Category: Lifestyle

Make the Most Out of Cyber Monday

The name “Cyber Monday” was coined five years ago by the Shop.org unit of the National Retail Federation to describe the 77% increase in sales on the second biggest online shopping day of the year. Cyber Monday has grown bigger and better since then, increasing to $608 million in 2005, $733 million in 2007 and $846 million in 2008.

Here are some tips for how to make the most of your time and money on Cyber Monday:

1. Sign up for email alerts – be informed about what sales are being offered in your favorite stores.
2. Follow your favorite retailers on Facebook or Twitter to be the first to hear about special offers
3. Check which retailers will give you free shipping.
4. Remember that sometimes, seeing the item in a real store is better than ordering it online.
5. Shop early – in case supplies are limited.
6. Enjoy your shopping!

The Sun is Our Natural Clock

The secrets of how our body’s biological clocks adjust to the shorter days of winter, can give us insight into the mechanism behind jet-lag and the effects of shift-work. Researchers are studying plants and the daily cycle of activities, called circadian rhythms. They are discovering precisely fine-tuned processes which allow the plant’s genes to change their responses as the hours of dawn and dusk change each day. The plant’s genes apparently also able to respond to the length of the daylight in each day.

This amazingly delicate system allows plants to make the needed adjustments each and every day. The plants daily reset their internal clocks in response to the seasonal variations in daylight. This is what allows the plant to control the timing of crucial activities including growth and flowering.

These findings bear relevance to the same rhythms found in humans. People’s rhythms also respond to variations in amounts of daylight, interruptions in the rhythms, etc. International travel in high speed airplanes can wreak havoc with the delicate balance of our circadian cycles.

Happy Birthday Elmo!

ElmoNovember 18, 1985 was an important day in children’s history. It was on that day that a young furry red monster by the name of Elmo formed a long-term relationship with his puppeteer, Kevin Clash – and with millions of children around the world.

While Elmo had appeared in different roles, and with other handlers (Carole Spinney, aka “Big Bird,” and Scooter from The Muppet Show were among the voices playing Elmo), for several years prior, it was on that date 25 years ago that the fuzzy “toddler” with the squeaky voice made his debut as the Elmo that millions have come to know and love, as he entered the pantheon of primary Sesame Street characters.

Over the years, Elmo has met and mingled with numerous celebrities and stars, and appeared on talk shows, prime-time series, and his own movie, while merchandise bearing his name, including Tickle Me Elmo and the range of books, videos, and other toys featuring the three-and-a-half-year-old monster, have appeared in playrooms and nurseries around the world. So for toddlers and preschoolers everywhere, as well as their parents, nannies, and teachers, this week was a day to celebrate.

Reusable Bags Good, I Mean Bad, Whatever, For the Environment

In a shocking bit of irony, it turns out that consumers who have made an effort to reduce the waste caused by the over use of plastic bags at supermarkets by purchasing and using re-usable shopping bags may be exposed to small amounts of lead from those so-called environmentally safe bags.

In what seems like another one of almost daily dire warnings of the harm that the products we come in contact with everyday can cause, the latest on the list is reusable synthetic bags which might contain small traces of lead.

The real worry, however, is not so much that consumers using the bags might come to harm by their exposure to lead, but what will happen when the bags are eventually discarded and begin to accumulate in landfills. Congress and environmental groups are concerned that the trace amounts of lead found in these bags can harm the environment as they begin to decompose in the landfills around the country.

Consumers don’t seem to be too worried, and are continuing to use them, arguing that since the bags are not meant to be tossed by to be used over and over again; and because the amounts of lead are so small, they see little to be really worried about.

Charles Schumer, Democratic Senator from New York disagrees with this permissive attitude.

“When our families go to the grocery store looking for safe and healthy foods to feed their kids, the last thing they should have to worry about are toxic bags,” he said.

Recycling Facts & Figures

While we’ve certainly come a long way as a country in “going green,” there is still much room for improvement. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that while 85% of all household garbage could be recycled, we’re still not recycling even half of that. So, as the week of America Recycles Day draws to a close, here are a few Recycling Facts & Figures to help motivate you to keep recycling throughout the year.

Plastic Recycling – Every year we make enough plastic film to shrink-wrap the State of Texas. American go through 25 billion plastic bottles each year. If we recycled just one out of every ten, plastic landfill waste would be reduced by 200 million pounds each year.

Metal Recycling – Recycling just one aluminum can saves enough electricity to power a 100-watt light bulb for three hours. And for every one ton of steel recycled, 2,500 pounds of iron ore, 1,400 pounds of coal and 120 pounds of limestone are conserved.

Water – the average American now uses an average of 100 gallons of water daily – that’s enough water to fill 1,600 drinking glasses! On the other hand, if all the homes installed water-efficient appliances, the U.S. would save more than 3 trillion gallons of water and over $18 billion a year.

Styrofoam – Every year, we throw away 25 billion Styrofoam cups, enough to circle the earth 436 times. Styrofoam is NOT recyclable. Don’t buy it and don’t use it!

Junk Mail – the junk mail Americans receive in one day could produce energy sufficient to heat 250,000 homes. If only 100,000 people stopped their junk mail, we could save up to 150,000 trees annually. Not only the forests would gain – you would gain time as well: the average American spends eight months out of his/her life opening junk mail!