Random Thoughts for March 17

Making it last longer in the slow food lane!

One way to make it all work in this dismal economy while still socializing has to do with eating out. My personal thing is to get up early and to go out for breakfast. Something I do about twice a week. It gets my day going on a positive note or failing that, it at least gets me out of bed.

On my last outing, I ordered the steak and eggs platter from a local eatery. The cost was $9.54. But, rather than eat it all I one setting, I brought some of the hash browns and about half the steak home with me. The next morning, I cobbled together a rather nice repast that ameliorated the high price of eating out to some extent.

How many of you out there think that really bad times are ahead?

Show of hands! Now, I'm not talking about bad times in the sense that bread will cost $5 a loaf or bad times in the sense that unemployment remains high. No, I'm talking about a flat out AMERICAN REVOLUTION or even a CIVIL WAR where a whole lot of shooting will be going on right in your very own neighborhood. (That's usually the end result of a collapsed economy isn't it)? I mean, if (or when) the dollar becomes worthless, what do you all think is going to happen to our society? Do you think your government will bail everyone out? Or, will we all wonder where the heck all the public officials have disappeared to....?

You know, at a time when many of us don't even know our neighbors very well, something like a civil war can be a very scary thought. In the last civil war, we had the local community and church to fall back on. Yet I wonder, if things go really south, who will have my back today?

How can something so small, make me so miserable?

This picture was taken through my microscope and it shows pollen grains at about a 250x magnification. I collected this pollen from a nearby juniper tree of which there are about a billion near my home. I also happen to be very allergic to this pollen (among others). And those trees! They're all absolutely loaded with the stuff! (A fact that does not bode well for me over the next many weeks).

As part of my defensive plan, I've purchased a small HEPA air filter and have installed in into a small room which is where I shall retreat to if my nose begins to run. If this plan works out, I'll be sure to do a follow up later this spring. and oh, yes! Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Sesimic quakes that form lines...

I always wonder whenever I see an earthquake series in the same day that forms a straight line, if there is something else going on.

Call me crazy, call me paranoid; but please, just don’t expect me to visit California at this time.

Proper weiner handling! Then and now!

Back in the fifties, this was a question newlywed’s were often concerned about. They knew that men typically liked their 'dogs' served warm and juicy. Cooking them in a skillet would often dry them out! Uck! So, experts, back in the day, advised newly married housewives to gently boil her husbands wiener until it was just warmed through. And ladies! Those buns had also better be nice and hot too!

That was then....

Today, women have the microwave oven and cooking that bad old dog is no big thing! What I'd say?

Random Thoughts for March 13th

“If you’re not catching flak you’re not over the target” 

Are we living in a nation full of retards?

Bang! You're dead...

Are we all now so retarded that we allow the Media to emotionally push us in whatever direction they happen to choose? Take the ‘knives on planes’ debate. To hear the media talk, the TSA and their decision to allow small pocket knives onto planes again is very close to treason. Left leaning outlets like MSNBC and ABC would have you believe that the minute these small pocket knives are allowed back on board, some stewardess is sure to have her neck slashed! Give me a break. In a town next to me, the police recently stage a live shooter scenario at a local school. Even though the odds of such an incident happening are 1 in 143,000!  (I’d wager that kids are much more likely to be hit by some mom or dad who’s talking on a cell phone while driving through in a school zone). People! You need to quite letting these idiots on TV influence logical thinking processes. OK? Now as to the suspension of that young boy who fashioned a ‘gun’ out of a pop tart. Well, hey! That was more than justified.

Obama-Care will destroy the US Economy!

Who is saying such things? Is it those crazy old Republicans? I’m sure they’re still desperately clinging to the hope of saving all those rich Corporations at the expense of the poor and down trodden. Why just the other day, our President assured a scared Nation that everything is looking up! Obama has made it crystal clear that the only thing holding the economy back IS THOSE DAMN REPUBLICANS! Were it not for those insane Right Wingers, this country’s 17 trillion dollar debt would like vanish almost overnight. (And, we can all make sure that happens by voting a straight Democratic ticket in 2014)!

Once both houses are in the hands of the Democrats, our illustrious President can forge ahead with His plans to create a set of vast new entitlement bureaus that will allow his vision of Big Mamma Government or BMG to come to fruition.

Uh, hold one a sec – a friend just informed me that it was not the Republicans who said ObamaCare will wreck the nation; it was a statement issued by the General Accounting Office. Sorry, my bad….

OK, so how long will inflation stay away?

A key concept that underpins the many plans by Senate to deal effectively with the National deficit depends heavily on interest rates remaining low. The mantra in Washington is that as long as that continues; we can all ‘party on dude’.

If, or should I say when, those rates begin to creep upwards, a whole new reality will quickly settle over the land. Consider this. Last year our government forked over $220 billion (that’s 18 billion per month) just to pay the interest on our debt. That’s about $227 out of every taxpayer’s pocket. And, at the current rate of increase in borrowing, our nation will be looking at a staggering yearly figure of 1 trillion in interest payment alone with most of those payments going over to Asia. And, that is at current interest rates. We are in a trap and it’s a fact that as we continue to borrow more and more (above and beyond) what we make, the interest rates will begin to climb higher. And, even modest 1.8 percent increase would have potentially catastrophic consequences for our economy.

America, I sure hope you wake up soon.

 

Critique: Healthy Choice Lasagna with meat sauce!

For some reason, the folks at HC decided that they needed to placed the word 'BAKED' in super large words for some reason that is unclear to me. Isn't the dish, by definition, already pre-baked before it was frozen? I mean you don't really cook this entree in just a few minutes in the microwave do you? Sheesh! They also inform the buyer that the lasagna is made 'with meat sauce'! Well, what else would they make it with? Tofu fashioned to look like meat? Give me a break guys. Lastly, you'll note that they are obviously proud of the fact that there are 'No Preservatives'! Duh! That's because this is a frozen product and not a canned one.

Media version vs real thing!

OK, all that aside, I made the plunge and brought one home to try out. Check out the picture of this meal that they post of their web page with a side by side view of the real thing. Hmm. I think I'd like to choose what's behind curtain one...

Nutritionally, what you get for this 269 gram square of pasta, cheese and meat is about 280 calories. (Not a diet buster, that's for sure). And, there was really not all that much in the way of cholesterol or salt (15 mg and 380 mg respectively). Take note that these low levels of sodium and cholesterol are the reason why the Healthy Choice line of products was invented in the first place. It seems the owner of the company was looking for ways to survive his poor cardio-health while still eating what could be classified as 'junk' food. (It also helps to explain why the Healthy Choice logo'd products are generally more expensive than other brands that contain similar meals). In general the less salt there is in a TV style dinner the worst it's likely to taste!

So, it was with some trepidation that I popped it into my microwave set on high for about seven minutes after first cutting a slit in the film cover as directed. There was no stopping and stirring required which I really liked. After the required time had elapsed, I removed it to my table and prepared to dig in.

As to the taste... OK, I must tell you I've had great homemade lasagna in the past. A friend named Sharon Davidson used to made me some of the finest lasagna I've ever tasted. (A true culinary experience by which I judge all others that came after). This offer by Healthy Choice was no where near that! Was it edible? Sure. I'd give it a 6 on a scale of 10, to give everyone some idea of how I felt. Would I spend $3 buck on it again. Maybe...

Allergy season is definitely on!

Don’t panic, but if you take a careful look at the area cedar trees that grow all over southwestern Missouri, you’ll find them looking rather brown! That’s because they are just about ready to burst with loads and loads of airborne pollen. And, those tiny little particles can mean shear misery should you happen to be allergic to them. But, that’s not all! Hot on their heels are the elm and maple trees!

I happen to be allergic to all three, and seeing that graph of pollen levels for the next four days has gotten me motivated to set up and turn on a HEPA air filter I recently purchased for my home.  Last year, I suffered mightily as every surface around my place became coated with a greenish sludge. This year, I plan to have a retreat where I can go to for a does of clean fresh air. That’s the plan anyway. I’m banking on the fact that by limiting my exposure to fewer hours each day, I might just be able to skate by the worst of the symptoms!

I promised to follow up on this post later on in the spring. Wish me luck!

Sequestration: Day 1!

Gee Andy. It's awful quiet today!

Sequestration Day 1. Promptly, at 5 AM, I bounded from my bed almost like a kid on Christmas Day! You see, I was so excited to get up and get out to observe the chaos my President had promised on this, the first day of massive federal cuts!

After getting a quick shower and shave, I elected to dress into something drab and gray. No sense in drawing any attention to myself, I reasoned. I was sure that there would be rioting mobs on the main streets of my small town as many found themselves suddenly rendered unemployed by the mindless slashing of budgets everywhere. For sure, I reasoned, there would be angry crowds at the various government offices scattered around town. And I was also pretty sure that there would be unsettled knots of unhappy teachers perhaps with signs marching around the local school. So much for me to see and do and so little time to get it done…

You can imagine my surprise when a drive through town proved totally uneventful. Even the grocery store was pretty much business as usual for a Friday morning. I didn’t know what to think. After all the unpleasant things that the President had implied would happen, I was sure at least one group of angry citizenry would be out and about! Even a trip over by the courthouse proved disappointing after I observed some officers talking quietly next to a squad car. Hmmm.

Well, the President did say that it might take a while for the coming disaster to be felt. I’ll come back in a few days, to check and find out…