DadTalk

Should We Fix or Replace Broken Washing Machine?

While I was on our 8th and last load of laundry this weekend, it finally happened – our washing machine died mid-cycle.

I unhappily wrung the remaining clothes before putting them in the dryer. It took two hours to get the soggier-than-usual clothes dry.

So here’s my question: should we buy a new washer or should I have the old one fixed? Key points:

1. We currently are renting and originally did not want to buy a new washer and dryer until we bought a house one or two years from now.
2. The washer is 15 years old. I bought it in Arizona, took it to Florida then California and back to Arizona again. (Have washer, will travel.)
3. The brand is Estate by Whirlpool.
4. If we fix the washer, will it just break down again in a few months?
5. Neither the washer or dryer are rated energy efficient.
6. We are very tight financially right now, with our health insurance companies refusing to pay some bills. (Six months later, they still haven’t paid for the treatment of Seth’s 2nd degree burns.)
7. If we buy a washer, will we have to buy a matching dryer?
8. I usually do six to seven loads a week, but sometimes much more.
9. I want a front loader.
10. Is spending money on a repairman money wasted?

Please let me know what you think. We can’t go longer than two weeks without a working machine!

This Season’s Garden Was Nipped in the Bud

Moles – with the help of rabbits, birds and rats – have killed my garden. I don’t mean they killed a few plants here and there. I mean, utter destruction.

The okra plants fell over after being chewed off at the stems. The beets were eaten top down. The snow peas mowed from left to right. The squash and cucumbers were killed ostensibly to keep roots from growing down into the burrows. Some plants dehydrated after the quarter-inch water lines were severed by sharp teeth.

I could have stopped the varmints early on; I don’t have a moral problem killing garden pests. In fact, my neighboring gardeners offered toxic pellets to kill the garden destroyers.

It’s the poison I reject. The whole point of growing is freshness and chemical-free food.

Recalls 2.1 Million Cribs Recalled; Group Warns of Bad Toys

 Just as 2.1 million drop-side cribs are being recalled, holiday shoppers are once again being warned of hazardous toys.

There have been four known suffocations following hardware failures involving Stork Craft cribs, reports the Consumer Product and Safety Commission. Stork Craft reports 67 incidents in the United States and 43 in Canada.

Parents who own Stork Craft drop-side cribs – 147,000 of which carry the Fisher-Price logo – are being asked to wait for a free repair kit before attempting to fix the side panel. Hardware has repeatedly failed or been damaged when installed incorrectly. Cribs without drop-down sides are not subject to this recall.

CPSC Chairman Inez Tennebaum admits the agency is not moving quickly enough on this recall, reports The Associated Press via Forbes “So, I put all of the resources for the agency on this project so that they could accomplish this goal of recalling the crib,” says Tennebaum.

Meanwhile, the Illinois Public Interest Research Group issued its 24th annual warning to shoppers, asking them to avoid dangerous toys – such as a red Elmo lunchbox and a too-loud Fisher Price phone. While toys are improving, problems persist, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan tells the Chicago Tribune:

“In spite of the improvements that we have seen over the last year at the federal level and the improvements that we have seen in the last several years in the state of Illinois, Illinois PIRG every single year is able to walk into toy stores and purchase toys that are dangerous for children.”

Other cited toys include dangerously loud Stompers Triceratops or a lead-contaminated Big Rex book. You can look up toys via cell phones here, or go here for the quick summary.

A Look at the Numbers Reveals Why CA Students Are Upset

I’ve been trying to wrap my mind around the 32-percent increase in student fees for California’s public college students, as mentioned in the Los Angeles Times.

When I was at Indiana University in the mid-1980s, I think my out-of-state tuition was less than $1,000 a semester. Even if it was $1,000, a 32 percent increase would only have added $320 a semester to my bill.

If calculated over eight semesters, I would have graduated with $2,560 of debt instead of $300. Not great, but still quite manageable. (BTW, out-of-state tuition at IU is now $11,882 per semester, but only $3,194 for in-state residents.)

UCLA tuition runs for $8,266 a year for undergraduate state residents living off campus. A 32 percent increase will add $2,645 to the in-state annual bill or $10,580 to four years of college. The total four-year cost will now be $43,644.

But that’s where it gets ugly: out-of-state resident already pay $30,935 a year for tuition. The rate hike would presumably add $9,899 to the annual bill or $39,596.80 to the four-year total.

The total bill for out-of-state residents, not counting housing, room and board, etc., will be a whopping $163,336.80. No wonder those college kids are protesting.

With number like that, it looks like my kids will be going to Arizona universities unless they win some mighty big scholarships or we move back to whichever state they want to attend college.

Additional

I calculate that only 8.6 percent of the 26,687 undergraduate students pay out-of-state tuition, according to this chart I found, but the link doesn't seem to work. 

Consumer Group Finds Lead Found in 7 Toys

With the holiday season around the corner, I shouldn’t be surprised that high levels of lead were found in Barbie and Disney toys by the Center for Environmental Health, as reported by The Associated Press. But I am.

I figured if there is one company that never wants to see lead again, it’s Mattel. After all, the company is about to give out money as part of a lead paint toy settlement.

But after testing about 250 toys, Environmental Health found high levels of lead in a Barbie Bike Flair Accessory Kit sold at Tuesday Mornings. The Barbie product had 20 times the legal limit, reports the Los Angeles Times.

The group also found 73 times the legal limit of lead in Disney Fairies Silvermist’s Water Lily Necklace sold by Walgreen’s.

The five other products are: the Kids Poncho sold by Wal-Mart; MSY Faded Glory Rebecca Shoes sold by Wal-Mart; Reversible Croco Belt sold by Target; Dora the Explorer Activity Tote sold by T.J. Maxx; and Paula Fuschia Open-Toed Shoes sold by Sears.

While a national recall has not been launched, California Attorney General Edmund Brown Jr. wants the retailers to pull the products. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is also investigating, reports The Associated Press.

How Is Financial Stress Impacting Your Family?

Why are our identities so mixed up with our work? Is it just the financial stress, or is it something deeper?

Regardless, American families are being turned upside down by the continuing scourge of unemployment. Some families are faring better than others, reports The New York Times. In many cases, children take the brunt of spousal strife, parental depression or parental anxiety.

As one dad tells the Times:

“I’ve heard a lot of people who are out of work say it’s kind of been a blessing, that you have more time to spend with your family. I love my family and my family comes first, and my family means more than anything to me, but it hasn’t been that way for me.”

I know what this dad means. For me, the stress is more about having enough funds to pay the bills than about not working. I get ample satisfaction from being a work-at-home dad and would be happy to call “dad” my career.

But not all parents feel this way, writes one commenter on the Times story:

Product Recalls Maclaren Recalls Strollers After Finger Amputations

It’s been a while since there was a major recall, but this one is a doozy: Maclaren is recalling about 1 million umbrella strollers because the side hinge mechanism can cut off a finger, reports msnbc. Or a fat carrot, as the screen grabs show.

There have been reports of 12 finger amputations and three lacerations in the United States, reports the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Although the $100-$360 strollers are being recalled in the United States, warnings apparently suffice in Europe, according to this video report.

From the CPSC website:

This recall involves all Maclaren single and double umbrella strollers. The word “Maclaren” is printed on the stroller. The affected models included Volo, Triumph, Quest Sport, Quest Mod, Techno XT, TechnoXLR, Twin Triumph, Twin Techno and Easy Traveller.

Side note: Notice if you will in the two video screen grabs, the Google Ads.

Bisphenol A Present in All Tested Cans, Study Finds

Remember when parents freaked about Bisphenol A in their water bottles? Well, it turns out that it’s in our food cans, too, reports The Wall Street Journal.

The Consumer Reports study found that the chemical, which some believe causes behavioral problems as well as breast and prostrate prostate cancers in animals, was present in cans labeled “BPA-free” and “organic.”

The American Chemistry Council, which is in part funded by BPA makers, rejects the study as faulty.

This caught my attention in a blog post from Consumer Reports (the main article is behind the pay wall):

(Eden Foods President and Chairman Michael) Potter says that finding a supplier of cans that weren’t lined with BPA-containing epoxy resin was a difficult and frustrating process. “I made hundreds of calls to can manufacturers trying to find out what was in their can linings and I always ended up talking to an attorney in the Beltway who informed me to my amazement that it was a trade secret and I had no right to know,” says Potter.

Ah, good old trade secrets. Another way to say, “We’re poisoning you, folk. Just move right along.”

Food Recalls There’s Peanut Butter in Jelly Bellys?

While I don’t go after every Food and Drug Administration recall, this one caught my attention: The Jelly Belly Candy Company is warning that they left off peanut butter from one of their package labels.

Who would have though there was real peanut butter in any of the Jelly Belly products? I thought they were 100 percent artificial!

The recall, by the way, is for the 49 Flavors of Jelly Belly jelly beans, which comes in a cylindrical 7.5-ounce package. Details:

The Jelly Belly 49 Flavors cylinder packages were shipped to approximately 200 independent stores nationwide from September 29 to October 30, 2009. Product was packaged in a clear 7.5-ounce acetate cylinder with white label on the bottom of the package with lot codes 090925, 090928, 090929 or 091001. UPC code 07156798939.

As many parents know, peanut allergies can kill kids, so be careful out there.

Food Recalls Boston Parents Sue After Beef Sickens 2 Children

The families of two children sickened by a recent E. Coli outbreak, possibly in meat, are suing, reports The Boston Herald.

So far, two deaths and 28 illnesses have been linked to a recall of 545,699 pounds of Fairbank Farms beef. The recalled ground beef and beef patties were packaged from Sept. 14 to Sept. 16 and had “EST 492” stamped on the packages, reports The New York Times.

The products were sold in Northeastern states at grocery stores such as Trader Joe’s, Giant, Price Chopper, Wild Harvest and Shaw’s. (I don’t know about you, but I’m getting a bit nervous as to the number of times TJ’s shows up in recalls.)

While this meat dates back to September, it could still be in the freezer. For specific recall information, go here.