New York City passes trans fat ban

The Board of Health voted Tuesday to make New York the nation’s first city to ban artery-clogging artificial trans fats at restaurants — from the corner pizzeria to high-end bakeries.   The board, which passed the ban unanimously, did give restaurants a slight break by relaxing what had been considered a tight deadline for compliance.  Restaurants will be barred from using most frying oils containing artificial trans fats by July and will have to eliminate the artificial trans fats from all of their foods by July 2008.  This sounds like it is a good idea because if restaurants can make their products without using the artificial trans fat, it should be done.  Trans fats are believed to be harmful because they contribute to heart disease by raising bad cholesterol and lowering good cholesterol at the same time.  The big question is whether or not this ban will have an affect on the taste on products.  I guess only time will tell, but these restaurants have 8 months to try to work out all of the kinks.

MySpace building tool to block sex offenders

MySpace, the popular online hangout that has drawn complaints about sexual predators and other dangers to teens, said Tuesday it will develop technologies to help block convicted sex offenders.  MySpace is partnering with Sentinel Tech Holding Corp. to build a database containing names, physical descriptions and other identifiable details on sex offenders in the United States.  I think that this is very interesting and it is a good thing to have.  There are always stories about how sites such as facebook and MySpace are sketchy and it is very easy for sex offenders to meet people.  Some of my friends think that it is a sex offenders paradise.  MySpace is taking a step in the right direction because it is taking a proactive stand in order to prevent future problems.  These problems could cause negative publicity for MySpace.  I am interested to see how this system works and how effective it will be.

Taco Bell Set to Reopen

In a followup story of the last blog entry I had, I read tohis morning that the Taco Bell restaurants on Long Island are set to reopen.  While the 4 locations in Nassau County were closed, a disinfection process and discarding of all their food was being conducted.  It is still not known whether the E. coli was conducted through the meat or the lettuce.  Either way it is said that this is a rare occurance and there is no need to be concerned or panic.  Like I said in my earlier post, I am going to be a little hesitant while going home for winter break.  Normally I would go to Taco Bell at least once a week with my friends.  I’m not so sure if that will happen this time.  Even though its said to be safe and everything has been sanitized, I still have worries.

E. Coli Breakout

14 Long Islanders contracted E. coli in late November.  Three cases were reported in Nassau, and the rest in Suffolk.  Of the three Nassau cases, only the boy had visited a Taco Bell, officials said. In Suffolk, nine of the 11 had patronized Taco Bell.  This hits home because I am from Nassau county on Long Island.  Four Taco Bells are closing because of the outbreak.  Two of these locations are in local malls that I tend to visit.  This also hits home because Taco Bell is a great last night snack locations that I go to often with my friends when I’m home.  I will probably be turned off from Taco Bell for the few weeks that I am home for winter break.  This outbreak is going to affect Taco Bell greatly as I would imagine that sales would decline drastically due to consumer concerns.

Casual Games Go Upscale

 

Casual games are simple, one-player puzzles that can be played on desktop computers, gaming consoles, cell phones or hand-held computers.  It takes less than a minute to understand the rules, structure and plot.  The games often revolve around spelling, trivia, arithmetic or geometry.  It is odd that these games would undergo a transformation and use technology to capture graphics of higher quality.  To me, graphics are not important in casual games.  I don’t play these types of games because of their graphics.  I just want a simple, basic game in order to pass time.  I also think that it is kind of difficult to make games such as scrabble and bejeweled to have higher quality graphics since it is such a basic game.  I could be wrong and these graphics can enhance the game and make it that much better, but right now I don’t find it necessary to conduct this transformation.

9 Out of 10 Emails are Spam

According to U.S. email security company Postini, the number of “spam” messages has tripled since June and now accounts for as many as nine out of 10 e-mails sent worldwide due to criminal gangs using hijacked computers.  To me this is an absurd amount of spam email.  I used to use AOL for my email account, but the numerous amounts of spam email turned me away.  I now strictly use my Marist email address because I never get spam email.  Spam get annoying for obvious reasons.  I want to check my mail without being bothered by unwanted mail.  I also don’t want to risk getting a virus from an email that I don’t even know who the sender is.  Anti-spam laws have created mixed results, but I am in favor of it.  I wish to view my email without being bothered.  It is an invasion of privacy.  I know that it is very hard to contain, but hopefully the problem can be cleaned up in the near future.

Jared Jordan Video Game Style

The video game College Hoops 2k7 has included Marist in the game.  This is quite the norm, but this year Marist point guard, Jared Jordan, is ranked the 14th highest point guard in the game.  This is quite an accomplishment and it is great that Jordan is being recognized.  The video game version of Jared looks like him, but far from mirror images.  I also noticed in this picture that the design of the court is identical to what the McCann Center looks like.  This is a change from last years version.  Marist is starting to get the recognition that they deserve.

Football Coaches in Suits???

   

This past Sunday marked the first time that NFL Head Coaches were able to wear a suit on the sidelines.  Mike Nolan, head coach of the 49ers had requested to wear a suit, but the NFL declined because head coaches are required to wear attire manufactured by Reebok.  Nolan had requested again to sport the suit, and this time the NFL had allowed it.  Jack Del Rio, head coach of the Jaguars also decided to wear the suit.  These two wore suits made by Reebok, but the suits were a little different.  They had a little stretchy material and the buttons were snap-offs in-case a coach become furious and felt the need to take off the jacket quickly.  I think it looks funny to see a head coach wearing a suit on the sideline, but it could catch on and look very professional.

Kramer’s Racist Tirade

 This footage was rather surprising because unusual to see a celebrity have a tirade like this, especially a racist tirade.  Michael Richards, known as “Kramer” from Seinfeld was seen calling an african american male the “n” word.  This started when the male was seen talking to his friends during the show and said that Richards was not funny.  Now this footage which was taken from a video phone is all over the internet as well as the news.  Richards and Seinfeld will also be on Letterman tonight.  Hopefully Richards makes a statement to the public and apologizes for his actions.  There is no reason for such a tirade.  You can hear people in the crowd in shock and not knowing how to react.  This was a disgusting display and I hope that Richards can clear his name.

OJ’s Book and TV Special

OJ Simpson’s book and TV special “If I Did It” have both been canceled.  The TV special was going to air during Fox’s Sweeps Week, but Fox thought better of it.  I think that this was a good idea because it would only surround more controversy around OJ.  Some would view these publications as a confessions of sorts.  I don’t think that any good could have come from these media sources.  Even if Fox did get ratings, many people would have thought it was unethical to conduct such a program.  It is a touchy subject, especially for those who are friends or family of Nicole Brown Simpson.