Sitting in the dark!

It was about 8PM, or so, on Friday July the 19th when I noticed that the cable had died. No internet and no TV. Then, about five minutes later the power went also. So, there I was sitting in the dark on one of the hottest evening of the summer....

Apparently, something blew at the Powersite substation above the Powersite Dam (which was also not working at the time). And so, I went on to bed and lay there in the dark wondering when things would get back to 'normal'. About two hours later, the power did come back on as did my air conditioner, so I was able to get some sleep. But as I fell to sleep, my mind pondered the question of out power infrastructure and what sort of shape it was in. Were the problems sporadic and local or were they more widespread? Following is the response I received from Liberty Utilities after I inquired as to the cause of the outage;

From: Doreen Maynard
Sent: Saturday, July 20, 2019 10:20 AM

Subject: Outage

Unfortunately we cannot promise service 24/7 but when we do experience an outage we respond as quickly and safely as possible.   We did have and issue with a substation,  we can’t predict when this might happen however with the extremely high heat index we have experienced that may cause extra load on our equipment. With our lineman responding quickly and our customers conserving usage we will do our best to make sure outages are as infrequent as possible.

Thank you

Doreen Maynard | Liberty Utilities  (Missouri) | Customer Service Rep-Contact Center-Sr
P:  E: Doreen.Maynard@libertyutilities.com
3400 S Kodiak Road, Joplin, MO 64804
VAT#123456
While I greatly appreciated the prompt response, I still could not help but be a little troubled. Was the power grid getting a bit old? Was it not able to keep up with the increased loads placed on it by a society that craves electrical devices? It was my sincere hope that Liberty Utilities, a Canadian owned power company, would stay on top of these questions.

Time for some Crockpot chili!

What was that old saying? Chili today, hot tamale! Not wanting to go against such a tome, I decided to make up a batch of my favorite chili via the slow cooker.

Yes, I know. I've posted about a million-jillion (Definition of jillion - an extremely large number) chili recipes, in the past, with most all of them sounding about the same! But, on this day I was planning to add something really new! First off, here's my tried and true recipe:

1 lb ground beef (80% - 20% mix)

1 onion, chopped (for use as a topping,when you eat the stuff)

1 can petite diced tomatoes, 8 oz

1 can red kidney beans, drained

14 grams of Williams chili mix (per lb ground beef)

1 tsp Olive oil

1 tsp brown sugar (optional) per lb ground beef

Dash of cayenne pepper

dash salt and pepper

and now for the new stuff!

2 banana peppers, minced (adds a little more heat)

½ bell pepper, minced

See! Who said you couldn't teach an old dog like me a few new tricks? Seriously, though, I was slowly zeroing in on the ultimate simple chili! That, you see, is my life's ambition.

Now if you add in some pasta and a few more toppings you get this!

The Gross Reason You Should Never Pepper Your Food in Restaurants!

Chances are, you’ve already heard that the menu is the dirtiest item in a restaurant—harboring about 185,000 bacteria, which is just one of the many everyday items that are dirtier than a toilet seat. Surprisingly, the second dirtiest item in a restaurant isn’t in the bathroom. In fact, it’s right on your table.

Before you reach for the pepper shaker, think about how many people have touched it before you. Does it look clean? Is it sticky? Unfortunately, it’s not unusual for restaurants to overlook the cleanliness—or lack thereof—of each individual shaker. (This goes for salt, sugar, cheese, and other shakers, too—pepper just happens to beat them in the germ-harboring surface contest.) According to a study conducted by ABC News, on average, a pepper shaker’s bacteria count is 11,600.

“Most salt and pepper shakers are only wiped down if they appear dirty, and even then, only with a damp cloth that people who bus tables keep in their pockets,” Jonas Sickler, Director of Operations at ConsumerSafety.org, told Reader’s Digest. “While some restaurants collect, refill, and wipe down shakers, they are rarely properly emptied and sanitized.” - from an article by Brittany Gibson
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 When I read this article, I was a bit shocked. After all, who really even thinks about germs when you're getting ready to sit down to a meal at some restaurant. I wondered what are you supposed to do, bring a can of Lysol to every meal eaten out? Well, in my case, the solution was to simply skip adding anything in a shaker. I was on a low salt diet, anyways and restaurants never seem to offer a salt substitute.

Cockroaches becoming invincible?

Rumors have circulated that cockroaches could survive a nuclear bomb. (That could be sort of true, but then again, mankind would have larger issues to be concerned with in the vent of a nuclear war). What is concerning to the average homeowner, however, is what may have newly acquired resistance to commonly used insecticides!

=======================

While it's not yet scientifically proven, scientists at Purdue University discovered German cockroaches are becoming resistant to insecticides. Even more horrifying: They can become cross-resistant to chemicals to which they haven’t even been exposed.

They can then pass those resistant genes onto their offspring, creating whole new generations of evolved super-roaches. Researchers worry this will some day make it difficult - or impossible - to control the bugs with chemicals alone.

Proper sanitation in combination with physical traps and sticky tapes are still good viable options. And don't forget, they don't fare well when stepped on by a human shoe....[ripped from CNN article]

Pink Floyd - Time and Pansporial tranmission!

Racial and gender diversification, like the pure light of the sun, split through a prism are actually very good things. Just as the differing frequencies and harmonics resulting from the sun’s light going through a simple prism, do result in a revealing of light’s intrinsic basic structures. So then, did the Creator’s creation of mankind evolve over many eons of time. Self awareness is a very precious commodity in all the universe. It was and still is the gold standard. The Creator, I do believe, made humankind, like that light in a prism, to be split into various shades and colors. Not to divide us, but to make us stronger. Likewise, He also challenged us with various tongues.Asshole!

None of the events that happened during all those times. The wars, the famines or the suffering of so many were ever done in an offhanded manner. The time each soul spends from birth to death is short for some and longer for others. Yet, in all cases, each soul's time on this earth was a proving ground designed by God. Some have and will prove worthy, while others will not. (But fear not, I have faith that the Lord’s house is pretty large and will accommodate all His children).

Here on earth. It is only our inherent diversity, as a species, that has insured that we could survive, both as a self aware traveler from our individual births to yet another to awakening on passing.

In the end, both time and humanity will march forward under the Lord’s watchful gaze.. Next up. Life really is a disease... https://forsythkid.blogspot.com/2014/08/pm-today-this-disease.html

A pasta diet platter!

By whatever name they go by, the various forms of pasta are a popular mealtime treat here in America and elsewhere. Numbering at about 350 types, I personally like to prepare and eat just a few; Spaghetti, Penne Rigate and shell are three of my favorites!

When combined with a good red sauce, (like the ones that come in a can from Hunt's), I cannot think of many other meals that I enjoy more! The only downside being the carbs. The recommended serving of regular spaghetti on the package is 56 grams of noodles which is also about 56 noodles. A bundle measures about ½ inch across which is about the same diameter as a penny (see below), so it might not look like a lot. But whoa, if you look at the nutritional panel here, you can see that you'll be

consuming 41 fat causing carbs. [Note: While the dry amount does look kinda small(ish), those noodles actually do increase quite a bit in size after cooking!] However, I've found that by

eating just half a serving at meal time, that I could make a serious dent in the number of carbohydrates! Then continuing on that culinary theme, I often like to cook up a hamburger patty and then eat only half of that... Throw in a simple
oil & vinegar salad and you're all set!

I've found this to be a filling meal that comes in at only 320 calories, and when combined with the low carbs (30g), this 'pasta-styled' meal can be very diet friendly!

Notes: The picture at left shows a bundle of 56 grams worth of spaghetti noodles aka one serving. The better way to measure would be by using a scale and by getting used to the gram weight measurements rather than going by ounces. OK for those who don't like that idea, there are 29.3 grams in an ounce, so this would be about 2 ounces of pasta....

One added bonus to eating this way is you only have to cook stuff up one times for two meals. That's assuming your single, of course.

The 2020 election. My early predictions!

While the 2020 Presidential Election was still quite some time off into the future, I thought I'd make a prediction or two as to who the winner will be...

As June 2019 drew to a close, there were 24 candidates who had just finished the first of many such debates to be held on national TV. That process was designed to winnow down the field to one finalist that would be picked by the DNC as the party's candidate of choice to run against the incumbent Donald J. Trump. After watching the first two, I'd have to say that their combined efforts were just a tad short of mediocre. This was more of a meet and greet affair which showcased each candidates personal agenda rather than getting into the nuts and bolts of just how their plans could actually work. That said, there were a few standouts, in my opinion;

Warren, Harris and Castro did very well and picked up a ton of followers on Twitter. (They had definitely inched upwards and would likely do well in the coming debate battles). The rest of the field did not fare as well, with front runner Joe Biden losing quite a bit of ground even as he had a double digit lead over the rest of the field. The next two debates will occur on July 30 and 31 and promise to add perhaps a little more detail into how each candidates grandiose plans might be realized. By the time that the third debate swings around in September, it's hoped that some of the lower rung individuals (DeBlaseo comes to mind) will have dropped out. Then, as the field gets smaller and smaller via dropouts, there will be more time for each candidate to speak (or to hang themselves) during the two hour allotted amount of time. While some have argued that the size of the Democratic field somehow makes it harder to win the general election, there is no historic correlation between the number of contenders for a nomination and whether the eventual nominee won the general election. The far more important dynamic of such a large field is how difficult it is for any of those in the bottom half or even two-thirds of the field to have any chance of punching through.

Meanwhile the Republican contender, Donald Trump, will just sit back and watch the whole boring process grind on through the balance of the year as the Democrats will have six debates by December 2019. Then, at some point in time in 2020, the DNC will announce their pick at their convention and the real fun will start! Right now the safe bet would be Joe Biden, as he is by far the most moderate of that group of March Hares. That said, I would bet the farm that some of those running will make incredible sharp turns to the Right in order to stay afloat. That also will make for some great viewing....