This time it is about the original use of the phrase, at the grocery store.

I’m old enough to remember when only paper bags were on offer. Some came with paper handles to make carrying them easier, but the handles had a very limited weight capacity and could break easily, scattering the goods all over the parking lot. And heaven help you if you had to carry the bags in the rain for any length of time.

My late mother in law told a delightful story of bringing groceries home when she and her husband were young and nearly broke. He was playing minor league baseball and they had no car, so one day she was lugging the groceries home and got caught in a downpour. The paper bags fell apart and she had to get on her knees to chase the potatoes rolling around on the sidewalk.

Somebody came up with the idea of plastic bags. Lighter, stronger, and water proof. And since trees had to die to produce the paper, at first we were told they were more planet friendly. The plastic bags were ‘single use’, but when we got them home we found multiple uses after they were unloaded.

Then we were told that the bags had a decomposition 1/2 life of something like 1,000 years, and they were clogging up landfills. What was an environmentally concerned consumer to do? The stores responded by offering both types and asking that question, leaving each shopper to wrestle with her own conscience.

This being California, our state is in such great fiscal shape that the legislature is looking for something to do. As of January 1 we have an official State Snake (the giant garter snake (Thamnophis gigas)) and an official State Shrub (the bigberry manzanita (Arctostaphylos glauca)). And this…

“Paper or plastic?” will no longer be a question in California grocery stores and convenience stores. Starting in January, the stores will no longer be allowed to offer plastic bags to customers because of a new state law. This new law bans an exception in a previous law that allowed the sale of thicker plastic bags that can be reused.

Actually single use plastic bags were verboten in our state a while back. Stores could offer paper, or thicker, reusable plastic bags. And they charged for both types. The fee was mandated to encourage consumers to bring their own reusable planet friendly totes.

Irony of ironies: when Covid came stores were forbidden to let consumers bring their own bags. I remember going to Costco, wearing a mask or course, and bringing my large tote. An employee was at the door, also masked, checking Costco cards and turning back all bags. I wasn’t aware of the ban and had to return to my car with my dangerous carryall, shaking my head at the pandemic panic and marveling at how sheeplike we had become. Never forget…

In France we bring our own cloth shopping bags, since none are provided for free. You can purchase some very nice totes at the Super U checkout counter for about 2 euros. And something similar is going on in the U.S.

The Trader Joe’s tote, which sells for $2.99 in the U.S., has joined the ranks of geographically specific status bags like those from London’s Daunt Books or Paris’s Shakespeare and Company. In addition to London, they’re being carried in Seoul, Melbourne, Australia, and Tokyo. Because there are no Trader Joe’s stores abroad, the bags are listed on resale platforms like Depop, eBay and Korea’s Karrot market for up to $10,000—with some eBay listings reaching $50,000.

A $10,000 tote bag has to say something about human psychology, but it is above this blogger’s pay grade.

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

I’ve written before that when someone asks about my hobbies, I usually say cycling, chess and monogamy. I’m trying to be funny, and anyone who has seen me on a bike or playing chess will have a bemused smile.

But apparently the subject of ‘cleaving unto thee only’ is grounds for scientific inquiry.

The Wall Street Journal reported about a study written by Mark Dyble, a University of Cambridge evolutionary anthropologist. He attempted to determine which species are more monogamous than others. Clearly important research with wide ranging implications. Here are the results

The methodology is suspect, especially in the case of humans. The study measured the frequency of half siblings: same mother with genetically different fathers. More half siblings means less monogamous behavior. But not all human dalliances result in offspring. We humans have ways to take precautions. Or post coital-cautions.

But there are exceptions that I think the professor missed which might push humanity down the list. Back when the SNAP funding was put on hold by the budget battle, some moms took to social media to demand assistance.

“It is the taxpayer’s responsibility to take care of my kids,” one emotional mother said in a video posted online.

Of course it is. Glad to do it. Then someone else chimed in:

“Because of the government shutdown, now I can’t get my SNAPs for next month,” she shared on social media.”

The user went on to ask how she was supposed to feed her seven (! ed.) children.
“I have seven different baby daddies and none of ‘em no good for me,” she said.

I found this so outrageous that I suspected she was simply trolling and trying to get a lot of clicks and shares and heated comments. But if it is true Professor Dyble has another data point that may change the rankings.

Here on Brumby Road we operate in California deermouse territory, although if there are any of those under our house they won’t be there long after they eat the mouse bait. They may be virtuous, but they are still vermin.

Way back in 1993 I purchased 3 gold coins. I had a cash windfall and decided that was a good investment. I paid $350 each for the 1 ounce coins.

Today the price of gold is $4228/ounce, so you might think it was a fantastic investment. Since the IRR function in Excel tells me I averaged 8.1% per year, it seems that I did very well. Sure beats CD rates for the last decade or two.

But suppose instead I had put the $350 into an S and P 500 index fund and reinvested all the dividends. That same $350 would have grown to $9,600. Gold had an internal rate of return of 8.1% over those 32 years, while the S and P did 10.9%. That 2.8% difference produces a return over twice as large for the stocks. Einstein called compound interest ‘the 8th wonder of the world’, and this is an example.

If you select different starting years you can get different results, but for most periods of 10 years or more the returns are similar. Stocks beat gold, and by a significant amount.

Gold is pretty, and the coins feel solid in your hand. Paper money goes down in value every year, with long run inflation in the 3% area, unless Covid spending spikes up the money supply and PQ=MV takes effect. So given the choice between greenbacks and gold coins over a decade, I’ll take the metal.

But that isn’t the choice. I’m glad my brief flirtation with bullion was limited to those three pieces of lucre.

Gold prices have doubled over the last 2 years. That has got some people excited and lots of promoters taking to talk radio and cable tv networks to hype gold investing and earn high fees and commissions. Costco made headlines when they offered 1 ounce coins to their members, and they sold out quickly. As the price went up and made the coins more expensive, they sold out even quicker.

Rising prices that increase demand for something don’t really make sense, except for the rare ‘inferior goods’ or even rarer ‘Giffen’ goods (I don’t want anyone to think I slept through microeconomics). I never thought of gold as a Giffen good, but maybe it can be if FOMO is strong enough. Dutch tulips anyone?

and you feed him for a day. Provided he ‘self certifies’.

The Tuesday club ride officially starts in Lockeford, but most of the riders form the ‘Lodi Express’ which starts early. We leave from Hutchins Square about 45 minutes before the Lockeford start time (10:00 am in December). Last week we were heading east on Pine Street, when we encountered a long line of people holding baskets and pulling carts and wagons. They were waiting for some free food.

The distribution schedule was published in the on-line version of The Record. 23 food give away events are scheduled in December, at locations all over the county. There were also details about who is eligible for which location based on Zip Code, and what the income criteria are. An advisory stated “The food may run out before the scheduled ending time.” which is probably why people were lined up early.

None of the people in line looked to be starving, and in fact the cyclists riding past appeared more likely to be underfed than the free food clients.

Recipients must be San Joaquin County residents who do not exceed the program income guidelines. Here is the ‘self certification’ form:

You print your name, or make one up if you like, since you are ‘never‘ required to produce ID. You can make up a family size too. As far as that goes, you could even use a zip code that doesn’t correspond to your actual residence, again since no proof of address is required.

Guidelines are fine. but nothing stops anyone in line from ignoring them other than their conscience.

The food is free to the recipients, but it is not free. Federal, state and local governments paid for it. Which means taxpayers paid for it. I felt like saying ‘you’re welcome’ as we cycled past, but I kept quiet.

Pretty nice cars in the free turkey line

Not grocery bags. Payment type.

I wouldn’t have thought a law like this was necessary…

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., and Sen. Kevan Cramer, R-N.D., introduced the Payment Choice Act of 2025. The bill would require businesses to accept cash and bar them from charging a higher price to those who chose to pay in cash.

Choose Wisely

I have been to businesses that are ‘card only’. Apparently they don’t want the bother of handling currency. More counting to do manually, more deposits to make, and more possibility of employees helping themselves to a few bills. ‘Card Only’ is pretty rare but it does happen.

There are ‘card only’ self checkout machines at Home Depot and Costco, although if you bring greenbacks I think there is a way to use them.

Credit and debit card companies charge businesses a ‘swipe fee’ to process transactions, and those fees have been rising. Some businesses have responded by charging plastic users a higher price or adding a surcharge. My chiropractor charges $75 for an adjustment, but adds $3.50 since I pay with plastic. I’m getting yet another dental implant, and the dentist offers a 2% discount for checks and 3% for actual cash. I go with the check route since the amounts I need for implants are large and there isn’t enough room in my wallet even using $100 bills.

Some gas stations have a ‘cash price’ verses a ‘credit price’, with the latter being higher. But until I read about the proposed ‘Payment Choice’ legislation I didn’t realize that anyone charged more for payments in currency than cards. I haven’t encountered that yet.

You can pay your property taxes in San Joaquin County with plastic, but there is ‘convenience fee’. No thanks; the check is in the mail. No word on whether if you show up at the County Treasure’s office with cash they will take it, or add a charge for the hassle.

In Europe I bring euros and pay in cash at restaurants and most business. So far none have said no. I do this because the credit card I have is fine in the US, but charges a stiff fee for foreign currency transactions, and offers a bad exchange rate to boot. B of A gives me a pretty good exchange rate for physical euros and doesn’t charge a fee if the amount is over $1000. And I like the look of euros. All the bills are different colors and physical sizes. Bigger bills are bigger, imagine that. And there are 1 and 2 euro coins instead of bills.

Not Monopoly Money

The US has tried to get a $1 coin for my entire adult life. We had one once, but it was made with real silver, and inflation meant the metal was worth more than $1, so those coins left circulation. Gresham’s law anyone?

The trend is for cash to fade and plastic prevail. but I’m going to fight it. There is something nice about pulling out a bill that is way too big for my loaded burrito purchase, and telling the counter person to ‘keep it’. She always gives me a smile and thank you. The electronic tip screen just isn’t the same.

Ever since we lost Luke, people have been asking Diane and I whether we were going to get another dog. We would say probably not. Diane said that we aren’t looking, but if the right dog found us we might consider it.

There is a woman who lives close to us who fosters stray dogs and works to find them forever homes. Her kennel is full, but a sweet female wandered in and wouldn’t leave, so the woman put her in a crate. We saw the pictures on Facebook, and the resemblance to Luke is striking.

We decided to give the dog a foster home. We filled out the Foster Care Program Agreement and e mailed it to the appropriate person. Yesterday this shy and timid and probably confused and frightened girl arrived at Casa Brumby.

Diane wanted to name her Lucy, but I held out for Lucia. Thanks to AI I know that The pronunciation of Lucia varies by language and region, often pronounced loo-SEE-ah in English or loo-CHEE-ah in Italian, but can also be luthia in Spanish. We are going to use the Italian version of course. With a surname of Freggiaro how could we do otherwise? But we will probably call her Lucy for short, although it saves only one syllable. Opera fans know that in La Boheme, Mimi’s real name is Lucia.

So far Lucia is calm and quiet and clingy. She wants to be near you and up against you. We have her inside our fenced yard, and she has a dog bed on the deck and another in the garage. But she can run like a shot. We have some cotton tail rabbits around the orchard, and one got into our back yard last night while we were having cocktails on the deck. Lucia went after the bunny at a full sprint. I’m happy to report the rabbit got away unscathed, but all you squirrels and rodents and other vermin take note and keep clear.

Although we offered to pay for spaying, the animal control department says we don’t have to. Lucia is supposed to have the procedure this week. They have to wait 48 hours in case someone shows up to claim her as their dog. After the procedure Lucia will have to wear a cone for a couple of weeks, which will add to her stress. We’ll give her plenty of love and attention, and she’ll become more relaxed and ready to begin training her people, like Luke did.

If you watch any football on TV, you will have seen from the ads that the business of betting is booming. So what are the odds that Lucia is going to be a long term Brumby Road resident? And what is the over/under on the number of days until she has family room access? Or bedroom privileges? Insiders tip: bet the under…

Sample ballots for our upcoming special election arrived on Brumby Road yesterday. The ballot contains but a single issue: Proposition 50. If you read my blog you know what this is about, but now that we have the ‘official’ ballot language it is time to do some parsing.

Let’s start with the ‘fiscal impact’. It says there will be one time costs of “a few” million dollars so counties can update election materials. This ignores the $280 million dollar cost of the special election itself.

The proposition is all about maps, so you might think that the maps would be in the voter guide. Not so. There is a QR to point your phone camera at which will take you to a website where you can look at them. I discovered that Brumby Road is in the same district as Pittsburg (CA) and Antioch and Manteca, but not Stockton or Lodi or Linden, which are much closer.

Important update! The official sample ballot does not contain the maps, but the Official Voters’ Guide, which arrived later, does. They are just as convoluted as expected, although they still fail to provide a counterexample to the Four Color Theorem, so the proof is safe for now. We’ll see what Texas and Illinois come up with.

Speaking of Lodi, that pleasant city, which is about as Red as you can get in California, has been divided so that there are 3 congressional districts within the city limits. Any congressional district that includes the entire town has a good chance to send a Republican to congress, so the Democrat state legislature and governor decided to play wise Solomon and divide the baby into 3 parts.

The proposition states that it will authorize these temporary changes in response to Texas’ partisan redistricting. I suppose California’s current maps are the height of fairness. Lets take a look. Here we have a county map of the 2024 election:

It is true Harris won easily. It is also true that there are large parts of the Golden State that are decidedly red. Now consider that this same election produced a California congressional delegation that was 43 (82%) Democrats and 9 (18%) Republicans. One might think that the existing maps are partisan enough, and perhaps we shouldn’t be so critical of Texas. The new maps are designed to turn 5, or at worst 4, of those Republican seats over to the Democrats, and they cut those red areas into pieces to do just that.

Finally, Proposition 50 establishes a ‘policy’ supporting nonpartisan redistricting commissions nationwide. This policy has no force of law. It is simply more ‘feel good’ words that are supposed to distract us from the fact that the proposition we are voting for does THE EXACT OPPOSITE and undercuts the nonpartisan maps already in place.

This being California, I’m pretty sure the blue patches will muster enough votes to pass the prop. Remember every registered voter in California is going to get a ballot in the mail. Voter registration lists are current and complete, and every signature will be checked carefully, along with the voter’s eligibility status. Have I got a proposition for you, indeed!

A quick update to my last post. I just got back from taking out the garbage, and I did some counting. At my parent’s house I pull the tote 170 steps up to the Hwy, and then walk back, for a total of 340.

On Brumby Road, the tote pull is 150 steps out and 150 back for 300.

Grand total: 640.

But starting in January I’ll be doing this 3 times. Total 1,920. I’ll do some bonus steps to get to an even 2,000

And I’ll get another 2,000 doing the reverse on Monday. Walking to the beat of the recycling drummer…

Well on my way thanks to CA law and Waste Management

California has very complex and complicated laws regarding recycling and trash collection for businesses and residences. But until now those laws have not been enforced on our Brumby Road backwater. And not in ‘Area C’ of San Joaquin County either.

For some reason this rural farmland has been exempt, and we were allowed to throw anything that isn’t hazardous material into a single trash container. I could say that my social conscience required me to separate recyclables and take them to a recycling center. I could say that, but it wouldn’t be true.

Whatever the costs and benefits of recycling are, the issue is politically settled, at least in California. Recycling is a social obligation and necessary to save the planet. So finally our new garbage company is going to provide us with the 3 cans necessary to do the job right. Sometime in December we are going to get a ‘garbage’ bin, an ‘organics‘ bin, and a ‘recycling‘ bin.

Confused? Me too. But Amazon sells stickers (organic=compost?)

This is all new to me, so I called a friend of mine who lives in Lodi and has this routine down pat. I’m going to summarize what he said, but if I make a mistake, cut me some slack. The service doesn’t start until January.

First we have the ‘recycle’ bin. This is where we are going to put the empty Côtes du Rhône bottles. And the plastic milk jugs. And all the Amazon cardboard. I’m going to have to get my knife sharp to cut and flatten these, since Stoker gets almost everything from Amazon. So much so that the trucks have left ruts in our driveway.

Newspaper goes here. My parents actually have a paper subscription to The Record and the WSJ, but I bring their papers to my house to cut out the crossword puzzles. I’ll toss the rest into the bin to keep the Côtes du Rhône bottles company. All dry paper (junk mail) goes in too.

Now for the relatively new category ‘organics’. (=compost?) Here is where things get a bit tricky. Food waste goes here. So if you are cooking and chop up an onion, all the peels go into this bin. Chicken bones too. The coffee grounds and paper filter are organic. I don’t know about coffee ‘pods’ but we make our coffee the old fashioned way.

This is going to require us to get a new receptacle in the kitchen, so that we can scrape leftover food into a different place than the empty cereal box and milk jug. Surprise, Amazon sells them, including organically acceptable ‘plastic’ bags and a charcoal filter to contain odors.

Yard waste (pruning residue, cut grass, leaves) goes in the organics too. Here I have an advantage since I can throw this stuff into the orchard, where is gets mowed and the irrigation water and sunlight do the composting. I don’t think I’m breaking any laws by doing this, but since this is California I might be.

Everything that doesn’t go into these two bins goes into bin #3, garbage.

Coming soon to Brumby Road!

Now if you think this sounds simple enough, consider the pizza box. It is cardboard, but according to my friend it is ‘organic’ waste, not recycle. Ditto for an empty carton of Chinese food, unless that carton has a metal handle, in which case I suppose you remove that handle for recycling and throw the rest of the container into organics. I buy chicken from Raley’s in a plastic tray with a paper pad inside. The plastic tray is really garbage since it has no recycle number. But the paper pad is ‘organic’ because it contains chicken juice.

These are the first paradoxes that come to mind, and I’m sure there will be more. I suppose I’m going to have to get an AI assistant to help me do the right thing.

But that AI assistant isn’t going to help me get the cans out to the curb. Because we don’t have a curb. I have to wheel my garbage cart out to Brumby Road, a 150 yard round trip. Now I am going to make 3 trips every Sunday afternoon. And 3 trips back on Monday morning. This will help me get my ‘steps’. 7,000 per day recommended for us oldsters.

It gets better. My parents get their garbage picked up across Hwy 88, and since they are in their 90’s I don’t think it is wise for them to be lugging garbage totes across that busy road with its high speed traffic. So I do it for them. Now I have to make 3 round trips instead of one, on that same Sunday/Monday schedule. Another 150 yards 3 times each way. And these include some climbing. Hwy 88 rises to the bridge across the Calaveras river so my parents’ driveway is uphill, and short but a mite steep.

This new routine is going to contribute to my well being. My brain will get stimulated trying to figure out what trash goes where, and my body will get to do some extra moving. Mental activity and exercise are supposed to contribute to health and longevity, and California recycling law and Waste Management are happy to help.

Way back in 2006 I purchased a Honda Element. It was a pretty unique vehicle. 4 cylinder engine, 5 speed manual transmission. I bought it because it was a bike box with an engine. Some people liked the looks (including me) and some people thought it looked quirky or funky. Dog people loved them: lots of space and no carpet. You could even wash out the interior with a hose! When Luke went to the vet we always took the Element.

The rear seats were removable, and when I took them out the Element had an incredible amount of storage space. Want proof?

Two People, 2 1/2 bikes

Here we are in Kalispell at the start of a Cycling Escapes trip through the Canadian Rockies. Besides Stoker and me, we had the CoMotion and the Sampson, luggage for the trip and a small ice chest to keep food cool for on the road lunches. I’m pretty sure there were a few wine bottles in there too. All of that went into the cargo area. Loading it was like doing a jigsaw puzzle. Without a picture to look at.

The Element handled quite well, but of course the ride was somewhat rough compared to cushier SUV’s. And it was a bit noisy too, especially going into a headwind. The high profile kept the mileage down, but also made the cargo area bigger. And the manual transmission was fine on the highway but no fun when stuck in Bay Area traffic on the way to Mount Diablo or Sierra Road. Cycling is hard enough on the legs without an hour of clutch pushing.

The Bike Box got to travel a lot. Montana, Oregon, Colorado, Tucson, Death Valley. Several trips to Agora Hills to ride in the Malibu Mountains (no tandem on those). And regular trips to Ione or Wallace or Plymouth for Stockton Bike Club rides.

I had this SUV (sort of, or not quite, but it isn’t a car) for 19 years and 130,000 miles. The only problem it ever had was that the motor that raised and lowered the driver’s side window quit and had to be replaced. Oh yes, someone stole the catalytic converter, but you can hardly blame Honda quality for that.

But we don’t have the CoMotion anymore, and I finally decided it was time to move on to something more comfortable. My brother bought an Acura ADX, and I decided to look at that along with a Honda HRV. I drove both and opted for the ADX.

I listed the Element on Facebook Marketplace yesterday. I was going to put it on Craig’s list too, but I never got around to it. I could not believe the number of responses I got. Dozens, starting almost as soon as I hit the ‘enter’ key. Some seemed legit, some seemed dicey. When someone texts that they want to buy it today and pay cash without even having seen it, I get suspicious. I asked $6,000, but one guy was so insistent he texted he would pay $7,000.

One of the offers came from Lodi and looked legit. His FB profile included a photo of him and his family. Three cute kids. His posts were all in Spanish but he texted me in English. I took the car into Lodi for him to look at, but he misunderstood that it was an Element with 4 seats, not a 7 passenger vehicle. He didn’t want it.

I also called a couple of neighbors who know me and know how well the Element was maintained and how carefully it was driven. Sure enough, one of them had a friend that was interested, and after a 6 mile test drive he bought it. I gave him a big discount because I was so happy to be able to take down that FB listing and quiet down my phone.

So my Element has a new home, and I have a new vehicle that is like a supercomputer by comparison. More technology to have to learn and get frustrated with. The Element has a lot of miles left in her, and I hope she enjoys them as much as she did being our travelling tandem box.

The Comotion and Sampson are inside!