Where does nutritional yeast come from?

I was casually sharing a delicious cheese substitute recipe that contains nutritional yeast when I was asked, "What is nutritional yeast?"

I answered with, "Its a type of yeast, but I don't know where it comes from."

Its funny, all those years as an ingredient-conscious vegan and I did't really know the answer. I could tell you all about why you shouldn't eat things with red 40 in it because its made from crushed up red bugs and to avoid using shampoo containing urea because it probably came from horse pee, but I couldn't explain an ingredient that I've used hundreds of times!

All I knew is that its a tasty ingredient that can be added to cheese substitute and other recipes or used as a condiment in order to supplement the much needed B-vitamins vegetarians and vegans sometimes miss from the absence of meat in their diets. I've always known it to be "good for you" even if you're an omnivore so I recently started adding it back into my diet.

It turns out that "Nutritional yeast is a form of deactivated yeast called "saccharomyces cerevisiae." It is made by mixing sugarcane and beet molasses, then harvesting, washing, drying and packaging the yeast."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutritional_yeast

Well, that's simple enough! Although I'm not vegan anymore, I do believe that much of our food is deficient in the vitamins we need. Besides, most of us eat too much dairy anyway, so a good cheese substitute is essential to have in your recipe arsenal. If you'd like to try my delicious cheese sauce substitute recipe that can be used in mac and cheese, broccoli rice casserole, on pizza... whatever!!! Here it is:

Modified from "the Compassionate Cook"

1/2 cup (1 stick) margarine
1/2 cup all purpose flour
3 and 1/2 cups boiling water
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
1 and 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
pinch of turmeric
pinch of paprika
1 cup nutritional yeast flakes
salt and pepper to taste

Melt the margarine in a medium pot over low heat. Beat in the flour with a whisk over medium heat until the mixture is smooth and bubbly, then whisk in the boiling water, salt, soy sauce, garlic and onion powders, turmeric, and paprika. Cook until it thickens and bubbles, then whip in the yeast flakes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

What was the world like before computers?

I finally got my computer back after it crapped out about a week ago. Thank god I have someone in the family who is great with computers and saved me $85 an hour if I would've hired someone to fix it! (Yeah, as if that's even an option right now!) Anyway, he really saved my butt by going beyond just fixing and helping me learn more about my computer.

As the saying goes... "You don't know what you've got till its gone." Ain't that the truth? I don't know when I became so dependent on computers. Then again I don't know what the world was like before them. After all, I was raised with them. I remember our first family computer my mom bought for a pretty penny when I was in fourth grade.

It was a Laser 128 Apple Compatible. The word processing program was basically like having a type-writer hooked up to a monitor. There was no such thing as editing tools or spell check. The colors on the screen usually consisted of white or green against a black background. Anything more was breathtakingly beautiful and amazing! My favorite was blue lettering against a bright fuschia background.

The Internet was basically a bulletin board system (BBS) where people could hook their computer up to a phone line, dial out, wait a while for connection, log in and leave a message, upload or download software. Playing games was pretty popular too, but I never got into that. I was just fascinated by the sudden annonymity of communication. I got a real kick out of sending and receiving random messages to someone in Ohio or New York. It was kind of the CB radio system of the modern Internet.

Our printer was a dot-matrix. You know... the one where you have to thread the paper through just right and when you're done printing you had to tear the pages apart ever-so-carefully. Not to mention that the printing speed was about a page per minute or two and the sound was so loud that it was comparable to a screaming robot. Aww memories.

So, yes, even in my short lifetime, computers have come a long way, but what was the world like before computers? I'm reminded of all the stories my dad used to share with me about his childhood and I remember that he despised the "three C's" because they were essentially non-existent in his era. They were cell phones, credit cards, and computers.

From listening to his stories and what I'm able to put together from other sources, without computers, I imagine a very simplistic, slow, black and white world. People spent more time talking face-to-face and working through their problems like human beings. Handwriting was a LOT nicer and there seemed to be more of an emphasis on the importance of "proper" language and grammar.

Now, with computers, the world is more colorful and complicated. There's so much information available to everyone that for every "fact" you find, there are plenty of other sources to dispute it with convincing arguments to back it up. People seem to be almost afraid to speak to one another and would rather send a text message or email instead of confronting an issue with another person by talking. Language and grammar have blossomed into a plethora of dialects to fit every sub-culture imaginable.

I could go on forever about this, but with anything, there are advantages and disadvantages. It is true that we live in a time ruled by computers and the speed of technology is increasing exponentially. Acceptance of this fact if the first step. It seems that the current trend is to ride the wave of technology or drown in an ocean of ignorance.

I've learned that its good to know some basic maintenance techniques to keep up on the health of your computer just like its good to know how to change the oil in your car. Basic computer knowledge will help your brain think like a computer and protect it from these annoying crashes like I've experienced this past week. So, if we think like computers now, does that mean our brains will fuse together with them and someday create a hybrid race of human-computers? Maybe there's already people out there like that. I mean, look at Steven Hawking for crying out loud!

How fast does a sneeze travel?

It never fails, every time my boyfriend sneezes, I practically jump out of my skin. The power and force behind each sneeze is enough to launch a rocket. Mine, on the other hand are gentle and barely noticeable.

I've heard the average sneeze travels at about 100 miles per hour. The highest speed recorded was apparently 630 miles per hour. From this data and comparing my style of sneezing against my boyfriend's I wondered what made his so much stronger. Was there a formula to determine the exact speed of the sneeze?

His schnoz is way bigger than mine, so I figured that the length of the nose the sneeze would have to travel would vary the speed. After all, speed = distance / time. Surprisingly, our nose lengths, from bridge to tip are the same! The volumes, on the other hand, differed, but that doesn't fit into the equation.

I quickly abandoned my mathematical approach and dug up more information. The sneeze involves so much more than just the nose. I guess it seems obvious now that I've said it. I'm sure there's a formula for it, but I wouldn't even know where to start since the variables include the muscles of the face, nose, throat and chest. I suppose too that he is way more allergic to things than I am, so
his body is more equipped for pushing allergens out than mine. Who knows how to calculate that? Not me.

So what have we learned? The amount and size of muscles involved with the body's own defense system and need to push a sneeze out, are all variables for each person's sneeze speed. I'd be willing to bet, though, that Cam has probably broken the sound barrier with a few of his. I wonder if I could get hold of some sort of measuring device so I can get him in the record books. Would we get money for breaking a world record? Gotta be creative in this economy!

Do people really go to Hooters for the wings?

I probably first heard of Hooters in the early nineties. I learned that it was a place that people go to for beer and wings and the waitresses wear very little clothes. I'll have to admit, back then I thought, "Well, THAT sounds sexist. I'm never stepping foot in a place like that. How disgusting!"

To top it off, over the years I've seen billboards with their slogan "Delightfully tacky yet unrefined since 1983." Not helping! Of course, the myriad of billboard tag lines like, "Liquor in Tampa, Poker in Vegas," and "Only a rooster gets a better piece of chicken," don't change my mind either.

I'm not sure when, but at some point my initial impression was spiked with curiosity. I mean, the place is still in business after all these years. People constantly say how great their wings are... they must be doing something right.

A few weeks ago I got a unique opportunity to finally check it out. The family was trying to decide where to eat, which is a challenge in itself since there are so many differing opinions. My cleaver partner came up with the idea for everyone to write the name of a place on a piece of paper and to keep it non-biased, we'd have the 2-year-old draw one out of a hat.

Someone had the clever idea of writing "Hooters" on a paper as a joke. That's the one that was drawn. If you only knew, it was pretty funny to see the looks of horror on peoples' faces as they realized what was drawn. It was decided to put the paper back and draw again from a newly shuffled hat. Keep in mind that only one paper out of eight had "Hooters" on it. Guess what was drawn again... yep! Hooters!

It was destiny. The universe had a plan for us and to go against it at this point would be pure blasphemy. I was glad to finally have a reason to go. I was determined to see how good these damn wings were. It didn't take long to get there, but the anticipation of going to a place I was against going to for 15 years was making the drive quite exciting.

Our group met up in the parking lot and made our way in together. There was nobody there to greet us, so we waited for a little bit. I could see the bar was lined up with all men probably in their mid 50's. As my eyes skimmed to the end of the bar they were caught by a bright orange pair of shorts with butt-cheeks poking out the bottom that belonged to a waitress bending over with her elbows on a table at a booth taking an order. "Hmmmm. Yes, delightfully tacky indeed," I thought.

We didn't see a hostess anywhere so, seat-yourself seemed to be the policy. We walked to the back of the restaurant where we were able to put two tables together to accommodate our large group.

Our waitress brought menus and seemed overly rushed right from the beginning. It wasn't that busy so I wondered what the hurry was. She came back a short time later, took the drink orders. After that, we ordered our food, which is when the real fun began. She didn't even ask two of the gals at our table what they wanted. As the waitress started to walk away, they both had to get her attention to come back and take their orders.

The appetizers came and the quesadilla didn't have the guacamole that was ordered with it. "I'll be right back with that," our waitress said and she disappeared for about ten minutes. Again, not many people in the restaurant. She came hurrying back after the quesadilla was already eaten with the side of guacamole. Nobody even touched the guacamole, but when we got the bill, we saw that were charged for it anyway. To top it off, the waitress later argued about it that if we ate it, we needed to pay for it. Nobody ate it, but she seemed determined to get that extra dollar from us.

Alright, if you can't tell by now, so far, not a good experience. These wings better be good! Our platter of hot wings arrived along with the customary dipping sauce and celery. I tried my first wing and noticed that my teeth didn't sink far before hitting a bone.

"Where's the meat on this thing?" I wondered. Did this bird starve before they killed it? It was skimpy and dry as an Ethiopian chicken that had been dead and laying in the sun for a week. To top it off, the sauce wasn't any consolation. The seasoning wasn't necessarily spicy like it should've been. It was damned acidic! Nothing about this first wing impressed me. So I tried another. Same thing. Another...same thing again and again.

Around the table was the same opinion: people must not come to this place for the wings. It must be the gimmick behind the wings. What exactly is the gimmick? I can't really say, "at least we had pretty girls to look at." Our waitress's attitude sucked so bad that no matter how she looked with her skimpy clothes on, she lacked as much spice as the wings did. In the end, it was interesting to see for myself what it was about, but I'm probably not going back.

What do non-combat troops do?

By now, we've all heard Obama's plan for ending combat missions in Iraq by August 2010. After that, 50,000 non-combat troops will remain until the end of 2011.

First of all, it is clear, combat or not, the troops will continue to fight and die. The difference is their mission and label. The biggest explanation for what our non-combat troops will be doing is training Iraqis to maintain a police force to enforce the laws of a democracy. Before that can happen, though a stable environment needs to be reached and maintained.

How, exactly will they go about this? With such a short time line at play and the huge amount of work they've got cut out for themselves, it seems to make the most sense to take the war from the public forum and create an underground enforcement system protected under the umbrella of agencies like the ones we have; FBI, CIA, etc.

What better way to deal with something as big as this war than to throw a blanket of agencies over to hide it? Don't get me wrong, I'm not personally supporting that approach, but I don't see it happening any other way. I guess, with the past eight years of Bush in my sites, its hard to see the picture through rose-colored glasses. So far, I do stand behind Obama with my fingers crossed that the established system doesn't swallow him whole too quickly. I want to give him a chance.

It seems that he at least has the bases covered. Obama has increased the budget spending on health care and other veterans' programs by about 11% and plans to vastly increase VA funding over the next five years. An important investment since we will be seeing a surge of soldiers coming back and having to face the war of home. It will be interesting to say the least to see how we all cope with the mass amounts of soldiers transferring from one dimension into another. I feel a shift of consciousness on the way. You know, 2012 is just around the corner.

Does a bee know it will die before it decides to sting?

It is common knowledge that after a bee stings, it dies, right? This isn't necessarily the case for many reasons. First of all, depending on the classification method used, there can be tens of thousands of species. To make things easier, let's just talk about the common honey bee. This particular type is divided into three categories: queens, workers, and drones.

Of these three, only queens and workers have stingers. The queen stinger is actually straight and smooth, making it capable of stinging many times without dying. The worker honey bees, however, have a barbed tip on the end of their stinger, making removal impossible. This rips their whole back end off as they attempt to fly away, causing their inevitable death.

It is said that queen and worker bees have vastly different reasons for stinging. Queen bees use their stinger to fight and kill other queen bees to be the last remaining ruler. Worker bees apparently sting to protect the group and hive. It sounds kind of noble, but I wonder if they would be so noble if they knew it involved getting their ass ripped off?

The real question seems to lie in the capability of the bee to have awareness and intention. What are the parameters for intention and awareness? Is it brain size? If so, comparatively, bees are out of luck. Regardless, there seem to be many studies out there that prove the intelligence of bees.

Its been broken down and analyzed many times that bees have their own language composed of dance used to communicate with each other. Communication is an act that requires intention and interaction. Their intention to protect the hive is exhibited when they attack anyone who comes close to the hive by stinging them. Which brings me back to the original question. Does a bee know it will die before it decides to sting?

From analyzing all this, I think the answer is a little less foggy. It seems the life of the worker bee consists of the purpose to protect and serve the queen and the hive as a whole. Utilitarianism at its best. So, yes, I do think the worker honey bee does know it will die before it decides to sting. In fact, I think it seems to be the ultimate sacrifice on their part to fulfill their calling in this lifetime.

Why does my cat make out with plastic?

I was cleaning my room the other day and heard this grinding sound of sandpaper against a hard surface. "What the hell is that!?" I thought as I looked around. Then I saw it. My cat, Simon making out with the overhanging lip of the plastic drawer I use to store my office supplies in.

As I watched, I noticed him rub his head along the edge, lick under the lip, smell the aroma and repeat the process over again and again and... again. I laughed as I remembered him doing this with a lamp some time ago. He did it for so long then that I had time to find my camera and take a series of pictures.

This time, I wanted to do some research instead of taking pictures. I crawled over on my hands and knees next to him. He didn't even seem to notice me as he continued in the bliss of the make-out session. I was able to get my face right next to his to see if I could see or smell something that would clue me in.

Sure enough, the overhanging lip of the drawer was capturing the smell of his breath and magnifying it. The shape of the lamp from before must've been doing the same thing. So I guess he would lick the area, smell it, then mark it with his approval by rubbing his face on it. Just a hypothesis, but whatever he was doing, it was a total sensory experience that he was really getting into! It seemed addictive.

With all my experience with cats, I know that they're really conscious of their hygiene and marking their territory. Although, I've never seen anything quite like what Simon does, its a pretty funny site to see a cat make out with plastic.