http://www.drawger.com/itzland/ Thu, 31 Dec 2009 15:48:24 EST FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://drawger.com/_images/drawger_leo_logo.gif http://www.drawger.com/itzland http://www.drawger.com/itzland/index.php?section=articles&article_id=9494




]]> Thu, 31 Dec 2009 20:48:24 EST http://www.drawger.com/itzland/index.php?section=articles&article_id=9268 Forbes reported that Nestle controls eighty percent of the nations pumpkin crop, the company reports that this years rainy summer resulted in rotten pumpkins, thus creating a shortage, making it difficult to find canned pumpkin pie filling for Thanksgiving. Lucky us we are able to circumvent this minor problem by growing our own pumpkins. The bigger issue looming over our Thanksgiving feast, It turns out we can't fix or bypass like the pumkin shortage. Let me elaborate: It started a few years back,  ln the Summer of 2005, my son

Emmett was just about to take his final exam for his black belt in karate, when he started having flu like symptoms, drank alot of liquid and seemed to be constantly going to the bathroom. Eventually, he had to be hospitalized and was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, a (for now) life long condition that requires insulin injections on a regular basis.  His immune system began to attack his pancreas, resulting in shutdown of his pancreas which consequently stopped producing any insulin. Fast forward to now, thanks to a huge effort and work by my wife Deborah, Emmett counts carbs and operates an insulin pump in conjunction with a continuous glucose monitoring system. In the seventies, the very first insulin pump was about the size of a regular backpack, todays pumps are about the size of a cellphone.  It administers insulin via a connection by a small plastic tube inserted into his belly. Emmett has started high school this year, he has a knack for mathematics, excels in all of his classes and is ready to go skiing with his buddies while going through the regular teenager growing pains. (Yeah Dad, you don't get it) As you can imagine, we are following the health care debate with great anticipation.  We are appalled that insurance companies are allowed to cherry pick as to who they want to insure, leaving us in a very vulnerable position by allowing these insurance companies to discriminate against kids with a precondition by law. In our eyes, there is no argument that can be made against having universal health care for all, except if you are an elected official with the interest of corporations shareholders in mind. On the long run, DNA profiles will give the insurance companies a perfect data profile to cherry pick from. So this Thanksgiving send your elected official a note reminding him or her that they work for you and not your insurance company. Don't forget to thank them, we all need a "Lucky Break" this Thanksgiving. Pass the cranberry sauce!



]]> Thu, 26 Nov 2009 02:36:34 EST http://www.drawger.com/itzland/index.php?section=articles&article_id=9175




]]> Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:16:03 EST http://www.drawger.com/itzland/index.php?section=articles&article_id=8376

Today I'm inviting all Drawger readers to a tag along with me to shop for the best newspaper that money can buy in the Catskills.  What's your Sunday read? Paper or net?

]]> Sun, 26 Jul 2009 21:46:21 EST http://www.drawger.com/itzland/index.php?section=articles&article_id=8015


Parallel lives an essay by Caroline Dworin for the City section of the New York Times



Background check on private eyes; The Wall Street Journal



Florida real estate predicts another down turn in the housing market; Barron's



Renting a Blackberry for the road; The Wall Street Journal







]]> Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:32:39 EST http://www.drawger.com/itzland/index.php?section=articles&article_id=7463

This time of year I start some of my garden plants from seed with a grow light. In the first years of my garden I would go out and just buy the plants from the nursery. Over time, my wife Deborah taught me how to sow and start seeds from scratch. Then came the step of saving the seed from last year for the next season, at this point I started to appreciate the vast world of heirloom plants. Reading the heirloom plant catalogs I couldn't help but notice some funny names for tomatos like: Missouri Pink Love Apple, Henderson's Crimson Cushion, Orange Oxheart, Riesentraube, Zebra...the list is very long. Then I came across the history of the Mortgage Lifter Tomato and I couldn't resist the idea of turning this legacy into this years spring promotion:



I didn't have the foresight to collect seeds for a large mailing. Somehow faith dealt me a lucky card and I hooked up with Ken & Doug from the Hudson Valley Seed Library. I proposed the idea of a shared Limited Edition Stimulus Pack, and they said "We love it". I printed 150 8x11.5 seeds and cut, scored and hand glued 150, 6x4 seed envelopes and inserted a glassine sleeves with the "Mortgage Lifter" seed.Ken had all the seeds sleeves sealed with a special planting instruction sticker.In addition, I did hand write all the addresses and off they went to a selected bunch of art directors and editors of garden, finance and realtor magazines. I had a gas creating this collaborative stimulus package.



........................................................................................................................................... Please take a moment and read and sign this partition against a horrific bill that will screw up organic farming (bill HR 875)backed and sponsored by no other than genetic engineering corporation Monsanto.

I can't find the link editor bar in Drawger 2.0, so you have to copy and paste for now.

http://www.seedlibrary.org/

http://www.leavemyfoodalone.org/

]]> Mon, 06 Apr 2009 13:48:57 EST