I love Brussels sprouts, beets and pickled pigs feet. Actually I don't, but I can't say I dislike brussels sprouts, beets and pickled pigs feet without running the risk of offending that minority group of people who produce Brussels sprouts, beets and pickled pigs feet. To do so would not be politically correct. Political correctness, or PC, which should not be confused with the contraption most likely currently sitting on your desk, "is a term used to describe language, ideas, policies or behavior seen as seeking to minimize offense to gender, racial, cultural, disabled, aged or other identity groups." Although it apparently is not politically incorrect for members within one of these groups to use offending language or gestures on other members within the same group. ...more

July 4, 2008

Most big companies have a Great Wall of Vending in their break rooms. At the Tribune, we have a Soft Drink Treadmill, in which a rotating belt raises up to the bottle before sliding and lowering it into a dispensing pocket. We also have the Carbohydrate Free-Fall, from which an assortment of snack foods wedged in a corkscrew are pushed to their doom from various heights. We also have a rotating carousel of refrigerated entree items that I call the Wheel of Death. The WOD offers food that should never be sold in a vending environment. Like Riblets (described on the wrapper as "boneless pork rib-shaped patties). Like Lonesome Cowboy Sandwich. (Mmmm, tasty cowboy.) Or the creatively named So Good So Good. (It looked so bad, so bad that I didn't buy it.) Last week's lowlight: a Fried Chicken Snacker. Not sure what part of the chicken the snacker comes from, but it tasted like it was swathed in a soggy Kleenex. ...more

July 2, 2008

As if there aren't enough tourist attractions in the Orlando area. Big wheels from the Great Wheel Corp. announced this week they will build a 400-foot wheel to take in the Orlando skyline and surrounding properties, including Walt Disney World, SeaWorld, Universal Studios and many other theme parks in the area. The company has built similar wheels in Berlin, Beijing and Singapore. ...more

June 27, 2008

Big wheels from the Great Wheel Corp. announced this week they will build a 400-foot wheel to take in the Orlando skyline and surrounding properties, including Walt Disney World, SeaWorld, Universal Studios and many other theme parks in the area. ...more

June 26, 2008

TEMPLE TERRACE - A 37-year-old man was arrested this morning after police found him drunk—and his 17-year-old son nearly passed out—in front of a convenience store, according to an arrest affidavit. ...more

June 23, 2008

TOWN 'N COUNTRY - In the war against neighborhood blight, abandoned shopping carts have been a nuisance the Town 'N Country community has been fighting for more than a decade. ...more

June 18, 2008

A Polk County sheriff's deputy was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence after he was found passed out behind the wheel of his personal vehicle early this morning, the sheriff's office said. ...more

June 15, 2008

A.J. Stathas went to bed Friday night full of hope. "Daddy," the 10-year-old said to his father, Allen, owner of Cars Unlimited at 201. W. Fletcher Ave., "wake me up at midnight. We'll drive down, and they will be there." ...more

June 15, 2008

Tough guy that he is, Troy Percival waved off questions about his left hamstring when he arrived at the ballpark in Oakland last Wednesday, a day after it tightened up on him in the middle of a save situation. ...more

May 29, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY -- A 63-year-old man was arrested Monday evening, accused of running over his wife — twice. Benjamin Franklin Lee, of 9512 Gatun St., is being held without bail at the Land O' Lakes Jail on a charge of aggravated domestic battery. ...more

May 27, 2008