I normally enjoy surprises but this was one that was less than enjoyable. It started when I was researching mercury in tuna and reasonably, thought of the canned tuna that many of us use regularly. I began by looking at some Geisha brand tuna that I had on hand in the cupboard. I was not expecting that the mercury content would be listed but it was worth a look. And, of course, it was not, but the surprise was that it is a product of China! China? The country that brought us lead contamination in toys, dog food, toothpaste, and many other consumer products that have been recalled is now selling tuna? I really had to look twice but as the photo shows, it is a "product of China".
I think that the most deceiving factor is that Geisha is a Japanese brand, and they have regulations and no history of sending us lead. In fact, the distributor, JFE Shoji, is a Japanese company. And, Japan has been a leader in tuna supply and sells extensively to the US. But, this brings the question to mind as to whether or not the regulations extend to a Chinese company and to what extent can we be assured that the tuna is safe? As far as I am concerned, it like the old "Sorry Charley" commercials of StarKist tuna. ( By the way, it is not clear where they get their tuna either as they has been sold twice over the last several years and Japan has exceeded its tuna fishing amounts). And as far as mercury levels, the government says that it is within "normal limits" and does not require regulations. Sorry Geisha, color me gone...

Dreams and dreaming have fascinated people for several thousand years. Early accounts were primarily based on religious belief and cultural perspectives. There have been both good and bad aspects in believing that there was a connection to “other world” possibilities. The people who could see the future were considered possessed and suffered ridicule and death. It was pretty risky to even admit to dreaming until there was some attempt at organization and structured study to actually understand what was really happening in the brain. And yet, we still are not sure what dreams mean and what significance that they have on everyday life. But, let’s look at what we do know and at some of the possibilities for dream interpretation.
From extensive sleep studies we know that dreaming occurs during REM sleep, (Rapid Eye Movement). Inset photo shows EEG traces of the rapid eye movement. This is the period of high brain activity in the alpha state.  Dreaming can occur in slower states but is usually less vivid and are more difficult to remember. We all have between two and eight dreams each night and  they can last for just seconds, or for as long as 20 minutes. We are more likely to remember them if we are awakened during or after the dream has recently ended. At times, dreams can provide an inspired thought, or some insight, but the questions about dream interpretation are greater than the answers.
From the academic perspective, Freud speculated that dreams are wish fulfillment and related to unconscious thought. Jung rejected this view and believed that dreams are unconscious desires and that they demanded the dreamers attention as they were messages from deep inside the psyche. But, many researchers since then have postulated many varied ideas, but the ideas have become the property of popular psychology and they have reduced the complex biochemistry of dreaming to "simple dream interpretation". So, for example, I looked up the meaning of dreaming of water. It had two paragraphs of "water is the life force of the mind" and the flow of life can be serene of turbulent. If it is boiling water, the it means that we are in  turmoil. As a healthy skeptic, I reject the notion that all dreams are equal and that we all perceive everything in the same way. What I offer is an observation and should not be considered scientific in any way.
The first thought that I offer is that the brain is active during sleep. That is a fact and the brain waves are either alpha, beta, theta or delta. This is high to low activity and there is no surprise that our memory is tapped into during sleep. But I also believe that dreams are sometime just electrical activity and have no significance at all as the dream becomes active. But, there is some connection to what we experience and how it is remembered as we dream. So, I have recorded my dreams over long periods of time and have had very little success  in finding correlations between the dream world and the real world. That is not to say that there isn't some correlation, but that I just have not seen it. I have even had a sleep study done and that too was not very informative.
I think that the bottom line is that dreams are like fingerprints: they are all different and unique to the dreamer. The only way to see connections is to look for them. Checking a dream interpretation book for the explanation is a waste of time and precious resources. Now, if I dream of smelling a rose, am I looking for romance, or just trying to figure out how to extract the fragrance? Just a thought...

It was, at one time, said that variety is the spice of life, but lately, I have questioned that age-old maxim. This happens as I shop at the local supermarket. I like choice, and it is nice to be able to select from two or three of something. In the produce aisle for example, there are red onions, Bermuda onions, and yellow onions. Easy to make a choice. The pears? Bartlett, Anjou, and another one that escapes me at the moment. Again, an easy choice.
But, it is the rest of the store that causes me strife to no end. The cereal Aisle is a great source of confusion. It has 60 feet of shelf space with multiple manufactures, including the store brand. There is reduced fat, low fat, healthy grain, low sugar and all sugar, (the kids cereal), and multiple sizes. If I took the time to compare unit prices, I would be there all day. And even coffee! At the last count I had the choice of regular, lite, French roast, medium, regular, or dark roast. And there are 10 different brands! There are even gourmet coffees! I just want coffee and not have to subject my palate to that many examples of commerce.
Pasta has always been an easy choice in the past but not now. There is whole grain, regular semolina, and every shape under the sun. Noodles are broad, thin, gluten free, and come in all sizes. And cheese! There are some kinds that I can't even pronounce!
And for people like me who like to get in and get out, they put easy choices on the end caps at the ends of the aisle. Notoriously, they are generally poor choices in value and are designed to be for impulse buyers who don't look at the real price. And,  the amount of precooked and processed food outnumbers the ingredients to make home made food. Can you say obesity?
It used to take me 10 minutes to make a shopping list and now I have to think about each item. I do like the idea of choice, but I really don't want to have to pack a lunch just to go shopping. Just a thought...