Uncommonly Good Stuff

Uncommon Ground is celebrating their 16th year in business. Conscious Choice has a nice article about the restaurant and it's history. It's a great place that Sue and I originally discovered on Check Please! If you ever find yourself near Wrigley Field, it's a really neat, friendly little place with great food and excellent coffee.

Speaking of coffee, another great place that I've never physically visited but I know has great coffee is Metropolis Coffee. We've ordered our coffee from them for quite a while and always loved it. Plus, they always throw in a sample of something new for us to try. I hope to actually get into the city and visit them at some point.

Two businesses with great products that are fair trade, sustainable, and reasonably priced.

A Little Mad Cow Never Hurt Anybody

Oh, wait, I've just been informed that it did. That makes it even more strange that the Bush Administration would fight to prevent a beef producer in Kansas from testing all of their cows. You see, the reasoning goes something like this: if we let this one ranch test all their cows, then larger meat companies might have to test all of theirs as well and that would cost them money. So, screw the consumers, we don't want to test all out cows. We'll just take this ranch to court. Evil mad cow testers must be stopped.

I'll say this again. Buy your meat from someplace you trust and where you know how the animals are handled and treated, like Tallgrass, or BlackWing, or SteakBurger. Better yet, get yourself to a farmer's market and actually meet the people producing the food.

Boo Ethanol, Hooray Beer?

Strike two for ethanol. First it's messing with Tequila and now it's causing higher German beer prices. I'm all for the fight against global warming, but we need to get the scientists working on the Tequila/German beer crisis immediately. Somebody stop it before it gets to wine.

I Want One

Microsoft announced Microsoft Surface today. A 30 inch table top display that allows people to interact with their digital content using their hands and natural gestures. My description doesn't do it justice. Check out the web site, watch the videos, and start saving your pennies.

Boo Ethanol, Hooray Tequila

The increased popularity of ethanol may cause a shortage of Tequila. Can't they just make cars that run on Agave? Then everyone would be happy.

Denied

A few days ago I wrote about President Bush's nominee for the head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Well, behold the power of the blog! Today he withdrew his nomination. First the Porta-Potty and now this. I promise I will only use the power of this blog for good.

Better Than a Stanley Nickel

To all my loyal readers (both of you), here is One Schrute Buck. Only 999 more and you get five extra minutes of lunch break! For those of you who prefer, here is a Stanley Nickel. While you're enjoying your five extra minutes, make sure to read Creed's Blog.

Please Don't Mess This Up

Neuromancer, possibly one of the greatest works of fiction written in the last 25 years, is being made into a movie. I'm excited and horrified all at the same time. Published in 1984, this book had quite an effect on a then 12 year old budding computer programmer. Tales of cyberspace, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and genetic engineering all ring a little more true today then I could have ever imagined when I first read them all those years ago. Go read it and think about the fact that it was published in 1984, it's truly amazing how prescient some of the predictions are. So, please Hollywood guys, don't turn this book into a lousy movie. As for the author himself, he puts it more eloquently than I ever could.

Farm Update

We got the "Late Spring" update from our farmer Patty today. The onions, cabbage, kohlrabi, and lettuce are all happily growing in the field. There seems to have been some difficulty with the peas but they have now been replanted. Our first pickup looks like it will be on 6/14. I can't wait. We also learned that Fresh Harvest now has a meat brokers licence and will be selling organic, pasture raised chicken, pork, and beef. All good stuff. I'll report back on our first batch of produce as soon as I can get my hands on it.

What's Wrong with Alfalfa?

Our friends at Monsanto and the USDA approved the use of genetically modified alfalfa, otherwise known as "Round-Up Ready". The only problem is, they didn't actually bother to fully test it first. Luckily some of those wacky environmental groups took them to court where a judge revoked the approval and told them to stop planting the seeds. Monsanto is now arguing that this will hurt the farmers who have already purchased the seeds. I think I may have a solution. How about if the farmers destroy the seeds and Monsanto reimburses them? When pigs fly. In the meantime, what can we do? Well, for a start, we can stop eating their crap! Look for products that say no GMOs on the package or better yet, organic products. Your dollar is the only influence you have in these kinds of situations, use it wisely.

The Right Man for the Job

If you had to nominate someone to head up the Consumer Product Safety Commission, who would you pick? Someone with a shown track record of dedication to consumer affairs? A well respected expert in the field? Oh, you my friend are way off base and obviously don't work for the Bush administration. Now, stand back because they would pick (drumroll) a senior lobbyist from the National Association of Manufacturers. That's right, and when he leaves his job as a lobbyist, he's going to receive a $150,000 "departing payment". Almost like putting the Cookie Monster in charge of Cookie Security or hiring Dracula to manage a blood bank. We know your job is to help the manufacturers but we're going to put you in charge of an organization designed to protect consumers. Sounds like a plan!

I'm Going to Disneyland

A leading al Qaeda expert says Iraq will become a "Terrorist Disnyland" if the U.S. leaves now. Damn it, we just booked out tickets to Disney World. I bet the park hopper pass and meal plan would have been cheaper in Iraq. I bet the dinner with a radical Muslim extremist is already booked we'll have to settle for the stupid princesses. Oh well, as long as the U.S. stays, Iraq will only ever be a Six Flags for Terrorists.

A Wonderful, Magical Animal...

I'm, of course, talking about our friend the pig. 5 geek points for the first commenter who know where the title of this entry came from or who said it. I digress. Sue and I had the opportunity to try some grass fed, free range pork chops. A little darker in color than what you'd get at the grocery store but the taste! Excellent and, if the whole treating animals well thing doesn't do it for you, much healthier than regular pork. Frontline had this to say about grass fed beef:

Meat from a grass-fed steer has about one-half to one-third as much fat as a comparable cut from a grain-fed animal. Lower in calories, grass-fed beef is also higher in vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acids, which are thought to help reduce the risk of cancer, lower the likelihood of high blood pressure, and make people less susceptible to depression. Further, meat from grass-fed cattle is rich in another beneficial fat called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which supposedly lowers the risk of cancer. The benefits of CLA are so widely acknowledged that some ranchers who don't grass-finish their cattle add CLA supplements to their animals' feed once they're taken to the feedlots.

Another good article on the benefits of grass fed meat is here. So get yourself to the farmers market and get some grass fed meat. Tell them Homer sent you.

Boo 10-Month-Old Gun Owners, Hooray Beer!

If you ever wondered if you could register your 10-month-old for a Firearm Owner's Identification Card, it turns out you can. I'm relieved to know that even babies can defend themselves via their Second Amendment Right in that hotbed of criminal activity that is "rural" Frankfort Illinois. Hey wait a minute, I live in Frankfort! If even the babies are packing heat, maybe it's time to consider arming myself. I'm sure I could out shoot a baby. When I'm out at the Farmer's Market and the poo-poo goes down, I need to be ready. Now, to be fair, 10-month-old "Bubba" can't legally buy a gun but, he can own and carry one. A quote that you should all find particularly comforting:

The state doesn't track FOID cards based on age. However, Compton admitted it's a rare occasion when anyone younger than 18 would need a FOID card. Say a group of 15-year-old boys wants to go hunting rabbits unsupervised. If their parents approve the hunt, then the boys would need FOID cards, Compton said.

Speaking as someone who was once a "15-year-old boy" the thought of someone entrusting us at that age with guns, unsupervised, makes me want to stop leaving the house. We should not have been trusted with sharp sticks, much less guns. I'm sure Bubba is a very nice baby, but if we're going to force someone to be 21 to buy beer, shouldn't we give just a little thought to something that can actually kill you?

I Have a Dream

Tonight, a six year old saw her life long dream of eating dinner at a bowling alley fulfilled. What better combination could there be than grilled cheese and bowling. Oily hands no matter which way you turn. It truly is an age of wonder in which we live. Plus, she got to see Grandpa bowl in his socks for one frame and it wasn't even the beer frame!

Generations

While perusing Wikipedia I came across this article explaining the names of the generations. It interesting to see the historical context of each of them. For the link following impaired, here's the abbreviated list:

• The Lost Generation - 1883 to 1900
• Interbellum Generation - 1901 to 1910
• The Greatest Generation - 1911 to 1924
• The Silent Generation - 1925 to 1945
• Baby Boomers - 1946 to 1964
• Generation Jones - 1954 to 1965
• Generation X - 1966 to 1980
• Generation Y - 1976 to 2001
• Generation Z - 2001 to present

There's some overlap so if you're on the cusp, I guess you get to pick. If you're wondering what makes the Greatest Generation so great, they made up the bulk of the people who fought World War II and also lived through the Great Depression.

The Future of Food

Imagine a future in which a company invents a chemical that kills all plant life indiscriminately. That same company then goes on to invent genetically modified seeds that grow into plants which are immune to the chemical. They patent both the chemical and the seeds. One day something horrible happens, the plants grown from these special seeds spread onto another farmers land and, when the company discovers this, they sue the farmer for patent infringement, and win.

Sounds like a good cautionary tale about a dystopian future where corporations run the world. You'll grow their seeds or you won't grow anything at all. The thing is, this has already happened. The chemical is called "Round-Up", the seeds are called "Round-Up Ready", and the company is Monsanto. The farmer, unfortunately, is real as well. His story is here. The seeds were blown into his field by a truck driving down the road past his farm. Monsanto found out and sued him. His case went all the way to the Canadian Supreme Court and, he lost.

Even if you hate documentaries, see The Future of Food. You're relationship with food is probably the second most intimate one in your life (for some of you, maybe even the first but, no judgement here). Yet, for some reason, people will spend more time researching a new washing machine or a pair of shoes than the thing that sustains them. I promise, it won't turn you into an organic loving, vegan food militant. It will help you understand how food production has changed over the last century and why, even with all the advances, there are still hungry people in the world.

Stamp Out Hunger

Tomorrow (May 12th) is Stamp Out Hunger Day. If you leave a bag of non-perishable food by your mailbox, the letter carrier will deliver them to a local food bank. It's a great way to help people in need and get rid of that can of creamed corn you've had in the back of the cabinet since you moved in (assuming it's not expired).

Kansas Tornado

The Google Lat Long Blog has some before and after pictures of Greensburg, Kansas. Its sad and fascinating at the same time. Lets hope the National Guard is able to help those poor people out.

Get Your Ass to the Moon

Sorry Quaid, we've been busy inventing other stuff since 1969 so we haven't exactly gotten back to the moon. We're going back soon though, in 2020. See, NASA even made this neat video to show exactly how it will work. I know, 51 years seems like a long time but I guess it's kind of like Iowa. Once you've seen it, you don't really feel the need to go back any time soon. Besides we've been busy working on those flying cars and robots and look how well that worked out for us.

Let me just state for the record that Generation X got screwed on the whole space exploration thing. The Baby Boomers got a freakin moon landing, Generation Y (or Z depending on how it goes) is going to mars, and we got the International Space Station. I've seen Babylon 5 and Deep Space Nine and, as space stations go, the ISS isn't exactly exciting. It doesn't even have a worm hole!

Like Water for Chicken

Old news but, it's interesting to see the findings. A local news team in Augusta bought several packages of boneless, skinless chicken breasts and figured out exactly how much actual chicken you're getting. The worst offender was at Walmart. Pilgrim's Pride chicken breasts were 11% water. If it's 11% water I wonder what else they've put it in. Want to bet it's not 89% chicken? I hate to sound like a broken record, but if you buy real chicken from a real farmer, you don't have to worry about it.

Fit for Humans

Remember that stuff that made its way into pet food from China? The stuff that killed all those pets? It turns out that the same stuff was fed to chickens, pigs, and farmed fish. But don't worry, the FDA and USDA say it's safe for humans to eat them. So, the same people who let the food into the country in the first place are saying that it's fine for you to eat animals that have been fed with it. Call me cynical but something doesn't seem quite right. Even if you don't by the whole organic, green, global warming, sustainable, save the planet line of thinking it still makes you wonder. As for me, I think I'll stick to locally grown chicken, beef, and even produce whenever possible. As the Farmer's Market site suggests, "Know the Story of Your Food."

Fighting City Hall

A tale of seedy small town politics recently unfolded in our little berg as a new Port-Potty was deposited in the park across the street from our house. Being the concerned citizen that I am, I immediately, five or six days later, fired off a stern email to one of our Village Trustees. You see, he's the only one with a web site and I certainly wasn't going to call anyone on the phone. I'm not some kind of Luddite. Knowing the power my blog wields with its 10s of users, our local government immediately escalated the issue to the mayor who informed me that he would look into the issue. Yes, the mayor and I are in direct communication on these sorts of matters. This morning, victory was mine, when I was informed that the potty would be moved 100 feet to the north and out of our field of view. Tremble before the power of the little guy, small south-suburban governmental machine!

In all seriousness, thank you to the Village of Frankfort and Village Trustee Jake Parrillo for taking a minor complaint from one of its citizens so seriously. And yes, I did actually get an email from the mayor.

With Teeth

Emma finally lost a tooth. The occasion led to much opining regarding the methodology employed by the mysterious Tooth Fairy. According to the highly intellectual six year old set, there are two opposing schools of thought on how exactly the fairy becomes aware of the lost tooth. The first and, in my opinion, less likely option theorizes that the Tooth Fairy has a wall with a picture of each child in the world, a-la Wallace and Grommit. Upon the loss of a tooth, the nose of the child lights up, alerting the good fairly to their condition. The second, and more technologically advanced theory, involves the fairy utilizing email. Perhaps on some sort of Blackberry or other mobile device is involved. I myself suspect the fairy may be colluding with Santa Clause in order to gain access to his well known child spy network.

On another matter, I've conducted a study to determine the current market value of a tooth. According to the current economic data, the value of a tooth seems to be somewhere between $1 and $5 US. Although, many feel this price may be artificially inflated due to the current activities of OTEC (Organization of Tooth Exporting Children).

Obama and Edwards Get It

If you missed the recent presidential debates on NBC, you're out of luck because NBC has prohibited any Internet redistribution (i.e. YouTube) of debate footage. Well, Barack Obama and John Edwards have both sent letters to the Democratic National Convention requesting that copyright owners of all debates waive those rights to allow distribution of the footage. To me, this seems like a reasonable request, I mean people should have access to this information. Yet another case of the big corporations either not caring or just not getting that the ground is falling out from beneath them. The Internet and all that comes with it is a key issue. Corporations are fighting to control it and, by extension, control how we access information. Having a president that gets this is important.

Secrets and Lies

Over the past week an online war has been raging that only the geek set and the movie studios really care about. You see someone dicovered one of the keys used to encrypt the content on HD-DVDs. For the uninitiated, HD-DVD is one of two formats (Blue-Ray being the other) currently competing to be the successor to DVD. The content on these disks if encrypted to keep people from being able to easily copy the movies on the disk. The HD-DVD players know the key and are therefore, able to decrypt and play the movie. You computer, for example, may not know the key and not be able to play the movie. As with most content protection schemes, this one was dooned from the start. Someone has already discovered this key and posted it on the Internet. Hollywood lawyers quickly followed up with a threatening cease and desist letter. Aparently, Hollywood doesn't really understand how the Internet works because, once a piece of information is out there, making it go away is nearly impossible. A Google search for the key returned 1,110,000 hits at the time I wrote this.

So, why does all this matter to "regular folks"? Well, what we all need to understand is that the days of keeping secrets are over. What matters to companies most now are customers. If you treat a customer poorly, you risk alienating those other 1,110,000 people as well. If you try to protect your product though obscurity and secrets, you will fail. Litigation will not help, you can't sue 1,110,000 people. The record companies are trying and failing miserably. Companies that embrace transparency will win in the end.

If you're interested in the whole story, you can check out a good Wired article here.

Mmmm, Water Buffalo

Setting me loose in a grocery store is like setting must guys loose in a hardware store. I could wander around for hours reading labels and comparing ingredients. If it wasn't for the odd looks from the store employees, I probably would. One of my favorite things is discovering new and unusual products. Today, when I spied Woodstock Water Buffalo Milk Yogurt, I knew I had struck gold. That's right, it's yogurt made from the milk from a water buffalo. Without resorting to wild hyperbole, let me just say that this was easily the best yogurt I have ever tasted. From now on, I will be replacing the expression "holy cow" with "holy water buffalo." Holy water buffalo that was some good yogurt!

Are We There Yet?

Happy fourth anniversary of "Mission Accomplished" in Iraq! I've felt much safer ever since we won that pesky war on terror. As the spooky disembodied voice at the airport reminds me on a weekly basis, "The Department of Homeland Security has raised the threat level to (dramatic pause) ORANGE!" I could be wrong but orange is bad isn't it? Orange indicates a "high risk of terrorist attacks." Is it just that orange is the new green? It's like Starbuck's calling a small a tall, it just seems better. Although I guess if the government followed the Starbuck's approach then green would be the new orange instead of the other way around. Oh well, as long as I'm surrounded by confused people running around in their socks holding clear baggies stuffed with miniature toiletries, I'm safe and I don't care what color your threat level is. Unless its purple because that's the secret vente (or is it grande?) of threat levels they haven't told us about yet...