What a Difference a Foot Makes

Dear Members and Constituents,

I think it was Albert Einstein who said time is relative. I have to assume this truism also applies to the other half of the time-space continuum (namely distance). Whether Sunday’s Super Bowl match becomes game of inches remains to be seen, however, in building the case for the relativity of space, I have a couple of examples for you.

After six years in the same office, I will be moving twenty five steps away from my current desk next Wednesday (to 32C-510). To most FDC members, that will mean your round trip to grab a donut will be extended by 30 steps. I have to believe this change in your morning donut commute will have little or no effect on your consumption or willingness to partake (if anything, the added exercise should encourage you to compensate for those extra burned calories with an extra donut).
On the other hand, I’m willing to bet the foot of snow we had overnight and the prospect of another foot today (admittedly a much smaller “distance”), had a large impact –both for those deciding to work from home as well as those making it to the office. Adding insult to injury, the impact on those of you foolhardy enough to brave the commute is compounded by the fact that your efforts will not be rewarded with a donut this morning. This is the first non-holiday Friday since March 27^th, 2009 for which snow has prevented donuts from being at my desk.

Regardless of whether you have an alternative means to get your hands on a donut, I hope you are able to stay warm (no matter how far you are).

Happy Friday!

Comments

Happy New Year!

Friends, Happy new year (and, technically, still Friday). As many of you know, my household has a peculiar way of ringing-in the new year. We build effigies representing the old year and burn them at midnight. This year, although we made the tough call of canceling the accompanying annual party, I felt it was important to go ahead with the burning. The theme, of course, was CoVid. My kids and I developed a dozen mutations of the virus and staged them in our backyard. Then, at a quarter ‘till midnight, we proceeded to read the old year’s last will and testament (or, as might be expected for a year like this, an un-will and un-testament). Shortly thereafter they were summarily burned. We then proceeded to stay up way past my bedtime (which in part helps explain the unusual tardiness of my weekly note). In any event a couple of donuts and a day of rest have got me back to my old self. By the way, I’ve posted a public video of the Facebook live stream event on Facebook. Key markers on

THE Oasis

Friends, The book Ready Player One sent me down memory lane this week. The journey was not triggered by the author’s excessive references to the 1980s, which border on obsessive. Rather, it was the name of the massive virtual reality simulation used by characters in this dystopian future to escape their grim surroundings: The OASIS. You see, that was also the name of my grandfather’s country estate, the setting where a disproportionate share of my treasured childhood memories were created. La Quinta Oasis was a bucolic old whitewashed house with a massive stone staircase, three foot thick adobe walls and wooden window shutters that, when closed at night, would submerge the residence in pitch darkness. With no running water, electricity, phone or indoor plumbing, the only modern convenience was the battery transistor radio on which my uncles would listen to “Chucho el Roto”, a radio soap opera. The Spanish fighting roosters crowed long before sunrise, making it difficult to fall back

Accidental Culinary Innovations

Friends, Have you ever inadvertently fermented spaghetti sauce? Yeah, me neither… until yesterday, that is! Imagine my surprise when the half-full bottle, sitting in the fridge from time immemorial, made a sound akin to opening a beer bottle, instantly filling the glass container with a hazy smoke. As the carbonation dissipated, I grabbed a spoon to conduct the obligatory taste test. How was it? I’m glad you asked! Let’s just say chunky carbonated tomato beer is not my thing (although I must admit that if I had been expecting it, my reaction might have been a little more… composed). Now, if you forgo the fermentation and switch the tomato paste with spicy salsa… that might be the next million dollar idea! Sparkling sriracha anyone? How about Carbonated Cholula? Bubbly Habanero? Fizzy Jalapeño?? I could go on, but I have a feeling Gassy Guac might not fly off the shelves. Now, if only I could stumble on a way to improve donuts. Carbonated Jelly filling… yeah, maybe not. I think I’ll

Friday Donuts

Search This Blog