Tactical Leadership

Why do they call it turkey?

Last Thanksgiving I was preparing dinner with my four-year-old daughter looking on. She had that look on her face, the one she gets when she's forming a difficult question. Finally she asked, "Why do they call it turkey?"

"Because it's turkey," I answered, matter-of-factly.

"No," she continued, "I mean, why do they call the food 'turkey' the same as the bird 'turkey'?"

It was then I realized that she had not yet come to the realization that the animals on the farm and the food on our plate where one and the same. So I started to explain. At one point I flipped the turkey onto its legs, had it walk across the counter doing a can-can and flapping its wings. Perhaps not my best moment in parenting, but it got the message across. She nodded her head in patronizing agreement, and wandered away.

I was worried how she would handle dinner with her new-found knowledge. Would she eat the bird? Would she become a devout vegetarian on-the-spot? Would she enter the dining room chanting protest songs and holding a sign that reads, "Let my turkeys go!"?

But things went fine. She had no qualms about eating the turkey on her plate. She finished one slice, and asked for seconds. I was somewhat relieved, until I noticed she hadn't touched her vegetables. "Eat your veggies, too," I reminded her.

She took one legume with her spool and rolled it around on her plate, examining it carefully from every side. Finally she paused and got that inquisitive look on her face. "Daddy," she asked, looking up at me, "why do they call it 'pea'?"

Posted at 12:00PM Feb 12, 2008 by Robert Hueston in Personal  |  Comments[1]

American Community Survey: Avoiding A Scam

Since my January 8th post ranting on the way the US Census Bureau has been handling the (in my opinion, high intrusive) American Community Survey and failing to safeguard me from fraud and identify theft, the Census Bureau has rolled out a new home page with a link called Are You in a Survey?

This new web page gives the following information and advice:

• The address that the American Community Survey response should be sent to, so you can verify that the data you provide is going directly to the Census Bureau.
• If you have received a telephone call from someone at the Census Bureau, and you have any questions, you may speak directly via telephone or e-mail with an employee of the National Processing Center (at 1-866-226-2864).
• If a person claiming to be from the Census Bureau comes to your door, ask to see their identification badge and a copy of the letter that was sent to you from the Census Bureau. And if you have any questions about their authenticity, call the National Processing Center.

All of this is good advice, and helps to ensure that your personal information is only going to authenticated, and authorized, individuals. Interestingly, these are all things I suggested in my recent posts. You think maybe someone at the US Census Bureau read my blog?

Posted at 09:00AM Feb 12, 2008 by Robert Hueston in Personal  |  Comments[1]