Moringa

It has been described as the wonder drug in many countries. You will be hearing more about this in the future. Moringa trees are mostly grown in Africa, India, and many Eastern countries. They are also grown in Mexico, California, Arizona, and Florida. In Haiti and other Caribbean islands it is sometimes referred to as Marango.

Research shows Moringa contains:
    7 times the vitamin C in oranges
    4 times the calcium in milk
    4 times the vitamin A in carrots
    2 times the protein in milk
    3 times the potassium in bananas

The World Health Organization has been studying and using the plant for the last forty years as a low cost health enhancer in the poorest countries around the world. It is mostly taken as a powder or made into tea, but lately some firms are selling powder capsules. Leaves can be cooked like spinach, or used in salads. Many Asian supermarkets sell fresh Moringa leaves.

It has been used as an antibiotic, help with liver disorders, an anti diuretic, used to lower blood pressure, and more. It has no known side effect, even with overuse.

Roadkill Festival

Sept 27, Marlinton, WV, With taglines like “You kill it we grill it; featuring some of the highway’s finest” and “Eating food is more fun when you know it was hit on the run,” Marlinton, West Virginia, knows how to bring a little humor into a good food festival. Featuring any animal often—but in this case, not actually—roadkill, contestants cook up recipes using possum, beaver, raccoon, snake, deer or armadillo. Care to try some “Deer Smear Quesadillas” or “Bumper Bruised Barbecued Bear”?

Happy Friday

First comes thought; then organizing that thought into a plan, then transforming that plan into reality.
I think I shall plan for the reality of a Happy Friday!

Bacon Bash

Do not forget to attend the annual bacon bash tomorrow if you are in Pittsburgh. The Harris Grill is hosting the event. Fun events and even some Maple Bacon Gelato will be on hand. Last year almost two hundred people made it to the event. For the adventuresome, here is a LINK

Consume Carbs

British researchers found that eating concentrated doses of carbohydrates and protein after some "over indulgence" can speed up your metabolism and provide the amino acids needed to start feeling better. BLT for breakfast, anyone?

Any amateur college biologist will suggest "heavy" or "greasy" food the morning after a long night out, as it "soaks up" the remaining alcohol in your system, or something like that. Newcastle University researchers suggest that age-old remedy is rooted in how the protein provided by bacon and other meats is broken down into amino acids, which in turn replenish the neurotransmitters depleted by a long night of drinking.

CFL Light Bulb Facts

CFLs burn out rapidly when they’re not allowed to rest at least 15 minutes between being cycled off and on. They overheat and fail if they are used in recessed ceiling canisters

CFL floodlights in outdoor motion-sensor systems is bad because of how fast the bulbs expire when they have to flick on and off so quickly. CFLs contain mercury, enough that the Environmental Protection Agency’s cleanup instructions for a broken bulb run three pages and start with a warning to open windows and evacuate people and pets.

What's in a Name, Three Dog Night

The group's name originated from an Australian practice. In Australia, the aborigine tribes of several regions slept outside all year. As the temperatures becomes colder, the tribesmen sleep with a dog to keep warm. In colder weather, they huddle with two dogs, etc.

Seven Uses for Coffee Grounds

Soften and add shine to hair. When washing your hair, rub coffee grounds through wet hair and rinse.

Use coffee grounds as an exfoliant for skin. Pat on skin, massage over skin, rinse.

Old coffee grounds are nutrient-rich for plants that thrive in an acidic soil. Grounds also repel snails and slugs

Use coffee grounds to repel ants.

Place a bowl with used coffee grounds and a few drops of vanilla in the freezer to remove unwanted odors.

Rub coffee grounds on hands to get rid of smells from chopping or cutting up smelly foods.

Remove furniture scratches with damp coffee grounds.

Project Gutenberg

I have been a fan of Project Gutenberg for years and always looked forward to Michael's regular emails detailing the number of books in the expanding library and progress toward his goal of providing a million free eBooks to the world. Back when devices were rudimentary and no official standard was set for electronic books, he produced pure text book that could be read on any device. He even hand typed the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, John F. Kennedy's inaugural address, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, and the U.S. Constitution. Here is the link to the site which offers digital versions of those documents and over 100,000 free eBooks. LINK

Below is from his obituary.

"Michael Stern Hart was born in Tacoma, Washington on March 8, 1947. He died on September 6, 2011 in his home in Urbana, Illinois, at the age of 64. His is survived by his mother, Alice, and brother, Bennett. Michael was an Eagle Scout (Urbana Troop 6 and Explorer Post 12), and served in the Army in Korea during the Vietnam era.

Hart was best known for his 1971 invention of electronic books, or eBooks. He founded Project Gutenberg, which is recognized as one of the earliest and longest-lasting online literary projects. He often told this story of how he had the idea for eBooks. He had been granted access to significant computing power at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. On July 4 1971, after being inspired by a free printed copy of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, he decided to type the text into a computer, and to transmit it to other users on the computer network. From this beginning, the digitization and distribution of literature was to be Hart's life's work, spanning over 40 years."

Interesting McDonald's Facts

Thirty Three percent of all french fries sold in the US are from McDonald's. It will buy 54 million pounds of fresh apples this year. One in eight working people are work at or have worked at a McDonald's. More than 50,000 students from all over the world have earned a "Bachelor of Hamburgerology" at McDonald's "Hamburger University," in Illinois. China has a wedding package for couples who wish to be married at a McDonald's. It has sold over 100 Billion hamburgers. I could not find out how many of those were bacon burgers. I am getting hungry.

Laughter and Chocolate

We have all heard that laughter is good for the heart and recently there have been studies that dark chocolate is good for you. These two facts have been confirmed again.
more than 300 measurements were made with a 30-50% difference in blood vessel diameter between the laughter (blood vessel expansion) and mental stress (blood vessel constriction) phases. “The magnitude of change we saw in the endothelium after laughing was consistent and similar to the benefit we might see with aerobic exercise or statin use” “The endothelium is the first line in the development of atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries, so it is very possible that laughing on a regular basis may be useful to incorporate as part of an overall healthy lifestyle to prevent heart disease

the second team of researchers, from the University of Cambridge, may add chocolate to that list, as well. Of course, we’ve long known that dark chocolate is loaded with antioxidants and boasts numerous health benefits, including the ability to help lower blood pressure and even cause a significant increase in insulin sensitivity. But these researchers have an added perk to throw on the laundry list of health benefits -- after conducting a large-scale review on recent evidence (the results were published in the British Medical Journal), these scientists found that regular chocolate consumption (they didn’t differentiate between dark or milk) can slash cardiovascular risk by a third.

That proves it, if you want a healthy heart, start with a good hardy laugh and have chocolate for desert.

Dagwood and Blondie

This week in 1930, Dagwood and Blondie comic strip was created. It was originated by Chic Young (d.1973) and continues with his son, Dean.

They have been in cartoons, TV series, movies, and on radio. The strip featured newspaper man Dagwood Bumstead as the playboy son of a railroad tycoon. He dated Blondie Boopadoop, a flapper. They married had a son, Alexander (Baby Dumpling) and daughter Cookie.

The strip is still running with Herb Woodley, Mr. Dithers, Tootsie, and more. Blondie Bumstead went back to work after the children grew up and works with Herb’s wife, Tootsie in a catering service. Time to sit back, reminisce, and have a piled high Dagwood sandwich.

Colonel Harland Sanders

 He was born September 9, 1890. At 12, he went to work and had many jobs. Finally he operated a gas station in Corbin, Kentucky. At forty, he began cooking at the station. His dishes became so popular that he finally had to open a restaurant. It was there that he developed his famous 11 herbs and spices chicken recipe.

In 1935, he was made a Kentucky Colonel by Governor Ruby Laffoon for his contributions to Kentucky cuisine. In 1955 an an interstate highway bypassed Corbin, Kentucky, so he took his chicken recipe on the road to sell it across the country. His deal was to get a nickel for every chicken sold using his recipe. Years later, he sold his interest for two million dollars and stayed on as spokesman until he passed away in 1980.

Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy's, was offered a chance to turn around a failing Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant. He helped save the restaurant, and revolutionized the fast food industry by simplifying its menu from nearly one hundred items to just basic fried chicken and salads.

Three Keyboard Tips

Sometimes a hitting a few keys is quicker than using the mouse or touchpad. Here are a few of my favorites that I use almost every day.

Hold down the CTRL key and hit F. This will automatically bring up Find. It is useful if you are looking for a specific name or word in a long document or on the web or even in emails.

CTRL and P is useful to print the screen you are looking at. It brings up the print box.

One of my favorites is CTRL Z. It reverses what you have just done. For instance in Word, or in an email, you just deleted something by mistake. Hit CTRL Z and it brings it back.