Making Coffee Eco-Friendly

Used Coffee Grounds Contain Same Nutrients As Fertilizer
NBC 6 News Team

POMPANO BEACH, Fla. -- Many people start their day with a cup -- or two -- of coffee.

Some people -- like Penny Billingham -- even take their coffee with them as they tend to their gardens.

"I'm not a fanatic. I just like coffee in the morning very much," Billingham said, although she stressed that her preference is for "good" coffee.

Billingham said she shares that goodness with her plants -- literally.

Instead of throwing her used coffee grounds away, Billingham said she mixes them with water and then gives her "boys," as she calls her plants, an energized drink.

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China goes shopping on the Web

With 50 million Chinese online, e-commerce is booming

Because only a small percentage of China's millions of Web users own a home computer, Internet cafes provide crucial links to Chinese e-commerce.

By Sue Herera and Steve Dowling
CNBC

SHANGHAI, China, Nov. 14 — Nearly 50 million Chinese people are now online, a phenomenal statistic for a country whose information is tightly controlled by the central government. While still in its infancy, Internet use is rapidly gaining momentum. It’s not only transforming society, but the way business is done.

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Starbucks embezzler sentenced to four years

2002-11-23
by Noel S. Brady
Journal Reporter

BELLEVUE - The woman responsible for the biggest embezzlement scheme in King County history was sentenced Friday to four years in prison.

Rosemary Heinen of Bellevue claimed a combination of psychiatric disorders left her in a trance-like state and caused her to write hundreds of invoices from a phony company she set up to receive 48 checks for nearly $4 million from her employer, Starbucks Coffee Co.

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Answers to Some Often-Asked Questions About Caffeine

Q. Is caffeine safe for children?

A. Research has found no evidence to suggest the use of caffeine (at the levels in food and beverages) is harmful. As with all foods and beverages, parents should use common sense in giving their children normal servings of caffeine-containing foods and beverages.

Q. Will consuming caffeinecontaining foods and beverages cause children to become hyperactive?

A. There is no evidence to show caffeine is associated with hyperactive behavior.

Q. Is consuming caffeine during pregnancy safe?

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Coffee Packs More Than a Caffeine Buzz

It's Not Just the Caffeine That Gives You a Jolt

By Jennifer Warner
WebMD Medical News

Nov. 18, 2002 -- Regardless of whether you take decaf or regular, getting your daily java fix may still give your nervous system a jolt. A new study suggests that it's not just the caffeine in coffee that gives your heart a buzz.

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"All that is gold does not glitter;
Not all those who wander are lost."
~ J.R.R. Tolkein

Thank you for the kind messages on our adoption

I was reluctant to get so personal on this website, but after reading all the messages with good wishes, I am glad I did. Thank you so much.

And now for an update:

We will leave for Beijing early December and get our daughter in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province. We will depart from Guangzhou on about Dec 20. We are really excited about the trip. I will attempt some postings while in China. I'm told I can get Internet access in some of the hotels.

I just have to scope out the coffee scene there. Who knows, maybe I will find a decent espresso in China. We'll see if the Chinese Starbucks do a better job on espresso than they do here.

RABBI PLISKIN'S DAILY LIFT

Daily Lift #148 Helping To Make Friends

Giving to others will increase your love for them. If you make an effort to help everyone you meet, you will feel close to everyone. Doing acts of kindness for everyone fills your world with friends and loved ones.

"A stranger is someone you have not yet helped."


(Rabbi E.E. Dessler - Michtav M'Eliyahu, vol.1, pp.36-7; Rabbi Pliskin's Gateway to Happiness, p.137)

Why does coffee taste so bad?

Falling global prices should be a godsend for consumers: better beans at cheaper prices. But in fact, much of the coffee you buy is worse than ever. This year, coffee makers are increasingly substituting low-quality beans in their ground coffee for high-quality beans, according to the International Coffee Organization, a global trade group and sort of an OPEC for coffee. In addition, the purity of the average cup of coffee — the ratio of debris like twigs and rotten beans to actual fresh beans — has shifted markedly in the unappetizing direction over the past two years.

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