Food Log

Breakfast
bowl of Miniwheats cereal (with milk)
banana

Lunch
ham, cheese, lettuce, pickle, and tomato sandwich
bowl of Canadian cheese soup
vanilla yogurt with banana
glass of power-ade

Snacks throughout the day
cookie
2 sticks of gum
granola bar
can of Minute Made cherry-limeade

Dinner
turkey casserole
kernel corn
bowl of tortellini soup
salad
grape flavored water

For one day, keep a log of the food (and beverages) you consume (and be completely honest!). At the end of the day, analyze your day's diet. Did you eat foods that are likely to be "genetically modified" (e.g., corn, soybeans)? Did you eat organic fruits or vegetables? What was the farthest distance a food had to travel to get to you (e.g., pineapples from Hawaii, Fuji apples from New Zealand)? Did you eat fast food? Did you eat "slow food"?

College dining courts...A buffet at every meal...
Like most college students, I have a student meal plan (15 meals per week, to be exact)
With such a busy schedule, you can't beat the dining courts. Think about it...
you walk in
fill your plate with food (no waiting involved)
eat
fill your plate again (if needed, and once again, no waiting)
eat
put your tray in the machine (for someone else to clean)
walk out
and o ya, grab an ice cream cone on the way out...
It couldn't be more convenient.
Because of this, college students have little to absolutely no knowledge of where the food they eat came from, or how it got there.
I would venture to say that I am just like every other dining hall patron. We have no idea whether the food served is GE food or not, and frankly, I don't think we care. Based on the knowledge I have gained in the last week of the U.S. food industry, I would guess that our dining halls are not GMO free.
Back to my diet log...
Since coming to college, I feel that my eating habits have actually, slightly improved. I like having the option of choice at every meal. At home, my mom cooked dinner, and I ate whatever she made. They wasn't much choice involved. (Luckily, she was a great cook)
As far as fruits and vegetables are concerned, I have always loved both.
One of the best parts of my diet, I believe, is that when I'm hungry, I usually grab an apple or a banana, before a cookie or piece of candy.
For about the last year and a half, I have eliminated fast food almost completely from my diet. I rarely eat at McDonald's or Burger King, and if I do, it is not by my choice.
Perhaps the largest flaw in my diet is pace. I am often guilty of shoveling it in. I remember being a kid and my mom telling me, "Alan, slow down, its not going anywhere". However, I recently have tried to correct this problem. When I go to eat, I take my time, and am usually the last one done out of the group of people I eat with. So..... I am making progress.
((Alan))

America's Mayor

"Giuliani Gets Exposed As Fraud by Firefighters"
Here is an incredible video clip everyone should watch...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaCYEEO-58I
Some main point and quotes from this powerful clip...
Background-
Stories not delivered by an arm or extension of any political party
Stories of firefighters, active and retired, and the families of our FDNY memebers who served and sacrificed that horrible day
Paint a picture of Rudy that is remarkable different than the one he has painted of himself
It is time to tell the story...

-Rudy Giuliani has used a horrible event, September 11th, 2001, to create a carefully crafted persona, but the fact is what Rudy portrays is not a full picture of the decisions made that lead, in our view, to the deaths of our NYFD members, and the attempt to stop the dignified recovery of those lost.
-The urban legend of America's mayor needs to be balanced by the truth

"This guy had politics and his image as much more important than the needs of firefighters and their families"
"Its about learning who the person who is running for president is, don't go by the images you have seen on television"

Rudy's urban legend begins with 1st bombing of WTC
93' Attack
radio problem, didn't allow all calls to be rang in
Rudy and his hand-picked fire comissioner took 7 long years to replaced the deffective radios
Rudy ordered bogus radio's (cheap, and untested)
MayDay call
Firefighters weren't able to recieved the call to get out
Police officers heard it, they got out
Not a single cop lost in that building (north tower)
121 firefighters never made it out
***Thats what firefighters should remember about Rudy Giuliani, he gave us nothing when we needed a life saving radio***
Rather than taking responsibility, he tryed to blamed the victims...
telling the 9/11 commission that the firefighters heard the their evacution orders, but disobeyed them

The Recovery Process...
Firefighters began the difficult task of respectfully recovering the remains of fallen brothers
Gold belonging to the bank of Nova Scotia was found
200 million dollars
Within hours of recovering the gold, Rudy pulled NYFD members off the pile, claiming he was worried about their safety
Rudy's "scoop and dump" operation
When it started...
Only 101 NYFD members had been recovered
Hundreds stayed buried, or were removed like garbage
Apalling lack of respect
Public outrage
Rudy reopened the cite to recovery
Today, remains are still being found...

I don't think much needs to be said in response...
This video reveals many secrets to me, secrets of events that I had no idea had ever occurred
It really has made me think twice...

((Alan))

College Football

Saturday...
What a great day...

During the summer, Saturday normally serves as a catch-up day.
Being out with friends usually pushes my normal bedtime back by, ooh....about 3 or 4 hours, so...
Saturday is the perfect day to not set the alarm clock
However, in the fall...
Saturday takes on a whole new meaning,
College football

Even though I my head didn't hit the pillow until about 1 o'clock last night, I had no trouble getting up when my alarm clock buzzed at 9:30 this morning. It was game day.

Game 1
Purdue vs. Northwestern
Maybe I'm biased, but... you can't beat the Big Ten
Up until the last couple minutes, Northwestern was giving us all a run for our money...
They even had the lead at half!
I must admit, I was a tad bit frustrated, we're better than that...
(At least our play calling could be a little bit better...)
Anyway, we finally decided to turn it on in the 4th quarter (thanks for the insiparation Neil...)and play like we know how, sealing up the victory at 35-17. It was good quality win, and should give us some momentum going into the last 3 games of the season.
Another note from the game...
I was impressed by Northwestern's second TD...wow
Perfect execution of the hook and ladder...
As a football fan, I had to applaud

Game 2
Florida vs. Georgia
Incredible game
This is why I love college football
The emotion
A bunch of kids playing football for the love of the game...
Not for money,
Not to inflate their ego,
Not to gain celebrity status,
But just because they love the game, and love to compete
College football...
Football in its purest form.

((Alan))

Footprints

CATEGORY ACRES
FOOD 6.9
MOBILITY 0.2
SHELTER 5.2
GOODS/SERVICES 4.9
TOTAL 17
IN COMPARISON, THE AVERAGE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT IN YOUR COUNTRY IS 24 ACRES PER PERSON.
WORLDWIDE, THERE EXIST 4.5 BIOLOGICALLY PRODUCTIVE ACRES PER PERSON.
IF EVERYONE LIVED LIKE YOU, WE WOULD NEED 3.9 PLANETS.

First of all…
How do u define share? And who defines what a share is? In order to talk of things in terms of “shares”, we are assuming everyone involved is equal. However, this is not the case…
The United States is a MAJOR producer, I don’t know the numbers, but I would venture to say that we are among the world leaders in production of goods (if not, THE world leader). With that said, well, then when you ask me, “Is it fair for the U.S. to take more than their ‘share’”, my answer is absolutely…without a doubt.
I feel the explanation for this is obvious…

Yes, I agree, the often described “exuberant” American lifestyle does have its negative effects (global warming, contamination, pollution, etc) BUT, I feel that these failures are a small byproduct of the enormous success we have had. By arguing that the United States should not consume more natural resources than some less developed country is ridiculous. (i.e. only using our share) If you do, you are arguing against progress.
Honestly, why should we slow down to let others catch up?
However, there is a catch.
America is a world leader, (whether that is right or wrong… is another question)
With that title, comes responsibility.
In order to enjoy the fruits of the “American lifestyle”, we must be prepared to be held accountable for our actions.
((Alan))

Ris-kee Business

Friday marked the end of an era...
The era of Joe Torre as manager of the NY Yankees
A baseball legend, throw out like the trash...

12 years, 4 world series titles
12 straight playoff appearences
Is that not enough?

I don't understand, who will replaced him? who can possibly do better?
After Steinbrunner issued his ultimatum "If we don't win this series, I don't think I'll bring back Joe next season" (mind you, this was announced hours before the Yankees faced elimination last week) I should have known it was going to turn out bad...
I just didn't imagine it ending like it did.
I sat in my room Friday and watched the entire press conference, all 2 hours of it...
yes, 2 hours...
Torre answered every single question the Ny media had for him.
His answers were true and from the heart.
It was a shame he had to go like this...

When it comes down to it, there is only one explaination
Baseball is becoming too much of a business...
Torre's dismissal was the result of non-baseball people (business men) making baseball decisions...
All Hank and Hal Steinbrunner care about are statistics,
How many fans fill the park?
How much money did we make?
At least their arrogant father cared about baseball, and winnning, thats all

Its sad to say, but baseball is losing its integrity
What happened to the days of DiMaggio, Aaron, and Ruth?
What happened to the "good ol' days"?
((Alan))

The words of Teddy

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." -- Theodore Roosevelt

In lieu of the upcoming election, I found this quote to be appropriate, and very interesting...
1.) Roosevelt does not merely state that criticism of the American government is merely allowed by the U.S. Constitution, but asserts that it is absolutely essential.
Theodore Roosevelt, the, Ruff Rider, founding father, former president, etc, etc (the list goes on and on...) is, I feel, exactly correct in his quotation.
It is the duty of the American people to be skeptical, and to question the decisions made by their leaders. We, the American people, must play an active role in our government. It is my belief that many people feel their job is done once they leave the polls. However, voting is not enough...
The words of the Preamble shout out to us...."We the people of the United States..."
The United States was founded "for the people, by the people" and we must keep it this way...
Just think back into the past...
2 cases that I can think of...
The Pilgrims.
i
They chose to flee the reach of their native government, in search of a new life.
Religious persecution...we've all heard the story.
To make a long story short, without the bold action of revolt (the criticism Roosevelt's quote mentions) the United States would not be here as it is today.
ii Nazi Germany
Here is a case of what can happen if we DON'T criticize our government. The level of brainwashing and strengh of national unity that Hitler was able to create was incredible. I don't think I need to explain what can go wrong when an entire country conforms to one belief. The people of Germany believed every word Hitler said to them.. no one questioned, no one criticized. We all know the result...

The quote which I discussed is courtesy of the immortal J. A. Miller...my extraordinary high school history teacher.
((Alan))

October Break

Sunday Night Football
Bears v. Packers

For the past 2 or 3 years, me and a group of my friends have had a weekly tradition. We all get together every Sunday over at my buddy Ryan's house to watch the Bears game. Living in a south suburb of Chi-town, its a pretty big deal...
Anyways, because most of us are all away at school, we haven't yet been able to get together this year. However, October break came at the perfect time. A couple of "the boys" were all home and the Bears were playing primetime. It couldn't have worked out any better.
Making all these new friends in college is great, but there is nothing like old friends.
I love being around those guys, mostly because we all get along so well.
We were the athletes in high school, all of our lives pretty much revolving around sports.
Many summer days were spent outside playing ball.
Back to my story, so we all got to house around 6.
(So we had plently of time to watch pregame, which is very important..haha)
And just like always, Ryan's dad had a magnificent spread of food set up for us.
Ribs, Chicken, Potatoes, French Bread, Chips, Dip
It was outstanding.
Overall, it was just a great night. Theres nothing like a night out with the guys.
We all were able to relax, not having to worry about school for a couple hours.
It was nice to be able to sit down and talk with someone from home, someone familiar.
I can't wait till Thanksgiving...
There was only one thing that went wrong that night...
My Packers lost a heartbreaker 27-20
((Alan))