The Harsh Couch - 2015.04.14 It's All About Richie

#1

Cricket is a game full of forlorn hopes and sudden dramatic changes of fortune and it's rules are so ill-defined that their interpretation is partly an ethical business. - George Orwell

This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at http://theharshcouch.com/thc/2015-04-14/
#2

Player comfort - I always thought this was just code for “crotch humidity”

#3

Percentage non-condensing?

Here’s a picture of the display they used … I’m guessing all the digits were set manually with controls in the back …

52a37a334d2fa03c.jpg966×710

#4

If you end up having the discussion on supermarkets throwing away fruit, take a look at this product: http://www.agrofresh.com/ripelock-technology

It’s all about delaying when the fruit skin starts browning, then extending the “healthy” life period.

See also Dow Chemicals’ SmartFresh, where they dominate the apple delayed ripening market with their patented product.

http://www.agrofresh.com/smartfresh-technology

If you treat the fruit with 1-MCP, then that blocks the ethylene receptors which otherwise trigger the fruit’s natural ripening processes.

I have spent some time of my life listening to people explain the science of, and market for, this sort of fruit botox.

#5

Some stats on food wastage (ie stuff that is grown but not consumed):

  • UN Food and Agriculture Organisation says >1.3bn tons of food (~1/3 of food produced worldwide) is lost or wasted each year
  • In the US alone, that’s ~$48.3bn at current prices
  • Fruit and vegetables have the highest waste rates of any food and are ~44% of total loss and waste by weight
  • ~45% of all fruits and vegetables produced are wasted
  • ~1 in 7 truckloads of fresh food delivered to supermarkets is thrown away
  • A large percentage of food waste at the retail level is due to qualitative factors related to consumer perception of freshness, and freshness is the most important driver of consumer satisfaction within a store’s produce department