Text 1098, 101 rader
Skriven 2013-06-09 17:07:00 av JIM WELLER (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av DAVE DRUM
Ärende: Catch up
================
  Subj: Heating and Cooling

 DD> the furnace was 100% efficient -  being electric.

 JW> We could never do that here ... expensive diesel generated. (I
 JW> am paying 28 cents per kwh

> I have the advantage of having a municipally-owned utility
> which has one of the best electric rates

And I have the disadvantages of (a) being 500 miles away from the
continental grid, (b) 500 miles away from a natural gas pipeline so
we must truck in oil for both heat and power, (c) being in a place
so flat that only 25% of our power is hydro generated.

  Subj: Mobile homes

> double-wide on a basement but wound up with a modular instead ...
> for about the same final price.

"Modular" is a very elastic term and can include double-wides all
the way up to large, glamourous two story homes with attached
garages and more. We have developers here assembling 4 modules with
a crane to create 2880 sq ft duplexes (1440 per side) and even
groups of condo townhouse 1440 sq ft 6-plexes. I have also seen
modular motels where you buy a central office cum coffee shop and
then add rooms 6 at a time as required.

  Subj: Deep fried goodness

 DD> Title: Classic Quebec Poutine
 DD> 2 ts Fresh-ground green pepper
 DD> 2 tb Balsamic vinegar

 JW> Those are non-standard but certainly interesting ingredients.
 
> a Dirty Dave recipe *based* on the real deal

If Ian were here he would say that your poutine is not classic
poutine at all and therefore needs to be re-named. How about Dirty
Dave's Poutine? Take some credit for your innovations!

  Subj: NPR madness

> people prating about the Post Office losing money. Hello? It's a
> government SERVICE. It's not supposed to turn a profit. Thank you
> tea-baggers and your ilk, I think, for the change in attitude.

Canada has both agencies which are not expected to turn a profit
even if they sometimes charge nominal fees for services and crown
corporations which are 100% government owned companies and do
provide a vital service but whose secondary purpose is to turn a
reasonable profit and pay dividends into the general fund. Canada
Post used to be an agency but is now a crown corporation as is
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp, our mortgage insurance company. A
lot of crown corps have been privatized in recent decades: Air
Canada, Ontario Hydro and Alberta Government Phones (now Telus) used
to be CCs.

Our PO's gross sales and net profit are both declining as the
world's methods of communications change but it still shows a small
profit most years (our rates are higher than yours ... 63 cents vs
44 cents).

  Subj: Potassium

 SR> turnips in grocery stores? They aren't human grade food.

> Wanna bet? Just because YOU don't like them is no sign that
> others don't. I, for instance, quite like raw turnips, washed,
> peeled and sliced. Cooked turnips, not so much. Pickled turnips
> are OK. Jim Weller likes turnips but not rutabagas - or is it the
> other way around? And turnip greens are most definitely human
> food.

I am not in love with either turnips or rutabagas.  Turnips are
basically OK raw, cooked in a melange with other root vegetables or
pickled Lebanese style and I have learned to tolerate rutabagas over
time. (Roslind has also trained me to tolerate avocados so now I can
say truthfully that I will eat anything.) Turnip greens are a great
goodness, right up there with beet greens and Swiss chard, much more
flavourful than spinach. Rutabaga greens are fibrous and strong
tasting unless picked VERY young. My buddy Dutch Farmer Bill will
eat them just once a year in the spring when he thins out his 2 acre
commercial crop. The bulk of the culls get composted though. But he
grows a small plot of (white) turnips just for household use and
mainly for the greens. It's a vittle service, not a money maker. [g]

Speaking of greens, collards appeared at the Co-Op for the first
time ever. As an "exotic" import it was the costliest green in the
store, except for rocket! Having tasted them once in Edmonton, I
gave them a pass. There are SO many tastier greens out there
including the dandelions and pigweed in my gravel driveway.

YK Jim  

... The sooner you fall behind, the more time you'll have to catch up!

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