Oh, the joys of summer, when money can melt away under the merciless sunshine. Seriously. If you happen to be rich enough to have some (as in, greater than one) of the new plastic currency in your wallet, keep things cool. Or accept that your cash might mash.
posted in economy, pets | Comments Off on Extolling the science of deduction | 256 words
One of our local big box retail outlets has a problem. Staff. Although they have inventory up the yin-yang, there is little chance that a potential customer will find a particular item, unless he trips over it. Forget asking one of the people in the red shirts that are rumoured to work there. If they don’t get to their hiding hole before you arrive within speaking distance, the information will be useless. This afternoon, I was looking for a particular item; heck, I even printed out their webpage to ensure the correct SKU. I was sent to four different sections of the store and in spite of my persistence…
posted in economy | Comments Off on Try to corner the elusive sales clerk | 269 words
Which school of economic thought preaches that we should spend our way through a recession? How about a depression? I really don’t need to know. After all, when my money is gone, even the school of thought isn’t going to bail me out. Unlike the banks….
posted in economy | Comments Off on Trading up | 276 words
With more than a full day of slack time, I’ve completed the four “declarations” of income. I feel empowered. And I feel like celebrating, which is silly. This is nothing more than bureaucratic nonsense. The two tiers of governance know exactly how much I’ve earned. They know, to the penny, how much they owe me. After all, my payments were made in full, and the excess will be remitted to me, without interest. There’s something fundamentally flawed, here.
posted in economy | Comments Off on Taxed time | 261 words
My opinions are not universally accepted. Not even in my own home. Learned that, last evening, when I expressed my sentiment about the proposed tuition hike. I stood alone.
posted in economy, politics | Comments Off on Awaiting the fourth ballot | 269 words
As with so many other facets of the economy, the annual Auto Show isn’t meant for me. However, I do watch the local news, and I’m now an informed consumer. No need to head on over to know what’s on display.
posted in economy | Comments Off on Showing off the expensive sheet metal | 268 words
It’s all about the accessories. The simple truth of modern retailing. Lots of proof.
Tonight, we decided to visit the new kid on the block (locally). The Siamese twin of our main electronics box store (Future Shop) came to the city back at summer’s end; it took until now to find an excuse to cross town and see what’s goin’ on, at Best Buy.
posted in economy | Comments Off on Accessorize everything | 252 words
We went to the big mall tonight, a question of finding a book store. That part was easy. But my heart lay elsewhere, so when the discussion turned to readability factors for ESL at the secondary level, I politely excused myself and wandered on down the concourse. To the camera shop.
posted in economy | Comments Off on Unrealistic price point | 309 words
My next visit to a war surplus store might not be as interesting as in the “good old days”. Turns out that a certain (undisclosed) number of containers, returned from our bases in Afghanistan, have been loaded with rocks and sand.
posted in economy, humour | Comments Off on A different grade of surplus | 278 words
I do not understand retail. I mean, I get the part where the merchant offers stuff, and the client receives that stuff in return for money. Fits in with a chapter from a high school economics course. After that, my ken goes all barbie.
posted in economy | Comments Off on Fluctuating prices | 254 words
