Pot Luck

Maybe there's something... (4.00 / 2)

...to that whole Saturday thing after all.  Submitted without (further) comment -

FOND DU LAC, Wis. -- A retired prison guard ate his 25,000th Big Mac on Tuesday, 39 years to the day after eating his first ... nine.

Don Gorske was honored after reaching the meaty milestone during a ceremony at a McDonald's in his hometown of Fond du Lac. Surely McDonald's most loyal customer, Guinness World Records recognized Gorske's feat three years and 2,000 Big Macs ago, and the 57-year-old says he has no desire to stop.

"I plan on eating Big Macs until I die," he said. "I have no intentions of changing. It's still my favorite food. Nothing has changed in 39 years. I look forward to it every day." [...]

Gorske's obsession with the burger - two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun, for those not familiar with the once-ubiquitous ads - started May 17, 1972, when he bought three Big Macs to celebrate the purchase of a new car. He was hooked, and went back to McDonald's twice more that day, eating nine before they closed.

He's only gone eight days since without a Big Mac, and most days he eats two. Among the reasons he skipped a day was to grant his mother a dying wish. His last Big Mac-less day was Thanksgiving 2000, when he forgot to stock up and the store was closed for the holiday.

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Thu May 19, 2011 at 10:13:10 AM UTC

ironic language (4.00 / 2)

He plans to keep eating 'em til he dies? And if he does, that might speed his death up quite a bit too! Did the article mention what this guy weighs?

"I can understand someone from Iowa promoting corn and soy, but we are not feeding the world, we are feeding animals and soft drink companies." - Jim Goodman

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by: Jill Richardson @ Fri May 20, 2011 at 04:10:19 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

There's a video of the guy eating the burger (4.00 / 2)

He doesn't look over weight at all.

Kind of reminds me of when I was working as a tile helper. I went in to have a check up and the doctor said my blood work up was normal, my blood pressure was low normal.

I told him what I ate (at the time I was working 7/12 grouting on a cruise ship that was in the dry dock on Swan Island for a big remodel.

The doc looked surprised and then, when I told him what I did for a living, he said that I could probably eat what ever I wanted and still have those same lab results.

At the time I was getting breakfast at McDonalds and dinner at Burger King. Lunch was the gut wagon that visited the shipyards.

Some people can eat like that and not gain weight, some can't. Apparently this guy is one of the ones who can.

The thing that amazes me is that he can eat the same thing every day for so many years and not get sick of it. I mean, I like to do bulk cooking on my day off and then eat the same thing every day (sometimes twice a day) for a week, but even I couldn't eat the same thing day in and day out for years. I don't care how much I liked that food.

Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.

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by: JoanneRigutto @ Fri May 20, 2011 at 06:16:39 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Back among the living. (4.00 / 3)

Last Friday, after a day spent trying to ease a progressively more painful abdomen, I took myself to the ER. After several hours of waiting in an exam room, punctuated by the futile attempts by several nurses to find a decent vein in my arm, a nurse struck vein gold, I was wheeled into a CAT scan, shot full of contrast dye, and then informed that my appendix had gone bad. Luckily, it had not yet burst.

Appendix was removed on Saturday morning. My aging baby boomer body finally adjusted to the reality of a post-operative life minus one internal organ, and on Monday I came home.

Home with a giant cold, and a touch of bronchitis, but home nonetheless. Recovery is proceeding apace, admittedly a slower pace than I would like. I still can't lift anything much heavier than a bath towel. And I tire very easily, but I am improving.

The best thing about being in the hospital, other than the whole not dying from a burst appendix thing, was cable TV. I don't have it at home, so I am always fascinated when I have access to it. There is a lot of nonsense on cable TV. Mostly, I watched The Food Network. Oh, and baseball.

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by: caseyOR @ Fri May 20, 2011 at 06:38:25 AM UTC

Wow! (4.00 / 3)

Glad you got in the hospital before your apendix burst and you're going to be OK.

Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.

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by: JoanneRigutto @ Fri May 20, 2011 at 14:19:24 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Thanks. (4.00 / 3)

And I also have a big "Thank You" for the person who invented laproscopic surgery. So nice not to have my abdomen split wide open.

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by: caseyOR @ Sat May 21, 2011 at 00:48:24 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Yup (4.00 / 2)

I got my tubes tied back when I was 24. Laproscopic and only used pain killers for a day (waste of money buying a full prescription of vicodin when I could have gotten by with a couple of advil). I was back to work 4 days after the surgery and that was only because the surgery was done the day before a 3 day 4th of July weekend. I was working as a helper and lifting 100# sacks of cement at the time.

Laproscopic surgery is da bomb!!!

Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.

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by: JoanneRigutto @ Sat May 21, 2011 at 01:11:02 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Actually come to think of it (4.00 / 2)

those were 96# sacks of cement.

Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.

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by: JoanneRigutto @ Sat May 21, 2011 at 01:12:09 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Only in America? (4.00 / 2)

My son tells about hearing an interview with a guy who has figured out how to profit from the end of the world, which won't be the actual end of the world but merely the Rapture, for those who believe it. After-Rapture pet care is the concept. Enroll with the company by paying your money up front, because how could you pay after you've been raptured? After the Rapture, staff will investigate and, if you've been Raptured, they will pick up your pets and take care of them. To make sure they will be able to follow through on their commitment to you, all staff are certified atheists, professing to believe in no divinities or higher beings of any kind, so of course they won't be Raptured.

If the Rapture doesn't happen, or if it does and you don't get taken away, will your money be refunded?

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by: count @ Fri May 20, 2011 at 15:37:03 PM UTC

If people buy into this service (4.00 / 2)

it'll prove that PT Barnum was right all along. ;-)

Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.

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by: JoanneRigutto @ Fri May 20, 2011 at 16:31:42 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Solid plan... (4.00 / 2)

I have absolutely no doubt at least a few people these days would buy in.

Hey, maybe he can celebrate his new business venture by buying a new car and nine (9) Big Macs!

;-P

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Sat May 21, 2011 at 04:45:17 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Randy Savage... (4.00 / 1)

...dies at 58 -

Randy Savage, who with his trademark sunglasses, bandannas and raspy voice was one of the most recognizable professional wrestlers of the 1980s and '90s as the character Macho Man, died on Friday in a one-car accident in Pinellas County, Fla. He was 58.

His brother, Lanny Poffo, said that Savage was driving with his wife, Lynn, about 9:25 a.m. when he passed out at the wheel, drove over the median and hit a tree. His wife had minor injuries, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

Was said to be a heart attack.  His first wife, who was also involved in professional wrestling, died of a drug overdose at 42.  

There was a list floating around a couple years ago, I can't seem to find it anymore; but it listed the wrestlers who passed away before 60, well before that age in most cases, and it was like 60 or 70 names long just over the last 25 years.  And those were just the famous ones...

But for every star, scores of others toil in obscurity at run-down gyms. "Strongman" Johnny Perry, 30, who died of cocaine intoxication in North Carolina in 2002, moonlighted as a repo man. Curtis Parker, 28, accidentally killed in practice in St. Louis in 2002, also worked at a Jack in the Box.

Some, like [Mike] Hegstrand [passed away from heart disease at 46], fade from being headliners at sold-out football stadiums - as he was in the early and mid-1990s - to performing at high school gyms and armories. For nearly two decades, Hegstrand - a hulking figure with wrecking-ball biceps who died in October - freely admitted he indulged in hard living. Though he didn't specify what he took, he made it clear that pro wrestling was fraught with steroids, pain pills and recreational drugs. Then came the sobering news: Years of excess had created a tear in his heart.

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Sat May 21, 2011 at 04:40:34 AM UTC

Trying out King Arthur flour for the first time (4.00 / 2)

I usually use Bob's Red Mill white whole wheat flour (milled from hard white wheat which is milder in flavor, to my palate anyway, than hard red wheat). They didn't have any at Fred Meyers today, all they had from Bob's was from hard red wheat. So I picked up a bag of King Arthur white whole wheat flour.

Dough's on its first rise and smells great. I noticed that the King Arthur flour is a little darker than the Bob's. Maybe what I had left over in the bin was all purpose. It's also coarser than the Bob's and absorbs the water differently than the Bob's. In the past when I've used whole wheat from hard red wheat, I've had to cut it 50% with white whole wheat to make the bread palatable to me. If the bread from this King Arthur flour comes out the way I think it will, I'll probably switch from Bob's to King Arthur.

I'm going to use it for sandwiches and french toast. Picked up a bottle of maple syrup this morning too. Good breakfasts ahead. And maybe dinners too.

Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.

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by: JoanneRigutto @ Tue May 24, 2011 at 17:09:37 PM UTC

I love all KA flours (4.00 / 2)

I bake all my breads. I usually make bread with white and whole wheat, although with my daughter home for the summer I tend to put more whole wheat in. But WHOSE whole wheat flour I use changes flavor and crumb. Frankly the best whole wheat flour is local to here..Daisy Flour. And they make the ONLY whole wheat bread flour I know of. And they mill it finely so while not exactly like white, I have to use less liquid. I use the Daisy WW bread to make challah and its fab. The only problem is its expensive and hard to find. So sometimes I use KA white wheat although its not bread flour.I've also been baking breads using bigas..Similar to sourdough

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by: LeeN @ Tue May 24, 2011 at 17:32:51 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

There was a flour at Freddy's (4.00 / 2)

that was almost $10 for 5 lbs. But for the ammount of bread a person could make out of that it was still less expensive than buying good bread at the store. I'll have to see if Daisy Flour is available in my area.

I noticed that the KA flour is rising differently than the BRM flour. Untill I started making bread, reading Something The Dog Said's diaries and learning about French bread, etc. I had no idea that different wheats, and different grinds had varrying gluten levels, etc., which affect how a dough rises, crumb, etc.

I like to make round loaves and always had a problem with containing the dough so I got taller loaves. I've used glass bowls, but yesterday I used rings made with aluminum foil that worked pretty well. Todady I bought two small round cake pans and I'm going to bake the bread in those. I think it'll come out the size and shape I want, but even if it doesn't, it'll still be good for dipping in beans and for making french toast.

Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.

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by: JoanneRigutto @ Tue May 24, 2011 at 17:53:05 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

there are lots of variables with bread making including weather and humidity (4.00 / 2)

I've been working for months on a good crusty Italian bread. I usually make it with all white bread flour and a pizza stone. You cannot get good Italian bread without a pizza stone. That and the biga. I also make it with a cup of whole wheat but it not only changes the crumb, but the crust!!!

I like round loaves too.

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by: LeeN @ Tue May 24, 2011 at 18:55:49 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Just took the loaves out of the oven about 10 minutes ago (4.00 / 2)

I've had 3 slices of hot bread with butter and blackberry jam.  They're about as dense as a bagel, but really good flavor. I couldn't believe the weight of the loaves when I lifted them from the pans.

I love the flavor and I like a dense bread. This stuff should be really good toasted and used to scoop beans out of the bowl. Or toasted with beans laddled over them. Stick to your ribs kind of food. What I need to be eating this time of year. I think I've lost around 10 lbs over the last few weeks. It's definately 'that time of year' again.

Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.

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by: JoanneRigutto @ Tue May 24, 2011 at 20:04:02 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Shirley sez (4.00 / 1)

About density, I think it was in Shirley Corriher's CookWise that I read, a long while ago, that bran shreds in whole wheat flour inhibit rise. The sharp particles cut or break the gluten threads. Perhaps this is more noticeable with a coarse grind flour.

Shirley has also written a baking book, which I do not have.

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by: count @ Thu May 26, 2011 at 09:05:52 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

correction (4.00 / 1)

Shirley did NOT write that rise is inhibited. She wrote that the bread is denser because the bran particles cut the gluten threads during kneading.

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by: count @ Thu May 26, 2011 at 10:18:37 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Ah ha! (4.00 / 2)

That would make sense. I'm going to have to research the whole wheat bread making thing more thoroughly. Maybe that I'll need to knead much less when I'm working with whole wheat flour. The dough for the loaves I made the other day I kneaded for 10 minutes like I do with the other flour.

Thanks Count and Shirley!

Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.

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by: JoanneRigutto @ Thu May 26, 2011 at 13:36:22 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

no-knead (4.00 / 2)

Wouldn't you know, KA has a no-knead recipe on its website. It's from a list of "flour bag favorites", so you might have it already, but I don't know if it will produce the substantial texture you want.

No-Knead 100% Whole Wheat Bread

From other recipes, the orange juice seems to be there to neutralize potential bitterness from regular whole wheat. You wouldn't have that problem with the whole white wheat, so you could replace the OJ with water or milk (or whey), right?

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by: count @ Thu May 26, 2011 at 21:08:06 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Thanks for that (4.00 / 3)

I'll have to go and check out the recipe for the no-knead bread.

Right now I'm pretending to be a mechanic. Had to pull the front plate with the pull cord off the big rototiller and the fellow at the chain saw shop in Molalla told me that the tiller is so old, he wasn't even sure that they could get a replacement for the part that engages the starter. The little tiller has a stuck pull cord (I hope) and just spent an hour getting that thing pulled apart.

Good thing these tillers are so old, otherwise they'd probably have some kind of fancy electronics on them....

Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.

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by: JoanneRigutto @ Thu May 26, 2011 at 23:10:25 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

funniest comments (4.00 / 2)

I read comments at some of the KA whole wheat bread recipes. Some commenters thought the breads were OK, but they would have been more pleased if the breads were soft and fluffy "like store-bought bread."

Well, jeez Louise!

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by: count @ Thu May 26, 2011 at 23:18:39 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

interesting...Daisy Flour (4.00 / 2)

grinds their flours fine and then sift. When I can get, I use their whole wheat bread flour and I get a good rise.

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by: LeeN @ Thu May 26, 2011 at 15:00:35 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I just bought another bag of BRM flour (4.00 / 2)

what I got was unbleached white flour, it's milled from wheat and barley. This is what I'd been getting, not the whole hard white wheat flour, so I was mistaken on that. I'm going to mix this 50/50 with the KA flour and see how things come out. The unbleached white flour is the milled endosperm of the seed.

Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.

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by: JoanneRigutto @ Thu May 26, 2011 at 19:12:05 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Ughh... (4.00 / 2)

This shit again?

Brad Forkner, 23, and Christopher Rosevear, 25, were walking across the Hawthorne Bridge hand-in-hand after taking in an evening show at Darcelle's Sunday, May 22, when they were assaulted by three men, Forkner says.

Detective Kevin Warren said officers responded to an assault near the Eastbank Esplanade that night around 8:35 p.m. and that a bias crimes detective has been assigned to the case. According to Forkner, officers at the scene said the circumstances suggested the incident was motivated by bias.

"They deemed it a bias crime seeing how the men followed us for so long, nothing was stolen, and there seemed to be no other provocation than Christopher and I holding hands," Forkner said. He added that the alleged attackers were yelling at them during the assault, but they couldn't make out what the men were saying -- Rosevear thought they could have been speaking another language, such as Russian.

What drives these worthless fucking mutants?  Sickening that this is still happening in 2011, and right here in Portland no less.  I'd like to see a punishment similar to this when they're caught.  After a quite lengthy stint as guests of the Oregon Department of Corrections, of course...

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Thu May 26, 2011 at 10:29:54 AM UTC

it won't go away until our culture makes it not ok (4.00 / 3)

to pick on people because they are gay.

I'm 59 Friday. I'm happy I still have the capacity to try to make the world a better place for everyone.

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by: LeeN @ Thu May 26, 2011 at 15:05:05 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Happy tomorrow birthday, Lee. (4.00 / 3)

Hope you have something fun planned.

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by: caseyOR @ Thu May 26, 2011 at 22:03:20 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Seconded... (4.00 / 2)

Not sure if I'll be around tomorrow, so just in case...

Happy Birthday, Lee!!!

:-D

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Thu May 26, 2011 at 22:59:46 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Happy Birthday Lee!!! nt (4.00 / 3)

Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.

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by: JoanneRigutto @ Thu May 26, 2011 at 23:04:19 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

should be marketing my biz but Fri I am going to spend (4.00 / 3)

good part of the day pulling that nasty ivy that is invasive up and down the east coast. Its going to strangle my blueberry bushes. You should see its ROOTS. I am going to take a pic on Fri. Anyway I have a half a truckload of wood chips and I am going to put cardboard down and dump 6 inches of the wood chips and try to smother.

And at night I am going to see Miss Saigon.

THANKS for the bday wishes

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by: LeeN @ Thu May 26, 2011 at 23:18:44 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Hey, ya gotta take a day off here and there ;-) (4.00 / 2)

I hear ya on the smothering of the weeds. I do a lot of that out here. I laid down 500 square feet of black plastic on Sunday and covered it with wood chips. Teusday I cut it apart for the rows and planted snow pea seedlings (around 200 of them), then scattered chips around them to keep the weeds down. So nice to see all those seedlings surrounded by chips and no weeds. When the peas are done, I'll pull the plastic strips, spread the chips evenly over the ground and till them in, then I'll replace the plastic and plant something else there.

Last year when I set up the first tunnels, I put paper feed bags under the center boards. When I picked up the boards a month or so ago, the bags were gone (the worms love 'em), so all I had to do was pull the bows and then till.

Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.

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by: JoanneRigutto @ Thu May 26, 2011 at 23:46:28 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

mulch (4.00 / 1)

My best mulch experiment was discarded rugs or carpet. Trapped moisture, inhospitable to new growth from weed and grass seed for some reason, good to walk on and work on. In a sizable complex like I live in now, carpeting gets replaced at the rate of about 1 apartment per week, seems like. Maybe not that much, but it's a lot of wasted mulch.

That was a long time ago, and I don't remember if I made a point of using natural fiber or just took whatever I could scrounge. I remember the strips lasted a couple of years before they fell apart, though. I suppose biodegradable cotton or wool would be best, if available.

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by: count @ Fri May 27, 2011 at 12:58:37 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Yup, (4.00 / 3)

Carpet is wonderful as a reusable mulch. There's a guy around here that a friend of mine told me about. He has disks he's cut out of used carpet that he plants his melon plants in. My friend says this guy has the most beautiful melons every year and no weeds growing around them.

I'm going to do a variation on the theme for my melons and squash. I'm using the black plastic covered with wood chips for those as well as some other crops.

I'm controling the weeds around the tomatoes by doing a dense companion planting of mustards around the plants. It's kind of pretty too. I have these intensely green tomato plants surrounded by violet tatsoi, purple mizuna and ruby streaks mustrard.

The violet tatsoi and ruby streaks mustard have bright green (almost chartreause) stems and deep violet/purple leaves. The purple mizuna has bright green leaves with purple stems. It's pretty striking, and beautiful to look at as well as tastey.

I'm a member of a farm loop for agritourism this year, and one of the things I'm concentrating on in the gardens is appearance as well as extreme production. I'm using artichoke and cardoon as a boarder to define the different gardens, and I'm planting some french heirloom scalloped squash that are almost too pretty to eat. I'll be experimenting with different ways to trim tomato plants so that they're productive and pretty to look at as well. And the climbing plants like the beans are going to be a lot of fun to work with too.

Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.

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by: JoanneRigutto @ Fri May 27, 2011 at 15:08:19 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

agritourism, (4.00 / 1)

extreme production, etc...

Are you doing any "three sisters" production this year? Maybe use some of the hills with melons instead of squash.

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by: count @ Fri May 27, 2011 at 18:08:31 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I'm going to give the 3 sisters method a try this year (4.00 / 2)

I may use peas instead of pole beans though. My soil is so loose and deep that corn lodges (blows over) every year. It's like planting the corn in sand. I'll be using summer or winter squash, not melons.

It's almost June and we still have weather that's like March here, which means that unless things change reall soon, melons won't ripen here unless I put them in low tunnels. I've got banana musk melon, a couple varieties of watermelon, spear melon and tigger melon plants that are all getting covered.

So much for global warming... ;-)

Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.

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by: JoanneRigutto @ Fri May 27, 2011 at 22:38:51 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

weather (4.00 / 1)

Same in Baltimore. Although I don't have a garden, I have a bad feeling about wild raspberries this year. I think black production might be minimal, and perhaps red also.

I check in on Glacier National Park and Flathead County occasionally. Snow melt from east of the Continental Divide goes to the Gulf of Mexico, and I don't think the Mississippi River has yet felt the contribution from the east slope of the Rockies yet. Winter weather advisories for parts of Montana during the next few days, and they already have snow like they haven't seen for 50 years. More Mississippi flooding?

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by: count @ Sat May 28, 2011 at 02:55:00 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Not suprised (4.00 / 1)

They've got the "carry chains with you over the passes" advisory out again.

Sun doesn't look like it's coming out of its normal solar minimum, so I wouldn't be surprised if we experience this kind of cool pattern for spring/summer until it does.

Back in March I watched the temps, and then in April. That's why I haven't taken down more than one of the tunnels and I didn't completely remove the greenhouse film from the ones that stayed up. On the cool days when we don't have any sun breaks around here I just leave the film on, if there are going to be sun breaks I have to open the grow out tunnels that have trays in them because it'll get warm enough to cook the plants even if it's only in the upper 50s or lower 60s.

And ironically, I have pepper plants coming up all over the place (now that it's almost flipin' JUNE). I'm going to plant them in a special tunnel and try wintering them over. At least that way I may be able to get some production out of them in the late fall, and if they do succesfully winter over, I'll be set for a really early production next spring.

Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.

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by: JoanneRigutto @ Sat May 28, 2011 at 04:55:12 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

please take pics (4.00 / 2)

I just planted tatsoi.And really pretty red okra I love what you are trying to do.
Out front here around this statue,
http://www.serianni.com/stotes... I took out the bushes and planted perennials. In the fall I am going to plant multi colored chard .On the other side of the driveway is part of the original wall of the estate. I wanted a completely edible garden so I planted something pretty and low. I planted a row of lemon balm,chives and pineapple mint.Mint is a dissed herb because it takes over. But it smells nice and chokes out weeds so I plant it everywhere.  

weeds. I decided it was a fools errand to try to completely get rid of the ivy around the blueberries. I am resigned to keeping it in check.

I'm looking to rent part of my house. I am really looking for someone that loves to garden.  

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by: LeeN @ Sat May 28, 2011 at 11:03:13 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

That's cool! I love that statue. (4.00 / 1)

Over at Harris Seeds website they have a pic of a raised bed that's planted with different lettuces and mizuna. There are red lettuces and green lettuces planted in a pattern with the mizuna adding a nice textural element. I saw that and immediately said I gotta get me one of those.

There are so many things you can do with edible landscaping and if you do a cut and come again type harvest an ornamental planting like that will last quite a while.  

Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.

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by: JoanneRigutto @ Sat May 28, 2011 at 15:11:49 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

that statue is a real piece of history (4.00 / 1)

Its on my property but I can't sell it as the township passed an ordinance. When Stu ( late husband was alive) and Dani was small we used to decorate for holidays.

I was going to plant more filler for texture, but you got me thinking I'll plant edibles. Its a good spot as its less likely to be eaten by animals as its so out in the open. My back flower bed coneflowers have been eaten by probably wood chucks.  

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by: LeeN @ Sat May 28, 2011 at 17:04:21 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

If you're looking for a large plant that's very vigorous and striking (4.00 / 1)

you might try artichoke or cardoon plants. Even if you don't like artichokes, they are edible and they're huge and beautiful. When they die back in the winter, all you need to do is mulch them to protect the crown. Dill and Fennel are also gorgeous. There are different types of fennel. Florence fennel produces a bulb, as does Di Ferenzi. Bronze fennel has striking bronze collored lacey leaves. It doesn't form a bulb, but you use the stalks and leaves for flavoring. And of course if you let it go to seed, then you have that too. I love fennel seed.

That reminds me, I wonder what would happen if I took some of the mead I made and back flavored it with a fennel infused simple syrup. I be that would be yummy!

Borage is another plant that's ornamental as well as being edible (the blue flowers), and a lot of the herbs are great looking and tasting. I have sweet mace growing out here and it's a nice substitute for fennel if you're looking for a sweet licorice flavor. I'm going to try out some chifonaded sweet mace along with basil when I make my tomato salad this summer.

Wormwood's awful pretty too (although it's illegal in some states so you should check your laws), as is Rue.

Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.

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by: JoanneRigutto @ Sat May 28, 2011 at 20:35:21 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

The attack was distressing. Also quite upsetting (4.00 / 3)

was that not one single person who witnessed the attack, and there were several, made any move to help these two guys. No one stepped in to stop the attack; no one even thought to yell at the attackers to stop; and no one called 911. Here in supposedly liberal Portland, people did nothing.

I understand people not physically getting into the middle of this, but I do not understand, and I hope I never do, how anyone could NOT call 911, and could NOT at least scream at the vicious thugs who were attacking these two guys.

I have a long and not necessarily wise history of jumping in to public attacks to defend the victim. Usually, this involves situations where a man is smacking a woman around on the street. My habit is to scream at the man, now that I have a cell phone to call 911, and to be relentless until the hitting stops and the police arrive. The downside is that the attacker will sometimes shift his focus to me. Nonetheless, I cannot ignore these things. I do not understand how anyone can.

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by: caseyOR @ Thu May 26, 2011 at 22:02:03 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Happens all over, unfortunately... (4.00 / 2)

The 'people not jumping in' thing.  Our species has an amazing capacity to completely lack empathy at times.  What makes the news is when someone does jump in and help.  Sigh...

And good on you!

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Thu May 26, 2011 at 23:05:44 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Fun times at Brownfield (4.00 / 2)

Brownfield Ag news published the story about the gm food dump at Whole Foods. .. the replies in the comments section have been rolling in. I posted the link in the GMWatch FB page and asked people to go to the article and comment. The results are great!!. If this is an issue that's important to you, please go let Brownfield know your thoughts. www.brownfieldagnews.com/2011/05/19/monsanto-addresses-food-dumping-campaign/comment-page-1/#comment-21135

thanks!!!  and have a great weekend y'all!!

www.wiserearth.org   go, join, act

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by: radicalmom @ Thu May 26, 2011 at 20:49:34 PM UTC

NASCAR FMF (4.00 / 1)

Another Feeble-Minded Fool story, this one about a NASCAR asshole who was ticketed for doing 128 mph in a 45-mph zone near his home. According to the citation, the violation was in a residential area with medium traffic. WTF?

Kyle Busch Cited for Driving 128 in 45 MPH Zone

Several outrageous things about this story beyond the violation itself. One is that he will not be taken out of the driver's seat by his team owner, Joe Gibbs, who must be another feeble-minded fool. Another is that, although the violation could cost the miscreant the loss of his driver license for 60 days, NASCAR does not require that drivers have a valid license so this turd will not miss any of his million dollar paydays, and although

Kyle Busch Apologizes For Driving 128 MPH In Iredell County

He's on probation through June 15 for an incident with Kevin Harvick. NASCAR has said it will not take action against Busch for the speeding ticket.

Driving nearly three times the posted limit in a residential area with medium traffic doesn't violate his probation? What is wrong with these people? Greed, sure, but even greed must have a limit somewhere. Or maybe not.

No word yet from his main sponsor, M&M.

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by: count @ Thu May 26, 2011 at 22:19:47 PM UTC

Must. Not. Comment. (4.00 / 1)

biting tongue...

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Thu May 26, 2011 at 23:09:27 PM UTC

[ Parent ]