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It’s an age of marvels

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Re: It’s an age of marvels

#211

Post by bee_rider »

RecycledEle wrote: post #185
bee_rider wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Shipping blueberries around the world can’t be great for the environment.

> Shipping blueberries around the world can’t be great for the environment. Look at the price to ship something. The cost of fuel burned can not be greater than the shipping cost, and it is probably much less.

The cost of fuel could be higher than the shipping cost, if we include things like:

* the cost of cleaning up all the carbon we’ve spewed out

* the cost of fossil fuel subsidies

* the political cost of doing business with oil producing countries, many of which seem to be fairly hostile

Re: It’s an age of marvels

#212

Post by chihuahua »

brabel wrote: post #145
orthoxerox wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's still a difference between the stores having meat on their shelves and the stores having every kind of meat on their shelves. And every kind of vegetable, every kind of drink, every kind of cheese as well.

Even though the choice is impressive in any supermarket you go, unfortunately, it's very far from having every kind of drink/cheese or almost anything else you mention. Perhaps that's being pedantic, but I believe a lot of people seem to actually believe that what's in their supermarket is all there is (not talking about you specifically)... all you need to do is travel around Europe for a little while to quickly rea…

That's probably because supermarkets tend to stock those things that sell in reasonable volume. So if you're in an area where sheep's brains (to pick a contrived example) would sit on the shelf for months, they're unlikely to stock it.

Re: It’s an age of marvels

#213

Post by marssaxman »

MisterBastahrd wrote: post #200
ramblenode wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you think the average American supermarket has every kind of meat, cheese, drink, and vegetable, you are in for a big surprise traveling the world. In many ways American markets have fallen behind relatively poorer countries in variety. Most of what is sold are monocultures and packaged foods. The selection of fresh produce (or any produce) is often disappointing.

Yep. For example, one staple dish of Cajuns is called "rice and gravy." Essentially, you sear thinly cut 7-steaks, remove them, cook down some trinity, then add the steaks back with some water or broth and seasonings. That's it. The steaks simmer in the broth for hours and create their own gravy. We serve it over rice, usually accompanied by some roux peas (tres petit pois cooked in a roux with onions and bacon) and…

> cook down some trinity

I've never heard that term; does it refer to mirepoix?

Re: It’s an age of marvels

#215

Post by autokad »

bee_rider wrote: post #83
dotnet00 wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It brings to mind the story of how when Boris Yeltsin was visiting the US, he took an impromptu detour to a random American supermarket to try to catch them off guard, only to be blown away that Americans really did have supermarkets everywhere practically overflowing with food. The story goes that the experience played a big role in shaping his vision for Russia when he went on to become its first freely elected lea…

Although, Yeltsin was already a liberalizing reformer. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was playing it up a bit.

> Although, Yeltsin was already a liberalizing reformer. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was playing it up a bit.

I don't think so. People don't realize how bad it was in the Soviet Union.

There's a story of two hockey players that came to the NHL. One went to the grocery store, he was completely taken back by how much was there, especially meat. He thought it was a mistake and didn't want to miss the opportunity so he bought it all up. He called his friend who also recently defected to the NLH, and his friend said "Same thing happened here!"

Re: It’s an age of marvels

#216

Post by selimthegrim »

chihuahua wrote: post #212
brabel wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even though the choice is impressive in any supermarket you go, unfortunately, it's very far from having every kind of drink/cheese or almost anything else you mention. Perhaps that's being pedantic, but I believe a lot of people seem to actually believe that what's in their supermarket is all there is (not talking about you specifically)... all you need to do is travel around Europe for a little while to quickly rea…

That's probably because supermarkets tend to stock those things that sell in reasonable volume. So if you're in an area where sheep's brains (to pick a contrived example) would sit on the shelf for months, they're unlikely to stock it.

I had a classmate whose father was posted to Yakutsk with Strategic Rocket Forces, and he encountered a warehouse full of cow lips (presumably shipped in from all over the Soviet Union)

Re: It’s an age of marvels

#217

Post by selimthegrim »

marssaxman wrote: post #213
MisterBastahrd wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep. For example, one staple dish of Cajuns is called "rice and gravy." Essentially, you sear thinly cut 7-steaks, remove them, cook down some trinity, then add the steaks back with some water or broth and seasonings. That's it. The steaks simmer in the broth for hours and create their own gravy. We serve it over rice, usually accompanied by some roux peas (tres petit pois cooked in a roux with onions and bacon) and…

> cook down some trinity I've never heard that term; does it refer to mirepoix?

Yes. “Holy trinity” locally.

Re: It’s an age of marvels

#218

Post by marssaxman »

the_af wrote: post #177

A related thought-exercise I sometimes engage in, inspired by Mark Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" is this: Ok, so I have a university education and know lots about computers. If I traveled back to the Middle Ages -- actually, make it the (inaccurately named) Dark Ages or even more ancient times, say the Roman Republic -- how much of my modern day knowledge would I be able to use to impress the…

You may enjoy the novel "Lest Darkness Fall" by L. Sprague de Camp, who explored this idea back in 1939.

Re: It’s an age of marvels

#219

Post by CooCooCaCha »

RecycledEle wrote: post #182
CooCooCaCha wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But at what cost? How much should we sacrifice so that blueberries exist year round?

> But at what cost? How much should we sacrifice so that blueberries exist year round? Look at the price tag on the blueberries. That is the cost. The opportunity cost is that the money could have neen spent on something else. The great thing about a free market is that if you think resources should be allocated elsewhere, you can do that. Your labor is your resource. I find greenhouses to be wonderfully environmenta…

No. Price is an amalgamation and approximation of a lot of different factors rolled into one.

Concepts like cost and value are much deeper and richer than economic cost and economic value.

Re: It’s an age of marvels

#220

Post by selimthegrim »

MisterBastahrd wrote: post #200
ramblenode wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you think the average American supermarket has every kind of meat, cheese, drink, and vegetable, you are in for a big surprise traveling the world. In many ways American markets have fallen behind relatively poorer countries in variety. Most of what is sold are monocultures and packaged foods. The selection of fresh produce (or any produce) is often disappointing.

Yep. For example, one staple dish of Cajuns is called "rice and gravy." Essentially, you sear thinly cut 7-steaks, remove them, cook down some trinity, then add the steaks back with some water or broth and seasonings. That's it. The steaks simmer in the broth for hours and create their own gravy. We serve it over rice, usually accompanied by some roux peas (tres petit pois cooked in a roux with onions and bacon) and…

Are 7 steaks the same as hamburger steaks? e: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/7-bone_roast

I guess I’ll know now what it means to miss New Orleans when I leave. And here I was worrying about not being able to find collards and turkey necks.

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