Are You Being Deceived at the Supermarket?

Nov 25th, 2008

As food and gas prices rose, did you notice that food packages got smaller without looking smaller?  Have you noticed that your favorite cereal box still looks the same width wise, but the depth is smaller?  Manufacturers are hoping you won’t notice….and won’t care.  But some people are noticing and writing about it.

For an quick overview of this deceiving practice…

You’d have to take a careful look at the jars of Skippy peanut butter to notice the difference. The prices are the same, but the jars are getting smaller. They don’t look any different, but recently, the jars developed a dimple in the bottom that slices the contents to 16.3 ounces from 18 ounces — about 10 percent less peanut butter.

Other manufacturers are also trimming packages, nipping a half-ounce off their bars of soap, narrowing the width of toilet paper and shrinking the size of ice cream containers. Often, the changes are so subtle that they create “the illusion that you are buying the same amount,” according Frank Luby, a pricing consultant.

read the rest of the article here.

At the very bottom of the article are suggestions for ways to avoid being deceived at the supermarket. 

Donated Equipment Helps Kansans with Disabilities

Nov 18th, 2008

The following information has been provided by the Assistive Technology for Kansans (ATK) reuse program, Kansas Equipment Exchange (KEE)

As you make healthier choices, improve your fitness and finally toss the “fat jeans”, consider making a clean sweep. Rather than storing your “no longer needed” shower chair, bath bench, wheelchair, scooter or other durable medical equipment (DME), donate it to the Assistive Technology for Kansans (ATK) equipment reutilization program, Kansas Equipment Exchange (KEE). Project staff at five regional Assistive Technology Access Sites statewide work with local DME vendors to refurbish the equipment and return the devices to high quality standards. The equipment is then passed on at no cost to Kansans with disabilities or chronic health issues who need it.

Working together with Kansas Health Policy Authority through the Medicaid program, KEE accepts high quality devices such as:

• manual and powered wheelchairs,
• scooters & power operated vehicles,
• communication devices,
• electric hospital beds,
• patient lifts,
• shower chairs,
• standers & gait trainers, and
• walkers with seats and/or handbrakes.

The Assistive Technology for Kansans program is a statewide program with initiatives focused on increasing consumer access to assistive technology. The program is guided by individuals with disabilities, family members, and state agency representatives. The Assistive Technology for Kansans program is coordinated by staff at the Kansas University Center on Disabilities at Parsons.

If you or someone you know would like to donate equipment, please contact your regional Assistive Technology Access Site by calling the toll-free number, 1-800-KAN DO IT (1-800-526-3648). The five ATK Access Sites are located in Oakley, Wichita, Salina, Lawrence, and Parsons with an additional KEE office in Garden City and the toll-free number will connect the caller to the office in their region.

For more information about the Assistive Technology for Kansans program, visit http://www.atk.ku.edu.

Help for Your Kids (and YOU)

Nov 18th, 2008

Some kids learn early how to get along and stay out of trouble.  Some never learn.  A friend of mine who is a counselor and works at an alternative school shared the three skills they teach the kids where she works.

Three skills you have to have in order to stay out of trouble.  These represent a measure of maturity.

1. Follow the rules you disagree with and be productive even when you don’t feel like it. (can you let the adult be in charge?)
2. Have to be able to have an overwhelming emotion and not allow it to get you in trouble.
3. Have to be OK even when others around you are not ok.  (you have to still be able to make a good decision)