It started Monday morning, when a new rack went up in the breakroom and a bunch of new food went in.
Then the announcement, we'd be getting Google lunch! Wahoo!
Then more food on the rack Tuesday morning.
And this morning? MORE!
It is a dizzying sight.
Our breakroom isn't all that large. But every time I go in there, there are like 4 people standing in there, just staring at the food, with their mouths hanging open.

I am trying to stick to the more healthful stuff.
Lunch is awesome, and yesterday there was a salad bar. The food is tasty, and mostly organinc, and with lots of vegetarian and healthy options. I am so totally stoked.

This is really convenient for all of us, and we will save money too. If we stick to the good stuff, it can even be more healthy, since a lot of take-out is crap anyway. I am so lazy about bringing lunch, so this is very cool to me.

I also met with the new director of my department yesterday, and I think maybe I could have been more prepared to talk about where I want to go. People ask that now and all I can say is that I want to master this job first. That seems like a steep hill first to me! But I think maybe I'm missing an opportunity there. Huh. Well, I am looking into if/where there might be classes that would bring me more up to speed on some of the technical knowledge I lack.

We may have some fun work coming in in the next week, and I'm very excited. Thus far, I haven't felt all that useful.

Besides useful? Last Friday we did some volunteer work, transplanting plants at the nursery at Fort Funston. This nursery grows all the plants needed for the parks in the area. It was fun (team-building exercise) and we had a nice lunch afterward. The week before that, I spent in Austin getting to know our Austin team and learning about their processes. In austin as here, the people are really nice and they are a wealth of knowledge. I am building my network of people to ask for help when a customer comes with a strange question. I'm thrilled to be working with such a neat group of people.

Koolaid! I totally drank it!

(I wrote this a week ago, and forgot I did not publish it, so here it is now)


So!

It has been one month now and I'm finally ready to talk about my new job.

My last day at the old place was June 8th, and my first day at the new place was June 11th.

I have changed careers completely. I used to work in apparel. Now I work in... tech. Specifically, email, web, etc.... communication security and compliance? That sums it up I guess.

I'm on a brand newish team in a wonderful company, which has been growing fast, and has an awesome product. that works, really, really well, and is very useful, and becoming more useful every day.

The people I work with are geniuses. When they explained the architecture of our product to me, and how it differs fundamentally from our competitors, I was so totally impressed. The way they take care to hire, train, and grow people is awesome. The people are really nice and happy, AND?!?!?!

We are having fun. A lot of it.

Of course, there's the small detail about how I know nothing about the intricacies of setting up servers and janky protocols. Never you mind! I will learn it! This is my big hurdle. I am starting at the back of the pack with my shoelaces tied together, but I will come up to speed. It is stressful, and overwhelming sometimes, but it will come. They knew I wasn't a tech person when they hired me, but I did promise them I was smart and liked to learn, so here we are.

And I have the best boss I've had since Rainbeau. A mentor boss. A sane boss. A "what are your strengths and interests?" boss. Yay!

I baked them brownies. I may bake more this week. I like these people that much.

I guess this means I'll have to stop using "Google" as a verb

I had planned to not really post about my new job until the one-month milestone, which is tomorrow.

BUT?!!??!

Yesterday, my company got bought by Google. (!)

Everyone seems very excited. I have to say it's exciting but I'm a little anxious about it.

My company is awesome. Strong, makes a very good product, has very high customer satisfaction, and a bunch of brilliant people behind it. I am working on being one of those people that makes the company great. I am not there yet, at all, but every day, learn more.

I, for one, welcome our new overlords!

Mysterious

A couple of weekends ago, I got to go to Rich Oliver's Mystery School.
After this year's Sheetiron, Paul was so mortified to be seen with me, that he decided to ship me off to school to learn to ride a dirtbike.

2 Day Fun Camp, coming right up.

Given that the only dirtbike I have is my DRZ400S, I was really looking forward to being able to learn on a smaller, lighter bike. All the students in the Fun Camp ride the same bike: TTR125 with a kick start (Rich sets the bikes up for each individual rider before you get there) These bikes were terribly fun. For one thing, I could finally just step over something instead of having to climb up onto it. Second, the kickstarter actually worked, every time, third, with a whopping TEN horsepower, I was pretty sure I could not actually hurt myself. But mostly? I didn't need that bike to get me to work in the morning!

I am in no way interested in racing. I consider myself interested in dirt riding mainly for trail riding type stuff. This camp was mainly geared toward flat track style turning techniques, and a bunch of races. Despite that, I had a really good time and I think I improved some. I definitely felt more confident afterwards?

There were starting, stopping, turning, and crashing drills (OK, not crashing) there were timed trials, and races. We watched the pros go around, then looked at the corners and talked about how to take them. But there was also a lot of off-track stuff, about seeing, health and fitness, and mental and interpersonal stuff, inasmuch as how it can pertain to riding.

I was lucky enough to go on a weekend where the other people in the class (one of whom I knew, coincidentally) were really nice and friendly. There was a lot of clapping and cheering, which I think isn't all that common for other classes. So yay.

Paul and I stayed in a barn converted into a rustic cabin. There were llamas staring at me in the morning when I got up. It was grand.

Now if only I had a TTR125 and a big pickup truck?
Actually, we went down to Metcalf on Saturday to give it a whirl on my DRZ. Of course it is heavier and bigger, but still fun. I went around in ovals, and on the TT Track, and did not fall. We saw a roadrunner, which I had never seen before. Dirt biking is fun, yes?

You have a responsibility to the people that love you.

Caltrain wins, always.

I am just glad I did not take Caltrain yesterday and get stuck waiting for this dumb broad to get scraped off the train.

Hello? Train tracks? They have TRAINS on them! "How did this happen to me!?!?!?"

There have been no blogs lately. I am waaaayyy too busy for such things.

Hey! Marisa was singing!

Last night, I met my sister in San Jose, and we had Thai food dinner, then went to the Montgomery Theater to see Marisa perform. It was her first solo gig with a real company (I think?) and she was very excited, so we were there to check it out and support her. Hey! Marisa is singing!

I bought tickets not knowing what it was. All I know about Gilbert & Sullivan is that it was on the Simpsons. (Sideshow Bob)

The night before the show, I realized it was a sing-along version. (!) This scared me, but we persevered. Hey! Marisa is singing!

Well, I still don’t see what the hype is about this musical, but Marisa was great. I know nothing about opera (OK, yes, this isn’t really opera, but Marisa is an opera singer, so that’s what I’m calling it) but Marisa’s voice is so very purty and it’s cool to pick it out of the chorus, and even cooler that she had a solo role. I know it’s hard to break into, but I can’t help but think once she starts getting gigs like this, it will snowball once they see how delightful she is to work with and how awesome her voice and presence are. It’s exciting, though I know nothing about it.

Hey! Marisa is singing!

There were a lot of grey hairs in the audience. Old people came by the busload to see this musical. I don’t know why, but they were really into it. They guy next to us had a hardbound book of the songs with him. These old folks were really into it. Many had sailor hats and shirts with logos and phrases from the musical, and a few were in head-to-toe costumes. Ooooo-Kay… It was like being at a Dungeons and Dragons convention or something, except everyone was old and had a cane. But, hey! Marisa is singing!

It was fun. I got home too late. It was nice to see Marisa, and she looked great!

Yay!

Thursday

Paul is going to hate me for this, but this sounds like the best show ever!



I rarely go out or to shows, but this sounds priceless.... who's in? OK, fine, I'll go alone.

Still Hearting LOLcats

I never took physics.
This is all I know about physics.... KITTIES!
I LIKE KITTIES!!!!!!!




(ruthlessly stolen from BoingBoing)

If this was China, i'd just hire a driver

I know, it's a sign of the pockyclypse

but I think it's time for me to learn how to drive.
I am thinking that if I am sent to Austin as threatened, I will be needing to pick up a rental car or some crap, to get around, as Austin is a sprawl. New York, no problem. Austin, long walk!

Who wants to teach me to drive? Stick shift preferred.

Tyranny of crappy majority

OK, fucking goddam windows time.
Yesterday I downloaded the Gerber Manual that I'd emailed myself from home, and was working on it in Word all day, saving frequently. Today I can't find it. I think it must have gone into a TEMP file, since I opened it from an email? So where is it? Did I just lose all my work? What the fuck is wrong with Windows? If I download something and work on it all day and save a bunch of times, isn't it fucking obvious that I WANT it?!

Fuck you windows! Maybe if I have something open and am working on it all day and "saving" it, that means I want it. Whst exactly did you mean by "save" because clearly it didn't mean "save" as we know it.

I just lost an entire day of important work.

Fuck you very much Windows.

Sheetiron blah blah blah

This post is totally late. Paul and I did the Sheetiron May 19th and 20th. I won't write anything nearly as entertaining as previous entries (see 2003 and 2004) because we took it fairly easy. I actually get worse at this every year, and without James to keep pushing me to hard splits, and with the real problem: heavy traffic, I have just opted for slow and steady. there seemed to be about 500 riders, which is too goddam many for me to want to try the hard splits. Most of those guys want to blow through as fast as they can (indeed, many seem to be regular enduro riders who forget and anre not accustomed to riding with two-way car traffic) and that leaves no time and space for me to "try" harder stuff.

Or something.




Anyway. We took Friday off, and Lional and Jason came to Berkeley to pick us up with our bikes. Nice! No riding 4 hours north on knobbies after work! I was good and beer-y by the time we got to Stonyford, and we set up tents and checked in while I drank more beer and got loud.

Saturday was a lovely day, which just meant that Paul was suffering miserably from allergies. Like, really miserable. So we cut out after Ukiah and took the street to Fort Bragg to get Paul into a shower and bed for a while.















































sunday we left early, arrived late, and I crashed once in between. Once is still really not enough for a good Sheetiron experience, so meh. I did break a lever and because something similar had happened to me before, I was carrying spares. Paul fixed it in no time, and we were backon the road. Phil Douglas was not on the ride, so I decided against getting a flat tire. Maybe next time!
The Tank Trapper didn't materialize (never again?) but it was less flat than last year. A few puddles, a few ruts, a lot of pretty vistas.


There was snow at Mendocino pass, but a little less than usual (and a lot less than last year) The weather was beautiful, unlike last year. Dust made it hard to see after someone passed, but was temporary, unlike last year's constant zero-visibility.






















After arriving back in Stonyford, we watched folks fart around a while before finally getting loaded up (and then getting loaded?) and back on our way. Lionel dropped us off in Berkeley around 10:30. It was sooooo nice having a ride up and back, and getting to spend time chatting with Lionel who is one of the nicest people I know. (but, as he noted, not quite as nice as Clay) Lionel is teh cool. Thanks for the ride, Lionel! And the beer!



"Road not Maintained During Winter Months" We missed you James.

Why I'm not complaining today

This past Friday I experienced a calm, the likes of which I can't even remember. It makes me sad to think that there is something about me that prohibits me from ever feeling right, and calm, except perhaps in short bursts. Maybe it is really a good thing, that I don't rest, but it is nice, very nice, even if only for a short burst. I'm enjoying this short burst.

Friday morning I gave notice at the job I hate.
I'm accepting a position in a totally different job, in a totally different industry. There won't be anything calm about this, once I get thrown in to the wolves. I fully expect a steep learning curve and a few months of hell while I get up to speed. But for now, I am calm. I feel great. I did a little sewing, and I even enjoyed it.

My new career will start in two weeks, and I don't really know where it will take me, but I'm satisfied that it will be somewhere different. I must have already proved my point, that my degree wasn't wasted, that there is indeed a career for a Fashion degree. There are better careers even, ones I didn't feel like pursuing. Partly I think I didn't want to finally burn that bridge down, maybe thinking it would be a failure. Actually, I don't regret a thing about my college choice, I only wish that I would have been able to do the coop degree with USF, but they thought they knew me better than I did. Screw the Jesuits; they know nothing!

My time at the Academy of Art was some of the best time I've had in my life. I would not trade it for anything. It was the first time I was ever good at anything. I was, really, really good at it. They wanted to send me to France. I didn't go; I'm stubborn, and a creature of habit.


Now I'll be doing something new and challenging, and if I've judged it well, I think it will be something defined by my own work and talents and potentials. I suspect this will grow with me, and be limited mostly by me. Maybe I'm just overly idealistic. Whatever, but I'm calm. For now.


When I gave notice Friday morning, my boss told me it was his worst nightmare. Later, he came back and tried to offer me significantly more money, and a "directorship down the line" with staff, and whatnot. I had to say no. I'll sacrifice the ($15K) for the chance for growth and more later. Financially, this makes no sense. I could very easily stay in my current place for many, many years. The current company has a culture of keeping people forever, growing old, retiring in place. I could make some money, sit in my desk surfing the internet, doing the same thing over and over, learning nothing, growing old and brittle...

Instead I'll be tripling my commute and taking less money, and working hard and risking failure. It just feels better.

It's been so long since I had a coworker I liked, since I felt like a human around the people I see every day. I haven't had a single review since I started at my current job (4.5 years). The culture is a bizarre one of secretive non-communication and finger-pointing. I can't think of a single person to miss, or to be kept in touch with. I can't wait to start fresh, and tell that one story about the time I totaled my first bike (will it get a laugh?), or bring in some homemade brownies, or commiserate about Catholic high school, maybe have happy hour with a coworker, or... something. Anything new and real would be nice.

I'm done with a chapter of my life. I don't think I'll miss the apparel industry.. It made me feel trapped more and more the longer I stayed in it. I started wishing I'd gotten out long ago, couldn't I have gotten so much farther?
Now I can.

I feel calm.

tasty gene damage!

Oh, yuck. Like I needed another reason to not want to drink soda. Destroys your mitochondria?!?! Combines with Vitamin C to make benzene?!?!??!

Whatever happened to good old fashioned food poisoning? Now we have to deal with genetic damage from our "foods?"

droppin' hamiltons like it's hot

OMG.
Teh FUNNY!

If you love LOL Cats (and how could you not?)
and
you love presidential history? (how could you not?)

Proceed at once to LOL Presidents! it is teh funny! (unless you are too old to know what any of this means)





All yanked from BoingBoing.

49 CFR Part 571.108 S7.9.4, oh, and plus you're a Squid!

Bottom line, officer Mr. Moustache:

I will NEVER. NEVER. listen to a motorcycle safety lecture given by a guy who rides a bike known for it's poor handling and braking, wearing a half helmet and essentially a T-Shirt. NOTHING you say to me, from "do you know why I pulled you over," to the "motorcycling is a blast, but is is dangerous," to the "be careful pulling back into traffic," will register with me AT ALL. I make fun of people like you all day long. "Haha, look at that dumbass wearing a T-Shirt and no gloves on his motorcycle!" You, sir, are a well paid SQUID.

Hello? Motorcycles are dangerous? I am dressed head to toe in a full faced helmet, heavy textile gear of a high quality brand, including CE-approved armor, the best gloves I believe you can buy, and eye-talian CE approved riding boots. Every bit of me is covered. You? Might as well ride naked. Except you've got big boots. Yay for you. You'll have no face and no arms and a ton of roadrash when you crash, but at least you'll be able to walk home. Have fun picking that short-sleeved polyester shirt out of your skin. Nevermind, it will probably be melted in.

"When someone changes lanes on you, you won't be able to stop. You just won't." Um? Speak for yourself, jackass! I'm not the dipshit riding the 4 million pound Harley. YOU won't be able to stop.

Finally, the last reason I won't listen to the rest of your lecture? You're flat out wrong. Headlight modulators ARE legal, and the fact that you don't know that means I don't respect the law portion of you lecture either. I always figured cops would just respect me a little more for taking the effort to be visible and use my LEGAL modulator for such. Not you! You're offended, self-righteous, and most importantly, WRONG. It was funny that you gave such detail about how and when and how many feet. All those incredible details that YOU MADE UP.

"I wasn't aware of that, officer. I was not aware that they were illegal." Specifically, I WAS aware that they ARE legal, but will get a sense of satisfaction when I hand the judge a bit of legal code in court making you look like an ass. Oh, and it is federal code, not CVC. So good luck with that.

Title 49 USC 30103(b1) (US Codes) prohibits any state from forbidding a system that conforms to FMVSS 108.

S7.9 Motorcycles. Each motorcycle shall be equipped with a
headlighting system designed to conform to the following requirements.
S7.9.1 A motorcycle manufactured before September 1, 2000, may be
equipped with--
(a) A headlighting system designed to conform to SAE Standard J584
Motorcycle Headlamps April 1964, or to SAE Standard J584 April 1964 with
the photometric specifications of Figure 32 and the upper beam
aimability specifications of paragraph S7.9.3; or
(b) One half of any headlighting system specified in S7.1 through
S7.6 which provides both a full upper beam and full lower beam. Where
more than one lamp must be used, the lamps shall be mounted vertically,
with the lower beam as high as practicable.
S7.9.2 A motorcycle manufactured on or after September 1, 2000,
shall be equipped with--
(a) A headlighting system designed to conform to SAE Standard J584
Motorcycle Headlamps April 1964 with the photometric specifications of
Figure 32 and the upper beam aimability specifications of paragraph
S7.9.3; or
(b) A headlighting system that conforms to S7.9.1(b).
S7.9.3 The upper beam of a multiple beam headlamp designed to
conform to the photometric requirements of Figure 32 shall be aimed
photoelectrically during the photometric test in the manner prescribed
in SAE Standard J584 OCT93 Motorcycle Headlamps.
S7.9.4 Motorcycle headlamp modulation system.
  S7.9.4.1 A headlamp on a motorcycle may be wired to modulate either
the upper beam or the lower beam from its maximum intensity to a lesser
intensity, provided that:
(a) The rate of modulation shall be 240 40
cycles per minute.
(b) The headlamp shall be operated at maximum power for 50 to 70
percent of each cycle.
(c) The lowest intensity at any test point shall be not less than 17
percent of the maximum intensity measured at the same point.
(d) The modulator switch shall be wired in the power lead of the
beam filament being modulated and not in the ground side of the circuit.
(e) Means shall be provided so that both the lower beam and upper
beam

[[Page 318]]

remain operable in the event of a modulator failure.
(f) The system shall include a sensor mounted with the axis of its
sensing element perpendicular to a horizontal plane. Headlamp modulation
shall cease whenever the level of light emitted by a tungsten filament
light operating at 3000[deg] Kelvin is either less than 270 lux (25
foot-candles) of direct light for upward pointing sensors or less than
60 lux (5.6 foot-candles) of reflected light for downward pointing
sensors. The light is measured by a silicon cell type light meter that
is located at the sensor and pointing in the same direction as the
sensor. A Kodak Gray Card (Kodak R-27) is placed at ground level to
simulate the road surface in testing downward pointing sensors.
(g) When tested in accordance with the test profile shown in Figure
9, the voltage drop across the modulator when the lamp is on at all test
conditions for 12 volt systems and 6 volt systems shall not be greater
than .45 volt. The modulator shall meet all the provisions of the
standard after completion of the test profile shown in Figure 9.
(h) Means shall be provided so that both the lower and upper beam
function at design voltage when the headlamp control switch is in either
the lower or upper beam position when the modulator is off.
S7.9.4.2(a) Each motorcycle headlamp modulator not intended as
original equipment, or its container, shall be labeled with the maximum
wattage, and the minimum wattage appropriate for its use. Additionally,
each such modulator shall comply with S7.9.4.1 (a) through (g) when
connected to a headlamp of the maximum rated power and a headlamp of the
minimum rated power, and shall provide means so that the modulated beam
functions at design voltage when the modulator is off.
(b) Instructions, with a diagram, shall be provided for mounting the
light sensor including location on the motorcycle, distance above the
road surface, and orientation with respect to the light.
S7.9.5 Each replaceable bulb headlamp that is designed to meet the
photometric requirements of paragraph S7.9.1(a) or paragraph S7.9.2(a)
and that is equipped with a light source other than a replaceable light
source meeting the requirements of paragraph S7.7, shall have the word
``motorcycle'' permanently marked on the lens in characters not less
than 0.114 in. (3 mm) in height.
S7.9.6 A headlamp system shall be installed on a motorcycle in
accordance with the requirements of this paragraph.
S7.9.6.1 The headlamp system shall be located on the front of the
motorcycle.
S7.9.6.2 (a) If the system consists of a single headlamp, it shall
be mounted on the vertical centerline of the motorcycle. If the headlamp
contains more than one light source, each light source shall be mounted
on the vertical centerline with the upper beam no higher than the lower
beam, or horizontally disposed about the vertical centerline and mounted
at the same height. If the light sources are horizontally disposed about
the vertical centerline, the distance between the closest edges of the
effective projected luminous lens area in front of the light sources
shall not be greater than 200 mm (8 in.).
(b) If the system consists of two headlamps, each of which provides
both an upper and lower beam, the headlamps shall be mounted either at
the same height and symmetrically disposed about the vertical centerline
or mounted on the vertical centerline. If the headlamps are horizontally
disposed about the vertical centerline, the distance between the closest
edges of their effective projected luminous lens areas shall not be
greater than 200 mm (8 in.).
(c) If the system consists of two headlamps, one of which provides
an upper beam and one of which provides the lower beam, the headlamps
shall be located on the vertical centerline with the upper beam no
higher than the lower beam, or horizontally disposed about the vertical
centerline and mounted at the same height. If the headlamps are
horizontally disposed about the vertical centerline, the distance
between the closest edges of their effective projected luminous lens
areas shall not be greater than 200 mm (8 in.).

do it for the monkeys!

This boggles my little mind.

14:39 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- Monkeys waving white flags joined protesters outside the district office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in San Francisco today to speak out against the Democratic leader's support for measures that organizers say undercuts the mission of the troops in Iraq.

Now, I thought that monkeys were illegal in California. I could be wrong. I know helper monkeys are illegal here, but perhaps protesting monkeys are not. When I read the article, I assumed they meant "dumbasses dressed as monkeys," but, no, these appear to be actual monkeys (dressed as dumbasses, but I don't think they chose their outfits)

So you have a monkey. And that monkey is protesting. I wonder how many monkeys they polled to find two who supported the war effort. I have to think most of them were like "No time for that. Can't talk now. Flinging poo." Not Jake and April. They jumped at the chance to exercise their First Amendment rights! Yay two party monkey system?

(I can't be the only one who thinks it's funny that these people chose the animal that is so often used in cartoons to mimic Dubya's facial features)

April looks very stylish in her beret, but she should learn to sit like a lady, not some wild west liberal hussy.

I certainly didn't learn this from my mother

Tuesday night, I learned the joys of spray starch for ironing. wonder of wonders! It is wonderful! Now I just need an ironing board. This gave me an absurd amount of joy.

I did not learn many of these once-basic domestic skills from my mother. I can't picture her ironing, actually. For some reason, I don't mind ironing, though I do need a board to make it nice.

She did teach me a lot of other wonderful things, like how to make Peanut Butter Playdough, sewing, knitting (sort of), and the simple, profound joy of being able to answer a compliment with "thanks, I made it." She taught me how to be an artist and craftsman and create beautiful things, too many at a time. And definetely how to overextend myself and make big messy piles all over my desk and then somehow, in a way no one else will ever understand, deliver it all in the end more skillfully and naturally than a real "organizer."

I'm always so proud of my mom. Cooking and cleaning and boring house chores aside, how many other people can say their mom knows how to tat, do blackwork, build a website, run a conference for non-profits, make jam, run a girl scout troop, and, most impressively in my book, get a priest to swear at her?

the threat of a brittle brain

I guess it's kind of a good thing, that I'm starting to clench my teeth again. That means the new teeth are starting to fit, and ceasing to hurt? Hope I don't just crack them again. They are essspensive!

So apparently, my boss thinks it's a good thing that this work is unchallenging. As in, he told the office manager as much when she started here about a year ago. Something to the effect of "The pay is good, and there's not much work to do. It's easy." (first off, he's wrong about the first part, but given that he's worked here forever, how would he know that? Actually, his pay is good, it's the rest of us that suffer.) He is basically retired in place here. He has been here for a looooong time, and will never leave. Where would he go? I think after too many years in one place like this, you really can't transfer to new jobs very well. This is one of my driving factors in wanting to jump ship. I could easily stay here forever. They would never fire me and my work would just get easier and easier. But the longer I stay, the more stunted I feel, the less able I am to jump to something challenging. My skills will get stale, my mind brittle. I already wish I could go back five years and start over then. What kind of person would stay in this place for that long? Doesn't he realize that while he finds it a benefit, the younger people in the department keep cycling through because growing old here without growth and challenge scares the crap out of us?

I've been reading a bit about the supposed difference in the workplace between Boomers and Gen X (am I Gen X? I can't remember). There's a lot of stereotyping about Boomers resenting us for job-hopping, and there's the correlational frustration X'ers supposedly have at Boomers for not retiring or letting the Gen X'ers grow into more responsible positions. I do not know if I am an X, but I do have frustration at the idea of staying here forever just to wait for someone to finally retire, all the while being bored and unchallenged. Of course, younger workers are also more accustomed to the idea that the company may just "restructure" us at any moment. That wouldn't happen where I'm at right now, but I almost wish it were a possibility. It would force us to be more nimble, more growth and challenge oriented. It would keep my boss from sitting in his chair thinking only of how to keep from rocking the boat. It would keep my mind active, learning and creating new ways to be useful and productive and eminently un-restructurable.

The water is too still. Aren't there any sharks to slap?

Are you going to eat that?

This rant about breakfast foods and marketing is quite funny, and spot on. I have for the past few months been eating a bowl of oatmeal at my desk every morning, and though oatmeal isn't on the chart, I would wager it would outperform the cheerios, based on nothing other than my general rule that the more processing, the worse it is for you. I think I feel better these days? Skipping breakfast made me lazy all day, and eating at my desk is a nice way to say "yes, I could do this at home on my own time, but I choose to do it here, on your time." 'Nuff said! Actually, eating at the office just makes me more consistent about actually having breakfast, and helps me settle into my day. I put in more hours here than anyone else, so no complaints.

The tagline "Cheerios - better for you than starvation" is pretty funny, and why not?

We watched Super Size Me recently, and while I really think the guy was hamming it up for the camera, there was a lot in the movie that was, in my mind, pretty clear. The doctors' reactions halfway through the movie were funny, the kind of funny that only happens when someone you don't know is causing himself possibly irreversible bodily harm.

Why do we eat so much crap?

I love food. Have you seen my family? We are champion eaters. Eating is a ritual, it's what we do to connect, to visit, to show love. I am in no means wanting to give that up. But we don't have to eat absolute crap.

(actually, my family rarely eats fast food, generally only on the way to grandma's house when we use the Burger King bathroom, and my mom feels guilty if we don't give back by buying something. But I recently pointed out that we were supporting them already with our tax dollars in terms of all the treatments for obesity which they caused.)

It worries me that so many people eat all these processed foods on a daily basis. I mean, sure, every once in a while, here and there, fine. But it's clear that it has become a majority of our "meals." Do people even know where food comes from anymore? I can't pronounce any of these ingredients. Here are a few of my rules about what I feel OK eating (not to say I don't eat other things, but I have goals)

1.) I'd rather eat the full fat, traditional yummy version than the "diet" version. I KNOW I should not eat cake and cookies. So I will have a small amount, and enjoy the heck out of them. The "diet" version gives the message "it's OK, it's DIET, eat all you want." It's not OK, it's still crap. And the real version is more satisfying, so I will eat less of it.
2.) Ideally, I can not only pronounce all of the ingredients, but I could actually draw you a picture of, if not the ingredient, at least where it came from (Honey is hard to draw, bees are much easier, and cuter.) If I had kids, I would practice drawing the food they eat. Encourages creativity as well as awareness of your food.
3.) The more marketing, the worse it is for you. Companies that process the hell out of their foods, and fill them with cheap crap have the most money left for marketing. Milk, lettuce, and rice have no big budgets, because they are too simple and close to the farmer to have such deep pockets. A good sign that it's bad, is that you can remember the TV jingle or mascot. Food shouldn't need a mascot.
4.) Anytime you can buy something from the person who made it, that's a good thing. I have experienced this with chocolate, ice cream, various fruit and vegetable stands, and of course, a lot of wine. (A lot. Really)


This is a real problem. All those kids stuffing their faces at McDonalds, or chowing down a bag of potato chips every day? Costing me money. Health care costs are through the roof, and we can't even hope to have universal health coverage when we are causing so much heart disease, type II diabetes, liver damage, and an endless list of other diseases, ON OUR OWN, with the crap we stuff in our pieholes. It's hurting families, who have to suffer, emotionally as well as financially, through the diseases people bring upon themselves. Health care spending is choking social welfare programs and business, in turn destroying our country's ability to stay solvent. At the top somewhere, a few "food" companies are profiting while the rest of us destroy ourselves, our country, and our families.

We don't have to buy this crap.
At least not so much of it.

These days, I try to be a little more mindful of the way what I eat changes the way I feel. Mood and energy levels are greatly affected by foods. Some foods make you feel more full, while some additives actually make you more hungry (do you need that? I sure don't.)

I still eat the hell out of some ice cream, dark chocolate, beer, and pizza. But I go for the simpler ones, ice cream from our local shop that makes it by hand with simple ingredients. dark chocolate without Hershey-style additives and fillers, beer and pizza, I haven't quite figured out yet.

Everything, in moderation.