Grateful, dryer

1. Grateful to God and all who help me get through a day

2. Grateful that I was invited to the Obama party with the representative from the Shaker Square office. The big news is the race is that McCain chose the governor of Alaska as he running mate. It was a surprise choice. The choice of Biden by Obama was not a surprise choice.

3. Grateful that there are places where you can read books online

4. Grateful that we can quickly replace our ailing dryer with one from Sears - a Kenmore with a door that opens down. I am so excited about this.

http://educhoices.org/articles/Online_Libraries_-_25_Places_to_Read_Free_Books_Online.html

Geyer, etc.

1. Grateful to God and all that gets me through a day
2. Grateful to good checkup with Dr. Geyer - may need a bone density scan

Center for Internal Medicine
216 831 5080

Gratitude, parties

1. Thank you to God and all who help me get through a day
2. Gratitude for an interesting Democratic convention so far
3. Gratitude for hopes for a good party for Rick, good block party, and good Obama party
4. Grateful I can include Politics and the English language in this blog - placing unrelated items together in my blog (and my mind) -
http://www.ourcivilisation.com/decline/orwell1.htm

The Democratic convention so far is very interesting. The first night included speeches from Nancy Pelosi, Caroline Kennedy, Ted Kennedy (with a beautiful movie before), Jesse Jackson Junior, Michelle Obama (with a movie before that showed her life story), Michelle's brother, Barak's sister (a teacher and wonderful speaker), Clare McCaskill (Missouri, talking about various American life stories). That is the order I remember the speeches but that is not the order they actually appeared.

What stuck with me is the idea that it is time to pass the torch to a new generation, Ted Kennedy's statement. Caroline Kennedy, Jesse Jackson Junior, and the Obamas - you could say it is time to pass the torch to them. They are certainly worthy and will do I think a most wonderful job with the torch. I am hoping it is time to have universal health care coverage. I have trouble believing we do not have it already.

I am working on an invitation or e-vitation to Rick's party. We were lucky enough to get invited to a block party and Obama party. Living the party life - well, it could be worse! :-)

Fun! Food!
Who: Rick Evans
What: Birthday Party
When:
Where: El Grand Rodeo, Mayfield Road
P.S. Bringing a roll of pennies (or even an interval of 60 pennies) will make Rick very happy. :-)

Democratic convention

1. Thankful to God and all that helps me get through a day
2. Thankful that there is hope the Democratic Convention this year will yield an unbeatable combination

Tonight I am looking forward to the convention. The first night it is to be Michelle Obama and a movie about Ted Kennedy. Other highlights of the week include the two Clintons, Biden, and of course Barak outside in the big football stadium. All Barak all the time - that would be 100% better than what we now have, which is almost unbearable.

I am looking forward to so much including hearing Luke Russert on MS NBC.

Petti funeral

1. Thankful to God and all that gets me through a day
2. Thankful that we feel that Paula's grandmother is in good hands with God now

Holy Redeemer Church is so beautiful and the service was wonderful. Going to All Souls Cemetary was along Chardon Road and such a beautiful drive. May Grandma Petti rest in peace.

choc chip cookies

No bake

1 stick margarine
1/2 cup milk
2 cups sugar
1 cup chocolate chips
3-4 tablespoons peanut butter, optional
3 cups oatmeal
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine the margarine, milk, and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a rolling boil. Boil for 1 minute. Pour the mixture over the chocolate chips, oatmeal, vanilla and peanut butter. Mix together and evenly spread into
a greased pan or drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper.

* 4 ounces butter or margarine
* 1/2 cup milk
* 2 cups sugar
* 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
* 3 to 4 tablespoons peanut butter, optional
* 3 cups oats, quick or old-fashioned
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation:
Place chocolate chips, peanut butter (if used), oats, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Combine the margarine, milk, and sugar in a saucepan; bring to a rolling boil. Boil for 1 minute. Combine the hot mixture with the oatmeal and chocolate chip mixture; stir well. Drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper.

Grateful, Geyer, etc.

1. Grateful to God and all that helps me get through a day
2. Grateful that my visit to Dr. Geyer's office went ok with the physical

More movies

1. Grateful to God and all that gets me though a day
2. Grateful that I can put together unrelated items in this blog, like Meals on Wheels stuff along with movie stuff
3. Here is some Pasternak

> *Fevrale dostat chernil i plakat,
> Pisat O Fevrale navsnryd,
> Poka grohochushaya slyakot
> Vesnoyu charnoyu gorit.*
>
>
> *February. Get ink, shed tears.
> Write of it, sob your heart out, sing,
> While torrential slush that roars
> Burns in the blackness of the spring.*
>

schurman luther house 1223 drury ct mayfield hts oh 44124 440 461 3622

I'm Not There, Good
Mama Mia,
The Kite Runner, Good
Sweeney Todd Good (but bloody including decapitation)
Simpson's Movie
Movie about Ralph Nader
Eastern Promises Good (but bloody including decapitation)
Thank You For Smoking

Saw The Kite Runner and Sweeney Todd over the weekend. Glad I saw them.

Ohio species

1. Thank you to God and that gets me through a day
2. Thank you to groups that care for the environment

http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/dnap/invasive/invasivebrochure/tabid/2007/Default.aspx

TJ, NYC

1. Grateful to all that helps me get through a day
2. Grateful that Trader Joe's has good cereal
3. Grateful that we had a nice trip to NYC

28809 Chagrin Blvd
Beachwood, OH 44122
Phone: (216) 360-9320
Trading Hours: 9 am - 9 pm

Our recent trip to NYC included the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, Natural History Museum, Central Park and several memorable meals. Since being a restaurant reviewer seems like it could be an interesting job, I'll concentrate on that part of the trip.

Our first meal was dinner at a Cajun restaurant. Lunch was a Mexican restaurant near the natural history museum. Dinner was at 212 where I ordered a grilled veggie platter that was remarkably skimpy (with eggplant, zucchini, onions, corn, and asparagus). It was my only disappointing meal in NY.

We also took a walk through Central Park where we stopped by a lake with boat rides and a hot air balloon ride as well. We also stopped by an outside pavilion with a free big band concert. The pavilion reminded me of places like Blossom and Wolf Trap.

I would go back to the Cajun and Mexican restaurants for sure. 212 I would not like to go back to as much Everyone liked the Cajun and Mexican restaurants a lot. The guacamole was especially delicious, but while it was called medium (not mild or hot) was actually quite spicy. Sacha's vegetable tureen at the Cajun restaurant stands out as the most memorable dish from what everyone ordered, but all the dishes were good, with me really enjoying the warm spinach salad (with carmelized onions, brie, and raisins).

Rick and Alex seemed to get one of the best items at the Mexican restaurant - the fish tacos. Barbara seemed to enjoy the good vegetarian selections everywhere but at 212 where Barbara and Sacha got an anemic pasta dish.

Grateful, 6 sigma

1. Grateful to God and all that helps me get through a day, especially the nice people

2. Grateful about programs like six sigma that may help - even I am on a green belt team now

3. Grateful that Dept. of Health called to say they would follow up on Taza.

Wikipedia is helping me understand even better what six sigma is and any ties it has to programs set up by people like Deming. The wikipedia entry calls six sigma a business management strategy. It was originally developed by Motorola. I wonder who wrote the wikipedia entry. Was it someone from Motorola?

Six sigma is used to remove defects and errors in manufacturing and business processes. It uses statistical and quality methods. It relies on a group of people within the organization - black belts, etc. - who are trained in six sigma processes. A six sigma project follows a defined sequence of steps and has quantifiable targets such a cost reduction or profit increase.

Originally designed to address manufacturing problems, six sigma has now been extended to include business processes. A defect is now defined as anything that could lead to customer dissatisfaction.

Six sigma was inspired by several previous quality methodologies based on work by people such as Deming and Juran.

What does six sigma have in common with previous quality improvement initiatives? Continuous improvement, measuring, analyzing, committment from management - these are some of the common qualities.

How is six sigma different from previous quality improvement initiatives? An emphasis on financial returns, an emphasis on management leadership, the black belt terminology and approach - these are some of the differences.

Six sigma is credited by Motorola as having helped the company save billions of dollars. This is as of 2006. Honeywell and General Electric also use the technique. Jack Welch introduced it into GE. About 2/3s of Fortune 500 companies use six sigma initiatives.

Lean six sigma is another term that has been used in recent years. It is a combination of lean manufacturing and six sigma.

I see the wikipedia entry also notes that not all companies have had success with six sigma initiatives. It is too narrow to address issues properly according to some. Another critic says it stifles creativity.

Juran says there is nothing new here. He says it is just quality improvement. The terms are more flamboyant is what he says.

How can we apply this to technical communication? Will

Columbia Journal, NPR

1. Grateful to God and all who help me
2. Grateful to Sacha's article in CJR
3. Grateful to NPR and Terry Gross and Fresh Air

http://www.cjr.org/campaign_desk/casus_belli_by_proxy.php

Columbia Journalism Review is running Sacha's piece on Casus Belli By Proxy about the Georgian-Russian conflict.

McCain and Obama are taking different approaches on this. McCain is emphasizing that we will step in militarily if needed. Obama is saying there must be a way to stop this war through negotiations and a coalition approach.

Fresh Air's story on journalist David Carr was called checks his own story. David has a lot of ups and downs in his life and is now working with NY Times. The Night of the Gun is his new book.

Fresh Air's story on Zack Hample and his new book on baseball covered items such as why baseball players spit so much. Spitting is part of baseball's culture is part of Hample's answer. He says another part is that there is a lot of waiting in baseball.

Eastern Promises

1. Grateful to God and all who help me get through a day
2. Grateful that I have not seen anything like Eastern Promises in real life
3. Grateful to the Comedy Channel and The Daily Show and The Colbert Report
4. Grateful that I found a list of the 7 deadly sins to remind myself - envy, gluttony, greed, lust, pride, sloth, wrath.

We tried to catch up on the Comedy Channel shows we recorded and watched some Colberts. His guests included Kevin Costner and someone who wrote a book about branding. Kevin Costner has a new movie out - Swing Vote. He talked a little about how every vote counts. The person who wrote the book about branding had examples like Kool Aid promoting shoes. What does Kool Aid have to do with shoes? Nothing. The endorsement should mean nothing to the purchaser as well. But it does and this he argues is wrong.

Colbert (along with a lot of other people) is talking about the ad McCain is running that compares Obama to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton in that they are all celebrities. Colbert agrees that they are all very similar. For example, they were all teachers of constitutional law at the Unversity of Chicago. On Meet the Press, Leiberman was McCain's representative and was asked if the ad is effective. Leiberman said yes. It points out that Obama is not ready to lead. Kerry was the Obama spokesperson. He said the ad points out that McCain's only strategy to win is to attack Obama's character. I ask myself why Obama is so popular. It is because of his ideas and ability to lead. I wish people who recognize this.

8.08.08 is the date the Olympics started. The story about Eric Shanteau swimming even tho' he has cancer is inspiring. He made sure that the cancer was not spreading and waiting on his treatment would not hurt his chances of overcoming the disease.

About Eastern Promises, it is hard to know where to start describing this movie. I enjoyed the combination of English, Russian, Turkish, and Ukrainian. The violence in the movie was disturbing but it told the story properly. The violence was not there simply to entertain.

The cruelty of the people in the movie makes me wonder if it could be so.

Wikipedia notes that many critics put the movie in as one of the top 10 of the year. Rotten Tomatoes confirms this. While the movie was hard to watch, I'm happy that I saw it.

Future STC conferences

1. Grateful to God and that helps me get through a day
2. Grateful that future STC conferences to be in interesting places
3. Grateful for this blog

2009 Atlanta, GA 3-6 May
2010 Dallas, TX
2011 Sacramento, CA
2012 Rosemont, IL
2013 Atlanta, GA

Now it is getting to the point where there is not enough time to do all the blogging that I would like to. I want to blog more about the Comedy Channel news and commentary shows. HA HA! NPR shows are interesting also.

John Geddes was interviewed on Fresh Air. He wrote a book about being a mercenary in Iraq. Highway to Hell is the name of the book. He argues that mercenary soldiers can plan a role as important as that of UN peace keepers.

Grateful, health

1. Grateful to God and all who help me get through a day
2. Grateful there is still hope that letter and fax I sent to US Air may get the refund for the four charges

3. Grateful there is hope that letter to board of health about food illness may get some attention as email and telephone call so far has gotten no response

4. Grateful that CPR class and first aid class I took this week
5. Grateful that medical visit this week turned out fine (L. Moore, UHHS)

6. Grateful for CDs that mature 8/8 and 8/15
7. Grateful for idealist.org and jobs there
8. Grateful for ideas for Rick's birthday including dinner, an Indian's game, and botanical gardens

9. Grafeful for a nice trip to NYC with visit to botanical gardens, Central park, museum of natural history, cajun restaurant, Mexican restaurant, breakfast diner in Brooklyn, and restaurant called 212

Cuyahoga County Board of Health
5550 Venture Drive
Parma, Ohio 44130