Dree's Notes

In life, there is good pressure and bad pressure. When a new food resource becomes available, that's good pressure that drives a population upward. Conversely, scarcity and disease apply downward pressure on populations. Within any population, there will be variations that lead to the rise of one sub-group, and the fall of another. Let's use an example that lends itself to formulating an equation. We're studying change, which happens as a result of pressure, or P . No pressure means that P = 1 and any value multiplied by 1 does not change. If there is no upward or downward pressure on a population then its level of energy utilization stays the same. Completely static situations in nature are rare, but as long as the P-value hovers around 1, there will be relative stability and no obvious changes or disruptions. If Y represents our population measured by its respiration/calorie/energy use, then if P = 1 , PY = Y . Now let's say that Y  represents energy utiliz...

In this book, a mechanical engineering professor attempts to explain all of nature using a term he himself coined, the "constructal law" in which "life is movement that evolves freely, in both animate and inanimate spheres" (p. 2). Adrian Bejan sees little difference between energy flow in life and non-life. Hierarchies are good, and so are oligarchies and slavery. Forget scary projections of overpopulation, scarcity of resources and climate change, because there's a happy S-curve for every human undertaking: "Using more fuel does not mean that climate change is out of control. Humanity will adapt in order to persist, to keep on flowing, which means to live... If a new technology tends to kill us, like the trains at railroad crossings, then people invent flashing signs and build overpasses, and keep moving." (p. 145) Adrian Bejan conveniently glosses over the fact that many dominant species eventually go extinct when their environment turn...

For those looking for a quick-and-easy guide to fermenting vegetables, I have created this new post. First, a quick reminder as to WHY we are fermenting vegetables instead of say, drinking kombucha or kefir... Because good microbes live on fiber! From vegetables! At room temperature or above! So a fermented drink with processed sugar as a starter isn't really going to help your microbiome, so just enjoy it for the flavour but don't kid yourself. As for yogurt and kefir, if you make it yourself and don't refrigerate it, then you may get billions of beneficial bacteria per serving, but otherwise you will only get millions of chilled and dying microbes. And no fiber.  That is why we ferment the vegetables. Fermented vegetables are NOT vegetables that have gone bad. It is an alternative way to prepare the vegetables that generates healthy probiotics, increases the vitamin content, and preserves food through a natural process similar to pickling. Aside from vegetables a...