Are the Mets still my Team?

It is really getting hard to be a Mets fan. It's one thing that they are a mess on the field, that I can take. But this PR nightmare with the firing of Tony Bernazard is pathetic. It just seems like they can't do anything right - including firing people. If you recall last year, they didn't handle the Willie Randolph thing too well when it seemed like Tony Bernazard had it out for Willie and next thing you know, Willie is gone.

23 years since a championship. Hard to complain about that when there are generations of Cubs fans that have lived and died and seen nothing but those ivy walls. Since the last Mets World Series championship, we've had the saga of Darryl and Doc and drugs and alcohol, we had the wonderful 90s best remembered for Vince Coleman and firecrackers, Bret Saberhagen and bleach guns and Mo Vaughn taking the Mets for a lot of money. This decade started well getting to the World Series, but the collapses of the last 3 years have been tough to take.

When is enough, enough. I'm sick of how ownership runs the team and isn't that the same reason I was sick of the Yankees as a teenager and started liking the Mets. Omar has got to go. He is an awful public speaker and is now a target for the media and the fans. I'll be shocked if he survives the season.

For some reason though, I don't think I can abandon the Mets. Not yet anyway. And don't worry, the Yankees will probably never be an option! There is always the Padres, no matter how bad they are.

Don't watch the junk food commercials

According to researchers from Yale University, in the journal Health Psychology, published by the American Psychological Association, one study of seven- to 11-year-old children found that 45% of them ate more snack food while watching a cartoon that included food commercials than those children who watched the same cartoon with non-food commercials.

From only a half hour of television viewing a day, the increase in snacking caused by food advertising would lead to a weight gain of nearly 10 pounds a year, unless mitigated by reduced consumption of other foods or increased physical activity, concludes the report.

The researchers also found that adult participants exposed to unhealthy food advertisements in TV programming ate significantly more than those who saw ads with a nutrition or healthy food message. And, these effects persisted after the television viewing.

In the experiments with both children and adults, food advertising increased eating for all available foods, even foods that were not specifically presented in the advertisements.

Jennifer Harris, PhD, Director of Marketing Initiatives at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale, concludes that "This research shows a direct... link between television food advertising and calories consumed by adults and children... food advertising triggers automatic eating, regardless of hunger... "

So maybe we should outlaw junk food commercials on television just like there are no smoking commercials on television. Obesity problems can be just as severe, if not worse than smoking.

I like Home Depot Better

According to the June Retail Ratings Report from BIGresearch, the race for the number one spot for consumer preference in the Home Improvement Sector continues its five year trend of Lowe's gaining share on Home Depot. Over the last five years, Home Depot has lost almost half its lead. The research went on further to say that upper income households shop at Lowes. Well my father-in-law had an awful experience at Lowes and Home Depot has never let me down. So I'm sticking with Home Depot no matter what income group we are in. Besides, there is no Lowes that close to me.

Time Spent on Social Networking Sites at Work

A recent study showed the following time spent on social networking sites at work (% of Respondents). Believe it or not, I spend less than 30 minutes a day. Most days it is zero.

Less than 30 minutes 78%

30 minutes 13%

1 hour 5%

Open all day 4%

Source: WorkPlaceMedia, May 2009

Mr. Met Commercial

Not the funniest ESPN commercial ever, but it does have Mr. Met, and Mr. Met is one of my all-time favorites.

All Star Break

It's the MLB All Star Break and the Mets are 6.5 games back, under .500 and still have too many guys on the DL. I think it is time for me to start preparing for fantasy football.

Spezify

I found an interesting search website - www.spezify.com. I don't think it's very useful if you want to actually search for something, but it is very visual and interesting. Check it out - Spezify.