A Great Innovation

"They" often say that the best ideas are the simplest ideas. I've found something that seems to verify that observation. You may already be using this product, but I like it so much that I want to pass the word on.

At least two paper towel producers (there may be more) that I have found are now producing standard rolls of kitchen-type paper towels with a twist. Instead of the standard-size large sheets that you tear off the roll, that standard sheet now has an additional perforation in the middle of the sheet, allowing you to tear off only HALF a standard sheet instead of a whole sheet. I have found that the VAST majority of times I need a paper towel in the kitchen or bathroom, a half-sheet does just fine. If I use a half sheet instead of a large sheet, I use half as much paper (trees) and the rolls last twice as long. What amazes me is that these companies have been willing to introduce this innovation at the risk of reducing the sale of rolls of paper towels since a roll now lasts longer. (I may be missing something there -- let me know if you see it.)

The two brands I've found that are putting in the extra perforation in the standard size sheets are Brawny and Bounty. Look on the outside of the packaging: You'll see a feature advertised like "Pick-a-Size" or "Select-a-Size" for the ones with this feature.

So now instead of being limited to one or more standard sizes of sheets, you can tear off sheets in multiples of half-sizes. For me, a half-sheet accomplishes almost everything I need. Very cool idea.

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Okay, I Confess

I have laughed at these two movie trailers so many times that I finally decided to out myself and admit that Jim Carrey cracks me up. The older he gets as an actor, the more I like him. Even though he is still a wacko in his movies, there is a maturity in this one that I really like. He's a winsome, likable guy in this movie, which draws me to him -- and maybe one of the funniest people on the planet. I won't go see the movie because it (apparently) has stuff in it I don't want to pay to see, but the trailers are clean -- and hilarious. (Especially the "Red Bull" and "Korean class" scenes.)

There are two different trailers available for the movie "Yes" at the Apple trailer site, here. They are slightly different, both with very funny scenes, so watch them both.
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Norma for President

A friend sent me this guest editorial from a newspaper somewhere -- the lady appears to be a private citizen who offered her opinion on change to her local newspaper, and they printed it. I like her ideas. Why wasn't she on the ticket this past November 4?

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10 Healthiest Grocery Store Chains

CNN.com reported on a study to find the healthiest grocery store chains in America. You can read here about the original study, the judges panel, and the vocal complaints from lots of readers that their local-favorite stores weren't included -- like Wegmans, the legendary New England chain that supposedly is the most customer-friendly grocery store chain in America, even if not the healthiest.

Here's the list, in descending order from #1 to #10. (How did Food Lion get in there?):

Whole Foods
Safeway
Harris Teeter
Trader Joe's
Hannaford
Albertsons
Food Lion
Publix Super Markets
Pathmark
SuperTarget

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A Piper Worth Following

I know the election is over -- but here are some wise reflections for Christians from the voice of one worth listening to: pastor John Piper. He is an elder statesman for the church at large -- a strong, sober, and sane voice for biblical thinking:

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Morning Glory

Don't know what these bushes are named that are in my front yard, but they do this outlandish color display every fall. Took this picture in this morning's early light: (Full disclosure: the reds are more saturated here than they are in real life due to a bit of digital enhancement -- not unlike the analog enhancement we do to ourselves when we want to look our best, right?)

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The Beautiful Truth

Here's a short trailer to a very important movie opening in L.A. and New York City this month. You can view the longer trailer at the Apple trailer site.



This is a movie that tells the story of cancer and how one man, Dr. Max Gerson, a German doctor, discovered that cancer could be cured nutritionally. The American Medical Association (along with sanctioning doctors to appear in cigarette advertisements and commercials) was so threatened by Dr. Gerson's work in the late 1940's and early 1950's that they used all manner of surreptitious means to shut him down and make his work illegal -- Dr. Gerson being the man that Dr. Albert Schweitzer called "one of the most eminent geniuses in the history of medicine." I have read the books available by and about Dr. Gerson -- they were a primary impetus in my own pursuit of the power of nutritional healing therapies. (Dr. Gerson's work is carried on by his daughter, Charlotte Gerson, at the Gerson Institute in San Diego, though the Gerson Therapy has to be practiced at a hospital across the border in Mexico -- it's illegal for doctors to use the Gerson nutritional therapies in the U.S. And you didn't think the AMA has power?)

From what I can tell, this movie isn't scheduled for nationwide distribution -- only the two openings in L.A. and New York later this month. You can read more about the movie at its website.

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Do You Have P-O-V.S.D. (Post-Obama-Victory Stress Disorder)?

From the Onion News Network comes this latest news flash. (If you're not a fan of TheOnion.com, you may not want to watch. Thanks to Paul Stack for the tip.)


Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Are

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Animal Scenes

A couple of pictures I came across in magazines that touched me.

The first is of workers in a knife factory in France, taken around 1900. The craftsmen lay on their stomachs all day to sharpen knives as it was easier on their backs (the whetstones being out of sight, below their platforms). The workers would bring their dogs to work not only for the companionship but to keep their legs warm as they worked. You can see two of the dogs resting between their masters' legs. What a great picture (credit: the Orvis "Sporting Gifts" catalog, Holiday 2008, p. 30):



The next picture is from the Small Farmer's Journal (Winter, 2006, p. 29), from an article entitled "What You Can Learn from Your Horse" by Hartmut von Jeetze. The author had worked for many years in England at a home for juvenile delinquent boys -- a sort of working farm where the boys gained discipline and maturity by participating in farm work and responsibilities for caring for animals. This picture was probably taken a number of years ago given the dress of the boys, but I love what it conveys. You may not be able to see clearly in this photo, but both the boys are wearing ties under their farm work clothes -- so typically British. The small horses look scruffy -- delinquent? -- themselves. Perhaps the boys and horses bonded so well because of their similar backgrounds and temperaments. The author gave many examples of the power of animals to change boys for the better. After describing one such event he wrote, "Who thinks that horses and oxen do not know what goes on in your mind? It is of immense value to have the chance to learn from such events." Think how many young people today (and old) are completely missing the experience of being psyched out by a "horse or ox" or other animal in a farm-type setting. The (apparently) mutually respectful and peaceful relationship between humans and animals, described in Genesis 2:19-20, has its last remnants in the small farms of the world. How much better we would all likely be to maintain contact with such settings. Don't hurry past this picture until you've thought for a moment about the redemptive power of animals in these two young men's lives -- the acquisition of close companionship and love, perhaps for the first times in their lives.

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Back Attack

Daniel was laboring with the Kruidenier "bad back" syndrome this weekend, so I drove to Columbia Sunday afternoon to take him my ultrasound wand to use on his back. Enjoyed a nice visit for a few hours, a delicious soup 'n salad supper from the kitchen of the lovely Jen, and lots of hug time with E & A.

Part of the winter gardens:



A cute little winter sprout:



We were eating these greens within the hour:



Another section of greens:



Spreading bubbles:



Double dose of bubbles:



Hot water bottle strapped to the back:



A little more erect:

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Uncommon Fruits

An article in the Winter 2006 issue of Small Farmer's Journal discussed rare small fruits that are able to be grown by backyard hobbyists or small farmsteads: like actinidia, pawpaw, gooseberries, shipova, asiminia, black currant, sorbopyrus, lingonberry, hardy kiwifruit, and others. 

The following list of nurseries specializing in rare fruits was provided -- good sources to bookmark for future reference:

Burnt Ridge Nursery in WA
Hartmann's Plant Company in MI
Indiana Berry and Plant in IN
Nolin River Nut Tree Nursery in KY
One Green World in OR
Peterson Pawpaws, LLC in WV
Raintree Nursery in WA
Saint Lawrence Nurseries in NY

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Stained Reputation

Back on one of the hottest days of the summer when I was riding my bike far from home, I had a flat tire. My tire had worn through and popped the tube which meant if I replaced the tube with my spare the same thing would happen quickly. So when a young guy stopped to see if I needed a ride into Waxhaw, I jumped at the chance. He dropped me at the local bike shop where I bought a used tire that would get me home.

All that to say -- the young fellow was a handyman type who I hired to bang together the book cases I've needed to build for a couple of years. (I had built and installed six bookcases a couple years ago, and have eight more to finish now.) That was a couple of months ago, and I'm finally getting around to staining them. The cases are stained, but need to flip the shelves tomorrow and stain the other sides, then let everything dry before applying polyurethane finish to everything.

Another picture will come when they're installed -- but glad to have gotten this far:

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Pollan for President!

Okay, it's a little late for a write-in candidate. But maybe the president-elect will put Michael Pollan in the new cabinet as Secretary of Agriculture. Michael Pollan is the well-known food writer (several best-selling books), contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine, and now professor of journalism at the University of California-Berkeley.

As an article in the October 12, 2008, issue of the New York Times Magazine, Pollan wrote an open letter to the president-elect on the state of food and food production in America. It is long—8,000+ words—so it may not fit your schedule to read the entire thing. But if you can squeeze it in it is certainly worth the effort.

In addition to thoroughly explaining how we got to where we are today, and how the increase of factory-farmed food has paralleled the rise in chronic disease in America, he makes a number of specific recommendations to the new president for returning America to a land that cares about food, how it is produced, and the environmental and health benefits that would result. I printed out the article and marked a number of passages I was going to type out in this post, but there were so many I had to abandon that idea.

The article is amazing in scope and in creative solutions to our food (and, by extension, our health) problem. You can read the article at the New York Times Magazine site (free registration required) or on Michael Pollan's web site.

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In Plain English

This woman was honest enough to express what millions are thinking as they vote for Obama: "I won't have to worry about putting gas in my car; I won't have to worry about paying my mortgage. If I help him, he's going to help me."

It's the "government as savior" argument, plain and simple.

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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:

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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.

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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.

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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.)

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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:

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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.

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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!)

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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.

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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.

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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:

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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.]

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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.

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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.

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