Everything You Know is Wrong

First, please read this post and then this post.
Very simply put, in this age of information, the unwashed masses are fed a steady diet of pablum. The bane of our existence is the media. Both print and television continue to take stories and bastardize them. This is especially true of anything relating to science. They take away any big words so that a five year-old can understand them. They add a touch of sensationalism to keep people's interest. And the worst part, they know that their audience will not go out and independently validate the so-called facts.
On the local news a few days back, there was a story concerning the high amounts of sodium in processed foods. Foods like frozen dinners will have 30% to 50% of the recommended daily allowance of sodium in one serving. The FDA was looking at ways to crack down on this. But the twist was how the news outlet presented the facts. They stated that one should consume about one teaspoon of sodium a day. But most people are getting 4000 milligrams a day instead. This was a graphic on the screen with the 4000 in a larger font. The voice over then said that this was about twice what one should consume. This confusing graphic is exactly what I am talking about. Yes, too much sodium will lead to high blood pressure and heart disease. But, there was no need to sensationalize the point in such a confusing way.
In Scott Adams' post about fossils and evolution, and in John's post about global warming, the science part of the stories are glossed over. Assuredly, the media outlets feel that the average person (the aforementioned five year-old) would not understand the science involved. And they have achieved the self-fulfilling prophecy.

The good news is that there is intelligent life still on this planet. We must be vigilant in our efforts to educate ourselves and our children. You cannot take any bit of information as fact. You must validate and decide for yourself. Nothing from the media can be taken at face value. Except for maybe sports scores.

It was 82 degrees yesterday. Today we may tie the record of 84. Not blogging about the weather. I just wanted to gloat. If say you live in Dallas or St. Louis, I cannot even lie and say I feel your pain. I'll be out (maybe to a theme park) enjoying the blue skies and warm sun. I'll be wearing a tee shirt, shorts and a smile.

There is a cold front coming this weekend. We will only get up to the "average" temperatures for this time of year: 74.

:)

And A Good Time Was Had By One

I won't lie. Nothing beats WDW. NOTHING! There must be some additive in the water that makes people spend their money here like there's no tomorrow. And I've had so much my eyes are floating. But I have a plan. Chase's baby teeth look straight, so I am quite sure he won't need braces. And it's stylish for your jeans to have holes. Why not your dockers and polos? Yeah. Annual passes going up again? No problem. I only need one kidney.

Seriously, if you've been to WDW during the summer or any other time when it's packed, in December it is like a ghost town. The longest wait time was Soarin at 25 minutes. Last summer, if you didn't get a fast pass by 10a.m. (one hour after the park opened) you would have to wait at least 2 hours in line!

I was king of all I surveyed. It truly was magical!

It's My Birthday!

And how do I intend on celebrating this wondrous occasion? I'M GOING TO DISNEYWORLD! Laugh all you want; it has been my desire to spend my birthday here for quite some time. And since my annual pass will expire on Christmas day, this will be the year. (I haven't decided if I'm ready to shell out the money for another year. And both SeaWorld and Universal give you the option of a monthly payout, so I may stick with either or both of those for now.)

The shameless part is that I will head there all by myself. Kat is working and has rehearsals after school. I have a meeting at work around Noon, so Chase will already be in "school". (And in truth, I don't think Kat minds. She isn't as enthusiastic about WDW as I am.)

So, yeah. I can't sleep. I'm too excited! I'm going to Disney World! For the 30th time (roughly) this year!