Deceptive Donuts

Friends,

Have you ever done a double-take at something that didn’t look quite right? Life may seem predictable –right until it doesn’t. Things are not always what they seem. Here are a few examples.

A sunrise at sunset. When traveling, if you’re lucky enough to take-off right when the sun is finishing setting, you’ll notice this fascinating phenomenon. As the plane gains elevation the orange orb in the sky appears to reverse course and rise over the horizon. Once airborne, you get to see it set all over again. Sunset. Sunrise. Sunset. Makes you feel like a veritable fiddler on the roof… of the world!
Truth in advertising. Have you ever seen those adds that say “the more you spend, the more you save”? The truth is, the more you spend the less you save. In economic terms, spending (consumption) and saving (investment) are competing ways to use your income. I recently saw a particularly deceptive ad in this family. You could “save” $10 if you spent over $100, $25 if over $250 and $50 if over $500. If you do the math, these are all 10% --or, most likely, less, unless you spend those exact amounts.
Dunkin’ coffee. I ran across this quote the other day. “Dunkin’ Donuts markets itself primarily as a coffee seller that also offers donuts and food”. I guess that’s why they shortened their name and dropped the Donuts.

Speaking of donuts, I hope you have one with your coffee this morning.

Happy Friday!

Comments

Happy New Year!

Friends, Happy new year (and, technically, still Friday). As many of you know, my household has a peculiar way of ringing-in the new year. We build effigies representing the old year and burn them at midnight. This year, although we made the tough call of canceling the accompanying annual party, I felt it was important to go ahead with the burning. The theme, of course, was CoVid. My kids and I developed a dozen mutations of the virus and staged them in our backyard. Then, at a quarter ‘till midnight, we proceeded to read the old year’s last will and testament (or, as might be expected for a year like this, an un-will and un-testament). Shortly thereafter they were summarily burned. We then proceeded to stay up way past my bedtime (which in part helps explain the unusual tardiness of my weekly note). In any event a couple of donuts and a day of rest have got me back to my old self. By the way, I’ve posted a public video of the Facebook live stream event on Facebook. Key markers on

THE Oasis

Friends, The book Ready Player One sent me down memory lane this week. The journey was not triggered by the author’s excessive references to the 1980s, which border on obsessive. Rather, it was the name of the massive virtual reality simulation used by characters in this dystopian future to escape their grim surroundings: The OASIS. You see, that was also the name of my grandfather’s country estate, the setting where a disproportionate share of my treasured childhood memories were created. La Quinta Oasis was a bucolic old whitewashed house with a massive stone staircase, three foot thick adobe walls and wooden window shutters that, when closed at night, would submerge the residence in pitch darkness. With no running water, electricity, phone or indoor plumbing, the only modern convenience was the battery transistor radio on which my uncles would listen to “Chucho el Roto”, a radio soap opera. The Spanish fighting roosters crowed long before sunrise, making it difficult to fall back

Accidental Culinary Innovations

Friends, Have you ever inadvertently fermented spaghetti sauce? Yeah, me neither… until yesterday, that is! Imagine my surprise when the half-full bottle, sitting in the fridge from time immemorial, made a sound akin to opening a beer bottle, instantly filling the glass container with a hazy smoke. As the carbonation dissipated, I grabbed a spoon to conduct the obligatory taste test. How was it? I’m glad you asked! Let’s just say chunky carbonated tomato beer is not my thing (although I must admit that if I had been expecting it, my reaction might have been a little more… composed). Now, if you forgo the fermentation and switch the tomato paste with spicy salsa… that might be the next million dollar idea! Sparkling sriracha anyone? How about Carbonated Cholula? Bubbly Habanero? Fizzy Jalapeño?? I could go on, but I have a feeling Gassy Guac might not fly off the shelves. Now, if only I could stumble on a way to improve donuts. Carbonated Jelly filling… yeah, maybe not. I think I’ll

Friday Donuts

Search This Blog