Coke stock falls...

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=580&e=1&u=/nm/20041111/bs_nm/food_coke_outlook_dc

I read this article and it made me laugh a little bit. As America, and I'm sure other countries as well, get more educated on dietting, etc., it seems many of the "big" companies in the U.S. are taking the hit in the pocket book. Are they so idiotic that they cannot adjust?

Soda pop in general has many negatives that most Americans are becoming aware of. For non-diet soda, the sugar content is really high and so is the calorie intake (roughly 5%-10% of our recommended daily calories in a single 12-20 oz. soda!). Caffeine is getting more and more negative press when taken in high single doses, like a soda or cup of coffee, rather than spread out over the course of the day. Finally, for all soda, the ascorbic acid in it eats the calcium right out of our system...if our body doesn't have any, then it takes it from our bones...calcium is normally a deficiency in the average American diet already.

So what can Coke and the other soda companies do? They sorta moved in the right direction with C2 and Pepsi edge...they have 1/2 the sugar as normal soda without sacrificing much taste. Coke unwisely chose to go with Aspartame (very bad sugar substitute that is unhealthy for lots of folks and pregnant women) while Pepsi went with Splenda (cheers to Pepsi!!). The result is Pepsi Edge tastes much better than C2 simply because it doesn' have the diet taste that C2 and aspartame create.

As I slowly phase soda out of my diet, 3-4 a day was just too many, I have little to no sympathy for the soda industry. Soda on tap tastes much better than a can or bottle, yet soda on tap at say Wendy's, Taco Bell, etc. rates right up there with robbery as far as costs go.

Unhealthy + Expensive = Death.

They are digging their own graves and have noone else to blame but themselves.

Movies, games, and shopping...OH MY!

Is it just me or is this year incredibly packed even before December has hit? Well, certainly some things are "just me"...but I'm sure it appeals to tons of others as well.

Great movies are coming out...not just in theatres, but the DvD releases are killing me! Shrek 2, Harry Potter, LOTR:ROTK long-arse version, etc. etc. etc. Movies coming out include Kinsey, National Treasure, The Incredibles, and others that I'm really looking forward to seeing.

Computer games are in full gear right now. As most of you likely heard, Halo 2 was released today. It's expected to sell $100M in copies today alone...wow! 5 million are expected to buy it in November...and 10 million copies overall...simply amazing. I haven't even finished FABLE yet for X-box...nor KOTOR (Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic) and KOTOR 2 is coming out in December! Everquest 2 was released today (though it's not very tempting to me for some reason) as well. Later this month, World of Warcraft is being released...many are Beta testing it...and claim it's a blast. Darn it! I hear Half Life 2 is coming out soon as well? I haven't even gotten Doom 3 yet! I know I'm a geek...but I'm losing major points this season!

Now, throw in that we are supposed to be shopping for Christmas already (even though I've got one friend off the list already!) and it's no wonder America sees the holidays as stressful...we have too much to do. :)

Ok, off to Best Buy I go...I gotta buy something, anything, at this point!

And so it begins! (COLD!)

The snow began on Sunday, but that was hardly the extent of the cold weather here in Colorado. On Monday, the drive to work went from a pleasant 35 minutes to a marathon 85 minutes. Most snow storms leave snow, packed snow, and maybe some ice on the road...this one just left 2-3 inches of ice. :( And a chilly 11 degrees on Monday night/Tuesday morning....bbbbbbrrrrrrr!

Did I mention that my Mom moved in about 2 weeks ago? Long story, but I'm glad she is back in Colorado and seems to be getting motivated to find a job, etc. She does chatter a lot in the morning...I'm trying to get her to stop waking up at 4:00 so she doesn't disturb me or Scott. She also isn't allowed to smoke in the house or garage. My house, my rules...she can go slowly kill herself and/or destroy her lungs in her own house. Most of my family are smokers...all of them know I hate it, think it's discusting, etc. :) But I love them anyhow.

With her being diabetic, I'm trying to encourage her to eat better, reduce her carb intake, and am cooking to reflect that. I love to cook, but my Mom doesn't. She's very good at cleaning up afterwards. While she's unemployed, she's been cleaning, dusting, vacuuming, etc. I think the house is cleaner now than when we moved in!

Tomorrow we will have the results of the presidential race as well as the Senate, House, and a few Governor seats...should make for some good reading or light depression...either way, it's exciting to me for some odd reason this year.

--Jim