Pat_S's BlogWire
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Cow Tales: Ruminomics
by Pat_S on February 15, 2012(h/t RuBegonia) Ruminants(which include cattle, sheep and goats) have a complicated digestive system which allows them to digest very fibrous food. They have a multi-chambered stomach which digests food via a fermentation process. The by-product of that process is methane.The process has served ruminants well for 54 million years, but now European scientists want to find ways to change it so as to save the planet from the havoc of climate change. There have been attempts to capture the rear end emissions using bags. What do do about the belching? Scientists are gathering in Scotland (flying in from all over) to come up with a plan. They will be spending millions of dollars on the four-year Ruminonmics research project. It...
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Cow Tales: Cows Munch On Cap’n Crunch
by Pat_S on February 8, 2012Never mind the argument about grass-fed vs grain-fed beef, what about Cap’n Crunch-fed beef or even Twizzler-fed beef? When we put corn in our cars, it costs too much to put it in our cows. The solution, let them eat scraps, everything from Cap’n Crunch cereal to Hershey candy bars. Nearly all can be pulverized and turned into feed. The candy wrappers are vacuumed out of the processed dust but the machine can’t digest Twizzlers. They are fed whole to the livestock. Cows munch on recycled Captain Crunch Throwing food scraps to hogs and other farm animals is an age-old practice. As food production has become more industrialized, food factories have found ways to continue to recycle massive amounts of would-be food waste. Often, more than 50...
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Waivers: The Yellow Brick Road To Amnesty
by Pat_S on February 2, 2012Illegals in Kansas may soon think they’re not in trouble anymore. At least that’s the wish of the Kansas Agricultural Secretary, Dale Rodman. Rodman is consulting with DHS officials about getting a waiver for Kansas employers to legally hire immigrants. A coalition of agricultural business groups along with the Kansas Chamber of Commerce say they need to hire illegals for hard to fill jobs. Republican Governor Brownback and Secretary of State Kobach oppose the plan. Kobach even worked with Arizona and Alabama in drafting their restrictive immigration laws. The federal government is suing those states based on preemption, the ace the federal government plays whenever any lesser government entity tries to pass laws concerning illegals. Only the federal government has...
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Cow Tales: Cow-cuddle Therapy (Koeknuffelen)
by Pat_S on February 1, 2012The Netherlands now has three “care farms” specializing in cow-cuddle therapy (or as they say it, “koeknuffelen”). Originally used as therapy for special needs children, care farms now cater to children and adults with behavior problems, overstressed managers and the just plain curious. Marente Hupkes, the cow-cuddling pioneer, thinks it has something to do with the cows digestive system. I think she may be trying too hard with that explanation, especially considering cows are notorious for the gaseous finish of that process. Her “cowmunnication” theory sounds more realistic, literally getting in touch with nature. There is no scientific proof that cuddling with cows is soothing, but the response from cuddlers is an overwhelming “ja”. The calming effect of cuddling cows...
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Warning: Salmonella Outbreak At “Restaurant Chain A”
by Pat_S on January 25, 2012Information is not knowledge. —Albert Einstein From the CDC: A widely distributed contaminated food product might cause illnesses in a specific region and across the United States. As of January 19, 2012, a total of 68 individuals infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Enteritidis have been reported from 10 states. The specific food product has not been identified. It is sold at Restaurant Chain A. The good news is the outbreak appears to be over. The CDC and the FDA have started an investigation. Investigation Announcement: Multistate Outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis Infections Linked to Restaurant Chain A CDC and public health officials in multiple states conducted an epidemiologic study by comparing foods eaten by 48 ill and 103 well...
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Cow Tales: Purple Cow
by Pat_S on January 25, 2012I never saw a purple cow I never hope to see one But I can tell you here and now I’d rather see than be one —–Gillett Burgess For those who do want to see one, here is a video of a purple calf born in Serbia. From the looks of things, I’d rather not be any form of life in Serbia. I had to strain to see purple but I’ll take their word for it. Milka, A Swiss chocolate company using a purple cow logo believes it. After hearing about the purple calf, the company sent dozens of boxes of chocolate to the farmers. Milking It Looks like the Milka brand is only available overseas. From their UK website:...
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Lost In Translation: Gingrich Aghast That Romney Speaks French
by Pat_S on January 13, 2012Well why didn’t Gingrich tell us this about Romney in Iowa and it would all be over. The man speaks French! The same language John Kerry can speak. Unlike some other charges Newt has made against Romney, this one is true. Here’s the latest Gingrich web ad ending with the shocking revelation. Gingrich has taken control of the narrative but a lot of people find it incomprehensible.
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What? Those Naked Women Were Prostitutes?
by Pat_S on January 12, 2012Awww, poor innocent naif. How could Dominique Strauss-Kahn possibly know those naked women at a party were prostitutes? Naked women all look alike. Lawyer: Strauss-Kahn did not know women were whores A lawyer for Dominique Strauss-Kahn says the former International Monetary Fund chief did not know he was having sex with French and Belgian prostitutes. “At these parties, people were not necessarily dressed, and I defy you to tell the difference between a naked prostitute and any other naked woman,” he said. …his name has surfaced in an investigation into a prostitution operation that was allegedly based at the Carlton Hotel in Lille in northern France. He denies having paid sex — or at least sex he knew had been...
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Judge Halts Mississippi Pardons
by Pat_S on January 12, 2012The Mississippi Attorney General asked for and won an injunction against 21 of the 200 outgoing Gov. Barbour pardons. The AG argued some of the pardons failed to meet the state requirement for a public notice when an inmate requests a pardon. Many, including the infamous four murderers, have already been released. No doubt the huge outcry over some of these pardons prompted the AG, Jim Hood, a Democrat, to take action. He likened Gov. Barbour to Boss Hogg saying he acted as though he was above the law. Attorney general: Barbour tried to rule the state like Boss Hogg “He’s tried to rule the state like Boss Hogg and he didn’t think the law applied to him,” Attorney General...
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Cow Tales: Where’s The Sacred Beef?
by Pat_S on January 11, 2012Sacred cows have been in politics for a long time. Actual sacred cows have been in India much longer. Now the two concepts have converged in that country. Hindus venerated the cow for centuries. The cow was vital to agriculture in ancient times. Milk and butter (ghee) were dietary essentials as they are to this day. Cow dung was a natural fertilizer as well as a heat source and used as a building material. Cow urine was used as a natural fertilizer. Cow sacrifice is noted in ancient Hindu scripture but somewhere along the way, the Hindus began to impute the cow with divine essence. The culture of a prosperous agriculture and a gentle religion was upset when the British...
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Cow Tales: Runaway Finds Refuge In Canada
by Pat_S on January 4, 2012Another runaway cow story with a happy ending. Cow that spent 9 months on run learns to relax at rescue farm A runaway cow that survived months in the wilderness has been rescued and is now lazing around a farm in Summerland. “She is doing magnificently here,” said Deborah Silk of Critteraid, an animal rescue charity that runs the farm. “She spent a lot of time in the wild, so is still a bit feral, but is settling down to life here.” It survived, living off the grass in the bog and the kindness of strangers who fed it hay when winter fell. On Dec. 11, when someone contacted Lifeforce and Hamilton learned of the cow’s plight, he took action....
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Ron Paul Trivializes Sexual Harassment
by Pat_S on January 1, 2012In an interview for Bloomberg TV Ron Paul scoffs at federal laws against sexual harassment. He thinks you should quit if your boss is behaving in ways you don’t like. There is a definition of sexual harassment. Conduct must be severe or pervasive in order to be considered sexual harassment. It is conduct that creates an “intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment”. According to Ron Paul you should either laugh it off, submit to it or quit. Let’s not forget this kind of conduct used to be regular sport in the workplace. Hey, men will be men. It’s just human nature. Women were demeaned, disrespected and would suffer economically if they complained. It was almost sure to occur wherever you...
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Cow Tales: Bunny Has Twins
by Pat_S on December 28, 2011Rachel and Eddie Hart, owners of the Hart to Hart farm in CT, name their cows based on the holiday nearest to their birth. There’s Pilgrim, Independence and Bunny. Pretty obvious holiday references there. This Christmas Bunny gave birth to Mary and Joseph, twin calves born on Christmas Day. Twins are a rarity in the bovine world. The odds are a thousand to one. Maybe naming a cow Bunny creates identity issues about fecundity. Joseph and Mary are the newest Christmas related names on the Hart to Hart farm. There is also Clarice. Clarice? Clarice is Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer’s girlfriend. Rare twin calves born Christmas Day in Plainfield I think Mother’s Day ought to be the most special holiday...
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Cow Tales: Mootunes for Christmas
by Pat_S on December 21, 2011DairyCo is a non-profit organization in the UK trying to educate the public in understanding more about the dairy industry. Farmer Andrew Gilman, aware of how technology is a critical part of modern day farming, relies a lot on his cellphone (or mobile as they call it over there). One day he had the idea to use his phone to record his cows mooing. It was challenging because the cows being well cared for by farmer Gilman are usually quietly content. They do get noisy around eating time when they are excited about getting their food. (Me too.) DairyCo thought it would be a great way to promote public awareness of dairy farming by creating some Christmas tunes using farmer...