I’m watching Undercover Boss, an interesting program on CBS. This particular episode is about White Castle. Not surprisingly, White Castle has issues. The issues the owner is seeing while he’s working undercover remind me of a philosophy I once read about: The Peter Principle. An interesting concept that began as humorous treatise, I actually think it has quite a bit of truth to it.

You can read a bit more about it here:
Peter Principle: It holds that in a hierarchy, members are promoted so long as they work competently. Sooner or later they are promoted to a position at which they are no longer competent (their “level of incompetence”), and there they remain, being unable to earn further promotions.

Stuff Christians Like #596: Quitting your job so you can follow the Lord with all your heart.

Oh, this is a funny one. Sadly, I’ve done this. I quit a decent steady job to “follow my calling”. After a few months of that we were so flat broke I had to go get a real job. It felt so good, so right, to start getting a paycheck again. Jobs are so underrated!

I have been reading Angie Smith’s blog for a short while now. Her posts almost always touch my heart, but this one especially brought tears to my eyes. She started writing this post, “Ever Sweeter“, only four short months after she lost her sweet baby girl, Audrey. If you have a box of tissues handy and have time to read it, I highly recommend it.

If you don’t have time, at least read this excerpt:

This is coming from a woman who has been hit hard by some serious tragedies (yes, that’s plural) yet when she tells her stories it is unbelievable how present God is in her life. He has done some crazy amazing things. If there is a blog worth reading, it is hers. Go check it out!

Bring The Rain

Well, this is convenient. I found a way to blog with the click of one button! Flock is a web browser that saves all my preferences and accounts and links and feeds and clippings… all kinds of stuff. I think I’m going to like this! Thanks for the tip, Mr. Mays!

Blogged with the Flock Browser

So I finally joined this thing called Twitter. It’s basically a way of keeping everyone you know abreast of what you are doing at any given time, and vice versa. You can quickly post updates like: “I’m eating lunch” or “I’m going to take a nap” or “I’m clipping my nails.” Then if you have people “following” you they can see those updates and you can see theirs too. I heard about it awhile ago but when I first checked it out I thought to myself, “How utterly useless. Why would anyone want to join?” But the other day I checked it out again I thought to myself, “How utterly useless. Sign me up!”

So far Kari is the only one who has accepted my invitation, but I’m hoping more sign up. She lives far from me so we aren’t involved in each other’s day to day lives, so this is a way to pretend we are! And even better, Griddle Bandits readers can pretend you’re involved in my life too, because I added a Twitter Widget (say that three times fast) so you can see what I’ve been up to. Just look to the left and you’ll see it: “Twitter Updates.” It only shows the last couple updates but you can click the link to see a full history. It’s loads of fun.

If you want to join in the nonsense, sign up at twitter.com and then email me an invitation. If you don’t have my email address then you probably don’t know me very well, and in that case I don’t know why you would care what I’m doing all day anyway.

This is a great article courtesy of the Parenting Squad: Yes, You Can Drink While Pregnant. 

Experts tell us that consuming excessive amounts of alcohol is harmful to a fetus, and since pregnant women can’t be trusted to know the difference between excessive and moderate, they just tell them to abstain from drinking altogether. The truth is that a glass of wine or beer now and then will have no adverse effects on a fetus. Your liver will metabolize almost all of it before it reaches the placenta, and whatever may be left is super minimal.

This quote from the article speaks to one of my favorite soapbox subjects, kids and nutrition:

“The pregnant woman is scrutinized, chastised, and patronized while it’s perfectly acceptable to feed a child soda, fried food, and candy by the truckload. This is because parents aren’t expected to be able to control their children, but self-sacrificing a woman’s own body for the sake of optimal fetus health (and the greater good for all mankind) is a no-brainer. Why can’t we be told the truth and allow us to use our own judgment? It’s simply not true that women who drink a glass or two a week is participating in dangerous or risky behavior that will inevitably harm her baby.

It scares me what kids eat nowadays. One-fourth of the children in this country struggle with obesity. I do not want Luke to struggle with his weight as we do. I feel strongly that if I start Luke off eating healthy foods in the beginning that he will have an easier time eating healthy foods once he is old enough to make his own diet decisions. One way I’m trying to get him off to a good start is by making his baby food at home rather than buying it at the store. Homemade baby food is less processed so it has more nutrients than storebought baby food and it tastes better! It takes some extra time and planning, but I really feel it’s worth it.

Mike and I have been eating healthier lately and I trust that the good habits we are establishing now will rub off on Luke as he gets older. I know we can’t be perfect with our diets but my hope is to continue to stay away from processed foods, sugar and pop as much as possible, for the sake of our entire family.

Technorati Tags: pregnancy, drinking, children, nutrition, homemade baby food

The sign outside a local Wendy’s restaurant reads: “Everyone deserves a juicy hamburger.”

Maybe. Maybe everyone but this guy:

“Wife Says Canoe Man Faked Death”

If you know anyone who is looking to buy a new home in the G.R. area, please pass this along. Author Jen Abbas has been trying to sell her condo for some time now and she needs some help!

Hoping for a little help from our GR friends

I’ve seen pictures of the condo and it’s beautiful. It sounds like a great deal! Please visit her blog to find out more.

This is for LADIES ONLY. Actually, true ladies (one of which I am not) may be offended. So if you are female, over 18, and don’t consider yourself a true ”lady,” read Crystal’s hilarious post at Boobs, Injuries, and Dr. Pepper. I dare you not to laugh!

Technorati Tags: funny, links

I just learned about this project going on in Detroit, but it’s been going on since 1986. You can learn more at www.heidelberg.org, but it seems they’ve exceeded their bandwidth so I’ll give you a summary I took from another great blog, Michigan in Pictures (which I assume just took it from the Heidelberg website before it went down).

The Heidelberg Project, bearing the name of the street on which it exists, was started in 1986 by Tyree Guyton. He was assisted by his grandfather, Sam (Grandpa) Mackey (deceased), and his former wife, Karen Guyton. Tyree was raised on Heidelberg Street and, at the age of 12, witnessed the tragic effect of the Detroit riots – from which he claims the City of Detroit never recovered. Though once racially integrated, many neighborhoods have become segregated urban ghettos characterized by poverty, abandonment, and despair

Armed with a paintbrush, a broom, and neighborhood children, Guyton, Karen, and Grandpa began by cleaning up vacant lots on Heidelberg and Elba Streets. From the refuse they collected, Guyton began to transform the street into a massive art environment. Vacant lots literally became “lots of art” and abandoned houses became “gigantic art sculptures.” Guyton not only transformed vacant houses and lots, he integrated the street, sidewalks, and trees into his mammoth installation and called his work on Heidelberg Street, the Heidelberg Project.

There are over 200 pictures of on Flickr and you might even find more if you do a keyword search.

Some of my favorites (click for full detail):

Technorati Tags: Detroit, art, photo galleries