Week of November 9th

As a school employee who observes firsthand the content of school foods, this finding disturbs me-- school lunches tend to actually be healthier than packed lunches.  It makes me wonder what on earth people are packing in lunches.  And, it makes me forgive myself a little when I think I'm not good enough at healthy eatting-- no WAY is Zoe's lunch less healthy than the school foods ones!

I wish I had this story for my tech related update last week-- ROBOT PENGUINS spy on real penguins!  For real!

This one, too-- (is it that I'm hyper aware of all the technology related stories because of my focus last week, or is it just that life is proportionately at least a quarter tech related as a rule now?)---I always find it weird when my kindle shows me what other people highlighted.  Just another piece of my increasing electronic footprint.  Want to see the general favorite passages in some quality literature?  

I sometimes wish I studied science, and I always wonder about that supposedly untapped huge portion of the human brain that we all let go unused.  Obama's BRAIN initiative, explained here, is fascinating- and will take 10 years and a ton of money, so cross your fingers.  (Also- it is subplot on Grey's Anatomy!  Anyone??)

And what does this mean for schools-- a "natural" fix for ADHD is just to make life more varied and unpredictable!

Of course, we need an election update.  So, POLITICS for the rest of the issue:


 I am sure that you heard about the redwashing of the Senate on Tuesday.  Mitch McConnell will lead the Senate with 54 of his buddies in republican seats.  Wonder what will get done for the next two years? 

But the real conversation starter, I think, is about voter turnout-- less than 37% of voters, the lowest turnout since 1942.  Come on, people!  How do we know who the other sixty some percent want?  (Is it just my upbringing?  I've never missed a vote!)

This makes the Supreme Court's decision to take on an Obamacare case particularly noteworthy- we'll have more on that in the weeks to come.


And the last of the political conversation that I'll share-- this is an interesting take on where we are as a country in terms of elected women to US Congress.  My favorite line: It’s not even a half-full, half-empty moment: It’s a 20 percent full, 80 percent empty moment.