Toy Story characters in a Lego building set? How exciting is that? Yes, it is true. The year 2010, is the year that the Toy Story Lego building set becomes a reality.

In September last year, at the Venice Film Festival, the entrance to the red carpet was decorated with a five-and-a-half feet brick sculpture of Woody and a six-and-a-half feet brick sculpture of Buzz Lightyear, both built entirely using Lego building blocks. To add to the fun and excitement, Lego building areas were set up for everyone at the Film Festival, so they could be a part of the entire Lego fever. It took around 40,000 Lego building blocks, 250 hours and three builders to get Buzz together, while Woody used up 13,600 building blocks and around 150 hours.

Are you wondering why Buzz and Woody stood at the red carpet entrance? It was a public relations move to promote the release of Toy Story’s 3D movie version, which is scheduled for the summer of 2010, while also celebrating the launch of the Disney-Lego collaboration. The building sets of Toy Story are scheduled for January 2010.

Knowing what a hit Toy Story has been with the kids, you might put this Lego set down on your must-buy shopping list for your kids. The movie is not just for kids though, without a doubt young and old alike will enjoy the 3D movie version. To top it all off, everyone will be able spend hours putting together their favorite Toy Story characters together using Lego’s Toy Story set.

Consuming food contaminated with bacteria or toxins can lead to food poisoning. In most cases, people are not aware that the food consumed is contaminated that could lead to serious health problems. It depends on the type of food poisoning you have or if you have compromised your immune system. Some of the types of food poisoning are Shigella, Botulism, Salmonella, E.coli and Listeria.
Let us look at a few of them:

Shigella - This type of bacterium can cause severe diarrhea. Transmitted through fecal matter and bad hygiene, Shigella is quite similar to Salmonella poisoning. Symptoms such as nausea, fever, cramps and diarrhea, sometimes bloody indicate Shigella poisoning. You can prevent contracting Shigella if you are very particular about personal hygiene and ensure that you always wash your hands thoroughly and that your bathroom and kitchen surfaces are clean and free of fecal matter.

Botulism - Botulism bacteria attacks in three different ways: wound, infant botulism and food-borne. The first type of infection occurs when bacteria infects a wound. Bacteria living inside the intestines of a baby cause infant botulism sometimes caused by raw honey. Food-borne botulism occurs due to improperly canned and processed foods. If you have blurry vision, slurred speech, muscle weakness, dry mouth and have difficulty swallowing - then you might have botulism. If it gets severe, it can even cause paralysis and respiratory failure. One can avoid Botulism by following hygienic practices when cooking and preparing food and taking the time to cook meats fully.

Salmonella - Humans get this infection from wild and domestic animals, through their meat, eggs or milk. Eating undercooked meat, unpasteurized milk, and raw eggs can all give you salmonella poisoning. Common symptoms include diarrhea, nausea, abdominal pain, fever and vomiting and can last from five days up to a week. Avoid dehydration at all costs. Young children, elderly people or people suffering from a chronic illness are in more danger from salmonella poisoning. Keep cooking surfaces clean, especially if it has been in contact with unpasteurized milk, raw eggs or raw meat.

One of the many arguments regarding different types of milk is the one of organic milk versus regular milk. The healthier of the two is debated widely while most ponder on the reason behind the price difference.

Milk from cows that have not been fed grain that contain pesticides is what is referred to as organic milk. These cows have also not been given any bovine growth hormones or antibiotics. In case antibiotics have been given, those cows are separated from the rest of the herd.

Regular milk is derived from cows that have been given bovine growth hormones - to accentuate milk production. Their food - hay and grain - has probably been treated with insecticides. Antibiotics are used to treat injured or sick cows.

What is important to take into consideration is that even though these cows are given antibiotics and hormones, standards set by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) state that traces of antibiotics cannot be found in the milk produced. Dairy farm milk tanks are checked regularly to ensure that standards are upheld.

The cost of organic milk and regular milk differs. Organic milk will cost you around $5 per gallon while regular milk is $3.50. Organic milk is more expensive as the resources needed to grow organic feed and hay for the cows is much more. Care given to cows producing organic milk is high, as the use of antibiotics is not an option.

In terms of health benefits, organic milk is the healthier option as it contains no chemicals, pesticides or preservatives. Bovine growth hormones have been linked to many adverse health conditions - thus making the extra $1.50 spent on organic milk a worthwhile expenditure.

Be it a meeting or a conference, the question & answer (Q & A) session can be either a lively one or simply a platform for people to speak their thoughts out aloud. However, the downside of giving people this platform is that in most cases, deviation of the topic, monopolization of time, irrelevant comments and questions all lead to a complete waste of time.
Q&A sessions should essentially be utilized effectively. Here is a concise guide on facilitating productive and thought provoking sessions.

- Go through the question in your head before you actually say it out aloud. Try to put it together first and then pose your question.

- If the meeting or conference is being held with a large group of people, request for a microphone and then ask your question.

- Wait until the audience has settled down before you raise your hand.

- It is good to thank the speaker but keep it brief.

- If the situation is a formal one, refrain from using the speaker’s first name. It is not good etiquette.

- An introduction is good and useful, but a short one will suffice.

- Use your introduction to check the sound. If it sounds like you cannot be heard, speak up.

- When posing questions, it is important to stay focused. Multiple questions, varying theories and feedback will only confuse the audience and not serve any purpose.

- If you require a comprehensive answer, then save it for later - to pose at a one-on-one session. Your question must be simple.

- If you find yourself asking a question that does in fact require a lengthy explanation, then a simple, polite statement such as “Perhaps this can be addressed later.” will do.

- Sensitive questions that could cause offence to the audience or the speaker must be avoided.

Most people are familiar with the concept of porcelain veneers - thin strips of porcelain that are attached to the upper or lower rows of teeth in order to produce a whiter smile and correct problems caused by misalignment. But many people don’t know that porcelain is also used for crowns, and that this procedure can provide a great benefit for people with crooked or worn teeth.

Porcelain crowns provide many functions. If there is damage to a tooth, a porcelain crown can protect against further cracking. Cosmetic dentists also use crowns to provide aesthetic benefits to patients by covering teeth that are permanently misshapen or discolored.

If you are interested in porcelain crowns, it’s important to go to cosmetic dentists you can trust. If you are looking for cosmetic dentists in Toronto or neighboring areas, a great choice is the practice of leading dentists Andrew Charkiw and Armaghan Afsar. They have helped celebrities and average people achieve the perfect smile through the use of porcelain crowns, veneers and other tools.

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