Irradiation and Yummy E coli Spinach

Another case of willful scientific misinformation causing illness, death and oh, yes, a not-insignificant cost to the consumer. Irradiation kills bacteria, passes through the food being irradiated and disappears, just like light passing through a window pane. There is no residual light in the glass and there is no residual radiation in the food.

Irradiation extends the shelf life of foods to two or three weeks with no refrigeration.

Lots of money saved on unspoiled food, on refrigeration costs and on government regulation and oversight.

Lots of health costs reduced and productivity levels heightened. A win-win, it seems most would agree, except for the Luddites who resist it. Does anyone have a clue to their motivation or objections?

Hurricanes & El Nino

El Nino has been active again recently. Normally, this would be a topic for alarmist "scientific" reporting, talking about how it might cause drought, heat, excessive rain etc. in North America. We are not hearing much about it this time. The reason?

My suspicion is that it is because some scientists and meteorologists are crediting El Nino with the so-far very low hurricane activity level in the Atlantic and the U.S. So for once, two meteorological activities that each normally cause headline disaster reporting are cancelling each other out. Can't blame global warming for imminent disasters that neutralize each other.

Thank goodness for small favors (and for unmasking the alarmism environmentalists employ to further their agendas).

DDT & Elitist Environmentalists

One million people a year die of malaria in Africa. This has been happening for many years. The Agency for International Development (AID) spends millions of dollars a year trying to mitigate this deadly problem. Charitable organizations plead for more money to spend on it. Meanwhile, DDT is banned from use and has been for over 40 years, since Rachel Carson published her book, Silent Spring. Only just this month was it announced that AID would begin permitting the use of DDT to kill mosquitoes, which transmit malaria to people. Who have the environmentalists been protecting all these years with their ban on the use of DDT? Maybe only themselves and their own reputations.

DDT has been demonstrated to be very effective at killing mosquitoes. In controlled quantities, it is harmless to animals and people. The alternatives, which AID and environmentalists have lobbied for years to implement, include mosquito netting over beds and screens on windows. With a death rate of 1 million a year, these are clearly ineffective in the real world (although in the theoretical and ideal world where everyone has them and uses them, they might do some good). But for over 40 years, these elitists have favored their "perfect" non-chemical approach to the effective and harmless "good" DDT solution.

Small comfort to the pregnant women and under-five children who are the primary victims of malaria.

Taxing Presumptions

When we lived in NOVA (Northern Virginia) during a period of rapid property value escalation, we were shocked at the equally rapid increase in property taxes. They went up 15% one year, 20% the next. We attended a County Commission hearing about them, at which the Commissioners dithered about reducing the millage rate by a couple of pennies, reducing the property tax increases to only 14% and 18%!

We have lived in Florida (Pinellas County - Tampa Bay area) for three years, during, you guessed it, a period of rapid property value escalation. Although resident homeowners are shielded from concomitant property tax increases, business owners and non-resident investors are not. They have experienced the same rapid growth in their tax bills that we saw in NOVA.

My point is this: if politicians were to propose a 20% increase in taxes, they would never get it passed. With the property tax structure, the Commissioners have built the tax increase into the system. They then bulk up their budgets to absorb the revenue. Since when should the government get automatic budget increases of 15% and 20%, or for that matter, any amount? All budget increases should be subject to voter approval. The default position should be no tax increase.

Comments?

Steve Irwin - out of his element

I have been meaning to write about Steve Irwin, Crocodile Hunter, and his untimely departure from the surly bonds of earth.

First, I believe he was out of his element and perhaps didn't really realize it. I am certain that appropriate reactions and reaction times are very different underwater than on land. Steve Irwin was always very quick on his feet getting away from venemous bites and powerful crocs. Underwater must have seemed like slow motion.

Secondly, I do not believe "it was how he would have wanted it to be," dying that way. People always say that about untimely and dramatic deaths, but I think he wanted as much as the rest of us to keep doing what he was doing until he was too old to do any more. Being willing to take risks doesn't mean he wanted to die from them. He knew from his experience dealing with wild animals (developed from when he first learned to climb trees) how far to take things and so brought the risk level to himself down to a more or less reasonable level. We all take risks every day, driving a car, crossing the street, etc. His were just of a different magnitude.

Finally, specifically as to the means of his death, based on the very little information published, it seems he died of a lacerated heart as much as of the injection of poison from the sting ray. The ray was apparently 240 pounds, so its tail must have been quite large. Their tails are like serrated knives, so one can imagine.

What a tragic miscalculation. What a sad loss.

Dinner idea, anyone?

A homemaker's blog subject matter, of course!

For anyone sick of trying to think of yet another dinner recipe that won't take 4 hours to prepare, here is a recipe that requires about 15 minutes prep and 1 hour cooking:

Last night I threw (from a distance of two feet - several two-pointers, but some landed on the floor) together a dish that came out delicious.

Recipe for four:

4 - skinned 1/2 chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
2 1/2 cups chicken broth (I buy Swanson-type boxed broth)
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 cup frozen peas
5-6 jalapeño slices, chopped
1 medium sweet onion, chopped or sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dill
salt & pepper
1 teaspoon minced garlic, if you want
1 tablespoon dried parsley (also optional)

Mix everything together except chicken  in a casserole dish
Place chicken on top and cover
To save time, pre-heat in microwave for 5 minutes
Bake at 350° for 1 hour (a little longer if you did not pre-heat it)