I know that a long time ago (relatively speaking), I posted an entry that spoke about people doing things while they were driving that distracted them and endangered others.
This past week, as I was waiting at a light, getting ready to get on the highway, I saw that the driver of the car ahead of me was putting on mascara. If you read my previous post, you'll know that I am not sympathetic in any way with any one who does non driving activities while driving. Applying mascara is one of those activities. In this case, I was hopeful that the driver was only applying make up while stopped.
From the light (once it turned green) to the highway, I had to follow my make-up artist driving friend (the driver did not let driving get in the way of the make up mission). After we turned on to the highway, however, the driver was traveling slowly enough (and a little erratically, perHAPS due to the driver's secondary activity) that I was able to pass and continue on my way without further concern, until, about 10 minutes later, the driver came ripping by at a great rate of speed (by the way, still working on her make up).
I hope that this driver made it to her destination and that colleagues or students or friends appreciated the make up job. I also hope that I don't see this driver again on the road. I have a feeling that, while she is likely very skilled at both driving and applying mascara, at some point she may get distracted or have the brush poke the brush in her eye to the point where she causes a problem either for herself or for herself and drivers around her. Actually, I hope that a patrolman sees her while she applies the mascara and stops her.
Here are some things NOT to do while driving:
Do not:
apply make up, mascara, under arm deodorant
tie your tie, take off your tie, put on or take off a jacket
text, read texts you have received, e-mail or read e-mails you have received
read anything other than a street or highway sign
reach for anything that requires you to take your eye off the road
Instead, do all of those tasks before you get in or start your car. You'll be better off and so will everyone around you (including me).
Have a good one. KipK
Sunday, April 10, 2011
really good 2011 Masters Tournament
To all my golfing friends, I hope you enjoyed the 2011 Masters. It was a barn burner and I remained interested to the very end.
The winner was Charl Schwartzel from South Africa, who shot a 14 under par total. He beat a host of Australians, two of whom, Adam Scott and Jason Day who each ended up at 12 under par. In his best total tournament performance in a long while, Tiger Woods finished tied for fourth at 10 under par.
Have a good one. KipK
The winner was Charl Schwartzel from South Africa, who shot a 14 under par total. He beat a host of Australians, two of whom, Adam Scott and Jason Day who each ended up at 12 under par. In his best total tournament performance in a long while, Tiger Woods finished tied for fourth at 10 under par.
Have a good one. KipK
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
where not to buy breakfast cereal
So, I was coming home late on Saturday evening and needed some breakfast cereal for the morning. Due to the lateness of the hour, the grocery store was closed. My last hope was one of the two gas stations near the highway.
From my past experience, (you probably have the same kind of experience with this matter), breakfast cereal is not an area of strength for gas stations. Gas stations are good at: gas, soft drinks, potato chips and other snack foods, beer and the like. Cereal, breakfast cereal is sometimes found at gas stations but it is usually in very small and very overpriced boxes. And, the variety is usually limited to Corn Flakes, Frosted Flakes and maybe Fruit Loops.
Sin embargo (however), knowing that the chances either station carried breakfast cereal were slim but also knowing that I needed what I was looking for, I pulled up, parked and went into the first gas station. I looked on all the rows but found only the aforementioned chips, snacks and soft drinks, no cereal.
Across the street was the second station and my last hope for something breakfasty in the morning. I entered and began looking and quickly spied a bottom row of 6-10 boxes of a wider than expected variety of breakfast cereal. Potential Jackpot!
Knowing that prices for everything are higher at gas stations, I looked for the price tag and confirmed that indeed I was going to pay the price.
A related thought then crossed my mind, again drawn from experience with gas stations and convenience stores' products, pricing and tendency to not turn over their goods as quickly as a regular grocery store might, that I should check the expiration date (sometimes called, euphemistically, the "best if used by date"). So, I looked for the date on the box of Frosted Flakes. Upon investigation, the price tag was covering the date. Being the curious sort (or suspicious / cynical / doubting / skeptical sort), I gently peeled back the price tag and found that the expiration date was June 2009. I gently pushed the price tag back into place and moved to the next box.
The second box of cereal (do not remember the brand) had a price tag placed in the same place, over the expiration date. While I was not completely sure the price tag placement was not just a coincidence, my first thought was "I'll bet they're trying to cover up expiration dates that are past". I gently peeled the second box's price tag back to find an expiration date of May 2010. While a full year closer to the present date, I was not interested in testing just how good for you old cereal can be and put the price tag bag where I found it.
Some people, at this point, would say to themselves "all their cereal is going to be old, do something else for breakfast tomorrow". Did I follow that sage advice? Of course not, where's your spirit of adventure. I still had several of boxes that might still be good (although, statistically, my odds were probably not as good as I thought they were). Moving along to the third box, which was Apple Jacks, a former favorite of mine and one which I still occasionally enjoy if I find it in the hotel breakfast buffet selection, I pulled back the price tag (which, as you have deduced was over the expiration date - three in a row, who would of thunk it?) to see that the cereal was good until June of 2011. SCORE!! (see, most of you would have given up before the success . . . see below).
Without a single reservation (okay, maybe I did have a little bit of skeptical wonder in my head), I pulled the box of Apple Jacks up, grabbed a half gallon of milk (which I also needed) and went to the register. Always being a helpful soul, I told the guy working the register that there were two boxes of expired cereal on his shelves. His reaction (or maybe non reaction is more apt) did not surprise me (but perhaps I should have higher expectations). He scanned the milk and the cereal, gave me the total and did not verbally acknowledge that I have even spoken to him.
The rest of the story is, when I had a bowl of the Apple Jacks, with milk, they were not the freshest cereal I had ever consumed nor were they the tastiest. My next act, just after breakfast was to throw away the box of cereal. While I consider myself to be on the financially prudent side, I was not going to worry about the sunk costs of that box of bad cereal. On Monday, I went to the grocery store and bought two boxes of very fresh Frosted Mini Wheats, with which I have been very happy (tasty, fresh, crunchy, sweet).
As a post mortem, I did call the gas station's headquarters and told them of my experience. A very nice lady named Maureen listened very patiently and seemed genuinely concerned about what had happened. She did pass the customer feedback along as within the hour, the owner/manager of the station called and asked me about what had happened, asking me to bring back the expired cereal for a refund.
So, if you did not already know NOT to buy cereal from a gas station, please let this be a vicarious experience from which you can learn.
Have a good one. KipK
From my past experience, (you probably have the same kind of experience with this matter), breakfast cereal is not an area of strength for gas stations. Gas stations are good at: gas, soft drinks, potato chips and other snack foods, beer and the like. Cereal, breakfast cereal is sometimes found at gas stations but it is usually in very small and very overpriced boxes. And, the variety is usually limited to Corn Flakes, Frosted Flakes and maybe Fruit Loops.
Sin embargo (however), knowing that the chances either station carried breakfast cereal were slim but also knowing that I needed what I was looking for, I pulled up, parked and went into the first gas station. I looked on all the rows but found only the aforementioned chips, snacks and soft drinks, no cereal.
Across the street was the second station and my last hope for something breakfasty in the morning. I entered and began looking and quickly spied a bottom row of 6-10 boxes of a wider than expected variety of breakfast cereal. Potential Jackpot!
Knowing that prices for everything are higher at gas stations, I looked for the price tag and confirmed that indeed I was going to pay the price.
A related thought then crossed my mind, again drawn from experience with gas stations and convenience stores' products, pricing and tendency to not turn over their goods as quickly as a regular grocery store might, that I should check the expiration date (sometimes called, euphemistically, the "best if used by date"). So, I looked for the date on the box of Frosted Flakes. Upon investigation, the price tag was covering the date. Being the curious sort (or suspicious / cynical / doubting / skeptical sort), I gently peeled back the price tag and found that the expiration date was June 2009. I gently pushed the price tag back into place and moved to the next box.
The second box of cereal (do not remember the brand) had a price tag placed in the same place, over the expiration date. While I was not completely sure the price tag placement was not just a coincidence, my first thought was "I'll bet they're trying to cover up expiration dates that are past". I gently peeled the second box's price tag back to find an expiration date of May 2010. While a full year closer to the present date, I was not interested in testing just how good for you old cereal can be and put the price tag bag where I found it.
Some people, at this point, would say to themselves "all their cereal is going to be old, do something else for breakfast tomorrow". Did I follow that sage advice? Of course not, where's your spirit of adventure. I still had several of boxes that might still be good (although, statistically, my odds were probably not as good as I thought they were). Moving along to the third box, which was Apple Jacks, a former favorite of mine and one which I still occasionally enjoy if I find it in the hotel breakfast buffet selection, I pulled back the price tag (which, as you have deduced was over the expiration date - three in a row, who would of thunk it?) to see that the cereal was good until June of 2011. SCORE!! (see, most of you would have given up before the success . . . see below).
Without a single reservation (okay, maybe I did have a little bit of skeptical wonder in my head), I pulled the box of Apple Jacks up, grabbed a half gallon of milk (which I also needed) and went to the register. Always being a helpful soul, I told the guy working the register that there were two boxes of expired cereal on his shelves. His reaction (or maybe non reaction is more apt) did not surprise me (but perhaps I should have higher expectations). He scanned the milk and the cereal, gave me the total and did not verbally acknowledge that I have even spoken to him.
The rest of the story is, when I had a bowl of the Apple Jacks, with milk, they were not the freshest cereal I had ever consumed nor were they the tastiest. My next act, just after breakfast was to throw away the box of cereal. While I consider myself to be on the financially prudent side, I was not going to worry about the sunk costs of that box of bad cereal. On Monday, I went to the grocery store and bought two boxes of very fresh Frosted Mini Wheats, with which I have been very happy (tasty, fresh, crunchy, sweet).
As a post mortem, I did call the gas station's headquarters and told them of my experience. A very nice lady named Maureen listened very patiently and seemed genuinely concerned about what had happened. She did pass the customer feedback along as within the hour, the owner/manager of the station called and asked me about what had happened, asking me to bring back the expired cereal for a refund.
So, if you did not already know NOT to buy cereal from a gas station, please let this be a vicarious experience from which you can learn.
Have a good one. KipK
Friday, March 25, 2011
asparagus
I like asparagus and feel that eating it is a good, healthy thing to do. I like it when it has been cooked until the spears are just a little bit crunchy. My most favorite asparagus are the thin ones.
While I enjoy and feel good about eating asparagus, I could do without the immediate side effect that follows. If there were a way to have the fun of eating asparagus without the side effect, the vegetable would be at the top of my list for good foods.
With respect to vegetables in general, I have always been a fan of most of them. When I was a kid (until I was about 22 or so and still a little bit now) I did not appreciate tomatoes. I thought they were awful, without even having to taste them. I could not see the appeal. I liked beans, potatoes, broccoli, spinach (due to Popeye's influence), cauliflower and brussel sprouts.
My feelings on tomatoes have softened to the point where I like tomatoes if they are part of a cheeseburger or if they are of the cherry tomato variety and are in a salad covered with Ranch dressing. I know they are good for me, but I still do not like them by themselves.
Other vegetables I have grown to appreciate are: mushrooms - when fresh and on a salad; onions - fresh on cheeseburgers, cooked on quite a wide variety of foods, particularly roast beef and potatoes.
Today, as part of the complementary lunch for a bunch of my colleagues and I, after completing a morning of Junior Achievement, we were served a chicken cordon bleu with asparagus (which was tasty).
This weekend and in the coming week, I hope to eat some healthy food that is good tasting. I hope you do too.
Have a good one. KipK
While I enjoy and feel good about eating asparagus, I could do without the immediate side effect that follows. If there were a way to have the fun of eating asparagus without the side effect, the vegetable would be at the top of my list for good foods.
With respect to vegetables in general, I have always been a fan of most of them. When I was a kid (until I was about 22 or so and still a little bit now) I did not appreciate tomatoes. I thought they were awful, without even having to taste them. I could not see the appeal. I liked beans, potatoes, broccoli, spinach (due to Popeye's influence), cauliflower and brussel sprouts.
My feelings on tomatoes have softened to the point where I like tomatoes if they are part of a cheeseburger or if they are of the cherry tomato variety and are in a salad covered with Ranch dressing. I know they are good for me, but I still do not like them by themselves.
Other vegetables I have grown to appreciate are: mushrooms - when fresh and on a salad; onions - fresh on cheeseburgers, cooked on quite a wide variety of foods, particularly roast beef and potatoes.
Today, as part of the complementary lunch for a bunch of my colleagues and I, after completing a morning of Junior Achievement, we were served a chicken cordon bleu with asparagus (which was tasty).
This weekend and in the coming week, I hope to eat some healthy food that is good tasting. I hope you do too.
Have a good one. KipK
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
accomplishments in 2010
It's a bit on the late side, but I just read my second to last post, which was about my New Year's resolutions for 2010. With that in mind, here are some of my accomplishments or my impressions about the accomplishments:
gospel - I felt like I served and was a better home teacher this past year. I give the credit for that to my lovely wife, who sets such a great example with her visiting teaching that I have to do/be better just to keep her in sight.
reading 1 - I did read the Book of Mormon through again and was blessed with many great scriptural and spiritual insights for having made the effort.
reading 2 - I read many books in 2010, more than my goal and enjoyed almost all of them. There were a couple of books which I finished with effort as the writing was poor, the plot was lacking, etc (I kept hoping they would get better).
running - Jessica and I ran the Mardi Gras New Orleans Marathon together in February. It was a hard one, with Jessica getting injured about half the way through. On the plus side, I had a lot of talking time with her as we made our way through the miles and encouraged each other along the way. And, I was randomly chosen to be the King of the marathon (cool). That was most of the running I did, as a few weeks later, I had the Hallux Rigidus in my right toe removed in surgery. It took a couple of months to recover. I began to run again in the late summer/early fall.
golf - I had a good year and accomplished several goals. I finished third in the GACC with an average round at Turnberry (not Mentel as in the past) and a consistently good round at Champions, making up about 5 places on the golfers in my flight. One of the coolest things to happen was that a member of my golf league came and caddied for me on the final day, contributing to my success.
weight/fitness - interestingly, I did accomplish my goal of losing a little weight and will continue with those positive efforts.
My next post will be about my goals for the coming year.
Have a good one. KipK
gospel - I felt like I served and was a better home teacher this past year. I give the credit for that to my lovely wife, who sets such a great example with her visiting teaching that I have to do/be better just to keep her in sight.
reading 1 - I did read the Book of Mormon through again and was blessed with many great scriptural and spiritual insights for having made the effort.
reading 2 - I read many books in 2010, more than my goal and enjoyed almost all of them. There were a couple of books which I finished with effort as the writing was poor, the plot was lacking, etc (I kept hoping they would get better).
running - Jessica and I ran the Mardi Gras New Orleans Marathon together in February. It was a hard one, with Jessica getting injured about half the way through. On the plus side, I had a lot of talking time with her as we made our way through the miles and encouraged each other along the way. And, I was randomly chosen to be the King of the marathon (cool). That was most of the running I did, as a few weeks later, I had the Hallux Rigidus in my right toe removed in surgery. It took a couple of months to recover. I began to run again in the late summer/early fall.
golf - I had a good year and accomplished several goals. I finished third in the GACC with an average round at Turnberry (not Mentel as in the past) and a consistently good round at Champions, making up about 5 places on the golfers in my flight. One of the coolest things to happen was that a member of my golf league came and caddied for me on the final day, contributing to my success.
weight/fitness - interestingly, I did accomplish my goal of losing a little weight and will continue with those positive efforts.
My next post will be about my goals for the coming year.
Have a good one. KipK
Sunday, August 1, 2010
decisions, decisions
I am planning on learning from the following golf experience (which, by the way, I used as an introduction to my lesson in priesthood this afternoon). I was playing the front nine at Champions, in my Thursday afternoon league. On the first hole, a dogleg left, I pulled my drive into the woods on the left. The best shot from there, if you care about your score (and I do) is to chip it back out, into the fairway and move forward to the green. Often, however, there is the temptation which appears in the form of an opening through which a well directed shot can go, a hero shot if you will. In spite of my self promise to almost always pitch out into the fairway when in the woods, I tried the hero shot. Not surprisingly, it didn't work. At that point, I did pitch out and go for the green. When the ball finally rattled into the hole, I had taken a double bogey. Had I pitched out in the first place, I might have saved a stroke (statistically, a golfer will get a bogey versus a double bogey if they pitch out and move on). The temptation of making a great, hero shot was too much and I went for it, paying the price.
Holes 2-5 were good, with solid tee shots, good approaches and pretty good golf. Number 6 is almost like number 1, only the dogleg goes to the right. I put my tee shot into the trees and had the very same decision, pitch out or try the hero shot. I again tried the hero shot, even though this shot was even more exacting than the hero shot on 1. The results were worse, taking me farther into the woods on the other side of the fairway. Eventually, I ended up saving a double bogey. Had I pitched out and gone forward from there, statistically, I might have ended up with only a bogey.
After the round, which was not a good one with respect to score, I noted that there were three give away strokes because I didn't pitch out when in trouble. There were two give away strokes because my chipping around the green was not good and finally, there were three give away strokes because of badly putted balls on the green. I gave away 8 strokes because of lack of discipline, focus, memory, whatever you want to call it (almost a full stroke a hole). From this point on, I am going to stick with the plan, chip it out when in trouble, work on chipping around the greens (even more than I do) and stay with my plan to putt more aggressively, taking some of the break out of breaking putts (that I have been babying a lot and missing a lot).
Also, I have decided to do a bit more blogging because, while I enjoy Facebook, I don't feel there is much depth nor permanence to it. Blogging seems to be a great way to express feelings, note progress and keep a record of what I am doing with my life in the areas I care most about. I'll even look for appropriate photos should the occasion call for it.
By the way, the lesson, which was about developing good judgment, went well and the HP Group liked it, participated and added good insight.
Finally, I started back to running, with an easy three miler from my house to the bridge on Davidson. I'll work into more and more running as the days and weeks come, building to the point where I can think about doing some longer races (halves and fulls).
Have a good one. KipK
Holes 2-5 were good, with solid tee shots, good approaches and pretty good golf. Number 6 is almost like number 1, only the dogleg goes to the right. I put my tee shot into the trees and had the very same decision, pitch out or try the hero shot. I again tried the hero shot, even though this shot was even more exacting than the hero shot on 1. The results were worse, taking me farther into the woods on the other side of the fairway. Eventually, I ended up saving a double bogey. Had I pitched out and gone forward from there, statistically, I might have ended up with only a bogey.
After the round, which was not a good one with respect to score, I noted that there were three give away strokes because I didn't pitch out when in trouble. There were two give away strokes because my chipping around the green was not good and finally, there were three give away strokes because of badly putted balls on the green. I gave away 8 strokes because of lack of discipline, focus, memory, whatever you want to call it (almost a full stroke a hole). From this point on, I am going to stick with the plan, chip it out when in trouble, work on chipping around the greens (even more than I do) and stay with my plan to putt more aggressively, taking some of the break out of breaking putts (that I have been babying a lot and missing a lot).
Also, I have decided to do a bit more blogging because, while I enjoy Facebook, I don't feel there is much depth nor permanence to it. Blogging seems to be a great way to express feelings, note progress and keep a record of what I am doing with my life in the areas I care most about. I'll even look for appropriate photos should the occasion call for it.
By the way, the lesson, which was about developing good judgment, went well and the HP Group liked it, participated and added good insight.
Finally, I started back to running, with an easy three miler from my house to the bridge on Davidson. I'll work into more and more running as the days and weeks come, building to the point where I can think about doing some longer races (halves and fulls).
Have a good one. KipK
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
My goal is to be doing what I would rather be doing
zip lining?
surfing?
Nah, it's pretty sure that I'd rather be golfing (for suitable picture, go to pga.com and copy paste a picture of Camilo Villegas - I think he looks like me more than any of the other golfers).
Have a good one.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)