted a titanium earring and this fit the mark. It's not particularly noteworthy and extremely expensive, but he seems happy with it.

Sterling Silver Satin Finish Heart Locket

This was a Christmas gift for Kathy. I'm not sure how she likes it, but I think it's cute though a bit smaller than I imagined. Printing the pictures in the right size and cutting them in heart shape was a pain, but the results were pretty nice. Still, I think that the necklace is a bit expensive at $35 - wait until it's on sale.

Electronics

Panasonic DVD-LS86 8.5-Inch Portable DVD Player

I actually bought this from Amazon.com - and wrote a review complaining at how slow they were to send it to me. The actual DVD player has worked quite well, I think it has a nice picture which you can see well from different angles. The sound is a bit low without headphones, but perfectly OK with headphones. It comes with a car adapter, so there are no battery problems for long car rides, and all in all I'm very happy with it. We've had it for 2 months and used it in 4 long trips, as well as at home, and so far so good.

Case Logic 7"-10" In-Car DVD Player Case

Got this to use with the DVD player above. It's relatively easy to install and fits well in our Prius. So far, no complaints.

As I mentioned in my last posting, one of the gifts I got for Xmas for Mika was Scientific Explorer's Spa Science Chemistry Kit, which allowed us to make oatmeal soap, oatmeal masks and bath salts. We still have left bath fizzies to make. Later, I bought another kit to make lip balm and lotion. This wasn't as nice - all you had to do was mix the lotion with color and scent, or melt the lip balm and then mix with color and scent - not much chemistry in that. But I do like doing these things with the girls - specially Mika, who doesn't like baking with me, so, when we run out of this stuff, I want to buy:

-Creative Cosmetics:The Science of Skincare - which is $50!, so maybe not

-Perfumery, or a similar kit (here is another one I may get).

-Candle Making Kit

-Luxury Soap Science Lab or another soap making kit

-Thames & Kosmos Archaeology Kit: Egyptian Pyramid or another archeology/egyptology kit

-Kitchen Chemistry

More recommendations?

A couple of weeks ago, a Florida federal judge issue an injunction against an elementary school who wanted to incorporate a religious song into their curriculum. You can read the decision accompanying that injunction

here

The school district then went and replaced the song with another one "Chatter with the Angels". Its lyrics are less explicit and it was a song sang by slaves, but the same judged suggested that it would be just as unconstitutional to have the children sing it. He didn't rule on the matter because the school had agreed to remove the song, but he said: "This court is also certain that defendants understand what may happen if they continue ... introducing songs that are unconstitutionally religious in nature to public elementary school students"

Here is a scam that I got today. A quick search online shows that the name Mariam Badda has been in other scam letters - I wonder why they don't just come up with new names.

Dear friend,
My name is mariam badda and i am from the republic of mozambique based in london.i am a professional watercolour artist.i was diagnosed on the 15th of November 2008 with stage 111A breast cancer.on the 30th of November i had a lumpectomy and they had to take out nine of my lymph nodes, in which there were seven that were positive.the size of my tumor was 1.3cm and surgical margins were negative.i had the Her-2/neu protein,which is a varying aggressive cancer.after that i went through several series of radiation tests and did 3months of Adriamycin and cytoxan.My Doctor then advised to me to start recieving treatment at home.On the 10th of march this year my oncologist told me that after properly analysing my radiation test and treatment control reviews i had to do a chemo treatment.This treatment would be the last phase of medication to totally eliminate the cancer cells that are rapidly growing and dividing in my blood cells.I have spent all my hard earned money to ensure my survival.i have also had a lot of support from friends and relatives during my radiation tests and lumpectomy defect.
I solely appeal through this means to you out there to please support me in anyway you can so that i can go through this operation once and for all and return normal and healthy again because i have a very limited period of time to live.your generousity will be highly appreciated and honoured by me.i look forward to hear from you soon.thanks,
Mrs mariam badda

Listia.com

It's horrible, I've gone from ranting about Listia.com to starting to like it to literally become obsessed with it. I can't tell you how many times in the last week I've logged in and search for free stuff. I thought this would stop when I got rid of all my credits (and I'm trying to), but as I keep losing auctions I still haven't managed to do so, so far. Aaaack!

Moreover, I broke down and actually listed stuff on listia, and had Mike list stuff too. (Hey, if you click on the links you'll see not only what we listed but what we won, which is kind of embarrassing, but remember, most of the stuff is to play with the kids - they're really into make up now :-)

My main reason to list was to see if there was any interest in the (small) stuff I have. I've been throwing the caps from coke bottles forever, and I was surprised to see that people actually wanted the codes that come in them (go figure). As for the beads, these are the ones I have no use for (they came in packages of assorted beads I bought). I particularly hate the bumpy beads. I already had a bid on my bird beads, which was kind of surprising. Of course, I'll have to pay the shipping to get rid of them.

And that continues to be the problem - it's really not practical to have the "buyer" pay for shipping on low-weigh items (where the shipping charges are no more than $3), specially as paypal has such horrendous transaction fees. But then you are stuck not only giving something for free but having to pay for the privilege. Oh well, this is just a trial.

Freecycle

I continue to use the San Leandro Freecycle to give away most of my good stuff: things the kids have outgrown, stuff I no longer want, stuff my mother sends me (some specifically to put on freecycle), etc. Basically, freecycle is a mailing list where you post stuff you don't want and people who want it e-mail you saying so. Generally you give the stuff to the first person who e-mails you about it. I'd say that I get responses to about 2/3rds of the stuff I post (people, for example, never want stuffed animals).

The problem with freecycle, however, is that people are very unreliable. I'd say that about half the time the person does not come to pick up the stuff they wanted. That means I have to keep it in my house for longer - which is exactly what I don't want. I'm becoming more and more disillusioned with freecycle as time goes by (one of the reasons why I'm trying listia with small stuff - there are too few local users to make it viable for big stuff) - but there are few alternatives.

Thrift Town

Thrift town is our local thrift shop (well, there is also a goodwill but they don't have good stuff). They pretty much take anything you have (I'm sure they throw away the stuff that won't sell) and I love it for finding clothing for the kids and a knick-nack (read tea cup) here and there. The problem with them is that they have limited drop-off hours and that we are not good about just taking stuff there. Plus I'm not thrilled that they are a for-profit corporation. On the other hand, it's the easiest place to drop off unwanted stuff.

Swaptree.com

Swaptree is a great place to exchange books. The way it works is that you list the books you have and no longer want, and the wants you want to get - and when they make a match they e-mail you and ask you whether you want to accept the trade. It's cool because they don't just do one-to-one matches. If someone you want book A and have book B, and John has book A and wants book C, and Jane has book C and wants book B a match is made. You also get to look through the books that you can "get now" by trading one of the books you already have - that's a great way to find new books that might interest you. They also give suggestions of books that you might like.

I've used swaptree intensively, in particular in the couple of months after I signed up. Then I ran out of popular books and for months I was unable to get any book I wanted. I just checked it out again, with a few new books I wanted to get, and was able to get two of them (A Smart Girl's Guide to Friendship Troubles and Oops! The Manners Guide for Girls) both for Mika. Of course, I'm paying as much to ship the books I have to send in return, as I would to just buy the books - but it's still cool. The big problem with swaptree is that I have to keep the books at home until someone wants them, which can take months.

So now that I only have unpopular books at home, I think I will take them off swaptree and just donate them to the library.

Friends of the Library - San Leandro

If you have extra books, you should really donate them to Friends of the Library. Pretty much every library has an attached group of supporters who fundraise for library services. And they do provide great services, not just new books, but, in San Leandro, at least, they fund most of the activities for little children. With budget cuts as they are, these would not be around without the Friends.

Donating books there is quite easy - you just take them to the library whenever it's open and give them to the people in the front desk. They'll even give you a receipt for them that you can use for your taxes.

The problem for us is that we always forget to take them. We never forget to go to the library sale, though :-)

So this is it, if you know of another method of easily and cheaply getting rid of stuff, please let me know.