I'm pretty sure I've never mentioned this to anyone else, but here's something you didn't know about yours truly and the 'Rents -- in addition to being big fans of the Olympics (both summer and winter) we're also big fans of the Iditarod dogsled race. For us, we love to keep up with the race because of the dogs. They're such loyal, hard-working animals, and regardless of what the animal rights activists say they are treated like kings and queens. Plus they were born to run, and they get so excited at the start of the race.
The Iditarod race started today (actually about an hour ago) and we'll be following it closely at the official Iditarod website. You can follow it, too, at http://www.iditarod.com/race.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Saturday, March 6, 2010
An Awesome Saturday
What an awesome Saturday this has been! And the day isn't even over yet. There's still plenty of time for more awesomeness.
The day started out with a feeling of freedom - I turned in my final exam yesterday and have two weeks off from school before the next class starts. But don't think that I'm just going to sit around and do nothing. During the next two weeks I plan to develop a Powepoint presentation of some church security plans and will be presenting them to our security committee at church in a few weeks.
The morning progressed with me meeting a good friend for breakfast across town. And while we were waiting outside in the sunshine for our name to be called to get our table, a coworker walked over and gave me a hug and started chatting. To make the long story short, I talked more to this woman today than I have in the entire year or two she's been at our company. She's as sweet as she could be, and it was very cool to see the non-work side of her.
After breakfast, I came home and Dad and I bonded for a bit while Mom was out shopping with a neighbor. We had a great time, and at one point I just stopped what we were doing and said a quick prayer of thanks for having such a great, wise father.
I'm not sure what the evening holds in store but I can pretty safely say that the highlight of my day today was getting the old Schwinn bike out and riding out on the bike path today. It was the first time I'd had the bike out since last fall and it felt awesome. It kicked my ass, but I can't wait to get home from church tomorrow so I can get back out and do it again.
Yep, it sure has been an awesome Saturday.
The day started out with a feeling of freedom - I turned in my final exam yesterday and have two weeks off from school before the next class starts. But don't think that I'm just going to sit around and do nothing. During the next two weeks I plan to develop a Powepoint presentation of some church security plans and will be presenting them to our security committee at church in a few weeks.
The morning progressed with me meeting a good friend for breakfast across town. And while we were waiting outside in the sunshine for our name to be called to get our table, a coworker walked over and gave me a hug and started chatting. To make the long story short, I talked more to this woman today than I have in the entire year or two she's been at our company. She's as sweet as she could be, and it was very cool to see the non-work side of her.
After breakfast, I came home and Dad and I bonded for a bit while Mom was out shopping with a neighbor. We had a great time, and at one point I just stopped what we were doing and said a quick prayer of thanks for having such a great, wise father.
I'm not sure what the evening holds in store but I can pretty safely say that the highlight of my day today was getting the old Schwinn bike out and riding out on the bike path today. It was the first time I'd had the bike out since last fall and it felt awesome. It kicked my ass, but I can't wait to get home from church tomorrow so I can get back out and do it again.
Yep, it sure has been an awesome Saturday.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Flashback Friday
This week on Flashback Friday, I'm not going to talk about a person, place, thing or concept from back in the day; instead I'm flashing back to just one week ago. This time last week, the high temperature was about 25, it was very windy and snow was in the forecast. Today it was sunny, the high was in the mid 40's and everybody in Louisville was celebrating because they think that winter is over.
This time last Friday I was in Cincinnati. The was about 8 or 9 inches of snow still on the ground. There was 2-3 inches of snow in the forecast, it was very cold and cloudy, and I was frantically visiting store after store in the vicinity of my hotel to find an ice scraper. I found one, which I used on Saturday morning. Flash forward to today, when even though it was still a bit cool, the sun was shining and we all felt that spring was just around the corner. On my way home from getting our Friday night fish, every car wash that I passed by was packed. I'm sure there was no waiting if you'd went to one last Friday.
There's rain in the forecast next week, but they're calling for temperatures in the upper 50's all week long. What a big difference a week makes.
This time last Friday I was in Cincinnati. The was about 8 or 9 inches of snow still on the ground. There was 2-3 inches of snow in the forecast, it was very cold and cloudy, and I was frantically visiting store after store in the vicinity of my hotel to find an ice scraper. I found one, which I used on Saturday morning. Flash forward to today, when even though it was still a bit cool, the sun was shining and we all felt that spring was just around the corner. On my way home from getting our Friday night fish, every car wash that I passed by was packed. I'm sure there was no waiting if you'd went to one last Friday.
There's rain in the forecast next week, but they're calling for temperatures in the upper 50's all week long. What a big difference a week makes.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Shortage, Smortage
Isn't it ironic that the day after TWIT reports about the tomato shortage we receive our 2010 Burpee seed catalog in the mail, and much to our surprise a tomato is on the cover. But not just any tomato - it's a picture of the "Tye-Dye Tomato." You've heard me say this repeatedly and I'll say it again: there's no such thing as coincidence, faithful readers. Mom and Dad both have been pouring over the catalog today, and this weekend I will be going online to place our order.
Once the seeds arrive and the weather warms up, we'll be planting the seeds and hopefully grow some strong healthy plants to set out in the garden so we can do our part to help contend with the great tomato shortage of 2010. As always, I'll keep you posted.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Why Couldn't It Be Broccoli?
I read a scary article in today's Wall Street Journal. Thanks to all of the snow, ice and below-freezing temperatures this winter we're in the beginning stages of a tomato shortage. It's already prompted fast food restaurants like Wendy's, Arby's and Burger King to leave off the tomatoes on their sandwiches unless they're specifically asked for. Subway is continuing to use tomatoes on its sandwiches but they are using different varities, such as plum tomatoes. Here's the really scary part - the cold temperatures that destroyed a lot of the citrus crop in Florida also destroyed about 70% of the tomato crop. And this happened just when I started eating a lot of tomatoes. Why couldn't this have happened to broccoli?
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
That's Some Bad Workmanship
I spent almost a half an hour tonight back in the "Site-To-Store" area of my local WalMart, in an attempt to pick up a DVD recorder/VCR that I ordered. For the record, let me interject that my recorder was not sent to the store that I had indicated on my order; instead it was sent to a store across town. After much, ahem, discussion, they assured me that the item would be at my local Walmart tomorrow morning, and if I wanted to pick it up on my way to work, it would be there. But I digress.
While I was waiting thirty minutes for someone to come back to the Site-To-Store area to wait on me, I had plent of time to read all of the recal notices that were posted on a wall. There weren't just a few; I counted and there were 38 recall notices. Yep, 38. They ranged from everything to mini-blinds to a log splitter to a plastic cake for a doll house. As I stood there, I couldn't help but wonder if this was only 38 items at this point in time, how many other items would be posted on that wall in the next day or two?
I work for a manufacturer, and I know firsthand how we're at the mercy of our vendors -- our products are only as good as the parts we receive and the people that we hire to build the items. I thought for a second how embarassed I would be if I were reading a recall notice about one of our products. And then I wondered if the people that made those products would feel bad if they read one of the recall notices, or heard about the recall on the nightly news.
I know for a fact that the people out in our factory that make our products would feel horrible if they were staring at a recall notice. I've talked to them and stood by them while they work and I know without a doubt that they care about the products that they make and they take it very seriously. If only everyone working in a factory - from the line workers on up to the testers and auditors on to the vendors and suppliers of the parts - felt the same; maybe Toyota wouldn't be in this bind right now.
While I was waiting thirty minutes for someone to come back to the Site-To-Store area to wait on me, I had plent of time to read all of the recal notices that were posted on a wall. There weren't just a few; I counted and there were 38 recall notices. Yep, 38. They ranged from everything to mini-blinds to a log splitter to a plastic cake for a doll house. As I stood there, I couldn't help but wonder if this was only 38 items at this point in time, how many other items would be posted on that wall in the next day or two?
I work for a manufacturer, and I know firsthand how we're at the mercy of our vendors -- our products are only as good as the parts we receive and the people that we hire to build the items. I thought for a second how embarassed I would be if I were reading a recall notice about one of our products. And then I wondered if the people that made those products would feel bad if they read one of the recall notices, or heard about the recall on the nightly news.
I know for a fact that the people out in our factory that make our products would feel horrible if they were staring at a recall notice. I've talked to them and stood by them while they work and I know without a doubt that they care about the products that they make and they take it very seriously. If only everyone working in a factory - from the line workers on up to the testers and auditors on to the vendors and suppliers of the parts - felt the same; maybe Toyota wouldn't be in this bind right now.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Special Request Monday
As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, I'm in the midst of a dreaded cold. I'm sure my nose blowing and coughing was annoying to the people that sat by me at Saturday's seminar. But I digress. I've spent a good part of the past two and a half days blowing my nose to get rid of the head and nasal congestion. At work today, someone heard me blowing my nose and said that they heard that you're not supposed to blow your nose because it actually makes the mucus stay in your passages. I mentioned this to some other coworkers and they'd never heard of it either, but one of them urged me to research it and post the findings in TWIT.
It didn't take long to find information on this and it turns out that my coworker was right. Sorta. An article in the New York Times a couple of months ago reported that Coughing and sneezing generated little if any pressure in the nasal cavities. But nose blowing generated enormous pressure that was equivalent to a person's diastolic blood pressure reading, and shot mucus into the sinuses every time. The doctor that did the research and testing said it was unclear whether this was harmful, but said that during sickness it could shoot viruses or bacteria into the sinuses, and possibly cause further infection. The doctor did say that it was okay to blow your nose one nostril at a time.
Another coworker and I were discussing this and decided to conduct our own tests. We both grabbed Kleenax and attempted to blow our noses using both nostrils. We had to agree with the doctor on this one. When we tried it, almost nothing came out of our noses, leading us to believe that the doctor was right in saying the mucus shot back up in your passages. Yet when we blew our noses one nostril at a time (which, I add, is the way that most people blow their noses) out came the mucus.
So there you have it. The next time you blow your nose, make sure you blow it one nostril at a time. I know I will.
It didn't take long to find information on this and it turns out that my coworker was right. Sorta. An article in the New York Times a couple of months ago reported that Coughing and sneezing generated little if any pressure in the nasal cavities. But nose blowing generated enormous pressure that was equivalent to a person's diastolic blood pressure reading, and shot mucus into the sinuses every time. The doctor that did the research and testing said it was unclear whether this was harmful, but said that during sickness it could shoot viruses or bacteria into the sinuses, and possibly cause further infection. The doctor did say that it was okay to blow your nose one nostril at a time.
Another coworker and I were discussing this and decided to conduct our own tests. We both grabbed Kleenax and attempted to blow our noses using both nostrils. We had to agree with the doctor on this one. When we tried it, almost nothing came out of our noses, leading us to believe that the doctor was right in saying the mucus shot back up in your passages. Yet when we blew our noses one nostril at a time (which, I add, is the way that most people blow their noses) out came the mucus.
So there you have it. The next time you blow your nose, make sure you blow it one nostril at a time. I know I will.
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