Positively KC

Blender Drinks are Back!!

2008-07-02T14:11:00Z

A recent article in the New York Times indicates blender drinks are popular again and apparently bartenders are disgusted.

Drinks like Strawberry Daiquiris and Pina Coladas. The Mudslide and the Outstanding Alexander (whatever that is).

"What?" you might be saying. "Those went OUT of STYLE?"

Well, duh. Of course. Everybody knows that.

(?)

Anyway, the articled reads:

In the wake of that era's lawless abandon, Mr. Cate said, ''the whole world of exotic cocktails ended up having this bad reputation.'' What went wrong, he and others say, is that the bartenders who were scooping rum raisin ice cream into their drinks forgot that there was a craft to this business.

''If you're going to make a blended drink, don't take any shortcuts,'' Mr. Maloney said. ''You're going to need good ingredients. You're going to make simple syrup, you're going to need to squeeze your juices fresh, you're going to have to use bitters. It takes the same attention to detail, if not more.''

There are entire places of businesses opening up to specifically serve blended drinks.

In a technique called flash blending, a three-to-five-second pulse with cracked ice chills the drink quickly and efficiently. The ice can be strained out, Floridita-style, or the chunks and shards can be left in, which is typical of tropical cocktails.

The article elaborates how today's bartenders don't like using blenders. The machines are more work, take extra effort, etc. etc.

It goes on, though, to give specific instructions for blending the perfect drink. It gives recipes, too.

So, when you get together with your KC friends this summer, you might want to break out the blender...and be ahead of a trend sure to sweep the nation. This, "the blender's back" trend. Because, of course, everyone knows, the blender drinks went out of style a LONG TIME AGO!!! Although, I must admit, I'm not quite sure when. :-)

Who's Happier Than Americans?

2008-07-01T14:20:00Z

Those living in Denmark, apparently. And Puerto Rico, Colombia, Northern Ireland, Iceland, Switzerland, Ireland. (deep breath) Netherlands, Canada and Sweden.

Matter of fact, America is 16th on the list of happy nations.

Here are the results of the U.S. government-funded World Values Survey, done by a global network of social scientists.

Zimbabwe ranks as the least happy.

In all, 350,000 people were surveyed. Asked two basic questions. How would you answer?

1. Taking all things together, would you say you are very happy, rather happy, not very happy, not at all happy?

2. All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life as a whole these days?

In the words of Drop Dead Fred, "Get Happy!!!"

(Bonus points if you know who Fred is without clicking on the link.)

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Could You Do It?

2008-06-25T13:12:00Z

Live with 100 things, I mean.

Could you pick through all the clutter you've no doubt compiled over the last (muffled number) years, throw out what you absolutely don't need, and live with only 100 personal possessions?

One man is trying to do just that.

A guy named Dave is in the process of whittling away at his stuff. Keep in mind, this guy Dave is making up his own rules, so he's excluding a whole host of things he doesn't have to get rid of. As I first read through his site, I thought to myself, "well then, what IS he getting rid of?" But as I kept reading, I was motivated. It's a good idea. Sort of felt a connection with him, too, since my family has been without a home for 9 months now. We've been living without the majority of stuff we've compiled over the past (muffled number) years.

Anywho...this guy. He's whittling and compiling, and plans to go full 100-things-only by November 12, 2008.

Here's a portion of his list as it appears on his website:

Basics

Moleskine journal
Pentel blue mechanical pencil 0.7mm
Monteverde ballpoint pen
Wallet
Sunglasses

Hygiene

Toothbrush
Razor - I use disposables, but count my "active" razor as one item
Nose and ear hair trimmer - a "gift" from my wife

His list is fluid. He's got some things for sale, and is planning to donate others.

100 things.

Could you do it? Could you live without your "stuff"?

What would be five things you know - right away - you'd HAVE to have on your MUST-HAVE list?

Weigh in. It's easy. If you aren't already a member of this blog, it's free...and easy to sign up. Once you've done so, you can comment on any of the nbc action news blogs.

My Newspaper Headline Pick for the Day

2008-06-25T09:49:00Z

New York Times article on dwindling popularity of "exurbs", or outer suburbs.

One land use expert even goes as far as to say, "many low-density suburbs and McMansion subdivisions, including some that are lovely and affluent today, may become what inner cities became in the 1960s and 1970s - slums characterized by poverty, crime and decay."

Here's the link.

Kids Paying w/ Plastic

2008-06-23T13:59:00Z

It's true. Debit cards for kids 12 and under...

Parents provide and monitor the money; kids learn to use a card rather than cash.

It's called Pay Jr.

There's a chores and allowance setting for those under 12, and a Visa Buxx card for kids 13 and older.

For the 12 and under crowd, according to the website, the system allows both the parent and the child to review chores through the web site, has a printable chore chart and online calendar to help parents and children manage their chores and rewards, and keeps on ongoing balance owed for work completed.

For those 13 and older, the card is a reloadable prepaid card.

What do you think? Is it good for kids to learn to use plastic, or is this Visa's way of nabbing future chargers early? Weigh in...

Asian Spice Credited with Combatting Obesity/Diabetes

2008-06-23T12:47:00Z

Turmeric, a common Asian spice that gives curries their bright yellow color, has a long history of use in reducing inflammation, healing wounds and relieving pain.

That's how the article on Environmental News Service begins. It continues:

This week at a medical conference in San Francisco, participants heard that tumeric also is effective at combating two health problems that many Americans suffer - diabetes and obesity.

The scientists discovered that turmeric-treated mice were less susceptible to developing Type 2 diabetes, based on their blood glucose levels, and glucose and insulin tolerance tests.

They also discovered that turmeric-fed obese mice showed significantly reduced inflammation in fat tissue and liver compared to controls.

Click here for more infro on Turmeric from the Nat'l Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Humans can eat turmeric, Curcuma longa, in doses of up to 12 grams daily without ill effects, according to the enidcrinologist who did the study.

I checked out availability locally (checked Price Chopper and Hen House), and it seems most carry the spice.

Eating Healthy on the Go (w/calorie calculator)

2008-06-20T09:29:00Z

You're busy, rushing from place to place, juggling work and family, driving kids from one appointment to the next.

But, you gotta eat.

The quickest option might be fastfoof, but that doesn't mean you have to compromise your goal to eat healthy.

Heather Bauer, author The Wall Street Diet, indicates in her book:

- a 6" subway turkey sandwiche on wheat, with lettuce and mustart has 280 calories

- a small chili from Wendy's has 220 calories, a Jr. burger has 280 calories and Wendy's mandarin chicken salad with fat free dressing on the side has 240 calories.

- at McDonalds, she says a plain hamburger has 250, and a honey mustard wrap, just 260.

Most fastfood restaurants will give you the nutritional makeup of their food if you ask. You can also get most of the information on their websites. But, I'm guessing, if you're the type of person always on the run, eating fastfood, you don't have time, either, to look up all the info on a website.

Here's a link to what seems to me to be a reliable calorie calculator. It's provided by the Washington Post. Some of the calorie counts in this calculator differ from the totals the author above gives... But keep in mind many businesses are constantly trying to make their food more healthy because they know consumers want healthier food. There's a very good chance that since the information for the book was gathered, or since this calculator was built, that the nutritional makeup of some food has changed slightly. This is probably a good guideline, however, since most of them haven't changed any of their foods dramatically.

Don't forget fruit, too. You can't go wrong with the bagged, sliced and peeled apples from McDonalds. And Wendy's offers both mandarin oranges and yogurt with granola.

Converting Sports so Everyone Can Play

2008-06-18T22:17:00Z

There are recreational activities and sports many of us might take for granted: softball, soccer, swimming, canoing, hiking, skiing, shooting, basketball, rock climbing, etc...

We simply go out and kick around the soccer ball. We stand up to the plate, and swing the bat. We walk, casually, out onto a basketball court and throw up the basketball without much effort at all.

We steadily enter a floating canoe and paddle down the river. We can strap on two skiis and navigate our way down a sloap.

But for people with disabilities, doing what seems so simple for many of us, can seem impossible. Only a dream. Only something other people get to do.

It's not fair.

Those things are not impossible, though, because there are hundreds of volunteers making sure recreational activities and sports are adapted so ANYONE can do them. These things are not impossible, because of the National Sports Center for the Disabled.

This organization, which is fairly new to the Kansas City area, provides free sport clinics: baseball, soccer, football and golf. They welcome anyone with any kind of disability wanting to give pretty much anything a shot.

Skiing.

Canoeing. Horseback riding.

You name it, they say they can help you do it.

If you or someone you know has a disability, this organization is worth checking out.

If you are healthy, and can play any sport you choose, this organization is worth checking out.

They'll take volunteers and athletes any day of the week.

For more information cantact Geoff Lanham at 816-513-7571. Or email him at glanham@nscd.org.

WHAT!?!? Cereal Boxes Shrinking!!!

2008-06-17T23:27:00Z

The headline could read, Cereal Company Attempts to Trix Consumers.

It could, if Trix were one of the cereal boxes shrinking to save its maker money. It's not. But the boxes for your Apple Jacks, Cocoa Krispies, Corn Pops, Fruit Loops, and Honey Smacks are about to get smaller, without a change to the price tag.

A CNN Money article reports it's a way for Kellogg Co. to pass on the increased cost they're seeing because of higher gas prices, to you.

Fair warning. The first reduced-size boxes, an average of 2.4 ounces less per box, went out the first of June.

Kelloggs isn't the first company to do this either; the article says:

About a year ago, rival General Mills Inc., maker of Cheerios and Wheaties cereals, started selling its cereals in smaller boxes, at similar prices.

I've got calls out to find out if local stores are selling the smaller boxes yet. As for the positive side of this....well, I'm still trying to figure that one out. Help!!!

I'm also doing a bit of taste-testing research on alternatives to the name brand cereals listed here. I think they're called choco crisp rice...and fruity O's...or something like that. Can't help but laugh when you consider possible generic names to the cereals we all grew up eating. Wanna weigh in? Let me know if you've tried the alternatives. We need the name of the alternative cereal and what you thought. I'll let you know my findings.

To post a comment, you'll have to sign in or join. It's free and easy to do. Once you've joined, you'll be able to post comments on any of our NBC Action News Blogs.

UPDATE, June 18 @ 9:11 am: Just found the positive side to this...here it is.

If we continue to eat the same amount of cereal, we'll buy more boxes of cereal, and that means we'll get more great prizes found in the boxes...or collect upc's faster to send in for our prizes. And there you go. The positive side.

Shooting Clay Pigeons

2008-06-16T13:04:00Z

It is with a bit of hesitation I enter this particular post. I am thoroughly aware there are some outspoken critics of anything dealing with guns, many of whom have very valid, specific reasons for their beliefs. I'm prepared for their comments, and welcome them. After all, I report on many of the stories they cite as examples of why they believe the way they do. All appropriate posts will be allowed here (and by appropriate, I mean those the FCC would allow).

But there is a positive side to report. To guns. To sport. To safety.

Ducks Unlimited, which has thousands of members locally, held a fundraiser over the weekend. The 3rd Annual Mo-Kan Shoot for Ducks Unlimited at Powder Creek in Lenexa. It was a sporting clays shoot to benefit the conservation of waterfowl habitats.

I had the pleasure of meeting some pretty cool people.

Here's the team that graciously agreed to take me, the amateur, with them.

Left to right, this is Brian Prendergast, Matt Smith, Justin Sturgeon and me.

I grew up around guns - somewhat - with a few hunters in the family. I've also shot at targets before, but never at anything moving. I borrowed Brian's shotgun for the day.

Justin was the best in our bunch, shooting almost 90% consistently. I learned a lot from these guys.

Since I'd never shot anything moving, they helped me understand how to judge distance and flight patterns. At the first station, I only hit one clay.

The guys taught me how to pull my front hand back for better control...and to get a little further out in front of the clay. By station 5, I was shooting 50%.

It was at the 5th station, as I was just starting to get a handle on the sport, that the sky darkened. It was about 12:30 Sunday afternoon, Father's Day. If you'll remember, that's when the day's first round of storms rolled in. I bailed. Ran for cover. The guys went on without me. True outdoorsmen, I suppose. Wait it out. Play through.

For those of you unfamiliar with this sport, at Powder Creek there are 12 stations. You travel from station to station, through wooded and slightly hilly grounds.

This will tell you how unfamiliar I was with shooting ranges, etc (had never been). I thought I'd be at a facility set up like a driving range for golf... And that I'd just shoot a few clay pigeons, or attempt to. I dressed casually; note the flip-flops in the pictures. I don't recommend this choice of kick-around shoes if you decide to go. Luckily, Jeff Smith, Matt's brother, loaned me his vest so I didn't completely look like a duck out of water (intended).

Overall, I looked at this weekend as research. I am a mother of a boy who may one day express interest in a sport involving guns. I am on the board for the Boy Scouts of America (where thousands of boys learn about guns and receive badges for doing so). I report on some of the awful outcomes of guns being inappropriately stored or used. This is a look at the positive side.

It was fun. I plan to give it a try again at some point. Next time, though, I'll wear the right shoes.

..........

Here's a link to the Olympic Shooting Events for this summer, which you'll be able to watch, along with all of the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic events, right here on your NBC Action News station.

------

Tim Bruggeman, a member of the board of directors for Powder Creek,emailed me about this post. Was thankful for the positive coverage, but pointed it out he thought it sounded a bit biased. Here's a portion :

If I may espouse my opinion...the first few sentences of your blog were, to me, written by a person who sees only the negative side of firearms. News reporting of "things related to firearms" are almost always negative, because that's the nature of the news industry (I mean, who reports on the building that isn't on fire, right?) But to me, its not the fault of the firearms.

To that I would argue, my job is to present both sides of any issue. Since my blog was about my enjoyable experience at Powder Creek, firing a 12-gauge shotgun at clay pigeons, I felt it necessary to represent the other side, even if only in the first few sentences. Since that is what Mr. Bruggeman gleaned from my post, I would say I was successful in doing what I intended to do. Thanks for your comments Tim.

By the way, to post comments on any of our NBC Action News Blogs, you must first join. It's free, and fairly easy to do. Once a member, you can comment regularly.

Crohn's Disease. Do You Know About It?

2008-06-13T09:19:00Z

Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis affect 1.4 million American adults and children. Most people develop the disease between the ages of 15 and 35.

They are painful, medically incurable illnesses that attack the digestive system, and may attack anywhere in that system. Symptoms may include abdominal pain, persistent diarrhea, rectal bleeding, fever and weight loss. Many patients require hospitalization and surgery.

This weekend, at Corporate Woods, the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation is holding a walk. "Take Steps" is the largest annual event deicated to finding cures for Crohn's and Colitis.

Registration and family festivities begin at 4 pm. The walk will be from 7 pm to 8 pm.

Chances are, you know someone with Crohn's. Or ulcerative colitis. You just may not know it. It's not a disease easy to talk about for a lot of people diagnosed, especially the teenagers.

If you'd like to contribute, or walk this weekend, you can learn more on the foundation's website: www.ccfa.org.

Crabby When Hungry? Listen Up...

2008-06-11T15:16:00Z

If you get moody when you're hungry...

Or if you're kids do...

Or your spouse...

You may now have an excuse.

The University of Cambridge just released information about a new study, on Science Daily's website, which is one of the first to show causal link between agression and serotonin (which can be regulated by diet).

Their findings highlight why some of us may become combative or aggressive when we haven't eaten. The essential amino acid necessary for the body to create serotonin can only be obtained through diet. Therefore, our serotonin levels naturally decline when we don't eat, an effect the researchers took advantage of in their experimental technique.

The article goes on to say serotonin is brought into the body by ingesting it (trytophan), and that some foods are loaded with it. Chicken soup and chocolate, for instance. Which may be why they've come to be called comfort foods.

"Our results suggest that serotonin plays a critical role in social decision-making by normally keeping aggressive social responses in check. Changes in diet and stress cause our serotonin levels to fluctuate naturally, so it's important to understand how this might affect our everyday decision-making."

Yeah. An excuse to snack on chocolate. As I needed one.

Toddlers on Diets???? Really?!?!?!?

2008-06-10T14:54:00Z

Is it ever too early to diet?

How about age 10? Is that too early?

What about age 5? And age 2?

Well apparently, toddler diets are growing in popularity, some even focusing on newborns. Weightloss clinics for two-year-olds. Exercise programs for four-year-olds.

Here's a snippet from today's Wall Street Journal article:

The Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center launched a weight-management group for 2- to 5-year-olds in February. Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, which has been running FitKids, a program for 6- to 12-year-olds, recently began training health-care providers to counsel parents of newborns to 5-year-olds. Children's Healthcare says it started the new program after hearing from local physicians that they were seeing younger and younger overweight kids in their practices.

One can hardly dispute that something needs to be done. The above chart shows the increase in obese toddlers and young children in the past 30 years. But is a toddler diet the answer?

According to Dr. Vincent Iannelli, M.D., a board certified pediatrician and Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics:

Surprisingly, toddlers only need about 1,300 calories each day. One reason that parents often think that their toddlers don't eat enough is that they overestimate how much they should be eating at each meal.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, a good guideline is that a toddler portion size should equal about a quarter of an adult portion size. If that doesn't seem like enough, remember that you can always give your toddler seconds, especially when it comes to veggies and other healthy foods.

Examples of toddler size portions include:

1/4 to 1/2 slice of bread
1/4 cup of dry cereal
one to two tablespoons of cooked vegetables
1/2 piece of fresh fruit
1/3 cup of yogurt
1/2 egg
1 tablespoon of smooth peanut butter (if no risk of food allergies) spread thinly on bread or a cracker
1 ounce of meat

Again, if your toddler wants to eat more, you can always give seconds, like another tablespoon of vegetables or the other half of a piece of fruit. The only important nutritional limits are not to overdo it on milk and juice. Any more than 16 to 24 ounces of milk and four to six ounces of fruit juice will likely fill up your child so that he isn't hungry for real food.

Final thought: If the idea of toddlers on diets is disturbing to you, at what age would you consider it normal to diet? 12? 16? Your thoughts?

Fill Up and Go...to Jamesport, Mo

2008-06-05T14:37:00Z

We began a weekly, summer segment this morning on NBC Action News Today called Fill Up and Go.

The idea is, to give you ideas for places any of us could realisticly load up the kids and go on one tank of gas, and what we could do once we get there.

This morning we went to Jamesport, MO. Jameport's about 82 miles from the center of downtown KC. Take I-35 North to 6 hwy, East on 6. It will take you about an hour and a half. If you're car gets 25 miles to the gallon (which is average), and gas costs $3.90 (which is the average today), you can get to Jamesport and back for about $25.

The official website for the town says it's an Amish community offers a glimpse of a by-gone era. There are antique stores, furniture stores, and Amish food stores with all sorts of homemade goodies. An event calendar on the website shows several big events in the Jamesport area, including this weekend's 200-mile long garage sale along hwy 6.

There are options for overnights, too, should you want to stay the night, including a couple of Bed and Breakfasts and Inns.

We'll do this again next Thursday, too, when we'll tell you somewhere else you can Fill Up and Go!!!

Mayor Funk's Front Porch

2008-05-29T15:50:00Z

Kansas City's Mayor Mark Funkhouser keeps a blog. Check it out.