Our Animals: Australia

ABC TV's Our Animals



Crikey, how I love this educational site from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation!

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Ode to a Clean Refrigerator (or Look Who's Crying Over Spilled Milk)

Spring Cleaning forced itself upon me yesterday when the top shelf of our refrigerator dropped on one side, upsetting the pitcher containing the recently opened 1.33 litre bag of milk (oh how I miss screw-capped milk jugs!). Milk quickly drenched the second and third shelf items, seeped into the crisper drawer and puddled on the floor of the fridge. To make matters worse, the dangling shelf upset a can of black beans that my beloved had opened less than an hour before while making me a tasty mid-morning wrap, spilling black bean juice that flowed along the second shelf and ran down to the third shelf. The bottoms of many bottles, cans and other containers of food were engulfed by either milk, black bean juice, or both. Ugh!

On the bright side, the refrigerator was long overdue to be cleared of the detritus that settles upon all but the obsessive-compulsive clean freaks, so the end results of the clean up, which entailed removing everything from the shelves and crisper drawers, was gratifying. The down side was that with my blood pressure looming so high of late this was chore that was risky as well as gross. The experience inspired me to write this poem today:

Ode to a Clean Refrigerator

Legumes languishing fuzzily in opaque cottage cheese
Containers so carefully washed for reuse join the
Dried husks of once-broccoli and the slimy remains of
Lettuce putrefying beneath a bag of carrots in the dreaded
Crisper drawer, decaying remnants of forgotten meals,
Exiled to the compost heap of life.
Worm food.

Gleaming chrome, sparkling glass shelves, and brilliantly white molded
Surfaces bask in the glory of redemption from
Sticky residues of opened jars carelessly set and
Spatters of unknown origin defiling the Clean, embedded with
Particles drawn in on currents filled with motes and fur,
Wiped away by my unwilling hand.
House work.
-----

From now on our milk will be transferred to a screw-capped jug--no more plastic bags with the tips cut off, waiting to topple and drench the contents of the refrigerator. (A quick Google search let me know that I'm not the only one annoyed by Canadian milk bags). Also, my beloved has promised to refrain from setting opened cans of beans or other foods in the fridge--he will cooperate in storing the food in sealed plastic containers, preferably clear ones to enable us to view their contents. Hopefully there will be no more crying over spilled milk...or other liquids...in the refrigerator!

For an interesting article about milk, including history, production, varieties, distribution (including packaging!), and culture aspects, take a look at this Wikipedia offering.

And for a fairly brief yet comprehensive history of the refrigerator see The History of the Refrigerator: The Cold Truth and Hard Facts, by Marjorie Dorfman at House Not So Beautiful "where dirt and chaos reign supreme". Sounds like home, except, for the moment, my clean refrigerator.

So it goes.

Alzheimer's memory loss faster among well-educated

clipped from www.reuters.com

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Having more years of formal education delays the memory loss linked to Alzheimer's disease, but once the condition begins to take hold, better-educated people decline more rapidly, researchers said on Monday.

Their study, published in the journal Neurology, tracked memory loss in a group of elderly people from New York City's Bronx borough before they were diagnosed with Alzheimer's or another form of old-age dementia.

Every year of education delayed the accelerated memory decline that precedes dementia by about 2-1/2 months, according to the researchers at Yeshiva University's Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.

But once this memory loss began, the rate of decline unfolded 4 percent more quickly for each additional year of education, the researchers said.

Someone with 16 years of schooling might experience memory decline 50 percent more quickly than another person with just four years education, based on the findings.

As one of my fellow clippers, pokkets, astutely observed, increasing one's level of education is "Holding the water back until the dam breaks, rather than letting it trickle down the drain." Which I find to be a comfort, of sorts--I'll fight it but should it happen to me anyway it will proceed more quickly and be over. I hope.

Free Rice...Vocabulary Game

Just found this most satisfying (and addictive) way to practice and learn English vocabulary while performing a humanitarian service: Free Rice

You choose the best definition for a word, and for each word you get right ten grains of rice are donated to the United Nations World Food Program. If you get a word right the next word is harder, and if you get it wrong the next word is from an easier level. A bowl to the right of the word to be defined shows you the amount of rice you have donated, with a running tally. Did I mention that this word game is addictive? :)

Play and feed hungry people.

1759: From the Warpath to the Plains of Abraham

clipped from 1759.ccbn-nbc.gc.ca

From the teaching guide: "The National Battlefields Commission, in collaboration with the Virtual Museum of Canada, is presenting 1759: From the Warpath to the Plains of Abraham, a new recreational/instructional virtual reality challenge. This exciting interactive adventure sends out net surfers to the year 1759 to let them relive, alongside the French, British, Canadians and Amerindians, the ups and downs of a fight to the finish for the conquest of America, an outstanding episode of the country’s military history. "

This is a remarkable and fun way to learn some very important history pertaining to Canada, France, England, and the Amerindians, during a time when the French and British battled for control of America. Explore the site in either English or French!

E-Zone...a new environmental website for elementary students

clipped from www.ene.gov.on.ca It's easy to forget sometimes just how important the natural environment is to all of us.  The air we breathe, the water we drink and the land we use to build our homes and schools are all part of the Earth’s natural environment, and we use them every day. Meet Maya, Jay, Katie and Eric. These four teens are heroes, simply because of the choices they make and the actions they take. Click on each one to find out a little bit about them, and to learn about the environmental issues that are important to them. clipped from www.ene.gov.on.ca Meet Eric. Eric plays guitar and drums, and dreams about being an international rock star someday. Click here to get the Global Warming story from Eric. You’ll learn that this big problem has some surprisingly simple solutions! This site is maintained by the Government of Ontario SPREAD THE WORD LEAD BY EXAMPLE BE A LOCAL HERO books glossary Comics air quality conservation climate change waste/recycling famous heroes

artwork pictures

air quality

Obviously.ca....new environmental website for teens

clipped from www.obviously.ca obviously.ca is the brainchild of a group of 20-something-year-old Ontario government employees. Our bosses thought that the province and the planet could benefit from letting us young’uns do the talking about environmental issues for a while. Specifically, we were asked to develop and environmental website. And so, we did. Obviously. The purpose of the site is to bring you up to speed on environmental issues (without putting you to sleep), and to give you a slew of answers to the age-old "What can I do?" question. We want you to want to play a part in rehabilitating the planet. clipped from www.obviously.ca “Get Out of the Damn Shower!” … And Other Neato Water Conservation Tips! By Jess. Posted on 3:25:01 am - Monday, March 26, 2007. The Time Has Come for Canadians To FLICK OFF By Josh. Posted on 6:19:00 pm - Wednesday, April 25, 2007. You Go Gore! By Stephen. Posted on 4:17:00 pm - Wednesday, May 02, 2007. How Can We Sleep When Australia’s Burning By Stephen. Posted on 1:56:00 pm - Tuesday, April 24, 2007.

Obviously a worthwhile website to explore and share!

The Ministry of the Environment has created this website for secondary students "to explain the challenges facing our planet and inspire them to take actions that protect the environment - all within an interactive media experience that includes music clips and videos. "Obviously.ca is unique. Most environmental government websites bombard you with information and boring statistics," said Sandra Giangioppo, a student at William Lyon Mackenzie Collegiate Institute in Toronto. "But obviously.ca uses creative techniques such as video clips and interesting facts to grab your attention and really help you understand the important environmental issues out there. It is a very innovative and cool approach to increasing environmental issues awareness."