The 100-mile Diet

Ha! I got this fabulous book from a friend.

The 100-mile diet is a book about a couple who decides to eat, for a year, food that was grown within a 100-mile radius of their home. It is a book about food but also about the economy, evolution, ecology. The authors, both journalists, alternate the writing of chapters. The divisions follow the months, which makes sense as food is seasonal. You can go back to a chapter, fairly confident of what you will find. Each chapter starts with a recipe and a quote.

I "ate" the book. From the start, I was hooked. My expectations were low. I thought the book was capitalizing on a fad. Actually, the reverse is true. The authors were discussing the ecological footprint and then decided they would try and reduce their own by eating food grown in a 100-mile radius from where they live. They set down ground rules and went about their business eventually posting an article on the Web. People started following their efforts and the idea snowballed with others following in their stead.

Required reading if you care about your planet.

Advances in Telecommunications

A woodpecker has decided to attack our steel Bell Mobility cell tower. His tap tap tap reverberates in the house. We can`t believe his beak will survive the attack. The noise is incredibly loud. We're thinking he will go away - there are no insects to find there. Is he brain dead? Is he the victim of an environmental disaster? What has gotten into him? We go out and chase him away.
He comes back, time after time. We are surrounded by trees, some old and full of insects. What is he thinking? And then we wonder: is he trying to attract a female? Look, I can make a lot of noise. I am a BIG provider.
Finally, he leaves. We never got a picture...

Joke

St Peter is at the Gates of Heaven waiting to decide on the fate of the dead. He bases his decision on people's answer to: What do you know about Easter?

St Peter: What do you know about Easter?
Man: Easter is a time of great celebration, when the family gathers and eats turkey. I especially enjoy seeing the leaves turning, and the pumpkins!
St Peter says Humrph! as he pulls a lever and sends the man to Hell.

St Peter: What do you know about Easter?
Second man: Ah! Easter! It is a time of great joy. The family gathers to celebrate and be together. Then they go in the woods, cut a fine tree and decorate it...
St Peter, upset, pulls a lever and sends the second man to Hell.

St Peter: What do you know about Easter?
Woman: Easter is a time of grief and joy at the same time. Grief because our Lord Saviour died for our sins on the Cross on the Friday...
St Peter is tearing up, mumbling Amens under his breath.
Woman: He was then put in a tomb, and a huge boulder was rolled to close it off. On the Sunday, he rose from the Dead.
At this point, St Peter is beaming. He has opened the gates wide and is motioning for the woman to step forward.
Woman: Jesus pushed the boulder aside. Now, if he sees his shadow...

Freebies

I love pop psychology even more than trivia. My brother sent me an article that mentions the following experiment:
Passing students are offered a choice between an expensive chocolate, a Lindt truffle, for the reduced price of 15¢, and a common chocolate, a Hershey's kiss, for 1¢. Since the Lindt truffle ordinarily costs much more than 15¢, a solid majority choose that option. But when the price of each option is reduced by the same amount, one cent—the Lindt truffle then going for 14¢ and the Hershey's kiss for free—suddenly the response changes dramatically, and most people choose the free Hershey's kiss. This is one of many experiments offered to prove that people find "something for nothing" to be irresistible, even when it might not be technically their best option.