January 30, 2008

I continue to feel disturbed about the economic situation of many American citizens. This blog post offers some good visual to explain the rise in household debt during the past twenty or so years. In particular, household debt is increasing at a much faster rate than household income, while household spending is increasing at a slightly faster rate than household income. This shows that the effects of debt can be quite expensive.

The Federal Reserve has tracked household debt as a percentage of income since the late eighties. What this chart shows is that households are increasingly carrying more debt. It's interesting that renters tend to carry significantly more total debt than home owners.

The reason why many of us think we're not carrying much debt is because we compare ourselves to the Joneses'. If we're all stuck in a big hole of debt together, it doesn't look so bad.

It looks like an individual may receive a refund of $600-$1200 due to the bipartisan economic stimulus package. I don't think this stimulus package is going to fix any problems over the long term. However, since the American way is to spend more than you earn, I suggest that you take your six hundred dollars and put it down on a $40,000 Lexus. Don't just buy a TV. That isn't enough to stimulate the economy. Everyone else is doing it! You should be one of the cool people!

Posted by megabeth at 12:36 PM | Comments (1)

January 29, 2008

I haven't posted any photos of my trip to NYC last October. Here are the photos of Coney Island. It was a bit dead in October as the rides close down at the end of the summer. I felt a bit weird being at the beach on a trip to NYC. It isn't what one thinks of when imagining a trip to the 'big city'. The weather was very nice and the breach breezes felt good.

I didn't get a photo of the following venture to Totonno's Pizzeria Napolitano, just a few blocks from the amusement area. It was a brief but unsettling walk because it wasn't the most lovely area and being from Alabama, we did not look like we belonged there.

It was the best pizza I have ever eaten. The menu is sparse. We ordered the standard pepperoni pie. Months later, I rue the fact that there is no brick oven pizza like that in Alabama, or anywhere else outside of the NYC boroughs. I've had Chicago-style pizza in Chicago. It was not nearly as memorable as this one.

Posted by megabeth at 10:56 AM | Comments (3)

January 28, 2008

Perhaps you haven't heard these two words before. I discovered them while eating out on the Gulf coast this weekend. Instead of grouper, seafood restaurants were serving swai and sutchi and advertising them as "Better than Grouper!" Not true. We got one waiter to fess up that sutchi is more like catfish. He said that grouper has been overfished in the Gulf of Mexico and restaurants have been asked to serve imported fish in place of Grouper until the fish has repopulated. You can still find grouper on the menu in some restaurants at a more expensive price.

It seems silly to me to visit the coast and eat fish imported from Asia. So I ate tuna and mahi-mahi instead.

Posted by megabeth at 10:45 AM | Comments (1)

January 23, 2008

The Holy Grail of sweeteners would be one that tastes like sugar, has no calories, and was not created in a laboratory. I think you can't have your cake and eat it too. However, I have found a few sweeteners that are healthier than the more popular sweeteners such as refined sugar, honey, and corn syrup. They can be purchased at Whole Foods.

Agave nectar is clear, a thinner consistency than honey, and does not have a strong taste. It could easily be substituted for sugar or honey. I tried it this morning mixed into my plain yogurt and it was very good. Agave nectar's main benefit is that it is low on the glycemic index, thus it takes longer to digest and does not give you a sugar high immediately after eating it. For an athlete doing an endurance workout, it's good to have some of both the simple and complex sugars to get that immediate boost as well as a prolonged one.

Brown rice syrup is also low on the glycemic index. It has a nutty flavor and tastes a lot like very sweet brown rice. I haven't tried this mixed in with other foods yet, but it may have more of an influence on the flavor of whatever food you sweeten. However it has more nutritional benefit than agave nectar.

I also have been doing some research on the various oils, and like sweeteners, oils have varying qualities and nutritional content. Some are rich in polyunsaturated fats while others are high in monounsaturated fats. As usual, the lower quality oils are more commonly used, such as corn, canola, and vegetable oils. Higher quality oils are olive (extra virgin), grapeseed, macadamia nut, and almond. All oils contain about the same amount of fat (14 grams per tablespoon), but the quality of the fat varies widely. The smoke point of an oil has more to do with the amount it has been refined rather than the quality of the fats. That's why extra virgin olive oil has a low smoke point, but the cheap version of olive oil does not.

I think that the reason why lower quality sugars and oils are used in most of the processed foods you buy in the grocery store is because it costs far less for manufacturers to mass produce those foods. Even a lot of so-called 'health' foods are full of lower quality ingredients; the only way to discern is to look at the wrapper. I rarely, if ever, see almond butter as an ingredient in a processed 'health' food, because almond butter is more expensive than peanut butter by magnitudes.

For my energy bar project, I would like to use higher quality ingredients to provide myself (and others) with an opportunity to try an energy food that is truly nutritionally superior. However, I wonder if commercializing a product for longer shelf life requires a downgrade into the usual ingredients, or if manufacturers do this purely as a matter of saving costs. I hope this project provides that kind of enlightenment.

Posted by megabeth at 01:08 PM | Comments (0)

January 22, 2008

We went to the lake this weekend hoping it would snow and be pretty. It was. There wasn't much we could do outdoors due to the subsequent cold weather after that, however. So I cooked some goodies in the kitchen (see photos below).

It was nice to have snow in Alabama for the first time in ?? years. I can't recall. It wasn't much; just a light dusting, but in comparison to nothing, it was a lot.

This is the new dam that was built to create a second lake. It had a lot of snow on it.

Mr. Snowman doesn't have arms. Sorry, Mr. Snowman.

The jacuzzi tub looked awfully inviting. This lakehouse is not campy.

What would be a trip to the lake without taking a picture of the lake? We did not do any fishing. They were probably at the bottom, trying to stay warm.

Very pretty walk along the gravel roads that lead to the house. I was making snowballs and rolling them, and Ruby would chase the snowball and then eat it. She didn't like being cold and wet, though.

So Ruby made it back to the house way before we did.

My first attempt at creme brulee. I decided not to make the sugar coating on top because we forgot the blowtorch. It was still very delicious. I used a vanilla bean, which makes a huge difference over vanilla extract. And with a million grams of fat per serving, it is bound to be tasty.

My current mission is to make an energy bar that tastes good and has decent nutritional value. The mass-produced bars tend not to taste that great. I can stand a Clif Bar, but it isn't delicious. I love Cup of Golds, but after perusing the ingredient list, I discovered that it (a) contains corn syrup and other simple sugars, (b) is somewhat closer to a candy bar than an energy bar, other than the protein content.

So the photo above was my first stab at it, and they turned out very tasty. However, not so healthy either, with too much fat and only simple sugars. I stopped by Whole Foods yesterday and bought some ingredients to create a healthier energy bar. I plan to hand out bars to folks at this weekend's training camp to get some feedback. I'll post an update on my energy bar project soon.

Posted by megabeth at 10:25 AM | Comments (0)

This is one time that I wish I were wrong.

I kept doubting my prediction because business publications I read were optimistic and said that a slowdown is likely but a recession is unlikely.

I really want them to be right!

I think my retirement date was delayed at least 30 years as of yesterday. Ouch.

Thanks to the stupid banks who lend money to people who don't make enough money to pay back their loans. And thanks to Bush for having an expensive war that never ends and screws up the U.S. economy.

Posted by megabeth at 09:07 AM | Comments (4)

January 18, 2008

Ear candling is one of the stupidest things I have ever heard of.

Posted by megabeth at 09:01 AM | Comments (2)

January 17, 2008

Everyone is different about how they are motivated. What I've learned about myself from bike racing this year is that putting pressure on myself about a hobby destroys my motivation. So this winter I have pretended that I am NOT training and that I am NOT doing any races this year. I'm not pretending to be a "closet trainer" to trick my competition because apparently I am my own worst enemy. Since I have tricked myself thus far, I have been following a training schedule successfully. Now if I can trick myself when starting a race into thinking that it is just a ride I'm doing for fun, then I should do well.

Posted by megabeth at 11:27 AM | Comments (0)

The weather forecast predicts snow on Saturday and we were planning to go to the lake for the long weekend. I would love to be snowed in at the lake; it would be so peaceful and quiet and also beautiful. The main risk is loss of electricity, and there is a fireplace but I'm not sure how much wood is stockpiled. Thus we would have to do a lot of chopping.

If you live near me, I am selling gallons of milk for $50 each and a loaf of bread for $20. Give me a call. Cash only. Ha ha.

Posted by megabeth at 11:03 AM | Comments (0)

January 16, 2008

I forgot to include this healthy food tip in the previous post. A lot of recipes use chicken broth - I use a ton of it in my kitchen. It never occurred to me to look at the ingredients of a can of Swanson or similar brand broth until recently; I innocently assumed that chicken broth is chicken broth and salt. Not so! It also contains the evil monosodium glutamate. I haven't had a chance to check the organic brands to see if they are better. Whenever I have bones left from a chicken or turkey, I make broth. Throw the frame into a pot with some carrots, onions and celery and a bouquet garni. Simmer for a couple of hours. Then put the strained and cooled broth into plastic containers (I use those chinese soup take-out containers, they are around 16 oz in size) and freeze. It also tastes better than canned broth.

Posted by megabeth at 02:49 PM | Comments (1)

January 15, 2008

While on my trainer I watch "Deal or No Deal?" and the countless numbers of contestants who get greedy and turn down $100K+ offers from the banker. They get carried away in the heat of the moment. I'm not sure some of them understand just how life changing that sum of money can be. My dream in my lifetime is to pay off my mortgage. It isn't unattainable since it's the only debt I carry. However, my principal payments are not even $200 monthly. I would have to raise a large sum of cash to pay off the loan at once. If you do not have a mortgage payment, you have effectivly given yourself a huge raise.
That is the life changing element of winning $100K on a stupid game show. So you're not going to have enough to buy yourself a mansion and a Porsche - take the offer anyway!

If I could pay off my mortgage RIGHT NOW, the next step for me would not be to buy a fancy car or a bigger house. It would just allow me to save massive quantities of income annually and retire in about ten years. By the time I'm 43. Retired. At 43.

Donations anyone? ;)

So why don't I shift my retirement contributions to paying off my mortgage? Because on a small incremental basis with no end in sight, one will receive a better return on investment by putting the money in the stock market instead of home equity. While home prices in recent years have risen quite a bit, this is more of an exception to the rule. Thus, it's better to save for retirement (at my age) unless you are getting close to paying off the entire loan.

The American way is to go through life in debt. Most of us have debt, so we think nothing of it. Then we feel tied to our jobs or careers in order to pay for the things that we want. Not to mention, the middle class is heavily taxed. How am I going to achieve complete financial freedom? By living well within my means, I am still not anywhere close to it. I blame the U.S. government for unfair taxation, but we also must blame ourselves for wanting to buy everything in sight. I'm not discouraging anyone, though. The American way buoys stock performance, which will help me retire sooner. So, go out and buy some things for yourself! Ha ha.

Posted by megabeth at 10:56 AM | Comments (0)

January 14, 2008

In my employer's cafeteria they have a new display set up with "happy, healthy snacks", mostly nuts, but also gummi bears. I am not sure how gummi bears are healthy, except for the psyche. I love eating them, but have never proclaimed them to be healthy. Anything with corn syrup is not particularly healthy. I've been reading the ingredients in grocery store items, which means my shopping trips have become longer in duration. I'm surprised at how many foods contain corn syrup or corn syrup solids. And also, anything that is "low fat" such as peanut butter has a lot of other ingredients that nobody should ever be eating. And the cheaper the food product, the more likely it contains trans fats.

I found some bacon at Publix recently that boasts of being nitrate and nitrite free, so I bought it, tried it, and guess what: it tastes like bacon. I'm not sure why the bad food processing was necessary in the first place.

Muffin and cake mixes: It is so easy to mix together flour, sugar and eggs that it does not make much sense to buy a processed product.

Rice-a-roni and similar flavored rice and pasta mixes: It's again quite easy to cook some rice or pasta and add some chicken broth or garlic powder and salt.

Yogurt: I was amazed again at how much corn syrup is in flavored yogurts. Dairy products have a bit of natural sugar in them, but producers double or triple the amount of sugar per 4 to 6 oz serving. The best one we found after looking at ALL of them is sugar-free Activia (sweetened with sucralose). There's also a Dannon Naturals product, but it has a lot of added sugar. At least it's not corn syrup. I've started buying plain yogurt, then adding honey and some Polaner all-fruit jelly.

Energy bars also have some bad ingredients in them, including corn syrup. I have been eating PB&J instead, on whole-wheat bread with natural peanut butter and Polaner all-fruit. Natural peanut butter has nothing in it but peanuts and salt, and has become a popular product judging from the variety on store shelves.

My next kitchen project is to try to make my own energy bars. I'm looking for some brown rice syrup to use as a sweetener, as it contains more complex sugars. However, I haven't found it yet (need to look at Whole Foods.)

Posted by megabeth at 12:47 PM | Comments (3)

January 10, 2008

I caught a few small bass over the holiday break.

I still haven't gathered the courage to hold the fish without a glove on. When I took the fish by the mouth, he bit my finger. They only have some tiny little teeth that feel like rough sandpaper, but I was taken by surprise anyway.

I caught fish using a lure that looked like a little rubber band ghost with a spinner behind it. We had two of these lures and one of them was all white, and the other was white with a thin red stripe. They would only bite the lure with the red stripe. Whatever. I get impatient with fishing sometimes. Fish should not be that picky.

We had to throw back whatever we caught because the lake was stocked a few weeks prior with 1,000 Northern bass at 10 bucks a head. The new fish were marked with one pelvic fin removed. Once they spawn, they can be removed from the lake and eaten.

Posted by megabeth at 09:08 AM | Comments (4)

January 09, 2008

A Baker, LA resident sues the government for $3 quadrillion. The resident lived 100 miles from the coast when Katrina hit. I bet he does need $3 quadrillion, because it would cost that much to permanently sever his head from his ass.

Protesters ask Hillary to iron their shirts. She's not my favorite person, but she handled the situation well. I wonder what the protestors would say to Obama...

Posted by megabeth at 12:00 PM | Comments (0)

January 07, 2008

The weather was so nice this weekend, so we were sitting outside on the patio. With the pellet gun. Mr. Sharpshooter patiently waited and pulled the trigger on a chipmunk. It writhed and spazzed out for a second then all was still. We ran up the hill to remove it so that Ruby would not have herself a snack. It had died with a nut in its mouth, shot through the back of the head.

I thought I wouldn't be bothered by the killing of vermin, but it is kind of grotesque. Maybe the murder of an animal is magnified by the suburban environment. In the woods, one might feel more primal.

We also secured the garden with a wire mesh cage, but it appears to be too late as most of my plants are gone or in bad shape. I think some more little Alvins and their big brother squirrels should die. I am tired of my backyard being a site of infestation. I'm going to try the bucket-bird seed trick once I finally get around to buying some bird seed.

Posted by megabeth at 10:47 AM | Comments (2)

January 04, 2008

I haven't been keen on the idea of killing things. When I catch a fish, I worry that the hook might be hurting its mouth. I don't think I could kill a big mammal like a deer. But the squirrels should die, because they appear to be eating my winter garden. I have one cabbage plant left, out of nine. All of the lettuce plants are alive, but eaten to the nub.

So it's open season in my backyard on squirrels and chipmunks. Anyone interested? Hunting club dues have been waived. I've been shooting at them with a pellet gun, but apparently I'm a bad shot. Need target practice.

I get cracked up about hunting squirrels from the back door. When I see one, I slowly open the door and stick the gun out, take aim, and... well, you can't hear a pellet gun.

This makes me a suburban redneck.

(Ooops. MT is acting up. It deleted my post about my trip to the lake.)

Posted by megabeth at 02:43 PM | Comments (1)

January 02, 2008

I was cleaning my track bike the evening before new year's eve around 10 pm, and my finger got caught between the chain and the chainring. On a fixed gear bike, the chain tension is very tight, leaving no slack for error. My first thought was "Good, I still have a finger", but I had heard a crunching noise and figured I had broken it. After the initial panic, I experienced the burst of adrenaline and then started to feel as if I were burning up with a fever, which then made me feel faint. After pacing back and forth for a few minutes, I had to sit down. Then, the adrenaline subsided and I was calm again.

Now what? We called some doctor friends (doctors marry doctors sometimes) and they happened to be at home watching a movie. In ten minutes, an orthopedic surgery resident had numbed up my finger and cleaned out the cut with saline. The finger was not broken and the cut did not need stitches. The alternative would have been the ER, which would have sucked. I probably would have waited until the next day to see a doctor, and then would have been dealing with an infected wound.

Hooray for home-administered medical services.

I will probably wear work gloves when cleaning my fixed gear bike chain from now on. The crunching sound of skin being cut to the bone gives me the heebie-jeebies.

Posted by megabeth at 12:31 PM | Comments (3)