Peterkin

Probably the length and method of storage. If they mixed in one load from two years ago and another that's been left out to dry with a fresh batch, you'll have different results. I don't buy them in the shell anymore: in years past, too many have been mouldy or hard - I found it a waste of money and effort. I do sometimes buy the little foil packet of cooked, shelled chestnuts; they've been a consistently decent quality. Couple of minutes in the toaster oven for snacking. Not bad for puree, either, except we don't have a potato ricer and the food processor leaves them a bit grainy.

Good! They really out to add business interests and tax returns.

Great! It's a start. Why the fla'ing fu'k didn't they do it to that other guy before he caused the deaths of so many Americans?

Yes, of course. Is there a correct legal procedure to deal with that?

I would venture to say the US electoral system is not operating at maximum efficacy.

Well, so what? Another one was president already.

So: in name only. Not only did the ruble not fade away, but its market value continued to be set against the US $ (hard currency, at that time) and people who didn't have enough rubles didn't get bread, while the commissars were importing patisserie and emmenthal.

Which countries are those? And how did they slip the noose of global capital? Or are they something other than capitalist in name only?

Is there a prescient 'contribution to the well-being or all beings' meter that rings a bell in each person's head when they have reached that moment and can reach no higher? If so, how does it measure the overall contribution to all beings when some beings - say foxes - depend on the elimination of some other being - say rabbits - for their well-being?

Where would the committee be drawn from? I should think the quickest and simplest way would be to transfer procedural matters to the civil service. And, incidentally, the funding of governance, including the civil service, to an independent accounting body - a check and balance kind of thing. But there are a couple of problems with that solution. First, the change would have to be legislated by those same politicians who thereby lose the control, which they might be reluctant to do, and then pass constitutional challenges. Second, is the civil service efficient enough and does it have the capacity to take on another biggish task? And who appoints the chief executive of the new agency? Political appointments are already a big problem for most US government agencies. I would much prefer to see promotion from inside the ranks, preferably by secret ballot within the agency.

Why? What is gained from respecting a concept without taking into consideration the methods of its practice? What is lost by disrespecting or even despising some or all of the tenets, rituals and mythos of a religion? How does a religion become "their" religion? Did they invent it? Did they choose it? Did they inherit it? Was it forced on them?

The children in the rural school near us participate in spring highway cleanup every year. Each class gets a stretch of road, some adult supervisors (parents and volunteers to make sure the children are safe) some garbage bags and recycle bags for the bottles and cans. They usually come up with returnables, as well, and make a little money. Everybody has a good time and does a good job and learns a lesson in good citizenship.

I'll never solve any human problem completely; I offer nothing more than local, temporary amelioration.

Yes, that's it! Just putting trash in containers, however innovative, attractive and expensive, doesn't solve the trash problem. All those bins have to be emptied somewhere. The cheapest and most effective solution is to produce less trash in the first place.

It's partly cultural. In a consume-and-waste economy, people develop a culture of careless abandon. In a thrifty one, they are far more aware of the material objects in their possession. There is alos the matter of respect for other people who share the public places. That has to be taught early and consistently.

Let people feel that the street belongs to them. Ban cars. Plant trees. Make it nice, so they want to be there.

No. Religion is the domestication, and later institutionalization of spirituality. Mysticism is another, more chaotic manifestation of spirituality.

Yep. But I'm not going another round.

most intriguing: hormones and the working of this complex chemical factory. Prettiest microscopic structure : kidney.

Yes, I think some people are seriously contemplating a project of that kind No, but some code can be included in the vehicle. Of course, there is no telling how long the new life would take to develop and evolve to the point of civilizing itself - if ever. You can't just plunk down the ingredients for human babies on a sterile planet; you'd have to start with plankton and wait for the planet to terraform itself. We can't really be sure of that, but i don't see how you'd program it with racial memories more complicated than fear of falling... and even that won't kick in until you get a creature with a big enough brain. besides, even if you could imprint the concept of human civilization on plankton DNA, what is the plankton supposed to do with that information?

Bet they have a weight problem...

Celery, green peppers, lettuce, watercress, spinach, cabbage, chard, asparagus, green beans... If it's green, go ahead and eat as much as you like, but take it easy on the salt (water retention) and hold the butter! Make those side dishes to mushrooms, eggplant or summer squash, and for dessert, a tomato.

This could potentially be a hot-button issue. Still, you're right; it's probably not the sort of thing those sort of people would read. So if the university isn't answering, it must be for some other reason.

You might try going through the publication. But it's quite understandable if they don't give out personal contact information. Imagine the number the questions, from the well-informed right down to the really, really stupid that might come pouring in. You'd never get any more work done. Think of all the armed loonies out there, sending death-threats to journalists, scientists, politicians and academics.

Sow or root plants - not one plant, a group of them - in identical soil, in identical containers. When they have reached whatever stage of development you think is right to begin the experiment, divide the group in half. The control group will be treated according to horticultural instructions - whatever is recommended for that species. The experimental group will be subjected to stress. If more than one kind of stress is contemplated, you must further subdivide the experimental group and label clearly, or mark in some way as to which group is subjected to what kind of stress; e.g. Group W is overwatered; Group L is deprived of sunlight; Group S is allowed to become pot-bound and given no plant food. Every scientific experiment needs a control, a method and a pre-specified duration.