Thursday: leftovers

Read yesterday's post for details. One thing I forgot to mention is that due to the oil I put in the pan before I baked the stromboli, the bottom crust was all fried and crispy and tasty.  It's less so the second day due to getting soggy, but most of the flavor is still there.

The main point of today's post is a commentary on this news story Julie sent me. It's depressing, because that place had what I think was the best bbq I've ever had.  It had a bit of a shady feeling to it, being in a kind of run-down feeling residential neighborhood, but all of that vanished when you started eating the deliciousness.

Still, the deliciousness is also not the point.

The point is this: "Undercover officers posing as meat thieves approached the proprietors and, police allege, sold the restaurants what the officers claimed was stolen meat."

What?

Now, I'm not a criminal mastermind or anything, and I certainly don't know where the diamonds are.  But, hypothetically, if someone approached me, and told me that they had brought me a great deal on some stolen something, I'm not interested.  It doesn't matter what the something is, if you come to me, and tell me that you have stolen product for sale, I don't want it. There is a very simple reason behind this: you're a cop.  Proper criminals don't advertise that they have stolen merchandise, they suggest that they have suddenly become overstocked on something, and were wondering if you might be interested in some bargains.  See how that works? No one says anything about a crime being committed, and everyone walks away happy.

In any case, if you're already buying stolen meat (or whatever), why would you not stick with your current stolen meat vendor?  You have an established relationship, and have developed some level of trust.  If your SMV tells you he's out of town for a while, and his cousin Timmy is going to be taking over deliveries, you should meet Timmy along with your SMV.  This establishes Timmy as being vouched for by the SMV, so you know if Timmy starts selling you bad products, you know that you can take this matter up with the SMV.  Then it's not your problem, it's his problem.

This same principle applies to lots of other things.  Random guy offers you a great deal on some sweet drugs? Cop. Random girl in ugly plastic platform shoes asking if you're looking for some company? Vice cop.  If you're looking to break a law, you are in a market, and it's your obligation to go searching for a vendor.  When you want pizza, do you sit at home hoping that the Pizza Hut people will knock on your door and offer you some fresh pizza they just happened to bring by?  No, you go to them, and ask them for the pizza.  Similarly, if you want to get something in a less-than-legal manner, you go to where that kind of deal is happening, and identify a potential retailer.  They shouldn't be that hard to find.  Then, you be as vague as possible, because as far as the PR knows, you're probably a cop.


Also, all of this is invalid for the case of the Ice Cream Truck.  Obviously it's always acceptable to buy ice cream whenever it's available.  I mean, duh.