Mom & Pop vs. chain restaurants
Chain restaurants have the borrowing power to secure massive loans to make payroll and ride out tough times. This money finances menu design to adapt to changes in the economy and develop foods that cater to the changing tastes of their customers. Also, print and electronic advertising, plus millions of mailer coupons, eat up the borrowed money.
Whether a taco restaurant or a sit-down seafood casual dining restaurant, chains offer delicious low price foods at knock-em-dead prices. This allows the customer to have an interesting and entertaining dining experience at a price, while higher than smaller restaurants, is still acceptable. Chain restaurants are not making the money they once did, but they are still in business.
Mom and Pop restaurants are not doing as well. Some projections predict that the industry will close 10, 000 to 12,000 restaurants by the end of 2012. Most of these will be smaller restaurants who can’t compete with the chains and are watching their sales deteriorate to the point where they can’t make overhead—no matter how low they keep it.
The industry estimates that one in 10 employed people work in foodservice.
The loss of 10,000 to 12,000 small restaurants will put a number of people on the street who will apply for jobs at the chains. The chains are cutting staff because they are making a lower net profit due to acclimating to the financial reality of staying open in this economy.
Additionally, the chains that are hiring may have a different set of criteria for their employees than do the Mom and Pop stores. Many new employees can adapt while others cannot.
The restaurant industry is still a great career choice that offers steady pay and advancement for those who are adaptable and hardworking. Choose the chain that you feel will be the best for your future. Study it as a customer and listen to the critiques of your friends. Try to talk to current employees about the company.
Groom yourself both physically and mentally to fit their requirements. Apply and continue applying—no matter how many times it doesn’t work out—until you get the job. Then work harder than anyone else.
More Fall and Winter News
AFL Updates since the last article:
11/9:
Zunino C ... 2-for-5, double
Franklin 2b ... 0-for-5
Catricala DH ... 1-for-5, HR
Seon Gi Kim (more on him later) ... 0.1 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
Smith ... 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
11/10:
Catricala LF ... 2-for-4, double, BB
Bawcom ... 1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
LaFromboise ... 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
11/12:
Zunino C ... 1-for-4
Franklin SS ... 1-for-3, BB
Smith ... 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
11/13 (the game Jack Z was watching while doing his radio interview):
Zunino DH ... 3-for-5
Franklin 2b ... 2-for-4, BB
Catricala 1b ... 2-for-5
LaFromboise ... 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
11/14:
Romero DH ... 1-for-4, HR, BB
Catricala LF ... 1-for-2, 2 BB
Bawcom ... 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
Kim ... 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
***
Notes:
- Kim was supposed to play in Australia for the Adelaine Bite ("Let's Go Bite!"), but ended up in Arizona instead. Apparently it's due to visa issues, since the Bite website (the Bitesite?) mentions that our man Ji-Man Choi, who was also supposed to play there, has been delayed due to visa problems. Presumably it's the same deal for fellow Korean Kim.
- Erasmo Ramirez made his fourth start in Venezuela on 11/11: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
- As we've noted, Catricala has been heating up in Arizona. He's now on an 8-game hitting streak ... going 13-of-31 with five walks and just four strikeouts in those eight games.
Sleeping your way to fitness success
Are you looking for tips on sleeping your way to fitness success? Well, now that I’ve got your attention, this isn’t going to be a salacious article about using your feminine or masculine wiles to get free coaching from that attractive personal trainer your gym.
Sorry. This article will be about how sleep can help you lose fat and become stronger. Getting sufficient sleep might not be as interesting as an interlude with your personal trainer, but it will be far more effective for helping you achieve your fitness goals.
Many of us are sleep-deprived and sleep deprivation affects our health in several ways. Lack of sleep causes stress, and we’re all aware that stress is a large factor in succumbing to illness.
Lack of sleep is also a factor in weight gain. When we don’t get enough sleep, cortisol, the stress hormone, is released. That stress hormone just loves to help our bodies pack on fat. It can also trigger food binges, especially on sweets. When you get sufficient sleep, your body responds by staying naturally thinner, and you’ll tend get the munchies less often.
Active people also need sleep because that is when tissues are repaired, and muscle is built. You’ll become stronger more quickly when you get enough sleep.
You might feel that you just don’t have time to sleep as much as you should. This is the time to ruthlessly review how you spend your day. Can you cut out some time watching TV or scouring through your friend’s Facebook status updates? Can you get into the gym early, and leave earlier, so you can get to bed? Can you reschedule some chores to the weekend, leaving you time to get to bed earlier during the week?
Once you start getting enough rest, you’ll start to feel so much better that it will become easier and easier to get to bed on time.
How to solve St. Louis Park's freight reroute dilemma
Many residents of the inner Minneapolis suburb of St. Louis Park are up in arms over a long-proposed reroute of freight rail traffic through their community. Before the start of a recent environmental impact hearing at St. Louis Park city hall related to the proposed rerouting, protestors waving signs saying “Stop the freight rail reroute!” or “Co-locate, not relocate” crowded outside to speak their minds. The majority of citizens who spoke at the meeting also were against trains like that pictured above from being re-routed through their town thanks to a light rail line displacing them from their current line.
The protest and hearing is the latest chapter in a long story that began in 1998.
When short line Twin Cities & Western began operations over the Soo Line’s former Milwaukee Road Twin Cities to Ortonville, MN, line in 1991, it routed its trains into Minneapolis/St. Paul down the former Milwaukee Road 29th Street Corridor which stretches from the outskirts of Uptown to Hiawatha Avenue. But Hiawatha Avenue was slated for extensive reconstruction work, including the addition of the paralleling Minneapolis to Mall of America Hiawatha Light Rail line. Planners deemed that the 29th Street line be severed at Lake Street and Hiawatha, with the corridor slated to become a recreational trail that evolved into the popular Midtown Greenway.
Plans were to re-route TC&W trains onto a north-south line that crosses over the former Milwaukee Road in St. Louis Park that once was operated by the Minneapolis, Northfield, and Southern railroad before it was bought by the Soo Line in 1982 and today is known as the MN&S Spur. However, a former industrial site on the north side of the proposed new interchange for the MN&S/Milwaukee lines that once belonged to National Lead and Golden Auto was discovered to be contaminated and on the list of Superfund clean-up sites. With immediate construction on the new connection delayed by the Superfund site and the work on Hiawatha needing to proceed before Federal funding allocated for the work on Hiawatha expired. As a result, an agreement was hammered out with the Hennepin County Regional Rail authority which owns 2.2 miles of former Minneapolis & St. Louis (later Chicago & North Western) track from Bass Lake in St. Louis Park to Cedar Lake Junction in Minneapolis on the BNSF Wayzata subdivision. At Bass Lake the two lines were integrated together and TC&W trains took to what was deemed a “temporary” re-routing slated to last one to six years. Instead, the jointed rails on the 2.2 miles of surviving “Tootin’ Louie” track has carried TC&W’s Twin Cities interchange traffic for over a decade as the process of cleaning up the National Lead/Golden Auto site was pursued at a dead slow pace. Meanwhile, opposition to re-routing TC&W trains onto the MN&S spur grew and grew.
The HCRRA owns all of the former M&St.L right-of-way from Cedar Lake Junction to the outskirts of Chaska, Minnesota, with the bulk of the line now occupied by a trail except for the portion TC&W currently operates. From Minneapolis to Hopkins, the Southwest Corridor light rail transit line is slated to be constructed along the corridor. A 2014 start date for construction has added impetus for the final re-routing of the TC&W because HCRRA and other Southwest Corridor backers insist LRT cannot co-exist with not only freight rail but another trail that traverses the Cedar Lake corridor, the Kenilworth Trail. A recreational hiking and biking path which connects the popular Cedar Lake trail to the Midtown Greenway and the trail west to Chaska.
But many in St. Louis Park want the LRT and freight rail to co-exist along the current alignment, and I for one agree with them.
Recently at one of the forums on Railroad.net, a poster mentioned how both New Jersey Transit’s River Line and UTA TRAX in Salt Lake City successfully coordinate LRT with freight rail operations. Further research on my part revealed that, in the case of NJT’s River Line, the chief reason LRT can co-exist with freight rail is because the LRT cars are powered by diesel and not electricity.
This sparked an idea: why not dieselize the Southwest Corridor? And since it doubtless will be double-tracked like the Hiawatha and Central Corridor lines are, when it is built send it out to a new junction near Cedar Lake where the LRT track would meld with the existing track to form a double-tracked line for the 2.2 miles from Cedar to Bass Lake, where the LRT would split from the TC&W onto its own corridor yet again, thus leaving plenty of room for the Kenilworth Trail and, more importantly, allow the freight and LRT to be co-located together and do away with the St. Louis Park reroute.
It is true both Metro Transit and the TC&W would need to hammer out a joint operations agreement, but if they can do it on the NJT River Line, why not on the Cedar Lake corridor, especially since NJT does it on a line 34 miles long with 20 stations as compared to Cedar Lake’s 2.2 miles and 3 planned stations on that part of the Southwest line. And eliminating the infrastructure needed for electric LRT operation would cut some construction costs to boot.
In closing, I believe that integrating freight and LRT via the Southwest Corridor becoming a diesel-powered LRT route is such an obvious solution to the problem currently vexing St. Louis Park I am amazed that I have not come across it in all the reams of studies, opinion pieces, and public statements I have read.
Too little, too late
I’ll start off by telling you that the following is an attempt to justify the situation in which my family and I find ourselves.
I’m just an everyday guy, making ends meet, enjoying my family and trying to get ahead where possible. My wife and I have two daughters who will need as much financial help as possible to make it through college. Additionally, my wife and I are concerned about our retirement.
My wife keeps the checkbook and we stay out of trouble for the most part. However, both of us were average students throughout high school and never went on to higher education.
I work in the foodservice industry. This translates into 80-hour weeks and out-of-town trips at least three times monthly. My wife works in the school cafeteria so she can be close to the girls and stay on their schedule. She spends the rest of her time raising the kids almost singlehandedly—due to my schedule.
Neither of us is particularly good at math and other than my 401K have never been interested in investing our money. It just always seemed that getting by was the main thing and besides, there was hardly ever any extra money to think about investing it.
Now, things have hit the fan. There is a good chance my job will be phased out this year. While I may be eligible to take a new position, it will be at a lower level with a huge pay cut.
During our marriage we have weathered inflation and recession without giving them much thought. I always could find a job and our needs weren’t as great or time so short as it is now.
I’m looking at 2013 and wondering what is going to happen to my family. Jobs are being cut and getting one at your old rate of pay is very unlikely. Now apparently, there is a round of taxes coming our way that could cost us up to $4,000 annually. Not only that the news channels are alerting us that another recession is on the way. I hear scare stories about how homes can be repossessed for as little reason as a missed utility bill. I know for an absolute fact that everything we buy nowadays is more expensive and packed in smaller size containers.
The economy has finally got my attention. I’m afraid it may be too late.
Drive-thru Overview: Young Marlins (Analysis)
In the other article, we looked at the numbers for young Marlin hitters Logan Morrison and Giancarlo Stanton.
***
Stanton has already rocked the majors at age 22, and a quick glance at his minor-league numbers indicates that it's no surprise. At age 20 in AA, while still very young for the level, he completely dominated the pitching there. As you can see, his "Plausibility Index" is a negative number. In other words, he didn't need any "random-y singles" to fall in to reach an OPS of .890. He got there on XBH and walks alone. Put another way: he hit the ball with so much authority (and drew so many walks when not putting the ball in play) that he took the "random balls in play" factor out of the game entirely. To do that, you have to be really good.
So the 28.8% K rate doesn't bother you? Not in Stanton's case. That strikeout rate would kill most hitters, because it would sharply reduce the number of balls they put in play. Since most hitters don't hit the ball with authority every time, they need to "convert" a certain number of non-authoritative balls in play to "random-y singles."
But Stanton hits the ball so hard (7.4% HR rate; 13.6% XBH rate) and draws plentiful walks (9.2% BB rate), so the sharply reduced balls in play resulting from his K% don't hurt him. It only keeps him from being more awesome.
If he brings that K% down? If Stanton could bring the K% down while retaining his ability to hit with authority, then pack your bags for Cooperstown, Giancarlo. This guy is a stud.
Bottom line: If he's available, then, yes, boatloads of prospects are worth giving up for Stanton.
***
Morrison, as we mentioned, has yet to put together a complete season in the majors. So what can we learn about him from his minor-league numbers?
Well, even though he didn't move up as fast as Stanton, he was young for his level on the way up, and, despite being young, still produced two "Golden Years." If you're following at home, that makes him a "Golden Prodigy."
But Morrison does the precise opposite of Stanton. Morrison gets his production from hitting the ball with just enough authority, while keeping his strikeout rate extremely low (12.1 and 13.5% in those two Golden Years).
Stanton is a power guy with decent plate skills. Morrison is a plate-skills guy with decent power. He's shown the ability to hit homers at a 3+% rate, with an ISO around .190, while striking out less than 18%. Who are guys who fit that kind of profile in 2012?
- Low end: Kyle Seager 3.1 HR%, .163 ISO, 16.9 K% ... 110 OPS+
- Middle: Justin Morneau 3.3 HR%, .172 ISO, 17.9 K% ... 113 OPS+
- High end: Alex Rios 3.9 HR%, .212 ISO, 14.4 K% ... 124 OPS+
- Very high end: Buster Posey 3.9 HR%, .213 ISO, 15.7 K% ... 172 OPS+
Why was Posey so far ahead of Rios in OPS+? Posey walked a lot more, and had a .368 BABIP to Rios' .323.
Bottom line: Morrison is very, very likely to be a successful MLB hitter. It looks like 115-125 OPS+ will be his "sweet spot" ... not too different from Morneau and Rios (though he'll walk more than Rios), but he's likely to have some "up" seasons, as when Morneau had a .328 BABIP and a good HR year to win the MVP.
Give up good prospects? Yes, but not a boatload.
Things You Should Probably Know: Why MTV Doesn't Play Music Videos and more knowledgeable dumps
Build a world class library on the cheap
In general, I believe that you get what you pay for, but sometimes, you can get lucky and get tremendous value for nothing. This is so true when it comes to books today. Much of the world’s best literature can be had for nothing, and I’m assiduously attempting to collect the classics and store them on a cloud server.
Obviously, I’m talking about ebooks, and I realize not everyone prefers that format. It does have many benefits though, and one benefit that I appreciate is being able to read classic literature by simply downloading to an ebook version, with no expense, and no need to even stop by the library.
I’ll never want for high quality reading material again. As a confirmed book-aholic, it relieves me to know that I have a huge selection of books available, whenever and where ever I take my tablet or smart phone.
Another benefit of converting to ebooks is that I’ve been able to clear out bookshelf space. I replaced hard copies of my favorites with electronic versions, and I now have fewer books to dust, and more room to store other things. Even better, I feel confident that someone else, who either can’t afford an ebook reader or doesn’t care for them, is able to enjoy the classics that I sold to my local Minneapolis Half Price Books store.
How do you feel about ebooks? Do you prefer them over traditional paper books? If you like ebooks, do you find yourself collecting classic literature? Why or why not? Please share your thoughts.
Drive-thru Overview: Young Marlins (Numbers)
The Miami Marlins are already in fire sale mode. It never takes them very long. A guy has to wonder if they'll ever get free agents down there again.
Next on the outbound-shipping platform? Perhaps previously disgruntled Logan Morrison and newly disgruntled Giancarlo Stanton (the slugger formerly known as Mike).
Reportedly, Morrison is already being shopped, while Stanton is supposedly going to be kept. But Stanton's angry reaction to Marlin Salary Dump 3.0 may eventually lead the team to conclude that he needs to go, too. Anger at the front office may fit the mood of Miami fans, but it only goes so far as a marketing plan.
Well, if they decide to move these guys, and are looking for a boatload of prospects so they can rebuild from within ("re-build?"), then get Jack Zduriencik on speed dial.
Seattle has the surplus of prospects, so let's see if these guys are worth giving up slew of them (a Seattle Slew?).
- Stanton: 373 MLB games ... .270/.350/.553 ... 140 OPS+
- Morrison: 278 MLB games ... .250/.339/.442 ... 110 OPS+
Obviously, you can't argue with Stanton. His HR totals, SLG and OPS have gone up every year, and he's still below the age when most guys first arrive in the majors.
Morrison, on the other hand, is quite a bit more enigmatic. He's yet to put together a complete season (max 123 games), and most of his numbers went in the wrong direction in 2012.
But, since they are both early in their careers (Morrison 25, Stanton 23), it's worth taking a look at their minor-league careers:
| Age | Level | G | PA | AB | H | 2b | 3b | HR | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | HR/PA | BB/PA | PP | AP | K/PA | PI | "+/-" | |
| Stanton 2010 | 20 | AA | 53 | 240 | 192 | 60 | 13 | 2 | 21 | 44 | 53 | 0.313 | 0.442 | 0.729 | 1.171 | 0.088 | 0.183 | 0.333 | 0.604 | 0.221 | -0.049 | 10.70 |
| Stanton 2012 | 22 | A+ | 4 | 16 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0.313 | 0.313 | 0.75 | 1.063 | 0.125 | 0.000 | 0.188 | 0.625 | 0.063 | 0.052 | 5.09 |
| Stanton 2008 | 18 | A | 125 | 540 | 468 | 137 | 26 | 3 | 39 | 58 | 153 | 0.293 | 0.381 | 0.611 | 0.993 | 0.072 | 0.107 | 0.233 | 0.464 | 0.283 | 0.196 | 2.23 |
| Morrison 2010 | 22 | AAA-A+ | 73 | 314 | 259 | 81 | 19 | 6 | 6 | 48 | 38 | 0.313 | 0.424 | 0.502 | 0.925 | 0.019 | 0.153 | 0.252 | 0.309 | 0.121 | 0.246 | 7.06 |
| Morrison 2011 | 23 | AAA-A+ | 9 | 40 | 34 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 0.176 | 0.275 | 0.412 | 0.687 | 0.050 | 0.125 | 0.225 | 0.353 | 0.200 | 0.261 | 4.27 |
| Morrison 2009 | 21 | AA-A+ | 82 | 355 | 289 | 80 | 19 | 2 | 8 | 64 | 48 | 0.277 | 0.408 | 0.439 | 0.848 | 0.023 | 0.180 | 0.262 | 0.263 | 0.135 | 0.274 | 8.35 |
| Stanton 2009 | 19 | AA-A+ | 129 | 551 | 479 | 122 | 24 | 5 | 28 | 59 | 144 | 0.255 | 0.341 | 0.501 | 0.842 | 0.051 | 0.107 | 0.211 | 0.365 | 0.261 | 0.290 | 1.32 |
| Morrison 2007 | 19 | A | 128 | 513 | 453 | 121 | 22 | 2 | 24 | 48 | 96 | 0.267 | 0.343 | 0.483 | 0.827 | 0.047 | 0.094 | 0.187 | 0.322 | 0.187 | 0.296 | 2.14 |
| Morrison 2008 | 20 | A+ | 130 | 555 | 488 | 162 | 38 | 1 | 13 | 57 | 80 | 0.332 | 0.402 | 0.494 | 0.896 | 0.023 | 0.103 | 0.196 | 0.268 | 0.144 | 0.310 | 2.93 |
| Morrison 2006 | 18 | Rk-A- | 49 | 187 | 163 | 39 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 21 | 29 | 0.239 | 0.321 | 0.319 | 0.64 | 0.011 | 0.112 | 0.160 | 0.135 | 0.155 | 0.414 | 1.65 |
| Stanton 2007 | 17 | A--Rk | 17 | 63 | 56 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 21 | 0.161 | 0.226 | 0.268 | 0.494 | 0.016 | 0.063 | 0.127 | 0.179 | 0.333 | 0.559 | -6.46 |
Shetland sheepdogs and seizures
As I was still asleep, early Sunday morning, I heard one of my Shelties pawing in her crate. I scolded her, “Stop it, Maddie!” But the pawing got worse, and it started to sound like she was flopping her body in her crate. I was still half-asleep, but it eventually sunk in; something was seriously wrong with Maddie. I turned on the bedside lamp, and saw her lying on her side, her jaws caught in the crate’s wires, her body wracked by convulsions.
My husband ran to get wire cutters and a pliers so we could free her as I kept watch. Before he even returned, Maddie yelped, then she jumped up, freeing herself from the wires, and sat back in her kennel, obviously confused and shaky.
In another few moments, Maddie was able to walk out of her kennel, and she and my husband napped for a couple more hours. I was too shaken by what had happened to go back to sleep.
Naturally, I had to research Shetland Sheepdogs and seizures. The breed is not prone to them, but they do occasionally happen. Seizures might be a symptom of epilepsy, or triggered by low blood sugar, toxins or vaccinations. Some dogs are genetically disposed to them. They seem to occur more frequently in the morning, and I have awakened with a sense of dread since learning that.
It’s possible that this seizure could be a one-time event. I dearly hope it is. It’s painful and frightening to watch a beloved pet in this condition. Have you had a dog who suffered from seizures? If so, where you able to determine a cause, and did you seek treatment?