Filed under: Motorsports

Autosport recently held one of those this-has-to-be-about-creating-controversy polls to find the greatest F1 driver of all time. But this was more like the Screen Actors Guild Awards than the Oscars, in that it was 217 Formula 1 drivers — going all the way back to 98-year-old Paul Pietsch, who raced in the 1930s — doing the voting. From among all their peers, the group chose Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna as the number one F1 stunner.

Still, there are plenty of “What?!” moments. Ayrton we’re solid on, and only three drivers from the past two decades made the top ten, one of them being Fernando Alonso at the number nine spot. But seriously — Lewis Hamilton at number 17 ahead of Jack Brabham, Graham Hill, and Kimi Raikkonen? Jensen Button at number 30 ahead of Alan Jones, Guiseppe Farina, and Phil Hill? We say, “Hmmm…” Have a look at the list yourselves, where you can vote for whether a driver should be ranked higher or lower. Hat tip to Marien.

[Source: Autosport | Image:AFP/Getty]

Autosport: Drivers vote Senna as greatest of all time originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 13 Dec 2009 09:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house…Under my tree was a gold and diamond mouse.”

“This has got to be a joke,” I thought.  I’ve recently been surfing the web for Christmas gifts.  Some of the things that I found were so ridiculous I just had to say, “Are you kidding me?”
I found this really cute site called MOUSE ENVY that sells unusual styles of a computer mouse.  Some of them are so adorable and most of them are only $15.99 – $19.99!  I decided to look through the whole site to ensure that I found just the right one.  When I stumbled across the cow mouse, I mooed with joy!  This one is absolutely perfect!

However, I still want to look at the rest so that I didn’t miss something better.  Lo and behold, the prices on them went up a little bit.  No big deal until…

I clicked on the limited edition tab , sipped my coffee, scrolled down, and almost choked on my coffee.  There, to my surprise, was the Diamond Flower mouse.  It’s available in 18-carat white or yellow gold and set with 59 diamonds in the shape of a flower.  The itty-bitty mouse costs … you’d better sit down for this one and no drinking while reading.  It could be hazardous to your health.

Drum roll please…

SCROLL DOWN

  $ 23,250.00 ! Yuppers, you read it correctly.  Twenty-three THOUSAND two hundred fifty DOLLARS!  Now that’s flower power!

My gut finds this persuasive …

Digital Domain – AT&T Takes the Fall for the iPhone’s Glitches – NYTimes.com

… When I set about looking for independent data, however, to confirm the superior performance of Verizon’s network, I was astonished to discover that I had managed to get things exactly wrong. Despite the well-publicized problems in New York and San Francisco, AT&T seems to have the superior network nationwide.

And the iPhone itself may not be so great after all. Its design is contributing to performance problems.

Roger Entner, senior vice president for telecommunications research at Nielsen, said the iPhone’s “air interface,” the electronics in the phone that connect it to the cell towers, had shortcomings that “affect both voice and data.” He said that in the eyes of the consumer, “the iPhone has the nimbus of infallibility, ergo, it’s AT&T’s fault.” AT&T does not publicly defend itself because it will not criticize Apple under any circumstances, he said. AT&T and Apple both declined to comment on Mr. Entner’s assessments.

Neither AT&T nor Verizon was willing to reveal its internal data on performance. But Global Wireless Solutions, one of the third-party services that run network tests for the major carriers, shared some of its current findings. The service dispatches drivers across the country with phones and laptops equipped with data cards. They have covered more than three million miles of roads this year, while running almost two million wireless data sessions and placing more than three million voice calls, said Paul Carter, the president.

The results place AT&T’s data network not just on top, but well ahead of everyone else. “AT&T’s data throughput is 40 to 50 percent higher than the competition, including Verizon,” Mr. Carter said. AT&T is a client and Verizon is not, he added.

Why do I find this persuasive, even though one of the sources gets AT&T money?

1. We only hear my fellow iPhone users screaming about AT&T quality.
2. Remember Apple’s rivals saying Apple didn’t have the engineering background to make a quality cell phone? I suspect this is what they were talking about. Apple did amazingly well, but perfection is not human.
3. Quality and reliability are not Apple’s top priority (most recent example: my 2 day old flickering, stuttering, $2K iMac i5). It’s not in their DNA.

Mind you, I despise AT&T. I think they’ll shaft their customers whenever they can get away with it. Apple is flawed, but they’re still better than everybody else. It’s just that this time, when it comes to phone service, I suspect Apple is at least as flawed as AT&T.

Alistair Darling’s pre-Budget report statement means the basic state pension will go up by £2.40 a week even though the Retail Prices Index is in negative figures

The Chancellor said: “For the first time in half a century the retail prices index has been negative for much of this year. Many benefits and tax credits are linked to the September RPI. RPI inflation last September was minus 1.4 per cent. This would have meant no increase in these benefits in April. I do not believe such a freeze would be fair.

“So I can confirm the basic state pension will not be frozen but will rise by 2.5 per cent, 4 per cent in real terms.”

In April the full state pension will rise from £95.25 to £97.65 per week for a single pensioner, while couples will receive £156.16 instead of £152.30.

However campaigners pointed out that the improvement was always guaranteed, and said it would bring most elderly people no real benefit, as their living costs are still rising fast while their other benefits such as the winter fuel allowance have been frozen.

After Labour was condemning for increasing the weekly pension by just 75p at the start of the decade, there has been a commitment that it will also go up by at least 2.5 per cent if inflation is lower.

Charities believe the cost of living for pensioners is increasing higher than for other groups in society, because they spend a greater proportion of their money on food, and on heating and lighting their homes. Many have also seen their retirement income drop over the past year because of low interest rates and reduced dividends for shareholders.

Dot Gibson, general secretary of the National Pensioners’ Convention, said: “The Pre-Budget Report gives with one hand but then takes away with the other and does little to tackle rising pensioner poverty, fuel poverty or the impact that the recession is continuing to have on older savers.

“One in four pensioners still lives in poverty and rising costs of food and fuel, combined with record lows in savings returns and underperforming pensions, mean that pensioners continue to suffer a disproportionate increase in the cost of living.

“In light of all this, the Chancellor’s promise to raise the state pension next year by £2.40 a week but then take more than half of it back again will bring little cheer to Britain’s pensioners.”

Andrew Harrop, Head of Public Policy at Age Concern and Help the Aged, added: “Many older people will be relieved that the Basic State Pension and Pension Credit will both increase above planned indexation. Yet the Government has missed a golden opportunity to promise to restore the link between Basic State Pension and earnings by 2012.

“Sliding beyond this date will plunge an additional 70,000 pensioners into poverty, saving relatively little for the Government – an estimated £250 million a year after 2012.”

WE SAY: Pension payments need to be sufficient to take all pensioners out of the many poverty traps which await them, and assessments of RPI which reflect upon pensions and pension increases should be adjusted to reflect pensioners specific needs – for example, fasting rising heating costs should result in these being given extra weighting in RPI calaculations.

Here’s a quick look at what Thrive was up to last week.

Why are suicide clusters more common in teens? Children’s Global Fellow Stephen Sullivan, MD, MPH, addresses the global burden of surgical diseases. KABC in Los Angeles interviewed Children’s Hanno Steen, PhD, about a urine test that quickly identifies cases of appendicitis. Children’s Center for Young Women’s Health youth advisor, Erica, writes a compelling review of the movie, Precious. The HealthMap team gives us our final H1N1 update. David Ludwig, MD, PhD, director of Children’s Optimal Weight for Life Program, just published a commentary in JAMA expressing concern about the widespread use of artificial sweeteners in soft drinks. Our Mediatrician talks about how negative portrayals of black women in movies affects teens. We give a roundup on all of the news this week on the fight for what our children should be eating and drinking.

Related posts:

1. This week on Thrive: Nov. 2 – 6
2. This week on Thrive: Oct. 26 – 30
3. This week on Thrive: Oct. 5 – 9

On Friday, December 11, 2009 I started my very first novel.  For the past twenty years I have dreamed of nothing else but writing a novel.  After five kids and two failed marriages, I have finally seen the light.  I know now in order to be a writer I have to write.  Ya, I know…duh!  Whether I’m writing a letter, blogging, jotting down ideas, or actually writing part of my novel I’m still writing.
I made a pledge to myself and my family that I will sit down and write every day.  I know that I must make time to write.  So, I have set a goal for writing my novel.  My goal is to write at least 1,000 words a day Monday through Friday until my novel is finished.  I will take weekends off from my novel.  But, if I feel the urge to write on the weekends I’ll write.
Since beginning on friday, I have three chapters finished. The total word count so far is…

3,650 words in three days!

So, as you can see, I’m well over my word count goal.  I’m very happy about that.  I just hope and pray that I can continue in this manner.  Because, I know that there will be days when I won’t be able to write at all.  Some days, with my Fibromyalgia, I can’t even lift my arm let alone get out of bed.

Please wish me luck:

Labor
Under
Correct
Knowledge

By Heather O’Roark

A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge was a random find at the library, and I’m so happy that it jumped out at me because I hadn’t heard of this book at all before, and it was seriously awesome.  I don’t know why more people aren’t reading it, because you all should be.  Why don’t I explain what it’s about?

A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge (Pantheon/ 2009) is the story of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, told in graphic novel format.  Except that it’s really not a novel, as it is the story as it pertains to five individuals, real people who survived the storm.  These are five people who author Josh Neufeld met in person while doing research on the hurricane and its aftermath, and he decided that he needed to tell all of their stories.  So, using both words and illustrations, he did.

This is a beautiful book.  The artwork is wonderful, and I particularly love Neufeld’s use of color throughout the book.  He kind of used different colors to show different situations and to create different moods.  For me, it really worked.

I also found the individuals in the book to be compelling and relatable.  Each one of them experienced the hurricane in a different way, unique to their particular situations in life, and it was so interesting to see how it affected them all in such drastically different ways – but there was one thing in common:  it hugely impacted their lives.  It destroyed all of their homes, some of their businesses, all of their prized possessions and many of their memories.  

Although there were so many differences among these people, reading their stories really served to remind me that so much of what makes us human makes us all very much alike.  The sheer humanity of this book is what really got to me.

I can’t recommend this one enough.  If you like graphic novels, A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge just begs to be picked up.  This one’s a winner. 5 Stars

Josh Neufeld is the writer/artist of the Xeric Award-winning graphic travelogue A Few Perfect Hours (And Other Stories from Southeast Asia & Central Europe). Shortly after Hurricane Katrina, Neufeld spent three weeks as an American Red Cross volunteer in Biloxi, Mississippi. The blog entries he kept about that experience turned into a self-published book, Katrina Came Calling, which in turn led to A.D. Neufeld works primarily in the realm of nonfiction comics. His work has been featured in The Vagabonds, Keyhole, and Titans of Finance, as well as in numerous comics anthologies, newspapers, magazines, and literary journals. He is a longtime artist for Harvey Pekar’s American Splendor, and his art has been exhibited in gallery and museum shows in the United States and Europe.   You’ll find Neufeld online at http://joshcomix.home.mindspring.com/

Hurricane Katrina Fallout: 1200 Citizens Incarcerated At “Camp Greyhound”

Book Review: Hate List By Jennifer Brown

Copyright © 2006-2010, Basil & Spice. All rights reserved.

Despite the recession, Asia’s leading tech companies remain extremely bullish.

Consulting firm Deloitte just released this year’s list of Asia’s fastest growing 500 technology companies and it paints a picture of Asian tech leaders who actually view the global crisis as an opportunity — because it weakened the competition.

They’re hiring, expanding R&D, and growing revenue at ridiculous rates. The top 100 companies just had an average revenue growth rate of 1,153%.

Taiwan led the rankings with 99 out of 500 of the fastest, while China had 97. India came in third with 71. Deloitte’s CEO survey shows what they’re thinking right now, and it’s all pretty optimistic.

Check out how bullish Asian tech companies are >>>

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Europe, Asia, Gold, US Futures, All Powering Higher On The Great Tidal Wave Of Liquidity
• Cash In On Asian Cash Cows With Citi’s Top Dividend Stocks In Asia
• Please Let’s Stop The Idol Worship

Dear Energy Professional, Dear Colleagues,

On Saturday, 12 December 2009, we had the opportunity to participate in the Panel on “Ermenek Dam and Hydroelectric Power Plant” at the Middle East Technical University Alumni Association in Visnelik Premises in Ankara, Turkey.

The 309 megawatt Ermenek hydropower project is currently under construction, and located on the Ermenek River, a tributary of the Göksu River in the province of Karaman. The Göksu River is one of the last free-flowing rivers in Turkey.

Its delta has been recognized as a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention. Though there are plans for five further hydropower plants, there has been no basin-wide assessment of the cumulative impacts of Ermenek and the other projects.

The investment financing has been organized between the governments of Turkey and Austria in the framework of bilateral cooperation. The Turkish Water Works Public Institution DSI (Client) signed the contract in 2002, with the international consortium lead by local BM Holding, which acted as a leader within the consortium.

BM Holding Vice Chairman Özgür Çaglayan Kuyumcu (CE’1998), and Project Coordinator Hakan Kazanc (CE’1995), were the panel speakers. The Panel Moderator was Ms. Ozlem Izlem AYDIN (EnvE’2004).

The Panel speakers explained all phases of the hydroelectric dam construction. The project is the first of its kind where a Turkish contractor (BM Holding) is the Pilot Company in a large multi-national consortium.

The double curvature, asymmetrical, thin concrete arch dam body, which will have a height of 210 meters from the thalveg, is among the two highest dams in Turkey and the 6th highest in Europe. The dam is being constructed in an extremely deep and narrow gorge, having a width of less than 150 meters at its top, and as little as 5 meters at its bottom.

Owing further to the highly carstified geological structure of the project area, as well as to the obstructed access, limited only to the use of a Cable Crane across and into the valley, the project is easily rated as among the most demanding and technically complex construction undertakings in Turkey.

Upon completion, the project will hold an important place in the national energy generation, with a planned installed power of 309 MW.

The Project shall be completed in 5 years, where repayment shall commence at the end of 2.5 years. The Project will be built with 100% foreign project financing by Ermenek Consortium. The contract upfront value is EUR 539,635,747, and the total project cost to completion is currently estimated at approximately 700 million Euros.

The financing group includes ABN AMRO Bank, Bayerische Landesbank, Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau and Société Générale as joint lead arrangers, Bayerische Landesbank as agent of the banks, Bank Austria Creditanstalt Group as Co-Arranger and OeKB as facility agent. Hermes also provided reinsurance for the OeKB export credit.

Also included in BM’s scope of works is close to 1,000,000 LM of drilling and grouting works in addition to 68,140 meters of roads and 18,729 meters of tunnels.

Since the dam has a great reservoir at the back, hydro turbines will have greater availability in a year to generate power. We are happy to learn that there is also a great opportunity for flood protection of the nearby environment.

To meet our country’s increasing energy demands, we need to have similar investments, and local contractors who can put their efforts towards finalizing the projects. In the end, we can say that, all we need is self-confidence, and the confidence of investors who will put money into other similar new projects, which will utilize the local hydro capacity.

Once again, we would like to congratulate the Construction Management and the Creditors who give money to make the project realized, and to the engineers/ employees who make the dam construction finalized.

Panel Presentation link is given on the title block of this blog.
Your comments are always welcome.
—
Haluk Direskeneli, Ankara based Energy Analyst

For a good long while now experts have told women with painful periods (known as dysmenorrhea) to exercise more. The idea is that exercise releases beta-endorphins to help block pain and lessen effects of prostaglandins which cause muscle contractions. It’s easy to find that exercise advice all over the Internet.

It sounds good, but UK researchers are saying exercise doesn’t help with menstrual cramps. After studying 650 university students, Birmingham University researchers found no link between exercise and period pain. Their findings were published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

Among women in the study, 28% reported moderate or severe menstrual pain, while 72% reported little or no pain. Researchers accounted for factors such as weight, mood, ethnicity, use of the pill and smoking, but still no link was found between how much exercised was practiced and whether periods were painful. There was also no link between exercise or level of pain reported. While physical activity is still good for women, the study authors argue that the idea that it helps with period pain is merely anecdotal.

Ways to Relieve Cramps

• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like Aleve, Motrin and Advil are often recommended, and they’re more effective if taken before pain begins. If over-the-counter medicines don’t work for you, ask your doctor about prescription-strength pain relievers.
• Heating pads relieve cramps, but make sure you follow safety precautions.
• Oral contraceptives are popular and often effective methods for controlling menstrual pain.
• Some women may need additional treatment. If you suffer from (or suspect) endometriosis or other conditions like fibroids, seek help. Your doctor may order imaging tests, or you may need a laparoscopy for diagnosis or treatment of some conditions.

(Image via stock.xchng)

Post from: Blisstree

Exercise for Period Pain? Maybe Not.

Patience is a virtue. Yet, it’s undeniable certain things really push our buttons. What are your top gripes? One of mine would have to be the experience of “talking” to a machine on the phone. I’ve learned the trick of saying “Speak to a person,” even when that option isn’t presented. Another gripe of mine is rude parking lot drivers, such as people who are so busy looking for the perfect spot that they don’t watch for pedestrians.

In September, Consumer Reports polled more than 1,000 Americans, asking them to rate 21 gripes on a 1 to 10 scale, with 10 meaning that something annoys “tremendously,” while 1 meaning that something does not annoy at all.

The top five annoyances as rated by the nationally representative survey participants:

• Hidden fees — 8.9
• Not getting a human on the phone — 8.6
• Tailgating — 8.3
• Drivers using cell phones — 8.0
• Incomprehensible bills — 7.8

Just missing the top five were failure to scoop dog poop and unreliable Internet service, both with a rating of 7.6. I’ve had to put up with the dog poop problem at my apartment complex, but unreliable Internet? That wouldn’t be a gripe of mine as I’d find a new provider in a snap. Consumer Reports indicated that people living in densely populated urban areas tended to be more annoyed by unscooped dog poop than those living in rural areas.

People surveyed were forgiving of inaccurate weather forecasts. That rated the lowest with only 4.3. I can’t remember ever getting angry over an inaccurate weather forecast. In fact, I always enjoy seeing the local weather forecasters around town, even when they make mistakes!

According to Consumer Reports, women were more annoyed than men about speeding drivers, remembering passwords and PINs and products shrinking but still costing the same. People older than 50 also tended to be more annoyed than younger people by speeding drivers, as well as e-mail spam and cell phone usage while driving.

What are your top gripes?

(Image via flickr/justephens)

Post from: Blisstree

America’s Top Gripes

Daily Random Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup plain white flour
• 1 cup plain wholemeal flour
• 1 cup jumbo oats
• 1 1/2 cups soft brown sugar
• Approx. 200 g / 7 oz vegan margarine
• 2 lb / 1 kg or approx. 12 plums
• Handful of dates, chopped
• Thumb-sized chunk of ginger, peeled and grated
  

METHOD:
1. To make syrup, place 1/2 cup of the sugar in a pan, with the ginger, dates and 1/2 cup water. Bring to the boil, stirring in the sugar until
it dissolves. Cover, and set aside.

2. Mix the flour and oats together in a bowl. Chop the marg into chunx and rub into the oat mixture. You will know if you have the right amount, as the mixture should resemble breadcrumbs. If it still looks ‘floury’, add more marg. Stir in the rest of the brown sugar.

3. Slice the plums thinly, then arrange in a thick layer at the bottom of a baking tray. Pour syrup over the top, then top with crumble mixture.
(I divide the ingredients between 2 baking trays, and freeze one for future use at this point).

4. Splash top with a little water, then bake in a hot oven (200C/390F/gas 6) for 35-40 mins.

Great with custard!

Makes 4 generous (6 smaller) portions, or 2x 2 generous (3 smaller) portions. Freezes well.

NOTES:

Let’s take a break from all the video game trailers we’ve been getting from the VGA 2009 and pause to consider Stevie Wonder’s plea to the gaming community: make games accessible to disabled people like himself.
 
 

There are too many random tidbits from Saturday night’s Heisman presentation to coherently place in the event’s recap, so they will be presented here. Randomly.

Camaraderie

A trend emerged throughout the night: the five finalists had grown close during their time in New York. Tim Tebow and Mark Ingram prayed together; they all went to the Empire State Building; Tebow and Colt McCoy grabbed lunch at a deli; and not a negative word was offered throughout Saturday evening. Ndamukong Suh, essentially disregarding his own candidacy, even told reporters that he thought Ingram and Toby Gerhart were the two most deserving finalists.

And so when each of the five took to the stand before the press gaggle after the presentation, mutual respect prevailed. The aura surrounding all of the proceedings was highly sentimental. It was a competition for arguably the top award in American sports, and you would not know it.

The Winner

I have spent much of the past week picking fights with people who put Ingram ahead of Gerhart. Mainly, it was due to ignorance, since many—including voters, by their own admission—did not watch much of Stanford. But along the way, you lose track of the individuals. And maybe it was because of, again, the atmosphere of the night, but after two hours, my respect for Ingram rose exponentially.

He is a young man who embodies many of the traits Stanford fans like in Gerhart: intelligent, classy, devoted to his school and team. He’s gone through personal trials: his father is in jail, and he started at Alabama as the only northerner on the squad—a bigger deal than one may think.

The impact of the night was evident. Tebow had to take him backstage before the ceremony because of his nerves, and when his name was called, the emotions came flowing out. He had to stop before he started because he kept getting choked up. He knew what the award meant to Alabama, which had not had a Heisman winner despite its rich football history. He knew what it meant to his family. And he knew what it meant for him, standing alongside Heisman winners dating back over 50 years as he gave his acceptance speech.

Good on you, Mark Ingram.

Academia’s Victory

Too often, the college football world loses sight of the first part of the term “student-athlete.” Not tonight.

Gerhart’s academic story is well known—he’s a management, science and engineering major taking an absurd 21-units this quarter. But all of the finalists had academic merit. Ingram made the Dean’s List, while Suh chose Nebraska because of its impressive engineering program. McCoy carries a 3.33 GPA and was an Academic Heisman finalist; Tebow won the award.

Gerhart put it well.

“In a time when education is falling by the way side, guys like McCoy, Suh, Tebow and Ingram, [who value academics], are the real heroes.”

Regional Bias

This needs to be talked about until it’s fixed, particularly in light of the closeness of this year’s balloting. Simply put: the Heisman system is undeniably biased against the West Coast. Dramatically so.

The incomparable StiffArmTrophy.com has done an analysis. Here’s how it works. There are six voting regions that receive 1/6 (16.6 percent) of the votes each—Far West, Southwest, Mid-Atlantic, South, Midwest and Northeast. But there’s a big problem: the population of those regions is not equal, and thus the per capita votes allotted are skewed. The Far West region has 21.1 percent of the country’s population; the Northeast has just 11.9 percent.

Statistically, that is, in a word or two, not fair. There are subjective arguments to be made about voter biases—the South thinking that the Pac-10 is a cupcake conference, for instance, even when it is tremendously strong—but those don’t even matter. The numbers, simple as they are, prove a “structural regional bias.”

As StiffArmTrophy.com says, “Three regions (Far West, Midwest, and Mid-Atlantic) have more population than [16.6 percent]—and three have less (Northeast, South, and Southwest).”

How does this relate to tonight? Gerhart’s win in the Far West was dramatically larger than any other candidate’s regional win. He beat McCoy by 105 points; next closest was Ingram in the South, where he beat McCoy by 78. Fix the proportions and project the vote totals and, well, you know what happens.

Gerhart was asked point-blank about supposed bias.

“Maybe there is, maybe there isn’t. It’s not something we concern ourselves about. We take pride in West Coast football. We take pride in the Pac-10 conference. We are as good as any. I think there’s enough exposure, though of course we’d like more, and as time goes on, people will respect West Coast football and the Pac-10 conference more.”

I applaud his diplomacy, but hopefully, the closeness of this year’s race will help change the Heisman’s methodology.

But I doubt it.

What Could Have Been?

In a race this close, it’s impossible not to look at the past season, and see where Gerhart may have been able to pick up those 28 points. Two immediate plays come to mind. First, the phantom clipping call against Wake Forest does not happen. That long run would have pushed him over 100 yards for the game and likely would have given Stanford another win on the season. Second, Jim Harbaugh gives Gerhart the ball on the final drive against Cal. Given his aggressive running right up until that point, I’d place a tremendously large bet that he was getting into the end zone. That would have given him five touchdowns and a win in a rivalry game.

It would have been nice to play on the final weekend—given Gerhart’s consistency, it’s hard to imagine that he would have been anything short of impressive. Not playing didn’t hurt or help—the week-to-week voting breakdowns show practically no change between the week before the conference championship games and the week after the championship games. A good performance may have given him the extra edge.

Oh, and it would be nice, in terms of the national exposure Gerhart mentioned, if the Pac-10 could work out a decent television deal. That would get the name out—the Notre Dame game, which was nationally broadcast, rose his stock since voters who could not see him before now had no excuse to miss him.

But, as they say, c’est la vie.

Stats of Note

This year’s race was full of fun little nuggets.

Suh had the highest point total of any fourth place finisher in history, while McCoy had the third highest points of any third place finisher. CJ Spiller of Clemson, who placed sixth, made an impact in the Mid-Atlantic, where he came in fifth—the only time a non-finalist placed in the top five in any region. He beat out Tebow by a considerable margin—79 to 57.

Ingram and Gerhart appeared on practically the same number of ballots (67.9 percent for Ingram, 67.1 percent for Gerhart). Meanwhile, 15 different players received first place votes, including all of the top 10 finishers. Finally, 11 percent of voters cast their ballots before the pivotal championship game weekend, when the scene was dramatically different—McCoy was in first and Ingram was in fourth at the time.

And then there was that part about it being the closest Heisman race ever…

Gingerbread is a holiday tradition for many families. McCormick offers three ways to use their recipe for gingerbread cookie dough. Your kids will love the gingerbread men. But if you are like me, you’ll adore the Gingerbread Whoopie Pies with Lemon Creme. Let’s start with the dough…

Gingerbread Cookie Dough

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Refrigerate: 4 hours

Ingredients:

• 3 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons McCormick Ground Ginger
• 1 teaspoon McCormick Ground Cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon McCormick Ground Nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1 egg

Directions:

1. Mix flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt in large bowl.
2. Beat butter and brown sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add molasses and egg; beat well. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed. Press dough into a thick flat disk. Wrap in plastic wrap.
3. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

Image: Courtesy of McCormick

Gingerbread Men

Directions:

1. Prepare 1 recipe Gingerbread Cookie Dough as directed.
2. Roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness on lightly floured work surface. Cut into gingerbread men shapes with 5-inch cookie cutter. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets.
3. Bake in preheated 350 degrees F oven 8 to 10 minutes or until edges of cookies are set and just begin to brown. Cool on baking sheets 1 to 2 minutes. Remove to wire racks; cool completely. Decorate cookies with Colorful Royal Icing or as desired.

Makes 2 dozen. Decorate with Colorful Royal Icing. Recipe and decorating ideas can be found at McCormick.com.

White Chocolate Kissed Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 recipe Gingerbread Cookie Dough (above)
• 60 white and milk chocolate swirled kiss-shaped candies

Directions:

1. Prepare 1 recipe Gingerbread Cookie Dough as directed
2. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
3. Bake in preheated 350 degrees F oven 8 to 10 minutes or until edges of cookies just begin to brown. Immediately press a chocolate candy into center of each cookie. Remove to wire racks; cool completely. Store cookies in airtight container up to 3 days.

Makes 5 dozen.

Image: Courtesy of McCormick

Gingerbread Whoopie Pies with Lemon Crème

Ingredients:

• 1 recipe Gingerbread Cookie Dough
• 1 jar (7 ounces) marshmallow cream
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
• 4 ounces (1/2 package) cream cheese, softened
• 1 teaspoon McCormick Pure Lemon Extract
• 1 cup crushed peppermint candies

Directions:

1. Prepare 1 recipe Gingerbread Cookie Dough as directed.
2. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
3. Bake in preheated 350 degrees F oven 8 to 10 minutes or until edges of cookies just begin to brown. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.
4. Mix marshmallow cream, butter, cream cheese and extract in medium bowl until well blended. To assemble whoopie pies, place about 1 tablespoon filling on the flat side of 1 cookie. Top with a second cookie, pressing gently to spread the filling. Roll sides of whoopie pies in crushed candy. Repeat with remaining cookies. Refrigerate whoopie pies between layers of wax paper in airtight container up to 5 days.

Makes 2 1/2 dozen.

Flavor Variations: Whoopie pies can also be rolled in chopped pistachio nuts, toasted sliced almonds or mini chocolate chips.

You can also use the Gingerbread Cookie Dough to prepare Caramel Pecan Gingerbread Thumbprints and Almond Gingerbread Cookies. Visit McCormick.com for the recipes.

Post from: Blisstree

Gingerbread Cookie Dough Three Ways

The November/December/January 2009-2010 issue of Organic Gardening magazine is running a special feature with award-winning author Michael Pollan. In the special exclusive interview, Pollan speaks candidly about what’s truly organic, First Lady Michelle Obama, what he sees for the future beyond organic, what’s missing from our food chain, and discusses the question, “Can organic feed the world?.”

If you haven’t checked out the issue yet here are some cool select quotes from Michael Pollan’s interview. with Organic Gardening:

Pollan on what’s truly organic…

“Organic is in danger of being co-opted. I’ve been on organic factory farms, and if most organic consumers went to those places, they would feel they were getting ripped off. I think organic risks a real crisis of perception if the values that they’re selling don’t accurately reflect the practices they’re engaging in. They’re organic by the letter, not organic in spirit.”

Pollan on First Lady Michelle Obama…

“The future is [people] really making the connections between food and energy and climate change, and food and health care. Watch what Michelle Obama is doing. That’s really important stuff: her emphasis on fresh food. She talks about organic, but she [also] talks about fresh. Basically, getting away from processed food is key. And if you’re eating produce, and it’s not organic, it’s a big step up from eating processed food. All these partial steps are very important.”

Pollan on the question: Can organic feed the world?

“…Even if you can’t feed the world organically, and I don’t know that you can’t—there are very good arguments that you can—even if you just feed half the world organically, you’d be doing so much for the land, so much for our health, so much for the atmosphere, that it’s well worth doing. So the fact that you might not be able to get all the way does not damn the effort to try. And so I don’t think people should be discouraged by that.”

“But ‘can organic feed the world?’ is a question really up for grabs. The honest answer is, we don’t know. I’ve seen research that suggests with really smart rotations and cover cropping there is enough nitrogen to do it. I also think that if we changed our relationship to meat, we probably could.”

Pollan on if he prefers local foods to organic foods…

“No, I don’t. I support local, because in my experience here in California, local is organic…But if I were a supermarket shopper I would, because you can’t meet farmers face to face and you don’t really know what they’re doing, so to the extent people depend on the supermarket and are not interested in the farmers’ market, we need organic. If people are willing to put in more time and like the farmers’ market experience—because it is more than food that’s on offer there—[then] local, definitely.”

The whole “Can organic feed the world question” is a big deal right now with recent slams on organic by the media and Michael Mack, chief executive of Syngenta, a Swiss agribusiness giant that makes pesticides and seeds. Mack noted, “Organic food is not only not better for the planet… it is categorically worse.”  The piece on Mack was run in the New York Times and one of his issues was that organic can’t feed the world, which may have some truth to it, but is not 100% by any means and the theory hasn’t been tested. I like Pollan’s take on that – the whole we haven’t tried, and if we did it would so much better in the long run for the planet and our health and so on. Very cool.

Find the full article “A Conversation with Michael Pollen” in the November-January 2010 issue of Organic Gardening Magazine.

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Blisstree

Author Michael Pollan on Organic Food