Refrigerators

At the start of the 20th Century, about half of households in the United States relied on melting ice (in an icebox) to keep food cold, while the remaining half had no cooled storage at all possibly excepting a "root cellar." The ice used for household storage was expensive because ice had to be cut from winter ponds (or mechanically produced), stored centrally until needed, and delivered regularly.

Then along came the refrigerator, one of many devices that changed the way we live. I wonder how many people have been told to close the door on the refrigerator since they were invented?

This week, a look refrigerators.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Another dream that failed. There's nothing sadder." - Captain James Kirk, Star Trek: The Original Series, “This Side of Paradise”

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Refrigerators

Jelly Beans

In case you haven’t worked it out on your own yet, National Jelly Bean Day is a day set aside to enjoy jelly beans in all their gummy deliciousness. While not a federally recognized national holiday, April 22nd is now known as “National Jelly Bean Day”, a time to sit back with a bowl of jelly beans and enjoy their wide variety of flavors.

This week, a look at...what else...jelly beans.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "I am superior, sir, in many ways. But I would gladly give it up, to be human." - Commander Data, Star Trek: The Next Generation, “Encounter at Farpoint”

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National Jelly Bean Day

Cooking Oils

Cooking oil is purified fat of plant origin, which is usually liquid at room temperature (saturated oils such as coconut and palm are more solid at room temperature than other oils).

Many types vegetable oils are also used for cooking. The generic term "vegetable oil" when used to label a cooking oil product refers to a blend of a variety of oils often based on palm, corn, soybean or sunflower oils.

This week, a look at various cooking oils.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "How we deal with death is at least as important as how we deal with life." - Admiral James Kirk, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

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Glossary of Cooking Oils

The Fake-Food Detectives

A fashion fake may be easy to spot: the label says BURBERRY, but the pattern is slightly off-color, the price is too good to be true, and the vendor is operating out of a corner market.

But fake food? Not that easy, partly because most of us don't even think to look for it. We assume that if the label says EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL or WILD SALMON, that's what's we're getting. According to a whole host of experts, we shouldn't be so sure.

This week, a look at the fake food detectives.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "I've found that when you don't think about a problem, sometimes the solution comes to you." - Commander Chakotay, Star Trek: Voyager, "Flashback"

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The Fake-Food Detectives

Honey

Honey has been around a long time. A line drawing on a Mesolithic rock painting on a wall in a cave in Valencia, Spain, shows two honey-hunters collecting honey and honeycomb from a wild nest, which indicates honey collecting has been going on for the better part of 10,000 years.

In the Roman Empire, honey was possibly used instead of gold to pay taxes. In some parts of Greece, it was formerly the custom for a bride to dip her fingers in honey and make the sign of the cross before entering her new home, ensuring sweetness in her married life.

Here's one more: after his death in battle, the head of Count Vladimir III (aka Vlad the Impaler, Vladimir Tepes and best known as the model for the fictional (?) character of Dracula) was cut off and presented to the Ottoman Sultan, preserved in a jar of honey.

Enough said about that. This week, a look at honey.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Human bonding rituals often involve a great deal of talking, and dancing, and crying." - Commander Worf to Commander Data, on weddings, Star Trek: The Next Generation, “Data’s Day”

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Honey

Nitrogen-use efficiency, the next green revolution

Imagine you could wave a magic wand and boost the yield of the world’s crops, cut their cost, use fewer-fossil fuels to grow them and reduce the pollution that results from farming. Imagine, too, that you could both eliminate some hunger and return some land to rain forest.

This is the scale of the prize that many in the biotechnology industry now suddenly believe is within their grasp in 2010 and the years that follow. They are in effect hoping to boost the miles-per-gallon of agriculture, except that the fuel in question is nitrogen.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "There is an old Vulcan proverb, 'Only Nixon could go to China.' " - Captain Spock, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

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Nitrogen-Use Efficiency, The Next Green Revolution

5S

5S is the name of a workplace organization methodology that uses a list of five Japanese words which, transliterated and translated into English, start with the letter S.

5S can be many things. It can be a powerful technique for developing an organization and deploying a new lifestyle. It can help improve communication between the shop floor and support departments. It can help develop the characteristics employees require to be part of a world class organization. It can reduce injuries, downtime, defects, lead times, inventories and associated production costs.

This week, a look at 5S.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Madness has no purpose. Or reason. But it may have a goal." - Commander Spock, Star Trek: The Original Series, "The Alternative Factor"

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5S