TRENDING #518 L
Fear-monger Factor
ast month, the Times Union reported that three Rotterdam Highway Department employees were struck by lightning during a violent storm. Thankfully, they were not seriously hurt. So we got to worrying: What are our chances of being struck by lightning? Do most people live when they’re struck by lightning? How do you even avoid being struck by lightning? The answers are: better than you think (1 in 3,000!); yes (only 10 percent die); and: stay inside. No, seriously. When it’s thundering out, get thee to a sheltered area, wrap yourself in wet fleece and crawl under your bed to wait out the storm. The National Weather Service uses this handy-dandy slogan: “When thunder roars, go indoors.” Also: stay indoors for 30 to 45 minutes after the thunder subsides. And you don’t really need to wrap yourself in wet fleece. … Probably.
Veg Heads Rejoice!
restaurant people don’t order when they go out
The general formula for restaurant pricing is 33 percent, meaning the menu price of a dish should be three times the cost of the ingredients, for a markup of 300 percent. To offset loss leaders like steak and luxury seafood dishes, on which restaurants typically break even or lose money, they charge disproportionately more for other fare. The items below typically are marked up 500 to more than 1,000 percent.
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· Summer Squash · Brussels Sprouts Sweet Corn · Tomatoes · Carrots Cabbage · String Beans Snap Peas · Zucchini
Appetizers like bruschetta and nachos. Even if the portion is big, the cost is a pittance.
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tinyurl.com/veggies518
Transportation Committee is paying just under $50,000 to the Buffalobased organization to station 25 bicycles throughout the 518’s metropolitan areas. While riders will be required to
register and leave credit card information before using a bicycle, the service is free of charge. “This is only a trial, so we’re not charging anything,” Michael Franchini, the executive director of the CDTC, told the Times Union. “We’re just trying to offer the public more transportation options.” Participants will be asked to complete a short survey after their ride to determine how the Capital Region takes to public bikes. Keep your eyes out for the free wheels during August in Saratoga Springs and Albany (Troy and Schenectady’s trials took place in July). tinyurl.com/bikefree518
Mussels. The markup on these is often more than 750 percent.
2 Green salads. A bowl of lettuce and vegetables costs you seven to eight times what the restaurant pays for the ingredients.
1 Nonalcoholic beverages. $2.50 soda or cup of coffee or tea typically costs the restaurant 5 cents to 20 cents. — Steve Barnes
16 518 LIFE
Photos: Lightning strike, Philip Kamrass/Times Union archives; Veggie baskey, YinYang/GettyImages; Bicycles, Will Waldron/Times Union archives.
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Arugula
The Capital Region is about to get a taste of bike-sharing, courtesy of Buffalo Bike Share. The Capital District
THINGS
Pasta. Unless it’s loaded with expensive seafood, you’re getting ripped off.
It’s easy to get your local veggie hit in August when, according to GrowNYC, a nonprofit Greenmarket based in the Big Apple, nearly 30 vegetables locally grown in New York State are ripe for the eating. Here are 10 to get you started:
Summertime Cycling
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