No. 334 - twoHUNDREDthou.com

In my Facebook feed today I read the following post from Peter Schiff: Hi everybody. As always, the Peter Schiff Show starts at 6pm tonight. Joining me at 7:35 is Kelli Space, the 23-year old woman behind the blog twoHUNDREDthou.com, who will explain her attempt to escape $200,000 in student-loan debt! www.SchiffRadio.com

By the way, I highly recommend SchiffRadio.com for anyone interested in economics or finance. Peter is a businessman and investor and an Austrian economist, so he's one of the few guys who understands what is happening in the economy today, in my humble opinion. You can listen to the latest show for free each day, or sign-up like me for his premium content for $4.95 per month, which basically gives you access to all the archived shows so you don't miss any of them.

I learned that Northeastern alum Kelli Space, 23, is $200,000 in debt because of her student loans. She is currently paying federal student loan agency Sallie Mae about $900 per month, and by next November that figure will increase to about $1,600 per month for the next 20 years. And although she has a full-time job, she doesn't make nearly enough to pay off her massive debt. So she is turning to the public for help through her website twoHUNDREDthou.com.

I've mentioned a couple times on this blog that I think we are in a higher education bubble. See Post No. 236 for some of my thoughts.

That's why this woman's story interested me. She's just one example of how going into massive debt to finance an education makes no sense. Unless you are a lucky winner in the jobs lottery and get one of the few high-paying jobs, your education probably isn't even necessary for the skills needed to perform your job. The availability of government-guaranteed credit allows schools to charge higher tuition year after year, well above the inflation rate for the last decade. If that credit were not so readily available, people would pay only what they can afford, not what they cannot afford, and college tuition would be much lower and much more affordable, for everyone.

I think we will be hearing much more on the subject of massive student loan debt (and default) in the coming years. Kelli will be just one of the many who will echo these words when she says: "I want these issues out there because they are honestly plaguing a great deal of college graduates who are laden with debt. This is much less about me and more about the bigger picture."

No. 333 - Picasso

I heard today that 271 previously unknown sketches, paintings and collages by Pablo Picasso recently showed up out of nowhere. Apparently a 71-year old man claims he worked as an electrician for Picasso in the last three years of Picasso's life and they were given to him by the artist as a gift. They have apparently been sitting in a box in a garage for the last 30 years.

I wondered if this new cache of works would in anyway diminish the value of all the existing pieces. I had no idea how many works of Picasso currently existed. If there were only 271 known pieces of art and 271 more pieces were added, it would seem that the original 271 pieces would be worth less since there would be twice as many pieces.

But it wouldn't appear that the value of the previous pieces will be affected as I learned that Picasso produced nearly 40,000 works in his lifetime, so the total works have increased by less than 1 percent.

No. 332 - Meka

In my RSS Feed Reader today my attention was drawn to an article titled "New House: $39,900". I figured it must be located in Detroit.

Instead, I was surprised to learn that it was a new type of luxury modular home made out of a shipping container. The article said that the company, Meka, was formed a year ago and is based in Toronto.

The company's website says that Meka is an acronym for modular, environmental, kinetic, assembly. It also says:

Meka was created by two old friends, one a designer, the other a developer, looking to create well designed, alternative dwellings that could be made and sold at affordable prices.

The result was to produce the most luxurious living spaces with a clean modern sensibility, at super affordable prices. These products will surpass expectations. Don’t be a skeptic, be a cynic, and then believe it. Ethos is everything. Ego is nothing.

There are four models ranging from $39,000 for 320 square feet (one shipping container) up to $128,000 for 1,280 square feet (four shipping containers).

No. 331 - Paw-Paw Tree

In the book I'm reading that I mentioned back in Post No. 324 on Berea College, I read the following sentence today:

When they got to the spot she had in mind, Harris helped her get settled, seated on the ground, her balsam pillow at her back, leaning on the trunk of a paw-paw tree on the riverbank.

The word paw-paw tree was mentioned earlier in the book, but I didn't take the time to learn about it then.

Today I learned that the paw-paw tree is a type of slender tree native to North America with large leaves and fruit. The fruit is a large edible berry with numerous seeds. It is green when unripe, maturing to yellow or brown. It has a flavor somewhat similar to both banana and mango, varying significantly by cultivar, and has more protein than most fruits. Although it is a supposedly tasty and nutritious fruit, it has never been cultivated on the scale of apples and peaches because of freezing and shipping problems.

In recent years the paw-paw has attracted renewed interest, particularly among organic growers, as a native fruit which has few to no pests, and which therefore requires no pesticide use for cultivation. The shipping and storage problem has largely been addressed by freezing. Among backyard gardeners it also is gaining in popularity because of the appeal of fresh fruit and because it is relatively low maintenance once planted. The pulp is used primarily in baked dessert recipes and for juicing fresh paw-paw drink. In many recipes calling for bananas, paw-paw can be used with volumetric equivalency.

No. 330 - Black Friday

My wife participated in the annual Black Friday shopping ritual this morning with her family. My daughter asked where the name Black Friday came from and I couldn't recall, so I had to look it up.

I learned that the earliest reference to "Black Friday" to refer to the day after Thanksgiving was made in a 1966 publication in Philadelphia:

JANUARY 1966 -- "Black Friday" is the name which the Philadelphia Police Department has given to the Friday following Thanksgiving Day. It is not a term of endearment to them. "Black Friday" officially opens the Christmas shopping season in center city, and it usually brings massive traffic jams and over-crowded sidewalks as the downtown stores are mobbed from opening to closing.

I do not recall ever hearing that origin but I did recall the alternative theory, which began to be circulated by the early 1980s: that retailers traditionally operated at a financial loss for most of the year (January through November) and made their profit during the holiday season, beginning on the day after Thanksgiving. When this would be recorded in the financial records, once-common accounting practices would use red ink to show negative amounts and black ink to show positive amounts. Black Friday, under this theory, is the beginning of the period where retailers would no longer have losses (the red) and instead take in the year's profits (the black).

No. 329 - Quinoa

Today is Thanksgiving Day and we were enjoying lots of great food at a relative's house. I had a slice of pumpkin cake roll, which was great but I didn't expect it to have nuts in it. I asked and was told they were walnuts, which I don't particularly like. But since I learned yesterday that walnuts are high in Omega-3 fatty acids, I suppose I should start to like them.

Later my wife told me that the tortilla chips contained flaxseeds, also high in Omega-3. So I ate them too. I might have gotten my daily recommended dosage of Omega-3s today. Yeah me!

My wife told me the tortilla chips were made out of quinoa.

I learned that quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) is a grain-like crop grown primarily for its edible seeds. It is a pseudocereal rather than a true cereal, or grain, as it is not a member of the grass family. It comes from the Andes Mountains of South America and its origins are truly ancient. Quinoa was one of the three staple foods, along with corn and potatoes, of the Inca civilization.

Technically quinoa is not a true grain, but is the seed of the goosefoot (chenopodium) plant. It is used as a grain and substituted for grains because of its cooking characteristics. The name comes from the Greek words, chen (a goose) and pous (a foot). This is due to a resemblance of the leaves of the plant to the webbed foot of a goose.

Quinoa and flaxseeds? It still tasted like a tortilla chip to me.

No. 328 - Omega 3s

I received an e-mail today from NaturalNews.com with the subject header: How to prevent and reverse gum disease naturally. It caught my attention because I have gum disease.

The first sentence of the article read: Periodontitis is an extremely common, and often painful, inflammatory disease of the gums. The fact that it is extremely common does not comfort me. The fact that mine is not painful comforts me.

The third sentence of the article read: Mainstream medicine typically treats the chronic disease with strong antibiotics, vigorous mechanical scraping of the teeth and even surgically cutting away diseased gum tissue. I've had two (yes, two) surgeries in which the gums of my entire mouth were cut, cleaned and then sewed back together. After the latest surgery a few years ago the doctor said that I might need a third surgery, at which point I told him no thank you, as it didn't appear to me that the recommended treatment was having the desired effect.

The next sentence in the article said that a new study just published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association shows there's a natural way to not only prevent but also treat periodontitis -- by consuming omega-3 fatty acids found in cold water fish like salmon and certain nuts.

In addition to salmon, some of the top foods that are rich in Omega 3s are flaxseeds, walnuts, halibut, cod, cauliflower, cabbage, and brussels sprouts.

Fish and vegetables sound like a much better treatment to me, than yet another surgery.

No. 327 - Small Business Saturday

One of my favorite local small businesses shared a link on Facebook today to a Facebook Fan Page called Small Business Saturday. The posting read:

First there was Black Friday, then Cyber Monday. This year, November 27th is the first ever Small Business Saturday, a day to support the local businesses that create jobs, boost the economy and preserve neighborhoods around the country. Small Business Saturday is a national movement to drive shoppers to local merchants across the U.S. More than a dozen advocacy, public and private organizations have already joined American Express OPEN, the company’s small business unit, in declaring the Saturday after Thanksgiving as Small Business Saturday. Join the movement, spread the word! For more info: http://www.smallbusinesssaturday.com.

Cool idea, especially in these troubling economic times.

No. 326 - Parable of the Pedestrian

I was listening to the Mike Chuch Show on XM Radio this morning and Mike had as a guest, Dr. Amy Wax, a Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. She recently wrote a book entitled Race, Wrongs, and Remedies which provides a provocative discussion of policies intended to close the race gap in America.

I tuned in around the time she was talking about the Parable of the Pedestrian:

A pedestrian is hit by a guilty motorist. The motorist is directed to do all in his power to make the injured pedestrian whole. He attempts to do so. However, there are certain things that the injured pedestrian must do for himself. The guilty driver will pay for his medical care, medications and physical therapy, for example, but the injured pedestrian must show up for his appointments, fill and take his prescriptions and perform the exercises required by his physical therapist. In some ways this seems unjust. The motorist was guilty, the pedestrian innocent, but the pedestrian's return to health is dependent on his, not just the motorist's actions.

The lesson of the parable is that although the pedestrian did nothing wrong, he will not walk again unless he takes responsibility for those things which he, and only he, can do.

This book challenges conventional thinking that the government must be the main force that provides help to the black community. Amy argues that such efforts have failed and suggests that those efforts cannot bring equality, and therefore must be abandoned.

I think most government programs, while presumably instituted with the best intentions, have many unintended consequences. This seems like a book worth reading. Too bad Amazon's price is almost $30, or else it might be read by more people.

No. 325 - Esperanto

It was getting late in the day. I could not recall learning anything new and was browsing the Internet on my iPad when my e-mail beeped. Someone commented on Post No. 323 about Succubus. The comment read: Have you ever seen the movie Incubus starring William Shatner? It's notable because it was filmed entirely in Esperanto.

I wondered where Esperanto was. I should have wondered what Esperanto was.

I learned that Esperanto is a language designed to facilitate communication between people of different lands and cultures. It was first published in 1887 by Dr. L. L. Zamenhof (1859-1917) under the pseudonym "Dr. Esperanto," meaning "one who hopes," and this is the name that stuck as the name of the language itself.

Esperanto is considerably easier to learn than national languages, since its design is far simpler and more regular. Also, unlike national languages, Esperanto allows communication on an equal footing between people, with neither having the usual cultural advantage favouring a native speaker.

Esperanto is phonetic: every word is pronounced exactly as it is spelled. There are no "silent" letters or exceptions.

I found this clip from the movie Incubus.

No. 324 - Berea College

I was at another local reading series event today. I will not mentioned the author or the book because I do not wish to promote it or her, to my whole three or four readers :)

And I will share with you why.

The book had nothing to with politics, although it was associated with race relations. An audience member asked a question about race relations in Kentucky and in answering the question the author stated that Kentucky Senator-Elect Rand Paul is overtly racist.

At first I couldn't believe what I heard. I have listened to hours of Rand Paul interviews and researched much his supposedly controversial positions and know that he is certainly not racist. However, I also watched as the mainstream media tried to lie and smear him in hopes of keeping a pro-liberty, pro-constitutional, anti-Federal Reserve candidate out of office. In the end, it backfired on them and the voters of Kentucky elected the doctor as their representative in Congress. It amazes me how little people think for themselves these days, or do any research on their own, and allow mainstream media to mold and shape their view of the world.

Anyway, I learned about Berea College in Berea, Kentucky (south of Lexington). When it was founded in 1855 by abolitionist John Gregg Fee, it admitted both black and white students in a fully integrated curriculum, making it the first non-segregated, coeducational college in the South and one of a handful of institutions of higher learning to admit both male and female students in the mid-19th century.

Berea College charges no tuition; every admitted student is provided the equivalent of a four-year, full-tuition scholarship. Current full-time enrollment is about 1,500 students. Berea's primary service region is Southern Appalchia, but students come from all states in the U.S. and more than 60 other countries. Approximately one in three students represents an ethnic minority.

No. 323 - Succubus

My favorite local brewhouse posted on Facebook today a picture with the following caption: Three weeks from today, you may find yourself under its enchanting spell....

The picture was of a 750 ML bottle of beer called Succubus. On the label was written: If this be seduction, make the most of it!

I learned that in folklore traced back to medieval legend, a succubus (plural succubi) is a female demon who takes the form of a human woman in order to seduce men, usually through sexual intercourse. In modern times, a succubus may or may not appear in dreams and is often depicted as a highly attractive seductress or enchantress, while in the past succubi were generally depicted as frightening and demonic. The male counterpart is the incubus. There are some who claim that the succubus and the incubus are one and the same creature who can change form at will to prey on mortals.

The beer sounds...tempting. I think I shall try some in three weeks time.

No. 322 - Pawn Stars

I read an article in the Wall Street Journal this morning titled, What Real Men Watch. It mentioned shows that I have seen, like Deadliest Catch, and ones that I may have seen, or at least heard about, like American Chopper.

There was at least one that I never heard about. The article said that one of cable TV's most-watched shows is History's "Pawn Stars."

I learned that Pawn Stars chronicles the daily activities at the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, a 24-hour family business operated by patriarch Richard Harrison, his son Rick Harrison, who opened the shop with his father in 1988, and Rick's son Corey, who has worked there since childhood, and who is being groomed to one day take over the shop. The show debuted in July 2009.

On Gold & Silver Pawn Shop's website it says:

In the past 100 years, the number of pawn shops has skyrocketed in the United States. During the Great Depression era, pawn shops were among the only institutions offering cash as banks failed and people were forced to give up their cherished items to make ends meet.

I have made reference to the Great Depression in many posts throughout the year. It wasn't just coincidence. I believe we are in, or are on the verge of, the Second Great Depression. It just hasn't been announced yet. I hope that I have done enough in the past year to ready my family for it. Only time will tell.

No. 321 - Kessler

As I mentioned yesterday I was born and raised about an hour from Allentown, Pennsylvania in a place called Pottsville. It's the home of Yuengling beer, the 1925 NFL Championship Pottsville Maroons, and birthplace of author John O'Hara.

Every area has its unique foods and beverages. There are many in Pottsville as well, like Coney burgers, Roma pizza, and Guers iced tea. But around the fall holidays each year there's a special adult beverage that I don't think is sold anywhere. It's called boilo (pronounced boy-low). And you have to make it yourself. Here's a standard recipe. My dad brought me some last winter in a jelly jar, which is typically how one would store it and also drink it. We're not talking about class in this drink. Just pure deliciousness.

Some believe boilo to have curing properties for the onset of fall/winter related ailments such as a cold or influenza. Think of it like you would a flu shot -- there's no proof that it actually works, but at least you're not jabbed in the arm with a needle.

So where am I going with this?

Patience young grasshopper.

Someone last week posted on Facebook that they made apple pie boilo. That sounded tasty and they sent me the recipe. One of the main ingredients in boilo is whiskey, but cheap whiskey (remember the jelly jar). A brand called Four Queens is typically recommended.

I went to the store last evening and they didn't have that brand. The cheapest bottle was $7.49. I forget the name. But on the shelf above it was something called Kessler and it was on sale for $7.99 (normally $8.99). So I splurged and got the more expensive bottle :) On the label last night I read:

Julius Kessler first distilled this fine product in America in the late 1800’s. Every label still bears a facsimile of his signature, which is your assurance of authenticity and quality in every bottle. Kessler is a superb blend of choice American Whiskies, which is proud to have carried the slogan “ Smooth as Silk” for over 50 years.

A facsimile of a dead guy's signature is an assurance of authenticity and quality? Interesting.

Today I learned that the Kessler brand is owned by Jim Beam. Kessler is sold at a slightly lower price point than Jim Beam, which would run you $10.99 for a similar-sized bottle.

No. 320 - Aimee Mullins

This morning I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time. That place was in my truck listening to PRX Public Radio. I tuned in just in time for the beginning of a TED Talk, briefly mentioned in Post No. 271. I was captivated by each word I heard. The person speaking was disabled, at least in the sense that others might label her disabled, in that she doesn't have any lower legs. But that certainly hasn't slowed her down one bit. Simply an amazing story. I encourage you to stop reading this and watch this ten-minute video.

I learned that Aimee Mullins was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania just about an hour from the town where I was born. She is an athlete, actress, and fashion model best known for her collegiate-level athletic accomplishments, despite a medical condition that resulted in the amputation of both of her legs when she was a year old.

In 1999, Aimee appeared as a runway model on a pair of hand-carved wooden prosthetic legs made from solid ash. She is able to change her height between 5'8" and 6'1" by changing her legs, as she mentions in the TED video. Aimee has been named one of the fifty most beautiful people in the world by People Magazine.

No. 319 - Locavore

I read a post today on Facebook from NaturalNews.com that said: How fortunate are these locavores? What a fantastic display of beautiful, healthy and nourishing fruits and vegetables. Support your local farmer!

Attached to the post was a video but it didn't play on my iPad because Apple doesn't support flash video, which still baffles me. But that didn't deter me from learning.

I Googled "locavore" and discovered that it was the word of the year for 2007 in the Oxford American Dictionary. It refers to the practice of relying on fresh, locally grown food items uncontaminated by preservatives.

I also found a documentary called Locavore. On its website it said that "less than a generation ago human beings worldwide traveled less than 10 miles to obtain the majority of the food they ate. Today the average conventionally grown vegetable has traveled more than 1500 miles by the time it has reached your pantry. Our food today is over processed, stale, and lacks nutrition."

No. 318 - Wacom Bamboo Tablet

A Facebook friend today posted: Dreamt I had a notepad hooked directly up to my computer. Finally I could go paperless without giving up my need to doodle and sketch and jot notes... so I woke up and installed OneNote and bought a Bamboo Wacom tablet.

I learned that this is a device you write on using a digital pen, or stylus. Whatever you write shows up on your computer screen. I suppose I knew these things existed. In fact, it appears that this is the device used to create the videos by the Khan Academy, the subject of Post No. 236.

Wacom is a Japanese company. Its name comes from the Japanese words Wa for "harmony" and Komu for "computer". It is one of the largest graphics tablet producers, and is very popular with artists, graphic designers, architects, and cartoonists, who commonly cite it as an industry standard. It apparently has a 94 percent market share in Japan and 85 percent share in the rest of the world.

No. 317 - Monkey Jacket

While reading Moby-Dick this morning I came across the following passage in Chapter 3:

I sat down on the side of the bed, and commenced thinking about this head-peddling harpooneer, and his door mat. After thinking some time on the bed-side, I got up and took off my monkey jacket, and then stood in the middle of the room thinking.

Later I read the following in Chapter 4:

The rest of his toilet was soon achieved, and he proudly marched out of the room, wrapped up in his great pilot monkey jacket, and sporting his harpoon like a marshal's baron.

I wondered what this monkey jacket was about?

It seems that it is a short, tight-fitting jacket, traditionally worn by sailors. It gets its origin from the resemblance to coats worn by trained monkeys, especially organ grinder's monkeys.

No. 316 - Leviathan

I posted on my Facebook wall this morning to "call me Ishmael for the next week or so. I just started Moby-Dick." A high school friend replied, "I was thinking of reading that myself, I was just listening to Mastodon's Leviathan album yesterday which is based on Moby Dick."

Let me first say something about the time leading up to reading this book. As I posted two days ago, I set a goal at the beginning of the year to read it. But I was not looking forward to it. Why? Well, for one it's a classic, and I have read some of the classics and don't always agree they are the "best books" ever written. And it's a rather lengthy novel. So if it's not that good, it would be quite a task to finish it. And how could I say that I once started and did not finish Moby-Dick?

So I just read other books, and let it sit on my shelf. But then the year began to slip away, and I realized that I needed to do something, or fail at my goal.

Over the last month  I researched what others had to say about the book, talked about it with my family, and posted about it twice, once in Post No. 285 and again in Post No. 314. I learned some cool things along the way. Like the coffee chain, Starbucks, was almost named Pequod after the whaling ship in Moby-Dick. But one of the co-founders rejected the idea. So instead they named it after Starbuck, the young first mate of the Pequod.

I think I psyched myself into wanting to read it. Kind of like how you psyche yourself up before a big game.

I used to listen to lots of heavy metal in high school. Not so much today. But I still appreciate it. I had not heard of  Mastodon, who is a metal band from Atlanta, Georgia formed in 1999. They released Leviathan in 2004. The album is loosely based on Moby-Dick with songs like "Iron Tusk", "Blood and Thunder", "I Am Ahab" and "Seabeast."

I am really glad to have learned about Leviathan just as I am beginning the novel and will certainly be listening to it while enjoying Melville's classic.

No. 315 - Giant South African Earthworm

A friend sent me an e-mail this morning which said: Apparently, there is a type of earthworm in South Africa called  Microchaetus rappi that can grow to be 7 meters long.  That's a big worm.

The title of the e-mail was "I learned something new today." And now I too learned something new today.

The Microchaetus rappi is more commonly known as the Giant South African Earthworm and can grow to over 20 feet long. In 1967 a world record-setting specimen 22 feet long was found beside a road in William’s Town, South Africa. The worms normally grow to about six feet.

This is not my first worm post. I recall the red wigglers back in Post No. 145. Nor is this my first unusual animal post. I recall the Okapi back in Post No. 213.

No. 314 - Pequod

I received an e-mail in the last week from my favorite local bookstore listing upcoming events. In it I read the following: The Classics Book Group meets the fourth Tuesday of every month at 7 pm. The group will not meet in December, but copies of Moby Dick, the January book will be in stock shortly.

On January 1st of each year I sit down and write goals for myself for the year. My wife does the same, as do our kids. One of my goals for this year was this blog, to learn something new every day and post about it. Another goal was to read Moby-Dick, which I have been meaning to do for years and just haven't got around to it. It is also one of my daughter's goals (and yes, I dragged her into it with me) although we got her a condensed version of the novel. With only about 7 weeks left in the year, I suppose we should start reading it soon.

I was researching the novel today on Wikipedia and other sites and learned that the Pequod, the fictional 19th century whaling ship featured in Moby-Dick, was named after the Pequot Indian tribe. The Pequot (pronounced PEE-kwott) Indians inhabited much of what is now Connecticut.

I also found a reference to a book called Where the Great Hawk Flies by Liza Ketchum, which is a novel for young adults about a half-Pequot boy living in the 18th century. The connection to Indians caught my attention because my daughter told me at dinner last night that they were learning about Indians in school along with Pilgrims in conjunction with learning about the Thanksgiving holiday later this month. 

I think I shall mention this Pequot book to her. But only after she reads Moby-Dick ;)

No. 313 - Chicory

I am reading Rut by Scott Phillips. What is unique about this book is how I got it. The publisher, Concord Free Press, sent it to me for free including the postage. The catch? There isn't one. They hope that you will do three things: read the book, make a donation to any cause or someone in need, and then give the book to someone else, who will repeat the cycle.

Neat idea. And the book is very good. The publisher's website describes the novel as:

Rut takes readers to the Rocky Mountains circa 2050, where the once thriving burg of Gower is about to become a 21st-century ghost town. Thanks to extreme weather and plenty of toxic waste, the skiers and celebrities are gone, along with the money and the veneer of civilization. What’s left? Old-time religion and brand-new pharmaceuticals, bad food and warm beer, mutated animals and small-town gossip. Can the town survive? We’ll see.

Throughout the story the characters are often mentioned drinking something called chicory. Today on page 134 I read:

"You want me to make you a cup of chicory?"

"Sure," she says, and she sits on the couch, a creaking, cream-colored thing upholstered with what seems to be real, very brittle leather, its spidery network of cracks repaired haphazardly with silver duct tape.

I thought chicory might be a type of tea.

I learned that chicory is a hardy perennial plant with blue-lavender flowers. It has a variety of uses, but is best known for its association with coffee.

When the root of the chicory plant is dried, roasted, and ground, it makes an excellent substitute for coffee. It has no caffeine and offers a smooth roasted flavor comparable to coffee.

At many points through history, coffee has become unavailable or too costly. During these times, people have often turned to roasted chicory as a substitute. Another perk about chicory is that it's more soluble in water than coffee, which means you use a lot less of it when brewing. It is very economical for someone on a tight budget, like the townspeople of Gower in the novel.

No. 312 - Fly-by Radio

I am not a political guy. But those who know me might say that I certainly am. But they're wrong. And here's why:

If you would say that I am a beer guy, I would agree with you. I love beer.

If you would say that I am a hot wings guy, I would agree with you. I love wings.

But if you would say that I am a political guy, I would have to disagree with you. I hate politics. I hate talking about it. I would much rather talk about other things. Like books. But I do talk about issues that should concern every American: individual liberty, constitutional government, sound money, free markets, and living within our means. I talk about them because it appears that no one cares. Some might call that political. I don't.

Anyway I would say that I am an Austrian economics guy. And you might say: nerd. I'm OK with that because some of the finest Austrian economists were indeed nerds. But today in a Facebook status update from the Ludwig von Mises Institute, I read the following: Get stoked about the world's first rock band headed by diehard Austrians! The post contained a photo of the lead singer donning a Mises.org hat and a link to an article that said that Pacey and Jack Ash of rock band Fly-by Radio are leading the way in making personal and economic freedom cool. And Pacey didn't actually look like a nerd to me. At all.

It also said that when their band is traveling between gigs in Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana they listen to countless hours of audio recordings from mises.org. Unfortunately they don't play in my area. But I'll be keeping an eye (and ear) on them from now on.

No. 311 - A Kidnapped Santa Claus

This morning in my Google Reader I read a post from Kindle Nation Daily Free Book Alert. It said, "Today we offer a special treat for Kindle Nation citizens -- some of the greatest books ever written." It then contained a listing of over 100 must-have classics.

The fourth name was L. Frank Baum, the author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The first book by Baum was called A Kidnapped Santa Claus. I never heard of that one.

I learned that A Kidnapped Santa Claus is a Christmas-themed short story first published in 1904. It has been called "one of Baum's most beautiful stories" and constitutes an influential contribution to the mythology of Christmas.

I also learned that this story is closely associated with another Baum novel published two years earlier in 1902 called The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus. It was available in the Kindle Store for free as well. In both stories, Santa lives in the Laughing Valley on the border of the Forest of Burzee, and is assisted by knooks, ryls, fairies, and pixies. In modern editions of the two works, they are sometimes published together.

No. 310 - Sadie Hawkins Day

My dad sent me an e-mail yesterday that simply said: November 6th is Sadie Hawkins Day. That name rang a bell, but I couldn't recall its significance.

A few keystrokes this morning and my memory was refreshed -- it's the gender role reversal day -- the day a woman (or girl) takes the initiative in inviting a man (or boy) of their choice out on a date, typically to a dance.

I learned that Sadie Hawkins Day originated in Al Capp's classic hillbilly comic strip, Li'l Abner (1934–1977). When it was introduced on November 13, 1937, the event became a national sensation. The poor hillbilly Sadie was "the homeliest gal in the hills," and her father worried that she would never find a husband. To find his Sadie a mate, he started a special day -- Sadie Hawkins Day -- that featured a foot race where unmarried women chased bachelors. If a woman caught one of the bachelors, the slowpoke single man would have to marry the lucky girl.

Within two years of Sadie Hawkins Day premiering in the comic strip, Life magazine reported over 200 colleges holding Sadie Hawkins Day celebrations that mimicked the cartoon's foot race and ended with mock weddings. Colleges, fraternities, and sororities began sponsoring Sadie Hawkins dances where women invited the men.

And, in the spirit of the day, my wife asked me to go out on a date with her tonight :)

No. 309 - Donora Death Fog

Today a Facebook friend posted the she never knew this disaster occurred in Pennsylvania. She posted a link to an article called Disaster in the Skies: The Donora Death Fog.

My wife grew up in a town just 13 miles away and she never heard of it either. In her defense, the event happened a few decades before she was even born.

I learned that the Donora Death Fog was a historic air inversion resulting in a wall of smog that killed 20 people and sickened thousands in Donora, Pennsylvania, a mill town on the Monongahela River, 24 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. On October 26, 1948, effluents from the town’s factories -- including suphur dioxide, fluoride, carbon monoxide, and dusts from assorted heavy metals -- were trapped by an air temperature inversion that enveloped Donora’s residents in a deadly haze for five days. It was estimated that one-third to one-half of the town's population of 14,000 residents had been sickened.

A historic marker in Donora reads:

Major federal clean air laws became a legacy of this environmental disaster that focused national attention on air pollution. In late October of 1948, a heavy fog blanketed this valley, and as the days passed, the fog became a thick, acrid smog that left about 20 people dead and thousands ill. Not until October 31 did the Donora Zinc Works shut down its furnaces--just hours before rain finally dispersed the smog.

Sixty years later, the incident was described by The New York Times as "one of the worst air pollution disasters in the nation's history."

No. 308 - The Star-Spangled Banner

My dad sent me an e-mail that contained a link to a video titled, Marine stuns crowd. I clicked on it and heard a guy who said he was a former Marine sing the fourth stanza of The Star-Spangled Banner. While he was singing the folks around him stood, took off their hats, and put their hands over their hearts. It was touching.

I had never heard the fourth stanza, or the third, or the second, at least to the best of my recollection. I do not recall ever knowing that such additional verses existed. The fourth stanza is:

O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

I particularly like the verse: Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."

There are many reasons why our country is in such dire economic conditions. One of the main reasons is the enormous amount of military spending. It is very expensive to have troops stationed in 130 countries around the world. (In case you were wondering, there are a total of 195 countries.) This verse says it all. Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just. When the cause is just, we should declare war, define exactly what winning means, and then go out and win it with force. Instead, we don't declare war, we don't define what winning means, and we end up occupying countries for decades. And then we scratch our heads and wonder why other countries and other people resent us, even hate us. Don't get me started.

The Star-Spangled Banner was made the national anthem by a congressional resolution on March 3, 1931.

No. 307 - M&Ms

The kids had a blast trick-or-treating with their friends on Halloween, and brought home lots of candy. I have been doing my part to help reduce the candy stock in the house. Today I had some M&Ms.

I learned that M&Ms were named after the surnames of the company founders - Forrest E. Mars Sr. and William F. R. Murrie.

Mars was founder of the Mars Company, and got the idea for the confection in the 1930s during the Spanish Civil War when he saw soldiers eating chocolate pellets with a hard shell of tempered chocolate surrounding the inside, preventing the candies from melting. Murrie was the President of Hershey Chocolates, which had control of the rationed chocolate at the time.

The candies were introduced in 1941 and were served in a cardboard tube (similar to Smarties).

No. 306 - Ouroboros

I tuned into XM Book Radio today to hear someone reading from The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller. Amazon.com says that the title of the novel refers to the multiple reincarnations of personalities who can't let go of their past. As they live each life, they strive to alter events somewhat to succeed better at their goals of love, greed, or power in a future life.

I read a review in which someone commented, "I like the simplicity of the cover and the way that it incorporates the ouroboros."

I learned that the ouroboros is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail. The ouroboros often represents cyclicality, especially in the sense of something constantly re-creating itself, and other things perceived as cycles that begin anew as soon as they end, such as the phoenix. The ouroboros has been important in religious and mythological symbolism, but has also been frequently used in alchemical illustrations. It has been associated with Gnosticism and Freemasonry.

No. 305 - Simply Raw

I received an e-mail this morning from NaturalNews.com that mentioned Morgan Spurlock, the guy who created the documentary "Super Size Me." Remember that film, about a guy eating nothing but McDonald's food for 30 days?

I learned that Morgan Spurlock is part of a team that created a new independent documentary film called Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days. It chronicles six Americans with 'incurable' diabetes switching their diet and getting off insulin. The film follows each participant's remarkable journey and captures the medical, physical, and emotional transformations brought on by this diet and lifestyle change.

The Simply Raw website can be found here and the movie trailer here.

Every day I become more convinced that it is the food that we stuff into our mouths that determines how healthy, or sick, we make our bodies. Garbage in, garbage out. Healthy in, healthy out.