Still Supersizing the Nation

Drove to Maine again this weekend, and stopped at a rest area for a bathroom and gas. And while The Guys were in the building, looked at the advertising for McDonald's iced drinks, and started to wonder. A little research yields this:

8 oz brewed coffee, black, no sugar, poured over a big glass of ice: 2
Same, plus a tablespoon of whole milk: 11
Add two cubes of sugar: 27

McDonald's large McCafe Frappe Mocha: 680

Yeah, that's calories.

How they do it: Whole Milk, Espresso, Chocolate Syrup, Whipped Cream, Chocolate Drizzle.

The milk contains milk and the espresso contains espresso. But if you think to scroll down, you can find out the whole scary list of what goes into the other components:

Chocolate Drizzle:
Corn syrup, water, hydrogenated coconut oil, high fructose corn syrup, glycerin, nonfat milk, cocoa powder, cocoa (processed with alkali), food starch-modified, disodium phosphate, potassium sorbate (preservative), xanthan gum, artificial flavor (vanillin), salt, soy lecithin.

Chocolate Syrup:
Sugar, water, natural (plant source) and artificial flavors, chocolate liquor, caramel color (with sulfites), high fructose corn syrup, vanilla extract, salt, potassium sorbate (preservative), citric acid, red 40.

Whipped Cream:
Cream, nonfat milk, water, corn syrup, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, mono- and diglycerides, carrageenan, polysorbate 80, beta carotene (color), natural (dairy and vegetable source) and artificial flavor, mixed tocopherols (vitamin E) to protect flavor. Whipping Propellant (nitrous oxide).

Red #40, as in banned in most European countries because, basically, it's toxic to humans. Corn syrup derived from corn grown under US government subsidies to keep it nice and cheap. Dairy products, ditto. Maybe McD's didn't get the message that hydrogenated fats are bad for you?

Want to know more about what's in McDonald's foods? You can find nutrition "facts" here and ingredient lists here. Then write to your state Department of Transportation and ask them to allow farmer's markets and folks who sell real food, not chemical concoctions, to sell food in rest areas along the highways you're buying with your tax dollars.

Spanx: No, It's Not Okay

Is it because the wearer feels like she's getting spanked? Or wearing them might encourage someone to want to spank her?

I saw them for sale last time I strayed into Filene's, and I've heard people talk about them, and I think they're approximately the same thing as what my mother's generation called a girdle.

My first reaction, and the one that sticks: I can't sign on for a line of clothing that suggests physical violence, when I live in a society in which violence against women is so pervasive.

But hey, I checked out the website, and there's a category of "Spanx for Men." Does that somehow make it okay?

Stupid Human Tricks

Nice cool morning, and I was enjoying the breeze in my kitchen window.

Then, the air conditioner belonging to the residents of the apartment next door shuddered into life. Why not open the windows? We're at an inside corner of the building, so their A/C is effectively right outside our window, and that meant the breeze coming in the window was heated by the neighbors' superfluous air conditioning unit.

Plus I had to listen to the racket. I retreated to the living room.