Being Nice Helps You Make Friends

You've been told to be nice since you were a child.  Nice can be rather vague.  What exactly does it mean to be nice?  In my mind it means being kind, generous, agreeable, pleasant, respectable, friendly, forgiving and tactful.  It means going out of your way to treat others in the way that you want to be treated.  But that's just me.

There are, of course, lots of reasons to be nice, and now we have one more: the data support it.

This week, a look how science has proven that being nice helps you make friends.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "I never needed anybody's help in any way, but now these days are gone and I'm not so self assured." – The Beatles, "Help" (Lennon-McCartney)

Being Nice = Friends

They Say Tomato. We Say Tasteless

Plant geneticists say they have discovered an answer to a near-universal question: why are store-bought tomatoes usually so tasteless?  Yes, they are often picked green and shipped long distances and likely refrigerated, which destroys their flavor and texture. But now researchers have discovered a genetic reason that diminishes a tomato’s flavor even if the fruit is picked ripe and coddled.

The unexpected culprit is a gene mutation that occurred by chance and that was discovered by tomato breeders. It was deliberately bred into almost all tomatoes because it conferred an advantage: It made them a uniform luscious scarlet when ripe.

Whatever the color, I only eat them in tomato sauce or soup.  The Kitchen Manager at Amy's in Medford can attest to my reaction to eating fresh tomatoes; it is not a pretty sight.

This week, a look at the improving flavor of tomatoes.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see." – The Beatles, "Strawberry Fields Forever" (Lennon-McCartney)



They Say Tomato, We Say Tasteless

The Color of Beer

We've talked about beer and its mineral content, how beer was one of the six drinks that shaped the world, about studying really old beer and how beer is better for post-workout replenishment.  But have we talked about the two basic chemical reactions responsible for beer being "beer-colored" rather than clear like water?

One reaction couples amino acids to sugars; the other spurs sugars to decompose. In addition to adding color to beer, the products of these reactions also add significant flavor to the resultant brew.

This week, a look at the color of beer.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arrive; you were only waiting for this moment to be free." – The Beatles, "Blackbird" (Lennon-McCartney)


Color of Beer

Dissolving Islands

If you've ever considered an island getaway to Hawaii, time is of the essence: the mountainous tropical paradise of Oahu will erode, according to new research, with the biggest losses coming from within the island itself.

To be accurate, you do have some time to book that vacation before Hawaii's Oahu flattens from an island into a low-lying sea mount...likely another 1.75 million years, give or take a millennia. After that, however, the forces working to eat away at Oahu from the inside out will begin to triumph.

This week, a look at dissolving islands.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Try thinking more, if just for your own sake." – The Beatles, "Think For Yourself" (Harrison)

Hawaii Dissolving

Mouth Feel

In most cultures, people ingest a variety of astringent foods and beverages during meals, but the reasons for this practice are unclear. Many popular beliefs and heuristics exist, such as high tannin wines should be balanced with fatty foods, for example “red wine with red meat”.

Finally, science tells us why.  This week, a look at the principle underlying the international practice of palate cleansing.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "A good conscience is a continual Christmas." - Benjamin Franklin (US author, diplomat, inventor, physicist, politician, & printer, 1706 - 1790)

Mouth Feel

Parched in the West but Shipping Water to China

In 2012, the drought-stricken Western United States will ship more than 50 billion gallons of water to China. This water will leave the country embedded in alfalfa – most of it grown in California – and is destined to feed Chinese cows. The strange situation illustrates what is wrong about how we think, or rather don't think, about water policy in the U.S.

This week, a look at shipping water to China in the form of alfalfa.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: " 'Maybe Christmas', he thought, 'doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!' " - Theodor Seuss Geisel (American writer and cartoonist most widely known for his children's books written under the pen names Dr. Seuss, 1904 - 1991)

Parched in the West but Shipping Water to China

New Dreams, When the Old Ones Don't Fit

"Whatever it is you want to do, if you can do it, do it now."

As I get older, I am reminded these are words to live by.  As Ringo so eloquently put it, tomorrow never knows.

This week, a reminder not to put off to tomorrow what is important to do today.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me." - Hunter S. Thompson (US journalist and author, 1939 - 2005)

New Dreams, When the Old Ones Don't Fit