Eggs actly?

Ok, the tv is on and I am not paying attention to it until I hear an ad for Disney farm fresh eggs. On the plate is a sunny side up egg in the shape of Mickey's head. So, is this for real? At the end of the commercial there is a picture of a carton of eggs with Disney writing on it. Do all the eggs in the carton come in the shape of a mouse head when you crack them? Where does Disney raise these chickens? Chickens in a mouse house? I have been there many times and didn't see a single chicken. What do the eggs look like inside if you hard boil them? Help!

I Did My Part To Bail Out The Automakers

It is no wonder American car makers are failing. One of the rear lift gate struts on my Ford Freestar failed on Saturday. No problem. Mechanical parts fail and have to be replaced. I don't even mind buying new ones. They are generally about $50 each cheaper on the Ford than on my Jeep. That's good. On Sunday, I forgot it about it and pressed the button and up it went. It went up just fine, but then crashed back down! No gradually lowering of the gate, just crash. The next time I forgot about it, it also went up just fine. Then it started lowering mechanically and wouldn't stop! I grabbed it but no way could I stop it. It just kept going down. Help, Get OUT, GET OUT! I panicked. Poor Steve. He almost got trapped in the back. I think he would have been cut in half if he hadn't managed to fall down enough to beat the door closed. I actually strained my wrist trying to hold it up.



Steve wanted to order the part from a web site on Sunday, but I wanted to do business locally, so Monday morning I called our local Ford dealers. Autoway Ford in Bradenton told me the part would cost $51.60 and they didn't have it in stock and would take a couple of days to arrive. The internet price was about $35 with shipping of about $10 and no sales tax. I called Sarasota Ford where I take my car to get all the service done and they told me the price was $42.74. "Ok, order it please" I said. The parts guy tells me that I have to come there and order it and give him my credit card at the store. No numbers over the phone. What? I have to drive 40 miles to give them my credit card number and then 40 miles home and then in a couple of days drive 40 miles to pick the part up and another 40 miles home? How can this be? "That's the way it is. "



I try to look my part number up on the Ford parts web site, but it isn't working. I try to look for recalls because something has to be wrong if you can get knocked out or cut in half when your $50 strut fails. That Ford site isn't working either. I did find the phone number for Ford customer service and finally talked to a person. She was nice but she couldn't find recalls and her site to find part numbers wasn't working either. She gives me a name, web site and phone number of a company (not Ford or Ford related) to call to get the part number. Thanks and away I go! I call the number, explain what I need and ask if he has the part number. Yup, he does and better yet he can order the part. He doesn't think I should though because I would have to pay shipping if he sent it to me. So, how much is it? He gives me a discount after I tell him my sad tale and my part costs $30 + $9 shipping. He is sorry that I will have to wait a couple of days for my genuine Ford part to arrive.



Here's the total for the same Ford part:

Bradenton Ford: $54.96 + 50 miles + couple days.

Sarasota Ford: $45.73 + 160 miles + couple days.

Green Parts: $30.00 + $9 shipping + couple days + walk to mailbox.



After looking on the internet, I find a site that says there is a recall on my car for the liftgate. It is to reprogram the module so it won't crash on you when the strut fails. One part of the Ford site says my car has no outstanding recalls. The search for individual recalls still isn't working.

I call Sarasota Ford and explain to then what happened and ask if I have any outstanding recalls on my car. The guy says nope and when I tell him about what I found on the internet, he says that the internet isn't always right. Ok. So he searches, but the Ford website is down and he doesn't remember a recall for my car anyway. Goodbye.



I call Ford Customer Service again, but get an unhelpful person. His Ford website is down too, but at least takes my info. I read him the recall I found on the internet about reprogramming the module. He says, well, the dealer probably thought you wanted him to pay for your parts and labor too. WHAT? So, I say thanks and goodbye. Six hours from the start I have my part ordered, but still don't know if a recall or bulletin was issued, and don't know if anyone is going to call me back if there is one. Oh what a day.

Care For A Sapodilla (?)

A week ago at the Wagon Wheel Flea Market I purchased several sapodillas. The fruit, not the trees. We are going to such lengths to protect our little tree I figured I should be sure I really liked them. In order to transport them, sapodillas are sold hard. In the past, I would bring them home and cut and eat. One of the vendors told me that I had to wait for them to soften and not to eat them too soon. I allowed my fruit to ripen for a week and become a little shriveled. I cut them in half and pulled apart. There is one small seed (that I will plant) in each fruit. The vendor told me that these were the variety "brown sugar". The texture is a little grainy almost pear-like. The taste was very interesting. The best description is like Junket Rennet Custard with a hint of cinnamon. These things are good! Each of the three I tried had a slightly different taste. The second I didn't care for and the third had more of a cinnamon feel and taste than the others. More than any other fruit I have had, this is like a prepared pudding grown on a tree. It really is a dessert fruit and could be served as a sweet ending to any meal.

While at the flea market, we purchased another small sapodilla tree. This one is the variety, "Silas Woods". This tree is naturally dwarfing and only grows to about 12 feet tall. It is unique in that it produces abundant fruit almost year round. This time we are planning ahead and building a protective structure around the tree when we plant it so when winter comes we will be prepared. I'll have additional photos when we get it in the ground.

Insurance or Investment

AIG is giving its executives an additional $165 million in bonuses. $55 million had previously been distributed. Taxpayer money to the tune of $170 billion was used to initially bail them out. The bulk of the money will go to executives in the department that was responsible for the risky contracts that caused the massive losses. AIG lost an additional $61.7 billion in the 4th quarter of last year. WTF! The AIG Chairman, Edward Liddy has told the Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, that, "It could be harmful to the company if the government continued to press for reductions in executive compensation. We cannot attract and retain the best and brightest talent to lead and staff the AIG businesses, which are now being operated principally on behalf of the American taxpayers -- if employees believe their compensation is subject to continued and arbitrary adjustment by the U.S. Treasury." I say the government should make it "harmful to AIG" to hand out additional bonuses. Don't pay the bonuses! Let those who were to receive them sue AIG or the government if they believe they are really owed them. Try to justify losses of this magnitude. I wouldn't mind paying for this lawsuit.

Er

Finally a Presidential appointment that makes sense. President Obama has appointed Margaret Hamburg to lead the Food and Drug Administration.

The Sum Total

If you knew the total you could have changed your day. For instance, yesterday I turned into a plaza and was almost hit by a 90 year old woman who just blew through a stop sign. I went into Publix and picked up a few items and went to the quick checkout line. The customer being helped bagged him own few groceries and was trying to hurry out. He paid in cash and was owed $2 and change. The cashier opened her drawer and had no dollar bills. She shuffled to the managers area and spent the next 10 minutes trying to get ones. Of course she forgot to bring any money over with her, so shuffle to the register, shuffle back, wait in line to be helped again and you get the picture. She gets back with her ones and forgets how much the customer is owed so has to ask him for his receipt which by this time he has crumpled into a little ball in his pocket. He finally gets his $2 and off he goes. The lady in front of me had about 3 items in a small basket and a case of beer. The cashier rings up the items in the basket and only charges her $6.xx. The lady had swipped her card and was just looking dumbfounded. The cashier looks at me standing with my couple of items in back of a green bar separating the beer from my items and says, "This is yours right." I am like NO! So oops, she separately rings up the beer and finally the customer gets to leave. At last my turn. She rings up my items and the total is $13.13.

Mother Nature

This is a quote from someone in frozen (-2) mn. Mother Nature - rainbows don't start my car!