Author Archives: d

Fruit Warning For Thailand Tourists

In Thailand many of the locals prefer to eat unripe fruit. For instance mangoes are often eaten green, hard, and tooth meltingly sour. I do cringe a little when I see locals eating unripe mangoes, jackfruit, bananas, santols, and pieces of durian that look more like raw potato than durian but what really gets me is when tourists come to Thailand and try these fruits for the first and perhaps last time but are given unripe fruit not worth eating.

If you try durian in Thailand for the first time you’ll probably buy a small plastic wrapped pack of it rather than a whole fruit so here are three tips for selecting some durian that’s worth trying. I don’t endorse buying anything on or in foam packing so if possible try and buy durian that’s packed on paper but know you probably won’t find any so you should just bring your own reusable food container and have the seller open a fresh ripe one and sell you some of that or you could just buy a whole durian which comes packaged in a biodegradable spiked shell.

1.) Color: The color of durian flesh ranges from white to red however odds are the type of durian you’ll encounter in Thailand is MonThong. When it comes to this cultivar of durian generally speaking the yellower the better however note that many cultivars of durian are supposed to be white or close to it.

2.) Softness: Don’t squeeze ripe fruits! I can’t believe how many tourists I’ve seen squeezing ripe fruit or poking dents into it and then walking away without buying it. However you can very slightly press on the plastic wrap covering the durian with your finger tip just enough to know whether or not it’s soft.

3.) Smell: If all that stands between you and a piece of fresh ripe durian is a thin layer of plastic it should give off a strong smell and make you understand why durian is banned from most hotels and public transportation. If you’re only getting a slight smell or no smell it’s probably unripe durian which isn’t worth trying.

In summary if you visit Thailand and would like to try some durian make sure it passes the three checks above and if you see some that looks like the unripe, overpriced, inedibly bad stuff below it’s best to pass and wait for a better chance to try this must try fruit. Also feel free to let the fruit seller know that you’d like to buy some durian provided it was soft and ripe so they understand that unlike many of the locals most people prefer ripe, sweet, fragrant, and in the case of durian, very soft fruit.

underripe-overpriced-inedibly-bad-thai-durianIf you want to see what durian is supposed to look like check out this post.

P.S. Rambutans should be red, not green, when you eat them. There are yellow rambutans but you’re unlikely to come across those in Thailand. However you will see people selling unripe green ones which I don’t recommend.

rambutan-unripe

 

 

Lunar, Solar, and Lunisolar Calendars

Depending on which calendar a society uses there are many different New Year’s and in some places more than one is celebrated. Calendars are generally one of three types: lunar, solar, or lunisolar. A lunar calendar is based on the revolution of the moon around the earth, a solar calendar is based on the revolution of the earth around the sun, and a lunisolar calendar is based on the moon’s revolution around the earth but includes a thirteenth month, aka leap month, every two or three years to keep it in sync with the earth’s revolution around the sun.

In lunisolar calendars like the Chinese calendar a leap month is periodically added so the months correspond with the seasons. It takes the moon around 29.5 days to revolve around the earth which means 12 lunar months is around 354 days and since it takes the earth around 365 days to revolve around the sun the months and seasons would drift apart around 11 days each year without this leap month. The New Year’s that takes place on January 1st is according to the Gregorian or Western calendar which is a solar calendar and the New Year’s that takes place today and every year on the new moon between late January and late February is according to the Chinese calendar.

Happy New Year! 新年快樂！

Sheen = new 新
Nee-en = year 年
Kwai Luh = happy 快樂

Sheen Nee-en Kwai Luh! Try it if you encounter a Chinese speaking person this week because unlike the Western New Year Chinese New Year, aka Spring Festival, is a multi-day mega holiday that doesn’t officially conclude until the 15th day which marks the first full moon of the new year and is celebrated as Lantern Festival.

Unilateral Neglect

As I was skating in an empty parking lot I saw two ladies playing badminton without a net. They were fairly close to each other and had a pretty intense volley going. When their volley finished I said “You gals are awesome… but your not because you’re only using your right arm, you should train both arms.”. They though it was funny and then went back to beating the shuttlecock back and forth with their right arms as they’ve probably done for decades and will continue to do for decades as their half-dead left arms just dangled at their side perhaps waiting for the evening when they’d probably be needed to hold a bag of ice or a heating pad over the right shoulder in order to treat the pain that often comes with a chronic repetitive strain injury.

Regardless of whether it’s badminton, footbag, sweeping floors, or wiping windows if you do it on a frequent basis you should use both sides. Left and right sides don’t have to be exactly equal in strength and coordination but you shouldn’t have one good side and one side that’s pretty much useless. Also if you are, have, or see a kid on one of those two wheel ripstiks stop them, tell them how awesome they are for being able to cruise around on it, and then tell them “Now put this foot in the front and that foot in the back.” haha. Not surprisingly I’ve never seen a kid who could do it and it’s disappointing that out of the dozen or so kids I’ve told this to over the years I’ve never seen one that was even willing to take up the challenge and work at it for more than a minute.

Noni No Thanks

Noni, also known as “vomit fruit” is without question the most disgusting whole plant food I have ever come across. In fact I can’t even think of another whole plant food that could be placed in the same leg weakening gag inducing category as noni. It really is that bad, not something you can get used to and even learn to enjoy but just plain bad. Normally when out for a walk if I come across a fruit tree with some tree-ripened freshly fallen fruit on the ground next to it I’m pretty excited but not the other night, however I did grab one and got noni juice on my hand and my knife in order to take this photo.

noni

P.S. I just returned from the supermarket and on my way to the vegetable section as nasty as noni is, and it is nasty, I passed by something much worse, smelt like rotting mammal flesh… oh wait it was rotting mammal flesh. Whoever buys that stuff is going to need a lot of heat, salt, sugar, oil, and spices to make it edible. Right now you’re probably thinking I’m sure glad I eat a vegan diet or an ethical, sustainable, and healthy near-vegan diet; or perhaps you’re thinking well I don’t eat rotten flesh or flesh from any abused animal they didn’t have to kill in order to butcher and to that I reply sure you don’t.

rotten mammal flesh

Shooting Stars and Mass Extinctions

A meteoroid is a small rocky or metallic body traveling through space. It becomes a meteor aka shooting star or falling star when it enters the Earths atmosphere, heats up, and disintegrates in a blaze of glory due to the friction it incurs as it collides with air particles. If it doesn’t completely disintegrate and a portion of it makes it to the ground it becomes a meteorite. As for asteroids they are basically giant meteoroids which are also known as minor planets or planetoids.

According to NASA: “Space rocks smaller than about 25 meters will most likely burn up as they enter the Earth’s atmosphere and cause little or no damage. If a rocky meteoroid larger than 25 meters but smaller than one kilometer were to hit Earth, it would likely cause local damage to the impact area. We believe anything larger than one to two kilometers could have worldwide effects.” Also according to NASA there are well over 10,000 known near-Earth asteroids over the size of 30 meters with nearly 900 of them larger than one kilometer.

Maybe we should take this potentially catastrophic threat a little more seriously and use some of the money we allow our governments to spend on weapons on ways to detect and if needed divert near-Earth asteroids. We don’t need another space rock coming down and setting off the next mass extinction event as we humans have already proven that we’re perfectly capable of causing mass extinction events on our own and each of us needs to remember that when we decide what to eat, what to buy, how to travel, and how to live in general.

The Sixth Mass Extinction is Here

Iowa & New Hamshire 2016

In just a few hours the Iowa caucuses will begin and although a win there is by no means essential it’d be very nice to start the primaries with a one two punch this evening in Iowa and next week in New Hampshire. If you’re still undecided and are looking for an honest, straight talking, independent non-partisan minded candidate capable of bridging the red-blue divide and making the U.S. and the rest of the world a better place check out this Bernie Brief on climate change and campaign finance.

notmeus

Hot Dog in a Warm Shirt

Earlier this week as I walked home in the 35C/95F tropical midday heat in a sleeveless shirt, shorts, and sandals with my umbrella to protect me from the fury of the sun I passed by a little dog that was wearing a very dirty and probably very smelly shirt. I had passed by the same dog before but the owner wasn’t around however this time they were so I gave them my standard dog-clothes-tropics speech which is basically just “The weather here is hot everyday year-round. I’ve got a shaved head and I’m still hot. Could you imagine how hot that furry dog is with clothes on? Do dogs really even need to wear clothes?”.

I walked by the same place this morning and the little dog was naked! A small victory which was the result of laying out the logic, encouraging people to think, and letting them arrive at the proper conclusion on their own. I never said dogs shouldn’t wear clothes nor did I say they were idiots/wrong for putting clothes on a dog in the tropics for their own sick amusement but after I explained the situation whatever conclusion they came to led them to remove the shirt. Lets just hope they didn’t remove it only to replace it with a hoodie tomorrow or perhaps in order to shave the dog in order to make it easier to cook now that it doesn’t remind them of a human.

Rest assured the little dog won’t be shaved and eaten as they don’t eat dogs in this area however the pigs, chickens, fish and many other living breathing pain and fear sensing animals sure do have it rough. Maybe I should start putting clothes on them to see if it gets people to start treating animals in more ethical ways. If you have a dog please make sure it stays in a private enclosed area or on a leash and that it’s been spayed or neutered.

Drug Free For 15 Years

As I was going out to buy some fruits and vegetables the keeper of the place I’m renting a room at asked me if a little bag of medicine she found was mine. I replied “It’s not mine.” and as I did it occurred to me that I hadn’t taken any medicine since the turn of the century so I added “I haven’t taken any medicine in over 15 years.”. She seemed quite surprised and as I continued my backwards dash towards the exit although she didn’t say anything her eyes did get bigger and her face said “What! You haven’t taken ANY medicine in 15 years!”.

As I walked down the street and towards the market I thought about how rampant drug abuse is, legal and illegal, prescription and non-prescription so I felt I should remind everyone that having to take a drug, any drug, is not normal and shouldn’t be seen as justified until you’ve taken a serious look at your situation/symptoms and whether or not all that’s needed to get off the sleeping pills, pain killers, anti-depressants, and cholesterol, high blood pressure, and/or blood sugar lowering drugs or whatever else you’re on or are considering going on is simply some mental calm, consistent exercise, fresh produce, and quality sleep.

JAMA article/audio on prescription drug use in the U.S.

Ignorocracy or Apathocracy?

I voted today! My vote won’t be received for two weeks and it won’t be counted for another four after that however I did mail in my absentee ballot. In 2014 just over a third of the US electorate cast a vote and even more pathetic is that of 18 to 34 year-olds less than a quarter of them voted. No wonder we have a bunch of fossil fuel funded climate change deniers in the House and Senate doing everything they can to obstruct initiatives that shift the U.S. to clean energy and set a positive example for the rest of the world.

Equally pathetic is that in 2014 around 95% of those running for re-election in the House and Senate were re-elected. This either shows how awesome Congress is or how ignorant and apathetic the voters are and how big money rather than voter preference really determines who runs and gets elected. Don’t just wait until November to pull the lever for whichever of the two candidates were selected for you but vote now or in the coming weeks depending on where you live for the candidate you’d like to see on the ballot in November.

Tamarind in the Tree

Tamarind is a sweet and sour tropical fruit with date like flesh which comes wrapped around a string of black seeds that are enclosed in a thin brown brittle shell. I came across a tree in the park yesterday and climbed up and helped myself. I also helped those below who weren’t keen on climbing but were into some free fruit by knocking down quite a few from the top since the low hanging ones had already been knocked down with a long pole over the past few weeks.

This is just another way we benefit from a stable climate which doesn’t bounce from extreme heat to extreme cold and from extreme drought to extreme rain and enables the fruit trees to consistently produce life supporting fruit without any assistance from us all while taking carbon out of the atmosphere and adding oxygen. Wow, if fruit trees are that awesome why are we cutting so many of them down including those which produce delicious and endangered fruits?

tamarind
If you want to help curb deforestation eat more or all plants and less or no animals because a primary cause of deforestation is meat production as it takes a lot more land and fresh water, not to mention pesticides and chemical fertilizers, to grow enough plants to feed livestock to produce meat than it does to feed people directly. Also if you use any products which contain palm oil, which you do, please take a minute to contact the manufacturers of these products and demand that they purchase their palm oil from sustainable sources.

Visa Run Complete

I was able to pick up my visa yesterday and fortunately I had a t-shirt with me because they wouldn’t let me pick it up in a sleeveless shirt, seriously. For women it seemed to be alright but for men it’s a definite no go and as I waited in line I watched two other guys get stopped and denied as well. Fortunately one of them had a t-shirt with him and the other was with his girlfriend who was able to step up to the counter and stand in line for him. I guess at the Thailand consulate in Penang they’re intimidated by man arms so remember to have some sleeves on hand if you plan on getting a visa there.
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Fixing a Broken System

Who are the “Billionaire Class” and why is Bernie so adamant about standing up to them?

Why is comprehensive campaign finance reform so critical to the future of U.S. democracy?

When are people in the U.S. going to wake up and support politicians that represent their best interests rather than those of big money donors?

Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right.

The more you learn the more you Feel the Bern!

Bernie 2016

I support the Independent Senator from Vermont Bernie Sanders for President of the United States because of all the candidates running for the Presidency in 2016 I’m confident that under a Sanders Administration we can achieve the best health outcomes for individuals, society, and the planet.

The purpose of this post isn’t to get you to support Bernie but to encourage you to learn more about him and then to ask yourself if there’s a better candidate not only in terms of integrity, foresight, and policy; but also in terms of ability to appeal to voters across the political spectrum and electability in the general election.

With so much at stake thank you so much for getting informed and involved!

Bernie 2016

Feel the Bern.org

Additional Grassroots Resources

How and When to Vote for Bernie in the Primaries

Just below are three short videos that are well worth watching.


2016 Circus

I watched the Fox Business GOP debate… pretty pathetic and I say that as a freethinking independent voter whose views straddle the political divide. To sum it up in a few words besides all the Obama bashing and making the U.S. out to be as if it was in as precarious of a position it was in when Obama first took office the Republican candidates are still acting like they’re running against Hillary Clinton. However I think a few of them are starting to realize that they may have wasted a lot of their hate on a candidate that isn’t going to make it past the primaries.

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SOTU 2016

In case you missed it President Obama delivered his final State of the Union address last night. In summary despite what you may have heard from Fox News, Conservative Talk Radio, and in the Republican Debates the U.S. has done pretty well the over past 7 years particularly when you compare them to the previous 8 under President George W. invade-the-wrong-country-and-give-rise-to-ISIS Bush who was granted the authority to do so by then Senator Hillary Clinton who supported the disastrously destabilizing and illegal invasion of Iraq a war which was opposed by Barack Obama and Bernie Sanders.

If you’re interested in watching and/or reading about the speech you can do so on the White House website.

How Long Did You Fast Today?

I advise anyone who asks me about diet or health in general to fast for at least 12 hours a day. Personally I aim for 16 hours and although I sometimes fall short I couldn’t imagine not fasting for at least 12 hours in a day especially when considering I’m asleep for about 8 of them. It seems my personal experimentation and the conclusion it has led me to also has some research behind it.

BBC News article on fasting

Try Until You Die

I told a kid in a store how soda wasn’t good for his health and then as I stood behind him at the cashier I told his Mom that plastic bags weren’t good for the health of they environment as she put her soda into one. After they left the clerk said “You are very good.” to which I laughed thinking to myself it’s all useless or at least it often seems that way. However I thought about it for a second and told myself “Try until you die.” because that’s all you can do other than quit or die neither of which is an ideal option.

So keep trying and keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities to raise awareness and educate people even if it is the billionth time you’ve had to say virtually the same thing to someone who would probably rather you not said it. When it’s safe to do so please speak up when you see someone doing something which harms other people, e.g., children in their care or the environment because although we might not be able to perceive it in real time it does help pull humanity in the right direction.

Crappy People

There’s a narrow side street that passes by my current residence which connects two larger streets and if I drew a map it’d look like a capital “H”. Usually you only get the occasional motor scooter driving through since one end has a curb however a couple days ago there were two guys that parked their truck at the end of it to do some work. When I came back they were gone and here’s what I found in the once relatively clean street.

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