December 31, 2007

 

Well, it has been a long year and I realized that I have not been involved in the blog has I have in the past.  It is not that I am not involved in coffee or safety.  I have been heavily involved in both. 

Let’s talk coffee.  Earlier this year we headed off to Hawaii for a week.  Stayed at the Hale Koa on Oahu.  It was a great time away from work and time on the island.  Because it was March, the weather was cool at times, especially while it rained and it did a lot.  The coffee is something you can not complain about.  Kona coffee is some good stuff.  Found a couple of places where you can order via online HI coffee.  

 

We just went to Germany during the month of December.  I needed to teach a course there and while there we had some of the great coffee the Germans have to drink.  Now with that stated – we were going through a Christmas market in a place called K-Town or Kaiserslautern.  It was a good market but small.  It was the first full day we were there and I was tired, so I did not partake in drinking the gluwein for that Sunday afternoon.  Besides I had a new Mercedes that I would have hated to mess up if I had too much to drink. We needed the restrooms and right there in front of us was a Burger King.  Great, we will get a cup of coffee and take a bathroom break.  So the wife went upstairs to use the facilities and I ordered coffee.  It was euro 1.75.  Ok, expensive but ok.  But the coffee maker was out.  Ok, fresh German coffee.  Yes, it was a European coffee, but it was the boxed concentrate.  The Douwe Egberts coffee is what it was.  The problem I have is that it is the stuff we have at work.  Yes, in the US we have this coffee and quite honestly, it sucks.  We shared the cup but realized we should have purchased a cup at one of the gluwein shacks. 

 

 

Thinking about work, we have some guests come and ask for coffee.  In the guest services area there is the Dog Bert coffee in a box.  We had a high profile guest come and she wanted a cup of coffee.  As soon as I heard the request I knew I should have butted in and stated that I would make sure she had a good cup.  Because in the office we have another maker so we can get our own.   But it was not my place as I was only doing some security work.  Well, she made a point with the chairman after she did get a cup of coffee that it was really bad and she would make sure he received a box of good coffee.  Sometimes coffee can be the measuring stick for world class hospitality.

 

Before moving on to safety issues, I do have a like for cigars.  And I really like Cuban cigars.  While in Germany I had to visit one of the foreign exchanges and there on the shelves were Cohibas.  Oh my.  So enjoyable. 

I am concerned about some of the legal stuff regarding tobacco and some of the bans that are out there. Ok, I can see the restaurants and other public places, but there are those that would like to ban smoking anywhere.  Now here is what I believe is a concern – cigarettes.  The reason is because cigarettes have more additives and filler than they did years ago.  Cigars on the other hand are pure leaf and little if any filler and additives.  That is why cancer is more prominent with cigarette smokers than pipe and cigar smokers.  The tax effort to support SCHIP by raising cigar tax was a ridiculous effort.  What will be taxed next? BBQs?

If the congress was really serious in ending cancer, why are they not pressuring the pharmaceuticals in releasing the cures for cancer?  What, they don’t have a cure? Bulls…

I believe there are cures but because the money is so good in “treating” cancer, they are not going to allow a cure to be out there.  If you look at history, polio was cured in 6 months once a researcher decided he had enough.  Of course a family member was affected and it was a key issue.  It has been 50 years.  Either we aborted the scientists that had the cure or there is a cure and no one wants to release it.

I need a smoke……

 

Safety – yep, it has been a crazy year.  I was fired and kept my job.  Just changed departments.  Actually that has been good.  There is more leverage to get safety issues done.  The World Safety Organization conference was held in Denver this year and I did present a paper on the Technique of Review process in process improvement and safety prevention.  

Besides teaching for ERAU online, I began teaching courses down in Albuquerque at the Safety Center.  With that I was offered the opportunity to teach the same course in an abbreviated version in Europe.  Oh yea… 

 

This coming year I will be teaching and presenting papers.  Right now I have a paper due to the Today’s Facility Manager conference at Chicago’s  Navy Pier in April.