Monday morning links

re Japanese Knotweed: The Invasive Plant That Eats the Value of Your Home

Hmmm...I always thought it was termites that did that.

From the U of Maine:

Once well established, it can be eliminated by repeatedly cutting the stalks. Three or more cuttings in a single growing season can offset growth of the rhizomes. An alternative is to cut it down repeatedly and apply glyphosate (Roundup) to the remaining part of the plant.

http://umaine.edu/publications/2511e/

Sounds like serious, but beatable pest to me. Hardly rises to the hype of the Newsweek story.

#2 feeblemind on 2014-07-07 09:38 (Reply)

Thanks, feeblemind, good to know. I loves me some Roundup!

#2.1 mary on 2014-07-07 11:05 (Reply)

You mean if you die and are sent to Hell, you still don't have a God-given right to live in NYC?

Cities only want the economic development that benefits the current power brokers. Those who are not "connected" and want to do something economically useful for others, develop these things called suburbs outside the city limits, at least for a time.

#3 JKB on 2014-07-07 10:01 (Reply)

Re: Founding fathers

That Whittemore was a tough old bird! We need more like him today.

#4 mudbug on 2014-07-07 10:02 (Reply)

Age is relative. In 1776 you were a man at 16, mature at 21 and a senior in your community at 40. When half the population was dieing by 40 you couldn't waste your time.

#4.1 Colorado on 2014-07-07 18:13 (Reply)

"60% of 'solid liberals' not proud to be Americans"

Many of the 'solid liberals' I know actively oppose anything that is "american". They seem to resent opposingpoints of view so much that they would rather crash the system then lose to the opposition. Many of their ideas and goals indeed seemed to be intended to destroy America. They have become quite slick and proficient at using double speak and PC talking points to seemingly support their agenda. 'Solid liberals' are a minority but they have created a majority coalition of the useful idiots, the perennially aggrieved, and various classes of rent seekers and hangers on with clever use of catch phrases like "the war on women" or hyped grievances like racism and income inequality. 100% of our problems "could" be solved but somany of them are not and will not be solved because it benefits some special interest group to have the problem sothey can whine about it and justify looting the treasury as reparations for their proclaimed "pain and suffering". THAT is the polarization that we see in the congress and the media. You either are on the side of the rent seeking parasite classes or you are on the side of the constitution. THAT is real polarization. I would argue that the parasites will win except that winning means destroying and thus in the end we will all lose. with a national debt of $18 trillion or so on track to be over $20 trillion before anew president takes office it would seem an economic collapse is inevitable. In fact we are in a economic collapse which the left leaning government is hiding by massive borrowing and spending which of course only exacerbates the problem and makes the inevitable collapse far worse then it should have been. THIS is the polarization and the destruction that the 'solid liberal' wanted. This is what has happened so many times before in history that sets the stage for a violent take over of the government. THIS is exactly what Obama, Reid, Pelosi and many other 'solid liberal' politicians have worked so hard for.

#5 GoneWithTheWind on 2014-07-07 10:20 (Reply)

GWTW, it is with great sorrow that I say I must agree with your assessment of our situation.

#5.1 mary on 2014-07-07 11:11 (Reply)

If you are truly serious about preserving the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, you will acknowledge the primary sources of current attacks. There are areas in this country that have core groups focused on bringing down the Constitution--it is a pain in their a%$.
Some of the locations for these core groups are:
Seattle,
Chicago
Phoenix
NYC
Portland

I am not speaking of just one or two democratic puppets running for, or currently occupying political offices. I am speaking of the places from which organized attacks come.
As you know the people of Seattle have managed to convince the world that because the Puget Sound is so beautiful--they and only they can successfully manage large groups of people. What they don't acknowledge is that they have not permitted an open/free election for nearly 70 years! The oligarchs of Seattle:
Boeing, Microsoft,Weyerheuser, UPS,Costco,US Bank, Nordstrom, Starbucks, Amazon, etc. all have grandchildren who "want to do good", "want to fix this or that problem" AND they grew up in homes where no one ever told them "NO", AND NOW they have the power to threaten anyone, to bribe anyone, to destroy a US AG, etc.,etc. It is from this core group that the intense attack on our Constitution is coming. You want to save that set of values--I for one will avoid doing business with these folks as much as possible. One example: why do you think it is so difficult to get privacy enforcement in the US? How about this: Microsoft HAS all of the government agencies computer systems.

#6 faculty wife on 2014-07-07 10:40 (Reply)

11 Skills Your Great-Grandparents Had That You Don’t

A cousin has a table that our great-grandfather made. Our grandfather and my father also had similar carpentry skills, but no one in our generation does.

#7 Gringo on 2014-07-07 10:42 (Reply)

Re: Invasive Species

In the US we have a plant called Kudzu--it too comes from Japan. However, it appears to have male/female (seeds and rhyzomes).
For me--it is a great example of the difference between northern and southern states. In the north we would attack it vigorously--in the south, they just let it take over everything, waiting for someone else to do the work necessary to return millions of acres of good farm land back to growing crops for human consumption.
Look here:
http://www.jjanthony.com/kudzu/

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

#8 apple pie on 2014-07-07 10:55 (Reply)

Now, while I have read this site for years, I'm generally a lurker here. Therefore, I might have been inclined to give you the benefit of the doubt that you didn't quite mean the regional snobbery implicit in your post. Areas taken over by Knotweed and Kudzu both benefit from an aggressive response. However, the question becomes whether the cost of widespread efforts, to cleanse the scourge as it were, are worth it. I assure you that Alabama and Georgia and Mississippi do not have millions of acres of good farmland, shrouded in the green weed, waiting only for those industrious Yankees (who exhibited it first in Philadelphia) to come down here and help us poor, pitiful souls strip it from every single telephone pole or gully, and pry its root stock up from the red clay and prairie soil just so we may place the roadside under the plow.

#8.1 Charles on 2014-07-07 22:51 (Reply)

I raged against knotweed in Seattle for over ten years with little success. It came from a recalcitrant neighbor's yard and went straight south into mine seeking the (occasional) sun. I dug, cut, crushed, pulled, and sprayed year after year but could only knock it back a bit. I offered to run a backhoe through that SOB's little plot to get at the mother root but he wouldn't move the RV that was slowly moldering into the ground. I sold the house and it's someone else's problem, a big problem at that.

#9 Sam Vimes on 2014-07-07 12:30 (Reply)

Knotweed and kudzu: Nature, red in tooth and claw, and green in strangling vines.

NYC: There's no way I would live in NYC. For those who do, or will: my sympathy.

Skills: I've done 2 and 9 thru 11. I have 3 ink pens, though I don't use them often due to not handwriting letters--just notes. 9's a good Boy Scout skill.

Cities: Depends on what you mean. Yes, cities as government and the in-crowd generally don't, except for taxagion (fingers...but taxation contagion makes a lot of sense). City dwellers have various views from No Way thru NIMBY to YIMBY and Yes Way.

Utah: An "inclusive" fight song? Not. Gonna. Work.

BBC: "The Trust said that man-made climate change was one area where too much weight had been given to unqualified critics." Not to mention, lying supporters.

Polarized: Yes, definitely, between those who accept that others have differing opinions, and those who won't accept that.

#10 Sam L. on 2014-07-07 13:16 (Reply)

NYC I am just glad to have the freedom to never go there. I have been reading about the crime and corruption there for more than 50 years and fully intend to NEVER go near that cesspool.

#11 bgarrett on 2014-07-07 15:35 (Reply)

Haven't been to NYC since BEFORE the twin towers were built!

#12 apple pie on 2014-07-07 15:39 (Reply)

only in NYC does this happen

http://www.myfoxny.com/story/25950041/bike-tossed-from-5th-floor-injures-officer

#13 bgarrett on 2014-07-07 17:19 (Reply)

Could not get the Science is In on Gluten Sensitivity article to come up on my computer. Still the title was enough. I am gluten intolerant. That means when I ingest gluten peptides they get through the intestinal defenses and form antigen-antibody complexes that affect the gut lining (diarrhea) and in my case migrate to my skin to cause dermatitis herpetiformis. Very itchy rash. Both the gut thing and my skin rash have been biopsied and found to be due to gluten, or whatever you want to call it. I have to stay away from wheat, rye and barley. It may be a craze but this gluten thing has been great for people like me because there are so many more choices at the grocery store and even in restaurants. Who cares if it is a craze? Why does someone have to write the science is in and these people are crazy? Is Maggie's Farm joining the forces of intolerance?

#13.1 Jim on 2014-07-07 18:19 (Reply)

The correct answer to your question is that you are one of the very small minority of people with a real gluten sensitivity. The much larger minority with a pseudo-gluten sensitivity are fadists. They yearn for something that sets them apart from others. Something that will give them special treatment and a platform to stand on to complain. They may simply be bored or have too much free time in their life but for whatever reason they need something to be able to point to that makes them special.

#13.1.1 GoneWithTheWind on 2014-07-08 12:09 (Reply)

I absolutely agree with you - there are such people. Early on I ran into this on the websites of people who had true gluten intolerance. It was almost like they were proud of it. Nevertheless, and my point, the "fad" has been good for us. At one time we had to bake our own bread, for example. Maybe my other point is: so what if people have weak personalities, are self-delusional, and need something to make them feel special (and this is not the only motivation, I am sure, of people who have joined the gluten free craze). Leave them alone or give them something positive, not more criticism. No one appointed you, me or anyone to sit in judgement of them, or look down our noses at them. That is being as intolerant as the progressive, liberalistas.

#13.2 Jim on 2014-07-08 18:14 (Reply)

"The much larger minority with pseudo-gluten sensitivity are fadists." That's not you, that's the "facts"? Please. Maybe a great many have real symptoms and are trying to find out why through a process of elimination (pardon the pun). Gluten intolerance is not an easy diagnosis and there are degrees of severity. I say again, who appointed you (or me) to be so judgmental. Do not appeal to "facts" that do not exist.

#13.3 Jim on 2014-07-08 20:15 (Reply)

The truth is the truth and the facts are the facts, they don't "sit" in judgement". I do agree that the fad has been good for people with gluten intolerence and crohn's disease.

#14 GoneWithTheWind on 2014-07-08 19:27 (Reply)

re: quantum physics and the nature of reality (third link)

Great quote at the beginning of the linked item!

"At the very heart of quantum mechanics lies a monster waiting to consume unwary minds. This monster goes by the name The Nature of Reality™."

A good book on this subject is "Quantum Reality" by Nick Herbert. I blogged about it here:

http://bremlang.blogspot.com/2010/10/quantum-reality.html

Even physicists don't agree on the nature of reality. It's a fascinating subject.

#15 George Putnam (Link) on 2014-07-20 05:01 (Reply)

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Monday, July 7. 2014

Monday morning links