01 Apr 09 Too Much Gas
(seen in The Daily Telegraph)
Commenting on a complaint from a Mr. Arthur Purdey about a large gas bill, a spokesman for North West Gas said, ‘We agree it was rather high for the time of year. It’s possible Mr. Purdey has been charged for the gas used up during the explosion that destroyed his house.’
Tags: arthur, daily telegraph, explosion, gas bill, purdey, spokesman, time of year
01 Dec 08 Lowcountry Seafood and The Oyster Myth
Here in the lowcountry many residents and tourists alike enjoy oysters by the bucketful. Thing is, you can only eat them if there’s an ‘R’ in the month, right?
Wrong!
The US Bureau of Commercial Fisheries has been trying to kill off this myth for years, but it won’t lay down and die.
Perhaps it derives from the days prior to refrigeration when food spoiled very quickly particularly in the Southern summer heat.
However, it’s the European Oyster which is not good to eat during the late spring and early summer, as those oysters are different in that the young oysters are retained by the mother until their shells form, and so eating them at that time of year will often result in a mouthful of tiny gritty shells.
American Oysters have no such issues, and in fact the prime time for oyster flavor is during the months of May and June.
So why the traditional oyster harvest in the fall? Oyster demand is at its highest at this time of year, and so they command the highest prices at market. Flavor actually declines for the start of the summer into the fall though, as the oysters lose their glycogen content after spawning, and they become more watery.
Tags: commercial fisheries, late spring, mouthful, myth, oyster harvest, oysters, prime time, refrigeration, shells, summer heat, time of year, tourists
02 Apr 08 That Time Of Year
It ‘s getting warmer.
Now, I’m never one to complain about the heat. I’d love it to be summer all year around. I don’t care about the seasons. I don’t want crisp frosty mornings, and I’ll be a happy camper if I never see snow in real life ever again.
Having said that, I don’t like stuffy. Somehow the heat at the beach or even in main street in the middle of August is better than a hot house.
A hot house? Yes, you know, when it’s not really that hot outside but indoors it’s really sticky.
The condo here is the pits for that. It’s two levels, and while downstairs is usually fine, and can even be fairly cool in the summer, upstairs is a different story. Recently, we’ve had the regime fees hiked up to an outrageous amount to pay for much needed and long neglected repairs and maintenance.
We’ve got a new roof, which has ridge vent tiles. It’s not made one iota of difference to the temperature upstairs. Right now, I have the sun room door open, and the front bedroom windows. There’s no real breeze though. It’s only 68F outside, but it’s 82 in here at this desk. According to my little gizmo on the desk here, the humidity is only 58% too.
Well, the strange thing is, it’s been around that most of the day, but now, around bedtime, it feels really warm and sticky in here. OK, I hear you say, what’s wrong with running the air conditioning?
It uses too much electricity.
No, I’m not a tree hugger. I’m a dollar hugger. The electricity bills hover around the $100 a month mark at this time of year, but once that a/c kicks in, I know it’s going to be on until well into the fall, and that monthly bill creeps nearer to $250 then. Working mostly from home doesn’t help, as I can’t turn it off in mid-summer, but then again, with the gas prices heading up and up, I’m saving more on gas than I’m spending on the electricity.
I guess I should look for a job within walking distance, then I’d save gas and electricity. Thing is, there doesn’t seem to be many IT companies within this immediate neighborhood, and anyway, I generally like my independence.
Still, it’s time to quit computers altogether for a few hours, and go take up that horizontal book reading position for a while.
I’m still looking forward to summer.
Tags: bedroom windows, bedtime, different story, downstairs, electricity bills, frosty mornings, gas prices, gizmo, happy camper, home doesn, iota, mid summer, pits, ridge vent, strange thing, sun room, time of year, tree hugger, vent tiles, walking distance
