STRICTLY BUSINESS; A TASTE OF CAPE GIRARDEAU AT ST. LOUIS

Wes Kinsey is looking forward to a date in October -- at the Missouri Botanical Gardens.

The Gardens will be the site of the annual "Best of Missouri Market," an invitation-only showcase for the finest arts, crafts and food vendors in the state.

Kinsey, a Cape Girardeau baker who has been designing and baking cakes, pies and other pastries for the past two decades, will showcase some of his specialties, including "Mississippi Mud," "Terrific Toffee," "Hello Daddy," "Gooey Louie" and "Daddy Bars."

The two-day extravaganza will be held Oct. 2 and 3.

This marks the third year for Kinsey's appearance at the two-day event.

"It's a big event," said Kinsey. As many 15,000 people a day attend.

A year ago, My Daddy's Cheesecake was one of 20 companies selected for "Most Promising Products" and was showcased during a prime-time television broadcast by QVC Inc.

The QVC program, a joint effort of the QVC and the Missouri Department of Economic Development, is part of "The Quest for America's Best -- QVC's 50 in 50 Tour," which includes visits to all 50 states over a 50-week period.

Kinsey purchased My Daddy's Cheesecake store at 111 N. Main in 1996.

"My Daddy's Cheesecake, a gourmet cheesecake business, was already known nationally. It was established more than a decade ago by another chef, Tom Harte, who still spends a lot of time in the kitchen as a hobby.

Kinsey, who has more than 20 years experience in baking, and his wife, Ann, purchased the business two years after Kinsey started working at My Daddy's as a chef.

Here's what visitors to the Best of Missouri Market can expect to find from My Daddy's Cheesecake:

-- Gooey Louie: Generous quantities of premium pecans and chocolate, held together with bogs of rich, creamy caramel.

-- Hello Daddy: Rich amalgamation of coconut, chocolate and walnuts.

-- Terrific Toffee: Huge chunks of toffee and lots of nuts with just enough cookie dough to hold them together.

-- Mississippi Mud: A longtime favorite of My Daddy's, a dense creamy dark chocolate cheesecake, smothered with dark chocolate topping and drizzled with white chocolate.

-- Daddy Bars: a slice of cheesecake on a stick, dipped in chocalate.

"The Daddy Bars have become a popular item," said Kinsey. "It's going great at the Southeast Missouri District Fair."

The bar is available two ways -- dipped in chocolate only, and dipped in chocalate and peanuts."

See you at the Botanical Gardens. It's at 4344 Shaw Blvd. in St. Louis.

In addition to Kinsey's desserts, you'll find vegetables, fruits, flower, plants, herbs, nuts, candies, meats, mushrooms, custom jewelry, hand-made papers and much more.

Entertainment during the two days will include country and rockabilly music, and a special "Kids Korner," featuring a "milk-a-cow" booth and a "decorate-a-pumpkin" activities.

Population at 6 billion?

We missed it!

Or, did we?

Depending on who you listen to, the 6 billionth person on earth might have already been born.

United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA) officials say the earth's population will hit the 6 billion mark on Oct. 12.

The UNPFA "population clock" was ticking at 5,994,394,404 early Friday.

The U.S. Census Bureau clock has already topped the 6 billion mark, at 6,012,511,646.

Some demographers with the U.N.'s population division narrowed down the 6 billion milestone to some time in early October, and narrowed the big day down to Oct. 12.

The U.S. Census Bureau's International Programs Center projected it at July 19.

Our calculations placed the date at July 21.

So, whose right?

We all used the same census figures from around the world in our calculations,

Demographers run census figures through a "smoothing" process, trying to correct data-collection errors particular to each country. Then they extrapolate into the future from the date of the census, using each nation's estimated fertility, mortality and migration rates.

Me? I simply calculated the world population growth for an hour, multiplied that by 24, and divided that figure into the difference of the population on the day of calculation, and came up with July 21.

None of these dates could be mistaken for hard fact. Putting a number on the planet's bustling multitudes is more like counting bees in a hive, and current estimates of world population are actually projections based on census figures almost a decade old.

Add up all the countries, and the result is a world population figure that's stronger on precision than accuracy.

The World Census page of the Internet Friday listed the wide, wide world total at 6-billion-plus and ticking away, but, again, the UNFPA census is still going at 5.99 and counting.

The UNFPA does provide some interesting data concerning the 6 millionth person:

-- The new arrival has one chance of 10 being born in a wealthy family.

-- It has three chances out of 10 of being born in poverty.

-- The greatest odds are that it will be born in China or India.

By any odds, the earth will reach the 6 billion population mark this year, and that's more people than ever lived on earth.

Like, 100 years ago, 1.6 billion people lived on earth.

Population growth has accelerated during most of this century. It took all of human history to reach a world population of 1 billion in 1804. It took 123 years to reach 2 billion in 1927, 33 years to reach 3 billion in 1960, 14 years to reach 4 billion in 1974, and 13 years to reach 5 billion in 1987. Adding the 6 billion, a milestone United Nations will have taken just 12 years.

Fifty years from now, there could be 8.9 billion people on earth.

The countdown to the official U.S. Census is already under way.

Would you believe the 2000 census count is half over? Henry Palacios, regional director of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Census, Kansas City region, who was in Cape Girardeau recently, said two of the four phases of the census have been completed.

The U.S. Census work, said Palacios, is made up of four major phases, (1) compilation of an address list, (2) block canvassing, (3) mailing of census forms and (4) adjustments.

The first two phases have been completed, people will see their census forms in March.

The Census Bureau's deadline is to have the count to the president by Dec. 31, 2000.

Reapportionment for U.S. representatives will be determined, based on new population figures in April 2001.

"Guesstimates" of the U.S. population ranged from 274 million to 278 million. The United States is not expected to hit the 300 million mark until 2007.

Missouri is expected to go from about 5.3 million to 5.5 million; Illinois could go from 11.8 million to about 12.1 million; Kentucky is expected to go from 2.8 million to 3.9 million; and Arkansas projections are to go from 1.4 million to 2.6 million.,