CORNED BEEF, SPAM and BEER

First of all, Hurrricane Nolo behaved as computer models predicted and only brought some heavy rain to Hawaii island and Maui.  It (Nolo is a gender-neutral Hawaiian name) will safely pass well west of Niihau and Kauai.  In Honolulu I got a little rain, some wind, but no problems.

About those wars.

• President Donald Trump rejected Iran's bid for opening the Strait of Hormuz.  Not sure, really, why.  Kind of reminds me of Iran being Lucy and Trump as Charley Brown being the reason why.

• 
  The Ukraine-Russia conflict has become a drone war.
• The U.S. midterm elections, could be held in a 5 weeks and 1 day.  Could, because there remains some concern that the President could postpone them....and never bring them back.
• Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will know his fate the prior week, on October 27, when the national legislative elections will be held.
• Clearly, Iran is doing everything possible to prolong their war, hoping for the opposition party in the U.S. and Israel gains ground. 

President's Cup:  USA beat the International golf team in a sensational come-back.  Yes, the president is Donald Trump, who appeared at the course yesterday.  Stayed for four hours, and, of course the closing ceremony.

The Major League Baseball regular season is over.  Playoffs will begin on Tuesday, and the winner could be determined as late as October 31 if the World Series goes to the seventh game.  The bracket:

More importantly for me:

• 
  I had four MLB fantasy teams. Two in 10-team rotisserie and two in head-to-head leagues.
• Both H-T-H teams were champs, and one roto league team was #1.  The fourth team ended up #2.
• A great season for me.
• I have no NBA nor NFL fantasy teams this year.

Do you want to win $10,000....for FREE?  ESPN has a  baseball playoff challenge.  The deadline is before the first game tomorrow.  In other words, do it today, or, better yet, NOW.  Will take you 5 minutes, and you can enter two bracket positions.  Just click on this.

Thought I'd spend today on popular, but maybe not so healthy foods many around the world find delicious.  Including me.  First, from Wikipedia.

Corned beef (called salt beef in Commonwealth countries) is a salt-cured piece of beef. The term comes from the treatment of the meat with large-grained rock salt, also called "corns" of salt. Sometimes, sugar and spices are added to corned beef recipes. Corned beef is featured as an ingredient in many cuisines.

 

But in the second paragraph.

Most recipes include nitrates, which convert the natural myoglobin in beef to nitrosomyoglobin, giving it a pink color. Nitrates and nitrites reduce the risk of dangerous botulism during curing by inhibiting the growth of Clostridium botulinum bacteria spores,^[1] but react with amines in beef to form compounds that cause cancer.^[2] Beef cured without nitrates has a gray color and is sometimes called "New England corned beef".^[3]

Finally.

Tinned corned beef, alongside salt pork and hardtack, was a standard ration for many militaries and navies from the 17th through the early 20th centuries, including World War I and World War II, during which fresh meat was rationed.^[4] Corned beef remains popular worldwide as an ingredient in a variety of regional dishes and as a common part in modern field rations of various armed forces around the world.

Kind of reminds me of Spam.

The difficulty of delivering fresh meat to the front during World War II saw Spam become a ubiquitous part of the U.S. soldier's diet. It became variously referred to as "ham that didn't pass its physical", "meatloaf without basic training",^[1][13] and "special army meat". Over 150 million pounds (68 kt) of Spam were received by the military before the war's end.^[14] However, several troops grew tired of the product. They expressed their frustrations in written letters to Jay Hormel, the president of the company, about the presence of Spam at every meal.^[11] Despite this disparagement, throughout the war, countries ravaged by the conflict and faced with strict food rations came to appreciate Spam.^[15]

So far, Hormel reports that they are on their way to selling 10 billion cans of Spam.  Hawaii is special:

Residents of the state of Hawaii have the highest per capita consumption in the United States, bringing in sales of 7 million cans of Spam per year.^[10] Its perception there is very different from that on the mainland.^[27] Hawaiians sometimes call it "Portagee Steak".^[28]

A local dish in Hawaii is Spam musubi, in which cooked Spam is placed on top of rice and wrapped in a band of nori, a form of onigirior riceball.^[29] Varieties of Spam are found in Hawaii and Saipan that are unavailable in other markets, such as Spam with Portuguese Sausage Seasoning.^[30]

In 2017, Hawaii was plagued by a rash of thefts of Spam.^[34] Spam had long been a target of thieves in Hawaii, but the magnitude of the thefts ramped up, with incidents in which multiple cases of Spam were stolen at once. Local retailers believe organized crime was involved.^[34] This came alongside increases in thefts of some other retail goods, such as corned beef and liquor. The president of the retail merchants of Hawaii attributed the rise in retail thefts to a recent change in criminal law, which raised the threshold at which a theft would lead to felony charges by approximately $400.^[34]

Those 7 million cans of Spam consumed in Hawaii means 11.4 cans/person.  Guam is also part of the USA.  That mention above of Hawaii as having the highest per capita consumption in the nation is thus wrong.  Guam's consumption is 16 cans/person!

You think corned beef is unhealthy?  This is Spam:

The ingredients of Spam vary according to variety and market; those of the "classic" variety are pork with ham, salt, water, modified potato starch, sugar, and sodium nitrite.^[90][91] Sodium nitrite is a common preservative used in highly processed meat products. Excessive consumption has been linked to many health issues.

On the other hand, Spam does not use brains, eyes and meat scraps as do hot dog and potted meats.  From Google AI:

Despite its persistent cultural reputation as a "mystery meat" made from scraps, the recipe for Spam Classic is actually very straightforward and tightly regulated. Manufactured by Hormel Foods, it contains only six specific ingredients:[1, 2, 3]

Well, got into this subject because of corned beef.  Turns out that this form of food is not as bad for your body as those others mentioned above.  From Google AI.

Potted meat is generally considered the worst for your body out of the four options. While all four are categorized as highly processed meats linked to long-term health risks like heart disease and colorectal cancer, potted meat and Spam stand out for their extreme sodium levels, high saturated fat, and heavy reliance on low-grade meat trimmings and preservatives. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

So anyway, about corned beef:

• I like small amounts with a lot of cabbage, onions and other vegetables.  I would never just consume the meat and fat.
• 15 Craigside will tomorrow feed us Corned Beef and Cabbage for dinner.
• Yesterday was National Corned Beef Hash Day.

• Became popular during and after World War II when fresh meat was rationed and corned beef filled the gap.
• It was Hormel that introduced corned beef hash to the USA in 1950.
• Can be consumed breakfast, lunch or dinner.

To close, today is:

• National Drink Beer Day.
• And National Good Neighbor Day.
• Plus World Rabies Day.

Do you know how many national and international beer days are celebrated annually?  At least 14.

National Beer Can Appreciation Day (January 24): Celebrates the first canned beer sold in 1935.

National Bock Beer Day (March 20): Honors the traditional German bock-style lager.

National Beer Day (April 7): Marks the 1933 enactment of the Cullen-Harrison Act, allowing beer sales in the U.S. again after Prohibition.

German Beer Day (April 23): Commemorates the German purity law (Reinheitsgebot) of 1516.

National Homebrew Day (First Saturday in May): Celebrates amateur brewing and hobbyists.

Beer Day Britain (June 15): A national toast day for the UK's brewing heritage.

National IPA Day (First Thursday in August): Dedicated to India Pale Ales and their hoppy profiles.

International Beer Day (First Friday in August): A global celebration focused on sharing beer with friends.

National Beer Lovers Day (September 7): A day to appreciate all beer varieties.

National Drink a Beer Day (September 28): Encourages trying diverse styles.

Barrel-Aged Beer Day (First Friday in October): Highlights barrel-aged brews.

National American Beer Day (October 27): Focuses on domestic U.S. craft breweries.

International Stout Day (First Thursday in November): Celebrates dark, robust stouts.

National Lager Day (December 10): Honors bottom-fermented bottom-poured lagers. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]

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