Back to the Bee Mines

[aggienaut]

Hi, my name is Kristofer Ransom Oscar Fricke --according to the subpoena I received--, but you can just call me "KROF". (one of those four names is not supposed to be there. Guess which one!)


   Looking for a job sucks. I've been trawling through paralegal jobs on craigslist, but everyone wants experience. I'm still optimistic about the interview I had in Long Beach but I'm still waiting on the background check (I probably overwhelmed their system as they try to dredge through the depths of this lj hah). Also been applying for jobs at the State Department, International Court of Justice, International Criminal Court, etc, but those usually take months to get back to you anyway.

   Anyway today I called Dave Marder, the owner of the Bee Busting company, about a part time job while I look for something else. I talked to him for one minute and 4 seconds. "Be here in work clothes tomorrow morning!"

   Looks like its back to the bee mines! I kind of missed them anyway.

Comments

[witless-nerd.livejournal.com]

Can I have some honey? wild honey sounds pretty tasty. Also, making wild mead could be pretty awesome, huzzah!

honey

[emosnail.livejournal.com]

Well... all honey is wild, really, since even in industrial apiary operations the bees range freely to pollinate at wild for miles around (usually orchards, since I think they put commercial apiaries near commercial orchards). Honey from the wilds of OC will probably be more likely to taste like the ceiling insulation in which colonies are made than anything else distinct.

However, I think we still have stockpiles of honey from our own beehives (which were housed in ordinary bee boxes (supers), which is the most hygenic a bee could ask for) ... Also according to Daviswiki there are some students who are into keeping bees, apparently.

On a tangental note, some veganfascists (for example, the advise on the Daviswiki page) advocate one not eat honey, because it obviously comes from an animal. Considering that the bees are not only not harmed by human honey harvesting, but in fact tremendously benefit from the optimal care humans provide them, I've always wondered why in the world vegans advocate avoiding it.

Re: honey

[ashael.livejournal.com]

*cough*hypocricy*cough*

Re: honey

[witless-nerd.livejournal.com]

Hmm true, all honey would be wild. I should really look into bee keeping, it is just rather hard to do with moving about, but something to look into.
Despite the fiber material, the flavor of the honey is still mainly derived from the nectar and pollens used, I am not quite sure if bees can harvest the insulation (it isn't terribly edible by any standards), but eh, if you have bees keeping, then there is no point.
Massive honey stores? perhaps you should make it into mead and throw a party? I dunno, it sounds fun anyway.
The vegan thing, is quite odd, but there is this debate between apparent happiness and apparent freedom. By imposing a happy and good existence to the bees by them serving us (making us have an economic motivation to keep them alive and happy), we are in a sense removing 'their' freedom (the hive mind makes some interesting questions). Honestly, if vegans start to consider all animals and insects sacred, then they should just probably starve. In harvesting plants, many a field mouse and vole will be reaped, harrowed, and threshed, in removing any plant, the rhizome insects will all be effected, and probably die, tis all very silly, but they can make that choice (provided it is because they simply want to).

Re: everything you ever wanted to know about honey

[emosnail.livejournal.com]

But the insulation dust & particles would become ingrained in the honey in the storage stage -- ie when a bee colony is in an attic, the honey is physically stored among the insulation, etc. But I meant it more figuratively than literally with the point that feral honey, especially suburban feral honey, is much less hygenic than cultivated honey.

There is, however, an actual difference between store bought large-scale-production honey and small scall amateur harvested honey. Large scale (brand name) honey is pasteurized, whereas amateur honey probably isn't. The main practical difference is that the brand name honey will therefore be of uniform consistency and will not crystalize. Amateur honey if left to sit about will crystalize (becoming more gelatinous (not necessarily a bad thing!)) and seperate with the more crystalized honey on top. Frankly I think these properties of amateur honey are more novel interesting and fun than boring store bought honey. (Additionally, pasteurization gaurantees you can't get sick from the honey I think. There is I suppose a (small!) chance some unwanted bacteria will be hanging out in your unpasteurized honey)

Re: everything you ever wanted to know about honey

[witless-nerd.livejournal.com]

As I remember, most bacteria cannot grow in such a sweet environment which binds the water, eh I dunno.
Yeah, feral honey, drywall, gotcha, don't eat it.