Getting with the Program

The major supermarket chains in our area already started displaying their Kosher for Passover goods before Purim.  Why did they do so?  Basically because people over the years have been asking them around this time when the Passover products will be there.  The markets are responding to customer requests for earlier display.  And then there is this--the longer they have their displays up, the more goods they will sell, leaving them with less "leftovers" to have to put on sale immediately post Passover. (Note: a lot of those goods were offered on sale in those first few weeks.)

Apparently a lot of people in my area, myself included, don't leave their Pesach shopping to the last few days.  Except for maybe Matza and some candy/cookie items, some of the markets are already cleared out of basic Pesach products, items like canned tuna and spices and potato starch etc..

Sure, the kosher stores are there to take up the slack for those who don't shop early, but here's the thing--you are going to pay for putting off the shopping.  Sure, these stores do have some items on sale sometimes, but the real bargains are not going to be found there.  Gefen kosher for passover tuna was on sale in one of the regular supermarkets for $1 a can--not going to find that now.

Okay, so shopping early can save you money.  I then have this question: why do all the kashruth agencies first make their Kosher for Passover booklets/listings available only after Purim?  Obviously they know way before then what will be Kosher for Passover (and what will not require a special, separate Passover hechsher), since the regular supermarkets already have those products weeks before Pesach.  And it's not just the printed booklets I'm referring to.  The OU, for instance, in answer to my query, said that the online listing would only be up after Purim.  It's way past time for the kashruth agencies to get with the program, and to understand that lots of consumers out there are not waiting until right before the chag to go shopping.  It's actually bad for their business to procrastinate in this way.  Example: I didn't have the booklet info when I went shopping the first time so I picked up those "heimish" brands with a Pesachdik hechsher when they first came into the stores and were on sale.  Yes, other brands under certification would show up in the booklets as being okay for Pesach, but I didn't know to go looking for them, and I'd already shopped by then.  Manufacturers who see that paying for that Pesach hechsher doesn't really get them a whole lot financially are going to be less likely to pay for that hechsher in the future.

In short, the kashruth agencies need to get consumer and business savvy and get their listings out to the public far earlier than they do at present.

Funny Money

Lest we think that it is only Klal that comes up with some truly strange things to throw money at, I should mention that Klal is in good company with the Federal Government.

The NIH has given a psychology professor in Kentucky a huge chunk of money (The grant information shows the government launched the project with a $181,406 award in January 2010. It added the $175,587 cited by Neumann in 2011 and another $175,211 in February 2012. The study is slated to continue through January 2015) for research purposes.

What is the research this professor is doing? He is studying the connection between cocaine and the sex habits of Japanese quail.

Now, don't you feel all warm and cozy about what is being done with your tax dollars?

As long as We're Discussing Noses

The link below is to an article that ran in the New York Times this past summer, discussing a study linking mental illness with rhinoplasty.

Just one excerpt from the article: "About one in three people seeking rhinoplasty — commonly called a nose job — have signs of body dysmorphic disorder, a mental health condition in which a person has an unnatural preoccupation with slight or imagined defects in appearance."

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/27/some-nose-job-patients-may-have-mental-illness/

No, It's Not the Nose

So you think that having a large or oddly shaped nose is the make or break item for finding a shidduch? You think that a nose is the deciding factor in whether or not a woman will be considered attractive? Luckily no one told that to the women featured in the article linked to below. If they can be considered as beautiful--and as successful--just why is it that so many others are harping on a nose as being a deal breaker when it comes to a shidduch? Could it be--gasp!--that some in Klal have got their priorities skewed, that they aren't able to assess the big picture correctly?

http://voices.yahoo.com/10-female-celebrities-large-noses-big-noses-arent-5245151.html

On Beauty

There is quite a to-do raging over the Halberstam article in the Jewish Press suggesting that girls who "don't make the grade" beauty-wise seriously consider having plastic surgery so that they can get married. Trust me, there will be more postings on the underlying problem with this, but first I'd like to throw out a few items to think about.

Beauty is not, repeat NOT, something that has one pat, never changing definition. Beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder, and there are dozens of factors that may influence how that beholder defines beauty.

You cannot get everyone to agree about the beauty of inanimate objects, things like a piece of furniture, or a piece of clothing. You can't get them to agree about the beauty of an art object, a painting, a piece of music. You can't get them to agree about the beauty of things in the natural world. And we expect that there will be 100% agreement among men about what constitutes beauty in a woman they are meeting with the object of marriage in mind? Not possible.

So, any solution to our "shidduch crisis" that hinges on creating a standardized image of beauty through plastic surgery is doomed to failure. There is no standardized image of beauty that all will agree on. If we are going to throw money out on medical intervention, perhaps it should go towards psychologists and psychiatrists for the shidduch-hunting males and their mothers, to cure them of their skewed and unrealistic espectations and world views. That, at least, would be getting at the root of the shidduch problem.

Definitely more to come.

Not What I Wanted to Hear

I had the radio on in the car as I ran an errand this morning. I so wish I hadn't turned it on. One of the news channels had a special report on the weather we can expect this upcoming summer. The basic gist of the report was that, unless we get some seriously colder weather/freezing temperatures/snow over the next month or so, we can expect that our New York summer is going to be hotter than usual with high levels of humidity. According to the weather experts on the panel, temperatures in the high 90s and in the low 100s is well within possible for us. In addition, those experts said that summertime allergies are going to begin earlier and last for a longer period of time. Oh yes, and we can expect our summer bugs to be hardier and more active, mosquitos in particular.

Sigh, there is definitely a tradeoff for having no snow in the winter. Normally cleaning the air conditioner filters is not on the Pre-Pesach cleaning list, but if the weather is already getting to 80 now, what's to say that it won't be air conditioning weather in two weeks, Particularly with the oven on for two days and a full house of people?

Airline Math--You Didn't Learn it this way in School

My hubby had to fly to Florida for two days. A non-stop flight on United was due to depart at 9:15 am and arrive in Miami at 12:46 pm. The cost for that ticket, from NY to Miami, was $500 for a non-stop economy class ticket. United's math had us puzzled. Since when does it take 3-1/2 hours to fly non-stop from NY to Miami? It only takes 4-1/2 to 5 hours to Las Vegas, and it's over twice the distance. And then there was that cost for the ticket. Actually, that was on the "cheap" end for United, as they also had plain economy class tickets for $584 and way up. (Keep in mind that hubby had to fly on a certain date and return on a certain date, because, yes, you can sometimes get cheaper fares--not much cheaper but cheaper--if you fly odd hours on odd days) You could fly to Las Vegas for $150 less and to LA also for $150 less. So it costs more money and takes more time to go shorter distances than it does longer distances? Hmmm.

Just a note: the flight landed exactly on time in Miami, at 12:46. Only problem was the plane sat on the ground in Newark for more than an hour past the takeoff time before it actually left. So am I now to assume that the 3-1/2 hours scheduled for the flight just "happened" to be for the amount of time a passenger will be stuck in the airplane rather than elapsed flying time?

We fly fairly routinely twice a year. We also know many others who fly way more often, mostly on business, and they aren't happy campers either. It's not exactly that you are getting more by way of amenities or services from the airlines. Seats have gotten to the point where a thin 6-year old might be comfortable. Amenities? What are those? Service? Not so you could notice. Convenience and on-time flights? May be found in a dictionary but not with an airline.

Honestly, there is a word for when people pay to get screwed, and it didn't use to be air travel--it is today.

Note: due to recent regulations by the FAA, airlines now must include in the posted price of their tickets all taxes and airport fees. This may account for some of the steep rise in posted prices for tickets. Also note the following: the FAA monitors the on-time statistics for flights, both departures and arrivals. Strangely enough my husband's flight, according to the FAA, left on time. Why? Because to be called on time a flight has to depart the gate within 15 minutes of its scheduled departure. So my husband's flight pulled away from the gate "on time" but sat on the tarmac for an hour, and that's not being late according to the FAA. It would be really lovely if our government agencies spoke the same English that we do.