progressive involvement

Run your car on coffee grounds

Researchers in Nevada are reporting that waste coffee grounds can provide a cheap, abundant, and environmentally friendly source of biodiesel fuel for powering cars and trucks.

In the new study, Mano Misra, Susanta Mohapatra, and Narasimharao Kondamudi note that the major barrier to wider use of biodiesel fuel is lack of a low-cost, high quality source, or feedstock, for producing that new energy source. Spent coffee grounds contain between 11 and 20 percent oil by weight.

Of course.  The nectar of the gods can and should be used for multiple purposes.  Not only can you get your poor body going in the morning, you can use the oil in it to drive your car and use the leftover "waste" for "soil conditioner."  Plus, the anti-oxidants in coffee not only keep your arteries clean, they'll keep your car's gas line clean as well.

Ben Franklin was wrong

The Royal Academy of Brussels was looking for scientific solutions to practical problems.  Benjamin Franklin thought the problem of "wind in the bowels" should be addressed.  As he said:

Permit me then humbly to propose...for your consideration, and through you, if you approve it, for the serious Enquiry of learned Physicians, Chemists, &c. of this enlightened Age. It is universally well known, That in digesting our common Food, there is created or produced in the Bowels of human Creatures, a great Quantity of Wind.

Franklin thought that it was not the sound of this wind that was repellant--people cough and sneeze without giving offense all the time.  No, the offense obviously was the aroma.  Therefore, he proposed finding a drug that could be mixed with food that would then produce a pleasant aroma, perhaps lemon or peppermint.  It would be a boon for all humanity. 

To discover some Drug wholesome & not disagreeable, to be mixed with our common Food, or Sauces, that shall render the natural Discharges of Wind from our Bodies, not only inoffensive, but agreeable as Perfumes.  

This would allow people to discharge more freely making everyone happier.  Philosophy and science could be of little utility as long as people were plagued by unpleasant emissions.  "What Comfort can the Vortices of Descartes give to a Man who has Whirlwinds in his Bowels!"

Alas, it turns out that the assaulting aroma of passed gas may actually serve to lower blood pressure.  Live Science reports: 

A smelly rotten-egg gas in farts controls blood pressure in mice, a new study finds.

The unpleasant aroma of the gas, called hydrogen sulfide (H2S), can be a little too familiar, as it is expelled by bacteria living in the human colon and eventually makes its way, well, out.

The new research found that cells lining mice’s blood vessels naturally make the gas and this action can help keep the rodents’ blood pressure low by relaxing the blood vessels to prevent hypertension (high blood pressure). This gas is “no doubt” produced in cells lining human blood vessels too, the researchers said.

“Now that we know hydrogen sulfide’s role in regulating blood pressure, it may be possible to design drug therapies that enhance its formation as an alternative to the current methods of treatment for hypertension,” said Johns Hopkins neuroscientist Solomon H. Snyder, M.D., a co-author of the study detailed in the Oct. 24th issue of the journal Science.

Hydrogen sulfide as a treatment for high blood pressure?  I hope I never need it. 

Skip the cowtown stuff

The New York Times has a regular feature titled "36 Hours in" somewhere, and today they did "36 Hours in Denver."  Eric Wilson, writing from New-York-City, seems to think our fair city is still something of a cowtown.  Criminy, if you want good steaks, stay in Kansas City, and if you want to look like a local, don't buy that foo-foo cowboy stuff they want to sell you downtown.

Forget that.  Here's the skinny.  If you're coming in on a Friday, hit First Friday in the Highlands neighborhood.  You can walk in an out of art galleries, drinking wine, looking more sophisticated than you are, and have a good time besides, especially if you cap it off with dinner at Patsy's Italian Restaurant on Navajo Street.  After dinner, go over to Common Grounds Coffee--liberal friendly!--and have some quality coffee.

If you're young, and looking for a night out, there are ton of places to go, of course, but you're a tourist and this may be a one-time deal, so head for Lodo and do some bar hopping.  Make sure you wind up at El Chapultepec, catty-corner across the street from Coors Field.  It's a dive, but it has the best jazz in the city, and some of the best anywhere. 

Next morning, after breakfast at Dozens, say about 10-ish, head down to Civic Center.  (From Dozens, you're already right there.)  The new Art Museum is worth a visit, as is the old art museum for that matter.  If possible, approach the Art Museum coming from the east on 13th.  From that angle, the museum looks like a battleship with its prow extending over the street.  If you feel like moseying, take in the Capitol, the Mint, and the Public Library while you're in the neighborhood.

For lunch, skip those hoity-toity places mentioned in the New-York-Times and go to the Hornet on South Broadway.  Enjoy the excellent food and the funky South Broadway atmosphere.  In fact, after lunch go for a stroll on South Broadway.  If you like antiques, head for Eron Johnson's.

At this point, you have several options.  If the National League Champion Colorado Rockies are playing, and you've never been to Coors Field, go there.  If you're into shopping, try Cherry Creek North, especially Creator Mundi, which sells religious art, and not the schlocky stuff either.  The other shopping option would be the 16th Street Mall downtown for a more urban environment.

For history, Eric Wilson got this one right.  He says go to the Molly Brown House, which is a good recommendation.  You might also enjoy the Colorado History Museum, or the Denver Museum of Nature and Science--next to City Park;  go there too.  Art lovers, you've already done your thing last night, but if you want more, check out the Museo de Americas on Santa Fe and also Artists on Santa Fe.

For dinner, head to Potager on 11th.  They use seasonal ingredients, skillfully prepared, and served in an "industrial" environment with big front windows.  If Italian is your thing, my favorite is Cucina Calore in Cherry Creek North.  For hipness, and interesting food, you might like the Vesta Dipping Grill at 18th and Blake.  While you're in the neighborhood, walk over to 19th and Market.  Back in the days of the last political convention to be held in Denver, 1940 Market St. was the address of Mattie Silks' "pleasure parlor."

Sunday morning you should be in church.  Catholics have Immaculate Conception right across from the Capitol though, personally, I prefer Christ the King on 8th Ave in the Mayfair neighborhood, mainly because of the beautiful brick with red tile structure and because the priest is from Hays, Kansas.  For protestants of the nose-bleed high liturgy variety, St. John's Episcopal Cathedral is at 14th and Clarkson.  For a gay-friendly environment, Our Savior's Lutheran, St. Paul Lutheran, Central Presbyterian, and the historic Trinity Methodist are right downtown.

Brunch at the Brown Palace.  Have some history and architecture with your food.  Then hustle to the airport.  Your 36 hours is up.  Come back when you can stay longer.

      

Why biofuels contribute to high food costs

From a confidential World Bank report published first in the Guardian (UK), then salon.com.

It (the World Bank report) argues that production of biofuels has distorted food markets in three main ways. First, it has diverted grain away from food for fuel, with over a third of US corn now used to produce ethanol and about half of vegetable oils in the EU going towards the production of biodiesel. Second, farmers have been encouraged to set land aside for biofuel production. Third, it has sparked financial speculation in grains, driving prices up higher.

Starbucks went overboard

The New York Times has more on Starbucks' pull-back.  Most of the 600 stores Starbucks plans to close--70% of them--were opened in the past two years, many of them in poor locations, and some competing with existing successful stores close by.  Typically, Starbucks has been uncanny in picking good locations for its stores.

It also overextended itself in certain regions, like in the South and in Southern California, which are among the hardest hit by the housing crisis, and whose older demographics and hot weather are not generally conducive to creating long lines of customers eager to pay $4 for foam-top lattes.

“The economy exposed all the flaws in their thinking,” said one commercial real estate broker, who, like some others interviewed for this article, did not want to be named in order to preserve his relationship with the company.

You know times are bad when...

Starbucks closes 600 stores.  This year, for the first time in its history, traffic is down. 

Aficionados kind of turn up their nose at Starbucks, but I like the place myself.  The decor is not offensive, and the music is generally good--and eclectic.  At my local Starbucks the other day, they were playing Mahalia Jackson, followed by Debussy.  When Johnny Cash died, in memorium, they played three days of Johnny--ditto Ray Charles. 

I even like the Pike Place blend, although I do admit--not to sound "coffee-snobby" or anything--that it "lacks boldness."  Still, it tastes good, and for those of us who remember when all coffee in this country was swill, that is no small thing.

Peaberry's is a fine option for those who want more choice in coffee.  They offer four daily brews.  Lately, my local store has been hitting the Ethiopian Yirgecheffe pretty hard, and thank God for it.  What flavor!  Ethiopians claim that coffee originated in their country, and some of the world's most exclusive--and expensive--coffees come from Ethiopia.  Peaberry's also seems to feature more out-of-the-mainstream Latin American coffees--Peruvian and Brazilian, for example. 

For local stores, Kaladi Brothers, near Denver University, has an academic air to it.  The Market, on Larimer downtown, has excellent pastries and is situated well for people-watching.  Common Grounds, in the Highlands neighborhood, is especially "liberal-friendly."  On the southeast side of the city, try Carino Coffee on Smoky Hill for "true Latin American flavor."

I've never had a latte or any of the other foo-foo drinks.  It's all about the coffee for me.  Starbucks made a major contribution to American culture when it showed everyone that coffee could actually taste good.  Who drank the excellent Sumatra coffees until Starbucks came along?

 

Poor people hit first and worst, as usual

The World Bank reports that over-all food prices have risen 83% over the past 36 months.  James Joyner cites increased use of biofuels as one reason, and says higher prices are likely to persist for at least the next few years.

World Bank President Robert Zoellick on NPR today: 

Demand for ethanol and other biofuels is a “significant contributor” to soaring food prices around the world, World Bank President Robert Zoellick says. Droughts, financial market speculators and increased demand for food have also helped create “a perfect storm” that has boosted those prices, he says.

The soaring costs of food and fuel led to riots in Haiti and Egypt and a general strike in Burkina Faso this week. Skyrocketing food prices are topping the agenda this weekend of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund annual spring meetings in Washington.

Zoellick held up a bag of rice during a news conference Thursday to illustrate the severity of the food crisis. “In Bangladesh a two-kilogram bag of rice … now consumes about half of the daily income of a poor family,” he said. “The price of a loaf of bread … has more than doubled. Poor people in Yemen are now spending more than a quarter of their incomes just on bread.”

You are what you eat

Harper's magazine reports that German researchers have found that mice developed an apelike metabolism when fed a chimpanzee's vegetarian diet, and developed a more human metabolism when fed a diet of burgers and fries from McDonald's.

Starbucks to close in about a minute

They'll be closed from 5:30 to 8:30 to retrain employees.  Seattle Times:  "We will have all new standards for how we create the drinks," said spokeswoman Valerie O'Neil. "They will be trained in creating the perfect shot, steaming the milk and all the pieces that come together in a drink."

Yes, well, I've never had one of those drinks.  I go to Starbucks all the time, and always get the same thing:  "Cupa Joe please--no room."  Sure, the place is pretty homogenous--everything market-tested down to the colors on the walls.  On the other hand, it's a "clean, well-lighted place" where it's easy to read, and the music is good.  My local store ran three days of Ray Charles and three days of Johnny Cash upon their respective deaths.

The problem is declining visits--down about 1% per store this year.  I'm glad to hear that they're going to bag those nasty-smelling heated sandwiches.  The cold ones are just fine.  I'm also glad to hear that they're going to offer free wireless internet.  Lots of places do, and it seemed unnecessarily money-grubbing for Starbucks to charge for it.

See Kelly Fryer, who wonders what would happen if churches did the same thing. 

Just imagine if every mainline congregation spent that week retraining it's people - pastors, lay leaders, and every member - reminding them that to be the church is to be for their neighbors; reconnecting them to the Biblical story; refocusing them for the sake of God's mission in the world; refueling them for witness and service in their everyday lives; retooling them so that they could renew their congregations for the sake of sharing the good news in their context.