Some things you can do RIGHT NOW

You all eat bread right? Find out where that bread company in Capitalism sells their bread. Here is the website...

http://www.alvaradostreetbakery.com/

FYI try to buy on Mondays...

Here is more you can do...

TRY HARD to buy American and ONLY buy what you need... I mean that... BUY WHAT YOU NEED... not what you want. Reduce your consumption, save. Yes I know our economy is based on consumerism... but you want change, well if it is only me... forget it... but if millions of us do that.

Get involved in your local and state politics, as well as federal. Become so familiar to staffers that you are on a first name basis.

We need to remove the money from the electoral system.

Oh and if need be, vote the bastards out... no matter what theoretical party they belong to. With a few exceptions... they are not part of us.

To use an old fashioned term... we need solidarity among us workers.

Oh and understand, we also need to engage the bottom feeder knuckle draggers who vote them republicans in because them are good christian folks and believe in them pull by your bootstrap...

In other words, learn the code, translate the code and fight the code.

Realize we are workers... and there is a class war. Well damn it, are you gonna join the front lines? If we don't, well the other side is winning... partly by the sweet use of propaganda. But as distasteful as this is, we need to engage those who believe one day they too will be rich and have all them luxuries them rich boys have... time to beat this (with words) out of them folk, and realize that we are at war.

Oh and to those of you who believe you to will be part of them elites... hate to break it to yah. but unless you were born with them silver spoons... no siree, you are destined to remain poor and if we can keep you uneducated even better.

But there are things you can start doing right now... find local businesses, and SUPPORT them...

Oh and do call your delegation... become a gnat on the side and demand things.

And be prepared to do much more than that...

If you are not ready to DIE for these things nothing will change. So here is my question, are you ready to die? Your forefathers among the working folk were... are you?

If not, why bother having this discussion?

Almost no one. The mere suggestion that you buy American cars causes people around here to have a fit. How do you expect them to stop buying DVD players, Ipods, Iphones, and flat screen TVs. They are so brain washed they think buying everything foreign benefits them.

Here is the ultimate advice. TURN OFF YOUR TV! You don't need a new car, axe won't attract ladies, and the OC is killing your brain cells.

in the modern life... and if you absolutely need to replace your cell phone, after five years my hubby's needed to be replaced... we did buy it with CASH.

And that is also partly the secret to this. DON'T USE PLASTIC... PERIOD.

That alone will be a significant change.

We have a cc... if I use it for something... I pay that card IMMEDIATELY... and carry no balance. We SAVE...

But we also have noticed that when we finally replace stuff, like a PDA... they last less... and that is on purpose... deigned obsolescence.

But every morning, save Sunday... it is closed. I like to go get some coffee and get some writing done before I get groceries. I go to a LOCAL coffee shop, not a chain store. Sundays... well that was Starbucks today... near Henry's where I got the bread... silly me thought they'd have bread fresh... so tomorrow I will go get the fresh loaf.

But those are small steps one can take... in some ways go back to the way my parents lived. NEVER, ever buy anything you cannot pay for... EVER.... Credit is just a temporary condition you use to pay for the hotel, which is paid that same month. Credit is used to pay for the electronics which is paid that same month.

Credit is a way to keep you down.

And I know that this way of speech is a luxury for many who ARE working poor and rely on them CCs to make it to the end of the month...

But we do have some power still... and we need to use it.

Oh and if you can do this, GIVE food or money to your LOCAL food bank. I do, every three months... they set up shop outside the supermarket, I buy extra food for them.

Getting a modest new phone once the old ones ceases to work is clearly different from buying an Iphone to feel good about one's self.

The real evil in credit cards is that they can change your interest rates. Once they get you hooked they ratchet the interest up. Just to make sure you can never bring down the balance.

his Electronic organizer failing at the same time and since Palm wasn't out with the Treo... and he uses it as a PDA too. Me, will keep my simple phone even if when it fails. I am happy with just the PDA... err Touch... I use the damn thing for all kinds of stuff, even writing on the road. Yes, I'd love to get an I-phone but the data package, they're nuts.

And I know, why I use the credit card only as a small line of credit to be paid the same month. I got those habits from dad and mom... but I remember telling this to Navy Wives in housing. They saw us use the same old TV... while they replaced it with a new flat screen. Hell the TV I have right now, tuned to PBS... that thing is over nine years old.

And I thank them for those habits.

My hubby said it one time.. he has no clue how I do it... but before we married, he never had money in them pockets, these days he does, and a saving account...

I just look for them deals as it were. We only "splurge" in our hobby, and of course the toys for the parrots... which either is the wood blocks or my moulding.

But telling people reduce consumption is revolutionary. In fact, very revolutionary indeed.

You are going to be advocating reduced consumption by explaining that you bought an Iphone.

You know what would actually reduce consumption? NOT having a PDA.

and yes, you can reduce consumption if you replace the failing PDA and failing phone for a unit that does BOTH... not two units. As I said, his PDA failed at the same time.

You think the Iphone is just a phone? It is a small computer, with full PDA function.

You are not reducing consumption at all. Reducing consumption would be not buying a PDA, let alone two (husband and you). You are clearly increasing consumption. Reducing consumption would be to use a regular phone, and handle your affairs like everyone else.

The universe operated totally fine before PDAs and Iphones.

and I have used an electronic PDA for decades now to keep me on track, and mine was diagnosed by an MD, go figure, want to keep the insults flying?

By the way, as I said, his PDA failed, if we went ahead and got a phone AND a PDA that would have been TWO devices. Can you do math? One in my world, even in my addled math world is less than two.

I just happened to have gotten a Touch AFTER my PDA failed a year before.

It is not the difference between integers, it is the relative weights. 1 Iphone doesn't equal 1 regular phone.

By your standard I could reduce consumption by going from a moped and a car to an international class 7 crew cab pick-up truck.

you should get two cars instead of one...


:sarcasm:

You went from having a moped and a festiva to buying a monster truck. Sure you were buying two things and now you are buying one, but the one is worse than either of the two and totally unnecessary.


I'm my world you get one car, but it is a car, not a monster truck (Iphone). You having an Iphone is like the suburban Humvee owners, obviously you don't need it, but you don't care because you get a tiny benefit and tiny fraction of the time.


I'm sorry, but reducing consumption might just mean you have to give up some luxury. Having a handheld supercomputer just might be something you should do without.

does?

Music player, MP-3 heard of them?

Pod Cast

PDA

Camera, yes hubby has used it, not good but good enough.

Word Processing...

Book reader... I use my touch heavily for that... saving a few trees in the process.

Oh and in that case, phone.

Yep I see now several devices.

1.- Music player
2.- Internet Radio
3 PDA
4.- BOOKS

Care to convince others that one device that can do ALL THAT actually increases the number of devices and carbon footprint that otherwise would be done by several devices and paper for books.

As I said, in your world two cars are better than one... after all they are not a Ford F-150, but two priuses.

Sorry... I don't agree with you, mostly because at this point you are talking out of envy I'd say.

Now lets try the math again... tell me exactly how two devices are better than one?

What don't you understand about giving up excessive luxury for the sake of consumption reduction. You are unwilling to make even the tiniest of sacrifice and are the perfect example of what is wrong.

Reducing consumption means don't buy a digital camera, don't buy PDA, and don't buy a digital music player.

In your world you are replacing a ferrari, a Bentley, and a monster truck with one heaping beast that runs off baby seals. You should be driving a prius in the first place. You shouldn't have the second or third cars in the first place.

everyday life.

have a good life. We won't see eye to eye. Apparently I should cancel my cable (I wish I could) cancel my cell, go to the Walden pond and just write by hand.

That would be what you would like to see.

Me if people have to replace a phone and a PDA and get a device that does all that... it is reduction in consumption. To you, it is not. I guess in your world, we still need to buy two cars. Got it.

Have a good freaking life... oh and at least do me a favor, take your business to local bidnesses when possible.

If someone thinks caviar is excessive does that mean they oppose all fishing?
If someone thinks a humvee is excessive does that mean they oppose all cars?
Why would you think that because I think Iphones and PDAs are excessive that I think we should all live the life of Thoreau?

Do me a favor, sacrifice the tiniest bit of luxury for once.

Credit is evil. I am fortunate that I am very frugal by temperament, but a lot of people are in for a rude awakening. I will never use a credit card, ever.

Formet issues and all that.

Well two days later the check left...

That's the way we live.

And no, as much as I love CELTIX, not a format them like.

There's a store right down the street from me that sells their products.

The bad news?

It's Whole Foods.

Guess I will have to order from them online or drive to get it.

I noticed that...

For me it was either Henry's or the two college co'ops

that just opened last week, so perhaps they're not updated on the Alvarado website as yet. Was planning on swinging by there after work tomorrow night so I will check to see if they carry their products.

and it was a little stale, so will go get fresh loaves tomorrow

They ship on Mondays... I thought if I buy it, but that includes the stores.

It's good flour, made in the U.S. of A and the company is OWNED BY THE WORKERS.

I started Bread baking about six months ago and I'm having a ball. It costs me about $0.60 a loaf and is almost always far better than anything commercialy available.

I got a book titled The Bread Bakers Apprentice and it has changed my life (in the kitchen anyway) Good intro to the basics, not only how but why, and so many incredible recipies that I can't get through them all because the family insists that I keep making the ones they have already tasted. I bake two loafs at a time and one is always half eaten within minutes of exiting the oven.

I baked a cake for the Jewish New Year some years back. The toothpick came out dry, I swear... it wasn't fully baked.

I am gun shy about baking. I make fresh food every day though.

I love to cook but shied away from baking because my first few attempts sucked but I love the way the house smells when bread is baking so I sucked it up and started learning about how to make it properly. Exact measurements are really important. Important enough that serious bakers weigh in the ingredients, they don't "measure" them. Also, like most everything else, you get better with practice.

:-)

I might give it a try one of these days. Get a pan, and try again. Not like I lack the tools, thanks mom.

The only thing missing would be two pans that should fit in the small oven.

I've ruined cake from a box mix. The only really bad bread was when the yeast was old and the bread unleaven.

Regular loaf pans are about right for a one pound loaf - most bread machines call for 1.5 or 2 pound recipes. What I used to do is make 1.5 pound recipes, cut off 1/3 make a loaf with the larger part and rolls with the smaller. If you make 2 loaves, bread freezes very nicely and you can pull the second one out when the first is gone.

If you want a bigger loaf, find a 9x12" pan - that is about perfect for a 1.5 pound loaf. A 9x16" should be right for a 2 pound loaf.

I've got a little 27" oven and two regular pans fit just right.

Look at thrift shops or on Craigslist for used ones. They are easy to operate and make OK bread if baked in the machine. For better bread, use the dough setting and let the machine mix and handle the first rising of the dough. Then take the dough out, shape it and let it rise an hour, then bake in the oven.

When you first start out, stick with simple recipes - King Arthur Flour has some great recipes on their web site: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes2008/ Something like their Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread (http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/100-whole-wheat-sandwich-bread-recipe) or Old-Fashioned Oatmeal Bread (http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/old-fashioned-oatmeal-bread-recipe) would be good to start with.

Usually I substitute honey for most sweetners, canola oil for fats, and generally leave out the dry milk in the recipes. The most essential ingredients are fresh yeast, flour, salt (do not leave out, it will change the texture), a sweetner, and water (or a liquid). Everything else is embellishment.

I used to make all our bread from scratch with nothing but a large bowl, a spoon and my hands. After my shoulder injury fifteen years ago, I stopped but when I found a bread machine a few years ago at a thrift store for $10, I started back making bread. For just two of us, a 1.5 pound loaf lasts nearly a week and store bought bread is no where near as good as even my mediocre efforts.

ten bucks I can afford

But when I saw an almost new one with the labels still on it for $10, I couldn't resist. I'd thought about getting a KitchenAid mixer to mix the dough since my shoulder was not up to it any longer, but even used ones are expensive. And the bread machine is so much more convenient.

Toss everything in according to the directions, set the controls and walk off. I'll set a kitchen timer I can stick in my pocket to the length of time minus a few minutes and go off to other stuff, even yard work. Then a few minutes to shape the loaf, set the timer for it to rise and come back when it is ready to pop in the oven. For my standard recipes that I have made before, I can go off while it bakes. For new recipes, I stick close to the oven so I can monitor it.

The worst problem I have is keeping hubby from cutting the loaf before it cools. If it is cut too soon, it really does not finish cooking properly, so that is important. But that fresh bread smell so sooooo irresistible!

Mine is just a plain Oster, nothing fancy, but you might want to research brands and models before you go shopping. Some seem not to be that great. And make sure you can download the manuals since the thrift store machines probably will not have theirs with them. I need to start researching brands since I'd love to upgrade my bread machine - if I can find a good one in the thrift shops.

for the paints when we go to paint at the paint store... but no bread machine.

:-)

I don't anymore, which is why I am watching Craigslist these days. And since I can look the machines up online, Craigslist lets me be pickier, though they tend to cost more there.

Maybe next time your thrift store will have one!

I went to the Cancer Society one, they were closed, then to the other one... I guess I will check them

I live close enough to the bad side of the tracks to use an old fashioned word... and I mean tracks by the way.

There is a Goodwill about five miles away, but it is in a little shopping center that has impossible parking. There is a church thrift store that is about eight miles away the other direction that I try to get to sometimes. But I leave the farm once a week or less now that I am done with my physical therapy, so it's hardly worth relying on getting by there.

The best place was the thrift store for the women's shelter but they moved to a location way the other side of town. For some reason they seemed to get a lot of kitchen type donations - and a lot of small appliances. That may be only a local thing, but you might check if there is one where you are.

and the Cancer Society one...

flour, yeast, water and salt. That's it. Best darn baguettes I've ever tasted. The trick is that the water is < 40 degrees. The ice water somehow effects the gluten in a really good way.

Really makes a huge difference to me. Plus, it gives the yeast that extra boost.

Someday, I will have to try baguettes with a simpler recipe, though.

I am not a great bread maker these days. I just want decent bread to make toast and sandwiches with, nothing fancy. I've got my own recipes I developed over the years for a light wheat or rye bread that has been pretty reliable. But it uses regular bread flour, not all whole grain and I want to work up to making whole grain bread.

Now that I am nearly recovered from the most recent shoulder surgery, I need to get back into making bread and will try the whole grain white wheat for some bread!

to send you the whole recipe. It's actually one of the simplest recipes from Peter Reinhart's book, "The bread Bakers Apprentice" It's called Pain a l' Ancienne and it is mixed in a bowl, no kneading. It's fabulous! And it's easy. And. fried up with some olive oil and butter, it makes an outstanding Bruchetta! But some Brie and Pate do equally well, especially fresh out of the oven. McDonald's and Safeway can't come close to this. Results like this are why I cook.

not kidding... get book

Really. Six months from now, you will not be the same person. By the way, I saw a copy in the used book store near me. A rare thing but it happens. I guess you are a Libra. 10 /01 for me and someone sent me an Amazon card. Guess what I'm buying. Another bread book.

LOL

It would be silly of you to put any stock in it, Stock in your soup, however, is a another matter.

I fear

in all my spare time

So I use my time doing things to make running our house cheaper. Cooking from scratch is one of the better ways for me to do that.

Using a bread machine does not take much time if you cook the bread in the machine. Maybe ten minutes to throw the ingredients in the machine and walk off. Most of the machines today let you set a timer so you can load the ingredients the night before or in the morning and get up or come home to fresh baked bread.

In my post above, I talked about getting a bread machine at a thrift shop for $10. With that machine, I can bake a loaf of bread for about 50 cents (maybe less) so it paid for itself very quickly.

If you are like me and unemployed, bake your own. By the way, my bread is better. Way better!

an organized campaign of "spend less, waste less, buy American if you can" and here is a truly revolutionary one DO WITHOU! That's right, a little sacrifice amongst us would do us all good.

Only lack of money and our buying junk will get the message across. I will be looking into seeing of Not One Dime is still in business (the group advocating no spending on certain days...)

sadly that and the national strikes went nowhere.

Recommended!

with your WALLET! ESPECIALLY DURING THE CHRISTMAS AND HANUKKAH SEASON! I'm not buying ANY presents. Didn't buy any last year and none THIS year.

Now you're saying we should be ready to *die*?

we're not supposed to consume anything, is that because the banksters now have all the money, like you wanted?

WTF?

they won that round...don't worry...their winning days are numbered....and she is not saying die...she is saying a way to fight the corporate greedy bastards that decide our country's fate need to be fought..and the only way to fight them is to deny them...they cannot stay rich without we the little people not for long and deep down inside they know it..

right now it is like a game of cat and mouse....and we are the mice....but how bad do we really need that cheese?