It never fails to amaze me when driving my car just how much of a hurry EVERYONE is in. They can't even wait to get to the next red light! It's go go go as fast as possible no matter what.
Then there are those that approach every job this way, the first question they ask themselves is"how can I do this faster". Never mind how good a job is done, just how fast can it be done.
My question is this, where are you going in life that requires you to go so fast? We are indeed addicted to speed, getting there faster is in our genetic code. Reading the paper today I saw a story on how people at a outdoor concert were playing games that involved drinking alcohol. It would seem that getting drunk faster was the result of these games, and somehow this was news worthy. Yep, slow drinkers are not what we need at this concert, come on and get drunk!
News flash, police cite speed as the reason for so many car accidents. Yet going fast is apparently everyones god given right. Once you get behind the wheel, the human becomes a "speed demon" and to hell with anyone who gets in the way.
The marketers know this all to well as even the cheapest and smallest cars are advertised by how quick and nimble they are. They tell us that food comes to you the second you order it, no need to waste time making it for yourself. Yes sir just drive up and eat. Of coarse the time it takes to get there and get what they call food is as long or longer then making it yourself. I won't even go to what it costs to drive there, pick it up and take it back home. Of coarse there are delivery drivers to do this, pizza is as big as it is because of deliveries. I've heard of some people saying that food delivery will come via drones if you can imagine that.
This my friends is the heart of what is wrong with the way we live. I understand that speed is important, but not this important. If we all slowed down, and I mean by a lot, the world would be a better place. Take the time to think some things through before doing them. Become more meditative, more deliberate when taking on tasks. At any rate, just doing things faster will not get you there any sooner. A good economist should be able to show you just how wasteful it is to be in such a hurry.
7 billion, kicking back smoking a fat one, and counting.
Monday, 5 August 2013
Friday, 2 August 2013
In the News
Haha, A-Rod is going going gone! How is it that they can't cancel a contract when the athletes are caught cheating? How many have there been that after they were forced to stop became pathetic and undeserving of the money they earn? I've said it before, I'm no longer a sports nut. I no longer watch hockey, football and the like as the game has taken a back seat to these people.
Snowdon gets a reprieve in Russia. I like this one, he has done what he set out to do by forcing this out in the open. Everyone has weighed in on this and the discussion continues. I for one do not care. Like Letterman I'm thrilled that someone would find my life and what I do important enough to snoop on me. But really, just how much can they take in? It boggles my mind at the amount of data they have to store. What I would really like is if this was open for everyone to search. And we could stop paying so much for personal backup plans! lol
What is happening to democracy? They try it, then don't like their choice and have another election, or the dictator that bullies his way to victory in a sham. Hell in the US they spend a billion to get in, every four years!! I'm sure that money could be better spent. I'm for a system of forced participation. Like some countries you have to serve your country in the military, or, the government for 3 or 4 years. There is no reason in my mind for these idiots to be elected to this plum of plum jobs. Mind you if you are an american you are campaigning and fund raising almost all the time leaving very little else they can do. But that is my point, they get nothing done for fear of being rejected. Ya ya, someone has to be in charge of spending our loot, but not so many of them.
Still not sure about global warming? Well you know I think your opinion won't matter soon as the temps are rising and things are not as they were. Funny, I live way up north, zone 3 area, yet I'm finding it perfect for growing now. Will it stay this way? who knows, but I kind of like being where I am even if the winter is cold. At least the rain comes, and the heat is bearable this far north. Dealing with 100+ for long periods of time is not for me. I can't imagine what it's like in New York City during one of these spells.
Okay then, I'm back writing and have many more things I want to cover. Hope your summer is going well and finds you all in good health.
The Garden
It has been a busy time of late, the garden is producing and I'm enjoying the fruits and vegetables of my labor. And good they are! The peas are almost done, our current household of 4 has been stripping them as fast as they ripen. I dug up my first potatoes, wow is all I can say on that. When you cut these gems they snap louder then an apple, and today our first salad with all garden ingredients including our first tomatoes.
For me the world stops when I am eating from my garden. There is nothing, well almost nothing, that beats eating from the backyard. Yet so few do. I see elaborate flower gardens that for sure are more labor intensive then my raised bed vegetable garden. Don't get me wrong, I love flowers too. I have 30 feet of sweet peas planted as well, but you can't eat them. And really, veggies can look as cool as many flowers. At any rate, I've had lots of complements this year and so far the food is incredible. After eating a cherry tomato today I got shivers down my body for a very intense experience.
This has become more then a passion, it's become a sustainable living experience that I have started to master. The full circle of life is happening right in my suburban home.
It is easy to loose sight of what is important, to think of all the distractions that are there for us in the world. But growing the food we eat? Being able to do this with ALL the info available on our wireless devices has become easier, if you really care about your health, and what you consume then growing some food is the ticket you need to purchase.
For me the world stops when I am eating from my garden. There is nothing, well almost nothing, that beats eating from the backyard. Yet so few do. I see elaborate flower gardens that for sure are more labor intensive then my raised bed vegetable garden. Don't get me wrong, I love flowers too. I have 30 feet of sweet peas planted as well, but you can't eat them. And really, veggies can look as cool as many flowers. At any rate, I've had lots of complements this year and so far the food is incredible. After eating a cherry tomato today I got shivers down my body for a very intense experience.
This has become more then a passion, it's become a sustainable living experience that I have started to master. The full circle of life is happening right in my suburban home.
It is easy to loose sight of what is important, to think of all the distractions that are there for us in the world. But growing the food we eat? Being able to do this with ALL the info available on our wireless devices has become easier, if you really care about your health, and what you consume then growing some food is the ticket you need to purchase.
Thursday, 18 July 2013
Technology
Because I always had to fix all the computers in our house I was always surfing the tech scene looking for tips and new software. It served me well while I kept our "windows machines" running at a respectable level of reliability. But then Apple comes along with a smart phone and wrecked everything.
For the record, I switched to Apple not long after the phone hit the shelves. I used up my credit at Rogers to get one for my daughter who was in university. She said she played with it for the entire first night she had it. I of coarse was proud that she could at last get her emails on the spot like all the boys with Blackberry devices. They made the mistake of rubbing it in and so she went zooming past them with what has clearly become the best thing to happen in tech, iOS!
It was clear to me early on just how great this operating system was, that all the years I avoided Apple were just the hype I believed in the press. Microsoft was very good at putting a "spin" on their crap, and crap it was!
Anyways I didn't want to dwell on this "windows iOS" war too much, what I wanted to do was point out just how fast the tech section in the news has become irrelevant. I find it repulsive to read anymore as all that is written is about what phone is bigger or cheaper or does this or does that. And Google Glass has been in the news now for a year, every day some mention of it is there. It was the tech writers that brought Apple back to earth after it passed $700 a share. Yep, you can not believe anything written there any more. All they do is smear each other, no more well written pieces on great software, just ads for or against one operating system or the other. The only thing I enjoyed was watching Microsoft buckle at the knees as the PC market disappeared. Apple did show us what a good system was, and continues to improve it. However others are building out good systems now as a result. This has made the technology sections in the news, well it isn't worth reading anymore. They should change the tittle to tech ads or the phone wars section, anything but news as their is very little of it anymore.
7 billion, just using the tech, and counting
For the record, I switched to Apple not long after the phone hit the shelves. I used up my credit at Rogers to get one for my daughter who was in university. She said she played with it for the entire first night she had it. I of coarse was proud that she could at last get her emails on the spot like all the boys with Blackberry devices. They made the mistake of rubbing it in and so she went zooming past them with what has clearly become the best thing to happen in tech, iOS!
It was clear to me early on just how great this operating system was, that all the years I avoided Apple were just the hype I believed in the press. Microsoft was very good at putting a "spin" on their crap, and crap it was!
Anyways I didn't want to dwell on this "windows iOS" war too much, what I wanted to do was point out just how fast the tech section in the news has become irrelevant. I find it repulsive to read anymore as all that is written is about what phone is bigger or cheaper or does this or does that. And Google Glass has been in the news now for a year, every day some mention of it is there. It was the tech writers that brought Apple back to earth after it passed $700 a share. Yep, you can not believe anything written there any more. All they do is smear each other, no more well written pieces on great software, just ads for or against one operating system or the other. The only thing I enjoyed was watching Microsoft buckle at the knees as the PC market disappeared. Apple did show us what a good system was, and continues to improve it. However others are building out good systems now as a result. This has made the technology sections in the news, well it isn't worth reading anymore. They should change the tittle to tech ads or the phone wars section, anything but news as their is very little of it anymore.
7 billion, just using the tech, and counting
Tuesday, 9 July 2013
Shame on them
I need to vent, it is beyond me how things have gotten this screwed up, and how blatant everyone has become.
Scandals? Hell if you are a politician without a scandal I would ask whats wrong with you. You go into politics to be scandalous, to be bought, to be manipulated. This is the way of "ALL GOVERNMENTS". Cheat and conspire is the rule, not the exception.
Then there is our "new disease" obesity. Please tell me just how much you care about this when the biggest restaurant chain in Canada sells nothing but butter and sugar. Tim's is only an example of how bad are eating habits have become. Even in France many of the restaurants use frozen and factory prepared meals. Again another scandal in that they don't want you to know this. Pre chopped onions and such is the way it's done today, I don't think many of us could afford to eat somewhere where meals were made from scratch. Just like farming the factories have taken over and production is the #1 goal, not quality but quantity.
Then there is the way we farm, no matter how many times it's shown that crop rotation works, they would rather spray chemicals to rid themselves of the bugs that keep becoming resistant to the very spays they use. As well as the GMO's that were suppose to save them from these pesticides. I call these people suborn stupid, along with all those that think fracking shale for oil and gas is okay and wont hurt the water supply.
Speaking of which where are we going to get more water? With temperatures rising do to whatever you believe and irrigating more and more crops to feed an unsustainable meat industry we are on the brink of a nasty drought. They can't pump it fast enough, cities like Los Vegas are in real trouble, but you don't see the golf courses closing, or the fountains shut off. This is called "head in the sand syndrome". As long as it does not affect you, well then it's not a problem.
Would someone please tell me why everything needs to be encased in plastic? Is this an addiction? I know the Chinese are great at injection moulding but why does everything need to be packaged? Man and getting things out of this packaging is sometimes a nasty experience. I've lost count how many times I've cut myself ripping this stuff open, hell someone makes a living selling a tool just to open these freaking packages. We of coarse are getting better at recycling plastic, but where does it go to be remade? I've pulled loads of this scrap to Vancouver where it gets loaded on ships that take it to China, but I've read that even China doesn't want to do this anymore. And the shrink wrap, well they can't ship anything anymore unless it's shrink wrapped. Tons and tons of shrink wrap that is used just once, then it's bagged up and shipped half way round the world.
With 7 billion and counting, we need to get it together, and soon!
Scandals? Hell if you are a politician without a scandal I would ask whats wrong with you. You go into politics to be scandalous, to be bought, to be manipulated. This is the way of "ALL GOVERNMENTS". Cheat and conspire is the rule, not the exception.
Then there is our "new disease" obesity. Please tell me just how much you care about this when the biggest restaurant chain in Canada sells nothing but butter and sugar. Tim's is only an example of how bad are eating habits have become. Even in France many of the restaurants use frozen and factory prepared meals. Again another scandal in that they don't want you to know this. Pre chopped onions and such is the way it's done today, I don't think many of us could afford to eat somewhere where meals were made from scratch. Just like farming the factories have taken over and production is the #1 goal, not quality but quantity.
Then there is the way we farm, no matter how many times it's shown that crop rotation works, they would rather spray chemicals to rid themselves of the bugs that keep becoming resistant to the very spays they use. As well as the GMO's that were suppose to save them from these pesticides. I call these people suborn stupid, along with all those that think fracking shale for oil and gas is okay and wont hurt the water supply.
Speaking of which where are we going to get more water? With temperatures rising do to whatever you believe and irrigating more and more crops to feed an unsustainable meat industry we are on the brink of a nasty drought. They can't pump it fast enough, cities like Los Vegas are in real trouble, but you don't see the golf courses closing, or the fountains shut off. This is called "head in the sand syndrome". As long as it does not affect you, well then it's not a problem.
Would someone please tell me why everything needs to be encased in plastic? Is this an addiction? I know the Chinese are great at injection moulding but why does everything need to be packaged? Man and getting things out of this packaging is sometimes a nasty experience. I've lost count how many times I've cut myself ripping this stuff open, hell someone makes a living selling a tool just to open these freaking packages. We of coarse are getting better at recycling plastic, but where does it go to be remade? I've pulled loads of this scrap to Vancouver where it gets loaded on ships that take it to China, but I've read that even China doesn't want to do this anymore. And the shrink wrap, well they can't ship anything anymore unless it's shrink wrapped. Tons and tons of shrink wrap that is used just once, then it's bagged up and shipped half way round the world.
With 7 billion and counting, we need to get it together, and soon!
Friday, 5 July 2013
Is it that hard to figure out?
The one thing that really drives me crazy is, "we need to do more research". Yep, you never know when 1+1 might come out to equal 3. The more we need action the more we get, "we need to have a meeting on this". Anything but doing something, and then when someone actually does do something everyone attacks. It's like fighting is more fun then fixing things. You get more attention when doing this, as apposed to not doing or fixing something.
Take global warming, no matter the cause or the evidence it is amazing just how many deny it. I can not remember planes sinking into the runways, or people getting 2nd degree burns form walking on pavement. But the one I want to talk about is obesity.
Peter Attia gave an incredible Ted Talk on this subject, it was one of the most moving talks I've seen. But he is pointing out what should be obvious to anyone that cares to know. All you have to do is look at old pictures in magazines from the seventies. People were not that fat, if fact they were down right slim. Don't believe it? How about the athletes back then, slim and lean with not many 300 pounders.
But today, even those that are fit or eat really good are having weight problems. As Peter pointed out in his talk there were fat people that did not get diabetes but thin and in good shape people were!
As a coincidence I had just started juicing, as I shared on my last post. Being a vegetarian (I won't say vegan anymore as this is pretty much impossible to be) I was gaining weight. At first I thought it had to do with the fact that I quit smoking. I put on 45 lbs. (20 kilos) after quitting. And it would not go away. I was getting annoyed that I was this heavy. But then I started juicing, I changed nothing else. Still ate as much, in fact was eating more. Funny thing happened, I started losing weight. Were my cells hoarding the fat because of not enough nutrients? I have to say that this was my conclusion. When I started "packing it in the juice" I was giving myself way more then I ever have, the result was a weight loss and what I can only describe as a feeling of leanness I have not felt in a long time. Yes I know it has only been like 5 or 6 days but this feeling is intoxicating. How could I have not tried this sooner?
I believe, like many, our food is very lacking. They get more and more from the land and fatten up the animals faster and faster. What is left is food with no value. The body adjusts by turning it all into fat as a defence. If you are not getting enough nutrients the cells revolt and do what they do, try to survive.
I know this sounds like an add for juicing, but I believe this to be the problem. It's why I have a garden, and try to grow "good food" to eat. I can't put a price on the food I grow, because it's better then anything I've ever had before. And when I started juicing my produce I have started feeling way better. I am planing next years garden to take advantage of this, more fast growing greens, more carrots, more spinach and such to juice. I will keep you posted on my weight loss as it goes, so far it has only been 7 pounds but it is a steady loss each day, I hope to get under 200 pounds soon!
7 billion, juicing every green there is, and felling great!!!!
Take global warming, no matter the cause or the evidence it is amazing just how many deny it. I can not remember planes sinking into the runways, or people getting 2nd degree burns form walking on pavement. But the one I want to talk about is obesity.
Peter Attia gave an incredible Ted Talk on this subject, it was one of the most moving talks I've seen. But he is pointing out what should be obvious to anyone that cares to know. All you have to do is look at old pictures in magazines from the seventies. People were not that fat, if fact they were down right slim. Don't believe it? How about the athletes back then, slim and lean with not many 300 pounders.
But today, even those that are fit or eat really good are having weight problems. As Peter pointed out in his talk there were fat people that did not get diabetes but thin and in good shape people were!
As a coincidence I had just started juicing, as I shared on my last post. Being a vegetarian (I won't say vegan anymore as this is pretty much impossible to be) I was gaining weight. At first I thought it had to do with the fact that I quit smoking. I put on 45 lbs. (20 kilos) after quitting. And it would not go away. I was getting annoyed that I was this heavy. But then I started juicing, I changed nothing else. Still ate as much, in fact was eating more. Funny thing happened, I started losing weight. Were my cells hoarding the fat because of not enough nutrients? I have to say that this was my conclusion. When I started "packing it in the juice" I was giving myself way more then I ever have, the result was a weight loss and what I can only describe as a feeling of leanness I have not felt in a long time. Yes I know it has only been like 5 or 6 days but this feeling is intoxicating. How could I have not tried this sooner?
I believe, like many, our food is very lacking. They get more and more from the land and fatten up the animals faster and faster. What is left is food with no value. The body adjusts by turning it all into fat as a defence. If you are not getting enough nutrients the cells revolt and do what they do, try to survive.
I know this sounds like an add for juicing, but I believe this to be the problem. It's why I have a garden, and try to grow "good food" to eat. I can't put a price on the food I grow, because it's better then anything I've ever had before. And when I started juicing my produce I have started feeling way better. I am planing next years garden to take advantage of this, more fast growing greens, more carrots, more spinach and such to juice. I will keep you posted on my weight loss as it goes, so far it has only been 7 pounds but it is a steady loss each day, I hope to get under 200 pounds soon!
7 billion, juicing every green there is, and felling great!!!!
Monday, 1 July 2013
Vegetable Juciers
For the record, I've been a vegetarian for three years now, as it was July 1st that I changed my life style to much healthier eating habits. I did little to no research before I made the change, learning as I went.
Then I moved back into the family home and planted a big garden. That was last year and I had some success with growing my own veggies. This is year two and I've made some big changes to how I garden. I've raised all my beds and changed the soil medium for better plant growth. I have also started a worm bin to compost my greens. My red wigglers do good at composting giving me the best fertilizer you can have for the garden. But feeding them has proven to be a bit of a problem, sorting out the scraps of green and chopping up newsprint for them is time consuming.
Then we purchased a juicer! Well let me tell you both my life partner and myself have undergone a transformation in the way we eat. We pretty much through anything we have in this machine and out comes the most nutritious thing you can put in your body. Afraid of the taste? just add more apples and carrots. It has only been a few days and I notice that I not only feel better, but I seem to be happier. Add to this that we are not wasting our veggies as much and getting more into our bodies on a daily basis this is something I can't believe I've missed out on the past few years.
It of coarse has me rethinking the garden I plant, as I will be putting in way more carrots and leafy greens to consume that are also easier to grow. Spinach, carrots, kale, swiss chard, beans, peas all of which are easy to grow but are easy to waste as well as it's hard to eat it as fast as it grows. But now I see just how much we can consume if we juice it.
Now for the best part, my worms LOVE the pulp that is made while juicing. It makes for a very easy way to feed these incredible creatures that turn this into black gold for the garden. I can see already I do not have enough worms to eat it all. So I hope to increase the size of my worm farm hoping to make enough compost so I don't need to bring in as much as I've had to this year. We will see but this is a HUGE game changer for me and already I can't wait for next years garden! How we all eat and grow our food in the future is what I'm most interested in. I hope to be an expert in back yard farming and pass this on to anyone wanting to do the same. Good gardening to all and happy Canada day.
PS We purchased an Omega VRT400HDS juicer. For a single auger style it works good, and the scrapper design keeps the screen clean while it juices. I do not receive consideration for this endorsement
Then I moved back into the family home and planted a big garden. That was last year and I had some success with growing my own veggies. This is year two and I've made some big changes to how I garden. I've raised all my beds and changed the soil medium for better plant growth. I have also started a worm bin to compost my greens. My red wigglers do good at composting giving me the best fertilizer you can have for the garden. But feeding them has proven to be a bit of a problem, sorting out the scraps of green and chopping up newsprint for them is time consuming.
Then we purchased a juicer! Well let me tell you both my life partner and myself have undergone a transformation in the way we eat. We pretty much through anything we have in this machine and out comes the most nutritious thing you can put in your body. Afraid of the taste? just add more apples and carrots. It has only been a few days and I notice that I not only feel better, but I seem to be happier. Add to this that we are not wasting our veggies as much and getting more into our bodies on a daily basis this is something I can't believe I've missed out on the past few years.
It of coarse has me rethinking the garden I plant, as I will be putting in way more carrots and leafy greens to consume that are also easier to grow. Spinach, carrots, kale, swiss chard, beans, peas all of which are easy to grow but are easy to waste as well as it's hard to eat it as fast as it grows. But now I see just how much we can consume if we juice it.
Now for the best part, my worms LOVE the pulp that is made while juicing. It makes for a very easy way to feed these incredible creatures that turn this into black gold for the garden. I can see already I do not have enough worms to eat it all. So I hope to increase the size of my worm farm hoping to make enough compost so I don't need to bring in as much as I've had to this year. We will see but this is a HUGE game changer for me and already I can't wait for next years garden! How we all eat and grow our food in the future is what I'm most interested in. I hope to be an expert in back yard farming and pass this on to anyone wanting to do the same. Good gardening to all and happy Canada day.
PS We purchased an Omega VRT400HDS juicer. For a single auger style it works good, and the scrapper design keeps the screen clean while it juices. I do not receive consideration for this endorsement
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