Random thoughts

things i've been meaning to post about, but haven't


- Wimbledon Pay Equity. This week, Wimbledon announced that the women's and men's champion will make equal money. Women's right advocates rejoiced. This is one of the most ludricrious things I have ever heard of. Sports is entertainment. Compensation should be given based on which of the two sports generates a larger fan base, which gets more sponsors, which gets higher TV rating. In many cases, this might justify HIGHER prize money for the ladies, even though they work less (3 sets versus 5). I wouldn't let the chairman of the All-England Club manage a lemonade stand with these business principles.

- RFID. Somethign I posted on Jonathan Kaplan's blog. As someone who working in consumer packaged good, I feel like I need to comment here. First of all, the experience you describe already exists, and it has nothing to do with RFID. There is a much simpler and efficient way to give customers specific prices-- its called couponing. For a while, every who uses a frequent shopper card gets specific offers (at different values) based on various things in their shopper history (usually purchases of competitive products).

Additionally, some cards will now make custom offers to you when you ENTER the store and scan in your card.

Regarding the example you gave, this would never occur for several reasons-- most notablly whenever you see a discount on a product at your local grocery store, it is funded by the manufacturer, not the grocery store. The manufacturer has no incentive to "raise" prices, since they don't see any of it.

The only really use of RFID in retail (which is mandatory by end of 2009 is to improve inventory management and the amount of product which is actually in-stock.

does anyone else...

prefer watching the NFL combine to an actual college basketball game?

American idol

if you watch American idol, you need to know about dialidol.com. This will allow you to monitor real-time which contestant is likely to be voted off.

this made me laugh

Sign above the Chelsea International Youth Hostel in the New York:

Check-in In Rear

Help please

love our new Mac, Sparky. Only negative is Excel.


is anyone can get me a good list of Mac shortcuts for Excel, I'd be your baby tonight.

Jim Harbaugh... classless

Kind of ironic it happens during Superbowl week. But the former Bears and Colts QB has realy made his mark as Stanford's new head football coach. Already with a good recruiting class in tow, Stanford rescinded an offer to Eddie Morgan, a fast Texas DB. Not that much interesting there, though academic schools tend not to yank schollies the way teams Mack Brown coaches do.

However, when terminating the scholarship, their method is a bit unusually. THEY DID IT VIA EMAIL. Yes, the same way Harriet dumped Matt Albie on Studio 60. Via Email. I know Palo Alto is in the middle of Silicon Valley, but a little class here would have gone a long way. I hope any football player thinking of going to Leland Stanford Junior College thinks about this.

i love my wife...

- she coined a new phrase today, "debutards" . noun. a combination of a debutant and retard. See also, "My Super Sweet 16"

- While watching the Apprentice she said, "You know what the problem is with this team. There are too many damn women."

Its official... im a traitor

After 9 years, I'm coming back. Just purchased a new computer and it is a Mac. I'm sick of slow boot ups and it will make photo editing and storing easier for Wifey.

Should be here Tuesday.

great quote...

from my friend Erin, regarding Duke guard.

Marty Pocius.

"In my country, this is where the talking stop and the sexxing begin."

Poor guy, the only attractive man on the basketball team who gets more applause for checking out of the game than most get for scoring 30 points. Somewhere J.D. Simpson is smiling.

damn

Indy beats the Pats. So I actually need to root for Bears in a couple weeks. I hate being part of the crowd.

The American Pasttime

...not baseball, real estate.

If you like real estate, live in Chicago, or are just nosey, go here. If up and coming website, just got a plug in today's Tribune, tracks recent real estate sales with some stories about the people doing the buying and selling.

Shows the wonders of Google.

what's on my tv

have a few new favorite shows...

these are the type of shows that you feel bad before it ends and are disappointed when a week goes by without a new episode.
Here are my two new favorites:

• Its always sunny in Philadelphia.-
• Iconoclasts.

Sunny is like Seinfeld on crack. Probably more like a combo between Seinfeld and Larry David. five self-absorbed people own a bar and always look for the quick score. The writing is incredible and I can't wait until new episodes next season. Its on FX, but you think it should belong on HBO.

Iconoclasts is a simple concepts. Bring two people, each famous for separate unrealted things together and see what happens. I've seen two episodes so fair-- one with David Chappelle and Maya Angelou, the other with Laird Hamilton and Eddie Vedder. I was blown away by each of them.I even started lookin to book a Malibu vacation after watching Laird and Eddie surf the other day.

Football picks for the day

everything logicial points to the Saints, but everyone and their dog like the Saints. So as much as it pains me, i'll pick the bears.

Getting good value in manhattan

New York city to eliminate sales tax on clothing. link. Wifey will be quite happy. She will definitely want to visit more.

The fundamanetal economics of this still don't make sense to me. Take Manhattan. You have a concentrated population of comparative wealthy people, many of whom don't have transportation of their own. Now this is a captive audience if I have ever seen one. Where is the lift from this effective price decrease. Does the New York department of tourism think that Manhattanites are fleeing to Jersey to go shopping. Are they concerned about internet sales. Are girls from Queens no longer going to go to the trendy boutiques for their shiny halters top to wear to the best clubs on Staten Island?

Is this driven by trying to draw tourists for shopping vacations? Maybe. However, if this can't be driven by price due to the prohibitive cost of New York hotel rooms. The only legit argument I could think of is competition from the internet. However, I think this has to be marginal at best. This is a TON of $$ that NYC is walking away from, most of which is paid by people who are willing to pay it.

in breaking news...

The Miami, DC and Vegas condo markets have collapsed. Couldn't see that coming. Let's see in cities with no real growth in industry, quadrupling the amount of high-income housing in a concentrated area.

link

Heidi-larious: The season premier of The Hills

OMG, like this is a total bummer, dude.

Is MTV now trying to create Heidi into a sympathic characters? She is now getting played instead of doing the playing and making accidently have been pregnant. Maybe they are just trying to delay her inevitable career into the porn industry. And by the way.. That Bolthouse guy looks like the dirtiest pimp I have ever seen. I guarantee there are some "extras" available to the VIP room in his clubs.

And what's up with this doofus that she and Audrina are hanging out with? He must either have a billionaire father or a 12 inch cock because I just don't get. He isn't that attractive and is way too cheesy. These two girls are hotter than most of the girls in "The Janice Dickinson Modelling Agency" and they are chilling with an extra from the 2007 version of Mayberry.

At least Kristin Cavellieri knew how to be a good power dater. Matt Leinhart and Nick Lachey. And she wasn't as attractive as these two either.

Now if only Matt L. had given Kristin a pregnancy scare... that would have been some must-see television.

Duking it out on campus

Get your bets in now people. Duke is going to a bowl in 2008. Don't believe me. Ask head coach Ted Roof. Or Duke President Dick Brodhead. Or Duke Athletic Director Joe Alleva. Apparently, the pieces are in place to get to a bowl in TWO year.

Quite impressive and ballsy for a team that hasn't beaten a division I opponent in two and a half years.

This weekend was the 1st Annual Duke University Football summit. A rah-rah meeting attended by former football alums and some other friends of Duke athletics.

So quick summary-- noone is accountable for anything for another year. We are going to "stay the course." Gee, I wish I could get a job where I didn't have to deliver any results for 4 years before being held accountable. Boy, I'm glad to be an alum.

If this enrages you and you want to complain, go here

Can he sink any lower

Apparently, Tom Cruise helped influence David Beckham to the LA so he could join the church of what's happening now, I mean scientology.

Admittedly, the source is the New York Daily News, but still it makes you wonder. Maybe some of Beck's $200MM of endorsements will be for books by L. Ron Hubbard.


In other news, the most hyped day of NFL playoffs came and went yesteday. Good thing I didn't bet on either game since I would have gone 0-fer. (Even though Philly covered, i would have taken the money line.).

It also got me to thinking about why I like or dislike certain people. Those who know me know that I refer to Peyton Manning as "the anti-Christ". Don't like Tiger Woods, but like Phil Mickelson and Barry Bonds. At this point, I don't even know why I hate Peyton Manning. Is it because he is smug, but Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are just as smug? Is it because he is a huge choker, well, I liked Phil before he choked.

I love revenge

especially for small and pretty stuff.

We sold our condo about a year ago. The new buyer (whose wife was a C*NT at the close has had his cell phone bill forwarded to our address for the past 6 months (no idea why). We called the cell phone provider and they will not allow us to change the address.

So now Wifey has let me get some revenge. I don't want to just cancel his cell phone service because that can be detected and corrected easily. Instead, I want to deluge him with telephone solicitations. Since this is a work phone and he is likely a drug rep, he can't easily change his number.Any ideas on how to quickly sign him up for really ANNOYING and persistant telemarketer?

Guerrilla Marketing

Anyone who drives through the River north neighborhood in Chicago is familiar with it. Going south on Wells a big green billboard saying "If you were offended by the Rolling Rock "Beer Ape" ad please email rob_xxx@rollingrock.com."

Now, as someone who works in the consumer packaged goods industry, this has me thinking.. Is this really a guerrilla marketing programs, that should be driving web traffic? Or was there an ad where somebody truly was offended.

The biggest issue from a marketing perspective, is "Is this something you want to be associates your brand with?" Admittedly, I don't know what the rolling rock brand stands for. However, creating offensive commercials is probably not something that I would want to put in my brand key. It reminds me of interest companies circa 2000, who launched via Superbowl ads which had nothing to do with the product. The one shooting the squirrel out of a cannonball was particularly poignant.

Admittedly, I still need to try to go a find the commercial, but that doesn't mean this is good marketing.