Last night I was reading Wired.com, a personal favorite web destination, and come upon one of the scariest things I’d ever imagined.

Wired has been asking readers what they think the world will look like in 10, 20, even 100 years, asking them to submit images of aspects of future life. The image that they have up this month is a very scary vision of the future of medical billing.

Electronic medical records and records have been a big item of discussion within the medical field, in government , and by privacy advocates. For this edition, Wired was looking at the future of medical billing, and the results were surprising.

It isn’t that the records are electronic. Or that the patient was a ninety-year old mountain biker. Or that they are on a tablet/iPad type device. Even the additional bills are disconcerting (recreational injury tax?), but the really worrying thing is the service provider: Walmart Surgical Clinic.

In the future, are people going to be willing to hand over their medical coverage to Walmart? The prevention of “Bottom Basement Discount Medical Care” is what we just had a huge political battle over during the Health Care Reform. I know, Walmart hasn’t proposed anything like this and it is some individual’s idea of what something might hypothetically look like, but that this could even be imaged in frightening.

Rapid City, South Dakota hosts more than 2 million visitors each year who come to see Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse, the Badlands and the Black Hills National Forest. But when they get to Rapid City, what they will see on the landscape is suburban sprawl, Wal-Mart style.

On March 5, 2008, Sprawl-Busters reported that Wal-Mart had suddenly withdrawn its plans to build a second supercenter in Rapid City. Their withdrawal followed a couple of weeks on the heels of a rejection by the Planning Commission in Rapid City. The Commission acted rapidly to turn down Wal-Mart’s request to have a small piece of land rezoned for their project.

I found a great deal this week on frozen Cranberries. Not only do I love making cranberry muffins but THE best remedy for a bladder infection is freshly juiced cranberries. It seriously kicks it in one hour and is much more potent and healthy than the store bought version. I really like to keep these on hand and so I’m happy to have a small stash in my freezer. Here’s what I found this week.

Why? Well, because he’s funny. But also because I AM GOING TO BE ON THE SHOW.

Yes, on Thursday, July 1, 2010, I am going to be on the freakin’ Jimmy Kimmel Live show. Here’s the episode summary from TV.com: “Actress Dakota Fanning; grocery list collector Bill Keaggy; Korn performs.” That’s the ABC network. Check listings for the time in your area.

So. Yeah. Weird. We’ll be talking about other people’s grocery lists — as seen here at grocerylists.org and in the “Milk Eggs Vodka” book. What else is there to say? Watch it! Let me know if I look nervous!

• Here’s the proof on TV.com
• More info on STLtoday.com
• The web site that started it all (you’re there right now)
• The book on Amazon

It came about because of my spot in “The Curators,” a documentary film project by the always awesome Coudal Parters out of Chicago.

This is my list for when I arrive in L.A. and go all Hollywood:

Watch Jimmy Kimmel Live on Thursday, July 1!

Why? Well, because he’s funny. But also because I AM GOING TO BE ON THE SHOW.

Yes, on Thursday, July 1, 2010, I am going to be on the freakin’ Jimmy Kimmel Live show. Here’s the episode summary from TV.com: “Actress Dakota Fanning; grocery list collector Bill Keaggy; Korn performs.” That’s the ABC network. Check listings for the time in your area.

So. Yeah. Weird. We’ll be talking about other people’s grocery lists — as seen here at grocerylists.org and in the “Milk Eggs Vodka” book. What else is there to say? Watch it! Let me know if I look nervous!

• Here’s the proof on TV.com
• More info on STLtoday.com
• The web site that started it all (you’re there right now)
• The book on Amazon

It came about because of my spot in “The Curators,” a documentary film project by the always awesome Coudal Parters out of Chicago.

This is my list for when I arrive in L.A. and go all Hollywood:

Watch Jimmy Kimmel Live on Thursday, July 1!

Here is a rundown of this week’s best deals! Lots of freebies to look forward to this week! Be sure to check out the deal discussions and the full ad scan in the Walgreens Forum. And don’t forget to use the Printable Shopping List!
4 Day Sale – 6/30 -6/3 – **Please be aware that this [...]

 Here are this week’s best deals at CVS! Be sure to check out the CVS Forum for the ad scan and all of this weeks deals. Also be sure to use the CVS Printable Shopping List!

Bausch & Lomb Biotrue Multi-purpose solution 2oz $2.99 Get $2.99 ECB Limit 1
Final Cost = FREE
Post trail mix crunch, Honey [...]

Doug Due, our Director of Wine and Beer, recently traveled to Australia for a big wine buying trip.  Grocery Outlet’s purpose is to provide quality products at extreme bargains, and sometimes we have to travel around the world to do that!

 Vineyard in Australia’s Barossa Valley

Here’s my interview with Doug about his trip:

What locations did you visit?
Sydney, Hunter Valley, Gold Coast, Griffiths/Riverina, Melbourne, Adelaide, Barossa and McLaren Vale Valleys.

What’s the best growing season in Australia? 
Australia is on the Southern side of the world so they are just the opposite of our growing seasons.  They harvest in February and March, we harvest in September and October.

What’s unusual or specific about Australian wines?
Australia wines are very similar to California in style—Australians are the best producers of Shiraz in the world and they also do well with Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Are there any wines coming down the chain from Australia that you’re excited about?
We’re bringing in Barossa and McLaren Vale Shiraz that we can sell at $5-6 a bottle. Other retailers are selling the same wine for $18-30 a bottle. I’m excited to provide that value to our customers!

Do other countries provide better bargains than the U.S.?
The simple answer is yes. Producing wines in California can be more expensive than Australia or South America—the cost of land, building a winery, and hiring employees can all be more expensive. That’s a very general statement and there are always going to be exceptions, but overall, Australia and South America can offer better bargains because their cost structure is less.

The extension of that question is how does that benefit our customers?  The more competition we have for our shelf space the better.  By working with other countries, our California partners have to provide as good if not a better value to earn shelf space.  Some countries do a better job with a specific varietal, for example Argentinian Malbec, Chile Carmenere, Australian Shiraz, and New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc are all top varietals, and that’s reflected in their value.

What’s your strategy in regards to traveling to different countries to buy?
We want to buy the best wines from the best regions in the world.  With our buying power and efficiency of supply chain, we can offer varietal and regionally correct wines beating our competition on quality at the same price point or beating them on price while matching their quality. We’re very proud of that.

Thanks Doug! And welcome home.

Darn this Washington weather. My garden looks pitiful due to the tons of rain we’ve been having. We’ve actually had a few days of summer lately so I’m hoping for some sort of growth. As it stands right now I’ve got some green beans and potatoes that are making progress but everything else is just sitting there mocking me. Usually by this time I’m eating fresh greens and I’ve got little

This week Wake Up Walmart participated in the U.S. Social Forum, a movement building event that brought together more than 10,000 divierse people and groups working on issues from immigration to economic justice to food sovereignty. We brought a delegation of Walmart workers, union members, local activists, and local union staff members with us to spread the word about the work we’re doing to change Walmart for the better, and create opportunities to work with other organizations.

Yesterday we held an incredible workshop called “Walmart: Short term choices versus long term realities.” We discussed Walmart’s impact on our jobs, communities, and environment, and our strategies for creating positive change. We had a panel of three Walmart workers who spoke about their experiences working at the giant retailer and why they believe they need to come together and support eachother. They spoke of the lack of respect, the lack of adequate wages and benefits, and how Walmart has affected their communities. We also had a speaker from the Retail Action Project, a New York City retail store employee who helped his fellow workers win a union at his chain. About fifty Social Forum participants came to our workshop to hear about our work and discuss winning strategies for changing Walmart.

The Walmart workers on our delegation also added their perspective at a workshop run by the Retail Action Project about organizing retail and low wage workers, and our staff was part of a panel on corporate control of our food systems run by our allies at the National Family Farm Coalition and Food and Water Watch. We’ve also attended countless meetings, workshops, conversations, and more!

Another city has been jilted by Wal-Mart–but it only hurts for a little while.

In November of 2008, Wal-Mart announced that it wanted to build a 162,797 s.f. superstore in Livingston, California. Livingston describes itself as “a City on the move,” and emphasizes that it is undergoing “a period of transition and transformation due to new residential and commercial development.” This is usually code language for rapid sprawl development.

The city is located along one of California’s major freeway arteries and is just two hours from San Francisco. Livingston is part of the Merced County Enterprise Zone, one of 23 such Zones in the State of California. The EZ program “targets economically distressed areas using special state and local incentives to promote business investment and job creation. By encouraging entrepreneurship and employer growth, the program strives to create and sustain economic expansion in California communities.”

But instead of sustainable economic expansion, Livingston got a Wal-Mart application.

Victor was our most prepared, even-keeled chef.  He came in early to scope out Grocery Outlet and see what our product offering was before he crafted his dish.  Victor is from Puerto Rico, and wanted to pull together a classic dish with tastes of his home.  His dish, Mojito Mofongo, is a dish of mashed plantains with rice.  He paired it with shrimp cooked in salsa.  The dish impressed our judges with its flavor, elegance, and presentation. It was closest to the caliber one would expect from a fine restaurant.  Just goes to show that good preparation and planning pay off!

Victor scopes out the Crown Hill Grocery Outlet.

Victor’s ingredients.

Victor zesting a lemon while STAR 101.5’s Jill Taylor interviews him.

Mojito Mofongo, with Shrimp in Salsa and Coleslaw Salad.

 

As our first place winner, Victor won $2000 towards his tuition to the Art Institute of Seattle.  In a surprising twist, he told our audience that as a military veteran, his schooling is paid for by our government, and that he would like to give his winnings to Alex Marshall, our 2nd place winner! 

Victor is truly a class act, and we wish him, Alex, and Josh the best for their continued culinary education.  We hope we’ll be eating in your restaurants some day guys!

For Victor’s award-winning Mojito Mofongo, click here to download a PDF.

To see Victor’s receipt, click here.

Alex was outgoing, funny, and had some fantastic culinary ideas.  The judges liked his concept of Chicken Thighs with Beurre Blanc (a sauce made from butter and white wine) and thought his dish was refined, but he got points knocked off for execution.  The judges wanted the rice to be a little more cooked, so when you make his recipe, be sure to check the rice.

Though Alex didn’t win first place, he made a delicious dish that was inexpensive and paired well with wine.  He’s also the only chef who used wine to cook with in his dish. 

Click here to view Alex’s recipes.

Click here to see his receipt.

Hello Blog Readers, I just wanted to tell everyone about this exciting New Way I found to Eliminating Your Grocery Bill.… I Couldn’t believe it when I saw it!  So, I just had to try it for myself.  It Works! I am getting Free Groceries Now, and Getting Paid Too… What could be better!

Share this with everyone you know right away.. This is a Life Changer.

Check it Out, you’ll be glad you did.

You can check out the YOU TUBE Video that explains it all,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oW3PIlJIYo

——===(*)===—–
Never Pay for Groceries Again –> www.FreeGroceryMatrix.com
——===(*)===—–

ShareThis

So far we’ve visited Tillamook Cheese Factory, Oregon Coast Aquarium and found an amazing motel near Agate Beach with it’s own private cove full of tide pools and surfers. Today we’re going to try and dodge the rain clouds that came in and hit the beach one last time before we visit the Air Museum. As you can see we’re still on vacation so I’ll just let you guys jump right in with the recipe