Things that occur in my world; or maybe just in my mind, that may or may not be of interest to you. Sometimes these thoughts revolve around my perception of the world; sometimes not. I just try to have fun and enjoy my time. Welcome to my world as I perceive it. An added plus is that I will share my Notgeld Collection occasionally.
Today is our annual Field Day at school. The theme of this years field day is The Olympics. All of our activities have an international flair. For example, we will have Ireland’s Potato Race, Greece’s Torch Relay Race, and China’s Dragon Race. Those activities sound pretty straightforward and actually make sense.
BUT,--------Is it just me? What is it with Portugal’s Popcorn Machine? I thought popcorn was given to the world by Native Americans, not Portugal. Perhaps it has to do with Chapter 5 of the report, "Savory Snacks in Portugal to 2010".
Then there's Italy’s Balloon Toss. Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't the French the first in the balloon category. I know the event is using latex balloons and not hot air balloons. But the first rubber balloons were made by Faraday for use in his experiments with hydrogen. There is more information on balloon history at Balloon HQ. I never saw a mention of Italy. Although I suppose they could have introduced the use of animal bladders and entrails as balloons in antiquity.
Finally, there's Australia’s Marble Grab. Australia has got some marbles. they haven't lost them yet. (Sorry! I couldn't resist.) Their marbles are actually named Devils Marbles and they are huge. I'm sorry but my babies aren't going to be able to grab them anytime soon. Check out these pictures of them at Australia Marbles.
Forecast for today is HOT and HUMID, high around 92. There was a slight chance of rain but now I think that has passed. Regardless of the weather, fun will be had by one and all. After all, we will be outside running and playing and getting wet tossing all of those Italian water balloons. Maybe they will be filled with Perrier water as a concession to the French who kindly gave the world the hot air balloon.
Help me out here. I know I wrote a few days ago about how the recent emphasis on bio-fuels had pushed the commodity prices of corn, wheat, and rice to skyrocket. At least that is what I intended to write about on April 15. It seems that I quickly digressed and wrote about everything but that it seems. I quipped in the post that I didn't have GPS to give me direction. Well, now I'm trying to see if I have found that direction yet.
Now I see in the headlines that there is a shortage of rice, yes I said shortage of rice. Sam's Club and Costco are going to ration rice. Sam's Club will limit sales of imported jasmine, basmati and long grain white rices in the 20 lb. bag size.
Now rice is a staple in many countries. Rice is also the food that you always seemed to get a lot of at Mexican and Oriental food restaurants. It was always the item that filled up the plate so that it looked like you were getting your "money's worth".
Now why is this happening? I don't know, I'm not an economist. I didn't even stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. I'm sure that part of the reason is the burgeoning population in countries like India and China. But, don't you think that one of the biggest reasons is the recent emphasis on bio-fuels? I sure do. Think about it. Governments are now trying to push the development of bio-fuels. In order to make many bio-fuels the various grains that were destined to the various levels of the food chain are now being diverted to bio-fuel processors. This doesn't leave enough for livestock and poultry so producers pay more. This cost is passed along to you and I at the store and restaurants. There is not enough grain for the food processors to make the various food products. Producers then pay more for the grain. And yes, this cost is passed on along too. All because the government thinks the answer to more fuel is in the bio-fuel area. The answer is in more drilling and more refining capacity, not suddenly diverting our precious food resources from the food chain into fuel tanks.
Another mistaken answer is the government sticking it's finger into the auto industry by setting mileage per gallon quotas hoping to conserve gasoline. This is a topic for another blog on another day. But briefly, studies have shown that when the mileage per gallon goes up the nation ends up using about the same amount of gasoline because people decide they can now drive more. Also, auto crash death rates go up because auto makers make the cars smaller to meet the guidelines. But as I said, his is a topic for another blog on another day.
I took Chris to JC Penney the other day. While she shopped, I looked around. I noticed that they have a new line that they have been pushing. It is called "American Living." Here is a commercial for you to see.
I started looking at some of the products. I picked up a shirt that looked nice. "I might want to get one," I thought. I looked to see where it was made and it said, "Made in Jordan."
WHAT???
MADE IN JORDAN??? American living in Jordan. Okay!?!?
I started looking at other products. I needed an atlas. I felt like I was taking a world tour. I saw Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Philippines, and China. There were tags from Pakistan, Honduras, India, Taiwan, and Macau. Other tags said Indonesia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, and Thailand. I even saw a tag on a sweater that said the shell was knitted in Taiwan and finished in China. I didn't even know that Taiwan and China were getting along; much less doing business with each other.
