March 31, 2015

Found this. You might love it.

March 24, 2015

How cool is this? Frog species that can change shape discovered by local researchers (photos)

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2015/03/frog_species_discovered_by_loc.html

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A local graduate student and her husband have found a shape-shifting frog in Ecuador that changes its skin texture from spikey to smooth in mere minutes.

It is believed to be the first vertebrate identified that can do that, said Katherine Krynak, who is working toward a PhD in biology at Case Western Reserve University.

The new critter is called Pristimantis mutabilis (mutable rain frog) but Katherine and Tim Krynak call it punk rocker frog because of the spiked texture that it can present.

Tim, a project manager with the Cleveland Metroparks, said they first encountered the marble-sized amphibian in 2006 when they walked the trails of the Andean cloud forest in Ecuador.

"We were trying to document species of amphibians and saw the frog sitting on a moss-covered leaf," Tim said. "We took a photo of the small frog, but it wasn't until the photograph was enlarged on the computer that we could tell this frog was very different."

On a 2009 trip, they found what appeared to be the same species. "Katherine grabbed it and put it in a cup with a lid so we could take a picture later," he said.

March 21, 2015

I am so proud of Gardein...

They're constantly coming up with new products. The two new types of hand pockets are very good, and the new Kale and Barley pouches are excellent.

I hope to hell they don't go the direction of some of the other companies who used to do vegan items and sell out to a big corporation. That would suck.

We used to get Wheat Meat from (we think) Ivy Foods, which then went to White Wave, and then got discontinued.

A lot of the Morningstar Farms products which then went to Kellogg's.

So I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that Gardein stays wholesome and vegan and good.

March 17, 2015

Sigh.... going to have to stop eating some pretty damn awesome chips

Found out that the vegan bakery we go to (a little bitty shop, locally owned) was named as part of a suit by Smart Balance and Brandeis University.

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A small artisan bakery in Bay View has been named, along with more than a dozen corporate cookie makers, as a defendant in a patent infringement lawsuit by Brandeis University over the use of fats and blends to improve the ratio of good to bad cholesterol in their products.

Joining Brandeis as a plaintiff is its licensee for the two patents at issue, New Jersey-based GFA Brands, maker of Smart Balance foods.

The suit, filed in federal court in Madison, claims East Side Ovens and more than a dozen major food corporations - such as Nestle, Pillsbury and Unilever - are infringing on a patent for "Increasing the HDL Level in the HDL/LDL Ratio in Human Serum by Balancing Saturated and Polyunsaturated Dietary Fatty Acids."

The adjustment leads to "significant health improvements," according to the lawsuit.

Amanda Maierhafer, owner of East Side Ovens, said she was unaware of the claim until Thursday.

"I have very little understanding of what they are alleging we have done," she said. "We're a tiny little vegan bakery with seven employees."

East Side Ovens is a wholesaler whose products are sold at some area grocery stores, cafés and farmers markets.

"I think it's got to be a mistake somehow," Maierhafer said.

The suit claims the infringing cookies include East Side Ovens' cranberry orange cookies, along with such national brands as Keebler's Chips Deluxe, Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and Rippin' Good vanilla wafers.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, injunctive relief and declaration that the case is exceptional, which would entitle Brandeis and GFA to attorney fees if it prevails. Both are represented by Quarles & Brady's Madison office, which did not return calls Friday.

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We know Amanda. She's a sweetheart. The courts ruled against Brandeis and Smart Balance, but it still stings the bakery. When I wrote to Smart Balance to express my dismay, they first said they knew nothing about it. Then I posted the link and the story changed to 'oh, they just got caught up in it, and it didn't cost them much business'.

So, you took them to court, but you didn't hurt them 'much'?

Sigh.

March 10, 2015

Christian university shuts down bake sale benefitting homeless LGBT youth

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/03/christian-university-shuts-down-bake-sale-benefitting-homeless-lgbt-youth/

Christian university in Michigan has told students that they are forbidden from raising money for a group that benefits homeless LGBT youth because to do so would “conflict” with the university’s “mission and practices.”

According to Blue Nation Review, students at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan wanted to hold a bake sale to benefit Fierce Chicago, a relief group dedicated to providing services to LGBT homeless youth, who make up an estimated 40 percent of kids under 18 in the U.S. who have no place to live.

The bake sale was planned by AULL4One, Andrews University’s unofficial gay-straight alliance, which boasts around 80 members, but is not allowed to advertise on campus because of the school’s affiliation with the Seventh Day Adventist Church.

March 5, 2015

Old DU members might remember this meme and enjoy the song