Seven for Saturday: News You Can Use 4/9

“Digging for Victory, 1941” via The Commons

Hoe while it is spring, and enjoy the best anticipations.

It is not much matter if things do not turn out well.

Charles Dudley Warner

Weather forecast says warm for the next few days and the ground is sopping wet; planning to spend some time getting nice and mucky and putting seeds into the ground. While I know we will lose the majority of what we sow to insects and benign neglect and DEER, I feel like we have to give it a try. Again. For my own piece of mind.

Here’s what grabbed my attention this week. What caught your eye?

1. Companion Planting: Make efficient use of your space and attract beneficial insects

Dude, I will try anything. Maybe if I surround the whole plot with something poisonous (foxglove?) the deer will keep out?

2. Oil On Dead Dolphins In Gulf Linked To BP Spill, Scientists Say

And (in my mind) the companion piece, ‘Is sushi safe?’ It is mind-boggling to me that people can believe that the BP oil spill and nearly 12,000 tons of radioactive water being emptied into the sea at Fukushima will have no repercussions for marine life. The ocean is a vastly complex ecosystem and we have introduced all kinds of badness into it. Sushi? I really wouldn’t if I were you.

3. “I Was Itching Like a Crackhead”: Study Finds College Students Addicted to Media

The majority couldn’t even complete the 24 hour media fast as challenged. “These college students were born in the late 1980s and early 1990s. They didn’t grow up with ubiquitous one-to-one school laptop programs, downloadable education apps for mobile phones and e-books instead of traditional textbooks—and they’re uber addicted. What’s going to happen to this current generation of media saturated kids when they get to college?” Good question.

4. Is My Child About to Be Snatched?

Another great one from Lenore Skenazy, the Free-Range Mom. “From 1990 to 1998, the murder rate went down 20 percent in America. On TV news it went up 600 percent.” Stranger danger has been hyped to fever pitch in this country and it’s ridiculous. I hate the feeling of being constantly manipulated by the TV screen.

5. How Many Slices of Bacon Does Your Dinner Equal? 3 Restaurant Shockers

I know they say that posting calorie & nutritional info on menus doesn’t change eating habits, but I’m not so sure. I was at IKEA a few weeks ago and I did pass on the cheesesteak after seeing 990 calories in big block letters (the menu mysteriously omits the calorie count on the swedish meatballs, though). In any case, I like this system of measuring a meal by the number of slices of bacon it represents, since bacon is pretty much universally recognized as the devil. Before you order that deep-dish pizza (or Olive Garden pasta), know how many deliciously crunchy slices of bacon devilry you could be eating instead… and still be consuming way less fat and sodium.

6. The Subtle Power Of Noise Pollution

“Noise has been shown to raise blood pressure and blood-borne concentrations of stress hormones and fatty materials even when people are asleep. These can accumulate over time to block blood vessels and trigger a heart attack.” It makes sense; sleep is a time for your body to restore itself and its ability to do so will naturally be impaired by the stress of constant noise. The question becomes, what can we do about it? Are noise-blocking curtains and earplugs enough?

7. Typewriters Are The Next Annoying Retro Fad

Jeff made me get rid of my typewriter collection when we moved 🙁 so I guess I won’t be making my fortune selling them to young hipsters. But what I loved about this article was the comments: is it true that the qwerty keyboard was set up to slow people down as they typed, so they wouldn’t hang up the typewriter ribbon? And that’s why the more commonly used letters are on the left? And therefore most speed-typers are lefties? FASCINATING!!