"Business" Cards

I ordered myself a gift of "business" cards. I don't have a business, but sometimes have to give people my name, address, phone number, email, etc. and thought a card might be practical. It helped that vistaprint.com sent me an email informing me that I could order free cards for the cost of shipping, if it had an ad for them on the back. I weighed the cost of going to Kinko's vs. ordering these --I got to choose the graphics and selected a limited-time offering of a palm tree.
They arrived today and will be the subject of great humor in my house, I am sure. Now I can enter those drawing for free lunches where you put in your business card. I did neglect to put my blog address on the card, which would have been a good idea. I will have to remember to keep some in my purse.

Rusty Junior (R.J.) Killed in Line of Duty

I read with sadness about Rusty Junior, a police dog in Phoenix, that was killed in the line of duty. I can only imagine how his partner feels about the loss of his trusted partner, a true, obedient warrior. His fellow officer said something beautiful to him at his Memorial Service: "now you get to track angels..."
We saw Rusty and his partner doing some tracking in the Scottsdale K-9 Trials last spring, when they competed in the "Handler Protection" event. The dog was intrepid and obedient; the handler was in control and loving, and the supportive crowd cheered Rusty loudly. The ultimate sacrafice that Rusty, or R.J., made with his life is an example of how their partners depend on them. Phoenix police have lost a great officer -- I weep for their loss and his partner's sorrow.
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/centralphoenix/articles/0826ext-rj0826Z4.html

Propaganda?

The class of 2009 always knew Starbuck's, voice mail, a George Bush as president....gosh, I am getting old. I remember the first Starbuck's in the U District in Seattle when I was in college; have fond memories of Jimmy Carter; learned about computers with Fortran on a room-sized processor, and tried skiing (albeit unsuccessfully) before snowboarding even existed.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050824/ap_on_re_us/mindset_list_1
This list included in the above link had "They have always been challenged to distinguish between news and entertainment on cable TV". My daughter, a member of the high school class of 2010, is currently learning about propaganda in Social Studies. The teacher is showing various bumper stickers as examples of propaganda in action. They are assigned to go through news magazines and newspapers to find examples to share with the class. She is hoping to use "In Touch" as one of the sources for progaganda -- perhaps seeing if it is true that Angelina was responsible for Brad and Jen breaking up? Or if J Lo is pregnant or not?
Notably missing from the list for the class of 2009 were anti-war peace vigils or demonstrations. Glad they will now get to see those in action. I wonder, does all this Iraq War stuff have any relationship to propaganda?

More Info on Huston Street

I like and admire him for his hard work, focus and drive, so I was looking for a t-shirt or jersey (now that I have an "Eck" one!) and found the link to his page while a Texas Longhorn.
http://utopia.utexas.edu/students/huston.html
I still like him, despite the last entry of "Favorite Texan." Perhaps controversial, lying Texan would be a better heading in my list, but, nonetheless, Texans are very loyal.

Food Handler's Card

I had the pleasure of taking the test to get a Food Handler's card as my daughter needed it. As the driver, I figured I should do it with her. We studied the pamphlet entitled "Sanitation Techniques for the Food Service Worker" the night before and were prepared. There was a unique mix of people taking the test, several requiring multiple retakes to pass. I learned some interesting facts which have changed the way that I handle food in my kitchen -- cooling times and process, heating and reheating times, cleaning cutting boards and surfaces, and not having wet, germy towels strewn around.
Frankly, I also learned that it is amazing people don't get sick more often from eating out. A friend just had a nasty bout of Salmonella which you would not wish on an enemy. My husband notices the cleanliness of a restaurant immediately and has always read the Restaurant Violations list, avoiding places that have had multiple violations. I discovered that you can look online and find, not only the number of violations, but what they were for. Entertainment for those with nothing better to do.
Now, I can go in somewhere and watch violations in action. Recently, in New York, while waiting in line for the restroom, I saw a cook eat some chopped vegetables with his ungloved hand and then use the same hand to help turn over a crepe. OK, I know there are many such things I don't see and probably don't want to know about. You just have to hope that food handlers do follow the handwashing rules when in the restroom, at the very minimum.

What Happened to Freedom of Speech?

The Constitution guarantees freedom of speech, but GWB is doing his best to limit that right. Cindy Sheehan is camped outside his ranch in protest against the Iraqi War, in which her son was killed. She is hoping for another opportunity to ask "why?" As the following quote shows, she is obviously not allowed to express herself, and is being told to go away, Texas style:
"Late last night, a pick-up truck dragging chains ran over the rows of white crosses on the side of the road near Cindy Sheehan's vigil. Each cross commemorated a dead soldier; this morning, many of them were broken or gone."
To me, it sounds like something the KKK would do, a pickup, with chains.... The story went on to add that "no one was hurt." That is not completely true -- our right to self expression was seriously injured.

Eckersley and Street --- Together!

My two favorite baseball players are Dennis Eckersley and Huston Street. And, this weekend, they met for the first time at the Oakland game where they retired #43. Sadly, we did not attend the game or watch it on TV, but the stories of them meeting are eck-citing as each wanted to meet the other. I have said that Street is the "new Eck", and am so happy others are seeing it that way now.
I saw Eck in the baggage claim area at the Phoenix airport when he arrived for Spring Training many years ago and have been a fan ever since. We saw Street at the Fall League World Series, met him at A's pre-spring training camp last year and cheered him at several games. The story of him eagerly waiting for Eck to sign his baseball tells you how genuine he is --- and how I felt while waiting for Street's autograph on the pre-spring training roster sheet next to his name and #51.
Street is destined for the greatness of Eck. I hope he has fewer personal trials and challenges, but we are rooting for him in our house. His parents are his biggest fans, but we are close behind. For more details on my two favorites and their meeting, please read the story "Street is Eck-cited to mix with Old Master" in the Aug. 14th issue of the Oakland Tribune (because I cannot figure out how to link it with this posting).

Quizno's Ads with the Baby

I don't like those Quizno's ads with the weird baby in them, but was attracted to the ads for the new "Chicken Milano" sandwich. So my daughter and I ventured out to dinner last night. Her sandwich, the "Real Deal" got made on some weird small roll, not the yummy toasty bread, which looked icky to me despite her denials that it was great. She did NOT do her usual "ummmm!" I had the new advertised sandwich and it was good, but lean on ingredients. I will not reveal how the chicken was reheated. Since I am taking the test for "Sanitation Techniques for Food Service Workers" today, I would not order it again as it appears to be a violation waiting to happen, if it did not already.
I sense that Quizno's is not doing too well, up against Subway and their other competitors. Most of the franchise locations are probably only as good as the employees they attract. How do I sense the difficulty, you ask? I will say the place was really clean and neat -- a bonus. But, as anyone who knows me well would know, condiments are my middle name. The BBQ sauce, pickles and peppers were clean and recently filled. But the big containers of horseradish sauce, mustard and red wine vinagrette were gone. A loss for me...but the sign that they re cutting back on expenses.
My recommendation is to cut down on those baby ads and those yucky-looking rolls used for the "Real Deal" sandwiches. And, of course, bring on the condiments.

Sneaky, Devious AND A Liar

Well, now GWB can add sneaky and devious to his list of character flaws, adding to liar, phony, and others too censored to print *!@*#~*#@. That says it all.
Appointing Bolton during the break is horrible -- he is as devious as GWB. And, while we are at it, this John Roberts character, appears slimy, easily influenced by others (based on some of his decisions that appear inconsistent and illogical) -- exactly the nightmare we anticipated when GWB won his second term.