Aug 04/2009

Grocery day and off I go to the co-op for some supplies. As I start my co-op routine I pick up some of the normal staples. Bread check, milk check, sandwich meat check, what's next? Off to the produce department for my veggie fix. There you have it cauliflower, now I have two options for the cauliflower. Option one is a small cauliflower tree that is O natural with no packaging. Then the second option is the normal cauliflower tree all wrapped up in plastic and is taped with so much tape that you can't open it up without ripping apart the bag. So I was shaking my head wondering what option to go with. Take the impossible to open wrapped, or the more expensive but already open tree? With all this decision making going on I haden't notice that the produce boy has snuck up beside me and asks if he can help. Well hey this is the guy I need to talk to about the massive amount of tape sealing up the cauliflower. So here is how the conversation goes down.

"Can I help you?" says the produce kid.
"Yes as a matter a fact you sure can." This produce kid has no idea he is about to get bombarded with meaningless cauliflower wrap talk.
"So here we have this nice cauliflower but it is wrapped up in a bag that is taped shut with so much tape red green would be proud. So I take this cauliflower home and try to untapped the bag. It never works though I always end up getting mad at the cauliflower, then out comes the knife to rip open the bag. So hey, now I can't reuse the bag when I put the cauliflower back in the fridge. So like yeah man, what is the deal with all the tape?
The produce boy has a very stunned look on his face. At this point he is regretting ever asking me if I need help. "What are you talking about man? I don't really follow you!"
"You know all this tape on the bag, what's the deal?" I then pick up a bag and show him the massive amounts of tape that seals the bag shut.
"Well they just want to make sure you get a sealed bag. That's the way it comes from the supplier. I can cut it with my knife if you want." the boy reply's.
"No man that's alright I can do the same thing at home. But hey you got to get on the anti tape thing from the cauliflower factory or something, that would really save me the frustration of trying to take the tape off when I get home."
Then comes the kicker as the laughing kid really puts me in my place.
"Well I really don't think your frustration is one of the concerns of our supplier. So your just going to have to deal with it!" Then he kept laughing at me and continued to put out more carrots.

Hey Glen: I know why they tape the cauliflower!  If they didn't, the consumer would pull off all the extra 'junk' leaves they include around the cauliflower and break off the exposed stem so they don't pay for what they don't use.  There is a lot of weight in that stem and leaves.  However, the leaves can be chopped up and used like choy in stirfries or shredded into coleslaw like cabbage.  Of course, I put all veggie odds and ends into my spaghetti sauce too. Lazy man's Cabbage Rolls: cook the following all seperately: rice, tomatoe sauce (make it thick), and ground beef  layer these ingredients along with very coarsely shredded cabbage as so: sauce beef salt and pepper rice cabbage (including leftover cauliflower leaves) End with a sauce layer Cook at 375*F till well bubbly. Nice to read about you!  Remember that Josh presently lives in Merritt and in 9 days will be bringing his new bride back to live there too!  She's wonderful!  I know you are not in BC but your folks are not far from Merrit.  They LOVE playing games (Settlers anyone?).  You can also track him down through the Merritt News (NOT THE HERALD, that's the competition). 

Link To Past Skinny

If you are looking for anything or have an announcement to make send me an email and I will post your announcement.

Update List:

If you would like to become part of my update email list send me an email and I will let you know every time I update the web page.

Dead Links:

With the web page getting lost and found in cyber space there are a few dead links, so if you find one please let me know and I will fix it pronto.

News Update:

Brain Food

What to eat to think smart and stay sharp ...

By Geneviève Allard

Did you know memory, well-being and brain power can all be influenced by what you eat? No, these are not magical foods, just  sensible choices with brain benefits. Here are a few suggestions to increase your brain activity, improve your brain power and stay smart! Bon appétit!

Carbohydrates

As Enzyme dietician Jonathan Fontaine puts it, “Carbs are a unique source of energy that can directly be used by the brain, which uses up half the carbs consumed in one day.”  

*Where to find them? All flour-based foods contain carbs. They can also be found in fruits, honey, molasses, cereal, dairy products, beans, potatoes, green peas, corn, sweet potatoes and rice

Omega 3 Fatty Acids

Fontaine reveals that Omega 3 fatty acids, specifically the DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) type, are good fats used by our bodies to build and maintain the cells of our central nervous system.

*Where to find them? In fish like salmon, tuna, sardines, scallops, mackerel and trout. Eggs, yogurt, bread, and cereal bars are also sources of DHA.

Iron

Iron transports oxygen throughout the body through our blood; and our brain needs oxygen to function properly. What's more, it seems that in children, iron deficiency may be related to ADHD and learning disabilities. So don't take the power of iron for granted!

*Where to find it? In spinach, lentils, tofu, broccoli, brussel sprouts, and meat. “Iron can be found in most animal products. Whereas the organs are concentrated sources, all types of meat are a great source of iron. And there is no need to devour a steak when you're craving chicken or turkey. The difference in iron content between red and white meats is minimal,” says Fontaine.

Coffee and Water

Caffeine has short-term benefits on the brain, offering better performance and helping to sharpen concentration. All you need is about a half-cup of coffee, so drink in moderation! Where water is concerned, dehydration actually tends to reduce the volume of water inside our brain cells. Often when we find our brain power decreasing, it could be a sign of dehydration,” concludes Fontaine. So drink water as much, and as often, as possible!

Module body

Thu Aug 20, 7:25 PM

By Seth Borenstein, The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - July was the hottest month for the world's oceans in almost 130 years of record-keeping.

Meteorologists said there is a combination of forces at work: A natural El Nino weather pattern just getting started on top of worsening manmade global warming, and a dash of random weather variations. Already the resulting ocean heat is harming threatened coral reefs. It also could hasten the melting of Arctic sea ice and help hurricanes strengthen.

The Gulf of Mexico, where warm water fuels hurricanes, has temperatures dancing around 90 degrees (32 Celsius). Most of the water in the Northern Hemisphere has been considerably warmer than normal. The Mediterranean is about three degrees warmer than normal. Higher temperatures rule in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

The phenomenon is most noticeable near the Arctic, where water temperatures are as much as 10 degrees (5.5 Celsius) above average. The tongues of warm water could help melt sea ice from below and even cause thawing of ice sheets on Greenland, said Waleed Abdalati, director of the Earth Science and Observation Center at the University of Colorado.

Breaking heat records in water is more ominous as a sign of global warming than breaking temperature marks on land, because water takes longer to heat up and does not cool as easily as land.

"This warm water we're seeing doesn't just disappear next year; it'll be around for a long time," said climate scientist Andrew Weaver of the University of Victoria in British Columbia. It takes five times more energy to warm water than land.

The warmer water "affects weather on the land," Weaver said. "This is another yet really important indicator of the change that's occurring."

Georgia Institute of Technology atmospheric science professor Judith Curry said water is warming in more places than usual, which has not been seen in more than 50 years.

Add to that an unusual weather pattern this summer where the warmest temperatures seem to be just over oceans, while slightly cooler air is concentrated over land, said Deke Arndt, head of climate monitoring at the climate data centre.

The pattern is so unusual that he suggested meteorologists may want to study that pattern to see what is behind it.

The effects of that warm water already are being seen in coral reefs, said C. Mark Eakin, co-ordinator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's coral reef watch. Long-term excessive heat bleaches colorful coral reefs white and sometimes kills them.

Bleaching has started to crop up in the Florida Keys, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Typically, bleaching occurs after weeks or months of prolonged high water temperatures. That usually means September or even October in the Caribbean Sea, said Eakin. He found bleaching in Guam on Wednesday. It is too early to know whether the coral will recover or die. Experts are "bracing for another bad year," he said.

The problems caused by the El Nino pattern are likely to get worse, the scientists say.

An El Nino occurs when part of the central Pacific warms up, which in turn changes weather patterns worldwide for many months. El Nino and its cooling flip side, La Nina, happen every few years.

During an El Nino, temperatures on water and land tend to rise in many places, leading to an increase in the overall global average temperature. An El Nino has other effects, too, including dampening Atlantic hurricane formation and increasing rainfall and mudslides in Southern California.

Warm water is a required fuel for hurricanes. What's happening in the oceans "will add extra juice to the hurricanes," Curry said.

Hurricane activity has been quiet for much of the summer, but that may change soon, she said. Hurricane Bill quickly became a major storm and the National Hurricane Center warned that warm waters are along the path of the hurricane for the next few days.

Hurricanes need specific air conditions, so warmer water alone does not necessarily mean more or bigger storms, said James Franklin, chief hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

consumer

–noun

Used in a Sentence: The consumers headed back to the store.

The number 34, the letter O, and the color Tree Green

Stars - Your ex-lover is dead

Crazy name for a song, but a catchy tune and it has been in my head for many many moons now so maybe by putting it up it will get in your head too.

Play Song

Past songs of the week

Send me an email if you think you know the answer. The first person to email me with the correct movie, actors name, and his/her character name, will get a prize.

Quote:
Character One: He saved my life, you know. Thirty years ago. I was knifed at a bazaar in Calcutta, and he carried me to the hospital on his back.
Character Two: Who stabbed you?
Character One: He did. There was a price on my head, and he was a hired assassin. Stuck me in the gut with a shiv.

Last Weeks Quote:
That really hurt! I'm gonna have a lump there, you idiot! Who throws a shoe? Honestly! You fight like a woman!

Last Weeks Answer:
Austin Powers / Mike Myers

Movie: Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery

Last Weeks winner:
Brad Harvey

this is a funny video clip of a surfer on the news

Here is a nice Tofino sunset for you.

This is my dads section of the web page. Every update he will have a different link to something that he thinks is very cool.

Here are my dad's thoughts about the link:

Hi Glen every time I go for a ride on my bike I am reminded of the great time we had in Amsterdam with Dave riding our bikes. Here is that video of the ride in the park by Dave's place.

Dad 

LINK

Recipes

Take a look at the different recipes I have on the web site. If you have any you would like to share then send them over and I will post them.

Go to Recipe

Jen Eddie writes:

My name is Jen and i'm an ex-soccer player (as some of you may know me) and current whitewater kayak addict.  Rivers are near and dear to my heart, and as a paddler i know that sometimes dams are necessary and i have to live with that; however, i recently came across an email from my friend Carl Jacks about the future of rivers in our dear province of British Columbia.  After a particularly frustrating evening of trying to write a lesson plan on mesopotamia in teacher school, i decided to watch the link to the video that Carl sent to me.  Here is a bit of what I learned about the future or rivers and hydro electricity in our province: In the near future we are scheduled to have a radically different system involving hydro-electric power.  Currently, we have some of the most affordable hydro electricity in the world.  B.C. hydro operates as part of a public power system and can buy megawatt hours of electricity for the bargain price of five dollars. This makes hydro electric power very affordable to us, and since we generate a lot of hydro electric power, so it should be.  A couple of years ago, there was a battle between the municipal government of Squamish and the company of Ledcor ( a private power corporation) about the river rights to the Ashlu river.  For those of you who have not heard of the Ashlu, it is high on my list of kick ass rivers for both its beauty and diversity of hair raising rapids and waterfalls.  Many people come from all over the world to kayak this creek and many others in B.C.  In my travels last year (Africa), i was met with many, "whoa, you're from b.c.? How's the creekin?", type comments.  So to continue with my tale, the municipality of Squamish voted eight to one against the project which Ledcor proposed; however, the provincial government over-rode the decision and created Bill 30.  Bill 30 took away the rights of the public to oppose hydro projects, giving sole authority to the provincial government to decide who gets what.  What does it mean?  It means that there are an incredible amount of rivers slated for sale in our province and several runs of the ashlu river are now extinct.  Once the rights to the river are sold, we have no control over that electricity and the power can be sold anywhere for whatever price.  B.C. Hydro will have to buy at upwards of 100 dollars per megawatt hour. Yes, you will too.. Imagine the bill of the future?  This seems unreal, but it is happening, and something needs to be done.  I am angry at what is being done, and have sent emails to everyone i know.  As a collective group we need to say "NO!" to this unauthorized yard sale of our rivers.  i'm attatching a link to the website organized for this cause, which has a SUPER video called "Power Play".  Once you've watched it (hopefully having had your feathers ruffled), please follow suit and get ahold of Richard Neufeld to tell him something (or everything) from the following list:  

We want public power, not private power.
· Our remaining wild rivers and creeks must remain wild and intact.
· Our electricity needs can be fully met by conservation
measures until 2026 as a recent BC Hydro study indicates.
· Studies need to be conducted determining the cumulative
social, environmental and economic effects of the potential 500+ new
private power projects
· The proposed private power project near you should not proceed.
· Local governments need their powers returned by the BC
government for determining the appropriateness of power projects in
their jurisdiction, a power taken away from us in Bill 30.

phone 250-387-5896
fax 250-356-2965
Richard.Neufeld.MLA@leg.bc.ca

P.O. Box 9060
STN PROV GOVT
Victoria, BC V8W 9E2

THE WEBSITE IS AT: http://ourrivers.ca/ and watch the video "Power Play" in the top right
corner. Or click on the video link below. It takes a while to load the video so please give it time.

Video Link

in closing, i leave you with a quote from Margaret Mead : Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.

- jen

Comments:
If you want to comment on this rants or past rants or want to write a rant of your own drop me a line glen_biffard@yahoo.ca

Go to the Past Rants

Today's Thought:

It is no use waiting for your ship to come in unless you have sent one out.

-- Belgian Proverb --

A bear walks into a bar and says to the bartender, "I want a gin ........ and tonic."  The bartender replies, "what's with the big pause?" 

If you have any good jokes send them over to me and I will post them.

This is a cool thinking / making game that my bro sent over to me. Try it out and let me know what you think.

LINK

The end of the month!

Thanks for viewing

Glen Neil Biffard

glen_biffard@yahoo.ca