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  1. Viewing Profile: Posts: The Cookie Dragon

The Cookie Dragon

Member Since 08 Feb 2008
Offline Feb 25 2008 12:22 AM

Posts I've Made

In Topic: Does anyone have an oatmeal bread recipe?

25 February 2008 - 12:22 AM

Ooo, I don't think I've tried this one. Thank you! I shall try tomorrow and let you know if it was as good as it sounds.

The Cookie Dragon is tired.

In Topic: Would you jump in?

24 February 2008 - 10:17 PM

QUOTE (Cataliste @ Feb 25 2008, 12:49 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
No. Never. Being picked on makes you hate people in general, makes you anti-social, and builds up a tolerance for emotional abuse. All VERY good things.


Hmmm, you make a good point. I'd have to revise my answer to only physical violence. If it's verbal, you need to learn to whup them soundly on their own turf or ignore them completely.

The Cookie Dragon smiles upon you and gives you a cookie.

In Topic: Soda in Schools? Allow or Ban

24 February 2008 - 10:01 PM

The excuse (yes, excuse) I've heard is one that's already been put forth on this topic: focus and productivity of kids. Okay, let's look at this logically and scientifically, leaving other considerations aside for a moment. 1} Small amounts of caffeine, regularly injested, actually stimulate neural pathways. It increases the flow of blood to the brain and allows it to function better. This may be why schools offer energy drinks instead of soda now; most energy drinks now on the market contain a cocktail of B vitamins and other beneficial additives (like ginseng, taurine, ginko biloba... you know, the herbal remedies that's been taken by health nuts for years, because they do make your body function better) in addition to caffeine. In essence, one energy drink in the morning isn't going to kill you, nor is it going to ruin your health. It actually has some benefits. I am advocating knowing what the hell goes into your body before you put it there, people. This is what the Nutritional Information panel on EVERY BLOODY ITEM that's sold in the US is supposed to tell you. Read them. 2} Schools blame sugary drinks and food and the oh-so-evil caffeine for kids lack of focus and productivity? How about the glaring lack of exercise? Most elementary/primary schools in the US have cut back or eliminated recess. Yeah, a bunch of 8 and 9 year olds are going to sit still for 6 hours. Right. Fantasy world, anyone? Scientists have proven that a moderate amount of exercise is necessary to the well-being of the human body, and this is especially true for children. Exercise that raises the heart rate for at least 15 mins releases a chemical cascade in the brain and body, some of which assist in concentration and the ability to absorb information and actually retain it after the school bell rings and you breathe a sigh of relief, 'cause finally you get to go home and chill. Middle and high schools have half-assed gym or PE (physical exercise) classes, and a lot of times, these are ELECTIVES. For those unfamiliar, electives are the programs you only have so many slots for, and they're usually the more interesting classes. You want to learn German? You give up gym. Viola, the only exercise in 6 hours or more (depending on the overload of homework) goes bye-bye. 3} (And this has been mentioned before, I know. Bear with me.) The food the SAME school serves is loaded with simple carbs (those sugars they were oh-so-worried about), saturated fats, and have next to no vitamins. Healthy food, if it's even offered, is more expensive and often out of the average teen's budget. Even if it isn't, do you want to spend the little amount of money you get on food when you could be saving up to buy the PSP game of your dreams? Hell no, not when you can get twice the crap for a tenth of the price. Not to mention, even the kids who have half an idea how to interpret nutritional information don't get the opportunity. They don't put any up for the cafeteria food. I wonder why? Maybe because that meatloaf they're serving is essentially a salt lick that they can get for pennies on the dollar? 4} As someone previously mentioned, it's a proven fact that if a person never makes a decision for themselves, they never learn to do so. You know how babies fall thousands of times before they learn to walk? That's because they're learning to do it right. What happens when a teen turns 18 and is now an adult? When they go off to college without a single idea of how to make good choices, because instead of teaching them how to reason it out for themselves, we took away everything but what we percieved as the "right choice?"

The question of choice, also, is a moral one. Do we have the right to take away the kids' right to choose. Yes and no. Does a 2 year old know that candy he wants is empty calories? That he'd be much healthier and fuller from a plate of pasta and chicken? No. He will choose the candy because it appeals to his sweet tooth, and he doesn't know any better. Now, take that same question, and put it before a 16 year old. Most guys I know and have known will pick the pasta and chicken, 'cause you get more out of it. They don't want the extra pounds, the extra visit to the dentist, enough to eat candy nonstop. Yes, they will eat candy. Perhaps too much at times. But overall, they will make the better choice, because they have learned why it is the better choice. Should we take away their ability to get one soda in a day because they need the caffeine in school more than they do an hour before bed? No. High schools should not ban soda. They should offer plenty of healthy options as well, and at affordable prices, but the choice should always lay with the person. Mind you, private schools are privately funded and the choice now lays with the people who pay for it. But WE pay for the public schools. WE should have the right to choose. And any parent who thinks the right choice is no choice is short-changing their children, and insulting their intelligence and capability to develop same. We may begin ignorant, but given the opportunity, the human mind is, by its very design, meant to grow. This is no less true for our children than it is for us, they simply have less experience.

//end rant (with apologies to anyone I may have offended. it was not intended.)

The Cookie Dragon lets out a very deep breath.

In Topic: President, Woman,Black,Old Guy

24 February 2008 - 08:50 PM

QUOTE (Athean @ Feb 24 2008, 11:38 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
But whats the point if Obama is semi genuine if his policies are equally disastrous, regardless if the similar conclusions he shares with hillary come from a less "evil" background?


Ignorance that what you're doing is wrong I can forgive, but blatant flushing-of-the-country-down-the-toilet, I can't. I would prefer a president who honestly wants to do right by the country and is simply going about it the wrong way, because they might come around when they see their way doesn't work. Hillary knows what wants to do won't work. That's why she wants to do it, so everyone becomes dependant upon the now-Democrat ruled government. They want dependance, so they don't lose out. "You need us, see! You need us!" That's what she's after. Obama simply thinks it's the right course for the country because it's what's going to work. He may not know better now, but he has the opportunity to learn. A politician like Hillary will never learn, because she doesn't want to. Her agenda lies in making this country worse, not better.

More politics. Yay. ...I need a cookie.

In Topic: What's your favorite cereal?

24 February 2008 - 08:43 PM

Probably no one has heard of this, but my fave is Nature Valley Cinnamon cereal. The one with all the granola bar bits in it... ohhhh, yum.

If one must forego cookies, one must eat cereal.

  1. Viewing Profile: Posts: The Cookie Dragon