Using the Poor Man’s ‘Calories per Price’ Ratio

This is an old blog post from a website of mine that I recently deleted. The original date of this post is: April 29th, 2014. Yeah, that was nearly 8 years ago. Thankfully, I have more money nowadays, but using this particular "Poor Man's Method" for a calorie per price ratio still isn't a bad idea, even if it's just used for stocking up on survival and/or emergency food, etc. But anyway, back to the original post...

Hopefully, many of you haven’t had to think of this method before, and are not a struggling low-middle class, full-time worker who doesn’t collect welfare or get monetary aid and handouts or unfortunate enough to not be born into wealth, etc. 

BUT whether you are just feeling thrifty, frugal, or simply poor like me (I’d have more money if I wouldn’t spend so much on beer and damn cigarettes!), you may find the, as I call, “Poor Man’s ‘Calories per Price’ Ratio” to be a useful guide when making purchases at your local market.

It is a simple method to use, and it is something I got to noticing a long while back, when thinking about how I can get the most calories out of my money – to be efficient when buying energy and/or fuel for my body’s demanding tank.

Okay, all you have to do is this:  Take the total amount of calories (all servings added up within the can, container, package, etc.) and divide it by the price, and you will have a figure that equals the “calories per price” ratio; this will give you a good idea on how much money you’re wasting on foods that just aren’t energy efficient to a poor man’s body. Funny, but true… Ha-ha! 

For example, I bought a package of Little Debbie Fudge Brownies (chocolate is good for you, damn it!) the other day.  It was a package of six, 280 calories each, for $1.59.  Okay, I multiplied the 280 calories times 6 to get the total amount of calories in the package, and this came out to be 1,680 calories.  I divided that by $1.59 and the ‘calorie per price’ ratio was 1,056 calories per dollar.  By the way, that is a really good ratio.  Just think, you can buy a silly Lean Cuisine frozen dinner for $2.50 or more and only get about 2 or 3 hundred calories, but one dollar on the brownies bought over a thousand calories.  Hey, are you getting the drift now?

Another example, I bought some microwavable popcorn that had a total of 2,400 calories for $3.99 and the ‘calories per price’ ratio was 601 calories per dollar.  Now, it wasn’t as cheap as the brownies, but it is still way more efficient (energy wise) than the Lean Cuisine crap.

Alright, here’s where some wise ass could say, “look, rock head, junk food is going to be cheaper per calories than real food.” Then that’s when I would say, “look, dear challenged one, nobody said that this ratio had to be used on ‘junk’ food versus ‘real’ food.” 

See, that’s just it right there…  You can use this calculating method to compare any types of food, when it comes to calories per price.  In fact, if you’re a health nut, you can alter it and start calculating a ‘price per protein’ ratio, and so on.  The point is, as high as everything is today, and the fact that a lot of us are struggling to have enough funds to live comfortably, it doesn’t hurt to get the calculator out and start doing some math to help slash some of those grocery bills, utility costs, and whatnot.

Image Credit: Pixabay.com - Free to Use & Share

---End of Post "Using the Poor Man’s ‘Calories per Price’ Ratio"

Pink Slime in your Ground Beef?

This is an old blog post from a website of mine that I recently deleted. The original date of this post is April 9th, 2012.

Most of us are aware that, unless you grow your own food and raise your own livestock, you don’t really know for sure what all is in your food!  More concern lies in the processed foods and the meat you buy at the local market, and the produce is rarely organic, as well.

This post is mainly addressing beef, and more so, ground beef. As if the antibiotics and added hormones wasn’t enough, we run into something else, a cheap filler, known as “pink slime.” Before I say anymore, are you ready for a good ol’ supermarket hamburger?

I’ll go ahead and copy & paste a quick excerpt from Wikipedia (including my occasional bouts of commentary within the excerpt) about this subject, to get the ball rolling:

“Pink slime, also known as lean, finely textured beef (LFTB), boneless lean beef trimmings (BLBT), and soylent pink (Ha-ha! Have you ever seen the movie Soylent Green?), is a beef-based food additive that may be added to ground beef and beef-based processed meats as an inexpensive filler. It consists of finely ground beef scraps and connective tissue (sounds like reprocessed roadkill, if ya ask me) which have been mechanically removed from the fat. The recovered material (Yikes!) is processed, heated, and treated with ammonia gas or citric acid to kill E. coli, salmonella, and other bacteria (Thank you very much for doing such!). It is finely ground, compressed into blocks and flash frozen for use as an additive to beef products.

In the United States, the additive itself cannot legally be sold directly to consumers but can constitute up to 15% of ground beef without additional labeling (sort of like how they don’t have to list Trans Fat if it doesn’t reach 0.5 grams per tiny serving) and can also be added to other meat products such as beef-based processed meats. Prior to the invention of the disinfection process, beef scraps could only be sold as pet food or as an ingredient for cooking oil. (That’s good news folks; we are now eating stuff they put in pet food!)

Widespread public attention was drawn to the product in March 2012 by a series of reports at ABC News, which reported at that time that 70 percent of ground beef sold in U.S. supermarkets contained the product. Subsequently, many grocery stores and supermarkets, including the nation’s three largest chains, announced that they would no longer sell products containing the additive.”

Please note:  Pink slime is not permitted in Canada. Also, Pink slime does not meet the legal requirements for sale in the United Kingdom.

What in the hell is going on here?

One of the main reasons I wanted to post this is because I have recently eaten some “real ground beef” that came from a farm-raised cow.  My mom and my stepdad usually buy half of a cow on occasions from a local farmer, get it processed, cut, packaged, and they freeze it in bulk.  I was over there the other day, and she gave me a few packages to sample.

Well, I generally try to buy good cuts of beef, pork, etc.  But, when it comes to ground beef, I usually just snag up whatever looks decent and go on my way. I figure that ground beef from the grocery store will still taste better than fast-food burgers, for example.

Anyway, upon eating some of this “real” hamburger meat, I was like: “What in the hell is this?  This tastes like steak meat or something.  Dang, does hamburgers supposed to taste this good?” Ha-ha! It has been so long since I had “100% real” ground beef, that I evidently forgot what the stuff tasted like.

Oh, if you’d like to read about the controversy, consumer concerns and whatnot, go here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_Slime

People need to know more about what is going into their food.

And, if at all possible, grow your own edibles and either try to raise your chickens, cows, pigs, etc., or at least try to buy from a local farmer that you can trust.

This is just an informative post to help raise awareness about all the crap they are putting in our food, as if many of you didn’t already know…

All of this pink slime stuff reminds me of when I used to be a butcher.  When it came time to run the ground beef from the pre-bought tubes into the grinder, it would often look “different” when compared to the hamburger meat I’d make from beef trimmings.  I’m not sure if any of those cheap beef tubes had pink slime in them or not, but one thing is for sure, when I ground my own hamburger meat from lean beef mixed in with fat trimmings, it just appeared and smelled more real as opposed to that other crap they had in the tubes.  Oh, and the better taste is usually a dead giveaway…

Update: Good News! There have been some recent efforts to eliminate pink slime in our ground beef in the U.S.  Even McDonald’s, Burger King and Taco Bell announced they would discontinue the use of BPI products (the company that was at the center of the Pink Slime controversy) in their food. I hope this trend continues… BUT, what will they think of next? I recently read on some science site that there are experiments going on right now, where they are trying to grow meat in the lab! My gawd!

Update #2: Well, it is now the year 2019 and it seems that this mystery slime is making new headway back into the market. Here is a recent quote: "Beef Products Inc. (BPI), the South Dakota-based meat processing company at the center of 2012’s “pink slime” controversy, just won a long-sought semantic victory. For years, the company has argued that its signature product is safe, wholesome, and not unlike everyday burger meat. Now, BPI has enlisted a powerful ally in its effort to recoup its image and reclassify its product: the federal government.

After a months-long evaluation, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) determined in December that BPI’s signature product—the offering famously called “pink slime” in an ABC News exposé that got the network in a lot of trouble—can be labeled “ground beef.” Legally speaking, it’s now no different from ordinary hamburger, and could even be sold directly to the public." To read more about this, visit: https://thecounter.org/bpi-pink-slime-ground-beef-usda-reclassifed/

---End of Updates

Image Credits: perpendicularity.org/blog/ [link is no longer active]

—End of Post “Pink Slime in your Ground Beef?”

Secondhand Smoke vs. Air Purifiers

 

This is an old blog post from a website of mine that I recently deleted. The original date of this post was sometime during the year of 2010.

There are many reasons to have air purifiers in your home, and it doesn’t hurt to have several scattered throughout your house since most modern purifiers use very little electricity – due to their highly efficient fan motors and lightweight rotors, wheels and/or blades.

…Indoor air pollution is more common than most folks would think, and this is especially important for the ones who suffer from allergies.

Speaking of that, if you are concerned about indoor pollution, you may also be interested in my post entitled “Aromatherapy – Healthier Alternatives to Scented Candles,” that I wrote a while back. On another health-related note, if you’re more interested in eliminating toxins from your body, visit the “Milk Thistle – Liver Detox” page.

Okay, this particular post is about Secondhand Smoke vs. Air Purifiers. Of course, the best way to eliminate tobacco smoke in your home, is to simply do all of your smoking outside, use a designated area or room that is closed from the rest of the house, or take the more challenging option by quitting all together.

In general, most air purifiers are built to reduce large & small air borne particles such as dust, pollen, mold spores, pet dander, miscellaneous allergens, etc. However, they are less effective at reducing secondhand smoke, but some are far better than others. Don’t even bother wasting your money on the ionic purifiers that are found on the market, that is, if you’re concerned about reducing secondhand smoke in your home. You should always go with the ones that come with a pre-filter, charcoal layer, and a changeable filter.  The pre-filter is washable and should never need replaced – it is used to catch the larger particles and to increase the life of your main filter.

If you’re looking to save money while using a more effective method at reducing tobacco smoke from the place that you dwell, take heed to this: Since most (even the ones that claim to be reusable) changeable HEPA filters (High Efficiency Particulate Air filter) will lose their effectiveness after cleaning/washing them, they need to be completely changed. So, after your expensive filter (that comes with the machine) becomes dirty, don’t bother replacing it with the factory recommended filter. Just go out and buy a high-quality filter medium for a central heat & air unit and cut it into pieces that will fit into your air purifiers. You can often buy a big sheet of this filter medium for just a few dollars and, in turn, make several small-sized filters for your existing purifiers. Not only can you afford to change them out more often for a more effective smoke removal method, but you also no longer have to spend all that money on the name-brand, custom-fit filters.  When buying these large filters, I do suggest that you spend a couple extra dollars and get one that also comes with a charcoal layer for extra filtration and odor removal properties.

Below, I’ll provide a link to a variety of air purifier related products. Personally, I just go with the simple, reliable Holmes Purifiers. I’ve used them for years without any trouble.   Besides improving the air quality, I also keep a couple of them running in my bedroom for the mild roaring sound; the soothing noise acts as a natural sleep aid, for me. Anyway, another alternative to reduce secondhand smoke in your home, is to either use or install exhaust fans in a designated room or rooms. If standing under it while smoking, a well-functioning exhaust fan installed in the ceiling will suck the smoke right out and, depending on how it is installed, blow it either into your attic or out through the exhaust pipes that leads to the top of your roof to send the smoke outside, back into nature to settle naturally.

Shopping (Affiliate) Link:

‘Click Here’ for a large variety of Air Purifiers

Image Credit: Product Image - Fair Use - Amazon.com

---End of Post "Secondhand Smoke vs. Air Purifiers"

Looking for Infinity Mirrors or Tunnel Lights?

 

This is an old blog post that I moved here from a website of mine that I recently deleted. The original date of this post was sometime during the year 2010. Yeah, that was several years ago. I'm not surprised that these mirrors are still a thing, albeit a lot of people now sell them under the name "tunnel lights" as opposed to infinity mirrors, but let's not get into silly semantics. Now, back to the subject at hand...

Are you looking for something that will add some flare & creativity to your living space, but aren’t sure exactly what it is that you need?  Well, if you’re yearning to add some uniqueness to your home or personal bedroom, Infinity Mirrors may be just the thing you’re looking for. Many people haven’t heard of them, so I’ll provide a few pics below:

Even though, when lit up, Infinity Mirrors (some folks call 'em "Tunnel Lights") appear to have a lot going on, it is really just a simple mirror trick. You are merely looking through a double-sided mirror that reflects back to a one-sided mirror that is seated a short distance behind it. The LED lights add to the infinity effect and it’s also what gives it that extra pizzazz. I took one apart, that I purchased a while back, to see how it was made and said, “oh, that’s it?”

If you’re feeling a little crafty and don’t mind tinkering around, you can also attempt to make your own. You’ll need: One regular mirror, a double-sided mirror, a frame with whatever design you can find, LED lights, and a 9v power source. You can always do a web search using the keywords “How to create an Infinity Mirror,” to find additional detail that hopefully comes with illustrations and step-by-step instructions.

Personally, I’d rather buy one online with a unique design as opposed to using some old frame that I found by chance, just to slap one together. Actually, if you’re going to make an Infinity Mirror (Tunnel Lights?) by hand, you should probably just go ahead and create/design your own framework, as well.

I have only owned one of these mirrors, at the time I'm writing this, and it has only shined in all its glory for a few brief minutes. Here’s what happened: I bought this antique-looking Egyptian Infinity Mirror, after spending a solid 100 bucks for it. Well, I decided to take it over to my mom’s house to show it off. I hooked it up and it was utterly spectacular. I loved the way it looked while it was illuminated, and so did everyone else that seen it. …Okay, so I go ahead and visit her for a while, since I hadn’t been over there in a couple weeks. I had no idea my stepdad was attempting to perform some electrical work in the attic, and, due to him not knowing what in the hell he was doing, something surged through the power lines and fried my damn LED Lights in my Ancient Egyptian Infinity Mirror! The only good thing was, it still looked fairly nifty, even when it wasn’t working; however, for future reference, if some moron happens to fry your Infinity Mirror’s light system, it isn’t much trouble to replace the LED lights or the power supply/source.

If you’re interested in buying Infinity Mirrors, you may have to search online from a variety of websites to find what you’re looking for. Amazon.com doesn't always have the unique tunnel lights, but they typically have a decent selection of the more affordable infinity mirrors and, well, even the cheap ones. The really cool ones (like the Ancient Egyptian one I own) are usually on the expensive side, but often worth the price tag – depending on the unique design. You can always start your search below, and go from there...

Shopping (Affiliate) Link:

"Search Amazon for Infinity Mirrors"

Image Credits: Product Images - Fair use

Related Post: Himalayan Salt Products, Lamps, Tea Light Candle Holders...

---End of Post "Looking for Infinity Mirrors or Tunnel Lights?"

Healthier Alternatives for Scented Candles – Aromatherapy...

This is an old post that I recently moved here from a deleted website of mine. The original date of this post was sometime during the year of 2010. Yeah, several years have passed since then. In fact, I don't even use candles of any type, anymore. Ha! But back to the retrospective subjects at hand...

I’ve known this for a while, as the initial realization disconcerted my candle-lighting self, that most candles (especially scented) are, unfortunately, not good for you.

I used to light these things all the time, especially the tea lights within Himalayan Salt rocks and candle holders. The ones containing Paraffin wax, as most store-bought candles do, are not your friend; they’re your foe. Paraffin is a petroleum product, so you already know from here, the resulting diagnosis from this petrochemical is not going to be complimentary to your well-being. The black smoke and soot that emits from these lovely candles, ends up in your lungs; toxic chemicals enter your body, and so on.

To cut right down to simple, candid talk: It is never good to breathe smoke albeit some is worse than others. The prior statement is personally semi-contradictory, coming from me, since I enjoy sporadic campfires and relish cigarettes with my endeared beer time. In my case, I was just trying to cut down on toxins, so I eliminated scented paraffin candles from my home. I still light them on rare occasions, but I try to have healthier alternatives available.

Oh wait, there’s more: Many of these candles and tea lights found at local retailers, have a metallic-based wick that usually contains lead. The next thing you know, we have petroleum by-products in addition to lead – getting set aloft in our homes, all due to those nice smelling, sexy, lighted candles. The scented ones have even more unhealthy additives and artificial dyes added to the Paraffin wax – which leads to additional toxins; if you burn them often, it is wise to seek healthier choices.

Recommendations:

Try aromatherapy candles that are made of natural oils and make sure they have a paper wick without metal or wires.

Beeswax candles are considered to be one of the safest alternatives.

It would probably be easier to simply shop online, when it comes to finding candles that contain natural wax. If you’re a spry, do-it-yourself type person, soy-based aromatherapy candles are not that difficult to make. Once you get your supplies together, the steps fall right into place. You can always search on the web for how-to advice, by typing “how to make your own aromatherapy soy candles” or similar search terms, etc.

Say good-bye to burning flames from artificial origins and say hello to a new, natural form of illuminating bliss.

Below, are the few comments this post garnered on the old website that I recently deleted:

Comment #1 - Amanda says:

This is so true. I’m a big candle lover and a couple years ago I started making my own aromatherapy soy candles. They are easy to make, and it is sooo worth it.

Comment #2 - Magnolia says:

Yes, I make my own soy candles, and every Christmas, I have a big list of people waiting for their candles. Just make sure you follow the directions to the letter. Read everything first, then make your candles. I know the other candles are bad for you, but really how often do people burn them? Usually during sex, so that is only 15 minutes a week…LOL! Maybe less!! Of course, I have a candle burning in the bathrooms when I have guests for obvious reasons.

The bottom line, most people really do not burn any candles all that much. The little bit of toxin in the air will not harm an adult, but it could affect children and small pets, so ... just use common sense and I think you will be okay. Another thing you can do…get an oil lamp, fill it with olive oil and essential oil for scent and then light it up! Olive oil burns pure. Another interesting and informative subject…thanks!

Comment #3 - Administrator says:

Thanks for the feedback!

Yeah, my girlfriend has made them before and claims that soy candles are easy to make. Personally, I take the easy/lazy way out and simply buy the aromatherapy candles with natural oils. I may break down eventually and try to make my own.

---End of Comments

Shopping (Affiliate) Link:

Search Amazon for Aromatherapy Soy Candles

Semi-related Post: "Is Aluminum really dangerous to our health?"

---End of Post "Healthier Alternatives for Scented Candles – Aromatherapy..."

Going from Wing Chun to Jeet Kune Do

 

This is an old blog post that I moved here from a deleted website of mine. The original post date is sometime toward the end of the year 2012.

For many years, I have been very interested in martial arts. I was first inspired by Bruce Lee at the early age of 7 years old. I first watched the film Enter the Dragon during that time frame and was mainly fascinated with nunchucks (nunchaku). Not long after watching that film, I made a pair out of two wooden sticks, a small chain and 2 nails used to hold the chain into each piece of wood. Yes, at age 7, I already thought I was a kung-fu master. I took my cheaply made nunchucks, invited a neighborhood kid to come over, and let him use them for a while … but after seeing that he was having great difficulty, I took them from him, did a few moves and busted him over the head. The kid fell to the ground, then got up holding his head and took off running to his parents while crying loudly. I was in trouble; the parents came over to talk to mine, but nothing came of it, other than he wasn’t allowed to come over and play anymore. My dad decided to go buy me some practice-style nunchucks that were made of foam. Who in the hell wants foam nunchucks?

Anyway, years later, I now not only have a huge collection of real nunchucks ranging from metal, wood, and glow-in-the-dark acrylic, mini-chucks, tele-chucks, studded, you name it, I also have a huge array of various Martial Arts weapons.

…None of that may have to do with my favorite style of Wing Chun and Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do, but the point is, I showed an interest early on and went through various studies and different styles before realizing just what the core philosophies behind Bruce’s Jeet Kune Do really was. It was a combination of multiple styles, but unlike traditional martial arts, there was no particular style or traditions in Jeet Kune Do. If something worked you kept it, and if other aspects of a style was a waste or not as efficient, you trashed it. Jeet Kune Do doesn’t try to be showy and flashy either, as one of the main principles is the simplicity and the way of the intercepting fist.

One of Bruce Lee’s primary, original styles was Wing Chun. There for the longest he kept his kicks below the waist and mainly incorporated the direct movements, trapping, and blocking techniques of Wing Chun. Out of all the styles, it is by far my favorite. If one could take some extra grappling classes and perhaps learn some pressure point techniques in combination with this style, you would, in my opinion, be better equipped than most martial artists of today.

If anybody knows very much about this subject, they will also be very familiar with what is known as a Wing Chun Dummy. This particular wooden dummy is a thick wooden post with three arms and a leg mounted on a slightly springy frame representing a stationary human opponent. Although representative of a human opponent, the dummy is not a physical representation of a human, but an energetic one. Wooden dummy practice aims to refine a practitioner’s understanding of angles, positions, and footwork, and to develop full body power. It is here that the open hand forms are pieced together and understood as a whole. Personally, I find these things to be way too expensive.

When I was a teenager, a basic wooden Wing Chun Dummy cost around six or seven hundred plus. Now, after checking on the web, these things are up to over a thousand dollars! This is another reason why I used to build my own. Yes, it was a cheap imitation, but I’d go out in the woods and build with trees, to practice this style of martial arts. Another good thing about using these wooden targets, is that it toughens up your arms and blocking areas, such as your forearms.

[Update: 1-29-2022 - As time went on, they must have found a way to manufacture these Wing Chun Dummies at a cheaper price because I recently checked Amazon, and you can now find them in the 4-to-5-hundred-dollar range. Are they made cheaper? Most likely. Are they still fully functional? More than likely. Are they as good as the authentic ones of the past? I doubt it. ---End of Update]

Anyway, I’m not going to promote the idea of kicking and punching trees, albeit it is cheaper than the Wing Chun Dummy; ha! One thing that I never was pleased with, concerning Wing Chun, was their lack of weaponry. Advanced students got to use large Butterfly Knives (a little shorter than short swords), a.k.a. Double Knives, and what they called a Long Pole. At any rate, I suppose it doesn’t matter in my case, because I have enough weapons to perform my own training without the limitation of a style or a tradition (hey, that sounds like Jeet Kune Do).

The title of this post sort of represents Bruce’s transition from Wing Chun to his own form of martial arts, Jeet Kune Do. Now, I can’t type about every style and method he tried and tested throughout his short life, as it would take way too long. However, I will say that I have never heard of a guy training harder than he did. At age 13, Bruce Lee started lessons in the Wing Chun style of kung-fu for self-defense reasons. Well, over the next 19 years, he transformed his knowledge into a science, an art, a philosophy and a way of life. In fact, while reading over his main book, best seller, “Tao of Jeet Kune Do,” I was more interested in his philosophy than anything else. I bought my copy about 17 years ago and actually waited a couple years before reading it because at the time I was still studying some of the more ancient arts of kung-fu.

I’ve did most of my training via self, although I have taken traditional Karate classes that I found to be rather limiting. I detest being restricted to a certain style or limited to a certain way of thinking, etc. This applies to a lot of things in life, which Bruce Lee obviously integrated into his way of fighting. I remember when taking classes, I’d have a few minutes before class started to practice my own moves, etc. Then the sensei would come into the room, and here we go with boring, boring, basic stiff moves. That reminds me of another aspect of Wing Chun, as it thrives on relaxed muscles, as tension reduces punching speed and power. This also helps with the center-line punches & movements. Wing Chun techniques are generally “closed,” with the limbs drawn in to protect the central area and also to maintain balance. In most circumstances, the hands do not move beyond the vertical circle that is described by swinging the arms in front, with the hands crossed at the wrists. To reach outside this area, footwork is used. A large emphasis and time investment in training Chi Sao exercise emphasizes positioning to dominate this center-line. The stance and guard all point at or through the center to concentrate physical and mental intent of the entire body to the one target.

Well, I’ve rambled enough about this subject. I’ll leave it up to you to do your research on Wing Chun and Bruce Lee’s awesome Jeet Kune Do way of life…

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* ‘Click Here’ for a Fine Selection of Wing Chun Dummies

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—End of Post "Going from Wing Chun to Jeet Kune Do"