What To Drink on 420 Day

Heineken presumably knew what they were letting themselves in for when they put up a half-billion dollars last year to purchase half ownership of Lagunitas Brewing. Tony Magee founded the brewery in Petaluma California. Since then, most non-profit events in Sonoma County featured Lagunitas beer donated by Mr. Magee. The brewery also made headlines with the great marijuana bust of 2005. Lagunitas suffered through a twenty-day license suspension imposed by the state Alcohol Beverage Control Board. Unapologetic, the company periodically releases a seasonal brew labeled “Lagunitas Undercover Investigation on Shutdown or ‘Whatever, We’re Still Here’.” Still here… and there, too. Lagunitas has expanded to Azusa, Chicago, Charleston and Seattle.

So, of course Lagunitas is commemorating 420 day. According to legend, the day’s origins can be traced to high schoolers in San Rafael, just a few miles down Highway 101 in Marin County.

Lagunitas will celebrate – the operative word no doubt will be “celebrate” – twenty-five years of brewing in 2018.

The Oracle of Omaha

The Chairman of the Board of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is perennially in the top three of the Forbes magazine list of wealthiest Americans. Warren Buffett’s letter to shareholders in the company’s annual report is must reading for many. The letter has become so popular that it is copyrighted and posted on Berkshire’s web site with access given to everyone. The first letter, written in 1978, discloses information about Blue Chip Stamps, one of Berkshires major holdings. The letters contain an aw-shucks overview of the company’s financial performance and explanations of how their major businesses work, including how to make money in the insurance business. They are filled with criticism of other corporate leaders and their outsized compensation packages, which in the end are not tied to actual financial results.

In his latest letter, as in most, Buffett, with his homespun style, offers his investment advice. Not flashy, but sound strategy for the long run.

“The bottom line: When trillions of dollars are managed by Wall Streeters charging high fees, it will usually be the managers who reap outsized profits, not the clients. Both large and small investors should stick with low-cost index funds.”

“Human behavior won’t change. Wealthy individuals, pension funds, endowments and the like will continue to feel they deserve something “extra” in investment advice. Those advisors who cleverly play to this expectation will get very rich.”

“Over the years, I’ve often been asked for investment advice, and in the process of answering I’ve learned a good deal about human behavior. My regular recommendation has been a low-cost S&P 500 index fund. To their credit, my friends who possess only modest means have usually followed my suggestion.”

The folksy letter finishes with summary of the upcoming shareholders meeting, a three-day bacchanal for the conservative investor. Nearly forty-thousand shareholders will travel to Omaha for the event.

Internal Combustion’s Last Gasp?

Automakers have been chewing nails ever since introduction of the Tesla that’s been beating all comers in acceleration. Finally, after two years of work by a team of twenty-five engineers, Dodge has unleashed its 840-horsepower Demon. Dodge claims it is the fasted production car period. The Demon reached 60 miles-per-hour in 2.3 seconds. That’s two tenths of a second quicker than the Tesla Model S P100D. “Big deal,” you say.
It is a big deal. Bragging rights are important in marketing a car to that certain segment of auto buyers who cannot abide losing to a battery-powered sissy car. Dodge brought Vin Diesel to the 2017 New York International Auto Show to emphasize how serious they are about being the leader in the macho car market. The Demon comes with barely-legal drag-racing tires and an $85,000 price tag. The high-performance Tesla sells for about $130,000, but that includes passenger and rear seats. No mention of the Demon’s fuel consumption. The Tesla P100D gets the equivalent of 98 miles per gallon.
One pundit commented that the Demon is evidence that the internal-combustion-powered vehicle has jumped the shark.

Easter Dinner Reviews

Poppa and Gram’s Easter Dinner

★★★☆☆ (18 ratings)

 

★★★★☆

The green bean & mushroom casserole was the bomb! I asked Gram for the recipe, but she said it’s a family secret passed down through generations! The sweet potatoes with the toasted little marshmallows on top were dope. The only reason I’m not giving this five stars is there was no PBR beer to wash the meal down with.

★☆☆☆☆

The food wasn’t bad. I would’ve given more stars if I’d felt welcomer. I took a picture of my plate and was putting it up on Instagram when Poppa said he’d really appreciate it if people would not use cell phones at the dinner table. It’s not like I was talking on the phone or anything! If they expect grandkids to come over for dinner, they need to let us text and stuff. It’s like they’re living in another century!

★★★★☆

I have eaten here regularly for many years, breakfast and dinner. Usually it’s been pretty good although the portions were often too small. The food would be brought to the table with the announcement of how many slices of bacon or how many pieces of roast we were each allowed. And then if we didn’t eat it all, no dessert. I’m glad to see that now the servings are of a reasonable size.

★★☆☆☆

My wife told me I would really like this. It was supposed to be a family-style dinner. We drove a long way with our children and then Gram told them they had to sit at a separate “kids” table. Our kids are well behaved. Being kids, of course sometimes they get a little rambunctious. That’s no reason to not let them sit at the same table with the others or to get so upset because one of them threw a couple green beans at another or knocked over a glass of chocolate milk.

★★★★★

The ham was better than Honey Baked. My only criticism is the slices weren’t perfect like the spiral ones from Honey Baked. The brown-sugar glaze made up for that, though. And Gram and Poppa were really nice, too. Gram made sure I got all I wanted to eat. And the pecan pie – Wow! With REAL whipped cream in a spray can. And they had my favorite, Bud Lite.

★☆☆☆☆

I went to a lot of trouble to order a “Happy Easter” cake from Costco for the dinner. I think it was very rude of everyone to eat the pecan pie that Gram made and not mine. They probably just didn’t want to hurt her feelings. At least I got to take the cake home so I can eat it later.

★★★★★

This has to be my favorite pop-up restaurant. You could tell every dish had received the personal attention of the owners. Part of the charm was after the meal we all pitched in with clearing the table and taking care of the dishes. Not sure why none of the guys did, though.

★☆☆☆☆

I really don’t like this place, but my husband makes me go.

★★★☆☆

I thought by now Gram knew that I am a vegetarian. I know ham with brown-sugar glaze is the tradition, but does anybody think about the living conditions of the pigs before they are slaughtered? I didn’t make a fuss but I will definitely have a conversation with Gram before Thanksgiving. I also will tell them I’ll bring the wine next time. Nobody drinks white Zinfandel. I gave three stars because I think they really do try.

You Are What You Eat

Although its economy is shaky, Italy has the world’s healthiest population according to Bloomberg News. An Italian newborn can expect to live into his or her eighties. Sierra Leone, where life expectancy is 52, ranks 163. The United States, with its obese population, comes in at 34.

Italians, known for a diet filled with pasta and prosciutto, also consume lots of vegetables and, of course, extra-virgin olive oil.

We’ve been told breakfast is the most important meal. What is a typical breakfast in healthy countries? (Pop-Tarts or dairy products flavored with Starbucks coffee gets you number 34.) Here’s how people start the day in the healthy countries:

  1. Italy – cappuccino or espresso and, yup, pastry
  2. Iceland – granola or oatmeal with berries, bread and butter,
  3. Switzerland – granola with fruits and nuts
  4. Singapore – noodles, noodles and noodles, usually with broth
  5. Australia – espresso coffee and, um, Vegemite

Denny’s Grand Slam was not on any of the top-ten breakfasts.