Huge Thank You ...

... to the soundtrack of Braid.

Couldn't have gotten through all that writing without some seriously soothing music in the background. Microsoft Word's word count pegs me at 9679 words: just shy of 10 grand, around half of which was churned out over the weekend. Phooph. And I had thought I didn't have time for NaNoWriMo.

I've just got the movie and the workshop folks to read up on now, and I'm waiting on the library for the movie. Other than that, I should be pretty set.

(Obviously, many thanks to you, sir, for your infinite patience.)

The Omnivore’s Dilemma – Michael Pollen

Three Most Interesting Points:

1.     The author details how the shift from “Small Organic”, the movements started in the late 60’s by hippies, promoting communal growth of food and shying away from industrialization, to “Big Organic”, the, ironically, industrialization of the very same movement. He describes the dissonance between the two as one that consumers rarely ever realize when they’re going through a store like Whole Foods, sucked in by what he deems to be “Supermarket Pastoral” (the labels and promises on the food and packaging, promising “free-range”, “organic” … etc food).

2.     Pollen describes the Whole Foods experience as trying to have the “best of both worlds”: convenient modernization while returning to some simpler, almost utopian, roots. The author then goes on to explain that, because everything is so interconnected in terms of scale, an industrial-sized distributor cannot feasibly buy all their produce from the idyllic small farms. It brings to mind a story I stumbled upon a while ago: a man claiming to be a time traveler from the near future describing their utopian society.

The man’s name was John Titor, and he claims that, in his world’s timeline, an idyllic and wholesome picture replaces that of corporate America. Here’s his description of 2036:

        “Life is centered around the family and then the community. I can not [sic] imagine living even a few hundred miles away from my parents.

There is no large industrial complex creating masses of useless food and recreational items. Food and livestock is [sic] grown and sold locally. People spend much more time reading and talking together face to face. Religion is taken seriously and everyone can multiple and divide in the [sic] heads.” 

Unfortunately, that pretty picture is immediately preceded by:

       “In 2036, I live in central Florida with my family and I'm currently stationed at an Army base in Tampa . A world war in 2015 killed nearly three billion people. The people that survived grew closer together.”

     2036 on his world line sounds fantastic. It sounds like what the organic movement is aiming for. Unfortunately, I can’t help but think that both parts of Titor’s predictions must come true for such a drastic change. We’re certainly not much better off with Gene Kahn.

To put it another way, the world will always be imperfect, and the dissonance that evokes within me … well, Jason Pargin explained it better than I did. He puts it in the perspective of a Christian, but religious or not, the sentiment is understandable.

            "You can only call a thing bad if you compare it to something else that is better, right? We only have the one universe, and yet we are constantly comparing it to another world free of cruelty and evil and declaring that our own comes up short.
       A young girl dies in a car accident on her way to her wedding. A five year-old kid chokes on a new toy and dies. We don't just mourn the loss of pleasure we feel from their company. We say it isn't fair. We act like some rule has been violated, even though we've never lived in a place that obeys such rules. Why? A creature born in the darkness and living its life in the darkness doesn't say "it's dark in here!" How could it have any such concept? It knows nothing else.
      Christians think we have the capacity to see it as cruel because we have an internal awareness, on a spiritual level, that this is not what the world was supposed to be …[Your] soul was born from another world and was made to live in that world, not this one. That, they say, is why we never feel completely comfortable in our own skins, because our spirits are never truly at home there.”

     This is all to say that I simply cannot wait to see utopia, but reality pelts me with frustration in every direction. It sucks that a utopia can only be reached through death. It really, really does.

3.     The image he paints of the chicken house is haunting and disturbing: the smell described, the fact that the chickens were all squished together in an “undulating white carpet” … ugh. And this quote: “Whether we stay with organic for the long haul depends on profitability” makes me incredibly uncomfortable.

Question: Whatever happened to living up to ideals? Why must there be such a huge discrepancy between what is and what should be?


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“It smelled like the country. It was a filet mignon farm, all of it, and the tissue spread for miles around the paths where we were walking. It was like these huge hedges of red all around us, with these beautiful marble patterns running through them. They had these tubes, they were bringing the tissue blood, and we could see the blood running around, up and down. It was really interesting. I like to see how things are made, and to understand where they come from.” - Feed by M.T. Anderson 

DDT

Three Most Interesting Points:

1.       The article’s opinion on DDT differs wildly from that of past articles. While the past articles would focus on the detriments of DDT, this one has the health of African countries still stricken with malaria outbreaks in mind, rather than the side-effects of DDT itself; in their point of view, DDT is the lesser evil in a continent that still struggles with malaria.

Should have waited to whip this out.

2.    So that at least answered my question about why anyone could see benefits in using insecticides heavily. The article claims that the use of DDT will help control malaria and cites the difference in malaria outbreaks between South Africa and Mozambique. DDT is touted as a cheap and effective mosquito-killer.

3.    DDT (and DDE) can be harmful to healthy neurodevelopment in very young children, although the mothers’ breast milk was still found to be beneficial to the child.

Question: While the stance is understandable, DDT is but a toxic band-aid solution; shouldn’t more focus be put upon introducing vaccinations and affordable healthcare?

To Look For: Mosquitos?

Template Choice

This isn't a reading. This is just to explain why I've picked this template and not the cheery little green grass template that seems so much more appropriate.

Because I totally was not thinking that it looked exactly like one of my favourite things ever.

Just nothing like it at all. 

Absolutely nothing.

Silent Spring – Rachel Carson

Three Most Interesting Points:

1.       I have been notified of the prevalence of pesticides and other such chemicals on Earth before, but I don’t think it’s ever struck me quite as it did in the opening of this chapter. We truly are at a most unique point in time where these chemicals are not only prevalent, but universal. Never before has any mankind been so global in its dispersal of goods, and it certainly shows. These chemicals show up everywhere; they’re nigh impossible to avoid. And the fact that their origins are with WWII, and they were originally being found to be poisons for chemical warfare … that is one of the biggest turns around which I’ve ever had to wrap my head.

2.       The effects of DDT are incredibly alarming. The fact that it can be stored up in your fats is especially morbid; let’s pretend you’re trying to get healthy, and you exercise more and burn fat and thus release more DDT into your system and wreck the delicate homeostatic balance. That may just be the worst thing to find out when one embarks on a fitness regimen. And it’s not even the worst out there: dieldrin, heptachlor, aldrin, parathion, malathion, endrin, herbicides, what-have-you. I cannot imagine how the benefits of killing pests (animal or plant) can overrule the obvious risk of destroying human health.

3.       The very last paragraph, comparing the mutagenic properties of herbicides to the effects of radiation, was quite powerful. Obviously, the users of pesticides and herbicides are either not weighing the cons, or feel that the cons are light enough to be ignored; but ask any of them if they would like to live in Chernobyl and the answer will probably be “no”. Why? What makes this so different? It seems more harmless to the naked eye?

Question: Why is this toxic parade of -icides used? Are we that desperate? That is, what’s the story from the other side of this debacle; what’s their explanation for using such toxins?

I just want some sort of explanation, even if it's a Tarquin-esque level of logic.

Also, why is it always the Germans who find this stuff?

Raw Milk: Legal Battle

Three Most Interesting Points:

1.     Mr. Schmidt, sir, seriously. It's just milk. 

It’s not even from strawberry cows.

             You really don’t need to hunger strike for it. I don’t understand why it is that it’s such a
             huge deal. Is it just the freedom thing? Because putting yourself at risk of consuming E. 
             coli or Salmonella poisoning or starvation just to prove a point for freedom seems
             monumentally wasteful.

2.       There’s a Raw Milk Freedom Riders activist group, made up of mothers and supporters of raw milk and raw milk transport. That actually exists.

3.       A $55,000 fine is hovering over Schmidt’s head, but apparently “freedom” to buy milk is worth all of that. Herr Schmidt, if you’re willing to throw 55 grand away like that, would you be willing to throw some money my way for college?

Question: Seriously, why is raw milk so incredibly important to some people? Because, to be perfectly honest, there are way more serious breaches of freedom than whether or not you can buy raw milk.

Thank you, by the way, for these readings. I just need one more now for that pitch to Cracked.com.

Raw Milk: History

Three Most Interesting Points:

1.  WAIT WAIT WAIT. Fecal soiling of the udder?

Excuse me.

            That is disgusting. Also, it might be because I have always disliked warm milk, but this      

            whole thing seems so incredulous to me. I keep imagining people drinking the milk 

            straight from the cow, and it just … ugh. Ew. Not for me, that’s all I can say.

2.       Although it isn’t exactly scientific, the fact that infection was found only in people drinking raw milk, and no infection was found in the children drinking pasteurized milk seems to be pretty indicative of a problem with drinking something produced for baby cows with their baby cow immunities that baby humans don’t really have.

They're pretty defenseless, is what I'm saying.

3.   I was actually looking up strange items on the black market a while ago for an article I’m pitching to Cracked.com.

Remember these guys?

            And I came across illegal cheese and milk. I didn't have enough sources to see if it was a 
            legitimately wacky entry, but I'm convinced now. The fact that people will continue to drink 
            and distribute this stuff after it’s been outlawed and after it's been hinted that it's probably 
            going to make you sick is baffling to me. It cannot simply be that delicious, can it??

Question: What makes people continue to drink raw milk even after hearing that it can be dangerous?

Minecraft: Plants vs Zombies

Searched it on a whim and chuckled when it was actually found to be real.

I can't quite believe that it's a thing either.

Cheers.

Myths about Organic Agriculture

Three Most Interesting Points:

1.       Organic farming doesn’t necessarily mean that no pesticides were used in the growing of the food, or that it is more environmentally friendly. I profess myself to be part of the 95% who would, if pressed to give a reason for supporting organic foods, default to saying that they use less pesticides. It was quite interesting to learn that that is not the case. I feel like there’s been some miscommunication and bad marketing about what exactly “organic” means here.

2.       Despite the claims of my mother, organic foods do not inherently taste better. This is a pretty big disappointment for me, seeing that I’ve always maintained that our fruits and vegetables seem to taste bland. I always thought that was because of the pesticides and fertilizers they use in conventional farms, but apparently it’s because of some other reason.

3.       Organic foods are more dangerous than conventionally farmed food because they have higher levels of potential pathogens. There’s an 8% difference in the amount of E. coli between organic and conventional foods, and that’s a pretty marked difference if you happen to the be the one getting sick!

Question: The author really doesn’t seem to think that the organic foods movement is anything worthy of praise, and given the evidence provided, it seems justified, if nothing else. But it does lead one to wonder, after that beat down, what one can actually do in order to support sustainable agriculture and healthy food? There’s a lot of exasperation, but no real solutions proposed.

To Look For: What sorts of pesticides we use, if any.

Neonicotinoids

Three Most Interesting Points:

1.     The list of bee-pollinated plants is astoundingly long. It’s amazing that this is such a keystone species for the populations of so many.

2.     The EPA isn’t responsible for testing the pesticides, but the companies are. The metaphor of a fox designing the chicken coup rings true and it seems extremely negligent of the EPA to let the chemical companies themselves test it. I’m sorry to say that I don’t really have confidence in those studies. In addition, the video is right: the company clearly had no idea how the honeybees actually foraged and worked, and the design of the studies shows that. If bees will forage for thousands of acres, two and a half acres for the field study seems really silly.

Scientific findings are confirmed through replication after replication of experiments. Even I know that and I’m only in high school. Giving the responsibility for testing to the companies without making it necessary for scientific peer review and repetition is a terrible and short-sighted way of doing things. Even if the EPA went back later and reviewed it and deemed the study unacceptable, who can know how the pesticides already in circulation will damage bees? It’s so wildly irresponsible.

3.     The EPA administration has a serious communication problem with its scientists. The risk-benefit balance they touch on really highlight how horrifyingly little clout the warnings of knowledgeable professionals hold, or at least how twisted their words become higher up in the chain.

La mia bambina cara,

perché non passi lontana?

Sì, lontana da Scïenza

Cara, cara mia bambina?

Question: Seriously, if Europe can have open channels between the scientists, beekeepers, and the administration, why can’t America?

Identifying and Treating Varroa

Source Used: B

Three Most Interesting Points:

1.        It’s the number one most prevalent cause of honeybee death on the entire planet – clearly something that it pretty serious! They live on the outside of honeybees and latch onto the bees, feeding on the bee’s blood.

2.       The mites can give viruses to the bees that deform the wings and cause them to be unable to fly. In more severe cases, too many mites in a single brood cell can cause the pupa to die before it can develop into an adult bee.

3.       Incest is apparently the norm for varroa mites. Icky.

Questions: How did they spread from Asia to America? Do the larvae not notice the mites crawling in and can they not alert the adults?

To Look For: Varroa mites.

Identifying Nosema

Source Used: A

Three Most Interesting Points:

1.       There’s more than one type of Nosema: Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae. The former is a long-time attacker of bees, but N. ceranae is apparently recent. It seems troubling to me that this parasitic fungi is being introduced.

2.       Oh, the mode of infection sounds exceedingly painful for the bee. It apparently “explosively uncoils a long straw-like polar filament” that “penetrates outer gut cells and, in the process, infects them”. That really sounds incredibly unpleasant, and I can’t help but wonder how the bees go on with their merry little lives.

3.       Infected worker bees will live for a shorter time and will never develop fully. If the Queen gets infected, she will be superceded, and infected colonies will die more easily over the winter. Poor things!

Question: What conditions of hives lends themselves to being susceptible to nosema infections?

To Look For: Well, I’d say the little Nosema specks under the microscope, but procrastination rears its ugly butt again and, unfortunately, we’ve done this in class already.

I am so sorry, sir.

Common Bee Diseases

Source Used: B

Three Most Interesting Points:

1.       Burning the hive and bees? That’s not treatment! That’s quarantine and systematic eradication. I never knew that you had to use such drastic measures as that. It seems so incredibly painful.

2.       Rolling bees in sugar will help separate varroa mites from the bees.

3.       You know, I always thought bears were pretty much the one “pest” to bees, mostly because Winnie the Pooh made me unwittingly root for him as he went around destroying hives and stealing honey. But it’s both alarming and fascinating to see how many predators bees and their hives have, from bears to ants to mice.

Question: What makes the mites fall off of bees when they’re rolled in sugar??

To Look For: Signs of illness: paralyzed bees, glossy or hairless bees, bee poop … etc.

A Compost Success Story

Source Used: http://www.vancourier.com/High+school+garden+grows+pride+food/3802149/story.html

Three Most Interesting Points:

1.        The biggest take-away by far is how driven and passionate the students are about the project. You don’t have such rapid growth in a program without some serious enthusiasm, and it’s great to see something like that happening anywhere, let alone in our own city.

2.       Another surprising and refreshing tid-bit is how they were supported and donated to by so many different organizations and even some corporations. It’s possible to take the cynic’s view with the corporations and say that they just want some free advertising, but it’s nigh impossible to say the same to the organizations that have lent their support. It’s really assuring to see that there are groups out there that would readily support such efforts.

3.       At the time of writing this blog post on Word, I’m actually reading a pre-loaded page at a restaurant, unable to connect to the Internet. But as soon as I do get home, I am visiting their website for their recipes.¹

Question: I don’t know if it’s just because, in IB, we’re uberclocked and so have no time, but from what I’ve seen, there’s limited school spirit and sprawling apathy in the student body: people are more concerned with getting marks than displaying Highlander love; this isn’t me ragging on classmates: I’m not exactly innocent of apathy either, and goodness knows I’m still an Argylian at heart. But I wonder how it was that Windermere was able to get their students so enthused about the garden, and if it can be replicated at our school?

To Look For: Note to future self: come back to WVSS in, say, 4 years, and expect our garden to kick Windermere’s butt.

¹ Why yes, I am a little piggy.

Worm Composting

Source Used: http://www.cityfarmer.org/wormcomp61.html

Three Most Interesting Points:

1.       This is, without a doubt, the most adorable method of composting. I’m imagining little partying worms right now. 

Also little soldier Worms. But that’s something else entirely.

      In elementary school, we were given a cursory introduction to worm composting (in a nutshell, everyone learned that dirt was worm poop and no one wanted to go into the forest during recess for about a day), and aside from bringing back fond memories, the article also gives great, more in-depth, and very specific information. Such as, uh, I probably shouldn’t have taken the earthworms from the sidewalk as a kid and snuck them into the compost bin at school, because, chances are, they weren’t the ones that are recommended for use.¹

2.       I enjoy that, in essence, this is as much an article on Worm Composting as it is an article on Keeping Pet Worms. After an enlightening conversation about how evil cats (and pets in general) were and how much they were an ecological burden, it seems to me that worms might be a good compromise for me.²

3.       The final section of the article mentions that we are humanly responsible for the worms’ well-being should we remove the worms from their natural habitat. Further up, it mentions keeping flies out with some friendly spiders. 

Presumably all named “Charlotte”.

      It struck a chord: how amazing is the balance in nature, and how inadequate even our best man-made systems seem in comparison! In our own controlled worm environments, too much food will cause a stink, or conditions that aren’t right will throw a wrench in your entire operation, one that can’t be fixed unless you start over entirely. We’re inflexible and delicate, like brittle glass.

But Mother Nature rolls with the punches. Oh, she rolls with all the punches; it’s not like you’ll find a place where life doesn’t somehow thrive: even in Chernobyl, there’s a fungus that’s somehow living happily off of the radiation. Whether one believes in evolution, intelligent design, or both, to be reminded of how intricate the great outdoors is … well, it’s pretty incredible.

Question: Do these worms lives in all climates? Are there different worms for different climates?

To Look For: Worms; maybe not specifically in the school garden, but at the stables at the end of my street too.

¹ I plead ignorance.

² Subtext: you have ruined kittens and puppies for me forever, sir. I cannot get a pet in good conscience now. I am not exactly thrilled.

Leaf Mould

Source Used: http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-leaf-mould

Three Most Interesting Points:

1.      I wouldn’t expect the leaves to take quite so long to decompose. An entire year! On the one hand, it’s frustrating that it can’t be used more quickly; on the other hand, it’s another facet of the poetic harmony in nature that leaves which fall once a year will take a year to decompose, as if lingering until it is sure that the next generation is there to take the torch.

2.       “Rake up the leaves after rainfall, when they are damp, as this will aid the decaying process.” So … no jumping in the leaf piles then? That’s disappointing …

3.       The video mentions that pine needles create an acidic leaf mould. So is the leaf mould made from deciduous trees neutral? Or basic? Does the pH of a composting pile affect its rate or quality?

Question: Is there any way to increase the rate of decomposition?

To Look For: I’d say leaves for composting, but unfortunately we’ve been doing that for a while now because I am terrible and procrastinated on the readings.

Bokashi Fermentation

Source Used: http://www.compostguy.com/bokashi-resource-page/

Three Most Interesting Points:

1.       Well this certainly seems simple enough if you have the Bokashi mix! If I can’t convince my parents to allow a large bin outside, I should be able to sway her to a little plastic bucket. We can at least get soil for a few tomatoes started before I go off in the summer.

2.       The article mentions the product of Bokashi fermentation as being a “slow-release” fertilizer: I assume that this is a fertilizer that will “slowly release” its nutrients to the plants. I also assume that there’s a quick- or fast-release fertilizer. What mix of those would be best for plants? Does it differ for different plants/seasons?

3.       The How-To makes it seem so incredibly simple. I’m continually amazed at how little we have to do in comparison to the bacteria. Seriously? I put stuff in here and … it just magicks into something useful? Anyway. The hassle-free and low odour advantages makes it an ideal starter bin, so I’m looking forward to pitching this to my family.

4.       They’re right: saying “Bokashi” is really fun!

Question: With which type of organic waste does Bokashi work best? I assume the method began in Japan, and I wonder if the waste from a traditional Japanese diet would work best with this?

To Look For: Largely irrelevant to our own garden, but if I find others who like gardening, asking if they have a Bokashi bucket should lead to some interesting conversations.

General Composting Tricks for the North Shore

Source Used: http://www.northshorerecycling.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=123&Itemid=198

Three Most Interesting Points:

1.      I’ve actually wanted to make a compost pile in our own backyard ever since I was introduced to the idea in elementary school. Ever since I’ve known that we could throw stuff into a pile and let bacteria break it down for us and then use it to grow things, I’ve wanted to have a similar system for the banana peels and apple cores my family produces. My mum was always adverse to it, though. Didn’t want it stinking up the place and refused to help me. I was a scared little kid and didn’t dare to venture into gardening territory without mummy or daddy, so that died. I’m very glad to note that compost doesn’t have to smell bad – I never realised there are both aerobic and anaerobic processes (remember: elementary school). Knowing that it doesn’t have to stink gives me good ammo for opening up the discussion again.

2.       Similarly, cost was always an issue in my household. “You want a compost pile? Well first off, it’s not going to work. Secondly, I’m not buying one for you.” I had no idea they subsidized the bins though. I can’t imagine that it’ll be too expensive, so I’m just going to have to write a few Cracked articles and get on that purchasing stuff.

The folks there wrote this book. They are my heroes.

3.       Now, I’ve heard some contradicting things about the ratio of brown:green (or dead:living or carbon:nitrogen). At Loutet, I remember hearing a different ratio (around 3:1 I think?) than the 1:1 ratio recommended here.

Question(s): What exactly is the best ratio of brown:green? Is there one? Does it vary by region? What species of bacteria are involved in this process? Is there any way to maximize their reproduction/production rates?

To Look For: Appropriate things to use for composting.

Canadian Wheat Board

Source Used: A                

Three Most Interesting Points:

1.       I’m a big believer in letting democratic states be governed democratically, so it’s pretty worrying that they could abolish it anyway after the majority of voters wanted to keep the Wheat Board. While I can see where the government is coming from in its assertions that they wish to end the “monopoly” (really a monopsony, if I understand correctly) , it all seems really shady and disrespectful.

The other interpretation of the events is cuter, but still worrying.

2.       While I was at Table Matters, I had the fortune of sitting at the same table as a farmer who was just starting out in the business. What he said stuck with me, and seems relevant to this article. I was sitting at the table discussing a possible direct farm-to-cafeterias program, and he shared that many farmers would really love to have a guaranteed buyer: no farmer wants to grow tons of produce and then sell only a miniscule fraction of it because it was raining and no one wanted to come out to buy a head of lettuce. 

"You think they'd believe us if we said these were grapes?"

      I don’t know if it directly applies to this situation, but it seems that the farmers voted on having a safety net, a guaranteed buyer (and, by extension, livelihood). The general sense I get from the article is that of a complete lack of communication between the producers and regulators, and it is truly very unfortunate.

3.       This article mentions, and I have often heard, that we produce enough food to feed the entire earth, and yet people still go hungry. It’s beyond me why this isn’t something to which we’re paying more attention. Any RTS gamer can tell you that resource management is key: before building massive armies, erecting monuments, or conquering other territories, you need to make sure you have enough to keep your people alive and healthy. If Planet Earth was a game, we’d be terrible players.

Question(s): Why don’t politicians listen? Why isn’t world hunger a higher priority?

To Look For: Hope in the world. Man … that was depressing.

Building Up and Protecting Soil

Source Used: A                

Most Interesting Points:

1.       Just the other day, I was thinking about the different synonyms for “soil” and the connotations they evoke when used as adjectives. Soil, dirt, earth; soiled, dirty, and earthy: only one of those has a positive connotation, and it’s the one that encompasses the entirety of our planet. This article touches on that in its introduction, lamenting that we’ve made dirt such a negative concept, and I can’t help but wonder if has to do with scale. Soil and dirt are more likely the patches directly beneath our feet; earth is that and also the entirety of the Earth, which is much grander and awe-inspiring. Perhaps we just have an innate respect for things on a grander scale? Or perhaps we just don’t take enough time to appreciate what we have right under our feet.

2.       Whoa. Talk about big things in small packages. A tablespoon of good soil can have more microorganisms than there are people on this earth, even with our burgeoning populations. It’s astounding: my brain can’t even comprehend the enormity of that. I just hear that and think “that is a lot of microorganisms” and shut down.

3.       Reading about humus triggered a memory of Grade 10 English, when Ms. Sinclair (God bless that wonderful lady) told us about the soil where she grew up in the prairies. Dark to the point of almost being black, she said it was. She told us how strange it was when she came to BC and she had to go out to buy soil because she was so used to being able to just run outside and get beautiful dirt from the ground. I keep getting a recurring theme from this article, one of us taking the bare necessities for granted, and it’s really a little scary how we haven’t learned anything since Neolithic times.

Ah, heck, here’s the more playful bare necessities to lighten the mood.

4.       Huh, I wish I had read this before going to MUN. Poor Ghana and her acidic soil.

5.       While I’m grateful that all this has been brought to our attention, the world seems to be getting more depressing with each successive paragraph. I’ve come across a term called “WorldSuck” on the Internet. And currently, with this article telling me about the past fallen civilizations, the current state of our own soil, then the completely ineffectual methods employed by the oligarchy of money to “deal” with the situation, and then how it’s actually harming us, suck levels are pretty high.

Like Malaria indeed.

6.       All right, spoke a little too soon. The ending was more optimistic.

Still not great though.

Question: Why is it that we can be so short-sighted and blind to the alarmingly important crises of our societies? What can we do?

To Look For: My bed; Leonard, my teddy bear; and a cup of hot chocolate.

Kidding. I don’t know if I can really look for soil erosion with the naked eye, but I think I might take a good look at the earth and pray a bit.

Growing Garlic

Source Used: A                

Three Most Interesting Points:

1.       Garlic skin is apparently difficult for the author to remove. I can’t help but chuckle a bit. It’s exceedingly easy once you get the hang of it (or crush it with the flat side of a broad knife). So there goes the advantage he stated for the hardneck garlic! I do wonder what the scape looks like though; it sounds interesting.

2.       In order to find out when the garlic is ready, one looks at how dead the sheaths are? That’s both morbid and fascinating. But I guess that’s the whole Circle of Life thing – something has to go for something else to have a chance. In this case, I guess I would take the bulb over the top of the plant.

This, right here, was probably one of the bigger influences on my childhood.

3.       Heat can make seed cloves mature into mutant garlic with only one huge clove. I … would like to see that.

Question: With fruits and herbs and potatoes and carrots I understand how people came to eat them: fruits look good to eat, herbs smell divine, and other root vegetables you can basically pull straight out of the ground and eat. But I wonder how we first got around to using garlic? It smells (and is much better cooked) and needs to be dried before usage. I wonder who it was that first decided “hey, I’m going to take this smelly white lump, dry it, and then eat it”?

Growth cycle? What’s that?

To Look For: If we’ve got the hardneck type of garlic, I’d love to see what our serpent-like scape looks like.

Planting Winter Crops

I'm running out of creative juices for Sherlock Holmes. I haven't read Doyle in ages, and the unfortunate fact of the BBC series being postponed doesn't help.

Pictured: the best recent adaptation of Sherlock Holmes. That includes Downey Jr..

With that in mind, I'm going to move away from the pastiches and just focus on the salient points.

Source Used: A

Three most Interesting Points:

1. The first thing I noticed was, man, this stuff really takes planning. I'm especially struck by that due to, uh, tendencies to procrastinate. And the thought you should be planning ahead so many months and sometimes even years in order to make sure that you're not sucking the soil dry or planting too late or putting things in a bad position is a bit of a wake-up call. It's always said that nothing worth having is easy; in the same way, I guess nothing worth sticking with can be done on the fly or as an afterthought.
2. Vegetables (and especially root vegetables) can get sweeter when cold? I never knew that! What drives that increase in cellulose or starch or whatever carbohydrate they store? More importantly for my future salads, I wonder if that applies to when they're not alive?
3. I've always wondered what good flimsy little plastic coverings could do for plants. Apparently, it can add "up to" 5 degrees centigrade to plants. I had no idea that that was a lot!

Question: Aside from gardening, I've also got a fledgling interest in cooking. Unfortunately, I tend to work more with Asian vegetables/spices/herbs, mostly because that's what my mother has in stock, but looking through the list of vegetables that could be harvested around the same time is quite interesting, and raises the question of whether or not tastes for food will vary in different regions according to what mixtures of crops are available. Obviously, what with the ability to import and export foods from all over the world, the difference between winter or spring or summer or fall crops is blurred, but what of those in the times when people still ate foods that were in season? Would people from certain regions have preferences for certain combinations of foods and flavourings?

To Look For: Maybe not in any particular garden, but gardens in general: what sort of coverings and vegetables do people have? What seems to be the cheapest/most common/easiest ... etc.

Interpretative Dance

"Watson, will you be leaving this abode to-day?"

I looked up from my breakfast and gave a rueful smile. "Regretfully, I must be back to London by tonight," I replied. "My wife shall be missing me. I hope I haven't overstayed my welcome?"

Holmes gave a smile. "You, my good doctor? Never."

I glanced at my pocket-watch, rolling up a paper and standing up as I did so. "Nevertheless, I am grateful. I trust you would not mind my bringing Mary along next time I visit?"

"Certainly not; I'd be delighted. Although, be warned: the trains in this part of town will be under repair in the coming months, and I would hate for you to be stranded. Would you be able to tell your way from, oh, say, Haywards Heath? No, you do not? I'll fetch you a map from the other room, you make your way to the entrance - oh, watch that step, yes, that one. Here it is; it shall be a pleasant walk, especially in the summer months. Is Mary fond of maps? No? That's a shame, my good fellow! No matter, I have an absolutely spectacular method for you to tell her. It's splendid, and I dare say that Mary shall enjoy it too. It's simple, Watson; you must dance for her."

Shocked, I stopped in the doorway to Holmes's house. "Dance for her?" I asked, incredulous.

Holmes smiled. "Why of course," he said, launching into an explanation. "Have you never wondered how they - " he gestured to his hives " - communicate directions to the locations of flowers? Watson, good man, you must raise more questions!" He ushered me towards the hives one last time, grabbing veils for us along the way. Quickly, he pulled out a panel from the deeps and perused it before giving a crow of satisfaction and pointing out a bee to me.

"Look here Watson! Here it is: interpretative dance at its finest. Do you see this one here? Yes, this one, the one walking in circles and shaking - she looks she's shivering? Yes. This is called the waggle dance. See, the direction of her walk: that determines the heading according to the sun. And her shivering? That communicates the distance to the flowers; they're really very astute creatures."

"But the sun moves - how would they know if the heading is still correct?"

"Ah, there lies the boundaries of our knowledge. There are theories, but no facts to which to twist them sensibly. They appear to have a miraculous ability to calculate the correct heading, and good thing too, for they rarely take more sustenance than is absolutely required for the trip, and a detour could well kill them."

"My dear Holmes, I cannot believe that you meant for me to do such a dance for Mary."

Holmes chuckled as he replaced the panel and walked me back to the front of the house. "Well, I can't say that I know Mary as well as you, but if your belt is any indication, I think I am not far off in my assumption that she would find it most entertaining. Well, here comes the hansom. Take care, dear friend, and don't be too long in returning."

I almost stopped to ask what he could possibly mean, but the hansom driver looked like an impatient fellow, and I wasn't entirely sure if I wanted to know what deductions he had worked through by observing my belt.

In any case, he had retreated back into his apiary ere I could settle myself fully in the seat, and soon both he and his hives were but specks on the horizon.

- Dr. John H. Watson

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Reading: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jc-mtUs-eis&feature=player_embedded

1) The 6 wags equalling 300 metres is very interesting. As they explained it, I found myself so fascinated by how quickly and how well the bees are able to communicate the waggle - I couldn't even hope to see how many times the little bum was wagged.
2) Their being able to find their way and compensate for the time between the forager finding the flowers and their communicating it to others is pretty amazing: to be honest, I don't think I'd be able to do that at all. My sense of time is terrible, and their being able to judge time by their biological clock is pretty cool.
3) Taking only enough food/energy for the round trip seems so risky to me: it's a good way for natural selection to weed out the hives with bad navigational abilities though, I suppose.
Question: Why on earth do they sting the forager to death!?
To look for next time: Dancing bees.

A Most Tranquil Debate

When we returned from our stroll, we were greeted by a man at the door of Holmes's estate. We shook hands, and Holmes introduced him as Mr. Helming, a friendly neighbour with whom he often exchanged ideas. Mr. Helming had an air of congeniality, was surprisingly soft-spoken for a Teutonic man, and was all-in-all pleasant company. He was elderly, and had retired to the countryside with his wife approximately a decade before Holmes had settled there, having moved to England for some business prospect before then. Holmes invited him in for lunch, and the German produced a still-warm loaf from the basket by his feet as a contribution.

"Mr. Helming here has been most helpful with my burgeoning efforts in bee-keeping," explained Mr. Holmes as we all three trooped through his door for a spot of lunch. "Give here the loaf, Mr. Helming. Yes, thank you. I'm afraid I shall have to leave the two of you to your own devices while I prepare our sustenance. Helming, I'm sure you won't mind the good doctor's pestering you with a few avenues of discussion?"

"Not at all."

With a small tipping of his head, Holmes disappeared into the kitchen and could be heard blustering about within. Helming and I settled into some armchairs and he produced a pipe. Having lit it, he turned to me. "Beg pardon for my lack of attention, Dr. Watson," he said with a smile. "Being of my advanced age renders concentration upon several matters at once a miserably difficult task."

I told him I felt no offence at all, and asked him about Holmes's allusion to his assistance in his efforts. Helming chuckled and puffed for a bit before shaking his head. "Your friend gives me too much credit, surely. I only instructed him on how to build his hives and gave general tips for maintaining the creatures, nothing more."

I was surprised. "I was under the assumption that the hives were bought."

"Well, they may be, but there's little like the feeling of successfully building a hive, and at least the first one must have been built by hand. I cannot attest for the others." Helming looked languidly out the window at the structures in Holmes's sprawling gardens. "I had the most horrific time debating with him the advantages of different hive systems. Oh, you did not know that there are other types? Well, there are, rest assured. When's there's a will to do one thing, and more than one man to do it, you can be sure that competing methods shall follow.

"What Holmes has here is denoted as a Langstroth Bee Hive. It is a structure of efficiency and ease of upkeep, patented approximately half a decade before. You see here," and Helming began to gesticulate, miming the different layers, "there is a bottom layer, a simple sheet of wood, upon which the rest of the structure is constructed. On this, there are several deeps - oh, my apologies, having been around enthusiasts, I hardly know how to curb my vocabulary. I am sure, my good doctor, that the same happens to you regarding medical terms? In any case, "deeps" are best described as the boxes, shelves, if you will, where the combs are hung. And to cover, there is a another piece of wood, which allows access to the bees, and a more solid lid on top of that, keeping out rain and other such elements."

"It appears a most efficient structure indeed."

"Yes, and it helps to give the bees a structure to their hives. The bottom levels are for the Queen Bee, where her eggs are laid and the young nurtured, and the top levels are used for honey, allowing us easy and minimally disruptive access to the food. It's a nice system, to be sure."

"I sense that you have a rebuttal of it; what system do you use?"

"Indeed I do. I suppose you have not heard of a top bar hive? I thought so! Don’t be apologetic, doctor, it’s perfectly fine. It is the structure which I use, and Holmes has often gotten into arguments with me regarding the pros and cons of each type. The top bar hive is an extremely simple structure, little more than a box with bars hanging across for the bees to build upon.

“It is my preferred method of keeping: I am an elderly man, and it is much easier on my back – I’m sure you’ve noticed that the Langstroth deeps are quite heavy? The top bar hive is an absolute Godsend for my back pains. It requires more time and management, but it is quite inexpensive and easy to construct. And of course, I believe it to be more aesthetically pleasing, and to see the bees hang their combs in whichever way they please is a joy in itself.”

“Are these the only methods?”

“Oh! Hardly, there are many, including a comfortable middle-ground of a Warre hive. Really, the only way to truly know which is best is to experiment with them.”

At this point, Holmes emerged from the kitchen, carrying a tray laden with food. “I hope you are both hungry? Helming, is the wife not joining us? No? That is a pity, send her my regards. Gather round, let us say grace.”

That done, we picked up our forks. Holmes smiled at Helming. “I trust you have been indoctrinating Watson with the advantages of a top bar hive?”

Helming laughed and I hurriedly assured that his account was most objective. Holmes put on serious airs and turned to me. “My dear Watson, believe not a word of this man’s narrative. Truly, the Langstroth is the superior structure. This man knows nothing.”

I was surprised at Holmes’s rudeness, but the tension was relieved by Helming laughing softly and retaliating. “Oh no, good doctor, I’ll have you know that Holmes is the one who is ignorant. Ever since writing his book he has become arrogant. The top bar hive can be the only hive worth having.”

Understanding that it was said in jest, I merely chuckled and turned back to my food as Holmes and Helming engaged each other in a mockingly serious debate regarding the subject.

- Dr. John H. Watson

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Readings: The two videos on the hives, plus http://mistressbeek.com/2010/09/19/top-bar-hive-vs-langstroth/

Langstroth Hive Video

1) The screen on the bottom is a newer addition - which makes me wonder why they would use wood in the first place anyway, if it kept rotting.

2) The little boxes are called "deeps".

3) The Queen is very particular and must be in the bottom

Question: So if the Queen stays in the bottom of the Langstroth Hive, do they do that in nature? Would she still be in the bottom? Wouldn't that leave her more open and prone to attack from predators like bears, who generally swat at the hive's bottom?

To look for: If we have a screen or a block of wood on the bottom.

Langstroth vs. Top Bar Hive

1) Top Bar Hives are much better for developing countries, being very inexpensive

2) Helps those who have back pains to alleviate the pressure on their back.

3) TBH requires much more upkeep than Langstroth.

Question: If I want to start a hive in my own backyard, would a TBH or a Langstroth be better?

To look for: N/A