Fufeng Bonus

I took this picture this morning. It likely initially seems a very generic photo and hardly worth a blog post until you understand that nearly the identical photo appeared on the front page of today's New York Times. I normally generate one post per day, but consider this a bonus.

We happened to be in Grand Forks catching up with old friends and we got into our typical discussion of university, state, and national politics. This is what academics do. Among the topics was the controversy of the proposed Fufeng corn processing plant. I read the GF paper and had heard about the plant and our friends filled us in on the issue. After we left and returned to our motel one from our group of friends sent a text with a screen capture of the front page of the New York Times featuring the Fufeng issue. I had to take the same photo before we left town and that is what appears here. Grand Forks rarely hits the front page of The NY Times, but I think the issue of the U.S. being afraid China should they take military action against Taiwan has increased attention to issues associated with China. 

We subscribe to the digital version of the Times, so here is my short summary. Fufeng is a Chinese company that wants to build a corn processing plant in Grand Forks. The corn mill will supposedly create 1000 construction jobs and 200 permanent jobs. Local politicians thought this sounded like a great way to boost the local economy. When the City Council met to consider road design and utility contracts they encountered irate citizen opposition complaining of encouraging communism and the danger of espionage associated with a near by Air Force Base. Some citizens began posting yard signs showing a hammer and sickle. The Governor of North Dakota had endorsed the project as a great opportunity, but now the debate related to the issue has now involved national politicians.

You can’t go home

Our first stop on this road trip was Grand Fork, ND. We lived in Grand Forks for 37 years which is the longest time we have lived anywhere. We have not been back in a while mostly because of COVID,, but we were passing through on our way to Oregon. We both retired while working at the University of North Dakota. We had the opportunity to spend some time visiting with some of our friends from the Department of Psychology and spouses. It was great to have the chance to see these folks again.

The title for this post concerns the destruction of the building in which I spent 35 years of my career. This is an image of Corwin-Larimore which I took several years ago. Psych always seems to end up in some older building that was originally purposed in some other way. Corwin-Larimore as the name implies is actually a building that is a combination of a couple of buildings. One building was originally part of a different institution. It had been a dorm and when we moved had been a dormitory. Our individual offices were repurposed dorm rooms. 

Here is the new version of the same photo. The university has drastically upgraded the campus which is no very impressive with multiple new buildings. Rather than a collection of buildings from different generations, the buildings all now match and many are linked (a great thing for the winters of North Dakota). 

Aloha and Mahalo

 

Aloha and Mahalo - good bye, peace, and many thanks. The Kauai trip 2022 has come to an end. I thought I would conclude by sharing photos of the folks who shared this winter retreat with us.

Ruth and Kenny

Laura and Greg

Natasha and Oleg

Lynn, Josh, Addie, Preston, Kia

Todd, Jessica, Olive, Porter

Grandma

Me

Loco Moco

I promise this will be the last food post of this trip, but I must explain the Loco Moco once each trip.

The loco moco is an Hawaiian original that has spread. The story goes local high schoolers wanted a hearty meal that was inexpensive, but not the traditional burger. The loco moco was born. It consists of a couple of hamburger patties, rice or french fries, an egg, and brown gravy. It may not look like fine dining, but it is tasty and filling. I can handle one per trip. 

$4 donuts (each)

 This is not my first mention of taro and the role of taro in Hawaiian culture. I encountered a new use of taro yesterday. I assume it involves the use of taro flower. We discovered the Holy Grail Donuts. We had visited the establishment previously, but had been looking for coffee and must not have read the menu carefully.

Holy Grail sells $4 donuts. Do these donuts justify the cost? I guess this depends on what you are looking for. The donuts are made while you wait and I think part of the experience is the value of a hot donut. If you don't agree, I encourage you to taste the difference between a warm and a cold Krispy Kreme. Holy Grail also subscribes to the Apple approach to packaging. If you purchase a four pack (4 for the cost of 3), you get a nice box with a decal. Wasteful, but pretty. The following images contain a description of the four donut options which are part of the foodie approach. You should be able to read the descriptions if you click on the menu image to enlarge. It is kind of like a high end restaurant experience with multiple courses that in this case you experience on a picnic table.