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I would like to share some interesting data regarding the recent blend of Sierra Madre water with the MWD supply line. I have been using a "Zero Water" filtration device for the last few years, which came with a TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) meter that allows you to submerge the device in a glass of water and obtain a readout indicating the amount of "particulates" in that body of water.
From the time that I started using it, I consistently found readings of approximately 155-160 to be the average. About a year ago or so, they climbed to and settled into a consistent 207, which is where they have remained over the last year. I was curious how the water condition would change with the supplement supply coming in from the MWD line. Well, it's not pretty. I have tested it every few days since the blend began a week and a half ago or so, and we are extremely consistent now at 406. This is virtually a doubling of the particulates in the water, not to mention the addition of previously absent chloramines.
The Zero Water filters literally bring the TDS levels down to zero, but the more particulates they have to remove, the quicker they expire. My last filter only cleared about 15 gallons, where I would normally be able to filter roughly 32 gallons with the previously mentioned numbers. Needless to say, I may start to buy bottled water from the store given that it might work out to be more economically favorable.
(Mod: Let me know your findings.)
So what's the difference between and pig and a hog?
(Mod: Now that the Neil the Pig fracas has been settled, we figured it would be safe to discuss the one issue that remains. What is the difference between a pig and a hog? We'll call it the Tattler Special Investigation into the Hog Gate Affair. Today's Pasadena Star News has an article up, and the Pig vs. Hog matter is specifically raised.)
Iconic pot-bellied pig will continue to roost in Sierra Madre (link): Neil the pig, a 17-year-old Vietnamese pot-bellied pig, has become a mascot in the community, and lives at the home of Kate Emerson. The Sierra Madre Police Department believes that Neil violates city code that states no hogs are allowed in the city limits, but Neil’s owner Kate Emerson maintains that Neil is a pig, not a hog.
Neil, a plump, 17-year-old, pot-bellied pig that been a pit stop for generations of residents ambling down Montecito Avenue, was in danger of going wee wee wee all the way out of city limits on Wednesday. The city’s code states that hogs cannot be kept in Sierra Madre, but what defines a hog in the code is left ambiguous.
“We had to do a bit of research and decided that Neil is a pot-bellied pig; therefore, he doesn’t violate the code,” said Police Chief Larry Giannone. “The important thing is that were being fair and equal to everyone.”
(Mod: For some insight into the hog vs. pig controversy, we naturally turned to the Internet. It would appear that the difference is pretty ambiguous everywhere. Here is what we found.)
What is the difference between a pig and a hog? (WikiAnswers.comlink)
Answer: In the United States, the term "pig" refers to a younger domesticated swine weighing less than 120 pounds (50 kilograms), and the term "hog" refers to older swine weighing more than 120 lbs. In Great Britain all domesticated swine are referred to as pigs.
Pork and Hogs (America's Heartland.comlink)
Do you know the difference between a hog and a pig? Hog is a generic term for all swine and a pig is a young hog. Pigs are raised both indoors and outdoors, but most pigs have a barn enclosure to protect them from the weather. Pigs are growing in popularity as a household pet and in some cultures are considered "good luck". There as many as 60 million animals in the U.S. hog herd and close to 68% can be found in the Corn Belt area. One fourth of the meat American's consume is pork and Iowa is the largest pork producing state. Only Denmark and Canada export more pork than the U.S.
Pig Information (The 4-H Clublink)
The words "swine,""hogs," and "pigs" refer to animals of the porcine family or pig family. The term swine can also refer to the pig family in a general way, and "pig" can be used in referencing young animals. "Hog" will generally refer to animals at or nearing market weight or finished for market. The term "barrow" means a neutered male, and "gilt" means a young female. Pigs are also referred to as growing pigs (40 - 125 pounds), and finishing pigs, weighing from 125 pounds to market weight--usually about 230 pounds.
(Mod: Judging by these definitions the only differences between pigs and hogs is size and age. Neither of which works for Neil. So we refined our search to Vietnamese Pot Bellied Pigs and hogs. Here is what I found.)
JUST THE FACTS, PLEASE! (nwpetpigs.orglink) All potbellied pigs are miniature in relationship to their cousins, the farm hog. Farm hogs can grow up to 900 pounds or more.
Pigs have dense compact bodies, especially when compared to dogs or people. A 150-pound pig is much smaller than an 80-pound German shepherd or a 100- pound person. A 150-pound pig is not as big as one may imagine!
A typical, full grown, potbellied pig can be anywhere from 100 to 250 pounds. The largest registered potbellied pig is over 400 pounds (not recommend for the health of any pet pig). As with people, the size varies, but the average size is somewhere between 100 and 150 pounds, being less than 20 inches high at the shoulder.
(Mod: That doesn't help, either. A cousin to a hog is still a hog. This next one is better.)
IS IT A PET OR DINNER? (KSA Jobaba.comlink): The argument about whether to legalize Pot Belly Pigs as pets or not always comes down to a very simple question and that is "Are they pets or are they dinner?" Pot Belly Pig owners of course insist they are pets while many animal activists insist they are not pets, yet these are the same groups that typically do not want you to eat meat either. The viewpoint of the public in general is simple, if it is not a pet and not a wild animal then it must be a farm animal, which is for dinner.
People fighting to legalize Pot Belly Pigs in their city often tell us that they find that the problem is not so much trying to make the government officials aware that they are truly pets but that the problem is dealing with specific animal rights groups who somehow think that keeping Pot Belly Pigs from becoming legalized will somehow further their cause in getting people to not eat meat. That thinking is very self destructive to their true cause and sometimes it makes sense to explain this to them in the hopes that they will not be the ones fighting against you in your goal for legalization.
However, if we have to show the difference between Pot Belly Pigs and real pigs (hogs) you have to be able to explain that Pot Belly Pigs are pets and real pigs (hogs) are a farm animal used to eat. I realize there are people with real pigs (hogs) as pets but you can't fight the battle of saving farm pigs if you can't even get past saving Pot Belly Pigs as pets. Another reason that you may be able to persuade animal rights groups to be on your side to legalize them as pets.
(Mod: That works for me. Pot Bellied Pigs are pets, and hogs - older pigs that weigh a lot - are bred to be eaten. And until the City Council finds a way to fit that into whatever our hog law is properly called in legalese now, we should just go with it. )
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