quote of the day 7

"On the plus side, Ohio's new smoking ban has made everyone an expert on trans fats."
-- my friend Justin, responding to the post-11/7 election commentary last year


It's remarkable how there seemed to be more heated opinions on Ohio's proposed smoking bans after the election than before it. In the ensuing debate, nearly all of the arguments followed the same pattern:

A: Smoking is a hazard to one's health.
B: Well so are trans fats.
A: Yes, but when someone eats trans fats, it doesn't affect anyone else.
B: Sure it does; their obesity causes health insurance costs to rise.
A: But there are many other factors in a person's weight besides trans fats, whereas smoking is directly linked to lung cancer. Plus, smoking is voluntary, whereas eating is required to sustain life.
B: But my dad was a doctor and smoked for 100 years and never got cancer. Whereas {blah blah blah rattle off a bunch of facts about trans fats}.
A: Whoa, how did you learn so much about trans fats?
B: Some guy's blog.

I was reminded of this today because a friend of mine at the Cleveland Clinic forwarded me a notice about a new employment policy going into effect later this year. Although current employees won't be affected, starting September 1st the Cleveland Clinic will not hire anyone who tests positive for cotinine. Applicants will be offered a free tobacco cessation program, and after 90 days, "those who have been successful in quitting will be encouraged to reapply."

Because I know whenever I apply for a job, I always have a good three-month buffer in which I can just wait around for the opportunity to reapply.

I have to wonder what the point is, honestly. Banning smoking on their property is fine, especially since they're a hospital known for their heart and cancer programs, but a hiring policy like this is an intrusion into the person's private life.

I suppose one could say no one's forced to apply for a job there, but one wonders where such hiring practices draw the line. They could very easily use the same logic ("we're the #1 cardiac hospital") to refuse hiring overweight people, and require all employees to join an exercise program and eat certain foods at home, lest they be denied employment. Except since fat people are in the majority, I doubt such a policy would go over too well; I'm just saying the same logic could apply. And it's not as though being a fat doctor or a smoking nurse makes one any worse at his or her job.

I was curious how long it's detectable in the body, wondering if "social smokers" (celebratory cigar smokers, people who only smoke after a few drinks, etc.) would get caught as well. Wikipedia says: Cotinine is a metabolite of nicotine. Cotinine typically remains in the blood between 48 and 96 hours. The level of cotinine in the blood is proportionate to the amount of exposure to tobacco smoke, so it is a valuable indicator of tobacco smoke exposure, including secondary smoke.

So I guess it's kinda like Elaine with the poppyseed muffin.

You can read the press release on their website: Cleveland Clinic’s New Nonsmoking Hiring Policy Rolls Out July 1

Incidentally, the Clinic is not the first to refuse hiring smokers, although until now it was usually more about employers wanting to save money on health insurance than about promoting good health: A Job or a Cigarette? (Newsweek, February 2005).

Also, 31 states have laws prohibiting employment practices such as this -- Ohio isn't one of them, obviously.

On the plus side, anyone who can't afford smoking cessation drugs/gum can just apply for a job with the Cleveland Clinic and get them for free!!

quote of the day 6

My boss has been repairing his bathroom for several weeks now. To paraphrase our editor:

I told him, any bathroom repair will take 2 years; it's just the law of the universe. To fix one thing, you have to replace something else. It's like when the check-engine light comes on: you just understand that you need to write a check for $1100 and it'll go off.

Maybe OnStar could retain the car owner's credit card information and charge $1100 every time the light comes on. :)

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Edited to add: That's right: I've enabled blogging from my cell phone. Ph33r my nerdity! I doubt I'll use it that often, but I like having the option. I can also check my Gmail from my phone should I be so inclined.

Above is a camera phone shot from the ferris wheel at Cedar Point (where else?) last summer.

cawwwwwffee

Another Saturday morning, and I'm at my usual hangout, Jim's Coffeehouse in downtown Elyria. I guess I'm a regular now. (And also a nnnnnnerd, hence the laptop with the free wireless internet at the coffeehouse.)

It seems to me that business is picking up. Last week, a random group of 15 people stopped by, presumably on their way to a wedding or some other dress-up affair. Meanwhile, a gaggle of lawyers discussed the news of the day. Today, there are two age-enhanced ladies (olda wimmin) at the next table, and a flock of college students discussing a class project at another.

Now this is a coffeehouse! I'm glad Elyria finally has a place like this. And no, Arabica doesn't count; Jim serves coffee in real mugs, not styrofoam. :)

Oh, and the scones are *awesome*.

jacobs field, circa 2005

In another blog's discussion of reasons to move to Cleveland, I discovered a link to a New York Times feature, "36 Hours: Cleveland." If you click that link, hopefully you'll see the same thing I did:



Click to read the caption.

That's either the visiors' dugout, or the Davey Tree pavilion has really come a long way since I last went to a game.

Actually, my first thought upon opening the article was, "Holy cats, where is that in Cleveland?" and was trying to think where there was a mountain in the Cuyahoga Valley. Then I started reading the caption and thought it was a joke, expecting a punchline. Nope. I guess the NYT just reused the filename of that image since two years ago.

Amusement.

bryan with a baby 2

We staged a repeat of last September's "bryan with a baby" at Cedar Point's opening day, this time with better results. It's kinda hard to tell, but I'm wearing my Charlie Brown zig-zag shirt there. But don't let that picture fool you; I don't plan on being a father any time soon.

(Does "ever" count as "soon"?)

a three point week

I don't intend this blog simply to be a chronicle of my trips to Cedar Point, but I often get excited this early in the season. Especially now with Maverick up and running, it's all the more tempting to make the 42-minute trek across Route 2 to the best amusement park in the world.

As mentioned previously, Stu got the green light from The Woman to head up to the Point last Saturday and give Maverick a trial run (and we sneaked in a ride on Skyhawk and Millennium Force to make it worth our while). We had all intended to go on Memorial Day, but Chloe came down with a fever. Fellow northern Ohioans may recall the unbelievably beautiful weather on Monday -- so much so that I decided I wanted to spend the day outside but knew if I stayed home I'd most likely spend it indoors. So, I went to Cedar Point by myself.

There was a moderate crowd Monday, comparable to opening day, but not as bad as June or July. I averaged one coaster per hour (for a total of 7), plus a few thrill rides in-between. Standing in line by myself got rather dull, so I don't know that I'd necessarily want to go alone again, but it was still a great day. Plus, I was able to jump ahead of the last bit of the Maverick line since they needed a single rider to fill a train. w00t

Since Stu missed out on Monday, he wanted to go after work some night this week. That ended up being yesterday (Thursday). The park was mostly dead, as it should be on a weeknight in May. We got on Top Thrill Dragster and Millennium Force in 20 minutes each, Maverick in 35, and Raptor was a walk-on. Throw in Power Tower and Wildcat, all in under three hours. This is why we have season passes, for nights like this. {contented sigh}

Three times in less than a week is a bit much; I've had my fill for a while. Plus, Joseph rehearsals start next week, so we will pretty much be limited to going on Sunday afternoons. Eventually we'll make it over to Geauga Lake too, and hopefully down to Kings Island at least once. Thank you, Cedar Fair.