I'm on your side. I don't think we can completely halt the expansion of "stupid," but we gotta slow it down where we can, or at least make it pay a price. If we don't, we become part of the problem. Thank you for your efforts.
I posted elsewhere that I was having issues with a new iPhone and smartwatch I bought. I went to the Verizon store this morning and picked up my replacement watch...now everything works perfectly. While I was there I did a little grocery shopping at Walmart. So I pull in the driveway at 11AM, go inside, and start setting up my watch preferences (since the fresh install reset them), logging the Serial Numbers in a spreadsheet I keep, etc. 1PM rolls around and I was deciding what to have for lunch and then dinner, when I realized that I had not brought my groceries inside. They have been sitting in my car with the windows rolled up in 90° heat for 2 hours!!! I bring them inside. -baking potatoes are fine -strawberries, blueberries and chives look like they won't kill me -sour cream seems on the border (not hot to the touch), but who needs an emergency room visit? Trash. -Fudgesicles were little sacks of hot chocolate with sticks floating around. Trash. dammit
I like that you posted Mary and indeed showed that by putting a like on it but sadly John is correct. Having to throw something out is always painful but the FDA and USDA both recommend that items like sour cream can’t sit out for more than an hour in temps of 60 degrees and above. Whilst it will not get any more sour it will start developing some bad mama jama bacteria. (salmonella) Refrigeration temps are recommended to be 38 degrees albeit most home refrigerators are around 42 degrees F which was considered safe until around 1980 or so even for commercial kitchens. On restaurant buffets and such, sour cream goes quickly but if perchance it doesn’t get used it still needs to be stirred from the bottom of the cold container so as to prevent any bacteria from developing. If a health inspector should show up and the temps on the cold bar aren’t as cold as they should be then everything gets thrown out and the restaurant gets a bad grade.
I think I've bought stuff from Stop 'n Robs owned by you We used to have a small cafe in the office building I last worked. I once walked a container of expired yogurt up to the counter to let them know, and the lady shoved it back at me: "Still good! Still good!" It finally got shut down when the admin of a high-ranking VP ended up in the hospital for several days.
I keep my fridge at 37°. I thaw out a lot of stuff that's in vacuum sealed bags, and I do it by submerging it in a big bowl of water that I've chilled in the fridge, and it stays there until it's thawed (whether it's cooked food or raw food.) I hate throwing food away, more so because of the waste than the money. But I hate going to the ER even more. I am very conservative when it comes to that stuff. As an aside, I bought a roll of water-soluble labels online that really helps me with this. I now always label leftovers with their Expiry Date (date and day) so I don't throw stuff out when I'm uncertain how old it is. And these dissolve under running water or in the dishwasher. I must have wasted 6 of them when I first got them
Yeah, in my early days I had the same problem with restaurant owners. Later on, I actually fired an owner and told him he couldn’t walk back in his own kitchen until he came back with a “safe-serv” (some states it’s serv-safe). certification. I actually quit watching the shows that feature a well known chef going into failing restaurants just because of the scenes they show about the kitchens before they get cleaned up. Yuk! What most people do not realize is that even if it is an item to be cooked, you can bring it up to temp to kill the bacteria but you can’t change what the bacteria did to the product. Slightly spoiled or fully spoiled: spoiled is spoiled and the quality of taste is gone even though the bacteria is dead. Edit: Our local Popeye’s has advertised that they have been storing chicken nuggets for 6 months in preparation for some big event they’re having. They said that when they did the chicken patty promo that they ran out so they’ve been stocking up chicken for 6 months for this promo. It’s a given that the chicken will still be healthy enough to eat but storing chicken for 6 months in a freezer will destroy any quality of taste the product it is supposed to have.
@John Brunner - I posted here somewhere earlier about our melted ice creams. But took them back and got refund. Not as easy for you I know. At first I thought it was because of all the renovations going on at the stores - now I am not so sure. Virginia is long way from Texas. However I am not buying any frozen products from them until theri stores are completed.
Oh! oh! oh! I got one... Annual homeowners insurance due 2 weeks from receipt of bill. Sent e-check online from bank. Six days later bank informs me that they couldn't send the check, "Company not found." Same thing happened one year ago, during hard Covid lockdown. Paid online with credit card but 1 day past due date. Two days later I get a letter saying insurance was cancelled. Three days later another letter cancelling the cancellation. Two rants: Insurance Co: You would think during all the turmoil last year the insurance company would give at least one day grace period before cancelling. And why such a quick due date anyway? They need to get their bills out faster. Bank: Why on earth does it take 6 days to find out if an e-check is deliverable. It goes to Macon, GA. I could walk it there in 6 days. Anyway, it's set up for autopay from credit card now.
And, yes, though it is true that I don't actually like to sit with the wastebasket between my knees and pants around my ankles. I fight being forced into auto pay. I still get paper statements from my credit union although they don't like it. With robo customer service it is an annoyance to just register a complaint.
I got a Cash Rewards credit card about 2 years ago. I put as much as I can on auto-pay, because the company gives me a discount AND I get cash rebates from my card AND my bank gives me another 10% on top of that if I covert the rewards into cash to be deposited into my checking account. That being said, I have all sorts of tight monitoring controls on them. Every time a "not in person" charge is made, I get an email alert from my bank. I've also been using the bank's automated payment system for a very long time. I hate paperwork. I have ever since I got into white collar work and had a paper-intensive career. I love entering a bill into the system the day I receive it and scheduling a future payment date. I get to stretch my cash without fear of missing a mailing. The only accounts I have not gone paperless on are my investments. When my mother passed away, the only way I had of knowing where she had money was by the paper statements that came in the mailbox. I want whoever comes behind me to have the same benefit.
My daughter has lymes. She was quite ill and had the rash. I hit her with all my herbals but decided to get antibiotics too. Walk in clinic. At window they want $100 up front. OK. Then they want her to sign a paper saying she will pay whatever the visit costs. Bloodwork and tests? We all know what she needs already. Kid has no insurance and not much of a job. I say "I want to know what the expenses will be first for the prescription as that is all she needs." They can't tell me, hemming and hawing. Excuse laden discussion and we walk out without taking the appointment. Go to a different clinic. Same foolishness. But they have a financial office that will work with her. The government should not be responsible to pay for this insanity. I have medicare supplemental. I get the paperwork for doctor visits/whatever and see they charge 5 bazillion dollars to start with, the insurance says no way and the charge drops to $12.00. When you have no insurance it stays at 5 bazillion dollars that you can pay over time. It is a good thing I can rant and then some. I won't be able to get it down to where it should be but the 'poor' should not be hit by a broken system. The antibiotics were $125! but with a Good RX coupon, it came down to about $13. How is that possible?!