Month: January 2006

Been a very busy few weeks for me, but here’s a little bit of news I read that simply had me laughing all the way to work:

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LONDON (Reuters) – Too busy to get to your shift at McDonald’s restaurant? Don’t worry — send someone else in your family to go along for you.

The world’s largest restaurant chain said Thursday it had begun trialing a new scheme in Britain whereby two people from the same family who worked at the same branch could cover each other’s shifts without giving any prior notice.

“By giving our employees the freedom to manage their shift commitments, we will increase their motivation and enjoyment of work,” said David Fairhurst, the chain’s vice president.

McDonald’s said the first users of the new “Family Contract,” which it believes to be unique in Britain, were two sets of twins.

McDonald’s said it would look to extend the scheme if it proved to be popular and successful.

“It may be just the beginning,” Fairhurst said in a statement. “In the future we may even look to extend it beyond the family to include friends and extended family members such as cousins.”

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Sorry, this isn’t new, it’s called “feudalism” and William the First used it in England after the Battle of Hastings, which happened around 1066 ACE.

Of course McDonalds, named after a Scottish Clan, may simply be getting their just revenge on the English after so many years.

It’s been a busy week or two here…

Zeze has joined the ranks at iBeta and it sounds like he will be taking over as the Director of I.T. once the hand off from Jon is accomplished.

Jae is doing well. Now that he has a car again he’s taken up an old hobby; hanging out at Village Inn for hours and hours… I remember my days of hanging out at Denny’s for hours and hours – though we were building a role playing game universe and system at the time and Denny’s was the biggest meeting room with coffee we could find. 🙂

My new car is still a high point for me right now. Cost and performance wise it’s up there with the 1988 twin turbo 300zx I had for a while back in the early 90’s, but at the same time it’s a bit more of an ‘adult’ vehicle as it’s a 4 door and sort of a station wagon… The PT doesn’t require that additional friends, beyond the one in the passenger seat, curl up in a ball in the little area between the rear tires like the 300zx did (sorry JJ).

I had the oil changed on the PT Saturday and, as the PT requires synthetic oil, it cost me about $70. Then there’s the fact I *have* to put mid-grade or better gas in it coupled with the 19 gallon tank and the 20MPG on the highway makes the regular stop at the gas station a bit more painful than the Toyota… The Toyota will go 300 miles on 9 gallons of gas while the PT will go 300 miles on 19 gallons of gas…

The biggest difference is with the PT I can merge on the highway without having to stop at the top of an on ramp and I can go the speed limit in the mountains. The Toyota gets passed by semi trucks in the mountains… And the sound system, leg room, and leather interior of the PT is really, really nice.

Why can’t I get performance *and* good gas mileage? Oh well, I’ll just drive less.

And with that it’s time for me to trundle off to work. Take care out there folks.

And thus begins another year.

Jae, Jae’s brother, Zeze and I went over to Jon and Jen’s house for the prerequisite party last night and had a lot of fun. That’s the first time in many, many years that I was awake for the New Year festivities.

Other than that, it’s just another day around here. Jae is asleep after staying out all night, Jae’s brother who was here for a few days has returned, Zeze will probably watch some TV and fiddle with the internet and I’ll play some Warcraft or something.

I’ve signed the Toyota over to Jae as a sort of Christmas present and since then he’s been out and about almost continuously. Meanwhile, my new car is really nice and I’ve had to talk myself out of doing the same as Jae and just driving to drive. 🙂

So that’s about it for the first post of the year. Have a happy holiday, enjoy the day off, and I’ll catch up with you all later.