Oct 21 2024 - Lessons of the Unlearned Lessons

 

Such a brilliant phrase.  It is on the editorial page of the Globe and Mail this morning. I went looking for it to find out more, but it doesn't retrieve a definition. It retrieves interesting articles. Lessons learned and unlearned from history Lessons taught, learned, forgotten and ignored History is not a teacher but a warden The Lesson(s) to unlearn from school - there are a lot of these articles  There is the unlearned lessons syndrome - it is about learned helplessness.  But mostly unlearned lessons come under the history section or the psychology section.  The psychology section wants people to detail their most difficult lessons they learned and the most difficult lessons they unlearned.   The Globe and Mail was pointing to the recent report on the COVID-19 pandemic. Using this phrase -  the lessons of the pandemic lessons unlearned - certainly draws attention to it.  It would be great to find a "lesson unlearned" joke, but that is too sophisticated a topic.  Jokes are by definition simple in content and theme.  I did see this as the lead-in line for Reditt's Upjokes: I taught my son a valuable life lesson by eating his homework. Tomorrow he will learn that many people will not believe you, even when you tell the truth. That joke is a relief from all of the feel-good "Learn, Unlearn, Relearn"  words and pictures out there.  Here's a picture from a few years ago.  It is taken through the car windshield with heavy rain, causing the abstract shapes of the autumn tree.

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Oct 10 2024 - Where will all the cows go?

 

Rethinkx tells me that food-as-software will replace the animal-agriculture system. It sounds strange, doesn't it? Maybe reminds me of Star Trek.  "Foods engineered by scientists at a molecular level will be uploaded to databases that can be accessed by food designers anywhere in the world."  And this:  "Anywhere we brew beer we will be able to produce food."  One of the promises is being able to replace our system of breeding industrial farm animals for mass-market consumption.   The prediction is that the number of cows in the U.S. will fall by 50% by 2030.  It is 2024 now - that's only 6 years away.  The numbers themselves are staggering:  In 2021, the USDA reported that there were just over 1 billion head of cattle and nearly 26 billion chickens in the world – far outnumbering humans. Can you imagine the size and scope of change? All that farm land no longer for grazing and crops to feed the grazers.   I hope the crop farmers and businesses throughout the value chain are paying attention.  Will we adapt or resist this precision fermentation approach? Will it take longer than six years.   My bet is that we will adapt as the prices will be attractive. We eat "cheese food" now.That's a combination of cheese mixed with emulsifying agents, vegetable oils, unfermented dairy ingredients, salt, food colouring, sugar. It contains 50 to 60% cheese and then the other stuff.  Pringles are reconstituted potatoes.  We think they are just fine.  They are dried potatoes, vegetable oil, germinated yellow corn flour, cornstarch, rice flower, maltodextrin, mono-and diglycerides, salt and wheat starch.  Bet you didn't know all of that.    And the most processed foods we don't worry about? chocolate and candies. potato chips and pretzels. sauces, dressings and gravies. ice cream and frozen desserts. bakery products like muffins and cakes. fast foods like French fries and burgers. frozen entrées like pasta dishes and pizzas. processed meats like sausages and deli meats. They left out cereals, sugar substitutes, coffee creamer, and margarine.  So many things are already out there. This is the back garden Japanese Maple from a few years ago.  It hasn't started to change colours yet.  This is the promise of Autumn - fantastic colours on the horizon.

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Oct 9 2024 - How to lose belly fat

 

There are so many helpful people.  Belly fat seems to be one of our major complaints.  And how many ways can we count to reduce belly fat?  Bing offers this new breakthrough:  Japanese Insoles that Help You Lose Belly Fat How many more are there? AliExpress has the bottles of pills: Keto Capsules, Ben Fat Fat Blocker, Reduce Body Fat Slimming Cream Belly Fat For BURNER Sweat Enhancer Burning Weight Loss  Amazon has an Official Site for belly fat burning There are at least 15 products on Temu: Sauna Sweat Lifting Belly Tummy Slimmer Waist, Leg, Arm trainer Waist Trimmer Tummy Wrap Order a Size Up Trimmer for Women Temu always has big-breasted women modelling whatever it is selling.  Look at the difference between the Men's fat burning accessory and the women's version.  I guess these alternatives are more appealing than the health foundation advice.  It looks way more work than pulling two belts tight. "This bodyweight interval circuit can help reduce a beer gut, and it can also help you prevent getting one in the first place. Do these 8 exercises 30 seconds at a time with 30 seconds of rest in between. That equals 4 minutes of work and 4 minutes of rest. Do 3-5 rounds with a 2-minute rest at the end of each round. 30 seconds of work, 30 seconds of rest:  Jog in place  Push-ups  Jumping jacks  Front plank  Jog in place Squats Jumping jacks  Walking lunges" This is what gym class is like.  This explains why I go to the Y.   I would never do these exercises voluntarily on my own.  When Branden tells us to do theme, it seems fun.  I guess Branden is worth the admission.  Take a look at these pictures.  Below are three images.  The first was taken at Toronto Botanical Gardens.  The first is the original.  The next two are expanded views created through Photoshop's AI generation.  It is now part of the crop tool.  You expand the canvas and it fills in the scene with three alternatives to choose from.  What do you think?

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Oct 2 2024 - Cozy Autumn Food

 

What is cozy food?  One headline is that it is food that feels like a hug.  Another equates cozy with comfort.  So what is this warm, fuzzy feeling?  "Comfort food is food that provides a nostalgic or sentimental value to someone and may be characterized by its high caloric nature associated with childhood or home cooking. The nostalgia may be specific to an individual or it may apply to a specific culture." What makes Autumn the comfort, cozy food time?  "Research shows our brain detects the cold weather and looks for warm food. Warm food can provide a sense of comfort and coziness, which is particularly appealing during the colder months when we spend more time indoors." Even more persuasive is this answer about why autumn is so comforting: "There is a comfortable routine that this season brings,” says Sanam Hafeez, PsyD, neuropsychologist and director of Comprehend the Mind. “In addition, with cooler temperatures comes clarity of thinking, in contrast to the fogginess associated with warmer temperatures”  What will you see in all the pictures of food?  Squash, pumpkin, apples.  There's lots of sauce in a main course casserole dishes or as a dessert in a pie. Did I mention squash and pumpkin?  They all look yummy - golden seems to be the main colour.  There are toasted bread crumbs and melted cheese.   Scroll away for a dose of comfy, cozy Autumn food on google.  Below is a picture of the pumpkin display at the Houtby Farm where Brian has his Lilycrest Hybridizing Field.  It is a more elaborate display this year.

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Nov 25 2023 - Leave the Leaves? Yes or NO

 

Leave the Leaves?  Yes or No.  There are a few headlines on leave the leaves yes or no.  It seems a bit late to me as most people have sent them away.  They ruin the "greenscape" or the garden of conifer bushes that make for the winter sculpture garden. We've created a difficult situation with our suburban yards.  With excessive amounts of grass, we are stuck raking leaves from the lawns.   Moving leaves about and getting my leaves to stay in garden areas is a difficult circumstance.  The wind likes to move small things about.  Our entrance door is a swirly wind area that accumulates leaves and when the door is opened, they move right into the house.   The reward of leaves left in the garden occurs In the spring in the places where leaves are in nice piles,  I usually find a toad underneath.  Raking should be done carefully in the spring - there is a lot of wildlife within.   Leaves also provide winter protection for garden plants keeping the roots insulated from the changing temperatures, and then in spring they are nutrients to the garden - the way mulch is. Our idea of mulch, though, is much more uniform that all those different shapes of leaves.  We like cedar mulch with its even texture and uniform colour.  It creates artistic landscapes. I notice that there are lots of headlines about the movement to 'leave the leaves.'   I think it is a distraction - the moment before the snow headlines. Our picture today is the brilliance of locust trees in the Autumn. These locust leaves won't need any raking.  Tiny little things, they just disappear into the lawn.

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Nov 11 2023 - Electric Vehicle Insurance

 

Do you remember when I posted the future projections of elector vehicle costs? It showed dramatic drops in prices. The predictions are that EVs will constitute a majority of passenger cars sales by 2030 in the US. The expectation is also that ownership will start rejecting a majority.   So the article on expected EV insurance rates was a surprise.  Higher-than-average rates are the norm now.  It turns out that their parts are more expensive to repair and replace.  The average cost to replace an EV battery ranges from $4,500 to nearly $18,000. The chart is one article shows that a Testa costs over $1,000 to repair compared to a Toyota Prius at just over $400.  And Teslas seem to get in a lot of accidents.  At least they aren't on the most stolen list. "Electric cars tend to be more expensive when it comes to average insurance costs as well, though it varies by a vehicle’s make, model, and year. The national average cost of full-coverage car insurance in 2023 is $2,024 per year. Coverage costs for the electric vehicles on this list are higher than the national average by anywhere from 10% to 135%."  (A US source which tells us that people in the US pay less for insurance and a lot of things). The Globe and Mail article gave an indication of much higher rates for EVs - now known as BEVs.  The article had this story:  "When Samuel Lessard decided to replace his Ram pickup with an electric equivalent, he determined the new Ford F-150 Lightning was just about the perfect vehicle." Then he found out about his insurance:  “[Insurance rates] went up. The first year they were twice as high as the Ram,” he says. “For the second year of Lightning ownership, I had another increase of $700.” "Mr. Lessard admits the Ford is newer and more expensive than the Ram, which also affects premiums, but he says to have his initial rates more than double and then go up again the following year seems excessive."  And Mr. Lessard's conclusions:  “Considering that [the F-150 Lightning] is less expensive to run, has better handling, less noise, more comfort and more power, insurance premiums are secondary to me,” he says. Satisfaction.

Some colours are great this year - especially Maple trees.  Other colours didn't happen.  Our trim-colour beech did not have golden bronze leaves like last year in this picture.  Brown and withered this year. Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Oct 28 2023 - Wearable Sleeping Bags

 

Would you consider a wearable sleeping bag an "essential standby".  Our author from the Wirecutter does.   They are different than a snuggie or a slanket.  A snuggie is a "wearable blanket" and a slanket is a blanket with sleeves.  Snuggies and slankets are shown in pictures as fleecy, slouchy looking things.  Something your dog would drag onto the floor. Wait!  There's also a Camp Wrap - more like a cape so you can wear a warm jacket underneath.  A wearable sleeping bag looks like a sleeping bag - with arms and open at the bottom for legs.     There are wearable hoodie sleeping bags too.  Some have separate legs so make a person look like they are in a thermal snowsuit.  Maybe it is a thermal snowsuit with a sleeping bag rename. Did I leave out the Napsack? That's the cozy and soft, cut close to the body, order-by-height bag with curved armholes and drawstring bottom?  I guess if I were a camper, this would be something I would know about.

Would you be wearing this when the air-conditioner gets too aggressive in the office?  Like our picture, on a winter  beach? How about outside on the porch as the snow falls or sitting around that cute fire-it.  Or do you have a chilly attic office?   We're into grape harvesting with our big, bright cloud-filled October skies.   Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Oct 15 2023 - Fall Colours

 

Ball's Falls is very close - just two towns away, and is a good place for fall colour. Nothing in Niagara is on the provincial park colour map.  But then Vineland is just a short drive to find out how the colours are doing. It has a large array of native species including wild sarsaparilla, sycamore, sassafras and pignut hickory.  I think it has an old growth forest section as well. I hadn't realized it is a historical ghost town.   "Balls Falls began in 1809 when the Ball brothers built a wooden gristmill on Twenty Mile Creek in the heart of the Niagara Peninsula. Known as Glen Elgin, it had by the 1840s grown into one of the area’s busiest industrial towns. The flourishing village boasted a barrel maker, a blacksmith and two lime kilns, as well as a store and several houses. But during the 1850s, the Great Western Railway laid its rails well below the escarpment some distance north of Glen Elgin. New industries located by the railway, and Glen Elgin gradually became a ghost town. Thanks to the efforts of the Niagara Region Conservation Authority, the site is preserved. Of the old buildings, only the gristmill, a lime kiln and the Ball homestead have survived. Other historic buildings from the surrounding region, including a pioneer log cabin and a picturesque wooden church, have been relocated to Balls Falls park. Interpretive plaques throughout the site recount the stories of the village and its various operations. The entrance to the conservation area lies a short distance south of the village of Vineland on Regional Road 24."   This is the road into Ball's Falls in Autumn.

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Sep 26 2023 - Autumn in the Air

 

I could never have predicted that Autumn in the Air would become the realm of Starbucks' Spiced Pumpkin Lattes.  Would you have guessed this?  What does Autumn bring to the air?  The smell of leaves, trees, and plants dying and rotting.  It is that slightly sharp, sweet smell. Unless you are under a Katsura tree and it is a strong sugary, sweet vanilla smell.   One article quotes an expert saying that the smell of leaves decaying is "a bit like chlorine or the exhaust of a dryer vent."  That's distinctive - we can give it a test in the next few weeks. What the cooler temperatures bring is a sense of "fresher" to us.  It makes the scent of decay stand out more clearly.  That's the specific and special smell of Fall.  That's it. There is much research on scent - it is a large component of the beauty industry.  But not here on the internet, where breezy, short, not much information "articles" hold the day.  Or autumn air fresheners tell you they are out of stock.  But persistence has led to an interesting person in the field of scent. Norwegian artist, chemist and smell scientist Sissel Tolaas was commissioned by the US’s Smithsonian Design Museum in 2016 to create a smell inspired by New York’s Central Park. So she did.  She has her own archive of smells.  Fascinated by humans’ complicated and often highly emotional relationship with the world of smell, she has even devised a “nose language” or “vocabulary of olfaction” that she calls Nasalo. It is based on an archive of more than 7,000 smells and 2,500 scent molecules that Tolaas has collected over the last 20 years. Housed in a lab in the artist’s Berlin studio, these are kept in hermetically sealed glass jars and aluminium boxes. Examples include everything from the smell of concrete and dusty brick to old graveyards, money and wet football.  Here's an article about her HERE.  And another more in-depth article HERE.  Wouldn't that be amazing to be able to experience all of these and distinguish them - the way we  do taste.  Smell has been left to chance for us. Here are some big-leaf Magnolia leaves.  These came from Longwood a number of years ago.  I will have to check out their smell this year - there's a garden nearby with a tree.

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Sep 22 & 23 2023 - Spam

 

Yesterday's post didn't get out into the your inboxes.  So here it is today.  The Food That Built America on the Smithsonian Channel this past week gave us this history of Spam.  Its name is a portmanteau for spiced ham.  It was pork shoulder that was the key ingredient, considered un-profitable when it was put into a can in 1937.  During the Great Depression, anything cheap that would keep on a shelf would have been amazing.  So Spam did very well.  What is Spam made of?  Pork, salt, water, sugar, potato starch and sodium nitrite.  It actually looks good today for a list of ingredients. It has evolved into many dishes since then. "A local dish in Hawaii is Spam musubi, where cooked Spam is placed atop rice and wrapped in a band of nori, a form of onigiri or riceball. Varieties of Spam are found in Hawaii and Saipan that are unavailable in other markets, including Honey Spam, Spam with Bacon, and Hot and Spicy Spam.  Hawaiian Burger King restaurants began serving Spam in 2007 to compete with the local McDonald's chains (which also serve Spam)." In the UK, there are many Spam recipes: Spam Yorkshire Breakfast, Spamish Omelette, and Spam Hash. Spam can also be sliced, battered and deep-fried into Spam fritters. Britain has a particularly beloved relationship with Spam.  Today's use of SPAM is continued as an expression for unsolicited emails?  It seemed to arise from the Monty Python sketch song, which sang the word over and over.  The sketch was set in a café that mostly served dishes containing Spam, including "egg and Spam, egg bacon and Spam, Spam egg sausage and Spam, Spam egg Spam Spam bacon and Spam".  You can have fun remembering the sketch at Wikipedia here.  How many cans of Spam have been sold?  Eight billion were sold by 2012. This is last year's display at the local farm stall on Victoria Street in Vineland.

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Dec 7 2022 - Colour of the Year

 

The Hudson's Bay blanket has red, green, white and gold.  There is no known specific meaning to the colours. They were popular when the blankets were first produced, and are sometimes known as Queen Anne's colours, as they were favoured during her reign (1702–14).   In 1890, because other companies (including Pendleton) were making similar blankets, Hudson Bay began to label its blankets. The labels are how most collectors date the age of the blanket. If you ever spy an unlabeled, round corner blanket, scoop it up. It could date before 1890.  In the Pendleton blankets, the three, four, or five black stripes in the design indicated the value of the blanket.  And the red and green at Christmas?   The Celtics put up red and green holly.  And then it was Coca-Cola who ran those Santa Christmas ads from 1931 to 1964 with his red coat matching their red label.  The particular shades of red and green in the ads came to signify Christmas.   And Pantone's colour of the year? It was just announced, and is not a Christmas shade at all, even though it is considered a shade of red. It is Viva-Magenta 18-1750.  I don't know if it will become ingrained in our psyches the way Christmas colours are.  While it may be called a "strong shade of red",  it looks vivid pink to me.  It is meant too allude to strength, vigour, and courage.  We'll be seeing it a lot in all sorts of places.  All over the internet, in beauty and hair products, in packaging,   What I notice is that it seems to be a different colour on various websites.   "PANTONE 18-1750 Viva Magenta mixes with a variety of hues in a series of four palettes, available to designers as inspiration to incorporate into designs via the Pantone Connect digital color platform. Pantone Connect is available as a mobile app and on the web, and as an extension app for Adobe® Creative Cloud® to make capturing, curating, and designing with Pantone Color easy and accessible. A featured Color of the Year page has all relevant color information for using PANTONE 18-1750 Viva Magenta across various physical and digital design media." Don't you enjoy the names of the colours?   Farewell to Fall - the leaves are all on the ground and out of the gutters, thanks to the visit from the eavestrough cleaning crew yesterday.   Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblog.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Nov 7 2022 - Thinking Inside the Box

 

Thinking and the box - Standard or derivative, as opposed to creative or innovative; the opposite of "outside the box." "Please abandon any inside the box thinking because we need to come up with an attention-getting, innovative ad campaign. Don't give me inside the box choreography—I want to see something mind-blowing!" This next article seems to have a direct response to the above: "If someone tells me to do this, it's usually because they're frustrated with the situation. They don't like the outcomes, and so they bellow to those around them that they need to be more creative. What they're really saying is that they don't understand why what's in front of them in not materializing what they originally envisioned. And so they want other people to think outside the box to come up with new ideas." In 2004, the architect Peter Ryan, from Melbourne, designed and built a livable house made from cardboard boxes. The largest collection of pizza boxes belongs to Scott Wiener (USA) and consists of 595 different boxes as of 23 October 2013, in New York City, New York, USA. Fastest time to cram into a box: 4.75 seconds. Record-breaking contortionist Skye Broberg from New Zealand folded her whole body into a box that measured just 52 x 45 x 45 cm (20 x 17 x 17 in)!  There are world records such as the tallest person to fit in a 20x23 inch box, mosts tissues pulled out of box in 15 seconds, most playing cards flipped into a box while balancing an egg on the top of his non-throwing hand.  Little boxes, big boxes - here's the Toronto Botanical Gardens building in Autumn. Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblog.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca