Copley Square Swag Report: 3/8/06

Two days ago, I complained about companies forcing freebies on people as we commuted through Copley Square. An anonymous commenter replied that on his own commute, sometimes he would choose his route to pick up the freebies offered in Rockefeller Center and end up with treats for later in the day. He admonished me by noting, "Every so often there were some absolutely appropriate for first thing in the morning and it always started the day off on an upnote. Stop being such a curmudgeon."

(Brief note: Technically, anonymous commenting violates my journal policy as laid out on my User Info page, where I note the following: "Anonymous posters are requested to identify themselves in the body of their post. Posts from people not on the "Friends" list are screened until I have a chance to unscreen them." But in the end, it's my call, so I unscreened this one. And I think I know who it is anyway.)

Well, the last thing I want is to develop a reputation as a curmudgeon; I'm not old enough! So I've decided to take the commenter's advice. From now on, I'll pick up whatever freebies are being offered to me in Copley Square, and report on them here.

So today, as I emerged from the T, two people in advertising coveralls were passing out Quaker Breakfast Cookies, an oatmeal raisin cookie. That's right. Cookies aren't just for dinner anymore, now we can eat them for breakfast! I took two cookies and then crossed Dartmouth Street, where another person was handing out cookies. So I took two more.

And then I crossed Boylston Street, and wouldn't you know it, another person was passing out Breakfast Cookies! Yum! I snagged one more, giving me five.

(Just for the record, I was planning to link directly to Quaker's page advertising the Breakfast Cookie, but they don't have one, although they have individual pages devoted to many of their other products. Why not a page for the Breakfast Cookie if they're promoting it? The mind boggles.)

So I ask myself, what am I going to do with five Breakfast Cookies? On my way into my office building, I gave two of them to the security guards, leaving me with only three. And once ensconced in my cubicle, I examined the package. The cookies are OU-D kosher, so as a service to you, my readers, I tried one for breakfast.

What I got was a rather pedestrian oatmeal raisin cookie. I prefer chocolate chip, myself. According to the Nutrition Facts on the back, the cookie contained 180 calories, 40 of them from fat. It also had 200 mg of sodium, 30% of the RDA of calcium, 35% of the RDA of iron, and 5 g of fiber. The advertising on the front of the package claims that the cookie is a good source of fiber, and an excellent source of calcium and iron. I guess the Nutrition Facts bear that out, although it would have been nice to see a fiber breakdown between soluble and insoluble.

And to my anonymous correspondent, I'd just like to say that being handed a treat is one thing. On Monday, I was given a flyer advertising a sinus relief system which described in excruciating detail how to bend your head over the sink in order to properly stick the spout of the nasal wash pot into your nostrils. I don't know about you, but I don't consider that a treat.

And that's the swag report.

Political Prediction

For the past year and a half, maybe even longer, I've been making a prediction about who I think is going to win the 2008 presidential election. I know that there are people out there like gnomi who can attest to the fact that I've made this prediction. Almost every time I have done so, the people around me have told me I was wrong and explained why they thought so.

I've decided to go out on a limb here and commit my prediction to my blog. And in a moment, I'll explain why I've done so.

First of all, my prediction. I predict that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton will win the 2008 presidential election.

The reason I'm willing to make this prediction public is because of an article in today's New York Times: Clinton Says New York, but Money Hints at '08. In short, Clinton and her husband have been locking up major fundraisers all over the country, despite the fact that her re-election to the Senate this year is almost certain. She has raised more money than any other potential Democratic presidential candidate this far. People may recall that there was a lot of buzz about different Republican candidates in the 2000 race, but the one who ended up winning his party's nomination was the one who had raised more money, and more early money, than anyone else: George W. Bush.

From what I can see, Clinton now has the same edge that Bush had in 2000. And although many people who have told me over and over that there is no way she can generate broad mainstream appeal among the electorate, I respectfully disagree.

Hillary Clinton will be elected president in 2008.

Disclaimer: Please note that all I am doing is making a prediction. I am not endorsing Clinton for president, nor am I commenting on whether or not I think she would be a good choice for the office.