This could become one of the largest baby food recalls since the big scare last year over insect parts being discovered in containers of Similac. That product is still under some scrutiny due to recent reports of Similac being too sugary, as well as a study by Dartmouth College about arsenic in our food supply from the use of brown rice syrup. Similac denies that they use brown rice syrup in their products. The presence of high sugar levels, however, is another issue that may have some validity. But then a very wide range of food products are said to contain too much sugar, which is often added not only as a sweetener, but also as a food preservative to extend the shelf life of a food product.

For now, if you use a powdered infant formula to feed your baby, then check to see if it is the Gerber Company brand Good Start Gentle. If you do have a 23.2 ounce plastic container of such, check the product code and expiration date to see if they match with Batch GXP1684, March 5, 2013. If you have such, be advised that the Food and Drug Administration, the FDA, has issued a baby food recall notice on that particular product. Call Gerber at 1-800-487-7763 for getting a replacement. The FDA says that there are no safety risks, but something is giving off an odor and there are some reports of gastrointestinal problems according to the Parents Resource Center. Consult your physician or seek out a gastroenterology expert about the effects of using this infant formula.

Once again we have this terrible inconvenience to our daily lives. Ben Franklin had a lot of good ideas, but this one was not one of them. Plus, to make matters worse, it has been badly misused. The original idea was to extend the daylight period during farming season, allowing for more, much needed work to be performed outdoors. But in practice, Daylight Savings Time has been implemented by national governments mostly in the 20th Century to lengthen the day for war production to be carried out. Almost all of which being done indoors.

In the 21st Century, the American government changed the nature of Daylight Savings Time yet again. This time, lengthening the period of the year that it is in effect. We went from it beginning on the last Sunday in March and lasting till the last Sunday in October to starting on the second Sunday of March till the first Sunday of November. The purpose for this change was allegedly to reduce energy usage and cost. But I suspect that it actually forces us to use more energy in the long run, and actually increases the expense to ordinary citizens. Especially considering the extra costs for lighting in the morning and overall impact the time change has on our health and sleep patterns. Already, sleep disorders are a major concern affecting behavior and performance.

So if you were curious about when is Daylight Savings Time 2012, it begins Sunday, March 11. You will have to ′Spring forward′, advancing all of your clocks by one hour. The event is to take place at 2am Sunday morning, which then becomes 3am. So be prepared to lose an hour of sleep next weekend. Thank you, Ben Franklin!

Paczki are basically a heavy doughnut, the batter is a bit thicker, more dense, than your average doughnut. The dough is quite rich, loaded with eggs, lard and sugar. Like berliners, they are filled with a sweet treat, usually some form of custard or fruity jelly. A traditional paczki is filled with a prune preserve, but we won′t go there. The paczki is then topped off with a glaze of sugar. The most popular flavors are those filled with strawberry, raspberry, lemon, or vanilla custard. Blueberry and apple have become more recently popular flavors, as well as those filled with a chocolate mousse.

King cake got its start also in Europe, originally served during the Feast of the Epiphany during Christmas, to commemorate when the three kings visited the Christ infant. The French brought the habit to the New World, which is why New Orleans has made the tasty treat one for other holidays, such as Mardi Gras. The ′carnival′ season begins on the Feast of the Epiphany and ends on Mardi Gras. Thus, unlike Paczki Day, which is a one-day indulgence in the high caloric fare, king cake is meant to be consumed for weeks on end! King cakes often have a small toy or figurine trinket included as well.

There are many varieties of king cake. Along the Gulf Coast, Mobile, Alabama is home to a popular version of king cake which is filled with various fillings, such as cream cheese or strawberry. Like the Paczki, King cake is also topped off with a sugary icing, usually tinted with food dyes to create several colors associated with Mardi Gras, purple, green and gold. King cakes are also modified for other holidays, such as St. Valentine′s Day, loaded with strawberry and coated in a red or pink icing. Another special Mardi Gras version of a king cake recipe is the Zulu King Cake, coated in chocolate and filled with coconut. Most forms of king cakes include a healthy portion of booze in the ingredients, such as a traditional bourbon or brandy, while more modern king cakes are spiked with vodka.

So Fat Tuesday 2012 is upon us. In New Orleans Mardi Gras celebrations, there will be plenty of king cake served. In Detroit and other locations with a large Polish community, Shrove Tuesday is also known as Paczki Day 2012. The humble and delicious paczki, a rich, filled doughnut, will be served up by the dozens for many to enjoy. While it may not be fair to compare king cake history with paczki, both are sweet treats to be enjoyed before the Season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. So eat up, my friends, and enjoy!

Responsible pet owners are already aware of what foods their pets should eat. But very young children may not know that some foods humans eat can be dangerous to their pets. As we all know, when you eat, your pets generally come over and want a taste, too. We must make sure that anyone who has any real contact with your pet is aware of the rules. Too much chocolate for us humans, too, can be dangerous.

The danger is pets can die from chocolate poisoning. Chocolate and pets do not mix! Theobromine is a nasty alakloid from the cacao plant that can cause grave symptoms. The types of chocolate you should be most concerned with are cocoa powder and unsweetened baking chocolate, as both contain a high amount of theobromine. According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, 90,000 calls about dogs and cats in 2010 resulted from fears of chocolate poisoning. If you′re like me and stocking up on post Valentine′s Day chocolate while its on sale, then be very careful in how and where you store it if you own pets. Cats and dogs are among those pets that can die from chocolate poisoning.

Old Ben Bernanke better fire up the printing presses of the Federal Reserve to come up with the cash on this one. Obviously, this woman is not going to win $900 Trillion dollars, especially since she is representing herself in court. But you never know. She may win something and it could still be a pretty penny.

You have to admire her spunk. She certainly knows how to grab a headline and get attention. Too bad these skills may not be the best for rearing children. You have to wonder what she plans on doing should she actually win $900 Trillion dollars? Go to Disney World? Maybe fund that moon colony Newt Gingrich wants to build? The annual gross product of the entire planet is only about $60 Trillion. Even if you factor in all those crazy derivative investments, as well as all over property, stocks, etc., you only get about $500 Trillion or so.

I suspect that the $900 Trillion suit filed by Staten Island mother, Fausat Ogunbayo, against New York City will probably get tossed out of court. Or a kind judge will advise her to take her lawsuit more seriously and ask for a more rational amount after the city placed her two sons in foster care. I′m not sure how much substantial economic hardship she has suffered, but $900 Trillion dollars is a wee bit of a stretch. Maybe she should ask James McMillan for advice since he won the largest lawsuit against NYC in 2003 when he was paralyzed in an accident on the Staten Island ferry for just over $18 million. Hmm, Staten Island again. Remind me not to go there!

While Fran Drescher thinks that she and her future husband were abducted by aliens back when they were in junior high school, her former husband does not believe the story. He claims the scar on Fran′s hand was made by other means. Perhaps from a drill bit or a hot cup of coffee. A drill bit, huh? Their 21-year marriage ended in 1999.

The alien abduction experience has become quite common as part of our culture. The first famous case was that of Barney and Betty Hill in New Hampshire back in 1961. Four years earlier, the very first abduction case of Antonio Villas Boas of Brazil was reported but quickly dismissed due to the claim by Antonio that he was seduced by a naked alien woman on board her flying saucer. As with many abductees, their account of their abduction was revealed through hypnosis. Psychiatrist John Edward Mack from the Harvard Medical School interviewed some 800 abductees and concluded that there is indeed some unusual phenomenon at work.

So was Fran Drescher abducted by aliens? She says she was and that her ex-husband, Peter Marc Jacobson were both abducted a few years before they met while in junior high school. Fran claims that they both have the same scar in the same spot and had the same thing happen to them both, sharing the same experience. Her ex disagrees, but what else would you expect him to say? Perhaps Fran will tour with ‘Fire in the Sky’ alien abducted man, Travis Walton, who is to speak in San Antonio at an UFO event?

Photos: www.wenn.com

Of course, the real culprit here in this case is Barack Hussein Obama. Just as in the case of the 5 year old boy who stabbed 3 family members over a juice box, Obama is clearly to blame for this incident of domestic abuse in Wisconsin. Even the wife admits that the beating she took was over financial problems. That is certainly to be blamed on Obama, who has ruined the American economy.

But even more insidious is the Obama ′blame-game′, trying to pass off his own faults on others. Here is the true reason behind the husband attempting to use this lame excuse of a ghost beating his wife. Obama blames everybody from House Republicans to the Tea Party for the nation′s ills, and everything from blizzards to earthquakes for why the economy still stinks after three years of his administration!

So Michael West of Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin, the man who claims a ghost beat his wife, has learned his lessons well from Barack Hussein Obama. Wife got a nosebleed? The ghost did it! Define strangle? The ghost took his dictionary and hid it. Fortunately, police believed his wife Rebecca that her husband beat her over financial problems which led to the fight. Michael West was hauled away. Maybe he′ll blame Twinkies or cheeseburgers next since Michelle Obama thinks those are evil?

In 1972, one of the more famous disappearances involved two members of the U.S. Congress, Speaker of the House Hale Boggs and Rep. Nick Begich. They, along with an aide, Russell Brown and the pilot, Don Jonz, were flying in a Cessna 310 from Anchorage to Juneau. Not long after take-off, all contact with the plane ceased. A massive air-sea search and rescue mission was launched. Some 400 aircraft, dozens of boats, including 12 Coast Guard ships, and even an Air Force SR-71 searched for the missing plane and men. After 39 days, the effort was called off. To this day, nobody knows what really happened?

The Decoded Team talked with Nick Begich, Jr., son of the missing Congressman, who is not ruling out any possibilities, including energy vortexes. He describes his own research on the subject of electromagnetic disruptions that appear to be happening at certain key points across the globe. A seasoned Alaskan bush pilot, Terry Holiday, who actually participated in the 1972 search, tries to take Buddy and Mac along the same route from Anchorage to Juneau. But the weather quickly closed in around them plus their compass began acting up. The pilot decided to turn back, which made Buddy and Mac happy.

Meanwhile, Scott talked with former Alaskan State Trooper Thomas Anderson. He knew pilot Don Jonz and credited him as being an exceptional pilot. A month before his disappearance, Jonz wrote and published an article on dealing with aircraft icing, a likely cause for many aviation accidents. Back on the ground, Scott notices how shook up Buddy and Mac were after their flight. They learn that Alaska is thick with magnetic anomalies which can vary compass readings as much as 30 degrees. The team also learns more about energy vortexes and the twelve Devil′s Graveyards, triangular regions where ships and planes are frequently lost.

Dan Shaw is an expert on energy vortexes. He demonstrates to Buddy and Mac how a simple device known as a ′Golden Vortex′ with just three aligned magnets can alter perception. With the device placed between them, Buddy actually looks taller and thinner to Mac. Brad Meltzer steps in to describe how the camera crew experienced all sorts of problems due to Shaw′s vortex simulator. How even the electronic camera showed Buddy taller and Mac to appear shorter. Shaw says that people react differently when they encounter a vortex, either psychically or even physically.

Scott chats with Alaskan native Ethan Pettigrew about ancient legends in Alaska. How several tribes believe in creatures like Bigfoot. One tribe accounted for their frequently vanishing members to an evil being called Kushtaka, who steals souls. Pettigrew says that Kushtaka was a shape-shifting being who lures his victims before capturing them. The team then talks with an expert in Alaskan search and rescue, Bill Romberg. He describes how he has heard a strange buzzing sound at times. Could he have been hearing an energy vortex?

At the end of this week′s episode on the History Channel of Brad Meltzer′s Decoded, the team discuss the Alaska Triangle and Devil′s Graveyard. As pointed out by Romberg, the Alaskan Triangle of Anchorage to Juneau to Barrow is the most populated region of this vast, wild land. So the odds are most vanishings will take place there anyway. While there may be unexplained phenomena involved in some cases, Buddy believes that the basic nature of the average Alaskan, more daring and adventurous than an average American, means that they are more inclined to take risks, not always ending with good results.

It sure must have been some box of juice that would lead to a 5-year-old boy throwing a temper tantrum and stabbing two children and one adult! What the heck is this all about? What is wrong with kids today? This is insanity! Can you imagine something like this happening when you were growing up? I′m 52 and I cannot recall any 5-year-olds causing this sort of trouble.

I suppose it is a sign of our times. We have a president who sides with lawless protesters, even though they now throw smoke bombs at the White House. A president who squashes a major construction project, the Keystone XL pipeline, despite it creating thousands of jobs and improving our energy security. Its not like there are already dozens of oil pipelines already running over the State of Nebraska now! Nobody seems worried about them.

Perhaps that is what is really at the heart of this incident in Charlottesville, Virginia where police say a 5-year-old stabs 3 family members over a juice box? The child was merely pretending to be Barack Obama, stabbing the enemies of Socialism who are trying to stop Obama from destroying our nation. Virginia juvenile laws would then not apply to the child, since he is doing his misdeed for the good of the environment and Karl Marx.

In religious terms, 12 is one of the sacred numbers. Most notably that Jesus Christ had 12 apostles. That there were 13 at the Last Supper, and Christ was arrested after it and then executed the next day, a Friday, shows that 13 is an unfortunate number. In more recent times, Friday the 13th and the superstitions of it being and unlucky day come from the another moment in history, the day the Catholic Church went after the Order of the Knights Templar.

The Knights Templar are a pretty mysterious bunch to begin with. There are probably more conspiracy theories revolving around them than any other single group. But for our purposes, we′ll stay on a more material course. The Templar Order had become Europe′s first international banking concern, lending its vast wealth in exchange for favors, titles, lands, and interest rates to anyone who needed extra cash. One of those was the French king, Philip IV, who got deep into debt with the Knights Templar. Philip had recently arranged for one of his own to be named the new pope, Clement V, and used him to wiggle out of his financial troubles.

On Friday, October 13, 1307, sealed orders from Pope Clement were opened all across Europe ordering the arrest of the Knights Templar. This included their Grand Master, Jacques de Molay. A long, drawn out Inquisition and trial convicted them of heresy. On March 18, 1314, de Molay was burnt at the stake in Paris. Of course, the remaining Templar knights went into hiding, with some popping up later in the lodges of Freemasonry. Revenge came in 1793 when French king, Louis XVI was beheaded in Paris. The fable is that a Freemason jumped up on the guillotine, raised the severed head of Louis and proclaimed that Jacques de Molay was now avenged!

Whether you believe that or not is unimportant. Friday the 13th has many origins of spooky superstitions. Black cats as witches familiars in the Middle Ages, the spilling of salt as reportedly connected to Judas Iscariot at the Last Supper, or even the old wise tale about leaving a hat on a bed superstition due to evil spirits dwelling in your hair. Take your pick, they all work and are all scary. But statistics show that Friday the 13th is not the unlucky day. Insurance records indicate that bad luck as defined as accidents actually are less likely.