Marilyn's Photos - July 27 2026 - Insiders Reports

 

Insider Reports. It seems to me to be a worrisome thing when it is stock trading - wondering what executives are buying and selling as they have made the decisions that will affect the stock price of the company they run. But it is an entirely happy thing when it is the name of a grocery chain newsletter.  The PC President's Choice Insiders Report was a very fun and interesting newsletter 40 years ago.  Dave Nichol went far and wide in search of food to turn into grocery items that would entice us into the store.  Dave Nichol described the Report as a cross between Mad Magazine and Consumer Reports.  It combined "zaniness and food tips in a comic book format." It was launched in 1984 when I worked at Imperial Oil Limited at St. Clair and Yonge.  That was the location of the corporate headquarters of Loblaw and Dave Nichol.  That made for a very happy food time.  They had a small grocery store located on the street level and it was packed with Dave's food finds. Along with things he wanted for his own home kitchen - great fish, meat and cheese. He named things "Memories of..." as he would find foods on his trips. Then he have the staff replicate the item and then name it after the place he visited, as in Memories of Szechwan Peanut Sauce & Dressing - which outsold ketchup in some stores. And there was his love of chocolate chip cookies and ice cream.  Many good products there. The Loblaw test kitchen was next door to his office.  He would go into the test kitchen and taste test things and give the approval himself.  He was it - all the consumer input you could get through focus groups or marketing surveys really came from Dave Nichol himself.  We, the public, knew this.  He was a retail food celebrity.  Maybe Martha Stewart achieved a similar celebrity status. She had a broader lifestyle influence, bringing home decor, holiday and party planning into the cooking and food world.  She too had a perfect chocolate chip cookie.  This seems to be one of the most beloved foods (after pizza) as there are many celebrity chefs now with their special chocolate chip genius.    Doesn't the chocolate chip cookie explain some of the success of last year's Chocolate Tree at the Fantasy of Trees?  I think so.  The tree looked very yummy.  Dave Nichol would have liked it. Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com

Marilyn's Photos - July 26 2026 - Exit the Flag

 

Our COVID-raised flags are looking worn.  Time to replace it.  But wait, this is a serious matter - one we didn't realize.  We are to dispose of a worn or tattered country flag privately, respectfully, and in a dignified manner.  Burn natural fibres privately or tear synthetic materials into single-colour strips before bagging.   The flag on the Peace Tower is changed every weekday, and flags on the East and West blocks are changed once a week. All flags are changed when they have been flown at half-mast. This is known as the National Flag of Canada etiquette.  In other countries - the United States, Uruguay and India, there are explicit Flag Codes which dictate disposal. In Uruguay the protocol says the flags should be handled directly by the military.  They have an annual public event every September 23rd where unserviceable flags are ceremoniously burned.  At the other end of the spectrum is flag desecration.  Chile and Croatia have up to one year imprisonment, China has 3 years and Czechia has a fine.  Many countries have desecration laws.  In comparison, it is legal to burn a national flag in Canada and is protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.   While there is a rich history to flags, it all looks military to me.  Too bad, as waving silk in the wind is a beautiful sight. Here's a happy butterfly moment. Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com

Marilyn's Photos - July 25 2026 - Rnadom Living

 

Sometimes an expression comes to my mind  This morning it is "random living."  We are so intentional about everything - choosing things and doing things based on reasons.  There's likely a back-lash to this. Here's one:  "For the past couple of months, I have been deciding how to spend my spare time at random. I began it out of curiosity. I wanted to see if there was a better way to manage my leisure activities... Now, I jot down everything I might want to do whenever I find myself with some spare time. Then I use the random number generator at Random.org to effectively select at random which of these activities I will do." And a website, perchance.org where it shows a biography for a "person."  It somehow randomizes things.  The biographies seem haphazardly structured and made up of paragraphs "randomly" put together.  Maybe a high school class project.  Here's Harvey: "Harvey Parker is a 34-year-old man who lives in Montreal. He was born in a local hospital in London. Growing up in a upper class neighboorhood, his childhood was spent vandalizing bus stops and being outgoing.  His relationship with his family is distant. His mom, Treasure was a school psychologist, while his dad, Jospeh, was died when he was 3.  He never went to college. He currently works as an adhesive bonding machine tender, where he performs poorly.  He is very religious and enjoys rowing and watching the aurora borealis in his free time. Personality-wise, he is dynamic and gentle, but also quite unkind. His favorite color is turquoise, his favorite genre of music is k-pop, and his favorite food is spaghetti bolognese. He has a wife named Hunter Parker. He has spiky, light brown hair and hazel eyes. He also has an obsession with sweaters." I looked at 5 profiles and each one has a dad... who "was died when he was 3."  OK, another one had a dad who was died at 4. I guess random living is not a popular philosophical idea and topic. I can get the domain if I want it. Except for home decoration which seems to have a lot to say about random living.  There are lots of pictures of creative ways to change a space.  They ask questions like "what to do with a random living room nook?"   There's nothing like black water to create an eerie sense.  This is at the ROyal Botanical Gardens.  Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com

Marilyn's Photos - July 24 2026 - Marinating Steaks

 

What would you marinade a steak in?  Most of us would know about things like soy, beer, citrus, pineapple, pesto, and then?  There's Coca-cola.  Here's what happens: "A Coke marinade for steak is an excellent way to tenderize beef and build a sweet, caramelized crust. The phosphoric acid and carbonation break down tough fibers, while the sugar creates a gorgeous char on the grill. Marinate the meat for 2 to 6 hours in the fridge to let the flavors soak in without turning mushy."  The reference is Bon Apetit Magazine.  What else is in the recipe? The recipe has soy sauce, olive oil, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, paprika and black pepper. All these ingredients make up a marinade themselves, so the coca cola is adding something or other - acidity.  So instead of vinegar or citrus, add coke. What about upping the challenge.  Marinading the steak in whiskey and coke. One site called these Jack and Coke steaks. And branch out a bit as chicken, pork chops and ribs are candidates for a Coke marinade.  There are hundreds of sites offering these recipes.  In the Southern US this is a tradition and has been used for decades.  Coca-Cola is used as a traditional braise in place of red wine. Sweet Onions simmered in Coke will have an extra depth of flavour.  Create a glaze by simmering Coke and then put on chicken wings.  And pecan pie recipes call for a substantially reduced Coke so that it functions as corn syrup.  The advice on what not to put coke in - baking such as brownies or doughnuts. Do put it into Coca-Cola cake.  If you want to cook with all flavours of pop, use orange soda in your baking recipes - think creamsicle cakes. You could have a daily dose of Coca-Cola or some sort of pop in every meal.   Here's a long-ago truck.  Makes me think of boiled-down Coca-Cola. Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com

Marilyn's Photos - July 23 2026 - How Many Pictures of the Day

 

One estimate is that we take 5.3 billion photos a day and another is 1 trillion pictures every day.  There are about 95 million photos posted to Instagram and 300 million to Facebook every day.   There's a photo of the day every day on BING.  For more variety, we can go to the Canadian National Geographic Photo of the Day, NASA Image of the Day.  Today's NASA image is the Large Magellanic Cloud of our Milky Way.  There's an explanation of it being a dwarf irregular galaxy.  Going to the Canadian National Geographic Photos of the Day the picture is a racoon, so not very distinct. There's a listing for TIME, but it shows pictures from 2013.  And there's a listing for The Guardian.  They post photos of the day selected from the news feed.  It seems that we the common people are posting the most photos of the day. Where do all those photos go?  What does Facebook and Instagram do with the millions of daily images? It targets advertising, trains AI, personalizes content - things like this.  And then what?  How do they store it all?  They have 4 petabytes - that's 4 million gigabytes - of new data a day.  There's a Quora entry HERE that describes the amount and type of storage, and says that Facebook spends $30,000,000,000 a year to keep up its infrastructure.  It seemed like a harmless question, and went straight off the cliff in no time. A mass display at Lilycrest Gardens a few years ago. Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com