Month: May 2005

Okay, we’ve done the Pork Rind experiment. And for the record, Bill, I’m not going to do a comparison between the kind you buy in the grocery store and the kind you buy in a pet store. I’ll leave that in your capable hands.

I guess the two snack foods that come to mind are Funyons, and those little puffy thingies for which Andy Capp is the spokesmodel. Does Andy Capp still exist? Does anyone carry that anymore? For you kids out there, Andy Capp is/was a comic strip. Basically he was always drunk, smoking a butt, and playing snooker. And his wife would threaten to beat him with a rolling pin. Ahhhh, the classic days of comedy. Is there anything funnier than a drunk snooker-playing smoker? I think not.

So anyway, there was or is some snack out there with him on the bag. I believe this is because the shape of the snack food very closely resembles the cigarette always hanging off his lip. That’s the only real connection I can make. Oh here, they are made by ConAgra. And available at fine gas stations everywhere. (Wow, a quick glance through the brands they own shows quite a few that are staples at my house. Gulden’s Spicy Brown Mustard, for example, is the only brand of mustard we buy. Period. Don’t bring your yellow crap into my house, thank you.)

Okay, so any others to add to the list? And this time, I’ll take pictures.

I remember way very long ago (back in April) I brought up the subject of pork rinds. I had never eaten one, which I don’t think is unusual. I’m going to guess if I polled 100 random people, 99 of them would say they’d never had one.

Last Friday I was at the Victory/Hannaford (dammit, it will always be Victory to me) on Lancaster Street, picking up a few things for dinner, and ran into a group of Leominster Firemen who were buying snacks or something. One of them had a bag of pork rinds, which just seemed strange to me, but who am I to question a fireguy?

But that made me think about them again. So last night, my sister was hosting a Party Lites party (really awesome candles – you should buy some) and I was asked to stop and pick up something she’d forgotten, and I made a decision. In an effort to make her look bad, I would sneak a bag of pork rinds and some Yoohoo onto the snack table for all her guests to see.

I had no trouble with the Pork Rinds (which in this case, was called straightforward “Pork Skin” because really, rinds? You aren’t fooling anyone) but I’ll be darned if the hoity toity Donelans in Littleton [waves to Chuck] carries YooHoo. Snobs.

Anyhoo…my sister just rolled her eyes and was refusing to open it, so The Amazing Bob grabbed the bag and ripped it open. Oh. My. God. My sister grabbed her nose and yelled “It smells like fish food” and she was ever so right. Good God, somewhere in the back of my head I was thinking it might smell like bacon. You know, because it’s made of pig. But no, this was one of the most vile smelling things ever. I took a nibble out of one, realized it doesn’t taste like anything at all, and we sealed up the bag and put it in her garage. I’m sure she’s SO happy with me for contaminating her home with those things.

Lord knows why it smells like fish food, but I can’t imagine working in the factory where these things are made. And what’s the deal with the complete lack of any flavor at all? It’s like eating packing peanuts. If I’m going to eat something that unhealthy, it should taste like something, for goodness’ sake!

So there you have it. No more burning urge to ever ever ever try a pork rind again. Ever.

I get spam, as you can imagine. Having had my own website since 96, my address has been out and about for a long, long time. A long time. I’ve been getting spam since before some of you knew what a URL was.

But there are some items that get offered via email that just don’t work for me. As in, I wouldn’t ever respond to an email offering these items, even if I was stupid enough to buy anything someone tried to sell me in an unsolicited email. So this list is things sold via email, and things offered via email, meaning it might be the bonus gift you get for doing something else.

• Underwear. Luckily, they haven’t been trying this one for a while.
• Peach Cobbler. I have no idea what the story is behind this one, but last week I got junk mail offering me free peach cobbler (I don’t think it was just a recipe. I believe it was the cobbler itself). I can’t think of anything I’d like less than peach cobbler mailed to me by someone I’ve never heard of.
• Watches. Oh, right, it’s a real Rolex.
• Designer sunglasses. Aside from wondering why people need designer sunglasses in the first place (I mean, other than for people who find themselves on the other end of the papparazzi’s cameras), who would buy them from someone sending out a random email?

Does anyone see these emails and not think “Gee, I’ll bet there’s some law enforcement-type person just waiting to nail me for buying illegal product, including illegal drugs.” Cause I really want to smack the people who are giving credit card numbers to these people. Seriously.

But more than anything, I want more information about the peach cobbler. I’m a little hungry right now.

It’s time for that regular Big DumpTruck feature: How to Be Like Jody. If you buy the following products/do the following things, you can be just like me. Isn’t that the goal of each and every one of my faithful readers? Yes, I thought so.

1. Honey Nut Chex Mix. I love this stuff. I could inhale it by the bagful, and this weekend, I almost did. There is something supremely addicting about the salti-sweetness of this product. Don’t get me wrong, regular Chex Mix is good, but it’s nowhere NEAR as good as the honey nut kind. Don’t be confused by the caramel one (I think that’s what it was…I have never tried it); to be like Jody you must go for honey nut.

2. Viva paper towels. These are the official paper towels of the Big DumpTruck. I got hooked on these when Junior was a baby and they were the recommended brand if you were going to try to make your own baby wipes. They are VERY VERY SOFT. In fact, my step-daughter actually asked me what brand they were last week. She also wanted to know what brand of toilet paper I buy.

3. Angel Soft double rolls

4. Shaws Brand dryer sheets. I guess this only works for people who live within listening distance of a Shaws. I cannot say for certain if Star Market brand is the same (I know they are owned by the same company). Shaws brand is all that and a bag of Honey Nut Chex Mix.

So there you go, a few things to set you on your way to Jodyness. Watch this space for even more helpful hints in the future!