MY SPORT BAR AT HOME.
In an effort to “cut back”, we will be staying home more and also doing more of our entertaining there. I decided to create my own sport bar in an extra room. I would like to share it with you, and you might want to realize a similar savings.
Last week I was upstairs in our “teen room” watching my Monday night football. The 6:30 PM evening news was coming on and I had the dilemma of wanting to watch the football game and the NBC evening news.
I looked around the room and realized there was an old TV that was unplugged and sitting there collecting dust.
I accessed my computer, video, and audio accessories drawer and found the components that I thought might let me accomplish what I wanted, but wasn’t sure if it would work.
I found a 2-WAY SPLITTER and two TV Cables I had bought from the 99 Cents store awhile back, simply because I could not resist the low price.
I disconnected the cable that came from the wall that went to the cable box. I then connected it to the IN outlet on the 2-WAY SPLITTER, connected a cable from the 2-WAY SPLITTER that said OUT to the back of the cable box. The cable that goes from the cable box to the existing TV was connected and I left that alone. I turned on the TV on and I still had cable with the existing TV. Then I connected a cable to the 2 WAY-SPLITTER that said OUT and connected it to the extra TV that was sitting in the room. I plugged that TV in and I had pictures on both sets.
Now the existing TV had cable channels with all the programs, and the old spare TV had the basic channels that were coming in. I moved the TV on the desk top (that runs the entire length of the room) next to the existing TV and put one on football and the other on NBC evening news. I was watching football and learning all about the state of the nation. Talk about multi-tasking!
I thought how nice it would be if we had 3 TV’s instead of 2, since we’re never satisfied with what is at hand. I founf another TV in he garage that wasn’t and hauled it upstairs. I stopped at Wal-Mart, bought a 4-WAY SPLITTER, and that evening I put 3 TV’s, a VCR, and the DVD player together and created my HOME MADE SPORTS BAR.
Thursday night Football was great. I had Football on one, news on another and an old TMC movie on the 3rd. I am sure you all have old TV’s sitting around collecting dust. A visit to the 99Cents store can turn your room into a exciting SPORT BAR at home just like ours at a very minimal cost.
This past Saturday, I had 3 College Football games on at the same time on the 3 TV’S and it was heaven on earth.
Take note, before creating this outstanding fun, check with your spouse or companion and make sure you are not going to get in trouble doing it. I do not want it to be HAZARDOUS to your relationship.
NEXT: A FOURTH TV and maybe a Mini Bar to finish it off!
2-Way 2 Splitter
3 Way Splitter
4 Way Splitter
Thursday, January 14, 2010
IDENTITY THEFT IS NO JOKE!
IDENTITY THEFT IS NO JOKE!
We all think of identity theft as something that happens to someone else.
Well, let me bring it home to you. This is what happened to Calico in November, 2007.
I was in my California office when Jenny walked in with our Calico, NC - Bank of America statement. She asked me if I knew what particular amounts and checks were for that were listed on the statement that were not in our normal number series. There was a long list of them. Thanks to current technology, I logged into our Calico, NC Bank of America account web site and printed the checks.
These checks were colorful, perfectly printed, but they were not our checks. They had our account numbers, but some other company names/addresses on the top, and were made out to persons I had never heard of. They were signed, and some even had a finger print of the person who cashed it on the check, plus their driver’s license number and other related information that is required when you cash a check. I was stunned! They were all in the amounts of the $400 range and written on various days so as not to attract any attention. They were also cashed in various cities, which we later found out had to be handled by each separate police department rather than one combined crime.
I immediately drove to the bank and presented the bank office with the situation at hand. I was informed that the only way to stop other checks getting processed and the bank to refund the amount to our company was to close the account and start a new one.
This meant that all the checks in process would be returned to our payee plus all our automatic monthly bill payments would have to be rescheduled from the new account. This also included updating our (phone) payroll deduction plan with the government, which required new passwords, etc. You can’t imagine the time and effort we had to go through to do all of this.
The new account was opened while the old account was closed, which should have been the end of this fiasco. Unfortunately, as of the date that I am writing this article, we are still struggling with the situations that involved insurance, tax, monthly auto-payments, etc. that were scheduled for e-payments. We have made numerous calls to vendors to explain the reason for checks or payments that were returned to them shown as “Account Closed” from the old account which had to be replaced. Calico has had to reimburse many companies for the bank fees they incurred because they had deposited checks from our old account.
Fortunately, Bank of America deposited the actual check amounts back in our new account that had totaled close to $6,000.00. We are still battling with the bank over one major purchase from Wal-Mart for a check for $900.00 (listed as electronic), that I assume was HD Flat Screen TV.
The Bank recouped its losses from the banks that had cashed the checks or from the insurance they had. Of course those people have to do their own collection.
I was not satisfied to see some hoodlum getting away with it. We sent the counterfeit checks to Art Bruns, our General Manager at Calico, NC. He contacted the police who had no interest in spending their time to chase this minor crime as they called it.
Art called one of the city’s police departments where one of the checks was cashed. He found a detective who was what you wanted to have as an example for all other policeman to be like. He said that he was working on a case that might involve the same people, and to have the checks faxed to him. A few days later he called Art and told him that the person who did all of this was in jail, and he operated all this fraud from his cell phone while there. What type of jails do we have that they have cell phones and can set up an office to continue their operation without interruption? Just think, if this man can do all of this from his cell phone in jail, he must be very smart. Why doesn’t he apply himself correctly and be successful in the real world?
On Wednesday January 16, 2008 I received a call from Art and was asked to check my e-mail for a link that the detective had sent him with the picture of the villain and his information. Attached is copy of the character that caused us so much trouble. According to the information on the web-site, he was already released again in December. I hope with all the information we have given to the police, they be able to put him away again, but this time for a long time, and without his cell phone.
My thanks to Jenny, Art, the Detective, and Bank of America.
We all think of identity theft as something that happens to someone else.
Well, let me bring it home to you. This is what happened to Calico in November, 2007.
I was in my California office when Jenny walked in with our Calico, NC - Bank of America statement. She asked me if I knew what particular amounts and checks were for that were listed on the statement that were not in our normal number series. There was a long list of them. Thanks to current technology, I logged into our Calico, NC Bank of America account web site and printed the checks.
These checks were colorful, perfectly printed, but they were not our checks. They had our account numbers, but some other company names/addresses on the top, and were made out to persons I had never heard of. They were signed, and some even had a finger print of the person who cashed it on the check, plus their driver’s license number and other related information that is required when you cash a check. I was stunned! They were all in the amounts of the $400 range and written on various days so as not to attract any attention. They were also cashed in various cities, which we later found out had to be handled by each separate police department rather than one combined crime.
I immediately drove to the bank and presented the bank office with the situation at hand. I was informed that the only way to stop other checks getting processed and the bank to refund the amount to our company was to close the account and start a new one.
This meant that all the checks in process would be returned to our payee plus all our automatic monthly bill payments would have to be rescheduled from the new account. This also included updating our (phone) payroll deduction plan with the government, which required new passwords, etc. You can’t imagine the time and effort we had to go through to do all of this.
The new account was opened while the old account was closed, which should have been the end of this fiasco. Unfortunately, as of the date that I am writing this article, we are still struggling with the situations that involved insurance, tax, monthly auto-payments, etc. that were scheduled for e-payments. We have made numerous calls to vendors to explain the reason for checks or payments that were returned to them shown as “Account Closed” from the old account which had to be replaced. Calico has had to reimburse many companies for the bank fees they incurred because they had deposited checks from our old account.
Fortunately, Bank of America deposited the actual check amounts back in our new account that had totaled close to $6,000.00. We are still battling with the bank over one major purchase from Wal-Mart for a check for $900.00 (listed as electronic), that I assume was HD Flat Screen TV.
The Bank recouped its losses from the banks that had cashed the checks or from the insurance they had. Of course those people have to do their own collection.
I was not satisfied to see some hoodlum getting away with it. We sent the counterfeit checks to Art Bruns, our General Manager at Calico, NC. He contacted the police who had no interest in spending their time to chase this minor crime as they called it.
Art called one of the city’s police departments where one of the checks was cashed. He found a detective who was what you wanted to have as an example for all other policeman to be like. He said that he was working on a case that might involve the same people, and to have the checks faxed to him. A few days later he called Art and told him that the person who did all of this was in jail, and he operated all this fraud from his cell phone while there. What type of jails do we have that they have cell phones and can set up an office to continue their operation without interruption? Just think, if this man can do all of this from his cell phone in jail, he must be very smart. Why doesn’t he apply himself correctly and be successful in the real world?
On Wednesday January 16, 2008 I received a call from Art and was asked to check my e-mail for a link that the detective had sent him with the picture of the villain and his information. Attached is copy of the character that caused us so much trouble. According to the information on the web-site, he was already released again in December. I hope with all the information we have given to the police, they be able to put him away again, but this time for a long time, and without his cell phone.
My thanks to Jenny, Art, the Detective, and Bank of America.
CUSTOMER SERVICE AND TELEPHONE.
CUSTOMER SERVICE AND TELEPHONE.
Retail industry is in a dump. What they need is customer and we are hard to come by these days. Sales, price cuts, 2 for 1 and whatever else that we are seeing these days at the malls and the creative methods of enticing us to buy.
This is all fine but I have a big issue when I am so hard to come by and they are doing all these things to get me to come in and buy, yet when I get there they act as if I am not there.
First case: Last week I took a pant in for alteration to a store in Charlotte, NC, and I have been there before and they had explained how there business is down. I walked in and the lady in charge of doing the measuring is on her cell phone talking some language that was not familiar to me. I waited awhile, she was talking and I could tell it is not business related from the tone of the conversation. She points me to the dressing room to change into the pants I wanted alteration on. I came out of the room and she is still on the her cell phone talking. I step on the platform and she is talking on the phone and holding the phone in place with her shoulder and marking my pans for alteration that I am pointing to, since she is on the phone and my explanation is not possible. With great amount of difficulty she marks my pants and we never exchanged a word. I came out of the dressing room after changing back into my arrived pants and she is still on the phone. She hands me a card to fill my information on , which I do. I asked her when the pants would be ready and she is too busy talking on that cell phone of hers. I asked her if she has 4 safety pins I can have since I was running my 5k the next day and had picked up my bib number for the run, I wanted to put it on my t-shirt before I get to the run. She could not understand what I was saying since she did not speak English. Still I wanted to know when I can pick up my pants and I asked again. No reply. At this time I got really hot and picked up my pants and walked out of the store and she looked at me wondering what had gone wrong. Still on the phone. I think they should start having people in stores that can speak english to serve us. I came from a different country and learned the language, it is not that hard. How can you deal with customers if you do not speak the language.
Second case: why is it that serving a customer on the phone is more important than a customer standing in front of you ready to buy. How many times has this happened to you. You are at a store working with a associates as they are calling them now and the phone rings and suddenly that phone is the life line of that store and the person on the other line is king and you are only a walk about customer ready to buy. They drop everything to answer that phone as if the blood flow would stop and they are on life support. Now a day they are on life support and they are all crying for business, yet when we are there and ready to hand over our cash, ring, ring the light goes off and that phone is the most important thing. This happened to me last week and I walked out the store and will not visit that name brand store again.
Lets get bask to basic and take care of our captured customers. If you have someone in your office, salesman or customer and your cell or desk phone rings, let it go to the voice mail. Your most important person at that moment is sitting in front of you.
Get your phone out of your ear and give your ear to the person in front of you. Our customers are the most important part of our business and they deserve to be treated like king, and king they are.
Retail industry is in a dump. What they need is customer and we are hard to come by these days. Sales, price cuts, 2 for 1 and whatever else that we are seeing these days at the malls and the creative methods of enticing us to buy.
This is all fine but I have a big issue when I am so hard to come by and they are doing all these things to get me to come in and buy, yet when I get there they act as if I am not there.
First case: Last week I took a pant in for alteration to a store in Charlotte, NC, and I have been there before and they had explained how there business is down. I walked in and the lady in charge of doing the measuring is on her cell phone talking some language that was not familiar to me. I waited awhile, she was talking and I could tell it is not business related from the tone of the conversation. She points me to the dressing room to change into the pants I wanted alteration on. I came out of the room and she is still on the her cell phone talking. I step on the platform and she is talking on the phone and holding the phone in place with her shoulder and marking my pans for alteration that I am pointing to, since she is on the phone and my explanation is not possible. With great amount of difficulty she marks my pants and we never exchanged a word. I came out of the dressing room after changing back into my arrived pants and she is still on the phone. She hands me a card to fill my information on , which I do. I asked her when the pants would be ready and she is too busy talking on that cell phone of hers. I asked her if she has 4 safety pins I can have since I was running my 5k the next day and had picked up my bib number for the run, I wanted to put it on my t-shirt before I get to the run. She could not understand what I was saying since she did not speak English. Still I wanted to know when I can pick up my pants and I asked again. No reply. At this time I got really hot and picked up my pants and walked out of the store and she looked at me wondering what had gone wrong. Still on the phone. I think they should start having people in stores that can speak english to serve us. I came from a different country and learned the language, it is not that hard. How can you deal with customers if you do not speak the language.
Second case: why is it that serving a customer on the phone is more important than a customer standing in front of you ready to buy. How many times has this happened to you. You are at a store working with a associates as they are calling them now and the phone rings and suddenly that phone is the life line of that store and the person on the other line is king and you are only a walk about customer ready to buy. They drop everything to answer that phone as if the blood flow would stop and they are on life support. Now a day they are on life support and they are all crying for business, yet when we are there and ready to hand over our cash, ring, ring the light goes off and that phone is the most important thing. This happened to me last week and I walked out the store and will not visit that name brand store again.
Lets get bask to basic and take care of our captured customers. If you have someone in your office, salesman or customer and your cell or desk phone rings, let it go to the voice mail. Your most important person at that moment is sitting in front of you.
Get your phone out of your ear and give your ear to the person in front of you. Our customers are the most important part of our business and they deserve to be treated like king, and king they are.
LAND OF PLENTY
LAND OF PLENTY.
On a March Sunday, I had no plans so I was asked if I wanted to go along
shopping for the Food Bank. I am not a shopper for food, but I love to shop for clothes. I decided to tag along and see how this project that is working so well for the Food Bank is done. I was the driver and they had the book of notes that included grocery lists for the “specials” at each particular store and coupons in hand.
In total we visited six different stores and had the entire car filled with food both in the trunk and the back seat. The way hopping was done, coupons used, and the savings realized with voucher discounts for future shopping was amazing. At one store, our shopping cart was full, amount saved was $61.46, while the total payment for everything was only $8.03. I was wondering how these stores could do this. In this case, it is certainly for a good cause. I am sure all of you are already using this power of cutting and saving in your shopping. If not, I suggest you start! Yes, it does take a little time and planning, but it works.
What amazed me also was the variety of food and plentiful food brands we have at our disposal. In the stores we visited, I saw more variety of brands and possibilities of selection beyond belief of anyone that might visit our country. How can we have so many brands for same type of food? We had to look at 4 shelves of salad dressing that were each 16-20 feet long to find the brand we had the coupon for and was also on sale. We have so many choices that it is mind boggling.
I noticed one more thing that is the result of this recession, America has become more humble. I saw more people shopping for value and looking at the prices on the shelves and comparing, in addition to looking in the store flyers for items on sale. We even saw men using coupons. I call this the positive side of a recession. We had become a nation of buying without knowing or caring what the price was and were gorging ourselves with useless food items. What always got to me were the bottles of the wine I used to see being purchased because it made people act special, even though I’m sure they did not know what it was they were drinking. They acted as though they were the crust that was above all of us by dropping wine names.
I think this recession will bring our lives down to the basics, and make us realize how wasteful we have all been. We used our purchasing power by voting for the wrong products that were next to useless. Why do we need 25 different brand names on containers of peanut butters, when they are all produced by the same company?
I shop at both the 99-Cents Store and Wal-Mart regularly, and they are quickly becoming my favorite stores. You get value for what you buy and it makes me feel good to be in these stores that are at my level and standard of living. I have also found that certain items are less expensive at Wal-Mart when compared to 99 Cents Stores…. how about that!
Now we come to the subject of entertainment, which can be very expensive. Sometimes we have to go “outside the box” to find new and exciting things to do. I went to my first Roller Derby game in Charlotte last month. It cost me $10.00 for one of the best seats, plus they had a full show for half-time entertainment. The “Charlotte Roller Girls” played the Georgia Atlanta team and beat them. Contrary to normal opinion of skaters, these are every-day moms who put on make-up to look mean and tough. After the game they meet with the fans for pictures and attend the after-game party at a local restaurant to promote the game. They had their kids and husbands cheering for them. It was easy to see that the realty of the situation was that they were having fun and giving us value for the money. I had a great time for very little money. The game was sold out so the over-flow crowd was sitting on the floor and still enjoying it. Try it, it is value for your dollar.
There are so many possibilities that you can find for shopping and entertainment that can make your dollar go a long way. It does not have to be $200.00 for a ticket to a major league game or the NBA or NFL. Did you know that the Lakers charge $2,600.00 per game to each person who sits on a folding chair on the floor? And did you know that unless you know someone, you can’t even get one? The “big news” on the radio yesterday was that the Lakers were not going to raise ticket prices next year, including these seats! I think it’s time to come back to reality, and learn to appreciate the basics. Then we will know what is really important in this world.
On a March Sunday, I had no plans so I was asked if I wanted to go along
shopping for the Food Bank. I am not a shopper for food, but I love to shop for clothes. I decided to tag along and see how this project that is working so well for the Food Bank is done. I was the driver and they had the book of notes that included grocery lists for the “specials” at each particular store and coupons in hand.
In total we visited six different stores and had the entire car filled with food both in the trunk and the back seat. The way hopping was done, coupons used, and the savings realized with voucher discounts for future shopping was amazing. At one store, our shopping cart was full, amount saved was $61.46, while the total payment for everything was only $8.03. I was wondering how these stores could do this. In this case, it is certainly for a good cause. I am sure all of you are already using this power of cutting and saving in your shopping. If not, I suggest you start! Yes, it does take a little time and planning, but it works.
What amazed me also was the variety of food and plentiful food brands we have at our disposal. In the stores we visited, I saw more variety of brands and possibilities of selection beyond belief of anyone that might visit our country. How can we have so many brands for same type of food? We had to look at 4 shelves of salad dressing that were each 16-20 feet long to find the brand we had the coupon for and was also on sale. We have so many choices that it is mind boggling.
I noticed one more thing that is the result of this recession, America has become more humble. I saw more people shopping for value and looking at the prices on the shelves and comparing, in addition to looking in the store flyers for items on sale. We even saw men using coupons. I call this the positive side of a recession. We had become a nation of buying without knowing or caring what the price was and were gorging ourselves with useless food items. What always got to me were the bottles of the wine I used to see being purchased because it made people act special, even though I’m sure they did not know what it was they were drinking. They acted as though they were the crust that was above all of us by dropping wine names.
I think this recession will bring our lives down to the basics, and make us realize how wasteful we have all been. We used our purchasing power by voting for the wrong products that were next to useless. Why do we need 25 different brand names on containers of peanut butters, when they are all produced by the same company?
I shop at both the 99-Cents Store and Wal-Mart regularly, and they are quickly becoming my favorite stores. You get value for what you buy and it makes me feel good to be in these stores that are at my level and standard of living. I have also found that certain items are less expensive at Wal-Mart when compared to 99 Cents Stores…. how about that!
Now we come to the subject of entertainment, which can be very expensive. Sometimes we have to go “outside the box” to find new and exciting things to do. I went to my first Roller Derby game in Charlotte last month. It cost me $10.00 for one of the best seats, plus they had a full show for half-time entertainment. The “Charlotte Roller Girls” played the Georgia Atlanta team and beat them. Contrary to normal opinion of skaters, these are every-day moms who put on make-up to look mean and tough. After the game they meet with the fans for pictures and attend the after-game party at a local restaurant to promote the game. They had their kids and husbands cheering for them. It was easy to see that the realty of the situation was that they were having fun and giving us value for the money. I had a great time for very little money. The game was sold out so the over-flow crowd was sitting on the floor and still enjoying it. Try it, it is value for your dollar.
There are so many possibilities that you can find for shopping and entertainment that can make your dollar go a long way. It does not have to be $200.00 for a ticket to a major league game or the NBA or NFL. Did you know that the Lakers charge $2,600.00 per game to each person who sits on a folding chair on the floor? And did you know that unless you know someone, you can’t even get one? The “big news” on the radio yesterday was that the Lakers were not going to raise ticket prices next year, including these seats! I think it’s time to come back to reality, and learn to appreciate the basics. Then we will know what is really important in this world.
I’M LOVING IT
BUT DOES MCDONALD’S LOVE ME?
Slogans are meant to be remembered. They are meant to mean something to the individual/group to whom they are directed. McDonald’s has us all saying, “I’m loving it!”
McDonald’s is an international institute which is loved by all. It is a representation of fun and freedom throughout the world. We all love to enjoy the taste of food we have known from childhood.
BUT!! AMERICA IS GETTING FAT. McDonald’s could help by being a friend to it’s customers by giving us an awareness of our OVER-eating, which is why the population is getting heavier by the year. We usually have no idea what we are eating. I realize that the bottom of the McDonald’s boxes have the food nutrition/fats listed, but does anyone look under the box? I don’t think so.
It is time to print the numbers where we can see them and make us conscious of our food intake calories. McDonald’s could be in the forefront of this movement.
One simple way is to update each McDonald’s cash register by having each entry print the calories for each food item as you order it, and giving us a running total. This concept would be similar to when we go to the grocery store where as each item is entered, a running total appears on the cash register along with the individual prices. In the case of fast food ordering, as the items are entered by the cashier, the calories for that item with the corresponding price would brought up so you could see how many total calories you will actually be consuming. These figures would also appear on your written receipt in case you are a calorie counter. Maybe if we had this information at the time of ordering (before we pay the bill), we might think about “deleting” the fries, or changing our order to a “regular size” rather than a “super-size”. (See sample receipt attached).
In this way, the receipt would document McDonald’s concern regarding it’s customers health and well being so they can stay healthy and longer to “Love it” longer.
LET THEM SHOW THEIR LOVE.
I think other fast foods would follow, which would indicate that they all LOVE us too.
TERMINAL 1 CON B OHARA
CHICAGO, IL 60604
THANK YOU
MCDONALDS TEL#(773)686-1130
02 KS#04 FEB. 03, 09(TUE) 17:47
STORE# 17277 S#2
Order #402 TO GO
CALORIES PRICE
AC 540 $ 3.75
1 QRT POUNDER 410 $2.49
1 DBL CHEESE BRGR 440 $1.00
1 SMALL FRIES 209 $1.25
I LARGE FRIES 500 $2.19
SUB TOTAL $10.68
TAKE OUT TAX $1.25
TOTAL 2,099 CAL $11.95
CASH TENDERED $20.00
CHANGE $8.05
BUT DOES MCDONALD’S LOVE ME?
Slogans are meant to be remembered. They are meant to mean something to the individual/group to whom they are directed. McDonald’s has us all saying, “I’m loving it!”
McDonald’s is an international institute which is loved by all. It is a representation of fun and freedom throughout the world. We all love to enjoy the taste of food we have known from childhood.
BUT!! AMERICA IS GETTING FAT. McDonald’s could help by being a friend to it’s customers by giving us an awareness of our OVER-eating, which is why the population is getting heavier by the year. We usually have no idea what we are eating. I realize that the bottom of the McDonald’s boxes have the food nutrition/fats listed, but does anyone look under the box? I don’t think so.
It is time to print the numbers where we can see them and make us conscious of our food intake calories. McDonald’s could be in the forefront of this movement.
One simple way is to update each McDonald’s cash register by having each entry print the calories for each food item as you order it, and giving us a running total. This concept would be similar to when we go to the grocery store where as each item is entered, a running total appears on the cash register along with the individual prices. In the case of fast food ordering, as the items are entered by the cashier, the calories for that item with the corresponding price would brought up so you could see how many total calories you will actually be consuming. These figures would also appear on your written receipt in case you are a calorie counter. Maybe if we had this information at the time of ordering (before we pay the bill), we might think about “deleting” the fries, or changing our order to a “regular size” rather than a “super-size”. (See sample receipt attached).
In this way, the receipt would document McDonald’s concern regarding it’s customers health and well being so they can stay healthy and longer to “Love it” longer.
LET THEM SHOW THEIR LOVE.
I think other fast foods would follow, which would indicate that they all LOVE us too.
TERMINAL 1 CON B OHARA
CHICAGO, IL 60604
THANK YOU
MCDONALDS TEL#(773)686-1130
02 KS#04 FEB. 03, 09(TUE) 17:47
STORE# 17277 S#2
Order #402 TO GO
CALORIES PRICE
AC 540 $ 3.75
1 QRT POUNDER 410 $2.49
1 DBL CHEESE BRGR 440 $1.00
1 SMALL FRIES 209 $1.25
I LARGE FRIES 500 $2.19
SUB TOTAL $10.68
TAKE OUT TAX $1.25
TOTAL 2,099 CAL $11.95
CASH TENDERED $20.00
CHANGE $8.05
SUNFLOWER SEEDS
SUNFLOWER SEEDS
A few weeks ago I was touring our local Persian Grocery store that carries anything and everything that you can find in any store in Iran and more, with prices that are unbelievably low. There are more customers who are not Iranian shopping there, because of the freshness of the fruits and vegetables due to the high turnover. There are food items and spices that I remembered seeing in our home in Iran when I was growing up. The one aisle I am quite fond of is the huge nuts section. On one of my earlier visits I had bought some unsalted sunflower seeds that are fun to crack and eat while watching TV. Sunflower seeds always remind me of my childhood. It’s amazing how such small, insignificant items (sometimes visual, a sound, or even the smell of something) can trigger memories that have seemingly been lost for a long time.
I left Iran when I was fourteen years old, so seeing those sunflower seeds took me back to those days while living there and remembering how simple life was. There was no TV, computers, games on PC and all the “gismos” kids have now that require no imagination.
In the summer time we use to get up early, have breakfast together as a family, and then all of my the neighborhood friends would meet on the street corner across from our house with bikes. We would spend the day riding, traveling around the neighborhood and the city have a great time getting in some trouble, but nothing major. We also played soccer or stick ball, and sometimes cards. We all went home for lunch and had a nap, which we never really did but only pretended that we slept. The reason everyone took a nap was because the summer heat in the afternoon was like being in an oven, so anything physical could have been harmful.
Around 4-5 PM we were back out with friends and were having fun. When the sun had gone down and we were exhausted, we would buy a bag of sunflower seeds and sit on the front step of our house. We would sit there, cracking the seeds while trying to see what cars we could name with their brand. In those days there were only a few manufacturers, so it wasn’t that difficult. It was not like now where GM, Ford , Chrysler, and all the other companies each have so many versions. By the time we were ready to go home and call it a day, the ground by the front step was totally covered with the sunflower seed shells. The street cleaner would always clean it up by the next morning.
As I was cracking my sunflower seeds the other day, I decided to find out the nutritional value. To my surprise, I found the following on the computer, and thought I would share this with you. Not only is it fun to eat them, but they are actually good for you. So read and maybe you will want to get cracking. Who knew as kids we ate something that was good for us!
Information from: National Sunflower Association.
4023 State Street • Bismarck, ND 58503 • 701-328-5105 • FAX: 701-328-5101
Good things come in small packages. Nutrition scientists are realizing that we should pay more attention to our daily intake of complex plant foods like seeds, nuts and whole grains. A move towards whole foods, like sunflower seeds, will add nutrients to your diet in a flash. Mother Nature has created a nutritional power pack that is hard to beat in sunflower seeds. Healthy unsaturated fats, protein and fiber, plus important nutrients like vitamin E, selenium, copper, zinc, foliate, iron and phytochemicals come wrapped up in this small and perhaps unsuspected package – a sunflower seed. Just one ounce of these seeds every day can improve the nutritional quality of your diet.
Finding foods that are full of nutrients and fitting them into your daily eating plan isn’t always easy. While most of us get enough calories everyday (and sometimes too many), many of us fall short on important nutrients. Calorie for calorie, nutrient-dense foods like sunflower seeds will give you more bang for the buck when it comes to nutrition. . New nutrient data shows that sunflower seeds also contain a good amount of beneficial plant chemicals, or phytochemicals, thought to be advantageous to health.
ds are power packed with healthy
Sunflower seeds and oil contain both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat – the types of fat that may protect the heart. Clinical studies show that higher unsaturated fat diets may be preferable even to low-fat diets because they lower total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL) or bad cholesterol, and triglycerides, while maintaining beneficial high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, which is needed to carry the “bad” cholesterol away.
• Almost 90% of the fat in sunflower seeds is good, unsaturated fat.
Protein supplies amino acids, the building blocks that build, maintain and repair body tissues.
• Sunflower seeds are a good source of plant protein, providing 6 grams or 12% of the Daily Value per ounce. Vitamin E is an antioxidant that may protect against heart disease by getting rid of harmful molecules called free radicals that can lead to atherosclerosis. Sunflower seeds are the best whole food source of vitamin E)
• Sunflower seeds are an excellent source of vitamin E. Just one ounce of sunflower seeds provides 76% of the Recommended Dietary Allowance for vitamin E.
Selenium works with vitamin E as an antioxidant and protects cells from damage that may lead to cancer, heart disease, and other health problems. Although there is no Daily Value for selenium, nutrition scientists recognize its importance to health and a Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) has been established.
• The selenium in one ounce of sunflower seeds provides about 24% of the RDA for men and 31% of the RDA for women.
Copper helps your body carry oxygen to red blood cells and produce energy in the cells.
Copper is also a vital part of some antioxidant enzymes in the body, thus protecting you from oxidative stress. While a copper deficiency is rare, this trace mineral is essential to an energy-rich life.
• You’ll find about 25% of the Daily Value for copper in one ounce of sunflower seeds.
Folate, a B vitamin, plays an essential role in making new body cells by helping to form the DNA and RNA that contain each cell’s “master plan” for reproduction. This is why folate is so important for pregnant women and the development of babies. Folate also pairs with vitamin B-12 to help form hemoglobin in red blood cells, which allows them to carry optimal amounts of oxygen. Folate is involved in the removal of homocysteine, an amino acid thought to promote heart disease, from the blood. A large population study from Harvard University shows an association between higher intakes of folate and lower risk of heart disease.
• Sunflower seeds are a good source of folate, supplying 17% of the Daily Value in a one-ounce serving. Other B vitamins are essential for producing energy from food.
• A one-ounce serving of sunflower seeds contains 20% of the Daily Value for
pantothenic acid, 11% for vitamin B6, 6% for thiamin and 6% for niacin.
Zinc is a mineral that is vital for keeping your immune system strong, fending off infections and healing wounds.
• A one-ounce serving of sunflower seeds is a good source of zinc, providing 10% of the Daily Value.
Iron is essential in carrying oxygen from your lungs, through your blood, and to every body cell. Iron deficiency, which can lead to anemia, fatigue and infection, is more common among women who experience regular menstrual loss.
• One ounce of sunflower seeds is a good source of iron, providing 10% of the Daily Value.
Fiber – the indigestible part of plant foods – promotes good health by helping to lower blood cholesterol, manage blood glucose, and prevent constipation. While the American
Cancer Society recommends consuming 20 to 35 grams daily, most Americans fall short on fiber, averaging only 11 grams per day. • Sunflower seeds are fiber-filled foods with 2 grams of fiber per one-ounce serving, putting you well on your way to your daily fiber goal.
Phytochemicals, or beneficial plant chemicals, may inhibit cancer growth, protect against heart disease, and offer protection from colon, prostate and breast cancer. Research from
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University suggests that sunflower seeds are high in many phytochemicals like choline, lignan, phenolic acids, and betaine, as well as
the amino acid arginine. Currently there is no set Daily Value for phytochemicals, but nutrition scientists recommend eating more whole foods, like sunflower seeds, that are abundant in these beneficial plant chemicals.
Glossary of Terms:
DVs (Daily Values):A dietary reference term developed by the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) that appears on all food labels. It is made up of two sets of references, DRVs and RDIs.
DRVs (Daily Reference Values):A set of dietary references that applies to fat, saturated fat,
cholesterol, carbohydrate, protein, fiber, sodium, and potassium.
RDIs (Reference Daily Intakes):A set of dietary references based on the Recommended Dietary
Allowances for essential vitamins, minerals, and protein.
RDAs (Recommended Dietary Allowances): A set of estimated nutrient allowances established by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences. It provides as specific nutrient advice as possible based on age and sex for different vitamins and minerals and is updated periodically to reflect current scientific knowledge.
Tips for Everyday Living
For big nutrition, use a small amount of sunflower seeds throughout the day. r
Sprinkle sunflower seeds on your salad for extra nutrition and crunch.
A few weeks ago I was touring our local Persian Grocery store that carries anything and everything that you can find in any store in Iran and more, with prices that are unbelievably low. There are more customers who are not Iranian shopping there, because of the freshness of the fruits and vegetables due to the high turnover. There are food items and spices that I remembered seeing in our home in Iran when I was growing up. The one aisle I am quite fond of is the huge nuts section. On one of my earlier visits I had bought some unsalted sunflower seeds that are fun to crack and eat while watching TV. Sunflower seeds always remind me of my childhood. It’s amazing how such small, insignificant items (sometimes visual, a sound, or even the smell of something) can trigger memories that have seemingly been lost for a long time.
I left Iran when I was fourteen years old, so seeing those sunflower seeds took me back to those days while living there and remembering how simple life was. There was no TV, computers, games on PC and all the “gismos” kids have now that require no imagination.
In the summer time we use to get up early, have breakfast together as a family, and then all of my the neighborhood friends would meet on the street corner across from our house with bikes. We would spend the day riding, traveling around the neighborhood and the city have a great time getting in some trouble, but nothing major. We also played soccer or stick ball, and sometimes cards. We all went home for lunch and had a nap, which we never really did but only pretended that we slept. The reason everyone took a nap was because the summer heat in the afternoon was like being in an oven, so anything physical could have been harmful.
Around 4-5 PM we were back out with friends and were having fun. When the sun had gone down and we were exhausted, we would buy a bag of sunflower seeds and sit on the front step of our house. We would sit there, cracking the seeds while trying to see what cars we could name with their brand. In those days there were only a few manufacturers, so it wasn’t that difficult. It was not like now where GM, Ford , Chrysler, and all the other companies each have so many versions. By the time we were ready to go home and call it a day, the ground by the front step was totally covered with the sunflower seed shells. The street cleaner would always clean it up by the next morning.
As I was cracking my sunflower seeds the other day, I decided to find out the nutritional value. To my surprise, I found the following on the computer, and thought I would share this with you. Not only is it fun to eat them, but they are actually good for you. So read and maybe you will want to get cracking. Who knew as kids we ate something that was good for us!
Information from: National Sunflower Association.
4023 State Street • Bismarck, ND 58503 • 701-328-5105 • FAX: 701-328-5101
Good things come in small packages. Nutrition scientists are realizing that we should pay more attention to our daily intake of complex plant foods like seeds, nuts and whole grains. A move towards whole foods, like sunflower seeds, will add nutrients to your diet in a flash. Mother Nature has created a nutritional power pack that is hard to beat in sunflower seeds. Healthy unsaturated fats, protein and fiber, plus important nutrients like vitamin E, selenium, copper, zinc, foliate, iron and phytochemicals come wrapped up in this small and perhaps unsuspected package – a sunflower seed. Just one ounce of these seeds every day can improve the nutritional quality of your diet.
Finding foods that are full of nutrients and fitting them into your daily eating plan isn’t always easy. While most of us get enough calories everyday (and sometimes too many), many of us fall short on important nutrients. Calorie for calorie, nutrient-dense foods like sunflower seeds will give you more bang for the buck when it comes to nutrition. . New nutrient data shows that sunflower seeds also contain a good amount of beneficial plant chemicals, or phytochemicals, thought to be advantageous to health.
ds are power packed with healthy
Sunflower seeds and oil contain both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat – the types of fat that may protect the heart. Clinical studies show that higher unsaturated fat diets may be preferable even to low-fat diets because they lower total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL) or bad cholesterol, and triglycerides, while maintaining beneficial high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, which is needed to carry the “bad” cholesterol away.
• Almost 90% of the fat in sunflower seeds is good, unsaturated fat.
Protein supplies amino acids, the building blocks that build, maintain and repair body tissues.
• Sunflower seeds are a good source of plant protein, providing 6 grams or 12% of the Daily Value per ounce. Vitamin E is an antioxidant that may protect against heart disease by getting rid of harmful molecules called free radicals that can lead to atherosclerosis. Sunflower seeds are the best whole food source of vitamin E)
• Sunflower seeds are an excellent source of vitamin E. Just one ounce of sunflower seeds provides 76% of the Recommended Dietary Allowance for vitamin E.
Selenium works with vitamin E as an antioxidant and protects cells from damage that may lead to cancer, heart disease, and other health problems. Although there is no Daily Value for selenium, nutrition scientists recognize its importance to health and a Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) has been established.
• The selenium in one ounce of sunflower seeds provides about 24% of the RDA for men and 31% of the RDA for women.
Copper helps your body carry oxygen to red blood cells and produce energy in the cells.
Copper is also a vital part of some antioxidant enzymes in the body, thus protecting you from oxidative stress. While a copper deficiency is rare, this trace mineral is essential to an energy-rich life.
• You’ll find about 25% of the Daily Value for copper in one ounce of sunflower seeds.
Folate, a B vitamin, plays an essential role in making new body cells by helping to form the DNA and RNA that contain each cell’s “master plan” for reproduction. This is why folate is so important for pregnant women and the development of babies. Folate also pairs with vitamin B-12 to help form hemoglobin in red blood cells, which allows them to carry optimal amounts of oxygen. Folate is involved in the removal of homocysteine, an amino acid thought to promote heart disease, from the blood. A large population study from Harvard University shows an association between higher intakes of folate and lower risk of heart disease.
• Sunflower seeds are a good source of folate, supplying 17% of the Daily Value in a one-ounce serving. Other B vitamins are essential for producing energy from food.
• A one-ounce serving of sunflower seeds contains 20% of the Daily Value for
pantothenic acid, 11% for vitamin B6, 6% for thiamin and 6% for niacin.
Zinc is a mineral that is vital for keeping your immune system strong, fending off infections and healing wounds.
• A one-ounce serving of sunflower seeds is a good source of zinc, providing 10% of the Daily Value.
Iron is essential in carrying oxygen from your lungs, through your blood, and to every body cell. Iron deficiency, which can lead to anemia, fatigue and infection, is more common among women who experience regular menstrual loss.
• One ounce of sunflower seeds is a good source of iron, providing 10% of the Daily Value.
Fiber – the indigestible part of plant foods – promotes good health by helping to lower blood cholesterol, manage blood glucose, and prevent constipation. While the American
Cancer Society recommends consuming 20 to 35 grams daily, most Americans fall short on fiber, averaging only 11 grams per day. • Sunflower seeds are fiber-filled foods with 2 grams of fiber per one-ounce serving, putting you well on your way to your daily fiber goal.
Phytochemicals, or beneficial plant chemicals, may inhibit cancer growth, protect against heart disease, and offer protection from colon, prostate and breast cancer. Research from
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University suggests that sunflower seeds are high in many phytochemicals like choline, lignan, phenolic acids, and betaine, as well as
the amino acid arginine. Currently there is no set Daily Value for phytochemicals, but nutrition scientists recommend eating more whole foods, like sunflower seeds, that are abundant in these beneficial plant chemicals.
Glossary of Terms:
DVs (Daily Values):A dietary reference term developed by the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) that appears on all food labels. It is made up of two sets of references, DRVs and RDIs.
DRVs (Daily Reference Values):A set of dietary references that applies to fat, saturated fat,
cholesterol, carbohydrate, protein, fiber, sodium, and potassium.
RDIs (Reference Daily Intakes):A set of dietary references based on the Recommended Dietary
Allowances for essential vitamins, minerals, and protein.
RDAs (Recommended Dietary Allowances): A set of estimated nutrient allowances established by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences. It provides as specific nutrient advice as possible based on age and sex for different vitamins and minerals and is updated periodically to reflect current scientific knowledge.
Tips for Everyday Living
For big nutrition, use a small amount of sunflower seeds throughout the day. r
Sprinkle sunflower seeds on your salad for extra nutrition and crunch.
TV CONVERTER BOXES
TV Converter Boxes
The day of converting and converter boxes for digital TV has finally arrived, ready or not.
In our California lunch room we have an old TV that is about 25 years old. It belonged to my Mother when she was watching it at her home many years ago. I guess they used to make them last! This TV had reception of only 8 channels in our lunch room. We do not have cable so it operated on RABBIT EARS. These 8 channels were sometimes even compromised and hard to view. Some of you might remember the good old days of adjusting the rabbit ears or sitting in a particular place in the room so there would be a better reception. That’s what our employees had to do to watch this thing.
Some of the employees who work Saturdays at the office and have lunch, they watches the so- called TV in the lunch room. They called me last Saturday and told me that there were no channels on the TV, only white snow. Last year when Government was giving away the vouchers for converters, I was able to get a few knowing they would be necessary for the year to come. I purchased the boxes for the “D” Day.
In these challenging economic times, we discovered that this might be a blessing in disguise, and a savings for all of us (but at the same time, a loss for the CABLE companies). I will explain our situation as it happened.
I brought a converter box from home and had it connected it to this old TV. You would not believe how amazed we all were to see how simple it was to install. But more than that, we could not believe the vivid pictures we were experiencing on the screen. And that was only the beginning! We now have 99 perfect channels that can be watched on this old TV that was showing only 8 channels before. We could not believe how sharp the picture is and how we can surf through the channels. The instructions said to set our TV on channel 3 or 4 and then with remote that comes with the unit, we change the channels on the converter box. The channels are compressed. In other words, when you go to channel 18, you have 18-1, 18-2, 18-4, 18-5, so you have to select the one you want to watch. All channels are there. Now we just have to figure out what channels our favorite shows are on.
Now for the savings! You can get rid of your cable company that is charging you $39.00 - $49.00 per month for basic cable, go with your converter box, and you are watching quality TV free.
I think the cable companies lost on this one. For a change, we have something that works and is free. Pass the word around, but test it first at your home without the cable coming from the wall. Use the converter box to make sure it will work for you before telling the cable company to take a hike. The converter box with the voucher costs you a one time $25.00 - $39.00 depending where you are shopping.
I suggest that even if you do not need one now, get a voucher from the Government and buy a converter box just in case you might need one in the future. These will not be available for long. To get your Coupon/voucher go to: https://www.dtv2009.gov. Apply for the TV converter box coupons while supplies last, until July 31, 2009. Applications for coupons will continue to be accepted online, by phone, by mail and by fax until 12 midnight Eastern Time.
The day of converting and converter boxes for digital TV has finally arrived, ready or not.
In our California lunch room we have an old TV that is about 25 years old. It belonged to my Mother when she was watching it at her home many years ago. I guess they used to make them last! This TV had reception of only 8 channels in our lunch room. We do not have cable so it operated on RABBIT EARS. These 8 channels were sometimes even compromised and hard to view. Some of you might remember the good old days of adjusting the rabbit ears or sitting in a particular place in the room so there would be a better reception. That’s what our employees had to do to watch this thing.
Some of the employees who work Saturdays at the office and have lunch, they watches the so- called TV in the lunch room. They called me last Saturday and told me that there were no channels on the TV, only white snow. Last year when Government was giving away the vouchers for converters, I was able to get a few knowing they would be necessary for the year to come. I purchased the boxes for the “D” Day.
In these challenging economic times, we discovered that this might be a blessing in disguise, and a savings for all of us (but at the same time, a loss for the CABLE companies). I will explain our situation as it happened.
I brought a converter box from home and had it connected it to this old TV. You would not believe how amazed we all were to see how simple it was to install. But more than that, we could not believe the vivid pictures we were experiencing on the screen. And that was only the beginning! We now have 99 perfect channels that can be watched on this old TV that was showing only 8 channels before. We could not believe how sharp the picture is and how we can surf through the channels. The instructions said to set our TV on channel 3 or 4 and then with remote that comes with the unit, we change the channels on the converter box. The channels are compressed. In other words, when you go to channel 18, you have 18-1, 18-2, 18-4, 18-5, so you have to select the one you want to watch. All channels are there. Now we just have to figure out what channels our favorite shows are on.
Now for the savings! You can get rid of your cable company that is charging you $39.00 - $49.00 per month for basic cable, go with your converter box, and you are watching quality TV free.
I think the cable companies lost on this one. For a change, we have something that works and is free. Pass the word around, but test it first at your home without the cable coming from the wall. Use the converter box to make sure it will work for you before telling the cable company to take a hike. The converter box with the voucher costs you a one time $25.00 - $39.00 depending where you are shopping.
I suggest that even if you do not need one now, get a voucher from the Government and buy a converter box just in case you might need one in the future. These will not be available for long. To get your Coupon/voucher go to: https://www.dtv2009.gov. Apply for the TV converter box coupons while supplies last, until July 31, 2009. Applications for coupons will continue to be accepted online, by phone, by mail and by fax until 12 midnight Eastern Time.
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