Compass

Thanksgiving is the peak travel weekend in the United States, with nearly 40 million Americans leaving home to visit relatives, heading home from college or simply going on vacation to relax. And how to they know they are traveling in the right direction? The compass, of course.

Other, more accurate, devices have been invented for determining north that do not depend on the Earth's magnetic field for operation. A gyrocompass or astrocompass can be used to find true north, while being unaffected by stray magnetic fields, nearby electrical power circuits or nearby masses of ferrous metals. A recent development is the electronic compass, or Fibre optic gyrocompass, which detects the magnetic directions without potentially fallible moving parts. This device frequently appears as an optional subsystem built into GPS receivers. However, magnetic compasses remain popular, especially in remote areas, as they are cheap, durable, and require no electrical power supply.

This week, a look at the compass.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "If only we'd stop trying to be happy we could have a pretty good time." - Edith Wharton (US novelist, 1862 - 1937)

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Compass

Talking Turkey

There are literally hundreds of ways to cook a turkey and each year new recipes and techniques are created based on trendy regional ingredients and creative cooking methods. Some are good, some are bad, and some are downright unsafe. All are designed to tantalize the senses and produce the perfect turkey - moist breast meat, tender legs and thighs, golden brown skin and memorable flavor. Believe it or not, cooking a turkey is not that difficult. Which turkey cooking method chosen is up to the cook, just make sure it is a safe method.

Pete Snyder runs the Hospitality Institute of Technology and Management and is a frequent contributor to FOODSAFE, a food safety listserv. By beginning with the science of the recipe, Dr. Snyder strives to have one set of science-based food safety rules for everyone, from retail food operations to the home. He took on turkeys a few years ago and showed how you can cook a bird right from the freezer and skip the messy thawing part.

This week, how to cook a turkey from the frozen state.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx (US comedian with and without the Marx Brothers, 1890 - 1977)

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Talking Turkey

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The Zing Starts Here

The Pilgrims learned all about cranberries from the Native Americans, who recognized the natural preservative power (benzoic acid) in the berries and often mixed them into pemmican (dried meat mixture) to extend its shelf life.

Cranberry sauce came into the picture via General Ulysses S. Grant who ordered it served to the troops during the seige of Petersburg in 1864. Cranberry sauce was first commercially canned in 1912 by the Cape Cod Cranberry Company which marketed the product as "Ocean Spray Cape Cod Cranberry Sauce." A merger with other growers evolved into the well-known Ocean Spray corporation now famous for their cranberry products.

Cranberries...love 'em or hate 'em, they are part of the holiday tradition. This week, a look at options for cranberries.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost." - Arthur Robert Ashe, Jr (professional tennis player, 1943 - 1993)

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The Zing Starts Here

Oil that grows on trees

They say money doesn’t grow on trees. Not directly, anyway. But what if a substitute for oil, which we all know is expensive, grew on trees? Scientists are literally going to produce plastic that grows on trees, starting from a one-stop process that derives raw material for fuels and plastic from plants rather than crude oil.

This week, a look at oil that grows on trees.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "There is no need to go to India or anywhere else to find peace. You will find that deep place of silence right in your room, your garden or even your bathtub." - Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, M.D. (Swiss-born psychiatrist and the author of the groundbreaking book On Death and Dying, 1926 - 2004)

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Oil That Grows on Trees

Addicted to Sweets

Hard-wired from birth to seek out sweet tastes, the human body evolved a survival instinct 2 million years ago that steered Homo sapiens to sweet foods dense with energy, like ripe mangoes hanging from the tree, berries clustered on the vine and honey seeping from the comb.

Thousands of generations later, that primitive impulse, in a land of overabundant processed foods and sedentary lifestyles, works against easy weight control and a healthy energy balance. Scientists are now asking if our natural inclination to eat sweets can go too far. Can we lose control of our hunger for sugar, the very taste that aided our ancestors’ survival?

This week, a look at addiction to sweets.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible." - Frank Zappa (composer, musician, film director, 1940-1993)

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Addicted to Sweets

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The Onion throughout the Ages

Historically, the onion is nothing to cry about. Over many centuries it occupied an exalted position as a work of art as well as a food. Not many people today would burst into tears if they were asked to consider the onion as a work of art, but they might do so if they had to eat one raw.

This week, a look at onions.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Not a day passes over the earth but men and women of no note do great deeds, speak great words, and suffer noble sorrows. Of these obscure heroes, philosophers, and martyrs the greater part will never be known." - Charles Reade (English novelist and dramatist, 1814 - 1884)

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Onions

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The History of Ketchup

Call it ketchup, catsup, catchup, tomato ketchup, or various other names, but it's a condiment consisting of a thick, smooth-textured, spicy sauce usually made from tomatoes. The primary ingredients in a typical modern ketchup are tomato concentrate, corn syrup (or other sugar), salt, and various spice and herb extracts.

But where did it come from? And how can something that is mostly tomatoes (which are botanically classified as a fruit) be a vegetable?

This week a look at the history of ketchup.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You." - Dr. Seuss (Theodore Giesel, author and illustrator, 1904-1991)

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Ketchup

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