munkinarts.com: the blog

The ADA Speaks!

July 27th, 2010

A few days back I sent an uncharacteristically polite email to the American Dental Association asking about the 2 minutes of brushing time we’ve had drilled into our heads all these years.

It turns out that may no longer be the official line. Interesting. Below is the response from the science division at the ADA. I’ve redacted the name and contact info of the gentleman who replied. If he happens through and wants his name included, I’ll be happy to do so.

Dear Mr. Kies:

Thank you for your email.

The ADA makes no recommendation regarding time in the brushing of the teeth. In fact, there are no studies that identify a period of time as indicated for the brushing of teeth.

The ADA recommends that patients direct their efforts at cleaning the surfaces of their tooth. The ADA brochure “Toothbrushes and Toothpastes” (2001) states: “Concentrate on cleaning all the surfaces of the teeth.” See also the ADA.org subject page “Cleaning your Teeth and Gums” at www.ada.org/2624.aspx.

When properly used, manual and powered toothbrushes can achieve the same goal – cleaning the surfaces of the teeth. (And we would also recommend the use of dental floss.) Please see “A Look At Toothbrushes” athttp://www.ada.org/sections/scienceAndResearch/pdfs/patient_78.pdf.

Periodical literature on the role of tooth brushing in oral hygiene may be found using PubMed, a search tool of the US National Library of Medicine at http://www.PubMed.gov. Some publications may be accessible in full text (or open access.)

Please let me know if I may be of additional assistance.

Sincerely,

[REMOVED]
Manager, Scientific Information
Council on Scientific Affairs
[REMOVED]

So there you have it. Just do a good job.

Tags: ADA, Brushing, random
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Question for the ADA

July 26th, 2010

While I could spend some time chatting about the odd law suit I’m involved in (donation link at the end…thanks), today I bring you instead, a letter to the American Dental Association.

Unlike many of my corporate missives, I didn’t have any particular beef with them, I was just curious about something. Please to enjoy:

I apologize for kind of a crazy question, but I was wondering something after my last visit.

The rule of thumb is 30 seconds per quadrant. I’m assuming that number is based on the use of a manual toothbrush to get to a point of “clean as it’s going to get given the equipment in use”.

But I was curious about something. If this is an acceptable baseline, is the recommended time actually reduced if you’re using a high speed brush such as a Sonicare? Given you’d be doing an equivalent amount of brushing in far less time, it stands to reason that the “required” brushing time would be significantly lessoned, no?

As such, is there a secondary recommendation for automated toothbrushes vs. the manual type? I can certainly understand a stance that more might be better particularly with better equipment, but it would seem that at some point there’s a decline in actual efficacy of brushing with the high speed brush.

Thank you!

Tom

So if you made it this far and are curious about the tin cup rambling above, I’m indeed named in a law suit with 29 others vs some confused person in Texas who’s selling cookies from one face, and promoting healthy eating from the other.

If you’re interested in flat out donating to the legal fund established to help us defend ourselves against the vague ranting in the legal link above, you can donate here:

If you’d like to help out, but also get some truly kick ass handmade glass art in the bargain, you can peruse the group’s Etsy store here.

Thanks.

Tags: ADA, AGLF, Brushing, Dentists, legal
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Peace, love, and…yeah right.

July 16th, 2010

So this morning, after working until 2:30 in the wee hours, I got up at 7:30 and found my internet connection was down. This isn’t a problem so much that I can’t reach Facebook. More so, I work out of the house, so no connection means I may have to head for the office….45 miles northeast of here. On a Friday. Which means returning in Friday traffic, some of which is annoying people heading for Cape Cod, which seems to be what people with too much money do on weekends, they wait in traffic to get to the Cape. But anyway…

Having gone through this before, I wandered to the basement, unplugged everything, waited 30 seconds or so, then plugged it back in to find that yep, still down. So I grabbed my cell phone and called Charter (who is in my phone book just for such irritating occasions).

My irritation fairly quickly turned to anger when I found that now instead of some meat bag having you unplug everything and such only to then look it up and see that “oh, there’s a tree down 1 street over on a line”, they now have one of those voice driven automatic attendants doing it.

I. Hate. Those.

I played along at first, until the boiler kicked in and the computer couldn’t understand me saying “Continue” in response to “Do you see your status light on the front of the modem?” I hadn’t had my coffee yet, by the way.

So I yelled Continue several times, and as my anger turned to rage I then followed with “I HATE YOU!” and “I’M GOING TO HAVE MEL GIBSON CALL YOU!!!!”. Yes, I was that angry.

At this point I’m breathing like the Incredible Hulk on a PCP and steroid binge, but I didn’t hang up. I had already yelled ‘Agent’ enough times into the phone for it to put me in a hold with the other steaming masses.

While I waited, I hooked up the modem and router again and it connected. But I didn’t hang up yet. No, my friends, I went back upstairs and put together coffee while I waited for a person to pick up.

“Thank you for calling Charter, my name is ____. How may I help you?”

If you’re a real person, you can say ‘Continue’ or ‘Go’.

*silence*

If you’re a real person, you can say ‘Continue’ or ‘Go’.

“Umm…yeah, I am.”

I’m sorry, I didn’t understand your response, you can say ‘Continue’ or ‘Go’. YEAH, WE DON’T LIKE IT EITHER! *click*

Yep, gonna be a good day.

Tags: Charter Communications, I hate voice driven menus, outage, rage
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It’s that time of year again!

July 14th, 2010

That’s right folks, I’m getting into show season. Normally my first one isn’t until September or so, but this year I’ve got one (theoretically) this coming Sunday. There’s only one draw back, the site info was a little sparse on the application.

This isn’t a slight against the organizers, perhaps they’re new at this, but there was some information missing. Most important of which was:

Site size
Setup time

I’ve called and left a message to find out these bits of info, but for those of you that don’t do shows, let me explain why this is important.

Site Size

I’ve talked a little bit about setups in the past. The nature of the beast dictates that we have to be flexible about how we set up at shows, because you never know what you’re walking into. Though usually have at least some idea of how big your spot might be. Most of us have a couple of configurations for 10×10,10×8, 8×3, 4×2, etc. You also have a plan B in case you score a corner spot. There are changes involved for indoor vs. outdoor shows, raining vs. sunny, canopy vs. hot sun. But the thing is, you usually have at least a basic size to go on so you know which tables to bring.

I did email someone on the organizing team and they seem to think it’ll be a 10 x 10 space and my canopy’s ok. So I’m going with that for now, and since it’s a late afternoon/evening event, I’ll be packing some rope lighting for inside the tent.

Setup time

This one’s another crucial bit of information. In most cases a vendor knows on average it’ll take about ____ long to do a typical setup. For me that’s about an hour and 15 minutes if I don’t have to rush, and that’s for an indoor show where I don’t have to set up my EZ-UP.

There’s a slight chance I might have 30 minutes for this one.

No, not a typo, 30 minutes. If I hear back from the organizer I’m going to ask for an hour. There’s a concert on site that’s the core of the event, I can’t imagine they’d need less than that themselves, so there’s likely to be someone on site.

But I have to wonder, could I do it? The tent, solo, takes me about 10 minutes to do. After that there’s table set up, basic display layout, inventory to unwrap and get out on the table, lights to set up and boxes to stow. But is it possible to do in 30 minutes? I think that if I didn’t have to move the car, and could draw from it as I set up, if I make sure things are packed in the right order, it actually might be possible to do. I might need a few minutes afterwards to do fine touches, but it actually might be possible.

We’ll see. At any rate, it’s sales time!

UPDATE: Got an hour to set up. Much more manageable!

Tags: flexibility, setup, shows
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Some nights are creepier than others

July 11th, 2010

Like many lampworkers, I find myself working under cover of darkness lately because of the weather. It’s just cooler overall, plus I have the added benefit of going out after the kids are in bed, so there’s no worry of interruptions.

Also, like many, I listen to my ipod while I’m working. So I’m fairly well isolated out in my little shop. Tonight, I left the light in the backyard off so it wouldn’t attract so many bugs to the back door; it’ll turn on when I approach the porch. Unfortunately this means a fairly dark walk to the house, where even with a flashlight it’s dark, and I run the risk of looking like a prowler.

In my own little world, I wandered back from the shop tonight with my flashlight, scanning here and there for skunks and what not. Nothing.

I went inside and closed the place down. It was quiet except for the ceiling fans which I turned off. I found the dining room light on which I thought I had switched off, but it’s possible I didn’t.

I turned off the lights and wandered upstairs and into the bedroom, I could hear the TV on in my room from the stairs. My wife was asleep, but she had turned on an extra fan so she had also turned up the TV. Off went the set, leaving only the slightly at odds sound of two fans buzzing at slightly different pitches, and then I heard a bump. Or did I?

Being the daddy, it’s my job to investigate and to make sure that everything’s ok in the kid’s room, so I go out into the hallway and my youngest comes silently, but determinedly tromping out of his room and into the light of the night light beaming from the bathroom into the hallway, thumb firmly planted in his mouth. He makes a beeline to me, arms opening wide, so I scoop him close, hug him tight and he falls back to sleep on my shoulder.

Carefully tucked into bed, a kiss upon his head, daddy has once again slain whatever demon lurked in the darkness and all was right in his world.

Around here, sometimes we really do have bumps in the night.

Tags: creepy, dark, eerie, need more sleep, way too late
Posted in kids, looney, random | Comments Off

Least favorite July 4th drek

July 10th, 2010

I’ll preface this by saying, I do like living in the US. For all the whining American’s spew about the government, it could certainly be a lot worse, as evidenced by the throngs of folks trying to become citizens. We must be doing something right.

Having said that, however, I get a bit sick of the same old songs being trotted out every year for the Independence Day fireworks. It’s a bit like at Christmas you can only listen to grandma being run over by the damn reindeer so many times before you seriously get a craving for venison.

So I pose to you a question. Of the two below, which is your least favorite July 4th anthem?

Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA”:

Neil Diamond’s “Coming to America”?

I’m a bit sick of both really, but at least I like some of Neil’s other work.

Tags: Lee Greenwood, Neil Diamond
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Yes, I am vindictive. Thank you for asking

July 8th, 2010

I’ve had Sirus radio service for about 5 years now. Aside from an odd stretch in Worcester, MA and under heavy trees, it’s been a decent service. I even own stock in the company, though that’s more because it’ll cost me more to sell it now that it’s worth.

For a while there, they even had free online streaming. But then they stopped that. However, if you were paid through x time span, you still got the free streaming.

Evidently that ended with my renewal this past April.

Given I paid a couple hundred dollars for my 2 year subscription, I was less than thrilled to find this out, particularly since there was no notice, and I rarely use the online streaming. Oh, and the plan I’m listed as having is the “SIRIUS EVERYTHING” plan.

So I emailed via their page, and heard nothing.

Today I called and found out what happened, so I said, fine..they want to pull back services, I’ll cut my subscription. And I switched to a 1 year plan instead of 2.

The sad thing, they didn’t even try to stop me.

Tags: Sirius, Sirius Radio, suck it
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And they wonder why

July 8th, 2010

I dropped in an air conditioning unit this evening and then realized gremlins had wandered off with the package of foam strips I had to plug the upper sash with. Given I managed to roll my ankle in the back yard this afternoon, I wasn’t really looking forward to going across town to Home Depot, so I figured I’d try Sears which was nearby. Sears sells appliances, surely they’d have this simple accessory.

I wandered into the tool area, which happens to be next to the vacuum cleaner area figuring heat wave, close to an exit, they’d surely have these hot sellers nearby.

No. Though I did encounter a friendly worker who directed me upstairs to appliances. OK, there’s an escalator, not to bad on my ankle.

I get upstairs, find the air conditioners and another friendly worker and…try the parts department across the parking lot and behind automotive. Maybe they have it.

“Oh, OK,” I replied, then exited the store and went to Home Depot. Sure enough in the front of the store I found air conditioners, filters, unit covers, and the foam I was looking for.

Now, Sears has been around a lot longer than I have. I remember looking at reproductions of the old Sears and Roebuck catalogs where you could buy hosiery, shoes, tools, a house…yes, a whole house. Modular, but a house nonetheless. They used to be *the* go to store for the entire country and then some.

These days the only time I really go to Sears is if I need something from the Lands End mini store within it, or maybe a decent wrench. But I don’t buy much else from them. Their prices aren’t competitive in many cases, the selection is questionable, and frankly they’re a vestige of a by gone era; a hanger on in an era of Target and Wal-mart. I don’t say that with glee mind you, I think reduced competition is a bad thing, but I think Sears’ days are numbered.

Consider, just from my example, what they could have changed to boost sales. The accessory I was looking for is an easy up sell. Was it in the store? No. Even if the units weren’t for sale in that particular area of the store, would it have made sense to put a few by the entrances with a note that there’s more upstairs? Yes! But none of these common sense practices were in play. You may have never noticed, but a lot of department stores that carry umbrellas have their displays on wheels. This is because on rainy days, that display finds it’s way over by the entrance. Stores know to move desired merchandise into the path of the customer, but Sears apparently missed that day of retailing 101. When there are heavy rains for days on end, what do I find at the front of the store at Home Depot? Sump pumps. It’s a no-brainer.

So why didn’t I try the parts department?, you might ask. I’ve dealt with them before trying to get a replacement bulb for the dryer. If you don’t have a part number, they won’t help you. At all.

On the upside, I do commend Sears on having adequate staffing to assist me in my futile visit. Perhaps there were so many floor personnel because there weren’t very many customers.

Tags: air conditioner, damn it's hot, Home Depot, Sears
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Open to ideas

July 7th, 2010

Hi folks!

I’m using my little soap box today to solicit some ideas. My 4 year old is in daycare during the day with his younger brother and a bunch of younger kids. He’s also been acting up.

Our suspicion is that he’s bored.

I can see that, he’s out of his age group, so he pretty much acts like he’s in theirs.

So here’s my plea for ideas….

Does anyone have any ideas for a multi-day project that a 4 year old can work on with minimal supervision? I don’t know that he’d be much of a gardener, he’s a bit young to muck about with construction tools (though a hammer and nails might be doable). Welding’s out (though on the list for when he’s older…yee ha!).

I’m in uncharted territory here, but I need to find something to engage him before he drives us nuts.

For those of you who’ve been there…any ideas?

Tags: 4 years old, help me obi wan, kids, projects
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