noise."Story notes: Grace Manewitz (Como Salsa para los Tacos) · 3:07am Sep 10th, 2020
Special thanks to MSPiper for pre-reading! On short order, ‘cause that’s how I roll!
Once again, we return to our ponies and their tasty Taco Bell espionage!
Grace Manewitz is a Fashion Week receptionist in Manehattan the only time we see her in canon. She’s a pony who needs more love. 
Yum! Brand is in fact headquartered in Louisville, KY, in an antebellum-style building.
They also have a more traditional office building tucked away behind it.
As far as I have been able to determine, that was KFC’s headquarters at some point, and now the entire franchise has their top-level offices there [dredging through Wikipedia, it seems that KFC had their support headquarters there in the Pepsi days, and Tricon used it as well, which then became Yum! brands. Also, KFC used to be owned by RJ Reynolds, something I just learned].
Taco Bell has its own franchise headquarters, located in Irvine, CA, kinda in the triangle between I-5, I-405, and CA-133. From the outside it looks like a fairly normal building; on the inside, though . . . “taco-centric weirdness.”
They also have the original Taco Bell, “Taco Bell Numero Uno” in their parking lot. It was going to be torn down, and Taco Bell HQ set out to save it, and they did.
Pity the same can’t be said for 7-Layer Burritos, but maybe if enough people take to social media . . . .
Incidentally, that linked tour above said that “In addition to combing through social media for all mentions of Taco Bell, every morning the team meets to read through any coverage of the brand that was published in the last 24 hours.” I wonder if I suddenly popped up on their radar screen? You owe me a quesadilla, Mark King.
Orbitouches are keyboards that don’t have keys. I was first made aware of them either by one of my readers or else by watching Linus Tech Tips keyboard reviews. He’s reviewed at least two of the three keyboards I commonly use (possibly the third as well).
http://assistivetech.net/search/productDisplay.php?product_id=54837
Every review I’ve seen for it is that it’s not a great choice for people who can use a normal keyboard--there are better options out there--but for somebody who can’t for whatever reason, it’s a decent, if pricey choice. Besides the obvious advantages to people with hand mobility issues, or hooves, it’s apparently popular with some people with autism due to the fact that the letters are sensibly organized rather than scattered wherever like on a normal keyboard. Yes, I know you can remap a keyboard, but not everyone is tech-savvy enough to do it [I’m not].
Bowman Field is the second airport near Lousiville, KY. According to their website, they’re one of the longest continually-operating general aviation airports in the US (since 1919!). Their headquarters/control tower is amazing.
John Wayne Airport is near/in Irvine, CA.
Finding where Taco Bell sources their ingredients is difficult. Usually, the only things I can find is when there was a major recall for food safety, such as the Kenosha Beef recall in 2019 which included 2.3 million pounds of beef for Taco Bell. [Incidentally, as I was looking this one up, the ‘people also ask’ box on Google included: “Is Taco Bell meat safe to eat now?” Was it ever?]
Likewise, I found out that Taco Bell ran out of tortillas in 2019, due to an (unnamed) supplier issue. And way back when they were owned by Tricon, there was a recall of Taco-Bell branded taco shells due to a flour mixup in Texas which sent Sabritas flour not fit for human consumption [Sabritas, as far as I can tell, does not make tacos for Taco Bell, only for Kraft who sells them under the Taco Bell name].
And there have been a number of cilantro problems, as well. On the plus side, when it comes to food safety, they’re probably not as bad as Chipotle.
(possibly NSFW, I dunno . . . it’s John Oliver.)
Star of the West Milling Company has mills in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, North Dakota, and New York. It was originally based in Frankenmouth, MI [and still has a mill there AFAIK] and was founded by two brothers who started a sawmill and then discovered it was easier to saw wheat. The company was named after a merchant steamship; to quote Star of the West Milling’s own history: “The reason for Hubinger naming his mill Star of the West is not really known.”*
Source
________________________________________
*You gotta call it something is always a plausible reason.
Probably published before he was done because I have poor impulse control. We all know I do.
In fact, I have a tattoo on my forehead that says just that.1
_________________
1not an actual fact2
2probably
Let us raise a beefy Frito burrito in honor of this story.
5352263
Or a Mexican Pizza . . .
derpicdn.net/img/view/2017/4/5/1404268.png
She's got plenty of Love™ from Shinodage, that's for sure
So Grace's boss, unlike the other Yum! Brands executives you mentioned, is fictional?
5352265 From the Pizza Hut / Taco Bell?
"Harmless and cute" : Two fatal errors to make about another civilization who's interested in your stuff.
I'm sure someone at HQ is aware of the story, though I doubt they would ever want to publicly admit it.
It might have been me who told you about the Orbitouch, but I'm not completely sure.
5352253
Can confirm, though I didn't spot any errors introduced by last-minute changes this time. Of course, that's probably because they're hiding so I can experience the joy of spotting them all when I'm next back online this weekend after they've been live for days, but it's technically not a sure thing so until then I can dream.
The adorable industrial espionage continues.
That’s the thing about ponies. They’re cute, they're nice, they’re unapologetically earnest, they work hard, they’re good at it...
They were the perfect spies even BEFORE Twilight started giving them all advanced training in interpersonal skills.
Manewitz is the receptionist at Ghost Central?
I was suprised to see, years ago, just how much the local food factory could produce from using local supplies. I dont remember seeing any wheat fields, but its a bit hard to miss the yearly sight of a large combine harvester making its way through the pre 1600s village by edging down the wrong side of the road so the hill slope can get the cab under the telephone wires. In that it only just caught them so they lifted up and slid over the top of the cab.
Steak and Kidney pies. For when you dont want your ingredients to fall out until after youve started eating?
"there [dredging"
...As far as I'm seeing, there's no corresponding close bracket for that?
"I wonder if I suddenly popped up on their radar screen?"
Huh. :D
And I enjoyed both the chapter and blog post as usual; thank you for writing. :)
Ah, but there is a perfectly sound logic to the Qwerty system: it's specifically designed to be as inconvenient as possible. There was a reason why this made sense to do, but it only applied to typewriters.
For the record, I had Taco Bell for lunch today and I'm holding you directly responsible.
5352268
True . . .
On FimFic, she’s only got two tagged stories, and this is one of them.
5352288
Correct. I couldn’t find the actually boss, so I improvised. (I did wade through more than one boring corporate document.)
Probably for the best, really.
5352289
Taco Bell! Two crispy tortillas and stuff with melted cheese in a flimsy box and it drips all over you as you try to eat it.
5352290
Oh yeah, exactly. Ponies know this. Ponies use this.
derpicdn.net/img/2019/4/29/2026774/large.png
We’re so
ed
5352305
You’re probably right, but I’m holding out for a free quesadilla.
Hit me up, Mark King. I’ll say good things about your food, I promise. Both in the story and in blogs.
5352324
I could dig through comments, but there are so many . . . might have come up in Silver Glow’s Journal or somewhere else that has ponies on Earth . . . plus, there are any number of alert readers who tell me things, sometimes things i did know and sometimes things that I did not. I know that someone back in the day suggested a Korean pony playing video games, probably in a comment on SGJ, but I can’t find that comment. . . .
5352330
Turns out that I misspelled Irvine, CA, but that’s the only one that been spotted so far. . .
Errors are sneaky like that. Every now and then I get a very late comment calling out an error.
On the plus side, I’ve got published books with problems that sneaked by editors and/or quality control, so even when it’s a paid job, mistakes happen. Or happy little accidents.
5352335
Yup!
Exactly! Nothing to worry about, they’re just learning about Earth and their job and not at all trying to prise out all the secrets of Taco Bell.
They really are. Above suspicion, really, and that’s how they get you.
5352347
We’ve got taller power lines, but can confirm the agricultural machines on the roads in the right seasons. Where I live now, it’s usually combines or tractors with their trailers; where I used to live it was Terra-Gators bouncing along enroute to a new field.
butlermachinery.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/TG9300.jpg
Crunchwraps are kinda like pies. . . .
5352379
missing bracket added
You’re welcome!
5352384
Agreed.
Kinda like the numberpad on your keyboard vs. your telephone.
Yeah.
There’s a reason for that.
5352500
Fair.
I hope it was delicious, and I also hope that you briefly envisioned a cheery unicorn (with brass shoes) at the cash register.
5353010
I was wondering, why brass? And do they have non-slip soles on the bottom?
5353046
Probably because brass, like many other copper alloys, has antimicrobial qualities: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimicrobial_copper-alloy_touch_surfaces
5352971 What about the combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell?
5353007
Thanks. :)
:)
5352986
"
"On the plus side, I’ve got published books with problems that sneaked by editors and/or quality control, so even when it’s a paid job, mistakes happen. Or happy little accidents.
Aye, I've found some too. :)
Try one-handed dvorak. Masturbation jokes aside, you'll never go back to qwerty.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvorak_keyboard_layout#One-handed_versions
5353083
Which makes you wonder if Equestrian hospitals use metal work shoes, sanitary booties, or both.
Clearly these ponies should have reached out to you for their espionage efforts.
5353046
Brass ‘cause they’re lightweight and get along well with Chapulin’s magic. How shoes react to a pony’s magic would be something to weigh in when it comes to being shod (besides wear, traction, etc.)
They do not have non-slip soles on the bottom, which is a mistake. To give you a bit of a teaser for an upcoming chapter (still in editing):
5353083
It does, but that’s not why. It’s more about how it interacts with her magic, something a unicorn especially needs to consider.
AFAIK, the only modern shoes are either steel or aluminum (for weight), but ponies have other things to consider. Historically, of course, shoes were made of whatever was available and seemed tough, pretty much any metal, leather, or wood through the ages.
5353086
I can’t recall ever having been in one of those, but I do know that they exist. We do have a combo KFC/Taco Bell not far from where I live. That’s also an unholy union IMHO, sorta like Chrysler and literally anybody else.
<shots fired>
5353156
Is it better?
Probably.
Do I have to un-learn more than 30 years of practice?
Definitely.
I still put double-spaces after periods and can’t get out of that habit, so I delete them after the fact . . . odds of me learning a new keyboard arrangement are nearly zero at this point, even if it is a superior arrangement. Maybe if (heaven forbid) I lose a hand or something and have to . . . it took a significant finger injury to make me learn how to use a fork in my right hand. . . .
5353211
Depends on the pony and her occupation. All through Equestria, shoes are optional, I would assume that sanitary booties, with or without shoes, are the preference for hospitals. Due to in-person care, nurses (who seem to typically be earth ponies due to their healing/growing magic I assume) likely prefer shoes for hind-hooves only, if they wear any at all. Unicorns wouldn’t use them if they didn’t have to wear them, but depending on where they live, they might have to (cobbles are hell on hooves). Pegasi also prefer to go unshod unless they do a lot of walking; in my headcanon, pegasi are more likely to have bad hooves and to require shoes as a prophylactic measure.
5353544
As you’ll find out, HQ is figuring out how useful the internet is when it comes to learning facts, and making adjustments as needed.
5353749 lol why are you shitting all over Chrysler lately? Who hurt you?
5353817
What do you mean lately? I’ve always made fun of Chrysler (and my last three daily drivers were all Chryslers, and in fact there are more Chrysler products currently in my driveway than anything else [overall I still own more GM products, though].
Also remember they’re getting in bed with the French again. With the company who designed this:
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Peugeot_BB1.JPG
Seriously, think carefully before clicking the image.
5354395 Yeah the French suck. I'm sure their own cars are good for them, but like... ever since Nissan got in bed with Renault, their cars suck. That's not even mentioning the annoying fact that they switched bolt head sizes from 10,12,14,17,19 to 10,11,13,14,15,16,18,19. Honestly, I don't know why Chrysler thinks they need to be in bed with anyone, they were able to stand on their own feet just fine when they weren't being jerked around by idiotic leadership. Honestly, they have kinda been in the shitter since Iacocca left the company to that prick that decided it would be a good idea to sell Lamborghini. I mean, can you imagine? We might've had Hemi-powered Lambos that were actually reliable and had available parts.
Pity.
5354395
I legitimately can't tell if I'm looking at the front or the back.
5380121
I suspect that that’s supposed to be the front, since the red lights are on the other end, but it’s French, so who knows?