SQUIDFRY: Sh*t Sandwich

SH*T SANDWICH… Squid spent the better part of the Fourth of July holiday lounging outside (these overcast days are a welcome relief for Squid’s translucent skin) and enjoying some barbecued shrimp, while Squid’s pals chowed down on more traditional burgers and hot dogs. It’s the kind of cooking Squid likes – easy.

Which makes Squid just like the masses. That was Squid’s takeaway from a panel discussion at the Forbes Ag Tech conference in Salinas last week, when Taylor Farms CEO Bruce Taylor joined Raley’s CEO Mike Teel for a discussion on “retail disruption.” Taylor Farms makes a number of pre-washed, pre-cut vegetable products that Raley’s stores (like Nob Hill) sell to consumers. Those consumers, though, are not to be trusted: Taylor spoke about the old days of focus groups, when customers said they wanted to spend 20-30 minutes making dinner. Taylor Farms followed suit with a meal kit. But in reality, Taylor said, people just want to press start on the microwave: “Their aspirations are one thing, reality’s another.”

So what did Taylor Farms do? “We stopped asking,” Taylor said. “We just throw shit – I’m sorry – we throw healthy, fresh food out there and see what works.”

It was a goofy slip, but one that made Squid lose Squid’s appetite.

CIVIL WAR… After the barbecue, Squid oozed out of the lair July 4 to watch Seaside residents unite in their zeal for turning the city into what felt like a war zone, with illegal fireworks rocketing into the sky.

It was an explosive show of unity that feels all too rare in these partisan times, and Squid’s not just talking politics – Squid’s talking about the nasty, ongoing feud between the mountain biking and hiking community. On a recent story Squid’s colleague wrote about mountain biking in Big Sur, one Mike Vandeman posted web comments about mountain biking writ large: “Bicycles should not be allowed in any natural area,” Vandeman wrote. “They are inanimate objects and have no rights.”

Squid did a little research on Vandeman, who is apparently well-known in the mountain-biking community for leaving similar comments on multiple blogs – and who was charged in 2010 for assaulting a biker with a pruning saw in Berkeley. What happened next isn’t clear – a blog following the trial later disappeared from the web, and another blogger, after allegedly being accused of libel, posted a court order showing Vandeman successfully petitioned the court after probation to have the charges dismissed in 2013.

Squid hopes the local feud between bikers and hikers, which centers around illegal trail-building at Toro Park, doesn’t sink to the level of assault charges. But given the spirit of the times, Squid won’t be surprised if it does.