PSoTD

As I've said before, I do the grocery shopping each week. Recently a Giant supermarket reopened - bigger, glitzier, more endowed with specialties and services that I don't need. And a Wegmans promises to open a couple of miles the other direction, with the same kinds of things.

Me? I go to Karns. It's a local supermarket in Central Pennsylvania, and their big claim to fame is that their meat department is fantastic. And, in general, I'm very happy about the quality and cost of meat there. The rest of the grocery isn't necessarily better than anyone else, but it is functional, and I suspect their prices pretty much fall in line with the other grocery stores in the area.

I go to Karns because of convenience, and the meat, and the lack of crowds. I go on Saturday morning, when other groceries are teeming, but Karns is just doing a steady clip of business. Often I'm one of the younger shoppers there, and I'll be turning 47 in a few weeks. In some ways they cater to the older population of our area. They use smaller carts, which are easier for older people to push around, and are more appropriate spacewise for a 1 or 2 person household. I see more cereal products in particular that seem to me to be old-fashioned or not of interest to anyone under 30 than I remember in other groceries. I suspect there are other product areas that may also be more dedicated to the older population.

But I wonder. Karns doesn't try to be a "cool" grocery to attract younger buyers. It seems to have an older population as its core market. It isn't a big chain that can have many marketplace specialty stores - it is what it is. So, as their older market ages, and eventually... stops shopping there, how does Karns survive?

I don't really know, but I'm curious as to how this will work out. I like Karns, and one of the reasons I like it is perversely because it does NOT try to be a "cool" grocery store. It operates within a limited premise of what a grocery store is, and leaves the drycleaning and fast food restaurants and dog grooming for other businesses at other locations. Karns' management appears to be satisifed with delivering within the traditional scope of "groceries". I can respect that.

One of the reasons I do not like the new Giant is the horrible parking setup they have. One of the reasons the Wegmans may not be my choice is that it's further away than Karns, and in a heavy traffic area.

That leaves me in a position of actually rooting for Karns. I'm just hoping that as a business, they're getting enough business. I'm hoping we'll be living in the house we currently live in for the next 13-14 years, until the kids get out of school. That's a lot of groceries. At this point, I'd prefer to do the shopping at Karns.

It may not be fog of the traditional sort. Maybe it is your neighbor's outdoor insect mist system...

I am, and have been for years, the regular grocery shopper in our family (it was a trade of chores around the house, and I much prefer the grocery shopping chore). Our oldest child is nine, and we have been in the somewhat lazy habit of buying cookies for use as after dinner treats for several years now.

Anyone that has been buying cookies for this long of time is well aware of the packaging shrinkage that has been going on. I don't know how many ounces a standard package of Oreos or Fig Newtons or Vanilla Wafers was 7 years ago, but I know it was bigger than it is today. Oh, and cheaper too, but that's beside my point but exactly the snack companies point - to increase the cost by cookie rather than by package. The consumer, although they may be wily enough to compare per ounce costs of product on a per-visit basis, does not retain that cost breakdown for the longterm - it's just not a convenient way to look at buying cookies or crackers or cereal, since the product size is fixed. You pay $3.39 for a package of cookies, not $3.39 for 13.5 ounces of cookies.

And so - there's my beef. I think snack manufacturers ought to be required to plainly and loudly put the product count on the front or top of the package - at least the intended count, with a leeway for breakage. Don't bury it with the small print of ingredients. My $3.60 box of cookies provides 18 cookies? I can remember 20 cents per cookie. Later, when my $3.60 box shrinks, and only contains 12 cookies, I can way WHOA! That's a 50% increase! Because I'll remember...

Certain grocery items lend themselves to weight, but some don't. We don't go around saying we want to eat .75 of one ounce of cookie material - we say we want a cookie. The true consumer-friendly way to provide pricing for cookies is to give a per-package and per-cookie price.

There's a lot of cell tower news out there lately...

National park supporters say proposed changes in National Park Service management policies could result in cell towers in the woods, mountain bikes on the trails and more planes flying over the Great Smoky Mountains.

"The changes are obviously meant to commercialize and privatize many activities in the parks and open them up to numerous inappropriate uses," said Ray Payne, who has been a volunteer worker in the Smokies for a decade.

Payne was not alone in his criticism Tuesday at a public meeting to take comments on the Park Service's first major policy review since 2001.

The plan is "trying to emphasize parks as economic destinations as opposed to sanctuaries where one can go for inspiration and enhanced knowledge," said Owen Hoffman of the Coalition of Retired National Park Service Employees.

This is a different story, but there's a word of warning: Locals near any proposed cell tower should realize, there is no such thing as a temporary cell tower.

"Oh no, no, no, they wouldn't even go there. We couldn't even get to that point. Once they looked at the terms and said all we will do is one five-year term, maybe that. We cannot do a quarter-million or a half-a-million-dollar investment for a five-year term, and then have Butte College say the lease is over and you're out. We couldn't even get to design. We couldn't even get that far," said Gulati.

From iMedia:

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced plans to sell airwaves starting May 10 to provide communications services like high-speed internet to U.S. air travelers.

The FCC plans to auction airwaves used by phone embedded in airplanes seats, which are operated by a Verizon Communications unit. The airplane seat phones are usually not used due to the high cost.

The FCC proposed setting $5 million as the minimum the auction must raise for the sale, Reuters reported.

Just another place where people are soon destined to be within contact of their employer.

From the Whidbey News Times:

Christmas gifts can be surprising, such as the pair of socks I received with “made in the USA” stamped on them. This was unexpected, like unwrapping a can of refried beans made in France. I had no idea they make socks in the USA.

Upon closer inspection, it became clear why these particular socks were American made. They were high-tech socks, something the Chinese don’t have the technology to produce. I have plenty of Chinese-made socks and they’re just plain socks, made of cotton with room for your feet. China may be a growing economic threat to the U.S., but it’s comforting to know that the sock gap is still in our favor.

I dunno, I just found the concept as amusing as the author. High tech socks. Here's the high tech I'm looking for - relatively cheap athletic socks that don't wear holes in the toes and heels within the first month of ownership. Can America do it?

Or... how about a guarantee? Something like that the socks should survive over a dozen uses of average wear? Your mileage may vary, but... why not give the marketplace some sort of idea how long the socks will last?

My wife tells me I'm hard on my socks because I wear them without shoes around the house. Okay... how about making socks that are still for use with shoes that cover that market niche? I'm sure we're a big segment of the marketplace.

Or... how about give WPS (wears per sock) ratings on the package? It could be 6 WPS for basketball, 10 WPS for tennis, 100 WPS for foosball...

How about it, American sock industry? What do you think?

We're hoping to go to Great Wolf Resorts in the Poconos in early March with the kids, it's a big lodge with indoor water park and even though it is a bit pricey, it looks like a good "will winter ever end" weekend getaway. Have you been to one of these before? Great Wolf owns a variety of such resorts around the country.

It is amazing how big of business water parks are becoming. The state of Kansas just approved a bond issue for construction of a water park resort. There are plans to open indoor waterparks at Niagara Falls. The City of Cloquet, Minnesota is considering a local option half-percent sales tax to help pay for a waterpark. And there's plenty more churn out there.

It does make me wonder, though, if the construction and planning is a bit overheated over longterm demand.

If something like this took off in the marketplace in America...

New anti-Christian jeans have become hot sellers in Sweden.

They're known as Cheap Monday and have a trendy tight fit and low price. They also have a logo that features a skull with a cross turned upside down on its forehead.

The logo's designer admits he has a "great dislike" for organized religion and said the logo is an "active statement against Christianity."

The predominant Lutheran Church of Sweden is reacting with a shrug. A spokesman said he doesn't think the logo is "much to be horrified about." But some Christians believe that approach is too soft. One vicar said the logo is a "deliberate provocation" against Christians.