Book Review - The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

As promised, I finished reading The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and wanted to give my review of the book and how it compared with the movie.

First, I found the book like The Magician's Nephew to be excellent. I suspect I'm going to enjoy all seven of the books. C.S. Lewis shows pleasant humor while at the same time keeping the story moving along. The book is also surprisingly short. My copy only has 206 pages. This makes it a very easy read. The short page count appears to be standard throughout all the books. I suspect this was done because I believe the books were intended for children who are less likely to like reading long books. It should be noted that adults will enjoy the Narnia books just as much as children would. I would definitely recommend the book to young and old readers.

Second, how does the book differ from the movie? There are some interesting differences though no major ones. In the movie, Edmund gets to meet Mr. Tumnus who he betrayed to the Witch. In the book, he doesn't. In the movie, there is a different area where the stone that Aslan has to go for his execution. In the book, the stone is located in Aslan's camp and he has his army move before he returns to the area to be killed. In the movie, the Witch kills a fox that was an ally of Aslan. In the book, there is a fox who is a member of a group that were celebrating thanks to Father Christmas. The Witch summarily kills the entire group and smacks Edmund for speaking up for them like he does for the fox in the movie. In the movie, the wolves attack the beavers and the children in the beaver's home. In the book, the beavers and children get away from the beaver's house. There is also a big chase scene in the movie between the Witch and the children. There isn't in the book. The movie also has one of the wolves who support the Witch talk to Peter before he attacks him. In the book, the wolf doesn't talk to Peter, he just attacks. In the movie, there is a centaur who is Aslan's captain. There isn't any mention of such a captain in the book. Also, at the end of the movie, you see the four now Kings and Queens riding in the woods where they find the lamp post. In the book, the now Kings and Queens are chasing after the White Stag that will grant them 2 wishes if they catch him. In the chase, they find the lamp post. These are just some of the differences. In my opinion, none of the changes they made in the story for the movie took away from it. I think the chase and battle scenes added to the movie's suspense. I continue to recommend the movie to anyone who hasn't seen it.

One final note, I read some where that Disney has been ecstatic of the success of the Narnia movie. The unnamed Disney executive revealed that Disney has the film rights to the other books. A blogger named Will Robison (his blog is: http://iconnoone.blogspot.com) revealed that Disney plans to shoot the fourth book Prince Caspian sometime next year. I'll be looking forward greatly to that movie.

SHARE Volunteers

Few things are as critical to the Washington D.C. SHARE program as volunteers. The reasons for this is because SHARE couldn't operate without them or offer the great savings they offer in their food packages if it weren't for them. I'll explain why these two statements are true.

First, SHARE maintains a minimal full-time hired staff. I think all totaled there are seven or eight paid staff. Considering SHARE put together and sold over 9,000 food packages in January, I think you can see there is no way just seven or eight people could do it alone. Every package consists of 14 or 15 items. Each item needs someone to hand it out or put it in each package if it is to be done quickly on the two distribution days. SHARE also needs multiple volunteers to run the bulk section where cases and sacks of food are distributed. This past Saturday, there were between 3 and 6 volunteers manning these sections alone. Another area where volunteers were needed was in resupply. As items are handed out, the distribution points on the split assembly line and the area where the bulk items are handed out eventually run out of product. Volunteers are critical in keeping these sections constantly supplied with the needed products. During Distribution Saturday alone, SHARE had at least 35 volunteers working constantly from 5:30 a.m. till at least 10:30 a.m.

Second, it is the volunteers who break down and rebag the 50 pound sacks of rice or potatoes. During January, SHARE repackaged at least 3,000 pounds of rice alone. If volunteers didn't do this, SHARE would have to hire another company to do it like they do with the 3 pound bags of onions they sell in their food packages. While the cost of doing so would be slight per package, overall the cost of hiring a company to repackage various items would put a serious bite in SHARE's budget and in what they could offer in their monthly food packages. The volunteers enable SHARE to save in labor costs and pass those savings on in the form of more food items in the food packages. These savings mean that those who are on tight budgets are able to get more needed food for their money. Without volunteers, some of Maryland, Washington D.C., and Virginia's needy wouldn't be able to get as much food as they can with their help.

I think you can see how volunteers are critical to SHARE's operations. Without these fantastic people, SHARE wouldn't be able to function. It is to their credit, that SHARE can do as much as it does. Thanks to them, thousands have benefited from the SHARE program.

One final note about SHARE's volunteers: In a previous post about elderly people helping out at SHARE, I may have been a little too negative about the young people who volunteer at SHARE. While some young people that help out there have been less than enthusiastic, there are a considerable number of young people who do their families and schools proud. This past weekend, I got to see two such examples. One student from Dematha High School worked without a break for 6 hours. He played a very important part in ensuring those who ordered Super Bowl packages received their orders. Another example is a fine young lady from McNamara High School who helped with the bulk section. Though it was cold in the warehouse (it usually is during the winter), she didn't let that stop her from doing her bit for SHARE. She too worked continuously for over 6 hours ensuring that people received the cases and sacks of product they were supposed to receive while at the same time making sure they didn't get more then they were supposed to receive. While giving an extra bunch of broccoli or bag of pasta wouldn't hurt SHARE, giving an extra case of salmon fillets or chicken thighs could. The lady issued thousands of dollars of product to SHARE's customers without a single mistake. Such young people play a very important part in enabling SHARE to function. They, like its elderly volunteers, are greatly appreciated.

Book Review - The Magician's Nephew

Recently, I saw the movie The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. (See my last movie review) It was an absolutely fantastic movie that I'd recommend to everyone. However, the movie at the end raised some questions with me. Professor Kirke at the end explains to Lucy when she is clearly wishing to return to Narnia that she will get to return only if the power at the other end clearly wishes her to. This implies that Professor Kirke knows about the power at the other end i.e. Aslan. How would Professor Kirke know about Aslan that well if he hadn't known himself? The obvious conclusion is that Professor Kirke did know Aslan. I decided I wanted to find out more. While visiting Sam's Club, I found a nice complete set of the Chronicles of Narnia. I found out that there was a book prior to The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. This book is called The Magician's Nephew.

The Magician's Nephew is the first of seven books which form the Chronicles. In it, we find out how Narnia was created (Aslan created it through a song), how the Witch came into Narnia (Diggory Kirke i.e. later Professor Kirke caused the Witch to be awakened and he brought the Witch into Narnia in order to get her out of our world), how the talking creatures were (Aslan picked certain pairs of animals whom he gave special intelligence and the ability to talk), and how the wardrobe was created that the Pevensey children use to get into Narnia (Professor Kirke had it made from the wood of a tree that grew from an apple he brought back from Narnia). The book helps explain a lot about Narnia, Aslan, Professor Kirke, the Witch, and the inhabitants of Narnia. I thought it helped a person better understand the Narnia movie and would recommend it in part in that way. Another reason I'd recommend the book is simply because it is a very sweet book. It tells of Diggory's great love for his mother and what he does to save her. It is also a great tale of friendship between Diggory and Polly Plummer. Kids should particularly love the book though there is one catch as there is in the Narnia movie.

The book has unquestionable references to themes in the bible. Diggory representing Adam is the one who brings evil or sin in the form of the Witch into the world. The lion Aslan creates the new world of Narnia just as Jesus Christ in his deity created our world and the universe. Aslan also gives a man and a woman authority over all the creatures of Narnia just as God supposedly gave Adam in our world. I'm certain there are other connections but that should be sufficient to give you an idea of what you'll find in it. Like the movie, if you're a liberal, an atheist, or someone who doesn't care for Christian themes, this book is NOT for you. If you're Christian on the other hand, the allegories to themes in the bible make it even more delightful.

One thing I was a little puzzled by was why didn't the movie makers make a movie of the first book. In my opinion, it was just as good as the second. I can only guess that there are too many religious connections in it. Also, there aren't any great battles and while the Witch is unmistakably evil, she isn't any where as evil as she is in the second book.

Overall, I'd heartily recommend the book, especially to someone who watched the Narnia movie. It does explain a lot of how things came to be for the second book and movie.

In regards to the second book, I plan to read that next and, I'll let you know how that is. I confess, I'm curious to see how much it differs from the movie. My sister Ellie has told me that the movie was actually very close to the book. We'll see. Stay tuned for my book review on The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.

SHARE Prestaging Continued

I found out today that I got one thing wrong yesterday. I found out they also pre-stage the frozen items and that they sometimes have more than just 2 or 3. Today, they had five frozen items. I can also vouch that the pre-staging process does save valuable time later. It took four of us over 2 hours to finish all the pre-staging for the frozen food. After we finished getting all the frozen food pre-staged, it had to be put back in the large walk-in freezer SHARE has. That took another 30 minutes at least. By the time, we had put all the frozen stuff back in the freezer, it was packed. Sam told me that the freezer was even more packed during November and December. During those times, SHARE received an additional 7,000 plus orders per month. The mind truly boggles just how much food SHARE handles in just one month.

Another neat thing I got to do today was meet another one of the awesome volunteers that help out at SHARE. Sam introduced me to Philip who has been helping at SHARE in the D.C. area since it first started (over 15 years now!). He is a man that does what ever needs to be done. So great was his help at SHARE that last year the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington bestowed upong him their highest honor - the Caritas Award. Sadly, last year, Philip also had heart problems and underwent bypass surgery. Initially after his surgery, he couldn't help out at SHARE at all and he was greatly missed. Philip was determined that the important work he had done at SHARE would continue to get done. He actually went out and found a replacement volunteer who continues to help out to this day at SHARE. As soon as Philip recovered enough to where he could start helping out himself, he was right back at SHARE. Today for instance, he helped guide us less experienced volunteers in the pre-staging process. Thanks to his and Chris's expert guidance, the process went smoothly. The result of his help will be pleased customers and ultimately people getting the food they need while making their precious dollars go further. Many kudos to Philip for his many years of selfless service to the SHARE program and to those less fortunate.

DISCLAIMER: All opinions expressed on this blog are my own and in no way represent any other person or organization. In regards to the blog entries concerning SHARE, my blog entries express my own observations and opinions of the Washington D.C. SHARE. They don't in any way represent the official position of the Washington D.C. SHARE or Catholic Social Services of Washington D.C.

SHARE Prestaging Day

Today was prestaging day at SHARE. We had to get ready 16 particularly large orders in advance. The reason SHARE does this is because it helps make things go smoother on Distribution Friday and Distribution Saturday. Large customers can create bottlenecks in the split and bulk orders as volunteers scramble to fill them. By preparing these orders in advance, it helps prevent those bottlenecks, ensures the customers get their orders promptly, and makes it easier for SHARE to ensure they get the right number of the things they ordered. Preparing these orders can be a lot of work. First, you have to lay out pallets to place the order on. Second, you have to carefully place on the pallets the cases and sacks of items the customer has ordered. Third, you have to then fill the split part of the order. Splits are the number of items that are less than a case or sack. An example would orders for broccoli. Each case of broccoli had 18 bunches of broccoli. If a split order required 14 bunches of broccoli then, I'd take 4 bunches out of the case and place the case of 14 on the customers pallet. The last step is where each order is wrapped with clear plastic wrap (like Saran Wrap). What this does is hold all the boxes and bags in place so when the pallet is moved, they don't fall off.

Not all the items that are ordered by the customer are placed on the pallets during pre-staging. Some are held until the day the customer will pick the order up. These items are items that must remain frozen. One example would be salmon fillets, another would be chicken thighs. Usually, there are only 2 or 3 such items so it doesn't create any great problem waiting to hand these items out until the day the customer is prepared to pick up the orders. By pre-staging the big orders, the majority of the work is done freeing up people to work on other orders on the distribution days. It's a good system that works well for SHARE and its customers.

SHARE Elderly Volunteers

When people look at the elderly, they may not realize just how productive they can be. The people at SHARE know first hand what these incredible people can do. A number of volunteers there are elderly people from various church groups that have made SHARE their special project. Today, I saw two such examples. A group of ladies from Mount Pleasant Baptist and a group of ladies from Pilgrim Baptist did their once a month trip to help out at SHARE. Unlike young people, these ladies weren't distracted by calls on their cell phone, trying to look cool in front of their peers, or only doing it because they had to. They were there because they genuinely wanted to help and they DID. While I was busy helping out at SHARE today, I got to observe the ladies from both groups. They were something else. They got themselves into a rhythm and they bagged a LOT of rice. They could've easily put a lot of the youngsters who help out at SHARE to shame. People should remember that just because people are old doesn't mean they're useless. The elderly people who help out at SHARE prove time and again that they can be priceless volunteers who can make a BIG difference. Many kudos to the groups from Mount Pleasant Baptist and Pilgrim Baptist churches. Your churches should be proud of you.

SHARE Post 1/23/06

I got to learn more today about SHARE's operations. Today, the more perishable items were delivered such as kiwi fruits, broccoli, carrots, and apples. Once the items were delivered, the items had to be moved to two different sections. The two sections are bulk and split. The bulk section is where cases or sacks of items will be distributed on Distribution Friday and Saturday. The split section is where items less than a case or sack will be distributed such a single bag of carrots or one 3-pound bag of potatoes. We also received frozen food items such as the special Super Bowl package SHARE is offering and salmon fillets. These items were moved into the large walk-in freezer. As the same time, volunteers continued to break down 50-pound bags of rice into 2-pound bags. It made for a busy day. In no time, two o'clock had arrived and it was time to head home. Tomorrow promises to be another busy day at SHARE. I look forward to learning more about how they operate.

Go Steelers!

I saw yesterday that the Pittsburgh Steelers have made it to the Super Bowl. I will readily admit I'm NOT a sports nut nor a fanatic Steelers fan. Still, they have been the team I've rooted for since I lived in Pittsburgh as a kid back in the 70's. I remember seeing a game with Terry Bradshaw when the Steelers stunk. Later, they would go on to win 4 Super Bowls. It is something to see them in the Super Bowl again. I don't have a tv as there isn't anything on television that I really care to watch. Still, it looks like I'll have to either go watch the Super Bowl in the apartment complex fitness center which has a tv with cable or, I'll have to make a trip to the Laurel Hooters restaurant where I can watch the game. I remember doing that when I lived in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. It should be a good game and I do hope the Steelers win it. Go Steelers!

Movie Review - The Dish

Yesterday, I finally pulled out a movie I'd bought on the spur of the moment and watched it. The movie is called The Dish. It is about a group of Australians and one American who run a communications relay station in Parkes, Australia. This station became the primary communications station which forwarded to the world television images of Neil Armstrong's historic walk on the moon. However, as the movie tells, there were some major glitches and the historic moon walk was almost NOT televised. These glitches as well as struggles between the Australians and the American give the movie its conflict. The movie also is a time capsule of how things were in Australia in the 60's as well as the world. To those of us who find laptop computers and cell phones blase, it is an eye opener to see a time when the standard calculator was a slide rule! It also gives us a benchmark on how far we've come since that Armstrong's historic moment. Since that time, we've sent mechanized probes that have explored the Martian surface and explorer spacecraft to the very edge of our solar system. There is talk of sending a manned mission to Mars. The mind boggles how far we've come and yet the first truly great step was when Armstrong stepped on the moon. Space travel from that point was no longer the stuff of science fiction writers. This movie gives us picture of those incredible tumultuous times.

I believe the movie was created for the Australian market but I think Americans would enjoy the movie as well. It shows some of the funny quirks of the Australians as well as some of the differences between American and Australian english. Repeatedly, one of the Australians on the team have to translate for the American when one of the other Australians starts using Australian English terms. It can be very amusing. Overall, I'd rate the movie as very nice. It is something to watch on a day when you want to want to watch something relaxing and funny. I'm not sure how easy it would be to be able to find the movie at your local video rental shop but, if you can't find it there, you should be able to buy it cheaply at Movies Unlimited or some other big internet store that offers lots of movies for sale. I believe when I bought the movie, it cost less than $10.

Movie Review - The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

I'd heard good things about The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and I decided to check it out. Today, I took my friend Tami to see it. If you are a liberal, an atheist, or someone who hates Christian theology, this movie is not for you. C.S. Lewis became a devout Christian and loaded the story with Christian allegory. At one point in the movie, the Lion who's name is Aslan (I don't know how that may have a tie into Christianity) is beaten, shorn, bound, and executed. He later vanishes and rises from the dead. The stone that he lay on in death is broken. The two girls who play the true daughters of Eve stand by his dead body and grieve for him. All of these have clear associations with Jesus Christ. There are other allegories which I won't cover in this review. I think if you're a Christian or someone wants to take a kid to a movie that sends a good moral message, this movie is for you. I found it absolutely fantastic. The story itself is outstanding. The special effects done by WETA Workshop for top notch, and the fight scenes are very exciting. I would strongly recommend this film to anyone barring the three groups I mentioned at the beginning of this blog. I definitely plan to buy it when it comes out on DVD. I also plan to buy and read the books which I've never read.

On a slightly different topic, while watching the previews, I found out that a second Pirates of the Caribbean movie will be coming out this summer. I thought the first one was fantastic and I look forward to the second one. Johnny Depp plays an awesome pirate. Based on the preview, it looks like it's going to be another great movie. We'll see. Keep your eyes alert for this new forthcoming flick.

SHARE Update

We had a fantastic turn-out today. At one point, we had ten tables of people bagging potatoes. I would guess that we bagged at least 3,000 pounds of potatoes and at least 1,000 pounds of rice. I'm sure SHARE appreciated all the people who showed up. Special kudos to Georgetown Preparatory School. It was awesome to see kids from that school show up and help out.

For those of you who missed out today, there will be bagging week all of next week, every day from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. I'm sure SHARE would appreciate any help they can get. Next Saturday, there will be Distribution Saturday which starts at 6 a.m. It promises to be busy though not as hectic as the holiday season. Sam, all around good guy, told me that they had orders for over 9,000 food packages. That is less than what they had during the holiday season when they received orders for over 16,000 food packages! Again, if you can help, I'm sure they'd appreciate it and you would be helping a good cause while getting to work with some fantastic people.

Discount Food Warehouses

I got to visit the Columbia, Maryland BJ Wholesale Club and decided I'd do a blog on that club stacks up against Sam's Club and Costco. Just a reminder, the following comments are my own. Also, I haven't been paid any kind of remuneration i.e. money by any of the mentioned clubs. Also, you may find the club by you different from the one's I visited. Lastly, I didn't use any kind of standardized test to measure the clubs. I simply looked for items I've bought in the past and saw how they compared price or availability wise at the other clubs. You might buy different items at the mentioned clubs and get different results.

First, the three clubs I'll be reviewing are the BJ Wholesale Club in Columbia, Maryland; the Sam's Club in Laurel, Maryland; and the Costco located in Hanover, Maryland.

Second, I currently have active memberships at the Sam's Club and Costco mentioned. I bought these myself. I used a one day membership to see how BJ's stacked up against the other two clubs I belong to. I wanted to see if BJ's was worth joining and maybe cause me to quit one of the other clubs I belonged to. Here is what I found out.

Price wise, I found on the standard muffins, rolls, large cookies, that the three clubs didn't have much of a price difference. I did find that Sam's Club was 30 cents cheaper on a 58.8 ounce box of frosted mini-wheats cereal. I found that BJ's had a larger snack shop than the other two clubs. I also found that BJ's was more expensive in regards to some marinated mozzarella I like to buy at Costco. BJ's had it in the 24 ounce tub vice Costco which had it in the 48 ounce tub. The price per pound ended up being over $5 at BJ's vice under $4 a pound at Costco. I didn't see any notable price difference concerning DVD movies or music CD's. Concerning price as far as gasoline, I found that Costco was a penny cheaper a gallon than Sam's Club. BJ's in Columbia as far as I could see didn't sell gasoline. One thing that did surprise me was that there wasn't any great savings buying gas from these clubs compared to other service stations. I remember driving by an Exxon gas station that was just down the street from Costco and Exxon was only 2 cents more a gallon. Price wise, I wasn't impressed with either club.

One thing I have found with the clubs is that each will have items that I can only find at one specific club. Example. Costco sells some fantastic French bread with a wonderful hard crust. BJ's and Sam's Club don't. Costco also sells Pepper Jack cheese in large pre-weighed packages. Neither BJs or Sam's Club sold this particular type of cheese. There are some items that two or more of the clubs sell and here are my preferences for the items I've bought there. Both Costco and Sam's Club sell packaged already roasted chickens. I've personally found I big time prefer the chickens sold at Sam's Club. They use Lowrey Seasoning Salt on their roasted chickens and they are GOOD! In regards to BJ's, I didn't see any roasted chickens for sale though I could've missed them. If they do offer them, I haven't bought one to see how it would stack up against Costco and Sam's Club. Another item that Costco and Sam's Club offer that BJ's doesn't are smoothies (I looked). Costco offers a triple-fruit flavored smoothie for $1.35 which I think is a really good deal. I don't remember how much Sam's Clubs smoothies are but, I do remember the one I tried wasn't as good as the one offered at Costco. However, the Sam's Club smoothie did have REAL fruit in it whereas the Costco one doesn't. I've tried muffins at Costco and Sam's Club and have no preference between the two clubs on those.

As far as membership cost goes, all three clubs charge the same i.e. $45 a year for the basic membership. If you are prepared to buy items in bulk, I suspect you could save some serious money shopping at these clubs. I can't however quote you any kind of figure.

Another factor that has to be taken into account is location. If you live in Columbia, Maryland, BJ's would be more convenient then driving over to either Hanover or Laurel. In my personal opinion, I don't think you would save enough money at one club over the other's. The main reason I see myself remaining of member of Sam's Club is because of their chickens, and their location. I see myself remaining a member of Costco because I love their French bread, marinated mozzarella, and smoothies. From what I saw of BJ's, I don't see myself joining that club. I just didn't see enough of a benefit to make it worth splunking out another $45 a year for another club. If I lived in Columbia, I suspect I'd probably join it because of the convenience. Another plus concerning BJ's is that there is a Home Depot and Discount Shoe Warehouse in the same strip mall it's in. Costco has an advantage in being less then a block from the Arundel Mills Mall. The main location advantage I saw that the Sam's Club in Laurel has is it's right off Interstate-295. Costco is somewhat close to the interstate but not as close as Sam's Club. The advantage of the interstate is that you don't have to drive all over the place trying to find the club. You take the Maryland 198 exit toward Laurel and Sam's Club is on your right when you get on 198. Sam's Club is just across the street from a strip mall that has a Corridor Wine Store, Target, Weis, and Kohl's. The Corridor Wine Store has an excellent selection of wines and international beers. I buy my Foster's beer from there. There is also a Jimmy Dean Restaurant which I've had breakfast at a number times. I've found that restaurant to be consistently excellent.

That's all for this review. I can't say I prefer any club over the other's. There are some things that Costco or Sam's Club have that I prefer at those particular clubs. I wish the other clubs would sell the same items but, I suspect they intentionally don't. Barring standard items like bread, milk, eggs, cereals, and candies, they do seem to try to have exclusivity on certain items. I think where you live in relation to the clubs is a big factor. I don't think it is worth driving extra miles to one of the clubs vice the others. I only do it because there are some items that I prefer at one club vice the other. If you've found a particular item that is significantly cheaper at one of the clubs vice the others, please mention it in a comment so others can know about it.

SHARE Update 1/20/06

Time to post an update on what's happening at the Washington D.C. SHARE. Sam Minor, jack of all trades and all around good guy, continues to show me the ropes at SHARE. Tuesday of this week, Sam showed me how to use a mechanized lift so I could help him reorganize all the pallets SHARE has. All the food SHARE buys comes on pallets and they have quite a few of them. Sam wanted to weed out the broken pallets and better organize the good ones so they didn't take up as much space. He also showed me how a forklift works in advance of the forklift safety course I'm going to take on February 1st.

Today, my lessons on how SHARE works continued. I got to play quality control inspector. Every shipment of food SHARE orders has to be quality checked to make sure the seller is providing what was promised. This morning, seven pallets of bagged onions arrived. I got to pull a random sack of bagged onions from each pallet, open the sack, and count out how many bags of onions were in the sack. Each sack was supposed to have 29 bags of onions. Most had 30 though one sack only had 25. Another thing I got to check was the quality of the onions. SHARE can have a major problem is a lot of the onions are bad as its customers will refuse them. In this case, all the onions appeared to be fine.

Another operation I learned at SHARE today was how to make the bags they use to bag potatoes. The bags are made of red plastic mesh. SHARE buys large rolls of the mesh. The mesh is put up on a roller at one end of a table. At the other end of the table is another roller with space running the length of the roller and a notch in it at one end. The person making the bags ties a knot in the beginning of the red mesh, puts the knotted end inside the notch on the roller, turns the roller so the red mesh starts wrapping around the roller, and keeps turning the roller until the mesh covers the length of the roller. Once that's done, the person takes a pair of scissors or wire cutters, and slices down the open space in the roller. This guarantees a consistant size red mess bag for the potatoes. Later, the red mess strips are tied at one end by another volunteer who then opens the bag at one end, and places it over the another bag. Eventually, they create a large stack of red mesh bags which people bagging potatoes can easy pull bags from. These bag stacks are then stored in large boxes until SHARE needs them to bag potatoes.

Tomorrow, I'll get to start learning how to supervise different groups of volunteers. SHARE expects to have quite a few as it'll be bagging Saturday. That's the day, SHARE bags items that have to be bagged such as potatoes or sweet potatoes. The groups vary enormously. Some have volunteered for years while others are totally new to SHARE. The person supervising the groups shows them what needs to be done, assigns them a table, and makes sure they bag the proper amount of food. Tomorrow, we'll be breaking down 50 pound bags of potatoes into 3 pound bags. Once the potatoes have been broken down into 3 pound bags, volunteers will place 20 3-pound bags of potatoes into the empty potato sacks. On Distribution Friday and Saturday, these sacks will be distributed in bulk shipments. SHARE also fills up large container boxes with the 3-pound bags of potatoes. These boxes are used to fill split orders such as an order calling for 9 bags of potatoes.

The time proven system works well. Come Distribution Friday and Saturday, SHARE will be able to hand out hundreds of pounds of potatoes very quickly to its customers. They in turn will take them back to their respective organizations where they'll deliver them to the people who ordered them as part of a standard food package.

If you think you might be interested in helping out tomorrow, please check SHARE's webpage for directions to the Bladensburg warehouse. Bagging starts tomorrow at 7 a.m. Volunteers are welcome to come by themselves or as part of a group. If you arrive at the warehouse and aren't sure what to do, just ask for Sam or Jingle, and they'll be glad to show you how it's done. I hope to see you at the warehouse tomorrow. Cheers!

Lord of the Rings Stuff

The Council of Elrond website (www.councilofelrond.com) had a particularly interesting entry and link recently. Teenager Ben Gurin got to work the Lord of the Rings film exhibition in Indianapolis during its stay there. He tells of his experiences in an article in the IndyStar.com (http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060108/LIVING/601080359) I actually got to see the exhibition (see my December blog entries for my review of the exhibition) and thoroughly enjoyed it. I envy this teenager big time. It would've been so cool to have gotten to work the exhibition. Sadly, it is now returning to New Zealand for a six month stay. There isn't any word yet where the exhibition will go from there. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that they send it to either Washington D.C. or Baltimore. I'd very much like to see the exhibition again. For those who are interested in seeing the exhibition in New Zealand, it will be located at the Museum of New Zealand in Wellington. The museum's website is: http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/TePapa/English/.

SHARE Update 1/13/06

I haven't written about SHARE in a while so I figured I'd post something. Plus, I helped out there today. When SHARE finished getting out all the December food packages, the staff finally got to take a well deserved rest. The last two weeks, they've been taking vacations or days off to pay back for the six and seven day weeks they worked in November and December. Now things are starting to spring back to life there. Today, they received a shipment of chicken thighs for the January food package. Sam, jack of all trades and all around good guy, put out tables in preparation for volunteers returning next week. That's when things will really start kicking in as they start bagging various food items in preparation for food distribution day.

Recycling

I've been collecting aluminum cans, glass jars, plastic jugs, cardboard, magazines, old phone books, and mixed paper for a couple months now. I was determined to do my bit as the British say for recycling. A friend of mine where I used to work got me turned on to the idea and, I think he would be very proud of me. Today, it was time to load the car up and take it to the county recycling depot. It was an uneventful drive barring wondering if I'd take the right turn offs this time. One time, I didn't and ended taking unexpected tours of the Harbor and Fort McHenry tunnels. This time, thankfully, I made it without mishap and offloaded all my recyclables. I was pleased with myself.

The day before I recycled in another way. I took a large garbage sack of clothes, a table I no longer needed, ice cube trays that became redundant with my automatic ice maker in the fridge, and some dish racks that hadn't seen use in years thanks to a dishwashing machine to the Salvation Army Thrift Shop. Hopefully, all those things will be sold to someone who can put them to good use. One of these days, I'll have to go around to the front of the shop and see what they have for sale. Maybe, I'll get to use someone's old CDs or find a cheap pair of blue jeans. The Salvation Army may not come to mind when you recycle but it does in its way. It also helps a good cause who are there when people need help all over the world. If you have junk cluttering up your place, you might want to think about donating it to them. It'll get it out of your hair, help a good cause, and reuse something that otherwise might needlessly fill a landfill. This link may help you find the closest thrift shop/donation center near you: http://www1.salvationarmy.org/uss/www_uss_natcaparea.nsf. Cheers!

Feel of England

It was wet, chilly, misty, and grey today where I live. It reminded me of England. The weather in England is like that. It can be depressing at times when it goes on for days at an end. And yet, I liked the weather there. It was great for long walks finished by a trip to a 15th century pub with a real roaring fire, aged wooden beams, and pint glasses of stout, ale, or bitter. There aren't any pubs where I live. Today, I walked around the neighborhood where I live. So many of the buildings are new. When I moved here over 4 years ago, the main street that ran by the apartment complex where I lived dead ended. Now, it wraps around in a crescent with single family houses, row houses, and luxury apartments lining the way. In many a town centre in England, you would find a bakery with freshly baked Cornish pasties, almond fingers, and madeline cakes. The Weis grocery store down the street has a bakery of sorts where you can get donuts, so called French bread, and maybe a bag of madeline cakes. But it isn't the same. It doesn't feel of England there. The people are nice enough but, there aren't any copies of the Star or Sun to be found on the news racks. You'd have to do a serious search among all the sugar loaded candy by one of the cashiers to find a Cadbury's candy bar or Toblerone if there are any at all. There are tennis courts and a huge swimming pool close to where I live but there aren't any parks where families would set out a blanket and enjoy a small picnic. Nor are there benches where the elderly could sit and watch people walk by and remember times gone by. No, today there is just the weather which feels of England and brings back lots of memories when I wandered among her parks, shopped in her quaint shops, and sipped in peaceful contentment a pint of bitter in a pub that was built before my country was born. The feel is a pleasant one which I will savor for I know not when I'll return to England's blessed shores.

Movie Review - Sahara

One movie my sister Ellie recommended to me was "Sahara." It stars Matthew McConaughey, Penelope Cruz, and Steve Zahn. It is a comedy action movie. For my sister, I think the big attraction was seeing McConaughey flex his muscles in the movie. My sister pointed out that guys would enjoy some nice shots of Ms. Cruz. After promising her I'd get around to watching it, I finally sat down yesterday and watched the movie. I found the movie very entertaining. It has plenty of action, some nice laughs, and an easy to follow plot. It is also only 2 hours long which makes it easy to sit through. The story is McConaughey and Zahn play two deep sea treasure hunters while Ms. Cruz is a doctor for the World Health Organization. The two come together when McConaughey and Cruz are drafted to give Cruz a ride to Mali so she and her boss can investigate what they think initially is an outbreak of an unknown plague. After McConaughey and Zahn drop Cruz off in Mali, they go off in search of a Confederate Civil War ironclad that somehow made it to Africa (to be honest this is highly unlikely but it does make an interesting story) and then travelled along the Niger River inland until it became stuck far inland. The crew of the ironclad all die of unknown causes. McConaughey and Zahn run into unexpected opposition from the Malian military forces who attack their boat. Cruz is also attacked and her boss is murdered by the Malian Army. McConaughey realizes the Malian forces that attacked them were after Cruz and go off to help her arriving in time to save her. The three then seek to escape the Malian military by fleeing to Toureq rebel territory. It is here Zahn finds a drawing that depicts the lost ironclad. It is also here that Cruz discovers that people aren't dying of a plaque at all. Instead, it a deadly toxin that is getting into the water supply some how. The three then go off in search of the ironclad which is located by an abandoned fort. They find the fort and while looking around, they discover an unknown waste disposal plant that they break into and find out is causing deadly toxins to seep into the underground water supply. The director of the plant doesn't want people to know of the plant and it was he that tried to stop Cruz from entering Mali and identifying what was making people sick. When the three adventurers break into the plant the plant manager captures the three. He keeps Cruz while sending McConaughey and Zahn to the evil President of Mali who presumably wants to kill them after they killed 7 or 8 of his soldiers rescuing Cruz. The two escape and go back to rescue Cruz. When the two reappear, the plant manager decides to destroy the plant and take Cruz with him to presumably keep her quiet. McConaughey succeeds in rescuing Cruz after fighting an evil turbaned fiend. Zahn manages to keep the plant from exploding so they can presumably stop the toxins from entering the water supply. The action doesn't end there. They still have to find the lost ironclad which is carrying a fortune in Confederate gold.

While leaving the plant, the three are attacked by the evil ruthless Malian President in his attack helicopter. The three escape to the fort where McConaughey conceives of a plan to foil the evil President. They use explosives to uncover the ironclad which they promptly climb into. Once inside, they discover the evil President's attack helicopter has armor piercing bullets. They decide to shoot the President's helicopter down using one of the cannon in the ironclad (the story does get a bit farfetched at this point, I mean these folks are really going to know how to fire an Civil War cannon, come on). After one misfire, with the ruthless President deciding he is going to take our heroes out himself, McConaughey manages to fire the cannon without killing himself. The shell goes through the helicopter windshield, lands inside the helicopter, and after the few suspenseful seconds, explodes. Good bye evil President. Naturally, after that the evil Malian Army surrenders and our adventurer's Toureq friends show up. Lastly, McConaughey gets the girl. We see him at the beach with Cruz. Cruz undoubtedly delights her male fans at this point by wearing a very nice two piece bikini. The movie ends with them rollicking playfully in the sea.

While the story does get seriously farfetched at times as I noted, it does move along, and has some good laughs. I found it a fun movie and would definitely recommend it anyone. The movie is now out on DVD. Cheers!

Movie Review - Pirates of the Caribbean

My sister Ellie and my friend Tami would be shocked. I finally broke down and watched a movie. I own something like 60 or 70 movies on DVD and haven't watched at least half of them. Some of them I've owned for over 2 years or more. I've been promising my sister Ellie that I would finally watch "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Sahara." Well, I finally watched "Pirates of the Caribbean" and here is what I think of it.

"Pirates of the Caribbean" is a fun movie. If you want lots of double crossing pirates, sword play, cannon fire, and treasure, "Pirates of the Caribbean" is for you. I found it a very fun movie to watch though I did take issue with its subtle moral measure that people aren't entirely evil. The hero played by Johnny Depp is a case in point. He is a pirate who robs ships and kills people but we find that he also has a kind and brave heart. It is impossible to not love his character. The other hero in the movie played by Orlando Bloom (re: Legolas in the Lord of the Rings movies) finds this out in time. If we go by this moral message, we can say Saddam Hussein wasn't all bad because he did take good care of his mother and loved his wives while he calmly massacred the Kurds and the Shia. The fact is some people overall are pure and simply bad. Pirates for all our idolizing of them were for the overwhelming part BAD and deserved what the punishment they got. However, as long as we ignore this moral message, we can sit back and enjoy this really well done fantasy tale movie. Barring the subtle moral message, I very much enjoyed it and would heartily recommend this movie to anyone who wants to watch some fun escapist fare.

Book Review - The Silent World

No one person has probably done more for popularizing the the sport of scuba diving then Jacques-Yves Cousteau. Through his tv show "The Underwater World of Jacques Cousteau," his movies, and his books, he introduced what became known as scuba diving to the world. His first effort to tell the world about the undersea world was the book "The Silent World." This book is initially something of an autobiography of Cousteau's early life as it tells of how Cousteau became interested in the undersea world. It is a fascinating tale with interesting twists of fate. An accident caused Cousteau injuries that would prevent him from becoming a naval aviator. If it wasn't for that accident, Cousteau might've never developed an interest in diving that led to the development of the first successful open circuit Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus (SCUBA) device which he called the Aqualung. While the book tells a lot of his life, the book also tells of some of the trials and mishaps Cousteau has as he seeks to learn more about the capabilities of the Aqualung system. Cousteau can be said to have lived something of a charmed life as he nearly drowned a number of times. Cousteau and his cohorts were pioneers who had to discover the limits of open circuit diving through trial and error. Sometimes the errors were fatal to friends of Cousteau as we learn in chapter 8 when Lieutenant Maurice Farques dies after setting a record dive down to 396 feet. The book is also a time capsule back into the early years of scuba diving. Cousteau himself remarks how things changed as he saw people nonchalantly don the aqualung later and dive to 130 feet on their 3rd or 4th dive. When Cousteau and his friends first began testing the limits of scuba diving, it was with trepidation that they broke the 130 feet barrier.

The book also dispells some of the so called terrors of the deep such as octopus and moray eels. We also discover dangerous creatures that people might not have realized as dangerous such as sea urchins with their very sharp spines which can easily penetrate wetsuits and skin causing painful and possible infectious wounds. There are also the dangers of stings from jellyfish which in some cases are poisonous. Cousteau does acknowledge the very real danger of sharks and tells of one of his terrifying adventures with three of them.

The book "The Silent World" is a very easy read and is just 160 pages. It also has some very nice black and white pictures. It costs approximately $13 U.S. It tells of the early years of scuba diving and at the same time tells the early life of one of the world's great explorers and conservationists Jacques Cousteau. For diver and non-diver alike, it should make a fascinating read and I would strongly recommend it.

SuperShuttle Baltimore

Over the past 3 years, I've used the Super Shuttle's airport transportation service to BWI at least 4 times each way (to and from my home). I have used both their share a ride service and their private car service. As I promised in one of my earlier blog entries, here is my review/opinion of them. A reminder, all opinions of their service stated here are my own. I haven't received any kind of remuneration from Super Shuttle. I don't claim to know all the circumstances of the some of the incidents that happened and, any incidents I mention here may not happen to you.

I forget exactly when I first used Super Shuttle's service in Baltimore though I'm pretty sure it was so I could catch a flight from BWI to Detroit Metropolitan (DTW). I usually fly to Michigan to visit my Dad and step-mom at least once a year and BWI is the closest airport to where I live. Comparing the cost of long-term parking vice using Super Shuttle's share a ride service, I found that for trips that are longer than 5 days, it was better to use Super Shuttle's service.

I have had some mis-adventures with Super Shuttle. Some of the mis-adventures were their fault and some were mine. One mis-adventure that was their's was when I was travelling home for Christmas. I arranged for the shuttle to pick me up at 0430 a.m. on the 23rd I believe. At 0430, there wasn't any driver. I waited another half an hour and then called them. They assured me the driver was on his way. 0530 still no driver, 0545 still no driver, 0600 I call again and they said they didn't know where the driver is. Great! They subsequently sent another driver. The second driver did show up and got me to the airport at 0630. Unfortunately, my plane was due to leave at 0705 and because of that, I couldn't check my bags in at the curb. I had to check-in at the check-in counter. By the time I got to the check-in counter, my flight was pulling out of the gate. I ended up getting to fly stand-by all the way home which was a bit nerve wracking.

To be fair to Super Shuttle, I will tell about one time where it was my fault concerning their service. I had made reservations to do a holiday in Iceland. I arranged to have Super Shuttle to pick me up at 6 p.m. to take me to BWI. I waited until 6:45 when I decided to call them. Thankfully, I showed the good sense to not say they were to blame right off the bat i.e. I hadn't forgotten the Christmas fiasco. I said I was checking on my reservations with them. To my horror, I found out I'd made the reservations for the wrong day and it was too late to get them to pick me up that day. I ended up driving into BWI and parking at their short term parking. I didn't have time to find their long term parking. My flight was going to leave in 90 minutes. I made my flight and had further mis-adventures in Iceland. I also had to pay the short parking folks $94! OUCH!!!!!!

As you can see, I've had some interesting mis-adventures with Super Shuttle. Because of these misadventures, I am a little paranoid when I use them. Recently, I got to use them on December 20th to get to BWI and yesterday when I returned to Maryland. I ended up having another mis-adventure with them on the 20th. I triple checked to make sure I put the right date on my reservations with Super Shuttle. I made my reservation for them to pick me up between 2:15 to 2:30 p.m. (You give them a 15 minute window when you want to be picked up.) My flight left at 5:05 and it takes 20 minutes from where I live to get to BWI. If I left at 2:30, I'd have over 2 hours to kill at BWI. I was not to be so lucky.

To my delight, at 1:58 p.m. the Super Shuttle driver called me and told me he would arrive at 2:30. That was within their time window so I said fine. I made sure I was outside waiting for him at 2:15. 2:30 shows up and there isn't any driver. 2:45 shows up and there isn't any driver. My step-mom Kay calls and asks if I'm at the airport. I have to tell her I'm not but I assure her I'll make it one way or the other. My back-up plan is to drive out to BWI, park in the long term parking (I knew where it was now, I made sure I found out after the Iceland fiasco.), and take their shuttle service to the airport. If you're wondering why my step-mom was a little anxious about me making it to the airport, it's because I'm the one who had all the information on the limo service we planned to use from Indianapolis International to the Downtown Indianapolis Radisson hotel, the hotel reservations were in my name, and so were the tickets to the Lord of the Rings film exhibition. I think you can understand why she was a little anxious. She wasn't the only one.

As the driver had called me on my cell phone, I had his phone number and called him. He assured me he would be picking me up soon. To my relief, he showed up at 3:05 p.m. and we drove straight to BWI. We made it in time and I was able to catch my flight with no problems.

Super Shuttle also has a service where a private car can pick you up. This service is triple what the share a ride van service is because you're the driver's only passenger. I used this service when I flew out of BWI to Dallas on what would be the beginning of my Globus tour of Australia. That time, there weren't any mishaps with Super Shuttle and I arrived at BWI right on schedule.

In regards to taking Super Shuttle from BWI to where I live, I've never had any problems there. They've always been prompt. I've never had to wait more than 30 minutes. I would definitely recommend taking them from BWI.

Overall, I'd say Super Shuttle has a nice service in Baltimore. I'd give yourself about 3 hours with them if you are going to the airport. That'll give you plenty of leeway if you have a mis-adventure with them. You shouldn't have any problems with them getting back home from the airport. Price wise, I think they're share a ride service is cheaper then a taxi and I know it's cheaper then a limo service. Remember, their private car service is more expensive but you don't have to worry about waiting for them while they pick-up other passengers. Depending on how important your trip is, it could be worth the extra cost. I felt it was on my $5,800 trip to Australia. The Baltimore Super Shuttle website is: http://supershuttle.com/htm/cities/bwi.htm. One last note, as I remember, they give frequent flier miles for the Frontier and America West programs.

Southwest Airlines

As promised, here is my review/opinions on Southwest Airlines. First, let me tell you what routes I flew so you can properly judge on what I base my opinions. None of the flights I took were longer then 1 hour 45 minutes. The longest route I flew was from Chicago Midland to Baltimore Washington International (BWI). Second, all the flights I flew were during the Christmas holiday season i.e. it may have been busier than usual. Third, the routes I flew were Baltimore Washington International to Indianapolis International, Indianapolis International to Chicago Midland, Chicago Midland to Detroit Metropolitan (and back), and Chicago Midland to Baltimore Washington International.

I got to fly on Southwest Airlines for the first time on December 20th. I was to find it a nice experience barring my initial confusion on how they work. When I first printed out my boarding pass, I wondered what the "A" stood for. I found out when I got to BWI airport. It turns out Southwest boards people by group. There are preboarders such as handicapped people and people with children under 5 years old (I fully support them allowing these people to board first as I feel they deserve it.) then, there are groups "A," "B," and "C." As far as I know, you get into groups A, B, and C depending on when you check-in. I found that if I checked-in as soon as possible (24 hours before my flight left), I could get into group "A." I quickly discovered the advantages of being in group "A." Group "A" gets first pick at the seats on the plane barring the pre-boarders. It also makes it easier for you to find an overhead bin to put your stuff in. The biggest advantage I saw of this was it enabled me to sit at the front of the plane. That meant I was able to get on and off the plane quickly which can be pretty nice. Another advantage of this is it virtually guarantees you should be able to sit with someone you're travelling with.

If you're in group "B," you're going to sit further back in the plane but you should still be able to get an aisle seat if you want one as well as find plenty of bin space. I got placed in group "B" on my way back to BWI and, I had no problems getting an aisle seat or bin space.

Group "C" in my opinion gets the dregs. You have to sit where ever there is a seat and you may have to hunt for space in the bins to store your stuff.

In terms of service at the check-in counters, I found the people there nice. I did take one issue with a lady at one of the gates. On my BWI to Indianapolis flight, it was known the flight was going to be late. The lady at the gate had to have known. She didn't bother to inform the waiting passengers as far as I know until it was almost time for the flight to arrive and, she didn't update the flight information on the board behind her till then. I also heard that the BWI to Indianapolis flight is routinely late leaving from BWI because it is regularly late arriving. Southwest might want to try to fix that if possible.

I found the stewardesses consistently kind and efficient. They were very quick in handing out the complimentary drinks and snacks. I found if your flight is under 1 hour, you'll get a complimentary drink (soda, water, juice) and a couple small bags of peanuts. If the flight is under 2 hours, you'll also get a bag of stuff similar to Chex Mix (it contained stick pretzels, small Ritz crackers, cheese flavored sticks). I found the stewardesses had no problem if you ate food you brought with you on board. I ate some of White Castle hamburgers I bought in Ann Arbor on the Chicago Midland to BWI flight and, they didn't say anything.

Seat wise, I feel the seats were a little small. I found myself repeatedly slightly scrunched in my seat. On two flights, I did have the bad luck of sitting next to very heavy lady and in the other flight to a very muscular gentleman. I feel the seats weren't terribly roomy or comfortable.

Baggage wise, I found Southwest's skycaps polite and helpful. I also found they were prompt on getting the bags out to the baggage carousels. I did feel I waited a bit at the Detroit Metropolitan airport but, they may have been due to the construction going on there. I found they were prompt at Indianapolis and BWI.

Price wise, Southwest can be a real bargain. Southwest doesn't penalize you if you go only one-way like other airlines do. They also offer some great prices on short flights. My step-mom checked into airfares and found Southwest charged $150 round-trip from Detroit to Indianapolis. All the other airlines wanted $300 plus.

Overall, I'd say Southwest is a very good airline and one worth considering. Because of the size of their seats, I wouldn't want to fly them on a long flight. I would absolutely check them out if you are planning on taking a short flight as you might be able to save some serious money flying them on short flights. A word of warning, you may have to change planes at Chicago Midland. It appears that is one of their major hubs and a lot of their flights go there. I've also heard a lot of their flights go through Dallas Love Field too.

White Castle Hamburgers

Today, I got to pick up a case (30) of White Castle hamburgers. It brought back lots of memories. The most vivid ones were of trips to my grandmother's trailer home in the back woods of Indiana. Once a year, my Dad and Mom would pile me and my sister in the car and drive to Indiana to visit my grandmother (on my Dad's side of the family). Grandma lived in a trailer out in the country. It was so country that until she and my Grampa got a full size trailer, they didn't have a bathroom. They had an outhouse and that was real interesting. I remember it well because it stunk and me being a kid at the time, the last thing I wanted to do was have to go to the bathroom when it was cold and dark outside. Later, they did get a full size trailer which got a bit full when my family, my Aunt Marge's family, and my Aunt Norma's family showed up. It became something of a massive slumber party then. Still, it was a lot of fun visiting grandma.

One of the highlights of the visit ironically wasn't seeing her. It was stopping by the Columbus, Ohio White Castle restaurant. The drive from Pittsburgh (where we lived at the time) to Indiana was something like 9 hours. Me and my sister Marjorie being typical kids could only stay good and patient so long. One way my folks kept us more good was to stop by the Columbus White Castle.

What is so special at the Columbus White Castles' you might ask? Actually, it was like any other White Castle restaurant. What it made it special was the food. White Castle hamburgers are square shaped hamburgers that a kid could easily handle. To make them more fun, since there not terribly big, you could eat a lot of them. I remember stacking the empty boxes they came in after we'd finished eating. To me, they were a special treat. They have remained so ever since.

One annoying thing about White Castle restaurants is that they are primarily located in the Midwest. There aren't any in Maryland as far as I know. I can buy the frozen White Castle hamburgers at Sam's Club but they're not the same. The frozen ones don't come in the stackable boxes and they don't have the same flavor after you microwave them. I wanted some right off the stove. Today, on my way to the Detroit Metropolitan Airport, my step-mom who was taking me stopped by a White Castle restaurant where I could get a case of them. I was delighted. Later, during the flight to Baltimore Washington International Airport (I was on my way home from staying with my Dad and my other step-mom Jane during Christmas.), I got to enjoy seven of them. They were great. I still have 22 left so I'll be able to savor for a little while longer some more White Castle hamburgers and reminisce about years gone by.

FYI, White Castle hamburgers come 30 to a case. If you did the math above, you'd see I should have 23 left. My step-mom Kay, who also loves White Castle hamburgers, jokingly charged me a transit fee of one hamburger. I gladly paid. White Castle hamburgers cost 48 cents each. A case normally costs $14.40 however, they are having a special promotion where you can buy a case for $12.99 not including tax. For further information on White Castle restaurants, their website is: www.whatyoucrave.com. If you don't have a White Castle restaurant close to you, you might see if there is a Krystal restaurant close by. Krystal's serves the same burgers White Castle does (in my opinion). I found this out when I ate at a Krystal's in Mary Esther, Florida. As far as I know, Krystal's is primarily located in Florida. Their website is: www.krystal.com. One final comment about White Castle restaurants. They're also located in New York and New Jersey. Also, fyi, this comments about White Castle and Krystal restaurants are my own. I also don't receive any kind of remuneration for this positive review. Lastly, I don't promise you'll like their hamburgers. Each of us has different tastes. I know I personally enjoy their hamburgers and heartily recommend them.

Carey Indiana Limousine Service

The following statement is my own and is not in any way endorsed by the Carey Indiana Limousine Service. Nor has Carey Indian Limousine Service in any way paid for the following comments about their services. In fact, the service has no idea of what I've written here about them. They are my own personal comments and observations about their limousine service. Should you try their service, I can't guarantee your experiences will be the same as mine though I think it very likely. Prices quoted are subject to change by the service and I have no idea when they may be changed. I have no affiliation whatsoever with Carey Indiana Limousine Service.

In my last post, I told of my visit to the Lord of the Rings film exhibition at the Indiana State Museum in Indianapolis. As I don't live in Indianapolis, I had to fly out there to see the exhibition. I flew to Indianapolis on Southwest Airlines and plan to post a blog on what I thought of their services. This blog entry however is about my use of Carey Indiana Limousines Services.

As I was making my reservations for my trip to Indianapolis back in October I ran into a problem, I couldn't find an airport shuttle service from Indianapolis Airport to downtown Indianapolis. I decided to call the Radisson where I was going to be staying. They told me about the Carey Indiana Limousine Service. The Radisson is one of an unknown number of hotels who have a deal with them to drop off travellers at their hotel. I then called the service and found out it would cost $11 each way per person. I thought that was a great price though I didn't realize at that time just how great. I subsequently made reservation for me and my step-mom.

The day finally came to fly out to Indianapolis and I used the Super Shuttle (Blue Van) service (I'll give my impressions of their service later) to Baltimore Washington International Airport. From there, I caught a Southwest Airlines flight to Indianapolis. When I arrived at Indianapolis, I met up with my step-mom, picked up my bag, and we went in search of the Carey Indiana Limousine Service. The service was located across the street from the arrivals entrance. We walked over to the building they're located in and checked in. About 5 minutes later, our transportation arrived.

A lot of limousine services use vans, buses, as well as limousines. For $11 each way, I expected a van. Me and my step-mom were both stunned when we stepped out and got to board a great looking stretch limousine. It was absolutely fantastic. It was a great start to our visit to Indianapolis. The driver and his assistant promptly got us to the downtown Radisson and were very courteous. We ended up tipping them $8 because we were so delighted with their service.

When it was time to depart, we waited for what we expected would be a van this time. To our surprise, Carey sent a stretch limousine AGAIN! We were delighted. The driver was just as great as the driver that took us to the Radisson. We were at the Indianapolis Airport in no time. The driver also very kindly told us where we needed to go to check-in for our flight.

I don't know if you'll get a limo every time like we did but, if you need a cheap but high quality service to get you to downtown Indianapolis, you might want to try Carey Indiana Limousine Service. Me and my step-mom found them consistently excellent and will gladly use them again in the future if we have to travel to Indianapolis. Their phone number for reservations and rates is 317-241-6700.

Lord of the Rings Film Exhibition

Currently, the Indiana State Museum is hosting the Lord of the Rings film exhibition until January 3rd. Me and my step-mom finally got to see the exhibition yesterday. If you are a fan of the Lord of the Rings films, it is a must see. They have the costumes warn by Christopher Lee (Saruman), Cate Blanchett (Galadriel), Sir Ian McKellen (Gandalf), Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn), and Orlando Bloom (Legolas) on display. There is also have the armor and weapons used by Bernard Hill (Theoden). The character Sauron is represented by his armor and terrible mace. For those who are fans of the dwarves, they have the armor and weapons worn by the double for John Rhys-Davies (Gimli). They also have armor worn by orcs, goblins, and Lurtz the terrible Uruk-kai created by Saruman. A row of different suits of armor is also on display. The row shows the different kinds of armor among the various races. There is a beautiful set of Elven armor, a suit of armor from Numenorean times, two suits of armor someone of the Rohirrim would wear, a suit of armor a Gondorean of the third age would wear as well as others. Videos tell about the actors and actresses involved in the film. A wall shows some of the thousands of prostetics that were created for the films. For special effects nuts, they show how they performed some of the special effects and for $6 you can get your picture taken where a you can be shrunk to hobbit size. The models of Isengard and Barad-dur are on display too. One thing that really impresses is the attention to deal that Peter Jackson and others showed. Many of the items are beautifully made and very intricate. On film, it is extremely unlikely that movie goers would notice these details but that didn't stop the special effects and costumes people. They made some truly breath taking costumes, armor, weapons, and other items (they display the telescope Elrond had at Rivendell).

Another nice aspect of the exhibition is all the artwork that is on display. Drawings by Alan Lee, John Howe, and other artists are on display. Some of them are really beautiful. They had a color painting of Bag End by John Howe I wish I could've purchased. Supposedly, the exhibition is unique in having all the artwork that is on display.

For those who wise to acquire some kind of film souvenir, the museum has a very good gift shop. You can buy maquettes of some of the characters, replicas of the some of the swords, jewelry replicas including a copy of the Evenstar jewel, magnets, book marks, books, and for those who want to look properly elven, a replica of the Fellowship cloak. Two warnings about the cloak. First, it is purely costume. The cloth is very thin and can't be expected to keep the rain and wind out. Second, the cloaks are imported from New Zealand and are expensive. I saw a price tag of $889. Still, I will say the cloaks are pretty. I just don't need to look elven that badly.

Overall, the exhibition is awesome. Me and my step-mom thoroughly enjoyed it. We walked around in delight viewing each of the outstanding exhibits. I left with an even greater appreciation of the films and those who played a part in their making. They truly are benchmarks for any future fantasy films. If you can make it to Indianapolis, I would strongly recommend you catch the exhibition.

One last item of information. Once the exhibition closes on January 3rd, the exhibition will return to New Zealand for 6 months. It hasn't been announced where it will go after New Zealand.

SHARE Distribution Day

4:00 a.m., time to get up. It was the beginning of a busy morning. I'd promised the folks at SHARE that me and Tami Baldon would help out on distribution Saturday. That meant I had to be on the road by 5:15 a.m. Poor Tami, who really hates getting up early had to drag herself out of bed only to find her mom in the bathroom. Her mom was recently promoted to assistant manager at the Chik-Fil-A down the street. Part of her assistant manager duties is opening it at 5 a.m. So Tami found her mother busy getting ready for work at the same time she needed to be out the door so we could drive to SHARE. She finally made it and off we went.

The drive to SHARE was uneventful. We made good time though we did get one shock when we got there. Previous distribution Saturdays didn't start till 6 a.m., not so on this one. We got there at 5:35 a.m. and all the parking spots were filled. People were picking up food packages already. We managed to find a spot thanks to Sam Minor, SHARE's webmaster I've mentioned previously. We then walked in and wondered where we should help out at.

Sam suggested bagging sweet potatoes but I wasn't thrilled with doing that. Jingle then came up and asked if I'd like to be a checker. What is a checker you ask? A checker is a person who takes the customer's order sheet and fills it. There are two kinds of checkers at SHARE. One checker gets single or small lot items such as 5 bags of apples while the other kind of checker handles orders for cases of stuff example: 4 boxes of black eyed peas. Both jobs are very important as they make sure the customers get what they've ordered. Neither me or Tami had been checkers before. I nervously decided to try it. Tami unbeknownst to me became a checker for cases of items.

In my opinion, the small order checker job is the harder of the two checker jobs because you've got more items you have to watch over though the large order checker could cost SHARE more money if they mess up. The small order checker checks off the number of each item the customer receives and makes sure the customer agrees with that number. You also have to make sure the people handing out the items give the customer the right number of items. A few times I found those giving out the items miscounted. Another problem you have is with stuff that the customer rejects an item for one reason or another. In one case, a customer rejected a bag of onions because one of the onions in the bag was bad. The checker also had to explain to the customer how things are done. Repeatedly, I had to explain to customers how they were going to receive their order of tangelos. We were prebagging them 20 to a bag and then putting in another bag anything under 20. So if a customer ordered 75 tangelos, they received 3 bags of 20 and another bag of 15. Lastly, I had to make sure the customer agreed he or she had received all the items I'd checked off and signed the form proving they'd received the goods. I then signed it and turned it into the office. For me, it was a nerve wracking job because I wanted to be absolutely sure the customer received everything they'd paid for.

The morning went quickly as the line of customers didn't seem to shrink for hours. I would finish processing one order, sign off on the paperwork, and promptly go back to the beginning of the line to start processing another order. The orders didn't slow down till 11 a.m. It was incredible how much food was distributed. When me and Tami first arrived, there cases of food stacked up on the warehouse floor. When we were all done, almost all the cases were gone. We actually ran out of turkey link sausages and had to substitute those with packages of ground turkey meat. The warehouse which had been filled with food now looked incredibly empty. Having the warehouse so empty though was a good thing as it meant those who figured how much to buy of each item had gotten it right. They would have very little left over that they would have to sell later.

Me and Tami left about noon and drove back to the apartment complex. For the people who work at SHARE, they would put away the leftovers, and see about tidying the place up. For them, the big holiday surge was over. They could finally take a breather though in 2 weeks time, things will begin to spin up again. It is a continous cycle. The beginning of the month sees them taking orders and then ordering the necessary food. They also organize how ever many volunteers show up to help do whatever jobs need to be done (bagging potatoes, beans, or other food stuffs, making bags, boxing fixings, etc.). Things will begin to surge as it gets closer to distribution day. Distribution day is the peak of the surge. After all the food is distributed, they'll see what's leftover, start working on what is going to be in the next month's food packages, and take a short breather.

The people at SHARE have to find their work deeply satisfying. They help a lot of needy people stretch their food dollars while at the same time ensuring they get good nutritious food. They also help to build community by encouraging volunteerism. People who buy the packages are expected to do 2 hours of community service for each package they buy. SHARE is also a place where young people learn about community service and helping others. I've seen a lot of high school students do their mandatory community service there. For some students, it may be one of the few times where they get to help those less fortunate. I'll never forget meeting some students from Georgetown Preparatory School. Those kids reeked of money and the good life. It had to be a real eye opener for them to help out at SHARE.

If you might be interested in helping out at the SHARE warehouse in Bladensburg, I have their webpage linked on my blog. The webpage has a phone number where they can be reached as well as directions on how to get to the warehouse. I can promise you you'll meet some nice people including Jingle and help a worthy cause.

SHARE 12/16/05

I helped out at SHARE for the third day this week. I must be a glutton for punishment. I also got a surprise today, SHARE decided to set up a distribution line that stayed open until 5:30 p.m. The line wasn't as busy as it is on distribution Saturday's but we did get a fair amount of customers. I ended up helping out in a number of areas. I handed out potatoes initially, then started bagging tangelos for the table next to mine. Later, I handed out onions, apples, celery, sweet potatoes, black eyed peas, and pancake mix. It kept the work interesting. I also got to enjoy some of Jingle's excellent chicken and rice soup. That helped keep you warm in the warehouse.

Another person I'd like to tell you a little about is Scott. Scott is the executive director at SHARE, the big man who runs the whole show. He's a very nice guy who shows no sign of having a big man attitude. Like other people who work at SHARE, he's a jack of all trades. He helps fill orders, hand food out, and do whatever else needs to be done. Scott also usually leads the morning prayer on distribution Saturdays. It's a nice prayer and a nice way to start things on those days.

One correction I have to make to my last SHARE post, there isn't any sub-group managers. I spoke with Chris today to make sure I understood how things work as far as the orders go. He said the individual who wants to order for a package or packages goes to whatever group that is taking orders (usually a church) and they in turn come to the SHARE warehouse to pick up the orders. Chris and the other four group managers deal with those groups over any problems, showing them how to promote SHARE, how to take orders, and how to turn the orders and money in.

SHARE 12/14/05

I'd promised Sam and Karen yesterday that I would help out again today. Still, I was dragging my feet. I finally got my act together around 10 a.m. and hit the road. Traffic was light on Interstate-295 (Baltimore Washington Parkway) and I arrived at the SHARE warehouse in Bladensburg half and hour. I expected another boring chilly day of bagging sweet potatoes. It was not to be to my surprise.

The first surprise I got was when I bunch of 3rd or 4th graders showed up at the warehouse. I don't know what school they were from but I have to applaud them. It was great of them to bring the kids down to warehouse to help. It helps teach the kids about giving something to the community and caring about others less fortunate. Karen alias Jingle (probably because of her wonderful personality) briefed the kids on what they had to do. It was the same job I'd done the day before. You weighed out 2 and 1/2 pounds of sweet potatoes, put them in a plastic sack, tie the open end of the sack, and put 12 bags of potatoes in each box or large potato sack. The kids took to it with gusto though they did have to be shown just what was 2 and 1/2 pounds. Barring that, I doubt SHARE had seen such enthusiastic volunteers.

The second surprise I got was when Chris, one of the group account managers, told me they needed help in the back. Little did I realize what I was getting myself in for. Certain orders are so big that SHARE gets these orders ready ahead of distribution day. Chris and some other volunteers were busy getting these orders ready. It is hard work as an order may have 5 50-pound sacks of potatoes, 3 40-pound sacks of onions, 8 40-pound boxes of apples, 4 40-pound boxes of celery, and 5 30-pound boxes of tangelos. In no time, I was beat from lifting the boxes though Chris kept right on trucking. I guess he's use to such work. I know I'm not and found new admiration for his surprising strength.

FYI, SHARE has five group account managers of which Chris is one. Each group account manager manages a certain region. Chris told me they have one that handles the city of Baltimore, another handles Washington D.C., and others handle regions in Maryland and Virginia. The individual members of the SHARE program will go to a sub-group manager who in turn goes to the group manager. Only if the matter is particularly urgent will an individual member go to the group manager i.e. they got shorted 50 pounds of potatoes or large quantity of some other item.

Karen alias Jingle is another person you should try to meet at SHARE. This lady walks around with a permanent smile on her face and a song in her heart. I've never seen her angry. She has repeatedly shown great kindness to volunteers who help out at SHARE. One of the first things she did when I arrived this morning was direct me to where some hot chicken soup and hot chocolate was. She is also working on a list of volunteers so SHARE can host a get together for them to show its appreciation for what they do as well as let them know of other events at SHARE. She is definitely one of the people that help make it fun to help out at SHARE. If you show up there some time, make sure you say hi to Jingle.

SHARE

I got to help out at SHARE today. Today, they had LOTS of boxes of sweet potatoes that they needed broken down into 2 and 1/2 pound bags. Once we had 12 bags of sweet potatoes, we'd put them back in the box we dumped out and stack them on a pallet. SHARE is busy getting things ready for distribution Saturday. It's incredible how fast those bags of sweet potatoes will go come Saturday.

There were a surprising number of volunteers today at SHARE. At one point, they had people working at seven tables bagging sweet potatoes. It was really nice seeing so many people coming out to help out. The people who run SHARE were busy as always. I got to chat with Sam, SHARE's webmaster par excellence. Sam is a wonderful person who is constantly busy organizing volunteers, showing them what needs to be done, moving loads of food, getting food shipments ready, and taking care of their webpages. If you ever get over to SHARE, you should look him up and say hi. He really is a nice person.

Book Review

I finally finished a book I'd started months ago. The book is "No Phule Like An Old Phule" by Robert Asprin with Peter J. Heck. It is the fifth in the Phule series. For those of you who may not know about the series, what it basically is about is the comedic adventures and misadventures of Willard Phule, heir to the Phule Industries fortune, and his command of the biggest bunch of misfits and outcasts in the Space Legion. The series at times can be quite funny. This one was all right. Why do I think it was just all right? I guess because the gags just didn't leave me rolling laughing. Asprin can do a lot better and this was not one of his better works. That is why I rate the book as fair. If you are a fan of the Phule series, you'll still want to check it out.

A little information on Robert Asprin. Robert Asprin has also worked on the Thieves World books and Myth adventure books. I've never read any of the Thieves World book but I have read some of the Myth books and enjoyed them. I would recommend you check out some of the Myth books if you like fantasy comedy books.

I finally wrapped up the the women's literature class yesterday that I was taking at University of Maryland. I was scheduled for my final yesterday at Maryland's Cole Field House. I'd never taken any of my finals there and it ended up being an interesting experience compounded by the fact I ended up being late for the final. The final was open book and I decided to print all six modules we'd used in the course. This ended up taking longer then I expected. To compound my tardiness, I didn't take into account how long it would take me to clean off all the ice and snow on my car from Friday's morning snowfall. I finally pulled into the parking lot at Maryland at 9:02. My final started at 9:00. I prayed the folks there would cut me some slack. To my relief, I found out I wasn't the only one that was late. It turned out I lost 15 minutes out of the 3 hours given for my final due to my tardiness which I didn't consider any big shakes. It was interesting to see how they set things up. Those who had open book tests got to go down to the playing court and sit at tables. Those who had closed book tests got to sit in the stadium seats to take their tests.

Of the modules that I thought I might need so badly they caused me to be late, one of the modules I printed did turn out to be invaluable for one of the essay questions Professor Beaudry asked. Of the final itself, we had to write 3 essay answers of at least 600 words to three different questions concerning material we'd covered. I won'te say what the questions were in the one in a zillion chance that one of my classmates who hasn't taken the final might actually read this post. In regards to how I did on the final, I managed to knock two answers of 600 words and gave something of a decent answer for the third. Overall, I thought I did all right on the final. With that and the fact I actually turned in all 3 papers this time (though I can't brag too loudly on that as I only managed to do that because of Professor Beaudry's great kindness as far as timeliness), I should pass the class. I happily sold my textbooks back to Maryland after I was done. Concerning English 354, I'm mixed about it. I can't say I liked all the material or some of the stuff we had to study. I will say the Professor Amy Beaudry is a great teacher. She is kind, cares about her students, and genuinely works to make her class really nice. I would strongly recommend this lady for any English classes you have at Maryland. I hope I have her as one of my instructors again.

After the final, I walked over to the University book store so I could make sure I have the required texts for my spring semester class (English 433 - American Literature 1914 to the Present). To my relief, I have all the needed texts. I didn't want to have to buy any more of them considering what they can cost. The cost of textbooks can be insane.

On the way back to my car, I got to see a beautiful set of statues you may not be aware of on the College Park campus. I don't know for sure but I guess Jim Henson, the creator of the Muppets, attended the University of Maryland. In a memorial to the man, there is a bench by the Adelphi student center with two statues. One is a life size statue of Jim Henson and the other is of Kermit the frog. The statues are positions so it appears they are talking to each other. It's a very beautiful memorial to Henson and if you're ever on the College Park campus, I'd recommend you see it.

Book Review - Praisesong for the Widow

The last novel I had to read for the college class I'm taking this semester was Paule Marshall's "Praisesong for the Widow." It's an interesting novel because it tells of an African-American woman named Avey Johnson who finds herself widowed, her children grown and living their own lives, and doing what was expected of an elderly woman in the early 70's. Little does she realize that in her rush to achieve the American dream that she has had to sacrifice a lot of her personal happiness and identity. Due to some strange occurrences that begin to happen to her, Avey begins a journey of discovery. The journey will have its pitfalls. She'll have to trust a man she doesn't know at all and who may be something of a crackpot, she'll go on a boat journey that will make her violently sick, and she'll deal with people who speak a language (Patois) that she doesn't even know. Still, she'll persevere on and discover the terrible price her and her husband paid to achieve the American dream. She finds that she doesn't even know who she really is where once she did. She also finds that there are ties to Africa that she wasn't aware of. Finally, she finds a new sense of purpose in life. Avey had been feeling like she was no longer of any value. In her journey, she finds that she can still do something useful in life. She can help instill in her grand-children a sense of identity and of their heritage as African-Americans. It will mean that she will have to break from what was expected of a typical widow of that time but, Avey is willing to pay the price in exchange for the sense of purpose and self fulfillment her purpose gives her. The novel ends on an uplifting note with the reader wanting to cheer on Avey. I would definitely recommend this novel to some one who is African-American as I think they would find it a great read. For someone who is white like myself, I think you can enjoy it too as it is still a beautiful novel of self discovery and the realization that our later years in life can be every bit fulfilling and exciting as our earlier years are. The elderly still have a vital part to play in our society and this novel shows just one important task they can play albeit from an African-American part. Still, there are undoubtedly many important things elderly white Americans can do. Our later years in life shouldn't be ones of doom and gloom. Instead, they should be ones filled with new challenges and dreams. This novel serves to inspire elderly people to do just that. Be you white, black, red, or yellow, I'd recommend this novel to you as it shows that our later years don't have to be one of misery but of fulfillment and purpose. Hopefully, those who read this wonderful novel will find new inspiration themselves.

Boxing Day at SHARE

I got help out again at the Self Help and Resource Exchange (SHARE) in Bladensburg today. Today was boxing day at SHARE. What boxing day is is where you put together boxes and then fill them with the fixings that go with their ham or turkey food packages. Typically this includes stuffing mix, mash potatoes, a bag of frozen vegetables, corn bread mix, and some other stuff.

The warehouse opened at 7 a.m. In order to be there when they opened, me and Tami headed out at 6:15 a.m. The drive was uneventful and we arrived shortly before things kicked off. Putting the boxes together was easy. I found once I got into a rhythym, I was able to steadily knock out quite a few boxes. Initially, I thought all we were going to do was put boxes together but, I found out the people who run SHARE also planned to fill them in advance of distro day. Tami and I got tagged to help out with the line they formed for filling the boxes. Tami stuffed the bag of frozen veggies, a packet of some kind of seasoning mix, and a box of stuffing mix into the boxes. My job was to stack the boxes on pallets and when we got enough boxes, wrap them in something resembling saran wrap. The group we were with worked hard and got a lot done. I figured we assembled and packed over 500 boxes of fixings for distro day before me and Tami left. The two of us ended up spending over 4 hours at SHARE. It was nice to help out again and I look forward to helping out on distro day. I may also try to help out after I take the final for the college class I'm taking.