tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12992522163547583092024-09-01T13:58:55.255-04:00Social issues condensed into digestible bites, interspersed with some humor and random thoughts.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1299252216354758309.post-34759660396711925112011-01-02T15:31:00.000-05:002011-01-02T15:31:12.692-05:00

 I took this picture in Culpeper County, Virginia on New Year's weekend. I like geese.  This zoon didn't work too well, my hands are not as steady as they used to be...but I like the reflection of the gi-normous house on the ice!

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1299252216354758309.post-18517638030449730422011-01-02T15:19:00.001-05:002011-01-02T15:23:36.766-05:00

 Blackeye peas, rinsed and rinsed and rinsed again.  All the rest of the ingredients for hoppin' john! Happy New Year's everyone~ 

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1299252216354758309.post-87738018317627088122010-12-28T21:26:00.000-05:002010-12-28T21:26:54.072-05:00

I've been following my friend Terri's blog on which she posts photos that she takes for each year's 365 Photo Challenge.  She is a fantastic photographer and I expect National Geographic to snap her up anytime now.  I'm a casual picture-taker.  I'll follow theme #88, "Every Day Sights." Sometimes, I haven't taken pictures when I should have.  I like to see what's going on

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1299252216354758309.post-79168056192029045342010-06-20T04:57:00.002-04:002010-12-28T21:44:34.552-05:00

The quest for food  continues.  It is puzzling how in the most overfed nation in the world, food that contains nutrition becomes more and more elusive. Some months ago I became aware of one element of milk production which can make a huge difference in the nutritional profile for human consumption.  That element is the food ingested by the cattle. Of course we have known for

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1299252216354758309.post-79599707026247951852009-12-31T14:13:00.002-05:002010-01-28T19:01:02.885-05:00

Happy New Year everyone!  At this time we are all making our New Year's resolutions to eat better and exercise more.  Once again I am going to try to include more high quality protein in my life.  Since I don't have an appetite for meat, I use whey protein on an occasional basis.  Why not the obvious (soy) choice? Because, as I have blogged before, I am aware of the real

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1299252216354758309.post-679704034151982752009-12-29T22:32:00.001-05:002009-12-30T00:44:12.069-05:00

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute has uncovered that absence of certain proteins enhances vulnerabilities to infection by the H1N1 virus. Viruses replicate by injecting their own genetic material into other cells.  In order to do so, there has to exist a configuration on the surface of the host cell that would be vulnerable to such invasion.  Research has shown that certain

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1299252216354758309.post-83163105664481339552009-12-29T18:39:00.001-05:002009-12-30T00:42:45.235-05:00

Research being conducted along the Bay of Alaska has revealed that watersheds in the areas of melting glaciers receive organic matter which had been previously trapped by the ice.  This organic matter (which could be as old as 4,000 years and is thought to have orginated from forests which were entrapped by glacial ice) is then bioavailable to bacteria for consumption. As these bacteria

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1299252216354758309.post-32440079708542358502009-12-28T22:18:00.002-05:002009-12-30T00:41:59.529-05:00

Recently the royal Prince spent a night sleeping outside ("sleeping rough") to more closely appreciate how the homeless must feel.  He spent his night on a purple clad sleeping pad (at least someone has a sense of humor), near Blackfriars Bridge in London.  William is the royal patron of a shelter called Centrepoint. I was reminded of a poem.  (If you'd like to listen here's a

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1299252216354758309.post-78793892243938406392009-12-27T23:06:00.002-05:002009-12-30T00:41:23.229-05:00

Tonight's program on CBS's "60 Minutes" was very informative, but it did not address HOW to now bring the Islamic extremists out of the shadows so that we can defeat them. I have an idea.  Certain governments such as Iran's have taken lessons from Cuba on how to busy their populace and keep them content.  It is as simple as free food.  Here's how it's implemented. There's no

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1299252216354758309.post-24172370938646820812009-12-27T13:14:00.002-05:002009-12-30T00:40:25.278-05:00

No matter how hide bound by religion a person is, almost everyone accepts the idea that people are capable of change.  Whether this is self-motivated, imposed by family intervention, or poured down from heaven, change is an essential element of Christian belief.  So why the resistance to the idea of "evolution?"  What is evolution if not change? Evolution became controversial

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1299252216354758309.post-23845386190061525732009-12-27T02:26:00.001-05:002009-12-30T00:39:37.364-05:00

My grandfather was born in 1906. He was a self-educated man who operated a modest dairy farm on a property that had formerly been in his wife’s (my grandmother’s) family. He was VERY smart. As time goes by, I will write more about his environmentalism and conservation, which ran contrary to the “progressive” farming culture of his time. In 1959, a plant in Chicago was the first to synthesize

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1299252216354758309.post-75378797133890527462009-12-27T01:48:00.001-05:002009-12-30T00:38:36.824-05:00

There’s an excellent article in The Atlantic this month about an outgrowth of Christian practice (specifically, an outgrowth of Pentacostalism) which espouses the “prosperity gospel.” I am rather cynical about preachers who drive rare cars. Is it just me? Preachers who drive rare cars are usually, but not always, the leaders of congregations of the working poor (or the unemployed). This

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1299252216354758309.post-2851714627585584042009-12-27T01:42:00.000-05:002009-12-27T01:46:22.742-05:00

Was having an online chat with a friend who asked me to provide a concise description of existentialism.That is a very good existentialist question.In short, we arrive here not knowing our purpose. Much of our conditioning (by family, culture, religion, education) is aimed at helping us understand “something” about our “purpose.”As we form our understanding, if any, about the reason for our

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1299252216354758309.post-26358115283492231922009-12-27T01:13:00.000-05:002009-12-27T02:34:23.727-05:00

In my life, several issues seem to recur and intersect. Luckily, I have enough academic and professional outlets to keep me fed with contacts, intellectual stimulation, and research opportunities, so the wheel keeps turning, making connections among seemingly unrelated ideas.The things I think about include :Health care and rehab for our injured and sick veteransHealth care, including mental

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0