Kismet

Kristi and the kids are out of town today, and when they are I generally treat myself to barbecue at my favorite local barbecue place, Big Daddy's. Big Daddy's is actually inside a gas station - that's a story for another time.

After I paid for my food, imagine my surprise when I turned around and saw this:



Pepsi and Mountain Dew Throwback! In new (vintage look) packaging! In Brenham, Texas!

I was so giddy I bought all four twelve packs.

I haven't opened the Pepsi yet, but here's a shot of the Mountain Dew can. It's wonderful, and I love that they went all the way back to the original Hillbilly and white packaging.



It's probably a good thing Kristi is out of town because I'm probably going to spend the evening, now, in a Throwback-induced stupor.

Thanks, Pepsi and Big Daddy's. I love you, too.

My Mecca

My new goal in life is to visit this place - and this guy - before either of us dies. It's nice to see another true soft drink connoisseur.

Trouble Trying to Quit

A few years ago, I had an addiction that I'm a bit embarrassed to speak about. It was the first year we lived in Brenham, and Kristi was in Houston teaching summer school for much of the summer, so I had a lot of free time to myself. And that's when it happened.

I know it was an addiction because I spent every available moment doing it. I went so far as to try to hide it and, later, to try to justify it. It was horrible. I was a prisoner. But, God help me, I loved it.

At first I just tried it - just to see if it was for me. I had friends that had tried it before and told me that I'd like it. At first it was free, too. Then about a month in - once I was good and hooked - the money came due if I wanted more. So I paid.

Oh, sorry. What was my addiction? I joined X-Box Live.

After that glorious summer, when Kristi and Kayci came back home, our lives returned pretty much to normal. Oh, I still had my addiction. But I wasn't as blatant about it. I would stay up late after Kristi had gone to bed or get up really early in the morning to play.

But over time, my addiction began to fall away. It was probably a combination of the realization of exactly how much time I was wasting playing video games as well as a busier work load at work and with freelance work. And we also had more family time. And a new baby. But slowly I played less and less.

Okay. I admit. I got tired of getting my ass handed to me in Halo by twelve-year-olds. There's no description for the kind of rage you feel at a some pre-pubescent kid from Georgia or somewhere taunting you in your headset (yes- I wore the headset.)

These days, I hardly ever play games online anymore. I still play the occasional video game, but I don't spend hours and hours doing it as I used to. It's much more in moderation. And I like it that way.

In the past year I've probably played online at X-Box Live a total of five times, each time getting thoroughly bored or frustrated. So when I got an e-mail this morning telling me that my account is set to renew next month, it was a no-brainer that I wanted to cancel the service. It's $50 a year that I don't need to spend.

So I followed the instruction in the e-mail about where to go to cancel your membership. And now I'm just pissed off. I've been clicking in circles for twenty minutes trying to find where to cancel. Even the page entitled "Cancel Your Xbox LIVE Membership" only leads you back to the beginning to the page you see when you first log into your account! ARGH!!!

It shouldn't surprise you that X-Box is owned by Microsoft. It's typical of their "support" style.

So here I sit with a subscription to X-Box Live that I neither use nor want and that I can't quit.

But I'll have the last laugh. A few months ago, Kristi and I cut up our credit cards and cancelled our accounts. So when old Microsoft tries to bill that Discover card $50 for X-Box Live, they'll get NOTHING! And I'll be vindicated because that's about what their support site is worth.

Backlash Against High Fructose Corn Syrup Continues

High fructose corn syrup is the devil. That's why I was so geeked earlier in the summer about Pepsi and Mountain Dew Throwback and Mexican Coke, all of which use real sugar instead of HFCS.

Then this today at AdAge:

"Kraft Foods has reformulated a handful of its most popular products in recent years, removing high-fructose corn syrup from Bulls-Eye barbecue sauce, Capri Sun Juice drinks with 25% less sugar, and the majority of its Kraft Salad Dressings line. The company is launching a campaign for Wheat Thins next week, from agency Draft FCB, Chicago. Kraft has reformulated the crackers, more than doubling their whole-grain content, and getting rid of HFCS."

and

"Some beverage companies are also promoting their lack of HFCS. PepsiCo launched "throwback" versions of Pepsi and Mountain Dew, which are essentially HFCS-free formulations in retro cans. The products proved successful, leading the company to bring them back for another eight-week run, beginning Dec. 28. A third product, Pepsi Natural, launched this spring and is being positioned as a premium cola. Snapple, meanwhile, went a step further, revamping its entire line of premium juices and teas to eliminate HFCS."

Did you read that? Throwback will be BACK, just in time for, well, January. But it will be BACK!!!

Note to Pepsi: There's obviously a demand for pepsi Throwback, and you're selling it at the same price as regular Pepsi. Why not just make it a permanent product?

My love affair with Rudy's continues...

Okay, so the other day I posted an entry about Rudy's having both Mexican Coke AND Dublin Dr Pepper. I didn't even go into the incredible food (the cream corn is my favorite) that they have and the best sweet tea ever.

I've had this ongoing love affair with Rudy's ever since Kristi took me to the Round Rock location in 2007. There are other Rudy's locations, but for my money that's still the best one. The new location on 290 in Houston is a close second.

And I neglected to mention that one week in October 2007, I had Rudy's every night. That's right. For a week. One of the best weeks ever.

But I digress. Anyway, this morning in my inbox, I get a notice that someone had posted a comment about my Rudy's post. It turns out that it was Rudy's itself:

"Hey James!

Glad you love Rudy's and we agree it does beat ol' Disney World. See you again soon!

Respect the Meat!

RUDYS.com"

How many other barbecue joints would take the time to respond to a blog post? Now THAT'S awesome, and an indication of a company that's doing it right. I have no idea how they even found the post or the blog, but they did. And that means they have someone out there who's job it is do do that kind of stuff. That goes above and beyond what most ad agencies do for their clients and what most food chains do for their customers.

So kudos to you, Rudy's. As you know, word of mouth is the best advertising you can hope for. It's priceless. And take it from this advertising guy - I'm going to keep talking you up.

Thanks, Rudy's. You get it.

News Flash: Rudy's Named the Most Destructolicious Restaurant on Earth!

Well, it's official. Rudy's is the best place on Earth. It may even be the happiest place on Earth, supplanting DisneyWorld for the title.

Rudy's has ... wait for it...

Mexican Coke!!!



And in a stunning turn of events, they ALSO have Dublin Dr. Pepper.



And smoked turkey. Rudy's is my new Cracker Barrel. I MUST eat there if there's one around.

Mountain Dew Throwback!

First Pepsi Throwback, and now Mountain Dew! When Kristi said she found some at Target in Pasadena last night, I was really, really excited. Pepsi Throwback was everything I remembered it to be, so I could only imagine how good Mountain Dew would be.

And I got my first taste today.

The first thing you notice is how much more like citrus Throwback smells. Kristi said that she remembered it not being all about the caffeine, but being smooth like Mello Yello was, but with a little more bite. Which is exactly the way I remembered it as well.

Drinking Mountain Dew Throwback is awesome. It's just so smooth. That's the difference real sugar makes. And it doesn't have that crazy after-taste like today's Dew does. I don't know about anyone else, but I keep seeing the old Mountain Dew commercial in my head - the one with the people splashing around in the water. I looked it up on YouTube so you don't have to:



Kristi picked up two 12-pack cans. So I'm looking forward to enjoying a little taste of the '70s and '80s every day for the next couple of weeks.

Now, if only they could bring back the original Orange Crush formula, the world would be a much better place.

Like finding a Throwback in a Haystack...

Kristi sent me this photo from Target. At least there's ONE!!!!

Throwback is HERE!

I'm so excited I'm about to wet myself. Pepsi and Mountain Dew Throwback has made it to Texas!!! The closest place to Brenham where it's available is in College Station, but it's all over Houston now, too - especially at Walgreens and Target stores.

I'm actually considering making a special trip. Is that wrong?