That is tasty! I'll have just a little bit more...

I can certainly not stand before you as a model of how it should be done.  I love food.  I love good bread.  I love toasted -almond ice cream cones… But much of my life I have fought to keep my eating under some degree of control.  But when I eat responsibly I feel more energy.  If I eat well I control my blood pressure, my weight, and heart health.  I enjoy exercise more and maintain a regular energy balance all day.

East coast soft shell crab

If you would like to get a better sense of how much you eat and what you "should" be eating; this is a site recommended by my Kaiser Medical Plan– I like them better than Weight Watchers and they are free! Follow yourself for a day and see what your numbers look like: http://www.myfitnesspal.com.  Works for me...  I have found that my eating/weight equilibrium comes around 1400 calories a day.

Judy's apple pie!

Genetics sets for each of us a range of life potentials; what can we do to move ourselves toward the longest and healthiest life possible?

Positive responses: 

The vitamins and minerals you eat need to be in the right amount – not too much – not too little… My favorite source of information of vitamins and minerals is this site – click on a food and see what it contains (Plus they have simple awesome recipes): http://www.whfoods.com/foodstoc.php

Borscht soup w/ sour cream

I have a friend at Stanford University whois involved in the research being done on 'Phytonutrients” These are plant derived foods that contain thousands of natural chemicals.  They aren't included with 'vitamins' - but these chemicals are capable of interacting in positive ways with our body cells. Phytonutrients aren't essential for keeping you alive, but when you eat or drink phytonutrients, they may help prevent disease and enhance the functions of  your bodyto make it work more properly. Keep an eye on this group of nutrients; this is a matter of growing scientific studies by some of our leading institutions. ( check google more )

Czech Kolache

But what changes can lead to improving our life? You know the obvious - The most obvious: smoking tobacco is a definite hazard to your health and all those who have to breath 2^nd hand smoke.  3 out of 4 smokers will die of a smoking related disease (this number improves rapidly for those who quit.)     Cancer is only one of the medical surprises awaiting smokers...

Tanzania lunch

And what about food?

Judy and I decided that we want to minimized random chemicals in our diet - We try to buy only organic vegetables and only meat without extra hormones or other added chemicals.  

Peruvian soup

There are 3 great evils as far as food is concerted: 

1. Excess fat and other high calorie foods There is massive evidence to support that being overweight relates to a whole number of medical conditions than can drastically shorten life, and reduce the qualities of a “good” life.  My father’s generation worked hard in the fields and needed to eat a calorie rich diet to replace the energy expended.  Many people today still enjoy the same foods – but without the activity they become overweight.  "You can't have it both ways..."  

"If you knew sushi like I know suchi..."

Plaque deposits ( from a high fat diet ) are formed in the blood arteries; and they reduce the capacity of the arteries and leads to cardiovascular disease'

Being overweight  also triggers : asthma, elevated blood pressure, several forms of cancer...
You gotta read this one:  http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/WeightManagement/Obesity/Understanding-the-American-Obesity-Epidemic_UCM_461650_Article.jsp

Afghan soup

2. Excess sugar:

We know that the human body did not evolve to use vast amounts of processed sugar.  - And yet its everywhere - and we are addicted to it.  Corn syrup is one of the most ubiquitous forms!


The fat produced from excess energy from sugar tends to be stored in the waist, hips, and thighs.  Excess sugar reduces the effectiveness of our  immune system, 

By all means read this: 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kristin-kirkpatrick-ms-rd-ld/dangers-of-sugar_b_3658061.html

Afghan entree

The presence of sugar in the body stimulates the body to produce insulin.  The insulin stimulates cells to take in and use or store the available sugars.  With a low activity level the energy of the sugar is conversed into fat.  The rate of diabetes in America is at epidemic proportions today due to overeating.  More than 29 million Americans have diabetes; 1 in 4 doesn’t know.

Studies say that we should also limit our intake of fruit juices because they are high in sugars...Switch to whole fruit - the fiber somewhat mitigates the effect of high sugar in pure juice...

Soup from Central Asia

3.  Excess salt:  The amount of sodium in the  fluid  between your cells helps determine the amount of water your body holds. If your sodium intake is high, your kidneys cut back on releasing water into your urine so you can balance out the excess sodium surrounding your cells. This results in an increased blood volume due to water retention.

Blood pressure: The higher the sodium level in your blood, the higher your blood volume, because your kidneys excrete less water in order to dilute the sodium in your blood. The increase in blood volume, in turn, raises blood pressure.

Korean Pho

 ..... 

So how do food scientists know if a food is good for us or not...  how can it be tested?  The ways to test  are limited.  One of the best is to find a population on earth that emphasizes that certain food.  In parts of Japan tofu is a major part of the diet, in France red wine is consumed freely, in parts of America people eat a high proportion of fried foods, traditional Alaskan Indians ate a very high fat diet (blubber). Vegetarians eat no animal flesh (to various degrees).  So scientists study the health of that population  compared to others... 

Backyard buffet

That's a good beginning but with humans nothing is easy.  In addition we need to know about the person’s whole pattern of life:  What is their activity level, stress level, how much water they drink each day, do they eat whole grains or processed grain, how much sugar is in their diet…on and on…

Then we discover that our response to diet is also influenced by our genetic make-up.  People differ in their propensity to produce plaque in their arteries, where and how they store their fat, rate of metabolism, response to alcohol or caffeine … so all of these factors make the study of human diet problematic. 

Thai soup

Another way to explore the effects of diets is to feed the diet to lab. Animals – mice, rats… but we are not mice or rats so while this can be helpful it also raises questions.  Another approach is the more micro approach of examining cells - making small controlled experiments - working with autopsies, building a database from many sources

Remember the bottom line basic fact of science:  "Our knowledge on a topic is not determined by the results of one study - but by the expanded work that grows out of all of the studies.

The problem is that the press may get one result and they publish the idea on the front page as the final word...the latest conclusion.

Mexican chicken soup with condemnts

Science is a process based on creating a hypothesis - testing the hypothesis - supporting or rejecting the hypothesis - sharing your results with others so that they can confirm, expand, or prove wrong the new idea.  Its slow but it works. Scientists don't jump on the results of one test and immediately throw out all other tests...

These are still lots of unanswered questions -  For years egg yolks, have been on the limited food list. Some recent studies challenge this finding – Others say 'no' they are still not prooven safe  Some studies say that artificial sweeteners are just as bad at stimulating stomach fat formation as regular sugars – others disagree.

Moderation seems the best over all answer - Just like for Goldilocks - the answer is "not to much, not to little, but just right"... But how the heck do I tell that to my craving mind when a quart of my favorite Hagendas Ice-cream is just sitting there  inside the freezer?

How I came to love the new "Great California Desert"

Welcome to the great California desert!  Sunny skies, seasonally warm temperatures, and dry, dry, dry…  So the good news is that we have received 15.76 inches of rain this year

The bad new is found in this graph:

Standard Climate biome determination chart

if you know the average temperature of a location, and the annual rainfall… you can safely predict the type of biome pattern to be found in that location:

For example:  Anyplace on earth that has an annual average temperature of 10 C and receives 150 cm of rain in a year … will definitely be a forest… (natural vegetation before human activity)

Go to this link to find your climate characteristics: http://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/

Add caption

So Fremont has 15.76 inches of rain – that's about 39 cm. and our average annual temperature is 60 F = 15.5C.

Check it out on the graph – We are a desert… This is our 3^rd year of severe drought… Whatever you call it, climate change is happening to us!

We get along fine when we can count on melting winter snow water in the Sierras - but we are in big trouble when there is very little winter snow...

Interesting comments on how long range climate predictions are determined:  National Geographic: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/02/140213-california-drought-record-agriculture-pdo-climate/

Plant assemblage in Southern Mexico

Several years ago we were in Southern Mexico – a reagon about as dry as Freemont… and I marveled at the beauty and productivity of the gardens… Then it dawned on me – since early times those local people had refined the art of growing plants suitable for that climate.  I saw no pansies or petunias… no lawns or thirsty vegetable plants… but plants naturally adapted to the available water and climate…and they were beautiful – just different from the classic English and European garden plants that most of us associate with “garden “.  Those local people have also developed methods  of focusing water into the root zone of the plants, and used mulch to slow drying. 

A plant largely unknown to most Europeans - this is the Chayote - found in Central America - grows well in Fremont too...It has squash like fruit...

So I thought – "what plants are suitable to the climate of Fremont?"  I came home and started doing my research.  I discovered that the Fremont climate is a classic Mediterranean biome climate – distinguished by  moderate  temperatures, and minimal rainfall – which all comes in one brief  rainy season.  This same biome  is also found in the European Mediterranean countries, parts of South Africa, Chile, parts of New Zealand and Australia… Plants that have evolved in these locations generally do well here.  I also found a great wealth of native California plants – but beware the term ‘native’ … almost everything is native to somewhere – so I am only interested in plants native to my region… After a lot of trial and error, success and failure, I have developed the maxim – "If it can't live here with the water I give it, I let it die and I replace it with something that can adapt."

One of my cactus in bloom 

If our climate truly continues to be dry for years ahead, as predicted – I am shifting from Mediterranean plants to plants adapted to very low water.  Among some enduring Mediterranean plants, I have a growing collection of cactus and other drought resistant succulents.  When the plants are small they require extra water support – but once established they thrive with littler water.

Garden cactus

Now, the Kansas farm boy in me can't go completely away and I have some raised planter boxes where I add extra water and can grow excellent tomoatoes, green beans, fava beans, kale ( 3 varieties ), potatoes, beets, and squash.  We also have a variety of fruit trees with deep roots  that do OK!  

Now I come to a pet peeve of mine – Why do local nurseries and local garden groups encourage new gardeners to attempt growing plants just not suitable for our climate?I suspect that they try to grow them here because their relatives in warmer summer climates " always' grew them in their gardens.

Beets

We have cold nighttime temps in the summer due to air movement off  of the cold Pacific ocean. That limits us in important ways – Both the Alameda Master Gardening association and the  Davis UC  Farm extension program  recommend not attempting to grow peppers, eggplant, okra, or large fruiting tomatoes (like Heirloom types)… we simply don't have the climate for it… The plants will ’grow’ in many cases – but produce poor quality or little fruits.  Why keep doing that which is impossible - grow varieties that are suited to do well our climate!

Zucchini

3 Incompatible topics

...Today 3 short totally unrelated pieces which have all been on my mind...  Photos this week have nothing to do with the content...   I seem to have a fixation on weather ever since our drought began...

  

Dust in the air leads to magnificent winter sunsets in our back yard

1.  On a cloudy spring morning in the late 19^th century my Grandmother Julie said goodbye to her sisters in the town of Boratyn, a Czech enclave in modern day Ukraine.  Young Antonin and Julie left with their 3 small children for  Hamburg Germany to board the emigrant ship ‘Suevia’ to travel to America.  Over the years the sisters communicated sporadically by letters; all of which  have been judiciously kept in a bundle.  This past year, through the miracle of the internet, my ‘cousin’ in the north of the Czech Republic, at the base of the Krkonoše Mountains,  found me and we have been exchanging messages. 

The underside of a cumulonimbus cloud - so dense that little sunlight passes though

This summer Judy and I are going to reunite for the first time in over a hundred years the two branches of the family.  The grandmother of my newly discovered "cousin", Helena, and my grandmother Julie were sisters.  I will have an opportunity to visit the small villages where my grandparents and past generation lived.    My gene pool!! I am so excited!!  Stay tuned as this adventure unfolds…  Still no word of the long lost Zlatnik side.

A cumulonimbus cloud with frontal illumination

2.  The education of a new generation of Science and Math teachers continues to play a big role in my life.  Here are some of the issues that I see my young student teachers struggling with : First two definitions:

Student teacher: works with a master teacher to plan and teach one period a day. (Mills College)

Interns -first year teacher hired to teach 5 periods a day also involved in a university program and take course work as they teach. Teach for America - LMU

Oh gee! Lightning followed by a pregnant silence and then the loud boom of thunder

a. Is the classroom goal to ‘cover the material’ (go for the facts), or to seek in depth ‘concept learning’, should learning be a solitary activity or is it best to design problem solving teams that combine student knowledge and skills? We teach our STs and Interns to use a variety of learning strategies, how do you choose the best balance of learning experiences for each kind of class and experience?  Do you teach superficially to cover everything in the state framework or make choices about what concepts to emphasize. There are many voices in different schools and in society telling us different things about these issues - who do you listen to?

Aurora Borealis - more an astronomical phenomenon than a meteorological one

b. The students that come to our classrooms are not uniform.  Each of them brings his or her realities from home and the environment in which they live.  Each kid's readiness to learn varies widely and is determined by personal experiences, how and where they live – suburbia -  inner city - rural, family harmony or strife, and peer pressure.  Does their culture put a greater emphasis on athletic performance than academic performance?  It can be tough and troubling to be a teen ager in our world today!  Some kids come in a funk of black depression, anger, grief, anxiety … and we expect them all to set their emotions  aside and to be open to learning about the stages of mitosis.  How do we deal with the different learning needs of our kids - meeting the needs of the brightest and the best and still help everyone to succeed at the level to which they are able? 

Think of the fog rising from a bathtub - "water is warmer than the air above" - here too the land is warmer than the cool air

c.  Kids often feel ambivalent about their own future – “How can I possibly hope to go to college with rising costs?” “Will I even live to the age of  20 in the street scene in which I find myself?” “I just want to get by - maybe I'll 'drop out".” “I think I might be pregnant – what am I going to do?”, "Ever since my mom left I have to take care of my brothers and sisters - I dont feel like there is much time for me." "Ever since I got out to juvy hall everybody treats me different."

d.  Lack of support for education – this is a big one – California per capita spending on education is near the bottom when compared with other states.  In our current society there has a growing anti science, anti intellectual attitude – being smart is not considered cool in many circles.  In much of America we glorify uneducated macho ‘red necks’ as cool and intellectuals as bumbling incompetents…  that is not the formula for building a strong America.

Lenticular clouds indicative of strong sheering winds - typical in the high mountains

e. In the name of making the teaching job livable, I have seen some young teachers put aside  the  grading of homework, I see some teachers giving the same grade to everyone in a work-group despite their contributions, I see some teachers basing grades not on knowledge and skill attainment, but on participation, I see teachers who confuse "turning in the paper" with "understanding the concept". When teachers try to 'get by' with minimum work we short change the students.  For me the bottom line is that each student must be held accountable for their understanding of concepts and their ability to use the big ideas in new and creative ways. Kids need assessment both as a motivation to do the learning and as feedback on their progress.  I think of the grades I give as a kind of guarantee for  future teachers and employers to verify the level of knowledge and attainment of my students.  An A is Biology should mean something.

"On a winters evening -"

f.  My prophetic word for today – Education should become the #1 national security concern in America today… Look closely; and China, India, Europe are challenging or have already surpassed the US levels of educational attainment.  Our economy and jobs of the future will be determined by our knowledge, and critical thinking skills.  Much of the knowledge that people will have and use in 20 years has not even been developed today – so we have to teach students how to become life long learners.  Research will happen in other lands if we don't have well trained students and policies to encourage it here.  If we Americans choose to be anti-intellectual, anti-science, anti-evolution and anti-global warming – the rest of the world will most certainly pass us up.

Loose soil+Strong wind= Dust storm... they didn't disappear in the 1930s

g.  I see everyone blaming everyone else for inadequacy in the education system - it's a contentious subject! - Everyone is pointing fingers: parents are to blame - teachers are to blame - the school policies are to blame - lack of funding is to blame - the changing nature of society is to blame - technology is to blame - the government interference is to blame... I suspect all of these play a role.  I  think of Chinese kids required to be in academic classes for 8-9 hours a day in school and  then go home and work on homework, I think of Indian parents who sit with their young children to see that they stay focused on the homework until it is done and sign them up for remedial classes if necessary,  I think of German kids with specially designed critical thinking problem solving situations...  and I want us in America to remain competitive.

Rao - blessed rain!  Come again another day...

3. And as a final segment -  I will turn to something closer to home... I love my garden this time of year – each day when I go out in the morning I see changes wrought by the season.  The fig tree is forming big fat buds, the kale plants are responding to the long day length by forming flower stalks, potato plants are emerging in the garden, strawberry plants are blooming big time, and apricots are starting to think about blossoms.  The plants that I coppiced down close to the ground are sending up rich new growth without any of the dry ugly stems that were there before.  The soil is already starting to dry – we have received 15.67 inches of rain since last July – in itself that isn’t too bad, so local reservoirs will have some water. – But there is very little snow pack – which means almost no water from the mountains for the cities and farms of California; which will affect food prices and force farmers to plant fewer fields and to sell livestock for lack of food.