I doubt it! But someone actually spent the time and effort to rate the healthiness of food offered by various airlines. Here’s the breakdown. Frankly, I’m one of those “if you eat it while traveling, it doesn’t count” people, but if you want to know how many minutes you need to walk to burn off a Delta snack-pack, this article is for you.

Thanks to the MiForum listserv for the pointer.

I felt a bit ill just reading about the top food trends this article says are coming in 2008. A few things mentioned: mozzarella bars; “testicle festivals”; mackerel with avocado, watermelon, black olives; Cantaloupe sorbet with lavender-cured pork; Kobeburger, fries, and a foie gras milk shake.

I really have nothing more to add, other than it’s a great, snarky read. Here’s hoping some of these trends don’t actually happen!

Looks like Boston got knocked off its top spot, walkability-wise, according to this article on the new Brookings Institute report.

A report by a venerable think tank, the Brookings Institution, declared yesterday that Boston is, in fact, not number one. Brookings instead bestowed top honors on the nation’s capital, saying Washington D.C.’s urban planners have created “the national model of walkable urban growth.”

Boston ranked second, ahead of San Francisco, Denver, and Portland, Ore.

The response from Boston officials was confusion, then indignation. (Some noted that Brookings is based in Washington. Coincidence?)

Other cities may be more walkable, but I’d be willing to bet more people walk in Boston than in other cities. Why? If you’ve ever driven in Boston, you wouldn’t have to ask, trust me!

for the annual holiday party report. Here’s one from the Boston Globe that has some interesting nuggets, such as some companies are foregoing the gala in favor of an extra day off, or holding it in January. From the article:

According to a national survey of 100 human resources executives by Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., a Chicago-based consultancy, three of five companies say they’re spending the same or less on holiday parties this year than in the past. Additionally, twice as many companies as in 2006 are not allowing employees to bring guests, 80 percent more are holding parties at the office, 60 percent more are scheduling them during the workday, and 35 percent more are axing alcohol.

The changes are as much about employee perception as they are about the bottom line.

Maybe it’s because I’m a telecommuter and don’t get to socialize much with colleagues, but I really look forward to any get-together we have, whether it’s during the holidays or not. Then again, if I worked in an office that celebrated every birthday, I’d probably feel very differently about it.

Believe it or not, there’s now a product called Meeting Miser that can calculate the salary of each attendee and tell you how much their time is worth in dollars and cents. Check out this post on Meet Pete for more.

If you want some truly different for your event’s decor, check out the work of Jason Hackenwerth, who creates amazing sculptures out of balloons. Here are a few examples of what he did for a wedding. These just blow me away.