Nuts to Trader Joe’s

The first draft of this had an extremely impolite title but I cleaned it up. So why nuts to Trader Joe’s?

There are a bunch of people in the Capital Region crusading to get trendy supermarket Trader Joe’s to open a store in the area. They have a website to get Trader Joe’s. They took a field trip to Massachussetts to visit Trader Joe’s. They engage in grassroots action, such as applying bumper stickers to their cars and wearing t-shirts. And they go on the offensive when anyone points out that Trader Joe’s isn’t quite as pure and wonderful as they think it is.

That’s what happened when Freakonomics author Stephen Dubner mocked the Trader Joes’s fanatics — and connected the dots between Trader Joe’s and their owner, Aldi Foods.  Aldi is the un-chic discount grocery that drove WalMart out of Germany. Well, to paraphrase what  General Anthony McAuliffe famously told the Germans at Bastogne:  nuts to Trader Joe’s.

My advice to those obsessed with Trader Joe’s: go get a life. Me? I’m holding out for the We Want Wegmans club to start up.

Dating Tips For Guys #37

Gentlemen: there is a razor thin line that separates romantic from creepy. Knowing the location of this line is valuable. Let’s say there’s a fine young lady that you fancy. On her birthday, surprising her with a card would be a nice touch, right? Of course it would —unless you discovered her date of birth by running her plate number through your computer at DMV. And then you kind of sneak up and give her the card in the parking lot. That won’t get you a date, but it might get you fired. And maybe arrested. And very possibly named in an order of protection. You see, this was a good idea but it was poorly executed.

Remember: in matters of the heart, execution is everything.

Odds n’ Ends

I Got The Horse Right Here – His name ain’t Paul Revere. It’s Madeo. He’s an up and coming three-year-old colt who had serious stuff March 23 at Santa Anita, beating the field by six lengths. Betting on names is for suckers, but in this case I’ll make an exception.

Zillow Talk – Real estate is the national obsession, and Zillow is the obsessive’s home page. Give Zillow a ZIP code and it will show you every house for sale. Type in an address and watch it churn out estimated prices for every house in the neighborhood. Your house. Your neighbor’s house. Everybody’s house.

Listening – According to our buds at All Over Albany, Ingrid Michaelson’s “Breakable” was the most played tune on WEXT last week. This isn’t the official video for the song, but it’s worth seeing. If you have unreliable tear ducts don’t watch it at work. Or in front of the guys at the firehouse.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgZ_tu8s5Wk&hl=en]