Dakota Today

** Some fodder on animal factory stench and pollution..or Pew on pew.

Native Americans in South Dakota protesting a hog farm conveniently stuck into an area surrounded by tribal land might have a little more ammunition for their cause. Highway patrolmen should be required to ride with a hog in their back seat if they think aiding an out-of-state hog factory is such a good idea. I would guess some of the Native Americans might then wonder which is the actual pig, but that is another matter of Highway Patrol public relations problems.

To be taken more seriously than a modest proposal of a pig in every back seat however, are thousands of pigs in your backyard.

Washington, DC - 04/29/2008 - The current industrial farm animal production (IFAP) system often poses unacceptable risks to public health, the environment and the welfare of the animals themselves, according to an extensive 2½-year examination conducted by the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production (PCIFAP), in a study released today.

Commissioners have determined that the negative effects of the IFAP system are too great and the scientific evidence is too strong to ignore. Significant changes must be implemented and must start now. And while some areas of animal agriculture have recognized these threats and have taken action, it is clear that the industry has a long way to go.

MORE BELOW IN CONTINUATION OR AT THE SITE Source. The Omaha World Herald carried the story today with a blurb on the front page pointing to the story on page 5. The paper also had a story indicating the problems with putting personal information about family matters in a personal blog with some of the problems that resulted for Nebraska bloggers.

http://www.pewtrusts.org/news_room_detail.aspx?id=38438

http://snipurl.com/26jwk

The complete Pew article is in the continuation of this post. Worth reading if you care about the differences between an actual farm and a factory.

**Stay tuned even if you have never smelled the stench of hogs. It is a stink that can carry for miles and never leaves the clothes of those around hogs--- Doug Wiken

**Some ideas just go to pot

A few weeks ago I happened to see a cooking show where a pasta pot was used. It was actually two nested pots-- an outer pot with an inner perforated pot. Cook the pasta in the nested pots, and then just lift out the pasta with the water draining out the perforations into the larger outer pot. Really looked slick compared to trying to carefully pour a gallon or two of boiling water off pasta without dumping pasta or steaming fingers, etc.

I did some searching on web and at a local discount store. Such pots were not cheap compared to ordinary stew pots. At Pamida, an eight quart version that also included a steam tray was around $24. A stew pot that would fit right into our 16 or 20 quart pot was on sale for about $8. The tightwad Norwegian tendencies kicked in and I thought, "How hard would it be to drill some holes?

Well, drilling holes in a stainless steel pot provided a small bit of education. The first two black oxide drill bits from a cheap set snapped before they made any more impression on stainless steel than my fingernail would have. So, off to a hardware store to get a better center punch and a 5/32" titanium drill bit. That worked much better. Of course, the price gap between $8 and $24 was narrowing. With tax, the bit was about $2. I will probably use the $4.79 punch for several years...but.... Anyway after some swearing and disgust at less than an ergonomic design for an electric drill spread over an evening and a morning, I had over 100 holes drilled without breaking the titanium bit. That wasn't so bad after all.

Time to clean up the fillings. Then I noticed that few of the holes drilled with a clean edge. Stainless steel like that in these pots made in China or India flake off like small bits of shiny oatmeal. And when they don't flake off leave a razor sharp tab next to the hole. Some tedious "grinding" with a sharpening stone which was the closest I had to a useful tool at the time and place and the pot holes were more or less cleaned up.

Next day, I got a rotary steel brush which would fit a drill and finished the hole touch up. By then I had enough holes that something in the neighborhood of 9 quarts of water would drain out in 10 to 15 seconds.

One advantage of working on something like that is that one looks at the pot very carefully and in good light to see if the holes are cleaned up or if filings remain. I noticed a black substance around rivets and rolled seams and in every groove or indentation. Hmm. Wiping with a paper towel and soap and water gradually removed that. I don't know if it is a polishing grit or a mixture of polishing grit and fine stainless steel or what, but I did see rather quickly how contamination could get into processed food and even machine filings, etc. So, next was putting the pots together and boiling some water in it to remove oils, etc.

Then, I wondered about the pot which we had used for a couple years. The lid on it had rolled seams. Running a paper towel around the rim into them yielded the result shown on the paper towel in the photo.
So, I suppose we have had some pasta over the past year that had water somewhat less than pure as a result of the whatever black stuff slowly washing into the water with the condensed steam.

Based on my experience, I would suggest not trying to save a few dollars and instead finding a good pasta pot if you can. The combination did really work slick after it was finished and clean. I assume the ready-made ones would be as useful or more so. I also became very aware of how filings, etc. could end up in cooking equipment and food processing machinery. Cleaning up was really a pain in the rear.

BUT, I also think it would be wise to carefully examine all metal pots in a good light and then carefully wipe around rivets and seams with significant pressure and persistence if you notice a black stain or grit in seams or around rivets, etc.

So much for how-to-do-it or more likely how not to save a few dollars.

***Stay tuned, I'm sure there are more political events going to pot than there are even pots going to pot--Doug Wiken

**Farmer's share of your grocery bill ..data from NFU

Every time we return from the local grocery stores, it seems like the bill is bigger and the bags are smaller. I found the National Farmers Union fact sheet in the local paper. It kind of gets buried in the page, but a few more people might get a chance to see it here. Click on the small version for one large enough to read and copy if you wish to print it yourself.

There is wide variation in the farmer's share depending on the food category. It appears that grocery buyers purchasing dairy products and flour end up giving the farmer a nearly fair share. Other "foods" like beer and potato chips are something else however.

Also in the local paper was a line similar to this in a story about a farmwife and her recipes, " Name here grew up on a farm as a little girl." You might want to think about that one for a minute. From her photo despite that sentence, she appeared to have grown into a fully formed woman with a pleasant smile and good recipes.

Incidentally, in a recent story on food "deserts", Tripp County was listed as one of them. Two grocery stores selling almost wholly "Surefine" products leaves much to be desired. Their rice and pasta is nearly inedible compared to some brands, and the canned goods are almost never as good. A spoonful of good-tasting food may be better than a cheaper cupful of food with the wrong taste, texture, or sauce. Of course, your food mileage may vary especially if you have to drive out of the food desert for a good dessert..even if they aren't your just desserts.

NOTE added March 28, 2008: Cory Heidelberger at his KELO section of Madville Times added signficant information to this post regarding the idea of "food deserts", etc. Worth taking a look at his perspective on this too.
New Window LINK to Madville Times at KELO Blogs

***Stay tuned and eat healthy..or as best you can wherever you are--- Doug Wiken

**Booze and pot for minors and penalties

Ironic that SD is hellbent on demolishing old buildings at the state mental hospital in Yankton when there seem to be so many legislators and lawyers testifying there that need to seek help with their mental problems.

Somehow, while moaning about the costs of the South Dakota prison system, the legislature also apparently gives serious consideration to having a 10-year mandatory prison sentence for anybody selling one ounce of pot to a person under the age of 18. Penalties expand up to 25 years for larger amounts.

This is such a wonderful idea, that it calls for a modest proposition of penalty expansion Make the same penalties apply to those who provide even one can or bottle of beer to a person under age 18 and make the penalty 25 years for dispensing a whole six-pack of beer or one of those liter or larger containers. Those who push wine and distilled spirits down the throats of those with young impressionable minds should be give life terms.

But, I forgot. The same legislature is so loaded and loaded with booze hounds that it can't even pass legislation to increase the price of a bottle of beer 10 cents because that would unfairly tax responsible drinkers. The incredible social costs related to the sale of booze is readily apparent. I don't drink or use pot either, but it does not seem to me that the dreadful problems claimed to relate to pot even exist. The truly bad consequences appear to have more to do with legal penalties than pharmacologically related dangers.
I will leave such arguments to people like Bob Newland who may have experience with both pot and booze.

I assume the same legislators don't give a rat's rear about shifting the unnecessary costs resulting because of drinkers and drunken drivers to property tax payers and those who must license highway vehicles It is rapidly becoming apparent that the term "responsible drinkers" is an oxymoron...especially when they also happen to be in the state legislature or sucking contributions from the liquor industry.

Napoli of Rapid City is pushing for repeal of term limits. I think that makes a lot of sense. If we don't think any legislator is representing us instead of special interests, we have elections to get them out of the legislature. It is obvious that term limits have not kept the completely demented out of the legislature anyway.

**Stay tuned if for nothing else than to read my bitching about the coming really crappy weather-- Doug Wiken

**Retake on hospital-related infections, etc on SDPB

SDPB TV is rebroadcasting the "Dr. On Call" program in which they discussed hospital-carried infections and antibiotic resistant infections. If you haven't seen it, it is worth viewing. Even if you have seen it, it is worth viewing again. It may be Thursday night or tonight. I don't have a schedule or paper at hand by this computer.

And, you might if you are a hospital administrator or health professional also dig around here for my post on hospital checklists for procedure and protocols that are essentially cost-free, but carry big dividends in reducing healthcare costs and needless misery and death.

Fresh Air on SDPB radio today had some discussion of other simple procedures which cut hospital infections and problems. These issues may seem messy and needlessly technical, but with hospital charges and hospital-related deaths rising or significant already, these are issues which should retain our interest and consideration.
[Post Edit: I caught an image from SDPB-TV promoting the program. It indicates the rebroadcast will be Thursday night 7:00PM CST and 6:00PM MST]

And, just to get past the seriousness, there was a cartoon in a Sunday supplement a week or two ago. Doctor talking to patient sitting on an examination table with one of those show your back and butt hospital gowns. Doctor says, "I have hidden your clothes until you pay your old bill."

**Stay tuned, but you don't need to turn your head and cough--Doug Wiken

**You won't hear Republican candidates talking about this

On January 4, 2008, I heard Dr. Timothy Johnson, MD on ABC-TV say that drug companies spend more on promotion of product than on research. Tonight the Republican candidates in New Hampshire could not seem to think of one thing that might reduce costs of medical coverage without harming their idea of the "best medical care in the world."

They might look into drug costs. A study indicated that a conservative estimate of the relative amounts went something like

$58 Billion on promotion not including promotion of unlabeled uses of drugs.
$32 Billion on researching new pharmaceuticals.

Of course then there is Bush's prevention of government searching for lower drug prices and the old
time GOP opposition of government aid for medical coverage..it would interfere with the "essential Doctor-Patient Relationship." What they were really referring to of course was the "essential Doctor-Patient's Wallet Relationship".

**Stay tuned, maybe the Democratic candidates will actually say something--- Doug Wiken

**Gordy Pratt hits the stage at WRHC Christmas Party

Last evening, Winner Regional Healthcare Center had the annual Christmas Party. Frankly we don't always get to these events. A time or two we had dreadful stomach upsets the next day and sometimes the bands were so damn loud and obnoxious they would make a normal dog howl. But, last night, the department at the hospital my wife works in or for was "hosting" and my wife HAD to be there. Anyway, the food including prime rib and "baked" potato was very good and we are no worse the wear for it.

The Hospital and Nursing Home Christmas Party is also an annual award for service by personnel at the facility. Dozens of people have served there for 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 and 40 years. That says both something about their determination and skill, but also about the job situation in South Dakota.

This afternoon I "was volunteered" to help fold and load chairs on racks, clear tables, etc. at St. Mary's Hall. We got that done and so by now, I can squander a bit of time at the computer even as my own dogs think they must do their own howling and barking at coyotes or more likely the cat they detest that hides on the porch.

Entertainment last night was by Gordy Pratt. He seems to get around here every five or ten years for something and definitely knows how to entertain. He puts on a high energy show combining superb musical talent with both good and outrageous humor. Below is a severely cropped photo from his promotional site.

Pratt has some very original material and some of the oldest jokes anybody puts on stage in South Dakota. They darn near bring back childhood years. More seriously, if I had a few more dollars in my pocket last night, I would have bought a CD or two. I was thinking at the time as Pratt performed with a couple of good guitar pieces played mostly seriously that it was almost a shame he probably has to compromise between his sense of humor and his sense of music. But, after I saw his website, I see he had CDs which apparently have blasts of his humor and some with his best music. Check the site below for more information.

New Window LINK to Gordy Pratt..That One Guy

From Pratt's talk last night, sounds like he has been around the edges of South Dakota in the last few weeks.
Some genuine South Dakota talent making the best of a South Dakota situation.

**Stay tuned, but not for fine music..I like it, but have all the musical talent of a smooth rock--- Doug Wiken

**Mystery of the Missing Blog Posts Explained..

Those Blog lurkers probably have silently noticed the huge dearth of blog posts in the last 24 hours or so. Well, check around the SD Blog Land again. A whole bunch of them including the guy writing this sneaked off to a spot just miles north of the population center of SD (Gann Valley, incidentally) to a farm near Holabird. There a whole passel of vehicles with license plates from both sides of SD were assembled. Not one of the bloggers there was posting via satellite feed as far as I could tell. A vast shortage of assembled pixels resulted.

Ace investigators have tracked the background of this near equivalent of a blog mafia midtstate family get together to offhand comments about pheasant hunting at Mt. Blogmore involving some actual hunters and a few others. Kevin Woster took Nick Nemec up on a hunting offer that apparently was to involve some of Woster's many relatives...which turned out instead to be an unlikely group of posters at Mt. Blogmore and other SD Bloggers and writers. This very dysfunctional "family" was about as closely related otherwise as Sibby of Sibby Online is to Sobby Online.

As I am sure you will see tomorrow, a whole bunch ..well about 15 people and nearly as many dogs will be thanking Nick and Mary Jo Nemec for their generosity and Woster of Mt. Blogmore for generously taking up the offer and running with it. The chili was just right..not too hot and not too bland. It all showed that bloggers deserve nearly as much attention and kindness as that shown a good old three-legged dog.

Well, that is enough of this for tonight. Maybe sometime tomorrow, I hope to have the kinks out of the list of blogs and sites that link to Dakota Today and get that back into a side panel again. It appears to be at least one of the problems that caused Microsoft Internet Explorer to turn Dakota Today into a single column pretty well scrambling it.

Unlike some who pooped themselves out chasing after Chinese Ringnecks, I have only a tired jaw to rest, but that is enough reason to quit typing and hit the sack.

**Stay tuned for more of something or maybe not much now that I have been named to the elite list of Token Liberals at Sibby Online--- Doug Wiken

**Golly Gee Whiz, That Bombardier Plane N343DF carried Tom Brokaw

Some of you may have noticed the photo of the cattle and the jet plane a few days ago here at Dakota Today. The Plane N343DF gets around the world if a Google search means anything. It dropped into Winner, SD carrying Tom Brokaw and several other hunters according to the breathless story in the Winner Advocate.

The cutline under the airplane photo in the paper indicated the plane was the largest that had ever flown into the Winner Regional Airport...probably true even if it was called Wyly field up until a few months ago. The story writer called it a "superior" plane. My guess is "Bombardier" was said, but not heard. Anyway. More to the point, the story indicates the plane weighed 98,000 pounds. My recollection from discussion with an engineer at the airport when the runway was poured indicated the maximum load was around 40,000 pounds and they had only gotten that high a weight limit for such a short runway because they assumed the snow removal trucks might weigh that much.

So, it was indeed a large plane..paper says that the wings extended 10 feet beyond the edges of the runway. It as also possibly just a bit too big or at least too heavy. Must have had good brakes and plenty of takeoff power...I guess a plane that probably costs between $20 and $50 million oughta be hot.

Those must have been some damned expensive pheasants. The plane returned to Teterboro Airport in NJ in perhaps two or three hours after leaving here flying at 45,000 feet over 500mph. I guess Tom Brokaw and friends are some of those people with more money than they know what to do with (even if he might not end a sentence with a preposition).

The paper also had a follow up on the SD Regent visit to Winner. Apparently nobody asked any questions if the newspaper report was correct. I guess when I attend meetings and then read the Dan Bechtold stories about those same events, I wonder if we were actually on the same planet at the time. More on that tomorrow when I am actually awake.

If you are awake before that, see if you can find out the weight limits for planes landing at the Winner Regional Airport.

*** Stay tuned even if you fly mighty low and slow and on both feet as well--- Doug Wiken

**Home on the range..Not..A photo

It is that time of the year again in South Dakota, those with more money than they know what to do with, venture out onto the browning prairies in search of the alien bird known as the "Chinese Ringneck Pheasant".
Some come by car, many by honking big SUV monarchs of the road, and a few evade the deer which can wander onto the roads and cause great damage to vehicles by flying in here in good-sized roaring jets.

Actually, the one in the photo below landed without making a whole lot of noise compared to some of the old smoking Lear jets. It does make a nice contrast with the cattle grazing a quarter mile or so north of the jet.
Click on the image for a slightly larger view.

For those curious about such planes, a site called "Landings" has some parts of the FAA databases available for searching via the "N numbers" on planes. This jet has N343DF on it. Which happens to identify it as a nearly new Bombardier owned by Park View Holdings of New York City. I did not try to find out what such a plane costs, but my guess is that the purchase price would be sufficient to purchase a major chunk of all the real estate in Winner, SD. Below is a link to the Landings site for those of you who are also nosy about such things.

New Window LINK to Landings "N-Number" Database

Lots of other stuff at that site as well.

**Stay tuned even if you are not a predator in search of the inedible..and Happy Landings--Doug Wiken