Glass Water Bottles

http://www.betrulyyou.com/

I think they are very cool, but I would probably break it in some very quiet and inappropriate place.

I want to live in a Moon Hole

Or even better....a protected lunar lava tube :)


http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/space/01/01/moon.lava.hole/index.html

Guilty Pleasures

Lately, one of my guilty pleasures has been watching Jersey Shore. It's like real world only everyone is striving to be a "guido" or "guidette".

Last week the show became political. A New Jersey lawmaker is asking MTV to stop the show!

http://tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?news=448791

The latest criticism comes from the New Jersey Italian American Legislative Caucus, which says the show promotes derogatory ethnic stereotypes and is "wildly offensive."

But when you watch the show, the kids on it seem very proud of these attributes that the legislator is calling derogatory ethnic stereotypes. So are they derogatory stereotypes or is it simply a generational difference? I don't know the answer, I"ve never even been to Jersey.

Here is what wikipedia has to say http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guido_(slang)

Not a Snuggie

Most of these pictures creep me out.....but they are funny :)

http://notasnuggie.com

Toyota-Lexus Recall...Or Not

The controversy over the Toyota and Lexus floor mats continues.

We happen to own one of the models that is under investigation, a 2006 IS-250. Several things about this are bothering me.

The only thing we have received in the mail, is a letter asking us to remove the driver's side floor mat. No offer to replace the floor mat......
Click here for a copy of the notice

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has called their floor mat statement "Inaccurate and Misleading" Why? Because the NHTSA believes that there is a defect in the cars, after an incident that killed a family of four that could not stop an accelerating Lexus.

This past Monday Toyota released a statement denying any finding of fault on Toyota's part or any defect in its cars in relation to the deadly floor mat safety advisory issued in late September. Today, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is saying that Toyota's information is "inaccurate and misleading" and that there is in fact a defect in the 3.8 million cars affected.
Click here for full story

Still nothing from Toyota/Lexus in response to this...... So are we safe or not????

Quilted Northern, Economics, Psychology and Marketing

Any business with a product to market should understand the intertwining of economics, psychology and marketing.

This is where Quilted Northern missed the target. With the case of the smaller toilet paper roll, it's a quite simple example.

If you raise the price of each roll of toilet paper 2 cents, it is unlikely that your consumer will even notice the 10 to 25 cent raise in their toilet paper package, especially if you raise it slowly over time. The consumers that do notice will either stop buying the product or they will decide they don't care and continue to buy. The ones who stop will be a small percentage and may have stopped buying anyway.

On the other hand a consumer that pays the price they have been paying for their toilet paper but opens it and finds a smaller roll feels cheated and ripped off. The actual visual of a smaller product has a major impact on buying decisions, especially when there is a somewhat standard size for toilet paper.

This also effects any loyalty the consumer may have with the brand. They think "this brand cheated me" and will most likely never come back to it.

This intense feeling of being cheated by a company turns viral and you have rip off reports and blogs like mine reporting this feeling.

You never see rip off reports or blogs reporting their toilet paper now costs 15 cents more per package.

The way I see it, Georgia Pacific and Quilted Northern could use a good refresher in the importance of the psychology behind consumer purchases and marketing.

Quilted Northern - the tiny roll

I have long been a buyer of Quilted Northern toilet paper, you know you have your favorites....

Last week I opened a package and did a double take. It looked smaller. Alot smaller. I put it away and didn't think about it for a couple of days. Then when I got it out to put on the holder I could really tell it was smaller. A 1/2 inch shorter and and smaller in girth. But.....the price was the same.....what's happening here??

When I first researched this I found a press release from Georgia Pacific that I can no longer find, however someone posted a "ripoff report" , which made me laugh a little, but the reply from Georgia Pacific was the same as the press release I had found earlier.

We understand you may have some concerns about the roll width and/or sheet count of Quilted Northern Soft & Strong(r). As noted at the bottom of the package, Quilted Northern Soft & Strong(r) is about 1/2 inch narrower than before, and we have slightly reduced the sheetcount.

Because of today's economy, cost is a factor. We made the decision to slightly reduce the roll to bring you the bathroom tissue you trust and not raise our price to retailers. Quilted Northern Soft & Strong continues to provide the cleanliness and comfort you have come to expect, making it a great value in today's economy. As always, Quilted Northern Soft & Strong(r) is thick, absorbent, and gentle on your skin. The bathroom tissue features strength and durability for cleanliness, with softness and thickness for comfort. With Quilted Northern Soft & Strong(r), you do not have to compromise comfort for clean."

http://www.ripoffreport.com/Miscellaneous-Companies/Georgia-Pacific-CRC/georgia-pacific-crc-toilet-pa-e2647.htm

So no more purchasing the Quilted Northern, any suggestions?

RC and Moon Pie Festival

I completely forgot to blog about the RC and Moon Pie Festival in Bell Buckle Tennessee. Somehow, someone from Bell Buckle arrived on my blog.....and it reminded me.

Several months ago I was doing some benchmarking for the Chamber of Commerce. While searching I ran across the RC and Moon Pie Festival in Bell Buckle. See excerpt from press release.

Tucked away among the rolling hills, farmland and Walking Horse country of Tennessee lays the historic town of Bell Buckle where every year on the third Saturday in June, the Souths two most honored traditions are celebrated, RC Colas and Moon Pies.

This years performance will be The Ball is in Your Court, starring who else but the lovely little Moon Pie and the charming RC with guest appearances by GooGoo Cluster, Coke, as well as a host of fairies and soldiers

Click Here for More Information and Pictures

I thought it was adorable! Who wouldn't like a deep fried moon pie while watching the synchronized wading?

Starbucks - Pay It Forward

I got a Starbuck's this morning in the drive-thru.

When I got to the window to pay I was told the car in front of me already paid for it and said "Have a good day". Of course my mouth fell open and I was shocked. Evidentally it happens several times a day at my Starbucks drive thru.

I bet they wish I didn't love $4 coffees.....

So now I will make someone else's morning and buy their coffee.

The Girl in the Other Red Honda Civic

When I came out of Target yesterday there was a note on my windshield.

I think my

car was happy

to have found its

twin. Of course, I

don't think it

appreciated me

thinking your car

was mine. :)

-the girl in the other red honda civic.

It made me laugh out loud. I had noticed in the parking space across from me was a car identical to mine, which is rare given that it is 9 years old.

Christmas!

I got Christmas cookies as marketing yesterday from the The Adolphus. Brilliant!


Beau Arts Style, 1912. Located at the corner of Commerce and Akard, it was completed at a cost of $1.87 million. It was the tallest building in the state and would con tinue to be so for many years. The city's leaders wanted a grand hotel and approached Adolphus Busch in St. Louis to see if he would build one. He agreed to do so if the city's leaders would join him as investors and if he could have any site he wanted. His wish was granted, and he chose the site of the four-story city hall, built in 1889, which was torn down to make room for the hotel. The Adolphus was designed by Barnett, Hayes and Barnett of St. Louis. The tower on the roof is said to be modeled after a Busch beer stein.

When did we become a Nation that censored our children from the President?

On September 8th President Obama will deliver a national address to school children on the importance of taking responsibility for their success in school. Click here for White House Press Release

In the County I live in and surrounding Counties, some parents have called the schools saying they will not send their children to school if they air it. Some schools here have decided not to air the address.

Seventeen of the nations 50 largest cities had High School graduation rates of lower than 50 percent
Full Story

Vetting the Health Care Rhetoric

CQ is non-partisan. So no one is trying to beat up on one side or the other. If you go to the link below you will see one of the best True/False on the Health care legislation I have seen.

As politicians and interest groups try to shape the outcome of the health care overhaul, they've offered interpretations that are so wildly different that truth sometimes seems to be taking a vacation.

Some — like the contention that a House health care overhaul (HR 3200) would create "death panels" that decide end-of-life care — are false. Some are misleading, and others are true.

Full Story Here.

Wally Lamb: The Hour I First Believed

I wonder where Wally Lamb got the idea for his book cover?

Wally Lamb Book Cover-
http://www.amazon.com/Hour-First-Believed-Novel-P-S/dp/0060988436/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1250877801&sr=8-1

The Middle Place-
http://www.amazon.com/Middle-Place-Kelly-Corrigan/dp/B002DYJKFM/ref=amb_link_663292_1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=10DJJMZCCZ0F17Y8FQ9S&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=486663191&pf_rd_i=45

I accidentally came upon The Middle Place while searching for a new book to read, and thought I feel like I just saw this......

Paper = Art=Cash

I learned how to make a mobile in Kindergarten. Why didn't I learn to continue making them and selling them for $100/each?


http://frazierandwing.com/2009_mobile_collection

Big City Slider

I am not sure I have ever seen an info-mercial with a product that I wanted this badly.

https://www.bigcityslider.com/flare/next

I see a slider on a Hawaiian roll in my future

Ice Cream Design

Make your own ice cream and packaging. I will be doing this soon and I'll keep you updated!

http://www.ecreamery.com/

What about this flavor?

base : Gelato
flavor1 : Almond
flavor2 : Chocolate Merlot
mix1 : Raspberry Ribbon

Babies understand dog-speak, new study finds

Soo.... Can your puppy potty train your baby and vice-versa?????

Babies understand dog-speak, new study finds
Research from Brigham Young University (BYU) gives new meaning to the expression "babes in the woods." It turns out, babies may not be as naive as we once thought especially where their canine counterparts are concerned.

A new study shows that babies can "speak dog" (or at least comprehend it), even with little or no previous exposure to dogs. Infants just six months old matched the sounds of an angry bark and a friendly yap to photos of dogs displaying threatening or welcoming body language, respectively.

While paring babies and dogs might seem like a zany idea, according to BYU, experiments of this kind help us understand how babies learn. Long before they master speech, babies astutely recognize and respond to external stimuli.

These findings come on the heels of a study from the same Brigham Young University lab showing that infants can also detect mood swings in Beethoven's music.
"Emotion is one of the first things babies pick up on in their social world," said BYU psychology professor Ross Flom, lead author of the study. "We chose dogs because they are highly communicative creatures both in their posture and the nature of their bark," Flom said.

In the experiment, the babies were shown two different pictures of the same dog, one in an aggressive posture and the other in a friendly stance. Then the researchers played — in random order — sound clips of a friendly and an aggressive dog bark.

While the recordings played, the six-month-old babies spent most of their time staring at the appropriate picture. Older babies usually made the connection instantly with their very first glance.

Study co-authors Dan Hyde and Heather Whipple Stephenson conducted the experiments as undergrads and don't recall any babies getting upset. "Infants are pretty cooperative subjects," Stephenson said.Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/pets/detail?entry_id=43951#ixzz0M8fzm4QJ

The Beginning of the End?

When is a Starbucks not a Starbucks? When it's a 15th Avenue Coffee and Tea.
Full Story Here

And what is even worse.....they are being accused of stealing most of their decorating ideas from the bar next door.
If imitation is the kindest form of flattery, the restaurant and bar known as Smith is feeling ... well ... flat-out worshiped.
Located next to the Starbucks store that will now be called 15th Avenue Coffee and Tea in Capitol Hill, Smith owner Linda Derschang said Thursday that everything from the paint color to the light fixtures inside the coffee shop have been replicated to match her rustic, mountaineer-like bar.
Full Story Here

Starbucks, I love you. Please stop this nonsense and just be a coffee shop. If you get a dollar menu or I go into one of your stores and find drunk people, I will leave you forever.

The New Economics of Wine

This 2007 Black Swan Shiraz is in a 187 mL bottle, and comes in a 4 pack, with a screw top cap. I think this is genius packaging. And this one happens to be a great shiraz at $5 for the 4 pack or the regular bottle, with a dark berry and chocolate smooth taste.

I love the packaging in the 4 pack bottles because I can have a glass of wine whenever and not feel like I need to finish the entire bottle so it doesn't go to waste.

I have this problem with drinking re-corked wine. I never feel like it tastes the same!

I also love the screw cap top, it's just easier.

According to several independent surveys, wine consumers buy wine sealed with natural cork over any other closures. Another survey of the wine trade, suggested that most consumers think that non-closures cheapen the bottle of wine. Screw caps, on the other hand, are seen as industrial, cheap and lacking the romance of the old "closure" but they have been hailed as the future because there is no danger they will spoil or "taint" the wine, a problem that is said to affect up to one in 10 corked bottles.

On top of avoiding cork contamination, new technologies in fermenting don't require wines to be aged for years to achieve full flavor.

I am all for a good cheap wine that I can drink in glass by glass over 2 weeks if I choose and not waste a penny.