Ryobi Trimmer I am finally rid of my Ryobi 720R trimmer. For nine years I’ve owned this pathetic excuse of a lawn maintenance tool. I didn’t think asking for occasional lawn edging and trimming was too much to expect, but it was always hard to get started. When it finally did acquiesce, it’s 2-cycle engine […]
Ding dong, the trimmer is dead Read More »
What is the game of “Chicken?” In the movies, two hooligans with something to prove settle their differences by racing their cars towards each other. The first one to turn away, averting certain collision, is the “chicken” and loses face among his cohorts. The other player, referred to as the “winner,” gets bragging rights and
Director Mitch pointed me to an article on the interview twists and turns some HR people will inflict upon candidates. (Further commentary is available on Newmark’s Door and Just Procastinating. Guest blogger Dr Bob makes some general HR rantiness.) I decided it might be fun to spend next week blogging about some of the bizarre
Truth in the Workplace Read More »
Product rebates are a curious application of drive-by marketing and probability theory. Companies offer them because they provide the perception of a lower price and allow the company to gather more information on its customers. You know, for future marketing purposes. The typical spiel looks like this Transdimensional warp generator (Intel-compatible)(USB cable not included) Our
How much is your product, really? (Rebates) Read More »
When buying a car, I’ve become accustomed to having to research pricing until smoke billows out of my ears because I hate finding out that the “special deal” I received wasn’t very special. Multi-level pricing has oozed into the retail software industry and is especially rife with companies selling direct. After a couple of (expletive)
How much is your product, really? Read More »
USA Today writes on Princeton University’s effort to curb “grade inflation” by rationing As to, you know, “preserve academic integrity.” Grade inflation “correction” is based on the theory that people will naturally fit into a bell curve, and that a C (or maybe a B) should be average. If you accept that Princeton is a
My oldest has had a loose tooth for a few months. She’s been very worked up about this, despite coaching from one of her neighborhood friends and assurances from her parents (both of whom are over 30) that she’ll survive. Last night the tooth fell out. Our daughter was picking through dinner for the soft
One of my many paradoxes is having a blog under my real name, but going to extremes to filter out spam, spyware, virii, cookies, scripts, pop-ups and ad banners. All my efforts have been gradual, and I didn’t realize how much cruft gets filtered until I was surfing in the library the other day. I