Simple Truth Products from Kroger

I was asked to evaluate Kroger's new line of Simple Truth and Simple Truth Organics.  I like eating (somewhat) healthy and I'm always looking for a bargain. So, the idea of better for you foods at a good price is something I was very interested in.  Simple Truth says it is free of 101 "artificial" ingredients.  As a Chemical Engineer by training, I have nothing against chemicals. But, if you can make a product without adding chemicals, make it taste great, give it a good shelf life and can make it at a great price- why not?

I was given the Peanut Chocolate energy bar and the Blackberry Pomegranate soda to try.  The soda is not exactly "health food", still containing a great deal of sugar.  I don't drink a lot of soda.  When I do have one, I prefer sodas like Izze's, which this remind me of.  I only drink Izze's when I can get it on sale because it's so expensive.  I will look for the Kroger Simple Truth soda the next time I shop and, if it's less expensive, as I suspect it is, will get some.

The energy bar was moist and delicious unlike many I've had.

All-in-all, I've got nothing bad to say about Simple Truth.  I live in Cincinnati. So, there is a Kroger right around the corner from me.  I will definitely try more Simple Truth products in the near future.

Which is cheapest, Seachem Prime, Alpha or Safe?

Sometimes in life the problem isn't too few choices, it's too many.  I started keeping fish within this last year and I'm always looking for the best and the cheapest way to do anything.  I had settled on Seachem Prime to treat my tapwater for my freshwater tank.  I've been using Prime for months and loving it.  I'm about to replace my first bottle and I discovered that Seachem has two alternatives to Prime, Alpha which is sold mostly for saltwater tanks (and seems to be a more concentrated Prime) and Safe- which is Prime super-concentrated in a dry powder form.

Based on the reviews I've read and how much Prime does (removes chlorine, chloramines, makes ammonia safe, reduces the impact of nitrites and nitrates and improves slime coat without adding sugars to the water), I have been very comfortable with Prime.  It's so concentrated it turns out to be way more economical than the treatments that appear to be cheaper because they are cheaper per ounce.  A 500 ml bottle (about 17 ounces) treats up to 5,000 gallons of water.  I thought my bottle would last me for years (that is until I started adding tanks to my house).  

So, if Prime, Safe and Alpha all effectively neutralize all the bad stuff in my water, the choice comes down to price and convenience.  It seems Safe is no more difficult to use as it doesn't have to be pre-mixed, just added to the water as I do my water changes.  I always treat for the full volume of the tank, even when I'm doing a partial change.  I ran some quick numbers based on the prices of each product on Amazon.com in December 2012.  They are pretty heavily discounted on Amazon and all are extremely cost effective costing well less than a penny a gallon (the most is about 0.30 CENTS per gallon) at recommended doses. 

So, which is the least expensive (cheapest), Seachem Prime, Safe or Alpha?  I based my numbers on the size I was most likely to purchase. 

First Prime- a 500 ml bottle sells for $14.62 right now.  It'll treat 5,000 gallons.  Price per gallon is 0.29 cents (not dollars).  This time around I'd probably buy the 2L bottle, making it 0.17 cents per gallon.  The two liter bottle of Prime is $34.96 and would treat 20,000 gallons

Second- Alpha- a 1 L bottle of Alpha is selling for $25.42.  Alpha treats 50% more water than the same volume of Prime.  The recommended dosage of Prime is 5ml/50 gallons.  So, this bottle will treat 15,000 gallons.  Price per gallon 0.17 cents.  About the same price as the 2L bottle of Prime.

Third Seachem Safe- according to a Q&A on Seachem's website normal dosage is around 4 measures per 20 gallons with a a measure being 100 mg (it comes with scoop that is a "measure") .  The bottle on Amazon.com I looked at is 8.8 ounces or 250g.  It sells for $14.77  That'll treat 12,500 gallons for a cost of 0.12 cents per gallon.  

All three, Seachem Prime, Seachem Alpha and Seachem Safe would seem to be just as effective and easy to use.  In fact, I'm wondering if Safe might not be a little easier to use.  I started using a 5 ml syringe to draw my Prime out of the bottle. But, as the bottle got low, I used the cap as a 5 ml measure and I just estimate for my 10 gallon tank since the syringe won't reach far down into the bottle.  If I get the 2 L bottle, I won't be able to use the cap as a measure.  Safe comes with a dosage spoon and an 8.8 ounce jar would be a lot easier to handle and measure small amounts from than a 2 liter jug.

I'm going to try Safe.  It's not a huge investment, it's the cheapest and maybe the easiest and most accurate to use for small tanks (I have (2) 40s, a 10 and a 75 gallon tank). 

Meritage Restaurant- Glendale, OH - Review

Last night I had one of the best dining experiences I've ever had.  Good food at a restaurant is important, of course, but of as much importance is the ambiance and the service.  Meritage didin't disappoint in any of those areas.  Meritage used to be the Gas Light Cafe which was nice. But, the new owners have kicked it up a notch. Meritage is a converted house in historic Glendale.  The decor is contemporary but cozy.  There was a guitar player performing in the bar area where we had a short wait while waiting for a booth.  The dining room is small but doesn't feel overly crowded and isn't noisy.  

My wife and I were celebrating our 22nd wedding anniversary and wanted to splurge a little.  We started with the scallops which were prepared to perfection.  I don't know why so many people have trouble sautéing scallops which should be quite easy.  But, they are often overcooked or don't have enough color on them.  Ours were prepared to perfection, not overly done, and with a wonderful chili sauce.  The general manager recommended an excellent bottle of wine that I was not familiar with and we loved it.

My wife had the wedge salad and I had the Caesar salad.  The wedge salad was great, if you're a fan of bleu cheese (which we both are).  It was loaded with bleu cheese dressing with crumbles of bleu cheese a bit of a balsamic vinegar reduction.  I'm a traditionalist when it comes to Caesar salad.  I did notice the menu said it came with bacon. But, I skipped over the fact it came with red onions, too.  In my opinion, it wasn't really a Caesar salad.  But, it was good.

For the main course, my wife had a fish we can't recall the name of.  It was from South America and was really good. It was most similar to grouper. I had been to Merigae for lunch once and had a fish sandwich, I do recall that fish.  It was golden tile and it was the best fish sandwich I've ever had.  So, if you go to Meritage and you like fish, try the fish of the day even if you don't recognize the name of the fish. My wife's fish was pan fried and served over a bed of rice with asparagus.  I had the prime rib which was done to perfection.  That came with a loaded baked potato.  

For dessert, we were both stuffed.  But, we had to try to the creme brûlée.  Frankly, I'm not a huge fan of creme brûlée except for the caramelized sugar on top.  When it came we both sighed because the portion was huge.  But, we ate the whole thing.  I think it was the best creme brûlée I've had anywhere.

The service was excellent.  I like the little things like they kept our water glasses full and our server, instead of telling us to keep our forks between each course, brought out new silverware for every course.  The prices are reasonable for such good food and a wonderful atmosphere.

Proof Of Heaven- Book Review

I've read several books on NDEs. With the ambitious title Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife and the quotes on Amazon from Ray Moody and Pim Van Lommel and the fact that it was written by a neurosurgeon, this book set very high expectations. I've been around the block enough times to suspect that the use of the word "Proof" in the title was hyperbole, just like when I read Karen Armstrong's "Proof" of God. Again, I was right. There's no proof of anything in this book. It it well written although short. It's a very quick read and it drew me in right away. There is quite a bit about Eben Alexander's life before the NDE and that is quite interesting. Almost as fascinating as the NDE itself is the fact that he contracted the type of meningitis he did (a 1 in 10 million chance) and that he survived the type of brain trauma he experienced as a result. The fact that the guy is upright walking around and talking is a miracle. So, you could say there are three miracles that happened to him that week.

As another reviewer noted, I was left wanting more of the NDE itself. Dr. Alexander talks of great insights he received while unconscious in our world. But, what he gives us in the book are generalities that most NDE experiencers seem to bring back. Those being that we are all greatly and unconditionally loved and there is a purpose to all of this madness. One of the unusual things about his NDE is, while in that state, he has no recollection of Earth. I had a friend a few years ago who had two Out of Body Experiences that sound very similar to Dr. Alexander's. He talked of places like the Core and the Gateway (mentioned in the book) and of being in a state where he had no language, no real thoughts and was just experiencing things. I haven't heard any other NDErs describe things that way.

Overall, the book is good. But, if you're looking for "proof" of heaven, I'm afraid you'll have to keep looking. I've read of other NDEs where the person experiencing them, who should have no knowledge of what is going on on Earth, has been able to describe things he could not possibly know. There's no such proof in Dr. Alexander's experience. Dr. Alexander tries to explain why his experience couldn't have been produced by his brain. I wanted to believe and I do.  But, while I believe him, I don't think he proves beyond any doubt that it could not have been created as he was coming out of the coma. We've all had dreams where seconds in that dream state seem like minutes or even days.

Related articles

• Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife ~ Dr. Eben Alexander [updated]
• Opening the Conversation About NDE: Dr. Eben Alexander & the Question of Consciousness
• Dr. Eben Alexander, Harvard neurosurgeon, says he has seen heaven
• Eben Alexander, Harvard Neurosurgeon, Describes Heaven After Near-Death Experience (VIDEO)
• Near-death Episodes Are Brainy, Not Soulful

Cichlid Stones by Underwater Galleries- Review

I just got my 75 gallon tank a week ago and decided to stock it with African Cichlids. More specifically, Lake Malawi Mbunas- which, I've been told, are very aggressive and need lots of hiding places.  I looked at several alternatives to provide a backdrop for the aquarium and hiding places for them and decided to go with the Underwater Galleries Cichlid Stone Bulk Pack .  They arrived yesterday.  So far, the little guys love 'em and I do too.

The other alternatives I considered were:

• Texas Holey Rock- a natural limestone with holes worn through it.  Pros- looks great and provides natural holes.  Con- expensive, heavy, displaces a lot of water and how many holes is dependent on the piece since each is naturally formed.
• An artificial Texas Holey Rock- there's a company that makes modules that look like Texas Holey Rock but are more lightweight.  Pros- more lightweight and has more holes then natural Holey Rock might.  Cons- still expensive.
• Clay pots-some people just break up clay flower pots and/or drill holes in them.  Pros- cheap.  Con- looks anything but natural
• PVC pipe- you can use PVC pipe, gravel and aquarium silicone to create caves. Pros- they look pretty natural, inexpensive.  Cons- not as natural look as I would like, requires some work, not very stackable- takes up a lot of horizontal space.
• Build my own from stones- either buying rock locally at a landscaping store or going out to find rock.  I live in an area with a lot of limestone (which naturally raises water pH and hardness- something Malawi cichlids love).  Using some rock and aquarium silicone, I could build caves.  Pros- inexpensive and natural looking. Cons- some amount of work, heavy, displaces a lot of water.

After considering all of the alternatives, I decided to go with the Cichlid Stones from Underwater Galleries.  They weren't too expensive.  They ended up being about $70 for the 15 pack- no matter the source.  In total, the 15 pack only weighs about 15 pounds.  The equivalent amount of any type of stone would weigh several times that.

Here's what I like about them:

• They are ceramic, not plastic- eco friendly. Fired stone.  I'm assuming/hoping they'll be good for the water chemistry as well as being good for the planet.
• They are lightweight- I don't have to worry about the silicone failing, them falling and having a cracked tank or dead fish.
• They are easily installed, rearranged and/or removed- because they are completely separate, you can arrange them any way you like. Scatter them around the floor or stack them up.  When I first got them I thought the tops should be flat so they could stack easily.  A few of the medium sized ones do have flat tops. But, I realized they look more natural not being flat on top and bottom.  To get them to stack, I just rested the pile against the back wall of the aquarium.
• They don't displace a lot of water- Because they're hollow, they fill up completely with water.  My 75 gallon tanks still has about 75 gallons of water. An equivalent amount of stones would not only be much heavier, they would displace much more water giving me smaller amount of water to carry oxygen, etc.
• They provide a LOT of hiding spaces for the volume they take up.  Any other alternative other than the pots and possibly the PVC piping would provide less hiding spaces and room for my cichlids.
• They look pretty realistic- the paint job is good and the shapes look very natural.  Of course, you don't see natural rocks with holes in them and hollowed out. But, this is a good trade-off to get so much space for the fish.  As they get some algae on them, I think they're going to look even better.

I've only had them for a day.  But, unless the finish wears off and they turn white, I can't see why they would just get better over time.  I'm very happy with my purchase.

Related articles

• Cichlid Stones by Underwater Galleries- Review
• How-To Setup and Maintain a Fish Tank

Margaret's Ark- Book Review

Even though many of us were taught the story in Sunday school, Noah's Ark is not a children's story in my opinion. We tend to think of the story from the perspective of Noah and his family surviving and being spared by God, rather than think of the millions of men, women, children and animals that drowned because they were all so evil. Because that story has such moral problems- like why did God have to kill every living thing? Couldn't he have been a bit more selective? For those reasons, I read a book In the Shadow of the Ark which looked at the flood from the perspective of those not on the Ark. It's a story that disturbed me the older I got and the more I thought about those outside the Ark. And that's why I was interested to read Margaret's Ark. I wondered which perspective the writer would take.

I could not figure out whether the author intended this book for devout fundamentalist Christians, who might not have a problem with the literal interpretation of Noah's Ark; or for more progressive Christians who might think of the story as allegory or for just general fiction readers. By the end I still hadn't figured out the audience for this book. There was some pretty rough language, which will offend some Christians. The angels who visited th Ark builders were quirky at best. There was unnecessary violence, not as bad as Stephen King. But, too much for many Christians. The author realized that In the Bible God agrees not to destroy the Earth by flood again and indicates it's different this time. God is not destroying all life on Earth, but instead saving those who choose to be saved from a natural disaster. But, apparently God, while having the power to give dreams to people all around the world, the power to give a foreshadowing of what is to come in the way of a not-so-natural worldwide rain as a warning shot, does not have the power to stop this "natural disaster". And this God is a god of playing hide and seek. He only gives the dreams to certain people. He only gives the dreams to those not in positions of power or authority. He is a god many fundamentalists might be able to relate to. But, as I said, I would expect they would have a problem with the unnecessary language and violence in the book.

The books's chapters are numbered in descending order and skip numbers. I thought the Kindle version of the book might be missing chapters. Then, I realized the numbers of the chapters were a countdown to D-Day. I read with great anticipation to see if there would be an actual flood, how it would be pulled off to come at a certain time, since rains would take days to drown people in high places. The people given the dreams were given a time on the day to expect the flood. I thought maybe the "twist" would be the people in the Arks would die and the others would be spared. I love a good twist. There was a twist- sort of. But, I felt the twist here was a cheat.

I was disappointed when I finished the book. The payoff was disappointing to say the least. I felt almost as if the book could have started at the point where it ended. I don't know if the author plans a second part. But, it felt like the first book in what should be a two book set. The book left me feeling far less than satisfied.

**SPOILER ALERT**

There is an actual flood. The device used to create it was clever. But, it is far from a "natural" disaster, defies the laws of physics and thus was an act of God. So, God broke His promise. I expected a twist at the end. In fact, I hoped for one. But, it makes me angry when the twist "cheats". God once again destroyed the Earth by flood, against His promise and once again indiscriminately killed billions. People who behaved the way most normal people,would behave were executed in a horrendous flood. However, this time, I'm not even sure why they were killed. One of the people given the dreams isn't even given instructions to build an Ark. The book ends with some of our main characters on Margaret's Ark. But, we don't know where they are going to land or what kind of world they'll discover/create when they do. An epilogue would have been nice. This book has gotten great reviews. But, I don't get it. I was not only disappointed when I finished it, I was a bit angry.

Oxo Good Grips Ratcheting Pineapple Slicer- Review

I'm a gadget guy.  Alton Brown may not be fond of unitaskers, but, I am.  The right tool for the right job is my motto.  Our family loves fresh pineapple and I'm always the one assigned to carving them up.  I've perfected my technique over the years. I wouldn't have sought out the Oxo Good Grips Ratcheting Pineapple Slicer.  But, when I was offered one to try, I decided it was worth a try.

I decided to record my experience with it because with a device like this you want to know if it's easy to use (easier than using a knife) and if it actually works. The answer to both is an unqualified "Yes!".  On the video you'll see me using it with no rehearsals and having only glanced over the instructions. It probably looks a little harder than it is. The next time through I'd do it a little differently.  For example, I realized I was pushing down while turning the device.  That probably isn't necessary because it has a corkscrew design that will pull it through the pineapple if you just twist the handle.

I ended up with a nice need cored pineapple spiral.  There was very little waste, I think no more than if I had peeled, quartered and cored the pineapple the normal way.  As a bonus, you end up with a nice pineapple "hull" that you could serve drinks in, if you had small pineapples.  Or you could serve a salad in at a party.