Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Soybean production is destroying the rainforest

Ok. This is the ultimate in irony. All those vegetarians who talk about how feeding the world soy and tofu will help reduce the impact we have on the environment are going to be upset. I suggest that they start supporting free range chickens. They can live anywhere and have a lighter impact on the environment.

In this month's National Geographic article, I discover that Brazil is slowly overtaking the US as the world's largest soybean producer. They are destroying rainforests to create fields for SOYBEANS!!!

Not a worthy cause to loose the world's largest repository of genetic diversity, potentially future cures for cancer, regulator of the earth's temperature....

Brominated Vegetable Oil aka Soybean Oil :-(

Many of you many not know that I have a soy allergy/sensitivity. I think it's one of the worst things to be allergic to...it's in everything, and often not labeled.

For instance, tonight after coming home from the gym I pick up a red PowerAid. After 2 gulps, I start to feel weird and worried I read the label. It has the dreaded "vegetable oil" which usually means soybean oil.

Thank God for the Internet. Turns out brominated vegetable oil is not only soybean oil in disguise, but it's been outlawed in 100 counties, and is on the FDA's toxic additives list. Companies are also not required to label it on their products. Yeah!

It's in most or all citrus flavored drinks, so those are now off my list of foods I can eat.

To make it, you add Bromine to soybean oil. Here's the best part:

"Bromine is extracted from sea water. You don't want to know how. In its liquid or vaporous form, it's lethal. But once you've got the stuff, you're set to make light-sensitive surfaces for photographic paper, lead-eating additives for gasoline, fire-extinguishing material, agricultural fumigants, and lots of other handy stuff. Until 1975, you could make sedatives too."

And it's oil soluble, can built up in fat cells like PCBs and can cause reproductive issues.

For crying out loud! I don't want to ingest that junk!

Ok. I'm done venting. I'll go back to my benadryl induced haze....

Monday, December 11, 2006

I'm now wicked smart about SEM

Just came back from the Search Engine Strategies Conference in Chicago. Even though I never again want to visit Chicago in December, the conference was great. I'm not sure if I've ever been through such a crash course on a subject before.

So now on top of optimizing sites for work, I'll be working on optimizing my father's site as well about story telling: thegoldenraven.org.

Little does he know I'll be introducing him to storytellers around the world. He's going to love it.

Happy Feet!!!


Ok. I absolutely loved this movie. I had no idea that it was all about a dancer that doesn't fit in, can't sing, but loves dancing.


I was dying throughout the movie to know who the choreographer was. What can be more fun than a movie with fully choreographed penguin dance sequences!!

What is ridiculous is the conservative right's backlash against the movie. They have been claiming that the, "daring to be different" message is cartoon code for "gay agenda." Oh Please!