We're now in that part of the year when it is often significantly cooler here near the lake than the general forecast for the area. So I'm not experiencing the 70-degree temps promised today. The good news is we finally got a dry spell, so they have just finished staining and sealing the porch decks. Could be able to put my porch furniture back out by Friday. If so, I'll go shopping for pansies on Saturday and plant them out on Sunday.
I'm embarrassed to realize that I was actually talking about Trump. Please go through this comment section and mentally delete all my Trump comments because I'm too lazy to do so myself.
The NYT has an article about Elon Musk and his troubles with the neighbors in Austin. His property is in the same neighborhood I used to live in, Westlake Hills. The reporters drudged up neighbors complaints and the fortitude of the city council, yada yada. I'm sure the neighbors have real complaints, but none of them seemed terribly newsworthy. I rather saw it as revealing that the NYT(!) dedicated reporters to "news" that belongs in the local rag.
I have a similar reaction to a lot of MSM reporting on anyone perceived to be on the right: It seems so often just to be petty. It’s got more of a “mean girl” aura to it than any real content.
Some people think trash pandas are cute. I do not. We have one that is eating bird seed out of our bird feeder. Katie had to bring them in overnight, but I warned her not to leave them in the screen room; too much temptation for an animal.
Good morning. 51 here and rainy, with highs in the 60s. Primary election here, for a few local offices and a statewide bond issue for infrastructure. Not a high turnout election.
The mothership is reporting on the minerals deal Trump concluded with Ukraine. meanwhile, the FP is headlining Trump’s commencement speech at the University of Alabama, which it reports is surprisingly self-reflective, from a personage who is utterly not given to self reflection (or deep thoughts of any kind).
The article about the Trump speech was interesting. It's a snapshot, though. A week from now, he might categorically deny that he ever said or believed any of those things.
For example, if someone asked him about his (stated in that speech) belief that a person's achievement corresponds to his effort, and whether that contradicts his political emphasis that any bad outcome is someone else's fault, I assume he would deny what he said in the commencement address.
Once I read the article, it seems clear there was less there than meets the eye, which is true in general for Donald Trump. Most of those ten points were platitudes that sounded good to him, more or less.
The one item most important was his recounting "the Power of Positive Thinking" by Norman Vincent Peale. It has been clear to me since shortly after he came down that escalator, that Trump constantly talks himself up, often lying but more often exaggeration or hyperbole, to make himself look good -- but sometimes, becoming a full blown denial of unpleasant reality. That is, Trump's "positive thinking" explains his denial of his loss of the 2020 election to Joe biden.
I think he can be a lovely person in some settings. Bill Maher's dinner showed such. Of course, I think Bill got played. It cost Trump nothing to be nice for an evening.
At base, I think he's reptilian. Certain situations, he performs flawlessly. I don't think that's a sign of intelligence, though. What it is, I can't really say. I think he has the attention span of a chipmunk and it's most likely true that he believes what he said. I doubt if he remembered it the following morning, but maybe he does.
My intense dislike for the guy colors my commentary. I'll probably feel embarrassed in the morning for even talking about him.
"Reptilian" describes Trump nicely. He doesn't think so much as relies on his native savvy instincts, using what Jonah Goldberg calls his "lizard brain".
And on some things, Trump is undeniably savvy, like sizing up people and influencing (or playing) them. He certainly knows how to present himself especially using media. As you say, he has little if any attentionspan. As for what he says, I think for the most part (as when he talks himself up) he believes what he is saying in the moment he says it. In other forums, I have had sometimes heated discussions about how often Trump is lying as opposed to convincing himself of his "greatness".
Of course, that means that Trump can and often does ignore reality. For someone exercising the power of the Presidency, that is really dangerous. The current example is his strange devotion to tariffs, ignoring the advice of almost all economists (those who are not sucking up to him).
Trump's importance means IMO we have no choice but to think about him, to try to understand what makes him tick. The two things that seem to explain him best is his penchant for Peale's "positive thinking" and his family history as recounted by his niece Mary Trump's tell-all book in "Too Much and Never Enough". The latter recounts how Trump's emotionally abusive father shaped him.
I’m really not a Trump supporter but I do understand his popularity. I know you’re not a podcast listener but if you listen to his long form interviews, you realize he’s not as dumb as he sounds. The podcasts I’m referring to are his Rogan and All-In appearances.
I would not deny that he has a gift for extemporizing. He’s a BS artist at that type’s best.
I’ve also encountered one or the other pathological liar and the one or other mildly insane person: Some of these folks sound cogent and sensible, even as they tell fantastical tales unrelated to reality. I’ve always found that to be (occasionally) striking.
I think he is good at expressing ideas and concerns that resonate with people and has an intuition for those conversations in the moment. But there are other moments and other people. And his pride. And the pride and vindictiveness get the better of him in spectacular ways.
But but but...I'm most comfortable believing he's dumber than a bag of doorknobs. Even hyenas display intelligence in certain settings. So do tardigrades.
Right. I stopped thinking people were smart just because they occasionally appeared coherent. The right stimuli and surprising things can come out of someone's mouth.
Anyone in here read Noah the increasingly boring economist? His latest is yet another diatribe about how lousy China is...which is fine because there's plenty of lousy stuff in China to talk about...but I wonder what it is that makes him so dismissive of the entire experiment?
Is that the “Noahpnion” person? I’ve heard claims for years that PR China’s economy has had problems. I guess that kind of reporting is inevitable in a society where you never know which numbers are real and which numbers are cooked.
Yeah, that Noah. His economic reporting on China isn't what I was talking about so much. It was the tone of his most current piece. It was just bizarre.
Per economic data in China and.... One does not have to wonder about which numbers are real and which are cooked. It's all cooked all the time. That has been the China model for at least a millennia. It doesn't seem to matter. China is like the first paragraph in A Tale Of Two Cities, i.e., "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light...." etc., etc.
It doesn't seem to matter. The wheels keep turning. I was most amused by that Shark Tank guy...O'Leary...calling for 400% tariffs and that "The Chinese are starting to feel pain".... Starting? Pain is the default condition for about a billion Chinese. OK, maybe only 800 million... All the Western analysis misses what's most obvious about China. Pain is built in and it doesn't stop Chinese from working their asses off. While Americans spend endless hours in contemplations on China, Chinese are getting up early and working late.
That matters in ways I'm only beginning to understand.
The WSJ had a recent article that quite a bit of economic information has suddenly stopped flowing, admitting we in the west really don't know how China is doing.
An author I cite heavily (George Akerlof) argues when information asymmetry is present then it likely signals bad news, not good news. So a stoppage of economic data can be inferred to mean "it's not good news".
I don’t read him much at all, so I wouldn’t have any real idea as to where he’s coming from. I’ve seen one or the other headline in recent days—can’t recall where (Economist? WSJ? Drudge?)—saying that the official economic statistics from the PRC government have become very, very opaque very recently, causing a lot of skepticism for the types who follow such data.
The data thing... Yep, the big boys are pulling economic data from public view. It's funny that folks that follow economic data are confused and wondering what's going on that China would obscure its economic data. The data is getting pulled from public view because it's really bad. Duh.
Per his takes on China...it's not even economics. He's kinda like "who would want to live like that when suburban living with large houses, yards and houses is obviously what any sane person would want."....sorts of commentary. It's just incoherent dismissal of how a bunch of people like living.
I don't follow that economist. My perception from others' comments is that sometimes he says sensible things that everyone with a reasonable understanding of economics says, while other times, he's way off base.
As to the motivation ... fan service? Need to produce content even if it's bad? Ego?
I don't really follow him because I'm really cheap and I subscribe to a couple dozen folks that periodically send out free newsletters, enough so that I get a steady stream of free newsletters.
It's sinking in to my dense brain that this phenomenon of constant fan service and the nonstop necessity to produce content regardless of anything is producing a lot of utterly pointless and worthless information. I like the George Will model. He writes a column when there's something to say, and he always says smart things.
Noah, otoh...he's kinda weird. He just doesn't ever shut up and what started as economic analysis has kinda morphed into having opinions on everything. Peak striving years...mostly explains it.
There are more opportunities today for people trying to get into the pundit business, but they really have to push and flood the interwebs with content if they're going to make a living at it, let alone reach the status of George Will in old age.
Good morning. 50Fs here, supposed to be upper 70s and sunny later. The Envirothon team is going to a strawberry farm this morning. I'll have to call the youth pretty soon.
I've been reading unpleasant things about strawberries, specifically that they are the fruit with the most pesticide residue. I know when I've grown and/or purchased organic strawberries, they're teeny and they spoil in about 8 hours. The big luscious looking ones...I wonder what was sprayed on them to make them so perfect.
There are bug-resistant varieties and good practices that avoid pesticides. I have a good friend with an organic farm, and her strawberries are fantastic.
I'm off and on with the organic. When I can find stuff that I can afford, I'm definitely on the organic bandwagon. I also like the bug-resistant varieties with minimal pesticide.
I love strawberries. I put up about 30 pounds every year (frozen) for smoothies.
The whole -cide thing is "kill." That said, local growers in this area are marketing based on being organic and stuff, so I doubt they're using pesticides. These are small-scale producers with a self-pick and "local produce stand" customer base.
Organic—as in certified “organic”—has several different categories that comply with agreed upon standards. In some of them, agri-chemicals are permitted, but mainly the older classes of chemicals that also tend to be more potent. It’s been a while since I’ve read about the details, but it is quite surprising.
It’s important to bear in mind that the family of “Organic” labels on grocery store foods was launched as a means to market products to consumers by standardizing the industry requirements and specifications. Marketing was and is its main function, IOW, while it also provides consumers the sense that there’s something significant behind the label, rather than just whatever Producer A thinks ought to be good enough.
From a very low-carb diet perspective, fruit is generally off the table, but some of the less naturally sweet berries are an option. Bananas and white table grapes, OTOH, are way too full of fructose and therefore off limits.
It makes sense to me that manmade strawberry strains wouldn’t survive well in the wild without a lot of agri-chemical inputs, although I hadn’t given it much thought. Maybe ones grown in greenhouses or using hydroponics would be safer (?).
That’s one of those things that has been long-held health system dogma, but without any focused testing to see if it’s a viable hypothesis.
Before going on this diet (the only diet I’ve ever tried), I’d always been someone who could eat vegetables all day, but never cared much for fruit. I could make myself eat apples that were both sweet and tart, but that’s about all I’d actually bother with.
In fact, I never had much of a sweet tooth. But I loved bread, potatoes, pasta, brown rice. The reality is that those starchy foods *are* sugary foods, too, since starch is just a long-chain sugar.
It wasn’t until I forcefully cut out the starches and alcohol from my regimen that I discovered I had an insatiable appetite for sweet sugary snacks in just about every form. If I didn’t know better, I would assume my addiction was as strong as any junky’s to heroin. It was a daily and hourly psychological obsession until I could finally buckle down and get free of the substance one day at a time.
It's one of those things where I wonder just how bad is it really? Having grown up around a Hooker Chemical plant and seen what it does to people and the environment, all the while being told by the nice Hooker people how their stuff is just fine and dandy and won't hurt anything....revealing that they are lying evil people...I'd just like to have something to go on. I shrug at lots of stuff, but not poison that's killing birds and causing the insect collapse.
I wonder how bad the additives are too. My wife is on a kick with some app on her phone that scans a bar code and presents a rating for how bad the item is. Is Zantham gum a threat in my flax milk? My instinct is to not over-think it. Just try to avoid most processed foods and not sweat a little tricalcium phosphate.
They’re theoretically okay, but only in limited quantities. For me, though, even so much as artificial sweeteners revive my sweet/sugar addiction proclivities. So I’m better off keeping away from them altogether.
We're now in that part of the year when it is often significantly cooler here near the lake than the general forecast for the area. So I'm not experiencing the 70-degree temps promised today. The good news is we finally got a dry spell, so they have just finished staining and sealing the porch decks. Could be able to put my porch furniture back out by Friday. If so, I'll go shopping for pansies on Saturday and plant them out on Sunday.
I'm sitting in the shade at a picnic table outside the library, and, if it were a little cooler, I would want a jacket.
Knew the duck-billed platypus was an egg layer, but fun to learn about the other. Thanks
I'm embarrassed to realize that I was actually talking about Trump. Please go through this comment section and mentally delete all my Trump comments because I'm too lazy to do so myself.
Thank you for your service.
I found a bittacomorpha clavipes on my daughter's car Sunday and a friend just identified it for me.
There is something delightful about "bittacomorpha." I will look up the etymology when I need another reason to procrastinate.
Gesundheit!
The NYT has an article about Elon Musk and his troubles with the neighbors in Austin. His property is in the same neighborhood I used to live in, Westlake Hills. The reporters drudged up neighbors complaints and the fortitude of the city council, yada yada. I'm sure the neighbors have real complaints, but none of them seemed terribly newsworthy. I rather saw it as revealing that the NYT(!) dedicated reporters to "news" that belongs in the local rag.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/05/technology/elon-musk-texas-neighbors.html
I was more excited with our Dixie Chick neighbors. My wife was soft stalking the gay guys with the gardening show.
I have a similar reaction to a lot of MSM reporting on anyone perceived to be on the right: It seems so often just to be petty. It’s got more of a “mean girl” aura to it than any real content.
Good whatever-part-of-the-day in which this greeting finds you.
I found a yardstick yesterday that says "Do not use for child control." It advertises a carpet business.
Those are cute animals, and useful.
Some people think trash pandas are cute. I do not. We have one that is eating bird seed out of our bird feeder. Katie had to bring them in overnight, but I warned her not to leave them in the screen room; too much temptation for an animal.
Interesting critter I’ve never heard of and had to watch a video for pronunciation, e-KID-na.
They're famous in the wildlife biz as the only egg-laying mammals other than the platypus.
The Substack software/server/whatever it is that's supposed to make this thing work, is really buggy tonight.
The little "new reply" things are almost invisible now. I think they used to pop in some way so one would notice them more easily.
I think you should just trust that your comment appears. Often times it seems like it’s not there and then when you check again, it is there.
I've read that doubt is an integral component of faith.
😂
Good morning. 51 here and rainy, with highs in the 60s. Primary election here, for a few local offices and a statewide bond issue for infrastructure. Not a high turnout election.
The mothership is reporting on the minerals deal Trump concluded with Ukraine. meanwhile, the FP is headlining Trump’s commencement speech at the University of Alabama, which it reports is surprisingly self-reflective, from a personage who is utterly not given to self reflection (or deep thoughts of any kind).
I'm intrigued by the "statewide blond issue". Presumably this is not a problem in California?
Rod Stewart could not be reached for comment.
Oops, that was a "bond" issue. Victoria Davis Hanson strikes again! 🤣
A bond issue is probably more important in the grand scheme of things, but not nearly as interesting. 🙂
The article about the Trump speech was interesting. It's a snapshot, though. A week from now, he might categorically deny that he ever said or believed any of those things.
For example, if someone asked him about his (stated in that speech) belief that a person's achievement corresponds to his effort, and whether that contradicts his political emphasis that any bad outcome is someone else's fault, I assume he would deny what he said in the commencement address.
Once I read the article, it seems clear there was less there than meets the eye, which is true in general for Donald Trump. Most of those ten points were platitudes that sounded good to him, more or less.
The one item most important was his recounting "the Power of Positive Thinking" by Norman Vincent Peale. It has been clear to me since shortly after he came down that escalator, that Trump constantly talks himself up, often lying but more often exaggeration or hyperbole, to make himself look good -- but sometimes, becoming a full blown denial of unpleasant reality. That is, Trump's "positive thinking" explains his denial of his loss of the 2020 election to Joe biden.
Trump was raised hearing Norman Vincent Peale on Sunday mornings
I'm mildly amused that anyone imagines he wrote, believes, or has ever even thought any of the stuff in that speech.
He didn't write it, but I think he believes much of it, especially his "positive thinking".
I think he can be a lovely person in some settings. Bill Maher's dinner showed such. Of course, I think Bill got played. It cost Trump nothing to be nice for an evening.
At base, I think he's reptilian. Certain situations, he performs flawlessly. I don't think that's a sign of intelligence, though. What it is, I can't really say. I think he has the attention span of a chipmunk and it's most likely true that he believes what he said. I doubt if he remembered it the following morning, but maybe he does.
My intense dislike for the guy colors my commentary. I'll probably feel embarrassed in the morning for even talking about him.
Being able to fake charm and sincerity is a real thing with sociopaths. I wish more people were aware of this.
That's a talent for a lot of people, some of whom (like Bill Clinton) I would not call sociopaths.
"Reptilian" describes Trump nicely. He doesn't think so much as relies on his native savvy instincts, using what Jonah Goldberg calls his "lizard brain".
And on some things, Trump is undeniably savvy, like sizing up people and influencing (or playing) them. He certainly knows how to present himself especially using media. As you say, he has little if any attentionspan. As for what he says, I think for the most part (as when he talks himself up) he believes what he is saying in the moment he says it. In other forums, I have had sometimes heated discussions about how often Trump is lying as opposed to convincing himself of his "greatness".
Of course, that means that Trump can and often does ignore reality. For someone exercising the power of the Presidency, that is really dangerous. The current example is his strange devotion to tariffs, ignoring the advice of almost all economists (those who are not sucking up to him).
Trump's importance means IMO we have no choice but to think about him, to try to understand what makes him tick. The two things that seem to explain him best is his penchant for Peale's "positive thinking" and his family history as recounted by his niece Mary Trump's tell-all book in "Too Much and Never Enough". The latter recounts how Trump's emotionally abusive father shaped him.
I’m really not a Trump supporter but I do understand his popularity. I know you’re not a podcast listener but if you listen to his long form interviews, you realize he’s not as dumb as he sounds. The podcasts I’m referring to are his Rogan and All-In appearances.
I would not deny that he has a gift for extemporizing. He’s a BS artist at that type’s best.
I’ve also encountered one or the other pathological liar and the one or other mildly insane person: Some of these folks sound cogent and sensible, even as they tell fantastical tales unrelated to reality. I’ve always found that to be (occasionally) striking.
Clarification: my husband agrees about the interviews and supports that person. Our votes cancelled each other out.
My husband agrees.
I think he is good at expressing ideas and concerns that resonate with people and has an intuition for those conversations in the moment. But there are other moments and other people. And his pride. And the pride and vindictiveness get the better of him in spectacular ways.
The lack of self awareness is astounding.
But but but...I'm most comfortable believing he's dumber than a bag of doorknobs. Even hyenas display intelligence in certain settings. So do tardigrades.
Trump is not a logical thinker. But he has instincts that often work out for him.
Agreed. But, so do hyenas.
🤣
All living things respond to stimuli.
Right. I stopped thinking people were smart just because they occasionally appeared coherent. The right stimuli and surprising things can come out of someone's mouth.
It would be hard to be as dumb as Trump sounds and still have enough synapses firing to maintain heartbeat and respiration.
He uses his lizard brain, not his cerebrum.
That's funny.
Anyone in here read Noah the increasingly boring economist? His latest is yet another diatribe about how lousy China is...which is fine because there's plenty of lousy stuff in China to talk about...but I wonder what it is that makes him so dismissive of the entire experiment?
Anyone have any ideas?
Is that the “Noahpnion” person? I’ve heard claims for years that PR China’s economy has had problems. I guess that kind of reporting is inevitable in a society where you never know which numbers are real and which numbers are cooked.
Yeah, that Noah. His economic reporting on China isn't what I was talking about so much. It was the tone of his most current piece. It was just bizarre.
Per economic data in China and.... One does not have to wonder about which numbers are real and which are cooked. It's all cooked all the time. That has been the China model for at least a millennia. It doesn't seem to matter. China is like the first paragraph in A Tale Of Two Cities, i.e., "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light...." etc., etc.
It doesn't seem to matter. The wheels keep turning. I was most amused by that Shark Tank guy...O'Leary...calling for 400% tariffs and that "The Chinese are starting to feel pain".... Starting? Pain is the default condition for about a billion Chinese. OK, maybe only 800 million... All the Western analysis misses what's most obvious about China. Pain is built in and it doesn't stop Chinese from working their asses off. While Americans spend endless hours in contemplations on China, Chinese are getting up early and working late.
That matters in ways I'm only beginning to understand.
The WSJ had a recent article that quite a bit of economic information has suddenly stopped flowing, admitting we in the west really don't know how China is doing.
An author I cite heavily (George Akerlof) argues when information asymmetry is present then it likely signals bad news, not good news. So a stoppage of economic data can be inferred to mean "it's not good news".
Yup.
Did anyone believe China broadcast honest news about their economy?
Nope. Of course not.
Does anyone believe, as in take into their heart utter trust and acceptance of economic news, about their own country's economy?
Just curious.
I don’t read him much at all, so I wouldn’t have any real idea as to where he’s coming from. I’ve seen one or the other headline in recent days—can’t recall where (Economist? WSJ? Drudge?)—saying that the official economic statistics from the PRC government have become very, very opaque very recently, causing a lot of skepticism for the types who follow such data.
The data thing... Yep, the big boys are pulling economic data from public view. It's funny that folks that follow economic data are confused and wondering what's going on that China would obscure its economic data. The data is getting pulled from public view because it's really bad. Duh.
Per his takes on China...it's not even economics. He's kinda like "who would want to live like that when suburban living with large houses, yards and houses is obviously what any sane person would want."....sorts of commentary. It's just incoherent dismissal of how a bunch of people like living.
It doesn't matter. I was just wondering.
I don't follow that economist. My perception from others' comments is that sometimes he says sensible things that everyone with a reasonable understanding of economics says, while other times, he's way off base.
As to the motivation ... fan service? Need to produce content even if it's bad? Ego?
I don't really follow him because I'm really cheap and I subscribe to a couple dozen folks that periodically send out free newsletters, enough so that I get a steady stream of free newsletters.
It's sinking in to my dense brain that this phenomenon of constant fan service and the nonstop necessity to produce content regardless of anything is producing a lot of utterly pointless and worthless information. I like the George Will model. He writes a column when there's something to say, and he always says smart things.
George Will, age 84 as of last Sunday, is at a point in his career where he can do exactly what he wants, including nothing.
Noah Smith's d.o.b. is not listed, but, based on his graduation dates, he seems to be 40-45, which is peak striving years.
Thanks. God Bless George.
Noah, otoh...he's kinda weird. He just doesn't ever shut up and what started as economic analysis has kinda morphed into having opinions on everything. Peak striving years...mostly explains it.
There are more opportunities today for people trying to get into the pundit business, but they really have to push and flood the interwebs with content if they're going to make a living at it, let alone reach the status of George Will in old age.
George Will appears from time to time as a panelist on The Hill Sunday with Chris Stirewalt. He continues to say brilliant and trenchant things.
Turchin. It's Turchin again. Over production of elites. Everyone in academia hates him, but I think he's right.
Good morning. 50Fs here, supposed to be upper 70s and sunny later. The Envirothon team is going to a strawberry farm this morning. I'll have to call the youth pretty soon.
Morning. Only around 42 here, and only going up to the low 60s. At least there’s no frost.
Fruit harvesting hardly seems possible this time of year. Greenhouse growing?
It's field strawberry season here.
Huh. Color me clueless. But now a tad wiser…
I've been reading unpleasant things about strawberries, specifically that they are the fruit with the most pesticide residue. I know when I've grown and/or purchased organic strawberries, they're teeny and they spoil in about 8 hours. The big luscious looking ones...I wonder what was sprayed on them to make them so perfect.
Any thoughts or insights?
There are bug-resistant varieties and good practices that avoid pesticides. I have a good friend with an organic farm, and her strawberries are fantastic.
I'm off and on with the organic. When I can find stuff that I can afford, I'm definitely on the organic bandwagon. I also like the bug-resistant varieties with minimal pesticide.
I love strawberries. I put up about 30 pounds every year (frozen) for smoothies.
I have no insights. We wash the strawberries, then eat them. If pesticide is going to kill us, we're dead. Shrug.
I'm just wondering. Articles on anything nowadays are loaded with 'what if' scenarios and implied warnings that we're all going to die.
I'm not quite as cavalier about pesticide, having lived in the countryside and seen what it does to living things.
The whole -cide thing is "kill." That said, local growers in this area are marketing based on being organic and stuff, so I doubt they're using pesticides. These are small-scale producers with a self-pick and "local produce stand" customer base.
Organic—as in certified “organic”—has several different categories that comply with agreed upon standards. In some of them, agri-chemicals are permitted, but mainly the older classes of chemicals that also tend to be more potent. It’s been a while since I’ve read about the details, but it is quite surprising.
It’s important to bear in mind that the family of “Organic” labels on grocery store foods was launched as a means to market products to consumers by standardizing the industry requirements and specifications. Marketing was and is its main function, IOW, while it also provides consumers the sense that there’s something significant behind the label, rather than just whatever Producer A thinks ought to be good enough.
I call "Organic" BS foolery. Apologies to all offended.
NaCl is not organic
H2O is not organic
Things that grow, so far 🤪😄 🐶🐴🫎🐄🐑🐽🌵🦢🦐🦀⚘️🌱🌿☘️ are organic.
Carbon is not organic. Coal and diamonds and nuclear fuel rods are not organic.
Methanol, Isopropyl, ethanol are organic. Oil, gas are organic.
Yes pesticides are also organic.
So is fountain grass and buffet grass that are preparing to wildfire the west.
Fructose, Sucrose, Dextrose and man mad very bad for you High Fructose Corn syrup are organic.
I don't by anything HFCS for the last 35 years. I'll buy a labeled organic only if it's a lower price!
"Organic" labeling = $$$ grab
From a very low-carb diet perspective, fruit is generally off the table, but some of the less naturally sweet berries are an option. Bananas and white table grapes, OTOH, are way too full of fructose and therefore off limits.
It makes sense to me that manmade strawberry strains wouldn’t survive well in the wild without a lot of agri-chemical inputs, although I hadn’t given it much thought. Maybe ones grown in greenhouses or using hydroponics would be safer (?).
From the perspective of good nutrition, taking fruit off the table can be a problem.
That’s one of those things that has been long-held health system dogma, but without any focused testing to see if it’s a viable hypothesis.
Before going on this diet (the only diet I’ve ever tried), I’d always been someone who could eat vegetables all day, but never cared much for fruit. I could make myself eat apples that were both sweet and tart, but that’s about all I’d actually bother with.
In fact, I never had much of a sweet tooth. But I loved bread, potatoes, pasta, brown rice. The reality is that those starchy foods *are* sugary foods, too, since starch is just a long-chain sugar.
It wasn’t until I forcefully cut out the starches and alcohol from my regimen that I discovered I had an insatiable appetite for sweet sugary snacks in just about every form. If I didn’t know better, I would assume my addiction was as strong as any junky’s to heroin. It was a daily and hourly psychological obsession until I could finally buckle down and get free of the substance one day at a time.
It's one of those things where I wonder just how bad is it really? Having grown up around a Hooker Chemical plant and seen what it does to people and the environment, all the while being told by the nice Hooker people how their stuff is just fine and dandy and won't hurt anything....revealing that they are lying evil people...I'd just like to have something to go on. I shrug at lots of stuff, but not poison that's killing birds and causing the insect collapse.
What about blueberries? Can you eat blueberries?
I wonder how bad the additives are too. My wife is on a kick with some app on her phone that scans a bar code and presents a rating for how bad the item is. Is Zantham gum a threat in my flax milk? My instinct is to not over-think it. Just try to avoid most processed foods and not sweat a little tricalcium phosphate.
Yeah, that's me. I avoid the super processed stuff. Everything else is fair game.
I forgot there was a company called Hooker; as I first read it I asked myself "you believed a hooker"? 😬
Although, now I think about it, both types probably say whatever they think you want to hear, but I wouldn't know from experience.
Right, your friend told you... :-)
They’re theoretically okay, but only in limited quantities. For me, though, even so much as artificial sweeteners revive my sweet/sugar addiction proclivities. So I’m better off keeping away from them altogether.