Top Chef Masters is back!

We have been waiting for this day. I don't like the host and judges much, but the chefs and food...AMAMZING!!! Here's why I like Top Chef. The food is spectacular, the drama is mild, and the you discover even more places to go and try one day.

And they love cooking with duck! I love duck!

Ok, back to the show.

"I'd like a ginger ale..."

It came up again yesterday. People on airplanes like to order ginger ale. Is it the altitude? Is it a guilty pleasure? We've all been told that drinking ginger ale is a good way to soothe your through when you have a cough. Who knows what the real reason is. The fact remains, ginger ale is good, but it's not good enough to be served in fast food restaurants. I'm guessing it's not a big seller and could be cheap to buy in bulk because of that, but I guess even cheap is not cheap enough to take on ginger ale. It's clear, it's sugary, it's fizzy. What's not to like?

I got to see some sales data from an undisclosed source and it revealed that ginger ale sales make up a very very low percentage of overall beverage sales. But the question remains, why is it so popular, but not really?

I think that when looking at the airplane example, multiple factors contribute to the observed outcome. Accessibility, price, and guilty pleasure might be among the largest factors. The fact that they offer ginger ale is huge. Something you might not otherwise be able to get unless you bought it yourself. Which brings us to factor two. It's free. We're likely to try things if they are free and seem to have no consequences. Is it really a guilty pleasure? Who wants to be that guy that orders a ginger ale when everyone else is getting their coke (pepsi) and diet coke (diet pepsi)? Not me. And not him! Anyway, secretly everyone has a soft spot for Canada Dry (or Schweppes to a less extent).

Anyway, now that you've read about this, you'll begin to notice it. Notice that people on airplanes don't have inhibitions about ordering ginger ale. You'll also notice that it's not a very common offering at the fountain soda machines. Think about it.

OLYMPICS!!!

Hello Friends. Sorry for my 6 week absence. It was a busy January and now it's time for the...OLYMPICS!!! It's too bad I have to watch the coverage from NBC. It's all tape delayed, but you know, that's not a reason to not show all of the qualifying races. There are 4 channels at NBC's disposal and they are not efficiently using them. And today, was watching CNBC briefly saw some of the Men's hockey game between Sweden and Germany. As the game was going on, the channel cut to a commercial and came back to Slovakia and Switzerland WOMEN'S hockey! C'mon man.

TV Phrase of the Olympics: (blank) has the weight of their country on their shoulders.

New verb discovered at the Olympics: Jacobellis. Usage: Haha, you just pulled a Jacobellis. Loser.

Seriously, she's in the Olympics and I'm not, but she could show a little more remorse about blowing it twice.

Anyway, I'll continue to watch because I love the Olympics, but it could always be done better I guess.