Waltzing with Bears

Changes

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:30:00 -0500

This site will stay open, but I have decided to concentrate my limited blogging to a new website: http://beartrap.wordpress.com

Thank you.

Unpopular Healthy Foods

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:59:00 -0400

Unpopular Healthy Foods:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/30/the-11-best-foods-you-arent-eating/?em&ex=1215144000&en=aae8f317805e7437&ei=5087%0A

The New York Times posted a blog today featuring 10 foods that are healthful, but not necessarily popular amongst people. The author admits, that she only had 2 of the 11 in his home cabinet. I guess my “score” comes close, 4/11, but only for the more popular ones (in my opinion)

The list included beets, cabbage, swiss chard, cinnamon, pomegranate juice… halfway through and I think I have only eaten one of those items in the last month (cinnamon, and I’d hardly qualify that I make much of my diet from it).

Continues: dried plums (prunes), pumpkin seeds, sardines, turmeric, blueberries, canned pumpkin.

For the ones that I don’t have in my cabinet, I can’t say if I ever would. Despite my mostly vegetarian diet and health consciousness, I avoid eating the top three on the list here. These would have been left on my plate as a kid growing up; now, making my own meals, I don’t have to put my self in this position. I just simply won’t eat them.

Up until 5 years ago, I let go of my childhood abhorrence towards spinach and have come to really enjoy it, both for it’s taste and iron content. Who’s to say I shouldn’t give these a try again. It’s not so much as not having them in my cabinet, the goal should also to be to increase what you would put in your cabinet as well.

Finances

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:05:08 -0400

I spent 2 hours today trying to put in order my finances and past taxes (some of which I never recieved my refunds for)—various calls to HR Block, my state Tax and Revenue Office and the IRS rewarded me with the knowledge that I actually owe a balance of $157 in taxes.

Probably not the best use of my time. I won’t be looking at that again considering that my economic stimulus check went to help me pay off a traffic ticket in Virginia.

Nutrition and the Free Market

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 23:36:59 -0400

Today I am wondering about the ability of the free market to regulate our nutrition as individuals. Currently, farm subsidies support the growing of corn and related to this, we have a large amount of corn-derived foods in our diets. While corn is notable for it’s ease of being grown, it also goes to note, that it may be the cheapest food to produce. As a food, it is target of the most concern in the form of high fructose corn syrup—the main ingredient in soda.

In a recipe that I use to make a french toast with a caramel topping, the original recipe called for a corn syrup to help the butter and brown sugar get the right consistency. I found, that I can easily substitute the corn syrup (highly processed) for Grade B Maple Syrup (boiled tree sap). Both are sweet and I might say that the version using the Maple Syrup does have a little bit of a better taste to it. While I don’t have the nutrition background to argue that one of these sticky substances is better for you than the other, as they both contain an incredible amount of sugar, one thing that stands out is their difference in price.

For our purposes here, let’s assume that both syrups have the same sweetness and behave the same when used in cooking. The cost of producing the corn syrup is cheap due to the cheap and high supply of corn along with various processing techniques.

On the other hand, maple syrup is expensive and is harder to come by. Sap is taken from trees during the fall and many gallons of sap is boiled down to just a small batch of syrup.

Simply stated, I’d hypthosize that the cost of acquiring the maple syrup is more in tune with it’s nutritional content than high fructose corn syrup. With costs staying low, it allows people to cheaply acquire a sweetness that should be more expensive and therefore appreciated more. The demand for both is high, but it’s too cheap to purchase high fructose corn syrup.

I guess I need some help here from either an economist or a nutritionist to move this argument any further.

How to Take a Shower - wikiHow

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 16:49:34 -0500

How to Take a Shower - wikiHow:

There are even links to how to enjoy a shower.

I need help on translation

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 11:24:06 -0500

I need help on translation

"The remains of an estimated 20,000 forgotten people lie under Washington Square Park. It gives one..."

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 15:32:09 -0500

“The remains of an estimated 20,000 forgotten people lie under Washington Square Park. It gives one pause, to think on how short and fleeting is this life and any fame we manage to accumulate during our sojourn here. This is true not only for the indigent, but even of kings and “immortal” musicians. Recall Mozart’s ignominious, anonymous burial; and what of the boy-king, Edward VI of England’s Tudor dynasty? Due to the plot to place Lady Jane on the throne in place of Mary, Edward’s death was concealed for a time and his body may very likely have been tossed in a hole somewhere and someone buried in with full honors his royal tomb.”

- 3 Skeletons Discovered in Washington Sq. Park - City Room - Metro - New York Times Blog

This is startling. via worldofwonder.net

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 11:51:04 -0500

This is startling.

via worldofwonder.net

This looks scary.

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 21:51:37 -0500

This looks scary.

What is Waltzing with Bears?

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 14:29:00 -0500

Our Uncle Walter's not right in the head
He's been that way all his life, my mother said
Its not that he's violent or falls down the stairs
Its just he goes waltzing, waltzing with bears

He goes wa-wa-wa-waltzing, waltzing with bears
Raggy bears, shaggy bears, baggy bears too
There’s nothing on earth Uncle Walter won’t do
So he can go waltzing, wa wa wa waltzing
He can go waltzing, waltzing with bears


I went to his room in the middle of the night
I tiptoed in and I turned on the light
But to my surprise, he was nowhere in sight
For my Uncle Walter goes waltzing at night

We gave Uncle Walter a new coat to wear
When he came home it was covered with hair
Lately I've noticed several new tears
I think Uncle Walter's been waltzing with bears

We told Uncle Walter that he should be good
Do all the things that we think he should
But I know that he'd rather be out in the wood
I'm afraid we might lose Uncle Walter for good

Well we begged and we pleaded, "Oh please won't you stay"
Managed to keep him at home for a day
But the bears all barged in and they took him away
Now he's dancing with pandas,
And he can't understand us
And the bears all demand at least one waltz a day