THE BIG THREE

Well snails may be slow but given enough time they will reach their destination, and after a start again stop again journey that lasted sixty years; so has the Citroen 2CV Tin Snail. Designed in the 1930’s and ready for production 1n 1939, but because of material shortages due to the 2nd World War, it didn’t see dealers showrooms for almost another ten years. However, from 1948 on it would be produced for some 42 years until 1990, with minimal design changes. During that time several new models were introduced, including a pickup truck, and a four wheel drive version of the original CV2. (You can see photos of both vehicles at the end of this article.)

The vehicle was the brainchild of, Pierre-Jules Boulanger, since the French economy was, and for the most part still is, based on agriculture, his vision was to remove the rural farm peasants from the horse and buggy, and move them into the new age of the automobile, and do it at a price that everyone could afford. After interviewing 10,000 potential customers in what must have been one of the first ever examples of mass market research. Boulanger’s instructions to his engineers were simple. “It had to be able to carry a basket of eggs across a ploughed field, accommodate a tall man wearing a hat and be drivable by a farmer wearing clogs who had little or no experience of maintaining a motor car. As far as image went, Boulanger's memo added: "I confirm to you that the looks don't really bother me."

With a top speed of 37mph, this little gem got something just over 50mpg. I’m not sure if that was with, or without the basket of eggs, but a gas guzzler it was not. And according to, Auto Express UK, their about to do it again.

The redesigned Citroën 2CV, will be ready for the auto shows sometime in 2009, and will likely be a diesel-electric hybrid with high mpg and low emissions.

So you ask? What does all this have to do with the title of this article, The Big Three? Well for one, I simply got carried away with the snail. And two, I have a hard time saying “hello” in less than 350 words or so. However; there is a number three. Yep, You got it; The Big Three. Not so big now, are they? Although Ford seems to be holding its own for the moment, General Motors, and more especially Chrysler are all but finished as being associated with what is the saying? Chevrolet and apple pie? Now it will be more like, Crepes Suzette, and the American Tax Payer. Sound harsh? It is, but it didn’t have to be that way. And if you’ll pardon my French, where the hell are the Lee Iacocca’s when you need them?

There was a lesson to be learned from what Pierre-Jules Boulanger, did with Citroen, in 1949. His little auto for the peasants, bailed out a financially ailing Citroen, and put them in the black. Lee Iacocca did it again in 1979 when he approached The United States Government and asked for a loan guarantee, which he received and was able to repay seven years early than agreed to. Both did this by producing a line of vehicles for the masses. Vehicles that almost anyone could afford. Cheap to buy, and cheap to operate.

So what happened? The economy saw a few years of prosperity, and the lessons learned went by the wayside. Now they’re going to try and save it all by downsizing. Closing plants, laying off what will in the end be thousands of employees, and selling out to foreign auto makers. Why not do as Boulanger did, simply put the question to The American Auto Buyer? Ask them what they want, ask them what they need. They, (The Big Three) may be surprised with the answer. I know it’s too late for General Motors, and Chrysler, at this point if either of them come out of this whole it will be a miracle. And if they do, unless they remember the lessons of Pierre-Jules Boulanger, and Lido Anthony Iacocca, they will only be biding their time.

I don’t propose they build vehicles with a top speed of 37 mph, and canvas tops. But with today’s technology they can produce a car for the masses, cheap to buy, and cheap to operate, just as Boulanger, and Iacocca did. Only this time; don’t forget the lesson.

© 2010 J. Francis All Rights reserved

Green Tea - Click This Link

I received an email recently giving me the opportunity to either accept, or reject an assignment to write an article on the, Calming Effects of Green Tea. With over a dozen other projects in the works I put it off for a couple of days so I could catch up on the work I already had. I also wanted time to do a little online research to see if it was something I was even interested in writing. But as sometimes happens (and more often than not lately) I waited too long, and someone else beat me to the punch. Lucky them.


However, not wanting to let 30 plus pages, (already printed out) of research go to waste, and having material on what appeared could be a very interesting article, I decided to write the following account, and post it for all to see.


GREEN TEA & THEANINE


Okay, I know what green tea is. But what is Theanine? (pronounced; tea-anene) To begin with it’s an Amino Acid (Amino acids are critical to life, and play a variety of roles in metabolism. One particularly important function is as the building blocks of proteins,) that is found in all teas; as well as certain mushrooms, boletus badius, (I know what you’re thinking, but these are edible mushrooms, the type you would feed to your family) and is what gives tea it’s flavor. To quote Carolyn Pierini. “It is the predominant amino acid in green tea leaves, giving it it’s characteristic umami, or 5th taste. Besides sweet, salty, acid, and bitter.”


(Carolyn Pierini, CLS (ASCP), Nutritional Consultant CNC, is a Clinical Laboratory Scientist who specializes in Medical Microbiology, the study of microorganisms and their relationship to your health.)


I’m sure if you’re a tea drinker, you are aware of the calming affects tea has, as compared to that of an equal amount of coffee, that’s because of the caffeine, even though they both contain caffeine, (coffee about 80 milligrams per 5 ounce cup, and green tea only 20 milligrams per 8 ounce cup, or one tea bag) tea also contains, Theanine, which counter acts the affects of the caffeine and produces that calming effect. But it doesn’t stop there. According to Wikipedia: Theanine is related to glutamine, and can cross the blood-brain barrier. Because it can enter the brain, theanine has psychoactive properties. Theanine has been shown to reduce mental and physical stress, may produce feelings of relaxation, and improves cognition and mood, when taken in combination with caffeine.


I do like tea before bed, but since I am primarily a coffee drinker, and I like it strong, I tend to like tea the same way, strong; so I use two bags per 8 ounce cup, plus no milk or sugar. Although lemon and honey are nice at times, the sugar tends to keep me awake at night, undoing the calming affect theanine would naturally have. For those of you that like a glass of warm milk before bed; try the two together, and watch what happens. I’ve done it as an experiment and trust me, I slept like a baby.


I can also tell you that about mid-day when I have already been writing for six hours or so, and my brain has become somewhat soggy, a half hour break, a double strength cup of green tea, do a few stretches, and a ten minute walk, seems to realign the synapse and wakes me up enough to face the next five or six hours. However, on more than one occasion time has been in such short demand, the walk, and stretches give way to; just the tea, and I am pretty much back to my early morning self. Now I have no idea why it seems to have the opposite effect on me during the day, I’m just grateful it does. None of my experiments would be sanctioned by the scientific community, or the FDA, but green tea by itself, works for me.


Research (Real Research) has shown that it takes anywhere from 30 – 40 minutes after you drink a cup of green tea to see the results. As for myself I seem to fall in that 30 minute range, actually even less, 15 minutes or so and it has me calmed down. But I believe it is all related to our metabolism, and you own personal makeup. Even at my age, (65) yep I’m 65, I am an extremely hyper individual, with an over abundance of energy, so much so that I usually drive everyone around me crazy who is the opposite. Doctors in the past have prescribed various medications to calm me down, and calm me down they did, all of them following the same progression from; somewhat slowed down, to extremely slowed down, to unable to sort out my thoughts, and eventually slipping into a comma and not waking up for the next 10 – 12 hours. Then when I wake from this vegetative state, it takes the next 10 hours or so to regain my senses. Wow; I just lost an entire day. Now suppose for a minute I were to follow the directions on the bottle, I would sleep the entire week away. Needless to say I don’t like, or take prescribed mood enhancing medications, or over the counter for that matter, they all seem to have the same effect on me, so I’ll stick with my green tea, and the world will just have to deal with me as I am.


If you don’t like tea, but would like the calming effects that theanine produces, there are any number of companies producing in it in pill form, and with all the claims substantiated by Wikipedia. If you go to Google, or whatever search engine you use and type in, Theanine, you will get more than enough information, and advertising, which is sometimes difficult to sort out. I will try and give you some information on dosage as recommended by several studies I came across.


Again to quote Carolyn Pierini, “The intended use of L-theanine is that of a mental and physical relaxant that does not induce drowsiness. Although there is no set schedule for taking L-theanine, it may generally be taken at the first signs of stress. Based on the results of the clinical studies, L-theanine is most effective in the range of 50-200 mg, with the effect being felt within 30 minutes and lasting for 8-10 hours. Individuals with high stress levels may increase their dosage of L-theanine to at least 100 mg, with no more than 600 mg being taken in a six hour period. FDA recommends a maximum dose of 1200 mg daily, although the reason for this limit is not clear, due to its demonstrated safety. There are no known adverse reactions to L-theanine and no drug interactions have been reported. L-theanine is not affected by food and may be taken anytime, as needed. Because it has a mild taste, capsules may be opened and dissolved in water. Although it is probably safe for pregnant women and nursing mothers, we discourage its use by them pending conclusive research.”


Other studies say that dosages ranging from 100-200 milligrams are common, while still others recommend dosages from 200 to 400, however; all agree you should not exceed 600 milligrams in a six hour period.


Now at this point it might help to tell you that a cup of green tea from the west, (That’s Us) contains about 10 milligrams of Theanine, whereas a cup of tea from the east, (China or Japan) can contain as much as 5 times the amount. And scientific studies have shown that you need at least 50 milligrams to have a beneficial impact. Check out your local oriental stores, they should carry the higher grade of teas. As I stated earlier, when I make my tea I like it strong and use 2 bags; and also as I said, it does the trick for me. My only suggestion at this point is to experiment and see what works for you.


I hope I have given you enough information that you can decide for you self whether you want the tea, or simply buy the capsules. As I said, myself; I am not a lover of medicine, and prefer the results I get from the tea. Either way, if you need to relax, and calm down, get your daily dose of Theanine.
J. Francis