August 14, 2004

Corn

The corn looks great this year. At least in this part of the country. I'm not a farmer, but a mere two or three blocks from my house is a huge swath of country consisting of nothing but corn fields. In fact, you could probably argue that this is the best place in the world to grow corn. I'm betting that 98% of those reading this blog could care less about corn, but for those lucky 2% here are some little known corn facts:

  • Corn is in the bamboo family. That's pretty much a no-brainer if you've ever looked at a corn stalk.
  • Most of the corn you see out in those fields is field corn. It tastes very bland and isn't the same stuff you buy at the store. That's known as sweet corn.
  • Raccoons love to eat sweet corn too, but they stay away from field corn.
  • The average ear of corn has 800 kernels and 16 rows.
  • Corn is produced on every continent of the world except Antarctica.
  • Most farmers alternate their fields with soybeans due to the fact that corn takes something out of the soil that the soybeans put back. (I don't know what that something is though.)
  • The National Corn Growers Assoc website title is, "The World of Corn 2003". Yeah I know, it's a pretty corny title.
  • During hot August nights in the Midwest you'll swear you can hear corn growing.
  • It's pretty easy to get lost in a cornfield and if it's hot enough it can be fatal too.
  • Detassling corn is a nasty hot job, but it provides legions of country kids with some decent spending money.
  • Contrary to their name, Corn Snakes are not made out of corn.
  • The Corn Palace in South Dakota isn't actually made out of corn. Corn is just used to decorate the walls and, if you ask me, it's a pretty boring place to visit.

Okay, that's it for the corn facts. It's a Saturday and I'm tired of politics...and remember, Corn is our friend.

(If you reached this article because you were searching for "Porn", go back and check your spelling.)

Posted by jdmays at August 14, 2004 07:19 PM | TrackBack
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Comments

Corn is a heavy nitrogen feeder. Soy beans being legumes are very good at putting nitrogen back into the soil. The latin binomial for corn is Zea maize (not sure if I spelled the last part right). I thought it was a souped up member of the grass family. I'll have to look that up when we get home from church.

Posted by: Samantha at August 15, 2004 08:26 AM

Samantha,
I knew someone would come up with the answer! Actually, I thought it was nitrogen but I wasn't sure and if I said the wrong thing I knew I'd have half a dozen farmers telling me I was wrong.
I often have the experience of knowing the answer to something but not having any idea of how or where I learned the answer.
-JDM

Posted by: JDM at August 15, 2004 05:47 PM

It's off topic, but I thought I'd message the most recent entry. I was wonder how you felt that our soldier's in Iraq are getting shot at while helping transport drilling equipment from Texas oil companies? Is that what we went to war for?

Posted by: rick at August 16, 2004 02:56 PM

Rick,
Of course Rick, it's all about the oil. That's why we're paying almost 2 bucks a gallon. Oh yeah, and Bush knew about 9/11 ahead of time and Dick Cheney is secretly in charge and Bush and Bin Laden are in bed together... what a tool you are rick.
Imagine seeing oil drilling equipment in a country whose main export is...oil. You really have a hot news flash there.
Take your paranoid rantings someplace else.
-jdm

Posted by: JDM at August 16, 2004 06:25 PM

People comment about John Kerry and how he opposed the war after being lauded as a true hero; I'm not a big John Kerry fan, but I'm a firm believer that in order to have the right to oppose the war, you should have participated in it.
Your reaction couldn't have been more perfect. Rabid, Neo-Conservatives kill me with their predictability. "Take your paranoid rantings someplace else." You say? Allow me to retort.
I'm an Infantry squad leader currently serving in Iraq. I'm a model leader, having been promoted at the fastest rate the Army allows. I've attended numerous school and am being awarded for bravery in combat. I only mentioned the above scenario because that's exactly what happened not too long ago. Even worse, I had three new soldiers, barely out of Basic Training on their second mission during that. What if they would have died? For what? So we could ensure the safety of, yes, a Texas oil company's equipment? This isn't paranoid ranting, sir. It's a true story, given by someone that IS in a position to comment on this war. I would never have commented here, but that your blind, rabid obdience (I'm sure you call it "patriotism"), sickens me. I am a patriot. I love my country and will fight to my last breath for it whenever and wherever.

Just thought I'd let you see another perspective in your World of Blinders.

Posted by: rick at August 16, 2004 11:31 PM

Rick,
Who would've thought a post on corn would generate so much heat?
I'm happy that you have the opportunity to serve your country and would basically let you get away with saying just about any crazy thing based on the fact that you've literally risked your life for it.
I think you would probably agree though that your position doesn't give you any great revelation on absolute truth.
The fact is that there are a lot of seemingly meaningless things for which soldiers risk their lives. I happen to think that protecting equipment used in the rebuilding of a country isn't necessarily worthless. I wonder - if this drilling equipment was from Saudi if you or someone else would be complaining that the least we could do is get it from our own country.
As far as your comment about blind rabid obedience, I'm not sure what made you decide that so there really isn't much way to address that charge. I would say, on the contrary, that I tend to be a skeptical person and in this blog I've been critical of everyone including President Bush, Republicans, other Republican members of congress, etc.
Perhaps your position doesn't give you a broad enough perspective on the political climate here in the states or who knows really why you feel the way you do...
Either way, I can honestly make the same statement you made,
I am a patriot. I love my country and will fight to my last breath for it whenever and wherever.
If that's not good enough in your judgement I suppose there's nothing I can do about that.
By the way, you might be seeing your post show up on the front page of this blog since you raise some important points that I'd like others, especially other milbloggers to comment on.
-jdm.

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