It's About Time

Couldn't believe the news when an insurance company refused to pay. Article below says it all - from the Vacaville Reporter

Doing the right thing: Dollar Tree Store compensates boy
It took several news stories, numerous phone calls, a public protest and national interest via the Internet, but the Fairfield Dollar Tree Store is stepping up and doing the right thing -- even without the backing of its insurance company.
Dollar Tree officials have agreed to compensate the 11-year-old son of one of its clerks who was stabbed to death at work two years ago, even though the company's insurance carrier rejected the claim.
The payment, $250,000, is equal to the full workers' compensation benefit permitted under California law, according to Timothy Reid, a vice president of investor relations for Dollar Tree.
Taneka Talley was only 26 when she was killed on March 20, 2006, while working in the North Texas Street branch of the discount chain.
The man arrested and charged with murder is currently awaiting trial in Solano County Superior Court.
Talley left behind a son, Larry, who is now in the care of his grandmother.
Dollar Tree's insurance carrier -- ACE USA -- denied workers' compensation death benefits for the boy, arguing that Ms. Talley was killed because of her race, not as a result of her duties at the store. That supposition was based on a court-ordered psychiatrist's report that her killer had attacked her because she was black.
Because of the attacker's motive, insurers argued, the claim would not be covered under the state workers' compensation law.
That ludicrous attempt to dodge responsibility inspired the Oakland law firm of Boxer and Gerson to become involved, representing young Larry and his grandmother.
In the meantime, the story gained national attention, as did a locally organized protest at the Dollar Tree.
Dollar Tree officials finally decided enough was a enough. Rejecting the advice of their attorney, they are willing to compensate the family.
"Taneka Talley was the victim of a despicable crime," Mr. Reid said in an e-mail. "While we were advised that the claim would not be covered under the state workers' compensation law, we feel this is the right thing to do for Taneka's son."
It's good to see the company stepping up to do the right thing, even if it took too long for the right thing to be done. The firm has the resources and should appeal the insurance company's miserly contention. Those who are left to raise Ms. Talley's son, however, do not. They need the money now to provide for Larry. They cannot afford to wait until he is grown to have this settled.

Green Lemonade

Makes 1 Serving

1 head romaine lettuce or celery
5 to 6 stalks kale (any type)
1 to 2 apples (as needed for sweetness - recommend Fuji)
1 whole lemon
1 to 2 tablespoon figure ginger

Process the vegetables through the juicer by admitting one vegetable at a time through the mouth of the juicer.

Amazing Chocolate Peanut Butter Molten Cake

4 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup powdered sugar
2 whole eggs plus 2 egg yolks (I just used 3 eggs)
6 Tbsp. flour
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
3 Tbsp. peanut butter
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping
PREHEAT oven to 425°F. Grease 1-qt. souffle dish or baking dish; set aside. Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1 to 1-1/2 min. or until chocolate is almost melted. Stir with wire whisk until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in powdered sugar. Blend in whole eggs and egg yolks. Stir in flour; set aside. Mix cream cheese, peanut butter, brown sugar and vanilla until well blended.

POUR half of the chocolate batter into prepared dish; cover with peanut butter mixture. Top with remaining chocolate batter.

BAKE 20 min. or until edge is set but center is still slightly soft. Cool slightly. Top each serving with the whipped topping just before serving. Store any leftover dessert in refrigerator. Reheat in microwave if desired.

Beet Salad

1 lb of beets mixed red and golden
6 scallions, white parts only, minced
lemon juice
1/2 cup of currants softened in hot water
2 firm apples, sweet or tart cut in small pieces
1 celery heart, sliced thinly
3/4 cup of walnut meat
Feta cheese
lettuce or watercress as garnish

Curry vinaigrette:
1 clove of garlic crushed
1/2 tsp of salt
2 tsp of curry powder
1/2 tsp of fresh grated ginger
2 tbsp of lemon juice
6 tbsp of olive oil
a pinch of cayenne pepper
a pinch of sugar


Bake or boil the beets for 30-40 minutes. Peel them and cut them in
small pieces.Add some lemon juice to the beets.Add the rest of the
ingredients . Make the vinaigrette and mix it in.
When ready to serve crumble some of the feta cheese on top .

Roasted Radishes with Soy and Sesame Seeds

20 medium radishes, leaves, stems and rootlets trimmed (about 1 pound when trimmed)
11/2 tablespoons roasted peanut oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 medium scallions, sliced think
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted in a dry skillet until golden brown

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Unless very small, halve the radishes lenghwise from stem to root end. Toss them with the oil on a large rimmed baking sheet. Roast, turning once or twice, until the radishes are tender and beginning to brown, about 25 minutes. Remove the radishes from the oven (but do not turn it off).
3. Drizzle the soy sauce over the radishes and sprinkle with scallions. Toss well and continue roasting for 5 minutes longer. Turn the radishes and any juices on the baking sheet into serving bowl. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and serve immediately.

Frosty Paw Treats

Ingredients:
(1) tub organic yogurt, for this I use Vanilla, low fat.
(1) big dallop of peanut butter
(1) whole banana
(2) tablespoons honey (preferrably local variety)
(1) cup fresh pineapple chunks, drained.

Add all above ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.

Spread out some 4 oz. dixie cups on a cookie sheet and pour the
blended mixture evenly into the cups. I typically use 15 or 16 cups
per batch. I don't fill them all the way up as it is much easier (less
messy) to remove the cups if they aren't filled all the way.

then transfer the cookie sheet into the freezer.

I should warn those with freezers away from their kitchens, that it
can be a bit of a challenge to get the tray of cups to the freezer
without spilling them. Our big upright freezer is out in our garage,
which is where I keep food and Frosty Paws treats. It can be quite
difficult to transport the tray of filled cups to the freezer when
your dogs are running figure eights between your legs as you carry the
tray to the freezer. I think they know that if they can make you drop
one it's theirs.

You've been warned.

Once the treats are fully frozen (couple hours max), you can remove
them from the cookie sheet and place all the cups into a gallon sized
zip lock freezer bag for more convenient storage.

To serve, simply remove a treat from the freezer and rip/peel off the
dixie cup. (Make sure you don't leave the bottom of the cup on by
accident.)

Feel free to add whatever ingredients you have or that your dog would
enjoy, these treats are very easy to make. Plus its an easy way to
give them their daily serving of yogurt/honey/pineapple, etc.... You
could even add salmon oil, vitamin e, medicines, etc.... if you wanted.

Editorial - New York Times

To the Editor:

It is ironic and very sad that an administration that has spoken so vehemently about leaving no child behind when it comes to education would do the very opposite when it comes to health.

Bohdan A. Oryshkevich, M.D.
New York, Aug. 27, 2007

Organic Farming

The New York Times has been running a series of in-depth stories on organic agiculture lately, and what they clearly see as big changes coming. One story focused on Wal-Mart's announcement that they will be carrying organic produce in all their stores, and setting an arbitary 10% price premium over coventional produce. Another focused on the market for natural and organic meat, and how its growth is going to affect smaller producers.

The fact that America's most influential newspaper is focusing so much attention on what is still the just 2% of our nation's food - although it is the fastest growing segment - is significant. They are merely responding to all the attention that Wall Street and U.S. corporations are giving organic. For several years now, the big food conglomerates and investment banks have been snapping up recognized organic brands and pouring money into them. Their efficiency experts and legal teams have been hunkering down to figure out how to "get the most mileage" out of the USDA organic standards without breaking any laws. So it is that "free range" chickens now enjoy the same confined facilities as their conventionally farmed cousins, but with a small door to the outside (that they hardly ever use).

When the efficiency experts decide that some part of the USDA Organic Standards just simply won't work - i.e., it will be too expensive - the legal team meetsd with the lobbying firm. Tehy come up with a few choice, seemingly innocuous phrases, and start working on the right politiicians to get them inserted into the rider on some appropriations bill or another.

Hmmmm - time to write your congressman and let him/her know how you feel about exactly what organic means. We have to educate ourselves about where our food comes from - making sure that it comes from a local organic farmer vs somewhere in Mexico, Peru, China, and other places with lower costs that the U.S. And we need to insure that what we actually purchase is truthly organic.

Never Buy Dell

My mom's kids got together and purchased her a new computer this holiday. Since I wanted a decent computer, I chose a Dell. Wrong choice. Dell's customer service has gone down down down. Dell wanted me to purchase a software service since I didn't purchase a software warrenty. Now - the computer is 7 days since it arrived. The software tech tells me that he will help me get my computer working like new. New! New! When is technology old after 7 days!! When I finally got the supervisor, I decided that it was time to end the conversation because it was going nowhere. "It's time to end this conversation since we're at a standstill. I'm not paying anything else from you since I have a system that does not work and you're refusing to do anything about it. Either I or my sister-in-law will phone you regarding where we will be going from here." He wouldn't shut up. Plus he still pushed me to purchase the software service.

Today I found an article about Dell in the New York Times.

"In 1997, shortly after Mr. Jobs returned to Apple, the company he helped start in 1976, Dell's founder and chairman, Michael S. Dell, was asked at a technology conference what might be done to fix Apple, then deeply troubled financially.

"What would I do?" Mr. Dell said to an audience of several thousand information technology managers. "I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders."

On Friday, apparently savoring the moment, Mr. Jobs sent a brief e-mail message to Apple employees, which read: "Team, it turned out that Michael Dell wasn't perfect at predicting the future. Based on today's stock market close, Apple is worth more than Dell. Stocks go up and down, and things may be different tomorrow, but I thought it was worth a moment of reflection today. Steve."

In venting to a friend, it turns out that Dell has an operating system that isn't working correctly. Microsoft has spoken to them about it. However, they do not want to fix the problem - they rather put it on the customer. I was the third person that week who had a complaint against the company. I will never ever purchase anything from Dell.