Local First Indiana

There is finally a group forming in Bloomington, Indiana to become part of the BALLE Network. BALLE is The Business Alliance for Local Living Economies and works to promote local businesses.

Local First Indiana had its first steering committee meeting in late July.

Local First Indiana is a non-profit organization committed to supporting and promoting locally owned independent business by educating the public, facilitating collaboration, and engaging in outreach in order to create a more economically and environmentally sustainable local community, while preserving the unique local character."

This is how Local First Indiana is defining local:

1. Is the business privately held (not publicly traded)?
2. Do the business owners, totaling greater than 50 percent of the business
ownership, live in your local region?
3. Is the business registered in your state, with no corporate or national
headquarters outside your region?
4. Can the business make independent decisions regarding the name and look
of the business, as well as all business purchasing,practices, and
distribution?
5. Does the business pay all its own rent, marketing expenses, and other
expenses (without assistance from a corporate headquarters)?

If you would like to learn more about becoming involved with Local First Indiana, contact Amanda at


or Una at

The Hair Cut

A forward from a good friend.

The Hair Cut...

One day a florist went to a barber for a haircut.

After the cut, he asked about his bill, and the barber replied, 'I cannot
accept money from you , I'm doing community service this week.' The florist
was pleased and left the shop.

When the barber went to open his shop the next morning, there was a 'thank
you' card and a dozen roses waiting for him at his door.

Later, a cop comes in for a haircut, and when he tries to pay his bill, the
barber again replied, 'I cannot accept money from you , I'm doing community
service this week.' The cop was happy and left the shop.

The next morning when the barber went to open up, there was a 'thank you'
card and a dozen donuts waiting for him at his door.

Then a Congressman came in for a haircut, and when he went to pay his bill,
the barber again replied, 'I can not accept money from you. I'm doing
community service this week.' The Congressman was very happy and left the
shop.

The next morning, when the barber went to open up, there were a dozen
Congressmen lined up waiting for a free haircut.

And that, my friends, illustrates the fundamental difference between the
citizens of our country and the politicians who run it.

Another Diet Directive

I love the people at Organic Authority. But I am getting tired of the diet experts out there. Just a tad frustrated.

A new post states " Eating breakfast—especially one that includes whole grains—reduces your risk for heart attack, stroke, type 2 diabetes and heart failure, according to the May 2008 issue of the Harvard Heart Letter." and goes on to say that a prominent physician, Matthew Edlund, MD, "suggests that if you’re watching your weight, there’s an optimal time to eat your first organic meal of the day: within 15 to 30 minutes of waking up, and no later than 8 a.m." and told Redbook magazine: “If you don’t eat breakfast, your body thinks it’s in starvation mode, and you’ll eat more food later on.”




I don't disagree with the original hypothesis of Covert Bailey in "Fit or Fat". I have struggled with changing my set point off and on for years.

However, I believe strongly that we cannot be standardized in the way that Matthew Edlund, MD suggests. He is just one among many in the science community guilty of this, so I don't really mean to pick on him. My point is, the fact that he is a prominent physician and has written a book does not give him an authority on every body type and metabolism type out there. The studies that exist, if you look closely, are often trying to extrapolate data from 35 to 50 people at a time to a U.S. population of over 304 million people. This is getting to be ludicrous.

People need to listen to their own bodies and develop their own approach. There are too many factors, work schedules, life styles, etc. for a one-size fits all approach to scheduling one's diet. I agree with the healthy and organic meals advocated, just not the broad generalization.

World Population .....yeesh! we have multiplied!

The US population is now at 307,098,995 and the World population is at 6,775,839,727.

Let's see. That means that the U.S. is only 4.5% of the world's population! This is a humbling thought. One that we need to remind ourselves of once in a while.

On another note.....Let's look at China. Their current population is 1,319,175,359. Which means they are 19.46% of the world population.

Peace be with all of us.

Did you know that their are more Chinese internet users than the entire US population?

According to the folks at SearchEngineWatch.com "The number of internet users in China has surpassed the population of the United States, according to the China Internet Network Information Center. Last year their use of broadband passed US numbers, so the level of service and number seems to be growing at a much more rapid rate than people had predicted."

I keep trying to think if I have anything to sell to China. :-) Nope. I will just send them thoughts of peace.