Beyond Burger

Fake, or should I say plant-based, burgers and meat are all the rage these days. Several restaurants are heavily advertising these alternatives to beef. I've also read a few articles that compare plant-based to real. Most of them are quite complementary to the plants. Livestock of all types seems to be the newest enemy in our environmental battles for a variety of reasons including cow farts and burps. 

So I tried to be environmentally correct last tonight. I cooked one of those plant-based burgers. It was a Beyond Burger from the Beyond Meat Company. Spoiler alert, this did not turn out well. 

See that nice pink patty in the above picture. My patties were closer to grey. I cooked the patty in a skillet on the stovetop. I even followed the recommended cooking instructions which were four minutes per side over medium-high heat. This "meat" does not smell that great raw and was even worse during cooking. Not a rancid smell, but not pleasant. It also tended to burn a little, the second side worse than the first. There was almost no juice exuded during the cooking. On the bright side, there were no grease splatters to clean up.

Now for the taste test. The short story, after two bites I threw the patty out. The longer story, it was rather dry and the texture was strange. It even seemed to have some gristle. Do they add artificial gristle for more realism? There was no pink center. In fact, there was no color variation except for the burnt spots on the top and bottom. 

The package states "previously frozen". The ones I bought were not frozen and were in the regular meat case. They are supposed to be eaten within three days of thawing. I did eat it by the "use by" sticker on the package although I have no idea when the store actually thawed the package. These plant burgers are no bargain either. The two ¼ lb. patties, a ½ lb total, cost $5.99. That makes this "meat" about $12/lb. That would buy some mighty special ground beef, more expensive than Wagyu beef.

I did some research and it seems these plant burgers are really no healthier than real beef. It depends on what you are most sensitive to or need in your diet. 

4 oz Beyond Burger →

Calories: 250

Total fat: 18 g

Saturated fat: 6 g

Cholesterol: 0 mg

Sodium: 390 mg

Carbohydrate: 3 g

Fiber: 2 g

Protein: 20 g

4 oz Grass-fed beef burger →

Calories: 224

Total fat: 14 g

Saturated fat: 6 g

Cholesterol: 70 mg

Sodium: 77 mg

Carbohydrate: 0 g

Fiber: 0 g

Protein: 22 g

Another issue for me is the ingredient list. Beyond Burgers are truly a man-made manufactured product. Real beef contains one ingredient: cow. A Beyond Burger, however, includes 18 ingredients: water, pea protein isolate, expeller-pressed canola oil, refined coconut oil, rice protein, natural flavors, cocoa butter, mung bean protein, methylcellulose, potato starch, apple extract, salt, potassium chloride, vinegar, lemon juice concentrate, sunflower lecithin, pomegranate fruit powder, and beet juice extract (the beet juice gives the burger its meat-like “blood”). I did not detect any "blood". 

Beyond Burgers might be fine for some people, vegetarians or vegans for example. As for me, I'm going to wait for science to get a little better at imitating a cow. 

wjh

College Bowls 2019/20

Once again it is time for the college football silly season. Each year there are way too many bowl games, only three of which matter. The rest are the equivalent of soccer friendlies or exhibition games. It only takes a .500 season to qualify for a bowl. That means six-win teams get to play. Hardly a mark of excellence. In addition to a lack of good teams, there are also suspect bowl names and locations. Many are just made for TV filler events, particularly by ESPN. So, let's get on with this year's rundown. 

For 2019/2020 there will be 40 bowl games. That means 78 different teams will participate. There are 130 Division 1 - FBS football schools, so 60 % get to play in a bowl. That is quite an exclusive club.  The first game is December 20th, the last on January 6th.

There are always some funny, awkward, or unfortunate bowl names. Almost every bowl now has some tie-in to a title sponsor.  Some of them this year are:

• Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl - Two problems here. First, it is in Nassau Bahamas, not exactly a hotbed for American football. The game is played in a crappy 15,000 seat soccer stadium. We have bigger and better high school football stadiums in Texas. Second, Makers Wanted is just a slogan for an industrial park in Elk Grove Village, IL. 
• Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl - This game is also played in a rather small 20,000 seat soccer stadium. No, it is not in San Francisco, it is in Frisco, TX. 
• Cure Bowl - Again a soccer stadium, this time with 25,500 seats. The CURE refers to breast cancer. 
• Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl - What's a Cheribundi? It's cherry juice.
• Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl - At least it is played on a natural grass field.
• Walk-On's Independence Bowl -  Walk-On's is a sports bar/restaurant chain. Hardly any of the players will actually be walk-ons. 
• Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl - Shouldn't this be named Tony the Tiger Cereal Bowl? No tigers will be playing in this bowl. It will be the Seminoles vs the Sun Devils. 
• Vrbo Citrus Bowl - Can I buy a vowel? 
• Famous Idaho Potato Bowl - I always find this name confusing. What exactly is famous? Idaho, potatoes, the bowl, some or all of the above? This is the game played on the blue field.
• Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic - Not a funny name but the game is no longer played in the actual Cotton Bowl stadium which still exists, it's at Jerry's World. For a few years, there was a minor bowl at the real Cotton Bowl, but none this year. 

The sponsorships change every year. Many only last a year or two. A few stick around for years. 

Because of the lax requirements for bowl eligibility, there are some pretty bad teams in the mix. If in any year there are not enough six-win teams to fill all the slots, they just waive that requirement. In theory, a six-win team will have a .500 winning percentage. Because we now have conference championship games, some teams play 13 games so a 6-7 team is still good enough. It doesn't look like that aberration happened this year. In fact, there was one extra bowl-eligible team this year. Toledo (6-6) is the unlucky team that lost the lottery. However, there are 13 6-6 teams in the fray. That includes The Kent State Golden Flashes and FSU Noles, two extremes of the college football spectrum.  

Enjoy the games, root for your team. If your school is one of the have-nots who made the dance, this is your chance to get a national TV game and maybe a big upset. If you root for a major school that snuck in with a 6-6 record you just hope for a win so it's not a losing season. I'll certainly watch the three playoff games that count and the Gators play in the Orange Bowl. A few others look interesting too. There is also the yearly tally to see which conference does well in the bowls. The ACC has ten teams in the bowls. The SEC and Big 10 each have nine teams. 

If these 40 games are not enough, remember there is an even sillier season at the end. That would be the four all-star games that have lost almost all relevance in recent years. They are now mostly populated by marginal players hoping for a look by NFL scouts. 

So, let the games begin. Happy bowling. Go Gators! Go SEC!

wjh

Sad, Angry, & Pissed

I held off publishing this post until after the Thanksgiving holiday. I was certainly not thankful for this incident. 

This post is partly a vent and a rant. As the title says, I am sad, angry, and pissed off. 

A few days ago I got a text from my son. He was informing me that one of his friends and softball teammates had been shot and killed. This friend, Jared, was also a friend of mine. I have known him for a few years through the softball team. 

The best way I can describe Jared is that he was a good soul. He was almost always in a good mood despite any problems he was having. He seemed to enjoy life. I never once heard a cross word from him. He was funny and fun to be around. From what I know, he was conscientious and hard-working. Everybody liked Jared. Well everybody but maybe the shooter. 

From the news stories and what I have gathered, Jared was shot by his half brother. The original story to the police by the shooter was that Jared was going into the half brother's house through a window. This house is also Jared's mother's house. The cops were suspicious and a couple of days later filed murder charges. I won't go into the specifics since they really don't matter at this point. The bottom line is that a 30-year-old good man is dead and his 19-year-old half brother is charged with his murder. In addition to the tragic death, that family is now doubly devastated. Unless the shooter confesses, we may never know what actually happened. It has all the makings of a family argument. Jared was shot multiple times, like the kind of shootings that occur during a rage. 

Besides being a good soul, Jared leaves behind a wife and two young boys. From all accounts, he was a very devoted father. He was also a gifted athlete so while his boys may inherit his genes, they will be denied his teaching, coaching, and encouragement in their athletic endeavors not to mention their journey through life. 

The last time several of us saw Jared was on October 16th. The last softball game of the fall season. The Broncos had just won the league championship. It was a fun night. 

Broncos Softball - Jared back row right

My son and I attended the visitation and funeral. Both made me more sad and angry. Hearing from those who knew Jared and seeing the photos and videos of his life reinforced my impressions of him. The funeral was a very nice service with a large crowd. Jared had a big family and many friends. Very nice services and big crowds will not bring Jared back or heal the hole in all our hearts and lives. 

Jared Moore 2016

Now the rant part. While I have no knowledge of whether the gun involved in this tragic incident was legally purchased or the shooter was the owner. That doesn't matter to me. The fact is that a loaded lethal weapon was within easy reach when this situation occurred. That made it deadly instead of maybe a pushing match or a fistfight. That might have resulted in some injuries but probably no deaths. There are way too damn many guns in our society. It is estimated that there are more guns than people in the US. I know several people who have no guns, so some folks have a lot of guns. Why do we need all these guns? About 99.99% of the folks in this country don't need to hunt and shoot for their next meal. Many folks don't live in particularly dangerous areas. The neighborhood where this incident took place is middle-class suburban residential. I know the stock phrases like "guns don't kill, people kill". Well, bullshit. People without guns don't shoot and kill. The fact that a gun is within reach when a family or domestic argument occurs instantly makes that event potentially deadly. 

I have no simple solution but I do know that we need fewer deadly weapons in the public domain. Let's make it harder to buy and own a gun. Let's make it easier to take a gun from those who shouldn't have them. Let's fund more and better mental health services. Let's change focus to saving lives rather than maximizing the profits of gun manufacturers. Let's worry about the gun victims and their families instead of NRA head Wayne LaPierre and politician's war chests. At least, let's pass the gun restriction laws that the majority of Americans support like universal background checks and red flag laws.  

Every time I think of this tragic incident, I get a tear in my eye and very angry. 

RIP Jared. We will all miss you. This didn't need to happen. 

Jared's obituary.

wjh

Very Random Thoughts - November 2019

• Some guys and all women should not participate in Movember.
• This clock changing from daylight to standard time is not worth it. Pick one, we'll adjust. 
• Actually, the facts and the procedures matter for bad behavior. But mostly the facts. 
• Would anyone listen to a politician or talking head if they didn't say outrageous and usually untruthful things?
• How long after Trump is out of office will it take to restore confidence in the FBI, CIA, State Department, DOJ, and other agencies? 
• Fortunately, I will not live long enough to read the historian's account of the Boomer years. I suspect it will not be kind. 
• Same deal for the Trump years. Even less kind. 
• There is a rumor that Trump needs reading glasses but doesn't like to be seen wearing them. This is a hoax, Trump doesn't read. 
• Every cell phone service provider has one or more unlimited data plans. None of those plans is actually unlimited. All throttle down your data significantly after a threshold that is far less than infinity. So, unlimited actually means limited. 
• Right or wrong, truth or lie, no longer matters. The only test is someone a member of your tribe (party).
• The word is similar, not simUlar.   
• The word unicorn is vastly overused these days and has multiple meanings.
• When watching a politician being interviewed on TV, I often yell, "just answer the damn question." 
• I think we can all agree that there are way too many members on Congressional committees.  
• The new slur by millenniums "OK Boomer" pisses me off. No, not because it's a putdown but because my generation didn't do better. 
• Reinforced tonight. Dolly Parton is a national treasure.
• My hyperactive upstairs neighbor was especially active today. It's hard to believe a kid can gallop and jump for that long. 
• Writing is fairly easy, it's the rewriting and editing that is a bitch.

wjh

The Irishman

I watched The Irishman on Netflix. It was originally released in the theaters for a couple of weeks before being available on Netflix. I'm glad I waited to watch it at home. The movie is about 3½ hours long. A movie that long requires a pause button for kitchen and bathroom breaks, not to mention a stretch or two. 

No surprise that the cast was good. Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, and Harvey Keitel play guys in or involved with the mob. It is directed by Martin Scorsese. I think those guys have some experience with this genre.

The movie is the story of Frank Sheeran (De Niro), a WWII veteran who is a Teamster and generally shady character who does some low-level jobs for some Philadelphia mob guys. He comes to the attention of Russell Bufalino (Pesci), one of the mob bosses in Philly. Although Sheeran is Irish, he speaks Italian and they hit it off. Sheeran becomes a confidant, enforcer, and hitman for Bufalino who introduces him to Jimmy Hoffa (Pacino). Sheeran does some dirty work in Detroit for Hoffa and they become fast friends too. 

Sheeran continues to work for Bufalino and at the same time rises in the Teamster union ranks thanks to Hoffa. He becomes one of the main conduits between Hoffa and the mob. Sometimes working for Hoffa and the union and sometimes working for Bufalino and the mob. Eventually, those two factions get sideways with each other. What will Frank do?

This is one of those time-shifting movies. It is Frank as an old man in a nursing home remembering his past. Scorsese chose to use CGI tricks to depict the players as younger men. This was done instead of hiring different actors to play the younger years. For the most part, the CGI young De Niro, Pacino, and Pesci were believable. There were a few scenes when one or more of the actors' makeup/CGI was a little off. I'm not sure if they used CGI or just makeup for the guys when they got old. Most of the main actors are already in their 70s so making them old is less of a stretch. 

The flashbacks were sometimes confusing as to exactly when they took place. It also made it harder to sort out all the relationships, especially for the peripheral characters. For those of us who were around in the '50s, '60s, and '70s it is fun to see the old cars and other signs of the time. Remember Stuckey's and Howard Johnson's? They did a good job recreating the times. There were also some good tunes in the soundtrack.  

This movie is far from the best work for any of the leads. Still, 75% to 80% of De Niro or Pacino is pretty good.

If you subscribe to Netflix, watching this movie is a no brainer. It's a theater-quality production. The 3½ length also makes home viewing the right choice. 

I'm going to rate this movie a B+. Everybody in it has done better work and it is a little disjointed at times. Definitely worth a look though. 

wjh