Dan from Madison

New! ChicagoBoyz Eatin’ Cheap Contest!

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In my last post I mentioned some things that blew me away because they were so inexpensive. The main thing I discussed was shaving cream, but I also brought up some food items. That last comment thread went two ways – some took the shaving angle, and some approached the food angle. For this post we will keep going down the food path.

I would like to hear in the comments ways that you eat cheaply. The media is full of stories of doom and gloom about how food is skyrocketing in price, so let’s take the opposite tack and discuss things at the other end of the spectrum. I will start.

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Some Things Are Still Cheap

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Once in a while at work I am taken aback at how cheap some things are. I find myself on occasion wondering how a certain item could be made in China, shipped over here, marked up, then marked up by me and still cost what is a relative pittance.

I have always been amazed at how cheaply you could eat if you needed to. I am not talking about USDA prime cuts here. If you were down and totally out and needed to resort to cheap food just to sustain, you can get by on just a few bucks a day. Mac and cheese is .59. A loaf of bread is still under a buck. Fruit and veggies are still relatively cheap compared to other foods.

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Quote of the Day

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I have been writing and reading a lot about the resurgent cougar population here in North America. The story of the cougar being shot in the city of Chicago by the CPD interests me greatly. I am still waiting to hear if this is the same cougar that had been spotted here in Southern Wisconsin. If that is true, that cat walked from South Dakota, through Minnesota, Southern Wisconsin, perhaps through Wilmette, IL, and south to Chicago. Amazing.

I am no defender of the famously corrupt CPD, but they did the right thing by shooting that animal. If they did not it would only be a matter of time before the lion started eating dogs, cats, and humans – especially in an area like Chicago that doesn’t have enough of the lion’s normal things to chew on, like small game and most importantly, deer.

The Chicago cops could have made up the story about the cougar charging the officers before they put it down, but it could also be true. Either way they did everyone a huge favor by killing it. I am interested to see the reaction by many people on blogs and in the media. Many, many people who don’t understand how these animals operate are beating up on the CPD for their actions.

As I was reading some of these reactions I came upon this gem from this story in the LA Times:

I am totally disgusted by Chicago Police and will report them to PETA for their horrible attack on an innocent animal.

After cleaning up my computer screen from the spray of vitamin water that I expelled, I chuckled for about five more minutes and then came up with four words to respond to this poor, misguided individual: GOOD LUCK WITH THAT.

Cross Posted at LITGM.

Book Report: The Beast in the Garden, Part Two

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Part one is here.

As mentioned in the part one post I am doing more of a book report rather than the typical ChicagoBoyz book review. The reason for this is that I am just in the beginning stages of learning about cougars, their habitat and their ways. IMHO you can’t really review a book if you don’t know the subject. Recently a cougar was shot dead in Roscoe Village, just outside of Chicago. As of this writing it appears that this cougar was wild, not a released pet.

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Book Report: The Beast in the Garden, Part One

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Part two is here.

Some time ago I put up a couple of posts here and at LITGM that highlighted what I propose is a huge comeback by wildlife – specifically near and in cities. Most all commenters agreed that they see many animals on a daily basis in or near cities that would hardly ever be seen twenty years ago.

I find this topic absolutely fascinating. One commenter suggested that I pick up a copy of “The Beast in the Garden” by David Baron. So I did. Most of the time here at ChicagoBoyz book reviews are done. Well, I honestly don’t know enough about wildlife and biology to fairly review this book, so I have decided to do more of a book report, and interject a few things that relate to me locally here in Southern Wisconsin. The book is divided into three sections – The Peacable Kingdom, Borrowed Time, and Plague. This part of my book report deals with The Peacable Kingdom.

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