Sunday, April 29, 2007

The Return of The Violent Farmer

After an inexplicable four month absence, Paulie is back. The Original Purveyor of Drunken Love Songs and Drunk Haiku has returned. Check out his latest: http://iwrotethiswheniwasdrunk.blogspot.com/2007/04/drunken-haiku-renew.html

Friday, April 20, 2007

Enough!

I can't take it anymore. Call it a desire to remain informed. Call it a need to empathize with my fellow human beings. Call it morbid curiosity. When a headline grabs my attention on the Internet , in the newspaper, or on the nightly news, more often than not it is a depressing story that does nothing but worsen my opinion of humanity. Well, I've had it.

We all do it. When a headline describes an outrageous act of horror or violence we are compelled to learn about the sordid details. I don't know if it is because we feel guilty for having a relatively comfortable life while others in the world suffer immeasurably or maybe some of us "get off" on the lurid and horrific accounts of violence reported in the media. All I know is that the majority of the headlines I have noticed lately have made me feel absolutely miserable. I want to cry almost every day. I ask myself, "What good comes from reading about these horrors occurring in the world over which I have no control ?"

Today, in addition to reading about the Virginia Tech Massacre, I read about Chinese companies intentionally adding lethal amounts of toxic melamine to pet food ingredients to artificially boost the protein content readings when samples are analyzed by the FDA. Thousands of pets have suffered painful illnesses and deaths as a result. I read about a babysitter in East St. Louis who killed a pregnant woman and drown her three young children after unsuccessfully trying to cut the victim's fetus from her womb. I read about a NASA engineer who killed a co-worker and himself. I read about someone setting off a bomb near Columbine High School on the 8th anniversary of the massacre that occured there. I read about car bombs killing over 130 innocent civilians in Baghdad. I read about the 200,000 civilians who have been murdered in Darfur. And then I read about the straw that broke the camel's back.

A Jihadist video posted on the internet today showed a 12 year old boy slicing the throat of a man who was accused by the Taliban of being a spy for America. The account described the child using a knife to spill the man's blood and then hack at his neck until his head was separated from his body. The boy then held the severed head in the air, proudly displaying it for the camera and all the world to see.

Enough. I can't take it anymore. I cannot prevent these tragic events from occurring. Oh, I suppose I could volunteer to fight in Afganistan or Iraq. I could be a security guard at NASA or Virginia Tech. I could be a cop in East St. Louis or a "peacekeeper" in Darfur. But I doubt my presence would have prevented these atrocities from occuring. Instead, I feel my greatest contribution to society will be in teaching my offspring to be altruistic, compassionate human beings. I will teach Alex and his future sister to care about their fellow man. I will teach them to love and to make the world a better place by creating positive change. I will teach them that laughter and generosity are more powerful than car-bombs and guns.

As of today, I am adding a supplemental resolution to my list of New Year's Resolutions. I resolve to avoid exposure to negative media. I will endeavor to avoid "The News." There is no doubt that I will learn about the things that are of vital importance in the world from friends and family. Therefore, I will avoid puposely seeking out the overwhelmingly negative stories reported by the media. Will I be burying my head in the sand? I don't think so. I can't continue to make myself sick over things I cannot control. If I continue to allow myself to become overwhelmed by tragedies occurring throughout the world, I will not be doing all I can to ensure that my family remains happy and healthy. I will continue to empathize for the victims of these injustices, but I will focus more of my energy on making those around me happy. I will teach my children to love. I will increase my charitible efforts. Buddhism calls for ending human suffering. Through teaching my children how to act morally, by giving to charity, by making people laugh, and by avoiding further exposure to the endless accounts of evil portrayed in the news I believe I can relieve the suffering of myself and everyone else whom I am able to influence with my positive attitude. Wish me luck.

Remember- No news is good news. Pass it on.

Saturday, April 14, 2007

I Need...Something


I'm not unlike any other 35 year old family man. I help take care of my son, our pets, the house, etc. I work. I try to spend some quality time with my wife and child. I guess I'm just an Average Joe.

AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anybody who knows me knows that Travis Naughton is anything but your Average Joe. I'm the guy who wanted to list some extra-curriculars on my college applications, so in my senior year of high school I became editor of the school yearbook, president of the student body, and drum major of the marching band. Oh, and I also played baseball (until a falling out with the coach), was a member of the Honor Society, played trombone in the highest ranked jazz band in the state, and taught myself how to play the baritone horn well enought to earn a "1" rating at state competition. How do you top all that? Join the Marine Corps, of course. And I did. (We won't get into that story right now.)

I'm the guy who organized a college road trip to the New Madrid fault in S.E. Missouri when all the experts predicted the "Big Earthquake" back in '91. We wanted to be there when armeggedon arrived. (We were on Good Morning America and K-SHE 95 radio as well as several newspapers.) I drove all night to get there at the exact time they predicted the quake would begin. On the way there, we pulled off the road and got out of the car to dance when R.E.M.'s "Its the End of the World as We Know It" came on the radio.

I'm the guy who drove to Las Vegas with Bill Herrin the next summer in a 1984 Plymouth Horizon. Before we even left Columbia the linkage for the transmission fell apart and we literally stuck it back together with rubber bands and duct tape and decided to take the trip anyway. Oh yeah, and when we got in the car and started driving, we still weren't sure if we wanted to go to Canada or Mexico. We discovered a couple of Coors Light Beers in our cooler after visiting a friend in Arkansas. Appalled, we vowed to take them back to their source in Golden, Colorado. So we dropped two full cans off at the Visitors' bus stop at the brewery parking lot with a note attached that said, "To Whom it may concern: We were dismayed to have discovered these two beers in our cooler full of Anheuser-Busch products. A "friend" placed them in there as a joke. Well, we were not amused and we decided to return them to their place of origin. Please refrain from allowing your products to contaminate our cooler again in the future. Sincerely, Bill and Travis." I paraphrase. (To read about the entire trip, check out the link on this page "Bill and Trav's Excellent Adventure.")

So now, this Average Joe has taken the place of the former Me. I know that everyone laments the passing of their youth. I know I'm not special. But I am in a bit of a rut and I need to break out of it, even if only temporarily. So please feel free to make suggestions. If any of your ideas are crazy enough, I just may try one or two. You never know- I could end up on your doorstep at three in the morning in an '84 Plymouth with a full tank of gas and a roll of duct tape.

Friday, April 06, 2007

Something to Believe In

By now you've all heard me rant and rave about switching my car to operate on ethanol. Well by golly I've done it. The FlexTek unit I had installed by Alan Braun in Jeff City is a two-stage system. Step one is to add a fuel system treatment that literally plates the metal surfaces of the engine that will come into contact with the ethanol. This is done to prevent the mildly acidic E85 from corroding metal parts in the fuel system. (New Flex Fuel vehicles are made with parts that are already plated.) This additive is guaranteed to protect an engine for 100,000 miles. I'll be shocked if my car is still running when it reaches that point (it will have over 269,000 miles then)- regardless of whether the E85 has corroded anything. The next step is the fuel injector unit which adjusts the air-fuel mix to compensate for the slightly less energy dense ethanol. I have to drive the car with the additives for 2000 miles to allow the plating process to be complete. Then, I can fill 'er up with E85 and "Flip the switch". And the nice thing is that if I am anywhere that E85 is not available, the car will burn regular gas again by flipping the switch back.

But that's not all. As of today, I am an official, card-carrying member of the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition. This group is an advocacy organization that provides filling stations, refineries, car owners, and the general public with resources and support for the country's inevitable shift to biofuels. Have you noticed the price of gas lately? Did you notice that E85 is now 55 cents per gallon cheaper that regular gas? But that's not a fair comparison. E85 is 105 octane. Super Premium gas is only 93 octane and it costs 75 cents a gallon more than E85. On my 18 gallon fill-ups, I'll be saving over $13!!!!!!!!!!!! E85 fuel that is 10% less efficient but costs 20% less than regular gas seems like a pretty good deal to me. And E85 pollutes less, too.

Don't forget that Missouri farmers make and sell E85. Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela are the world's top oil producers. Is E85 hard to find at gas stations? Yes and no. Get on the NEVC website that I have a link to and locate every E85 station in the country. 40 of the 50 states now sell it at at least one location. Are there enough pumps in this country? Not by a long shot. But this economy is driven by consumer demand. I just wrote a letter to the general manager of MFA Oil's Breaktime Convenience Stores requesting that an E85 pump be installed at their Ashland location. I explained to them that Bethany and I each have a Flex Fuel Vehicle (FFV) and that we each fill up about once a week. That works out to over 1500 gallons of E85 that they could sell to just the two of us in one year at that location. I also promised to tell everyone who will listen to switch to E85 and to buy it at Breaktime. If everone buys a FFV the next time they are in the market for a new car, the demand will definitely go up. Even if the price of ethanol rises, it will remain competitive with gas and the money will stay in the local economy- not in the Middle East.

I know I have blogged about all this before, but after 35 years of searching, I have found a cause that I strongly believe in. I may support several other causes, but none get my juices flowing quite like this one. As a member of the NEVC, I plan on being a very vocal proponent of this emerging industry. I may eventually seek a more active role in the organization, but for now I will be content with simply rallying the troops. As a member, I can attend meetings and conferences, voice my concerns, and receive press releases and newsletters. I have also ordered a bunch of bumper stickers and promotional items (at a members-only discount) that will soon adorn our two FFV's singing the praises of E85. I plan to contact FlexTek to see if they would be interested in a marketing campaign in our area encouraging people like us who can't afford a new FFV to convert their used vehicles like I did. Brazil is by all accounts one of the poorest countries on earth, yet they have been installing these conversions in their old cars for over a decade. Every new vehicle sold there is a FFV. (They mandated E100 fuel be sold at every gas station in the country since 1985!) A conversion kit here costs $800 installed, or $650 from the manufacturer. Think about it. Seriously think about it. Oil won't get any cheaper. As demand for gas increases and reserves start to dry up, prices will soar beyond belief. Wars will break out as countries scramble to secure what little oil reserves are left. Economies will crumble. Infrastrucures will disintegrate. We are an oil economy. What will we do when Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Venezuela decide to hoard their dwinling supplies? What will we do when Chinese demand for oil forces OPEC to sell to the highest bidder? Are we prepared to send our sons and daughters off to die in a foreign country so that we can continue to drive our 12-miles-per-gallon SUVs cheaply? How many lives will be lost securing oil for our driving pleasure?

Ethanol is independence. So is electric and hydrogen technology. But those technologies are years away from being viable means to power the majority of automobiles. Ethanol works right now. Ethanol is produced from corn, fast-growing switchgrass, sugar cane, and biomass- all abundantly available. Ethanol is grain alcohol. Imagine if this country had as many ethanol distilleries as it did whiskey, vodka, and rum distilleries. Imagine if we had the infrastucture to transport the fuel throughout the country (pipelines can be corroded by E85). Oh yeah, that's right- we already do. Ethanol has to be shipped in trucks. Hmmmm...so does alcohol for drinking. Yet there's no shortage of that at any gas station in the country. We can be an ethanol and bio-diesel economy within one or two years. Henry Ford and Mr. Diesel (can't think of his first name) designed their engines to run on bio fuels. Ford's first cars all operated on ethanol. It was only after the big oil tycoons forced the country to use gas that Ford reluctantly allowed his cars to be run on gas. Diesel engines were first operated on bio diesel. Again, only after big oil changed the face of our economy did Diesel allow his invention to run on petroleum based fuel. Its amazing how time (and corporations) erase our memory in this country.

For you, its something to think about. For me, its something to believe in.

Sunday, April 01, 2007

Peter Cottontail and the Rendering Plant

Yesterday, the Easter Bunny made an appearance at my store. 15 dogs, a cat, and two kids took turns sitting on the bunny's lap while getting their pictures taken. It went surprisingly well with no incidents of over-zealous terriers trying to kill the rabbit. This was a relief to me because I was the one in the bunny suit. For three hours, I was in a latex and polyester costume that became soaked with sweat within the first 10 minutes. The eyes of the mask were so far apart that I could only see out of one eye at a time. When I finally took it off, I could see stereoscopically for the first time in three hours. Seeing the world in 3-D again was literally dizzying. I could barely walk. Maybe the latex fumes contributed a little. But overall the experience was actually pretty fun.

In a vaguely related note: NONE of the foods sold at our store Treats Unleashed were affected by the pet food recall. We have never carried any of the brands that were tainted. Those foods are all filled with by-products and cheap fillers that aren't good for your pet even when they don't have rat poison and chemical residue in them. If you are concerned about what you are feeding your pet, call, email, or drop by the store. We'll make sure your four-legged friend is well cared for. In the meantime, take a look at the ingredients on their food label. The top five or six ingredients are the most important. If you see corn, wheat, animal digest, animal by-product, gluten, or meat and bone meal then you have a food that is among the lowest in overall quality. Corn and wheat are virtually indigestible to pets especially the "partial" grains that are used in pet food that have already been processed for the human food chain (leaving pets with the waste by-product). "Animal" digest and "meat" meal don't specify what specific animal protein is used in the food because the government does not require pet food makers to reveal which animals have been processed and put into your pet's food. Rendering plants boil various animal remains gathered from slaughterhouses, butcher shops, and in some cases the side of the road that are labeled "not fit for human consumption" and mix them into cheap pet foods. "4-D" animals ( a term describing Dead, Dying, Diseased, or Disabled livestock not allowed into the human food chain) are routinely used in commercial pet foods. If the label doesn't specify what type of meat is in the food, ask yourself if you would go to a restaurant and order "Mystery Meat" off the menu knowing that it could literally be a combination of anything left over on the kill floor of a slaughterhouse. Oh yeah, one more thing: Did you ever wonder what happens to the 1.5 million carcasses of the dogs and cats that are euthanized in animal shelters every year? The majority are sent to rendering plants and rendered into "meat and bone meal" to be used in pet food. Studies show that the poison used to kill them is still in their systems when they are processed and eventually consumed.

Sorry to gross you out. I just think everyone should know what goes into their pet's food. Am I biased toward the products I sell at my store? You bet. None of the foods at our store have any of those questionable ingrediets. I sleep well at night knowing my dogs eat the best food available. I never worry about them eating ground up dogs and cats that were themselves poisoned to death. The San Francisco Chronicle did an expose' on the realities of commercial pet food companies back in 1990. They substantiate all of the claims I am making. http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0106-02.htm The next time you buy Ol' Roy or Dog Chow, think about the message on a sign at a rendering plant that the Chronical secretly videotaped. It read: "All animals being processed must be dead first." If they need a sign to tell them that, then you probably need to steer clear of their products.

All right, I'm getting off my soapbox now. Bon appetite!