What's up with Netflix?

OK, the "very long wait" for a movie in my Netflix Q never used to last more than a week, maybe two at the most, but now the waiting periods seem to last much longer. It is possible that I've slipped in the hierarchy of subscribers. People who keep movies at home for a long time cost the company less money and are rewarded by getting the movies that have a "wait" sooner than subscribers who go through their movies quickly (and thus go through more movies in any given period). But I don't think I'm going through movies any faster now than I used to.

About a month ago, Netflix stopped selling its excess (used) DVD's. They never explicitly said this (or maybe they did, and I missed the news story), but I am guessing that they are now buying far fewer copies of each movie. This would explain the seemingly much longer waiting period for any given movie in great demand.

I liked the old system better. But I imagine they can churn more of a profit by buying far fewer copies of new (= expensive) movies. I'll have to try to view this as an opportunity to practice patience.

Seasonal Delights

We're nearing the end of pomegranate season. I'm wondering why pomegranate season is so short. We can buy pretty much any fruit or vegetable at any time of the year now, thanks to the global shipping network. (Whether we *should* be consuming produce from far away is a thorny issue that I won't address here.) When it's winter here, it's summer in the southern hemisphere. Does nobody farm pomegranates in the southern hemisphere? I realize they're most popular in Asia and the Middle East, not Africa or Chile or Australia. But maybe the farmers down there could make a killing exporting them to the people who miss them nine months out of the year.

Speaking of seasonal delights, I thawed out some of the pesto I made from the basil I grew over the summer. It's wonderful to be able to taste a little bit of summer sun on a cold, dreary day.