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Volvo Minivan
Has Volvo, the premier family car manufacturer, lost its way? Even though Ford now owns this Swedish company, I somehow suspect that Volvo isn’t building cars targeted at the American market, hence its late arrival in the SUV market. Still, for families with children, which I think is Volvo’s core market, nothing beats the convenience…
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Pump Up the Volume in the Morning
The next time you fill-up, take a look at some of the warning labels affixed to the gasoline pump. I saw the above label recently while purchasing gas from Costco. This device dispenses gasoline solely by volume measured in standard gallons (231 cubic inches). It does not adjust for temperature or other factors which may…
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Recession Special
Could really have used a polarizing filter to cut down the reflection in the window. Anyways, I spotted this sign in the window of a Thai restaurant in Millbrae over the weekend. Special Lunch Dishes Today For Those People Who Are Unemployed.Any noodle dish with your choice of chicken, pork, beef or veggi $5.50 On…
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Sign of the Times: Not Hiring
Spotted the “Not Hiring” sign during the weekend. You think a few people have already stopped by to ask about job openings? From what I hear, construction work has come to a dead halt. So, any contractor that is building in this economy will be very popular. Anyways, the sign really means a lot of…
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Best Selling Children’s Books
Amazon has been a bit off with their recommendations as of late. Today, I received an e-mail regarding the best selling children’s books under $10. I understand why Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? is on their list. But, remember the “one of these things doesn’t belong here” song from Sesame Street? Now,…
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No Need to Panic
The financial meltdown on Wall Street “is like deja vu all over again,” to misquote Yogi Berra. Somehow, these once in a lifetime or once in a century financial crises keep occurring, well before the century has run out. With 1999-2000 still fresh in mind, we all have some frame of reference for understanding how…
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Dreaming of the Good Life
Yahoo! News reports that a homeowner that received a brand new house courtesy of Extreme Makeover is now facing foreclosure. The homeowners had taken out a business loan and used the house as collateral. Unfortunately, their construction business failed. Of course, every businessperson plans to succeed. Most people don’t plan to fail, but failure inevitably…
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30 Days of So-Called Sustainability
In Super Size Me, Morgan Spurlock taped his experience of eating 3 meals per day at McDonald’s for one month. 30 Days is a spin-off television show of that concept. Morgan hosts the show, but finds one or two guests to follow through on the 30 day immersion experience. In Off the Grid, Morgan sends…
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Pain Pain Go Away
The Los Angeles Times is reporting that China will be increasing retail gas prices on Friday by 16%. The last time China had increased retail fuel prices was in November. A one day 16% price hike sounds steep; however, consider that prices have been stable for the prior seven months. I last saw $3.99 gas…