Tokyo’s oldest living man was found dead on his 111 birthday.  Living to be 111 is quite remarkable.  Unfortunately, he didn’t make it.  It seems that he had died in his bed some 30 years earlier but his family decided to ignore that fact.

I guess that explains why he hasn’t been eating much lately.

I was recently on a conference call with a vendor who was named Duc Terd. Actually, Terd was his first name and Duc was his last name. But in keeping with Asian naming conventions, his last name came first. So, officially, it was Duc Terd.

In trying to be polite, I called him Mr. Duc. But he insisted that I call him Terd. He said that every one called him Terd. I felt a little strange calling him Terd, but what ever.

I wondered if he understood the meaning of his name in English, but, I was sure that someone had explained it to him.

Some restaurants offer you packets of ketchup while others offer you some paper cups and a ketchup pump. But, I was just at a Micky Ds. that had ketchup on tap.

The ketchup dispenser was pressurized.  All you had to do was put the paper cup under the nossle and pull the handle and you had ketchup.

I liked the ease of use but I suspect that it might be a maintenance nightmare.  Regardless, dispensing ketchup was quick and easy.

The “Going Out of Business” sign wasn’t even down before the new video store moved into the old video store’s  building. It is a regional chain called “Family Video”.

Family Video has been around for quite a few years. The closest one was in Grand Rapids. We used to rent from them but it was a pain driving to Grand Rapids to rent movies. But, now that they have opened a store here in Lowell, we will be resuming our business with them.

Good selection, good prices, what more can we ask for? Sorry Red Box.

Wendy’s has 4 new salad offerings this summer. And since they all sounded fantastic, I thought that I would try them.

But, before I made any purchases, I checked them out on line just to see what they might be hiding. Sure enough, the sodium is VERY high in all of them; 1,500 mg or higher! And since the recommended daily limit is 2,000, you have just about hit your limit in just one meal. In short, if I ate one of those salads for lunch, I would be gulping water all afternoon.

But why is the sodium so high I wondered? Is the chicken that salty? Then, it dawned on me. MSG! They are probably using MSG to keep the lettuce fresh.

It just goes to show that the healthy choice might not be that healthy.

Lately, I have been buy ties from the Donald Trump collection. They are very nice looking ties and since I buy them from the Burlington Coat Factory, I only pay about $12 for them.

I was wearing one the other day for work when my car pooler commented that he really liked the looks of my tie. When I told him that I bought it at the Burlington Coat Factory for $12, his lip kind of curled. Then he asked if they were sold any place else like Joseph A. Banks. I told him that I am sure that they were but that I didn’t know where.

Now, when I shop for clothes, I first look for something that meets my taste. Then, I check the price to see if it is in my price range, then I check the fit. If all three of these conditions are met, I buy it.

I don’t particularly care whose name is on the garment. With the exception of shirts with logos, most people aren’t going to recognize the designer anyway.

As with my ties, I didn’t buy them because they said Donald Trump. I bought them because: 1. I liked the looks. 2. They were in my price range. 3. They fit.

For my poor carpooler, not only does it need to be the right label but also the right store. I suppose I could alway buy him the ties and put them into a Joseph A. Banks bag so that the neighbors wouldn’t suspect. But, I guess it wouldn’t be the same unless he could boast about how much he paid for them.

BTW, I just bought a 100% wool tweed sport coat for $40. It is an off brand but I liked the looks of it, it fit and $40 is definitely in my price range.

I saw an ad for a smoke house business. The ad showed several penguins.

Now, I am not sure what the relationship is between the penguins and a smoke house. I have seen other smoke house ads which feature pigs, and cow and fish and chickens and turkeys and I understand their relation to a smoke house. But never penguins.

I suppose I need to be more open minded. After all, smoked penguin could be quite tasty.

One of my co-workers bought her husband a new watch. It seems that he lost the watch that he had. In fact, he has lost the last two watches that she has purchased for him.

Loosing two watches just seems very strange to me. After all, they were expensive watches with good solid watch band clasps.

And, he has a desk job. How strenuous can that be? It is not like he is working on a construction site. Plus, he is not athletic so he is not loosing them while working out.

All and all, I think that it is very strange. Maybe he just didn’t like the watches and ended up throwing them away.

The other day, I was at a party where they were serving Miller Genuine Draft 64.

Now, the idea behind Miller Genuine Draft 64 is that it only has 64 calories. And, at 64 calories, it has half the calories of regular beer. Since I had never had one before, I decided to give it a try.

I can honestly say that I was not impressed. It reminded me a lot of the beer that we used to get in the army only I think that the army beer had more flavor.

It was a lot like drinking club soda. But, since club soda has a lot of sodium in it, I suspect that the beer is a better choice.

In the future, if I am the designated driver, I will take along Miller Genuine Draft 64. It will be better for me than club soda. Plus, it will give my kidneys a good work out.

Well, since our only video store closed, the only place in town to rent a video is at the local Red Box. While the selection isn’t the greatest, it does offer over 200 videos. I am rather partial to watching foreign flicks, but, I guess I will have to make do.

I really do like the ease of use. You simply make your selection, and swipe your credit card and you get a video which isn’t due until 9pm the next day. And all for only $1.

I opened an online account with them which provides me with a history of what I have rented. This is nice because I have a hard time remembering what I have rented and what I have just looked at.

Plus, I can look over the selection on line and reserve a video. Then, when I get to the store, I just swipe my credit card and the machine pops out my video.

So far, I am impressed with the system but time will tell.