Things Kids Don’t Know: Packaging
I was thinking the other day about what sort of things kids born now won’t understand unless we take the time to explain them to them.
1. Coffee used to be sold by the pound in 1 pound bags.
2. Milk used to be sold by the gallon in 1 gallon bottles.
3. It used to be nearly impossible to eat an entire bag of Oreos.
4. McDonald’s used to use styrofoam containers for their sandwiches, including the McDLT (where the hot stays hot and the cold stays cold).
5. There was a time when neither “fun size” or “family size” existed.
6. Rachael Ray didn’t used to be on every other box in the grocery store.
7. Food was labeled “Atkins Friendly” to tell people they could eat whatever they wanted as long as it was low-carb.
8. Kiwis were exotic.
9. Crushing a can on your forehead used to hurt.
10. White Castle fries used to only come in one size.
What Do You Really Own?
You’ll often hear people talk about the benefits of ownership as it applies to owning vs. renting. You get some tax breaks, don’t have to worry about annoying landlords, and you probably won’t share a thin wall with undesirable neighbors.
However, for most people, home ownership isn’t really ownership in the true sense of the world. You’re really just buying a right to live in a home that you’ll eventually sell. Because of this, most people don’t treat their homes like they really own them. Instead, they make home “improvements” based on a combination of what they’d like improved and what would improve the value of the home when they eventually decide to sell it.
If this is the case, you don’t own your home. Your home owns you. Accept it.
There are times when you can tell when someone truly owns something. For example, here is a picture of the hood of my first car:
My brother, a friend Nate, and I bought that car (1964 Malibu?) from a neighbor for $100, and we OWNED it. Those trophies / hood ornaments were mounted onto the hood by drilling through it and screwing them on. Screw resale value. That’s ownership.
This isn’t to say that you have to destroy stuff to truly own it. But it’s nice to be able to know you have the option.
Things that I truly own in 2009 include my computer, bikes, skis, and car, but not house (in fact, I think the bank may own my entire home).
What items do you really own these days?
Saturday Was Fry-Day
My friend Kyle was off fries for all of 2008, so come 2009 he decided he needed to do something significant to celebrate that milestone. (It should be noted that Kyle did lick a fry at Matt’s one night, and still ate tots.)
This led to Fry-Day, which was originally scheduled for a Friday but later moved to a Saturday, causing somewhat intentional confusion when people would say, “Fry-Day is on Saturday.”
What was Fry-Day? A bike tour to some of the Twin Cities’ finest French Fries. Participants were Kyle, Brian Shekleton, and myself. Others participated in parts of the tour, although only the three of us biked and hit all the stops. (Click here for Brian’s report.)
Where we went:
Stop 1: Longfellow Grill for Sweet Potato Fries:
I also got some regular fries with my turkey burger (delicious as usual).
Then we hit the bikes:
And headed to The Nook in St Paul for hand-cut fries with Jucy Lucy’s.
I had the Paul Molitor, which is the Lucy with pepper jack:
From there, we went to the Bulldog in Lowertown where I sampled their Hoppy Flight:
Followed by Cajun Fries paired with tots:
The sun set as we were leaving the Bulldog, and our bike seats were glazed over from freezing rain. Here are Brian and Kyle waiting for a light at Como & Dale:
We ended up at Maxwell’s for their delicious waffle fries. While crossing the Mississippi, snapped this self-portrait:
That was when my camera battery died from the cold.
Picking a winner at among the four stops and five styles of fries is not easy since the styles vary widely, hunger waxed and waned, and beer pairings may have altered my sensitive palate. With that in mind, I’m going with Maxwell’s waffle fries as my favorite simply because they tasted great at a time where I wouldn’t have expected any fries to be appetizing.
This appears to be the start of a new tradition.
Share What You Learn Throughout 2009
Why the heck do you read this stuff?
Seriously, don’t you have anything better to do?
My assumption is that, at times, you do not. Or, more likely, you need a break from something you’d rather not be doing so you check to see if there is something new on The Deets that will give you a break from what you’re not prepared to give your full attention to. Or, you’re related to me and check in to figure out where I may be at the time based on photos of toilet paper.
Regardless of why you read this crap, I appreciate that you do. But here’s the deal: I like reading stuff too. And I know many of you are very interesting people with a lot of passion about a wide variety of subjects. However, I don’t hear nearly enough from you about the things that you’re passionate about.
What I’m asking for, in 2009, is more from you. It could be in the comments here, but better yet, it would be in the form of your own blog or some other form of creative content.
The thing that would excite me the most is seeing more of you become subject experts. What the heck do I mean by that? I mean, take a topic that you’re passionate about and write about it, take pictures of it, sing about it, dance about it, draw it, doodle it, cook it, drive it, eat it, or sleep with it.
The best stuff I consume comes from people who have decided to own a subject. They do what they can to know as much about the subject as they can, share what they learn along the way, and help others who are following in their footsteps. This may be something you love, something you find humorous, a pet peeve, or who knows? Try running with a topic that you find interesting. Explain why you find it interesting (or don’t) and share what you learn and you go deeper and deeper into that subject.
I ask this of you for selfish reasons: I want to consume more content in 2009 from people who are talking about stuff they really care about. The subject matters less than the adventure. But, I hope that you understand that while it will benefit me, the real benefit will be for yourself. No matter what you decide to publish content about, you will find an audience - actually, the audience will find you - and that will be your biggest reward.
While there has never been a time in the history of the world where people have had more choices about what to read, look at, or watch, there are still limitless opportunities for helping people understand a topic that you’ve decided to become an expert at. Seriously. Look at the competition: Why on Earth would someone waste 5 minutes of their life reading the latest column from someone like Katherine Kersten where, just based on the title, it’s glaringly clear what her boilerplate right-wing talking points are going to be.
But where can you go today to read about topics worth discussing, like:
- Where can you find the best breakfast burrito in the Twin Cities?
- Are Zubaz making a comeback?
- Who makes the best Booya?
- Where are the best sledding hills?
- Which movie theaters are best for people who enjoy watching movies without talking, cell phones going off, or crying babies?
In all cases, the ongoing question to answer is, “Why?”
Those topics could be 5 sites or regularly occurring topics on sites. I’d follow all of them. Someone, please, take on this important work in 2009. Pick a topic that you’re passionate about and share what you learn with the world.
How to get started? The easiest way is to go to Blogger.com and follow the directions on the homepage.
Yellow Pages Legislation: It’s Happening in MN
What’s the best news you’ve heard all day? How about a plan in Minnesota to make it easier to opt-out of phone book deliveries:
Thanks to Rep. Paul Gardner, (DFL-Shoreview) for taking on this nagging issue.
It’s funny that the Yellow Pages Industry seems to be against this by stating that 85% of people use phone books. If that’s the case, wouldn’t it benefit them and the local businesses they serve by not sending phone books to the 15% of households that no longer use them? Everybody wins.
Weathering Talk About the Weather
John Moe moved to St. Paul 10 months ago, and is catching onto the fact that talking about the weather never grows old for Minnesotans. In fact, John talks about people talking about the weather for the first three of 26 points he makes about adjusting to his new environment:
1. Weather is a huge topic of conversation.
2. People will talk about the weather wherever you go. Especially about extreme cold. The novelty has not worn off for them even if they’re 90 and have never left Minnesota. Weather = fascinating!
3. The fact that people constantly talk about the weather means they constantly talk. It’s a social place.
And check out point #10:
10. Humans are adaptable, it turns out. We had a few days there of minus 11 degrees or worse. We went out in it anyway, kids went to school, life continued. Then it heated up to 4 degrees and I couldn’t believe how warm it was. Humans are adaptable.
Did John just talk about the weather? And what about this:
17. I have developed a snow shoveling technique that works for me.
18. I have bought sidewalk salt.
19. I used to go entire winters without wearing a hat or gloves. Now, I have many pairs of gloves and many hats. I have a hat that makes me look like a ninja.
It sounds like Mr. Moe is becoming Minnesotan faster than he may realize.
Right-Wing Writing: Let’s Get this Right
I’m often find myself impressed with the illogic of right-wing blogs. Here’s an example from a blog called Let’s Get This Right where the writer begins a paragraph with:
Liberals love to chant that “Free markets don’t work” which of course begs the question, “How do we know given that we have never tried them?”
Later on in the same paragraph he states:
Let’s be clear. There is a role for government oversight and regulation of various markets including the financial markets. These regulations also need to be national in scope as the markets operate on a national and more often international scale.
That’s just awesome. Regulation of markets is bad, yet we should regulate markets at a national or even international level.
TP: Hotel Bel-Air, Beverly Hills, CA
This just in from Peter’s iPhone.
You’d think a place like Beverly Hills would have this TP thing down. Clearly, they put a lot of thought into their wallpaper and TP dispenser choices. So it comes as a surprise to see one marginally folder and one unfolded roll in such an upscale establishment.
Car Buying: CarZen’s Recommendations
CarZen helps narrow down car make and models based on a series of profile questions. According to that site, here are the top-10 cars I should consider buying:
This set of results came from my interest in a reliable, high mileage car with some cargo space for under $25,000. Reliability plus high mileage seems to have knocked American cars off the list and that price point is tough for German cars to hit.
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