Berry Exciting

Planted nine blueberry bushes along the back edge of the backyard this afternoon. Got them from a lady who sells at the Matthews Farmers Market and sells transplants of berry bushes, tomatoes, etc. She grows organically and the bushes look really health. The nine consist of three "early" fruiting (Star Highbush [2] and O'Neal Highbush), three mid-season fruiting (Legacy Highbush [2] and Brightnell Rabbit), and three late fruiting (Powderblue Rabbit Eye [2] and Tifblue Rabbit Eye).

I put them in a line three feet in from the fence. Perhaps should have put them 4-5 feet, but I'm starting to contemplate putting garden beds back in the backyard again so didn't want to encroach too far into the yard:



A few of the bushes:

Bookmark this post on Delicious

Organic or Not?

Dr. John McDougall continues to publish incisive commentaries in his monthly e-newsletter (along with Mary McDougall's monthly vegan recipes). (Subscribe to the McDougall's e-newsletter here --left-hand column, halfway down the page.)

Today's newsletter has a great article on organic vs. conventional food -- why he doesn't make organic a fundamental point in his published recommendations for health, but does recommend organic if you ask him personally, and eats organic AMAP (as much as possible) himself.

Answer:

•Organic, grass-fed meat and dairy is still meat and dairy and will lead to heart disease and other problems.
•Conventionally-grown fruits, veggies, seeds, and nuts are still fruits, veggies, seeds, and nuts and will lead to health.

That is, a conventionally-grown plant-based diet is always better than an organically-grown meat/dairy diet. We are so inundated today by the "organic" label that we forget that it is not organic food that makes us healthy; it is plant-based food. This is the diet "forest" we need to keep in sight when we get lost among the organic "trees."

The best of both worlds is organic AND plant-based. But since "buy organic" will turn off some sick people in terms of the extra effort and expense, he doesn't make it a foundation of his therapies for beginners. It's not organic that cures people, it's plant-based food.

WK note: These slight refinements and tweaks in our understanding are what keep us from succumbing to the marketing hype even in areas with which we are sympathetic.

Bookmark this post on Delicious

Voter Guide

At WallBuilders.com, there is a convenient display of where the two presidential candidates stand on 14 different important issues. If you download the Guide in .pdf format, you'll see the documentation for each of the positions stated.

Bookmark this post on Delicious

Tea Tweaks

I posted during the summer about making sun tea, which I've continued to do almost daily. However, after reading the following information about tea in Anticancer—A New Way of Life, I'm revising the plan. The author, Dr. David Servan-Schreiber, discusses the anti-cancer properties of lots of foods, including tea, which has many. I'll continue to consume decaffeinated green tea, but will make it a different way.

Here are some notes from his section on tea as a cancer-fighter:

•Rich in polyphenols, including catechins, which reduce the growth of the new vessels needed for tumor growth and metasteses.
•Powerful antioxidant and detoxifier.
•Facilitates the death of cancer cells by apoptosis (death by suicide; programmed into every cell to prevent "anarchy" and uncontrolled duplication)

As to tea itself -- kinds and preparation:

•Black tea is fermented, a process that destroyes a large proportion of its polyphenols. Oolong tea is midway between black and green in terms of retaining polyphenols. Decaffeinated (as well as regular) green tea retains the highest amounts of polyphenols.
•Japanese green tea (sencha, gyokuro, matcha, etc.) is richer in EGCG (powerful catechin) than common Chinese green tea.
•Green tea must be steeped for at least five to eight minutes -- ideally ten minutes -- to release its catechins.
•Steeped green tea should be drunk within the hour. Do not store green tea after steeping as it loses its beneficial polyphenols after 1-2 hours.

It's this last point that is the bummer re: sun tea. It sits in the sun for "eight" hours, then in the refrigerator for a day or two -- quite longer than the ideal one-hour consumption time. The author doesn't comment on green sun tea and its polyphenol retention rate, but I've decided to err on the side of caution at this point and switch to steeped green tea. Sun tea in the summer is still great as a refreshing drink, with its lower levels of (bitter) tannic acid. But as a cancer fighter, it may not be as good.

Anybody read anything different -- especially re: sun tea? I'd like to know if you have. (By the way, I don't have cancer, except for the myriad cancer cells that are floating in all our bodies waiting to be destroyed by our immune system, but if I'm going to drink green tea I'd rather drink it the cancer-fighting way.)

Bookmark this post on Delicious

Avocado Jackets

Charlotte is going down to the high 20's and low 30's at night this week, so last night I rigged some jackets for the six newly-transplanted avocado trees. I bought six ten-foot long "masonry ladders" -- wire reinforcements that go between courses of block in masonry walls. I cut them in half and stuck the ends of the five-foot pieces in the ground to form a frame over the trees; then pulled plastic leaf-bags down over the frames and tied them at the bottom (though one blew off during the night). It only went down to about 35 or so last night, but a better test will be tonight when it's supposed to dip down to 28 or so. I did this in the dark last night, but here's what they looked like this morning:



The frames around two of the trees:

Bookmark this post on Delicious

Your Own Personal Banana Farm

Picking up on the "eat local" trend, the Dole food company is helping locavores get connected by putting the identity of the organic banana farm where the bananas were grown on the sticker on each batch. For instance, these Dole organic bananas were grown at Dole's Certified Organic Farm #781. By going to doleorganic.com and selecting Farm 781 you can see pictures of the farm -- in this case the El Pozo Farm ("pozo" means "well" or "shaft" in Spanish, as in "water well" or "mine shaft") on the northern coast of Colombia. You can even link to Google Earth to get a map of Colombia and see the location of the farm. It ain't local, but it seems a little closer.

Bookmark this post on Delicious

The Late Bruce

My third-grade neighbor friend, Kiralyn, was growing a cabbage last spring for a class project. Her dad brought it over one day to ask about the yellowing leaves, so I gave them some liquid organic fertilizer to take home to feed "Bruce." He rallied and was transplanted to a large pot where Kiralyn dutifully cared for him all summer, through bugs and droughts. By mid-July, Bruce had gotten the big head (six pounds worth), and was given the honor of accompanying a corned beef and red potato dinner at Kiralyn's house.

May -- the head was forming:



July -- Bruce, the big-head:



August -- the late Bruce:



Nice job, Kira! (And thanks to Kira's dad, John, for the great photos!)

Bookmark this post on Delicious

Google Phone Review

For those interested, CNET has posted a thorough review of the new Google Dream phone. It's only significant because of the potential for the Dream phone to challenge the iPhone, and because of CNET's thoroughness with whatever they review.

Bookmark this post on Delicious

What Obama Thinks About Your Money

Everyone by now is familiar with Obama's conversation with "Joe the plumber" in which he (Obama) said it was a good thing that "Joe's" wealth (the money you and I earn) be re-distributed to others in society. It already is redistributed, of course, through taxes that fund social welfare programs, etc. But Obama is talking about something more pronounced, it would appear -- and he has been accused of tending toward socialism in that regard: the pooling of national wealth into a large pot and then parceled out on a more equal, or fair, basis -- the government being the one to decide who gets what.

This is apparently not a new thought with him. In this transcript of a 2001 radio interview he laments the fact that the Civil Rights Movement court decisions never got around to "economic justice" -- the redistribution of private citizens' wealth. He also (as a professor of Constitutional law at that time) laments the "negative" approach of the Constitution -- saying what the government was not allowed to do but failing to specify what the government should do (e.g., redistribute wealth). (As I understand it, the Founders did not overlook anything when they crafted the Constitution. They were intent on protecting citizens from the powers of government. That's why they fled oppressive government activism in Europe and created a new LIMITED government, focusing on what people were responsible for doing for themselves and limiting what government could do to interfere in peoples' "life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.")

Well -- see what you think about his words in this interview. (Disclaimer: Has the interview been unfairly edited? Is it complete? Has it been edited to cast Obama in a negative light? I don't know. The website that sponsors the video is a pro-McCain/Palin site, but I don't know if that means the transcript of Obama's words is accurate or not. Judge for yourself. I share this only because, in this "courtship" stage of political campaigns we are hearing only that which is designed to consumate the marriage. What candidates have said in the past, and fail to repudiate or reaffirm in the present for fear of derailing the relationship, is important as well. That goes for both candidates, not just for Obama.)

P.S. I am not opposed to the "redistribution of wealth." I voluntarily "redistribute" a portion of my income (over and above taxes) each month for the benefit of others. But that's a decision I make, not one that is made for me by government.

Bookmark this post on Delicious

Anticancer

Here's a short video interview with Dr. David Servan-Schreiber, cancer survivor and the author of Anticancer—A New Way of Life (mentioned in a post below on Oct. 23):



Here's another video clip about him from the CBS Early Show:

Bookmark this post on Delicious

Obama, McCain, and Abortion

The video below is a compilation of the two candidates remarks on what we now commonly refer to as the "abortion issue." Is it incomplete? I don't know -- I don't know everything each candidate has said on the subject. But it does confirm what I have understood to be their differences: McCain is pro-life, Obama is pro-abortion (again, in the general sense in which those terms are used).



I'm not sure why it is never mentioned in the "debates," but perhaps the greatest reason for the Social Security system running out of money is because of the systematic extermination of 50 million future wage earners since 1973. Everyone knows that the current generation's S.S. payments are funded by the rising generation's wage deductions that go to S.S. The generation of workers that was supposed to fund the upcoming Baby Boomers' S.S. payment has been decimated by the legalization of abortion. Those contributions were never made into the system, but those who need the contributions are still alive. The 50 million aborted wage earners will not draw on the system, so theoretically within a couple of generations the system would balance itself out again. But those who voted for pro-abortion presidents who appointed pro-abortion judges will discover that the coffers are going to run dry because of their short-sightedness.

[Disclaimer: Is it possible that McCain has ever been inconsistent in his position, or Obama in his? Of course. So if there are errors of fact in the above, I'm happy to be gently informed. But I think in general terms, the video accurately represents the two candidates' positions.]

Bookmark this post on Delicious

Cell Phone Precautions

I'm currently reading Anticancer—A New Way of Life (2007) by Dr. David Servan-Schreiber, M.D., Ph.D. He chronicles his own successful (so far -- 14 years) encounter with a brain tumor and what he learned about fighting cancer along the way. The majority of the book focuses on nutritional and lifestyle changes. I'll no doubt be posting additional insights from this book along the way.

For now, because I have raised this issue before, I'm going to list his "Ten Precautions for Cell Phone Use" (pp. 207-208). I am among a minority of people who could own a cell phone but don't. My reasoning so far has centered on not needing one, but over the last year, in the face of increasing scientific research being published, my reasons are shifting to defending myself against the harmful effects of prolonged exposure of the brain to EMFs -- electromagnetic fields, created not just by cell phones but by cordless phones, wireless computer networks, computers/monitors, and a host of other electronic devices and appliances. (Small defensive measures against EMFs are coming online, such as this one for cell phones and these for other devices. I can't speak for their efficacy -- just noting that they exist.)

Due to the relatively short time that cell phones have become ubiquitous in our culture, only now are studies beginning to appear assessing their safety -- and the results of the studies, from what I continue to read, are not positive from a health perspective.

I am listing here only his 10 precautions without the explanatory paragraph that accompanies each in his book. If you want to read his brief discussion of each point, go to Amazon's page for the book, click on "Search Inside this Book" (under the image of the book jacket), enter "Ten Precautions" in the search field, and you'll get a link to the pages in the book where you can read the discussion. (Click on the directional arrows on the right side of page 207 to be taken to page 208. If you don't use this feature of Amazon, keep it in mind. More and more, the full text of more recent books are searchable at Amazon or at books.Google.com.)

Ten Precautions for Cell Phone Use

1. Do not allow children under twelve years of age to use a cell phone except in emergencies.

2. While communicating using your cell phone, try to keep the device away from the body.

3. As much as possible, stand away from a person using a cell phone.

4. Avoid carrying your cell phone on you constantly . . . even on standby, particularly if pregnant. (Turn it off.)

5. If you must carry your cell phone on you, make sure that the face (key pad) is positioned toward your body anad the back (antenna side—stronger magnetic field) is positioned toward the outside.

6. Only use your cell phone to establish contact or for conversations lasting only a few minutes.

7. Switch sides regularly and, before putting your cell phone to your ear, wait until your correspondent has picked up.

8. Avoid using your cell phone when the signal is weak.

9. When possible, communicate via text messaging rather than making a call.

10. Choose a device with the lowest SAR possible (SAR = specific absorption rate of the magnetic field absorbed by the body). (SAR rates for cell phones are available on several Internet web sites.) [WK note: Here you can find a list of the 10 cell phones with the highest SAR rates, plus SAR rates for many popular phones as compiled by CNET, a reliable source.)


Unless you are qualified to refute the above precautions, I would recommend erring on the side of caution. Your brain will thank you.

Bookmark this post on Delicious

What Obama Says vs. What Obama Does

An interesting article at AmericanThinker.com highlights two large promises Barack Obama has made and then broken. One is his promise to participate in the federal financing program for his presidential campaign and the resulting fund-raising limits, and his subsequent repudiation of that promise. That promise-breaking is pretty well known.

The other was unknown to me: His documented pledge to the voters of Illinois in 2004, upon his election to the U. S. Senate, not to run for president. From the American Thinker article:

"Look, I can unequivocally say I will not be running for national office in four years."

Obama gave a similar response to a question from a reporter that he dismissed as "silly": "Guys, I'm a state senator. I was elected yesterday. I have never set foot in the U.S. Senate. I've never worked in Washington. And the notion that somehow I'm immediately going to start running for higher office, it just doesn't make sense."

More than half the time Obama has been a Senator he has been campaigning for president.

Is he the first politician to make promises and break them? No. Has John McCain done anything similar? I don't know -- I haven't seen reference to it if he has. But this is another example of why Barack Obama scares me to death. He either knowingly says things that he hasn't carefully considered (immature), or says things that he knows aren't true (immoral). There are no perfect politicians or leaders, but I would prefer one that is more mature and more moral, especially when it comes to keeping his word, than the alternative.

Bookmark this post on Delicious

New Urban Farming Documentary

Watch for a new documentary that is currently being screened at film festivals around the country. Called Homegrown, it tells the story of the Dervaes family (dad and three adult children) who turned their Pasadena, CA, one-fifth-acre lot into a fabulous urban farm. Here is the family's website (where you'll find numerous videos about this venture), and here is the trailer for the movie:


Bookmark this post on Delicious

Trip to Dallas

Made a sad trip to Dallas this week to attend the funeral of a good friend from high school. While there, stayed with Joey and Cynthia -- Joey was a college fraternity brother and close friend, and I knew Cynthia vis-a-vis Campus Crusade for Christ while in grad school at the University of Alabama. Pictured below are Joey, Cynthia, and a sort of abstract shot of a gigantic jet engine against the blue sky on the return trip.

Bookmark this post on Delicious

Bailout: A Bad Idea

There is no shortage of talking heads out there opining about the current market crisis. I'm posting this one because of who the head belongs to: Jim Rogers, one of the most respected and successful international investors for the last several decades. He believes the American government's bailout plan, and now that of the G7 nations who are convening in Washington, is being ignored by the markets—and says why. Watch the video here.

Bookmark this post on Delicious

More Reasons to Move to Asheville

There is a new movement in Asheville, NC, to promote the local food scene. Growers, chefs, markets, restaurants, and community are all gathered under the banner of FoodTopianSociety.com. Asheville keeps creating more good reasons to live there or nearby. The Appaliachian Sustainable Agriculture Project was the first of these "umbrella" movements supporting sustainable food production, and the FoodTopian Society is following in that same vein.
Bookmark this post on Delicious

Meat, the Prostate, and Big Pharma

A new Oxford University study has found that a diet containing meat and dairy may lead to increased likelihood of prostate cancer in men.

Because the connection between animal fat and prostate cancer has been established before, I've thought about it every time I've seen a current commercial running on TV. It's for Flomax (get it? MAXimum FLOW of urine, not constricted by an enlarged prostate?), one of the popular drugs to reduce the symptoms of BPH (swelling of the prostate). It pictures these guys who are all happy now that they can get in and out of the bathroom quickly -- and they're all standing around a grill at a cookout!

Imagine -- a drug company that sells a prostate-shrinking drug showing men at a cookout preparing to consume the very foodstuffs that are bad for the prostate. It's part of the do-whatever-you-want-and-then-take-a-pill mentality that Big Pharma has sold the American consumer.

Bookmark this post on Delicious

Hide Your Private Stuff

Check out the clarity of this first picture taken by the new Google-sponsored satellite that is now circling the earth, snapping pix of the globe. These pictures will, in due course, begin replacing the images now seen on Google maps, etc. This is a picture of Kutztown University in Pennsylvania, taken from 423 miles above the earth:

Bookmark this post on Delicious

What Goes Around . . .

Very interesting article written by Dean Reynolds, veteran CBS News correspondent who has spent the last 12 months on the road covering both the Obama and McCain campaigns. His article is about the differences between how the two campaigns operate and how they treat the press: one of the campaigns is friendly toward reporters, one is not; one of the principals is friendly to the reporters, the other is not; one of the campaigns is extremely organized when it comes to letting reporters know about schedules, travel, etc., the other is not; one of the campaign's plane is cramped and smelly, the other is clean and accomodating.

Reynold's final paragraph is insightful:

"Maybe none of this means much. Maybe a [campaign] that is focused solely on victory doesn't have the time to do the mundane things like print up schedules or attend to the needs of reporters.

"But in politics, everything that goes around comes around."