Things I didn't know about Monsanto

Monsanto is a company that people love to hate.  There are many companies that attract controversy: Nestle, Walmart, McDonald's, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, to name just a few, not to mention just about any oil company, tobacco company or bank.  But none of them, not even Philip Morris or RJ Reynolds, is as universally negatively viewed (reviled, even) as Monsanto.

So why did I agree to spend a day with Monsanto at their research facility in Woodland?  I guess I wanted to hear what they had to say.  Are they really worse than Morris or RJ Reynolds, the companies who marketed tobacco to minors and concealed research proving that smoking is addictive and lethal?  Or can a company that was recently defended by Neil Degrasse Tyson -- the spokesperson for science and logic, every liberal's hero -- be all bad?  


After a day spent walking through fields and tasting all kinds of fruits and vegetables, I think Monsanto succeeded in showing me and a few other bloggers that they're not just about GMOs. We actually had a fascinating day learning about traditional plant breeding techniques, what kinds of characteristics are valued in different markets (For instance, did you know that markets in Brazil and South America generally prefer their watermelons large and seeded?  And that Brazilians and Japanese also like yellow-fleshed watermelons?), and how breeders try to come up with varieties of fruits and vegetables with the traits that match those markets.  The Pea came along with me, and I took the opportunity to show her another career path for people interested in math and science (Many of the breeders have PhD's; they even have a guy with a PhD in taste!).

At the end of the day, I learned 4 important things:

There are only 8 GMO crops approved in the US  Alfalfa, canola, corn, cotton, papaya, soybean, sugar beets, and squash.  Every other crop -- fruit, vegetable, grain, etc.. -- is conventional.

You're probably already consuming GMOs.   In the U.S., GMOs are in as much as 80% of conventional processed food. Cereals, crackers, chips, bread, cookies, canned soup, bottled sauces, condiments, drinks and many more can contain canola, corn, soy, or sugar.  Brands such as Betty Crocker, Duncan Hines, Pepperidge Farms, Kellogg's, Nestle, Nabisco, Heinz, Coca-Cola, and many more use GMO ingredients.  This has been the case for about 15 years now, since the late '90s when GM crops became widespread.

Monsanto is not the only producer of GMO seeds.  Their competitors are Syngenta, Bayer, and BASF, although Monsanto does dominate the market (Monsanto controls 80 percent of the GM corn market, and 93 percent of the GM soy market in the US).

Monsanto also develops conventional seeds. As I mentioned before, there are only 8 GMO crops in the US.  Monsanto offers more than 2,000 seed varieties in 22 different crop families -- broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, melons, watermelons, tomatoes, peppers and more. They develop their seeds using traditional plant breeding techniques, and 98 percent of Monsanto's R&D budget is spend on traditional breeding programs.

So now I'm left wondering whether some portion of the anti-Monsanto sentiment is a result of extremely poor PR.  Of course, Monsanto didn't do themselves any favors by developing saccharine, Agent Orange, or the bovine growth hormone BGH (thankfully they don't do any of those things now). The fact that they sell GMO products and pesticides guarantees that they'll always be controversial.  But surely farmers have a choice -- they can choose to plant GMO seed or choose to plant conventional seed. They can choose to buy pesticides or use alternative, sustainable farming methods, or go organic.

Does this mean I'm now Monsanto's new corporate mouthpiece?  Heck, no! Before everyone starts filling up the comments section with insults, I want to state for the record that while I don't think Monsanto is the devil incarnate, I don't think they're angels, either. Like many/most big businesses nowadays, I don't see any evidence that their mission is to do anything but to make as much money as they can.  I'm always suspicious of companies who enjoy such overwhelming market dominance that they can almost be considered a monopoly.

What bugs me the most about Monsanto is not that they make GMOs: what bugs me is their stance on GMO labeling.  They support voluntary labeling but feel that mandatory labeling sends the wrong message about GMOs since current mandatory labeling laws deal with safety issues.

Sorry Monsanto, I disagree.  Whether or not GMOs are safe (and I can point to studies that support both sides of the issue!), people deserve to know what's in their foods.  It's called informed consent! If poll after poll shows that the majority wants to know whether something contains GMOs, then Monsanto should respect their preferences.  Maybe people might even change their minds about GMOs once they read the labels and see how many of the foods they consume every day already contain GMOs ("Well, nothing has happened to me or my family so far...").   Maybe if they didn't lobby so hard against GMO labeling bills, their image and reputation might improve.   Maybe Monsanto should take a cue from McDonald's and Coca-Cola: they both clearly label their products with calorie count and nutrition information!

In many ways, Monsanto is like McDonald's or Coca-Cola. They both sell some good things, but mostly junk. They both fiercely defend their technology and their trademarks.  But unlike Monsanto, McDonald's and Coca-Cola both seem to have a positive image in the US, and an even more positive image worldwide. I'm at a loss to understand why.


Disclosure: Monsanto provided a transportation stipend and lunch for the Woodland Monsanto blogger tour. No other form of compensation was received. All views and opinions expressed are my own.

Arguments against legal same-sex marriage (and why they're nonsense)

Finally, President Obama has taken a stand and voiced his support for gay marriage.  No, not gay marriage, just marriage -- marriage for everyone, regardless of race, religion, economic status, or sexual orientation.

I've long been an advocate for marriage for all, despite my Catholic upbringing. And no matter what your religious beliefs are, I'm hoping you'll agree that the law should allow any two consenting adults to wed.  If you keep in mind that we're talking about marriage as a legal contract, I don't see any arguments against it!  Here are all the usual reasons people oppose same-sex marriage -- and why I don't think they matter:

Are You Prepared for The Big One?

With two major earthquakes occurring in such a short span of time (in Haiti and Chile), you'd think that the citizens of California would be (pardon the pun) quaking in their boots in anticipation of the next Big One. But just today, the State of California released findings from their California Earthquake Preparedness Survey, and the results suggest that Californians may not be as prepared as they ought to be:


* Fewer than 20 percent of households have structurally reinforced their homes or had their homes inspected for earthquake resistance.

* Only 40 percent keep the recommended minimum of three gallons of water stored per person.

* Fewer than 20 percent of California households have purchased earthquake insurance.

* More than 80 percent of households have first aid kits, flashlights and batteries in their house but only 40 percent of Californians have made family disaster plans.


Yikes! When I read that, I immediately thought about how my family's preparations match up to those bullet points:

* When we remodeled our home five years ago, we were required to reinforce our foundations and all our walls in order to bring them up to the latest seismic safety standards, so I'm fairly sure we've secured our house about as much as we can.

* Thanks to the California Volunteers, I was given a Disaster Survival Kit which I store in a storage shed at the side of our house. It contains packs of water -- but I'm not sure whether we have 3 gallons per person. I guess I'd better check that and add a couple of cases of water to our stash.

* We're actually one of the 20% of Californians who do purchase earthquake insurance. The premium skyrocketed this year, but we gritted our teeth and bit the bullet because our home is our most significant financial investment, and if we lose it in an earthquake, we have nothing.

* Our Disaster Survival Kit contains a flashlight, batteries, first aid kit, food, water, and personal hygiene items -- but we don't really have a Disaster Survival Plan.

There it is, our Achilles Heel, a Disaster Survival Plan. Okay, Alfie and I have decided on several locations to meet at in case of a disaster, and the kids know how to get out of the house in case of a fire, but I get the feeling we should be doing more. We need to formalize our plan of action and maybe even rehearse it a couple of times.

Sound like overkill? Last month a small plane crash left our city and several neighboring cities without power for about 9 hours, and it really brought home the fact that in a natural disaster, you're on your own. Phone lines to the city utilities and services were hopelessly busy, and we couldn't log on to our computers, so we had no idea what was going on. Fortunately, we still had cellphones so we weren't totally isolated; and it wasn't really a disaster, so we could just go about our lives and wait for the power to come back. But in a real disaster, I can see how fear and panic could close your mind down and cause you to lose your ability to think.

Think about it: your world is crumbling around you, there's no one to turn to. Your kids are scared, and so are you, but you don't want to let them know. How do you get everyone to safety? That's where a predetermined plan of action, with contingencies all mapped out for different situations, will prove invaluable. You've rehearsed it before, so you already know what to do, and even if that tree that almost fell on you has turned your brain into mush, it doesn't matter because you've got it all written down in a notebook, so you just open it up and read it.

Oh, hang on, we don't have one of those.

Okay, we'd better get cracking on that disaster plan. And so should you!


Click here for more information about the California Earthquake Preparedness study and the findings.

What's in *Your* Disaster Kit?

Here in the Bay Area people like to say that it's not a question of whether we're ever going to experience a disaster, but when it's going to happen. We haven't had a major earthquake since Loma Prieta in '89 but we've had wildfires in Santa Cruz, El Nino flooding and landslides, and goodness knows what. We are fortunate that we haven't ever experienced a disaster such as Hurricane Katrina or the New Orleans flooding-- but it's important to remember that a disaster doesn't have to be a major disaster. It can be as localized as your house catching on fire. So it's important to be prepared.


In the spirit of being prepared, I attended a talk and demonstration given by the California Volunteers for Bay Area bloggers, including bloggers from the Silicon Valley Moms Blog, Techmamas, It's My Life, The Silent I, Xiaolinmama, FreitasFamily, WhosTheBoss, and our host, Citymama. Volunteers went over some tips that every family should know about being prepared for a disaster, and we walked through Citymama's chic apartment and discussed ways for her to make it more disaster-ready. I left feeling empowered with all the knowledge I had gained, and determined to do more to prepare my own family.


I won't list down everything that we went through in our demonstration -- Robyn from Who's the Boss already has a comprehensive, informative summary of our disaster preparedness talk And I won't go through all the details of what should be in your family disaster plan -- you can download everything you need from the CalVolunteers website, including a customizable book for kids. But I will go through the contents of the disaster kit that California Volunteers presented us at the end of the event. If you don't have one yet, it's super-easy to make one. Just grab a backpack and stuff it with the following supplies:



1) A flashlight and batteries. We were given a solar-powered flashlight/radio, which also had a crank handle so you could power it up by winding the handle for a couple of minutes.

2) A first aid kit. You can buy one at any drugstore, or you can assemble one yourself.

3) A blanket. The one in our kit was one of those insulating foil blankets, but if you have the space, I suppose any blanket will do. If you've ever been given one of those Slankets as a present, here's where it can go.


4) Food. That protein brick is definitely something you'd only want to eat in an emergency, so I intend to throw some energy bars into the backpack as well.

5) Water. We received water purifying tablets as well as drinking water in foil packets, but I suppose bottled water works just as well.


6) Personal Hygiene items. Everything in the photo above falls under the "What if we need to take refuge in our car or a church or a gym or some other shelter": Baby wipes, disinfecting wipes, cleansing cloths, tampons and freshening spray. I'm not suggesting you pack your entire skincare regimen, but these are small "luxuries" that will help you feel human in inhumane conditions.


Everything fits neatly into a regular-sized backpack. You should have one handy in your home, and another in your car. It's a small but significant step towards preparing you and your family for a disaster!


Can't seem to get around to putting one of these together? Would you like to receive one of these kits, all ready-made? I'm giving away 12 disaster kits on Bonggamom Finds -- head on over to my giveaway post and leave a comment to enter.

Hack Attack!

This morning when I checked my inbox I found an email from the parent of one of The Pea's friends, entitled "I Need Your Help". Babysitter cancel on her? Does she need me to pick up her daughter? No problem.

The body of the email read:
Hello,
How are you doing ? I hope you are doing fine, I'm sorry that I didn't inform you about my traveling to England for a Seminar. I need a favor from you as soon as you receive this e-mail because I misplaced my wallet on my way to the hotel where my money,and other valuable things were kept, I will like you to assist me with a soft loan urgently. I will be needing the sum of $2,500 to sort-out my hotel bills and get myself back home.

I will appreciate whatever you can afford to help me with, I will pay you back as soon as I return,I'm counting on you on this, Kindly let me know if you can be of help so I can send you my details to use when sending the money through western union.I look forward to read from you later today.

Your reply will be greatly appreciated.

It was signed with her name.

Now, I'm no fool. I wasn't about to head to the nearest Western Union. For one thing, they live in a big, beautiful house in Palo Alto, so I doubt if she'd need to turn to me for a couple of thousand bucks. For another, any friend would call instead of email. If anyone doesn't know that email is a blatant scam, I've got a nice bridge I'd like to sell you.

So I emailed her back, --typing in her email address directly into the "To" field, not replying to the scam email -- and let her know that some phisher was masking their "from" address and using hers instead.

Imagine my surprise when I received her response:
Thanks a lot for your response and concern,I really need the money and I will appreciate if you can send it today. You can send the money to my details below through western union transfer or money gram, all you have to do is go to the closest western union location or money gram with the money in cash and instruct the agent to wire it to my personal details below.

Name : My friend's first, middle and last name
Address: 327 Great Peter Street.
London. SW1P 3NQ

Please As soon as you send the Money I will like you to email me the 10 digits (Mtcn) Numbers and all the details used in sending the money to me, I am counting on you okay.
I look forward to read from you later today.

Again, it was signed with her name. The email really was sent from her email account!

So I tried to call her home and mobile number, but couldn't reach it. I called her husband's mobile and he told me that someone had indeed gotten hold of her email account (she can't access it now) and was spamming everyone on her address list. The hacker stole her credit card information as well, and charged $4000 to her card.

Ick! Ick! Ick! Needless to say, she's a bit internet-shy at the moment, and they'll be running some serious anti-virus and firewall software on their home computer before she attempts to log on again. And it's a sober reminder that these things do happen. The only things I can think of to minimize the impact would be:

1) Periodically backup your contacts and email list to your computer so that if you get hacked like this, you can always create a new email account and let your friends know that they should treat your old account like spam.

2) Don't include sensitive information like credit card numbers or passwords in your email account (like Yahoo! Notepad, etc..).

3) Make sure you have a firewall and virus protection software.

Even if you do take precautions, I think we all still have to pray that something like this doesn't happen to us. And Thank God (or big banks) for credit card fraud protection.

The Alzheimer's Project

As a writer for the Silicon Valley Moms Blog, I've been privileged to meet some great women like Elizabeth Edwards and Maria Shriver. Last week I had the opportunity to interact with Maria Shriver again on a conference call as she spoke about her latest undertaking, The Alzheimer's Project, a 4-part documentary that premiered on HBO last night. The mini-series aims to educate people about the true face of Alzheimer's disease

The subject is close to Maria's heart as her father, Sarge Shriver, suffers from Alzheimer's. She has written a book on how to talk to children whose grandparents are suffering from the disease, "What's happening to Grandpa?". She's an executive producer of this series and she's narrating the second part (airing tonight on HBO at 7:30PM), "Grandpa, do you know Who I Am?".

As usual, Maria was warm and friendly, answering all our questions with clarity and passion. Here are some excerpts from the conversation (or as much as I could scribble of it with the kids screaming and running around in the next room):

Q: As mothers choose to have children later in life, does this affect their chances of getting the disease? Does this have anything to do with the link between Down's Syndrome and Alzheimers?
A: There does not appear to be a relation between Alzheimer's and having kids at a later age, but there is a link between Down's Syndrome and Alzheimers. The documentary does not cover this topic, but if this is a concern, then you should do some research (try the Alzheimer's Association) and speak with your healthcare provider.

Q: Is there a genetic or hereditary link for Alzheimer's? What is the science behind the predictability of this disease?
A: There are so many factors, but there is a genetic link for early onset of the disease. If you have a parent who had Alzheimer's at an early age, go to your doctor and ask for an expert in dementia, say you have a family history of early onset Alzheimer's and ask about testing for genes or markers for Alzheimer's.

Q: Bloggers have become a force in the media. What can we as bloggers do to bring more attention and funding to the issue?
A: We can lobby local representatives, congressmen and senators to allocate more research money to the issue. We can join Alzheimer's support groups. We can share our stories and put a young face to the disease -- because make no mistake about it, this is a young person's disease. Alzheimer's affects everyone in a family, with respect to the lifestyle changes and costs associated with the disease. Seventy percent of Alzheimer's patients are cared for at home, and 70% of caregivers are women, often providing unpaid care. Together we can drive the pressure to find a cure.

Maria has inspired many of the writers of the Silicon Valley Moms Blog to write about the Alzheimer's Project and their own personal experiences with Alzheimer's. You can read their stories here. And I'll definitely be watching tonight's episode!

The Gay Queen - Beauty Queen Smackdown!

When I heard on the telly this morning that Miss California's views on gay marriage supposedly cost her the Miss USA title, I assumed that Miss California had strong pro-gay-marriage views and Middle America (as evidenced by the judges' scores) did not approve . I don't know why; maybe it's because everyone I know in Silicon Valley supports gay rights, and I thought Miss California would mirror California's liberal tendencies. I heard Perez Hilton's name mentioned and I thought he must be championing her, saying she was robbed of the crown because she supports gay marriage.

So when I heard the full story, I was surprised and saddened. Not because she stood her ground and stayed true to her religious beliefs, but because those religious beliefs are making life hell for gays who just want the same legal rights as everyone else. So many people cite the Bible and God's will as reason for their opposition to gay marriage, but that argument doesn't make sense because laws shouldn't reflect the views of any particular religious affiliation. They can ban gay marriage in their churches all they want, damn gays to hell in their speeches and whatnot -- that is their right according to the First Amendment (see, I still remember my US citizenship material!). But it's not fair to deny two people the same legal status and rights that are given freely to other people, simply because of their sexual preferences -- and because of other people's condemnation of said sexual preferences.

So yes, I was suprised. But then again, maybe I shouldn't be. After all, California did ban same-sex marriage last November. Living where we do, it's hard to remember that there are many more people like Carrie Prejean living in California. Despite all the boos she received for her answers, despite losing the crown, it's undeniable that Carrie Prejean reflects the views of a great many people in the US. But the fact remains that she did get boos. And she did lose the crown. So maybe things are changing.

Morbid thoughts on a rainy day

When you're snuggled up under the covers on a cold, rainy day, and the kids are all downstairs having breakfast with daddy, the last thing you want to do with your 30 minutes of peace is to be thinking about death. But I was watching Bonnie Erbe's To The Contrary on PBS, and the topic was Asian-American women and retirement.



I always knew that women live longer than men in general, and that Asians have relatively long lifespans, but I guess I never really put the two together -- Asian American women's lifespan is about 86 years, 5 years longer than for white females, and almost 10 years longer than for African Americans. Nor have I really thought about out how I'm going to afford all those extra years of life (apparently 28% of retired Asian Americans rely solely on Social Security for income).



The segment was a good wake-up call because at the rate I'm going, my retirement savings will be firmly entrenched in the 5-digits for years to come. Not that Alfie is in a much better position -- both of our 401k accounts have been decimated by the stock market crash, money has been tight and his 401k contribution is only enough to match whatever his company gives as a benefit. But still, every little bit helps. Alfie has his 401k contributions, we put away a little bit each month for the kids' college funds -- but what about me? What's a stay-at-home mom to do? I know about spousal IRA's, but are there any other options? Hey Bonnie, there's a topic for your next show......

The signs of our times

Home-made signs ruled at today's No on 8 rally at San Jose City Hall. Sure, there lots of the familiar, glossy "Vote No on Prop 8" signs. But the home-made ones were way better. Some were funny. Some were angry. Some were touching. All reflected the diversity of the people who attended the rally, and the real passion behind the cause.

My top three favorites:

(BTW, the "parents" in this little boy's sign happen to be two men. They were absolutely doting on him, just like any other parents, anywhere. With two loving parents, I'd say that little boy is going to do just fine).

Celebrating Bella

Bella was one of 3Po and Jammy's very first friends. They first met when they were about 15 months old, at childcare, when 3Po bit Bella's arm. Fortunately, Bella's mom, the Divine Miss B, is the wisest of women. Instead of huffily carting her child away from my son's sharp teeth, she laughed it off and figured that either 3Po would grow out of it or Bella would learn to defend herself. She was right. The biting stopped, and a friendship -- between kids and moms -- started.

Even though Miss B moved to Texas a couple of years ago, she is still a kindred spirit and I still count her as a good friend. She never ceases to amaze me. She's a lawyer, wife, volunteer, long-distance walker and homeschooling mother to three girls under six. Now she's adding author to her long list of accomplishments. Scheduled for publication sometime in 2009, Celebrating Bella , is intended to be a resource for parents struggling to understand and help a child with autism spectrum disorders. That is so like Miss B; in chronicling her own experiences with Bella, she has come up with a way to help other parents avoid having to go through what she did. You go, girl.



Miss B is currently in the midst of research for the book and would love to hear from people with personal experiences with autism spectrum disorders: as a parent, teacher or young adult dealing with these issues. If you are interested in sharing your experiences, please head over to her website, Celebrating Bella, and fill out a brief questionnaire.

Here's my vote, where's yours?

I'm really bummed that my US citizenship application did not push through in time for me to vote in today's elections (blame an interview appointment that conflicted with a trip abroad, a rescheduling notice lost in the mail, and the frustrating, inexplicable delays). But if I were allowed to go into a polling booth today, here's how I would vote:


Elected Officials:
President/VP: Barack Obama/Joe Biden
US Representative, District 14: Anna Eshoo
State Senator, District 11: Joe Simitian
State Assemblymember, District 21: Ira Ruskin
Judge, Office No. 8:
Santa Clara County Board of Education Trustee, Area 1: Grace Mah

Hmmmmm..... who should we vote for president in the most important election of our time? Let's see...... the war in Iraq needs to end .... we need a healthcare system that doesn't bankrupt people.... it's been proven that the financial markets actually DO need a bit of government intervention..... rich people need to help out the people who made them so stinking rich in the first place...... we need a leader who can restore the US's reputation around the world ..... the country needs a change from George Bush..... was there any doubt that I'd vote for Obama/Biden?

As for the rest.... I'd vote to keep the incumbents because haven't heard anything negative about their performance so far. And I'd vote for Grace Mah because I've seen her in action, campaigning for Mandarin immersion in Palo Alto schools, and I know this girl gets things done.



Below are the measures I support (I have left out a number of measures because I haven't done enough research on the issue to have an intelligent opinion one way or the other)

California State Measures:
Prop 1A: No
High speed trains sound great, but the need for local public transportation is much greater.

Prop 2: Yes
Yes, we're prepared to pay higher prices in exchange for better animal treatment standards. Besides, have you seen the state of chicken farms in China? Remember where the avian flu came from? Do you want to risk all sorts of diseases coming from crowded conditions like that?

Prop 4: No
This was a Really Tough One, I think the toughest of all. I'm Catholic and I'm pro-choice, but I'm against abortion (Wha-ha-hat? For explanation, I refer you to Joe Biden's brilliant, rational and compassionate defense of his pro-choice position, which is exactly how I feel). If my teenage daughter got pregnant I'd want to know about it so I could do everything I could to discourage her from getting an abortion. But notification is not consent. If The Pea really wanted to go through with it, there would be no way I could stop her anyway. Teens who will not or cannot tell their parents they are having an abortion will simply ignore this law and find a way to go through with it anyway. So they need to have access to safe and legal procedures. Yes, the measure does have an "out" that allows minors to bypass the requirement, but it requires spilling all your secrets to a judicial court, or telling Social Services that your legal guardian has molested you. Like any girl is going to opt for that!

Prop 8: No.
Let people live their lives the way they want to, they're not harming you! Whatever your religious views on same-sex marriage, this is a legal issue. Your church can say marriage is between a man and a woman and condemn all homosexuals to hell, it's their business. But that's church and this is state, and all couples should be treated equally under law. Otherwise, it's like having different water fountains, oh yes, they're both water fountains so why should you complain if you have to use your own water fountain and not mine? Even though my water fountain gives me cold, filtered water and yours gives you warm tap water, they're still the same......


Santa Clara County measures:
Measure A: Yes
Do I want to be in a hospital during a minor earthquake and have the ceiling collapse on me? Heck, no. I hated paying an arm and a leg for the seismic safety upgrade of our 1920's house -- but we did it anyway. When safety is at stake, it's an easy decision. And besides, we'd spend a whole lot more to rebuild the house.

Measure B: Yes
The Valley needs more public transportation, and the systems that already exist need to be connected. How else are we going to ease the congestion on our roads and pollution in the air?

Palo Alto city measures
Measure N: No
Sorry, I love the libraries, but it's just too much money in a time when there's not enough money to go around. I said yes on Measures A and B, and there's just not enough in our budget for Measure N. Sacrifices are being made all around, and this is a luxury we'll have to forego. Better yet, get rid of the branch libraries and concentrate resources on a single library (and yes, I'd be happy to drive from North Palo Alto to a single, new and improved Mitchell Park library).



For all you US citizens -- you don't know how lucky you are. You are in a privileged position to make a real difference in how your money is used, in how your state is run, in what direction your country takes. Heck, the US is such a powerful nation that your vote can even affect the way the world turns. So USE that vote! If you don't want, it, I'll gladly have it!

A message from the anti-US cities in the US

I've always known that the writers on the Silicon Valley Moms Group are smart, sassy and savvy. Here's a video that New York Moms Blog writer Amyhas posted on YouTube, speaking for all the people who live in the big-city, anti-American parts of the country (that only exist in Sarah Palin's mind):

Give, baby, give!

This October, I'm joining my fellow Silicon Valley Mom bloggers in DonorsChoose.org's 2008 Blogger Challenge. Click here to read all the good reasons why you should join us as well.

Here's how it works:

Go to the Silicon Valley Moms Blog Donors Choose page.

Scroll through the list of projects we are supporting. These proposals were submitted by real, live teachers in classrooms in underpriviledged areas.

Choose a project and type in the amount you want to donate to that project.

By the way, you can give as little as $1. Yup, that's right. That's 72 Euro. 57 British pence. 105 Yen. If you're feeling ashamed of that itty-bitty-amount, think of it as 9,444 Indonesian Rupiahs. I even tried it myself and they let me.

(I know, I can see you jeering cheeeeep!!, but I wanted to see if it was really true. After all, if The Pea gives a dollar of her allowance, that's significant considering she has less than $50 to her name. And I did go back and make a more substantial donation.)

We have nothing to offer you except our undying thanks and the satisfaction of knowing you've helped further the education of kids who truly need it. No, I won't be dancing through Rockerfeller Center dressed as a tomato as Sarah Bunting did after she and the readers of her blog, Tomato Nation, helped raise $100,000 (she's taking her tomato costume to the White House this year). For one thing, I don't have a tomato costume...... although I do have a pumpkin costume that I wore in 2003, when I was 7 months pregnant with twins. Hmmmm.....

Ovarian Cancer: Know your body. Know the symptoms. Spread the word.

We're all familiar with the pink ribbon symbolizing Breast Cancer awareness. But did you know there's a teal ribbon as well? I've just found out that September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. Why am I blogging about it? Because I've found out that lack of awareness is one of the two main factors contibuting to the late diagnosis of this "silent killer". So join me and help spread the word:

* According to the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance, about 20,000 women in the U.S. are diagnosed with the disease -- and about 15,000 women will die from it.

* The statistics look bleak. Many women don't seek help until the disease has begun to spread -- approximately 75 percent of ovarian cancer cases are diagnosed after the cancer has spread beyond the ovary. And the overall five-year survival rate is 46%.

* Early detection is key. If detected at its earliest stage, before the cancer has spread, the 5 year survival rate is more than 93%. But currently only 19% of cases are diagnosed at this stage.

* There are no routine screening tests for ovarian cancer (Pap smears test for cervical cancer). However, recent research suggests that together the 4 symptoms of bloating, pelvic or abdominal pain, difficulty eating or feeling full quickly and urinary urgency or frequency may be associated with ovarian cancer.

Visit the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance's website for more information about symptoms and early detection.

The Livestrong Challenge in Photos

When I first heard about the LiveStrong Challenge, I was interested because it was a fitness event. I saw it as something concrete to train for. But somewhere along the way, the cause became bigger than the run.


Even when I picked up my race number at the Livestrong Village on the day before the race, it was clear where the focus lay. Volunteers had set up a memorial wall where people pinned their tributes to family and friends who have/had cancer.



I painted my own mini-memorial wall on the back of my Livestrong tshirt. Actually, "mini" is a relative term; 24 names, and I still have more to paint. The cancer gene runs strong in my extended family: my dad, his sister, his father, his mother, all 3 of his mother's sisters, two of his father's siblings, many of their children, and so on. That's way too many, and that's why the Livestrong Foundation's work is so important.



Race day was fun, impressive and moving all at the same time (and you can get more gory details here). The fun part was getting little freebies, getting my mock magazine cover photo taken, meeting up with my teammates, running through an outdoor shower right after crossing the finish line.



The impressive part was getting to see Lance Armstrong in action. I'm not a stalker or anything, but I'm a huge admirer. I've always thought that he must be some kind of super-human being, a freak outlier of the normal curve of humanity. I got to see him take off at the starting line (that's him in the yellow jersey in the lead, thanks Linsey for the photo)....



.... saw him streak across the finish line after his 65-mile ride....



.. and even caught a glimpse of his very athletic behind as he did a cooldown lap, yellow survivor's rose in hand.


The moving part, of course, were the people and the stories. I was surprised at the waves of emotion that hit me while I was gasping for breath on the course. If you saw me, I wasn't wiping sweat from my face. I was wiping tears. I was moved to see so many who came to show support for their loved ones as well as survivors who came to celebrate life. Survivors like my teammates Linsey and Courtney (click here and here to read their incredible stories). Like the group of women I met, who had flown in from all over the country to support their sister/sister-in-law/friend, who had beaten not 1 but 2 cancers.



People like Judy Ann Regan, who is still recovering from brain aneurism surgery that occurred a year ago, who did the 100-mile bike ride on a stationary cycle because her doctors said she was not fit enough to do the actual bike ride (she actually beat Lance Armstrong; she reached 65 miles about 5 or 10 minutes before Lance crossed the finish line!). Now that is what I call leaving cancer behind in the dust.

Support

This Sunday, I'm showing my support for the people I know who have or have had cancer. Please join me -- even just wearing this wristband lets people know you're aware. For a chance to get your own Livestrong wristband for free, click here.

For more kinds of support, click here.

Go Ahead. Pick a Fight. And Kick Cancer in the Ass.

Today is LiveStrong Day, the Lance Armstrong Foundation's one-day initiative to raise awareness and funds for the fight against cancer.

Like so many people, cancer has affected the lives of people I love. There is a strong history of cancer running on my dad's side; both his mother and father, my late grandparents, had it. We've lost them, and some of their brothers and sisters, my great-uncles and great-aunts, to cancer. My aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer about a decade ago, and my father was diagnosed with prostate cancer a couple of years ago. Both of them underwent successful treatment and are in remission. I have some wonderful friends who have had cancer.

I can't cure their cancer or ease their pain. But I can show my support. To anyone who is fighting this disease: You are amazing. You are beautiful. Your courage is an inspiration to me.

So today I am painting my blog yellow. And I am joining the San Jose Livestrong Challenge on July 13. I invite everyone to lace up their shoes and join as well. For today only, if you sign up to bike or run at any of the LiveStrong Challenges around the country, you'll get 50% off the registration fee. Just use the discount code LSDAY08 when you register online.

If running / walking/ biking is not your thing, you can still help by donating $5 to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Just go to my Livestrong webpage and use the secure online donation form. Or donate via the main LiveStrong Foundation donation page. I don't care. Every little bit helps the foundation provide support to patients and research programs. These people are fighting and they need all the help they can get.

Spread awareness, not malaria!

Today is World Malaria Day. Malaria. It sounds like such an antiquated disease, one that should have gone away with polio and ricketts. But it is very real for too many people today.

It kills up to 3 MILLION people each year.

It is one of the leading causes of death for children.

Malaria is entirely curable and preventable! Anti-malarial drugs are becoming accessible to even the poorest people on the planet. And just sleeping under a mosquito net can prevent the disease from striking.

Only poverty and ignorance and apathy and stopping us from eradicating this disease. So please join me and people all over the world in spreading awareness of this horrible disease.

Bloggers, let's spread some linky love: If you are blogging about malaria and World Malaria Day, leave me a comment and I'll go to your site, pronto, and leave a comment too!

What's your kid's Eco Footprint?

.. and for more Earth Day fun, check out my post at the Silicon Valley Moms Blog on how we're getting the kids involved. Happy Earth Day, everyone!

What's your Eco Footprint?

To commemorate Earth Day, The Pea and her Brownie troupe spent Sunday afternoon cleaning up the bike path near the railroad trash. She and five other seven-year-old girls picked up trash for two hours. It got me thinking about how the rest of us could celebrate Earth Day as well.

Over the past few years, we've made several lifestyle changes to lessen our impact on the environment:

* I walk with The Pea to school each morning
* Alfie takes his 45 miles-per-gallon motorcycle to work each day
* We recycle paper, aluminum, glass and plastic
* We use filtered tap water instead of bottled spring water.
* We use cloth bags instead of paper or plastic to carry groceries
* We use a front-loading clothes washer
* We wash almost everything in cold water
* We planted native, drought-tolerant plants in our back yard
* We use a drip irrigation system to water our plants
* We use non-toxic, earth-friendly cleaning products
* We pack lunches in reusable containers


But before you wear yourselves out patting me on the back, realize that we still have a long way to go before we can say that we live an eco-friendly lifestyle. For instance:

* We use way too many paper towels. I try to rationalize this by telling myself that I'd have to wash the dirty dishcloths anyway and use up more water.

* I semi-lied about using non-toxic, earth-friendly cleaning products and packing lunch in reusable containers. I do use Method and Simply Green cleaning products, but I had to switch back from Ecover laundry detergent to regular Tide -- Ecover just wasn't getting those stains out. Ditto for our automatic dishwasher detergent (I went back to Cascade). Again, I told myself that washing a pile of dirty dishes for the second time around ends up using more water, which isn't good for the environment anyway.

* And I also semi-lied about the reusable containers. Sometimes (ok, lots of times) I get lazy and I pack sandwiches in ziplock plastic bags.

* We buy most of groceries the old-fashioned way, from a regular grocery store. Yes, we do stock up on pesticide-laden tomatoes and grapes imported from Chile and milk with hormones and non-local, processed, overly-packaged food. And we buy waaay too many single-serve bottles of water or juice for lunch boxes and travel.

* We still drive the van quite a bit. The boys' preschool, the gym, the kids' ballet, soccer and ice-skating lessons are all too far away to walk. And I still like to go on occasional late-night runs to Target.

* I've been telling myself that I should dry our bedsheets and towels on a clothesline but I just can't bring myself to do it.


So in reality, my Ecological Footprint sucks. According to a test I took on the Earth Day network, it would take almost 6 Planet Earths to support mankind if everyone lived like me. Part of that is a consequence of living in a developed country (the US in particular), and I can deal with that. I'm not about to give up little luxuries like electricity or central heating or chicken breasts in styrofoam trays.

But I know there are still ways we can chip away at our wasteful lifestyle to do our part to save the Earth -- line-drying the sheets, learning to live without strawberries in winter, doing away with ziploc bags once and for all. There's no time like the present to begin. After all, it's Earth Day -- and doesn't the planet deserve a gift from humankind for once?