How to care for your seeds…

• Until you’re ready to plant or soak seeds for planting, always keep seeds perfectly dry. Moisture is the death of seeds, at least until they’re in the soil.
• If you collect and save your own seeds allow them to sit at room temp until perfectly dry. After that store in a small container or envelope in a cool place away from moisture and bugs. Some people won’t save seeds in common everyday envelopes, thinking they do need a fancy seed saving kit, but I’ve always stored saved seeds in plain old envelopes with zero trouble.
• Long term seed storage may require more than a simple envelope though. My local extension offers a good way to save seeds for the long-term; “place seed packets or seed envelopes in a jar, seal the jar tightly and place it in a refrigerator or freezer. To help avoid too much moisture, place a small, cloth bag filled with dry, powdered milk beneath the seed packets in the bottom of the jar. Use about 1/2 cup of dry milk from a recently opened package.“
• Label! When it comes to seed saving or if you accidentally rip a package, label and date the new envelope. I’ve forgotten to label before and it’s such a waste if you forget to label a hard to recognize seed.
• Unless you’re dealing with hard seeds, for example lupine or morning glory, handle seed packets carefully. If you rub the outside of the packet to see if you can tell how many seeds are in there or try to open a packet while wearing garden gloves (tough) you can break the protective seed coating which reduces germination odds.
• In order to avoid waste and to avoid harming fragile seeds sow tiny carefully. Snip the smallest bit of corner off your seed packet and carefully tap the packet gently allowing some seeds to escape to the soil.

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Blisstree

Treat your garden seeds with care

The Sony Ericsson Aspen is a windows mobile QWERTY phone primarily for heavy message and calendar users. This newest Green Heart edition is feature rich and allows for easy multi-tasking combining the touch experience and a real QWERTY keyboard. You can organize and adapt panels to change during the day and use a Slide View for quick access to common features.

Other perks:

• View and edit office files easily with one touch operation.
• Access the internet in one click.
• The QWERTY keyboard is made for fast and easy typing.
• Simple email set up.
• Secure your phone’s contents through the Microsoft MyPhone service, which remotely erases phone data when the handset is lost or stolen.
• Use the Media Browser and PlayNow for fun and access to social networks and media files.
• There’s a-GPS, Google Maps and a cool 3.2megapixel camera.

The Sony Ericsson Green Heart phones include eco-friendly features that benefit the earth and help reduce CO2 emissions such as…

• Recycled plastics
• E-manual in phone
• Free from hazardous chemicals
• Low power consumption charger (EP300 GreenHeart)
• Walk Mate eco application
• Green calculator
• Minimized packaging

Sony Ericsson Aspen will be available in selected markets from Q2 in Iconic Black and White Silver. You can also create your own phone booth with optional extra Bluetooth Noise Shield Handsfree VH700 and charge your phone the eco-friendly way with the Energy Saving Mini-Charger EP800.

[images via Sony Ericsson]

Post from: Blisstree

Sony Ericsson Releasing Green Smart Phone

The film received American Humane’s highest rating — Monitored: Outstanding / No Animals Were Harmed.

“American Humane applauds ‘Avatar’ director James Cameron and the production for earning our highest rating by ensuring the safety of the animals used in the filming,” said Karen Rosa, vice president of American Humane’s Film & TV Unit.

She added that PETA was apparently unaware that live animals were used in the film for motion capture.

How did the animals figure in with the making of “Avatar”?

So that movements and expressions could be captured, human performers in “Avatar” wore computerized motion sensors near their joints and facial areas. However, the animals had to be captured differently due to their body shapes and fur.

Animals required a bit more preparation in order to record motion data. Trainers shaved small areas of fur or hair near joints and on the face. They also attached Velcro pads with white light-reflective balls to the shaved spots with a nontoxic, nonirritating silicone adhesive. Horses’ tails were wrapped in a sensor-laden material rather than being shaved.

American Humane explained that in scenes where horses appear to be near fire, trainers cued them to act skittish or afraid. The horses were never near fire or actually agitated. All adhesive and any other markings on the animals were washed off each evening after filming ended. American Humane strongly approves of CGI to increase animal safety during filming.

In situations where there may be dangerous animal action, American Humane will “strongly encourage simulating the action through the use of computer-generated images (CGI), animatronics or fake animal doubles to minimize the risk of injury to animals,” Rosa noted.

(Image credit: Newscom)

Post from: Blisstree

Animals Used in the Making of Avatar

If the tour is in your area, please visit.

Upcoming stops include HALO Animal Rescue in Phoenix on February 9, the Houston Humane Society on February 12 and the Humane Society of Broward County in Fort Lauderdale on February 16. Read the complete list of tour stops.

And, since Martha Stewart is assisting with the effort, you may also help from the comfort of your own home or office.

Visit MarthaStewart.com/pet-adoption and share the profile of your favorite adoptable pet with your Facebook friends! Simply use the handy search tool to find a cute dog or cat, then connect with Facebook with a click and add your own personalized message if you want.

For each profile shared, Purina ONE will donate $1 worth of food to pet food banks across the US to help feed pets in need. They’ll donate up to $50,000 worth of pet food if enough pet profiles are shared between January 15 and March 31, 2010.

Visit now to share a pet with your Facebook friends. It takes less than three minutes (unless, of course, you get caught up looking at all the sweet pets).

(Image via Purina ONE)

Post from: Blisstree

Donate for Free to Help Pets in Need

The research from the University of California – Davis was published online today in the February issue of the journal Autism Research. The study is important since it’s one of the largest to quantify how each parent’s age (separately and together) impacts the risk of autism in children.

The risk of having a child with autism increased by 18% for each five-year increase in maternal age. This means that a mom aged 40 is 50% more likely to give birth to a child later diagnosed with autism than a mom aged 25 to 29 years.

Janie Shelton, lead author of the study and a doctoral student at UC Davis, said:

“This study challenges a current theory in autism epidemiology that identifies the father’s age as a key factor in increasing the risk of having a child with autism. It shows that while maternal age consistently increases the risk of autism, the father’s age only contributes an increased risk when the father is older and the mother is under 30 years old. Among mothers over 30, increases in the father’s age do not appear to further increase the risk of autism.”

Among the births to moms younger than 25, children fathered by a male more than 40 years old were twice as likely to develop autism compared to children whose father was between 25 and 29. However, for moms more than 30 years old, the increased risk of older dads went away.

For the study, researchers used e-records detailing all live births in California between January 1990 and December 1999. The records included both the maternal and paternal ages of parents. To find out which kids developed autism, researchers used records from the state Department of Developmental Services.

All said, the research included approximately 4.9 million births and 12,159 cases of autism.

Researchers aren’t yet sure why advanced age affects autism risk. Some theories include maternal antibodies to fetal brain protein or an accumulation of environmental chemicals in the body.

(Image via stock.xchng)

Post from: Blisstree

Maternal Age Linked with Autism Risk

My kit includes:

• Brand new trashcan from the dollar store and liners
• Box of tissues
• Brand new DVD (I have a grown up sports related option and a kids’ cartoon option)
• Freezer pops (Pedialyte version and junky fruit drink version)
• Ginger ale
• New stuffed toy (Not really appreciated by a sick grown up man, but it makes kids smile.)
• Can of chicken soup
• Saltines

Now, I know I always have what I need on hand if someone gets a virus, including a little treat to make all that time laying around feeling icky seem a little less awful. If a child is the one feeling ill, we do some sick day activities once he or she feels a little better.

Do you have a sick day kit?

Photo: SXC

Post from: Blisstree

Sick Day Kit

Earth911.com, one of my fave places to get recycling info, and a provider of the nation’s leading Local Recycling and Disposal Directory, just released the results of its 2009 Annual Recycling Report. They added up consumer searches at their site along with other data and came up with a list of the most recycled items.

THE WINNER: Electronics such as computers, batteries and televisions lead the way when it comes to recycling. According to Earth911, the top 10 products consumers looked to recycle in 2009 using Earth911’s Database were:

1. Computers
2. Batteries
3. Televisions
4. Paint
5. Aluminum Cans
6. Used Motor Oil
7. CFLs
8. Glass
9. Fluorescent Lamps
10. Christmas Trees

Earth911, if you didn’t know, is a super handy resource if you want to recycle just about anything. You can head to their website and enter your zip code and the item you’d like to recycle, i.e. plastic #4, batteries, cell phones, and so much more, and the site will shoot you back drop-off sites and recycling services in your area. In fact Earth911 offers information on more than 117,000 recycling locations and recycling programs for more than 240 materials.

Other interesting points from the report:

• Recycling searches grew by 12% in 2009 versus 2008, averaging almost 7,000 daily inquiries.
• California & Texas searched the most for recycling information on Earth911.com. That surprised me – Texas? You don’t think of them when you think of recycling. That’s cool though.
• Money is the top factor preventing people from being more “green.” Which is lame IMO because it’s not expensive to live green. Accessibility to recycling and knowing how and what to recycle were the other major recycling problems people said they faced.

View the entire report (pdf). It’s an interesting read.

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Blisstree

And the most recycled item of 2009 is…?

These treats are easy as can be to make, and can easily be cut into cute little heart shapes after the dough has been rolled out. I like to leave the baking pan of biscuits in the oven for several hours after I’ve turned it off, and then keep the biscuits out on the counter for a few more hours after that to make sure they’re completely dried out before putting them in a container.

Valentine’s Day Dog Biscuits

1 1/4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup beef broth
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup powdered milk

~ Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.

~ In a large bowl, stir together the cheese, oil, beef broth and garlic.

~ Combine the whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, cornmeal and powdered milk; stir into the cheese mixture until well blended. You may need to use your hand to properly blend the dough.

~ On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Use a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut out the treats. Place them onto the prepared baking sheet 1 1/2 inches apart.

~ Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until the treats are firm and the bottoms are lightly browned. Cool on wire racks.

[image: flickr]

Post from: Blisstree

Valentine’s Day Dog Biscuits

When I see all these young people posting private messages and candid photos on social media outlets, I wonder if they realize what some of the ramifications can be.   Often the information is what we would have whispered in secret to our best friend.  Nowadays, it’s made public for all one’s friends and often friends of friends, which translates into strangers.  In some cases, I’ve even seen parents commenting on these private messages which seems to indicate they think it’s okay to go public (naked) before the world.

Do you think your youngsters are becoming too public?  Do you know what they write on Twitter, Facebook and other similar venues?  Do you know what family information they are giving out?  Do you know who they are adding as friends and communicating with?

Mark Evans has a good article about this and the implications, Is There a Limit to Our PublicNess? 

In general, most people don’t realize the ramifications of placing all your private information out for everyone to see.  Perhaps we need to teach our youngsters more about privacy in regards to the information and photos they publish about their life and others.

What are your thoughts? 

(Gossip image: sxc.hu)

Post from: Blisstree

Are Your Youngsters Becoming Too Public?

There was hope that medicinal marijuana would provide help for people with Alzheimers because earlier animal studies had shown that marijuana could reduce the plaques in the brain that are the hallmark of Alzheimers.

Although this new study, from the University of British Columbia, is also an animal study, it was done with mice, which are considered to be a better match for human studies, while the previous ones were done on rats.

The researcher used the same methods (giving doses of HU210, a synthetic form of the compounds found in marijuana) on the mice but the mice did not respond the same way, in fact, there was no improvement over the mice that did not receive HU210, and the mice who received even higher levels, lost brain cells.

~~~

Image: Newscom.com

Post from: Blisstree

Marijuana Likely No Help in Alzheimer’s