Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
The North Carolina cafe
One of the persistent and unhappy trends in France is the closing of many of the "corner" cafes that have long distinguished France from countries blighted by strip malls. There was a style and an expectation that was both consistent and consistently met when going into one of these places. But the economics have not worked in their favor, nor have changing practices by customers, probably the bigger of the two.
Without going into more detail on what has caused the demise of thousands and thousands of these cafes in France, I want to ask the question - what is the North Carolina equivalent of the French cafe? Do we have one? And what are its trends?
I guess I am asking where it is that people in North Carolina go to sit and talk, to have a cup of coffee, to buy a drink, and to have a light meal, while buying cigarettes, candy, newspapers and lottery tickets? Have we divided all of those activities among multiple establishments and machines?
Is it the NC coffee shop? Is it Starbucks? Is it a "neighborhood" bar? Is it a diner?
Are there discernible trends?
Without going into more detail on what has caused the demise of thousands and thousands of these cafes in France, I want to ask the question - what is the North Carolina equivalent of the French cafe? Do we have one? And what are its trends?
I guess I am asking where it is that people in North Carolina go to sit and talk, to have a cup of coffee, to buy a drink, and to have a light meal, while buying cigarettes, candy, newspapers and lottery tickets? Have we divided all of those activities among multiple establishments and machines?
Is it the NC coffee shop? Is it Starbucks? Is it a "neighborhood" bar? Is it a diner?
Are there discernible trends?
Monday, November 2, 2009
Harvesting the internet for food
An article caught my eye yesterday in the Nice Matin newspaper here in France. The point of the piece was that online shopping is changing or lives. It notes shopping for food as one of those.
I wonder if we all know as much as we should yet about how to really get the most food value out of the web and e-mail. In other words, wherever each of us may sit, what is it that we can do by way of e-mail and websites (including blogs) that will help us find better value in our food consumption?
There are some obvious ones from collecting coupons online to being alerted to specials by e-mail. But the whole system is haphazard at this point. How can we help better organize all of that so the time and energey expended is less and the value obtained is greater?
I think it all starts wherever you are and involves a balance between places to which you need to go to do your food business, including no further than your computer. If you think of all the food you consume in a day, imagine the shopping basket that it represents - some water that you are not conscience you are buying from whoever connects to your home or wherever you are, food that you purchase at a grocery store, food that you may purchase in a restaurant, and food that may be delivered to you. How do we use the power of the computer to rework that "basket" in order to deliver highest value in every respect?
I wonder if we all know as much as we should yet about how to really get the most food value out of the web and e-mail. In other words, wherever each of us may sit, what is it that we can do by way of e-mail and websites (including blogs) that will help us find better value in our food consumption?
There are some obvious ones from collecting coupons online to being alerted to specials by e-mail. But the whole system is haphazard at this point. How can we help better organize all of that so the time and energey expended is less and the value obtained is greater?
I think it all starts wherever you are and involves a balance between places to which you need to go to do your food business, including no further than your computer. If you think of all the food you consume in a day, imagine the shopping basket that it represents - some water that you are not conscience you are buying from whoever connects to your home or wherever you are, food that you purchase at a grocery store, food that you may purchase in a restaurant, and food that may be delivered to you. How do we use the power of the computer to rework that "basket" in order to deliver highest value in every respect?
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
"Is free KFC chicken worth a long wait?" - Marketplace From American Public Media
Even for people with lots of invested years in their lives, there are not many chances to get food for free. This is an amusing account of how much "free" appeals to a radio editor. Pehraps you will learn some tips or get some ideas from his determination!
Friday, October 23, 2009
"Number of Job Hunters 65 or Older Skyrockets" - NYTimes.com
By the time you've invested 65 years in life, you have a tremendous amount of experience to apply and share with others. When you have the will, and the way is uncertain or apparently not there at all, there is something wrong with that picture. The answer to the problem at hand is that we need rework the value proposition. It is not simply providing work for "old" people; it is tapping a vast reservoir of talent, expertise, knowhow and experience among people over 65. AgePays Food wants to help remake and advance that proposition in the food sector; we don't hear about anyone else doing so. Join us.
"When Members Run Afoul of the Park Slope Food Coop" - NYTimes.com
Being part of food co-op is a great way for someone with invested years to earn something nice in return, but there are risks as this story points out for a much younger veteran of that world.
"The Way We Live Now - Faster Slow Food" - NYTimes.com
This is a very thought-provoking piece, and identifies what could be a real opportunity for people with invested years to help bring about the changes that seem so valuable and inevitable in the food world. One of the benefits of all those years is, for many, a little extra time. One great use of a little of that time would be to start asking food vendors why they are so slow to do what BITTMAN describes here - put the power of their computers to work for the benefit of all of us, instead of just for the food suppliers.
"Nutrition, Diet, & Supplements for Senior Citizens"
There are a lot more things we can eat and enjoy than we sometimes realize. Those investeed years give us the chance to enjoy more of what we like but to do so in a context that gives us more years to enjoy. This is a good set of guidelines to consider as you make your daily food choices.
"Cooking Classes in Mexico" - In Transit Blog - NYTimes.com
Learning more about how to prepare the food we eat, or at least understand more about how others are preparing it for us, seems pretty important to us as we grow older. That helps explain some of the growth in cooking classes in so many places. The idea of heading off to Mexico to learn firsthand how to prepare real Mexican food is very appealing and there are probably options well beyond thos identified here.
It's a great chance to do some free armchair traveling, and perhaps you can even organize a group that will pay your way to do one of these yourself!
It's a great chance to do some free armchair traveling, and perhaps you can even organize a group that will pay your way to do one of these yourself!
"Homes With Top Kitchens in Sonoma, Calif., New York, London" - WSJ.com
People 60 and over tend to spend more time in or near the kitchen, or at least we think we do! One of the things that our years have earned us is the free chance to oogle over lavish kitchen for which others have spent enornous sums of money. Enjoy the free view!
"Weygandt Wines" - Washington DC
This is not an advertisement for this new shop in DC. We know nothing more about it than what you see here, and in this item from Daily Candy:
"October 23, 2009 Washington, D.C. Call Yourself a CabWeygandt Wines Opens
After a glass or two, you’re besties with the bartender and vowing allegiance to Dionysus, god of wine.
It’s a vine affinity that would fit right in at Weygandt Wines.
The new Cleveland Park shop skips the middleman, importing hundreds of wines directly from vintners throughout France, Italy, Austria, and wherever else the good stuff grows.
Rich descriptions of the producers (an 11th-century monastery in Burgundy, a 111-year-old family winery off the Danube) and flavors accompany the wines — most of which count owner Peter Weygandt as their only U.S. importer. Framed shots of Europeans in wine caves and fields paint a merry picture.
Perch yourself at the lengthy tasting bar with twenty open bottles at any given time, so you can ask questions and sample before you make a match.
Then hustle home to live in zin.Weygandt Wines, 3519 Connecticut Avenue NW, between Ordway and Porter Streets, suite 10 (202-362-9463 or weygandtwines.com"
The reason this is here is that one of the things many people have come to appreciate with age is wine. This does not mean high-priced wine, necessarily, nor does it mean wine snobbery. Rather, it is that we can put a bottle of wine in its place and enjoy doing so.
If there is a trend toward toward direct import of wine from other countries, and if the story here is true about all of the wine that this store makes available for tasting, why wouldn't you want to leave your wallet home and go for a free taste test of what they have on offer? Consider it one of many returns on all of the bottles of wine you have consumed over the years!
"October 23, 2009 Washington, D.C. Call Yourself a CabWeygandt Wines Opens
After a glass or two, you’re besties with the bartender and vowing allegiance to Dionysus, god of wine.
It’s a vine affinity that would fit right in at Weygandt Wines.
The new Cleveland Park shop skips the middleman, importing hundreds of wines directly from vintners throughout France, Italy, Austria, and wherever else the good stuff grows.
Rich descriptions of the producers (an 11th-century monastery in Burgundy, a 111-year-old family winery off the Danube) and flavors accompany the wines — most of which count owner Peter Weygandt as their only U.S. importer. Framed shots of Europeans in wine caves and fields paint a merry picture.
Perch yourself at the lengthy tasting bar with twenty open bottles at any given time, so you can ask questions and sample before you make a match.
Then hustle home to live in zin.Weygandt Wines, 3519 Connecticut Avenue NW, between Ordway and Porter Streets, suite 10 (202-362-9463 or weygandtwines.com"
The reason this is here is that one of the things many people have come to appreciate with age is wine. This does not mean high-priced wine, necessarily, nor does it mean wine snobbery. Rather, it is that we can put a bottle of wine in its place and enjoy doing so.
If there is a trend toward toward direct import of wine from other countries, and if the story here is true about all of the wine that this store makes available for tasting, why wouldn't you want to leave your wallet home and go for a free taste test of what they have on offer? Consider it one of many returns on all of the bottles of wine you have consumed over the years!
"By Degrees - To Cut Global Warming, Swedes Study Their Plates" - NYTimes.com
With age comes a greater understanding of life, and the food that feeds it! It also means realizing that we can learn a lot from people who do not brush their teeth in the morning thinking in English or standing on US soil! So it is with the Swedes and what they are testing by way of helping us understand the environmental impact of the food we eat.
This story is a great beginning to a service that we hope will provide a stream of helpful ways in which people 60 and over can derive more benefit in everything they do concerning food.
This story is a great beginning to a service that we hope will provide a stream of helpful ways in which people 60 and over can derive more benefit in everything they do concerning food.
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