Free Market Realities

Anyone who's read more than a few posts at this tiny little blog is probably pretty sure I'm a stark raving conservative.  Oh hell, just run down the sidebar.  You don't even have to actually read a post.

So, you might think that I would sympathize with the owner (or former owner?) of a Chinese restaurant in San Francisco, from whence the picture below comes.

Many thanks for this reference to Maggie's Farm.

Well, I have no sympathy whatsoever for James Chu.  He chose to fight the free-market, and thus his customers and he lost.  And that's the way it should be.

When I had my own home repair and remodeling business, I knew never to tell a customer that they were wrong for wanting anything that was a matter of aesthetics or style or taste.  Outside of anything that was absolutely necessary to get the job done correctly, anything in the variable or optional range was purely at the discretion of the customer.

It's been no secret that over about the last fifteen years, people all over the world have been waking up to the fact that MSG (Monosodium Glutamate) is both an excitotoxin and neurotoxin.  You may not be convinced, and James Chu might not be convinced, but there is enough research and evidence available that myself and millions of others know that we don't need the risk.  As for the gluten, we aren't talking about the gluten that naturally occurs in the plain old wheat or other grains that our grandparents thrived on.  Today a lot of the cheap commercial wheat flour, sold in 25 to 50 lb. bags to restaurants and bakeries, is genetically modified (probably Monsanto patented) to contain double or triple the amount of gluten, but not natural gluten. They did that to make bread have that great chewy texture with only about a third of the kneading time and resting time that is required for regular bread production, thus cutting production time and increasing profits.

No, I'm not against profits.  Not at all.  If you can find a way to increase your profits, good on ya, mate.  But the consumer has (or should ALWAYS have) the right to decide if your resulting product is something they want to consume, and they should have all the information to make that decision.  If you want to eat all the foods that are processed and genetically modified and have cellulose fillers from pine trees and laugh at me for not wanting to put that stuff in my body, . . . well,  KNOCK YOURSELF OUT!

 I'd never heard such a thing as a gluten allergy until about ten years ago.  Today, I think about 1 in 10 people I meet has a gluten allergy that became so severe that it drove them to the endocrinologist to find out what was making them so ill.

If James Chu wanted to not only stay in business but even thrive, he should have listened to the customers and provided what they wanted. 

I'm living in a rural area of Kentucky right now.  In this whole city where I am, there is one little health food store.  It's in a great location in the biggest shopping district.  The population here is about 20,000 in the city limits, within a 6 mile radius of the shopping district, about 35,000 people.  This little health food store is barely hanging on.  Why?  Because this is rural Kentucky.  People still smoke in some of the little Mom & Pop establishments.  There's an empty business space on main street that used to be a gym.  There's another one on an adjacent street that used to be a yoga place.
There is not a synagogue within 100 miles of here.

How long would I survive as a businessman if I opened up a Kosher Deli here?  These people have never heard of knishes or falafel or gefilte fish, let alone would they try it.  How stupid would I be to blame the people who live here for not wanting to buy stuff they don't want to eat?  I would be outraged if anyone blamed me for the local Waffle House closing down because I don't want to eat at a place that cooks pork and eggs and potatoes all on the same grill surface.

James Chu is like a guy who is angry because he decided to sell computers that use 3.5" floppies and only have 586 mb of RAM and he's pissed off because nobody is buying. I once lived in an area of Atlanta where a small Mom & Pop Pizza place opened up.  They quickly discovered that the immediate neighborhoods were full of both Jewish and Muslim families.  They made their establishment completely kosher, or halal if you will.  They made sure they had no pork or shellfish products and they advertised it on their menus, takeout and delivery.  The Domino's and Papa John's places within 10 blocks couldn't match the Mom & Pop's place combined.  That's the beauty of competition.

Notice what the wording of the sign reveals:  "We're closed because of you customers."   He revealed that he didn't think of them as his customers.  That's getting off on the wrong foot right from the get-go.  James Chu failed the reality test of natural selection in free market economics.  Phony conservatives, or what some might call "Neocons," might support James Chu, but I'm a real conservative.  I believe in free choice for everyone.  For James Chu and people who might have wanted to be his customers.

That also means that no money taken from taxpayers should ever be used to subsidize any business.  None, whatsoever.  Not dairies. Not soybean farmers. Not peanut farmers.  Not oil companies. Not chemical companies. Nobody. Ever.  There should be no FDA or USDA or any of these agencies who rubber stamp toxic crap so the gullible public can say, "It must be safe, the FDA approved it."
Check out the stories on Youtube just on aspartame, (NutraSweet).

Freedom means taking responsibility for your own life and health.  Do your homework. Otherwise don't bitch when you end up sick, with Alziemers, or multiple sclerosis, or Parkinson's or Fibro-myalgia or a dozen other conditions that were never heard of a 100 years ago.  Sorry, went a little off topic.  I'll stop here.

Shalom and Shanah Tovah

Best Popcorn

If you didn't have a microwave, how would you pop your popcorn?

I can just imagine a deer in the headlights look on some youngster's face if you asked them that question.  It would be like pointing to a cassette tape deck and asking them if they'd like to hear some music. The reason I didn't use a turntable as an example is because young people recognize that as a noise generating device to go along with other obnoxious noise set to a really loud bass track, along with which some tone-deaf, talentless hack speaks vaguely rhyming words.   But I digress.

I had a microwave for years.  Don't now.  And what I'm about to tell you, will seem like the kind of pseudo-scientific drivel that drives me nuts about the eco-wackos who believe in anthropogenic global warming and are against the cleanest, "greenest," efficient form of energy: nuclear.  In case you didn't know; France, a nation teetering on extinction because of its failed socialist policies is still smart enough to be producing 90% of it's electricity from nuclear energy, and so efficiently re-cycling the material that the waste is negligible.

We don't have a microwave because several years ago, years before we met, Twyla and I both discovered scientific evidence that microwave energy does indeed alter foods at the molecular level in ways that are unhealthy.  I had to laugh recently when I discovered that some pet food manufacturers, specifically dog food, put warning labels on their product telling you not to use a microwave because of how it affects the food. Interesting how you won't find any warning labels on your microwave junk foods for human consumption.  But then, we live in a society that practically demands drawing and quartering for harming an animal, yet condones the murder of inconvenient babies.  But I digress.

I truly enjoy popcorn.  Even back when I had a microwave (still with the first wife), I didn't use the microwave to make popcorn.  That stuff designed for the microwave just wasn't that good.  They seemed to know the formula for making it smell great, but what got to the mouth just didn't satisfy.  Then I discovered the Whirlypop.  Now, I know that this device violates what is probably Alton Brown's number one rule, that any kitchen device should always be a multi-tasker. But I just have to make an exception for this one.  This little gem pops corn better than anything, but more than that, it lets you create specialty popcorn that you cannot get any other way.

Twyla didn't know about this marvel when we got married, but when I described what it did, she went on  hunt to buy one.  I don't know if it is because of the skyrocketing price of metals or because the company cut back production, but the cheapest one she could find on the web was about $60.  But God was smiling on us, because one day I was looking around in the local Ace Hardware (which, in this town, is more like an old time General Store), and there was one on a top shelf in an unopened, undisturbed box with a nice layer of dust on it.  And a price tag of $25.95.

Once we got it home, I introduced Twyla to "kettle corn."  For those of you who haven't gotten this at the county or state fair or such; it's that sweet/salty, or sweet/spicy/salty concoction that they only seem to be able to make in those giant kettles with a big wooden paddle, hence the name.

One time, for a good friend who came for a visit, we made peppermint/marshmallow popcorn.  I prefer the savory, and like to indulge in things like garlic/parmesan, or lemon/pepper/dill popcorn.

The secret of this machines success, is that it copies the design of those commercial theater popcorn poppers. In the open view, you can see that there is a shaft that goes to the bottom with a wire that scrapes the bottom when you crank the handle.  You can see the gears on the top of the lid in the first photo.

It's that wire spinning and scraping the bottom that makes all the difference.  Because of the irregular shape of popped popcorn, when you are cranking this device, there is a chain reaction of tumbling that occurs from the bottom all the way up throughout the pot.  You can see it if you open the one half-lid after the corn is popped and crank the handle.  This accomplishes three things.

 One:  It makes sure that all the un-popped kernels find their way to the bottom of the pot so that they will all pop.  I've tested this between Orville Reddenbacher and the cheapest generic popcorn.  I get the same number of un-popped kernels, about four or five out of a half cup.  That's pretty amazing to pop a six-quart salad bowl full of popcorn and only have five un-popped kernels.

Two: The already popped corn moves vertically as well as spinning around, which doesn't allow it to burn.  I know there are some of you who like some burn on your popcorn, so all you have to do is use maximum heat and stop cranking from time to time.  This means you can customize the amount of char on your corn.  Make sure you remember to re-enable your smoke detector.

Three:  That same homogeneous tumbling action means that the flavorings you put in the pot are going to evenly coat all the pieces of popcorn.  The only other way I know to get that kind of result is to put the popcorn in a plastic or brown paper bag and shake the dickens out of it.  But that only works for savory items and can waste precious butter that gets absorbed into the paper or is attracted to the plastic.  And you can't do anything with sugary coatings because it would melt the plastic or just stick the popcorn to the paper.

Finally, a great feature of this popper is that it's totally manual.  If electricity disappears, we can use it on the propane stove.  When propane is gone, we can use it on a wood fire.  Now all I have to do is try growing some popcorn this summer.

Shalom.

More Funky "Science?"

I don't know where Bayou Renaissance Man gets this stuff, but I'm grateful, er, I think.


I'm grateful because it demonstrates in very shocking and graphic ways the kind of thing I've talked about in other posts regarding logic and reason.  I don't want to copy and paste all of that stuff here, so assuming you've read it now, let me deal with the pertinent parts.

"It is believed the bacteria increases levels of serotonin, reduces anxiety and may also stimulate growth in certain neurons in the brain."

Really?  You believe that because . . . ?  Wow.  There is so much of this kind of nonsense going on in the so-called scientific community these days.  Take a little bit of data and extrapolate to all kinds of bizarre conclusions.  Never mind doing actual controlled experiments, isolating and controlling the variables to determine if your theory is valid or falsifiable.

This is how we get fantastic hoaxes like anthropogenic global warming.  You see, somebody is going to read that, and then when they tell somebody at work or their friends or their family, they are going to leave out the crucial "It is believed . . . " part.  Some will use their God-given common sense to dismiss it until some solid research comes along, but others will just swallow it wholesale and repeat it to others.  The only reason that it won't be pushed through the use of advertising and further press releases is that there is no way to patent dirt and make money off of it.  At least not yet.

Maybe the USDA or the FDA, under the provisions in S 510 will figure out a way to harass the public if they catch anybody letting their kids make mud pies.  


Then there is the second part of BRM's post regarding the Swedish woman:

"After having been administered the enema of her husband's bacteria-free faecal matter, the woman made an rapid recovery and immediately began to regain some of the 27 kilogrammes in weight she had lost over the previous eight months."

Do I deny that the technique worked? No.  Do I understand why it worked? Yes.  But for crying out loud, why do we need to resort to such methods when there are perfectly good, natural nutritional ways of dealing with such a thing?  First you could have had her take copious amounts of spicy food with large amounts of capsaicin to kill the bad bacteria, and then naturally fermented raw cabbage or other such vegetables to restore her own healthy digestive tract.  But no, let's do something uncomfortably invasive that might have resulted in a very bad reaction with her immune system.  And by the way, how do we know that it hasn't happened already?


To be fair, maybe they had tried the food route already and her case was so special or severe that it wasn't producing results fast enough.  Perhaps the heavy antibiotics had so destroyed her good bacteria cultures that there wasn't enough there to regenerate quickly enough.  I just hope that I've learned enough and made enough changes to my own diet to never have to need an enema with somebody else's feces.


Now, go forth and eat better, and try to forget about this story for the rest of the day.

Jerusalem Artichoke

It really isn't an artichoke at all.  It bears no resemblance to the thistle family of which the regular artichoke belongs.  There are probably thousands of people who eradicate this plant as a mere weed and would never think of it as a source of food.  Just like so many other plants.  Dandelion probably being on the top of the list.

Cleverly disguised as tall weeds

So, what is it? Jerusalem artichoke is also known as the sunroot, sunchoke, earth apple or topinambur, is a species of sunflower native to the eastern United States, from Maine west to North Dakota, and south to northern Florida and Texas. It is also cultivated widely across the temperate zone for its tuber, which is used as a root vegetable.  That's according to Wikipedia.


Prior to moving to this part of Georgia, I had only vaguely heard of Jerusalem artichoke, but never had investigated it further. Then in survival preparedness discussions with other people, the item came up again.  One reason being that it is very much like a weed, seeming to grow in just about any conditions, and that if you don't pay attention to it, it can become an invasive nuisance.

I think on our next to last visit to the farmer's market over in Union County, we met a farmer who was selling gallon ziploc bags of the tubers, and Twyla recognized them right away.  They sorta resemble ginger, since they are a tuber, but their skin is thinner and the nodes seem to grow out straighter from the center axis.  Each one of those nodes of the main tuber is a potential new plant.


We bought two bags of them, and I guess each bag weighed a little over six pounds each.  We paid $5 a bag making them .84¢ a pound.  Not the cheapest food, but nowadays, anything under a dollar a pound is good, and we don't intend to ever have to purchase them again, since I plan to plant a fair amount of them in various places.

Jerusalem Artichoke in bloom

I will admit that I like a lot of different food and that I really like bold flavors, but I like this Jerusalem artichoke even though it is about as bland as you can get.  We sampled some raw before we bought it.  It is very crunchy like a firm, fresh apple.  Whatever flavor it might seem to have can only be described as earthy with just a hint of sweetness.  It has so few calories it could probably be compared to celery in that regard, so if you are on a diet and looking for that kind of munchie snack, I highly recommend it.  I think it beats the snot out of those stupid rice cakes.  Now, I know I would rather eat these than rice cakes after reading this excerpt:

Four sets of rats were given special diets. One group received plain whole wheat, water, vitamins and minerals. Anotehr group received Puffed Wheat, water and the same nutrient solution. A third set was given water and white sugar, and a fourth given nothing but water and the chemical nutrients. The rats which received the whole wheat lived for over a year on the diet. The rats who got nothing but water and vitamins lived for about 8 weeks, and the animals on a white sugar and water diet lived for a month. But [the company's] own laboratory study showed that rats given vitamins, water and all the Puffed Wheat they wanted died in two weeks. It wasn't a matter of the rats dying of malnutrition; results like these suggested that there was something actually toxic about the Puffed Wheat itself. Proteins are very similar to certain toxins in molecular structure, and the puffing process of putting the grain under 1500 pounds per square inch of pressure and then releasing it may produce chemical changes which turn a nutritious grain into a poisonous substance . . . I was shocked, so I showed the report to Dr. Clark, who shared my concern. His predecessor, Dr. Graham, had published the report and begged the company not to continue producing Puffed Wheat because of its poisonous effect on animals. Dr. Clark . . . went right to the president . . . "I know people should throw it on brides and grooms at weddings," [the president] cracked, "but if they insist on sticking it in their mouths, can I help it? Besides, we made $9 million on the stuff last year."

Paul Stitt, Fighting the Food Giants

Jerusalem Artichoke flower

Hat tip to this blogger.  One of many sites on healthy eating worth looking at.  If puffing wheat creates such toxicity, why would puffing rice be any different?  Why would I want to risk my body to find out?


It is also a really nice benefit that this plant will fit right in with all the other flowering medicinal and edible plants around the farm.


Could there be any negatives about Jerusalem artichokes? Well, for some people.  Twyla and I are definitely not your average people.  We love to laugh, so one of the side effects of this tuber is the source of constant fun.  I think I'll quote Wikipedia here for the explanation.

"The inulin is not well digested by some people, leading in some cases to flatulence and gastric pain. Gerard's Herbal, printed in 1621, quotes the English planter John Goodyer on Jerusalem artichokes:

"which way soever they be dressed and eaten, they stir and cause a filthy loathsome stinking wind within the body, thereby causing the belly to be pained and tormented, and are a meat more fit for swine than men."^[5]

I may post again today if it rains, otherwise, I have a lot to do to get ready to receive our guests for tomorrow's Thanks Giving holiday.  We have so much to be thankful for.  First and foremost for our savior Yeshua (Jesus) for willingly sacrificing Himself for us.  The rest of the list is too long to post here.


Shalom