Science News Today

Today is science day.

The Hedron Collider managed to successfully smash two atoms together, and the earth didn't get sucked into a black hole.  My daughter claims she feels like she has, but I assured her that is was only Tuesday.

Secondly, Toyota has called in NASA Engineers to study the sudden acceleration problem. So who knew it was rocket science all along?

Third, The courts have ruled that sections of DNA cannot be patented.  The judge says it is commendable that companies have managed to identify certain sections that indicate cancers, or such but essentially those sections can be found in nature anywhere, therefore, not patentable.  I guess I will have to remove my application for the fresh air I discovered when I stood on my porch today.

What Country? Gift Shop

I recently stopped at a local "Country Gift Shop" that was new to the area that I live.  It is an area that has gotten thousands of taxpayer money to create a rails to trails bicycle pathway through beautiful scenic mountains.  An Area that is promoting itself as "Pennsylvania Wilds."

Since I  make a  variety of homemade items, that are rather unique.  I have been making the rounds of the local gift shops to see if I can place a few of theses items in their shops. 

What is amazing, is not one of the local shops sell local arts and crafts!  They all look like cookie cutters of each other, and exactly like what you can find in any mall across America. They all have cookie cutter patchworks done in shades of browns and greens,  created in the Philippines, or China.  Nothing produced locally.  They are are scented with candles made in another country.

What Country are we decorating from?  I will be truthful...most of the stuff in these places neither look artistic, nor real.  If you place them in a home, it doesn't say, I love my country, and it's rich history, it says "Look, I can get hoodwinked by local merchandisers!"

Seek out your local artisans.  Support the shops that support local craft people.  Put down that punched tin ornament made in China, and go find the real thing!  It is worth the effort.

 Oh, and if you are curious, here is where my Central Pennsylvanian crafts can be found. It certainly isn't here in Central Pennsylvania.  http://www.etsy.com/shop/CraftyPA

How to make a garden fence out of sticks

I needed a fence because my dogs have a habit of running without looking where they are heading.  So, I didn't really need it to be strong, rather to have a visual impact to the dogs, so they stay out.  I am also an organic gardener, so I wanted something that looked natural.  The only cost to this fence is for cotton string to bind the intersections.

This is how I did it.  I use 4 main pieces, about 2 1/2 feet long as the legs to go into the ground.

 Next, I use two smaller pieces of study twigs between each of the 4 longer ones.  Then I took long sticks (these are the sucker branches that we trimmed off our apple trees this winter) and threaded them over and under these sticks.  I would start and stop wherever there seemed to need bracing.  I only would do about 4-5 sticks in each intersection.  Then I tied each intersection.  Here is the first row done.

I would loop around each side an then knot it at the bigger sticks, as they are the main supports, but just criss-cross tied the intersections of the smaller sticks.  Here is an example of the knots.

  I added two more rows of sticks, making sure each intersection is tied.  I tried to keep them straight as possible, but wasn't too upset if it varied, as I liked the look of a "natural fence"

Here is the finished fence, I used a hammer and pounded the longer sticks into the ground to make it secure.

I hope this gives you ideas on how to use natural materials to help around the garden.

It's Friday! Happy Spring!

OK, it is a little early, so maybe we can force the issue a bit.

St. Patrick's Day

They say on St. Patrick's day, everyone is Irish!  Many people people think green and beer when thinking of St. Pat's Day.  Others think of Corned Beef.  When I think of St. Patrick's Day I think onions! 

This was the traditional day to plant onions in my Italian neighborhood.  Here in Central Pennsylvania, what the weather will be like on St. Patrick's day is pretty much a crap shoot, but I have managed to plant onions on this day every year.  I have gone out and poked through the snow to frozen ground and dropped the onions into little indents with the belief of Spring, and have never been disappointed!  My husband has laughed at me all bundled up out there trying to find ground to plant the onions, but low and behold, when the thaw finally hit, there were lines of delicious onions ready to serve with the dinner.

This year, like last year, was exceptional in the fact that I was able to actually turn the onion patch over before I had a chance to plant it.  Already there is a promise of Spring out there, the crocuses, and pussy willows are already accepting the gift of warmth and sun.

It doesn't take much, just go to a local Agway, or seed store, and get some onion sets.  Onions aren't really picky about the soil, but they like sun.  If you can't even prepare the soil it is OK.  Just poke some holes in the ground a couple of inches deep, and drop the onion sets in.  As I used to tell my children when they were little...just make sure the fuzzy side is down.  In a couple of weeks, you will have wonderful spring onions to serve in salads, or greens to chop into almost any meal, or just on the dinner table ready to dip in salt and eat fresh!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Some Other Planet

I have begun to wonder if perhaps, there are two earths.  I know I am supposed to be here on the earth, In the United States, in the heart of Pennsylvania. Then I watch Television.  I saw on the news yesterday, where several women were being treated for problems associated with the injection of silicone caulking into their buttocks.  They thought they were getting approved buttock enlargements.

My brain began to try to digest all of this information laid out so randomly at once..."What would silicone caulking do to the body?" Then, it sprang into action with "Why would you allow someone to inject caulking into your butt?  "People want to have large butts?"  "Who thought this was a good thing to do?"  "Why are women so stupid?"


I must be on another planet.  Don't get me wrong, I feel it is a good thing to want to look good. I thought we were in a recession.  People still have money to invest in their butts?   Maybe the we haven't gotten poor enough yet.

I have read about earlier American women and corsets.  They were so anxious to have an hourglass figure, that they allowed their corsets to alter their bone structure.  The reason fainting couches were so popular, was because the corsets were so constrictive that they couldn't breath properly, thus fainting was common.  I thought that was behind us....but I guess stupidity and the quest for beauty has never left us.  I guess that the only thing behind us is caulk.

 

Smile it is almost Friday!

Sex Addiction

I saw on the morning news that Tiger Woods was going to be released from a clinic that was treating him for Sex Addiction.

Today, Sex - a basic biological function, is an addition.  Which means it is a disease.  We already have  drug addiction and alcoholism classified as diseases.  He didn't need a clinic.  He needed a Jewish Mother. Send him to live with a real Jewish Mother for two weeks.

For two weeks he would be told how dirty he was, how disgusting these women were, how horrible his wife has been treated, how messed up he has made his children, and future generations from his children.  More importantly, how embarrassed he made his Mother!  How she was so ashamed to go to religious services, or the grocery store, or worse, the beauty parlor!

I bet two week with a very talented Jewish mother, and Tiger Woods would have such a complex, he wouldn't be able to get it up for three years!  What addiction?!

I caught a commercial (one of my favorite topics) for a weight loss program.  It starts "I eat when I am lonely.  I eat when I am stressed out".  Guess what?  Eating is another biological function....we eat because we need to do so to survive.  So, although it is not an untruth to say that, everyone eats, and probably everyone has eaten in almost any emotional state you can name.  I eat when I am hungry.  I can't seem to control that.  And yes, we have food addicts.

So I have decided I am a breathing addict.  Yes, I know I should be able to control it, I just haven't been able to stop.  Maybe I can go to counseling or take some time off work to see if I can stop this habit.  I wonder if they have developed a patch for it.

Being "Rich"

Dictionary.com defines"Rich" as "having wealth or great possessions; abundantly supplied with resources, means, or funds; wealthy: a rich man; a rich nation."  If you ask most people if they want to be "Rich"  they will say "Yes!"

I have spent considerable time defining what "Rich" means to me.  I thought this was an important thing to do because once you establish what "Rich" is,  it helps you determine what you are willing to do to get  "Rich"

Here it is:  "Rich" is not holding your breath when they total up your groceries.

Yup, simple isn't it?  I have had money, and I have been really poor.  And the point at which I think I feel good about where I am, is the point that I supply the basic needs of myself and my loved ones.  That's it.  Everything else seems to fall into place when you define it this way. 

I have seen a whole bunch of unhappy people, define what they think is "Rich" by dollars, possessions or status.  As soon as  a person defines what "Rich" is,  it also defines what they are willing to do to get to "Rich".  Since I have set my goal for "Rich" it makes me question how hard I work to keep my job, my time, and my interests to fit the definition.  I am forced to question "Is this really necessary for me to do this in order to be "Rich?"  It has served as a steady rudder for me.

I have always been amazed what others have set up to consider themselves  "Rich."  The saddest thing is, how many are unhappy with their lives until they feel they have reached that level. 
So I guess I am asking you the reader, to ponder what it is that makes you "Rich", your answer may surprise yourself.  Once you clearly define "Rich" by dollars, status, friends, relationships, possessions...then ask yourself how much of what you do actually contributes to that goal.

In the meantime,  according to my gauge, I am "Rich", and very thankful for that!

Levels of Driving Danger

Since this has been a pretty hard winter here on the East Coast, I am sure all of you are aware of the dangers of traveling in adverse weather conditions.  This is not what I am talking about for driving dangers.

Everyday we hit the highways and commute somewhere.  On that trip there are things you see time after time that begin to form an order of danger to you.  My list of was developed after years of  driving the most dangerous route I ever encountered, the trip to drop the kids off at school each day.  I travel highways now daily, but it was the local town roads that seemed the most likely place that I could end up crunching bumpers.

Here were the danger signs I developed.  

 1.  Blond female.  

 2. Blonde female with a spiral permanent.  Since the spiral perms have now gone out of fashion, I have expanded this to teased, or one of those styles where the hair is gathered up in such a way to see how many directions it can point at one time. 
3. Blonde spiked female in a red vehicle. 
4.  The ultimate danger, Blond female with hair in all directions, driving a red car with children, and talking on a cell phone.  

 It had gotten so bad, that I would just sit at the edge of an intersection if I saw a car with all four levels of danger, and wait for them to make the first move.  There is no predictive nature to this type of driver, so it is safer to let them go first.

I was discussing this with a friend, who had a different warning level system worked out.  He rated the dangers as:
1. Short old man with big ears. 
2. Short old man and big ears with a funny hat.   
3. Short old man, big ears, with a funny hat and a huge car in which he can barely see over the dash.   

The other day I encountered a whole new category.  I came up behind a beautiful forest green Camaro.   It wasn’t long before I realized this car was traveling fifteen miles an hour in a thirty-five mile zone.  After closer scrutiny, I discovered a silver haired old man driving it.  My daughter suggested that perhaps they are now camouflaging themselves.  Wow, I guess I will have to go back and revise the danger list.

It depends on what your daily commute is that makes a person decide what the danger criteria was.   It may be SUV drivers, Vans, or anyone that has a cell phone to their head.  

What does your warning level system consist of?

Some aquired knowledge

1.  Toothpaste will remove a kool-aid mustache.

2.  Keep Lestoil around. It is a solvent based cleaner.  I use it in my laundry.  It removes grass stains, and paint!  It works better than spot cleaners on those shirts that get grease spots on them from cooking.  They also take crayon and pencil marks off walls and woodwork.  Warning:  do not use on a surface where oil will leave a stain.

3.  Keep those old toothbrushes.  They should be at every spot that you have other cleaners.  I use them in the laundry to scrub lestoil into stains, and also use the non brush tip to break apart dried paint so the lestoil will work.  They clean any item that has grooves. They get the edges of the faucets when you clean them.

4.  My favorite cleaner is Dawn and Ammonia.  I can clean most every surface of my house with this.  If streaking is a concern, such as windows or appliances use more Ammonia than Dawn.

5.  Many people wash/rinse their dishes before they put them in the dishwasher.  It is a waste of water and time.  I just scrape food particles off, and put it in.  You may discover one or two items that aren't thoroughly cleaned, but  then you are only washing one or two items, not the whole load.

6.  Speaking of Dishwashers...when was the last time you cleaned the drain area of your dishwasher?  Most dishwashers have an assembly at the bottom that comes apart and you can clear out food and dirt debris that gets left behind.  Check your manual if you are unsure.  If you keep this cleaned, you will be amazed at how much nicer your dishes clean!

7.  Are people complaining of itchy skin in winter at your house?  Use a half cup of vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser instead of fabric softener.   If you don't have a fabric softener dispenser on your model, add the vinegar in the rinse cycle.  This dissolves any remaining soap, and besides not having detergents now rubbing again your skin, it makes the clothes softer because there isn't soap residue on them.  I use a dryer sheet in the dryer anyway, to fight static cling.

8.  If something is burnt onto a fry pan, before you even try to clean it.  Put water in the pot enough to cover the burnt on parts, and put it back on the stove until it comes to a boil.  If it is a greasy burned mess, add some dish soap to the water.  Once it comes to a boil, let it cool on the stove.  Your cleaning will be much easier.

9.  Boil Cream of Tarter in a discolored Aluminum pan to remove the stain.

10. If you hang your clothes to dry, hang the whole hem of a shirt over the line by a couple of inches, not clipped at the tails or shoulders.  They will take a bit longer to dry, but that line will stretch out immediately when you put the shirt on, but stretched tails on a T-shirt will stay with you all the time you wear it.