The Nitpicky Consumer

Back to the Future: Reusing Soda Bottles is not a new idea, and it's about time it came back to the USA

2022-12-28T09:43:00.002-08:00

The cola companies are starting to spin a new idea: Reusing bottles. Coke and Pepsi are both jumping to figure out how to do this successfully.

Here's the rub: This isn't new; the USA used to know how to reuse our bottles.

I wish I had a photograph of my mother and I returning our large, glass soda bottles (RC) to the local market in Frederick, MD. Returning soda bottles for cleaning and refilling was the norm in the 1970s in the United States and there was a whole network/system in place to pickup, clean and refill these bottles.

Then this entire network to reuse bottles was dismantled, leaving us with a throw-away economy.

There are a handful of articles out there, talking about this change, and they just don't capture the tragedy of the situation. We HAD this figured out; the structure was in place to support this. People had jobs doing this important work. Now it all has to be restarted. But I guess better now than never.

https://www.fastcompany.com/90721672/refillable-soda-bottles-coca-cola

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/02/a-pocket-history-of-bottle-recycling/273575/

https://www.motherearthnews.com/sustainable-living/nature-and-environment/bottle-bills-zmaz78jazbur/

Why is the Iowa Caucus so important?

2020-02-05T19:07:00.001-08:00

For some reason, Iowa gets to go first when it comes to the United States’ national primary process. And for some other reasons, it didn’t go so well here in 2020. Words like chaos, debacle, and ‘unmitigated disaster’ seem quite popular to describe it. As an ‘Average American,’ with no connection to politics or the campaign industry, here’s my take on it.

Who cares.

As someone who does NOT live in Iowa, or #2 New Hampshire, I have always felt baffled and bitter that these two states - for no rational reason that I can discern - get to narrow the field of candidates before I even have a chance to voice my opinion.

In some ways, the Iowa issues have leveled the playing field a tiny bit this year. There’s no clear ‘winner’ that the media can then crown with statistics for the next week. This uncertainty is going to - gasp - force people to pay more attention to the entire field of candidates.

Perhaps this ‘mistake’ is a blessing in disguise. People are talking about this being the ‘straw that broke the camel’s back,’ and I hope it is. I hope this is the end of our ridiculous staggered primary system. Because having my primary vote actually count for something sounds like a step toward a shorter campaign cycle and better democracy.

Shutdown Insanity: Day 32

2019-01-22T22:23:00.000-08:00

Twenty-five years ago, I studied at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I was young, starry-eyed, politically active, and cartooning for The Daily Tar Heel. Then I graduated and moved on to other pursuits, like … working, commuting, raising a child, etc.

But the events of the past few years, and particularly the Federal shutdown of the past 32 days, have gotten me so upset, so frustrated, and feeling so powerless that I snatched up my pen again and started scribbling away.

It is ironic that our dear elected officials pay themselves to bicker while forcing others to work without compensation. Others like … the protective details who are armed and tasked with maintaining security for these same officials, the TSA screeners who prevent dangerous devices and individuals from infiltrating the planes that these officials travel on, and the air traffic controllers who then prevent these aforementioned planes from crashing into each other.

Can one cartoon make a difference? Perhaps it can.

I’m issuing the ‘Shutdown Cartoon Challenge’ to all the amateur cartoonists and artists out there, no matter how active or inactive they may currently be. Please jump back into the fray, even for a just a few sketches. The pen can be mightier than the sword, and a good picture is still worth 1000 words (and maybe more than 100,000 tweets)

Shutdown Day 32

And when you pick up your drawing pen, also pick up your writing pen. Contact your Representative. Contact your Senators. Contact your President. Tell them how you feel. Make your voice heard.

Personally, I’m going to contact my elected representatives and request that a bill be introduced that requires that if any part of the government is furloughed or unfunded due to Congress and the Executive branch not being able to agree on a budget, that all elected officials will be required to work without pay and they will NOT receive back pay. The Democrats want Social Equality? The Republicans want to cut government Spending? Here’s a bill they should both agree on.

The Craft Stick Collage

2018-06-02T19:25:00.001-07:00

I'd been hoping that my son's elementary school would do a full-school art project, and this year my dreams came true. The art teachers decided to do a project using craft sticks. Every child would paint a craft stick, and these sticks would then be put together into an art piece and hung. Sounds easy, huh? Well, it wasn't as easy as we thought, but the result looks great. This post is so that other schools/parents can learn from our trial and error!!

Painting the sticks

The art teachers used craft sticks (aka tongue depressors) for this activity.

The teachers cleverly taped the sticks to paper, so that the kids had a personal work surface that prevented the sticks from sliding, prevented mess, and made the sticks easy to dry on the racks. Each child painted their stick using craft swab(s) -- like a one-ended q-tip with a longer wooden handle.

They used acrylic paint -- specifically Chromacryl -- and the

teachers gave them some tips on color theory, pattern, and texture beforehand. (Mixing of 'muddy' colors was discouraged, but inevitable especially in the younger grades.) Words and images were not allowed as subject matter, to make the sticks more uniform and prevent potential content issues.

Planning

Two art teachers and 3 moms gathered to talk about the logistics of assembling the sticks together into a coherent piece of artwork:

How many sticks would we have?
Should we try to do one big panel of sticks, or several?
What should we attach the sticks to ... canvas? wood? foamcore? The base needed to be strong, but not so heavy that a bunch of moms couldn't handle it. But not so fragile that it could break or bend.
Should the colors be randomly arranged, or in color families?
Where could we hang the final artwork?
How could we protect the sticks from damage?
How to hang the artwork on the wall?

Math and Mockups

We needed to 'sell' the idea to school administration, and also to plan our approach. So we started work on 2 pieces: a concept panel and a virtual mockup of the final product.

We decided as a group that plywood might be the way to go as our foundation, so one mom got a small piece of it, made some sample sticks with her kids, and created a proof-of-concept panel.

We then took photos of the proposed space - a bland stairwell - and mocked up what it would look like using pixlr.

Here's the math in a nutshell:

949 sticks painted by students, plus we wanted to add a few 'label' sticks
We decided on 4 panels of sticks, so we could divide up the assembly work and also keep the weight of each piece lower
To get a number divisible by 4, we rounded up to 960 sticks, which mean 240 sticks per panel. (We filled in with some teacher-made sticks to get those last few.)
8 sticks made a 6" square, so 960 sticks created 120 squares of 8 sticks each, which could be arranged to fill a 30"x 36" panel. Adding a 1" border to the panels made the final size 32" x 38"

Panel Purchase and Assembly

This was the most time-consuming part.

The Panels

Plywood comes in 2'x4' and 4'x8' panels, so we had to get the bigger size and get it cut to the sizes we needed. We used 1/4" thickness plywood to keep down the weight.

[It took a long, long time to get help at Home Depot to cut the plywood panels. Plan HOURS for this. If the math works out, it would be ideal to be able to use one of their 'precut' panels of 2'x4', but that size just didn't work for our space and our concept]

The wood panels looked a little rough, so we sanded the edges and then painted them a blue acrylic color, which would look nice on the cement walls. (TIP: put weights on the panels after painting them to prevent warping.)

The sticks

First, lay out the sticks.

My son and a neighbor's daughter did this for my panel. Their 'job' was to make sure that the colors and patterns were randomly distributed. We didn't want one square of all rainbow sticks and one of all greenish-brown sticks.

Then, it was time to glue the sticks on with wood glue.

This process took several days because it was key to line up the sticks properly and then weight them to prevent warping.

I had great success binder-clipping 2 yard sticks to the panel to use as guides in lining up the first squares.

Then I worked on one 8-stick square at a time.

I put the glue on the board, first, but I know that one of the other moms put the glue on the sticks.

Either way, it was critical to make sure that the sticks were lined up and not overlapping.

Then I used a plastic clipboard and weight to weigh down each square. I used plastic so that if a little glue got on it, it was easy to pry it off.

I let each square dry for at least an hour before going to the next square. We worked from top left to bottom right, like a puzzle.

The varnish

We used Mod Podge to create a varnish-like coat. We really poured it on; the goal was to fill up all those holes between the sticks, so they'd be more secure and dust-resistant.

Hanging the Panels

Each panel, with sticks/glue/mod-podge, ended up weighing about 9 lbs. Being below 10 lbs allowed us to use industrial strength Velcro as a hanging option.

The hanging took longer than we thought.

Originally we thought we could easily do this in an hour, but it took 3 of us over 2 hours to measure the wall, mark the wall, double-check the marks, peel Velcro, and stick the panels.

End Result: A Masterpiece of Sticks

We are super proud of how this turned out! Total cost of supplies to make the panels, not including paint/sticks/brushes (which were part of the school's art budget): about $120

The American Presidential Campaigns are Wasting Money on a Colossal Scale

2016-03-01T20:30:00.003-08:00

My dad has dementia, and he can no longer be at home. He needs to be in a facility that can handle his ups and downs. Dementia facilities are expensive. VERY expensive. And far away. So I have been doing a lot of driving and thinking recently.

I was absently listening to the radio during a recent expedition, when the announcer started talking about the huge amounts of money being spent on the 2016 presidential campaign. Obscene amounts of money. For Ads. Advertisements that do and say nothing more than how much the 'other guy' stinks.

So while these donors and PACs and candidates toss money at consultants and agencies to come up with slick slogans, my family and others like us are burning through our life savings fighting a horrible mental disease that apparently is not sexy enough to have lots of money tossed at it.

And it made me sick. Sick to think of all the suffering and sickness and pain there is all around us and yet these self-proclaimed leaders spend millions on ads and jingles and buttons. Our political system is flawed and our campaign system is completely broken.

How can we stop this nonsense? If this money wasn't going toward campaign waste, how much good could it be doing ... https://twitter.com/NitpickyConsumr

Creating the perfect Halloween Costume for Tracer of Overwatch (Part 2)

2015-11-01T09:14:00.003-08:00

Here it is. Our costume inspired by the Overwatch character Tracer for our 7-year old son. It was quite the creative endeavor, greatly aided by duct tape ...

The core elements of the character: the bomber jacket, the power-pack, and the goggles.

For the power-pack, we took the two battery-powered lights I had acquired and put them inside two white Chinese take-out containers. Tracer's pack is blue, so we experimented with coloring the container with a blue Sharpie and also putting some blue paper inside of it. Then we duct-taped them onto cardboard, with slots in the back to reach in and turn the lights on/off. I actually re-cut the cardboard after I took these photos, to make the foundation shape an X rather than a diamond, so it was easier to duct-tape onto the straps ...

For the straps, I criss-crossed 2 lunch box straps and hooked them together on the sides, then duct-taped the power-pack onto the straps. By then moving the hooks on the bottom/sides of it, it became somewhat of a vest that we could unhook and take off for riding in the car.

To create the jacket, I used an old, lined, brown Lands' End jacket (or was it L.L. Bean? Who can really tell the difference, anyways) and turned under the hood to make it look like a collar. Then I sewed on the patches we bought from Serephitic. (If I hadn't found those, I had planned to draw/color the patches, seal them in clear Contact paper, then pin them on.)

For the gloves, we used some of my old colorguard gloves from highschool and binder-clipped sheets of foam to make her bracer-cuff thingies.

And ski goggles to finish it off.

The finished Tracer costume was Awesome.

And the really great part was that once it got dark the power pack was a great combo flashlight and keeping-track-of-child device. My son was totally jazzed.

The two things that made him a little shy were that 1) he was dressed as a girl (to which I responded that no one knows who Tracer is, much less her gender) and 2) answering the question "Who are you dressed as?" It was a mouthful for him to say "I'm a videogame hero named Tracer from a game called Overwatch that is in closed Beta right now." So I think some folks thought he was a WWII bomber with a big Ironman light on his chest.

And that was OK, too.

Creating the perfect Halloween Costume for a Superhero who isn't even released yet: Tracer (Part 1)

2015-10-26T21:55:00.000-07:00

Blizzard has created a bunch of new compelling characters for their upcoming superhero game, Overwatch. And to make sure that not only gamers, but the kids of said gamers, love these new Overwatch characters, Blizzard has created this Overwatch teaser movie in the style of 'The Incredibles'. And it worked; my 7-year-old son loves Overwatch. And just like the little boy in the video, he loves Tracer. And he wants to be Tracer for Halloween.

There are sadly no commercially-available costumes for Tracer, for a nice low price of $22.99. The CosPlay crowd has of course already started to create costumes for Tracer and her friends, and even posted some of their step-by-step Tracer costume creation processes, but I don't have that time or cash to spend on a trick or treat Tracer costume for a 7-year old.

So my son's Tracer costume is being built with:

An old brown sweatshirt. (I would have loved to get this bomber jacket but it is only sold in the UK and I'm across the pond in the Colonies.)
Ski Goggles that we already had
Some rocking Tracer patches I found on Etsy by Serephitic
Some LED lights: one from LED battery-operated base lite from Target for $15 and one random cheaper one from ACE hardware
2 water guns that managed to survive the summer
Black straps from his lunch boxes
A pair of orange pants that barely fits him anymore
Some old white gloves of mine from high school colorguard, plus some white pieces of foam
Random stuff like Cardboard and duct-tape and binder clips and Chinese Take-out Containers

Stay Tuned! I'll post Part 2 of my venture into CosPlay after Halloween ...

It's OUR Responsibility to Create USA Jobs

2011-08-03T18:44:00.000-07:00

If I hear another person demand 'what is the government doing to create jobs?' I am going to be sick. Look in the mirror and ask YOURSELF what YOU are doing to help create and support jobs in your country.

There are 2 things that anyone can do:

Start your own company. This takes some thought and is somewhat of a commitment.
Buy American-made products. This is a lot less commitment and a lot less thought.

Number (2) sounds easy, but not many people are doing it. We've become this culture of buying cheap, crappy, throw-away stuff with the idea that 'we can buy another' when it breaks.

Creating USA jobs takes an attitude shift and sacrifice on multiple levels.

Big Wheel Hot Cycle, baby! Remember those?

For consumers, instead of just walking out to buy the cheap imported item, you save your money and do some research to buy the good, domestic item. This isn't always easy, and it does involve some sacrifice. Personally, I've been struggling with a big wheel bike for my 3-year old son. Do I buy the cheap China-made Diego/Dora knockoff for $50? Or do I buy a real Made in the USA original Big Wheel for $150? Boy, I WANT one of those original big wheels for my son. So, I'm going for it. We'll just tighten our belts in other ways to pay for it.

The owners of the big companies need an attitude shift, too. There needs to be a sacrifice of short-term profit for the long-term goal of getting the American economy moving again. This is the hard one. Between Wall Street's pressure to have high profits, and the allure of a $1million bonus check if you do a good job, only certain C-level folks are willing and able to make the long-term investment.

What can we do as consumers to 'encourage' companies to make this investment?

Hurrah for New Balance!

First, support the companies that are already keeping their manufacturing in the USA. They NEED our support. Take the example of New Balance shoes. New Balance is the last major athletic shoe brand to manufacture footwear in the United States. They are struggling with foreign competition and free trade agreements that give the advantage to manufacturers from the outside. If you want to help support jobs, support companies like these!

Second, contact the companies that aren't manufacturing in the USA and complain. Especially the ones that used to do it. E-mails or letters are best because they are written correspondence. Express your frustration that more of their products aren't still made here. Tell them that you'll be taking your business elsewhere if they don't come back to the US.

Imagine what would happen if even one quarter of us here in the USA did this; I bet a lot of companies would come back in a hurry. Why don't we try and find out?

The Digital Amusement Park Photo Download is finally here

2011-07-10T20:46:00.000-07:00

I just got back from my vacation, which included a trip to Hershey Park.

And I experienced an idea whose time has finally come: the ability to purchase the digital copy of the photos that those roller coaster cameras take. The parks have been taking these photos digitally for a while; I am THRILLED to see that I can now buy it. The pricing was great. I could have paid $15 for a print (that I would have bent almost immediately) or $14 for a digital download and a keychain with the image on it. It's not a good option for people who are not technically savyy, but makes a world of sense for those of us who used computers a lot. I've downloaded my copy, and I'll be sending it to Snapfish to make prints for my folks, soon. W00t!

Cool Shirt ... and Made in the USA, too? Whoa

2011-06-27T19:23:00.000-07:00

I was sifting through the clothes at COSTCO the other day and stumbled on some shirts I really liked. I do not need new shirts. Not one bit. I have plenty of shirts. As I turned to walk away, I noticed the sign, Made in USA.

Stacks of Made in USA awesomeness

Really? I bought one, took it home and tried it. I love it. It is so soft and so pretty. It is made by SledgeUSA in California. I went back and bought 3 more. I love them all.

I must confess that I am suspicious of all these clothing manufacturers popping up in Southern California. (BedHead is another one.) I can't help but wonder if some illegal immigrant labor is being used, or if the fabric is being imported. Regardless, I'd rather have it being made here, keeping more of the money here, than made in Mexico or over in China.

Hurrah for Costco, and Hurrah for SledgeUSA.

Want great style at low cost? Check out the pajamas!

2011-06-19T17:10:00.000-07:00

I hate shopping for clothes. Despise it. But about four times a year, after I get my hair cut at the big Tyson's Galleria mall (Tyson's Corner,Virginia), I give shopping a whirl to see if it is as awful as I remember it. (It generally is.)

Last week, I meandered through several 'designer' stores (with horrible clothes at exorbitant prices) and then ended up in Macy's. I wandered through Macy's, taking in the horror. Striped, cropped pants paired with a flowered shirt, belted with a bright sash, and accessorized with a sequined scarf. Gad. Everything was just horrible. And the items that weren't quite as horrible were overpriced and cheaply made in another country (usually China). I really needed a pair of black slacks, so I tried on a few, but they were awful. Too tight at the top, huge at the bottom. Do these things actually fit people?

Like my 'sundress'?

I had given up and was getting ready to leave, but decided to visit the ladies' room first. I had to walk through Pajamas/Lingerie (a.k.a., 'Intimates') and Maternity to get to there. And that's when I hit the jackpot. The clothes in these two sections were actually good looking and were generally half the price of the 'normal' clothes. I grabbed a few and tried them on. Not too bad a fit. Not bad at all. Pretty cheaply made, overseas, but definitely a better value than the rest of the store provided.

My friend Carolina and I would always joke that the best kept secret was maternity underwear (comfy, stretchy, fabulous). It appears now that the whole intimate department may be jumping on that bandwagon. I actually ended up buying several pieces of clothing from what I tried on. I've already worn some of them out, and gotten compliments. I got a pair of $15 black sleek pajama bottoms that I wore for an evening out, with a silver shaw. I also a $19 pajama top that makes a great sundress.

I'm not sure what to make of a world where the only clothes that I like are in the PJ section. Maybe it means I shouldn't get up in the morning. Then again, maybe it just means that the best designers are currently making intimate apparel while they build up enough 'street cred' to move up. I'm sure hoping it is the latter.

Stores are loud enough without this

2011-06-11T08:32:00.000-07:00

blah, blah, blah

I was walking through the Giant grocery store the other day, and I realized that in addition to the background music coming over the main speakers, there was something else playing, too. I looked around and finally figured out it was a little screen advertising Nice 'n Easy hair products.

Gad.

In an age where everyone is supposedly asking "How can we save electricity?" the idea that we are putting energy into manufacturing and powering tiny advertising screens like this is frightening. And combined with the noise of the other shoppers and carts and kids and music, it was just annoying.

If marketing folks want to be able to put more information in front of shoppers, I think that the way of the future is the smart-phone-scannable Quick Response (QR) code. Everyone is switching to smart phones. (And even if you don't want to, you're going to need to because your old phone will wear out and you won't be able to get a new battery for it.) Using a QR scan, you can find out more info, get instructions for using the product, get special offers, etc. This is a much better technology to invest in, retail folks. Please don't start investing in your own little in-store TVs.

Why are you merchandising AFTER the register?

2011-06-05T06:43:00.000-07:00

Why do stores pile up a bunch of stuff with big sale signs on them right AFTER the cash registers? I have actually thought once or twice, 'Oh, I could use that,' but if I've just stood in line for 30 minutes, there is just no way I am going to get back in line to buy one more item.

I think that maybe the stores are just out of space and don't have anywhere to put these things? It just seems silly.

Check out my New, Green, USA Shoes!

2011-05-30T06:15:00.000-07:00

Last year, I first discovered Okabashi Shoes. Made in the USA, and capable of being recycled into new shoes, they are pretty nifty.


my new shoes

This year, I finally got two Okabashi pairs for myself, and I'm loving them. Each was under $20; a price point that no one can complain about. They are decently comfy -- certainly more so than the Jelly fad of the 1980s -- and come in great colors. I got a green pair of clogs that I use in the garden. (These are PERFECT for that.) And, I've got a pair of red 'strappy' shoes that I've worn to work a few times with great success.

Anyone else tried these and can comment on them? Has anyone actually returned them to be recycled?

I like to park far away

2011-05-28T20:13:00.000-07:00

Opposite of those people of questionable character who borrow grandma's handicap permit so that they can park in the reserved spot closest to the grocery store, I like to park very far away.

More space around my car, and fewer vehicles zooming around me, makes it easier to get in and out of the parking lot, get my son in and out of the car seat, and get packages in and out of the back. It also reduces the chances of my car being damaged by someone else, and gives me a little more exercise. All in all, it's great. Why doesn't everyone try to park as far away as possible?

But I often get frustrated by returning the cart. Many stores only have cart returns right up near the store. COSTCO and Whole Foods fall into this category. I end up needing to backtrack a pretty significant distance to return the cart. Clearly, a lot of folks don't even bother as a lot of abandoned carts are handing out near back near the far end of the lot. When it's just me, I don't mind. But if I've got my toddler with me, he has a low attention span for this activity, which makes it much harder to accomplish.

See that Cart return WAY far away?

Here's where I need to give Giant some credit; they put cart returns very far back. I can park very far away, and still have a cart return in easy distance.

Thanks, Giant!

Picking the Perfect Potty

2011-05-19T19:53:00.000-07:00

My 3-year-old son has just about moved past the 'potty' and upgraded to using the grown-up toilet all the time. Hurrah!

There are a variety of articles on the web about potty chairs and seats. You can read about the basic parts of the potty chairs as well as general info about what to look for in a potty. You can also read about folks who skipped the potty chair and went right for the seat, then immediately made sure it was a slow-close lid.

But based on my own recent experience, it is good to start with a little chair that is more their size, so here are the Nitpicky Consumer's rules to pick the perfect potty.

Rule 1: Never pay full price for a Potty
Seriously. A potty is a stylized plastic pot in which your child will (try to) deposit his pee and poo. This is not a family heirloom you are buying. The going range for new potty chairs seems to be $12-$100, (although I can't really fathom anyone paying $100 for such a thing), but you shouldn't pay anything more than $0-$10. Borrow a potty from a friend or co-worker, go to a yardsale, go to a consignment sale, check Craig's List. Do anything besides pay full price.

Rule 2: Have LOTS of Pottys
You can take all that money you saved by not buying new potty chairs and get MORE of them. Especially if your house has more than one floor, you're going to want more than one potty. (We had one on each level of our townhouse, and also in the family room area in front of the TV.) This way, when the little one needs to go, distance to the potty is never an obstacle

Rule 3: The more complex the Potty, the HARDER to CLEAN
Beware of grooves, designs, and cracks. Look at a Potty and say to yourself, "If toxic ooze got poured all over this entire Potty, how many crevices would be hard to clean?" If it seems overwhelming, move on and look for another Potty.

Rule 4: Go for the multi-tasking Potty
Some potty chairs are nothing more than a potty chair. But some are a little bit more. Here's what I was looking for:

A potty with a seat lid makes it double as a stool
A potty chair with a built-in removable potty seat allows you to have both pieces in one, and you can instantly rearrange the setup to suit the current whim of your child
A potty chair with handles can be easily carried around, so it doubles as both your in-house and your portable version

NOTE: Even if everyone follows the same four rules, we're still going to each end up with different potty chairs that we are happy with.

Here is the one that we considered our 'Perfect Potty': the Graco Soft Seat Potty Trainer (Model 812K). It is clearly older: it seems to be out of stock or discontinued on most websites, and it is Made in the USA. When you can find it, it runs $19-$27 new. (So hopefully you can find it second-hand!)

It was a clean-line design. Not many crevices
I bought it for $7 at a consignment shop
It had a lid, so he could use it as a stool or to prop his feet when he was sitting on the 'big toilet'
It had a cushy removable potty seat that he used for a while to sit on the big toilet
It didn't have carrying handles, but the world isn't perfect.

Graco was our perfect potty; I'd love to hear about what other folks found to be their 'perfect' potty.

It doesn't fit. Sigh.

2011-05-15T19:02:00.000-07:00

Today, I received the Land's End dress that proved so problematic to order. It was both too short and way, WAY too BIG. In order to achieve the tailored look of the model in the photos of this dress, I estimate that I'd need an XX-Small. This is saying something considering that I usually wear size Medium in most clothing.

Sigh. Back into the box it goes.

You WANT me to buy something, right?

2011-05-10T06:15:00.000-07:00

I generally like Land's End. Conservative clothes with clean lines. I wish more of it - any of it, actually - was still Made in the USA, but I can't complain about the styling. The only thing they like to do more than send lots of paper catalogs is to send LOTS of marketing e-mails. But I think that they are going a little overboard with it.

My desired Dress and the very small expiration date

At 4am (yes, AM) on May 4, an email from Land's End titled "Soft and Summery: 24 new Dresses and Skirts + Free Shipping" came into my Inbox. I of course did not read it at 4am; it was more like 4pm when I finally saw it.

Ah, I shall have to take a peek at these new dresses, I thought to myself. One in particular caught my eye. It already had several glowing reviews (which in hindsight seems suspicious, if it is supposedly a new dress). So I decided to buy it. But wait. The X-Smalls, Smalls, and Mediums were already SOLD OUT? How it this possible? All the reviews were firm that the dress ran very large, so it was clear that my size was gone.

I quickly fired off an email to Lands End Customer Support, asking why on earth they were hoking a "new" dress that was nearly sold out and would they be getting any more? The next day, I got back a lovely form letter explaining the complexities of inventory management and confirming that no, they would not get any more. Grrrrrr.

So, I decided to visit my local Sears on the way home from work, to see if they had it. They did, but only size Large and X-Large. And the reviewers were right. THE DRESS WAS HUGE.

I went back home and checked online again. Regular was still sold out, but Petite had one color - Black - left in size Small. I decided to try it. It was a pretty dress. And besides, the email advertised free shipping. Free shipping makes everything better.

So, I logged in, plunked my small treasure into the cart and linked to checkout. I plugged in my free shipping code and ... big red text appears saying "THIS OFFER IS NO LONGER VALID". What? I went back to the original email. No expiration date on the subject line. No expiration on the main title. But way at the bottom, in very small type, was the note that the offer expired at 11:59pm on May 4. The free shipping had only been good for less than one day ... less than 20 hours. Couldn't Land's End have made this a little more obvious?

I almost abandoned my cart at this point. The only thing that saved the sale for Land's End is the distinct lack of simple black dresses at most retailers this year. So I clicked "Submit" and my dress is on its way. I sure hope the damn thing fits, because after all this it is going to make me even madder to need to return it.

People with Way Too Much Time

2011-05-06T20:49:00.000-07:00

I have ranted in the past about my distaste for Home Owners Associations (HOAs) and in particular the Architectural Review Committees (ARCs) that often come along with them. It infuriates me that someone has the gall to impose their own subjective beliefs on me under the guise of 'maintaining the community.' Today, I found a kindred spirit in Tampa, Florida, who is fighting back to protect his rights to do rational, non-harmful things on the property that he rightly owns.

W00t! Fight the good fight, man. I'm gearing up for a battle, myself. I want to (gasp) repaint my house, and where I live that means I need to ask for permission. Sigh. We'll just see how that goes.

The Royal Wedding: Should we care? Yes.

2011-05-01T21:53:00.000-07:00

Yes, I got up and watched the Royal Wedding of William and Catherine this past Friday. I also TIVO'd it on two channels -- CBS for the American coverage and PBS for the British coverage -- so I could watch it more in-depth later.

It was breathtaking. I almost cried when the camera panned down from the ceiling of the Abbey during the procession. Some of my friends were just as excited as I was, such as my friend Christine who baked English scones the day before and sent one over to me.

But many other friends just didn't 'get it'

"Why would you get up so early just to see a wedding?" one asked. Another, a bit disgusted at the coverage, wondered "With so many horrible things going on, why are people caring about this?" Still others were barely aware it was happening.

So I found myself wondering, why did I care so much? Why was this so special? I've come up with three key reasons:

A chance to see living history

The BBC coverage was better than a history lesson. It provided a crash-course in British political, religious, cultural, and art history for the past thousand years in the 'pre-show' hour. Some of the facts about Westminster Abbey were fascinating. And I loved the way one historian described the progress of royal weddings from the pre-arranged 'mergers and acquisitions' hundreds of years ago to the vibrant public spectacles they have become in the last century.

Want to see how a formal carriage is driven? Watch a Royal wedding. Want to hear about how traditional lace is woven? Watch a Royal wedding. Want to hear how medieval tile floors were constructed? Watch a Royal wedding. Want to see history WWII airplanes in flight? Watch a Royal Wedding.

I showed segments of the broadcast to my 3-year old son. He jumped with glee to see the Abbey's bells, from inside the tower. (We've watched that 10-second clip over and over more than his favorite episode of Dinosaur Train, and that is saying a lot.) He loved the royal trumpeters, who heralded the Queen's entry into the Abbey. He was mesmerized by the boy choir. He proclaimed "Look at that big church!" when Westminster Abbey was shown in his entirety. And he cheered when the "big plane and the little planes" flew over the Palace. These images got him really excited; he understood that something big and important was happening and he loved it.

A reminder of the importance of family heritage

My mother's side of the family is very in touch with our history. We still run the Rosebud Perfume Company; we still have pieces of my great-grandfather's drugstore from the late 1800s. As my cousin, who is in her late 80s, said last year "We are so blessed to know our roots and our family history. Some people today seem so lost; they don't know who they are or where they came from."

The Royal Family is a reminder of how precious and wonderful such a history can be. The ability to trace back, to see signatures of great-great-great grandparents, to walk where they walked. They are the ultimate in family heritage preservation. It's not everyone who has the means to preserve a 110-year-old family carriage, but they do and they have. It's a treasure to be able to glimpse such heirlooms not in a museum, but actually cared for and in use by the same family, generations later.

Some good news, for a change

We're so used to the Media covering bad news, that we almost feel guilty when they cover something good. But quite frankly, news is by definition neither good nor bad. It's news. And it's good for us all to share in something positive.

David Starkey, a Royal Historian who did commentary for CBS, stated it very well:

"It [the wedding] really has caught the imagination. This is a bit of a grim time. We've had recession. We've got declining incomes. People want a bit of fun. Monarchy is brilliant at creating fun and entertainment. So many of the people I saw and listened to [on the street on the way here] were American, clearly coming back home in a funny kind of way and watching the royal family that -perhaps rather controversially - you got rid of."

I generally despise the media, but in this case, I found their coverage wonderful. Kudos to all the press teams who worked very hard to pull together commentary, history and coverage that would highlight all aspects of this fabulous event.

Besides the witty commentary by Royal Historian David Starkey, other highlights for me included BBC television's broadcast of the space station crew sending their best wishes
and designer David Emanuel's breathless commentary upon catching the first glimpse of Kate's dress as she emerged from her hotel. (He designed Princess Diana's dress.) It's infectious to experience someone who really knows their craft and can share that knowledge and excitement.

Thank you for sharing it with us.

Actually Reusing the Reusable Bags

2011-04-27T20:16:00.000-07:00

Very interesting article here about re-usable bags from the grocery store, and how the large stores are starting to invest money in helping the customer to remember to bring them into the store. I actually like this idea. If you forget your bags in the car, and it is raining or cold or you have the baby, you just are NOT going to go back.

Thoughts, anyone? Or is the 5-cent discount more valuable to folks?

Hinged Easter Eggs? Where's the fun in that?

2011-04-23T10:27:00.000-07:00

This week is all about Easter Eggs. Making Jell-o Eggs. Dying Hard-boiled eggs with Paas. And getting a fresh batch of plastic eggs to fill with all sorts of wonderful treasure.

hinges and toys? what about loose halves and candy?

Usually, I just walk into any store and buy them. But not this year. This year the new fad seems to be hinged eggs. What? Hinges? Yuck. They were everywhere. I went to Giant. Hinges. Family Dollar. Hinges. A different Giant. Hinges. Finally, I got what I wanted at a CVS drugstore. Plastic eggs with no hinges. Leaving me free to mix & match as I please.

Why all of the hinges? They are a totally inferior product.

Ah, the power of the split halves

Once the hinge snaps, what can you do with it but recycle it? If one half of a non-hinged egg breaks, you save it and pair it up with another one that had a broken half.
How can you create eggs with each half a different color when they are hinged? Why stifle creativity like that?
You need unhinged eggs in order to create a Sorting Eggs game for your preschooler
And in case you were wondering, apparently the hinged eggs are a different type of plastic, so they can't be repainted to improve their infrared opacity, either. Who knew?

But whether you're using hinged or split eggs, real or Jell-o eggs, have a very Happy Easter.

Campbell's Soup and Salt: Mmmm-Mmmmmm Good

2011-04-18T19:48:00.000-07:00

Just about two years ago, I carefully compared several brands of Chicken & Stars and then complained loudly that there was too much salt in them. Apparently, I am not the only one who is comparing salt content between products. And four New Jersey women have decided to do a lot more than complain about the salt; they are suing Campbell's over salt content and deceptive advertising.


My official Campbell's Mug

This is a very interesting case. Campbell's is technically correct: their claims are accurate when put into context. i.e., When you add a few more words to the claim, to clarify what is being compared, it is correct. But what the NJ gals are saying is also correct: a reasonable consumer when faced with two Campbell's Tomato soups -- side by side -- are going to make the assumptive leap that the 25% is comparing Tomato Soup A (Regular Tomato Soup) to Tomato Soup B (25% Less Sodium Tomato Soup).

I am not a fan of lawsuits -- they are a giant money pit that usually don't accomplish anything more than give people more reason to go to law school and raise prices for everyone. I find myself wondering if the women contacted Campbell's first. Did they write letters? Call? Ask nicely for a change? Or did they jump right to litigation with claims of Consumer Fraud? It's very interesting to me that the four women are from New Jersey, and that is where Campbell's Headquarters is located. I'd like more background about this case, but after numerous web searches today I can not find anything more than about 20 different spins on the same basic headline. If anyone has more background, I'd love a comment or link.

In search of the Rare and Elusive Salmon Bean Soup

2011-04-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

My husband is allergic to shellfish. And so is his sister. And so was his grandmother. So you can imagine that not much shellfish is served in our house. The frustrating part is that all of them developed the allergy in their teen years, so they remember the awesome taste of lobster and crab and in particular a hearty bowl of clam chowder.

So, I am on a constant mission to find substitutes for clam chowder.

After a stop to the Chowder House in Portland, Maine, for example, I worked tirelessly to perfect my own version of a shellfish-free, cream-based fish chowder.

We had also fallen in love with a White Bean Salmon Chowder the Whole Foods Market made and sold back near the fish counter. However, we noticed a year or so ago that we never saw it anymore. Finally, I asked some folks at our store. No one really knew what I was talking about; no one seemed to remember the chowder. Then finally one guy thought he remembered them getting it pre-made from a company called 'Sea Bear'.

So, armed with this information, I sat down to type.

First, I wrote to Whole Foods, asking them about the chowder.

I received confirmation almost immediately via email from Nadeem that their Commissary used to make 'Salmon & White Bean Soup' but that it was no longer made. She noted that it was hard to share a recipe when you make batches so large, but that she'd see what she could do.
Within a day I then received an email from Jay at the Springfield Seafood Department. He noted that the recipe contained the following ingredients and hoped this would help me:
Northern bean cooked, traditional hummus (whoa, really? I would never have guessed this!), water, Canned tomato, salmon wild coho, onion, celery, Base fish, Food starch, garlic, salt, parsley, seafood seasoning, dill herb, & black pepper

At the same time, I located Sea Bear's website and also wrote to them:

Within a day, I heard from Charly who noted that she would be checking with her manager about my question.
About a day later, she wrote me back with another response:

I checked with my manager regarding your question. She says that it is possible they may have used one of our soup bases that we have from Gerard and Dominique, but most likely added their own ingredients to the soup.

We do offer Smoked Salmon Chowder and our Spicy White Bean soup. Both are very delicious. You are welcome to try them free of the shipping charge. You would need to call and place the order over the phone and speak with me or place your order online and call us with the order number so we may remove your shipping charges. All of our products are backed by our Fisherman’s Guarantee. If for any reason you are not thrilled with our products, we will either refund you or send you something else.
I decided to take them up on their offer, so I called and we walked over the ingredients together. As it turned out, the Spicy White Bean soup had a clam rather than a fish base, and there were big flags on their records saying to point this out to customers requesting fish rather than shellfish products. She noted that they were working to reformulate the recipe to drop the clam. So I decided to try the Salmon Chowder.
I now have 2 paks of the Chowder on my shelf, waiting for a cold, rainy day.

In a world of rotten customer service, I wanted to give a shout-out to both Whole Foods and Sea Bear. They both went above and beyond to help me on my quest, even though it was not at all certain that such help would result in any type of sale. I'm left with a nice warm feeling -- not unlike that feeling that a good, hot, chowder leaves behind -- after my interactions with both of them. Can't wait to do business with them, again.

Hey, Congresspeople! This isn't kindergarten

2011-04-04T20:12:00.000-07:00

It's like a big, festive carnival up there on the Hill. Whee!

I'm going to digress to politics for a week. (I'm in DC; I can't help it.) But it's not as much of a digression as you might think. When it comes to our elected officials, we're all the customers. We elect them, and we pay for their salaries and their utterly fabulous benefits. So, I expect and demand a little service in return.

And what I'm getting now is a cross between a soap opera and a circus, with as much nuance as a kindergarten recess. I just read the current status: Principal Obama has invited the kids to come have snacks and juice in his office so that they can all work it out. I only hope that all the snacks are locally grown so that I can have some kind of positive feeling about the whole thing, because otherwise it's just a giant mess.

Seriously, this is how Paul Kane and Jon Cohen of the Washington Post described it today:

As the deadline neared, House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) exchanged insults, each side blaming the other for the stalemate.

Swell. Did they fire their Nerf guns at each other, too?

You've got a job to do folks. Stop the drama, and start behaving like the educated negotiators that you all claim to be.