pods's Profile

Listen everyone - though this recommendation only came out this week - if you've read any books, magazine articles or online articles by reputable sources, you would ALREADY know that bumpers are not so cool for your baby.

Why are you all up in arms all of a sudden?

Yes, bumpers have now been proven by yet ANOTHER review of existing studies to be unsafe. Case closed - they're not really all that safe. Do you choose to use them? That's up to you.

As a parent, you have to make a lot of choices about safety - cushy bumpers are probably not worth it.

Personally, my baby kept on sticking arms and legs (even with a sleepsack) out of her crib in harm's way (we have to walk by her to get out of our tiny NYC apt and her crib is next to our bedroom door). The crying when she got her arms and legs stuck and being trapped in her sleepsack was also not good. We got breathable bumpers which we pushed as low as we could (so just as much of the bumper was necessary was over the matress) - things have been fine.

Do I feel like this is 100% the safest thing to be doing? No - but you have to think about your choices and do what you have to do to be a good parent.

Listen guys - the jungle gym at the playground is also very dangerous if the child falls from the top - but you all probably let them climb it anyhow.

A lot of these tips sound very similar to uses for Baking Soda - what's the difference. Does Borax work like baking soda because they are both basic in PH? Does anyone know? Which is better?

Do you live in one of the co-op village apt's in the LES? My bathroom tile is EXACTLY the same as yours and I've been wondering what to do about it too!

Another issue I have is that years of paint over paint over paint have made the walls disgustingly gunky. That's another issue if you're going to paint the walls....you'll probably have to remove some of the layers of paint and do some prep to get a good paint job....

Aulaire - if shoes lined up in your ancient Japanese garden look so fantastic - are you saying that Asian people who live in modern apartment buildings are doing aesthetic no-no's when they take this custom to their modern everyday lives?

While Aulaire does have a point - about neatness...

At least for Asian & other folks who take off their shoes when they enter houses - a shoe storage solution next to the door makes a lot of sense. It's a pain to have to drag your shoes off to the closet as soon as you get in the door - and multiply that by multiple family members - you get a mess unless you organize by the door.

I think this is a great solution.

Well - if I'm not mistaken from watching that show, it's based in the Bay Area, CA.

Growing up in CA - they always tell you not to hang items - especially large and heavy items like mirrors - over your head or near your head....obviously because of earthquake issues...

So I like it fine - and it's safe!

Wow! I live in NY - but originally am from San Jose. I am really surprised that 300 sq. foot studios actually exist in San Jose! When I was there, single family homes or condos were the norm.

What kind of building is this Andrew? Is it a cut down industrial space?

BTW - great job!

Jamie Oliver was one of the large selection of chefs featured on Food Network when it launched. I was hooked on the Food Network then and tried recipes from every single one of their chefs: Alton, Ming, Emiril (ugh!), Sarah Moulton...and of course the Naked Chef. The others had recipes that were real duds a lot of the time, but *all* of the recipes that I tried to re-create from Jamie Oliver have come out delicious and tasty. I think it's because his premise is that he makes cooking easy and that if you put in a little effort, even a non-cooking idiot can make good, healthy (meaning not packaged) food. And he's right. I have to admit - I found him annoying at first, but he grows on you with his genuine ability to help you cook better!

To those of you who don't think that white fish floating upside down at the top is sick or already dead - do you really think that healthy goldfish like to hang out floating upside down? It means something is seriously wrong with that fish.

Is it also used in stews, soups? It sounds good.