S-XL-L-M

I didn't really want to see the inside of a hospital recently, but since we were there and waiting for hopefully good news, I let my eyes wander around the room.

Notice the order of the gloves with small gloves on top of the cabinet just inches from the television. The extra large and large sizes are much lower while medium holds the lowest spot of the stack. Maybe I'm mistaken, but isn't it reasonable to assume that the staff with the smallest hands and in the greatest need of small gloves are most likely the shortest members of the staff? This wasn't the strangest thing that happened during this scary two-day excursion into the depths of medical ineptness.

The Season's Most Inappropriate Ad

Santa, guns, and Jesus...

Peace on Earth...

Made in the USA - Hand Warmers

In earlier, more-normal winters, I used a lot of hand-warmers. I like to keep busy in the winter since activity makes the winter more interesting and leaves me in better shape for activities in the warmer seasons. I usually buy handwarmers at a local drug-store chain. The store is convenient and traditionally sells a product by Grabber. Last year I noticed these were now being made in China. :-( I was sad to see yet another US made product leave the shores.

Then I recently spotted Hot Hands at Target. Now I have a choice and can buy US. :-)

Beware... this happened to me.

It's almost 1a.m. in Fort Wayne. I just got finished walking downstairs to meet the hotel desk. Why? Because I received a phone call from a man reporting to be from the hotel and claiming the hotel had a problem with their computer. He stated he needed information from me to confirm my reservation at the hotel. I gave no information, hung up, and walked down to warn the hotel desk staff. This was not an isolated hoax according to this BBB news story.

Be warned the world is full of people who want to steal from you.

Run Bambi Run!

The Geek and the Ice Cream Vending Machine

I'm a geek. I know it. About two years ago we added an ice cream vending maching at one of our New York facitlities. The entire front panel is covered preventing viewing of the inner workings. Our two Washington facilities now have the same machine, but the front face is half exposed. It was geek heaven. I got to see it in action.

There it is. The object of my interest.

First there was a big decision. Would it be a nutty butty or strawberry shortcake ice cream selection. Nutty sundae won.

The money went in, and my selection was made. Up went the cover of a chest freezer? Really, I expected more. I expected hi-tech. I could go to Best Buy and find one of these.

An indexed drive system moved the arm over to my C1 selection and dropped part of the unit down into the bin on the end of a cord.

Mining for goodies

My drumstick emerges from the bin with the help of a little suction.

Ah.... almost within reach

My treat awaits me.

Dante waits for the next customer.

It's All Fun and Games Until....

I hadn't seen this line of Dog is Good products until I was at the vet last week picking up Eva following surgery. Eva's not very happy since she got the cone.

It's Time For MoveOn.org to Move On!

I received this intrusive piece of junk in the mail from some fake organization called VoterReportCard.org. It gave me a "report card" for my voting record. VoterReportCard.org is just a front for MoveOn.org. Whether my voting record is public knowledge or not, this garbage is intrusive. It appears that MoveOn.org has a conservative counterpart in this crappy, sleazy campaign. ALG appears to have decided it is their right to also drag voters records out for all to see. My vote is mine. It's too bad we live in a shadow world of social media cowards who can hide behind a fake organization.

I have already contacted the site. I urge everyone else to do the same. If you have recieved garbage from either of these faceless groups of cowards, fight back. They are intruding on your private world.

SPF 30

I'm used to seeing these as dispensers for hand sanitizer. In the southwest, they serve a much different purpose in a much different climate.

The Chatty K-9

The Chatty K-9's building looks like a fun place for dogs. We were passing through Central Square, New York on vacation when we spotted this dog groomer with the great outdoor graphics. I'm not sure Gwen and Eva would be big fans of yappy hour.

Confused Goose

We visited Beaver Island State Park recently and spotted this heron standing on a rock with a nearby goose. The goose appeared to be imitating the heron by standing on one leg and turning in the same direction as the heron. It seemed a bit confused.

Clean Remote?

Another tool for the well-equiped germaphobe. I'm not so sure our fascination with cleanliness isn't going to eventually kill our ability to resist even basic germs. I must admit the simple, basic remote was a hit with me since it replaced the overly complicated units often seen in hotels.

From the Moo to You

Mong's is in Venago County Pennsylvania. Yes, the ice cream is very good.

Chedder... Not bad Wallace...

Cheese Gromit!

Enjoy and vote! The Upbeat Choir got my vote. BTW, if you've never enjoyed the simple joys of Wallace and Gromit, you should treat yourself to a bit of happiness.

Racing Fuel

I didn't know this stuff was still available. At $8 a gallon, you really need to love your old muscle car to feed it this fuel. I was staying in Huntington when I spotted this sight from the past.

Coins vs. Bills

Should we follow Canada's lead and kill the bill? I prefer $1 coins and would be happy to see the $1 paper bill move on. Canada has finally made the leap, although for years they have had the loonie and tooney as sucessful $1 and $2 coins. Here in the US we were never able to make the sucessful jump to a $2 paper bill let alone a working coin. Maybe we can twice follow Canada's lead and get rid of the penny too. At least now I know my change from the store will eventually no longer have Canadian pennies. ;-)

Lie To Me

We all love to be told we're safe. These stickers are becoming a part of the gas station landscape everywhere. Think about the "safe" claim here. If someone steals your credit card and slides it into this machine, that person will need to have your home zip code or this "safety" feature will stop the transaction. How many people have their physical credit card stolen and don't lose some other piece of personal information (like your driver's license) in the theft which will easily give the thief access to your magic zip code. I think the safest part of this sticker is the profit being generated by some company while proclaiming it is making our lives better. I'll bet it's only a fraction of a penny per transaction, but think of the enormous profit potential for that company with all those fuel pump transactions.

Scooters Are Back

I saw this colorful batch while running an errand and waiting for a new window in the geo-ute. Scooter dealers must be able to set buying patterns on gas prices. They look like a lot of fun, but if they are then why do they seem to disappear as soon as the price of gas drops? As the owner of a miata, I'm not so sure I would be thrilled riding one of these things in a sea of overgrown pick-ups. Still riding one along the lake on a blue-sky day could be fun...

Out With The Droid... In With The New

The Droid is gone. It started to have charging issues. It would go from full charge to none in minutes and then re-charge in a few minutes. I couldn't miss a business call because my phone was acting goofy so I've left the world of Droid and joined the Apple collective. I never developed a warm, happy feeling for the Droid. I was thrilled to have it and a weather app with me when it started snowing on business trips, and I still needed to pass over Seven Mountains. I was dismayed whenever it sat on the passenger seat during those trips and began randomly calling contacts. I don't think any of those people really wanted to hear me singing. I never liked the way it handled messaging either.

So far, the Apple has been an improvement. It has yet to call someone while I am driving. Siri takes some getting used to and doesn't work as well as the tv ads. The touch screen is a lot easier for me to use than Droid's.

I'm one of the increasing few who still believe a smart phone is neither smart nor a phone, but I have hopes the iPhone will start to change my opinion. Now if I can just get it connected to my business e-mail. That would make my life better.

Cat Cafes

Lana says forget the high prices at Japanese Cat Cafes. She will let you pet her for six dollars per hour. :-)

Dog Crates

Hey Mitt... dogs crates go in the vehicle. :-(

Cloth Bags

We've used cloth bags for grocery shopping for a number of years. On the page supporting the continued use of plastic bags, The American Plastic Manufacturing Association states, "The equivalent of approximately 12 million barrels of oil goes into the annual US supply of plastic bags." It goes on to say this about the 12 million barrels of oil, "Bag manufacturing is a fraction of 1% of US oil comsumption." I guess I would rather fuel cars with that oil than carry my groceries in plastic bags. For me, we can't fuel our cars with cloth shopping bags, but we can re-use them for years.

So why is this news to post on bits? Because there is actually some discussion that Cuyahoga County Ohio may finally do something progressive and start making plastic litter (shopping bags) less attractive. This is radical thinking for the land of Northeast Ohio, and all of Ohio in general. From the state which has given up trying to charge bottle deposits because business buys their way through the election every time that opportunity to reduce roadside trash and landfill size is raised, this is big news. We are used to seeing shoppers routinely bring cloth bags whenever we are on the coasts, but always appear to be part of a very small minority when we take our reusable bags to our local store. Maybe the Northcoast can finally begin to become that progressive attractive place it always dreams of being.

Tim's

I was on my way home and made a Tim stop in Warren Pennsylvania for hot chocolate and doughnuts. Ali likes Boston creme, but they were out. I was amazed to have the person at the counter ask if I wanted her to make a few boston creme. I said sure if she could. She then stopped everything and prepared two Boston cremes for Ali. In the end she boxed them so they would travel better. Wow, that's service! Kudos Tim's and your wonderful employee.

Rejected

Recently I was fueling the Geomobile in Warren. Since I'm a geek, I notice things like the little inspection stickers on a pump. They always say accepted or some other positive word. Not this one. It had a great big rejected sticker on the pump. I was curious and looked at a few others, but the pump I chose was the only one wearing a rejected tag. I'm confused. Shouldn't a fuel pump which has been rejected by the wieghts and measures division be taken out of service until it gets a smiling accepted sticker?

Laguna

I usually don't notice the little ads at the top of the gmail inbox. This one stuck out a bit. I'm not so sure a legitimate tool company really wants people to notice it this way:

Coke With Sugar

This site has had a real Coke twist in recent months. For anyone younger, you will not remember the time in the US before Richard Nixon pushed legislation which encouraged the growth of agricultural corporations and the explosion of corn syrup in our diets. In the olden days (yeah, I really am old) many common goods were made with plain old sugar, including sodas. In many parts of the world sugar is still the common ingredient for sweetning products.

When sodas had sugar, the taste of Coke was a real treat. The sugar drink is less sweeter. I had been on a few flights recently, and the Coke tasted like it was made with sugar. Recently a flight attendant gave us the can on a flight instead of just pouring a glass. Eureka, it is the Real Thing. United appears to be using some South American sodas on their domestic flights. It was wonderful.

Coke Bottles

I was at an Aluminum Association Conference recently. Beverages were served in these aluminum Coke and Sprite bottles.

Nine Locks