artificial butter flavor and lung disease

4 years ago while researching what artificial butter flavor was made from, I came across a news report about several people in a popcorn plant having gotten a rare lung disease from breathing in particulates from artificial butter flavor.

Now I came across a report of a popcorn-eating consumer who has been diagnosed with the same rare lung disease:
http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/story?id=3565670&page=1

This sort of makes me glad I passed on the free popcorn they were giving out at work today, especially since the butter-flavor on that popcorn is usually so strong it tastes yucky after a while.

(no subject)

Wow, the 2 trees in my back yard which had lost nearly all their leaves appear to be growing new ones back. I wonder if that is due to some restorative ability the trees have, to recover after a time of drought, or if these trees are some variety for which it is normal to grow new leaves this time of the year?

Something I learned this week: If a plumber from a well-known and apparently highly-regarded plumbing company quotes you a seemingly outrageous price for some work you want done, even if the prices come from official-looking listings in a company binder, that doesn't necessarily mean it is a take-it-or-leave-it deal. If you say, no, that is more than I was planning to spend, they may actually give you a lower quote. And if you say no again, they may actually go even lower. Who knew that plumbing repairs were something to haggle over? It might have saved me a lot of money a few weeks ago, if I known that.