I dearly love homemade noodles in my soup. But I’m lazy, so I make spätzle instead. It’s a German egg dumpling and a close cousin to both a traditional egg noodle and reebles.
Homemade noodles are time consuming and create something of a mess that needs to be cleaned up. In short they are a lot of work. Even though I have a pasta machine, I seldom make them anymore. Maybe President Obama is right. We’ve become a nation of lazy slackers and that’s why our current recession is so persistent.
Jonah Goldberg observes, in the National Review Online, that the president has been obsessing on this notion for any number of months. (Full Text)
But maybe the president has never had a basic physics course and does not comprehend the relationship between energy and work. It could be this lack of knowledge has put a stranglehold on our economy. I must note that people who aspire to become community organizers in college generally shy away from courses in physics.
With regard to the relation between energy and work, in Europe electric motors are sized according to the energy they use, expressed in kilowatts. Something the president wants us to use less of. In the U.S. electric motors are sized according to work, in horse power. Something the president wants us to do more of.
There is a contradiction here. Energy and work are the same thing. One horse power is equivalent to 0.77 kilowatts of electricity.
My home on average uses about 23 kilowatt hours of electricity or about the equivalent of a horse toiling away twenty-four hours a day to keep my lights on, to run my refrigerator and freezer, to braise my veal chops and such. All of that is “work.” That’s it. The calculus is simple.
Because I am lazy, I really do not want to scrub my wash with a washboard. It’s nasty work. But the Department of Energy efficiency standards for household appliances have created machines that work so poorly that if I want clean clothes the washboard maybe my only option.
Now the president is pushing “alternative” energy. (There is no such thing. Energy is Energy.) And he envisions a future of Chevy Volts powered by wind turbine generated electricity. It will take quite a few of those turbines to power a nation-wide fleet of electric cars. The usable power in the Chevy Volt’s battery is 16 kilowatt hours. By comparison the energy stored in a gallon of gasoline is about 36 kilowatt hours.
On average the Volt will travel about 35 miles on electricity alone – not too far. There are plenty of conventional cars that get around 35 miles to the gallon. So in electric mode it is somewhat more than twice efficient than a conventional automobile. But here’s the kicker. Electricity costs me 11 cents a kilowatt hour. The relative price of electric energy compared to gasoline is $3.69 a gallon. If you were add in average state and federal transportation fuel taxes that price would climb to about $4.20 a gallon. That’s about a $1 a gallon more than I’m paying for gas right now. The Volt’s increased efficiency is diminished by relative energy costs.
In the real world the Volt doesn’t save much over other fuel stingy vehicles. According to Edmunds, the automotive publishing house, in a fuel cost comparison under typical driving conditions the Volt averaged 41 mpg, with total fuel costs of $88.55. A relatively conventional Volkswagen Jetta TDI averaged 37.2 mpg with total fuel costs of $90.88. (Full Text)
Even if you typically drive less than 40 miles a day, you might save $2 a day. Well, for someone who can afford a $40,000+ car, $2 a day isn’t a big deal. People who can afford a $40,000+ car want something that is a pleasure to drive. In short the Volt is a car without a market. On the other hand, Chevy’s more pricy and less fuel efficient Corvette is. So is the far less costly and almost fuel efficient Fiat 500.
Besides, if every American drove a Volt we would need a nation forested with windmills and in the end have virtually nothing to show for it. For this American tax payers are giving those who buy a Volt a $7,500 tax credit. As for the windmills, it seems they are being abandoned when their useful life and energy subsidies come to an end – some 14,000 in the U.S. have met this fate – and stand like giant parched corn stalks bracing the wind. For nothing. (Full Text)
President Obama is pursuing policies that will necessarily increase our electric rates, inhibit domestic hydrocarbon energy production and is raising CAFÉ fuel efficiency standards that will necessarily cause the price of automobiles to skyrocket. In short he is making “work” more and more costly and wonders why the economy remains in the doldrums. The American economy crumbles for a want of a course in introductory physics. Energy is work.
Now on to a slacker’s delight -- spätzle. For these you will need an egg or two, flour, baking powder and salt. Parsley, chives other optional ingredients can be added depending upon the circumstances of the spätzle’s final destination on the plate or in the bowl. This recipe is from Joy of Cooking. I like to use a 50/50 mix of all-purpose flour and semolina flour. And if I boil them in a bullion-cube broth I cut down the salt in mix.
Spätzle Serves Four
2 eggs
1 ½ Cups Four
½ Cup Water
½ Teaspoon Salt
¼ Teaspoon Baking Powder
2 Tablespoons of butter (Optional)
A dusting of Paprika and Parsley for a Garnish
In a generous mixing bowl combine water, salt and baking powder. Beat in the eggs then gradually add the flour until the mixture is smooth and has the consistency of a heavy paste. In batches, drop the batter in slowly boiling water or stock drop ¼ teaspoon at a time. Gently boil for about 5 minutes until the dumpling float to the surface. Transfer the dumplings to a casserole pan. Add the butter and sprinkle with parsley and paprika and serve.
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