Yummy, Yummy Belly Flops

[fenchurch]

I abandoned any idea of going out to the air show at Beale AFB this weekend, after remembering what the drive out there is like on a regular day, much less when half the population in Sacramento will be trying to head out there for the show.

So, instead I headed in the other direction, down to the Jelly Belly factory in Fairfield!

What a fun tour! You get to actually see the factory in action, complete with dancing robot arms! And the process itself is surprisingly interesting.

And then, best of all, is the factory store... bulk Jelly Bellies of every flavor, including some of the Bertie Botts Beans flavors. You better believe I stocked up on the Black Pepper ones (I love 'em, but it's really not worth buying an expensive small box of Bertie Botts, just to get the half dozen or so in there). I also snagged some Roasted Garlic Jelly Bellies (I've never found them anywhere else) and some Buttered Toast Jelly Bellies... they're great together, tasting exactly like garlic bread.

And then there's the Belly Flops... the two pound bags of misshapen Jelly Bellies that didn't pass inspection. They had a sale, buy three get one free. So I did. Now I've got to haul them home on the plane... but, if nothing else, rackham's co-workers will be able to snack on them in his office over the next few weeks.

I wore my "Geek" t-shirt today (it's plain black with the word "Geek." in white text on the front and the computer-related definition of it on the back), which barely gets a first glance, much less a second when I'm at home, but had several people mention it here. It surprised me a bit, since it wasn't the sort of shirt I'm used to getting comments on.

Yesterday, I fixed the television in the guest room.

When I got here on Thursday, my grandfather told me it was broken... which didn't bother me, since I wasn't really planning on watching TV in there anyway. Then yesterday I noticed that the remote in the living room was almost completely covered in clear duct tape. The reason? It was blocking off all of the buttons my grandparents found "confusing" (which really started me wondering about the problem in the other room). He then commented that the television the guest room had quit working when my mom was visiting about a month ago and had "pressed the wrong button" (hence the remote control button paranoia in the living room).

So, I checked first to make sure that all the cables were connected correctly, checked that all the inputs on the television and VCR were set right, and finally unplugged the cable box, counted to ten and plugged it back in. Sure enough, it came right up with an initialization screen and eventually the television feed. Not surprisingly, this is the sort of thing I often have to do when I go visit my mom, as well.

Comments

[emmaco.livejournal.com]

I have not had jelly bellies for many years. But the buttered toast flavour may be enough to tempt me into the sweet shop in town tomorrow to see if they have it :)

[petzipellepingo.livejournal.com]

Hee, they call dud jelly bellys "belly flops". I like it!

[ayinhara.livejournal.com]

I am a jelly bean fan too. I try not to have them in the house, because I will eat them till they are gone.

My husband's oldest first cousin is one of the smartest people I know, but she is completely technophobic. In her case, since she is close to 80 years old, she can be excused from understanding about electronics. But her technophobia extends to all kinds of mechanical contraptions also. She came out to visit us in Colorado and could not figure out how to operate the shower in the guest bathroom. It is one of the very standard mechanisms: set the water and pull up the little plug on the spout. This woman lived in Europe for many years after WWII and is well traveled and well read, but let her face anything unusual of an electromechanical nature and nobody is home.

One of the curators that I know at the American Museum of Natural History has similar problems. He does not know how to set his VCR to record when he isn't home. And here I thought those commercials that were on tv years ago about VCRs and having your grandson set them up for you was just a joke.

It is puzzling. Your family probably views you as a great technical whiz. It's good to have such talents.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

My daughter loves jelly belly beans - she will have to put Fairfield onto her places to go list!

Love the idea od 'belly flops'!

[fenchurche.livejournal.com]

It's located right between Sacramento and San Francisco, so if she's ever in San Francisco for whatever reason, it shouldn't be too tough to get out there.

They've also got another factory with tours in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, though I suspect she's more likely to find herself in California. :-)

[rosiewook.livejournal.com]

::sigh:: I miss that Jelly Belly factory. When I lived in the Bay Area, it was the only way I could afford Jelly Belly's. Pounds and pounds of Belly Flops!

Great. Now I'm going to need to figure out who sells fresh Jelly Belly's around here. Major craving!

[rahirah]

Sometimes I wish I liked jeally beans, just because they're so danged PRETTY!

[sfdave.livejournal.com]

Mmmm Belly Flops.

Belly Flops are the bomb-diggity.