Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Two continents; 20,000 miles; 80 hours

Back home in NYC, where I'm seeing patches of snow on the ground, and the temperature is 55 degrees colder than in Sydney, where my day began.

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Monday, December 13, 2010

Sydney goes ga-ga over Oprah

That round red circle on Sydney's landmark bridge looks like a holiday wreath, but it's not. It's just one of several ways the city shows its appreciation to Oprah Winfrey, who has taken over the famed Sydney Opera House and made it her show's home base this week.

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Exploring Aussie beers in Manly, NSW

I'm perched happily at a wooden bar upon which sit five generous pours of house brews at 4 Pines Brewing Co., a local favorite among Sidneysiders for hearty house-made beers and ales and big plates of comfort food to soak it up.

The beers are traditional, and to me, they feel quite British. Nothing wrong with that. The pale ale has a soft finish and balanced hoppiness. The ESB has a tinge of coffee almost like a stout but retains some of the mellowness of a typical bitter. I am also enjoying the "Brewer's Mix," a glass filled half with kolsch and half with pale ale.

Thanks to my friend Lil for bringing me to this great spot. I'm fairly certain I'm the only tourist here tonight.

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Sunday, December 12, 2010

What I've learned in Sydney in six hours

Yes, the city is beautiful, warm, and sunny. And the people are friendly. But friendly doesn't mean reliable.

Lesson No. 1: I need to trust my own reading of a map more than the tourist info people at the airport.

Lesson No. 2: I have to realize that I have been to a lot of places. A "huge" attraction in one country may seem almost insignificant in another - and vice versa.

I don't mean to knock Sydney, but my trip from the airport to my hotel was a bumpy, slow 75 minutes in a crowded minibus because the info desk at the airport told me finding my hotel from where the 15-minute train stopped would be difficult. Right. The train station is one block from my hotel.

My other transportation snafu was when I asked the hotel concierge how to get to the Sydney Fishmarket. He said I should take a taxi. I asked about public transit. He said there was no way to get there by public transit. Imagine my surprise when I got to the Fishmarket, and the $20 taxi left me off adjacent to the Fishmarket light rail stop. At least the ride back toward downtown was easy. (I returned fairly quickly because the Fishmarket was somewhat disappointing. The wholesale activity is mostly behind the scenes, and although the retail fish looked great, it was nothing even remotely approaching the frenzy of Tsukiji market in Tokyo - or even the Fulton Fish Market in New York when I was little.)

Lots more sights, sounds and sensations to experience. Will share more when I can.

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CORRECTION: Yet another egg recall

My apologies - this was reported last month and is not a new recall. 


Begin forwarded message:

Subject: Yet another egg recall

Calhttp://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm232988.htm">-Maine Foods, Inc. Conducts Voluntary Egg Recall 

Sun, 07 Nov 2010 19:23:00 -0600

JACKSON, Miss. (November 5, 2010) ? Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ: CALM) today was notified by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) that one of the Company’s suppliers, Ohio Fresh Eggs, LLC, Croton, Ohio, had a routine environmental study sample which tested positive for Salmonella Enteritidis (SE). Cal-Maine purchased approximately 24,000 dozen unprocessed eggs from Ohio Fresh which were processed and re-packaged by the Company’s Green Forest, Arkansas, facility between October 9 and 12, 2010, yet the Company was only notified today.

  • Products: Sunny Meadow, Springfield Grocer, Sun Valley, and James Farm eggs (http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm232988.htm">see recall notice for specific dates and plant numbers)
  • Distributed: To food wholesalers and retailers in Arkansas, California, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.
  • Why: Possible Salmonella
  • Illnesses reported: None
  • For more information: Contact Cal-Maine’s corporate office at 1-866-276-6299 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. CDT.

Posted via email from Doug's posterous

Yet another egg recall

Calhttp://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm232988.htm">-Maine Foods, Inc. Conducts Voluntary Egg Recall 

Sun, 07 Nov 2010 19:23:00 -0600

JACKSON, Miss. (November 5, 2010) ? Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ: CALM) today was notified by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) that one of the Company’s suppliers, Ohio Fresh Eggs, LLC, Croton, Ohio, had a routine environmental study sample which tested positive for Salmonella Enteritidis (SE). Cal-Maine purchased approximately 24,000 dozen unprocessed eggs from Ohio Fresh which were processed and re-packaged by the Company’s Green Forest, Arkansas, facility between October 9 and 12, 2010, yet the Company was only notified today.

  • Products: Sunny Meadow, Springfield Grocer, Sun Valley, and James Farm eggs (http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm232988.htm">see recall notice for specific dates and plant numbers)
  • Distributed: To food wholesalers and retailers in Arkansas, California, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.
  • Why: Possible Salmonella
  • Illnesses reported: None
  • For more information: Contact Cal-Maine’s corporate office at 1-866-276-6299 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. CDT.

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G'day from Sydney

Landed ahead of schedule at Sydney airport... My Australia adventure begins.

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