Cal moving up

Cal was ranked #6 at the start of the day and since #5 and #3 have lost, they should be 4th. However, my other team, the Gators, is in trouble. They're #4, so if they lose, and I hope they don't, Cal could be #3. That would be about as high as they've been ranked as far as I can remember. I know they were up pretty high a few years back when they got a raw deal from the BCS, but I don't know if they were #3. I think I'd rather see Florida at 3 and Cal at 4.

How many menu items are there?

I called the attendance hotline to report that my son was staying home from school today. Usually you get a recording that says, press 1 for help, press 2 to leave a message, etc. This one said "press 1000 to leave a message", then on that one it said "press 1500 to record your message". Were 1-999 already used? That is ridiculous and not user friendly.

Mets look done

With all the talent on the NY Mets, it's hard to understand how they have faded so fast in the pennant race. I didn't think there was any way they wouldn't make it to the World Series this year, but it looks like they won't even make the playoffs. I heard that this would be the 2nd biggest collapse in baseball history -- maybe they can win their last two games and pull it out, but I think things may be out of their control at this point. They need some help from somebody else to get the wild card or the division. It may not happen.

School Food -- junk food is still around

Our local school banned any outside food for parties last year as part of the push for healthier food at school. Not everyone liked that, but I think it was a good idea. There's still room for improvement, but at least they don't serve a soft pretzel as an entree for lunch any more. That was one thing I never understood. Who eats a large pretzel for lunch?

I was talking with someone yesterday who does catering for events and he said he was thinking about selling food at fairs and that the kind of food most people preferred was junk food. That sells the best.

SFGate says that the state regulations on school food still allow lots of room for junk food, but that's only because the junk foods have had some fat and sugar taken out. A loophole that keeps the junk food producers happy along with the kids.

"The industry is committed to providing products that promote health and wellness," said Robert Earl, senior director for nutrition policy at the Grocery Manufacturers Association, a trade group. "Companies are doing everything from portion packs to baked chips."

In order to adhere to California nutrition requirements, snacks sold in middle and high schools can have no more than 250 calories; in elementary schools, snacks must be 175 calories or less. No more than 35 percent of the snack's calories can come from fat and no more than 10 percent from saturated fat. Sugar is limited to 35 percent by weight.

Fruit, vegetables, nuts, legumes, nut butters, seeds, eggs and cheese are excluded from the regulations, as is food brought from home.

Individually sold entrees such as pizza, burritos and hamburgers can't be more than 400 calories, with a maximum of 4 grams of fat per 100 calories. The law does not limit how many snacks or entrees students can buy at a time.

In addition, half of the drinks sold on high school campuses must be juice, water and low-fat or non-fat milk. In 2009 all soda will be banned (it already is banned from elementary and middle schools). The sale of sugary athletic drinks is still permitted.

Women's World Cup

The Women's World Cup games I've seen have been very exciting. I only wish the games were on a little later here in California. At 6:30 AM I can catch the last part of the 2nd half. Brazil looks unbeatable, but Germany hasn't given up a goal yet, so the final should be a good one. We have our own soccer game at the same time, so we'll have to settle for watching the highlights.

Chargers not the same team

The Chargers had the Packers with about 2 minutes left and should have beaten them. You can say don't blame Norv Turner all you want, and that it's really a problem on defense, but the offense isn't the same. They've got almost the same guys, and their primary playmakers are the same, but the results aren't there. Norv Turner is the guy who calls the plays and something is just not working so far. It's a long season, and the next three games should be wins, which would make them 4-2 with some momentum. We'll see what happens.

KPCC - This American Life

I was in and out of the car and in and out of radio reception tonight, but I heard parts of a really interesting program on KPCC. It must have been a segment of This American Life based on the schedule. I never heard the title or ending but it was a kind of personal family history done by the daughter of the dad who was the focus of the story along with his many children and wives. I want to go find it and listen to the whole thing.