Some of youse guys are very defensive about shopping at Costco. Listen if that works for you then that is great. My daughter lives in Florida and shops at Costco and Walmart all the time. That is what you do. But our neighborhood used to be different. I was talking to one of the owners of the store and he told me he feels bad for all of the old people who used to have their food delivered. They would call up and order what they wanted often by brand name. You know normal All-American brands. Nabisco. Kraft. Brillo. Tide. Little Debbie. Ronzoni. Not just Kirkland. They would put together a box and bring it over. He cited one little old lady that wanted an eggplant. But she wanted them to bring four or five so she could pick the one she wanted. Ricdiculous you say? Maybe so but that was how it used to be. Not anymore.
Luckily all the old people will be dead soon because of Obama care and it won't matter.
19 comments:
I'm not a Costco regular but we do belong. They were a godsend on the Big Island and IIRC you recommended them.
I am big supporter of buying used dead tree editions of books and enjoy browsing in used book stores. I buy a lot of unusual, hard-to-find-and-not-on Kindle type stuff. Madison's State Street used to have three or four used book stores--now I'm not sure if there are any except for perhaps used text books.
I hate it when banks take prime real estate. They don't depend on spontaneous purchases; they don't need Row A property. Row B is sufficient. One of the best lots in our area was snapped up by a bank. What a waste. It's not like somebody's driving by and decides, "Hey, I'll pop in here and apply for a car loan."
But, hey, I'm an advocate for property rights, so they have the right to purchase whatever lot they want and clutter it up with a worthless bank. I don't have to do business with them, though. And I won't. I don't like the president of the bank. That makes it satisfying not to do business with them.
When I worked at that small family-owned store (from my "What Is Art" story), there was one customer who phoned in a grocery order once a week for delivery. She was a retired state worker and lived alone in an apartment above a shop on State St. I forget her name now which is too bad. We used to fight over being the guy who delivered to her because she was nice as hell and always gave a generous tip. Her apartment reeked of cigarettes and she wasn't disabled--she just didn't like to leave her place. I suspect there will be more of hers in the future.
I always shop locally.
Since most of my spending is on bar tabs, it's a good idea to stay w/in staggering distance of home.
Toilet paper is annually the #1 item purchased @ Costco.
Costco serves a purpose if used prudently. They're entire marketing philosophy is to get you in for the toilet paper, but entice you to buy a 10 lb. block of Parmesan Reggiano. That is what most stores want but Costco is superb @ doing it. CNBC did a piece on the retiring CEO last year. He visits every store annually. I am quite self disciplined so they don't do well w/ me. Their wine/liquor dept. is great. We buy coffee, booze, tp, vitamins and otc drugs, nuts and a few other items. It's great when we get to SD for the winter..it's the first shopping we do.
ND...MrM is laughing. He falls for the 10 lb block every time. It was fun to read about their philosophy and see how great it works. I don't like to go to Costco during the Christmas season, as it feels overwhelming to me and somewhat depressing. But...I bought a $26 dollar bowl of giant amaryllis bulbs there two years ago that bloomed into something so spectacular, I wouldn't mind doing it again.
Amend that to say *the proverbial 10 lb. block of cheese*. That's how he ended up with me. He thought he was going after something soft and basic and ended up with that plus cheeze. Almost as good as a Polish!
MamaM, I know if we exceed ~$200 then we strayed. EVERYONE, including myself, fall for something. I have bought huge bags of pita chips, large bags of fruit, etc. When my daughter got married I negotiated w/ the restaurant to supply our own champagne. I have gotten to know the wine guy and got some great stuff for $10 bottle.
MamaM, Tell your groom they sell large packages of prunes!
BTW, what happened to Inga. She posts at the TOP but not here, what happened?
She either flounced away or got banished. And I say good riddance. She had one over-ridding concern here and that was to do exactly what she does at Althouse: divide people.
BTW, what happened to Inga. She posts at the TOP but not here, what happened?
Just after 9/11 last year, she came unraveled. Said some over the top things at TOP and never came back here. I don't recall the specific thread, but it had hundreds of comments, if you care to explore. Like all commies, she can't hold a philosophical position that inconveniences her personally.
I think it was this thread.
First you get old. Then you die. It's the natural order. I just want to have the strength to spit in the face of the big black mama supervising the death panel that hands out my sentence. Then I can go in peace.
BTW, what happened to Inga. She posts at the TOP but not here, what happened?
At one point, during the heat of the exchanges Windbag referenced, the first and last name of the person who commented as AllieOop was revealed at TOP by a commenter who'd followed her avatar back to other forums where she'd used her real name. The response from those who witnessed this act was...divided.
Even though the comments leading up to and including that exposure were quickly expunged, they stayed up long enough for anyone reading during that time to google the name and follow the links to online reports and forums where additional information about her life situation was revealed.
Some responded to this exposure with approval, as the nastiness and targeting that preceded the act had been particularly pointed, virulent, and twisted; others expressed strong disapproval, believing a line of decency had been crossed. Through it all, the person who put out the name stood firm in the belief that he was justified in doing so, since multiple warnings to cease and desist had been issued and ignored. Whatever the case, one of the outcomes was another name change, this time from AllieOop to the name she admits is real, along with the lived awareness that others had opportunity to access more and different information than previously revealed.
I believe it is difficult if not impossible for humans to survive circumstances that strike at the core of identity or existence, and come out unscathed. Cruel neutrality is a myth, a distortion of what is required to move forward and to thrive without succumbing to a desire to control and abuse others as a means of managing pain and fear.
Mindful neutrality is another story.
I just want to have the strength to spit in the face of the big black mama supervising the death panel that hands out my sentence.
This guy is my inspiration for that day.
Here...this looks like a good place to put a quote from a commenter at TOP on the Inga issue of "stalking" and the legal threats she's fond of posting:
Most people have personal information freely available on the internet. They protect themselves by not connecting themselves to that information on public forums. I gather that Inga has freely posted personal information under her real identity while debating on this and/or other public forums. She has no reasonable expectation that the information would not be referenced when she is again debating in that or another public forum.
Inga is making threats of legal action in order to silence someone. If her 'many lawyers' that Inga alluded to a few days ago really exist and are exercising due diligence they know there is no legal basis for libel, harassment, or stalking accusations and have so advised her. If they exist and have not so advised her then they are either incompetent or are encouraging her to pursue a frivolous lawsuit. If they do not exist or she has not consulted with them, then Inga is at best making a false assumption that there is legal justification for her threats and at worst making unfounded threats.
It is Inga that is at risk here. She appears to be making arbitrary and capricious threats of legal action in order to restrict someones right to free speech. If she actually intends to take legal action it will almost certainly be considered frivolous and could leave her liable for court costs and any costs her target incurs in defending himself.
My free advice to Inga is to cease making threats of legal action until you actually consult a competent attorney (who will undoubtedly advise you to cease permanently). If you are uncomfortable with personal information that you publicly post being referenced then you should stop posting personal information. If possible contact the administrators of whatever public forums you have posted personal information under your real identity in the past and ask that it be removed.
To summarize, no one needs Inga's permission to quote or reference information she freely published in an open public forum.
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