Jonathan

Today I did something that I haven't done in about 16 years. It's something that I think most people do at least a few times each year, but I hadn't in more than 15. Just for fun, anyone who reads this should leave a comment, including his/her guess for what I did today. I'll reveal the secret to this great mystery in a few days.

Garden Fresh Salsa Inc.'s "Jack's Special Salsa" is my new favorite, after being recommended to use by some friends from church. Give it a try if you can find it in your local grocery. There's a good article about the company in The Detroit News, including tales of salsa secret thievery and the fun fact that salsa has now passed ketchup as America's number one condiment.

Aronson ruefully recalls hiring two men in 1999 and entrusting them with some of his secret recipes. The pair -- Charles Maiorana and David Kernya -- set up a partnership and corporation, Buddies Foods, while still employed at Garden Fresh Gourmet. They also contacted Garden Fresh's customers about their line of products, all suspiciously like Garden Fresh Gourmet and similarly packaged. "It was quite a coincidence," said Aronson. Garden Fresh Gourmet filed a lawsuit against the pair in 2003 alleging unfair competition and theft of trade secret recipes. An Oakland Circuit Court jury found in favor of Garden Fresh Gourmet for more than $500,000 in damages. Since that verdict Maiorana has filed for bankruptcy. Garden Fresh had to file another lawsuit recently against the company when it was determined that a third partner existed. Buddies Foods is specifically enjoined from using a particular brand of tomatoes and vinegar used in Garden Fresh products.

After playing basketball Tuesday night, I noticed that my right calf was a little sore on Wednesday.  I assumed it was just a normal bruise or sore muscle.  Saturday night around 9:30 PM, I stood up and it hurt much worse.  I reached down to touch it and felt a big bulge on the side calf.  I pushed on it, felt it move like a big bubble of fluid, and a sharp pain.  I tried to go to urgent care, but it was closed, so I went to the emergency room.  They thought it was a hematoma but did an ultrasound of my legs to make sure there wasn't a clot.  I got home around 1 AM.  The next day I walked around of crutches (called "crunches" by Finn), and by Saturday I was walking fairly normally but gingerly.  I don't remember getting kicked or anything traumatic in the basketball game, but maybe it was just too much running, jumping, and landing for an old man.

Here is a picture of J and Eli in Chicago from last weekend:

The MS 150 Bike Tour was this past weekend.  It was my 8th tour (4 in TN and 4 in MI).  I did 107 miles on Saturday and 84 on Sunday.  The weather was good most of the time: overcast and not too hot.  Saturday was my first century.  It went OK though I had quite a bit of back and shoulder pain.

Here is someone else's blog from the ride with a bunch of pictures, etc.

Here is a picture of Kip and me after finishing the ride on Sunday.