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Currently the fourth most-popular carbonated soft drink in the world — Diet Coke is #1 with me.
Coke tinkers with the basic formula trying to strike the right balance of saccharin, aspartame, cyclamates, sucralose and acesulfame potassium.
None of the special flavoured variations have won me over yet, but keep trying!
Before 1997 the only game in my town was the Dairy Queen Blizzard. Delicious, but very expensive. And “Fast Food” — hah! DQ is still the slowest junk food purveyor of all.
The Scottish Restaurant then introduced the McFlurry (first in Canada) and cut the legs out from under the Blizzard. That was a wonderful day for me.
I love to target McDonalds as a symbol. But you will oft find me in there picking up a frozen treat!
McFlurry – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
BTW, most of the negative urban legends floating around about McDonalds are not true. But one is. In Canada and the USA they still use beef extract as a flavouring in French Fries. Vegetarians — be warned.
Montreal or New York-style?
What’s your pleasure?
I went 2 months in Central America before finding a bagel. That was an awful 2 months.
A burnt-toasted bagel with butter would be my last meal, I belive.
The next time someone cites me a study where a mouse has been force fed aspertame to the point of exploding, I will quietly offer up this study.
One of every five calories in the American diet is liquid. The nation’s single biggest “food” is soda.
… sugar-sweetened drinks don’t just go hand-in-hand with obesity, but actually cause it.
My secret lover Kate Zimmerman has an attractive new website.
She is a North Shore Vancouver basement based journalist who writes on everything a loving stay-at-home wife should know nothing about: fine dining, fine drinking, famous people, travel and humour.
She has one book under her real name & features in the National Post, Vancouver North Shore News and even some non-right wing publications.
Check it out at KateZimmerman.ca
6:20 AM departure Mazatlan marina.
The boats were busy as trips from the previous 2 days had been cancelled due to high wind.
Sunrise from the boat.
Dad had taken many Mexican fishing trips in the past & was looking forward to another one.
The anchor is welded rebar, quite flexible just-in-case it gets snagged.
The highlight of the trip for me was an unexpected acrobatic show by California Grey whales!
El Capitano. 18 years piloting these waters.
We were bottom fishing. Light rods, 2 hooks baited with shrimp.
Yvonne caught the first fish and the biggest Grouper.
The water was choppy on the 90 minute ride out. I felt slightly seasick all day.
We had 6 Canadians with rods in the water. Cost about US$50 / person. (Boat is US$250 plus tip for a 7hr day.)
We were out with the Escuelo fleet, recommended by gingo locals.
It was difficult to “feel” a hit with 200ft of line out.
Bottom fishing you catch many small fish but have no chance at big Dorado or Marlin.
With our haul in the cooler & much smoother seas, the trip in was relaxing.
Giant iguana guarding the harbour.
Disclaimer: Rick did NOT catch this fish.
Skipper cleaning our red snapper.
Larry from Alberta let us keep his fish.
Dinner for 4. Yvonne’s grouper & 3 snapper. We gave the rest away.
It’s convenient. But is bottled water really a rip-off?
Congratulations to my buddy Ron Shewchuk on the publication of his latest book, Writing and Editing the Internal Publication.
He’s posted a new blog in conjunction with the release.
Ron’s new corporate communications blog, For Your Approval
Ron has a best selling cookbook still on the shelves and a second cookbook ready for publication. Cookbook details on Ron’s homepage.
Rockin’ Ronnie has done it. Posted his first audio podcast: interviews with barbecue experts, answers to listener questions, great recipes and useful tips and tricks.
You can find it in the Podcasts section of the iTunes music store. It’s free. You can subscribe to get future episodes.
But first check out his Barbecue Secrets podcast homepage. 
Now if only I could get rich …
Maybe after the Christmas pig-outs.
The WHO says “an escalating global epidemic of overweight and obesity — ‘globesity’ — is taking over many parts of the world”. But that Americans & Brits stopped ballooning in 2003.
‘Britain Is Winning Fight Against Flab’ – UK News Headlines – Life Style Extra
Rick McCharles 