Text 15905, 157 rader
Skriven 2007-05-25 07:13:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av GLEN JAMIESON
Ärende: 564 blood
=================
 GJ> As my mother was in the Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service during
 GJ> WW2, I heard a lot about the identification of blood groups and
 GJ> sub-groups. The proportions of the groups were different in different
 GJ> races, and I think the rarest group in the "white" blood was much more
 GJ> common in "black" blood.  Did the ARC keep the two sets of groups
 GJ> separately in segregated fridges?

I don't know how it worked. I do know that efforts were made
to segregate the blood itself, but whether the facilities were
separate-but-equal (as if one envisioned black-only and white-
only cities) remains a mystery. 

 GJ> For someone desperate to get "AB" blood for a seriously injured
 GJ> patient, it certainly would seem criminal not to use a suitable blood
 GJ> from the "white" source when none was available from the "coloured"
 GJ> source - or vice versa!

Quaestio est. Why didn't people discriminate by blood type,
perhaps positives and negatives never getting along, and
ABs being the elite and the Os the peons, or something
along those lines, rather than the less physiologically
significant skin color.

 GJ> I won't go into the machinations by which you and your sister were
 GJ> inducted into that school, as I am sure that would open a deep can of
 GJ> worms.

They wanted to raise their school averages. Same as my
father remaining on the faculty of the GWU Medical School
years after he last saw a patient or directed a thesis
or even showed up at the office. Increase the percentage
of staff with prestigious advanced degrees.

 ML> Then, as I and my sister were quite the curiosity, we
 ML> received substantial scrutiny from all and sundry.
 GJ> And no doubt some cruel name calling.

Not very much. There was great social stratification, of
which we were the maleficiaries, but of name calling there
was little or none. We were treated with a sort of awe and
respect if not comradeship.

=

 ML> The native snails are quite different from the Burgundy snails,
 ML> which are what either Manny or Dave was referring to. The fact
 ML> is that European snails (considered edible) were introduced
 ML> into the U.S.; they compete with the native species (not
 ML> considered edible but probably edible anyway).
 GJ> Have the European ones taken over from the locals, or do they just
 GJ> inhabit their own niche in the ecology?

I am not sure. The competition among species surely must go on
at a snail's pace.

 GJ> With that reassurance I can go ahead and experiment; or would if
 GJ> Chooky had left me any slugs to experiment on.  Of course her continued
 GJ> existence would indicate a non-poisonous quality of slugs.

Indeed.

 -=> Glen Jamieson said to Dale Shipp <=-

 GJ> waiter what happened to all the left over food from the buffet; he
 GJ> said it was _all_ thrown out.  Beautiful roasts, curries, desserts,
 GJ> etc, which could have been passed to charity food outlets.  It seemed
 GJ> quite sinful to me!  That would never happen in the Philippines!  In
 DS> That is commonly done here as well.   There are a few places that
 DS> will donate unused food to homeless etc., but most of the time any
 DS> food that has been put onto the line will be destroyed if not
 DS> consumed.   I think that they are worried about contamination, food
 DS> poisoning, etc.  BUT, even more worrried about getting sued by
 DS> folks who pretend such maladies.

There is also the phenomenon of course of staff meals and staff
family meals.

 GJ> Such places (I first wrote "palaces") as the Hyatt have a reputation
 GJ> for faultless food which would be besmirched by even one report of
 GJ> food poisoning.  The prices they charge are high enough to cover the
 GJ> cost of wastage of quality food, so the accountants are kept happy,

I kind of doubt that there would be much actual "down the line"
food poisoning, but the possibility of capricious accusation
would be greater.

 but
 GJ> it still seems that there should be some way of using the unconsumed
 GJ> food from the buffet bar.  They don't even re-work good meat into other
 GJ> dishes, as I would sometimes do with left-overs.

I seldom see that behavior except at smaller places. We had one
Chinese restaurant where for a smallish sum one could get a huge
serving of cubes of what had obviously been at one time "roast
prime ribs of beef au jus," stir-fried with scallions and soy
sauce and maybe mushrooms. It was quite clear to me that the
place bought leftover roast beef from one of the more American
restaurants and reprocessed it.

 GJ> In Tokyo there is a group of "box people" who live on the streets and
 GJ> sleep in cardboard boxes in corners in railway stations and the like,
 GJ> and they live on hand-outs given them from the back doors of
 GJ> high-class restaurants and hotels.  They dine very well!  That system
 GJ> seems to work, and they don't sue.

Ah, that's another solution to "what do I do when I retire but
have no money" issue.

    There was a wonderful Japanese
 GJ> movie, "Tampopo" made a few years ago which covered that sub-culture,
 GJ> and included the preparation of a meal by one of the itinerants for his
 GJ> friends, in a hotel kitchen, in the time it took security guards to
 GJ> respond to the alarm which was triggered by their entry.  That movie
 GJ> also included such diverse characters as a truck driver helping a
 GJ> friend to discover the recipe for the perfect noodle soup, and a
 GJ> gangster who did interesting things with a live prawn on his
 GJ> girl-friend's body.  Definitely recommended if you can find it.

One of Nicholas's favorite films.

Lora Brody's Bete Noire, revised
cat: dessert, celebrity
serves: 6

1 c sugar syrup - 1 c sugar boiled for 4 min with 1/2 c water
6 oz bittersweet chocolate (I used Kona Vintage 1993)
6 oz unsweetened chocolate (I used Baker's)
8 oz unsalted butter
6 large eggs
1/3 c sugar

Preheat oven to 350.

Grate both of the chocolates as fine as your patience allows.
Make sugar syrup, and while it's still hot add all the chocolate,
which will seize and look terrible; do not panic. Cut the butter
into double pats and blend it in gradually (the mixture will unseize).
Beat eggs until ivory colored and tripled in volume, the sugar
added in several additions. Gently fold the chocolate mixture into
the eggs, stirring only enough to mix. Bake 25-35 min in a buttered
8" square or 9" round pan that has been lined with buttered wax paper.
Cake (?) should be tested after 25 min with the point of a knife -
if the blade comes out cleanish, the dish is done (it took me 30).

Allow to cool for 10 minutes, invert over serving dish, peel off
wax paper, and cover until serving. If cake is served warm, it will
have a loose pudding-cakey texture; if served cool, it will be more
like a very dense brownie. Serve with any custard sauce if warm or
with whipped cream if cool. P.S. I was gushing over the luxuriousness
of this dish to my friend Nicholas, who listened carefully and then
quietly said, "I've had that. Made by Lora Brody." Took the wind out
of my sails, let me tell you.

[end original sent 1/20/95 to the Shipps]
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