McImprint

Saw in the paper today that Herb Peterson, the man who invented the Egg McMuffin, has died.

I am old enough to remember when the Egg McMuffin first came out. I was on a road trip through California in 1973 or ‘74 when I first saw signs for the breakfast sandwich. The Egg McMuffin hadn’t made it to Colorado, where I then lived. When I saw the sign, I remember thinking, “Wow. Breakfast is being served at McDonald’s. Who will want to go to breakfast at McDonald’s?”

Of course today I am one of millions who have wolfed down the Egg McMuffin for a quick breakfast. What interests me about Herb and his invention is how big a mark he left on the world. Whether you like McDonald’s or not, whether you think of it as corporate greed run amok, or whether you view it simply as a place to get a hamburger, you have to admit: this one man changed the fast food industry and introduced us all to breakfast on the go.

How many of us will die leaving behind something that changed the lives of millions of people? Not very many of us. And that’s why I think it’s worth noting his passing today.

Reply All

“Reply All” should be outlawed. The “Reply All” button is invariably used for emails that contain absolutely no information that I need or want, such as “Please remove me from this email list,” or “I don’t know how I got on this list, but please remove me!” ARGH!!Of course, “Reply All” would be unnecessary if certain people would discontinue the practice of putting everyone’s email in the “To:” line. Find the “BCC:” line, people!My stepmother is a great example. I apologize if you are reading this Barbara (yes, that’s her name, too). First, she sends me (and, apparently, everyone else she has ever met) emails such as the one warning me that Barak Obama is a Muslim and is secretly out to destroy the United States. Of course, being the responsible purveyor of information that I am, I check out the outlandish claim at snopes.com, then send her a reply saying the email she has just sent is irresponsible and foolish, and I attach a link to the snopes.com Web site.Of course, I hit “Reply All.”Barbara Lanz-MateoPublisherCoastal Woman

E-mail Bankruptcy

I have worked out of my home office for almost a dozen years. In between telephone calls, faxes and e-mails, I sometimes run a load of wash or fill the bird feeders in the back yard. There’s a freedom to working from home that being stuck in a cubicle—or a beautiful corner office—just doesn’t allow.While you just can’t beat the commute time, sometimes it does get lonely. There are days when the only conversation I have with other living beings is the talks I have with my two cats. And while they usually agree with me on most things, there are times when I’d like more stimulating fare.