garbage in, garbage out

item 1: i rolled my dumpster to the curb this morning. big deal? so does everyone else on 48th street? well, maybe, but this is the first time since long before i broke my collarbone in january. the last time i took my "pay as you throw" mini-dumpster to the curb was sometime in december. how do i know? well, for one, the huge snowfalls of the now-ended winter blocked the gate at the end of my driveway, and i didn't need to take it out before i broke my wing, and couldn't thereafter. some landscaping now that the ice has left the surrounding area allowed me to roll the brown buddy of mine out front, filled with an odd assortment of genuine trash and decaying crap from the basement, and before tip-off of drake-western kentucky, the coffin for my cast-offs will be back in place for a few more months.

my smaller green recycling basket, which sees much more action, sits more conveniently on my front porch during the winter months.

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item 2: i don't like the proposed recycling plan which allows residents simply to put everything recyclable into one roll-away container and then have us pay to have someone else sort it.

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item 3: another reason to think before you drink is this news item. in brief, a giant coffee chain has long had this tipping policy: throw cash into a tip jar, and the shift supervisors get it to share. it doesn't go entirely to the baristas who take your order, make your beverage, and set it on the counter for you to pick up. "...spokeswoman Valerie O'Neil said the company planned an immediate appeal, calling the ruling 'fundamentally unfair and beyond all common sense and reason.'"

[some folks think that, as supervisors, the "salary" they receive should be sufficient compensation.] this policy, coming from the mega-corporation which as recently as last month shut down ALL stores for a THREE HOUR training session, during which they taught the baristas how to make coffee beverages.

now, i realize that in this sequence, it would appear that perhaps the initial corporate tip policy was justified. i would suggest, however, that the true coffee lover would see this whole sordid affair as perhaps a reason to reflect on where one buys one's coffee and coffee beverages.