Wheel-bearings and potatoes

The good news is that I turned around before I got on the freeway.

The great news is that when I called the mechanic and told him "My truck is howling. The right-front hub is warm" he said "Bring it in. I can fit it in."

I got a call a little bit later and my mechanic said "Both front wheel bearings are shot. We are waiting for parts. It will be ready by mid-morning tomorrow." And then he quoted a price.

I had the chance to talk over various scenarios with him when I dropped it off. I had already pre-approved replacing the bearings on both sides if one of them was trashed, operating on the assumption that both left and right side had traveled the same number of miles. 

Work tickets

I spent a half-hour cleaning off a concrete pad beneath an overhang.

I spent an hour pushing a lawn mower.

I tasted a seedling apple that I had grafted onto a tree in the Eaton Rapids orchard. It will be culled as will all of the seedling's sisters.

I delivered "samples" of Lehigh potatoes to two of my nephews who expressed an interest in them. If they enjoy them, then I shall supply them with more than a sample. If they say "Not my favorite", I will not supply them with Lehigh potatoes.

One of the nephews who expressed an interest in the potatoes is also a home-brewer. I might have some hops for him. Harvest season is accelerating. 

"Seven cities that will run out of food first"

There's another layer to New York that doesn't get enough attention. The city's restaurant infrastructure, which feeds a massive percentage of the population on any given day. Millions of New Yorkers don't cook. Their food supply is the Thai place downstairs, the deli on the corner, the pizza shop across the street. When those businesses lose power, those people don't just lose a convenience, they lose their primary food source. They may not even own a working set of pots and pans. The assumption that everyone has a functioning kitchen stocked with raw ingredients is a suburban assumption that has almost no bearing on how a huge chunk of New York (City) actually eats.  Source

 

Imagine somebody giving you 12 Ramen noodle packages or three boxes of "minute rice" or five pounds of potatoes and you have no way to cook them.

 

There are some efficiencies to cooking multiple meals in the same oven because the cost of heating it up is spread over more meals. But there are some fragilities when people lose the ability to prepare their own food.