Into My Pints this Winter

I have been into my pints this winter. And I don't mean beers, although I may have had one or two of those. I mean ice cream, pints of ice cream. Here is the pint count:

Flavor	Maker	Count
Strawberry	Haagen-Dazs	17
Americone Dream (Stephen Colbert's)	Ben & Jerry's	6
Caramel Cone	Haagen-Dazs	5
Karamel Sutra	Ben & Jerry's	2
Strawberry Cheesecake	Ben & Jerry's	1
Dulce de Leche Caramel	Haagen-Dazs	1
Rum Raisin	Haagen-Dazs	1

Strawberry is my clear favorite. That's a long story. My grandfather turned me onto strawberry floats. Often these were vanilla ice cream with strawberry pop poured over the top. But the ultimate was strawberry pop with strawberry ice cream. If you have only had root beer floats, you just haven't lived.

A strawberry float when I was a youngster working on a hot Iowa farm day was easy calories to burn off. As a city dweller with a desk job, I have to work a little harder. In the winter, that the best strategy is to skip the pop and have the ice cream in lieu of a meal.

I got reacquainted with strawberry ice cream this past summer on a bicycle trip through Begium and the Netherlands. Turns out they brought back strawberries from the new world and planted them there. You can get better strawberries (and better strawberry ice cream) than here in New England (almost but not quite up to Iowa snuff). Very easy to pedal off.

Back to my pints. The calorie count per serving of ice cream doesn't sound so bad. Only 250 calories. OK, that includes 140 calories from fat. But for a pint of ice cream, the nutrition label says there are 4 servings per container. The reality is I am going to eat the whole pint at one sitting, so that is 1000 calories. That's about half the calories an adult needs for a day. A meal, the main meal of the day, an ice cream dinner.

Now here is where the marketing ethics comes in. The Ben & Jerry's containers are a full pint, 16 fluid ounces (473ml). The Haagen-Dazs containers are only 14 fluid ounces (414ml). Same exact $4.99 price. Either way that's not bad for an full course dinner.

But why am I buying Haagen-Dazs when I could be buying Ben & Jerry's and getting more for the same price? True, I like the Haagen-Dazs strawberry but Ben & Jerry's has a pretty good strawberry flavor too. The real reason is that I get 12.5% less with Haagen-Dazs and that means a container with 125 fewer calories. Over 33 containers that's 4125 calories, or the same as not eating for 2 days.

Frankly, I would probably buy a 12 ounce container or a 10 ounce container if I could. And that is true of a lot of food products, particularly serving portions in restaurants. If I could get 20% to 25% less, I would.

It's harder than you think. My favorite lunch in Harvard Square is the hot meal counter at Pronto. They scoop into a container, so you think they could easily downsize the portion size on request. But I have spent 3 years without success trying to train them not to top off the container. It's so ingrained that even when I shout "stop" they keep scooping the food in.

I have noticed that because of the recession or rising commodity prices or the desire to make a profit, Dorito's has made the $.99 bag of chips smaller. I think that's great, because again I am always going to eat the whole bag.

What we need in this country is a consumer willingness to pay more per unit for smaller portion sizes. That way Food Inc. can still make its profits, and I can lose weight. Think about that the next time you shop at Costco.

Club Passim in Harvard Square has done this with success. The Veggie Planet portion sizes used to be huge, and a lot of people regularly got doggy bags. Which just makes more work for the waitresses. I of course would eat the whole meal and skip breakfast the next day (OK, sometimes I would skip breakfast).

Now Passim has the same menu but with a smaller portion choice, which is what I now always order. And sometimes a beer, which they didn't have before. My final check is often more. See how that works, corporate America.

Still I must admit that I have been a little to into my pints this winter. So I am going to cut them out for now. Since Lent starts today, I will give them up for Lent. And thank the Catholics for that.

The Road to Recovery Is Paved with Political Blamemanship

Here is a chart on job losses that the Democrats are using in their fundraising and organizing efforts. It shows job losses topping out just shy of 800,000 lost jobs a month in January 2009.



The message here is that the job losses started under President Bush and were only arrested under President Obama. But you can also write Pelosi-Reid Congress under the whole decline, and blame Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid for this happening on their do-nothing Congress's watch. As one or both of them may lose their jobs come the fall 2010 elections, you may find some justice in that.

If you believe the Obama administration turned the situation around, you can draw a straight line across the chart at 750,000 job losses a month. Then count everything between that line and the blue bar as a job saved, perhaps 3.5 million jobs. The Obama administration claims 2.4 million jobs saved through the end of 2009.

But the public perception focuses more on the continuing job losses now at 24 of the last 25 months. That is a pretty big hole and replacing the lost jobs that weren't saved means the economy has to climb a pretty big hill.

The Obama administration may have to share some credit to get the jobs creation legislation passed that is needed to climb that hill. But doing so is the best chance for Barack Obama to win reelection in 2012. That may be too late for Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.

President Obama understands what is a stake:

"I realize that for every success story, there are other stories, of men and women who wake up with the anguish of not knowing where their next paycheck will come from; who send out resumes week after week and hear nothing in response. That is why jobs must be our number one focus in 2010."

Let's hope he can translate that understanding into 10 million new jobs.

Evan Bayh Gives Congress a Valentine's Kiss Off

Indiana Senator Evan Bayh has decided not to run for reelection this fall. This puts another Senate seat in jeopardy for the Democrats. But it his reasons for stepping aside that should give the most pause:

"After all of these years, my passion for service to our fellow citizens is undiminished. But my desire to do so by serving in Congress has waned."

"For some time, I've had a growing conviction that Congress is not operating as it should. There is much too much partisanship and not enough progress, too much narrow ideology and not enough practical problem-solving. Even at a time of enormous national challenge, the people's business is not getting done. Examples of this are legion but two recent ones will suffice."

"Two weeks ago, the Senate voted down a bipartisan commission to deal with one of the greatest threats facing our nation: our exploding deficits and debt. The measure would have passed. But seven members who endorsed the idea, actually co-sponsored the legislation, instead voted no for short-term political reasons."

"Just last week, a major piece of legislation to create new jobs -- our nation's top priority today -- fell apart amidst complaints from both the left and the right."

"All of this and much more has led me to believe that there are better ways to serve my fellow citizens, my beloved state and our nation than continued service in Congress.

To put it into words I think most people can understand, I love working for the people of Indiana. I love helping our citizens make the most of their lives. But I do not love Congress."

We share the no love for Congress feeling.

And what will Evan Bayh do now? He says he wants a job:

I am an executive at heart. ... At this time, I simply believe that I can best contribute to society in another way: creating jobs by helping to grow a business, helping guide an institution of higher learning to educate our children, or helping run a worthy charitable or philanthropic endeavor.

Evan Bayh has 11 months of service to finish out his term. It's a tough job market out there. We'll remind him that you can't draw unemployment benefits for a voluntary quit.

Cambridge is Oversalted and Begging for Snow

With much of the country suffering under too much snow, Cambridge has the opposite problem. The last two storms failed to produce, leaving the salt the city put out still on the street waiting for something to melt.

Plywood is the New Harvard Square Chic

Plywood is up at for locations around Harvard Square. Plywood can signal remodeling in progress but afraid it may mean broken windows the landlord doesn't want to replace.


Calliope was a children's clothing and toy store, the place for stuffed animals at one of the best locations in the Square.


The old Wordsworth bookstore space has been having trouble finding a stable tenant for some time now. Hope this is a good sign.


Poor Leather World (formerly in the Galeria) has had to compete against the impression from the street that their building has been condemned.


This getting ridiculous for poor Leather World.


The old Bowl and Board is still boarded.


And no evidence of remodeling in progress.


Getting the plywood up there required some initiative, so that's a hopeful sign. But there are also signs of fire.

President Barack Obama 25% Off at Newbury Comics

I don't have to write some of this stuff, just report it. I got this coupon in my email today from Newbury Comics offering 25% off on any President Barack Obama related item:



"It's finally here... Presidents' Day!"

"Children will be dreaming of sugar plums, bunnies will bring candy and you'll dress up as your favorite ghostly apparition! OK, so maybe not. But, as we celebrate the birthdays of Washington & Lincoln, Presidents' Day is a time to reflect on all past and current leaders of this fine country. Add some collectibles to your household and who knows? They may become relics of our National History!"

Boolah Boolah the Musical

Here's a cute video that some clever overachievers at Yale put together to sell their university to high school students applying to college.



It's getting a lot of hits on the internet. At the risk of spoiling the ending, the narrator looks a lot like a young Barack Obama, and at the end he bags the young white high school applicant. Or maybe she bags him. For Yale.

The problem with Yale and its ilk is one of ethos. The A students become professors. The B students go into business and make lots of money. The C students go into politics and end up running our country.

In fact, I would go so far as suggest that the problems facing our country may not be 8 years of Republicans but 20 years of Yalies. Yes, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush all held Yale degrees. Barack Obama does not hold a Yale degree.