Food, Inc.

At first I thought," This isn't really in line with my blog and it's purpose..." And then I realized it was. I care about my coffee and how that's made, as a past example. Well now a documentary shows ties between a lot of other issues I care about. My family is errupting in diabetes diagnoses, and I have no doubt as to why. Years ago I gave up, or at least dramatically reduced, a lot of the poisons I was ingesting. Diet Coke is completely gone from my life, as are the Nutrasweet headaches. But the truth of our food supply, and the consequences of it, go so far beyond all that.

I almost posted yesterday about an interesting show on TV, which discussed how early humans evolved based on our food. That agriculture and hunting changed "society" is clear, but changes in diet also changed people physically and genetically. We aren't physically the same animal that first threw a rock at a beast. The show ended with a warning to "think" about what we eat, and what consequences it may have.

Food, Inc. goes further. It shows, often graphically, the problems when food and farming are brought to an industrial scale. It shows what we aren't supposed to know; aren't supposed to think of. It conveys an important message, and I think everyone should take the time to see it.



Sorry the size doesn't fit the blog format. There are 11 parts in total. I really do think it is worth the time to hear the message. I look forward to seeing this movie again, in the theatre, at the upcoming IDFA festival.

Delayed Neutrons

I learned a life lesson from nuclear physics. To explain, let me tell you about delayed neutrons as they relate to power generation.

Generating power from nuclear fission is about controlling and balancing neutrons. These subatomic particles erupt, two at a time, from each nucleus that fissions. About 0.00001 seconds later the neutrons are slow enough to collide with another uranium or plutonium nucleus and two more neutrons are generated. Controlling a reactor is about ensuring exactly one of each neutron pair is reused to initiate another fission.

Trouble is, when something is capable of doubling (for example, in power) every 0.00001 seconds it is impossible to control. It's a bomb, actually. This is where delayed neutrons become important.

Delayed neutrons are the same as the rest, except they don't get ejected immediately. About one-half of one percent of all the neutrons are delayed, an average of 12 seconds. That tiny portion is enough to skew all the averages. The end result is that fission reactors can indeed be controlled. A tiny portion, gets a tiny delay and the overall falls into control as a result.

And therein is the life lesson. Tiny things make big differences.

Life may feel like it is beyond control. Yet, moments here and there, applied well, can be enough. Enough to be in control rather than bombing out.

The Value of Values

Our values come from a combination of sources. Partly from what mom and dad taught, partly from school, church, friends, work and experience, our personal values are a result of the sum of the influences from the world around us. They are based on the society we live in, and change with the times we live in.

The values we hold directly affect how we perceive the world, and how we act to it. If your personal values say a thing is very important then you put far more effort into it than less important things. If your values say you are seeing something very wrong then you're more like to react to change it.

The values we choose to live by directly affect our lives. This is not a surprise. But how many of us have actually stopped and chosen our values?

Our overall society does not limit itself to sane and logical things. Values cherished in business school, such as ambition and greed, may be considered deadly vices to your religious leader. Television commercials will entice us towards glutonous triple-decker bacon-cheese grease things that our doctor is sure will kill us. There is no limit to the contradictions.

Doing contradictory things leads to nowhere. Praying for your fellow man on Sunday (or Saturday or Friday) then working Monday to maximize a profit or minimize labour costs is an example.

Do I believe something is the right thing, or was I simply told it was? Is right here, right now, as good as the right thing? If you say you're right, and I stand right behind you, am I right too?

It all depends on what values you hold. Thus, it is such a shame that our society puts such a low value on values.

Raving in Amsterdam

Overall, I act my age, or at least one close to mine. Sometimes I step beyond the norm and act a completely different age. Thankfully Waking Up In Amsterdam provides just the right venue to blog about it.

They can never take that away

On my last trip home to Canada I came across the wicker basket that adorned the front of my Mother's bicycle. I remembered the basket for one reason only, a single day's bike ride.

It's a distant memory. One of my most distant. Shortly after I learned how to ride a bike, my Mom and I went for a ride out in the country. We rode along Lakeshore Road, over the canal, and into the farms and orchards of Niagara to get fresh strawberries.

The most memorable part was that the basket ended up overfilled with strawberries, and the jiggling of the basket as we rode meant our prize was liquifying itself as we went. So we had no choice but to (1) stop and enjoy the fresh strawberries along the roadside, and (2) make jam, once home. A great life lesson, it defined a perfect summer day. And it stained the bottom of the basket red.

That old bike is long gone. Mom's gone too. But the basket and stain remained. Until recently.

I had no choice. I couldn't sell this early-childhood memory at our yard sale. I took it home and mounted it on my "granny bike". My God it was useful! So convenient. And like taking a little part of Mom everywhere too.

I couldn't sell it. But I knew such a basket couldn't last on the bike either. It was only a matter of time. Only a matter of months.

Now there's a single zip-tie remaining around my handbar. It reminds me of where the basket used to be. Now I shall forever see the basket that used to be there. It's absence is a constant reminder. A reminder of a beautiful summer day, and the pure joy of cycling, and strawberries, and Mom. The basket is gone, but they can never take away the sweet memory.

Racism?

In case you don't know, the international media has a lot to say about the healthcare debate in the United States, and it sounds a lot like," Racism... race... racists... black... racism... racists."

I was confused for 8 years as to how and why the U.S. population failed to protest the actions of their government. Now suddenly, change has come to America, and they're standing up and protesting "healthcare".

Why does media like BBC World News have to report that President Obama doesn't think healthcare protests are racially motivated? Honestly? It's because healthcare protests are racially motivated.

I could believe otherwise, if healthcare wasn't so screwed up in the U.S.

A quick check of UN figures shows that life expectancy in the United States doesn't measure up well against the rest of the western world. Thirty-sixth place for women? For men's life expectancy it's twenty-seventh place.

But healthcare in the U.S. does hold one top place. It's the most expensive place in the world to be treated. And not by a little, but by a lot.

To quote Wikipedia," Universal health care is implemented in all industrialized countries, with the exception of the United States. It is also provided in many developing countries."

What it all adds up to, is, it doesn't all add up. Fear of change is one thing, but fear of catching up to the rest of the world? Perhaps it's pressure from big-business, afraid of government control. Perhaps it's partisan and entirely political. But what it looks like... well the way it is being shown, it looks pretty damn bad.

Thank you honey

Ambrosia artemisiifolia aka ragweed has been a bane in my life, for nearly my whole life. When I first moved to Europe my seasonal hayfever (specifically my allergy to ragweed) got much better. But it's been more than 8 years. Now, the species of ragweed in Amsterdam (and along my favourite biking routes) are ones I'm horribly allergic to.

And thus for the last three days I've been sick. It may as well be a head cold or mild flu. My chest hurts from the hundreds of coughing fits. Sneezing leaves me dizzy. And the thought of "doing something"? Well that's right out of the question.

But I have hopes.

For the past year or so I've added raw (organic) honey to my diet. I believe honey helps boost immune response and improve sugar reactions within the body. And today I read that honey is also thought to keep ragweed allergies at bay.

I ran out of honey four days ago.

Is it coincidence that I stopped eating honey and immediately got hit by ragweed? Probably. But today I braved wind and rain and my own ill health and road my bike to the Nature Store. I've got 3 months of honey now.

Honestly I have no idea whether honey will help or not. Ragweed's pollenation season lasts for 6-8 weeks of September and October. Or until the first frost. But honey can't hurt. And while I'm sitting here with nothing else to do, it makes my coffee so much more delicious.

Today is the day I will go to the gym

I can talk about fitness or bikes or karate for hours. Similarly minded friends and I can discuss subtle differences in the 4-5 different ways we know to do squat exercises. And when it comes to sharing what I've read, I can usually tell you the two or three "schools of thought" on a subject and which I found worked best for myself. But there's one bit of advice I've never figured out how to share. How do you help motivate another person to start a fitness program?

My final motivation was a nightmare level of stress. A close friend spent months trying to encourage me to go to the gym. I agreed that I needed to exercise. I was fat and always tired. I wanted a change. But day after day I just never went to the gym. It finally took trouble at work. One moring I got to work and within an hour I ended up turning around and going home. I took a few days off. But instead of sitting at home I went to the YMCA; five times that first week, six times the next week.

Is it like that for everyone? Does it take a trip to the bottom, a scare from above, or some other 'near miss' to get us going?

Once started, exercise brings its own rewards. Endoprhines are there immediately. Increased energy comes in just days. A feeling of pride at the results on the scale are there in just weeks. Even just that first night's sleep, post-exercise, can be reason enough to go back to the gym.

Once underway, exercise programs get more complex. That's where knowing about different exercises, nutrition plans and such can be useful. But before that first trip to the gym, all the details can only serve to confuse. Or maybe they can work as seeds? Seeds that spring to goals and then grow into accomplishments.

Are you tired of being tired? Do you know you should be exercising, but don't? Do you have things you look forward to but always feel your body is holding you back? If so then here is my advice... don't think of reps and sets, don't think of lifestyle choices, nutrition changes or any of it. Just think," Today is the day I will go to the gym."

The journey is long. But it begins with a single step. Just go to the gym.

It's Yellow!

Yellow can mean cowardly. Or snow that shouldn't be played in. But today yellow is a source of pride, as I sit here, staring at my new karate belt.

Eleven months of training and practice have brought me to a point where I can now begin my karate training. Anyone can get a white belt for just showing up. Yellow means you've been preparing and are ready to learn.

Heck, my first lesson hurt for two weeks. The sports injuries I received in my first few classes took most of the year to heal. Some remain. But I have no doubt I'm stronger and fitter than I was. I've discovered flexibility I thought hips couldn't provide and while I'm sure it will leave a bruise, I can block a punch with force.

And now? Am I ready? Well, not according to my own experience, nor the tennants of karate. But at this rate, in just seven to ten more years, I'm going to be good at this.

Summer flying by

I was walking down the street and suddenly heard a "Whoosh". Something was moving; something big, moving quickly. It was summer.

And it's flying by so fast that autumn is being sucked into it's wake and dragged along.

I was really starting to enjoy the park this year. I've carried my towel across the road a couple of times to stretch out in the sun. And the more of that I enjoyed, the more I wanted. But the weather hasn't been playing along. Cold, cloud, grey winds and dark temperatures. Not sunbathing weather.

It's been a week. A week since the last warm sunny day. Since then Mother Nature has been painting with a different pallet. And then there's the whooshing sound, which is her vacuuming the last bits of summer up.

Bill Cosby Understands

I had a weird moment last night. I described the experience in a guest post at Waking Up In Amsterdam. But Bill Cosby can describe it even better.

"I said to a guy, I said, tell me. What is it about cocaine that makes it so wonderful?"

"And the guy said,' Well, it intensifies your personality.'"

"And I said yes, but what if you're an asshole?"

Beautiful Strange

I think it's a music day today. My words all went to guest posting here.

Actually, I have a lot more words on the ideas expressed there, on feeling Dutch, feeling contectedness and more. To many for now.

This is a song by Bedrock called Beautiful Strange. It popped up on the stereo's randomized playlist and fit the moment.



Call me an optimist, but as I rose early with the new week, I felt an energy in the air. Perhaps today's job application will pan out to something wonderful. Perhaps it's just that today I had the energy and inspiration for a job application?

I can't wait!

It's just a plan. But it's a pretty good plan so far and I think it's going to happen.

I'm going diving!

It's been a year and a half, since Sharm and since what I think of as "getting a little bent". But Adam and I have been talking lately. We both miss diving. So today I called and reserved tanks. Then I renewed my diving insurance and finalized all the plans.

Saturday we'll find out if our gear still works. Do my regulators still deliver air? Is my dry suit still aptly named?

I'm going diving, and I can't wait!

You asked my politics?

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

What you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me.

Jesus was a Buddhist. Or at least, He and Buddha would have agreed on a lot. And part of that boils down to "we are all one". Think of it as being part of something bigger.

Western culture encourages our individualism and competition. But if we followed truly Christian values, could any of us see "us" and "them"?

Why do I mention it? I believe in a future, a potential future, in which technology is used to sustainably provide basic human rights to all mankind. A future where it's possible to feed, house and cloth everyone. But it only seems possible if we see the world as "all of us", as one.

Apparently there already exists enough resources to give everyone their share. A chance to grow up, learn, love and live their lives. But money is the main obsticle. It isn't profitable to give to the poor. Nor shall it be. But where is the Christianity?

I think people are working on such a future. I think people throughout societies all over the world are begining to feel the change. The recognition of oneness.

Nothing

It isn't easy to do "nothing". Sunbathing on a tropical beach may involve hours without motion, but you're still actively doing something. You're sunbathing and resting. The time you're putting in is part of a plan to achieve an end.

To really do nothing is a terrible thing. Totally different from "having nothing you have to do". Having nothing that needs doing is liberating, restful, and a time to choose. Because whenever there is nothing that needs doing there are still things that could be done. There are always things that could be done, and usually when faced with doing nothing, the could-be-done things finally get some attention.

When you're really doing nothing, there are still things that need to get done, and things that could be getting done. But these things don't get done.

And once you really get going with nothing, it's hard to stop. Or is that start? Either way, it's hard to change. After all, name the greatest activity you can think of, then ask "what could be better than that?" Nothing? Exactly. Nothing can always seem better. Although it never is.

Personally, I've had enough of nothing. I've re-re-started the job hunt. I've re-re-started attending karate and exercising nearly every day.

It all goes to proving one thing to me. What's better than nothing? Anything!