Let Me Dust Off My Soapbox...

I'm going to stray from my normal hilarity for a moment, and step up onto my soapbox.

I only get this out for special occassions and today is one of them.

In the wake of the largest recall of US beef, I feel the need to share some facts with those of you who may not be aware of them.

First of all, this is a Class II recall, which means it is happening, out of an abundance of caution, because the company did not follow regulations for handling non-ambulatory cattle. To be clear, this recall does not mean that there is BSE in the product. This disease is extremely rare in the US and the beef industry has taken all of the necessary steps to produce beef in a way that ensures that this disease does not enter the food chain.

Second of all, while I, in no way, support the way that these animals were treated, I find it very disheartening that we, as Americans, have put a higher value on animal life than on human life. Last year, 3 million children were abused. Did you see that on the news? Every day, 3 children die at the hands of an abuser. Where are the people protesting that? Yet, twelve animals were treated poorly in a packing plant in California, and the whole world is up in arms. Where are our priorities, people?

Let me take a second to educate you on some facts about beef:

- Are you concerned about hormones being implanted into beef?

• One half pound of beef from an implanted animal has 1.9 nanograms of estrogen equivalent.
• In comparison, one half pound of potato has 245 nanograms.
• One pound of beef from an implanted animal has 15,000 times less estrogen equivalent than the amount produced by an average man, daily.
• In fact, young women in America may be reaching puberty 18 months earlier than their mothers and 24 months earlier than their grandmothers, but DID YOU KNOW - that in the European Union, where they do not allow hormone implants in beef, young women are reaching puberty 18 months earlier than their mothers did, and 24 months earlier than their grandmothers?

- Are you concerned about beef production's effect on the environment?

• Beef production accounts for just over 2% of total Green House Gas emissions.
• Compared to organic grass fed beef, conventionally raised beef uses 1/3 the land and produces only 2/3 the amount of Green House gasses.

- Some nutritional information for you:

• There are 29 cuts of lean beef - each of these cuts has less total fat than a skinless chicken thigh.
• It would take 13.5 servings of salmon to provide the same amount of zinc as in 1 serving of beef.
• It would take 7.5 servings of skinless chicken breast to provide the same amount of Vitamin B12 as 1 serving of beef.
• It would take 2.75 cups of raw spinach to provide the same amount of iron and 6.5 cups to provide the same amount of Vitamin B6 as one serving of beef.
• A 3 oz. serving of beef contributes less than 10% of calories to a 2000-calorie diet, yet it supplies 51% of the Daily Protein Requirement.

I encourage each of you to visit www.beef.org and visit some of the websites that are funded by the Beef Checkoff (you can find them on the left side of the page.) Educate yourself on the nutritional values of beef. Use these websites as a resource, debunk the myths you hear. Use the recipes.
Discover the Power of Protein in the Land of Lean Beef!
(Thank you to those of you who gave me some of the statistics that are found in this blog.)

I Hear Chickens

So I've been travelling this past week with a group of folks around Nevada and I have lots of stories, but I'll share them as time passes.

For now, we will discuss the Chinese Zodiac. One of the gents on the trip was always talking about it. I happen to be a Rooster - and besides that crap about being pretentious, I think it fits...

People born in the year of the Rooster are usually very observant. They are brave, resilient and tenacious but can also be quite self-absorbed, pretentious, and overly romantic. Most of the time, they are very accurate and precise with their observation.

These people certainly love to find themselves in the spotlight, they love entertaining friends and adore meeting new people, and even unexpected and uncertain circumstances are not a barrier for them.

It is almost impossible to find someone born in this year looking dowdy or untidy. The fact is that these people are usually the best dressed and groomed of all other people. They are actively interested in clothes, colours, and accessories, and are usually very critical of their own appearance as well as of the appearance of those around them. People born in the year of the Rooster like to be noticed and flattered. Such a person might dress a little flashy with this in mind, but in his heart, he/she is completely conservative. Roosters always appear attractive and beautifully turned out. They are sociable and love to receive attention. Others may criticize them for being exhibitionists but the fact that they are compassionate, wise, and have a brave nature which comes to the fore when others need their help, makes up for that deficiency.

It is difficult for these people to accept advice because of their strong independent spirit. These people are often confident in their own judgement and choices. There are times when these people may be too straight-forward which can cause some problems in relationships with others. So it would be wise sometimes not to express their opinions in order to keep the peace. Roosters can drive people away with their need to be right if they cannot relax and let the other person have a say.

Feliz Cumpleanos

Happy Birthday, IT Girl!!!!!!! Thankfully, I have a holiday to celebrate on Feb. 14 - even though you are in another country.

I love you and I don't know what I would do without you!!!!!! You are my Valentine!

The Biggest Little City...

Well, readers, here we go again…

As I mentioned previously, my annual convention for work was in Reno and Honker, E85, and Antique were all going to be there. Unfortunately, the stories involving the three of them are not as eventful as I would have liked.

I saw Antique first. He was in the trade show the night that it opened and we got a chance to hang out and walk around a little. My obsession with him was renewed at this point and would continue for the remainder of the week (it may be safe to say that the feeling was mutual). In addition to Antique; Honker and The Hottest Man Alive* were also in attendance. A fairly low key night, when the show closed I headed to the Nugget to meet Diddy when he arrived. Honker was at the bar in the casino when we walked by on our way to the Blackjack tables and he winked at me. (Diddy describes the wink as an “I see you, you see me, let’s get together later” wink)

I watched as Diddy and some friends played cards and then out of nowhere, Antique came by to talk to me. (Have I mentioned the obsession?) We talked for a while and then I headed back to my hotel for bed.

The next day was fairly uneventful until the evening. I was invited to a social event for California. I couldn’t decided if I wanted to go or not, but finally decided to make an appearance. I have thanked the Lord every day since then that I did. Antique, Honker, and E85 were all there. My interaction with E85 was less than stellar and I was quite disappointed with him. I got to meet Honker’s parents, which was interesting. And Antique invited me to dinner (unfortunately, Diddy and I had already eaten so I had to decline.) Plus, Diddy was in his room waiting for me so that we could go to another casino and hang out with my folks. Honker and I start talking and I ask him what he’s doing after the social.

Honker: I’m going to the other hotel. (Keep in mind a few things: 1. I have already told him that I plan to head to the Grand Sierra after the social and b. there are six total convention hotels – “the other hotel” isn’t very specific.)
Me: Which other hotel?
Honker: The other hotel.
Me: There are like six other hotels – could you be more specific?
Honker: I’m going to the Grand.
Me: That’s where I’m going.
Honker: That’s why I’m going, and I thought you would know which other hotel I was talking about.
Me: Are you stalking me?
Honker: Yes.
Me: I have lots of stalkers.

I tell him that I need to go get Diddy and then we are going to head over there. He says that he’ll give us a ride if we just call him when we’re ready.

We get to the Grand, meet up with my parents and decide we’re not loving the crowd. I thought about just going back to my hotel (I had a staff meeting at 5:45 the next morning and had to meet my coworkers to ride over to it at 5:20.) Diddy and my mom talked me out of it. So I end up at the Nugget again, and who do I run into? You guessed it, Antique. I see him on my way to the restroom and he says, “We’re going to watch Karaoke, come with us.” So I eventually end up at the Karaoke bar with him and I talk my friend EID (who is also mildly obsessed with him) into joining us. She comes over from her hotel and the three of us end up sitting in the Lounge and talking until 2 am. Ridiculous considering that I had to be up in less than three hours, but I couldn’t walk away from him.

The next day turned out to be a whirlwind of crazy. First, it was committee day, which is our busiest day at convention. Second, Banana had left Reno Thursday afternoon to head to St. Louis and was scheduled to return on Saturday in time to see her dad become President. Instead, my mom called me at 7:00 am – she sounded frantic and told me that Banana had called Bunner* about two hours prior saying that she thought she had a stroke. She was headed to the ER and would let us know as soon as she heard anything. After a long day of waiting and wondering, it was confirmed that she had a minor stroke and Bunner flew to St. Louis to be with her. Fortunately, there was not any major damage and she was released from the hospital and made it back to Reno by Saturday afternoon. She will continue to undergo tests to find out what caused this to happen.

Saturday night, Antique joined me for dinner at the Grand Finale and then, again until 2:30 in the morning we hung out at the bar. I seriously spent the whole night with him. I know more about him than you can believe and at the end of the night, I even got him to join me on the dance floor. It was a blast!

Like I said, nothing too terribly exciting, but stay tuned - I have lots of travel coming up...

What??

A guy I work with told me yesterday that if he had my personality he would have been married three times already.

What does that mean???