How Schools Kill Creativity.

Here's another video. This one is by Ken Robinson about how our schools, and our society really, helps to kill our creativity rather than encourage it. Creativity is something I have been thinking about for a while now. I've finally realized that intelligence shouldn't really be measured by the amount of information we can cram into our heads, but rather our ability to create solutions to problems, or just create a song or piece of art. In fact I believe that when we constantly fill our head with information, we leave less room for truly innovative ideas.

There are some interesting ideas in this video about how even parents can stifle creativity. I paid close attetion to this since I have to young ones and have done some of the that Ken talks about here.

Anyway, this is a powerful speach that I thought some of you would enjoy.

The Paradox of Choice.

This is a video I found by Barry Schwartz. He talks about how freedom of choice can actually be harmful rather than helpful. It can actually paralyze a person instead of setting them free.
I think this really describes a whole lot of people in the "Western" societies.

With so many choices in life, it can really be hard to make decisions.

I've studied Sociology for 3 years and I really think this is one of the huge problems in our culture.
I know it's 19 minutes long, but trust me, it's worth the watch.

Peanut Products Recalled for Salmonella

There has been a recall on peanut products in Canada and the US that might be contaminated with salmonella. Ice cream, chocolate bars, and a whole wack of other stuff.

You can read the story on the CBC website.

The recall is the result of an outbreak of salmonella in the U.S. that has
sickened at least 529 people. At least eight might have died.
The alert
issued by the agency also warns consumers about foods manufactured in the U.S.
that contain recalled peanuts in various forms. The foods contain whole or
crushed peanuts or peanuts that have been turned into a butter, paste or
powder.
The list of foods includes U.S.-made snack bars with brand names such
as Cinch, Detour and Oh Yeah! The list also includes the Disney Hannah Montana
Peanut Chocolate Granola Bar and Sinbad Sweets Baklava Assortment.
The
outbreak is being linked to peanuts processed at a Georgia-based Peanut Corp. of
America plant. The nuts have been widely used as an ingredient in various
processed food manufactured in both the U.S. and Canada.
More than 430
products have been recalled in the U.S. while the CFIA has recalled more
than 120.

The FDA list is around 1500 recalls and I'm sure the Canadian one is growing. Please keep updated on this folks. They are already saying some people may have died from this.


Here is the alert and a list of recalled products from the CFIA (Canada)

This list is from the Food and Drug Administration (US)

PLEASE BE CAREFUL ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE EATING!

That's all for now folks.

LG 150 Cell Phone Recalled...Hazardous to Health

According to the Globe and Mail, the LG 150 flip phone has been recalled because it's SAR rating is to high.

Excessive exposure to RF energy, which is used in many devices,
including microwave ovens and televisions, can cause tissue damage by
overheating parts of the body. At relatively low levels of exposure to RF
radiation, evidence of harmful effects is ambiguous and unproven.
Regulators
require that cellphone makers report the amount of RF energy absorbed from their
handsets into the user's body. This number is called the Specific Absorption
Rate, or SAR. It is usually expressed in units of watts per kilogram.
The
U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has set the maximum allowable SAR
for cellphones at 1.6 watts per kilogram of body weight, a figure that Industry
Canada has also adopted.
LG refused to reveal the SAR attributed to the LG
150 by PCTEST Engineering Laboratory Inc., an independent testing facility in
Columbia, Md. But one person familiar with the matter said the device measured
above two watts per kilogram, at least 25 per cent above the maximum
standard.

LG is offering an exchange for the phones until the end of march. Apparently you can contact your carrier for this.

Go here for the SAR rating on some other phones.

Play safe folks and check your cell phone cause you're probably on it a lot.