Sausage Links

http://www.sausagelinks.co.uk/

Sausages are judged according to taste, texture and fat content. In contests they are cooked by slow frying or baking and eaten hot and cold. Tasting cold sausages allows the texture and fat content to be assessed and many think cold sausages actually taste better anyway! The tasting panel ranges in age from 3 to 60 years.

A typical portion of sausages (which is only 2!) could contain around a quarter of an adults recommended daily fat intake and a typical sausage meal of sausages, chips beans could provide around 70% of the recommended daily salt intake. As with most of the better things in life, it seems that we should eat sausages in moderation - and if so we should try to eat the best we can!

Never prick a quality sausage! They have natural sausage skins and your holes will let all moisture and taste out.

What I learned that was special:
• More sausages are eaten on Saturday than any other day.

Food Commission

http://www.foodmagazine.org.uk/home/

The Food Commission (UK) Ltd is a not-for-profit company and takes no funding from the food industry. The Food Commission's work is mainly funded by subscriptions to The Food Magazine, project grants and individual donations.

The Food Commission has been instrumental in ensuring that the public, and the media, now have a much greater interest in the food we eat and the effects it can have on both our health and our environment.

Some of the campaigns supported by the Food Commission are:
• The Food Irradiation Campaign was a long running campaign designed to prevent the unnecessary irradiation of food in the UK. The campaign made clear that, 'good food does not need irradiating'.
• The Menu Labelling Campaign wants to improve the public's health by requiring fast-food and other chain restaurants to provide calorie and other nutrition information on menus and menu boards.

What I learned that was special:
• Almost 30% of household expenditure on food in the UK is allocated to eating outside the home and 30% of people eat out at least once a week.

Friends of the Earth

http://www.foe.co.uk/index.html

A book promoted on the site is Make Do and Mend, a nostalgic reminder of wartime austerity, but also packed full of hints and tips “that are still relevant today”. The government issued the leaflets included in Make Do and Mend to advise on how best to avoid wasting valuable resources by recycling curtains into dresses and old sheets into underwear.

Topics in the book include:
• What mothers can do
• How to darn holes and tears
• How to look after rayon
• How to patch an overall
• How to look after parachute nylon
• Smarten up your men!

What I learned that was special:
• 95 percent of our wildlife-rich lowland peat bogs have been destroyed in the last 50 years.

The Recycling Consortium

http://www.recyclingconsortium.org.uk/

The Recycling Consortium (TRC), based in Bristol, in the South West of the UK has merged with Network Recycling and SWAP to form Resource Futures Ltd.

One of the key projects is the Real Nappy Project, which promotes the use of washable nappies as an alternative to disposables. Outreach teams give talks and demonstrations in clinics, parent and baby groups, health centres, leisure centres, city farms, libraries and other public venues – wherever parents might be converted to a 'new' approach to an age-old job.

The project also runs a lending service, so that parents who wish to try out real nappies can do so without committing themselves financially. I am not sure if you return the dirty nappies if you don’t like them.

What I learned that was special:
• Every baby will need more than 5,000 nappies in their first 2½ years. At present these can represent half of all household rubbish for families with just one child. It means that in the UK we send 9 million disposables to landfill every day – that's about 3 billion a year.

The Centre for Ethics in Medicine

http://www.bris.ac.uk/ethicsinmedicine/
The Centre for Ethics is located in the medical school of Bristol University and was opened by Lord Limerick in 1998.

Top of the news list is Ainsley Newson, part of a consortium that has been allocated £1.8million over 5 years to study non-invasive prenatal diagnosis (NIPD). Dr Newson will work with Dr Zuzana Deans at CEM to lead on the ethical research within the RAPID project.

There is a long list of research areas that cover the Centre’s main areas of interest and expertise including children & young people, enhancing human capacities, end of life decision making, justice and health care and evidence based medicine.

What I learned that was special:
• Synthetic biology is the engineering of biology: the synthesis of complex, biologically based, or inspired, systems which display functions that do not exist in nature. Possible applications of synthetic biology could include the creation of systems to generate power, new medical applications, nanoscale biological computers, new approaches to cleaning up dangerous waste or sensitive biosensors for health or security applications.

The Genomics Network

http://www.genomicsnetwork.ac.uk/forum/

The ESRC Genomics Network is a major investment by the Economic and Social Research Council, dedicated to examining the development and use of the science and technologies of genomics.

Genomics is the study of genomes. Every living organism on the planet, from humans to rice to the flu virus has a genome, a genetic recipe for life. Genomes are made up of a nucleic acid, either DNA or RNA, arranged in sections called chromosomes.

If the human genome was unravelled, it would stretch to 2 metres in length; if it was written out like a novel it would be a mighty tome, more than million pages long, equivalent in length to some 600 Bibles. On the other hand, you could easily store the entire sequence on an ordinary iPod or a single DVD disc.

The ESRC Genomics Network is a group of over 100 social scientists across the UK.

What I learned that was special:
The Network Advisory Board have decided to award a crate of liquid refreshment to whomever can think up the best strap line for the Network. Can you do better than “ESRC Genomics Network –thinking outside the gene!”

Edinburgh Book Festival

http://www.edbookfest.co.uk/index.html

The next book festival will be held between 15 and 31 August 2009. 7 extraordinary days, 750 events, 800 authors, over 40 different countries represented. Program details are not available until June so I have no idea who the 800 authors will be. They probably don’t know either.

In a bid to get the whole of Edinburgh reading the same book at the same time, Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature have launched their third One Book - One Edinburgh citywide reading campaign. The star of the show is Edinburgh-born Arthur Conan Doyle's tale of dinosaurs and exploration, The Lost World - chosen specially to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Sir Arthur's birth.

What I learned that was special:
• The statue in the middle of the Charlotte Square Gardens is of Prince Albert.

Quick Reads – Easy to pick up, hard to put down

http://www.niace.org.uk/quickreads/user/index.php

On World Book Day, 5 March 2009, ten new Quick Reads will be published by Ian Rankin, the Dragon's Den team, Coronation Street star, Sherrie Hewson and others. There are seven fiction and three non-fiction books, all at one pound ninety-nine.

The criteria for Quick Read authors is that they are leading bestselling authors, leading names within their field or celebrity authors who will draw new readers to the world of books.

The choice of authors is decided by the Quick Reads steering committee, which is made up of leading publishers, book retailers and others in the UK.

What I learned that was special:
• If you start a book and aren’t enjoying it, don’t feel you have to continue. Maybe that book’s just not the one for you. Try something else – reading should be enjoyable, not a chore!

Amicus-MSF Trade Union

http://www.amicustheunion.org/

Unite the Union is the 'Union for Life,' throughout members' working lives - whatever their job and whoever their employer. Based on the principles of individual and collective responsibility, Unite the Union is dedicated to improving its members' standard of living and quality of life in both the public and private sectors reflecting the changing world of work, supporting workers through a programme of campaigning and organising.

Unite is the largest union in the United Kingdom, with over two million members in the public and private sectors.

The AEEU was formed in 1992 from the merger of the EETPU and the AEU. The EETPU itself was the result of a merger of two unions the ETU (electricians) and the PTU (plumbers). The Amalgamated Society of Engineers (ASE) was formed in 1852. In July 1920 the ASE and nine other unions merged to form the Amalgamated Engineering Union (AEU). Foundry workers joined the AEU in 1967, followed by draughtsmen and construction engineers. In 1971 the federation became known as the Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers.

What I learned that was special:
• On 28 March thousands of people will march through London as part of a global campaign to challenge the G20 leaders. Unite has joined with a broad coalition of development, faith and environmental groups and hopes that some 30,000 people will turn out for the event. Put People First! March for jobs, justice and climate.

The British Association of Art Therapists

http://www.baat.org

Art Therapy is a form of psychotherapy that uses art media as its primary mode of communication

BAAT was formed in 1964 out of a group of artists and therapists who realised that in order for Art Therapy to develop, and for its value to be more widely appreciated, it was necessary to have a central organisation to which the general public and employing authorities could refer.

Art therapists have a considerable understanding of art processes underpinned by a sound knowledge of therapeutic practice, and work with both individuals and groups in a variety of residential and community based settings, for example: adult mental health, learning disabilities, child and family centres, palliative care and the prison service.

What I learned that was special:
• An Art Therapist who has been practicing for seven consecutive years can submit a thesis and apply to become a Fellow of the Association.

The Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health

http://www.fih.org.uk/about_us/index.html

The Prince's Foundation for Integrated Health was founded in 1993 by HRH The Prince of Wales to promote integrated healthcare for all.

The Foundation recognises that individuals should be treated holistically, with acknowledgment of the interconnection between body, mind and spirit and of the impact of lifestyle and environment on health and wellbeing.

Healthy Tips:
1. Don't join a gym
2. Don't go on a diet
3. Don't live in a concrete jungle...
4. Don't be a wage slave...
A decision to be part of a happy workplace can be a health choice too.

What I learned that was special:
• The Senzori is a stand alone room and inside there's a seat for one person, and a computer to program stress relief - a combination that can include aromatherapy,oxygen, massage, zero gravity and positive messages.

Prince Charles

http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/

The Prince of Wales, eldest son of The Queen and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was born at Buckingham Palace at 9.14pm on 14th November 1948.

A proclamation was posted on the Palace railings just before midnight, announcing that Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth had been safely delivered of a son. It was announced later that the baby Prince weighed 7lb 6oz.

On 15th December, Charles Philip Arthur George was christened in the Music Room at Buckingham Palace, by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Geoffrey Fisher.

The Prince, as Heir to The Throne, took on the traditional titles of The Duke of Cornwall under a charter of King Edward III in 1337; and, in the Scottish peerage, of Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland.

On 11th February 1970, His Royal Highness took his seat in the House of Lords.
On 9th April 2005, The Prince of Wales and Mrs Parker Bowles were married in a civil ceremony at the Guildhall, Windsor.

What I learned that was special:
• In 2007-08, The Prince's income from the Duchy of Cornwell was £16.3 million and £12.8 million after tax (including VAT). Over 60 per cent of The Prince of Wales's after-tax income from the Duchy was spent on official duties and charitable activities.

The Prince’s Trust

http://www.princes-trust.org.uk/

Around one in five young people in the UK are not in work, education or training. Youth unemployment costs the UK economy £10 million a day in lost productivity, while youth crime costs £1 billion every year.

HRH The Prince of Wales set up The Prince's Trust in 1976, with the goal of helping young people fulfill their potential.

HRH says what struck him was that young people weren't being given opportunities quickly enough. "No one was putting the trust in them they needed. If I was going to do anything, it had to be an operation that was able to take those risks: to trust young people and to experiment."

In starting The Prince's Trust, HRH began a commitment to help them by taking risks. HRH says "That is the whole point of what we do. We try to do things differently, to cut through the bureaucracy and the red tape. And I believe that approach has paid off."

Today, HRH continues to take an active interest in the work of The Trust and does everything possible to help build awareness of The Trust's mission, of its successes, and of the need to carry on giving young people a sense of direction, achievement and self-worth.

What I learned that was special:
• The Prince’s Trust Ball will be on 5 March 2009 and Flavia Cacace and Vincent Simone, of Strictly Come Dancing fame, will be performing their amazing Argentine Tango.

BT Phone Home

http://www.btplc.com/

BT serves customers in more than 170 countries with have one of the largest IP networks in the world.

95% of the traders on the NY Stock Exchange use BT technology; more homes in Britain now have access to broadband than have access to mains water. BT was the first in UK to make mobile calls to 0800 free.

There is a new sub website – BT Sign, http://www.btplc.com/inclusion/bsl2007/btsign.asp
where different people explain everything using sign language. Something I have never seen before.

What I have learned that was special:
• In 2008 there were 111,900 employees; in 1988, 237,205.

Comic Relief

http://www.comicrelief.com/

Comic Relief was set up by comedians who wanted to do something to help others. The idea was simple - use comedy and laughter to raise money and change lives - while making sure that everyone had great fun at the same time.

Over the years, more than two thousand celebrities have given their time and talent to Comic Relief - from Ali G, Billy Connolly, Catherine Tate, Davina McCall, Jerry Springer and John Cleese to Jonny Depp, Lenny Henry, Peter Kay, Ricky Gervais, Robbie Williams and Woody Allen.

Comic Relief now has two major fundraising campaigns: Red Nose Day and Sport Relief. Red Nose Day is a UK-wide fundraising event organised every 2 years. It's the biggest TV fundraising event in the UK calendar.

The money raised supports those in need in the UK, such as due to domestic violence, mental health problems and young people or internationally such as people affected by conflict and urban slums.

What I learned that was special:
• On Christmas Day In 1985, Comic Relief was from a refugee camp in Sudan.

Dubble

http://www.dubble.co.uk/

In 2000, Comic Relief joined forces with Divine Chocolate Ltd to make the first Fairtrade product for young people – Dubble!

As the site explains, cocoa farmers need money to pay for essential things like medicines, school fees to send children to school and farm tools like Wellington boots to protect them from the snakes and scorpions that live among the cocoa trees!

There are some games on the site so I thought I would try my hand at Beanland where I could try my hand at farming on a cocoa farm. I am not sure what the demographics was but it was too hard for me! I was supposed to get three beans from the top to the bottom and two went down but with crosses so I don’t think they counted and the other one is stuck on a platform.

I thought the quiz might be easier but after only getting 9 out of 16 questions correct I realised I needed to read the whole website.

What I learned that was special:
• The motto of Kuapa Kokoo is "Pa Pa Paa" which means "the best of the best"

Divine Chocolate

www.divinechocolate.com

In autumn 1998, Divine, the first ever Fairtrade chocolate bar aimed at the mass market was launched onto the UK confectionery market. In a new business model, the co-operative of cocoa farmers in Ghana own shares in the company making the chocolate bar.

Farmers in Ghana pooled resources to set up Kuapa Kokoo, a farmers' co-op, which would trade its own cocoa, and thus manage the selling process more efficiently than the government cocoa agents. Kuapa Kokoo - which means good cocoa growers - has a mission to empower farmers in their efforts to gain a dignified livelihood, to increase women's participation in all of Kuapa's activities, and to develop environmentally friendly cultivation of cocoa.

"....for a really good balance between price and performance look out for Divine's Fairtrade 70% dark chocolate - very fruity, with a good texture and a long finish..." Charles Campion, The Independent March 2008

What I learned that was special:
• The Divine Chocolate Ltd Board meets four times a year and one of those meetings is held in Ghana.

Anti-Slavery International

http://www.antislavery.org/

I have finally found a gate out of the U.S. government!

Anti-Slavery International, founded in 1839, is the world's oldest international human rights organisation and the only charity in the United Kingdom to work exclusively against slavery and related abuses.

One area of concern is child labour. The International Labour Organization estimates there are 218 million working children aged between five and 17 (2006). 8.4 million children are in slavery, trafficking, debt bondage and other forms of forced labour, forced recruitment for armed conflict, prostitution, pornography and other illicit activities (2002).

There are about 300,000 child soldiers involved in over 30 areas of conflict worldwide, some even younger than 10 years old. Child soldiers fight on the front line, and also work in support roles; girls are often obliged to be sex slaves or "soldiers' wives".

What I learned that was special:
• Over 80 per cent of the expenditure goes directly to projects and campaigns. 13 per cent is spent on fundraising and events, and 6 per cent on management and administration.

Crime Victims

http://www.crimevictims.gov/flash.html

Justice for Victims, Justice for All.

Every day, people from every walk of life become the victims of crime. And every day, the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) is there to help them rebuild their lives.

The Office for Victims of Crime was created by the U.S. Department of Justice in 1983 and formally established by Congress in 1988 through an amendment to the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) of 1984. OVC's mission is to enhance the Nation's capacity to assist victims of crime and to provide leadership in changing attitudes, policies, and practices to promote justice and healing for all victims of crime. VOCA also established the Crime Victims Fund, the sole source of funding for VOCA-authorized programs, comprising fines, penalties, and special assessments imposed on convicted federal defendants and gifts, bequests, and donations.

What I learned that was special:
• In 2004/05 the Crime Victims Fund had deposits of 1,305 million dollars

Postal post

https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of three suspects who robbed the U.S. Post Office at 7003 Glenn Dale Road in Glenn Dale, Maryland.

On January 5, 2007, at 6:00 p.m., three men, one armed with a silver handgun and another with second handgun, entered the Post Office, assaulted the on-duty clerk, and robbed the clerk of cash and U.S. Mail. The subjects were last seen travelling south on Duvall Street in a stolen dark green Dodge Caravan.

The suspects are described as three black males, 18 to 50 years old, 5'8" to 6' tall, and of medium build. One man was wearing glasses with black frames. Then comes the warning:
TAKE NO ACTION TO APPREHEND THIS PERSON YOURSELF.

What I learned that was special:
• Sometime con artists try to sell you a catalogue containing the names of companies supposedly hiring workers for various jobs. Frequently, these jobs are said to be high-paying positions overseas. If you buy the catalogue, which often costs $30 or more, you may find the companies listed are not hiring.

USA Government made easy

http://www.usa.gov/

I am still trapped within the U.S government websites.

There is a lot of government information to choose from. The environment seemed a good place to start but then I had to narrow down my choice to Conservation and Recycling. I am still in index pages so I am hoping Recycling will take me somewhere substantial. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Is that to protect the environment from me or to protect me from the environment?) explains that uses for recycled materials include recovered glass in roadway asphalt (glassphalt) or recovered plastic in carpeting, park benches, and pedestrian bridges.

What I learned that was special:
• There are over 4,500 recycled-content products available including cereal boxes, comic books, nails, and motor oil.

Fed Biz Opps

https://www.fbo.gov/

I have arrived at the U.S. Government’s one-stop virtual marketplace. A quick glance and I don't find anything I want to buy but I did discover the fascinating list of procurement codes. #10 for weapons; #14 for guided missiles; #18 for space vehicles. All the things I was looking for down at the shops.

There are two categories of users of this site: the Buyers/Engineers and the Vendors/Citizens. It looks like you can't be an engineer and a citizen.

What I learned that was special:

• Section 508 (which has it own website called www.section508.gov) requires that the federal government only acquire electronic and information technology goods and services that provide for access by persons with disabilities.

Commerce defies every wind

www.commerce.gov

Washington (Feb. 3) — President Barack Obama today nominated Senator Judd Gregg as the next Commerce Secretary. "Commerce defies every wind, overrides every tempest, and invades every zone," said President Obama. "These are the words carved into the walls of the department that I'm so pleased Judd Gregg has agreed to lead. And as we act boldly to defy the winds of this crisis and outride the tempest of this painful moment, I can think of no finer steward for our nation's commerce."

Central interior Alaskan residents, visitors, barge captains and railroad operators now have access to weather information anytime, thanks to a new National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Radio All-Hazards transmitter recently installed on Toghotthele Hill.

What I learned that was special:
• At least one-in-five residents of Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas spoke Spanish at home in 2007, according to new American Community Survey data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. Nationwide, an estimated 35 million, or about 12.3 percent, hablan español at home.

Indian village

http://skipjack.net/le_shore/accohannock/

The Accohannock Indian Tribe is one of the oldest historical tribes in Maryland. The Accohannock Indian Tribe is an Algonquian-speaking sub-tribe of the Powhatan nation. They were the first watermen, hunters, farmers, and trappers on the Chesapeake Bay waters and wetlands. They harvested food from the Chesapeake Bay and its many tributaries. They grew squash, maize (corn), and other Native American foods. The Accohannocks also were great hunters of waterfowl, deer, rabbit, squirrels, raccoons, bear and elk.

Unlike many Native Americans who fought the white settlers, the Accohannock Indian Tribe was a peaceful one.

The Accohannock Indian Tribe is now striving to build a Living Village on Maryland's Eastern Shore as a future economic development and self-sufficiency project.

What I learned that was special:
• A snack bar in the new village will serve Native foods such as corn, squash, wild rice, wild game, fish, oysters, and crab.

Visiting Maryland for dinner

http://visitmaryland.org

In Maryland, the Civil War is best explored in the footsteps of generals, on the heels of an assassin and by understanding the stories of the citizens who survived the conflict. Four carefully mapped driving tours link together a collection of both well-known and less-known sites from Baltimore City, throughout the Chesapeake Region and into Western Maryland.

The Battle of Gettysburg lasted three days. The Gettysburg Campaign took thirty-five days.

I checked out the Hot Happenings and discovered that I have missed the Baltimore Restaurant week but I can eat my way through the Annapolis Restaurant week starting on 16 February. My $29.95 dinner from Harry Browne included the Rib Eye Blackend Served with Corn Spoon Bread with Taso Ham and Bourbon Demi Glase. Dessert was a surprise.

What I learned that was special:
• The State Dog is the Chesapeake Bay Retriever, a hunting breed with webbed paws and a waterproof coat

John Hopkins Uni

http://www.jhu.edu/

The Johns Hopkins University opened in 1876 and is named for its initial benefactor, Baltimore merchant Johns Hopkins, whose $7 million bequest — the largest U.S. philanthropic gift to that time — was divided evenly to finance the establishment of the university and The Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Today, the university enrols nearly 20,000 full-time and part-time students on three major campuses in Baltimore, one in Washington, D.C., one in Montgomery County, Md., and facilities throughout the Baltimore-Washington area and in China and Italy.

The Betty and Edgar Sweren Student Book Collecting Contest recognizes the love of books and the delight in shaping a thoughtful and focused book collection. All undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in a degree program at Johns Hopkins are eligible to enter. Each entry is judged on the extent to which the items in the collection form a coherent pattern of inquiry and/or represent a well defined field of interest. Collections on any subject are welcome. I suspect my own book collection, although showing a love of books, is not a focused book collection. It certainly is focused on how I felt when I was in the bookshop, and how much money I had at the time.

What I learned that was special:
• Contract security guards are assigned to various on and off-campus locations. They provide a visible uniformed presence targeted at preventative patrol and provide extra eyes and ears for campus police officers. Off-duty armed and uniformed Baltimore Police Officers are also employed during specific times.

Work for all

http://www.ilo.org/global/lang--en/index.htm

“The ILO was founded in 1919, in the wake of a destructive war, to pursue a vision based on the premise that universal, lasting peace can be established only if it is based upon decent treatment of working people.”

07 June 2007 - Nearly a century after adopting its first international standard on working time, a new study by the International Labour Office estimates that one in five workers around the world - or over 600 million persons - are still working more than 48 hours a week, often merely to make ends meet.

There is a monthly information bulletin so I checked Australian unemployment for January 2009 (as at December 2008!) and it was 505. Looking at the header I need to add (‘000) so that would make it 505,000. United States data shows 10,999,000.

What I learned that was special:
• The Microinsurance Innovation Facility seeks to increase the availability of quality insurance for the developing world's low-income families to help them guard against risk and overcome poverty. The Facility was launched in 2008 with the support of a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.