Re: cognitive "Stuff"

They didn't have any raw dairy at your whole foods? I'm kindof surprised. We last lived in Rhode Island and the WF in Providence always had some kind of raw dairy. Although I was disappointed because they didn't have any raw goat cheese.

My family lives in the Philadelphia area and there was a small health food store there that had a reasonable variety of raw foodist stuff, like cookies and bars and crackers and meals. They had some great raw goat cheddar. My mother was upset that I would buy it because of the "germ" thing.

Someone posted at one point that the aged raw cheeses actually have had their enzymes destroyed and that you should look for softer ones like feta or brie.

There was also a link going around which listed the farms that sold raw milk products in the USA - maybe do a search on "real dairy".

The weather here in Japan today is rainy and mid-70's. Most of the summer here is generally upper 80's and 80-90% humidity. This is the kind of weather I like, but everyone else complains about it. When we first came here last august, we were previously in the philly area and the temp was in the high 90's and it was sunny and "high humidity for that area". When we got here, the weather felt smothering even though it rarely got over 90. It just takes getting used to. The Japanese people don't abuse air conditioning so that makes it easier. When I go into a mall or store, there is generally less humidity but it is not cold (I think they use de-humidifiers in lieu of air conditioners), so your body doesn't have to re-adapt every time you go back out. When I go to the american stores or even post office here on base, it is so freezeing cold inside - what a waste of electricity!

It sounds like it is unbearably hot where you live. I think the "it's a dry heat" thing wears off after about 100 or so. When I was in college I did a semester and summer in Richland, Washington at the Dept of Energy. It is a little-known desert because of the way the mountains block off the rain there. The temp in the summer was frequently over 100, though I think it the most it ever got up to was 108 in my time there. I used to go running with some people at lunchtime. High noon in 105 degrees, running 4 miles at a 5-minute pace. I thought it was great; I love the heat!

Tina.