Return of the son of stuff YUPPIE parents like

Brett Singer — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Because too much is never enough. And besides, didn't you want to see this photo at least one more time?

1. Organic everything: from a commenter. I've succumbed to some of this, partly because, living in Manhattan, the cost difference isn't as great as it used to be, and sometimes the quality is better. I also admit that I feel less guilt giving my kids "organic" pre-packaged crap than I do giving them "chemical-laden" pre-packaged crap. It's still crap, but it's ORGANIC crap.

2. Classes and activities: yes, from the same commenter. She said, "mommy and me classes" but in my experience it's much more than that. Around here, it seems like everyone has their kids doing something all flippin' day. A parent once told me that she didn't understand why Kindergarten went until 3pm; she wished it ended at noon so her kid could take advantage of everything Manhattan had to offer. I replied that I thought Kindergarten should go until 8pm. We don't talk much anymore.

3. Kids' music that parents can enjoy: All parents have benefited from the boom in kiddie rock. While I am of course very glad that children's music has evolved beyond Raffi (who really isn't that bad) and Kidz Bop (which is), sometimes this preciousness can go a little too far. Sure, anything by Dan Zanes or The Dirty Sock Funtime Band is better than Barney's Greatest Hits, but a little James Taylor, Peter Paul and Mary, The Beatles – lots of great "adult" music out there that kids might like.

4. Taking their children to live rock 'n' roll shows: "Alternadad" Neal Pollack brought his little one to see The Hives, a rather loud quasi-punk act. I spotted two sets of parents who had dragged their children to see Yaz at the Beacon theater (I myself was dragged by my wife, but that's another story). When commenters on Gawker are giving good parenting advice ("Neil [sic], seriously--ear plugs"), you know something is out of whack in the universe.

5. Anything that isn't made of granite. At least after we found out about the radiation.

For more, click here.

image: nostalgiacentral.com

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When Granite Attacks

Brett Singer — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 20:00:00 GMT

Those shiny granite countertops in your kitchen may be emitting harmful radiation, as well as radon, a radioactive gas.

Yes, you read that correctly. According to a piece in today's New York Times, "there have been…reports of 'hot' or potentially hazardous countertops" in recent years. Granite countertops have become extremely popular in homes across the country.

Now, before you grab your sledgehammer, it needs to be pointed out that not all granite emits nasty, invisible, and difficult to detect radiation. (Anyone seeing why this is freaking me out a little bit?) The Times says that "the more exotic and striated varieties from Brazil and Namibia" are more likely to contain the bad stuff than other types of stone.

Then again, who knows? The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that radon gas levels higher than "4 picocuries per liter of air" is potentially hazardous – "about the same risk for cancer as smoking a half a pack of cigarettes per day." HALF A PACK PER DAY. (Sorry, but like I said, this freaks me out more than stories like this usually do.) One former granite-kitchened individual in the article had readings of "100 picocuries per liter". So that would be, what, 250 cigarettes per day? (Math isn't my strong suit; sorry if that's incorrect.) And Lou Witt from the EPA is quoted in the Times as saying, "There is no known safe level of radon or radiation…any exposure increases your health risk."

What to do? The article says that you can hire a tester from the American Association of Radon Scientists and Technologists. If you want to test for radon yourself (note that this doesn't test for radiation) you can visit http://epa.gov/radon or http://epa.gov/iaq/whereyoulive.html. Something tells me that the testers may get a few calls after people read today's Times.

Source/image: NYTimes.com

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