it's hard work to make a scene

     The photo shoot had to have been difficult. Selecting the right "models" to evoke the atmosphere; arranging equipment rental and proper releases ~ in this case borrowing police equipment while carefully cropping out the key details [namely, what city allowed their stuff to be used this way].

     Then there's choosing the site so as to get the proper natural lighting; and time, to ensure that no unwanted intruders might accidentally stumble across the shoot and distract everyone. And then paying for everything, plus getting the idea marketed and properly, well, exposed to the target audience.

     But who is the target audience. And are we so certain that any of these actor/models required getting paid or did they pay to participate in this little imbroglio? Personally, I know people who would.

     After all, this tantalizing bit of soft-core porn remarkably resembles a bust of two guys caught in the act of, well, having their pants down for one thing. In the bushes [or so it would suggest] and busted by a couple of well-packed officers of the law. [Is the plainclothesman wearing C-in2 briefs as well? We'll never know.]

     There are, in fact, two "scenes" transpiring here in one tidy little picture. There's the photo shoot, presumably paid for by C-in2 and there's the sex scene with so many complicated layers of not so crypto homo-eroticism. Sex outside in the bushes; getting caught by authority figures in the act [good looking ones I might add ]; bondage and humiliation as well as the anticipated prison holding cell rape scene. No wonder the bad boy about to be cuffed is beginning to sprout a woody.

     Or am I reading too much into this? Maybe, as Freud said, "A cigar is just a cigar" and these guys are just trying to sell us underwear. perhaps the real message is, if you expect to be busted, wear clean shorts and cut down on the embarrassment.

     You tell me.

[Advert found in an old edition of the metrosexual oriented magazine GQ; I could only find a still of this advert but if you find this intriguing do yourself the favor and watch more recently released C-in2 video called Filthy and on Parole on YouTube.]

edible wild foods

Jerusalem Artichokes

     They can be eaten raw, steamed, roasted or fried, but these delicious little tubers are not artichokes and don't hail from Jerusalem.

     Growing wild in my yard, they are a hardy perennial and, once a bed is established they can grow up to seven feet [two metres] tall. Stalks with yellow daisy-like flowers top this delicious tuber vegetable plant.

     The plant originated in the Americas, and it's reported they were named artichokes because they have a taste similar to a globe artichoke, which belongs to the thistle family. Jerusalem artichokes belong to the sunflower family - which accounts for the first part of the name, a corruption of the Italian girasole (turning to the sun). They are healthful and easy to store come wintertime.

     They vary in size and can be cream, beige or yellow; some have a pink tinge. Easy to spot in the shops [though not always available], Jerusalem artichokes look similar to fresh ginger, but buy them now as they are at their crunchy best when the weather is cold.

Keep the tubers in a plastic bag or airtight container in the fridge as they will dehydrate when exposed to warm, dry conditions. Remove brown, stringy roots and scrub or peel before using. These tiny veggies discolour when cut, so they need to be placed in a bowl of cold water with a squeeze of lemon juice, or boil them with a teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice added to the cooking water.

     Make a quick artichoke soup by sauteeing chopped onion and garlic, then adding peeled jerusalem artichokes and vegetable stock. When vegetables are tender, puree and serve with a splash of cream and chopped chives.

You can fancy it up by topping Jerusalem Artichoke soup with curried shrimp or prawns.

Here's another recipe ~ Jerusalem artichoke Casserole ~ Serves 4:
• Spray a 6-cup ovenproof dish with light olive oil. Peel Peel 1 pound [450g] jerusalem artichokes and slice very thinly. Peel 1 pound [450g] potatoes and slice very thinly. Finely slice half a peeled brown onion. Combine 1 cup [200g] light sour cream, 1/4 cup [100ml] skim milk, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, salt and cracked black pepper in a bowl.
• Spread 2 tbsp of sour cream mixture over the base of the ovenproof dish and layer about a fifth of the artichokes and potatoes over the sour cream and top with about 2 tbsp of the sour cream mixture. Continue to layer vegetables, salt and pepper and sour cream mixture, adding onion slices in between, to form five layers.
• Finish with a layer of sour cream mixture. Sprinkle with 150g grated gruyere cheese and bake at 390F [200C] for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until vegetables are tender and top is golden. Cover with foil if cheese begins to brown too quickly.

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Flowering plants from Garrett Hoyt's Five Sprouts Farm weblog

Wood Gas as an internal combustion vehicle fuel

Why settle for bio-desiel when burning wood will do? I'm not sure I would ride a Hog that had a small wood furnace for a sissy bar, but who am I to argue? The picture was taken as part of a story in a Florida newspaper in 1981. Anybody know more about this guy's efforts and what came of them?

Wikipedia has a helpful starting description of this technology. A wood gas generator is a gasification unit which converts timber or charcoal into wood gas, a syngas consisting of atmospheric nitrogen, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, traces of methane, and other gases, which - after cooling and filtering - can then be used to power an internal combustion engine or for other purposes. Historically wood gas generators were often mounted on vehicles.

Brown University's Projects in Engineering Design website has an interesting page with good visuals and descriptions about a "gasified go-kart" which states that

"This project will serve as an example of the alternative fuels that can be used to run internal combustion engines. Our goal is to make a gasifier that is small, safe, and convenient at low cost. This gasifier will be mated with a standard go-kart engine and mounted on a go-kart frame. The output gases from the gasifier will serve as the engine's only fuel input.".

The US Federal Emergency Management Agency published a booklet, in 1989, on this technology, in terminology understandable by someone with basic mechanical engineering skills. Unfortunately, although there are other articles about emergency generators, I've not been able to find the publication on the FEMA website.

Therefore, the following links have posted pdf format copies of the 1989 FEMA booklet:
 • Available at DROPBOX
 • Posted on the Australian based Library page of Soil and Health.org - this one takes awhile to download (free, but they ask for a donation to help support the site's work)
 • Found at Pole Shift Survival Information Gasifiers links page.

You could also by a USED copy reprint of the same document on Amazon.com for only $100.

For more info on wood fueled engines, check out the website woodgas.net. If this still piques your interest you might want to ask to join the Yahoo Discussion Group known as WoodGas ( Wood Gas Discussions