There was some press a while back about manufacturers’ rebates and how many consumers are too lazy or too busy to claim them.
So, I was pleased to see that BJ’s, the membership warehouse retail store, has put together an online service, simple to use, for submitting rebates.
Refreshing, isn’t it, for a retailer – especially one running on slim margins – to have invested resources into building a nice convenience for its customers.
Duh, and Duh Again
This, from this morning’s Cape Cod Times:
IKEA and Me
I’ve tried – so hard – to buy anything for myself from the local IKEA that costs more than $2.
I’ve purchased furniture and a sundry or two that sit in my grandsons’ room, but haven’t found anything suitable for Inner Keep, and think I’ve figured out why.
It Was Inevitable
From an article in today’s NY Times:
“India still produces plenty of engineers, nearly 400,000 a year at last count. But their competence has become the issue.
“A study commissioned by a trade group, the National Association of Software and Service Companies, or Nasscom, found only one in four engineering graduates to be employable. The rest were deficient in the required technical skills, fluency in English or ability to work in a team or deliver basic oral presentations.”
The article also states that as a result of this skill shortage, salaries for engineers in India have been increasing at 10-15% per year.
Mitt and Gay Marriage
So, our fearless Governor is once again making gay couples his “road to the White House” b
Minnesota Senate Race
It’s been a long, long time, but every so often, there’s a glimmer of hope on the political landscape, and we saw it today on “Meet the Press” in the debate between Minnesota Senatorial candidates Amy Klobuchar (D) and Rep. Mark Kennedy (R).
Workers’ Rights for Child Care Workers – Indeed
Those busybodies at MoveOn (only kidding, they are good folks) have asked their Massachusetts readers to send comments on a couple of ballot questions that we can look forward to this November 7.
Here is their description of Question 3, named in typically obfuscatory fashion the “Better Child Care Initiative”:
Nobel Prize Tally
So, four of the six Nobel prizes for 2006 – economics, medicine, physics and chemistry – were awarded to Americans.
The other two, the literature and peace prizes, went to a Turkish writer and a Bangladeshi economist, respectively.
It’s heartening to see that in spite of our reputation for intellectual mediocrity, the US is still recognized by a respected international organization for academic and professional excellence.
Played for Fools
Yet more pre-midterm bad news for Republicans: a new book “Tempting Faith”, due out next Monday, documents how the Bush administration has been playing evangelical Christians for fools, using public funds to manipulate them for political purposes while characterizing their leaders as “out of control”, “goofy” and “the nuts”.
Sales Down, Prices Steady
This, from the Barnstable County Registry of Deeds:
2006 median sales price: $369,000.00
2005 median sales price: $365,000.00
2006 sales volume: 4,809
2005 sales volume: 6,332