What-What?! Week of September 15th

This week I officially started my position as an after school leader with the local YMCA.  It is somewhat of a bumpy ride; the location for my class is poor.  The situation is temporary, but at the same time makes working with the kids difficult.  I’ve been coming home quite spent.  As it is, I am waiting to see if the situation remedies itself, or if I need to apply some pressure to get things put right.  Thursday, I came home from work very sunburned.  I hope not to repeat that in the future.

I haven’t written an article in a while – or actually, I should say, I haven’t published an article in a while.  Two are just sitting about, waiting for me to decide where to put them; I’m unhappy with Yahoo! Voices, but at the same time, there aren’t a lot of other notable options.  Now that I’m working, I’m not sure how much I’ll be writing other than this blog; because I’m missing the baby’s naptime, it makes it hard to find uninterrupted time.

News: Carmel Dinosaur via The Monterey Herald

This is one of those special local issues; Carmel is an upscale town in the Monterey that is particular about preserving property values.  The town hosts few (or no?) chain stores, and many people vacation there.  So, having a giant dinosaur in your front yard is not well looked upon.  I think it’s awesome (though I’m not sure I’d want it in my neighborhood, along with this family's display).

News: Chinese Chicken Processors Are Cleared to Ship to U.S. via The New York Times

Companies will soon be able to export slaughtered chickens to China for processing, which will then be imported back to the United States – and will not be required to be labeled as such.  This is honestly pretty off-putting.  In recent memory, Chinese companies have poisoned infant formula, dog and cat treats, sold rat meat as mutton, and had cases of bird flu in live poultry.  No way do I want to eat poultry processed in China, and for that matter, I’m not excited about raw meat being shipped that far before it even gets anywhere near my dinner table (risk of spoilage, anyone?).

To add insult to injury, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has brought up serious doubts about the legitimacy of domestic inspections, since the USDA is expanding a pilot program that would allow companies to use their own employees as inspectors.  The GAO claims that the USDA didn’t accurately examine the effectiveness of this program before deciding to expand it.  This would most likely reduce the USDA’s overhead, but the question remains if this is furthering their goal of protecting the American people.

Music:  Lyle Lovett – In My Own Mind via Youtube.com

After writing last week’s post, I had to go look up this, which is far and away my favorite Lyle Lovett song.  Sometimes, to me, this song is about The Secret Life of Walter Mitty:  The secret fantasies and other lives that we live when no one is looking.  Other times, the song is about perspective: What happens in your life is colored greatly by how you view it in your own mind.

I love that he pronounces foyer properly.

(images via The Monterey Herald and Simply Fresh Cooking)