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July Fourth is a celebration of outdoor cooking, as well as our nation's birthday. It's time to brush off the barbecue and throw masses of processed meat on the grill. As we all stand around waiting for the fire to die down so that we can make s'mores, it's also a time to ponder the notion that the barbecue is a ritual 700,000 years old or more, and it might have something to do with our big brains.

Record Report Statement as of 4:30 am CDT on July 4, 2008 ... Record cold high temperature in Springfield on July 3... The high temperature in Springfield yesterday was only 69 degrees. This is the coldest high temperature on record for July 3. The old record of 70 degrees was set in 1892. The normal high temperature for the date is 86 degrees.

NORTH CANTON, Ohio — A simple change to the design of the gallon milk jug, adopted by Wal-Mart and Costco, seems made for the times. The jugs are cheaper to ship and better for the environment, the milk is fresher when it arrives in stores, and it costs less. What’s not to like? Plenty, as it turns out. The jugs have no real spout, and their unorthodox shape makes consumers feel like novices at the simple task of pouring a glass of milk. “I hate it,” said Lisa DeHoff, a cafe owner shopping in a Sam’s Club here. “It spills...

A University of Chicago expedition at Tell Edfu in southern Egypt has unearthed a large administration building and silos that provide fresh clues about the emergence of urban life. The discovery provides new information about a little understood aspect of ancient Egypt—the development of cities in a culture that is largely famous for its monumental architecture. The archaeological work at Tell Edfu was initiated with the permission of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, headed by Zahi Hawass, under the direction of Nadine Moeller, Assistant Professor at the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago. Work late last year revealed details of seven...

COLLEGE STATION -- A cold slice of watermelon has long been a Fourth of July holiday staple. But according to recent studies, the juicy fruit may be better suited for Valentine’s Day. That’s because scientists say watermelon has ingredients that deliver Viagra-like effects to the body’s blood vessels and may even increase libido. “The more we study watermelons, the more we realize just how amazing a fruit it is in providing natural enhancers to the human body,” said Dr. Bhimu Patil, director of Texas A&M’s Fruit and Vegetable Improvement Center in College Station. “We’ve always known that watermelon is good...

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Extreme weather has virtually wiped out Door County’s cherry crop for this year, which not only means slim pickings in orchards that attract thousands of tourists each summer, but also a loss of an estimated 350 to 400 seasonal jobs for workers who harvest and process the iconic scarlet fruit. At a time when epic rains and flooding have wiped out berries and vegetables in other parts of the state, Door County’s loss may seem surprising because it is attributed to an opposite extreme: a three-month drought last summer, followed by a January that brought rain and wild temperature fluctuations....

Dodge City — Earlier this month, more than a hundred thousand South Koreans demonstrated against newly elected president Lee Myung-bak as his entire cabinet offered to resign. At the root of this massive protest was not a declaration of war against North Korea, a boycott of the Chinese summer Olympics, or even escalating oil prices. It was a treaty allowing U.S. beef imports. Beef production accounts for more greenhouse gas emissions than automobiles. Its insatiable demand for feed grains has raised world food prices to levels beyond the reach of the world’s hungry and the relief agencies that support them....

What kind of insect is this? (The background is the close up of a chaise lounge pad)

The recent devastating flooding in our heartland raised 1 question in my mind........

A&M research seeks a birth control pill for the multiplying animals. By Michael Graczyk ASSOCIATED PRESS Friday, June 13, 2008 GILMER — Broad areas of grazing land at Pete Gipson's farm bear plow-like scars. But it's no out-of-control machine that's left disjointed ruts and holes amid long grass ripped from the earth. He and other ranchers and farmers in Texas and the South are waging an uphill battle against herds of voracious feral hogs. The beasts, up to 3 feet tall and 400 pounds, devour feed intended for livestock and tear up pastures at his 300-acre Red Cap Farms in...

Pig in Boots: The world's only porker who is afraid of mud By Julian Gavaghan Last updated at 11:32 AM on 10th June 2008 When pig farmers Debbie and Andrew Keeble discovered a newborn member of their herd was afraid of mud, they were left scratching their heads over what to do. But, after thinking on the hoof, they soon realised a pair of wellies worn by a Paddington Bear toy fitted the young porker's tiny trotters like a glove. And after buying a second bear to provide enough boots for all her feet, Cinders - named after the fairytale...

BATAVIA, Ohio — An ailing retired farmer who refused to give up his outhouse after authorities declared it to be a public nuisance finally got a new one. Elbert "Lew" Preston, 79, stood his ground long enough for a nonprofit group to come to his aid [snipped]

A jumbo black watermelon auctioned in Japan on Friday fetched a record $6,100, making it one of the most expensive watermelons ever sold in the country. In a society where melons are a luxury item commonly given as gifts, the watermelon's hefty price tag followed another jaw-dropping auction last month, when a pair of "Yubari" cantaloupe melons sold for a record $23,500.

AMHERST, Massachusetts — With gas and oil prices at an all-time high, the alternative solution for residents throughout Amherst and the country for energy is hemp. Gas prices recently broke the $3-a-gallon mark for the first time in the region, which has drivers and residents who rely on gas for their cars as well as oil for heat struggling. The thought of hemp production as a cheap alternative to oil and gas is appealing because it can be converted to “biomass” that is in turn converted to energy. “Biomass can be converted to methane, methanol, or gasoline at a fraction...

TOKYO — A black jumbo watermelon auctioned in northern Japan fetched a record $6,100 Friday, making it the most expensive watermelon ever sold in the country — and possibly the world. The 17-pound premium Densuke watermelon, one of only 65 from the first harvest of the season, was purchased by a marine products dealer who said he wanted to support local agriculture, according to Kyodo News agency. The fruit is grown only on the northern island of Hokkaido. In a country where melons are a luxury item commonly given as gifts, the watermelon's hefty price tag follows another jaw-dropping auction...

Two high school seniors are getting a real-life lesson in the law. John Miller and Dane Rockstead go to Wayzata High School and both are charged with animal cruelty after investigators said they abused a goose and brought it to school. "The bird appeared to be in pretty significant distress," said Chief Mike Goldstein with the Plymouth Police Department. Police said the two seniors had the bird for two days before they brought it to school in a backpack. "They actually shot it with a paint ball gun, put a net around it and then I believe put it in...

Bob Du Vernois brews beer with detailed consideration to aroma and taste, but it's last call on one of his favorite varieties. A worldwide shortage of hops has depleted the supplies available to brewers, particularly for some of the specific blends that craft brewers have made their specialties. The shortage is the result of recent drought in Australia and flooding in Europe that destroyed much of their crops, forcing brewers overseas to turn to U.S. hops supplies that already were strained by a movement to plant more profitable crops like corn. Coupled with rising fuel costs, the shortage has hops...

IT'S THE PITTS - LIVING IN TOWN I've heard of all sorts of ways to determine if you live in a town or a city. One formula says that if the population of your burg is less than the elevation added to the founding date then you live in a small town. Others have suggested that if the players on your high school football team have to play both offense and defense and you have ugly cheerleaders due to lack of selection pressure, then you live in a small town. (I say if you even have a high school you...

"You can die of good intentions." That is the best summary I can give of an editorial I read recently about the bill to ban horse slaughter that was passed last year. The editor and I had discussed the issue when it was a hot topic. At the time, she could not imagine "a horse being dragged across a kill floor with chains around its legs" - a gruesome description that elicits a sickening feeling in the heart of any sensitive being. But a few short months later, some of the bill's supporters are taking a new look. One of...

Most cowboys go to great lengths to keep from losing their rope. And yet that same cowboy might rope a freight train, a four-wheeler or a polar bear without a second thought. That thought, of course is, 'How do I get my rope back?' Randy and Roy were makin' a final circle on a big ranch north of the Anaconda Mountains. They were down to tracking singles. One set of tracks lead them up a little canyon. The snow was a foot deep and the footprints were well-defined punctures in the snow, not the foot draggin' bovine kind. It didn't...

The undercover agent takes two guises in our national consciousness. At one extreme is the highly trained professional who risks his or her life to go after the worst drug dealers and mobsters. At the other extreme is the apolitical and poorly trained apparatchik, designated by a bureaucratic superior to infiltrate a group deemed subversive or otherwise troublesome to authorities. The infiltrator may even become a provocateur as a way to give the authorities an excuse to crack down. Government agents did a lot of this during the 1960s, while monitoring civil rights and far-left organizations. At this end of...

For those that don't know about history. Here is a condensed version... Humans originally existed as members of small bands of nomadic hunters/gatherers. They lived on deer in the mountains during the summer and would go to the coast and live on fish and lobster in the winter. The two most important events in all of history were the invention of beer and the invention of the wheel. The wheel was invented to get man to the beer. These were the foundation of modern civilization and together were the catalyst for the splitting of humanity into two distinct subgroups: 1....

VIROQUA, Wis. - A steady stream of vehicles pulled along the shoulder of the road to get a look at it: an enormous, hairy pig that apparently had been struck and killed by a vehicle. Vernon County chief deputy Jim Hanson said a semi driver hit the 450- to 500-pound sow early Friday and apparently didn't have reportable damage.

i experienced this disaster in chengdu,it is much more horrible than you heard from midia,chengdu citizens suffered frighten more that real threat.but this earthquake make dujiangyan\wenchuan\towns of mianyang\deyang vanish from map forever.thousands of hundreds of people lost their residents and sufferring from thirsty and stave.local people,chinese,good people from overseas help suffered without hesitate---that makes me moving .i want to say thanks to all the people who care about wenchuan earthquake and wish god bless all of you who gave your helping hand to the suffered.

While Jim Robinson is away for medical treatment, how about we talk about him? I'll start it off by first saying how grateful I am for this wonderful FreeRepublic.com he invented and maintains. I've met not only Jim and Sheila and John and Chris, but hundreds of Freepers, brilliant, amazingly wonderful people (including my husband) solely because of FreeRepublic.com. Let the fun begin........

Hello, everyone!! Been to the pumps lately? Well, let me tell you, it is only going to get worse! But the good news is this, we are finally going to have a President, (John McCain) who is open to the new answers to the problem. If the solution talked about in the following article can be speedily developed, we could possible see one dollar a gallon prices again! Researchers have made a breakthrough in the development of "green gasoline," a liquid identical to standard gasoline yet created from sustainable biomass sources like switchgrass and poplar trees. Reporting in the cover...

World's tallest horse visits Missoula todayBy VINCE DEVLIN of the Missoulian Goliath, a Percheron draft horse, who was born in Canada, stands 6 feet, 5 inches from his hoofs to the top of his withers. Photo by KURT WILSON/Missoulian You wouldn't need a crane to mount Goliath, the world's tallest living horse. Then again, it wouldn't hurt. Leslie Fish, a Hawthorne fifth-grader, has ridden Goliath before, and it took two people to boost her onto the horse's back.     Goliath is a 14-year-old Percheron draft horse who stands 19.1 hands tall. That's three to five hands taller than...

Holy cow - giant Friesian may be tallest in UK By Richard Savill Last Updated: 2:08PM BST 12/05/2008   Weighing 1.25 tons, and towering 6ft 6in at the shoulder, Chilli, dwarfs most horses, is the same height as a small elephant, and could provide enough steaks to feed an army. BNPS The owners of Chilli, a black and white Friesian steer, believe he may be the tallest bovine in Britain. Naomi Clarke, care manager of the Ferne Animal Sanctuary in Chard, Somerset, who raised the bullock, said: “As he was growing up we began noticing that he was bigger...

Crude oil has topped $110/barrel. Although our largest single supplier is (surprise?!) Canada, others aren't so favorably inclined or located. Gasoline prices soar to new highs, even when adjusted for inflation (1960's 31¢/gal. should equate to $2.21/gal. today — a real bargain). Why don't we grow our own fuel? Biofuel. Full article here: http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=36&article_id=6791&print_page=y

WATERBURY -- The first thing that Hill Street brings to mind probably isn't farming, but in a small way, Sue Pronovost is hoping to change that image, one vacant lot at a time. "This is our crown jewel," said Pronovost, director of Brass City Harvest, a newly organized agency focusing on growing food in the inner city. Pronovost, whose specialty is grant writing, became a convert to urban agriculture several years ago and is now trying to bring the city up to speed on a movement that has been having a big impact in tough urban areas. With the Crownbrook...

The National Weather Service has issued a Freeze Warning from midnight Tuesday night until 8 a.m. Wednesday.

The modernized America we know today is largely dominated by suburbs, the perfect mix of city and ranch, commonly on the outskirts of cities. Its not the stacked to Timbuktu apartments like in New York, Kansas City, and Chicago, but its not the "home on the range" sort of thing. We know the modern suburb as nicely assorted houses, separated by lush, thick, dark green lawns, that are neatly cut every weekend. We know them with the smell of barbeque every Sunday after the residents have come home from Church. Its these modern American paradises that house the factory-workers, the...

Germany once thought biofuels would help the country meet its climate protection goals and invested heavily, both financially and politically, in the idea.

Many investors have become contrarians and are now apparently experts in being able to spot bubbles. Hence, they all are fully aware that a bubble exists in agricultural commodities at this juncture. Really, you can listen to just about any financial source and hear some commentator warning about the epic bubble that is evident in agricultural commodity prices. However, some of these same folks were completely blindsided by the collapse of the tech bubble in 2000. And they also were shocked that real estate prices could ever decline in value. Of course, this new class of maverick investor is also...

Major six page article covering essentially three areas: * GM crops, extremely aggressive law suits, suing wrong farmers, buying up nonGM seed suppliers, etc. * Dioxin production, trying to get navy subs to use PCB hydraulic fluids, Nitro W.Va. plant explosion, hiding risk from victims, etc. * Manufacturing rGBH cow hormone, suing farmers advertising milk "From cows not treated with rGBH", recent PA milk advertising ban on mentioning rGBH where E-mail protest caused fast Eddie to reverse, etc.Interesting and worth reading..... but can not post excerpt due to Vanity Fair restriction. Article is Monsanto's Harvest of Fear at Vanity Fare...

A Welsh language channel is to collaborate with Al Jazeera to produce a new series about an extended family of "all-singing, all-dancing, multi-racial sheep". S4C and Cynhyrchiadau Ceidiog Creations will team up with the children's channel of the Arabic language broadcaster to produce a high-definition second series of Baaas. The three companies will produce a new 52x15-minute series of the pre-school show after the first series was sold to Al Jazeera in 2006. Baaas is expected to be shown under the title of Meees on S4C in the autumn.

Shortages of the staple crop of half the world's people could bring unrest across Asia and Africa, reports foreign affairs editor Peter Beaumont A global rice shortage that has seen prices of one of the world's most important staple foods increase by 50 per cent in the past two weeks alone is triggering an international crisis, with countries banning export and threatening serious punishment for hoarders.... The impact will be felt most keenly by the world's poorest populations, who have become increasingly dependent on the crop as the prices of other grains have become too costly. The sharp rise in...

NZ's Pamplona Sheep Run..lol Sheep have raced along the streets of a New Zealand town as it tries to imitate Spain's Pamplona bull run.

Tuesday Morning, 10:00am - 12:00pm, there will be a statehouse rally in Trenton by New Jersey farmers and their supporters to save the Agricultural Department. Background: Governor Corzine's budget proposal includes the elimination of the Department of Agriculture. The rally will represent the farming set's loudest and most visible offensive. Essential functions of the Depart of Agri: - The NJDA oversees the hugely popular Jersey Fresh program that promotes locally grown produce and serves as a model that other states are copying to promote their own produce. The current budget for that program is $800,000. The governor proposes to slash...

I heard it on TV so it must be true. All kidding aside, the last two days have been absolutely brutal for the commodities side of our portfolio and Wednesday, the energy stocks also got whacked. And I don’t know about you folks but I haven’t reached that zen, Buffett-like state where falling prices don’t faze me. They faze me. A lot. In my experience, the periods in which my self-doubts peak are honestly the times I should have been buying. Even in the short time since this website/blog has been up (since 01/2007), the market has already tested me...

In his recent letter to shareholders, Warren Buffett quoted a Silicon Valley bumper sticker: "Please God, just one more bubble.” Well, that driver got his wish, but the bubble is in commodities this time around — not tech. From wheat to gold to copper, commodity prices have exploded over the past five years. Many experts say a bust is imminent. "We’re seeing bubble-like trading activity from speculators that has sent markets to levels that basic fundamentals probably don’t justify in the near term,” Bill O’Neill, former director of commodity research for Merrill Lynch and now a partner at LOGIC Commodity...

After recent trouble w/ a relativly new standby generator, while awaiting parts, the dealer informed me that Coleman Powermate is shut down, not taking calls, & probably bankrupt. According to this company, their people at another branch stopped at the Powermate headquarters, & found everything locked up. Coleman Powermate is located in Aurora, IL, & manufactures generators, pressure washers, & compressors. The links on their website http://www.powermate.com/ are dead, too.

A compound found in soybeans almost completely prevented the spread of human prostate cancer in mice, according to a study published in the March 15 issue of Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Researchers say that the amount of the chemical, an antioxidant known as genistein, used in the experiments was no higher than what a human would eat in a soybean-rich diet. Investigators from Northwestern University found that genistein decreased metastasis of prostate cancer to the lungs by 96 percent compared with mice that did not eat the compound in their chow - making...

The biofuels debate is not one about future scarcity of resources (land, water) or about a conflict between food and fuel. However, reactionary forces try to get a grip on the discussion by introducting neo-Malthusian perspectives. These forces typically think about human development in static terms and forget that all factors that drive it are instead highly dynamic in nature: population, agriculture, economics, scientific and technological progress. Scientists do not engage in neo-Malthusian mythical thinking. Instead, they do science. In the following interview Prof. Dr. Ir. Rudy Rabbinge, Chairman of the Science Council of the CGIAR (the leading body comprising...

Should I Get a Dog? Dogs are one of the most popular pets in the world. They have enjoyed this status for a very long time, probably from the time 10,000 to 15,000 years ago when Stone Age cave dwellers lived and hunted with dogs. If you think you want a dog, you're following a well-established tradition. Why You Might Want a Dog There are a number of reasons that people think they might want a dog for a pet. The most universal is the desire for the companionship of an animal who will be a loyal friend for many...

Ethanol and waterDon't mix Feb 28th 2008 | MIAMIFrom The Economist print editionNew reasons to be suspicious of ethanol OFFICIALS in Tampa, Florida, got a surprise recently when a local firm building the state's first ethanol-production factory put in a request for 400,000 gallons (1.5m litres) a day of city water. The request by US Envirofuels would make the facility one of the city's top ten water consumers overnight, and the company plans to double its size. Florida is suffering from a prolonged drought. Rivers and lakes are at record lows and residents wonder where the extra water will...

A woman in Westchester County is facing charges that she stabbed a man who said she was ugly. Kyeisha (Ky-EE-shuh) Fuller of Yonkers was awaiting arraignment Wednesday on charges of assault and weapon possession. Yonkers Police Lt. Sean Mullins said Fuller, who's 23, argued on Tuesday with a guest of her roommate, and it turned violent after the "ugly" remark. She allegedly used a kitchen knife to stab him in the shoulder. (edit) APKyeisha Fuller

Sonya Rinker was looking for a guy: someone who was kind, respectful and had a special place in his heart ... for tractors. She wanted a man who could share the thrill of a good tractor-pull show, who could see beauty in a shiny row of green and yellow of John Deere tractors. She didn't know that somewhere along these rolling Pennsylvania hills, there was such a man, a shy guy named Tom with two vintage Deere tractors. He had been looking for a gal, someone who'd put up with his milking cows at 3 a.m. and his six-day work...