Have You Ever….

July 31, 2008 at 12:46 pm | In Personal | 8 Comments

This looked like fun, although some of the questions were a bit … unsavory.  At the urging of my wife, I just removed them.  So, I added five more to make an even 200.

Thanks to Elizabeth at The Garden Window!

OK, things I have done are in bold.  Things I wish I could do are in italics.  Let’s have some fun….

  1. Bought everyone in the pub a drink
  2. Swam with wild dolphins
  3. Climbed a mountain
  4. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
  5. Been inside the Great Pyramid
  6. Held a tarantula
  7. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
  8. Said “I love you” and meant it
  9. Hugged a tree
  10. Done a striptease
  11. Bungee jumped
  12. Visited Paris
  13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
  14. Stayed up all night long, and watch the sun rise
  15. Seen the Northern Lights (from my house in Maryland on one wild night!)
  16. Gone to a huge sports game (Ravens beat the Steelers at home in OT to make playoffs!)
  17. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
  18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables (Just thinned some baby carrots yesterday)
  19. Touched an iceberg (I suppose lettuce doesn’t count)
  20. Slept under the stars
  21. Changed a baby’s diaper
  22. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
  23. Watched a meteor shower
  24. Gotten drunk on champagne (I was ten years old at my Aunt’s wedding)
  25. Given more than you can afford to charity
  26. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
  27. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
  28. Had a food fight
  29. Bet on a winning horse
  30. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
  31. Asked out a stranger
  32. Had a snowball fight
  33. Photocopied your bottom on the office photocopier
  34. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
  35. Held a lamb
  36. Enacted a favorite fantasy (Does LARPing count?)
  37. Taken a midnight skinny dip (I was in the jungle, I was reallly hot, it wasn’t midnight)
  38. Taken an ice cold bath
  39. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar (I offered him my bible, but he refused when I told him it was a present from my wife.)
  40. Seen a total eclipse (I peeked with one eye.  I can still see.)
  41. Ridden a roller coaster
  42. Hit a home run
  43. Fit three weeks miraculously into three days
  44. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking (It runs in the family)
  45. Adopted an accent for an entire day (We had all of King’s Dominion convinced we were British)
  46. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
  47. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
  48. Had two hard drives for your computer (How about four?)
  49. Visited all 50 states (I think I’ve hit just about all the Continental States…)
  50. Loved your job for all accounts
  51. Taken care of someone who was drunk
  52. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
  53. Had amazing friends (Still do…)
  54. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country (I think … details of that night are still sketchy)
  55. Watched wild whales (Not yet.  Dolphins, however….)
  56. Stolen a sign
  57. Backpacked in Europe
  58. Taken a road-trip
  59. Rock climbing
  60. Lied to foreign government’s official in that country to avoid notice
  61. Midnight walk on the beach
  62. Sky diving
  63. Visited Ireland
  64. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
  65. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them (Only if college cafeteria counts)
  66. Visited Japan
  67. Bench pressed your own weight (This was a lot easier to do a few years ago…)
  68. Milked a cow
  69. Alphabetized your records
  70. Pretended to be a superhero
  71. Sung karaoke
  72. Lounged around in bed all day
  73. Posed nude in front of strangers
  74. Scuba diving
  75. Got it on to “Let’s Get It On” by Marvin Gaye
  76. Kissed in the rain
  77. Played in the mud (Football!)
  78. Played in the rain
  79. Gone to a drive-in theatre
  80. Done something you should regret, but don’t regret it
  81. Visited the Great Wall of China
  82. Discovered that someone who’s not supposed to have known about your blog has discovered your blog
  83. Dropped Windows in favour of something better.  Messed around with Linux, but not enough time to learn….
  84. Started a business
  85. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
  86. Toured ancient sites
  87. Taken a martial arts class
  88. Sword fought for the honour of a woman  (LARPing again)
  89. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight (Can’t do much in less than six hours….)
  90. Gotten married
  91. Been in a movie  (We were on screen in Home Makeover)
  92. Crashed a party
  93. Loved someone you shouldn’t have
  94. Kissed someone so passionately it made them dizzy
  95. Gotten divorced
  96. Gone without food for 5 days  (Three days max)
  97. Made cookies from scratch
  98. Won first prize in a costume contest
  99. Ridden a gondola in Venice
  100. Gotten a tattoo
  101. Rafted the Snake River
  102. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
  103. Got flowers for no reason
  104. Got so drunk you don’t remember anything
  105. Been addicted to some form of illegal drug
  106. Performed on stage
  107. Been to Las Vegas
  108. Recorded music
  109. Eaten shark (Ate pirhanna once)
  110. Had a one-night stand
  111. Gone to Thailand
  112. Seen Siouxsie live  (After seeing Wierd Al Yankovic, nothing else could ever compare)
  113. Bought a house (…from my parents, how geeky is that?)
  114. Been in a combat zone
  115. Buried one/both of your parents
  116. Been on a cruise ship (walked uninvited onto a US Navy Aircraft carrier once)
  117. Spoken more than one language fluently
  118. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
  119. Bounced a check
  120. Performed in Rocky Horror
  121. Read – and understood – your credit report
  122. Raised children
  123. Recently bought and played with a favourite childhood toy
  124. Followed your favourite band/singer on tour
  125. Created and named your own constellation of stars
  126. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
  127. Found out something significant that your ancestors did
  128. Called or written your Member of Congress
  129. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
  130. … more than once?
  131. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
  132. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
  133. Had an abortion or your female partner did
  134. Had plastic surgery
  135. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
  136. Wrote articles for a large publication
  137. Lost over 100 pounds
  138. Held someone while they were having a flashback
  139. Piloted an airplane (My parents bought us a one flying lesson for Christmas — the coolest gift ever)
  140. Petted a stingray
  141. Broken someone’s heart
  142. Helped an animal give birth (I don’t think my wife wants to be classified as an animal)
  143. Been fired or laid off from a job  (Laid off — one of the best things that ever happened)
  144. Won money on a TV game show
  145. Broken a bone  (Surprisingly never!)
  146. Killed a human being
  147. Gone on an African photo safari
  148. Ridden a motorcycle
  149. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100mph
  150. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
  151. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
  152. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
  153. Ridden a horse
  154. Had major surgery (Sinuses.  Needed to happen.)
  155. Had a snake as a pet
  156. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
  157. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
  158. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
  159. Visited more foreign countries than US states
  160. Visited all 7 continents
  161. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
  162. Eaten kangaroo meat
  163. Fallen in love at an ancient Mayan burial ground
  164. Been a sperm or egg donor
  165. Eaten sushi  (ick.  Raw fish.)
  166. Had your picture in the newspaper
  167. Had 2 (or more) healthy romantic relationships for over a year in your lifetime (Only one, but it’s for a lifetime)
  168. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
  169. Gotten someone fired for their actions
  170. Gone back to school
  171. Parasailed
  172. Changed your name (Well, for a while there I was known as Fr. Joel, then went back to being plain Tad)
  173. Petted a cockroach
  174. Eaten fried green tomatoes
  175. Read “The Iliad”
  176. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
  177. Dined in a restaurant and stolen silverware, plates, cups because your apartment needed them
  178. … and gotten 86′ed from the restaurant because you did it so many times, they figured out it was you
  179. Taught yourself art from scratch
  180. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (Trout.  Yummy.)
  181. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
  182. Skipped all your school reunions
  183. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
  184. Been elected to public office
  185. Written your own computer language (Well, sort of.  It was a primitive scripting language for database installation)
  186. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
  187. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
  188. Built your own PC from parts
  189. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
  190. Had a booth at a street fair
  191. Dyed your hair
  192. Been a DJ
  193. Found out someone was going to dump you via LiveJournal
  194. Written your own role playing game  (It’s called Flip — wrote it for my kids)
  195. Been arrested
  196. Adopted a child
  197. Orbited the earth
  198. Painted daisies on a big red rubber ball
  199. Been to Boston in the Fall
  200. Gone over Niagra Falls in a barrel

The First Love

July 29, 2008 at 8:29 am | In Theology | 10 Comments

Something that my amazing wife directed me to really struck me as I read it.  It comes from a post written by Fr. Stephen Freeman, whom I will admit not reading that often because his thoughts are so much loftier than my own.  Anyway, here is the quote:

I oftentimes suspect that the language of causation, rooted as it is in physics and the like, is probably a misleading term when applied to a universe whose true existence is rooted in Personhood. In such a universe, love is a far more important category than causation, if causation has any place at all.

Whoa.

If you’ve ever sat through a Philosophy class, you must have heard about the “First Cause” argument for the existence of God, especially if you went to Catholic school.  In a nutshell, the idea is that for any event, there must be a corresponding event that caused it to happen.  Nathan falls on the floor because David knocked him over.  David knocked Nathan over because John tripped David.  Any parent with more than one child has experience with unravelling these causal chains.  I guess parents of a only child must have trouble doing philosophy….

Anyway, to follow the line of Aristotle’s thinking on the subject, having an infinitely long causal chain is just silly.  After all, somebody has to sit on the Naughty Step.  And, if you extend the whole chain all the way back through history trying to find a cause for the universe, you arrive at The First Cause — The Unmoved Mover.  Theologians of a scholastic bent quickly picked up on Aristotle’s definition of The First Cause as being God Himself, and this identification has been a key foundation of many systematic theologies, including that of Thomas Aquinas, the father of modern theology and thus the grandfather of modern philosophy.

So with all that in mind, please reread the Good Father’s quote above.

Can you feel the tremors in the foundation?

Now, I am sure that neither I nor Fr. Stephen are the first ever to point this problem out.  In fact, Matthew Gallatin has a highly regarded series of podcasts on a very similar subject which explains the subject much better than I ever could.  I guess I was just struck with the implications of his statement that the underpinnings of just about, well, everything that I had studied in school were founded on a mistaken premise.

But, I can easily trade that for a universe founded not on First Cause but on First Love.

Graveworld

July 28, 2008 at 3:15 pm | In Science, Theology | 4 Comments

I know that I am almost alone in this opinion and that it makes me most unpopular, but this is my blog and I can write whatever I want.

The “scientific art exhibit” known as Bodyworlds 2 is currently on open to the paying public at the Maryland Science Center.  For those not in the know, the Bodyworlds exhibit displays real corpses that have been plastinized, cut open, and arranged into various poses.  People then attend and get an anatomical education by gawking at the flayed, eviscerated, and mutilated human remains.

I’m sorry, but when I was young, a collection of dead bodies open to the public wasn’t called art or science — it was called a graveyard.

Maybe I’m getting sentimental in my old age.  I can’t help but think that each of these “exhibits” represents the life of a living, breathing human being who walked the earth just as you and I do, who lived and loved and had dreams and aspirations just like any of us.  Regardless of whether they donated their bodies or not, somehow I must believe that a more fitting tribute to the dignity of their lives must be found.  The human body, even in death, was not intended for this.

To be honest, I must be reminded of the Orthodox practice of the public display and veneration of relics.  They are not made of rubber, but they are preserved for viewing nonetheless.  So, what is the difference?

Well, there are a couple.  First of all, relics are not anonymous, but stand as a celebration of the fullness of the saint’s life.  In death, the saint is not reduced to his or her component parts, rather each component part carries within it the totality of a sanctified life.  Furthermore, in each piece lies the promise of not just the redemption of the soul but of the body and indeed the whole world.  The relic does not serve to tell us as much about who we are but rather who we can be.

But most importantly, I think, at the Bodyworlds exhibit it is clear that it is the human body that is to be worshipped.  The specimens, the accompanying text, literary quotations on the wall — all serve to glorify the human, and thus each viewer.  It is a raw display of self-idolatry.

On the other hand, when relics are properly venerated, it is not the human who is worshipped but the God within.  When a person so cooperates with the will of God to be filled with His energies, then his or her body becomes a true temple of the Lord, and the presence of the Lord dwells within the very bones and members such that they become sacred.  To venerate the relic is to acknowledge the God who made them, sanctified them, and continues His redeeming presence within them.

Just thinking about relics fills me with a sense of awe at the Lord’s presence and a sense of humility at the unfitness of my own being.  Thinking about Bodyworlds just makes me ill.  I hope I’m not the only one.

A Week in The Mirror

July 25, 2008 at 10:13 am | In Faded Mirror | 7 Comments

Well, The Faded Mirror went live about a week ago, and since then, I’ve had over two hundred visits from 179 unique visitors all over the world.  So far, of the ten posts I’ve published, “Don’t Color Me ANYTHING” is by far the most popular, with 196 total hits, thanks entirely to my wife’s posting of the link in her Feingold forum.

Here is a jpeg of the Location Map.  I’d put in an interactive map, but WordPress doesn’t allow Javascript.  :(

Locations of Hits to Faded Mirror

Locations of Hits to Faded Mirror

 

# Country Visits %
1 United States 153 69%
2 Unknown 8 4%
3 Singapore 7 3%
4 Canada 6 3%
5 Australia 5 2%
6 United Kingdom 5 2%
7 Spain 4 2%
8 Korea 3 1%
9 Philippines 3 1%
10 Indonesia 3 1%
11 Brazil 2 <1%
12 Portugal 2 <1%
13 Greece 2 <1%
14 India 2 <1%
15 Italy 2 <1%
16 Cambodia 1 <1%
17 Mexico 1 <1%
18 Bahamas 1 <1%
19 Malaysia 1 <1%
20 Netherlands 1 <1%

(stats courtesy of W3Counter)

Since I know that only about five people read this blog on a regular basis, how about a quick “shout out”?  Please leave me a comment below telling me a bit about who you are and what you would want to read about.  I have about five more posts that I’m working on in various forms of draft status — what else would you like to see?

And, if you have any idea why we are so popular in Singapore, I’d like to know that as well….

The Birth Dearth in Iran

July 22, 2008 at 2:27 pm | In Economics | Leave a Comment

As a followup to my recent post on fertility rates, I invite you to read an interesting rebuttal that Jonathan Last has written in response to Philip Jenkins‘ observations (no, I don’t have a subscription either) on the drastic consequences of Iran’s plummeting fertility rate.

While Jenkins sees a rosy future secularist paradise, Last predicts an increasingly confrontational Iran as it tries to hold onto its visions of a revived Persian empire.  So far, the recent actionsof Ahmadinejad  and friends seem to give credence to Last over the first. 

Iran is not the monolithic power that many make it out to be — the populace is growing increasingly restless at their country’s rapid decline, and the clock is probably ticking on the current regime.  This probably explains why Washington and Israel seem to be content with idle chit-chat in place of serious diplomacy — like Jenkins and Last, they know that time is on their side.  Meanwhile, Iran is probably racing through all its nuclear options to try to shift the playing field before the clock runs out.

In the meantime, there are also those who trumpet Iran’s difficulties as a model for the rest of the world to follow.  Don’t worry, we’ll all get there sooner or later….

It Was All Greek To Them

July 21, 2008 at 1:57 pm | In Theology | 5 Comments

Here’s a question that probably doesn’t keep you up at nights:  Why would the fourth-century Romans pack up and move from Rome to Constantinople and then start speaking Greek?  Didn’t the Romans speak Latin exclusively?  Why would they abandon their sublime system of conjugation and declension?

Well, the highly controversial Fr. John Romanides has an interesting answer.  According to him, classical Latin developed from an Italian patois of Greek.  Public pronouncements, such as laws and decrees were written in Latin for the widest publication, while more learned discourse continued to be written in Greek.  Latin was seen as a common or vulgar language unsuited for the upper classes.

However, Latin continued to be the lingua franca (excuse the irony) of the Roman West.  The Roman Empire knit together a broad range of tongues, tribes, and nations, and the common language was crucial for the Empire to function.  Therefore, any inhabitant of a far-flung colony would seek to learn Latin as his passport into the greater Roman society.  (One also wonders if this is why some of the greatest works of Roman propaganda were also written in Latin and not Greek….)

This brings us to the example of Augustine of Hippo, one of the greatest influences in European thought.  Born into a backwater province of the Roman Empire, he took to the study of Latin, but abhorred Greek.  Not knowing Greek, apparently Augustine never read the Church Fathers in totality, was unacquainted with Eastern tradition, and relied upon a Latin translation of the Bible for all his theological developments.  Much has been written about the academic sins of Augustine, so there is no need to belabor the point.  However, in light of some recent posts on the nature of Augustine’s errors, I thought it would be interesting to follow the Latin connection.

Let’s go get to back to Fr. Romanides.  He traces the roots of the Great Schism to the founding of the Carolingian dynasty with the unification of the Franks and subjugation of the Romans under Pepin II, father of Charlemagne.  Pepin replaced the murdered Roman bishops with his own appointees as he sought to pacify the populace which he held in that unique form of slavery we call feudalism.  The Franks were able to infiltrate the Church to the point that they were able to wrest control of the western sees from Constantinople.  Then, in the year 800, Charlemagne convinced Pope Leo III to crown him Emperor of the Roman Empire. 

There was only one problem — there already was a ruler of the Roman Empire, Empress Irene of Athens, who lived in Constantinople, which was still the capitol city.  So, the new Emperor set out to discredit the Eastern Romans, making much of the fact that they spoke Greek, not Latin, so therefore could not be legitimate heirs to the Roman Empire.  But, there was still the unity of the Church to deal with.  So, Charlemagne sought to disgrace the Eastern bishops and declare them heretics.  Thus, he convened a series of councils to promulgate a number of theological pronouncements, including approval of the Filioque, to be used as ammunition against the Eastern Church.  Unfortunately, Charlemagne and his Germanic bishops were deficient in their Greek!  So, they turned to the most prolific Latin theologian for their source material: Augustine of Hippo.

Thus, Augustine’s errors became the de facto theology of the Western Empire.  Fully entrenched into church and state, they remained a dominant influence upon European history for over a thousand years.  And all because one schoolboy was more taken with Roman fables than their Greek counterparts.

At least, that’s how I understand Fr. Romanides.  I’m sure I’m mutilating both his theories and the underlying history in this brief summary.  Still, I hope there is enough here to give you all something to chew on that they didn’t teach you in public school — just like they no longer teach Greek….

Baby Boom or Baby Bust?

July 20, 2008 at 5:40 pm | In Economics | 3 Comments

I stumbled across this and was mildly amused and annoyed.  (Sorry about the commercial at the beginning.)  The telling part comes in the middle: 

In the Fifties, the average woman was having close to four children.   Now she’s having close to two.

If you think about it for a bit, you can see that this is the most significant part of the video clip.  The numbers that the expert so blithely tosses out are the fertility rates.  In simple terms, these are the number of children the average woman in a population would expect to have over her lifetime.  If each woman on average has one child before she dies, then essentially she will have replaced herself.  Since there is about one woman for every man, if she bears one more child, then she will have done her part to keep the population stable, replacing herself and one lucky male.  Actually, since there is a slight imbalance in the male to female ratio and mortality rate, she would actually need to have, on average, 2.1 children in her lifetime.  A fertility rate of 2.1 will keep the average healthy human population stable over the long term, neither growing or shrinking.  A higher fertility rate will have a population grow over time, and a lower one will see it shrink in the long run.

So, let’s take a look at the US fertility rate.  As hinted at by our video expert, the US fertility rate is at the 2.1 replacement mark.  This means that in the long run, we should see the size of the
US population neither expand or contract.  (Yes, there are a lot of implicit assumptions, but this is the most likely scenario.) 

Now, take a look at Ivory Coast.  This site gives a fertility rate of 4.5 births per woman.  This population should be growing at a sizable clip, although the high mortality rate is going to cut into the population growth.

Lastly, consider the fertility rate of Italy.  Although it’s on a slight upward trend, the fertility rate is a rather concerning 1.3 births per woman.  At this rate, each generation will be slightly more that half the size of the preceding one.

Why is this concerning?  After all, the fewer people, the more resources there are to go around, right?  Not if there aren’t enough workers to produce the resources.  A society needs a healthy contingent of young people to work the farms, run the factories, and serve in the military and emergency services.  Without a sizeable group to perform all these essential activities, the society will suffer wage inflation, rationing, immigration issues, and a raft of challenges.

Think of it this way.  In a society with a 50% decline in successive generations, a middle aged worker could very well end up supporting (either directly or indirectly through taxes) himself, two retired parents, and four grandparents, given the modern advance in longevity.  The ratios of able-bodied to retired won’t allow otherwise.  This is simply unsustainable.

And, before you think I’m picking on the Italians for not having enough kids, almost all the European countries have this problem, as do most of the Southeast Asian countries.  In my opinion, this is the biggest problem facing the modern world.  Forget global warming, religious extremism, or whatever is on the cover of Time magazine.  We are a generation or two away from the biggest social upheaval of all history, and nobody is addressing it.  And when it occurs, there will be very little anyone can do — it takes years to grow a person the old-fashioned way, which the only way we have.  I’ll be sure to come back to this topic.

Rock Converts

July 18, 2008 at 3:05 pm | In Theology | Leave a Comment

When I saw this, I was reminded of this guy, who appears to be headed on an opposite journey.  This got me thinking about rock stars who have converted to Christianity.  So, I thought I’d do some digging and see who popped out.  Here is a list for your blogreading pleasure:

And you’re probably aware that Paul ‘Bono’ Hewson is a lifelong Anglican, but did you know that the legendary Styx keyboardist Dennis DeYoung has been a devout Roman Catholic his entire life?  Not only that, but he is still married to his high school sweetheart, forbid the use of drugs as he toured with his family, and played the part of Pilate in Jesus Christ Superstar.  Now, I’ll bet that you want to search the lyrics to Lady for references to the Immaculate Conception.

Let me know if you find any.

Continue reading Rock Converts…

Don’t Color Me ANYTHING!

July 18, 2008 at 11:51 am | In Science | 7 Comments

Yesterday, the Baltimore Sun ran an interesting article about the dangers of artificial colors in food products.  Of course, this article comes only about 34 years too late, but better late than never, I guess.  The article details the pressure the FDA is coming under to review its stance on the safety of chemical food dyes in light of recent statement by its British counterpart.   However, the FDA refuses to cave.

This should come as no surprise, considering the way the FDA operates.   Far be it for them to bite the hand that feeds them.  In the meantime, manufacturers continue to pour more and more artificial colors into their products.  And I’m pretty sure that they know exactly what these chemicals do.  Why else would Gatorade come in such garish colors?  What really irks me is that companies like Kraft, Mars, and Cadbury will voluntarily change their recipes in the UK, but leave them unchanged in the American markets.

My family has been on the Feingold Diet for a number of years now, originally to help with some of our youngsters’ behavioral problems.  But, I think it has helped with a broad range of issues, from general health to fertility (where did you think all the small lookalikes came from?)  Our kids rarely get sick, and usually is it nowhere as severe as what is making the rounds. 

Any chemist will tell you that any chemical compound can be dangerous if ingested.  When asked about the safety of a particular compound, my chemistry professor would always tell us, “Well, it won’t kill you right away.”  The problem seems to be that if a chemical doesn’t make you sick, then the FDA concludes that it must be safe.  And everyone believes the FDA — after all, they wear white lab coats.

Addendum:  The following was forwarded to me by my lovely wife, who belongs to a number of groups providing information on the topic.  Please take a moment to write to the address below — you may help change food history!

Meanwhile, McDonald’s has been in touch with the CSPI (Center for Science in the Public Interest) and has told them that they really aren’t sure that Americans are concerned about the fact that their food contains synthetic dyes.  McDonald’s has asked their nutrition & labeling manager, Julia Braun, to gather information on whether or not consumers have any interest in this area.

Julia says that McDonald’s rarely does anything unless they can document a consumer demand, so she has invited parents to write to her and share their feelings about food dyes, and she has provided information below on how to reach her. 

Her contact info:2111 McDonald’s Drive
    Oak Brook, IL  60523

    Email:  julia.braun@us.mcd.com 

    Julia Braun, MPH, RD
    Nutrition & Labeling Manager

So Crazy, It Just Might Work

July 17, 2008 at 3:33 pm | In Workplace | 1 Comment

Apparently, corporate-level workers for Best Buy are no longer expected to show up for work.  Their management has adopted a new culture of ROWE — Results Only Work Environment, where people are expected to get their assignments done however they want.  Show up to work or not.  Work sixty hours a week or not.  Nobody cares, as long as the work gets done.

Strange.  This is exactly how I survived four years of college.  Nobody cared where I was or how long I was there, as long as I got my assignments turned in on time.  But then, I was the one paying for that experience.  When it became someone else’s nickel, they wanted a complete accounting of how I spent the eight hours a day they were buying off of me.

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