The Amazing Duggars

The old saying goes, "There's a name for those who don't practice birth control: Parents!"

That certainly characterizes the amazing Duggars. They announced this morning on the Today show that they are expecting baby #18. The other 17 children didn't know Mom was pregnant, but when the camera panned their faces right after the news was announced, their spontaneous smiles and expressions of joy were the unrehearsed real-thing.

This has to be one of the most amazing families ever to walk the face of the earth. The Mom and Dad are the first to say they aren't perfect parents, and to give credit to God for whatever fruit has been borne. But when you see the pictures of their 19-member (soon to be 20) operation, you have to be impressed. If you haven't kept track of the Duggars in recent years as their family has made national news, a tour of their web site (especially the pictures of their family "orchestra," kitchen, etc.) will be time well-spent. (Wish I had a picture to include, but there are plenty on their web site.)

Stephen, Is This Your Car?

I talked to Stephen on the phone tonight and used Google's Street View to catch a glimpse of his humble abode in L.A. Looks like the Google street cam-car drove by when Stephen's new car was parked on the street.

Hey bro', is this your car? You can run but you can't hide! Google will find you!

Excellent Question!

My friend, Priscilla, posted this excellent question about the refrigerator bins (see previous post):

Looking at your refrigerator, I have a thought. Does your bottom shelf, holding the two thermo controlled bins, attach to the tracks on the back of your refrigerator? If so, could you remove the other shelves, replacing them with a couple additional shelves with bins, from the manufacturer?

My answer: I have no idea -- never crossed my mind, but I'm definitely going to check it out. I have my refrigerator "User's Guide" so I'll see what it says about ordering extra bins. That's a great idea! Thanks, Prisc!

Any other creative ideas on how to make a refrigerator more fresh-produce friendly?

Sub-Zero? Maytag? Whirlpool? Anybody?

On the infinitesimal chance that some higher-up at a major appliance company stops by this blog (or an entrepreneur looking for a disruptive opportunity), this note is tied to a previous post in which I mentioned the inadequacy of current home refrigerator designs for vegetarian/vegan eaters. I have notes in my files on this going back several years in which I described a refrigerator that would be made up mostly of bins that store fresh food with the proper humidity/temp/air-circulation requirements.

The picture below is what my refrigerator looks like now (usually I have more bins crammed in than this), using air-tight plastic storage bins to keep produce fresh. (I bought these originally at Wal-Mart and have had to repair the tops with duct tape. They crack over time because of pushing down on them to force air out of the bins before sealing. Last time I looked, I could find no air-tight bins among the myriad for sale at Wal-Mart, so I need to keep looking for replacements.)



It would be nicer if these bins were built into the refrigerator instead of having to create them artificially. I'd like to open the refrigerator door and instead of two small produce bins at the bottom of the 'fridge I would see 6-8 large, fresh-produce bins taking up most of the interior space, the majority of them for fresh veggies, the minority for fruit, reflecting the veggie:fruit proportions in a healthy diet. (They are designated as veg or fruit because of different air/temp fresh-keeping requirements.) Only a small amount of space (door shelves, etc.) would be reserved for processed food ("packages with bar codes"). Even a smaller freezer unit (allowing more space for produce) would be okay since, again, most vegan/veggie eaters don't freeze that much food.

I think this is a market niche product just waiting to happen given the transition of eating habits in the U.S. to healthier, fresher foods. Anybody have a creative thought on this? A better idea? Leave a comment or email me your thoughts and I'll post them.

Only a Matter of Time

An amazing (to me, anyway) article on the Marketwatch.com financial news site calls for Microsoft to dump its new bloated Vista operating system and keep the previous Windows XP system that users and developers much prefer. Yes, sales of Vista have been good but that's mainly because Microsoft has owned 95+% of the desktop operating system business for the last decade. Businesses have so much invested in Microsoft systems that they have no choice but to upgrade. But (apparently) most people hate Vista as an operating system.

It's amazing how prescient Bill Gates is looking as he steps down from active leadership of Microsoft in July. He's getting out just in time.

I checked the stock prices of Apple versus Microsoft over the last three years:

Three years ago Apple was trading at around $40. Today it's at $182 per share.
Three years ago Microsoft was trading at around $25. Today it will open at around $29.

If I needed to buy a new computer today, in which company's products (based on the company's performance) would I feel most confident investing?

The Need for Speed

The only time I ever feel like a computer geek (I mean that in a positive way) is when I go into my Mac to install more memory or other components. Added two more gigs of RAM today and a replacement DVD/CD drive a few weeks ago. But Apple makes it so easy -- the inside of the computer is as elegantly designed and easy to access as the visual elements of the software.

(Caveat: OS X Leopard has slowed my Mac down. No question Leopard requires more horsepower. But adding the RAM will help. My computer is about four years old and is slower than any Macs on the market now, so I'll eventually have to get a faster one to keep up with the demands of audio/video.)

I've seen so many news reports lately on how Apple is making inroads into the Windows domain: Leopard vs. Vista -- no contest. And sales of Macs, and market share (not to mention music and movies), are steadily increasing. A Mac user since 1984, I'm one of those who, at this point, couldn't be more satisfied with my computer.

This picture doesn't do justice to the elegance of the interior. Adding the new RAM took 10 minutes. Cool.

I'll Have What They're Having

For several years I've been reading the regular email newsletters of a fellow named Gary Scott -- an entrepreneur, investment publisher, and writer among other things. He and his wife, Merri, live half the year on a 250-acre parcel in Ashe County, NC, where TN/VA/NC meet. It was deep mountain country when they moved there.

In an email from Gary today, on the subject of health care, he mentions the small family cemetery that was on their property when they acquired it. Based on the born/died dates on the five tombstones, the Ashe County mountain folk buried there lived 86, 91, 95, 100, and 115 years! The 115-year-old lived from 1794 to 1909. And to think they did it without government-sponsored health care or social security.

Gary has learned from the locals that the springs on his property were revered by the Native Americans in the area who believed they had medicinal powers. People still come from around the area to fill up jugs with water from their springs. Sounds good to me. In the spirit of When Harry Met Sally . . . , and with an eye toward longevity, I'll have what they're having.

Matthews, NC; Union County, NC

Had a clarifying experience around 3:00 a.m. this morning: a huge cramp in my calf, probably from failing to stretch after riding the bike yesterday and not refilling with electrolytes. I was having a dream: my late father and I were in the attic of my son, Daniel's, house in Columbia, SC, hanging tarps (hey -- it was a dream; it's not supposed to make sense) to keep the attic dry during a massive rain storm. I could feel my leg(s) straining and suddenly yelled when the cramp hit and hopped out of bed to stand on it and stretch the muscle out (always works). Went to the kitchen for a banana (potassium) and took some mag/cal/pot supplements and went back to bed. I guess the attic got soaked since I never finished the dream -- decided to get up and post the following before starting work for the day.

The following pictures are from last Saturday, May 3, 2008, in and around Matthews, NC, and Union County, NC.

Started at one of Matthews' cultural landmarks, Renfrow's Hardware, in historic downtown Matthews (great pictures on their web site). (Started by Thomas Jefferson Renfrow in 1900 -- what a great name!) Now an amalgam of several historic storefronts, Renfrow's stretches the length of most of a block. Renfrow's is a combination hardware, seed, ORGANIC gardening supplies, feed, baby chicks, gossip, clothing, home/kitchen supplies store. It would be easier to name what Renfrow's doesn't carry than what it does:



Renfrow's is now owned by David Blackley, a cool go-to guy who can answer just about any question you've got, or point you to someone who can. Trying to get David to slow down for a picture is hard, but here's the inside of the original store. Creaky wood floors, big pot-bellied stove with peanuts roasting in an iron skillet in the winter, an old-timey "Pepsi-Cola" drink cooler -- what a great place to hang out on a Saturday!



To the side and behind Renfrow's is the hoophouse where transplants are sold and the pen with chickens for the kiddo's:







At the far right end of the Renfrow's complex is the street-side opening for the Matthews Farmer's Market:



Across the street from Renfrow's is a cool restaurant I want to visit. A New York chef (an actual, real chef) opened this restaurant, Santé. He uses as many local, organic ingredients as possible from the Matthews Farmers Market across the street. Not vegetarian, but has some great vegetarian dishes on the menu. A friend (who eats out a lot) ate there recently and gave it two thumbs up. Pricey, but the best food he's eaten in a long time:



A quick stop at the Matthews Farmers Market to get organic greens from Sammy Koenigsberg: white turnips (the roots are delicious thin-sliced and sauteed, the greens steamed), two kinds of kale, and HUGE heads of lettuce:







All vegetarians/vegans who eat mostly raw produce live with the inadequacies of modern refrigerator designs. They are designed for storing predominately processed foods, not fresh foods, having only one bin for veggies and one for fruit. To compensate, I store fresh produce in the plastic (not ideal) containers with air-tight lids (fruit needs air circulation, produce doesn't). They fit well in refrigerator shelving and greatly extend the life of fresh produce:





(I know -- it needs to be cleaned, but you get the idea:)



Before leaving Matthews -- a beautiful old farm-style house near downtown, recently redone and occupied by a real estate company. I looked at this house sitting unused for several years. Thought I was leaving Matthews so never looked into it. Now look at how beautiful it has become:



While at Renfrow's I got the necessary brass hardware to rig a hose bib (spigot) on my rain barrel. This is the barrel my son, Daniel, gave me from his procurement in Columbia, SC. The idea is to channel rain from the roof gutters, down the downspout, into the barrel, then use that water for irrigation. The water is "clean" and so great for the garden. The challenge has been to rig up a spigot near the bottom to connect a hose, and ultimately overflow vents at the top that allow daisy-chaining several barrels together with short lengths of hose. (Of course, pre-rigged barrels are available for $100 or so. Daniel and I have been talking about how to rig them less expensively, so homeowners can do it themselves.) One of the guys at Renfrows told me a couple weeks ago I needed a "3/4 inch bulkhead fitting" (say what?) to fit inside a hole drilled in the side of the barrel near the bottom. (The weight of the 55 gallons of water provides pressure for watering.) With a nut on the inside and outside of the barrel, and washers in between, the seal is water-tight. Once installed, a spigot or valve with a male hose connection can be screwed in to allow attaching a hose. Found a place on the Internet selling the bulkhead fitting, and then got the remaining brass fittings at Renfrow's. I went with a straight valve on/off handle instead of a traditional round-handle spigot so as to allow straight-ahead connection of a hose near the bottom of the barrel instead of a down-pointing hose connection like a regular wall-mounted spigot on the outside of the house. That will make it easier to either screw a hose on or use quick-connect fittings without having to bend a hose to make a vertical connection. The barrel and the (yet-to-be-installed) bulkhead fitting (gray) and brass valve:





Finally home and onto the bike for a ride with camera in-hand. (Actually have rigged a belt-holster for the camera to be secure while I ride -- except if I crash -- see below.) This is a wonderful old farm house near where I live that I pass often while riding. I pulled into the driveway to take a picture, then crashed in the driveway while restarting. Bikers will know -- got clipped in, lost my balance, couldn't get un-clipped to break my fall, fell into the asphalt drive and big granite rocks lining the driveway. Not good. Landed right on the camera but it survived. Broke a decorative chain lining the driveway, so headed home to get my checkbook and return by car to pay for the damage. Nobody home so left a note and a check and my phone number. Heard from the owner on Tuesday of this week; super nice guy. Wouldn't let me pay him for the chain so he tore up my check. He said he was just glad I was nice enough not to sue him for getting injured on his property!

This house was his grandparents' -- they farmed all the adjacent land. We discovered lots in common while we chatted: faith in Christ, love for old houses and small farms, etc. He invited me to stop by anytime to see the house. He and his wife are in the process of restoring it bit by bit. Who knows? Maybe a banged-up body is the entry price for a new friendship. Here's their house:



While pedaling (slowly) home to get my checkbook, went through Weddington, another old farming crossroads that is now EXPLODING with MacMansions and upscale development. Last I heard there was a moratorium on new development so they could get schools built to catch up with the growth. This is the Weddington city hall, a beautifully restored farm house in the middle of "town:"



Right around the corner from the city hall is one of the most beautiful old houses in the area. It sat empty and run-down as long as I can remember, then a few years ago was restored. I think (may be wrong) that the town of Weddington owns it and uses it for various things. What a stunning house:





Then, just 50 yards past that house is this smaller, but lovely, period home. Not as shiny as the previous one, but lots of personality. (Are you noting the predominance of PORCHES on these old houses, and the absence of them on ours?)



Then, about a half-mile down the road is this work-in-progress on a beautiful lot. The sign in the yard indicates its a historic renovation project, etc., etc. -- another example of the Union County agricultural era when those big old farmhouses were the norm. First, the big view showing the setting:



And the house:



Finally, just before making it back to Stallings, the new campus of Southern Evangelical Seminary and Bible College, started a few years ago by the well-known Dr. Norman Geisler. It sits smack in the middle of a burgeoning development area of new homes, shopping, etc. Not sure how Geisler pulled it off, but not surprised either.



Oh -- the examples of great cover crops I showed the other day, saying I didn't know if they would be plowed under or baled. They were baled for hay. Either way, it's far better than nuking the crops and killing everything in the soil:



And the nuked fields I showed the other day . . .



have now been seeded with corn that is sprouting. Is it possible to soak a field in poisonous herbicides and then eat the corn (or any food) that's grown in that medium without it having some negative effect on one's body? No (IMHO). Please buy and eat organically-grown food, folks. You're body is not suffering from a deficiency of skull-and-crossbones-labeled herbicides and pesticides.



I spent the afternoon applying deep-rub oils on my sore spots from the crash and using an ultrasound wand on them as well (it really seems to help). Hobbled next door that night to my neighbors' Cinco de Mayo supper. Small group of nice neighbors -- I'm usually the social recluse but gave in this time, being enticed with veggie burritos. Thanks John and Lisa Kay!





So -- that was Saturday, May 3, 2008. More to come -- back to work.

Update

Never got back to the posts and pictures I had promised last Saturday morning. Spent most of the weekend recuperating from a tumble I took on my bike on Saturday. Nothing broken, just sore. And now I have a work deadline bearing down. But I'll return with some pix of a few more beautiful old Union County houses -- and more!