Valentine’s Day sets expectations for dating and relationships which, for the most part, asymmetrically position a dude to spend a vastly inflated amount of his money on his lady friend.  What does the lady get?  Cultural affirmation that she’s more important than her other ladies in her social world.  While your dating status can vary from the hopeful to the casual to the serious, it seems as though there are a few exceptions to the expectation of a woman. I have yet to meet a girl that doesn’t love getting flowers at work (which is resolved by this year’s blessed-fact that Valentine’s is on Saturday).  Now, on Valentine’s enough of the menfolk have decided to participate in the commercial excess that a meaningful percentage of women get flowers, teddy bears or chocolates.  What does this do?

Obviously, it creates an expectation from women that they if their toy, casual hookup or boyfriend cared at all about them, he would treat her like her co-workers and friends by spending money on flowers or chocolates that cost twice as much as normal.  I can just imagine what goes on in the women’s bathroom on Valentine’s day:

Girl who got the ginormous box of chocolates: Do you think Jessica will get anything?  I know she was seeing that one guy, but I don’t think they are seeing each other anymore.

Girl who got the obese red rose flower arrangement:  Jessica and Bill stopped seeing each other two weeks ago, maybe because she’s a bitch.  She should have kept him on the leash for a little longer.  But did you hear Melinda’s boyfriend dumped her last night.

Both girls eye each other and laugh, leave the bathroom and walk by Melinda and Jessica’s and give them that evil smile.

Ok, I know that’s not how it really works, but isn’t this partially true?

[pic from bored-now]

(click here for full sized chart)

As you can see from the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) data reported through September 2008, we are definitely seeing an increase in unemployment in both Charlottesville City and the Charlottesville Metropolitan Statistical Area.   I am not sure how the media got the widely reported “500 job loss figure.” In fact, according to non-seasonally adjusted data by the VEC, the Charlottesville MSA labor market looked worse:

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Earlier today I was driving down Main Street, and as I approached 7th St. I saw something odd. It was a man, standing in the middle of the road (on the double yellows) holding a sign that read “NEED WORK NOW!” I suddenly had flashbacks to my high school history books and pictures of the down-and-out during the great depression. Then I started wondering, “why the hell is this guy in the middle of the damn street?” Fortunately, on my return trip, he’d made his way (with the help of a CPD officer) to the sidewalk. But given the horrid state our economy is in, it made me wonder whether this is just an isolated incident, or if it’s an indicator of increasingly desperate times ahead?

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Woah, so apparently, in our never ending list of problems (failure of decade old banks, a housing crisis, a food crisis, an oil crisis and a bee crisis) we now have two more issues to add to the list:

1.  Gasoline Shortage:  In the South East (not Virginia from what we’ve seen), you can’t find fuel.  The shortage resulted from hurricane damage to Gulf Coast refineries.  This has affected motorists in north Georgia, Atlanta, Western North Carolina and Tennessee.  People have been lining up for hours and it’s extremely difficult to find gas.

2.  Meat and Dairy Rationing:  We will soon need to start rationing meat and dairy products, according to a study from the Food Climate Research Network. In order to support the eventual takeover of vegetarians, it’s becoming more obvious that meat consumption isn’t green friendly. This report explains that UK consumption of food accounts for over 18% of carbon emissions and concludes with the ominous:

Government needs to reinvigorate its plans for developing a meat road map [i.e. reducing meat consumption]. The road map should have clear targets for emissions reduction (in line with the overarching 70% reduction target)…

Video of 93 Car Line Waiting for Gas After The Break…

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A birdie just sent in this craigslist ad which puts the Italian Deli up for sale for $120,000 :

Italian Deli for sale on Main Street, in the heart of the UVA campus. Across from UVA Hospital. Great walk-in and catering business

We don’t know why this is for sale, but the rumor is Pacino’s didn’t make enough money.

/go figure

Farmer’s Market

Why the hell is the Farmer’s Market so crowded?  I know it’s awesome and all, but the crowds create uber-suckage status.  I go there at 7:30AM; I go there at 11AM.  It doesn’t make a difference.  I feel like I’m on a NYC Subway at rush hour.  Try walking through tightly packed sardines trying to find something to eat. It’s not fun.  Waiting 10 minutes for a donut?  Dodging baby carriages that take up the entire width of the pedestrian area? Family of 6, plus 4 grandparents, plus 2 nannys yelling above everyone else?  When will it end? That place is so overcrowded, I am starting to avoid it like the plague.

Aioli

Every (i.e. not every, but MANY) freaking Aioli in this town is Hellmann’s mayonaise with added crap.  That’s not aioli!  There is a reason they call it Hellmann’s.  It is a gelatenous gob of tasteless fat.  Get with the program, chefs.  Impress me and let me know where I can get the real raw egg shizzle that tastes like ambrosia.

UNCUS Cover

The cover reads Single Streamin’ Comminglin’ which sounds like a porn movie gone wrong.  It makes no sense.

Gunshots Late at Night

They freak me out.   People near me have been killed.  Babies have been killed.  What gives?  Maybe we should realize these crimes occur in specific parts of the city and do something about it.

Forgot this one… Mixed Drink Prices

$9 Dollars is now the standard price for a 99% ice, 1% booze mixed drink with a really fancy name.  I like throwing money away, but seriously where can you find mixed drinks in this town for a decent price?

I have a lot more, but they aren’t local.  What are yours?

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HEADACHES!!!

We are hearing about big problems with AT&T service in Central Virginia.  Users are experiencing dropped calls, lack of outgoing texts amongst many other problems.

These problems started yesterday evening at the latest and still no updates on when the problem will be fixed.

If you are on AT&T and having problems, let us know what you’ve been experiencing and when it all started!

Update #1 11AM, July 2nd – It appears that AT&T problems are affecting ALL AT&T customers in Central Virginia.

Update #2 11:15AM, July 2nd – It appears that AT&T mobile customers have NO VOICE AND NO TEXT MESSAGING abilities.

Update #3 3:45PM, July 2nd – Intermittent service reported, but most customers still have problems.

Update #4 11PM, July 2nd – Service seems to be fixed. Let us know if you experience anything otherwise.

Update #5 4PM, July 3rd – Service still intermittant.  Mysterious calls from Number 1.  No word on 007.