What Caught My Eye Today - Health, Education, Coffee

Health - America’s Health Rankings 2012 Edition shows Vermont at the top of the list of healthiest states  for the fourth consecutive year. Interesting. I would have bet on Colorado myself, which as it turns out was ranked 11th. Vermont’s strengths a high rate of high school graduation, a low violent crime rate, a low incidence of infectious disease, a low prevalence of low birth weight infants, high per capita public health funding, a low rate of uninsured population, and ready availability of primary care physicians. Vermont’s challenges are a high prevalence of binge drinking of the adult population, a moderate occupational fatalities rate, and a moderately high cancer death rate. Not to be a kill joy or anything, but this suggests to me that the general population is probably more affluent than average and therefore able to afford better health care. That and they have some pretty good hootch. Hawaii is ranked second and has ranked in the top 6 states every year of the index. This on the other hand is no surprise. I did some checking and it turns out mai tais are very low in fat and have only 77 calories per fluid ounce. New Hampshire is third, followed by Massachusetts and Minnesota. Who would have though that New England would have been a bastion of healthy living? Mississippi and Louisiana tie for 49th as the least healthy states. I'm stunned. Arkansas, West Virginia, and South Carolina complete the bottom 5 states.  Mississippi ranks in the bottom 5 states on 12 of the 24 measures including a high prevalence of obesity, a high prevalence of a sedentary lifestyle, a low high school graduation rate, limited availability of primary care physicians, a high prevalence of low birth weight infants, and a high prevalence of diabetes. Again, I think wealth plays a factor here.  If  you don't have enough of it, you tend to focus more on how you are going to get your next meal, rather than how nutritious that meal might be. My home state of California ranks 22nd.

Education - Just so you know, I have nothing against the South. The American Civil Liberties Union is asking the U.S. Department of Education to investigate what it calls "unlawful" single-sex education programs in a Birmingham, Alabama middle school. Single-sex education programs? This should be good. The ACLU filed complaints with the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights, saying the programs appear to violate federal law by forcing students into a single-sex environment with little or no alternative options, rely on harmful gender stereotypes and deprive students of equal educational opportunities merely because of their sex. Remind me again what year this is? The single-sex program at the middle school has been in place since 2010 and students who wish to be in coeducational classes must transfer to another school. Students are separated by sex for all classes, even during lunch. This wasn't really an issue for me, not a lunch anyway.  I couldn't get a girl to sit next to me in the cafeteria if my life depended on it. According to the complaint, instructions for teaching boys call for stressing heroic behavior that shows what it means to "be a man." In addition, the ACLU claims that the school relied on a book that teaches that boys are better than girls in math because their bodies receive daily surges of testosterone, while girls have similar skills only a few days per month when they experience increased estrogen during the menstrual cycle. There are some many things wrong with this, I don't know where to begin, so I'll just go with the first thing that came to mind. In an area of the nation where same-sex relationships are frowned upon (I'm sugar-coating it a bit here), it seems a bit ironic that a school finds it to be a good idea to not only segregate the sexes, but strongly suggests that males are superior to females. If I'm a lad in my formative years, I might be thinking to myself, why was time pining after Cindy Lou when Bobby Joe is sitting right next to me.

Coffee (Part I) - When a 22-year-old tech entrepreneur and student landed a coupon for a free drink at Starbucks, of any size with any additional add-ons, for his birthday, he took it as a personal challenge. Of course he did. That's what entrepreneurial types do. What's the biggest, priciest Starbucks drink money can buy? It all starts with a Trenta, the 31 ounce super-sized coffee cup introduced by the company last May. I hear the folks at Starbucks tried to get Big Gulp, but it was already taken and Big Ass Cup 'o Joe lacked a certain panache. Then came the add-ons: 1 Java Chip Frappucino ($4.75), 16 shots of espresso ($12.00), a shot of soy milk ($.60), a drop of caramel flavoring ($.50), a scoop of banana puree ($1.00), a scoop of strawberry puree (.60), a few vanilla beans ($.50), a dash of Matcha powder ($.75), some protein powder ($.50) and a caramel and mocha drizzle to cap it off ($.60). Total cost: $23.60. What, only 16 shots of espresso? What a wimp! The student claimed the taste was tolerable, but not good, and he definitely did not drink the whole thing. With 1,400 mg of caffeine and a seemingly incalculable amount of sugar, it's literally a recipe for disaster. Yeah those diabetic comas can be real downers.

Coffee (Part II) - Starbucks has a secret menu. Here are some of the offerings:

• Samoa Frappuccino: Mocha Coconut Frappuccino with caramel drizzle. It's a dead ringer for the Girl Scout Cookie. Wouldn't it be easier just to eat the cookie?
• Thin Mint Frappuccino: Tazo Green Tea Crème Frappuccino with chocolate syrup and java chips. Another drink that borrows its name and flavor from the Girl Scout Cookie repertoire. Seriously, you can buy a whole box for $5 and support a good cause at the same time.
• Snickers Frappuccino: Java Chip Frappuccino with two pumps of toffee nut and a caramel drizzle on top. I'm sensing a trend here. Take your favorite sweet snack, add some coffee, toss it in a blender, then enjoy.
• Banana Cream Pie Frappuccino: Vanilla Bean [Creme Frappuccino] with vanilla [and] hazelnut [syrups], whipped cream, and a whole banana. Pureed pie. Yummy.
• Apple Juice Orange Blossom: Tazo Orange Blossom Tea steeped in steamed apple juice (with no water). Finally, something that I might order.
• Grasshopper Frappuccino: Mocha Frappuccino blended with java chips and peppermint syrup. I'm more of a Shamrock shake (McDonald's) guy myself.
• Dirty Hippy: Dirty Chai Tea Latte with soy milk instead of regular milk. With a name like that, you'd think there would be some booze it this rather than plain old soy milk.
• Marble Mocha Macchiato: A twist on the signature Caramel Macchiato. White mocha on the bottom with no whip, shot on the top and mocha drizzle. Just in case you were worried that you weren't getting enough sugar in the regular version of the Caramel Macchiato.
• Cookies & Cream Frappuccino: White Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino blended with java chips and a dash of peppermint syrup. Or, you could just have yourself a piece of peppermint bark.
• Cinnamon Roll Frappuccino: Combination of Vanilla Bean Crème Frappuccino and cinnamon dolce syrup. I think I got a cavity just reading this description.
• Bootleg Brulée: Add two shots to a white mocha, then add toffee nut [syrup] and caramel drizzle. Okay, this should definitely be something that you get at a bar.