Category Archives: Reality checks

February 16, 2010 · 11:43 am

Tic Tac Toe

A strange but valid position in a Tic-Tac-Toe ...

The media business is, in part, founded on the medium’s ability to deliver eyeballs to advertisers. Obviously the ability of any one medium (and I mean, for example, a TV channel, not all of TV) to do that on a large-scale has been diminished over the years. However, there is an expectation, in my opinion, on the part of advertisers that somewhere at the end of the media equation is a sale.

Part of what we used to sell in TV was the fact that there is only one ad on the screen at a time and your product is front and center. And while that’s still true, a few other things have changed which show how dumb we TV folks have become in many ways. Continue reading →

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February 15, 2010 · 4:41 pm

Valentines

The wife and I don’t really celebrate Valentine’s Day since we’ve been married for 30+ years and we’ve been dating for several years longer.  It sounds like a simple excuse to avoid yet another gift buying panic but we really try and celebrate that every day, pr as many days as we can in between discussions of misplaced dirty laundry and needed home repairs.  But I don’t hold anything against those of you that do, which, apparently is quite a few.

Sortprice, which regularly tracks user visits and searches during major holiday shopping periods to gauge consumer trends, compiled a top ten list of the most popular products being viewed on the site. The data was collected starting in late January through February 8th and they equate it to the most popular gifts being purchased for valentines Day.  They are:

  • Canon Power Shot SD970 IS
  • Ugg Classic Short Boot
  • iPod Touch
  • Kama Sutra Bath Gels and Oils
  • Guess Handbags
  • Bulova Diamond Women’s Watches
  • Weleda Body Oils
  • Betsey Johnson Necklaces
  • Philips Norelco Men’s Razors and Grooming Kits
  • Armani Acqua di Gio Men’s Fragrance

The first thing I notice is how the bulk of these are for women.  Tossing out the camera and iTouch as gender neutral, two of the remaining eight are for men.  I think we know what’s going on here:  guilt!

The second thing I notice is that two of these products are oils.  Kama Sutra gel?   I retract my previous statement.

The third thing I notice is that while the female gifts are accessories, the male gifts are for the guys to clean up their acts.  Gifts or threats, ladies?

What did you give or get for Valentine’s Day?  Anything on this list?

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February 12, 2010 · 12:01 pm

Fine Wine

red wine

Wine is food, right?  So today’s Foodie Friday post is on a wine theme.  I don’t profess to know much about really good wine but I do know enough to recognize when a wine is too young to drink.  You can taste the tannins, the stuff from the stems and seeds of the grapes, which are bitter but which mellow over time.  In fact, I’ve always thought that if a wine has the characteristics of being really good (nose, body, etc.) that noticeable tannins are a good thing – it means the wine is only going to get better.  That’s a wine you want to hang on to as it gets older.  Why do I bring that up? Continue reading →

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