If you’re a parent you’ve probably had to deal with head lice at least one in your kids younger years. If not, count yourself lucky. I think it was about 6 years ago we had to deal with an bit of an epidemic. All 3 of our girls were infested and what made matters worse is the fact that they all have beautiful long hair.

Things we’ve noticed over the years about lice and it’s control.

- if one child comes home with it, guaranteed others in the home will get it (BTW adults can/will get it as well)

- if your children go to summer camp, check their heads when they return.

- if your child shares a locker at school with a friend and that friend gets infected, he/she will get infected. Seems to be more of a problem during the colder months when their winter clothing is left in the same locker (scarf, mitts, hats etc)

- a low hair cut is no guarantee to avoid getting lice

- tea tree oil does not work as a prevention or cure

- most chemicals (pesticides if I may) you get at the pharmacy does not work - the suckers have built a resistance

- if we’re warned not to use pesticides in our garden, why would we use it on our children?

- not all children with lice will have symptoms.

ALL IS NOT LOST IN THE WAR AGAINST LICE!

There’s a new product on the market that’s supposed to be the answer all parents who’ve had to deal with lice.

Health Canada has now approved a new medication, Resultz, that contains isopropyl myristate 50%, for children four years of age and older. This ingredient has been used for years in low concentrations in cosmetic and dermatological products such as baby creams, bath oils and shaving lotions.

Resultz uses a different tack in destroying lice. It’s the “Sahara Desert” approach, namely death by dehydration. This medication dissolves the wax that covers the louse’s skeleton and it quickly dries up and dies.

In a report published this month in the Journal of Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery, it states Resultz’s mechanical action resulted in a 96.5% cure.

Moreover, the clinical trials showed there were no safety issues. And due to its mechanical action it’s unlikely lice will develop resistance to this medication.

The treatment is simple. After covering the eyes with a towel Resultz is massaged into the scalp, especially the sides and nape of the neck. It must remain in place for 10 minutes before rinsing with warm water.

This first application is followed by a second seven days later. This eliminates any eggs that were not killed by the initial treatment. The amount of Resultz used depends on the length of the hair.

Hopefully we never have to deal with lice again, but it’s reassuring that there’s now a nontoxic option we can turn to.

I’ve never had to try to quit smoking, drugs or have problems with booze. But weight gain and staying in shape is something I’m constantly having to deal with. Gone are the days when I can use the excuse that I work from home in front of a computer as my excuse for my blimpdom (the gym membership took away my right to use that excuse). Last night I saw Caron going through the labels of what she was going to have for breakfast in the morning (today) to calculate the fat content, calories etc. I guess she’s keeping track of what she’s eating.

Everyday around 10 am i usually get the munchies, especially if there’s leftover dinner. Luckily (??) for me the bacon we bought yesterday was not placed in the freezer so i decided to cook some up.

Here is a short video clip of my finding.

BTW I usually cook more than 4 strips of bacon, so you can only imagine how much grease there would be if I went for the normal 6 strips. Maybe it’s time I pay closer attention to what I shovel into the cave in my face.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could get food that’s good for us, to taste like the ones we like? Like everything deep fried!

My daughter is eager to see her video of our pet dog Bridget, so I thought I’d give her a hand and give her some publicity on my blog.
Here’s Bridget making her International Debut!

Caron and our girls could easily confirm my repugnance for reality shows. Especially the “Idol” franchise. But with one of the two finalist being from my home town it’s a bit hard trying to ignore it. TV, Radio..even cars with posters of Brian Melo on the windows encouraging people to vote for him. Seems to have worked (maybe he’s talented as well?) as Brian Melo was voted 2007 Canadian idol winner.

Here’s Brian without all the fancy lights, stage and  sound.

Hamilton is no longer only known for being the steel capital of Canada and for the punching-bag of a football team we have (Hamilton Tiger cats) we can now add a Canadian Idol to our city’s resume. Think the NHL big-wigs will see this and finally give us an NHL team? Hey we just won the Canadian idol.

Seems you can’t tell your kids not to send text messages or do anything other than make/receive calls on their cell phone without them testing the waters. As Caron says… “They seem to think that when they delete their “sent” file/history we’d never be able to tell if they sent any text messages.” NEWS! When the bill arrives we get to see exactly how many text messages were sent and what the extra costs are for us. Let’s see them try to send texts or make downloads… I got those functions canceled

Time to get a 2nd mortgage? For all you iphone owners out there (we don’t have them in Canada yet) who plan on taking their new friend on vacation - BE WARNED!
Hewlett Harbor man racks up $4,800 iPhone bill.

Jay Levy and his family took their iPhones on a Mediterranean cruise. Now the Hewlett Harbor entrepreneur feels as if he got taken for a ride, receiving a 54-page monthly bill of nearly $4,800 from AT&T Wireless.

While Levy, his wife and his daughter were enjoying the trip, and even while they were sleeping, their three iPhones were racking up a bill for data charges. The iPhone regularly updates e-mail, even while it’s off, so that all the messages will be available when the user turns it on.

“They have periodic updates on their data files, and they translate into megabucks,” Levy said. “This is akin to your bank having automatic access to your ATM machine and is siphoning money out during all times of the day and night without your knowledge.”

Levy and his daughter each have three e-mail accounts on their iPhones, and they were each billed more than $1,900.

His wife’s phone had one e-mail account, and her bill hit $890. One connection alone ran $223. Levy said he has complained all the way to office of AT&T’s president.

Data transfers are not a problem domestically, where the AT&T Wireless plan includes unlimited data transfers for the iPhone.

But the iPhone’s international plan in 29 countries, mostly in Europe, costs $24.99 for 20 megabytes. In countries outside the plan, charges can run from $5 to $20 per megabyte, said Ben Wilson, editor of iPhone Atlas, a Web site owned by the online news company CNet.

“It was a big surprise,” Wilson said. “Consumers didn’t expect that the charges were going to be so high and that the phone was going to be doing all this data transfer in the background that they weren’t aware of.”

Herbert Kliegerman, 68, a real-estate agent from the Bronx, said he incurred $2,000 while visiting Mexico. He filed a lawsuit seeking class-action status in New York State Supreme Court last week, alleging that Apple did not properly disclose the international roaming charges.

AT&T Wireless offered to refund $1,500 to Kliegerman, but he said that’s not good enough. “I want a full refund,” he said.

Read the rest here.