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Redlands Connection is a concoction of sports memories emanating from a city that once numbered less than 20,000 people. From the Super Bowl to the World Series, from the World Cup to golf's U.S. Open, plus NCAA Final Four connections, Tour de France cycling, major tennis, NBA and a little NHL, aquatics and quite a bit more, the sparkling little city that sits around halfway between Los Angeles and Palm Springs on Interstate 10 has its share of sports connections. – Obrey Brown
It was, by any account, an early Redlands Connection — circa 1920.
Eight years before basketball's "Black" Jack Gardner graduated from Redlands High.
State sprint champion Bob Allen was one of California's top track stars.
Bill Boone, a lineman once recruited by Notre Dame Knute Rockne, was a schoolboy.
Louis Meyer, it seems, never even went to Redlands High.
I'd searched high and low through all the Makios (Redlands High yearbooks) of that day and age. Nothing showed up. I later found out why. He told me. It was simple.
"I never went to school there."
He had been a summer visitor. There was a Ford auto shop just off the downtown sector. Just opened. Eddie Meyer, also a racer, was the owner and operator of that repair garage. Louis was his younger brother.
Louis was, said a nephew several decades afterward, the original "Lucky" Louie. The family name is Meyer, and if there wasn't a wrench, steering wheel or some kind of speed duel going on somewhere, you probably had the wrong family.
It all started in Redlands around that year, 1920.
Louis Meyer, a three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 (1928, 1933 and 1936) died in Searchlight, Nev. in 1995. He got his start, learning to drive race cars from his brother, Edward T. "Bud" Meyer way back in the 1920s.
"There was a hill in Redlands," recalls Terry Francis, an El Monte-based nephew of Louis Meyer, "that he learned to race."
Once he got to Indianapolis, as a relief driver-riding mechanic in 1927, the Meyer family racing odyssey was reality.
"Wilbur Shaw," says Sonny Meyer, who was in 1998, 69. He was Lou's son of Crawfordsville, Ind. "got tired. He was looking for someone to get in the car and drive."
Shaw was one of the pioneer champions at Indy.
It was the story on Louis Meyer's racing beginnings at Indy. He had never driven a single lap on a speedway, speeds reaching a never-before-recorded 100 mph (these days, racers must be licensed before they're even given a chance to make a practice run on the Brickyard track).
One year later, 1928, Meyer won his first Indy 500.
"Dad had that car in second place," said Sonny, referring to his 1927 race. "Wilbur called him in and wanted to finish the race."
By 1927, drivers had changed from the leather-helmeted, mustachioed daredevils handling huge, ungainly machines to young jousters in low-slung bombs.
Louis Meyer was a young jouster. He had never won a pole, but lined up in the front row twice.
It's no myth that Meyer was the one who started tradition at Indy. Winning drivers who drink milk in Victory Lane can look back to Meyer for that one: The year was 1933.
"It was," said Sonny, "actually buttermilk. He had a real palate for buttermilk. He told someone, 'If I win this thing, I want you to have a cold drink of buttermilk for me after the race.' "
Said Francis: "The dairy council saw that and said, 'We've got to jump on that.' They made it a tradition at Indy."
Meyer became the first three-time winner in Indianapolis 500 history. In 1928, Meyer led in only 19 of the 200 laps, but they included the all-important final one as he won his first 500.
Sonny recalled that his mom, June, didn't even know his dad would be racing at Indy.
"She was somewhere back (in Pennsylvania)," he said. "She towed a wrecked car back to the shop. My uncle (Eddie) was racing at a track in Reading. She was there to watch."
Louis Meyer chuckled over that memory. June, he said, found out he'd won that year's Indy 500, "when the track announcer asked the crowd to give out a cheer to Eddie Meyer, the brother of the Indianapolis 500 winner."
In 1933, Meyer recorded a three-lap victory over Shaw.
In 1936, Meyer won from the 28th starting position, tying Ray Marroun's record for winning from the farthest back on the starting grid.
He crashed in 1939 on the 198th lap, got up and walked away – literally.
Henry Ford made Louis a proposition, one that would bring him back to Southern California in charge of building Ford engines, including the Offenhauser.
He won $114,815, taking 1,916 total laps around the Brickyard track in his 12 starts – finishing in the Top 10 on six occasions and second in 1929.
"He always told me," said Sonny, "that he knew he wasn't going to climb back into a race car."
That, said Francis, "is why they call him Lucky Louie. All those years at Indy, the offer from Henry Ford, the crash, walking away – everything."
Louis Meyer, said Searchlight, Nev. Museum historian Jane Overy, said, "was the nicest man." Lou died, she told me, when the city's museum was getting set to open. He was featured prominently in the small museum. Meyer had beaten the odds just to make it that far.
"There were 11 kids," recalled Sonny Meyer. "Only three lived."
Those kids were Eddie, the oldest, then Louis, and then, Harry, the last among the living in Southgate, Calif. "He rode with my dad," said Sonny, referring to Harry, "as a riding mechanic (in the 1937 Indy 500)."
Meyer's Indy-racing career concluded with the crash in 1939, which left him 12th.
Until then, the greatest engine ever raced at Indy was the "Miller," developed by Harry Miller, Fred Offenhauser and Leo Goosen. The rights to its design were purchased by Offenhauser and the engine was renamed after him. Then it was purchased by Meyer and Dale Drake and renamed the Meyer-Drake Offie.
It was a high-powered, specially-designed racing engine that was constantly improved over the years. Until Ford came along with its million-dollar automotive budgets and challenged for supremacy in the 1960s, Meyer had a contract with the up-and-coming Michigan-based company.
"After he crashed (at Indy)," said Sonny, "he said he knew he wasn't going to climb back into a race car. Henry Ford made him a proposition."
There wasn't much major racing around the U.S. beyond the Indianapolis 500. NASCAR had yet to see its beginnings. Louis Meyer returned to California and took part in "board" racing at places like the Rose Bowl and Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
The "season" started around Trenton, N.J., the only real race before Indy. "We'd go to Ascot," recalled Sonny. "I remember because we'd have three or four drivers sleeping on our floor when we lived in Huntington Park (a Los Angeles suburb)."
Louis Meyer's son still remembers being farmed out to neighbors, "while my mom (June) and dad went racing. During the season, they towed the race car with a rope. Mom was in the race car."
Meanwhile, Ed Meyer still had his Redlands garage.
Sonny Meyer has a way of remembering his family's Huntington Park address. "Dad won his first Indy 500 in 1928," he said, "in car No. 14. That was our address: 2814 … Broadway. I still remember our phone number. It was Lafayette 8325."
The Meyer family is more than just "connected" in racing's history books.
Retirement was just a short drive away. For years, the Meyers had traveled to Cottonwood Cove – nine miles from a non-descript, desert community of Searchlight, Nev. It's where Louis and June Meyer settled down for their final years.
Driving through the tiny community, located somewhere between Las Vegas and Laughlin, it became a hideaway for other celebrities, notably Hollywood's Edith Head, early Academy Award-winning actress Clara Bow, among others.
In a very short conversation I had with meyer in 1994, most of his Indy 500 memories had faded. He'd recalled the memory about his wife's discovery how he'd won the 1928 Indy 500.
Racing, said Louis, nearing age 90, "has been good to me and my family. My only regret is that time goes by so very fast."
Louis Meyer was born on July 21, 1904, dying October 7, 1995. Born in lower Manhattan, New York the son of French immigrants, Meyer was raised in Los Angeles where he began automobile racing at various California tracks.
There was no track in Redlands, nor even near Redlands. Ed Meyer's Ford shop was there, though.
Fans these days might not believe there were board tracks in such places as Beverly Hills, which had a 1 ¼-mile oval dubbed Beverly Hills Speedway. Or the Culver City Speedway. There was the Northern California-based Cotati Speedway up in Santa Rosa. The Fresno Speedway (1 mile) and the mile long Los Angeles Speedway in Playa del Rey.
"Yeah, Redlands," said Francis. "That's a key spot for the family. You never forget something like that."
Meyer won the United States National Driving Championship in 1928, 1929 and 1933.
He died in 1995 in Searchlight, Nevada, aged 91, where he had been living since 1972. In 1992, Meyer was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. He was named to the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1991. He was inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1993.
There was a nice little corner in Searchlight's museum dedicated to the early racing legend.
Said the Hall of Famer: "A lot of people had me confused with the movie guy … Louie B. Mayer (of MGM). I always got a little kick out of that."


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Days Inn - Port Charlotte & Tamiami Trail
The Days Inn Port Charlotte is centrally located between the beaches of Englewood and historical Punta Gorda. Nestled among century old oak trees it is the highest-rated Days Inn in the system. Rooms feature 37 Flat Screen TV, refrigerator, microwave and coffee pot. Also features a DayBreak Continental Breakfast with Hot Options daily, Complimentary wireless Internet, heated pool, general store, fitness center, guest laundry, BBQ Area, Guest Patios, and restaurant/lounge. Hotel is located within two miles of dining, shopping, golf, mall with movie theater and Rays Spring Training Stadium and Ripken Minor League Baseball.Directions: Exit 179 on I-75, Toledo Blade Exit. From South, make Left turn. From North, make Right turn. 5 miles on Toledo Blade to US 41 (also called Tamiami Trail). Turn Left (South) on US 41, hotel is 5 miles on right side. After crossing 776, hotel is three more lights on right side, behind JD's Bistro & Grille.
The Days Inn Port Charlotte is a Chairman's Award Winning Hotel that wlecomes guest with an old Florida feeling while still on US 41 with a central location. JD's Bistro & Grille (open Mon-Sat for dinner, live jazz Tues-Sat) offers upscale dining with a causal Florida dress code. It features everything from pizza to burgers to fine beef, fresh seafood, and more.

subset: commoncrawl


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Harvest Manhole Antenna
Tough antennas designed for use on manhole lids even in heavy vehicle traffic locations. This antenna was designed for use with sewer and overflow monitoring units - sites where the telemetry is underground, and often covered with a steel manhole lid where you need an easy to install but effective above ground antenna. After several years experimenting and testing the Harvest team came up with the Manhole Antenna. They are sold worldwide and are the easiest to install manhole antennas. They have found other applications such as on the top of roadside cabinets where the customer required extremely vandal resistant antennas.
Key Features
- Available in three versions, either 700MHz, 850MHz (North America) or 900MHz (rest of world+telemetry)
- 700 frequency range (703MHz-803MHz, covers LTE frequency bands 12, 13, 14, 17 and 28)
- 850 frequency range (824MHz-894MHz, also covers 858MHz ISM telemetry band)
- 900 frequency range (880MHz-960MHz, also covers 915MHz ISM telemetry band)
- 3dBi gain monoband tuned loop antenna
- Low profile 120mm (4.72") diameter x 17mm (0.67") max height (same height as cats eye road marker)
- Fits to a steel manhole lid with a single 10mm hole which can be drilled with standard cordless drill
- Very rugged moulded urethane with M10 stainless steel coach bolt to withstand highway traffic
- The antenna will survive in extreme temperatures (hot or cold)
- 100mm (4") stainless steel coach bolt protects cable during manhole opening
- Available in white colour
- They come standard with either a 650mm or 1800mm RG58 coaxial cable and SMA male connector
- Custom connectors and cable lengths available
Harvest Trailer Safety Chain Attachment
One day the boss got tired of losing those little D shackles that most people use to connect their trailer safety chain to the car, so he got a Swiss engineer who worked here to design a latch out of stainless steel that looked tidy and worked well. It takes two seconds to attach the chain. Just pull up the knob, insert the chain and release the knob. We have sold many thousands of these and have had the units tested by Industrial Research in New Zealand. We only sell these by the box, so if you only need one please try your local automotive parts company.
Trailer Safety Chain Attachments are sold in boxes of 24. If you run a retail business and would like to sell these please contact us.
weBoost Cell Phone Booster Kit
The only cell phone booster amplifier approved by Vodafone NZ.
The weBoost signal booster amplifier will make a dramatic difference to coverage in marginal signal areas. It typically increases the signal by two bars. So if you are in a poor signal area with one bar this amplifier will give you a reliable three bars. That is the difference between calls dropping out and very slow data to reliable calls and fast data speeds.
The vehicle signal booster amplifier consists of a padded cradle with adjustable arms that mounts with provided 3M tape to hold your phone. The small magnetic antenna goes on your vehicle roof. The thin cable goes under the rubber seal of one of your doors and then can be easily hidden between the windscreen and dashboard or under the carpet.
The unit is powered from a car cigarette lighter socket. You can install the unit with no tools in a few minutes. It can be uninstalled with no trace. In NZ there are multiple cellular frequency bands in use:
- 700MHz - All carriers 4G only
- 850MHz - Spark only
- 900MHz - Vodafone and 2 Degrees 2G & 3G
- 1800MHz - Vodafone and 2 degrees 2G & 4G, Spark 3G & 4G
- 2100MHz - All carriers 3G (Mostly cities not small towns or rural)
- 2600MHz - All carriers 4G (Cities and some small towns)
2 Degrees use the Vodafone network where they do not have their own.
The Vodafone and 2 Degrees version of the Weboost Cellular Signal Booster only works in the 900MHz and 2100MHz bands. The 2100MHz band is only used in cities but the 900MHz band is available on all Vodafone rural cell towers. The Spark version of the Weboost cellular booster only works in the 850MHz and 2100MHz bands. The 850MHz band is available on all rural Spark cell towers.
A booster will not work if there is no coverage at all. If you are in an area that will sometimes receive a text or occasionally get one bar of signal strength the booster will usually give you continuous reliable coverage.
Automatic Feedback Shutdown
The Weboost signal boosters have automatic feedback detection and shutdown. Feedback occurs when the external roof antenna detects signal from the internal cradle causing feedback like a microphone too close to a speaker. If the Weboost signal booster detects feedback it shuts down to protect the cellular network and the green light on the side of the unit changes to red. If this occurs move the cradle and antenna further apart and/or make sure that the antenna cannot see the cradle.
Harvest Electronics are sole distributors of this product in NZ. Reseller enquiries welcome.
SDI-12 4-20mA Relay Output ModuleThe SDI-12 Output Module and IO Module can be used with any SDI-12 capable device as a means of adding additional digital inputs, relay control or an analogue output.
The Output Module can be used for providing an isolated 4-20mA current loop output and two latching relays.
SDI-12 Output Module
This module provides an isolated 4-20mA current loop output and two latching relays. It can be used to provide an analogue output to some external device such as a variable speed drive (VSD):
- 2 relays
- 1 4-20mA output
SDI-12 I/O Module
The SDI-12 I/O Module provides latching relays and digital inputs to an SDI-12 logger like the Harvest ITU.
- 2 relays
- 4 digital inputs


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CicLAvia Expands in October, Forgoes July
May 24, 2011 at 5:03 pm Joe Linton 36 comments
CicLAvia has exceeded all expectations. When the streets were opened last October and again in April, Angelenos of all ages, shapes and sizes flooded in. CicLAvia connected the city in an entirely new way.
Due to overwhelming success, and the need to expand, CicLAvia and the city of Los Angeles have decided to focus our energies on expanding the CicLAvia route on October 9, 2011 and to forgo the announced July 10, 2011 date.
With such huge crowds in April, Los Angeles experienced its first bicycle traffic jams! CicLAvia and city staff have decided to expand the route to accommodate the overwhelming demand. The goal is to allow all participants to share the road. This includes pedestrians, skaters, wheelchair users, and, of course, all kinds of cyclists – from beginners to experienced. Due to lead-time for planning and permitting, it was too difficult to re-tool for July, and it would be difficult to focus both on October expansion and anticipation of even bigger crowds in July. So, July is off the table, and October is going to be bigger and better than ever.
For October 9th 2011, we plan to:
- expand the existing route by introducing new spurs:
1. South L.A. (including Fashion District, Central Avenue and Exposition Park)
2. Additional Boyle Heights neighborhoods
and maybe new connections with El Pueblo and Chinatown
- introduce new features, areas, and signage that will better welcome more families and pedestrians
- include more music and other activities along the route
- revamp and expand the CicLAvia website
- and a few more surprises still in the works!
And since a lot of us already have July 10th on our calendars, we figured we'd plan to do something fun that day… though not quite as big a production as CicLAvia. We're planning to host a preview ride to introduce Los Angeles to the new October route spurs. The streets won't be closed. It won't be CicLAvia, but it will be a chance for Angelenos to gather and bike and explore parts of our city that we may not be as familiar with.
Entry filed under: Uncategorized. Tags: 10-9-11.
36 Comments Add your own
[…] the bad news: Earlier rumors from Twitter are true. There will be no CicLAvia this July. Bike all you want, but the cars ain't […]
[…] CicLAvia Announces October Expansion and July Cancellation (CicLAvia) […]
BOOOOO! not a good reason to cut back on a perfect summer outing. You could have plan this idea for next year Ciclavia but to cancel such a positive event in the summer is thumbs down. I as a full time rider can't express my disappointment more seems to me that we have only had 2 so far and already the talk of changing this and that without at the very least a full year's experience under the belt seems foolish. But what else can we do but wait till the fall…BOOOO again..summer seems just so ripe for such an event
Calma, calma !!! … ladies and gents … make love not war.The July ride is not TOTALLY cancelled. The ride will go on minus the vehicle traffic stops, which if you choose to participate, you will simply be compelled to share the streets with vehicular traffic in orderly fashion, and it will also give you the usual challenging invite to practice your bicycle riding skills and street traffic rules. I know, I know, cicLAvia is not supposed to be that … maybe scheduled input meetings, discussions … and even voting on issues and possible implementation of these and suggestions … may help. One thing that would surely help, is more volunteering, to polish and speed things up a bit … petevn
No July!!!!!! Boooo!!! Hissss!!! 😦
Not like. Ciclavia should be smaller and more frequent.
Monthly or even better weekly.
Making it huge and biannual, you are duplicating the Marathon.
That's not what we need.
If you feel free to complain like this, I sure hope that you've donated a lot of money to CicLAvia…because bitching over something that people have put a lot of their own time and effort into for the good of the city would be really boorish. Actually, I take it back…even if you have contributed a lot of your own money to CicLAvia, complaining like this is poor form.
Your complaining about complaints is poor form. Why don't you explain why you think it was a good decision to cancel the July event?
greg–where did I say it was a good idea? My point is just that I think that if you aren't actively working on CicLAvia, then I don't think complaining about July being canceled is your right. Work to make CicLAvia better and more often.
Even though I'm disappointed, I'm not going to write "that's not what we need," or say that this is "foolish", or even boo or hiss the people that have worked so hard to make the two CicLAvias such awesome events. They've earned my trust. I'm not going to turn around and complain when something like this happens.
I believe the long term plan is make it large AND frequent, just like the original Ciclovia in Bogota. By expanding now seems like the planners are trying to avoid overcrowding issues which could derail CicLAvia all together. Taking a long term approach may suck for this summer, but it will ensure that CicLAvia will be great for years to come.
Great point Maneesh, if they don't expand now, the event will get so crowded that people won't be able to move freely, and that's a big turn off. At the last even, I sat through FIVE lights to get through one intersection at one point–that to me is not fun–and it's only going to get worse unless the route is expanded to meet the space requirements of the fast growing demand!
Since the lead-in time is so long, shouldn't we be planning for January as well?
I really hope that anyone complaining about this will be sure to put in their own time to help CicLAvia grow so it can be held more frequently.
July 10th: day time Critical Mass along Ciclavia route!
Aww, that's a shame!
I hope it wasn't the grousing of a few entitled pedestrians that made you drop the July one. April was AWESOME.
[…] CicLAvia Expands in October, Forgoes July […]
I agree with the majority of the comments here. What an unfortunate decision to cancel the July event. Bummer.
We need the momentum. We need these events to become more regular. Can we add other dates to replace July? December?
The overt reason for cancelling July was described as "too many people".
But I'm hearing through the rumor mill and by reading between the lines that the real reason is, "not enough money".
Perhaps if you were to state unequivocally what's going on, it might be easier to drum up support — both monetary, and political support for having LA foot more of the bill. It's pretty outrageous that LA will be sponsoring 363 days of cars and only 2 days of bikes this year.
And, by the way, April and October were both awesome. Thank you.
To get slightly off-track, I'm curious about whether there's also been discussion to extend CicLAvia along 4th Street toward Park La Brea. With all the discussion of turning that street into a bike boulevard it seems like an obvious (and relatively easy) extension.
To those who who say we shouldn't criticize… Where I come from liars flatter, friends criticize.
As for the suggestion for smaller, weekly Ciclavias look at the Joe just posted about San Francisco's Sunday Streets. That's exactly what they do and they use volunteers instead of cops at crossings saving a bunch of dough.
Maybe Los Angeles is too bureaucratic to do something small. I am not faulting the organizers, I'm faulting the process required by the city to get things like this done. It seems like the city bureaucracy knows how to do the Marathon and movie shoot street closures and it's demanding the same type of procedures which are time consuming and costly.
As for those who advocate 20-30 mile routes I think the money and effort should go to permanent bike trails instead of twice a year events.
Total let down by the planners of this event. Poor leadership. I also would like to know what is the real reason it was cancelled. Bureaucratic baloney. Sorely dissapointed.
It takes Money, money and MONEY to run an event. If CicLAvia had a big pockets sponsor then the fundraising, recruitment and training of volunteers would be less onerous for the dedicated group of CicLAvia volunteers. Don't complain – just ask how you can help to make the next one happen.
At 72 years of age, it has been over 50 years since I last rode a bike, but I have been riding now so I can join the next event in October – this after seeing the May event on TV; see you there
Let's make sure SOME massive bicycle-related event happens in July along the planned route. If the numbers are there, cars or no cars, we'll be safe!
Rats! Was really looking forward to Ciclavia on July 10th. The last two were much fun I'm tempted to just ride the route that day anyway, but as a casual cyclist I'm a tad worried about being turned into roadkill. Dilemna, dilemna..
Lloyd@31: Certain elements of the car culture fancy themselves as anarchists as well, and they actually SUCCEED in creating chaos on the streets every single day. I don't see why the carnage of a mass bike ride would be any worse than the unorganized mass auto disaster that we experience on a daily basis.
^Touche… Touche, indeed. I see what you're saying, as I commute from the beach cities to Downtown five days a week, hence my 'casual cyclist' moniker. However, thanks to your very descriptive reply and your reminder of just how chaotic those very streets can be, I'm even more wary of joining the ride as I'm now envisioning carnage along with chaos. As in the carnage that results from an anarchist driver plowing his or her evil automobile through a mass of unorginized, albeit righteous, bike riders. I understand the more cyclists that turn out the better my chances are of not being part of the carnage, so perhaps I'll try to recruit more cycle soldiers for the cause/martyrdom. But then I suppose that would increase the chaos level, thereby evening out the odds of this Russian Roulette on wheels I'm considering partaking in. Darn it, now I'm really stumped.
What a fiasco!!! Why plan an event just to cancel it at the last minute. I mean Im on mailing list and i had no idea July 10th had been canceled. I traveled to the downtown area by train from the valley and found nothing on Heliotrope. Nobody, no notice, no warning. Just automobile traffic! I am extremely disappointed at the organizers this event. Why cave in to pressure from community members who do not appreciate an event such as this? These are people who only care about what is convenient for themselves. It is myopic to not see how this enhances the quality of life for all Los Angeles residents.
By "last minute", you mean more than a month's notice wasn't enough? Check the date of this post.
Also, I got an email from CicLAvia on June 29th that the next full CicLAvia wasn't going to be until October.
BTW, there was a big group ride that started at Hollenbeck Park, and from what I've read and saw, it looked like great fun.
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Short Trip to Ipoh for JS2012 Graduation
>> Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Another year has passed; I just came back from an extremely short trip to Ipoh (a 1 night trip) to attend the Jeremiah School 2012's Graduation/Commissioning Service at Ipoh Wesley. It feels as if it's just yesterday that I attended the JS2011's graduation!
Seven of us packed up in an MPV & left PJ around 9pm, after our youth meeting (MYF). We bought McD's for dinner, then headed straight to Fung Hao's house in Ipoh. It was quite a noisy trip when Mel was awake & excited, but when she's asleep, I had the priceless opportunity to chit-chat with Ben & got to know him better! Lovely :D Ahahaha...I'm so mean to Mel...but I love Melo! :P *huggies to Melo*
Life without Mel would be soooo quiet & probably dull :P
We arrived in Fung's house around midnight & were greeted by his dad :) "Thanks for waiting, uncle!" We even had a cup of barley as the "welcome drink"...hahahaha...it was quite cute. After all the "briefing" on the plans for Sunday, we headed off to our rooms - ah, so comfy. I slept through the night 'til Chris' sms came through & the rooster started to crow THREE times! I'm not kidding!! That rooster crowed around 6:40am when we had to wake up! Hahahaha....
Church service started at 8:15am & went on smoothly with the commissioning of the JS 2012 students. It's amazing to witness their graduation & listen to some of their testimonies. I knew some of them from camp & it's just awesome to know that they've experienced God in a deeper & probably different way ;)
Each road trip would not be complete without a meal or two, right? At least not for the PerutBesi....ahahahaha...we were introduced to Sun Seng Fatt at Jalan Market for their "Ipoh Sar Hor Fun" (kuey teow soup with chicken shreds), "Pak Chit Kai" (steamed chicken), "Nga Choy" (bean sprouts), & their Dry Curry Noodles.
Caught some funny expressions on my camera! :D
Food here was not excellent, in my humble opinion. I somewhat remember Kum Kee at Pasir Pinji area as the one where I enjoyed more - it's a little different though. Kum Kee's does not have prawns, but the soup is nicer/sweeter because of the soya/yellow beans that they used as the soup's base - not so bland. Since I'm no steamed chicken connoisseur, I can't really tell the great difference of the chicken here compared to other great places. It's certainly fresh, but the meat is slightly difficult for me to bite off! Hahaha....sort of too springy for me :P Oh, I'm reminded of my Ipoh trip last year, which I really enjoyed!
Dumpling (RM1.00/dumpling)
The dumplings tasted more like chicken than pork...with some bits of spring onions & turnips finely chopped & mixed with the minced meat. It's not too bad, really. If they put some "jor hao yue" (literally translated as left-mouth-fish), something like dried anchovies/ikan bilis, into the dumpling, it would have tasted MUCH more fragrant!
All noodles (RM4.50/bowl)
Eating in Ipoh is quite expensive already, eh? Gone are the days where a bowl of noodles is below RM3.50 :(
Funny Mountain Tau Fu Fah (around RM0.90/bowl)
This is like a must-have when you're in Ipoh, even when the crowd is large - you can just do a drive-through & order/eat in the car. Extremely smooth tau fu fah with concentrated ginger sugar syrup...so good...*bliss* I think the price went up by RM0.20 since last year, if I'm not mistaken.
On the overall, although this trip is a very short one, I'm still thankful to have made it to Ipoh for the JS2012's graduation with this bunch of youths. Four of them are from the TRAC MYF committee, while 3 of us just buat tumpang :D I enjoyed myself loads & had tremendous fun, loads of laughter, & was very much amused & irritated at the same time, thanks to the energetic & always-loved Melo :D
I ain't really a youth already, but I'm looking forward to more of such trips with a bunch of crazy & exciting people like these!!
Young people are fun people!


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Disc golfers setting sights on weekend's Flamethrower
March 5, 2013 | Lynchburg, Va.
Liberty University sophomore Lance Brown, junior Luke Laubscher, and senior Devin Swartz all placed in the top five in the eighth and final Blue Ridge Area Winter League (BRAWL IX) series disc golf event, played Feb. 23 at Timber Ridge, a private course in Bedford.
Brown fired a two-round score of 89 on the 18-hole course, just one stroke behind overall winner Mike Smith (88) and one ahead of the third-place Swartz.
Laubscher finished tied for fifth with his 92, only four strokes off the lead.
"We were blessed with an amazing day and closed out the series with some great tournament play," Flames head coach Steve Bowman said.
For the series, Swartz, who competed in six of the eight events, each played on a different course, finished fifth in the amateur standings with 129.5 points followed by Brown (eighth with 101 points) and Laubscher (12th with 85.3).
The team is now focusing on this Friday and Saturday's Liberty Flamethrower, the last qualifier for the April 3 national championships in North Augusta, S.C.
Playing on their home course should give the Flames a decided edge on their competition this weekend, when everyone will play through all 20 holes three times in two days, starting with a round of singles at 3 p.m. Friday and concluding with doubles and singles rounds on Saturday morning and afternoon, respectively.
Club Sports workers will change the course, which has two tee pads and two basket locations on each hole, overnight before Saturday's second and third rounds of play. Therefore, players will not throw one shot from the same tee pad to the same basket over the duration of the tournament.
"It'll be almost like a whole new course," Bowman said. "They'll play one tee pad in the morning and a different one in the afternoon. When you move it back to the afternoon, it changes the skill of the throw you have to do. The angle or type of throw makes a difference."
That's where familiarity with the lay of the land will play in the favor of the Flames.
"The guys are playing quite a bit, getting real comfortable with the course and where their placements are going to be," Bowman said.
Whereas only three out of four individual scores count toward the team total in singles play, four players are needed to compete in doubles.
"You have an A team and a B team," Bowman said. "The A team tees off on odd holes and the B team will tee off on even holes and they use alternating Captain's Choice (rules). That way, you don't have one person always teeing off or one person always putting. So you have to match the strength of your players."
At nationals, teams will compete in one round of doubles the first day and two more the second day before playing three rounds of singles the third day, with those teams in the top 20 returning for a fourth round of doubles on the fourth day.
"You'll almost play more rounds of doubles than singles, so the teamwork really comes into play there," Bowman said. "You've got to get to know each other and what shots each can shoot."
Brown and Laubscher have played doubles together with Swartz teaming with Tyler Andrick, who went to nationals last year. Jared Lebo and Jordan Strother have been posting lower scores lately and could challenge Andrick for the fourth starting spot.
But first, the Flames must qualify for nationals by winning the Flamethrower.
Last year, Liberty finished runner-up by two strokes to East Tennessee, but the Flames had already qualified by winning a tournament in West Virginia.
UNC Charlotte and East Tennessee, which wound up placing 14th at last year's nationals to earn an automatic return bid this year, have confirmed that they will be competing in this weekend's Flamethrower. Bowman is waiting to hear back from Massachusetts, Appalachian State, St. Joseph's (Md.), and West Virginia to see if they will attend the region's final national qualifying event.
"They do have a qualifying round that Wednesday before nationals, so if all else fails, we may have to go down to South Carolina and hope that we win that one day of qualifying," Bowman said. "But we want to qualify at home."


text:
Wadena is losing residents and businesses, city leaders told a Minnesota Senate committee Monday night in seeking state aid to rebuild facilities lost in a 2010 tornado.
"We have been planning for 21 months," Mayor Wayne Wolden told members of the Senate committee that recommends public works project funding. "This is the time to complete this."
Four businesses have closed in the past six months and it is hard to attract new ones, he said, partially because amenities such as offered in a community center and swimming pool were destroyed.
The city seeks $4.75 million from the state for a $10 million project. Insurance and federal funds would provide $2.6 million and local fundraising would add $1.9 million. The state gave Wadena $750,000 last year to plan the project.
The Wadena Regional Wellness Center would combine a community center and swimming pool, both of which were destroyed by the June 17, 2010, tornado. A hockey facility and the high school also were destroyed, but are being rebuilt separately.
The Wadena request is among hundreds that seek billions of dollars in construction and repair projects across Minnesota. The House's proposal is expected to be released Tuesday, and the Senate plans to finish its plan in the next few days.
Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton recommends spending $775 million, a mixture of new construction and fixing facilities such as state-owned college buildings. Republicans who control the Legislature say they are more likely to approve something close to $500 million, emphasizing repairs.
The public works projects would be financed by the state selling bonds, and repaying them over two or three decades.
The governor recommends borrowing the $4.75 million for Wadena's project to include aquatics facilities, fitness space, gymnasium, a commons area and locker rooms.
Nursing Director Kathy Kleen of Tri-County Hospital in Wadena said the hospital has not had a pool available for therapy for two and a half years.
With the closest facility 60 miles away, many of the Wadena area's low-income residents cannot afford the trip, Kleen said.
Her daughter, Anna, said she was fortunate that her family could afford to drive her to a Twin Cities facility when she was paralyzed in a car accident at age 16.
"When you are in warm water and are paralyzed," Anna Kleen said, "you feel like you can walk again."
Her mother said the hospital would expect about 20 therapy patients to use a pool in the new facility each week. The elderly and others who could benefit from a warm-water pool also could use it, she added.
Sen. Gretchen Hoffman, R-Vergas, said that elimination of reconstructing a hockey arena as part of the state request brought the cost down to something she could support. She said it is important for other senators to understand that it is not a request like some cities bring, to build a new facility; this proposal is to replace tornado-destroyed facilities.
"Their community was blown up," the senator said.
Businesses owners have been the project's biggest supporters, she said.
The tornado destroyed more than 100 homes and damaged 300 others, the mayor told senators.
While lawmakers are considering Wadena's request, they also are looking at others, including a state Capitol renovation pegged at $241 million.
Some leaders have suggested doing that work apart from the regular bonding bill.
"It is a very separate measure," Gov. Mark Dayton said Monday.
Many projects have shorter life spans, he said, but repairing the Capitol is "a once in a century" project. So, he added, it makes sense to handle them in separate bills.
If the full Capitol project is tackled, everyone from the governor to legislators to the attorney general would be forced out of the Capitol for three or four years.
Marble is falling off the outside of the building, paint is peeling inside and outdated systems throughout the building need to be replaced, renovation supporters say.


text:
The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals turn to the iPhone to help communicate that elephants are great and circus folk are the devil. The elephants get their revenge in This is Pop's Circus Slam!
PETA does not like the circus, though they might really enjoy the twisted talents of the folks at Cirque du Soleil if they just gave them a chance. They're far too busy crafting elaborate interpretive dance to abuse elephants like they do at the other circuses, poking, prodding, and stuffing them into tiny cages in order to keep skyrocketing cage costs down.
"Circus Slam! is a fun way to come down on an industry in which elephant abuse is so rampant that it defines animal circuses," said PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman via press release. "For kids who love animals, the last place their parents should ever take them is to the circus."
Instead they should be playing Circus Slam!, a game in which players control a spirit (or dead) elephant swooping down from the skies to wreak havoc on oppressive circus tents, freeing its livelier compatriots in the process.
It actually looks kind of cute. At least they aren't picking on Mario anymore. Still, I'd rather slam Cirque du Soleil any day.
Circus Slam! [iTunes]


text:
This time of year people reflect on the past year and set goals and resolutions for the next. Where can we improve? What can we accomplish? Such questions often fill our minds at home and work. Thomas Edison asked these and similar questions all through his life. He had a unusual outlook as he sought the answers. When he applied his conclusions to innovation, he created remarkable results.
A great example from Edison's life about his goals and vision is found in the creation of the light bulb. Edison had a vision of what he wanted to accomplish: to create the incandescent light bulb. While he had some ideas on how he would accomplish his goal, he did not have all the steps laid out on a nice checklist. In fact, most of his steps "failed." He tried thousands of approaches to developing the right filament that did not work. This didn't distract him from his goal. What others perceived as failure, Edison viewed as important steps to his ultimate goal.
When asked about his results, or rather lack of results, regarding the light bulb Edison stated, "Results? Why, man, I've gotten lots of results! If I find 10,000 ways something won't work, I haven't failed. I am not discouraged, because every every wrong attempt discarded is often a step forward." He recognized the small steps he took brought him closer to his goal, even if an outside observer considered it a failure. Each "failure" was really a learning opportunity.
Innovation often comes from trying new approaches to old problems. So, as we begin a new year, keep in mind the words of Edison's good friend Henry Ford, "Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently."
This blog was originally posted December 28, 2010.


text:
Dear Rowan,
Three-hundred sixty-four days ago, you turned 5; tomorrow, you turn 6. I never got around to writing your birthday letter last year, something I've regretted all these months in between. In fact, I haven't written much at all this past year, the reason for which I'm not entirely sure (though I have a suspicion), but I do know that specifically I've missed writing about you. As I prepared to write this letter, I re-read the letters I wrote for your first, second, third and fourth birthdays, and oh, how you've grown. How you've changed. I don't think there's any way a single letter can adequately recap the last two years of your life, but I felt it important to try, so that one day you'll have these words as a record of when you were 5-going-on-6.
Since your last birthday letter when you turned 4, your life has changed in the biggest possible ways. You became a big brother. You started (and finished) Montessori preschool. You learned to write your name. You learned to write all the letters. You started Kindergarten. You started to learn how to read. You made so many new friends, more than I ever had when I was a kid. If you are planning to buy a soap making scale and you are looking for professional helps for make the best buying decisions, is important that you check the reviews from Scales Zen to find the best one for needs.
Since you were 4, you lost some very important people in your life – enjoy the life with anipots.com. Just typing that last sentence has me swallowing a lump in my throat and holding back hot tears. In some ways, I don't think you've fully grasped what it means for a loved one to die, that they're never coming back. But sometimes, your perceptiveness knocks me off my feet, like when we picked your dad up from the airport after GrammaLo died, and you said, without skipping a beat, "How's your dad, Dad?" Or when we walked down the street to pick up gyros for dinner the night we found out Grandpa Manny had suddenly died, and you said, "I'm sorry about your dad, Dad."
I'm sorry, too, that you've had to experience so much loss in such a short period of time. Five-going-on-6 is such a tentative age for memory retention. I know you remember your Grandpa Manny — he was here with us this past summer, and his little plastic LED suncatchers still sitting on the window ledge serve as a physical reminder — but I can feel your memories of GrammaLo fading. You were still 4 when we said our last goodbyes to her. Do you remember that moment? Were you scared? (I was.) Do you remember how much she loved you? (I do.)
In the last two years, I've watched you figure out what it means to be a big brother. There have been some rough patches — jealousy, resentment, mean faces. Most recently, though, you've relished your role as "the guy who can make Milo laugh more than anyone else." The sound of you two playing and laughing is probably my most favorite sound in the whole world. Sometimes your dad and I beg you to "make him laugh, make him laugh!" and usually you oblige our demands.
A couple of months ago, you started sleeping in Milo's room. We moved you there to be closer to the portable air conditioner during the warm summer months, but you never moved back to your own room. I think it's because you like you like sleeping in a bigger bed, but I also think you kind of like being close to your baby brother. I find it comforting knowing you two are sleeping soundly just above our bedroom, and sometimes I can even hear both of you breathing over the baby monitor. I can't imagine you wanting to share a room with Milo when you're older, so for now, I'm letting this happen and not questioning it too much.
You started and finished Montessori preschool when you were 4 and 5. There you learned how to write your name, follow the rules (mostly), sew a button (really!), play hard (so sweaty!) and so much more. At your first parent-teacher conference, you were described as a "social genius," so warm and welcoming to school visitors, so quick to make friends. You've always had an advanced vocabulary for your age, but your verbal bank of words hasn't translated easily to reading and writing. But, at your second conference, your teachers said you persevered through frustration and completed two whole workbooks. As I flipped through the pages, I could see the progress you made, and it gave me so much hope for what was to come in Kindergarten.
As you turn 6, you're right in the middle of your first year of elementary school. You're in a class of 60-plus kids, with three teachers, and you go to a before-school program across the street and an after-school program down the street. Before Kindergarten, I was pretty nervous about putting you in three different places every day — would you get lost? would you know what to do? — but you've done so well, shuffling one place to the next. After the first couple of days of school, I asked if you were making lots of new friends, and you sighed, "Not so much." But then you proceeded to list off at least a dozen different names. You're a humble social genius, I guess.
We met with your homeroom teacher last month, and she showed us how far you've progressed, academically, in a short amount of time. I was particularly struck by your storytelling skills and how much your drawing and coloring has improved. At 5-going-on-6, you're learning how to express yourself and you often let your imagination run wild. I just love how you're always thinking, hypothesizing, scheming, whimsying.
Speaking of scheming, I witnessed this in full effect a couple months ago during the celebration of life event we had for GrammaLo and Grandpa Manny. While us adults were talking, eating, drinking, listening to a live reggae band and otherwise not paying attention to the kids, you became the ringleader of a group of several boys and girls of different ages, on some sort of secret mission. I watched out of the corner of my eye as you and the kids ran back and forth between Grandpa Manny's garden and the house, tomatoes and peppers in hand, and soon your ragtag group had set up a salsa-tasting competition. As in, you and the kids made salsa in the kitchen using the Vitamix, with the help of some of the older kids. I have no idea where you got this crazy idea, but the symbolism of you using up the last of Grandpa Manny's garden to make something we could all eat was not lost on me, or anyone else there who knew your grandparents.
At 5-going-on-6, you are really into rocks and crystals, so certain you're going to uncover sparkly treasures in our urban backyard. You were so excited at the very unlikely possibility of finding a pearl in one of the dozen oysters we bought for dinner when we stayed in Port Orchard last summer. When you didn't find one, you cried as if this was the greatest injustice in the world. Sometimes you cry when you don't get to have dessert, too, which seems to be the second greatest injustice in your world.
You adore Star Wars and have seen five of the six movies, but you still like watching Curious George, even after all these years. You're pretty into Frozen, too, which has granted you access into the exclusive world of girls. Your favorite songs of the past two years include "Chasing Stars" by OneRepublic, "All About That Bass" by Megan Trainor, and "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift. We let you stay up late to watch cooking competition shows like "Master Chef Junior," which you love, and you've been known to mellow out on the couch to "America's Test Kitchen," too.
When you turned 4, I wrote how you were starting to transition into being a big kid, and I was right: in two years, you've grown several inches and outgrown several sizes. You're taller than most kids in your class, and when you hug me, I can feel how strong and solid you are. There's no doubt about it — you are now a big kid.
But you are also a GREAT kid, Rowan. You are so loved, by us/your parents, of course, but by your grandparents, uncles, great aunts/uncles, our friends, your classmates, and pretty much anybody who spends any amount of time with you.
Happy Birthday, bud. You're the best.


text:
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
I would do anything for love
(but I won't do that)
The first is that my refrigerator smells like something crawled inside, threw up, contracted a severe foot fungus, developed gangrene, and then died.
The second is that I refuse to do anything about it.
Oh sure, I removed a carton of takeout Thai that's been in there since March, and I might've sniffed a few iffy perishables (and proceeded to eat them).
But the fact is, I hate cleaning the refrigerator. It's one of the chores – along with mopping floors and mowing the lawn – I will avoid at all costs.
I might feel guilty about this if it weren't for the fact that Pythagoras has a similar list of chores he refuses to perform. His list includes folding laundry and scrubbing tubs or toilets.
The funny thing is, we've never discussed this in 12+ years of marriage. He's never openly declared, "I will let the clean clothes accumulate in the laundry room until I'm forced to dress myself beside the dryer each morning while standing shoulder-deep in a pile of socks and underwear."
Nor have I confessed to him that I will wait until one of us actually loses consciousness in front of the refrigerator before I stoop to removing shelves and scrubbing bins to find the source of that god-awful smell.
It's just an unspoken rule that the spouse who doesn't abhor the chore will eventually tackle it for the one who does.
This fact – plus a shared love of '80s butt-rock – is why we're a good match.
It's also the reason I surround myself with writing and publishing professionals who compensate for my weaknesses.
Plotting is not my strength. My idea of plotting a book is declaring that I'd like to write about a heroine who owns a vineyard and then some stuff happens.
Fortunately, critique partner Cynthia Reese is a fabulously talented plotter. She's always willing to help me brainstorm when I've backed my characters into a corner and removing their clothes won't get them out this time.
Lest you think it's a one-way relationship, I bring something to the table as well. I amuse her with fart jokes and point out when her scenes might benefit from the inclusion of one.
I will also freely admit I'm incapable of reading instructions and contracts. When I saw the first copy of my three-book contract with Sourcebooks, Inc, I made it through the first twelve words before succumbing to the overwhelming urge to polish my toenails.
Luckily, I have my amazing agent, Michelle Wolfson. She not only read the contract in its entirety, but fought hard for changes that benefited me (well, I assume they benefited me – it's possible I just signed a contract to sell my liver on the black market).
Do you surround yourself with people who have strengths you don't? Do you help tackle chores someone else abhors when you don't mind doing them yourself?
Please share in the comments. I'll be donning my gas mask in preparation for retrieving the milk from the fridge.
32 comments :
- Gossip Cowgirl said...
Okay, firstly... removing their clothes should *always* get them out of a plot corner.
And secondly, this is what I do for a living, Strengths Coaching. And I can't tell you how many people I've worked with over the years who can't figure out what you've naturally learned. It's so refreshing to read this post!
Well, refreshing in a way that doesn't include my olfactory glands, but I guess we can't win them all. :-)
Great post, Tawna.
-Becca (@beck_a_tron)
- August 18, 2010 at 7:22 AM
- Janet Reid said...
The publishing contract has a clause requiring you to clean the fridge weekly. I think Michelle and Pythagoras are in cahoots.
Don't believe me? It's clause 72A/vii/7.
- August 18, 2010 at 7:23 AM
- JohnO said...
I went 11 for 10 on the last 80s music quiz I took, yet somehow missed the term "butt-rock." Clearly I've been only half-alive.
- August 18, 2010 at 7:25 AM
- Trisha Leigh said...
I threw away a bag of bread last night that was completely green and had moisture droplets clinging to the inside. Yeah. Gross.
I need a Pythagoras-type.
In answer to your question YES. Critique partners help me plot when I'm lost, tell me to get over myself when I start clinging to my pretty words and sobbing softly - and drink wine with me when I've had a rough week. Priceless, they are.
Oh, and they also smack me when I start talking like Yoda. Go figure.
- August 18, 2010 at 7:30 AM
- Bethany Elizabeth said...
I'm so with you on cleaning out the fridge! I guess my strategy is, when the fridge gets bad, to stop buying food. When I eat everything left in the fridge, then it's easier to clean. :) At least, sorta.
One of my friends is a fantastic line-editor. She finds misspellings and grammar mistakes that are still there in the third or fourth draft. In return, I help her scope out her plot, because she sometimes gets stuck on little stuff and doesn't know what to do next. We're a pretty good team.
Great post!
- August 18, 2010 at 7:38 AM
- Amanda C. said...
What an excellent metaphor! My other half does the complimentary chores too! I recently joked to a friend, "I do the laundry and dusting and vacuum the floor. He does the cooking and the dishes and the bathroom cleaning. And neither of us mops."
Now I'm going to have to find similar relationships in my writing! :)
- August 18, 2010 at 7:38 AM
- Summer Frey said...
My husband is the first to tell me that I'm making things overly-complicated, and that I need to cut all the crap. He's not a reader or a writer, but he has a great mind for plot. I blame it on all the movies he watches.
I think I need to even up our chore-abhoring relationship. He doesn't clean the bathroom (seriously, ever. I never really even noticed it until we'd been married for almost two years), doesn't clean the litterbox, doesn't make the bed, and never puts his f-ing shoes away. I used to not take out the trash, but now I do. I should remedy that.
- August 18, 2010 at 7:47 AM
- Patty Blount said...
Like Summer said, my husband is also not a big fan of reading or writing. (The last book he ready was The Amityville Horror.)
But he's great at helping me plot.
My sons are also incredibly patient as they listen to me talk about "Dan," my MC, as if he were their brother.
And of course, you, the folks I "hang" with online.
One of my detested chores is anything that requires a visit to the attic. I'm just not coordinated enough to manage the pull-down stairs, hunched down to avoid a rafter head-butt, and mind the gaps between the floor beams so a foot does not crash through one of my ceilings.
I will bribe one of the boys to do that for me.
- August 18, 2010 at 7:55 AM
- Michelle Wolfson said...
The contract has a clause requiring me to clean MY fridge weekly. I'm no dummy.
- August 18, 2010 at 8:09 AM
- Michelle Wolfson said...
Hopefully I read your contract more carefully than I read that comment.
- August 18, 2010 at 8:10 AM
- Delia said...
I'm with Pythagoras on the laundry. I'm happy to move it in and out of the machines, but folding? No. Likewise, my husband doesn't scrub toilets or wash the stovetop or sink. Even if he's cleaned the rest of the kitchen, the stovetop and sink somehow escape his attention.
I'm in the process of surrounding myself with appropriately talented people. I'm just starting out, and this stuff takes time. I'll get there.
One more thing. Butt-rock? I lived through the eighties -- hell, I even remember some of it -- but I've never heard the term butt-rock. Hair metal, euro-pop, power ballad? Yes. Butt-rock? No.
- August 18, 2010 at 8:14 AM
- Jessica Lemmon said...
I've gotten myself into that predicament recently - the middle of my story is making me miserable, but I'm doing my darndest to muddle through.
And yes, the fridge thing? I haz it. Oh, and I don't mind cleaning the toilet, but BEHIND IT?! Um, no...
Makes me think I want a maid, but then I imagine her breaking my beloved [fill in the blank] and I decide I'll just make Mr. Lemmony do it!
- August 18, 2010 at 8:24 AM
- Melissa Gill said...
Don't worry Tawna, after a while the stuff in the fridge petrifies and it no longer smells or gives off noxious gasses. Now if I could just get my critique group partners to come clean out my fridge...
- August 18, 2010 at 8:45 AM
- TAWNA FENSKE said...
Becca, oh good, so I'm not just a freeloader who's taking advantage of what other people can do for me? :)
Janet, wait, you mean Michelle isn't going to show up here & clean my fridge? Dammit, why do I even have an agent?
JohnO, funny, butt-rock plays a significant role in the second book in my contract. There was some debate when I wrote it whether people would be familiar with the term. Among my readers anyway, those who didn't know the term still knew right away what I meant!
Trisha, I would pay a lot of money to hear you talk like Yoda.
Bethany, I have one of those amazing line editors among my stable of beta readers. Unfortunately, she isn't a writer herself, so I can just bribe her with swapped critiques. I ply her with liquor instead, which seems to work just as well :)
madameduck, we mop our floors maybe once a year. No, I'm not exaggerating. It's the reason we installed all this dirt-colored tile. You really can't tell when it's filthy.
Summer, yep, you definitely need to go on trash strike. Taking out garbage should always be a boy job :)
Patty, my husband isn't much of a reader either, but you know what he's absolutely DEVOURING right now? IN THE SHADOW OF FREEDOM by Travis Sentell & Tchicaya Missamou. I should probably be offended he's never shown the same enthusiasm for reading my books, but I'm eager to read it, too!
Michelle, I'll clean your fridge if you clean mine. You first. Ready? Go!
Delia, I actually stopped using our dryer a few years ago when I made a New Year's resolution to air dry all our laundry to save energy. I bought these great clothes drying racks for indoors, and the system works great because I'm quick to put everything away so it isn't just sitting out in the hall. The problem? If Pythag gets a wild hair and decides to do a few loads of laundry, he will use the dryer. And since I'm not accustomed to looking in there anymore, the clean clothes can pile up for weeks before I notice.
Jessica, I've always wanted a maid. Unfortunately, I'm it for now!
Melissa, oooh, I think you're onto something there! I'll lure all my critique partners and beta readers over for a "brainstorming session" (ha!) and I'll trick them into cleaning my fridge. Great plan!
Thanks for reading, guys!
- August 18, 2010 at 8:49 AM
- Alexa O said...
My boyfriend and I are both artistic types who don't know how to earn a living. When my mother asked us who was going to be in charge of that tiny detail of life, we both looked at my daughter.
Who is two.
Happily, we will be content in our poverty because he knows how to stay neat and organized. That's what he brings to the relationship. What I bring to the relationship is my sparkling personality and good looks.
This seems like a perfect yin and yang, no?
- August 18, 2010 at 8:55 AM
I so hate to do laundry. I would behave exactly as Pythagorus only unfortunately my housemate wants to use the machines sometimes so I have to take the laundry out. I will take it to my room and move it from surface to surface as it gets in my way rather than fold or hang it.
Guess what I'm doing today? Laundry. Just starting. Determined as always to get all of it washed, dried and put away. Har. We'll see.
Unfortunately I have not found writing partners yet. Not sure how to go about it even. This is a very small town.
- August 18, 2010 at 9:14 AM
- randine said...
I have the solution for your fridge- and you won't even have to clean it: baking soda!! That's what I do to mine. And when that doesn't work, just buy more. Soon your fridge will be full of just baking soda and old take out.
And yes, I am in the same predicament with my husband. We basically play a version of 'chicken' to see who can hold out the longest on doing household chores until one of us caves and does it. It's just about hazardous as the version they play with trucks on Footloose.
- August 18, 2010 at 9:20 AM
- Danica Avet said...
I will do any chore in the house except dust and clean bathrooms. I can't do it. I'll cut grass, wash clothes, sweep, mop, wash dishes, but don't make me clean bathrooms. *shudders*
Right. My CPs are amazing people. I have one who helps me figure out what's funky about my plot. She points out the little things that could easily be offensive to readers and reminds me that there's a thin line between tortured and crazy. My other CP is the fine tuner. She points out where I could drop words to tighten up my manuscript and laughs at the parts I want people to laugh at. I'd be lost without them.
- August 18, 2010 at 9:21 AM
- Suzi McGowen said...
Fortunately, the chore that I hate the most (cooking) is the one my husband loves.
So he cooks and I eat. It's a marraige made in heaven's kitchen!
As for my writing, my weakness is repetitive words. Fortunately my crit partners are great at spotting my weaknesses!
- August 18, 2010 at 11:53 AM
- Leona said...
yeah, we've got those chores too. Because he's working and I'm home with kids and writing, I'm trying to make sure the chores get done. Unfortunately, I'm not real good at that aspect of things :) Maybe I'll get an agent that will clean out MY fridge. lol
I'm looking for a CP. *cough ahem Clever Cherry* I have a couple of beta readers, but they don't know how to critique. Although, I have learned things from them.
So far the biggest problem I've had is they take out my voice. Or try to. I let them too much on a fantasy because of other blogs I'd read on too many adjectives. Went the wrong way with that.
And, I think Janet Reid is way too good at the clause number. If she was my agent, I'd now be frantically combing my contract for that particular number to see if cleaning the fridge is in there :)
- August 18, 2010 at 12:37 PM
- Leona said...
Oh, and I almost forgot. Butt-rock is a common term around here :) I've worked for bands who play that music and even call it that. Not sure how anyone who lived through the eighties didn't know that. When I got told about it, I wondered how I didn't know that. I graduated in 1990, and I still didn't learn that term until I was roughly 26, When I started working for bands and theatre.
- August 18, 2010 at 12:40 PM
- Linda G. said...
It is so funny that you're posting about this today. This morning, right before he left for work, TG said, "Maybe I'll clean out the fridge when I get home."
Which I'm guessing MAY have been a hint, since he's coming off a stint in Opera Hell, and has been working 14-hour days, and probably doesn't really want to clean the fridge when he gets home.
So, did I clean the fridge? Uh, no. But I'll coat his stomach with disinfectant before I feed him anything from it. (What? Alcohol is a disinfectant.)
- August 18, 2010 at 12:49 PM
- Elizabeth Ryann said...
I was going to talk about strengths. And then my mental image of Cynthia pounding back spinach like Pop-Eye distracted me. And then I was diverted by the fantasy of having a maid. And, honestly, that whole marriage racket looks better and better every day: lower taxes, lower car insurance, someone else who can do the litter box and vacuuming and dishes... Hmm. Mostly I just plot with my BFF though because she thinks in a way that's really similar to me, so it's like working things out with myself, and apparently I'm extremely narcissistic.
Focusing: not my strength today.
- August 18, 2010 at 1:02 PM
- Christina Auret said...
Your blog makes me want to count the days until your books come out. It is that amazing. My only fear in this regard is that it might be a while before your books become available in South Africa. (Is there any plans for a South African release or will I have to get my sister in law to smuggle me copies from Canada?)
On the chore front I can't relate. I live alone and my flat only gets cleaned before my parents come to visit or when I particularly want to see the carpet.
However, my varsity friends have saved me a lot of time in the prevention of plot-holes. (I don't have 15 000 words, but boy do I have plot-holes.)
CA and lawyer friends know useful things.
They have not had much use for my skill set, but I know they will call me if they ever need a tennis ball assault weapon.
- August 18, 2010 at 1:11 PM
Funny you should post this. I was just going to ask you how that writing-by-the-seat-of-your-pants method is going. I tried writing like that and also ended up writing characters into a corner. Guess I just have to find a good balance between freestyle writing and coming up with plots, because I don't have any writer friends to help.
As for the fridge cleaning. Do what I do and hire out a cleaning service at least once per month.
- August 18, 2010 at 1:31 PM
- Candyland said...
I suppose the hubs and I have a similar relationship. Except, I do just about everything and he does none of it. That's balanced, right?
But on another note, the inclusion of a fart joke can only make a story better.
- August 18, 2010 at 2:10 PM
- Patrick Alan said...
I like to hang out with outgoing funny people, because I am a shy unfunny wilting flower.
- August 18, 2010 at 2:38 PM
- Patrick Alan said...
HEY! Guess what's jingling in my underpants?!?!?
Oh. Wrong post. Sorry.
- August 18, 2010 at 2:44 PM
Fridge cleaning advice: My sister promotes cleaning the fridge at the new moon. But since I don't notice the moon when it's not there, I try to remember to clean the fridge at the solstice. The news on that day always has something about being able to balance an egg on end because the poles, or gravity, or magnetics are different.
Something about taking a raw egg out of the fridge to sit on end in the sun reminds me to clean the fridge. Which doesn't take long since it's mainly condiments and beer.
Oh, right. Your post wasn't really about cleaning the fridge, it was about people in our lives who have strengths that balance weaknesses. Well, I think so. Not sure I have a weakness. I'll get back to you at the solstice, or maybe it's the equinox.
Screw it. I'm going out to look at the moon. It's a bit cold to toss my clothes. I'll focus on the fart process.
- August 18, 2010 at 11:52 PM
- Jen J. Danna said...
Great post! It definitely must be love when you and your partner can complement each other so well!
This post hit home for me on several levels. First of all, I write with a partner, and one of the reasons why this works is because we complement each other so well. We are very similar (I'm a bench scientist, she's an ex-bench scientist) and have very much the same outlook on life and on how we view things. I keep up a really kick-ass schedule and any one who couldn't keep up with me would have to go; Ann can and does keep up with me. She's intuitive and creative and honestly, I think she's the smartest person I know (and I work at a University with a lot of egg-heads, so that's saying something...). When I stumble on plot, she's always there to suggest something fresh. And when it comes to the actual writing, she pumps it up to a new level and sets an expectation level that I have to meet even in the initial draft. She's also my harshest and best critic. We'll story plan and brainstorm together, I'll write a chapter, she'll rip it apart and then as a team we put it back together. Kind of extreme perhaps, but it works for us.
On top of that, we have several members in our critique team that we couldn't have done without -- one is a professional editor and one is an author herself. Their comments made a *significant* impact on the final draft of our novel (final thus far...).
Writing is not an isolated journey. Those not in the 'know' might think so, but it really is a team exercise. And the right team can make anything possible.
- August 19, 2010 at 6:25 AM
- Dr. Cheryl Carvajal said...
I can't say I have a good critique team, but my husband probably helps more than anyone. He is NOT a great reader, but that helps, for he makes me stay real, and he's willing to tell me when something isn't working.
Since he's not a writer, he also doesn't tell me HOW to change my stuff. I've always hated critiques when another writer rewrites one of my pages to make it "better." Ouch.
- August 19, 2010 at 7:44 AM
- TAWNA FENSKE said...
Alexa, too funny! Very early marriage when we were still trying to be open minded about the idea of procreating, we decided that if we could come up with five solid reasons to have a child, we would at least discuss the possibility. The only reason we ever came up with was "to have someone to take out the trash." Suffice it to say, this didn't seem like a very good reason.
Clever Cherry, thanks for reminding me I should blog sometime about finding critique partners. It's a question that seems to come up a lot here, and I should probably address it somewhere besides the comments. I know there are forums at absolutewrite.com where lots of people connect with CPs. Are you a member of a writing group for your genre? I know my RWA chapter, for example, helps connect people with CPs. I met CP Cynthia Reese in the discussion forums for Harlequin when we were both targeting lines there. We've never actually met in person, but we've worked together for 6 years.
Randine, alas, we've already got baking soda in there. Even that's starting to stink.
Danica, does this mean you won't be coming over to scrub my toilets? I'm crushed.
Suzi, do you do the dishes after he cooks? :)
Leona, you'll have to report back if you and Clever Cherry end up connecting as CPs! I'd feel like a dating site then. And thank you for knowing the term "butt-rock." I just like it so much better than "hair bands" or "glam rock." It has such a nice ring to it!
Linda G, you are a thoughtful and considerate wife, and he is lucky to have you.
Elizabeth, yes, there are some advantages to marriage. Not all of them are sexual, either.
Christina, you know, if I had actually read my contract (you thought I was kidding about that?) I might know if my books are being released in South Africa. I'm not sure, but I think foreign rights are negotiated separately, but hell, what do I know? It's also possible my publisher already has a robust distribution plan for the entire African continent. I suck at this, sorry.
Suz, I've been doing the seat-of-my-pants writing thing for 8 years and 8 or 9 manuscripts, so even though I occasionally back myself into corners, it's part of the fun for me. I'm pretty good at getting myself out, but it's definitely not a method for everyone.
Candyland, does he at least rub your feet and tell you you're beautiful?
Patrick, has anyone ever suggested therapy?
Terripatrick, fridge cleaning with the phases of the moon? Huh. Never thought of that, but maybe I should give it a shot.
Jen, that sounds like a really cool relationship, both with the co-writer and with the critique group!
Shakespeare, my husband isn't much of a reader or a writer, which is one reason he's fun to bounce ideas off of. He always has a unique way of considering things that's totally unlike what I'd do.
Thanks for reading, guys!
- August 19, 2010 at 9:35 AM


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See what questions
a doctor would ask.
Mild worm infections undiagnosed in children: Human worm infestations, esp. threadworm, can be overlooked in some cases, because it may cause only mild or even absent symptoms. Although the most common symptoms are anal itch (or vaginal itch), which are obvious in severe cases, milder conditions may fail to be noticed in children. In particular, it may interfere with the child's good night's sleep. Threadworm is a condition to consider in children with symptoms such as bedwetting (enuresis), difficulty sleeping, irritability, or other sleeping symptoms. Visual inspection of the region can often see the threadworms, at night when they are active, but they can also be missed this way, and multiple inspections can be warranted if worms are suspected. See the introduction to threadworm.
Mesenteric adenitis misdiagnosed as appendicitis in children: Because appendicitis is one of the more feared conditions for a child with abdominal pain, it can be over-diagnosed (it can, of course, also fail to be diagnosed with fatal effect). One of the most common misdiagnosed is for children with mesenteric adenitis to be misdiagnosed as appendicitis. Fortunately, thus misdiagnosis is usually less serious than the reverse failure to diagnose appendicitis.
Blood pressure cuffs misdiagnose hypertension in children: One known misdiagnosis issue with hyperension, arises in relation to the simple equipment used to test blood pressure. The "cuff" around the arm to measure blood pressure can simply be too small to accurately test a child's blood pressure. This can lead to an incorrect diagnosis of a child with hypertension. The problem even has a name unofficially: "small cuff syndrome". See misdiagnosis of hypertension.
Children with migraine often misdiagnosed: A migraine often fails to be correctly diagnosed in pediatric patients. These patients are not the typical migraine sufferers, but migraines can also occur in children. See misdiagnosis of migraine or introduction to migraine.
The following list of conditions have 'Tooth enamel dysplasia in children' or similar listed as a symptom in our database. This computer-generated list may be inaccurate or incomplete. Always seek prompt professional medical advice about the cause of any symptom.
Select from the following alphabetical view of conditions which include a symptom of Tooth enamel dysplasia in children or choose View All.
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Lara Ferroni
- Yield
- Allow 1/3 pound per person
- I. Ham:
- 1 10-to-15 pound whole ham, or 1 5-to-7 pound half of a ham
- Glaze:
- 1 1/3 cups packed brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons dry mustard
- 3 tablespoons cider vinegar, prune juice, wine, or ham drippings
- Whole cloves
- Decorate with: pineapple rings studded with cranberries and stars cut from preserved orange peel, optional
- Garnish with: Slices of jellied cranberry sauce topped with thin orange or pineapple slices, optional
- Ham labeled "Cook Before Eating"
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Place the ham on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. For a whole 10- to 15-pound ham, allow 18 to 20 minutes per pound; for a half--5 to 7 pounds--about 20 minutes per pound; or for a shank or butt portion weighing 3 to 4 pounds, about 35 minutes to the pound. In all cases, cook uncovered until the internal temperature reaches 160°F. For an attractive, quick finish, remove the ham from the oven about 30 minutes before it is done and glaze as directed below.
- II. Ham labeled "Fully Cooked" or "Ready to Eat"
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. To heat the ham, place it on a rack in a shallow roasting pan, and bake uncovered. For a whole ham, allow 15 to 18 minutes to the pound; for a half, 18 to 24 minutes per pound. The ham will be ready when the internal temperature reaches 140°F. To glaze the ham, remove it from the oven about 30 minutes before it is done, and increase the oven heat to 425°F. Remove all the rind but a collar around the shank bone. Slash the fat in the top of the ham in a diamond pattern, and cover the surface with brown sugar, dry mustard moistened with cider vinegar, prune juice, wine or ham drippings.
- Stud the fat at the intersections of the diamonds with whole cloves. Or decorate with alternating half pineapple rings studded with cranberries and stars cut from preserved orange peel.
- Return the ham to the oven, reduce the oven heat to 325°F again, and cook about 30 minutes. Place on a platter. Garnish with: Slices of jellied cranberry sauce topped with thin orange or pineapple slices.
Recipes reprinted with permission from The Joy of Cooking, 75th Anniversary Edition by Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, and Ethan Becker. (c) 2006 Simon & Schuster Inc., The Joy of Cooking Trust, and the MRB Revocable Trust


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Member Service Supervisor (MSS) - $200 sign-on bonus Job
Date: Nov 20, 2020
Location: Oneonta, NY, US, 13820
Company: BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc.
BJ's Wholesale Club was the first retailer to introduce the warehouse club concept in the northeastern United States. Today, we're a multibillion dollar operation with more than 200 clubs in 17 states from Maine to Florida.
While our Members know us for helping them save up to 25% off grocery prices every day, our Team Members love us for providing a supportive and engaging workplace that's committed to developing great talent.
If you're a motivated and enthusiastic person who enjoys working collaboratively and is committed to providing great service for our Members, we want to hear from you. BJ's offers a fast-paced, team environment with great training opportunities and competitive salary and benefits packages to help you succeed.
Job Summary
Oversees all frontline team members to ensure all membership products are offered and Member orders/requests are processed in a positive, timely, and efficient manner. The MSS supervises, develops, and motivates all team members for the successful execution of membership programs and initiatives as well as front line operations. The MSS is responsible for monitoring, driving and coaching for desired membership/member experience goals and results. Delegates work, monitors staffing and compliance with operational standards. Provides excellent customer service to our Members.
Primary Tasks, Responsibilities, and Key Accountabilities
- Drives membership metrics through acquisition, retention, loyalty and experience programs.
- Drives member engagement, speed, and productivity on the front end.
- Supervises all frontline teams including the member service desk.
- Adopts lead roles as assigned by MSM to target and support the key drivers of acquisition, retention, perks and Member experience.
- Supervises, trains, coaches, motivates, evaluates, and recognizes front of Club Team Members on tasks, responsibilities and expectations defined by position, including delivering service and driving retention.,
- Utilizes the Cashier Observation Forms, Cashier Productivity Boards, membership reports to drive performance and Member engagement.
- Assign, supervise and monitor the workload of each team member.
- Assesses team member performance. Provide actionable feedback. Administer coaching for behavior and performance concerns for improvement.
- Provides MSM with feedback including individual performance in membership key metrics for team member performance reviews.
- Performs front end MOD responsibilities including but not limited to, closing through POS, and Member escalated service issues etc.
- Provides a high level of customer service to Members. Acts with sense of urgency to ensure members are assisted in a timely and efficient manner.
- Acts as a backup for cashiers when needed and provides ongoing register and membership training and support to all frontline team members.
- Scans all club merchandise through a point-of-sale system to ensure accurate inventory counts and accurate purchase totals for Members. Loads shopping carts when necessary.
- Collects payments via cash, check, or other charge payments from customers. Issues receipts, refunds, credits, or change due to Members.
- Stays up-to-date on all merchandise promotions, advertisements, and product information. Discounts purchases by scanning and redeeming coupons.
- Supervises the cleanliness of the key front of club member servicing areas.
- Performs other duties as assigned, including working in other departments as needed.
- Manages self-checkout lanes and scan and pan lanes. Assists Members with operations and technical difficulties.
- Maintains all club policies and procedures.
- Prior supervisory experience preferred.
- Prior Membership or sales knowledge and experience required.
- Prior cashier experience preferred.
- Basic math skills required.
Environmental Job Conditions
- Most of the time is spent moving about on hard surfaces. There may be a need to occasionally position oneself to examine or scan merchandise, including bending, handling, pulling, reaching, and/or stooping.
- Frequently requires lifting objects up to 30 pounds. May require lifting and moving heavy and/or awkward objects greater than 30 pounds with assistance.
- Located in a comfortable indoor area with infrequent exposure to temperature extremes and loud noises. There may be occasional exposure to cleaning agents.
BJ's Wholesale Club is committed to a policy of equal employment opportunity for all qualified team members and applicants for employment without regard to race, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, age, ancestry, national origin, physical and/or mental disability, genetic information, atypical cellular or blood trait, marital and/or familial status, pregnancy, gender identity and expression, military or veteran status, or any other characteristics protected by applicable law.
Nearest Major Market: Oneonta


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Ron Mitchell
2nd Vice President
District 5, term ends November 2021
Ron is a native of Jeffco and graduate of Arvada High School. He spent forty years working for Jefferson County School District serving as a teacher, principal of two high schools and retired as a central office administrator. Ron holds a Master's degree in School Administration from the University of Northern Colorado. His wife is also a retired Jeffco teacher.
Ron has two children and eight grandchildren. His son and daughter-in-law are both Columbine High School graduates. Their family now lives in Colorado Springs. His daughter and her family live in North Carolina.
Ron and his wife enjoy traveling, sailing, and time with family and friends.


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On behalf of all of us here at ARTastic Challenge blog I'd like to take this opportunity to wish each and every one of you peace, joy and happiness for the Christmas season.
You still have until 11.55pm on the 31 of December to complete our December challenge and we would love to see your entries.
If you have some downtime over the Christmas break please think of us :)
I'd like to thank you for your support and encouragement through 2015. We have seen some amazing work submitted by some extremely talented ladies and we hope we will see more from all of you in the year to come.
ARTastic will be back next year with a new look and some new and super talented team members as well as some familiar faces. Sadly there are also some goodbyes and I would would love to thank our past design team members for this year, Wendy O'Keefe, Tone-Lill Angelscar, Stina Westbom, Deb Kupfer, Lesley French, Di Hasthorpe and Jo Tritton who leave us at this time to head onto other pursuits. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being such wonderful and inspiring ladies. We will miss you !
Design Team for 2016
Tracey Henly - Australia
Sue Smith - New Zealand
An'Jenic Gibson - USA
Tone Jensen - Norway
Kat Gray - Australia
Karen McLaughlin - Australia
Angelika Ushakova - Canada
Anna Uhras - Sweden
Maria Shakhova - Russia
and returning members ...
Mary Bennetts - Australia
Lizzy Hill - Australia
Lizzy Hill - Australia
Helene Bogren - Sweden
Elaine Schoof - Australia
Jane Howden - Australia
Travel safe and enjoy time with your families and friends - see you in 2016 !!


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Behind The Scenes at the AMAs: Poppy Asks Benny Blanco the Tough Questions
The producer performs for the first time ever at the AMAs
After contributing to eight GRAMMY-nominated songs, producer and songwriter Benny Blanco is preparing for his first ever performance.
Although Benny insists that he's "terrible," we're beyond excited to catch his debut performance of "Eastside" with Khalid and Halsey at the 2018 American Music Awards. Leading up to the show, a pink fuzzy slipper-wearing Benny joined Poppy to show off his pedicure and promote his song… maybe.
Benny is changing the music industry by helping give songwriters and producers the credit they deserve. By appearing in both song credits and now onstage with the artists, he's bringing the minds behind the songs into the spotlight with megahits like Justin Bieber's "Love Yourself," Ed Sheeran's "Castle on the Hill" and Maroon 5's "Moves Like Jagger."
Click here for more AMAs coverage!
Related: Behind The Scenes At The AMAs: Twenty One Pilots And The AMAs Super Group


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Case in point is the former Echo Fuels, aka Magic Gas, the Echo Park gas station that closed without warning in September and has remained vacant. Since then, the gas station at the corner of Echo Park and Morton avenue has become a convenient parking lot for customers of the coffee house, shops and salon across the street. At one point on Sunday, about a dozen cars were parked at the station, with everyone taking care not to block each others vehicle.
It's not clear when the gas station will ever reopen. A sale of a lien against the property was apparently called off, and rumors of credit card fraud continue to float on the neighborhood news group. Motorists better enjoy the free spaces for now until new owners take over or a valet shows up and starts charging for parking.


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"Pink slime" has been oozing back into headlines in recent weeks after McDonalds, followed by other fast food chains, announced it had stopped using beef trimmings to fill out its hamburgers.
A product the industry calls "lean, finely textured meat" has been a fixture in the ground beef served in the free school lunch program and fast food hamburgers for years. But after Chef Jamie Oliver demonstrated how "pink slime" is made on his TV show last year, and media reports suggested it may not be as safe as the government claims, alarm among consumers began surging.
Now, thousands people are adding their name to petitions asking the government stop buying this stuff.
But what exactly is it? NPR's Melissa Block spoke to Michael Moss, an investigative reporter for the New York Times whose stories in 2009 on the safety of ground beef earned him a Pulitzer Prize, to get some answers.
"[Trimmings are] taken from the outermost part, and they happen to be the fattiest part of the cow," says Moss. "So they're put into a centrifuge which spits out the protein parts of the material."
The term "pink slime" was in fact initially coined by a U.S. Department of Agriculture official Moss met who had seen the "bright pink, aqueous" stuff in a plant.
Sounds pretty unappetizing, but there is some appeal to the material: mainly its price.
"In the meat industry, there's something called least cost formulations," says Moss. "Companies will mix and match trimmings from different parts of the cow and different suppliers to achieve the perfect level of fatness. This material is ... slightly less expensive."
Cheap it may be, but because it comes from the outermost part of the carcass, it's also more susceptible to contamination than other cuts of meat. That's because it could come in contact with the cow's hide, which could have excrement containing pathogens like the dangerous forms of E. coli.
The industry tries to purify the material with gaseous ammonia, which raises the alkalinity to a level that E. coli can't tolerate, Moss says. USDA's food safety division says this method is effective. And the company that manufactures it says it also has a rigorous testing system in place.
But Moss' s reporting has shown that school food officials have found the bad kind of E. coli in the material where they least expected – the trimmings.
"It's entirely approved by USDA ... and accepted as school lunch as a component in the ground beef they purchase," says Moss. "So far they've been holding pat on the safety issue. They're satisfied that their testing program and the way they handle and cook beef is entirely safe for kids."
None of the fast food companies — McDonalds, Taco Bell and Burger King — that decided to stop buying trimmings mentioned safety concerns, either.
And even if it's been banished from a lot of fast food burgers, the material is probably still in a lot of ground beef sold at the grocery store. Except it's impossible for consumers to know that since USDA doesn't require meat companies to label whether ground beef includes trimmings.
But one way to get ground beef that you know does not contain the slimy trimmings is to have your butcher grind it right there in front of you. But you may have to pay extra.
Now to an uproar about Lean Finely Textured Beef. That's the official name. It's known by detractors as Pink Slime. It's a product made from leftover meat trimmings that are treated with chemicals, namely ammonia, and then added to hamburger. And recent reports showed that the USDA buys millions of pounds of the product for school lunches.
The practice has come under sharp critique by the celebrity chef and food activist Jamie Oliver. On his TV show he calls it shocking.
BLOCK: Well, now thousands of people have added their names to online petitions, raising safety concerns, and calling on the government to stop buying ground beef that includes the questionable product.
For more we're joined by New York Times investigative reporter Michael Moss, who won a Pulitzer for his reporting on the dangers of contaminated meat.
Michael, welcome back to the program.
MICHAEL MOSS: Thanks for having me.
BLOCK: This term, Pink Slime, I gather was sort of introduced widely to the public in one of your reports. What are we talking about when we're talking about Pink Slime?
MOSS: This is a mash-like material that's derived from trimmings from the beef carcass. And they happen to be the fattiest part of a cow and so they're put into a centrifuge, which spits out the protein parts of the material. It has a rather a bright pink hue and an aqueous type nature to it. And thus the, you know, thus the term Pink Slime was used by a USDA official who had seen it in the processing plant.
BLOCK: And the benefit of it is that it's cheap, right? I mean, that's why people use it.
MOSS: Yeah, you know, an art of formulating ground beef, there's something called least cost formulations. And companies will, you know, mix and match trimmings from different parts of the cow in different suppliers, to achieve kind of the perfect level of fatness. And this material has the attribute of being slightly less expensive than the low-fat material that's typically derived from grass-fed cows from South America.
BLOCK: Now, that brings us to the ammonia. Why is that added? What does it do?
MOSS: Well, because this material is derived from the outermost part of the carcass, it's most susceptible to E. coli, which is the pathogen that gets onto beef through excrement, which is on the hides of cows. And they came up with this method that consists of adding a gaseous ammonia to the material that raises the alkalinity to a point that makes the material inhospitable to the E. coli pathogens.
BLOCK: And what about that? First, does it work? And, second, what about the ammonia gas itself? Is that harmful?
MOSS: So, the gas itself is approved by the federal government as being entirely safe. The safety question caught my attention because it was none other than the school food officials who were testing the material regularly who found that, on numerous occasions, in fact, they were finding E. coli 0157H there when they were least expecting it because of the ammonia process.
The company says that it has a rigorous testing program that goes beyond the federal government's standards, but still, it was there and there's some question about how foolproof that is.
BLOCK: We recently saw that McDonald's and Taco Bell and Burger King have all said they're not going to be using this anymore in their hamburgers and other products. Was that specifically because of these safety concerns or was it just public relations?
MOSS: I think their public statements were more like we had, you know, reformulated and found other sourcing material for our burgers, so they didn't comment directly on, you know, either the safety concern or the wholesomeness issue that surrounds the material.
BLOCK: You know, I'm looking at a statement from the American Meat Institute, which says that this - what they call boneless lean beef trimmings - is, in fact, beef and that the USDA has said this is safe and you're abiding by our rules. Are they right about that?
MOSS: Well, you know, when I was doing the original reporting, one of the - a beef industry consultant who was working with the producer of this material, he sort of pointed out that - look, I mean, on one hand, I think they deserve some applause for using parts of the carcass that, you know, heretofore were going into cooking oil or pet food and actually turning it into something that's consumable.
So that certainly is one viewpoint out there and, as we mentioned, it's entirely approved by the USDA and, up to this point, accepted by school lunch officials as a component in the ground beef that they purchase.
BLOCK: Michael Moss is working on a book about the processed food industry. Michael, thanks for talking to us.
MOSS: My pleasure.
BLOCK: And if you're curious how to avoid what's called pink slime, you can read about it at our food blog, The Salt, at NPR.org. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


text:
Jermyn Street Cobbler
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The Body Shop
The Body Shop, is one of the best-known manufacturers of cosmetics and bodycare. The Body Shop has established a unique identity with premium quality skin and body care products formulated from the finest natural ingredients. Their ethical values have won them praise and attracted a loyal following worldwide.