Smart Choices Program Suspended

I was at the grocery store recently and saw first hand the most recent terrible idea from the food industry - the "Smart Choices" program.

Under this program, created by a PR firm associated with food giants like General Mills and Kellogg, junk food a sugary cereals were labeled as "smart choices" and made to seem like healthy foods to choose. My wandering through the grocery store demonstrated the insanity and hypocrisy of this program, crap like Froot Loops and Frosted Flakes were given this alleged seal of approval.

Another abomination of processed food crap, Bagelfulls, which judging by what I saw in the freezer container was nothing more than some type of doughy stuff filled with cream cheese and corn syrupy jam. If crap like this qualifies as a "smart choice" than it's plainly obvious that such a program is useless.

Thankfully the public outcry over this program in the last few weeks has lead to the recent cessation (see LA Times article) of this program. We'll have to see if they try to roll the program back out, with changes? or with less publicity? or perhaps they'll put the program where it belongs, in the trash can.

Snow on the Way

Weather is probably one of the first things that you want to stay updated about regading our move to North Dakota. So you'll be happy/excited to know that our first decent snow storm is on the horizon. The timing and amount of actual snow (versus rain that could fall instead) is dicey, but for now it does look like there will be some snow on the ground come Friday morning.

Here's information from our local newspaper - the Grand Forks Herald:

"The National Weather Service says a storm is expected late today through early Friday across central and southern North Dakota, and in the northeastern part of the state late Thursday through Friday. The winter storm watch for Thursday night and Friday afternoon is primarily for counties outside the Red River Valley, including the Devils Lake basin.

Rain in northeast North Dakota is expected to turn into snow by Thursday night over a large portion of northeast North Dakota. More than six inches of snow accumulation is possible by Friday afternoon, with winds expected to increase late Thursday night and Friday morning, possibly reducing visibilities."

We'll see if and how much snow we actually receive, but we'll let you know, and if there is a blanket of snow on the ground, I promise to take plenty of pictures.

Morning in Grand Forks

Just a quick picture of the sunrise this morning to prove to you non-North Dakotans that this is indeed a pretty place.

It may not be a sunset at the beach (I grew tired of those anyways), but it's still fairly pretty.

I'm trying to get better at taking pictures, and haven't forgotten my camera as often as I did before. Previously it seemed that everywhere I went there would be some picture worthy event that I would curse myself for not having my camera. My commitment to show all the picture worthy events that occur back here and bring it to all of you out there, well that commitment remains strong.

It's another windy day today, gusts up to 30mph, leaves are blowing around like, well like leaves on a fall day. At least it's not too cold, mid-40's, otherwise it would be pretty unpleasant outside.

Quitting the Paint Factory

I read a fabulous essay this morning, it's actually a reprint from 2004, from Harper's magazine by Mark Slouka, and thought I'd pass it along for everyone to enjoy. Here's the link. I always enjoy cerebral justifications for my semi-retired lifestyle, and pieces like this really resonate with me, not because it justifies laziness, but because it validates my urgent need for regular time for quiet introspection.

There's also some interesting dicsussion of the perceived differences between leisure and idleness. Leisure being activity which is directed in pursuit of a goal - fishing, golfing, sailing, and idleness is directed in pursuit of doing nothing - resting, reading, thinking, or just sitting there doing nothing. Naturally you can guess which of these society deems morally good, and which is morally bad. "Idles hands are ___ (fill in the blank on this one, but it won't be a positive reference)".

Here's a quick passage from the piece that I'll leave you with:

Idleness is not just a psychological necessity, req­uisite to the construction of a complete human being; it constitutes as well a kind of political space, a space as necessary to the workings of an actual democracy as, say, a free press. How does it do this? By allowing us time to figure out who we are, and what we believe; by allowing us time to consider what is unjust, and what we might do about it. By giving the inner life (in whose precincts we are most ourselves) its due. Which is precisely what makes idle­ness dangerous. All manner of things can grow out of that fallow soil. Not for nothing did our mothers grow suspicious when we had “too much time on our hands.” They knew we might be up to something. And not for nothing did we whisper to each other, when we were up to something, “Quick, look busy."

Starry Starry Morning

It was chilly this morning, low 20's, the coldest so far this year. Saying that it was the coldest night of the year in mid-October is like watching a basketball game and stating after the first basket "I don't think the final score will stay at 2-0". What is John trying to say with this odd analogy? That it will most likely get colder as the days and weeks creep towards actual winter.

We're up early these days, and not because of cold puppy noses poking over the edge of the bed. Nope, we're actually slaves to the alarm, set for 6:00 am. We've got many tasks to accomplish- dog walk, dog breakfast, people breakfast, coffee brewing (this step is VERY, VERY important), and getting Alycia ready for her school day. The dogs would actually allow us to sleep in later if we didn't need to get up. It's a small measure or revenge to have to rouse Shaak Ti out of bed instead of the other way around, which happens 97% of the time. That small measure of revenge though does nothing to mitigate the unparalleled horror of having to be up that early.

So needless to say our morning dog walks are done while it is very much dark, and this morning was dark and cold and clear. Without the fluffy layer of cloud insulation to ward it off, the cold really sets in. Even in my sleepy state I appreciate the fact that we're the only ones out and about, parading our furry companions through the dark, and crunching the frost covered fallen leaves with slippered feet.

As I stumbled around in my multiple layers of clothing and fuzzy slippers, I looked up at the night, soon to be dawn sky, and marveled at all the stars. These stargazing moments were brief, as my shuffling demanded as much attention I could generate so early in the morning, lest it lead to me performing the popular "shuffle-shuffle-stumble-faceplant" maneuver.

There were more stars than I ever remember seeing in the light polluted lands of Southern California. And most folk around here will tell you that you can't see stars at all in "the city" (that would be Grand Forks that they're referring to) and that you need to get out into the country to really see some stars. I look forward to it.

A New Harness

The littlest sled dog (aka Shaak Ti) got herself a brand new blue harness today. The old one finally collapsed, much like the Bluesmobile at the end of The Blues Brothers (see it in the first 15 seconds of this clip), it just completely fell apart this morning. The buckle had slipped and became unbuckled a few times over the past week or so, giving the indication that total failure was imminent.

This morning as we put Shaak Ti in her harness, the buckle snapped completely. Upon closer inspection I also realized that a few of the seams were also almost completely torn off as well. It was a good thing because soon enough the whole thing probably would have failed, and Shaak Ti would have torn through it like Bruce Banner changing into the Hulk, shed her restraints, and raced freely after some poor squirrel or chipmunk.

The harness lasted for quite a while, more than two years, through hundreds of miles of walks and another few hundred miles of runs, through rain and snow and sand from so many beach trips. We humbly salute you, oh noble harness, you have served your purpose well.

New Poll

I posted a new poll, so check it out and cast your vote. It's very important that you do, if not, I may not have my finger on the pulse of what Halloween candy is popular this year, and I'll hand out something that kids hate, thus turning me into a social pariah. So please vote.....

Wallyball Results

You'll be proud to know your wallyball team was victorious in its athletic debut last night. We met our first foe and soundly, yet honorably, defeated them in our first athletic conquest. Our new comrades Chris and Kaitlan integrated well into the team and were fun teammates to play with, which bodes well for a successful and enjoyable season.

You may be surprised to know that I wasn't confident of victory and had set my expectation level at "I just want to make sure no one gets hurt this evening". Lo and behold what a pleasant surprise it was when not only were there no injuries, collisions, or mishaps, but everyone played well, had a pleasant time. AND we won. Expectations were exceeded at every level.

Though there were no injuries, there was some aftermath. Alycia, still sore from our wallyball outing on Sunday, reported post-game soreness in her quads, hamstrings, and every other leg muscle she owns (and even a few I think she made up). She's on heavy doses of Ibuprofen right now, and we're hopeful that her condition will slowly improve. Don't tell her (it's a surprise), but we're going to try to use homemade chili and gluten free cornbread to nurse her back to health this evening. She's due lots of slack though since this is her first real exercise in 7 months since her broken ankle diagnosis, so it may take some time to get her back up to speed.

I do have a few photographs of the event, but they are currently unavailable as they were requested for display from the Grand Forks Athletic Hall of Fame. The organization promised they would provide duplicate pictures, as the originals will be proudly displayed in a traveling exhibition throughout North Dakota over the next several months. If you're in the area, I would highly recommend a visit.

All joking aside, they do publish the local league results in the Grand Forks Herald on Mondays, though I'm not sure if that section is also available online. If it is, I'll include so you can also savor our standing in the league.