It's a Chronic Thing

Dear America,

so it's happy tuesday.

a "local" taco shop -- which calls itself "Chronic Taco" has closed.

and you say, well, G, it's so cal, there must be a taco shop on every corner...

and I say, well, so?

Now...there are a few other things you should know:  1) it is an operation well funded, operating tons of stores from so cal to AZ to Vegas to British Columbia.  2) it opened in Solana Beach, like only eighteen months ago. 3) the atmosphere is colorful, loud, bordering on obnoxious --  while the food quality, marginal at best.

Free market evaluation:  you can have all the bells and whistles popping, but without the substance to back it up...buh bye.

Now...if you go on Yelp! for fair and free spirited customer evaluations, the message rings loud and clear: to pass itself off as a taco place in southern california, you gotta do a whole lot better than that; not to mention, the food was labeled "greasy" "rubbery" and just plain sucked.

Sure, we have gobs of supply in the taco arena; but let's get real.  Unless you are a Mexican restaurant rooted in the neighborhood, with a following surviving multiple generations -- when it comes to the fast food alternative, the only taco purveyors who make it -- are called 'taco stands.' 

Now...to understand what I just said, you would need to be local; but let me help you out a little.  A taco stand with any kind of following isn't LOUD, isn't corporate, isn't gimmicky in any way -- it's authentic, simple, yummy Mexican food without the fluff.  The appeal grows out from the grassroots, with surfers rolling in after the dawn ride, with tres generations taking over on Sunday afternoons. That's it; it doesn't get any more complicated than that.

The stand makes it on it's own merits -- or it doesn't.  The Chronic Taco, though clever in it's name and radical showmanship, just didn't cut it. [hmmmm this reminds me of something, not sure what it is...] Of course, if you are visiting Vegas from Tallahassee, 'the Chronic' might be just the ticket.

Another example of the whole supply and demand thing that has caught my attention -- a little something called "Cafe Cup."  Have you seen this advertised on TV?   It's a miniature plastic container that fits inside the latest one-cup coffee machines -- you know, the fancy ones that come with all sorts of flavored coffee varieties and all you have to do is drop in the coffee serving, already pre-measured and press go.

It's expensive.  As the ad notes, would you spend $35/pound on coffee?

So what does the free market entrepreneur come up with?  An improvement upon the one-cup coffee maker that tops the original idea in spades and clubs -- it's like chronic.  Who'd a thought?  And so quickly!

But there you go -- no need to buy the expensive, pre-measured gourmet coffee cups with the fancy label across the top; just buy you favorite local blend, already ground or not, and fill the reusable plastic cup -- drop it in, just like the good stuff, and press go.  mmmmmm .....smells the same and tastes probably infinitely better, as it hasn't been packaged months ago in a warehouse goodness knows where.

Now how marvelous is the free market!

Life gets easier, cheaper, sweeter all at the same time...

Unless we're talking gasoline in California.

Oh and Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein are on it, by golly.  They want an investigation.  Just how in the world did you two make it this far?

Um. Ladies.  How about start "investigating" the regulations implemented by the state of California.

Now, I love finding new places to feed my voracious appetite for immediate public feedback. And this morning I found just the spot out of northern California -- it's only fair I give NoCal a moment to shine, right?  So out of San Jose -- here's something else chronic; it's called "Roadshow".

Did you read it?  Do it.

give you a minute...

Fair questions. Fair answers. And even with a little attitude thrown in; just substance and showmanship workin' it. But let's not dwell...

The thing is -- Ms. Boxer and Ms. Feinstein -- it's called supply and demand.  Do you need to investigate that?

Sacramento did this to us.

Much like our coffee, it turns out we like our special blends out here in California A LOT; don't tell anybody, but we're really a bunch of snobs.  And for our rich tastes and grassroot's snobbery, there is a price to pay [and the Oscar goes to ...the environmentalists...thank you, thank you very much].  Hence, we arrive at the special blend of gasoline preferred by bureaucrats two to one. ....just G chronically generalizing, business as usual.

Now, something else -- we have only 13 refineries in California -- and four are down at this time.

AND to top it off [badump ba], because of our special blend requirements, we can't buy gasoline across state lines. It's not like we can turn to Nevada and say, hook me up, dude... Our supply is stuck in low gear.

Supply meet Demand.  Demand meet Supply.   Hello, how's it hangin'?  tubular.  yeah, like I'll take a carne asada burrito, uh tres rolled tacos con guacamole, uh and a guesadilla,  a side of rice...oh yeah, dude,  uh can I get extra salsa verde with that, the waves were really ragin' today...uuuh

California has created it's own market place for gasoline; we have made a basic commodity so special, we can't afford to bottle it anymore for one reason or another.

But let's be real, shall we?  There is no mystery here. There is no slight of hand, by way of price gouging; nobody is dumping the stuff blind behind the barn; we have issues keeping up with the demand, our supply is failing us, and with the special blend regulations, it only further restricts any alternative universe to save us.

But more than anything else -- gasoline is a commodity.  And it's like liquid gold to those of us who love to drive, addicted to the rush and the ability to get in the car and press go.

Switching gears and returning to a thing of substance vs. show before I go....

From the Obama camp, following the phenomenal foreign policy speech from Mitt --

"'This is somebody who leads with chest-pounding rhetoric,' campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters aboard Air Force One." via yahoo! news here.

yeah.  saying "Hope is not a strategy" is provocative, isn't it?

"The attack on our Consulate in Benghazi on September 11th, 2012 was likely the work of forces affiliated with those that attacked our homeland on September 11th, 2001. This latest assault cannot be blamed on a reprehensible video insulting Islam, despite the Administration's attempts to convince us of that for so long. No, as the Administration has finally conceded, these attacks were the deliberate work of terrorists who use violence to impose their dark ideology on others, especially women and girls; who are fighting to control much of the Middle East today; and who seek to wage perpetual war on the West."

still not getting chest pounding...

"Statesmen like Marshall rallied our nation to rise to its responsibilities as the leader of the free world. We helped our friends to build and sustain free societies and free markets. We defended our friends, and ourselves, from our common enemies. We led. And though the path was long and uncertain, the thought of war in Europe is as inconceivable today as it seemed inevitable in the last century.

This is what makes America exceptional: It is not just the character of our country—it is the record of our accomplishments. America has a proud history of strong, confident, principled global leadership—a history that has been written by patriots of both parties. That is America at its best. And it is the standard by which we measure every President, as well as anyone who wishes to be President. Unfortunately, this President's policies have not been equal to our best examples of world leadership. And nowhere is this more evident than in the Middle East.

I want to be very clear: The blame for the murder of our people in Libya, and the attacks on our embassies in so many other countries, lies solely with those who carried them out—no one else. But it is the responsibility of our President to use America's great power to shape history—not to lead from behind, leaving our destiny at the mercy of events. Unfortunately, that is exactly where we find ourselves in the Middle East under President Obama."

it's called measured, statesmen-ship.... not showmanship. 

If you did not have a chance to listen to him, PLEASE read the entire thing, go here.

Whoa dude. What just happened?   I went from Chronic Taco to chronic coffee to chronic gasoline to a chronic foreign policy speech.... sometimes, I just don't know how I do it....chronic G, that's me.

Make it a Good Day, G

is it just me? or is the chronic stock market not really swallowing the new unemployment numbers?