missing digits

Paula's en route Phoenix now, having left around 5pm today. It was nice having another human in the house this week, and Beta certainly enjoyed their company. Now, she's crashed in front of the TiVo, watching Animal Planet.

Unrelated #0: I haven't thought about it much lately, but .. when I was growing up I remember how each of my uncles in Mississippi had missing fingers, and how normal that seemed. Sometime during their work career at the cotton gin, each of them had their hands inside, trying to dislodge a stuck blade .. when .. SLICE .. there goes a finger (or thumb). I suspect I could've identified which-uncle-was-which just by the pattern of remaining digits.

Unrelated #1: I don't know whether all fast food places operate this way, but Rumor Has It that at least one chain "grades" their managers on how much total food they sell, so it pays an unethical manager to cut each portion of meat, tomatoes, cheese, etc. What if they can shave 0.5 ounces off every order - would any of us notice? Is there anything like an official "Weights and Measures" department of the FDA [Food & Drug Administration] that polices this (like the nice folks who make sure the pumps at gas stations actually dispense 1 gallon of fuel)?