Traveling With Food Allergies
Some of you may not be aware, but I have a number of food allergies. The major ones are wheat, soy, and dairy. It's normally not a problem, unless I have to travel. When most people travel, they live out of restaurants for most of their meals, but since I can't eat most of what is served, that doesn't work for me. In an effort to help others in similar predicaments, here's what I do when I have to travel.
- Try to stay in a suite instead of a room. Suites contain small kitchenettes, often with refrigerators, stoves, microwaves, pots, pans, glasses, dishes, bowls, and utensils. My favorite place to stay is Staybridge Suites, where they only have suites.
- If you can't stay in a suite, most hotel rooms now have refrigerators. Some have microwaves. Obviously it's best to have both, but the refrigerator is a must.
- Once again, if you can't stay in a suite, stay in a place that has free breakfast. Chances are, there won't be much you can, but, it's a good place to stock up on utensils, glasses, plates, and bowls. Plus, since I bring my own loaf of bread wherever I go, most breakfast rooms have toasters that you can use with your own bread.
- Scope out the surrounding area for natural food stores. The hotel itself can usually help with that. Go to the store the first day to stock up so you don't wake up the next day with nothing to eat.
That about sums it up. No problemo! The bottom line is to bring with you only the food you think you won't be able to find wherever you're going. I've successfully carried a loaf of bread both within the States and to Bermuda with no problem. And don't forget to bring something for the flights! That airline food is lousy even if you don't have food allergies.
WTF???
I know it's the offseason and such, but I just need to blow off a little steam. Here in the New England, we have a phrase, "In Bill We Trust." When he decided to stick with Tom Brady instead of a returning Drew Bledsoe, we weren't quite sure if he knew what he was doing. They won the Super Bowl. When he let go of Lawyer Milloy a week before the opening game of the season, we weren't quite sure he knew what he was doing. They won the Super Bowl that year too. In other words, even though we get shocked by things he does, we all now know to keep quiet because he seems to know what he's doing. But this offseason is really tearing at the hearts of the faithful.
The past couple of weeks, the Patriots have lost their #2 receiver David Givens to the Titans, their all-time leading sacker Willie McGinest to the Browns, and sure-handed tight end Christian Fauria to the Redskins. Now comes word that the Colts have come to an agreement with perhaps the best clutch kicker in the history of the football, Adam Vinatieri. That's our Adam Vinatieri, who Bill inexplicably let go without slapping the franchise tag on him or renegotiating before this point. How can you possibly let this guy go? All he's done is won some of the toughest games ever played with his foot. It didn't matter what happened, it rained, it snowed, the kick was up and good. He clinched the first two Super Bowl wins with his foot, and his three points was the deciding score in the third. There is no great up-and-coming kicker that the Patriots can go out and get, this guy was it, and he has plenty of time left to play!
The Patriots had a good team last year, and just fell short with too many mistakes and a lack of cohesion due to a ridiculous number of injuries. But the core team was still really good. That core team is now being picked apart, piece by piece. I kept quiet when Givens and McGinest took their leave, but letting Adam Vinatieri go is just the dumbest thing this organization has done since Bob Kraft became owner. Did someone preemptively decide that this is going to be a rebuilding year? Here's to a lackluster next season.
Jeremy Is Famous!
I'm sure you all know that Jeremy is one of my co-authors on Professional Ajax, but it looks like the guy is making news around his area for the book. Funny, no one in my area cared about either book, guess everything really is bigger in Texas, even tech books! Congrats Jeremy! Promote, promote, promote!
Google Buys Writely
It seems like everytime you blink these days, Google is either creating or acquiring another Ajax web application. This time, they have bought Writely. Writely has gained wide acclaim as an amazing Web 2.0 tool that shows just how what can be done using web technologies. The fact that it will now have Google's resources and backing means that the sky is the limit for this young application.
One really has to wonder: where is Microsoft in all of this? When have they made an acquisition that improved their web presence?
