I have had the same problem. It hard to predict when they will become ripe and to use them before that hsppend

Agreed. ;^) The one thing for buying avocado that works for me is that under the stem must still be green or its too ripe to buy. I also buy them green and not soft, but I too often forget them and they get overripe.

Two products that would be a hit. 1) non destructive test for hotness of jalapeños, and 2) non destructive test for avocado ripeness

Thanks for the advice and the recipe, term. I enjoy making guacamole, too.

I like avocados and find it difficult to assess the ripeness when purchasing them. I have found Costco to have high quality. I buy them in a “hard” state and wait for them to sit around until fingers just can dent them a little. Ripeness is slowed with refrigeration and accelerated outside in sunlight. Slightly greenish color of the avocado meat is best. By the time the meat gets more yellow, the quality has degraded.

I like guacamole and find that the pH is important to keeping the guacamole from turning black. Lime juice should be added so there is a hint of lime taste to lower pH to acceptable levels.

The transition between untripe where the pit sticks to the meat and overripe where meat gets soft snd yellow seems to happen rather quickly. Hard to detect from the outside unless u start with a definitely unripe and hard avocado- at which point it’s good in about 3-4 days. IMHO

People seem to like my guacamole. Avocado, cilantro, red onion, salt to taste, jalapeño, and lime juice such that u can just taste the lime. I don’t add garlic or tomato. I leave it a little chunky

I have cut eating out by about 95%. Once I enjoyed it, but lately I can cook better than the restaurants, and I do not get indigestion when I cook-unlike half the time I eat out. Haven't eaten "fast food" in decades (except when driving 2500 miles cross country - which avoids "fatherland security" at the airport) .
I do wish I could find a way not to waste avocado at home though; they spoil about half the time unfortunately.
I have found that making broth from ribs and chicken enhances what I cook and what I feed pets, too, with the added minerals and lower sodium healthier than "popular" manufactured broth.
I find myself doing what our parents and grandparents did before time saving (less healthy) products were offered in grocery stores, but one must find the time to do that (instead of watching sports or propaganda "news" or playing video games or posting in the Gulch ;^)

I remember, too. My favorite hifi amplifiers were much less expensive then because you couldn't find them. They ended up in the attic or landfill. Now we can buy them on Ebay or craigslist and make them like new again using less expensive tools made in Asia or Mexico. American made vintage hifi equipment from the 70s and 80s are the best bargains for music lovers today.

I can remember when none of those existed actually. There were farmers who sold what they grew on their farms to people who drove by and stopped back in the day . And you could put “fo sale” signs on stuff and put classified ads in the local paper

Free markets are naturally occurring across all cultures. Now they are mostly licensed, regulated, and taxed here in USA tho

They haven’t gotten to. Craigslist yet. In California, Sales tax is supposed to be charged at swap meets and garage sales. Here in Nevada you can still sell out of your driveway freely and without tax to individual like craigslist- more efficient than classified ads, and cheaper. It is a true free market thing

Imagine a world without Ebay, Craigslist, pawn shops, and garage sales ;^) Actually Craigslist and garage sales are about the last vestiges of the free market in this consumer driven world.

Thanks.

We are taught to be acquisitive from an early age. It feels good to buy things that can enhance one’s life. But take a look at our garages filled with “stuff” we don’t use, clothes that we don’t wear, and food we throw away cause we bought too much and it’s no good. What if we just bought only the food that we were going to eat.

My parents were much more minimalist than I am. They only made the money they needed. It’s hard to break out of the culture of cintinuous acquisition, but I am trying

Yes, good points, I just have a hard time telling myself the difference between need to have and nice to have.

I might add that sales taxes are like tariffs. Once in place, they always just go up and up. Now we get to pay sales tax no matter who we buy from.

My answer to this is “minimalism”. Stop just buying what we don’t absolutely need. Cutting purchases 10% without reducing standard of living is usually possible. I have cut way back on food purchases at Warehouse clubs and buy smaller sizes at Walmart hoodmart to reduce wasting so much spoiled food. Breaking the eating out habit by 20% isn’t hard either. Get free water at restaurants and use those little flavor packets I bring with me- saves 2.50 at most restaurants each time. Economize on multiple local trips- saves gas.and miles, requiring less frequent car purchases and sales tax expenditures. We are spending junkies now and it needs to stop

Good points.

Trump does say he wants free trade. But once tariff money starts flowing to governments, why would it ever stop. I think the balance of payments with China is because their labor is very cheap and efficient and their people are just more competitive than the relatively lazy Americans. 25% tariff is a drop in the bucket and won’t change chinese exports. Trump should be promoting automation here as a counter to Chinese labor to make it possible for Chinese to actually want our stuff. If selling in China means giving up our secrets, companies can just say no.

In this case I think it is being used as a big stick, more to make the point of anyone can have tariffs, but everyone is better off with none. I think he really is trying to get there, but other countries refused to budge.

Tariffs are s tax applied against the politically disadvantaged with the approval of the politically advantaged and applied under hidden agendas. In this case it’s supposed to cause more to be made in the USA. It’s not going to work

One has to wonder if all the "hidden tariffs" that have been in place for years were not going to some other place anyways., as there seems to be no accounting for it. They have been in place in almost every major economy in one form or another. Along with out farm subsidies and price supports, the market runs in a manipulated manner anyways.

pretty easy solution though, and we dont need anyone else to accomplish it. Just question how much we really need to buy, and cut back buying to only the important things.

10% should be a piece of cake for a starter. Consumption addiction is REALLY an addiction probably up there with many forms of drug addiction.

imo, at least half of what Americans spend is wasted on junk that temporarily satisfies our consumption addiction (and it will take more than a government program or tax to solve this dilemma.)

I really wonder where the trade war is going. What i see is a trade imbalance caused by the relative uncompetitive position of usa workers , the fact that tariff money goes to the rathole of governments, plus china’s desire to take iver the world. That adds up to continuation of tariffs to fund our ever expanding givernment, advancement of automation to reduce the need for expensive usa workers, higher prices and shrinking volume as customers re-evaluate just how much they really need to buy

I can tell you from our business its going to mean an expanded push to reduce the need for expensive usa workers through sutomation snd outsourcing of more services, and an attempt to maintain profitability in the face of reduced exports ,higher import costs, and less reliance on. Sales if nanufactured items as opposed to automated services. Interesting future- maybe we buy less junk we dont really need, cutting back on the need for income, and having a more meaningful and simpler life where we spend only what we have and not what we can borrow through money printing

Well, I am sure this isn't over yet....

The media is now, without a doubt, marketing itself to people who 1-cannot read, 2-will not read, and 3-have zero critical thinking ability. The sad thing is that this constitutes a large part of the voting population. If it didn't work, they wouldn't be doing it. I've seen members of my own family, and others close to me, take the slop they're serving up. The media is in full assault-mode now. They don't seem to have any interest in covering the news. I've seen some amazing things on the news...but I've never seen anything like this in my lifetime.

Better solution would be to have zero tariffs and concenrate on makingusa more competitive. Hirig people here is a finacial nightmare

I just meant that to actually cause a return to usamanfacturing the tariff woud have to be in the neighborhood of 200-250%. 10-25% just causes pain to the USA, but we will still buy from China. Lus as China retaliates, our exports will fall and make trae deficit worse.

Obviously 200% tariff would decimate shipping indutry