Thursday Open Thread 2-15-2018
Stock market wobbled, property values and rents rising, major disasters with insufficient federal assistance, homeless up, gas prices up, multiple mass shootings, increased talk of war and increased military spending. Our decline as a society is being discussed in foreign press as respect for our government continues to decline.
It is easy to get overwhelmed.
If we can take steps improve our capacity to
- house more people (friends & family?)if they show up at your door or stabilize your own housing,
- supply food for immediate needs, set aside surplus for 1 month to a year and supply others,
- stabilize or improve health,
- improve ability to assist ourselves and others with health issues (money, skill or housing)
- create an oasis from the harshness of the greater outside world
it seems less scary.
Food supply is a good starting place. More research showing the need to stop eating large amounts of processed foods - this time to decrease cancer risk. (the article) or the (research paper)
Conclusions In this large prospective study, a 10% increase in the proportion of ultra-processed foods in the diet was associated with a significant increase of greater than 10% in risks of overall and breast cancer. Further studies are needed to better understand the relative effect of the various dimensions of processing (nutritional composition, food additives, contact materials, and neoformed contaminants) in these associations.
....
We categorised all food and drink items of the NutriNet-Santé composition table into one of the four food groups in NOVA, a food classification system based on the extent and purpose of industrial food processing.94243 This study primarily focused on the “ultra-processed foods” NOVA group. This group includes mass produced packaged breads and buns; sweet or savoury packaged snacks; industrialised confectionery and desserts; sodas and sweetened drinks; meat balls, poultry and fish nuggets, and other reconstituted meat products transformed with addition of preservatives other than salt (for example, nitrites); instant noodles and soups; frozen or shelf stable ready meals; and other food products made mostly or entirely from sugar, oils and fats, and other substances not commonly used in culinary preparations such as hydrogenated oils, modified starches, and protein isolates. Industrial processes notably include hydrogenation, hydrolysis, extruding, moulding, reshaping, and pre-processing by frying. Flavouring agents, colours, emulsifiers, humectants, non-sugar sweeteners, and other cosmetic additives are often added to these products to imitate sensorial properties of unprocessed or minimally processed foods and their culinary preparations or to disguise undesirable qualities of the final product.
Farm Report
One of the sites I have missed from my previous home was the Western Gray squirrels living in a neighboring pine grove. This little guy was in the driveway this week eating pine nuts from the Ponderosa. Ran up the juniper to hide from my car.
Sheep have fed and clothed humans for thousands of years. Before England expanded into high seas piracy its economic wealth was generated from wool.
One of my major discomforts of the use of science to shape public opinion has been the historical discounting of the intelligence and social interactions of animals other than humans. Pet owners, farmers and ranchers opinions have been discounted as nonscientific and emotional observations of domestic animal behavior. It may be part of our coping mechanism of participating in the industrialization of farm animals by continuing to buy products produced by factory farms.
The last couple of decades mental abilities of dogs and domestic animals, including sheep is being recognized.
Sheep have a reputation for being remarkably dim with a penchant for behavior bordering on the suicidal, but Morton says that being long-lived social animals with large brains, sheep have face-recognition abilities comparable to humans and monkeys.
Though the eye is often compared to a camera, vision is actually a very complex process. This is especially true when it comes to facial recognition. For humans, primates, and even sheep, faces are an important means of identification and social interaction. The problem is, recognizing someone's face isn't easy.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a7MqMg2JPY]
A dusting of snow this week and the "Ladies" were demanding hay.
We had a discussion about the open gate to the field.
They were slow enough in responding had time to walk back to the house to get a camera to document the insubordination.
Comments
Good morning!
I like your steps and have been working on doing this for years.
Of course, I keep having setbacks but you do what you can right?
Have a good day!
Yaldabaoth, Saklas I'm calling you. Samael. You're not alone. I said, you're not alone, in your darkness. You're not alone, baby. You're not alone. "Original Sinsuality" Tori Amos
Easier to talk and write about than
actually do the work. Big part of it is attitude. Fortunately every time a person or animal has needed assistance just enough had been ready to move forward and help. Sometimes that assistance has gone to me. Made changes to my home to accommodate my parent's physical limitations multiple years ago. Now I am the one benefiting from an age in place home.
Two steps forward and one step back - we are still moving in the direction we think is right.
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
Morning SoE
Man if I had that sheep's choice I'd a said...pick Barry?...I'll just go hungry thanks!'
Dem 'ladies' just don't know their place. They probably get paid less to.
Have a great day all!
I want a Pony!
Probably didn't keep up on politics
too much time spent gossiping about their friends in the flock and watching for escape routes from the pen. - have a great day.
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
In celebration of the new moon
Panpipes from Peru
Beautiful video
enjoyed the music, went to replay and saw the photography - amazing imagery.
Thanks for sharing
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
Thanks for the OT and sheep info
Seems like I have not had much time to write lately. I have done a bunch of writing, but all regarding dyslexia and a ten million dollar grant being awarded at the end of the month. Come to find out it is really an effort to offset a damning federal report siting Texas for denying services to millions of students. No surprise here.
Back to your OT. We have had an extra teenager at our house for the past year and a half. One of my daughter's childhood friends. Home life was tumultuous. Now her mom is escaping from the step-dad too, so we have her and her 2 beautiful little girls (7 month and 3 years) with us at the moment too. She is a hard working woman and probably has 2 jobs lined up, but with no child support payments from the dads of the teen and the babies, so no money, her car was repossessed this week. We will help her get to work and make it through this, but it is typical of what happens to anyone down on their luck here. My husband was incredulous about the child support because he paid out mucho $$ for one kid. But he is a nice guy and apparently if you are not a nice guy, there are ways to get around it. The current soon-to-be X has an $800/mo truck payment, but has never given financial support to his 2 little girls. And they look just like him. But to be fair, he has had shitty life circumstances as well. Ah. Sigh. They are just the tip of the iceberg.
I love all of your sheep pics and stories. Cool video.
My avatar is our last pet goat, Kozy. He passed away in his sleep about a year ago. Was about 15 years old. Smart goat! He would escape his pen and try to get in the house. Loved to be brushed. Every day I would bring him a small bucket of corn as a treat (he had a giant meadow for food) . . . anyway . . . he would see me coming and do the "Kozy Dance." It was so cute. Hopping side to side. And he would call to us if he wanted something. When he was a kid, he just decided he wanted to be tame. He figured out a way to hop hop hop on various ledges and get into the main yard. Then he wanted to be held and stroked.
Plan to write a bunch of stuff about nowthepathforward.us and gardening efforts. A couple of weeks ago my family helped me with the heavy work of changing the greenhouse into a seed starting spot. Previously I was trying to grow food in there. Failure. But seed starting seems to be happening. Have relented and am starting seeds in the 72 spot Jiffy $6.99 flats from Walmart. Then I transplant them into milk jugs cut in half, holes in the bottom, cardboard divides into 4, shredded paper at bottom, then food scraps, then potting soil (saw that on YouTube). Yadidadida . . Have vowed not to plant any of the stuff that has never really grown for me. No hybrids because I want to save seeds.
Have to get dressed to drive child to class. Thanks for the great OT! Have a wonderful day everyone!!
Marilyn
"Make dirt, not war." eyo
Nice to have a place to start
the seedlings. The house can get too crowded during the active phase of growing families and everyone needs a little space.
Could you post a full size picture of Kozy. Thought the avatar was a hay bale. I only had my goats a few years. Nan (Nubian) I bought pregnant to try goat milking. Her daughter Gidget would dance on the their shed roof. Sounded like Irish clogging.
Started a few seed this week, no leaves yet. Trying to get a crop for salads and stir frys before regular gardening season. Will see how it goes.
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
Kozy Picture
Kozy escaped his pen and greeted me on the doorstep on my birthday.
Marilyn
"Make dirt, not war." eyo
we have so much enjoyed the image you drew
of goatee doing 'the Kozy dance' when bringing a corn treat. One can not help but to smile when the goats share their joy by doing a little swinging hoof shuffle.
good morning all
It is a good idea to be prepared...with food, shelter, water, and so on. Although the collapse may be eminent - most likely you'll need your stores after a big storm or some other natural disaster before hand. The blizzard of '93 shut down our region and power was out for two weeks. I sure was glad we had food, water, gasoline (for the generator), propane, and so on. We cruised through with barely an effort. We used a bunch of stuff in the freezer and invited friends over to help us plow through some of it. Many folks lacked heating, food, water and so on. It is interesting how people seem to behave so well during emergencies like that - and go right back to selfish capitalists right after the ordeal is over.
Sheep are problematic in these humid subtropics - lots of hoof rot and parasite issues. However, goats are becoming quite common. The growing Hispanic population has provided a willing and ready market for goats. I think chickens give you the best bang for your money and effort because of egg production. Never raised rabbits, but we have friends that do.
I may be worse than your sheep at facial recognition...not my strong suit. Crows have facial recognition too. They are quite bright. Watch this crow figure out to bend a wire in order to retrieve a treat...in less than 1 min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbwRHIuXqMU
Followed by several other experiments if you find that interesting.
All the best SoE and thanks for the OT.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Farm animals and different breeds should be matched to a
climatic zone and environment same as animals. One of the reasons for so many different breeds worldwide. Best production and hardiness for local environment and handling techniques. The growth of factory farms and large scale agriculture relies on adapting the environment to the crop (plant and animal). Loss of genetic variety is one of the results.
If one is simply after meat production rabbits and guinea pigs (South America) have some of the best food to growth ratios. I prefer eggs - do not have to butcher every time protein is needed for the diet. Chickens make short work of most of the food waste.
Pigs paid for the first year of college, which I appreciate. But their interaction is more like a dog or a human, not raising one again. Unless it is a pet to turn ground instead of a shovel or tractor. Keep trying to reduce the amount eaten in the household or try to find locally raised.
Sheep are my best lawn mowers, weeders and shrub trimmers. Could not manage the property without them. Have not lambed in 5 years but with the wool and landscaping work they are worth having around. Fortunately live in the north and the fly strike season is short. Hair sheep will eat bark of the shrubs and tree similar to the goats I have raised. Would rather have goats if all the trees need protected.
The cattle are the easiest to take care of. Fairly self sufficient and do not need to protect from predators. Only need to butcher one animal a year to feed the household and all the domestic pets. Enjoy having a herd around.
Horses and other equine fall in the working pet category similar to the cats and dogs I keep around. The work may be companionship, but they do require more time than the other farm animals.
Right about the hardship most of us will experience will be weather or natural disaster related. Last winter the weather was awful and was thankful I had enough supplies. Did not run into town for 30 days. Kept everybody fed and stayed cozy.
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
Good morning, SOE and everybody else. Slowly working on
the garden part of the food supply issue, plus finishing pruning the apple. I guess the orange and overall yard sculpting is next, in between taxes, everyday living, maintenance and repair and all that. (Just put a loaf of sourdough into the proofing basket)
Everybody have a good one and remember that resilience is resistance.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
remember that resilience is resistance
concise and accurate. Make a good tag line.
Outside is frozen again. Good excuse to do some inside projects.
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
duplicate - nature making changes
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boeMmToZWj8]
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
Internet Of Things (IoT) Gone Bonkers
I just stumbled on this article that was a fun read. The author wired her entire house to the Internet, then monitored all the data that her smart devices "phoned home". Bonus, she had a Smart Sex Toy that was included in her personal IoT. Hahaha.
The House That Spied on Me
https://gizmodo.com/the-house-that-spied-on-me-1822429852
Donnie The #ShitHole Douchebag. Fake Friend to the Working Class. Real Asshole.
IoT devices
What can I say? With biometeric feedback we can greatly improve 'customer satisfaction' and the 'customer use experience'. What's wrong with that?
I want a Pony!
Yeah, it was telling that
you have this author who writes tech articles for a living, decided to cut the wires after her bold experiment. I knew there was spying going on, but this article exposes how bad it really is.
Donnie The #ShitHole Douchebag. Fake Friend to the Working Class. Real Asshole.
Alway surprised how many individuals do not
care about big brother monitoring. They may voice displeasure, but actively engage in behavior and purchases to provide monitoring.
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
Great read and scary-- next batch of
sauerkraut is brewing over my shoulder. Appreciate and love the OT's, read them all, late, usually, thank you!
glad to have stop by
it is like visiting with friends once a week. Enjoy the sauerkraut.
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.