Fat people on candy bars

The FDA recently proposed new regulations for cigarette manufacturers that would require them to include photos of "corpses, cancer patients, and diseased lungs and teeth."

First it seemed ludicrous. It's another government attempt to regulate behavior through legislation, similar to requiring states to raise the drinking age to 21 in exchange for transportation dollars.

Then I thought maybe it made sense because it certainly would be more effective than the surgeon general's warning. Maybe it would stop someone from going down the road that I've personally seen lead to death by cancer.

But when I read the story to my wife she brought me back to reality when she commented,

Are they gonna start putting pictures of fat people on candy bars?

I couldn't argue with that.

An evening with the Citizens League of Minnesota

Last night Jamie and I attended our first Citizens League annual meeting.

If you aren't familiar with the Citizens League's, their identity statement offers details on their mission. In a nutshell, the organization serves as a nonpartisan group seeking common ground solutions to issues facing the state of Minnesota.

Jamie and I got involved after my CEO and his wife partnered with the Citizens League to pay for one-year memberships for people interested in joining. I've been looking for ways to get plugged in with civic and community engagement and this seemed like a great option. It didn't take much convincing from my CEO to get me on board and Jamie was all in favor too.

We arrived at the Minneapolis Hilton and I quickly saw the one face I knew, my CEO. He was talking to Rick Kupchella so we briefly said hello and moved on. As we headed into the meeting room (or was it a ballroom?) I spotted and was finally able to say hello to Tom Horner, who I supported for Governor. We found a table and started listening to the opening presentations.

10-15 minutes into the program we had a moment for everyone at the table to introduce ourselves and speak for a few minutes. When the person running the event began speaking again, Jamie got my attention and whispered, "Who's the woman sitting next to you?" I told her I had no idea. She had just asked if the seat was open, I said it was, and that was that. Jamie insisted, "She's a big deal. I think she was the mayor of Minneapolis."

I couldn't see her name tag at the moment, but I remembered that her first name was Sharon. I pulled out my phone and googled "Sharon Minneapolis mayor." Sure enough, up came a Wikipedia entry for Sharon Sayles Belton, the first woman and first African-American to become the mayor of Minneapolis. She ran the city for 8 years before losing to current mayor R.T. Rybak.

This just illustrates the kind of people who are involved in this organization. We had one woman at our table who is jobless and appeared to be homeless as well. We had a middle-age couple with their elementary-age child. We had a professor with a Ph.D. We had a stay-at-home-mom (Jamie). We had the former mayor of Minneapolis. We had people from all over the political, age, career, and racial spectrum.

And this disjointed group discussed a number of issues in the short hour and 15 minutes we were at that table together. I know very little about Sayles Belton other than what's in her Wikipedia entry and I'm sure we have significant policy disagreements, but she was funny, engaging, smart, and down to earth. In fact, at one point, she whispered to me, "Why hasn't your wife jumped in? She looks like she has something to say." I told her she should tell her to speak up and a couple of minutes later, she did and Jamie jumped right in.

I learned a few things last night. I learned that my wife knew a politician that I didn't. I learned that in spite of the differences we have, we can discuss them in a civil manner that isn't reflected in much of what's seen in the media. I learned that when a group sits down, they can generally find something to agree on. I learned that the former mayor of Minneapolis is pretty darn cool.

And ultimately, I had fun and was energized to get involved in finding solutions to the challenges we face. It provided a forum that no political party can hope to offer, which is probably why a number of prominent politicians are involved in the organization. They know that beyond the rhetoric, real solutions exist. It just takes some hard work with a group of smart people to put it on paper and get the word out.

A $7,400 business mistake

How do you respond when a business doesn't handle a situation the way you feel it should have been handled?

Our air conditioner stopped working while we were on vacation this summer. We returned to a home temporarily housing my mom and a number of siblings along with the 4 of us in my family. We cooked through a few 90-degree days before we called Hoffman Heating and Refrigeration of Minnesota to come do a performance check.

I assume a performance check is supposed to tell you whether your unit is working. Our house was built in 1987 and still had the original A/C and furnace. That said, we've never had an issue with either one.

Here's a timeline of what happened next.

8/13 - At our $100 performance check, the Hoffman technician told us the A/C was working properly and was just struggling to keep up with the heat. This seemed like an odd response since the unit had never had a problem with hot spells before and it was failing to cool the place even when temperatures dipped into the 70s at night, but we accepted his verdict. In the review he left us he wrote, "Normal operation at this time."

8/20 - After temperatures dipped to normalcy and the A/C still refused to produce cold air, Jamie called Hoffman about the problem. She was told it would cost $90 to send someone back out.

8/20 - I sent the following note through Hoffman's site.

Our air conditioner doesn't seem to be working. Someone came to look at it on 8/13 and said it was under "Normal operation at this time." We'd been on vacation for 2 weeks with it off and in 5 days since returning from vacation the temperature hadn't cooled below 78 degrees. We were told that the air conditioner was functioning and just wasn't able to keep up with the heat. While this has never been a problem in the past, we accepted it and replaced the filter as we were recommended to do.

Now, 7 days later and with daytime highs in the mid-70s, we're still having the same problem. The temperature inside the house is currently 82 and the air conditioner still doesn't seem to be working. We've checked the fan to be sure that air is being moved through the house and can't find any malfunction there at all. In fact, when I put my hand in front of the fan I don't feel any cold air at all. The furnace is older so it wouldn't surprise me if there's a problem, but it was working just fine until the end of July and didn't have any problems until we turned it back on when we returned from vacation 2 weeks ago.

My wife, Jamie, called to ask about it earlier today and was told that we would have to pay $90 to have someone take a look at it again. I have no problem paying for parts and labor if something needs to be fixed or even to pay for a new one if it needs to be replaced. However, it doesn't make sense that we would have to pay $90 for someone to come and take another look at it since it appears that the problem wasn't correctly diagnosed by the first person who looked at it.

Could someone review this and let us know what options we have for resolution? Again, I have no problem paying for any service or maintenance that may be needed. My only concern is that we just paid someone to take a look at it and were told that everything is working properly when it's clear that it's not working.

Thanks for your help!

Joey

8/21 - I received a reply from Hoffman's president. This came on a Saturday just 16 hours after I sent my email, which impressed me. (This is the last time I would be impressed by Hoffman.)

Joey,

I looked at the info and noticed that we were there for a performance check. A performance check does not include any repairs and it is not a warranty for future problems. The reading indicates that unit was operating fine when we did the check. You indicate that there is a problem with the cooling abilities of the unit; at this point the problem is unknown. We would have to send service over there to diagnose the problem, at that point we can give you the findings and you can make your determination on how to proceed. There is a fee to diagnose the problem, which is 90. If you do the repair we can wave the repair fee, once again I do not know what is wrong or if anything at all. The unit might be failing and need replacement, I don’t know, I am telling you that it could be anything, just so you’re aware if there isn’t a repair that could enhance the performance, you would still pay the 90.

Thank You,

Scot Hendricks
President
Hoffman Refrigeration and Heating, LTD.
5660 Memorial Avenue N.
Stillwater, Mn. 55082
(P) 651-439-5770
(F) 651-439-0812

It's important to note that while they offered to waive the repair fee for any repairs, the technician had specifically recommended that if repairs are needed, the unit be completely replaced rather than repaired, so this seemed a rather pointless offer. Still, as frustrated as I was, I wanted to try to reason through this.

8/21 - 5 hours later, I sent this response.

Scot,

Thanks for your quick reply, I really do appreciate it. Just to be sure I understand, are you saying that a visit to diagnose a problem is different from a performance check? I assumed that a performance check would identify the reason my unit isn't performing, but maybe I'm confused.

Also, just to clarify, I didn't expect that a performance check would include the cost of repairs or was a warranty for future problems, but this problem is clearly not a "future problem" since the unit wasn't working before and hasn't worked since the performance check. I'm happy to pay the cost of repairs or replacement if that's what's needed, it just seems pointless to keep paying for more diagnoses when the first diagnosis seems to have been incorrect.

Thanks,
Joey

8/27 - After 6 days of waiting, I sent this follow-up.

I still haven't heard anything back, just checking to see if this made it through the first time.

Thanks,
Joey

After another 2 weeks with no response and temperatures turning unseasonably warm, we turned to Standard Heating and Air Conditioning. They sent a technician out who quickly found that the coolant was leaking (and expressed surprise that another technician could have possibly missed the problem). They refilled the coolant and offered to apply the cost of the service towards a new unit if we decided to purchase one.

10/4 - Here's the last email I sent to Scot Hendricks at Hoffman Heating and Refrigeration.

For what it's worth, we had another company come take a look at our unit. It turns out, the coolant was leaking. I still can't believe that isn't something that should have been found on the performance check. Our furnace and A/C were both original to our 1987 home and we knew they'd need to be replaced soon, so we decided to replace both. We spent $7,400 (before rebates and tax deductions) on a $9,000+ package. All it would have taken was for you to send someone back out to address our concern that the work wasn't completed the first time and that job would have been yours. I'm not a cheapskate, but I do expect a job to be done right and don't expect to pay to have someone come do what should have been done the first time.

I thought this was worth passing along for future reference when dealing with a similar situation.

Joey

I've heard it said before that the customer is always right. I don't believe this for a minute. However, right or wrong, the customer needs to be listened to. It doesn't take an expert to see that Hoffman didn't do a thing to fix the problem that existed, yet they refused to acknowledge that. In spite of their failure to locate the issue the first time, I still gave them an opportunity for our business and they failed to take it.

So, I'm out $100 to Hoffman and $7,400 to Standard. Aside from the fact that Hoffman's $100 performance check was worthless, there's just no excuse for the co-owner and president of a company to flat out refuse to respond to an issue from a customer.

And the next time someone asks me who to use for heating and cooling, there's no question who I will recommend. Standard was phenomenal.

My car did it!

In my post earlier today on my license plate, I made mention of resisting the temptation to flirt.

This got me thinking about something that I've actually considered for a while.

Why is it that when we're in a vehicle, we assume that everything done in the vehicle is actually done by the vehicle, not us.

We honk at people we'd never actually criticize - much less yell at - in public.

After an accident: "Well, my car just started skidding and it wouldn't stop."

Guys who would never so much as talk to a random girl in the mall will slow down, do a wink and nod, and keep going.

Why? Because the car did it.

This is wrong. It was this realization that helped me quit speeding. (Okay, I still go 5 over sometimes, but is that really speeding?) Realizing that what I did in my car was still me - not the Jeep - is why I don't flirt with random girls as we're passing each other.

My old car had a ton of bumper stickers on it. It was an 18-year-old thing that took me till I was 20 to get over. However, I never put a Christian sticker on the car. I didn't want anyone to see me do something and then say, "He just did that, and he calls himself a Christian? Would Jesus cut someone off like that, or weave in and out of traffic?"

Then it hit me: people should see Christ in me, even if I'm driving and all they see is my car. I'm controlling the car. What the car does, I'm telling it to do.

I still don't have a Christian bumper sticker on my car. I'd rather people already see Christ in me by the way I live than for me to have to shout, "If you couldn't tell already, I'm a Christian." (Nothing against Christian bumper stickers...that's just my philosophy.)

But I am more conscious of how I drive. Why? Because the car doesn't do it. I do it. What the car does, I'm doing, and what the car is doing should be above reproach.

You can surf the web at work

This is sad.

Judge: Web-Surfing Worker Can't Be Fired

NEW YORK (AP) -- Saying surfing the web is equivalent to reading a newspaper or talking on the phone, an administrative law judge has suggested that only a reprimand is appropriate as punishment for a city worker accused of failing to heed warnings to stay off the Internet.

Administrative Law Judge John Spooner reached his decision in the case of Toquir Choudhri, a 14-year veteran of the Department of Education who had been accused of ignoring supervisors who told him to stop browsing the Internet at work.

The ruling came after Mayor Michael Bloomberg fired a worker in the city's legislative office in Albany earlier this year after he saw the man playing a game of solitaire on his computer.

In his decision, Spooner wrote: "It should be observed that the Internet has become the modern equivalent of a telephone or a daily newspaper, providing a combination of communication and information that most employees use as frequently in their personal lives as for their work."

He added: "For this reason, city agencies permit workers to use a telephone for personal calls, so long as this does not interfere with their overall work performance. Many agencies apply the same standard to the use of the Internet for personal purposes."

Spooner dispensed the lightest possible punishment on Choudhri, a reprimand, after a search of Choudhri's computer files revealed he had visited several news and travel sites.

Honestly, I don't disagree with the judge's opinion that surfing the web is no different than reading a newspaper. But if the employer bars the employee from doing it, the employee shouldn't do it. Period. No matter what a judge thinks is its equivalent.

The employer has the discretion to allow smoking breaks while barring surfing the web. Do I agree with that kind of judgment from an employer? Nope.

But I'm not the employer. I'm the employee.

Too bad the judicial system doesn't understand that concept.

Snobby unions

This is just way over the top. (Even for unions.)

Philly Plumbers Upset by Waterless Urinals

In a city where organized labor is a force to be reckoned with, the plumbers union has been raising a stink about a developer's plans to install 116 waterless, no-flush urinals in what will be Philadelphia's biggest skyscraper.
...
But the union put out the word it doesn't like the idea of waterless urinals — fewer pipes mean less work.

Never mind that the waterless urinals would save 1.6 million gallons of water per year.

That's as stupid as saying, "We shouldn't simplify our tax code because we'd put thousands of accountants out of jobs!"

Taking tips from home schoolers

One of my favorite things about being home schooled was the fact that I wasn't bound to a schedule. I could do a week's worth of school in two days and have the rest of the week open. I could do schoolwork in my bed if I wanted to (and I often did). If it was a sunny day outside, we went outside and put off our schoolwork for another day to catch up on it.

Public schools are starting to figure out that perhaps the "traditional" classroom with desks and chairs may not be the greatest idea. And while the purpose of this experiment is to attempt to combat obesity, it looks like there's an added perk.

ROCHESTER, Minn. - The fidgety boys and girls in Phil Rynearson's classroom get up and move around whenever they want, and that's just fine with him.

In fact, stretching, swaying and even balancing on big wobbly exercise balls are the point of this experimental classroom. The goal is to see if getting children to move even a little can help combat childhood obesity.
...
The data aren't in yet. But anecdotally, Rynearson and Superintendent Jerry Williams say the fourth- and fifth-graders are more focused on the curriculum than their peers in a comparison group in an ordinary classroom. And there are fewer distractions than in the traditional setup — where a lot of time is spent trying to get children to sit still.

"Sitting isn't bad," Rynearson said. "But I think kids need to move."

The classroom is the idea of Mayo Clinic researcher Dr. James Levine, also the mastermind of an office of the future that encourages more movement from deskbound white-collar workers.

For schoolchildren, Levine says, "My dream was kids shooting hoops and spelling," much like the American basketball game of "H-O-R-S-E."
...
Williams, the superintendent, has already been converted to the new concept and thinks it could be expanded, with or without the computers and iPods. "I would love to have this move from a single classroom to the whole school," he said.

Bowling: not a spectator "sport"

I've been at work for 17 hours now, and just haven't had time to blog today (yesterday, by now). However, I did flip the tv on for background noise during the last few hours, after everyone else left the office. ESPN2 was broadcasting the PBA Championship.

If you've never heard of the PBA, don't feel bad. It's the "Professional Bowling Association."

Now, I enjoy bowling. I just went twice last week. But there's something about watching it on tv that just...well, it just doesn't do much for me.

Apparently the guy who just won the match just tied the all-time wins record with 41 tournament wins. The announcer said it's the equivalent of Hank Aaron's home run record being tied.

No, it's not.

If it were the equivalent to Aaron's home run record, it would have been the top story on the news. Maybe it's the equivalent in the world of bowling. Great, you just captured an audience of 13,243. But it's really disappointing to see ESPN stoop to comparing bowling to baseball. The only similarity is that they both use a ball and the word "strike."

I hope I never have to see that kind of disrespect for the world's greatest sport again.

Double standard

If a man decides to violate a girl under 18 and the public finds out, it's a horrible crime that results in a few years in jail. If a woman does the same thing to a boy under 18, no one cares.

Or maybe it's just because of her looks.

Either way, it's wrong. This teacher took advantage of a 14-year-old student, and is walking away without so much as jail time, just because the boy won't testify. I guarantee the same standard wouldn't be applied to a similar case with a man.

And by the way, it's not a scandal. It's rape. At least one former prosecutor noted that. She also notes this:

"And, frankly, I think it sends a message that we have a two-tiered justice system, that if you're cute, if you have influence of any kind, you get a walk. Because the people who aren't cute, who are doing these things to kids, they're actually behind bars."

Murphy also sees a kind of reverse sexism at work: "Male teachers raping their 14-year-old students, lots of them are behind bars, because that's exactly where they belong."

She is sharply critical of the prosecutor, saying he's to blame for the charges being dropped and, "The judge here is the hero. The judge said, 'I'm not going to accept a plea bargain where she gets a complete pass.' The prosecutor then just said, 'Well, I'm going to drop the charges.' He has to accept responsibility and, frankly, he should hang his head in shame."

Why bother?

This list from the New Voters Project was sent to me in a packet the NVP put out in an effort to get college students to vote.

Q. What kind of identification will I need to register/vote in Wisconsin?

A. Forms of identification which constitute acceptable proof of residence, when they contain your current and complete name and residential address, include the following:

1. A Wisconsin motor vehicle operator's license
2. A Wisconsin identification card.
3. Any other official identification card or license issued by a Wisconsin governmental body or unit or by an employer in the normal course of business, but not including a business card.
4. A credit card or plate.
5. A library card.
6. A check-cashing or courtesy card issued by a merchant in the normal course of business.
7. A real estate tax bill or receipt for the current year or the year preceding the date of the election.
8. A residential lease which is effective for a period that includes election day.
9. A university, college or technical institute fee card.
10. A university, college or technical institute identification card.
11. An airplane pilot's license.
12. A gas, electric or telephone service statement for the period commencing not earlier than 90 days before election day.

NOTE: If you cannot supply acceptable proof of residence, your registration form can be substantiated and signed by one other elector who resides in your municipality, corroborating your residency information. The corroborator must then provide acceptable proof of residence.

I have an addition to make.

13. A piece of paper with your name.

Or, you could scrap 1 through 12 and just stick with 13. Your call.

UW shows some common sense

This is the text of the new UW System policy proposal from system president Kevin Reilly. I'll take it.

Resident Assistants are expected to work with student residents to create an open, inclusive, and supportive residential community. At the same time, because RAs are students themselves, they are encouraged to participate in campus activities and organizations. As such, RAs may participate in, organize, and lead any meetings or other activities, within their rooms, floors or residence halls, or anywhere else on campus, to the same extent as other students. However, they may not use their positions to inappropriately influence, pressure, or coerce student residents to attend or participate.

My only concern is with the last sentence, since it could be left to one's interpretation. However, as someone who held bible studies in my dorm room when I was an RA in college, I think a policy like this would have been a good, workable solution.