Links for 2007-08-24 to 26 [del.icio.us]

• The Meal Assembly Network
  I've heard of this meal assembly thing before:
  

  "A meal assembly kitchen is the ultimate partner in helping busy families get healthy, tasty dinners prepared. The typical kitchen has 12 to 16 stations that look like salad bars. Each station includes all of the ingredients necessary to put together a main entrée that serves 4 to 6. The ingredients are already chopped, sliced, and/or cut. Customers follow detailed instructions at each station and assemble the ingredients into freezer-ready bags. Buying and preparing the ingredients, as well as cleaning up the mess, is the responsibility of the meal assembly kitchen. The customer typically assembles 12 meals, and takes them home in a cooler or a laundry basket for storage in the freezer. Actual cooking happens at home."

  I like the idea but I don't think I'd actually do it -- but if I had more freezer space and could clear the time it'd be good to try and put stuff together like this at home sometimes for those nights when I don't want to cook but I don't want to eat take-out.
• He has your... fear of veggies | Health & Fitness | Reuters
  

  "In a large study of identical and fraternal twins, researchers from University College London found that nearly 80 percent of children's tendency to avoid unfamiliar foods was inherited."

  I was interested to hear the part about fear of new foods, and the idea of just keeping giving children a new food until it's a familiar food and then they may find it's ok, or even that they like it! I know that for me (somewhat picky eater that I am) I've gotten more able to stomach foods through forcing myself to take a few bites. My mum always used to do this with vegetables we didn't like. We had one bites worth on our plate that we had to try then we could have more if we liked, or not. It hasn't got me to like swede but I could eat it if needed!
• Breakthrough in obesity battle - 25 Jul 2007 - NZ Herald: New Zealand National news
  

  "The scientists have shown that if a mother is undernourished, her children's bodies are set up to cope with a life of scarcity.
  "But the energy-dense "hamburger and milkshake" diet of modern Western society is likely to result in children who are likely to become fat - unlike those from mothers who eat a balanced diet during pregnancy."

• Neonatal Doc: Loss
  A wonderful post from a neonatologist - a quote:
  

  "After years of seeing various types of pregnancy and newborn loss, I have decided that there are really no good words of comfort at such a time. The loss is so final, so absolute, so irrevocable, that only time can lessen the wound and even then often not completely heal it. We can express our condolences to the family and offer to do anything we can for them, but beyond that we seem relatively powerless."

  Some great comments too. Made me cry, but in a good way. I'm so glad we also had wonderful staff at the hospital where our first daughter was born, and died.
• Craving for junk food ‘begins in the womb’ - Times Online
  
• not martha - more tiny kitchen storage
  a neat idea for storing utensils -- a good way to keep them out of reach from little hands!
  
• Pattern for “Chunky Braided Scarf” « Butterfly Morning
• Bust Alteration
  A handy how-to on altering sewing patterns to fit your bust size.
• SO busy sewing › Red Instead BLOG
  
  Found the link for bust alteration at this blog post, there are some other handy links there too.
• Six weeks without a wash: The soapless experiment | the Daily Mail
  An article about a woman who decided to try an experiment which I think was recorded for a tv show:
  

  "for 40 days and 40 nights, there has been no showering, no hair washing, no teeth cleaning and no deodorant.
  "She has ditched her make-up and hair styling products, and allowed herself access to just three outfits (her running kit, a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, and one summer dress)."

  I found this interesting; I think she went a little overboard, but still. It's good to hear what was good and what was bad about cutting all that stuff out. Clearly she felt all the chemicals she'd been putting on and in her body as part of her daily routine were not doing her a lot of favours (her IBS symptoms improved during the experiment, and her skin seemed much healthier), but at the same time). It was interesting to hear that as long as she was away from other people (and societal expectations) she felt " felt really healthy and good about [her]self" and that when she was tested at the end of the experiment she didn't show a great increase in bacteria and suchlike which confirms we probably don't need to be sanitizing our hands every five seconds!
  
  The article ends with her summing up:
  

  "the experiment worked in that I proved to myself there is no need for all these beauty products on which I've been frittering away so much money. My desire for them was all in my mind, not an actual physical need.
  "It showed me that for years I've been using excessive amounts, and, at the same time, potentially putting my health at risk because of all the chemicals they contain.
  "I was amazed to find that the point when my skin looked its best was after a month of not using anything at all. As a result, I've become far more moderate in what products I use and what I am prepared to spend money on.
  "A bar of soap, organic shampoo and conditioner, and a basic moisturiser are all I need now. I no longer wash my hair every day and I no longer feel self-conscious if I'm not done up to the nines.
  "If people didn't notice when they had me standing next to them during the experiment, I'm sure they won't be aware of small things that would once have got me down, such as a bad hair day or a minor skin outbreak."

• Knitty: Fall 2006 - red herring
  
  Another CookieA sock pattern for my to-do list -- I've been wanting to try colour work again. I'm intimidated by it because of the tension issue but love all the possibilities that would open up if I could master it.
• Choc Fudge Shortbread on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
  This sounds tasty, need to make fudge first though!
• eat me, delicious: Chocolate Orbit Cake
  This looks so incredibly chocolaty and rich, mmmm.
• Vanana Cookies (Vegan Banana Peanut Butter Cocoa Cookies) » vanesscipes
  These look yummy. [I made some - posted on flickr]

And a couple more tasty looking recipes to try some time:

• Sausage-stuffed portobello mushrooms - The Boston Globe
• Creamy corn chowder with very little cream - The Boston Globe

Links for 2007-07-24 [del.icio.us]

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Nerve gas antidote made by goats

Multi Grain Rolls Recipe at Mothering.com

Wendy Cooling: I want to get every child in the country reading for pleasure - Independent

Identity theft: parents who steal from their kids - ParentDish
Well this is horrible to contemplate; sabotaging your own child's life.

The peace of paper » Little Boxes
A tutorial for making a cute little gift box.

Medical Imaging News Articles | Cholesterol-lowering diet can modify fetal Doppler velocimetry in mid-pregnancy | Radiology News

Links for 2007-07-17 [del.icio.us]

• The authors every teenager should read - Independent
  I'm not sure I agree with how they've classified some of the authors. Still, lots of people I haven't read (or even heard of) so lots of ideas for my overflowing booklist!


• Instructables The Book Apron
  "Keeps your cookbooks or other how-tos clean! Clear plastic, polyester ribbon and rickrack can be wiped clean of batter with a damp sponge."
  I definitely need one of these for cooking (also a good book stand) since I'm plenty messy in the kitchen.


• Instructables : Green" Re-usable Grocery Bags
  "These re-usable grocery bags will help you answer the question "Paper or plastic?" from your grocer, and help save waste and those landfill stuffers you're accumulating. The bags have handles to allow them to be placed on a grocer's plastic bag holder, i
  I like the idea of being able to slip them onto the bag holders in the grocery store (although I don't think that the place I shop at most often has bag holders... maybe I just never used them because I always have my own bags there).


• morsbags sociable guerilla bagging
  I love the idea of guerrilla bagging as a means to reduce the use of plastic bags, not sure I have the right personality for it though. I'm loving all these tutorials and patterns for making bags I've been coming across though because more bags are always useful in my opinion!


• Instructables Sewing Organizer
  "This is a great organizer for any tailor/seamstress and also it's kind of an art on the wall."
  I've seen something like this on a blog somewhere before (blanking on where right now), a wall mounted spool holder. This one's extra fancy with places to store other bits and bobs. too.
  

Links for 2007-07-11 [del.icio.us]

• Easy Grocery Bag Shopping Tote From 2 Pillowcases - Instructables
  
  I wonder whether these would be sturdy enough in the long term for heavy groceries. Fun tutorial, and of course you could use the tote for lighter groceries, or other stuff!
• Easy as ABC: Asian-style Baby Carrier or Mei Tai - Instructables
  
  There are quite a few good online tutorials for making an ABC which I've read and taken direction from already. However, since I like to read as many as possible and then use all I learn to figure out how to make mine I'm adding this to my collection of bookmarks!
• The healthy heart guide - Independent
  
  " Heart attacks are our biggest killer – yet many are preventable. Julia Stuart on the simple changes that could save your life"
• Move to cut methane emissions by changing cows' diet | Climate change | Guardian
  
  "Experts at the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research in Aberystwyth say the diet of farmed animals can be changed to make them produce less methane, a more potent global warming gas than carbon dioxide. Farmed ruminant animals are thought to
• UK needs a two-child limit, says population report | SocietyGuardian.co.uk
  
  "While most of Britain's annual population rise of nearly 300,000 people is from immigration, only 21.9% of new births were last year to non-UK born mothers, says Prof Guillebaud. Each woman in England and Wales, he says, can now be expected to have 1.87 children, the highest total fertility rate for 26 years."
  
  Not sure I entirely agree with the logic of this article. I'm not sure it's getting to the root of the problem it brings up of the level of consumption of the earth's resources (really we need to work on that as much as human population). (Not to mention addressing the need to care for the older generation that would presumably become more of a problem than the baby boomers.)
• Top 10 eccentric British days out | Guardian
  
  "Is the weather raining on your holiday parade? The Far from the Sodding Crowd team come to the rescue with their pick of humorous, curious and downright ludicrous British tourist attractions"
• The yuck factor: How scientific research into revulsion is shaping our supermarkets - Independent
  
  "Rozin's research says that if something we perceive to be dirty or disgusting (such as a cockroach) touches something harmless (such as orange juice), in our minds the latter becomes "contaminated", even if the rational side of our brain knows there is n
• The Health Benefits of Journaling - Psych Central
  
  "There is increasing evidence to support the notion that journaling has a positive impact on physical well-being. University of Texas at Austin psychologist and researcher James Pennebaker contends that regular journaling strengthens immune cells, called T-lymphocytes. Other research indicates that journaling decreases the symptoms of asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. Pennebaker believes that writing about stressful events helps you come to terms with them, thus reducing the impact of these stressors on your physical health."
  
• Wake up. Feminism is more than just capitalism with tits | Guardian
  
  "Enough of the numbers game. The issue is not how many women are in power, but how many fight for collective rights "

Links for 2007-07-07 [del.icio.us]

• The Big Question: As Bush spares Libby, what is the history of presidential pardons? - Independent Online
  
• BBC NEWS | Technology | Warning of data ticking time bomb
  "Unless more work is done to ensure legacy file formats can be read and edited in the future, we face a digital dark hole."
• Unpartisan campaigner: Alan Bennett, the rebel with a lot of causes - Independent Online
  
• In his own words: Alan Johnston on his release - Independent Online
  'You have to have been a prisoner to know how good freedom is'
• Robert Fisk: The forgotten art of handwriting - Independent Online
  "I find something painfully human about reading the letters of long-dead heroes"
• Piece of cake | Food and drink | Life and Health
  "British summer fruit is so damned tasty, it's easy to end up buying far more than you can ever hope to eat fresh. But there's no need to turn all those berries, cherries and currants into jam or, worse, let them go to waste..."
• Get a cutting edge | Homes and gardens | Life and Health
  "Many gardeners, even experienced ones, are intimidated by the idea of taking cuttings. Yet it's such fun, as well as a great way to save money."
• A shocking act of disrespect - Independent Online
  Another article about Bush pardoning Libby -- this one is (angry) opinion on this case rather than looking at presidential pardons in general like the first link in this post.
• Baking Dish and Pan Size Conversion
• Vegan Low-Fat Chocolate Applesauce Cake Recipe - Vegan Chocolate Cake Recipe
  I'm making this for my daughters first birthday party.
• Jemima Lewis: The lessons of George Melly's final years - Independent Online
  Wonderful thought provoking, challenging article about ageing, caring, family, duty and death.
  "At the age of 80, and despite creeping deafness and dementia, [George Melly] had not succumbed to the clichés of old age: he was sociable, funny, energetic and still much in demand. ...
  It takes luck and a certain kind of temperament to navigate your way through old age so successfully. You need to be open-minded enough to keep enjoying the world without resenting the young who have inherited it; physically mobile (and fearless) enough to keep going out into that world; financially secure enough to live at home, or at least in a comfortable spot of your own choosing; and sufficiently lovable that your friends and family want to keep you company."