Rotundus.com

I've heard a lot of this sort of stuff before - as food-related literature is one of my regular topics of interest - but it was interesting to see this stuff summarized in a TED talk:

Mothers who deny fathers access to the couple’s children after a break-up could be jailed

So defying court orders for, say, 12 years, might eventually have consequences? Seems more likely to be effective than the policy of jailing parents for failure to pay child support (or otherwise depriving them of the means of earn an income).

Holding on through the 30-date rule

Apparently some people don't immediately introduce sex into romantic relationships. Shocking! "He said no sex until they'd had 30 dates. Could a rule overrule relationship reason?"

Is this the world's most dangerous moustache?

"Lashkar-e-Islam, an ally of the Taliban, declared [Afridi's] carefully groomed 30in (76cm) massive moustachios to be 'un-Islamic'. The armed group first demanded protection money of around $500 a month. In a region not known for its citizens' private wealth, Afridi refused to pay up - and was kidnapped and held hostage by the group for a month."

A Very Careful Thanksgiving: Raising a child with food allergies has shown me how generous people can be. I’m so thankful.

"The Journal of the American Medical Association recently estimated that having a child with allergies costs $4,180 more per year than a child without them, with $750 going toward food and the rest to medical costs and parental time off work." (These are US figures - so I'm guessing they'd be an overestimate of medical costs in most other places though food costs elsewhere may be higher).

I stumbled across some responses to questions asked of Alan Adler, inventor of both the Aerobie and the Aeropress, at /. a day or two ago. One of these I found particularly interesting - in his words:

I discovered that coffee that's made with metal filters, or maybe we should say coffee that is not made with a paper filter, contains two harmful oils, called cafestol and kahweol. They've been discovered to be the most powerful blood cholesterol raising substances ever found. So the people who drink coffee that's made with a metal filter typically have LDL cholesterol, which is about ten percent higher than people who drink paper filter coffee.

So I decided that even though some people said that they wanted a metal filter AeroPress, I couldn't with a good conscience produce it. However, there are a number of filters on the market from other manufacturers now. I asked the guy who runs The World Aeropress Championships if they were permitting metal filters in Aeropress competitions, which are judged solely on taste, and he said, yes, we allow them, but no metal filter brew has ever won a single heat.

Reading through some of the comments there, there were pointers to papers outlining some of the negative effects of these chemicals. There was also some research suggesting that one of them might also lower cancer risk. Is this just the latest battle between coffee the danger killer and coffee the elixir of immortality?

It's worth noting that if these chemicals are a net-negative that would impact not just brewing with aeropress but pretty much any espresso-based beverages - basically any coffee-containing beverage at your local coffee shop except drip - and stuff like French press or Turkish coffee.

For now I'll stick with my Kaffeologie fine-mesh metal filter. You can decide if I'm crazy or not.

State trooper can't have gun while off duty due to mental health record, Pa. court rules

"Pennsylvania State Trooper Michael L. Keyes is in an odd situation. When on duty, he can carry a gun. Yet while off duty, he is barred by law from possessing any firearms, because seven years ago he suffered from deep depression, repeatedly tried to kill himself by taking drugs and was involuntarily committed for mental health treatment."

Fasting During Pregnancy and Children’s Academic Performance

"Previous research has demonstrated that Ramadan fasting during pregnancy negatively affects the health of ospring at birth and in adulthood. Children born to mothers pregnant during Ramadan had lower birth weights than other Muslim children. Later in life, health was also poorer, they more often had sensory and mental handicaps and they more often reported symptoms that may indicate coronary heart problems and type 2 diabetes" That said, I think pregnant women are typically permitted to skip fasting for Ramadan, though I'm unsure how many actually do.

Woman wants divorce due to the way her husband eats his peas

A new winner in the silliest-excuse-for-a-divorce contest?

'In Meat We Trust' Argues We Got The Meat Industry We Asked For

"Ultimately, Ogle finds there is a fundamental disconnect in the way many of us view meat. We want it; we want it cheaply; we want it made in a place where we don’t have to deal with the sights and sounds of slaughtering animals; and we don’t want it to come from factory farms. Something, Ogle says, has to give."