Update: I think I can, I think I can...

I finally got a reply from my letter to Seneca Foods. I'm not very satisfied with it; it seems there's some confusion regarding to whom it should be addressed--I sent my e-mail to consumer_affairs@senecafoods.com, so I'm a bit confused by the response:

Thank you for your comments on the vegetable cans. Seneca Foods makes their own cans. Your comments will be forwarded to the correct department. Seneca Foods sold the Juice Division in Dec. 1998.

Seneca Foods Consumer Affairs

Anyway...at least my voice was heard....

I'll try to keep everyone posted.

Open Letter to Seneca Foods

To Whom It May Concern:

First of all, let me congratulate Seneca Foods Corporation for your success in growing your company from a simple, niche provider of Concord grape juice into an independent, publicly traded food processing company over your 50+ years of existence. Such growth does not occur without the ability to notice deficiencies in your operation and improve where others fail to do so; however, I would like to point out an area where I think there is room for improvement--namely, the packaging of your Stokely's brand "Cut Green Beans".

I've just returned from my local Wal-Mart with five cans of this product and have come to the conclusion--after literally minutes of trying and dozens of attempts--that there is simply no way to stack these cans on top of one another. Since I live in an apartment with relatively little shelf space, the ability to make stacks of height greater than one is one of life's small, taken-for-granted pleasures that make my otherwise chaotic life seem somewhat ordered.

This outcome is surprising, as it seems in most all other areas of life the providers of products I use every day seem to have discovered a way to bevel the bottom of their cans such that each nestles snugly into the top of the can below it. Not to draw unfair comparisons, but I can stack cans of Campbell's soup well over six cans high with alarming stability.

I am a cost-conscious consumer, and I admit that I first found your "Cut Green Beans" when I noticed the value of your product was superior--your beans seemed as green and well-cut as other products but at a lower price. However, I am seriously wrestling with the idea of moving to a top-shelf green bean if it saves me time and emotional frustration when putting my groceries away. There are some things in life that are simply worth the extra expense.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. I trust this feedback will be taken into account in future packaging decisions, and I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

(et cetera)

Another Unsubstantiated Allegation

I'd have to agree with my buddy Barrett...I think it's a bit of a stretch to think there'd be any advantage to being doped up for a silly congressional hearing.

Coffee Filters

As I was making coffee the other day, I noticed that I was about to run out of filters--those little paper things that you put the coffee in for auto-drip coffee makers. They're really thin and are often hard to separate from one another, so often it only looks like you're running out when there are a couple of dozen or more left, but this time I was down to my last 3 or 4.

Now if you've never purchased coffee filters before, you probably wouldn't guess that you can only buy these things by the gazillion. If you're outfitting your apartment for the first time, it's something like this:

• 1 coffee maker
• 1/2 lb coffee
• 2 lbs sugar
• 500 coffee filters

The smallest package of filters is easily less than $3 and usually comes with five or six little bunches of 50-100 filters each. I can honestly only remember buying these things twice in my adult life.

It was encouraging to think that for months or years I'd slowly and imperceptibly worked my way though each bunch of filters in turn only to come to the end suddenly and with no fanfare. I'd almost wished I'd seen it coming so I could have anticipated The Day that I would use the last filter. But I wonder if I would then have felt pressured to be sure I fixed coffee each day if I had realized I was on my last few....

Regardless, I think I have a greater respect for unheralded persistence and its role in accomplishing the overwhelming tasks in life.

Blogging (blog' ing) v....

... the process of discovering you have nothing particularly interesting or insightful to communicate on a regular basis.

About the title...

So I figure I need to explain the title for my blog...

It's not that I see life as pointless--quite the opposite. It's just that I seem to approach certain aspects of life with the absolute understanding that what I'm doing will inevitably be undone faster than I care to think about. A short list includes:

1. Dishes. Never are they all clean. Ever.
2. Cleaning the apartment.
3. Answering/sorting/filing e-mail
4. Reading my magazines.
5. Listening to my podcast subscriptions.

You see, I'm a person who likes to finish things. Knowing that these items will never be crossed-off life's to do list drives me bonkers. Honestly, I don't know why I can't let some of these things go, but I feel compelled to at least attempt to stay current on it all.

I'd elaborate, but if I do a halfway decent job of keeping this updated there will be no reason to--it will all become clear.

One could argue that the title is also fitting in that no one will ever read anything written here anyway...so what's the point in posting it?