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POPS"And we shall call this 'Moff's Law'" More: …Finally, this should also go without saying, but since it apparently doesn’t: Believe me, the person who is annoying you so much by thinking about the art? They have already considered your revolutionary “just enjoy it” strategy, because it is not actually revolutionary at all. It is the default state for most of humanity. So when you go out of your way to suggest that people should be thinking less — that not using one’s capacity for reason is an admirable position to take, and one that should be actively advocated — you are not saying anything particularly intelligent. And unless you live on a parallel version of Earth where too many people are thinking too deeply and critically about the world around them and what’s going on in their own heads, you’re not helping anything; on the contrary, you’re acting as an advocate for entropy.
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POPSSacramento-area farmers grow heirloom wheat
More: Sonora wheat was once one of the most popular wheat varieties grown in one of the biggest wheat states in America—California. In fact, Sonora wheat from California was considered of such high quality that most of it was exported to England. The change to hammermill processing, and the corresponding change to wheat types that grow well in Midwestern conditions, were a factor in the demise of California wheat farming. Midwestern wheat is generally higher in phytates, which are bitter to the taste, which was an issue for Fox. “I hated whole wheat. It was bitter and awful, and I really preferred spelt. But I went crazy for this wheat,” she says. Fox promptly began growing Sonora wheat for seed, and just eight years later, she estimates that there are at least 15 farmers in the greater Sacramento area growing this variety, including Full Belly Farm, which offers flour from Sonora wheat at farmers’ markets and through their community-supported agriculture boxes.
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POPSThe master grafter: 101 varieties of fruit on one tree More: His modified trees are fantastic monuments to the potentials of science. Until a windstorm this fall dashed the tree to pieces, Real had a 53-in-one persimmon. His cherry tree is a 20-in-one. His Prunus rootstock bears 50 plums and prunes. With his peaches, Real concedes, “I got lazy.” The tree produces 10 types of peaches, five nectarines and an almond. His avocado tree now bears seven cultivars, including Bacon, Hass, Mexicola and Mexicola Grande. Most recently, Real fitted the enduring tree with a branch of Daily 11, a variety whose fruits can weigh 11 pounds. Then there’s that amazing 14-foot-tall citrus tree with its astounding 101 cultivars. From marble-sized calamondins to 5-pound mellow gold pomelos, the fruits constitute 24 species in the genus Citrus , with one or more ripe at all seasons of the year. The tree bears such rarities as sunquats, lemonquats, mandarinquats, trifoliates, citrons, yuzu and sudachi.
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POPSCrixa Cakes (Berkeley) menu The folks at Crixa make some amazing baked goods. I love the Bulochki and Fatima's Thighs. {{Spiritualmonkey}} drools at the mere suggestion of the flourless chocolate cake.
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POPSHow to keep riding through the winter More: * We keep our bags, panniers, tool kits, lights, water bottles, and whatever else, on the bikes and ready to go. * We perform bike maintenance on a regular schedule. This includes topping off tires, charging batteries, lubing chains, and keeping the bikes clean. A flat tire or a squeaky chain is just another unwelcome excuse to take the car. Besides trying to always make riding the convenient choice, we also try to encourage each other when the going’s a little rough. And when we get a break in the weather, we always take the opportunity to go for a joy ride for the sheer pleasure of it, because keeping it enjoyable is probably the best motivator of all.
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POPSUnexploded landmines? Call the HeroRats! More: The cheapness of breeding and maintaining them is further helped by their ability to adapt to a number of environments. Once they are trained the rats seem to actively enjoy performing repetitive tasks and they do not get stressed if their trainers are changed in the way that dogs will. Plus of course – one serious advantage over dogs – they are too light to detonate a mine by themselves if they step on it. A living rat is better than a canine cadaver… The HeroRATS are currently deployed in Mozambique where they have enabled over one thousand families to reclaim their land. They have also helped with clearing areas so that power lines can be passed through – so bringing electricity which would not otherwise have been possible to over ten thousand local citizens. It is hoped that they will soon be deployed to Zambia, Congo and Angola as well, but negotiations are still underway.
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POPSMaking pâte à choux More: The next trick is to focus the oven heat so that most of it comes from the bottom during the early part of the cooking process. Preheat your oven to a medium heat, such as 300 degrees Fahrenheit. When you add the tray of puffs, kick it up to the target temperature (probably 450 or so). With the heating element at the bottom of most ovens, this will light a fire (so to speak) under the puffs and give them a big steam boost, while at the same time keeping the tops relatively moist and flexible so they can expand. As the oven heats, the tops will firm and turn golden brown, at which point you should lower the heat to a more moderate 300 or so to finish cooking the insides without burning the outsides. The insides need to be sufficiently set or else your puffs might collapse when you take them out of the oven, and that’s not a fun date for anyone. Once your puffs have cooled, you can serve them and collect accolades on the spot, or freeze them for later.
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POPSWhy antidepressants don't work for so many people More: The biochemical events that ultimately result in depression actually start in the development and functioning of neurons. "The medications have been focusing on the effect, not the cause," she said. "That's why it takes so long for them to work and why they aren't effective for so many people." Her animal model of depression did not show dramatic differences in the levels of genes controlling neurotransmitters functions. "If depression was related to neurotransmitter activity, we would have seen that," she said. Her findings in depressed rats, she said, are very likely applicable to humans. "The similarities between these regions of the human and rodent brain are remarkable," Redei explained. "The hippocampus and amygdala are part of the so-called ancient lizard brain that controls survival and are the same in even primitive organisms."
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POPSbook review: "Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It" by Karen Solomon More: The recipes range from simple to complicated. I made rosemary-olive oil crackers and a delicious, garlicky white-bean dip quickly and effortlessly, and served them to rave reviews. But my plans for making bacon were abandoned after reading the first few lines of the recipe. Not only did I need three pounds of pork belly, I also needed liquid smoke or hickory sawdust, and seven to 10 days to get it good and bacon-like. A family brunch in a few days was not going to include bacon made by me. And then there was the s’mores debacle.… the resulting marshmallows were flat and lumpy. I apologized as I distributed them to my family and proclaimed that I would never, ever make marshmallows again. But the marshmallows melted perfectly. They browned on top, crackled as you bit into them, and oozed sticky, slinky strings of marshmallow over graham crackers, chocolate, and fingers. Everyone loved them. By the end of the weekend, I was actually thinking I might do it again.
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