Sometimes I get to talk about a bit of public relations in class. I’m a journalist, of course. If I merged all those happy worlds I’d be a branded journalist along the fault lines where marketing and public relations meet. Admittedly this is a very narrow intersection. Even my general training and choices have turned me into a specialist, it sometimes seems.

So last week this class had a public relations professional in to talk about how all of the writing is very important, public relations is very important and — in big shops — the other multimedia skills you can learn right now are increasingly important. Be a general specialist, then.

It is a great specialty.

So today we talked press releases. The format, the style, the approach, all of it. My students were counting down to Thanksgiving — a week-and-a-half away — and you could see it in their eyes.

There was a great deal of commotion today having to do with a new lock in one of my departments. We’d opted to go away from the traditional physical key and get something modern and frustratingly elaborate. The new lock allows for combination codes. And it allows us to give everyone a different number for tracking purposes.

We thought about the two walled, biometric, fingerprint, eye scanner with a platoon of Israeli ex-special forces, but decided against them. We simply had nowhere to stow them when they weren’t on duty.

Instead I have another seven-character string to memorize. There are also two physical keys, of course, because the batteries on the lock system will eventually die. Or there could be an electromagnetic pulse. Or the lock could go rogue and decide to take over the world. Good luck with that, lock. You’re mounted to a heavy door!

Had dinner at Jason’s Deli tonight, where exactly nothing remarkable happened. There was a long line of people who had no idea how to order food for themselves, but they all knew each other and knew most everyone else dining at the place. The cashier now asks if this is the first time you’ve dined there before. One person that works there sees me enough to know better, but this person might be new. She might be a stickler for protocol. This could be the new protocol. Why not? The Chick-fil-A down the street now asks your name.

I think we’re getting a bit too personal with our fast food.

One thing did happen: I’ve noticed Jason’s Deli no longer puts a pickle spear on my plate. Maybe they’re trying to save at the margins. Guess I’ll have to get my money’s worth elsewhere.

I’ll take extra sunflower seeds from the salad bar. That’ll show ’em.