Friday, August 21, 2009

Happy Friday, Everybody

Let's all get out there and do something fun! Like bobbing for Pup-a-Roni in a kiddie pool after herding the ball.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Whole Shopping, or, Not with My Money, You Don't

Yesterday I wrote about a company (CIT Bank) that made me mad when it changed the terms of our contract and raised the interest due on the outstanding balance of my Dell account. I was very unhappy with the development, and rightly so.

However, I did not mean to imply that I was against the company acting "all corporation-y" (watch at your own peril) or that I was complaining about so-called abuses of capitalism. I'm sure that somewhere in our original contract is a clause that gives the financial institution the right to change the terms whenever economic conditions necessitate. It's probably in the very small print that most of us don't read. That's fine. It's also fine that the company exercised that clause.

It's even more fine that I exercised my option to cancel the contract. The company took the risk that I would when they raised my interest rates. It is definitely too bad, though. I have never had a problem with Dell products. I still don't. It's their financing division that I complained about.

Today is a different story. Many of you may have heard about an op-ed piece written for the Wall Street Journal by John Mackey, founder and CEO of Whole Foods. In the article, Mackey, who is a libertarian, proposed a free-market health care alternative to the one being pushed by our current administration. He has come under fire for speaking his mind (and no doubt for daring to challenge the current proposal), and for challenging what seems to be the prevailing view that health care is a right.

Those who disagree with Mackey's views have vowed to boycott Whole Foods, thereby cutting off their hummus to spite their falafels. They have every right to do so. A boycott is one of the surest ways to get one's opinions across about how a company is performing. It hits them where it hurts, in their balance sheets. I decided to boycott Dell, or at least CIT Bank, didn't I?

I subscribe to the Wall Street Journal and I read Mackey's piece. The link to his op-ed article is here. Read and decide for yourselves. In it, Mackey states: "Health care is a service that we all need, but just like food and shelter it is best provided through voluntary and mutually beneficial market exchanges. A careful reading of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution will not reveal any intrinsic right to health care, food or shelter. That's because there isn't any. This 'right' has never existed in America."

I agree with Mackey. So, instead of boycotting Whole Foods, I decided to champion them. I can't afford to shop them every day, but they have stuff I want, and stuff I need. I should say that one of the things that I have discovered about this neck of the woods is that I don't like the grocery stores here. If you have ever shopped at the Taj - Ma - Teeter on Friendly Avenue in Greensboro, you will know what I am missing. And the blue laws in Colorado are such that I can't even buy wine in the grocery stores I do shop in!!!

This morning I had to go into town (Boulder). While there, I visited the newly rennovated Whole Foods store on Pearl Street. I am gluten intolerant (the stuff I need), and Whole Foods has loads of GF products, and they are all extremely yummy. They are a bit pricey, but since time is money, and since I don't have time to do as much baking as I would like, today I spent my money instead. The Whole Foods products are worth it.

I also bought all the items I have not been able to find in the Safeway or the King Soopers (the stuff I want). Such as: really good salsa and very thin, crispy tortilla chips, some beautiful fresh basil, two gorgeous swordfish steaks, some Szechuan peppercorns (I have a recipe for a smoked chicken that uses these, which absolutely cannot be made without them), and some gluten free baked goods. I know I could have gotten some of these items in a farmers' market, but it is only open one day of the week, and today wasn't that day. And it is not open in the winter months.

Speaking of open air markets, I dream of the ones I shopped at in France in 2006. Never in my life have I been so overwhelmed by the choices. I like food, can you tell? But I digress.

Whole Foods has a dedicated gluten free bakery in Durham, NC. They make these:

Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes! They also make chocolate ones!

I also found this from a local Denver bakery, Udi's:

Gluten Free White Bread!

And guess what? It's soft! Most GF breads have to be toasted to be palatable. This one claimed it didn't. But I was skeptical. As soon as I got it home, I opened the bag, took out a slice, and gave it a sniff. Good. Then I twisted it. Better - it was soft. I held my breath while I loaded up a slice with peanut butter. I folded it, and took a bite. OMG. Or as Homer Simpson would say, "aarrrmmmph, aarrrmmmph, aarrrmmph." For twenty years I have been craving a gummy peanut butter sandwich. The kind that gobs up in your mouth when you eat it. And today I got it.

I grilled the swordfish for dinner. I served it with a chimmichuri sauce made from the fresh basil. It was delicious. I think I will have a cupcake for dessert.

Not all corporations are "corporation-y." The one run by John Mackey is one of the best ones I know. Whole Foods gives its customers choices - lots of them. It doesn't force you to buy the $15.00 a pound swordfish. But it offers it to you if you want it. It doesn't make you buy their house brand of canned artichoke hearts, but it sits on the shelf if you want it. It doesn't tell you that you need its goat cheese, fresh spinach, locally grown yams, fresh anchovies, grass-fed beef, warm baguettes, Indian breads, fresh pizza dough, or gluten free cupcakes. But they are all right there if you want them, and are willing to pay the price.

Today, I was, and I did. Tomorrow I might need to go to Costco for my paper towels and my olive oil. But it's my choice. And I'm glad I can still make it.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Signs of the Times

Janet Oliver

2221 Dogwood Drive

Erie, CO 80516

August 17, 2009

DFS Customer Care/Terms Change

P. O. Box 81567

Austin, Texas 78708-1567

Re: Account # xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx

Gentlemen:

I received a letter today from CIT Bank, c/o Dell Financial Services, to the effect that the Standard and Default Annual Percentage Rate on my account is being raised to Prime + 20.24% and Prime + 24.74%, constituting an increase of 8% and 12%, respectively, for an average of 10% annually.

The outstanding balance on my account today is $4,357.68, which would mean I would pay out approximately $435.00 more over the coming 12 months. This is entirely unacceptable, and I hereby Reject those changes to my account. I have already placed a phone call to Dell Financial Services to request that my account be closed. This letter is a follow up to that phone call.

As a long-standing and very loyal Dell customer, I would like to take this opportunity to express my extreme displeasure at this action by Dell Financial Services, and CIT Bank. Since 1992, I and my family have purchased only Dell products, the most recent purchase being a netbook which I bought from Best Buy for my sons to take with them on an overseas trip. While at the store, I had every opportunity to choose another brand, such as HP, but I didn’t. I maintained my loyalty to Dell.

You should also know that a portion of the balance on my account is there because I bought a Dell computer for my mother-in-law for her birthday a few years ago. She was extremely surprised and very happy with the gift.

In addition, as a newly unhappy Dell customer, I think it important for you to know that it was not a good idea for CIT Bank to try to increase their cash income by the use of this tactic. But I suppose the $2.33 Billion the Federal Reserve gave them from the Troubled Asset Relief Program didn’t quite add up, so they have resorted to pilfering from Dell. For shame.

The good news is that my younger son just made his own computer. It’s bigger, better, faster, and cheaper than anything we have ever purchased from Dell. In the future, should any member of my family wish to upgrade, we know who to ask.

Regards,

Janet Oliver

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Cross-blogging


Thought I would let all my readers know that another blog, The Drex Files, has posted an entry written by Lauren about the architecture of Takamatsu Shin, which he and Bret saw while in Tokyo and Kyoto. To read, click here.

Last week was a busy one, but I should have some new posts of my own soon. Plus, new video of you-know-who!

Friday, August 7, 2009

Bringin' in the Sheaves

I read somewhere that Corgis need jobs. They are herd dogs, and will quickly become bored without something to occupy their extremely active minds. They were bred to push around animals much bigger than they are. In fact, the reason that Corgis are so low to the ground is because the kicks from cattle and horses are higher than they are, and will not touch the dogs when they are performing their herding duties - nipping at the beasts' heels.

Our ankles have provided ample stand-in for Bossie and Ole' Paint, but since none of us can run away and kick out at the same time, no damage has ensued to the dog. This is not to say that our ankles have come away unscathed, however. But since we have no other substitute for a flock, or a herd, or a gaggle, and since we are running out of Band-Aids, we knew we had to give Matilda some other outlet for her inborn tendencies. She has a big beach ball that she chases around, and puts into place in a corner of the backyard, but we think she sees this as more fun than duty, and seems to be tiring of it. She needed a real job.

Matilda came up with the idea for her job herself. She taught it to herself, too, and can't wait to perform it every morning. After her breakfast, Matilda waits by the front door for my signal.

"Paper," I say. Then this is what happens:

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

The Goldfinch

As we returned from our morning walk, Matilda and I heard some beautiful birdsong. We both looked around for the source and discovered the golden warbler presented here:

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Going to Seed


Today, I took a walk up to our neighborhood pond, without the dog. I know, you all want to see Matilda, and I promise I will upload some video of her soon. At this point, I am too busy training her to be able to actually record her. I have included a recent photo, above, as an appeasement.

This afternoon was warm, and a bit breezy. I'm hoping the wind brings some cooler weather, but in any event, the wildflower season is waning, with most of the plants doing what they can to ensure that next year brings a bumper crop - to wit - sending out seeds. The wind today certainly helped.

So, in keeping with my recent lepidopteral project, I give you: