Heads Up! #FYI: @Walgreens Balance Rewards Program Change #Sad

A Big Change is Coming to Walgreens Balance Rewards program: Starting November 4th, you will only be able to redeem a maximum of $5.00 worth of points (5,000) per transaction. That's it! The other rewards tiers will apparently disappear. No point in saving up your rewards any longer for the previously points discounted higher tiers. If you have a lot of points saved up, you might wish to use them now when you can still get the benefit of the discounted points tiers.

#FoodSafety #PSA: #Sargento #Cheese #Recall Due to Potential #Listeria Contamination

Sargento Foods, Inc. is voluntarily recalling several cheese products due to potential Listeria (Listeria monocytogenes) contamination.

The recalled products:

• Sargento Ultra Thin Sliced Longhorn Colby, 6.84 oz., UPC 4610000228, with "Sell By" dates of "12APR17B" and "10MAY17B"
• Sargento Chef Blends Shredded Nacho & Taco Cheese, 8 oz., UPC 4610040041, with "Sell By" dates of "H14JUN17" and "H12JUL17"
• Sargento Sliced Colby-Jack Cheese, 12 oz., UPC 4610000109 with "Sell By" date of "11JUN17B"
• Sargento Sliced Pepper Jack Cheese, 12 oz., UPC 4610000108 with "Sell By" dates of "12JUN17B", "09JUL17B" and "10JUL17B"
• Sargento Chef Blends Shredded Taco Cheese, 8 oz., UPC 4610040002 with "Sell By" dates of "H14JUN17" and "F28JUN17"
• Sargento Off The Block Shredded Fine Cut Colby-Jack Cheese, 8 oz., UPC 4610040014 with "Sell By" date of "F05JUL17"
• Sargento Off The Block Shredded Fine Cut Cheddar Jack Cheese, 8 oz., UPC 4610040076 with "Sell By" date of "F05JUL17"

Concerned consumers should call 1-800-CHEESES (1-800-243-3737) or email the company via the "Contact Us" page on Sargento.com.

For the full company notice, go here:
https://info.sargento.com/?gclid=Cj0KEQiAifvEBRCVx5up6Ojgr5oBEiQALHw1TiseW-kei-Uh0yaI_E7MR_Bg1_KWIPbf2KCxkd0jnwkaAiEX8P8HAQ

UPDATE: As of 17-Feb17, this product recall has been expanded. Please visit the above link for the full updated list of affected products and the most complete information from Sargento.

A Blog #Retrospective & Hope for the New Year #2017!

I did it! Whew! I made a pledge (to myself) to post new content daily for the month of December, so as to end the year with a bang. I enjoy writing, but had gotten out of the habit over the years. As a result, I'm a bit rusty. Coming up with a new post each day proved more difficult than I imagined. Writer's Block was ever right around the corner, beckoning.

I do not desire to create a "chitchat" blog, posting merely for the sake of posting, engaging in small talk. I'd rather make one quality post a month than go there. (Though obviously I hope to generate quality content more frequently than monthly.) In the new year, I hope to find a good balance, but I've no idea what that will be.

I probably won't post daily. I will post when I feel I have something worthwhile to impart. Castle Modern is a relatively young blog and I'm still sussing things out, determining my comfort zone, establishing my boundaries. An intensely private individual, I'm not a natural sharer, but I can talk about geeky stuff all day. I enjoy helping others. I love sharing knowledge and learning new things.

This blog project (and any other creative outlets that I develop under the Castle Modern brand) is an ongoing journey that will hopefully help to fulfill my dreams of creating a sustainable estate, my Castle Modern, and pursuing my idea of the good life. It's my hope to become healthier, wealthier, and wiser --- to launch my startup company, to make a home and to care for my family. To do better.

Stick around. It's the online equivalent of a barn raising, a gathering of helpful souls united by common purpose. Here's to a bright future household and sharing the knowledge of how it came about.

In the meantime, Happy New Year's! Hello 2017!

#Grammar Wrongs < An Author's Voice

Dear Grammarians,

I am a practitioner of the Language Arts in its definition as the art of language. I study language/s with relish. I'm a fan of Greek and Latin, Old Norse and Old English and these are merely the opening act. My vocabulary is writ large and multilingual, rife with dialects or cultural contradictions, accents and shorthand. Language is a Grand Old Party, preferably of the Lincoln vintage. (Sixteen is sweet for a number of reasons. Pun intended or at the very least intimated.)

I am well educated. This is said as a statement of fact, not as a boast, though I am an unapologetic snob in many regards. I became both a fledgling etymologist (and a budding entomologist, because I dig bugs (sometimes literally) and appreciated the tandem symbology) around the age of two. I was, to put it mildly, a precocious child. Words were my first Great Love. I am enamoured still. Agape mou (not meant in the biblical manner). Fuck Words! Oops.

To save you bother, know that Strunk & White are dear friends, but their ministrations are relegated to an electronic book these days. Have I mentioned that I am also also a techie (and Monty Python fan)? I know Grammar. Hi, Grammar! I often choose to ply or ignore completely its rules. Alas, poor Grammar! I do so intentionally... because I can. This amuses me. I'm laughing as I write this. My smile is wry. My humor chiefly British. (See the perhaps fabricated er, exaggerated "History of the State of Georgia, former 13th Colony". I'm the author. It's a work in progress, but I digress.)

Make no mistake; however, I am an American. I am "big on" personal liberty (and its kissing cousin personal accountability). By the way, I adore parenthetical phrases and hyphenated clauses --- and overuse them. And I occasionally start sentences with "and" or "but", use Apostrophe mercilessly and dangle participles as I choose. (In case you possess sensitive ears, I will state upfront at the getgo that I believe curse words are the pepper of language. I happen to like pepper in my cooking and my speech.) Odd to you, these predilections are my right as an Author. I believe language should be fun and exciting instead of being plainly utilitarian. Loosen up.

Please also note that I often employ vernacular, colloquialisms and turns of phrase which may offend your sense of what is right and proper. Sorry not sorry. Do not feel the need to "correct" me. Stay your red pen. I am woe to call anyone a "Nazi", a terrible term for a reason, but if the shoe fits wear it, Cinderella. I know Grammar. Bye, Grammar! I am no student Hell bent on proving to some teacher that I can memorize and regurgitate a set of arbitrary rules. This is not school. I have never enjoyed being spoon fed. I am an adult who strategically throws verbal tantrums. Take a deep breath, if need be. Deal with it.

I am an Author. Toying with language and grammar is the very foundation of my Voice. I've been at it a lifetime. For me, the Wonder of Language is in its active usage and we all know this alters over time. Words fall out of favor or return to fashion upon the whims of Man. In spite of this, nay, because of this, I always march to the beat of my own drum, which may or may not be in step with current conventions. For I am a true Southern Rebel. Also, a real American Revolutionary. Don't Tread on Me. Quote me.

Caveat Emptor! (Boy howdy son, was that fun to write!)

Signed,

--- The "Sybilant" Southerner, the Snake in your grammatical Garden of Eden.

P.S. Go ahead, bite the Apple. Knowledge is Power.

Fire Prevention Week

Fire Prevention Week, October 9 to 15

Follow the National Fire Protection Association's recommendations and install (at least one) smoke alarm on every level of your home, in every bedroom, and outside all sleeping areas.

Use Fire Prevention Week as a scheduled time to 1) Test all smoke alarms in your home, 2) Replace any batteries as needed, and 3) Check the Date of Manufacture on the back of any smoke detectors installed in your home.

NOTE: A smoke detector should be replaced 10 years from its Date of Manufacture.