Holiday Bacon Pumpkin Pie

The recipe calls for adding seven pieces of bacon into the pumpkin mixture before baking, then crumbling a few pieces on the top after it comes out of the oven. An alternative filling is Rhubarb, one of my favorites. Mmmm!

White Chocolate is Not Chocolate

This tidbit came up in a recent conversation and Jeff Flanagan suggested it might be a good topic for Friday Thoughts. In order to be labeled chocolate (as defined in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration) a product must also contain cocoa solids from chocolate liquor. Chocolate liquor is not real alcohol, but is the thick liquid produced when fermented, dried, and roasted cocoa beans are shelled, then ground. The chocolate liquor is the key ingredient in all of the chocolates on the market, except for white chocolate.

When the chocolate liquor is pressed, the fat can be removed from it. This fat is called cocoa butter, and it is the primary ingredient in white chocolate. In plain chocolate, the cocoa butter is re-blended with the cocoa solids from the separation process in order to make unsweetened chocolate. It may also be sweetened and blended with additional ingredients such as milk to make the chocolate confection we commonly eat.

However, with white chocolate the cocoa butter is not reunited with the cocoa powder. Instead, sugar and milk are added to create the final treat. Also, since the caffeine in chocolate is in the cocoa solids and not the cocoa butter, white chocolate does not contain any caffeine.

Since white chocolate labels are not standardized, some manufacturers market products that do not even contain cocoa butter as white chocolate. Usually, these contain vegetable oil and taste different.

The cocoa butter used to make white chocolate is a very stable fat and has a long lifespan without spoiling. It contains several natural antioxidants and it has a shelf life of several years. It is also used in other products, such as soaps, moisturizers, and other skin care products.

Companies Against Christmas

True - According to the American Family Association, the following companies "may use "Christmas" sparingly in a single or unique product description, but as a company, does not recognize it". As of 11-17-10

Barnes & Noble
CVS Pharmacy
Office Depot
Radio Shack
Staples
SUPERVALU
Victoria's Secret

Windows 1

November 20, 2010, represents a significant milestone. Those of us in the PC industry who placed an early bet on a then-nascent PC graphical UI will toast that day as being the 25th anniversary of the launch of Windows 1.0. Wow, what a long way we have come in such a short time.

Big Spenders

Did you ever wonder who the big political spenders are? Here is a list of the largest spenders to influence votes. Notice that half are labor unions.

Rank	Organization	Total '89-'09	Dem%	Rep %
1	AT&T Inc	$45,656,394	44	55
2	Amer. Fedn of State, Cnty & Municipal Employees	$43,026,011	98	1
3	ActBlue	$42,628,917	99	0
4	National Assn of Realtors	$37,617,499	48	50
5	Goldman Sachs	$32,878,402	62	37
6	American Assn for Justice	$32,681,779	90	8
7	Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers	$32,680,295	97	2
8	National Education Assn	$31,113,780	93	6
9	Laborers Union	$29,816,800	92	7
10	Service Employees International Union	$28,889,132	95	3
11	Teamsters Union	$28,876,259	93	6
12	Carpenters & Joiners Union	$28,827,308	89	10
13	American Federation of Teachers	$28,194,891	98	0
14	Communications Workers of America	$27,958,106	98	0
15	Citigroup Inc	$27,583,712	50	49
16	American Medical Assn	$26,846,420	39	60
17	United Auto Workers	$26,509,902	98	0
18	Machinists & Aerospace Workers Union	$25,924,777	98	0
19	National Auto Dealers Assn	$25,613,758	32	67
20	United Parcel Service	$24,987,614	36	62

Wow, over 331 million bucks of union dues that did not go for the members welfare.

Speaking of Big Spenders

Three bottles of Châteaux Lafite-Rothschild 1869 were just sold at a Hong Kong auction by Sotheby’s. The hammer price of $232,692 a bottle set a record for the most expensive bottle of wine ever sold at auction. That's about two grand a sip.

More Spending

The average American family has 13 credit cards. Household debt rose from $680 billion in 1974 to $14 trillion in 2008. Looks like I am not average.

Turkey Facts

Here are some interesting Turkey tidbits as we approach Thanksgiving.

Turkeys can fly for short bursts at up to 55 mph. However, domestic turkeys are usually too fat to fly.

Turkey eggs are not usually sold for eating because farmers have learned that they make more raising turkeys for meat rather than eggs.

It's not the turkey that makes you sleepy. Although turkey contains a natural chemical called tryptophan, and  tryptophan is related to the production of serotonin, which helps us sleep. All meat has about the same amount of tryptophan. What really makes you sleepier after a Thanksgiving meal compared to other meals is eating too many carbohydrates, from potatoes to pies. Alcohol can contribute, too.

The wishbone, called a furcula, is the fusion of two collarbones at the sternum. It's where a turkey’s flying muscles hook up and is very elastic and great for flapping.

Another Google Tip

When you look at Google results, check the left side of the page and click on "show search tools" button. A list of options about time will appear. These are very handy if you are just looking for some news or other items that are current or maybe even older. Since web pages seem to live on forever, it is a quick way to get information that is timely for the subject.

Display a Collection

Do you collect stuff? Is it difficult to show your collection, or is it in a cupboard, or closet/ here is an interesting idea. Take pictures of individual items in your collection and put them together in a digital photograph, then put it in a frame and show it off for the world to see. Take a picture of each with a different background color that matches your decor to add some visual interest.

Think about all those cool mugs you have, or dolls, or other collections that are just too large to display. How about pictures of each of the houses you have lived in or all the cars you owned. Don't forget to think of that sentimental clutter you have in your closet. Take it out, take a picture, then dispose of the items and frame the montage, so you can enjoy the memories every day.

One Dollar Bill Facts

Did you know one dollar bills are made in twelve different cities? They are made in Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Dallas, and San Francisco. Each has a letter associated with the city. They are, in order, A Boston, B New York, C Philadelphia, etc. Those letters are all associated with the numbers printed four times on the bill. The black letter in the seal on the left side of the bill tells us which city it is printed in.

The four black numbers toward each corner correspond to the letter. So, a bill printed in Philadelphia has a C in the seal and would have the number three printed, because C is the third letter of the alphabet. Incidentally, they print 16,600,000 bills a day. I just checked my pocket and had bills printed in four different cities.

Twitter and the Stock Market

The mood on Twitter predicts what's going to happen in the stock market with 87 percent accuracy. Researchers from Indiana University analyzed the tweets of 2.7 million Twitter users in 2008, dividing them into six categories of emotions. They were surprised to find that the higher percentage of "calm" tweets on a given day, the higher the Dow Jones Industrial Average was in the following two to six days. This method yielded a 87.6 percent rate of accuracy.

Whats in a Name

According to Chicago, it doesn't matter, as long as you pay. Next spring, 2011, the commuters of Chicago may no longer be taking the Red Line to Addison if they want to catch a Cubs game. If the Chicago Transit Authority has its way, they could be riding on the Budweiser Express and getting off at Pizzeria Uno Station. The CTA announced last week that it intends on selling off the naming rights to just about everything it possibly can, including rail lines and stations, bus routes, retail concessions, and special events. Even the venerable CTA logo will be on the auction block. "We want to find new ways to generate revenue," said the CTA president. Maybe during election years, politicians can get their name plastered on every bus and train in town. Take the Obama express downtown.

Black Friday Under Ten Dollar Deals

Here are some cheap appliance deals:
• Chefmate 2-slice toaster, $3.00 (Target)

• Sunbeam 4-slice toaster, $9.88 (J.C. Penney)

• Black & Decker 5-quart coffeemaker, $9.88 (Target)

• Cooks 12-cup coffeemaker, $9.88 (J.C. Penney)

• Hamilton Beach 12-cup programmable coffeemaker, $9.97 (Walmart)

• Chefmate 5-speed electric hand mixer, $3.00 (Target)

• Rival hand mixer, $2.97 (Walmart)

• Cooks 1.5-quart slow cooker, $7.88 (J.C. Penney)

• Cooks 6-quart slow cooker, $9.88 (J.C. Penney)

• Hamilton Beach 3-quart slow cooker, $8.99 (Target)

• Hamilton Beach 5-quart oval slow cooker, $9.97 (Walmart)

• Dirt Devil Versa Power Stick Vac, $9.00 (Target)

• Bissell 3-In-1 Stick Vac, $8.62 (Walmart)
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