Archive for January, 2008

Word has it that Sears Holdings Corp. is making some changes so they can revitalize the company to help them compete against such stores as Wal-Mart.

While I am no longer a fan of Wal-Mart, I can’t stand Sears. I don’t like their stores. I don’t like their sales staff. Unless they change the whole atmosphere when you walk into a Sears store, there is no hope.

Sears Holdings Corp. plans to reorganize into several companies in another bid to pull the ailing 121-year-old retailer out the doldrums, according to a report published Saturday.

The restructuring could create separate units to manage Sears real-estate holdings and run brands such as Diehard and Craftsman, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Honestly, when was the last time you were in a Sears store? Did you enjoy the experience? Was the staff friendly and courteous or were they acting like pompous idiots that had no time to deal with you?

Will separating their brands into separate “units” really help matters much? Only time will tell, I suppose. I think they need to work on their image more than their management units, but that’s just me.

Wow. I know that towboats and riverboats have a hard time navigating the mighty Mississippi on a normal day, and boat pilots are well trained on the dangers of the river, so you would think the operator of the towboat might have known where this ship had sunk, yes?

A towboat ran into the sunken wreckage of a replica 17th-century warship in the Mississippi River, forcing the Coast Guard to shut down a 10-mile stretch of the river.

The wreckage of Le Pelican punched a hole that pierced three fuel tanks on the towboat Senator Stennis on Saturday, spilling about 30 gallons of diesel fuel into the river, according to a Coast Guard statement.

Nobody was hurt in the 1 p.m. accident, but the river was closed from 3:30 p.m. to about 8:45 p.m., when it was reopened to one-way traffic, said Lt. Stephen Nutting of the Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Office in New Orleans said.

Hmm… I wonder if anyone hit the original ship this way, if so, they could dub this a “replica accident”.

I knew this day was coming. I have been telling my wife for ages and now it has come to be. I have been telling her that the day is coming that we would no longer be able to purchase products using cash. She always tells me I am crazy. Well, she used to.

I was in Boise yesterday and saw that CompUSA was closing out and shuttering their doors.

So I went in and decided since it a lot of it was 40% off, I would get a few new things. Now the computers were only 10% and the iPods 15% but still it’s been a long time since I had any new “toys” maybe I should treat myself.

Picked out a nice iMac, an iPod, a printer and some misc. accessories, cables, some software, etc. etc. I load all this up and take it to the checkout…. they ring it all out, give me the total and I reach for my wallet.

I start counting out hundred dollar bills and the clerk goes nuts! “Sir, we don’t accept cash for this kind of purchase! You must use a credit card!” she says at the top of her lungs. (I see her also hit a button on the phone at the same time.)

Instantly a man shows up, clearly the manager from his nametag and the rent-a-cop security guy. Both tell me the same thing, “NO CASH! You have to pay with a credit card!”

There ya have it. NO CASH! You can’t use cash at CompUSA, and this is just the tip of the iceberg, just wait and see.

[Hat Tip: Consumerist]

You know things are ‘iffy’ with the economy when other countries start getting nervous about how things are going. Sure, if the economy gets worse the total exports from China will be reduced, but I hardly think people will stop buying items made in China, unfortunately.

China’s central bank on Sunday poured cold water on the idea that the country’s economy can decouple from the United States.

China’s exports will be badly hit if U.S. consumption weakens, Zhang Tao, deputy head of the international department of the People’s Bank of China, told a financial forum.

Not to sound rude, but I wish people would learn to cut their consumption of Chinese made products because it makes sense rather than being forced too. With all of the trouble with Chinese made toys over the course of the past year I don’t understand why more people haven’t stopped purchasing things “Made In China”.

But as far as the economy is concerned, if things start to look bad and people are forced to reduce spending, they will be more likely to purchase items made in China. They’ll claim they are being thrifty and stretching their money because when they buy things made in China they think they’re doing the right thing getting more for their dollar.

Help! I have a ton of dealerships and we’re having trouble competing with Toyota! What should I do? Ahh! Cut the number of dealerships? Sounds great to me, thanks. What the hell?

General Motors’ CEO said its sales network isn’t shrinking fast enough and the automaker wants to step up dealer consolidations, according to a published report.

Rick Wagoner said efforts will be specific to combining Pontiac, Buick and GMC dealerships into one channel, The Detroit News reported Saturday.

“It’s time to do that and the payoff is significant,” Wagoner said during a recent presentation to Wall Street analysts.

I know they probably have more than a few that they could consolidate, but why on Earth would you close a lot of them? If they closed the ones out here near me, I wouldn’t buy them. That’s right. Why would I want to drive 35 miles or more to get to a GM dealer when there is a Ford dealer right up the road? This is just another stupid idea from a not-so-smart CEO who doesn’t know any better.

People still do this? Wow. Back in my day they used brownies and such, but it’s good to see they have migrated to the more healthful muffins.

Seven students and a teacher are recovering in hospital after consuming baked goods that may have contained a strong concentration of cannabis.

Police in Repentigny, near Montreal, say the class was celebrating the end of a course at a trade school this morning when students began to fall ill. Police spokesman Guy Belair says an 18-year-old student brought the muffins to class.

The student could face a wide range of charges including drug-related accusations. Umm.. Accusations? Wouldn’t they be drug-related crimes? Are accusations enough to convict someone now? I am confused. Pass me another muffin, will ya’?

It looks like we might be getting another “tax rebate”. I like those. A nice check from the federal government is always nice.

President Bush on Friday called for a $140 billion to $150 billion stimulus package, saying the U.S. needs a “shot in the arm” to keep housing woes from spreading.

“There are . . . times when swift and temporary actions can help ensure that inevitable market adjustments do not undermine the health of the broader economy,” he said. “This is such a moment.”

Upping the ante on Democrats’ talk of a $100 billion to $125 billion plan, the president sent a message that he won’t take a back seat in promoting economic growth.

Under President Bush’s plan, the rebates would amount to about $800 per person, but of course it wil be a lot different once the Democrats get done playing with the numbers.

Okay, well, your body anyway… I have but one question… Why?

A mailer from a congressional candidate’s campaign contains a photo of his head attached to an image of a different body that makes him look thinner.

The photo is presented as a true image of Dean Hrbacek, a Republican former mayor of Sugar Land. In reality, it is a computerized composite of Hrbacek’s face and someone else’s slimmer figure, in suit and tie, from neck to knee.

The fact he thought that looking thinner would make him more attractive to voters is hilarious. No one cares if men in politics are overweight. No one cares what they look like from the neck down. Heck, no one seems to care what’s from the neck up anymore either, so what’s the big deal?

How cool is this. When I saw this photo, I thought it was the Moon, but I didn’t recognize any of the features, then I realized what I was looking at.

The Messenger craft will complete three more flybys of Mercury before settling into an orbit in 2011. I can hardly wait to see more pics.

I have mixed feelings about this acquisition. First of all, I have to ask the same question the journalist asks. Was it really worth it? $1 billion?!? Wow. If I was in charge of Sun Microsystems I could probably think of a number of things worth more to my company than MySQL.

Sun Microsystems’ purchase of MySQL for $1 billion is not only the largest open-source deal yet, it’s almost bigger than all previous open-source deals combined, including RedHat’s $326 million buy of JBoss, Citrix’s $500 million purchase of XenSource and Yahoo’s $350 million acquisition of Zimbra.

But the deal raises a number of questions for Sun. Was that $1 billion well spent? What will Sun do with its new database? And will the purchase improve its standing in the enterprise?

While it will take several years to see the ultimate value of the acquisition, Sun may well have overpaid, Charles King, principal analyst with Pund-IT, said in a telephone interview. “To paraphrase Sen. Edward Dirkson, a billion here and a billion there and pretty soon you’re talking real money,” he quipped.

Don’t get me wrong, I love MySQL, and use it on a daily basis, so as long as they don’t muck with it too much I will be happy. But I can’t help but wonder what their true motive is. I know they are trying to expand into more of a software market, and this acquisition is definitely going to take time to prove it was really worth it.