MaxRedline

Just In Time For The Weekend

Ethanol fuel plant in West Burlington, Iowa. 

The price of gas always goes up around the Memorial Day weekend, but this year, so's the price of grilling. Now, your basic spuds remain a good value for the money; packed with nutrition and, compared with most anything else at the store, dirt cheap, they can even be tasty.

A medium sized potato has about 110 calories per serving and is a better source of potassium than a banana (620 g versus 450 g). Also it contains about half of a person's daily requirement of vitamin C and has no fat, sodium or cholesterol. The vegetable is a good low cost option for obtaining other nutrients such as magnesium and dietary fiber.

If you know what you're doing, there are a few ways to cook 'em on the grill or campfire. And unlike a lot of other veggies (corn, for example), they're not used in government-subsidized production of biofools.

Alas, if you're hankering for steaks, burgers, or even chicken, the news isn't so good for grillers: those have shot up in price. Partly, it's due to the drought - but a lot of it's due to governmental biofool dreams. After all, that corn-fed, lovely marbled meat costs a lot more to produce because drought or no drought, government mandates for ethanol fuel additives are literally taking food out of the mouths of critters like chickens and cows - and by extension, out of yours.

Going into the Memorial Day weekend, a sirloin steak costs 7 percent more than last year, based on U.S. retail pricing data from the Department of Agriculture.

Hamburgers also are pushing higher: 3 percent more for ground chuck and 19 percent more for lean ground beef, the USDA data show.

“Beef has really skyrocketed over the past six months, but there’s been about a 10 percent increase over the past month,” said B.J. Hoffman, a competitive griller and caterer based in Windsor Heights.

Government's response to the citizen consumer amounts to a cynical "up yours":

I had that sucker hypnotized
He couldn't even make a sound
I proceeded to tell him his future then
As long as he was hanging around
I said
"The price of meat has just gone up
An' yer ol' lady has just gone down... "
Look here brother
Who you jivin' with that Cosmik Debris?

Don't'cha know, you could make more money as a butcher....

The way things are headed, better hope there's not another potato blight, because you may well be living on them just like the Irish did before their great potato famine hit.

 

 

Rise Of The Replicators

A three-dimensional time-for-space wiggle image of the sun taken by NASA spacecraft STEREO. 

We're all familiar with 3-D printed models, and the 3-D printed weapons have been getting a lot of play as well. But NASA's investing in the next big thing: they've awarded a grant to the small Systems and Materials Research Corporation, which will produce a prototype food printer.

NASA's interested in the concept because long-duration space voyages (say, to Mars) mandate such a device; they can't store - or grow - sufficient food to supply such missions. SMRC proposes to get around this issue using liquids and powders stored in cartridges, with shelf lives of as much as 30 years. The protein blocks could be derived from ground mealworms, other insects, or even algae; it doesn't matter because they're just components of the printing process, which will produce food by printing it, layer by layer.

The company has somewhat loftier plans than simply producing meals for the star-bound, however: taking a page from Paul Ehrlich, they envision a time in the near future when it simply won't be economical nor practical to grow food the old-fashioned way - on farms. Nope, there'll be a 3-D printer in every kitchen, and protein derived from ground-up insects and algae will rule. Mixed with flavorings and liquids, a healthy breakfast like the one above will be printed out for your enjoyment in a matter of minutes, and your trip to the corner grocery will involve merely exchanging spent cartridges and purchasing refills.

Mooch ought to love it; she's always ragging on you to "eat healthy", anyhow.

Your dog wants steak.

Related articles

NASA taps 3-D printer firm for 'Star Trek'-style food replicator

Environmeddlists: Always Mad At USFS

Mule Deer on the John Day River. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Over in Idaho, they're suing the Forest Service (again) over a decision to permit livestock grazing in a river valley. According to the environmeddlists, this will disturb the endangered bull trout and other critters that defecate in the water.

It contends cattle wade within the streambeds of the Little Lost River and graze its banks, trampling fish nests, displacing juvenile fish and harassing spawning adult fish.

That's identical to the argument they used some years ago along the John Day River in Oregon, only then it was salmon that they were concerned about. So cattle were fenced off from the river, save for occasional access points. Subsequently, it turned out that the fish didn't get with the environmeddlists' program: there were more redds near the access points than along the pristine, fenced-out sections. Funny how that works out. Deer, as it happens, are never a concern for environmeddlists because they never go down to the river. And if they do, they're still "natural" and therefore entirely harmless.

Meanwhile, here in Orygun, the DEQ has fined a USFS nursery nearly $9000 for "allowing" an algae mat to "escape" from a reservoir and "pollute" the pristine waters of Jackson Creek.

Although the algae proved nontoxic, the DEQ says it still reduced oxygen levels for fish in the creek.

So even though no harm was shown to have occurred, Orygun bureaucrats think that federal bureaucrats owe them money - a decision that USFS will appeal. Hey, how else are they going to justify their cushy compensation packages over there at DEQ?

PeTA Goes For Drone Harassment

Released into the public domain by PETA. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The group says it will "soon have some impressive new weapons at its disposal to combat those who gun down deer and doves" and that it is "shopping for one or more drone aircraft with which to monitor those who are out in the woods with death on their minds."

Pretty amazing words for a group that kills almost every animal they come into contact with.

The group says it also hopes to fly drones over factory farms, fishing spots and "other venues where animals routinely suffer and die."

They might want to re-think their cunning plan - last year, pigeon hunters shot down a drone sent by an animal-rights nutball group attempting to "monitor" their activities. On the other hand, given all the money they suck in from gullible fools every year, PeTA can afford to buy and lose the occasional drone.

It'd be interesting if they sent one within range of my fly-rod.

Related articles

PETA states they are acquiring drones to harass hunters (VIDEO)

PETA Plans to Fly Drones That Would 'Stalk Hunters'

DRONE HUNTING THE NEW AMERICAN PAST-TIME PETA Plans to Fly Drones That Would 'Stalk Hunters' PETA says it's actively shopping for a drone to monitor hunters Get Ready To Drone-Proof Your House

New Pig On The Block

Ecuador (Photo credit: Rinaldo W.)

South American restaurants on both coasts seem to be pushing the trend, answering to demand mostly from Andean expats for what is considered a fine and valuable food in Ecuador, Peru and Colombia.

The Nature Conservancy says rodents and other small livestock represent a low-impact meat alternative to carbon-costly beef.

Ah yes - our old friend, man-made global warming emerges in the unlikeliest places, sometimes; in this case - your plate. Cows are very bad for the planet, and so you should broaden your dietary horizons to Fight Global Warming™.

Hey, I'm already hard at work Saving The Planet™ - I'm eating a cow!

But that's not good enough. If you can't or won't go vegan to Save The Planet™, you should reduce your Carbon Footprint® by eating smaller animals. Like these:

More Intimidation For Poor Ginny!

English: Ginny Burdick is a member of the Oregon State Senate. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Poor Oregon state Senator Ginny Burdick (D-Portland) gets all intimidated at the exposure of any of her lies, but the brave little gun-grabber fights on to relieve all Oregonians of the burden of their fundamental Constitutional Rights. Mentally deranged Republicans, Idependents, Libertarians, and anybody else who disagrees with her are all out to get her, just because she hates guns! It's terrible, yes, but she's brave.

Now comes the news that a 22-year-old woman actually pointed a gun at a man who assaulted her Sunday night in downtown Oregon City, and the man ran away. Unquestionably, Ginny is outraged, as the woman should have known enough to simply urinate on her attacker and had no business packing heat. That idiotic woman's actions undermine everything poor Ginny fights so hard to achieve!

Once again, as is usually the case, violence is halted without firing a shot. Poor Ginny. It's hard enough for her to ginny up support without this sort of thing.

Related articles

Caught In Lie, Oregon State Senator Plays For Sympathy

BioFool Woes

Apparently, The New York Times bemoaned the sudden downturn in the Big Ethanol business. Ten percent of the production facilities have closed, partly due to the drought - imposed reduction in corn supplies, and partly due to reduced gas usage. And while the downturn negatively impacts some jobs in the midwest, it's actually a good thing; as has been discussed on several occasions here over the years, turning food into fuel - subsidized to the tune of six and a half billion dollars a year - is a horrid concept.

Corn-based ethanol raises the price of foods across the board, from meat and eggs to tortillas, while reducing gas mileage and actually not only does not mitigate so-called "greenhouse gas" emissions; they actually increase them somewhat:

"Our results suggest that existing biofuel policies have been very costly, produce negligible reductions in fossil fuel use and increase, rather than decrease, greenhouse gas emissions," said Jaeger, a professor in the agricultural and resource economics department at OSU.

Perhaps it's best to dump the business entirely. Or at least quit subsidizing them and let the markets work as they should. If, as eventually planned, ethanol produced from waste pans out, there's no need to subsidize businesses that take food from people and animals to burn as fuel.

Related articles

Clean Fuel From Trash, Crop Waste to Match Corn-Ethanol by 2016 - Bloomberg

The Whizzers Of OZ

As mentioned yesterday, Metro's Oregon Zoo got their zoo foundation to pony up $400,000 to buy their elephant calf and her sire from the California-based owners of the animals. Due to widespread public indignation when it was revealed that OZ didn't actually own the calf, managers there didn't have much choice; it was either work out an arrangement or face continued negative PR.

The Zero finally got around to posting an article about the transaction, and timing's evidently working in the Metro zoo's favor: the Friday news dump is a time-tested way of ensuring minimal coverage, and thus far there have been only five comments on the article - a far cry from the general blathering and bleating that occurred in the wake of the initial stories regarding ownership.

That may change in the coming days, as the professional animal "Rights" activists begin to take note. They raised considerable fuss regarding the zoo's housing of eight elephants there in the first place, fuss which hit a dull roar when it emerged that OZ has no intention of carrying it the elephant management plan under which they sold the public on footing the bills for a bond measure.

 

Related articles

Oregon Zoo buys Lily and Tusko for $400K

Oregon Zoo pays $400,000 to own 2 of its elephants

From YouTube To The Super Bowl

If that really cool Dodge commercial seemed kinda familiar, there's a reason for that:

That's the original, a speech given by the legendary Paul Harvey to the Future Farmers of America. They say that imitation is the highest form of flattery (and heck, it might sell a few trucks, too):

Metro Oregon Zoo Places In Top Ten

At least, as far as the Animal Rights organization, IDA, is concerned:

San Rafael, Calif. (January 15, 2013) - In Defense of Animals (IDA), an international animal protection organization with more than 100,000 members, released today its list of the Ten Worst Zoos for Elephants for 2012. 

7. Oregon Zoo, Portland, Oregon - A Deal with the Devil

The Oregon Zoo ended 2012 with a lot of explaining to do. The zoo struggled under the harsh glare of the national spotlight after admitting that a baby elephant born at the zoo in December is "owned" by a notorious elephant-rental company called Have Trunk Will Travel which, like circuses, trains elephants to perform tricks. The zoo's reckless breeding program packs even more elephants into a cramped exhibit. Seven other elephants-who suffer from a range of captivity induced problems, including foot and joint disease-share a meager 1.5 acres. Instead of using a proposed offsite preserve to give the existing elephants more space, the zoo quietly shifted strategy and now plans to use the space as a second breeding facility. This is the Oregon Zoo’s fourth appearance on IDA's list.

Those wacky, fun-loving folks at IDA are always good for some giggles while begging for donations - but likely you only get it if you know more than they'd like you to.

They conveniently fail to mention, for example, that having expanded the facility once - and adding the first hydraulic elephant restraint chute ever built, which allows veterinary procedures to be accomplished safely on even dangerous adult bulls - Metro's Oregon Zoo is in the process of expanding the area available to the animals to six acres. Moreover, they ignore the fact that providing space to elephants is only part of the issue - it's equally important to find ways to encourage them to make use of the space allotted. IDA tends to gloss over that latter part: elephants aren't like people; they don't jog for no damn reason (and when they find a reason, the general term used to describe the phenomenon is stampede). They're not into pilates, either.

Nor are cold climates found in the western Pacific Northwest a significant problem: their ratio of body mass to surface area actually makes ridding themselves of excess body heat more of an issue, although their ear margins and, more rarely, the tail, are subject to frostbite. Infrared heaters installed outdoors, however, along with windbreaks, afford the animals ample opportunities to control their own microclimate comfort levels.

No organization is perfect, and the zoo is certainly no exception; numerous examples of idiocy exist without need to resort to theatrics: it's more than a little hypocritical to hold amplified concerts night after night on the front doorstep of the elephants' quarters while cautioning ODOT crews to limit their paving activities on a freeway located some 200 feet below the zoo (so as not to disturb the elephants).

But IDA, as always, carries their criticism to disingenuous extremes. Everybody's got to make their money somehow. And the rubes are always willing to give up some cash in return for some propaganda.

Related articles

Rose Tu's Baby Owned By Cruel Traveling Circus

Oregon Zoo optimistic Rose-Tu's calf will stay in spite of contract