I am so tired of the car warranty calls. They are big, fat liars because the voicemail always says that, “This is the last call,” and that if I don’t respond I won’t be able to extend the warranty on my (14-year-old 100k+ mileage) car. And yet when I fail to respond, they continue to call. Jerks.
And, as always, enjoy! If you want more information about why the blog format has changed, and why we're now offering complete written recipes, please read all about that here.
This is a digital PDF file with tons of pictures and instructions so you can make your own Dr. Fauci Crochet doll. Once your payment has been made, Etsy will send you a link to download your crochet pattern file.
This is my favorite immunologist – Dr. Fauci! What a crazy world we live in. Luckily we have smart, caring people to help guide us through this time!
Now you can make your own Dr. Fauci crochet doll. He’s super cute, and pocket-sized at approx. 7 inches tall and 2.5 inches wide. He’s perfect to take with you on the go.
So interesting! I’m slightly allergic to bananas, so I have no skin in the game, but this science is super cool.
In the British Drama, Years and Years, they imagine the very near future. I do wonder what someone from 2010 would have thought about a tv show accurately depicting 2020. In any case, one of the throw-away lines of the show was that there are no more bananas. The writers did their research – that the Cavendish banana will disappear sometime in the 2020’s is extremely likely. It is being threatened by a fungus called Tropical Race 4 (TR4), which a century ago wiped out the previous commercial dessert banana, the Gros Michel (it’s not extinct, but cannot be grown commercially anymore).
TR4 is now on every continent that grows bananas. It is literally just a matter of time before the entire commercial Cavendish market is wiped out. TR4 and similar funguses also threaten other banana varieties (more like plantains) that provide a staple source of nutrition for large segments of the world (about 400 million people). So this is not just about no longer having access to a favorite dessert fruit – this can create a serious threat to food security in parts of the world.
Part of the problem is that all Cavendish banana plants are clones. The plants are triploid hybrids, which is why they don’t produce seeds. This also makes them sterile. They are reproduced by taking new shoots that grow off the underground bulb (or corm). For this reason the entire Cavendish industry is basically comprised of clones. This is the ultimate monoculture – which leaves them particularly susceptible to disease, such as TR4.
One solution is to do what they did after the Gros Michel crop was lost – cultivate a new banana that is resistant to TR4. But few cultivars have all the traits necessary for a commercial banana. It has to ripen slowly, so it ships well, and has to taste good. Cavendish bananas, apparently, are a pale comparison to their tastier predecessor, and many were concerned they would not be accepted. There are many local varieties of dessert bananas, some are quite tasty (I have tried a few, like apple bananas, which are good). But these varieties don’t ship as well as the Cavendish, which is why they are mostly available locally.
The other solution is to breed or genetically engineer the Cavendish (or the Gros Michel, for that matter) to be highly resistant to TR4. Then we could at least get another century out of the banana, hopefully. A research group in Australia is working on a CRISPR edited version of the Cavendish that is resistant to TR4. Fortunately, nature already has a partial solution – some wild type bananas have a gene, RGA2, that provides resistance to TR4. In fact, the RGA2 gene is already present in the Cavendish, it is just expressed 10% of that of the resistant varieties. So all the scientists have to do is activate the expression of the already present RGA2 genes in the Cavendish. They have done this and are already in field trials, which are showing enhanced resistance.
There is also a gene from a nematode, the Ced9, which confers resistance to TR4. This is not being used by the Australian group, but is another path to resistant bananas. We may end up needing this gene as well at some point.
There is a bit of news in that Del Monte has agreed to fund the Australian group developing the Cavendish with enhanced RGA2. Hopefully this will help bring the resistant banana to market in time to save it. And of course, there are anti-GMO activists who against this banana – for no legitimate reason. They just oppose everything GMO for misguided ideological reasons.
Clearly we are in an arms race against infectious disease. This extends beyond the banana – our entire farming infrastructure is a constant battle with pests and diseases. We need to use a multi-pronged defense, something called “integrated pest management”, for example. We need to maintain output to feed the world, but at the same time adjust our practices to minimize the threat of crop disease. This will be a never-ending battle. Also, we will need every tool we have, including genetic engineering, in order to keep up. Without genetic modification, the banana industry is going away. Other crops are similarly threatened – genetic engineering has already saved the papaya industry in Hawaii. Citrus greening threatens our citrus industries.
I do wonder what this will be like in 50, 100, or 500 years. Can we get into a sustainable loop, where we abandon certain crops for resistant ones, but eventually can return to them once the diseases that were specific to them wane (similar to antibiotic resistance)? Or perhaps we will need to develop farmland on the Moon or Mars, or in orbiting stations, that are entirely sterile except for the crops themselves and beneficial bacteria in the soil – but no pests. They could be run by robots, and entirely sealed off from any possible contamination.
Another benefit to off-worlding our food production is that more of the Earth’s surface can be returned to natural ecosystems. Right now about half of the world’s habitable land is used for agriculture. This is perhaps the biggest negative effect on other species, the loss of habitat due to agriculture. This, of course, is a far future (at least a few centuries) solution, but I do wonder if this will be an ultimate solution.
In the meantime, genetic engineering is probably our best chance to keep one step ahead of the worst pathogens like TR4.
I loved Cloris Leachman. Her comedic timing was perfection.
I wanted to comment that she was my favorite part of the sitcom Raising Hope, but I couldn’t think of the name of the show. I went to her IMDb page figuring that it would be pretty close to the top because it isn’t that old. I had to scroll through pages of movies and shows to find it and the show was only canceled in 2014. She never slowed down. Wow.
Cloris Leachman died Jan. 27 at her home in California at the age of 94.
Dominion Voting Systems, the election technology company that has been the focus of debunked conspiracy theories about election fraud, is suing MyPillow and its CEO Mike Lindell.
Click http://bit.ly/BrightCellarsBabish5 to get 50% OFF your first 6-bottle box plus a BONUS bottle! Bright Cellars is the monthly wine club that matches you with wine that you’ll love. Get started by taking the taste palate quiz to see your personalized matches.
I realize that having "Advanced" and "Basics" in the same title might seem a bit contradictory, but the good ol' grilled cheese is about as basic as it gets. Using technique and flavorful ingredients, we'll try and put some fun spins on this after-school classic, hopefully without upsetting the purists!
My GenZ niece uses this emoji all the damn time. It’s so weird what the Internet attributes to each generation.
In recent weeks, two internet-savvy generations have been clashing in videos and comments on TikTok over the hallmarks of millennial culture that are now deemed uncool by Gen Z. The list includes skinny jeans, side parts and the popular laughing crying emoji.
I need this Crochet pattern for myself, I need this shawl for my self cause no one knows just how much of an Angel I really am.
Okay all kidding aside, this crochet pattern is for this detailed Angel wing shawl. It is trending right now so make sure you get a jump start on making these before all the family ask you to make them an Angel shawl.
You can purchase this Angel shawl pattern here via Etsy.
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Developed by Megan Lapp aka Crafty Intentions, this pattern is for a Feather Wing Shawl!! This pattern is written in U.S. terminology.
This pattern comes with instructions to make your very own set of Feather wings!! Everything you see in the photos is included in the pattern. All instructions are carefully depicted with words and photos! This pattern features clear step by step instruction with a lot of row-by-row photos. The gauge is not crucial to the pattern so long as you are consistent throughout.
This pattern is a total of 91 pages containing a full set of written instructions with photographic illustrations, and there are video tutorials for particular steps and stitches available on my YouTube channel. This Pattern consists of ONE PDF File, and the last 30 pages are Text-Only, Printer-Friendly instructions, but I strongly recommend you still refer to the photographic illustrations throughout the pattern if you have any questions.
I really don’t know how I feel about this. I’m failing to see white privilege in Bernie’s attire, but maybe that’s because I’m white, middle class, and not able to recognize it.
Ingrid Seyer-Ochi, a San Francisco public high school teacher, wrote an op-ed for the San Francisco Chronicle objecting to the privileges symbolized by Sanders’ style of dress at the inauguration.
Seyer-Ochi addressed the topic with her students, who she said were also upset by what they saw as the implicit message being delivered by Sanders’s choice of outerwear.
“What did they see? They saw a white man in a puffy jacket and huge mittens, distant not only in his social distancing, but in his demeanor and attire,” Seyer-Ochi wrote, adding, “What did I see? What did I think my students should see? A wealthy, incredibly well-educated and -privileged white man, showing up for perhaps the most important ritual of the decade, in a puffy jacket and huge mittens.
“I don’t know many poor, or working class, or female, or struggling-to-be-taken-seriously folk who would show up at the inauguration of our 46th president dressed like Bernie.”..
“I mean in no way to overstate the parallels. Sen. Sanders is no white supremacist insurrectionist. But he manifests privilege, white privilege, male privilege and class privilege, in ways that my students could see and feel,” Seyer-Ochi wrote.
Commentary and backlash to her outrage in an article on Yahoo News, where they note that "Sanders monetized his viral fame to raise more than $1.8 million for various causes from the licensing of T-shirts and other merchandise with the now iconic image. The beneficiaries include Meals on Wheels, Feeding Chittenden, the Vermont Parent Child Center Network, the Chill Foundation, the Bi-State Primary Care Association and senior centers."
Some people just need to feel victimized, IMHO.
Addendum: an interesting variety of opinions in the comments.
One thing that everyone on this earth knows to be true, regardless of where you’re from or what language you speak, is that small things are adorable. Specifically, miniature versions of things that are usually people-sized. That’s why Converse or Timberland boots for babies are so goddamn cute, they’re like regular shoes!! But small!!!! That’s also why things like “Tiny Kitchen” exist and do so well, because we just really love miniature stuff.
You know what else we love? Animals in human clothes. Seeing a French bulldog in a yellow raincoat tickles us just as much as seeing a bird bath shaped like a vintage-style bathtub with a tiny rubber duck.
So what do you get when you combine absurdly miniature things with animals in human clothes?
Joy. Pure, unadulterated joy.
Chris Newsome is a savvy imgur user and also my new favorite person. I’m not sure where he’s from, but wherever it is there are toads, and this one in particular liked to hang out on Chris’ porch.
One day Chris looked at this toad and decided “he needed a hat,” so he gathered some crafting materials and whipped up the resident toad a stylish little chapeau.
Since this toad appeared to not only love his new pink hat but also rocked the shit out of it, Chris realized he couldn’t simply stop there. This top hat was all well and good — for an average toad. But not for an incredibly fancy, high-end toad, as we know this one is.
>>> Witnesses told detectives that Wilks and a friend were participating in a “prank” robbery as part of a YouTube video when they approached a group of people, including Starnes, with butcher knives. Starnes said he was unaware of the prank and shot Wilks to defend himself and the people he was with.
This is exactly how I would expect this to end.
Police in Tennessee are investigating after a man was shot and killed Friday night during a robbery “prank” for a YouTube video.
Planned legislation to establish new business areas in Nevada would allow technology companies to effectively form separate local governments. Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak announced a plan to launch so-called Innovation Zones in Nevada to jumpstart the state’s economy by attracting technology firms, Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Wednesday.
>>> Even though Rittenhouse was recently seen on surveillance video drinking at a bar, flashing white power signs and taking pictures with fans, where he's living remains a mystery.
What the fuck!? How is this kid still free?
The 18-year-old, who admitted killing two men in Kenosha, is free on $2 million cash bail.
David J. Whitcomb had no idea that the building he bought in December 2020 for his law office even had an attic, so he was doubly surprised to find the treasures that have been stashed there for nearly 100 years.
The worst part about not driving anymore is not being able to sneak off for my once-yearly trip to Mickey D’s for a small Shamrock Shake and large fries to dip in it.
St. Patrick's Day is several weeks away, but McDonald's is already getting ready with the arrival of the Shamrock Shake.
They were there to "Stop the Steal," yet records show that some of the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol did not vote in the very election they were protesting.
We found the crochet version for these mittens over on Etsy and even though this pattern isn’t free, it is affordable and I am amazed at how quickly designers are getting these trending patterns up! love it.
So you have seen the beanie mittens and we even featured the crochet Bernie Doll And now we bring you the Bernie Beanie. Of course we all know Bernie was not actually wearing a beanie but can we really wear those mittens without a matching hat?
Every time I hear a newscaster start a sentence with, “Today the President. . .” I cringe and brace myself for the worst. Then I remember who the president is and I feel that weight lift off my shoulders.
I wonder how long it will take me to forget to cringe when someone mentions the president.
In the British Drama, Years and Years, they imagine the very near future. I do wonder what someone from 2010 would have thought about a tv show accurately depicting 2020. In any case, one of the throw-away lines of the show was that there are no more bananas. The writers did their research – that the Cavendish banana will disappear sometime in the 2020’s is extremely likely. It is being threatened by a fungus called Tropical Race 4 (TR4), which a century ago wiped out the previous commercial dessert banana, the Gros Michel (it’s not extinct, but cannot be grown commercially anymore).
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Courtesy of imgur / Chris Newsome
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Courtesy of imgur / Chris Newsome
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Courtesy of imgur / Chris Newsome
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Courtesy of imgur / Chris Newsome
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Courtesy of imgur / Chris Newsome
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Courtesy of imgur / Chris Newsome
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Courtesy of imgur / Chris Newsome
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Courtesy of imgur / Chris Newsome
