Today’s Topic: Eating Healthy Food at Fast Food Chains…really?

         Good Day World!

The snack food industry is slowly, reluctantly, and stubbornly giving away to the growing trend of eating healthy. It’s no easy transition for any fast food chain that prided itself on serving up hot slop 24-hours a day with a catchy jingle.

But, with McDonald’s latest healthy choice meals, and Burger King’s new healthy meals, and Arby’s healthy meal menu, and Jack In The Box’s nutrition deals, the competition to serve up healthy fast food meals is warming up. 

On a conference call Thursday, CEO Greg Creed outlined what he called Taco Bell’s “role to play in providing more balanced food choices” as part of the brand's growth strategy.

Creed pledged that the commitment to offering more healthy choices will be “completely transparent” and “weasel proof,” saying Taco Bell wouldn’t, for example, lower the amount of fat in a dish but add more sodium to compensate.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Memories Make Millions: Letter Sells at Auction for $6 Million Dollars!

    Good Day World!

 Today’s topic is when words of wisdom turn to gold…literally.

 A 60-year-old letter in which biologist Francis Crick told his son about DNA's double-helix structure, weeks before the Nobel Prize-winning discovery was revealed to the world, sold at a New York auction on Wednesday for a record price of $6 million.

 Prior to that the highest price ever paid for a single signed letter is $3,200,000 (£1,932,600) sold on 5 December 2009 at Christie's, New York, USA, for a letter written by George Washington in 1787 to his nephew Bushrod Washington, urging adoption of the country's new constitution. The previous record sale for a letter by George Washington was $834,500 (£506,200) in 2002.

Here’s some related links on the topic:

Science will profit from sale of letter and Nobel Prize

What about Rosalind Franklin? 'Lost' letters reveal twists

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Todays Topic: How Unhinged is Un and will North Korea Wake up before it’s too late?

               Good Day World!

  North Korea’s chubby-faced porker look-alike in power, Kim Jung Un, is trying to bully the world. As incredible as that sounds he’s seems to be serious. If he’s not, and is trying to posture for the military, he’s already made one big mistake – he’s backed his bulk into a corner with the insane threats he’s been making lately.

The U.S. came out yesterday and flat-out said they’d shoot anything threatening coming from North Korean platforms. The Commander of U.S. Pacific Command also said that he cannot recollect a more tense time between the U.S., South Korea, and North Korea since the end of the Korean War.

North Korea warns foreigners to leave South

Who is North Korea's secretive leader? Here is what we know

'Positive thinking' after years of threats keeps South Koreans going

The U.S. believes North Korea could fire a missile at any time. According to Bloomberg, North Koreas goal may be to gain acceptance as a nuclear state. Whatever it is, the tension is building to the point of war.

Will North Korea’s new, almost-in-diapers, dictator take on the world? My guess is Kim Jung Un somehow finds a way to back down before destroying his nation.

Guess we’ll see won’t we?

Time for me to walk on down the road….

AS IT STANDS presents “Rafter’s Redemption” - Chapter Three: Vietnam

     A free novella by Dave Stancliff

         Chapter Three

             Vietnam

Rafter’s first plane trip was from California to Missouri when he reported to AIT. The second took him back to California with a one week leave to get his affairs in order before going to Vietnam. His third was the trip to Long Bien Air Force Base in Vietnam. (Continue story here)

Links for new readers:

• Prologue
• Chapter One
• Chapter Two

RIP Annette Funicello: My favorite Mouseketeer passed away today

Good Day World!

 It’s with great sadness that I have to report my favorite Mouseketeer, Annette Funicello, died today.

She was my first crush! I can’t tell you how much I loved watching Disneyland every week – eagerly looking forward to seeing Annette again.

Here’s the story from TMZ’s website:

“Annette Funicello -- the undisputed queen of the "Mickey Mouse Club" -- has died, according to Disney's official fan club Twitter. She was 70.
Funicello was a triple threat -- Mouseketeer, pop singer and bigscreen star. She was huge in the 60's with movies like "Beach Party" and "Beach Blanket Bingo."

According to "Extra," Annette had been hospitalized in Bakersfield due to complications from multiple sclerosis and had been in a coma for years. 
Funicello disclosed in 1992 that she suffered from multiple sclerosis. She lost the ability to walk in 2004, could no longer speak by 2009 and required round-the-clock care. (Read the rest here)

This was the most successful beach party movie of them all.

This is where it all began…

Goodbye Annette! I’m going to miss you.

Time for me to walk sadly down the road…

AS IT STANDS: Faster is not Always Better: THC ‘Dabs’ can be Dangerous

 By Dave Stancliff/For The Times-Standard
  Americans are increasingly aware that marijuana has medicinal properties. Still, without a doubt, the flowering plant’s ability to get a person “high” is what made it popular in the first place.
  When marijuana advocates talk about marijuana properties these days, it’s generally in a medicinal context - something more acceptable to the general public and a more likely path to legalization.
  It’s not politically correct to say, “Hey, I smoke pot to get a good buzz!” Libertarians make no bones about a person’s right to smoke weed. The issue to them is simple; the government has no business telling people what they can or can’t do with marijuana.
Remember when corn cob pipes became popular to puff pot? Hookahs were the rage when Indian culture and gurus were considered cool in the 70s. People even used apples to make pipes. In case you want to know how that’s done, go to http://www.wikihow.com/Make-an-Apple-Pipe.
Since the corn cob pipes, hookahs, glass pipes and joints, there’s been a quantum leap in delivery systems. Most cannabis experts agree than a good vaporizer is the safest way to smoke weed.

There’s just one delivery system that concerns me. Because it’s become the rage recently among the younger set, I should explain what it is. You can now buy “wax” (high content THC Dabs) that have a stronger and faster psychoactive effect than any other delivery method can provide.

 The user takes a single inhalation of vaporized or burned cannabis concentrate - a dab - that has been placed on a hot nail with a tiny spatula or needle. Dab concentrates are made from oil extracted from cannabis plants with a solvent. 
The most widely used solvent is butane —better known as lighter fluid. You should know that butane extraction is against the law. People are serving time in prison for using butane as an organic solvent.
   More important, butane is a fire and explosion risk because it is so highly flammable. Many people have been severely injured using butane to make cannabis oil extracts. And “butane” isn’t pure butane; it contains contaminants. 
Approximately 20% of the volatile fuel in common “butane” lighter fluid is a combination of other hydrocarbons including benzene, ethyl mercaptan, heptane, hexane, and other toxic impurities.
There are alternatives to using regular butane. A higher grade butane (USP grade or laboratory-grade) extract vaporized with a temperature-controlled device - could be used if you can find it. However, using regular butane is the most common way to make dabs. 

The nail used in the process presents a problem too. When heated with a torch to burn or volatilize the dab, the nail will gradually disintegrate and flake off, further polluting by the process. And let’s face it, a stoner messing with an open flame is a recipe for a disaster.
According to High Times Magazine, dabs were the big hit (pun intended) at the High Times Cannabis Cup recently held in Los Angeles.

Free samples were given out. You can only imagine the buzz that caused among visitors, some of whom openly walked around with torches and bubblers (a brand new type of multi-purpose bong that is dab friendly). Some people reportedly passed out and got sick from the sudden massive THC infusion.

There is an argument for using dabs. The hit is so intense it’ll immediately help your condition (especially if you’re in pain), and it lasts most of the day as opposed to conventional delivery systems (pipes, bongs, etc.) that may require multiple smoking sessions during the day.

There’s a safe way to produce dabs, and there’s a dangerous way, depending upon the process used. I think dabs are safer for people who have smoked for years and have built up some resistance to THC, as opposed to new users.
My research indicates that dabs first appeared in California, but their usage has spread to Oregon and beyond. Can a whole dab industry be far off? Dabs are the current fad and marketing efforts are popping up everywhere. 
Nevertheless, the way I see it, if you’re out to have a good time - or need to medicate for whatever condition - why mess with mother nature? When you mix toxic elements with your marijuana you take a chance of becoming an accident (or worse) statistic.
As It Stands, once upon a time there was a jingle for Brylcreem (a man’s hair wax) that went, “A little dab’ll do ya…” Buy wax today, and that little dab may do you harm!

What Fun! I spent a couple of days looking for Gold in Southern Oregon

I had a great time with my oldest son, Richard, the last couple of days. He’s been studying the area since he moved to Applegate a year ago, and had a list of sites for us to legally look for gold. We only had enough to to explore a couple of placer sites (that he’s thinking about claiming) and checked out a half dozen old lode mines and tunnels through mountains.

What a gold history Southern Oregon has! I never realized it. I got to learn about some history of the area (he had some good local stories about successful prospectors), along with geological information about where to look for gold.

Numerous books have been written by gold experts (where to look, etc), but there’s nothing like hands-on experience. You have to tromp around those mountains, ravines, gullies, and river beds with a sharp eye out to find the best place to set-up and take a shot at your fortunes.

If you’d like to know more about this subject (history & current gold info), here’s a couple of good links for you:

Gold History in Southern Oregon

Good Year in Mining – Updated Southern Oregon article 

It was a fun, but an exhausting time for my old bones! I don’t know how those old prospectors did it! I don’t think they lived for very long back then! Oh, did I mention the part about bears, cougars, and lots of snakes? thought I’d throw that it…

Here we go again – drug warriors want to impose an insane new law

      Good Day World!

 I’m going to step away from this blog for a couple of days and will see you again on Saturday April 6th. 

Meanwhile, please feel free to explore, and if your interested in reading a free novella by yours truly – Rafter’s Redemption – look for the link (with photo) on the right side of this page.

Todays topic: drug warriors looking to impose a new draconian law based upon no scientific evidence. The ignorance behind this proposal is exposed in the following article:

“In the face of growing public support for marijuana legalization, drug warriors are seeking to tighten the screws on consumers by imposing new and tougher drug testing rules that have nothing to do with safety or impairment.

In Sacramento Sen. Lou Correa is sponsoring a "zero tolerance" drug DUI bill (SB 289) that would outlaw driving by anyone with traces of marijuana or other drugs in their blood. Because marijuana's active component, THC, is typically detectable in the blood for hours or days after any impairment has faded, the bill would effectively criminalize thousands of non-impaired drivers as DUI. Tell Your California State Senator to Say No to SB289.

The scientific facts and fallacies about drug testing are explained in California NORML's newly published booklet, "California NORML Guide to Drug Testing," available through www.canorml.org. The guide covers the reliability and sensitivity of different kinds of tests, their relevance to impairment and performance, how to deal with abusive testing, and drug testing's capricious and discriminatory impact on consumers, medical and otherwise. Order the Drug Testing Guide(contact CalNORML for information on review or multiple copies.)

Unlike the alcohol breathalzyer, chemical tests for marijuana have no clear relation to impairment or safety. Blood tests for THC, unlike alcohol, do not measure the actual dosage consumed or active in the body. Instead, they reflect recency of use, spiking to high levels immediately after smoking regardless of actual dosage, then tailing off to low levels that can nonetheless be detectable for days after last use. "In effect, SB 289 is equivalent to calling drivers DUI if they've had had a glass of beer or wine in the past few hours, or left an empty bottle in their trash," says Cal NORML director Dale Gieringer.

Accident studies have found that drivers who test positive for marijuana often show no signs of impairment, and in some instances even may drive more safely. Regular users, such as most medical marijuana patients, often develop tolerance and may drive safely despite having high levels of marijuana in their system.

The U.S National Highway Traffic Safety Administration calls it "inadvisable to try and predict effects based on blood THC concentrations alone," noting that "concentrations of parent drug and metabolite are very dependent on pattern of use as well as dose." [NHTSA 2013].

Advocates of "zero tolerance" DUI laws have sought to stir up public fears of increased marijuana accidents on the road. Such fears are belied by accident statistics, which show that highway safety has improved steadily over the years even while access to marijuana has expanded. In California, highway fatality rates have posted record lows in recent years, and DUI arrests have likewise been on the decline. Studies have found no evidence that strict per se DUI drug testing limits have any impact on highway safety.

Neither is there any good evidence that drug testing is needed to protect workplace safety or productivity. Unlike other medical devices and drugs, which are required to be proven as "safe and effective" in extensive, rigorously controlled, double-blind studies, no such studies have ever been conducted in the case of drug testing. Ironically, while the federal government continues to ban Americans from using marijuana for medicine on the grounds it isn't FDA approved, it is forcing them to submit to drug tests that have never been FDA tested as safe or effective for improving safety or productivity.

NORML constantly hears from responsible consumers, including seriously ill medical marijuana patients, who have been unfairly barred from employment, housing assistance, child custody, and medical treatment because of abusive drug testing.

"Americans need to stand up for personal privacy and freedom from drug testing," says Gieringer. "In no other nation is drug testing so widely abused. Drug testing is a scientifically unproven technology that impinges on the privacy of millions of Americans. If Americans are seriously worried about drug impairment, they should consider performance tests that measure actual impairment."

California NORML www.canorml.org - 415-563-5858 / FAX 510-849-3974

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Laker’s Retire Shaq’s Number & Beat Mavs in Must Win Game

 What a great half-time ceremony honoring Shaquille O’Neil tonight. Putting his jersey number up there with the other Laker legends was a touching moment. The Hall of Fame isn’t far away.

It was cool seeing Phil Jackson there along with other Laker greats (Jamaal Wilkes, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, James Worthy, Jerry West & more) who showed up to honor him. Good speech by Shaq. Kobe had a classy tribute to his old team mate too.

In a tough year for the Laker organization – with the death of Jerry Buss and multiple star injuries – the Lakers are struggling to make the playoffs. They’ll be lucky to hold down the 8th seed - which means they’ll have to face the high power Spurs.

Tonight’s win – 101- 81 – means the Lakers will stay on pace for the last seed. Kobe was fantastic with a triple-double, and Earl Clark brought energy, points, and rebounds off of the bench.

Every game counts now, with only nine left in the regular season. There’s no telling when Steve Nash will be able to play again. Metta World Peace is weeks away from playing. So players like Clark, Jamison, Blake, and Meeks really need to step up if the Lakers hope to make the playoffs.

Go Lakers!

Rafter’s Redemption continues…

A novella by Dave Stancliff

   CHAPTER TWO

   In The Army  

 Basic training happened by the sea, at Ft. Ord, the U.S. Army’s Training Center for Infantry in California. It was named after Major General Edward Cresap Ord, who served with Fremont’s Army in the early days of California.

  Rafter and his fellow trainees in Company B, 1st Battalion, 1st Brigade, ran along the beach in the morning fog every day. They ran all over the base. Everywhere they went they ran. They sang as they ran. They moaned while running miles in full gear with their heavy M-14 rifles at port arms. They ran through obstacle courses. They ran carrying a buddy on their back. They ran in their dreams like dogs sometimes do.

  Every morning they woke to infuriated drill instructors telling them to get their maggoty asses off their racks. The tension got worse every step of the way. Every day. (GO HERE to continue story)

April Fools Day for Cybernet Citizens Can Be Any Day!

Could it be?  Will Bill Gates really give you $5,000 for sharing a link on Facebook?

Of course not. The email is bogus and so is the picture of Gates holding a sign that purportedly shows him making that promise.

This is just one of an ever-growing collection of email hoaxes that fill in-bins across the world. They’re not scams – no one is trying to steal your money or personal information – they’re just fiction. 

Why do so many people accept the bogus messages as fact and forward to others? (Read story here)