The Weekly Notes 2008

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Weekly Notes:

June 16, 2008

Salt:

Recently, my blood pressure has gotten out of control. It was consistently too high. My doctor was very concerned. He changed my blood pressure medication and strongly suggested not just a diet, but a low salt diet. Oh dear! I thought that low salt part would be difficult. Instead, it was just different. I created my own salt substitute. Herbs and spices are the key. I make a mixture in a food blender. It is kind of like Mrs. Dash’s, but most of the ingredients are from my garden. Here it is. 1 tbsp. each of sage, tarragon, oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme, and parsley. 1 tsp. each of cumin, chili powder, and black pepper. 1/2 tsp, garlic powder. I use this stuff on everything I used to put salt on, including salads. For dressing, I just use olive oil and red wine vinegar with this stuff. This makes a low salt diet much easier than I thought it would be.

In this salt substitute, I rediscovered something I already knew, but forgot. Salt is mildly addicting in that the more you use the more you will want. Two other products I know about have that same effect on my. Those are sugar and chocolate. Once you cut them out for a few days, the craving goes away. After a few days of my herbal substitute, I found that a much smaller amount of salt was effective.

Escalating Food Prices:

In America, we are feeling the pinch, but most of us will manage to continue overeating. In third world countries, the food prices are literally a matter of life and death. Grain prices are out of their reach. Many people will die from starvation. Do the oil barons care? Do the ethanol fools care? I have no evidence to indicate that they do. I must conclude they don’t. Their attitude seems to be the deaths of a few million people should never stand in the way of profit. Hell, let them eat cake!

Maxwell:

Does anyone remember Jack Benny and Rochester? I remember the imaginary Maxwell automobile on that old radio show, so I looked it up. It was not completely imaginary. There really was a Maxwell motorcar introduced in 1914 by J. D, Maxwell. That company later became Willys-Overland. I learned this from Microsoft’s Bookshelf.

Hillary:

She did finally concede and her exit speech was very graceful, elegant even. I was surprised. She accepted defeat and endorsed Obama. The only thing she did wrong was to make that silly reference to a glass ceiling. There was no glass ceiling. She just lot to the one who ran the better campaign. Without all of her historic baggage, including Bill, she might well have won. We can hope she follows through on her endorsement. Obama will need all the votes he can get. McCain will be rolling out all of the classic Republicrumb dirt tricks in their dirty book.

Life:

Fools still ask the question, “What is the meaning of life?” If there is such a thing as a silly question, that must be the silliest of all questions. Where will they find the answer to it? As far as I know, life has no final meaning. It is an ongoing adventure. The best and the worst parts of it are we do not know where we are going. We do not know the meaning of life.

Water:

According to ABC news, there is not enough water in California. That is very sad, just when they were about to take the biggest braggart state title away from Texas. What they mean when they say there is not enough water is potable water. There is plenty of ocean water, but potable water is becoming a very serious problem with our ever-increasing population. We have not yet figured out an economical way of purifying ocean water. The problem is overshadowed by the energy problem right now, but it is still another problem we will have to solve.

Explosive Dust:

Is it a hazard as serious as they say or is this just another cry of wolf from the do-gooders? I only saw one report on it on ABC news where they covered it briefly. They made it sound bad, but it never came up again. According to this report, factory and mine explosions have killed a lot of people. If so, why is it not making the news every day?

The Church:

When people say the church, they always mean the Catholic Church. They are also implying by that phrase that the Catholic Church is the real one. Usually media people are a bit more careful about implying things like that. That is why I was a bit put off by Bill Harris on the local ABC news when he used that phrase. It tells me two things. One, he is a Catholic and two, he has a deep seated bias that a true newsperson should strive to avoid. The good ones do.

Almost There:

A few months ago, I predicted five buck a gallon gas. Now we are almost there. I have seen prices of $4:35 and $4:50 on local gas stations. This has become more than an inconvenient. It is a serious problem that can only get worse since no one is trying to solve it. Will we ever even try? Unless we resolve that one, our future does not look good at all. Hunkering down is not a solution it is a capitulation. Only losers do that.

A court Decision:

Our Sixth Amendment has been reaffirmed in a recent Court decision. The court has said that the prisoners at Guantamino have a right to be represented in Court just as any other person who is arrested. King George disagrees, but says he will comply. Look at the Sixth Amendment and see if you can figure out why the Mad King should object. I cannot!

Amendment VI

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

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