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How to Boil Water.
There is a big con alright - ConAgra. Regarding your mention of paying big bucks for healthy food, I agree it is a disgrace to make us pay a tariff for food that won't kill us. It's very interesting how times change. Years ago, poor women ate brown bread and nursed their children, while the rich ate white bread and used formula. Now the opposite is true. Food has become class-conscious, with only the elite allowed to indulge in organic food, while the less fortunate must subside on heavily processed, cheap garbage (I dare not call it FOOD). Processed food is marketed toward the poor. You can still eat a healthy diet and not buy organic. A bag of apples is cheap. Just wash them well. But no one tells that to the poor. The government subsidized food given them? Huge blocks of processed cheese, white bread, sugary cereals, canned stews and meats, white flour and sugar. It is criminal. One more thing - the schools taking money from Pepsi and Coke and Taco Bell to sell their products on campus creates a taste for this crap at an age where the recipients will never move on to more healthy food as they get older. They call it "brand loyalty". Have you seen some of these kids lately? My nieces are both fat. They will not eat anything that does not have cheese on it, will not drink water, and shovel every imaginable form of junk food into their mouths whenever possible, especially Taco Bell, a taste they acquired in school. When they come visit me, they go for walks, eat healthy, and there are no sodas allowed. Their mother says I am "mean".— January 21, 2009 2:10 p.m.
The Dog Blog
Just a reference to some of Josh's former girlfriends, who he has referred to in this blog several times. Sounds like his girlfriend now is the entire package! The new San Diego Humane Society is nothing like the old one. It is a huge, beautiful, fun place. "Condos" for the animals, lots of kids there, and plenty of staff to answer questions and assist you in finding the perfect pet. Schools do field trips there now, and they have a summer camp for kids as well. I used to be unable to go to the shelter before, and never thought I could volunteer because I used to start crying the minute I walked through the door. Not anymore. Go check it out. You will be pleasantly suprised. This is not to say that the part the public does not see is not sad. The animals are quarantined until they get clearance to go onto the adoption floor. I hear the dogs howling and crying when I walk through the halls, and I think about how cruel people can be when they relinquish a pet because they were ill-prepared. Most give them up because of "behavior" issues, which means they do not want to take the time to train their pet or walk it. My advice to anyone thinking about getting a dog - PLEASE realize it can be one of the most rewarding things you can do, but it does require effort on your part. The pet is not there to entertain you - you must provide more than just food and shelter. Love, excercise and play. Everyday.— January 21, 2009 7:55 a.m.
The Dog Blog
Good for you for adopting a shelter dog. I volunteer at the San Diego Humane Society, and it breaks my heart every time I see the dogs no one wants. Just because they are not "cute". As you well know, Josh, cute is not always a good indication of character. Personality and brains go a long way in establishing a long, happy, mutually satisfactory relationship. Okay, enough about that. Yay! You are getting dog! From the shelter! How awesome! I can't believe I said awesome! Let me know if there is anything I can help you with. I am going to the SD Humane Society this Sunday for my Pet Assisted Therapy visit. I will look for a doggie for you guys.— January 20, 2009 4:56 p.m.
ALIEN LANDS IN PB
Twits. All of them. Reminds me of a quote that goes something like this: "My family has been having problems with immigrants ever since they got here."— January 19, 2009 1:04 p.m.
Buying Brides With Beer
The stripper who eventually ends her career, providing she stayed away from drugs and unsafe sex, can go on to other things. Like what? Porn? What does she put on her resume? There are millions of women in the world involved in the sex trade industry. There are not millions of professional atheletes. They do it because it is easy and it is perpetuated by the notion that this is something of an asset to them, to be used as a means to make money. Becoming a world class athelete is not easy. And sex trade women rarely make millions. I don't consider these women to be lowlifes, but I fear that if women don't stop trading sex for money that they will forever be viewed as somehow less valuable then men, and only good for one thing. It's scary how many ads you see on the internet for "college coeds", selling themselves to get through school. I don't think for one minute that the majority of them are actually enrolled in a university. And how would you feel if your kid was doing this to make money? Yes, times have changed, and society does not impose as much shame on women as it used to, but that in itself is a problem. I don't think women should feel shame for resorting to sex as a means to make money, I think they should not have to do it in the first place. And the scary part is that many of them are not "resorting". They actually think this is a great way to earn fast, easy cash. It's not a viable career. I can't wrap my head around your comparison of pro-athlete to prostitute. It's not that cut and dry. Sorry, Fred.— January 19, 2009 10:07 a.m.
When black smoke hits your eye from a big pizza pie, that's amore
Lesson No. 1: Do not go out of your way to play a practical joke on someone without a well developed sense of humor. Like she said "I still don't get the whole thing......". They don't get it, and they never will. It is a form of being so self-involved that most things just go over their heads, or they fail to see the humor in it.— January 19, 2009 8:12 a.m.
How to Boil Water.
Oh, lord, this is my subject. I cannot for the life of me understand how Americans can be comfortable with how they eat. Food in this country is bastardized to the point of being unrecognizable. It boils down to one thing - there is sh*t in your food. There is an allowable amount of fecal matter in meat. Cooking directions are there not as a guide, but as a way for the meat industry to protect itself. Heating meat to the prescribed temperatures kills E.coli, etc. This is unacceptable. There should not be ANY fecal matter in food. Why this has become so commonplace and accepted was summed-up perfectly in your statement "our total disconnection with the food we eat". Bravo to you for getting the word out there. We need to eat real food, not psuedo food manufactured in a plant (no pun intended).— January 18, 2009 5:59 p.m.
Overrated Movies -- Gran Torino, Wrestler, Reader, and Slumdog Millionaire
You seem difficult to please. Isn't a movie a means of escapism? Why the constant dissection? I have been to some real clunkers, but the ones you mention are all intelligent, well-acted movies. Are you a frustrated movie critic? You're Duncan Shepherd, aren't you!?— January 18, 2009 4:57 p.m.
None
I used to always get turned around or lost. When I first moved to San Diego 22 years ago, I had an interview on Jamacha Road. Looking for a sign that should have looked more like Hamashaw Road, I blew right by it and wound up at the Mexican border. This was before cell phones and GPS. Anyway, I got the job after I explained what happened (from a pay phone) and they got a good laugh. Welcome to OB. I hope you stay once you get yourself situated.— January 18, 2009 4:48 p.m.
Pizza Nut
I was of the no sweet with savory persuasion. I couldn't stand anything sweet on pizza, or in any savory dish, for that matter. Until.....one time someone brought in this really simple dish - cream cheese with pepper jelly on it. At first, I was grossed out. Then, I ventured in, and much to my suprise, it was really good!! I realized then how much I was missing out when I denied food that had the peculiar mix of sweet and savory. It is a gradual sophistication of the taste buds that allows you to move on to foods you had convinced yourself were off-limits. When I was a kid, I hated fish, blue cheese, cherries, and green beans. All favorites now. But I still won't put pineapple on my pizza!— January 18, 2009 3:52 p.m.