Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Let’s talk twinkies.

It seems Twinkies are everywhere to be found in the news lately.   I’m not sure I’ve ever had one.  At least I certainly don’t recall.  Somehow I think the problems of Hostess foods comes down to more than *alleged* management greed and union demands.    Yes kids,  there are two sides to every coin. 

Do you think though that maybe coming up with some new products to offer the snack craving public might have been a good idea?  Have you looked at a Twinkie?  Read the ingredients?  

Oh my,  I just found this page.   Some of those ingredients are enough to make your skin crawl.  I’m feeling a bit better about not ever having any huge Twinkie cravings.  Gah!

 

You’re certainly welcome to watch that roughly five minute video.  It’s from back in 2007.   I wonder if putting all that info out there for public consumption might have led to a slight decline in Twinkie sales?   Hm?

While there is a certain amount of processed cr*p that can be had here in the stores,  for the most part,  there are other readily available choices to be had.   Anything that you buy at a bakery is NOT going to keep,  since they don’t use any preservatives.   Takes a bit of getting used to,  when you begin to realise that day old bread is already getting kind of “less than ideal”, and if left for a day or two,  will start to get mouldy.   The horror!   You mean a living organism is actually able to sustain life on the surface of the bread?   What a concept!

 

Anyway,  enough of that.   I doubt very much that you’ll be seeing too much more of Hostess in the future,  unless they can come up with at least one product that I’d be willing to eat.  Hey,  maybe come up with some gluten free stuff?  It’s always a challenge to find snacks for folks with Celiac disease.  Now there’s an idea!  But what do I know?

 

The weekend was quiet,  as are most of them it seems.   Travelling Companion got out on Saturday to hit a couple shops.   My “big job”  was to put some diesel fuel in the car,  since she had to do a little trip today.

The only thing was,  when I pulled into the service station just a couple blocks from here,  the attendant was just coming out with a sign to put on the pumps to indicate that they could only take cash.   Well,  that wasn’t going to fly.  

By the time I got to the next station out on the Gürtel,  they had already put up the signs at that location.  *grumble*    Whoops.  

So I just figured I had better get the car shoved back into the garage for the day, and try it all over again on Sunday.  There was no problem on Sunday,  and I didn’t bother to ask what the deal was.  Sometimes these things happen.  Maybe someone tripped over an extension cord.

 

The thing is,  driving a car in these parts on a Saturday afternoon is NOT something I’d recommend.  I wasn’t about to drive off looking for more out of service gas stations,  since I could have spent the whole time mostly sitting in traffic. 

All of the side streets are quite narrow,  and parking is at such a premium,  that any time a space *might* become available,  it’s often best to wait it out,  such as this person is doing just ahead of me. 

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Of course,  nobody is going to bother getting impatient or honk at the guy,  since everyone is pretty much on the same page. 

Mind you,  if I was about to shell out the dough for a Porsche Boxter,  I’m pretty sure I’d want to get a spot in a parking garage.  But maybe that’s just me. 

 

The rest of the time is spent sitting in traffic,  (didn’t I say that?) but then you get to see kinds of things…

 

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Note the sign on the car door.  (need to click on the photo)

Apparently “mediation”  is good business.   Is that like “conflict resolution”?  Do health plans cover that?  Where do I sign up?  Although,  I’ve never been overly in love with those BMW sports thingies.  I think they look kind of goofy.  But hey,  for those in the “more money than taste”  category,  they seem to be quite suitable.   Not to mention those who have a practise involving some sort of “mediation”.  

I’m trying not to roll my eyes here.

 

 

 

I do realise that I could just go out into the city streets,  take pictures of goofy things and make comments,  but I try not to overdo it.  It’s always good to have something to fall back on.

 

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I saw these guys this morning when I took out the recycling.  What’s the pay like for walking the streets with your own “thought balloon” I wonder?

 

We’ll be keenly watching the developments on the Twinkie front,  ‘cause I’m sure you care.

And may your Twinkies always be fresh!  *snort*

Ya.  Whatever.

 

Thanks for stopping by.

 

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9 comments:

  1. did you say 'fresh twinkies?' I say load up the 'disaster package' with twinkies! It will never go stale and will last forever or at least until the next 'earthquake'!

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  2. I noticed where a twinkie sold on ebay last week for over 7K...I've never eaten one and am sure I didn't miss out on anything special..sure wish I had some to list on ebay tho....lol

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  3. Hmm no great loss for the twinkies I am sure.

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  4. I mourn the demise of Twinkies. I eat foods like that because I'm at the age where I need all the preservatives I can get... ;c)

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  5. I still cannot understand why these people want to lose their jobs. Yes, they deserve more, but can't they see NOW that the company people are pulling the wool over their eyes.

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  6. As a company man and an accountant like your TC, there is more than one way to break a strike... But if loose the company seems best to management, then their must be a severe lack of communication on the Union's part.. That would get rid of the union for good.. They do have offers to be purchased by other companies, or sell their brand names and recipes... And they do make a lot more products other than Twinkies....... Hostess is Wonder Bread...

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  7. Having been an HR professional for +30 years(and negotiated lots of collective bargaining agreements) I've seen both sides take a hard stance. However, it is true that most food processing companies operate on a small margin. I've worked for 2 of them which many of your readers would recognize the brands. One was union, the other not. Union company is no longer in business, the non-union company still there after all these years.

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  8. I have never had a twinkie and not had wonder bread since I was a small fry. So basically, I could care less about how it ends up:)

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  9. Nope never had a Twinkie and never will! Sure won't miss them, maybe they should look into some healthier foods to keep the company alive, I know that won't happen!!!

    Kevin and Ruth
    www.travelwithkevinandruth.com

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Well, I've been getting too many spam comments showing up. Just a drag, so we'll go another route and hope that helps. So, we won't be hearing anything more from Mr. Nony Moose.
I guess I'll just have to do without that Gucci purse.