Consumer Geekaroids

This “video” is really just a recorded phone message. It’s a phone call from a guy named Randy Taylor to Jimmy Dean sausage. His complaint is that they’ve “downsized” the sausage he usually buys from 16 oz to 12 oz. He goes on quite a rant and it’s pretty funny - although crude and there is some foul language. But it’s still worth a listen:

Jimmy Dean 12 oz

I don’t buy the sausage he talks about, but I get his point. And I’ve gotten it for years. Some of you may be surprised to learn that you used to be able to buy coffee in 1 pound (16 ounce) cans, 2 pound cans, etc. That was years ago. I’m not even sure what size they are now.

But you see it happening with everything. I liked Randy’s term “Consumer Geekaroid.” Those are the people that make these decisions. Somehow, they think that we’re not going to notice the change, that’s my belief. It’s rally an insult to consumer intelligence. They think we won’t notice the difference. But I do, and so does Randy.

In the same vein, here’s something else to watch out for. Used to be, if you bought a larger size of an item, you got a better price. But I encourage you to take your calculator and double check that theory. It doesn’t always work that way anymore. Always be on the look out, because the Consumer Geekaroids are everywhere!

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For This I Am Thankful

This year has had its rough spots. So we sort of took Thanksgiving off this year. No turkey, no huge meal. In fact, we didn’t even stay home. We took the cat and went to Port Aransas for a few days. Just in time for the coldest weather of the season, too.

Our Thanksgiving dinner:

• Steak - Cooked on the grill we brought with us.
• Asparagus - Sauted in olive oil and the spices we brought w/ us in a small zip lock bag.
• Baked Sweet Potatoes.
• Sister Creek Reserve Wine.
• Home made Pecan Pie - Baked on Tuesday. Sampled Wednesday night just to be sure it was good.

This year I am thankful that God has given me the strength to get through this year. I’m thankful for my family and friends that have been there for me. (You know who you are.) I’m especially thankful for my hubby, without whom I would not have made it through this year.

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The Miracle of Multitasking

The dictionary defines multitasking as:

the simultaneous execution of more than one program or task by a single computer processor

Yet we often talk about people multitasking. I’ve heard some say that it really isn’t possible for people to multitask. They claim that they cannot really work on more than one thing at a time, therefore they cannot multitask. If you want to get that technical, a single computer processor doesn’t really multitask either. At any given instance, it will only be executing one program. Yet it divides its time up to the point that it appears to multitask. In that sense, people can too.

And now, I offer, the best example of human multitasking: Preparing Thanksgiving Dinner!

I’m taking a break from cooking Thanksgiving this year. It’s a much needed break. If I were cooking this year, I would already be knee deep in cooking. I would have bought most of the groceries last week, the fresh fruit & produce run would have been yesterday morning. And today would have started cooking. We usually pick up our fresh, free-range turkey on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.

I have notes I keep from year to year of what I do and when. It’s helpful b/c I record which recipes I use, how big the turkey was, who came to dinner, etc. A lot of the cooking is done before Thursday. I make the corn bread that I use for the dressing. I also cut up and saute the onions, mushrooms and celery that go into the dressing. I usually bake a pecan pie and also make a Key Lime Pie. I prepare the sweet potatoes and make the fruit salad. I also make my own cranberry sauce. That started b/c one year I decided to try making fresh cranberry sauce. It was so good that I haven’t even thought about buying canned cranberry sauce since then.

Yet still there’s a lot to be done on Thursday. And it requires intense planning and multitasking to have everything be ready at the same time. I usually will be cooking a stuffed turkey, additional dressing, sweet potatoes, gravy. As well as preparing relish trays and ice tea, and setting the table. My husband makes killer green beans so that is his task each year.

And through the miracle of multitasking, it is all ready and on the table at the same time!

If you’re preparing Thanksgiving Dinner this year, give yourself a pat on the back! It is quite an accomplishment!

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