This was planned out very well.

Those that know me personally know that the township I live in (Lee - Midland County) is in the process of installing city water this summer.

For a time last week, they were working in my immediate neighborhood therefore I had to work around some detours as I left the house. One day last week, there was a set of interesting road closures near where I live. This was not planned out very well.

Obviously the road is closed on West Chippewa Rv. Road past South 8 Mile...

Therefore traffic was being detoured up South 8 Mile. Sounds good except for one thing...
South 8 Mile was closed too.
If you were one of those trying to navigate the neighborhood for the first time that day last week, I certainly hope you found your way otherwise you would have been screwed.

A Tale of Two Burgers

I admit it. I'm a burger person. You set me at a table with two food choices, a steak and a burger, I will choose the burger. I'm that kinda guy.

In the last week, I had a chance to try two different burgers at two very different places.

First up - at a new Midland restaurant called "Ice Cream Social & Grill" I tried a burger called the "Juicy Lucy". Now I am familiar with the concept. On Travel Channel's "Man vs. Food", I learned that a Ju(i)cy Lucy is two burgers with cheese melted inside. In theory, when you take a bite cheese comes oozing out all over you.

Next - McDonald's launched a new burger that's been in the works for sometime now, the Angus. The big draw here is that it's a third of a pound of meat loaded up with a variety of toppings. There are 3 different kinds to choose from. It has only .08 pounds more of meat than the traditional quarter pounder though doomsdayers like you to think it has 8 pounds more meat.

Critique - Juicy Lucy...

1. What this is not is a true juicy lucy. The cheese is not trapped inside the two burgers creating the oozing effect.
2. What this is is actually a tasty burger. Most of the products here are home made and aren't shipped in from someplace unknown. Combined with the homemade fries pictured above this makes a very tasty meal. Final Cost just over $10.

Critique - Angus burger

This is a huge improvement over their traditional mainstay, the Big Mac. In recent years, the BM just felt small. Having the Angus makes the experience feel substantial at only a dollar more than a BM. It too is a tasty burger and plan on having more as time and finances permit.

Two very different burgers and two very different businesses. The end result is the same for me - taste satisfaction. Try 'em!!!

Having a little fun! Rachael Knight, hope you like this...

Having a little fun with some photo software I got for the computer recently. The edited photo below does reflect a bit with how I feel about the company featured.

It's not professional quality, but I'm working on it...

Beauty - a lost generation!!!

One of my facebook friends is a wife, a mother, and I believe a grandmother now. On her profile page is her profile photo that I want to use as the basis for this blog entry.

The profile photo is one of her and two of her friends as teenagers on vacation upnorth in the early 70's wearing only their bathing suits. It took me a while as to why this photo impressed me so much. It brings a much broader message to us...

I feel a whole generation has lost meaning of what it means to be beautiful.

Starting around this time period, we started the focus on our women to feel sexy (which I feel is a step beyond beautiful only).

This is an attitude that has been demonstrated by those in the media, and they have started to hype up the next stage...

The next stage beyond feeling and looking sexy is looking slutty. Gee, thanks Brittney and friends. Now a significant portion of North American young girls are looking like they are going to be ready for sex that moment.

Only as a demonstration - the teens in the profile photo are all wearing 2 piece swimsuits but the area they cover is (in some cases) significantly more than they do today. I've even seen swimsuits that only cover areas between their butt cheeks. I joke with people that they cover less area than my underwear (which has doubled at times as a swimsuit).

I'm not advocating a return to days where women wore dresses that took 2 people and six hours to put on. What I am advocating is a return of innocense to a new generation of young women who can frolic freely like the 3 young women in the 35 year old photograph in their bathing suits.

A joke that came to the store the other day!

"A Sunday School teacher was discussing the Ten Commandments with her five and six year olds. After explaining the commandment to "honour" thy Father and thy Mother, she asked, 'Is there a commandment that teaches us how to treat our brothers and sisters?' Without missing a beat one little boy (the oldest of a family) answered, 'Thou shall not kill"

I know it's an oldie but it's still cute...

Image is everything...

A co-worker and were both witnesses to the following incident:

I was patronizing the Speedway gas station (1215 S. Saginaw, Midland) last Saturday (05.31.09) when I noticed an irate customer. This customer, a driver for the Shining Star Taxi company in Midland, has just purchased some stuff from the store and went back out to his van only to it blocked in. Now if this driver was a regular at the store, he would have realized that the parking lot at this Speedway is small and extremely poorly laid out. Not so with this customer.

He walks back into the store and tells the employees the truck needs to be moved. Walking back into the store moments later, he says (his words), "This is bull****" and that he gave 5 minutes for the truck to be moved or he was calling a wrecker to move it. Never mind the fact that this truck probably belongs to another customer who probably understands what I do about this parking lot. Of course by the time I left, both parties had left.

Here's what I understand:

If you are out in the public eye conducting business for your employer, you are being watched. They notice that you are wearing the uniform, whether on your body or vehicle or some other place, therefore they are watching you to see if you are someone to do business with. In my business as a pizza delivery driver, sometimes I am the only person that customer sees.

Because I am the only person they can see, I have to give the best impression I can. This is true whether everything is going right or if the customer is acting like a complete and total jerk. If I give a positive impression to my customer, the likelyhood they will order again increases dramatically. If, like the Shining Star driver, I come to you start making demands, complaints, and cussing then the chances of you wanting to do business with me decreases dramatically.

This is something Shining Star needs to convey to its employees. Right now businesses need every customer they can get. Conveying the positive image will go a long way, not only in getting the business but in retaining the business too.

My take on... Star Trek

Caution - this blog entry may contain SPOILERS. You have been warned!!!

It's probably been the most eagerly anticipated movie to come to theaters in 2009 and it's here - Star Trek. Released just last week, it's been the subject of intense discussion by Trek fans and nonfans alike. And why not? This is the first Trek of any kind since the end of Enterprise in 2005(?). At this time, the concept had grown so stale that the franchise already had one foot in the grave and the other foot on it's way.

Enter J. J. Abrams, the mastermind behind the hit TV show "Lost". He had been given charge of the franchise. His task - to relaunch the franchise with fresh life while keeping the best of what everyone knew.

Last Tuesday, I went and saw the movie. Let's just say that Abrams succeeds in giving Trek new life.

Here's a point by point look at key features of the movie...

• Plot - two stories are at play here. First is the maiden voyage of the Enterprise (NCC 1701, no bloddy A, B, C, or D) with the crew we have come to love coming together for the first time. Second is a story of revenge from the key villian of the movie. He achieves his goal in a big way.
• Canon - Abrams & Co. has tried to maintain 43 years of established Trek history. Movie viewers will notice some changes and that is nicely explained.
• Characters - a fresh take on characters we've known over the last 43 years. Kirk - a strong rebellious nature we never saw before. Spock - still struggling with his Vulcan / human heritage. McCoy - viewers know right away who they're watching. Scotty - as an eager young engineer who's still working out a few bugs. Sulu - still wet behind the ears but his love of fencing comes out. Chekov - that Russian accent is overdone and almost annoying. Uhura - never looked better in her undies and bra.
• USS Enterprise - 1701 really started to look ancient even compared with it's predecessor, the NX-01. The ship, and any Federation ship, looked great. I would love to see some pics of the entire bridge.
• Nice touches - Leonard Nimoy, who plays a key role as old Spock. Much more than a cameo appearance. Majel Barrett also voices the Enterprise computer one last time, as she passed away just after it was announced that she provided the voice over. Watching the credits at the end, look for the tributes to Gene & Majel.
• Nitpick - Ken Jennings (game show legend) bought this up in his own blog entry about the movie, where in Iowa does one find a deep vast canyon like the one where the Corvette goes over the cliff.
• What next? (aka the future) - There have been some timeline changes. What does that mean for worlds and people encountered in the original series and movies? And what about the 24th Century? Everything is wide open now.

All in all, this was a fun movie to watch. I'm going to say that there is a little something here for everyone.

Grade - A+, the best Trek I've seen in some time.

Disappearing Automotive Features

I've been a bit of a car guy for some years now. I've noticed for some time that the trend in equipping cars has been to introduce new features all the time - keeps everybody up to date. Yet amongst all the new features that would make a luxury car from the 70's green with envy yet are so common place there has been some equipment in cars that has had to disappear.

This caught Yahoo! Autos attention and wrote an article about it. Read about it here and don't forget to read on about my take.

My take on the list...

• Non-power windows - you know, the kind you have to crank by hand. This is the reason for the phrase "roll up (or down) the window". Still common in the smallest cars. My last 3 cars have (had) power windows though.
• Cassette tape decks - Once common in the post-8-track era, now you're lucky to have one in your car. I was surprised to get one in my '01 Malibu and really surprised and lucky to get one with my CD player in my current '07 Grand Caravan.
• Keys, locks, etc. - I'm committed to my Grand Caravan for the next 4 years and 11 months so, for me, the key won't go away yet. However, my key thingie has remote control for opening the two sliding doors and unlocking all doors.
• Center seat lap only seatbelts - I don't notice this as much as I'm usually the only person in the car.
• Cars costing less than $13,000 - Gee, my 2 year old Grand Caravan only cost me $12, 650. Oh yeah, they're talking new right.
• 85 mph speedometers - Like I'm going to be taking my Grand Caravan up to 120 mph.
• Power antennas - Despite what the article says, they really don't extend rather they just come up from the fender. It did help with reception from next to nothing to something. The last car I had with one was my '76 Ninety-Eight.
• 3-Speed Automatic Transmission - How about 3 speed any transmission? The last car I had with less than 4 speeds was my '87 Skyhawk with a 3 speed automatic.
• True compace pick-ups - anyone remember the Luv?
• Six-passenger, rear-wheel-drive, body-on-frame cars - I agree. Just seems so impractical now. In pizza delivery, rear wheel drive is so impractical anyway in rough weather.
• Honorable mentions include:Trunk releases in the glove box (hey, my Malibu had one), Full-size spare tires (which are still much better than the donut crap out there now), Floor-mounted headlight dimmer switches (I haven't seen one in many, many years), and Completely manual mirrors (better yet, how about just one outside mirror - on the driver side only).

Haha! Hope you enjoyed the list as much as I. Remember, all these cool features on cars now will one day be obsolete too. One day our children will be reading articles like this about obsolete CD players and 6 speed transmissions too. :)

Has Papa John's Pizza lost their way?

I had a conversation with a co-worker yesterday who had done some research into the original mission of Papa John's Pizza. Being a long-time employee of Papa John's, we sometimes forget that the original mission was to keep it simple - a limited menu and limited number of toppings that help create a better pizza. It is my co-worker's belief that Papa John's has completely destroyed that mission.

For a better understanding of what Papa John's was, let's look at the menu when I first started in June 1998...

• Pizzas - sizes small, large, extra large and thin crust...
• Toppings - fewer than today
• Breadsticks
• Cheesesticks, and
• 20 ounce and 2 liter coke, diet coke, and sprite.

That's it.

Numerous product changes have occured in the last 10 years. Some of these have met with the approval of customers such as the chicken products (wings/strips) and garlic parmesan breadsticks. Numerous specialty pizzas have come and gone - does anyone remember the meatball pizza? Products have come through that really didn't live up to the potential. Anything dessert related had potential but they were too small to have mass market appeal. A few experiments even completely bombed. Papa John's salads were so poorly executed that they were just that - executed.

If your local Papa John's store is suffering through flat sales right now, then the more products you offer fragment your customer base and create lower sales for all the items on your menu.

On the other hand, were all the changes necessary in the last 11 years I've been around? Yes! The only reason is this: everyone else was upgrading by adding new products and services. Essentially, in business, if you don't change and adapt to current economic conditions then you die!!!!!

Back to my co-worker's original premise - that Papa John's Pizza has lost their way by destroying their original mission. That Papa John's had to move away from a simple menu is a sign that the company has been looking for ways to keep themselves competitive, especially in these challenging economic times.

In an extremely competitive industry such as pizza, this is the approach that has to be taken.

Now that Chrysler has done the once unthinkable...

...by filing for bankruptcy protection, there are those who wonder what the future lineup will look like for the company once the link-up with Fiat occurs.

Here is Detroit News' Auto Critic Scott Burgess' take on what the lineup could look like by 2011.

Coming:
Fiat 500: A small, fuel-efficient car that could quickly be imported once it passes U.S. safety and emission regulations.

Fiat Grande Punto: A small curvy car that can reach more than 40 mpg.

Alfa Romeo Spider: Fiat's luxury sport brand could resurrect the affordable Italian sports car in the U.S. The Spider comes with a variety of engines and extremely good looks.

Alfa Romeo 159 sedan: A compact sedan with strong lines and luxurious looks. Its platform could be the base for a new midsize car by Chrysler after 2011.

Dodge Circuit: Chrysler still plans to introduce an electric car in 2010. It has not named which vehicle it will build.


Going:
Dodge Caliber: A compact car that never performed well in the market.

Dodge Nitro: A bland, compact SUV.

Jeep Compass: The first Jeep without a trail rating.

Jeep Commander: Stole too many Grand Cherokee customers.

Chrysler Town & Country or Dodge Caravan: Two minivans may be too much for the future Chrysler.

Chrysler Aspen: Like a dinosaur in a hostile climate, it's too big to live.

Chrysler Sebring: The midsize sedan that lacks style and performance.


Staying:
Chrysler 300: A fresh design could help bring back customers.

Dodge Avenger: Could serve as a stopgap until a redesigned midsize car arrives around 2012.

Dodge Charger: A redesign in the coming years could keep this car alive.

Dodge Challenger: Debuted last year and will remain in the lineup.

Dodge Ram: The highest volume and biggest money-maker stays put.

Dodge Journey: Has potential overseas as a rugged crossover.

Jeep Grand Cherokee: Redesigned and coming out later this year. Needs to be a hit.

Dodge Durango: Could survive if built off the smaller Grand Cherokee platform.

Jeep Wrangler: The quintessential Jeep, it stays.

Chrysler Sebring convertible: Could remain in the lineup.


In limbo:
Jeep Liberty: Fills a need but built along side the Dodge Nitro, which is going.

Dodge Hornet: A subcompact built with Nissan Motor Co. Plans are on hold.

Dodge Dakota: Small pickup that continues to sell.
Source: Detroit News research

Any thoughts?