February 2009 Archives

It's a popular argument that technology has isolated us. Particularly, I hear parents complain that their kids spend too much time sitting alone on the internet or texting messages through their phone.

What we forget is that those messages are often describing where the next gathering is. Kids (and adults) are finding out from the internet who is in town and where the next event is taking place. They are planning out where they can participate in face-to-face "parties."

We are social creatures thus we crave social interaction. Technology does not devalue this human experience, it coordinates it. The key is to treasure the moments together and appreciate the human touch when it happens, as it happens. 

Are you worried that we are going to lose the human touch?

The Federal Trade Commission has a tool to simplify the task of screening your phone calls: 888-382-1222.

I know, the FTC is a government agency, which usually means complication, not simplification; but this is something they've gotten right.  It's the National Do Not Call List and it bans telemarketers from calling registered numbers. To get your number on the list, just dial the above 888 number from the phone you want registered.  After 31 days, you can file a complaint against any caller who disregards the ban. Keep in mind, calls from non-profits asking for donations, voter calls and surveyors are not banned. 

I've had my phone numbers listed since the Registry's inception.  Registrations no longer expire.  Basically, since I've listed my numbers, I've few to no calls from salespeople.  Peaceful relief.

There's a long-time-circulating email that states your cell-phone number will be released to telemarketers "tomorrow".  The FTC listed this as a hoax back in 2007. For one thing, telemarketers are already banned from using autodialers to call cell numbers. However, since 2003, you can add your cell number to the registry.  I did.

The time it takes to pick up the phone and dial the number (or go online at https://www.donotcall.gov/) is a minimal inconvenience compared to the hassle of receiving sales calls at dinnertime.  I especially encourage everyone to get their senior parents to register, too.  Seniors are a known target for fraud and this tool reduces the likelihood that mom will get called.

There's a list to reduce junk mail.  Are you on it?  Do you need to know what it is?

Few things in life affect me like a hearty laugh.  And it doesn't even seem to matter if I'm the one laughing.

I often hear my husband laugh at a television program, and it always makes me smile. Laughter from the office lunchroom brightens a dreary workday. When I hear comical DJs on the radio, their jokes are even funnier when I can hear the producer laughing in the background.

I could cite hundreds of studies that prove laughter's positive effect on our health, but the way I feel after I've been laughing is all the proof I need.

Do you have enough laughter in your life?  Want to share a particularly funny (albeit clean) incident or joke with the rest of us? 

In Southeastern Pennsylvania, we've been experiencing a cold winter.  One way I combat the chill is to use my oven for cooking as much as possible.  

Besides warming the heart with a good meal, a 350 degree oven does a nice job of warming the kitchen. Unfortunately, I'm often too hungry and tired to bake a casserole after a long workday, so stove-top meals are the norm. Still, I try to make it a point to plan oven meals for the weekend.

My desire to cook seems to come in phases. Somedays I enjoy it; others I despise it.  Nevertheless, we must eat, and dinning out destroys a good budget. I remind myself that the first step to a hot winter meal is crank on the oven. I'll dream of the days of grilling on the patio after dinner.

What's your favorite winter oven meal?