Saturday, October 25

Timing .. is .. uh .. TIMING is .. uh .. Timing Is Every ........... Thing

William Shatner had some of the worst delivery of any actor in Hollywood. He was well-known for overacting on Star Trek (ST:TOS = the original series). I suspect he now works for The Kellogg Company: they (well, okay -- Kroger) sold me a box of Fruit Harvest with a "Better If Used By .." 12 Jan 2004, and a coupon on the side that expired 30 September 2003. Doh!

I also noted (with continued amusement) that a local Realtor® can't sync her mailings with the dates inside. She says that architects will be available for viewing on 17 October, but the newsletter was postmarked 21 October and arrived in my mailbox a few days after that. Doh!

Being a rabid fan of fast food, I was not surprised to see a) they finally got around to removing the signage from a closed Grandy's restaurant and b) the local Miami Subs Grill closed. The latter has been struggling with an identity crisis for the past few years, and the Name Brand Concept they tried just didn't work (they sold Nathan's Famous; Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips; and Kenny Rogers Roasters under one roof). I suppose this was an attempt to mimic the trend of dual-locations (I can't even remember the last time I saw a standalone KFC .. they're all combined with Taco Bell or A&W or Pizza Hut).

This trend probably started when shopping malls started adding food courts, where a group could feed from a variety of cuisines. This parallels the trend of co-locating fast food with other stuff, particularly gas stations. I recall seeing Chevron paired with Wendy's and even McDonald's. I've only seen one McSnack (a sidewalk-window version of McDonalds) in La Jolla, California. I have spotted many McDonalds inside airport terminals, many at (you guessed it) food courts.

Finally, someone emailed me Social Security Reform: a 2004 Election Issue. I wasn't aware of the deal the US Senate and House have regarding their retirement plans (this on the heels of voting themselves a nice raise while the rest of us try to hang onto our jobs) and yeah, it smells corrupt!

Being the suspicious sot that I am, I checked the domain registration for USResolve.org. Turns out it's a (supposedly disabled) veteran living in an apartment in Florida (nothing wrong with that) and the website is dotted with pro-medical marijuana and send-me-money pointers. Hmm .. sounds very non-profit (.org) to me!

No comments: