GOOD NEWS AND BEER.

I’m headed once more to the Northern California Spine Institute and will be off-blog for awhile. But, before I go, I’ve always known that good news is invigorating and puts one in a happier frame of mind. So, double good news I read, is that beer is good for me. It actually strengthens bones. The barley and hops are a good source of the mineral silicon. (Never heard of it.) The type of silicon in beer is orthosilicic acid, which is an easy way for bones to absorb it. Yay!  Drink more beer. Well, not too much. For a woman, anyway, maybe one a day if I could actually get that much down. Maybe I’ll turn into a fatty.

I saw this funny bit of doggerel on-line and couldn’t resist putting out for laughs.

The Dr. Seuss mimic is humorous, but I find his gold plated seat belts in his private plane pretty off-putting. Surely there are better uses for wealth than that.

In FDR’s day, the president was limited to transportation that cost no more than $750. I wonder how a new president would deal with a limit on his transportation funds?

Ciao.

SOLAR, A LIGHT IN THE DARK.

When I’m home, I read the news. I probably shouldn’t because it makes me angry. So, howzit doing out there? I read where Assault Weapons have been removed from the bill to Ban Assault Weapons.  Guess the gun lobby won. Hmmm!  Why am I not surprised?

And, lets see, what was accomplished after our ten-year war with Iraq? 600,000 Iraqi civilians killed, about the same number of Iraqi children homeless; over 4,000 Americans killed with 30,000 wounded, maimed, mentally impaired. A stronger Iran, more intelligent, and highly trained terrorists with more sophisticated weaponry. Staggering cost of war of $3,000,000,000 dollars and another $3,000,000,000 in medical costs for vets yet to come; Oh, and an increased hostility to Americans around the world. Wow!  What a minus -zero accomplishment that is.

Guess we have to look at China for any good news. Washington has been tracking the Chinese Government’s stunning example of solar cooking on a large-scale. China funds parabolic sun cookers and uses carbon credit trading to encourage investors to become involved. This is not small-scale at the village level. It is a valuable resource that can significantly reduce global carbon emissions because it reduces the use of coal cookers and deforestation. It cuts fuel use by 30 to 50 per cent. Pretty nifty.

Everyone I introduce to solar cooking is awed by its ease of use. You can substitute one of the bubbly, fake aluminum windshield screens as a cooker. They work, but aren’t stable if it is windy. And, we take our fresh water for granted. Much of the world needs to pasteurize water before drinking it. Voila! The solar pasteurization kit.

The sun, it keeps on shining.