Aug 8 2024 - Crazy Things at Costco

 

It seems like so many things come from Costco.  "I got that at Costco."  That was a common reply of the little sweet and savoury treats  that came to the house for a recent gathering.   I don't go to Costco. Within me is an aversion to vast walls and shelves of "stuff".  I don't like the Superstore for the same reason.  One time I walked down the white paper stuff aisle - filled with toilet paper and paper towels - as far as I could see.  So am I justified in this aversion?  What would you get at Costco that would be strange?  There's lots of stuff it seems. A 72 pound parmesan cheese wheel.  The whole thing.  The article said the entire wheel cost $949 (I expect that's US).   Go to the Costco website and the features include:  aged 24-moths, imported from italy, and Extravagant.  They give wine pairing suggestions. Just below that was a 28 pound bucket of mac and cheese. Known as the Chef's Banquet Macaroni and Cheese, and listed under Emergency Kits and Supplies, it has eight 30-serving portions of elbow macaroni and eight pounds of 30 serving portions of cheese sauce. It has a 25-year shelf life.  There's a 7-pound tub of Nutella.  I looked this one up and now it is a 3 kg tub that is available. It has a 6 month shelf life so get eating. What about a kilo of caviar? This will feed 30 to 50 people and costs $1,999 U.S. "This large tin of caviar will surely impress at your next event or party of 30 or more guests." That's a quote. Next we move on to Prosciutto ham - the whole leg - Jambon Iberia at $550 per leg.  No chef comes with it to use the companion cutting knife.   What about 11 pounds of Wagyu beef at $1,200. And explain this - would one have to store a casket purchased from Costco? Costco will ship this item directly to your desired funeral home. It will take about 3 business days to reach you. No price is given.  But you can get urns and they are under $100 and won't be so conspicuous when they arrive. I guess this is a favourite topic and Business insider has a list of the"absurdly large portions" of things HERE.  Costco has legions of followers - its private label, its discount prices, its many products, and its generous return policy (which is  an entire story of its own). Here's one story: "I make sure to take most visitors from overseas to Costco at least once. Depending on where they’re from, the sheer scale of it can be pretty impressive. So can the scale of their products. I’ve taken at least one photo of a visitor there holding a gallon of mayonnaise. If they’re not already familiar with the store, their job, while I shop for groceries, is to try to identify something you can’t buy from Costco." Here's a train station from the past - it is in nearby Smithville - itself the sort of town name from the past.

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Sep 8 2023 - Prisoner Escape!

 

You can't guess the message from Longwood Gardens (near Philadelphia) this week.  Here it is: Gardens Closed   As the search for the escaped prisoner from Chester County Prison continues, our Gardens are closed until further notice. We apologize for the inconvenience but know the health and safety of our Guests and Staff are our top priority. This has been ongoing for a week.  Longwood is North America's largest tourist destination garden. How big is Longwood? It is 1083 acres.  That's a lot of room to hide in.  They have been searching for him for 9 days.  He is Danwela Souza Cavalcante, a 34-year-old from Brazil who was convicted of murder.  The break-out wasn't detected for an hour and he seems to be elusive even though there are 8 sightings so far.  "Sources tell Action News the flurry of activity was in response to the discovery of an image of Cavalcante captured on a trail camera on Longwood Gardens property. That image was captured Wednesday evening but was not viewed until Thursday afternoon by law enforcement sifting through hundreds of captured images from trail cameras throughout the perimeter." This has national coverage in the U.S. and the latest update is just 2 hours ago.  It seems to me that we have an eerie fascination with prison escapes.  The Wikipedia entry starts in the 13th century with a Tower of London escape.  Perhaps that escape was famous because the escapee was too heavy for the rope.  It broke and he fell to his death.  Our escape is the second last entry.  Noted is that he crab walked up to the roof of the building.   There's a more recent entry -  September 2023 when a prisoner escaped from Wandsworth Prison in London, "apparently by strapping himself to the underside of a vehicle."   And our fascination?  How creative the escape methods are.   This is an historic train station in Virginia, found on the trip to the Lily Show with Brian.  The doors are marked "colored" and "white." They were separated waiting rooms.  I find out that William du Post purchased the Montpelier Estate in 1901 and had the train depot built to bring supplies and transport him to Wilmington, Delaware, weekly.

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