The Worker Thread

[Crock Hunter]

That's the only place I know of that I can get live blue crabs from. Do you know if Joe Joe's Fish sells them? I can't find a website. Wait looks like they do! 17 bucks a dozen hell yeah that's the cheapest I've seen around here.

We spent 12 days on a barrier island just south of Wilmington at the end of October. The kids slayed the Blue Crabs .. big'uns too.. probably caught 6-7 dozen over the period of a week.. My son and I chartered a boat for King Mackerel trolling.. Did okay.. netted 5 18-22 lb Kings... Grilled with butter and marjoram .. yum..

[Mr.B]

Vrede, where is this Co-op you mentioned above....and what is it?

[JTA]

That's the only place I know of that I can get live blue crabs from. Do you know if Joe Joe's Fish sells them? I can't find a website. Wait looks like they do! 17 bucks a dozen hell yeah that's the cheapest I've seen around here.

We spent 12 days on a barrier island just south of Wilmington at the end of October. The kids slayed the Blue Crabs .. big'uns too.. probably caught 6-7 dozen over the period of a week.. My son and I chartered a boat for King Mackerel trolling.. Did okay.. netted 5 18-22 lb Kings... Grilled with butter and marjoram .. yum..

What did you guys use to catch them? I've always found the best method is a handline with a chunk of chicken tied to one end. Plop it in the water, let it sit for a few, then pull it up real slow and scoop them up out of the water, preferably with a solid metal "net" so they don't get tangled up.

I can cook some some banging crabs, I'm not even going to be modest about it. Save the juice when you're done cooking them then boil up some linguine and add a little leftover crab meat. You definitely gotta clean them first before you cook them in my opinion. Some people just throw the whole crab in the pot and go at it. To each his own I guess. I'll have to post some seafood recipes sometime.

[JTA]

As with so much seafood, the blue crab population is crashing. With great regret I've quit eating almost all seafood.

The prices definitely do fluctuate every year. I've seen everywhere from $70 a bushel to $140 a bushel when they're harder to come by. I don't eat much seafood anymore either. Shit I barely eat meat in general anymore.

[neoplacebo]

Meat has gone up a lot; I speak as a long term carnivore. I can remember buying a couple of ribeyes for less than ten bucks that now cost over twenty. Either the vegetarians are slacking, or it's become a lot more expensive to chase down cows and kill them. For seafood, I've pretty much given it up since I can no longer hover and reach in to grab a fish like back in my prime. Perhaps that "eat more chicken" thing makes sense.

[Mr.B]

"I can cook some some banging crabs, I'm not even going to be modest about it."

How many have you cooked that you caught "banging crabs"....?
Thanks for the laugh!

[Mr.B]

http://www.hendersonville.coop/Home

So, if I'm understanding this correctly, you pay to shop there? And your monies go towards a member-type ownership of the Co-op?
Are all the products offered for sale organic?

[Bungalow Bill]

I'm sticking with ol' Food Lion, at least until this particular store goes out
of business, though they have managed to stay open for the six months
that the new Ingles has been up. I do go to Ingles about once a month for
the bakery and a few other items. I did find an Entenmann's crumb cake
there. Yum.

[Ombudsman]

They have a 3 L boxed wine for 12 bucks that's pretty good for table wine.

Wouldn't happen to be Black Box (brand) Cabernet... would it? BB make a very nice vin ordinaire..

The one I was referring to is called Block Red.

[Crock Hunter]

That's the only place I know of that I can get live blue crabs from.

The kids slayed the Blue Crabs .. big'uns too..

What did you guys use to catch them? I've always found the best method is a handline with a chunk of chicken tied to one end.

We have 2 crab traps that we leave out checking them once or twice a day... plus the kids use drop nets all baited with fish scraps from a friends restaurant .. The past June my daughter caught 2 dozen in one afternoon..

We "try" to toss back the sooks and sallys .. and an article recently said following the winter survey that the female blue population had doubled ... largely because of dredging regulations .. recreational crabbing such as you and I might engage in have little impact ..

Try a Crab, Feta, Spring Onion Omelet sometime.. .. .

[JTA]

"I can cook some some banging crabs, I'm not even going to be modest about it."

How many have you cooked that you caught "banging crabs"....?
Thanks for the laugh!

What?

[Mr.B]

"What?"

Swoosh!

Explained: Who did you catch "banging crabs", and how did you cook them?

Or....You weren't being modest when you caught crabs from "banging"....but why cook them....?

also...some some?

[JTA]

"What?"

Swoosh!

Explained: Who did you catch "banging crabs", and how did you cook them?

Or....You weren't being modest when you caught crabs from "banging"....but why cook them....?

also...some some?

My crabs taste better than banging feels.

In other words, once you've had my crabs, you'd rather be eating them than banging.

Edit: This sounds kind of wrong on multiple levels, but the truth is the truth.

[neoplacebo]

The truth will, has, and does set one free. Nothing wrong with that.

[JTA]

Are "banging crabs" tastier than celibate ones and do they have to actually be banging when one catches them?

Eating banging crabs depletes the crab population, and is also downright mean. Best to let them bang in peace. The closest to banging the fugly ones will get is boiling in my pot, after-which they'll most definitely be bangin'.

[Mr.B]

Ahhhhh....catches on, he does!

[Mr.B]

5 Companies Paying Americans The Least

No. 1: Wal-Mart

•U.S. workforce: 1.4 million
•CEO compensation: $20.7 million
•Revenue: $469 billion
•Net income: $17.0 billion
•No. of U.S. stores: 4,759

There are 1.4 million Wal-Mart (WMT) associates working at the company's 4,759 U.S. stores. Walmart recently announced it would launch Black Friday sales at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. Critics of Walmart see this as adding insult to injury -- forcing retail workers who already earn low wages to cut holidays short. Criticisms like these have been part of an onslaught of claims that Walmart underpays its workers. Walmart disagrees, saying that "for tens of thousands of people every year, a job at Walmart opens the door to a better life."

According to the company, the average full-time hourly wage is $12.83. Some argue that the company's number is inflated, however, reflecting the salaries of higher-paid employees. Hourly wages for sales associates are less than $9.00, according to Glassdoor.com. Walmart's net income rose to $17 billion last year.

No. 2: McDonald's

•U.S. workforce: 739,055 (est.)
•CEO compensation: $13.8 million
•Revenue: $27.6 billion
•Net income: $5.5 billion
•No. of U.S. stores: 14,157

In the restaurant industry, the hourly median wage was just over $9.00 as of 2012. However, many McDonald's (MCD) employees are paid far less, with cashiers and crew members often earning only the minimum wage. In October, several McDonald's employees were arrested for protesting their wages at the Union League Club of Chicago, where McDonald's President Jeff Stratton was giving a speech.

Between 2008 and 2012, sales and profit margins at McDonald's have increased. Despite the company's growth, employees are still hurting. All but admitting the low wages, McDonald's encourages employees to enroll in food stamps and welfare programs.

No. 3: Target

•U.S. workforce: 361,000
•CEO compensation: $20.6 million
•Revenue: $73.3 billion
•Net income: $3.0 billion
•No. of U.S. stores: 1,778

Target (TGT) had 361,000 employees working at 1,778 stores in the United States at the end of 2012. The average listed salary on Glassdoor.com for a cashier or an employee on the Target sales floor is less than $9 an hour. In response to Target opening on Thursday, in advance of Black Friday, Target workers drafted a petition last year to "save Thanksgiving." More than 300,000 people signed the petition. This year, Target stores will open on Thanksgiving Day at 8 p.m. That is an hour earlier than last year.

No. 4: Kroger

•U.S. workforce: 343,000
•CEO compensation: $11.1 million
•Revenue: $96.8 billion
•Net income: $1.5 billion
•No. of U.S. stores: 2,418

Kroger (KR) employs 343,000 workers in 2,418 stores across the country. The company operates stores under several names, including Kroger, City Market, Dillons and others. A majority of Kroger's employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements between the company and different unions. In the past few months, Kroger has agreed to terms with unions covering thousands of workers in Virginia and Texas. Kroger’s net profit was $1.5 billion at the end of the most recent fiscal year.

No. 5: Yum Brands

•U.S. workforce: 694,712 (est.)
•CEO compensation: $14.2 million
•Revenue: $13.6 billion
•Net income: $1.6 billion
•No. of U.S. stores: 18,069

Yum Brands (YUM) CEO David Novak received more than $14 million worth of total compensation in the past fiscal year. The company's revenue rose from $11.3 billion to $13.6 billion. Hourly wages for workers at its KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell chains, however, are still often less than $8 an hour. Yum Brands has continued to expand, opening more than five new restaurants a day outside the United States in 2012. However, many American workers have expressed frustration that the company’s success has not led to an increase in their pay. This summer, fast-food workers at Yum Brands and other fast-food chains staged protests across the country, demanding higher wages.

The rich get richer....the poor stay poor to get the rich richer.

[Wneglia]

More on the Shrinking US Middle Class

[rstrong]

"The Republicans in Congress voted no on the minimum wage. Wow, that's not the Republicans I know. I think they're confused. We're supposed to apply the economic sanctions to the Russians."
– David Letterman

[O Really]

According to Making Change at Walmart:

$16 billion
Walmart’s Profit

$144 billion
Wealth of Walmart Owners (the Waltons)
(as much as 42% of Americans combined!)

$7 billion
Subsidies and Tax Breaks that Benefited Walmart & the Waltons

< $25,000
Most Walmart Workers Annual Wage

I'm no Wal-Mart fan, and I don't disagree with the point being attempted, but to make a real comparison, MCAW would need to compare the total payroll of Wal-Mart with the other collective numbers - not the average individual.