Saturday, August 26, 2006

Chicago, (not) My Kinda Town

Well, I see in the press (AFP) that a certain US city has decided to pass some laws to raise the bar where ethical food is concerned. Foie Gras, a French delicacy made from goose liver, has been banned on the grounds that the production process is inhumane. The decision to ban it means that Chicago has joined a growing number of jurisdictions, some European countries, and California, in prohibiting the stuff, made apparently by forcefeeding geese, then killing them just before their livers burst. I suppose I can see their point.

But where does it end? Pigs, for instance, start life as cute little piglets. As soon as their teeth appear, they are clipped - that's snapped off with some pliers, not filed ot extracted, mind - in a move, we're told, to stop the pig's nipples being bitten by the piglets. Goodness knows how wild pigs, or any other animal with teeth, ever managed to suckle it's young for millions of years. So that's bacon, ham, sausages, hamburgers, franks gone for starters. Ever been in a chicken farm? Baby chicks are sexed by squeezing them so hard the poop comes out of them, to look at their hineys & tell boy from girl. That's eggs and chicken out the window.

The other thing is that Chicago has lots of restaurants, but nowhere that actually makes foie gras. So what effect will the ban have on the geese? Very little, because they all live in Canada, France, or New York. At least the ones that get turned into foie gras do, anyway. That's like saying that banning cars in Central London will stop oil production in the Arab states, or China, or indeed the US.

So why the ban? Well, I think that someone has been elected to the city council, and, drunk with power, has done this to get back at all the restaurants that wouldn't accept his cry of "I'm a Councilman, put it on my tab!" The poor Chicago Public Health Department, tasked with enforcing the ban, have told restaurant owners not to worry, they won't be clamping down too hard on them. Even the Mayor has pleaded with the City to repeal the law, calling it "the silliest law they've ever passed." Good luck to him, I think he's in for a wait. The Commonwealth Of Virginia has, since the 1700's, had a law in place that makes it an offence to tickle women. I'm off to tickle El Jeffe and see if the State does anything about it.

Thought for the day - the law is an ass. Night, all.

Saturday, August 19, 2006

The County Fair

Well, El Jeffe and myself went to Gloucester County Fair today. It was hot, but not so hot you couldn't go out in it. Gloucester County is fairly rural, about 10000 people live in the county but most of it is farmland and estuary. The largest town has around 3000 people, so things are usually pretty sedate here. The nice thing about the place is that you see a lot of people you know - the hospital I work at sponsored a lot of the fair's attractions, and provided the 'cool truck' which tours the fairground giving out cold water and fans to the hot and the weary.

Anyway, there were some animals there, an alpaca which I'd never seen, some sheep, goats, minature ponies, a huge turkey and a sweet little calf. I'm glad we didn't take Poppy and Tater because they would have upset the animals.
There was also a tent, in which the various competitions were being judges - the best ear of wheat, the nicest tomatoes, the largest gourd etc. You don't see stuff like that coming from a big town like I do, and I think it's a shame. I remember the local newspaper last year had the 7-year old winner of the 'Best Looking Chicken Competition' on the front page during last year's County Fair.
Here's a picture of some of this year's entries.

El Jeffe and I are not what you'd call hellraising party animals (although it has to be said that I have had my moments, and El Jeffe with a couple of Margaritas in her is a wondrous sight to behold) and perhaps that's just as well. Here's a picture of the rules of the Fair - and there was me hoping to see an authentic cussin'and spittin' contest. I mean, Profanity, well OK there are children around so I suppose we should mind our language, but just look at this sign. bare feet!! In public!! Wouldn't that just jar your Mother's preserves. Or maybe it's supposed to apply to your pets.

Anyway, all in all, a good day. Oh, I almost forgot - here's a picture of El Jeffe and myself with none other than a Congressional candidate who's name escapes me. El Jeffe says he's a Democrat anyway. But at least he had his shoes on.

Thought for the day-I been rich, and I been poor. And I tell you, folks, rich is best. Night, all.

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Come, friendly sleep, and shroud me in thy purple cloak...

Well, it's been three weeks since we brought our new puppy home, and true to form he's completely rotten. We might have gotten maybe four hours of sleep last night what with peeing, biting, wriggling and barking (and that's just El Jeffe and myself) so as you can imagine we're all a little tired and cranky. I've started getting forgetful - I walked down to the Emergency room at the hospital today and had to telephone a colleague back in X-ray to ask her why I'd gone down there. El Jeffe, too, is becoming increasingly erratic due to lack of sleep. Fortunately little Tater seems to be slowly getting the idea that he has to pee & poop in the yard so we should be getting some more sleep by Labor Day, or more likely Thanksgiving. If he's still not behaving by then I'll glue some feathers on him, poke some stuffing up his hiney and serve him up with carrots and collard greens.

Something that has started to worry me - I'm due to go to Britain on the 12th of September, and what with the discovery of the terrorist plot in Britain I think I'm in for a rough trip. I'm not going to get all political, at least not in this part of the blog, but I do feel that life as we all knew it changed irrevocably on 9/11/2001. I'm not a politician, or an activist, or even particularly knowledgable about the various political situations across the globe, yet I have an uneasy, creeping feeling that the world at large needs to be on it's guard. It's not enough, apparently, to claim to be a blissfully unaware innocent. We may not be involved personally, or have ever been to any of these countries, or indeed even know anyone from them on a personal level, yet we have all become targets, pawns, somehow representative of everything that is supposedly wrong with our society, and I just think it's a shame that our children won't be able to preserve their childhood innocence in the way that we were.

I'm going to leave that subject for now. Tater has just preserved his own puppyhood for a little longer by 'assuming the position' beneath my desk. I'm going to take him out to pee. Then I'm off to buy collard greens and glue.

Thought for the day - money is just something you need in case you don't die in your sleep tonight. Night, all.

Thursday, August 10, 2006

What a result!!!

Well, I received my ARRT result in the mail today. I passed with a surprisingly good 97%. I was expecting about 85 or thereabouts, so as you can imagine I'm over the moon. Now please, don't talk to me for a while, I'm feeling too smug for words. It won't last, though. Tater (see last post) produced yet another huge chairleg of a turd and I'm still gonna have to clear it up, 97% notwithstanding. But not just yet - I'm still feeling just a bit too smug to clear up dog turds.

Thought for the day - no, sorry, still too smug. Maybe tomorrow. Night, all

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Enter, young Jedi

Well, I passed the Registry (see earlier post 'The Registry Looms') and that means no more school! I called the ARRT today to see why I hadn't received my result in the post, as some of my colleagues got theirs Monday. It's on it's way, but might be a few days, as it's a big packet and our post goes through Richmond, not locally through Newport News. But they were able to tell me I passed and am now 'Registered' although my actual score must remain a secret until I get it in writing. It's like joining the Masons, or indeed becoming a Jedi. Very mysterious. Kind of 'we could tell you, but then we'd have to kill you.' Anyway, the main thing is I'm home and dry. El Jeffe was as pleased as I was, bless her.

Other news: one of our dogs, Poppy, caught a groundhog over the weekend, and apparently it's died just outside our garden fence. It's been very hot the last few days, like 105 degrees hot, and humid too, and that groundhog is ripe. The stench in the back yard is enough to knock you over. I'm hoping the buzzards will come and eat it or at least fly off with it, but I doubt they could stand the smell. Poppy and Tater, of course, think it's fantastic having rotten carrion around.

Speaking of Poppy & Tater, I have some pictures of them.
















My, they're cute, ain't they? We just laugh and bill and coo when the big one (Poppy) escapes at 11am one morning and remains at large (although within sight of the house) until 5am the following morning. We found it almost loveable when the little one (Tater) peed into one of the air conditioning vents. Oh, the joys of dog ownership. But I wouldn't swap either of the for anything.

Thought for the day - No matter how little money you have or how few posessions you own, having a dog makes you rich. Attrib. Louis Sabin. Night all.