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How Can Anyone Compete With THIS Price at the Local Wal-Mart?

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My local Wal-Mart recently underwent a major renovation and reorganization of the floor plan to accommodate a new grocery section. While the renovation is still in process (and annoying) you can occasionally catch mistakes around the new grocery area. For example, I was walking around the store the other day and I saw the picture below and thought, “Who can compete with that?!”

Good grief! What a bargain!?

Anyway, just some lighthearted humor to start the week. Come back tomorrow for some brief information on my staycation last week. Also, at some point this week I plan on talking about what my intentions are for next week – when I’m off from work for the whole week!

Are You Getting Into the Holiday Spirit?

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So, are you getting into the holiday spirit? Christmas is only a few weeks away with New Year’s Eve coming in close behind and we’ve already passed both Halloween and Thanksgiving. This is the time of the year that most people absolutely love with all of the holiday parties and the family gatherings, etc. But I wonder if you’re getting into the holiday spirit this year.

I think that for the first time in a long time, I’m not really “into it” yet. For me, I think there are three specific reasons why I’m not so much into the spirit yet this year. First, the weather! Maybe it’s because I’m thinking back 20+ years, but I always remembered December through March as being a vicious time of the year with respect to snowfall. Nowadays, though, if we get two major storms and a few flurries in between, that’s a lot. I think that there’s something about the snow and watching a snowstorm that makes this time of the year special. When it’s t-shirt and shorts weather, though, it’s pretty tough to get into the spirit of the season.

Second, the stores aren’t doing it for me this year. If I recall correctly, last year I would walk into the Wal-Mart and the Target and even the Monmouth Mall and everything was draped with “Merry Christmas” signs or “Happy Holidays” banners and you’d see Christmas trees set up around the store, etc. It was a very festive scene! However, this year the local stores seemed to have toned it down a bit which might be a result of cost cutting measures, who knows. I always think that the Christmas season, though way too commercialized these days, is always augmented in a positive way when commercial outlets dress themselves up in the season. On a related note, the Christmas music on Sirius XM’s channels has been so-so at best this year. They’re mixing in a lot of different stuff and I believe that the diversity in generations of musicians takes away from the overall impact.

And finally, I’ve been really busy over the last three months so I admit that I haven’t really had a chance to stop and think about presents or decorating or attending any Christmas parties, etc. Of my three reasons, this is the only one that I think I have an ability to change, but I really don’t think a change on my part is necessary since in about a week’s time all of the things that are taking up most of my free time will be over (teaching and taking a course).

Maybe next week it’ll be a little colder, the stores will put out more of their Christmas decorations, and I’ll have more free time to take it all in. Until then, though, the days seem to keep on flying by just like any other time of the year!

A Brief Review of Black Friday 2009

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Another Black Friday has come and gone and I’m reminded of my previous comments about this shopping holiday: 2008, 2006, and 2004. Frankly, I think that these retailers aren’t trying any more. Sure, you can find a flat screen, high definition TV for a few hundred bucks on Black Friday – but what about those of us who already have a flat screen, high definition TV? Are we supposed to care that we can get ANOTHER one for $200?

What I’ve noticed in the last few Black Fridays is that there is a disconnect between the major retailers (Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Target, etc) and the consumer-based desires of the middle class. Don’t get me wrong – these stores have the market cornered when it comes to mass producing somewhat inexpensive electronics and shoving them out the door to the masses. That’s great and I think that it is actually a service to many families in America. However, once you have that good or product, you’re not going to to go back and get another one – especially in the middle of a recession where each dollar is/should be scrutinized before it is spent.

I also think that the DVD and Blu-Ray DVD market is going to stay stagnant this Christmas season. Frankly, people don’t know whether or not they should start buying Blu-Ray discs in bulk or if this medium will be outdated in two or three years like the standard DVD. Plus, the cost of a Blu-Ray DVD is a bit out of range for the mass market. Not good for the electronics retailers.

I think that I’m going to become a Cyber Monday guy. There’s something about sitting in front of my computer to get the same exact sale price on an item that I could travel to the store to get (and that’s if there are enough items per that store and if I want to get to the store at the crack of dawn). Here’s hoping that your Black Friday adventures were more enjoyable and fruitful than mine were this year. If you have a good Black Friday 2009 story, I’d love to hear it in the comments section below!

The Constitution Party Asks For Your Input – Through Their Words

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At some point last year I began doing some preliminary analysis of election results, specifically looking at third parties and how they perform through the scope of small town election results. In other words, if you start the “Bob’s Political Party” and you put yourself on the statewide or national ballet, how many votes might you receive in a small town? Hey, it interests me, okay?!

In any event, last year I put myself on the mailing list for the Constitution Party. This party, as I understand it, supports a strict interpretation of the United States Constitution. Frankly, as an Adjunct Professor of Political Science I can certainly appreciate the fact that not many people in our society understand the basics of the Constitution nor the powers or limitations of our federal style of government.

Back up for a moment – I’ve also spent some time considering the words that politicians use in their campaigns and what the reality of their campaign promises mean through the vernacular of their campaign rhetoric. For example, then-Senator Barack Obama campaigned to be the President of the United States by making a lot of promises – some of which he simply could not fulfill. Obama promised that taxes would not go up “one dime” for anyone making less than $250,000 per year. Well, that’s not something that Obama can promise because in our system of government the President does not unilaterally make tax policy. More properly stated, Obama should have said, “I pledge to work with Congress and push a policy of not raising taxes on anyone making under $250,000.” However, who wants to hear a promise of “trying” to push a certain policy once elected? Exactly…

But words are interesting in politics and as someone who has been tangentially monitoring the Constitution Party over the last year, I find the survey on their site to be worthy of an entry on this blog. By the way, you can read (and take) the survey by clicking here. What do I find so interesting about it? Well, click on that link and take the survey.

Notice anything? How about the style in which the questions are written? Look at this question:

The undercutting of our free market system, begun by Republicans and accelerated by President Obama, has resulted in near government ownership of too many banks and industries. Do you agree that the Constitution Party (CP) should remain steadfast in opposing both parties’ push for more federal control over our financial sectors and businesses?

For those of you who study this type of stuff (i.e. communication), I’m sure you’re loving this question right now! How about that first sentence? Why not say, “This is what the Constitution Party believes about this particular issue and we’re going to ask you to agree with us in the next sentence, okay?” Honestly, this is a little bit disappointing from a third party that I think has some potential at the local and regional level of politics.

From what I’ve gathered, the Constitution Party is trying to present a real alternative to those in the Republican and Democratic parties who expect this country to be operated as the Constitution dictates that it must. That’s an honorable goal – especially in today’s hyper-partisan political climate where both the Republicans and the Democrats use interpretations of interpretations of interpretations of clauses in the Constitution as the base of their domestic and foreign policies. But where the Constitution Party does itself no good is to put up a “survey” that is packed with leading questions. Not a good strategy.

A better strategy for the Constitution Party would be to go to the 23rd District of New York and set-up camp. This is a district that provided 45.2% of the vote to a Conservative Party candidate. Imagine if the Constitution Party could legitimize itself to the voters in the 23rd District and make a real showing in future elections? Better yet, a good strategy for this party might be to recruit well-known candidates to run for office at the local level and build on local success. It’s almost like building a new business – you don’t just open up 50 Wal-Mart-sized stores in 50 states and expect them to be successful tomorrow. You need to build a brand.

But building that brand should not include time wasted on self-aggrandizing surveys.

A Quick Trip To Wal-Mart – Always Filled With Annoyances

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Whenever you’re looking to get aggravated at the failures of everyday life, go to Wal-Mart. No, it’s not the store itself (I actually like Wal-Mart both from a consumer sense and as a corporate citizen). And, in truth, it’s not the bulk of the people who shop at Wal-Mart or the employees that are the problem. I think the reason why Wal-Mart can be so annoying is due to the sheer amount of consumers that enter its doors during a day. With that many customers, the store is bound to get a handful of dummies that can provide aggravation for the other shoppers.

And now today’s aggravating experience at Wal-Mart…

I’ll never understand why shoppers feel the need to stop at the end of an aisle and hover when there is no other consumer traffic either coming or going. You know these people. They are the ones that linger at the end of an aisle and sort of look at the vast Wal-Mart in front of them and wonder, “Wow – where do I go next?” Hey, here’s a clue – get the fuck out of the way so I can go and buy my stupid candle and get on with my day, damn it! By the way, the Wal-Mart in Neptune has a great deal on candles where you can buy two large, scented candles and three votive candles of the same flavor for $10 all in – not bad.

However, I didn’t run into any of these people at the Wal-Mart today. Instead, I ran into their sinister cousins – the folks who think it’s a great idea to stop and scan their receipt when they are one foot outside of the store. These morons feel that it is their right to block the exit of the store so they can scan their receipt to make sure that the three fucking items that they purchased were correctly registered. Really? You bought three items and you couldn’t pay attention while they were being rung up, nor could you scan your receipt while you were walking towards the exit (which is acceptable)? Instead, you had to wait until the fresh, outside air hit you in the face until you realized that you were a waste of guts and skin?

That’s how self-consumed some people can really be. And it’s also how incredibly dumb human beings can be – imagine a person that can’t walk and scan a six inch receipt. They have to stop their entire body from moving so they can read a few numbers. Absolutely incredible.

There were other aggravations at the Wal-Mart today, but I’ll hold them for another time. Oh, and thank you to one of my roommates for sending me this link: http://peopleofwalmart.com/ Go and take a look – it’s as ridiculous as you might imagine.