For some reason, I really like to talk about food in this blog.  Maybe its b/c I usually write this late at night when I’m getting the munchies.  Anyway, this time, I want to talk about produce.  Walmart’s produce area still has a lot of improving to do, but there is one recent change that is making me pretty excited…the focus on local.  Over the last two years, under the leadership of a great merchant named Ron, our produce area has made a concerted effort to increase its purchasing of, and ability to purchase locally grown fresh produce.  In fact, Ron’s team has committed to sourcing locally whenever possible.

To give you an idea how much they’ve focused on this, over the past two years, Walmart’s partnerships with local farmers have grown by 50 percent, and fruits and vegetables grown in any given store’s state now make up over a fifth of what’s available during summer months.  Now, statistics like this are nice, but its particularly cool when you see the results…a few examples:

Until recently, all of the fresh cilantro sold in Walmart stores was sourced from California. Then, Ron’s merchants found a grower named Duda Farms, and soon we started sourcing cilantro from Belle Glade, Florida for distribution in the eastern US.  Introducing Florida-grown cilantro resulted in an estimated savings of 250,000 food miles in a single season.

Additionally, Walmart has worked to optimize its sourcing of peaches.   We source 12 million pounds of peaches from 18 different states; not just well-known growing areas like Georgia and South Carolina. By sourcing from so many different states and selling the product locally, Wal-Mart saved 672,000 food miles and 112,000 gallons of diesel fuel.  Indeed, buying local can be a great thing for the planet.

There is one more reason this is a really cool thing.  It’s great for the customer and the business.  First, customers love the connection you feel and freshness you get from knowing that the tomato you are buying comes from a farmer in your state.  Second, all those food mile savings add up to lower transportation costs that we can pass on to the customer and lower the price.  For example, the total freight and gasoline savings from the peach example equal more than $1.4 million. 

More to come…

So, as one who has never played a game in the Metal Gear Solid (MGS) series, this may be an odd perspective, but one that you may enjoy nonetheless. A co-worker likened this to watching the Godfather Trilogy and starting at number three. While I agree that number three in the Godfather series was a complete disaster, one was clearly the best, MGS4 stands up on its own very nicely, thank you. By now you have probably read the reviews that hail this masterpiece for what it is, so I cannot add much. I will tell you that the hype is well deserved and the game is incredible. After returning home from a vacation with the family, I picked up where I left off and finished at 3:00 AM Saturday. Add it all up and this game took me about twenty hours to complete from start to finish.

My co-worker is correct that the plot lines did not always make sense. I did not comprehend all of the subtlety that Hideo Kojima and his team baked in here. With powerful plot twists, a great physics engine, stunning graphics and just the right mix of background music and hidden treasures, they had all of the ingredients to make a multi course meal that would take any gamer hours to digest. The game is a banquet from which one can certainly get their fill.

The cinematic cut scenes by themselves are a visual treat. At times it is more of a movie than a game. Some are longer than others, especially at the end, but are helpful in understanding the plot. As a novice to the series, Wiki was close at hand to assist. No spoiler here, but the flashbacks were not much help. They do illustrate just how far the series has evolved from its earliest roots. When Snake has one particular flashback, you actually get to play an older version of the game for a brief moment. I found this part particularly difficult, as I had not played the earlier versions. Fans of the series will probably enjoy it more than I.

For those of us not familiar with the game, you play as Snake. He is an older version here than in previous chapters of MGS as he was impacted earlier. Snake is referred to as “Old Snake” in the game (how very creative). Snake is part chameleon and part SWAT team. This is not a typical third person shooter as stealth, silence and strategy are the watchwords. Sure, there is the opportunity for some running and gunning in the game, but these are the exceptions to the rule.

My favorite parts of the game were the “boss” battles. Of particular note were the “Wolf” and “Vamp” conflicts. The battle with “Liquid” after the climax and before the resolution, the denouement for all of you literature buffs, was a bit of a let down. (I sure hope my high school English teacher, Mr. Kail, is reading this.) It felt like a throwback to earlier games, and research confirmed this, but was not worth the build up generated in the game.  Despite that, the single player version is exceptional and worthy of praise.

One nit to pick is how Sony and Konami handle the multi-player version in Metal Gear Online. Oh, it is a fun version, but getting there is a hassle and makes one appreciate Microsoft’s efforts in developing Xbox Live. One has to log into Konami’s site and create TWO separate identifications. Each has its own password. It is a mess. It is not a seamless experience. It should be for one of the tent pole titles for the PlayStation 3 system. Once one navigates the passwords, it is a fun experience. None of this should have been there from the beginning. Sony should have created dedicated servers to handle this game. Now, I do not know how their agreement with Konami works, but this should have happened and the experience should have been that much better. Do not let that detract you from an otherwise exceptional example of modern gaming on a console. This title, as it exists, is only possible on the PlayStation 3 system. The game even makes fun of the need to swap out a disk at about the mid point. Disc swapping is not necessary as this comes in on a BD 50 disc. The disc can hold 50 Gigs of data! Going forward, programmers will learn how to exploit the power of the cell processor even more and this depth of gaming is what we, as consumers, should expect. Great game available exclusively for the PlayStation 3 and already at a Sam’s Club near you!

Anyone else out there finish this game? What did you think of it? 

Just a little personal perspective here. Over the past year, I had the opportunity to use all three console manufacturer's customer service programs. Wanted to let you all know how they faired. As far as I know, none of them knew I was a buyer at Sam's Club. Here are my perceptions. These may not be representative of anything, but they are interesting.

Let's start with Microsoft. Like many of you, I bought Halo 3 when it released. Like many folks that bought the upgraded edition, my disc was scratched. I printed the form on line and mailed the disc. No real need to do so as it worked fine, I just wanted to see what my Members would experience if they had the same issue. It was a positive experience. The new disc arrived quickly and came with a Microsoft service card. They exceeded my expectations. Nicely done.

Next up was Nintendo. I called their service number to order the silicone sleeves and upgraded Wii-mote straps. Nintendo's Customer Service folks are very efficient and polite! Once on the phone, they took my name and e-mail. They never asked for a serial number, proof of purchase only how many I needed. They e-mailed my tracking number and very quickly thereafter, I got both. Nintendo was extremely professional. Here too, my expectations were exceeded. The sleeves and straps are nice too.

Finally, Sony had their shot. My PS3 wet dead after game 6 of the Stanley Cup. Once the Penguins lost, I fired up the PS3 to play a little GTA IV. The PS3 flashed a red light and went dead. I called the 800 number and they were very professional. I explained that the disc was stuck in the machine and would not eject. I also explained that I did not want to break open the unit and copy the hard drive. "No worries" I was told. I recieved the "coffin box" very quickly. I sent the machine in and about $150.00 later (it was out of warranty) a NEW PS3 60G arrived along with my GTA IV disc. The $150 seems fair for all of the shipping and a new unit being dispatched. Sony turned this around VERY fast. I fired up the machine and my hard drive was NEW. All of my info was gone. I inputted my information and logged onto the PlayStation Network. To my plesant surprise, all of my friends came back. All of my free and paid downloads were available for me to re-download at no additional charge. My only issue is that my saved game progress (I WAS so very close to finishing GTA IV...) is gone. My expectations were not quite met, but overall a fast experience. To be fair, the printed note they sent with the coffin box indicated that hard drive contents would not be transferred. That caveat was not a part of the telephone conversation though and I did specifically request this in writing when I sent it back. Oh well, I am now hip deep in Metal Gear Solid 4 and enjoying this game.

Overall, the three did a nice job. In this day and age where we have many choices, they all have to perform at a high level. I think that they all stepped up nicely. Each had a different situation to resolve and overall, they did a fine job.  

Anyone else out there have a customer service experience with the three console manufacturers that you want to share?

Now that warm weather has hit most of the country, it's time to get off of the couches and outdoors.  With gas prices the way the are though, many people won't be wandering too far from their couches.  A marketing genius has coined the term "staycation" to describe the growing trend of families spending vacations in their own backyards.  But even if you're not going any further than the backyard, you still need entertainment!

My favorite outdoor activity as a kid was the temporary swimming pool.  The swimming part was fun, but the best part for me was when we first took it out of the box and prepped it for the summer season.  We would lay the lining out on the lawn, down a huge hill in the backyard and then hose it down and soap it up.  You can see where this is going.  We had the biggest slip-n-slide EVER!  Well, it seemed pretty big to a 5 year old.  The swimming part was okay too. 

Bike riding was my second favorite summer activity.  The saying "It's like riding a bike" is true....you never forget, but it sure does get a lot tougher when you're older and haven't done it in years.  We have a lot of great bikes to get you from A to B: cruisers, road bikes, kids' bikes, tandems, mountain bikes, bikes you don't even have to pedal...the list goes on and on.  Don't forget your helmet!

The final favorite was the swingset.  Mine was old and metal with one leg that would lift up a few inches every time I swung a little too high.  The accompanying sandbox was handmade and better served as a home for hundreds of tiny frogs than a place to build my future (sand) castle.  Oh, how things have changed.  Driving around town today, I can see the tops of wooden swingset structures, whose roofs tower over the roof of the house that it is nestled behind.  Swingsets that take loving dads many weekends, multiple drillbits and a lot of aspirin to construct. 

Okay folks, I promised you all another announcement and here it is. This is really cool. As far as I know, this is the only one that will be on sale in the USA. Sam's Club presents

SNAKE STATUE!

Here is an opportunity for someone to own a Snake Statue. You know Snake from the Metal Gear Solid series.  Snake was last seen sneaking around a non-descript warehouse (the date on the picture is not accurate, but we can verify that he was there). You can see he was on the pedestal for a while. His octo-camo suit has already changed!! That is how realistic the statue looks, you would swear it really is Snake.

Sam's Club was able to work with the good folks at Konami and Phillips Sales Inc to bring something very special to market for our Members. You can click here for a preview. Once the auction goes live next week, you can go to the auctions page and search for "metal gear solid" to find this unique item. Once the bidding starts, we will be watching it closely. One Member will win this auction and own a portion of gaming history.

This is yet another reason why a Membership at Sam's Club is so very special. If you have not played the latest in the series, be sure to check it out. The game is massive. It is the first BD50 game ever made. The content is so great, it would not fit on a single DVD or even a standard Blu-Ray disc. This game is exclusive to the Sony Play Station 3 system. It is already available at a Sam's Club near you. Have a great weekend. What do you think of this item?