Author: Rev. Joe Dirt

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Iowa Fun Facts

I recently spent several hours driving through parts of Iowa away from the interstate.  I begin to wonder exactly how much of Iowa was covered with corn.

Iowa is 55,869.36 squares miles in size.  There are 640 acres in a square mile therefore Iowa contains 35,759,390.4 acres of land.

2007 they planted 14.3 million acres of corn in Iowa, the most in the nation.  That means 39.9% of Iowa is covered with corn this time of year.

2007 they planted 8.8 million acres of soy beans or 24.6% of Iowa.

2007 they planted 2.5 million acres in hay (2 types) and oats or 7% of Iowa.

Between the 5 crops 71.5% of Iowa is covered with crops.

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Up a notch? Maybe…

I sort of fantasized today that I had stepped up one level in my bicycling.

It was very windy today, and that makes cycling into the wind difficult.  I was on the open stretch between the park and where the trail crosses the Missouri River and drops down onto the Katy Trail.  It is very exposed and I was giving it my all to keep a decent speed.   A couple miles before the Katy Trail parking lot I noticed someone behind me.   I fully expected them to pass, but they stayed there. They drafted behind me for those two miles.   It did have the effect of keeping me from slacking off, and a good portion of the last mile is a climb.

When I got to parking lot, I slowed down.  The person behind me thanked me for allowing them to ride behind me.  It was a petit SYT all in spandex on a fancy racing cycle.  I’m sure that for her riding behind me was like trailing a rolling barn.  Since she turned into the parking lot, I assumed this was the end of what was probably a long ride, so she did not mind coasting behind me for a couple miles.

I know I am cycling stronger than I did at the start of the spring, but leave me to me fantasy.

I looked at the odometer on my bicycle today, and somewhere back I had gone over a 1000 miles this cycling season. Not bad for an old fat man.

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Link to interesting article on Global Warming

You’ll need Adobe Reader for this, a free download

Here is the link to the article:  Article no longer on web site

Below is an excerpt from that article:

Usufruct is as American as the Declaration of Independence, implicit in the Preamble “to ourselves and our Posterity”. It is explicitly discussed in a famous letter of 6 September

Continue reading “Link to interesting article on Global Warming”

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Would Buddha Drive a Porsche?

I recently bought a little sports car for all the materialistic, mid-life crisis reasons guys my age buy little sports cars.   I used the typical rationalizations to justify my purchase.   It gets better gas mileage;  it has less impact on the environment, etc.  

I knew it would be fun to drive, but what I have discovered that it is very much a “now” experience.   When I’m driving this car, shifting through 6 gears, I am in the moment, and I stay in the moment.   It does not seem to matter if I am on the interstate, a back road, or a city street.   I look forward to driving to work each morning.

An old Buddhist saying is, “When you are chopping wood, chop wood.”   When I am driving this car, I am driving this car.   All of which made me wonder, “Would Buddha  drive a Porsche?”

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Chinese factory suicide a good thing?

I’m still trying to get my mind around this.   Mattel has had to recall a million or so toys because of lead paint.   I heard on the radio that the plant manager from the Chinese factory responsible for putting the lead paint on the toys committed suicide.

A gentleman in the business segment of the morning NPR news show was commenting on the suicide story.   He said it was fairly common in Japan and Korea for business executives to commit suicide, but not very common in China.   He felt that this was possibly a good thing.   It might mean the Chinese were caring more about the quality and the safety of their products, and possibly a little less about the bottom line  at the expense of everything else.

This is about the time my head starting spinning, or maybe that was from getting out of bed too fast.  Continue reading “Chinese factory suicide a good thing?”

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I can die a happy man

I birdied 18 at Normandie Golf Course in St. Louis.  It is a 243 yard par 3 from the blues.  The hard part for me is that it is next to a busy street on the the left.  That street is not protected from the golf course, and I so want to hit snap hooks on that hole for some strange reason.

Today the blues tees were back a bit, making it around 250 yards. I put a driver to within 7 or 8 feet and made the putt.  Rest of the round sucked, but that made up for it.

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Ten Commandments for Politicians

I’m trying to come up with ten commandments for politicians. This is a far as I have gotten:

  1. First, do ye no harm
  2. The majority rules, not the dollars
  3. Ye live in a glass house, act accordingly
  4. Thou shall avoid in all ways the trough of the lobbyist
  5. If it looks like pork, if it oinks like pork, if it sizzles like pork, vote ye not on it
  6. Remember ye that Squealor was not right, “All animals ARE equal, but some and no animals are more equal than others.” This includes politicians and government officials.
  7. Usufruct – Remember ye that we are but Stewards for those that come after us, as those who came before were Stewards for us.