March 27, 2009
Four For Friday
Q1 - Lost & Found: After three weeks on the run, earlier today a friend's cat finally returned home (much to the delight of their youngest daughter who was very skeptical about Tiger's eventual return). Name one material possession you've lost that you really wish you could find.
Q2 - Discount: In an attempt to increase business and branding, my Mom's bed & breakfast recently began offering a 50% discount on all rooms through April 15 (offer subject to availability and some restrictions do apply). Generally speaking, for any product or service, what 'percentage off' do you consider a good deal or enough of a deal to garner your serious attention and consideration?
Q3 - Groceries: Compared to this time last year, are you buying more, less, or about
the same amount of groceries? Related: What about organic fruits and vegetables?
Q4 - Preparedness : After nearly four years of declining public confidence in the nation's military preparedness, Gallup's annual World Affairs survey documents a sharp reversal. Currently, 54% of Americans say the country's national defense is about right, up from 41% a year ago. What do you think?
Posted by Mikal at March 27, 2009 10:45 PM
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Q1: The journal I never kept during my hitchhiking days. Most of the memories have faded.
Q2: Half off is great. I usually think 10 percent too low. 20 percent, and I start thinking it's a good deal.
Q3: About the same. I always thought organic was a rip-off. The only time I buy organic is when I make a mistake and pick something up from the organic section before seeing it in the regular section.
Q4: Huh?! That's weird. I think our military preparedness is a joke. We are way overcommitted in the world. We can't even control our southern border. Russia and China are becoming stronger militarily. Latin American countries are becoming more bold. Wake up, America! We're in big doo-doo.
The only way I can imagine that we are now in a better position to defend itself is that our country is so messed up nobody would want to invade it.
Q1: The journal I never kept during my hitchhiking days. Most of the memories have faded.
Q2: Half off is great. I usually think 10 percent too low. 20 percent, and I start thinking it's a good deal.
Q3: About the same. I always thought organic was a rip-off. The only time I buy organic is when I make a mistake and pick something up from the organic section before seeing it in the regular section.
Q4: Huh?! That's weird. I think our military preparedness is a joke. We are way overcommitted in the world. We can't even control our southern border. Russia and China are becoming stronger militarily. Latin American countries are becoming more bold. Wake up, America! We're in deep doo-doo.
The only way I can imagine that we are now in a better position to defend itself is that our country is so messed up nobody would want to invade it.
1- Haven't lost anything lately that I miss, and haven't lost anything longer ago that I can think of. Funny story though, I lost my driver's license in the Detroit airport a couple months ago. I called the airline and told them I'd lost it and all, but they had no luck on finding it in the next day or two. I went and got a new license, and about three weeks later I got my old license in the mail.
2- I generally just buy what I need, regardless of specials. To get me to buy outside of that, I usually need 50+%.
3- Little bit less, but that has a lot to do with how I eat now. Never have spent any effort on organic as I've always considered it just another way to waste money.
4- Can't say that I know jack about military readiness. I don't know why public opinion should matter on something like this, as not many people polled are going to know anything about military readiness either.
1. I can't think of anything I've lost lately that I really can't live without. Losing my job wasn't too fun, but I think I've found a new one. :)
2. I think you're mom did well. Half off usually gets my attention; however, I'm always a little skeptical of discounts no matter what they are because I think certain businesses inflate their prices artificially just so they can offer attractive sounding discounts.
3. Less. I'm mostly living off food storage right now, so I've hardly been buying groceries at all.
4. I feel okay about our preparedness, but I'm with Greg in that my knowledge of the subject is severely lacking. As far as military spending, I think we're still too high.
Q1 - Lost & Found: Mmm... nothing comes to mind off hand. About 15 years ago I lost a maroon-colored shirt that I really liked. I remember wishing I could find it. It was missing for several months, then one day I just found it lying around somewhere.
Q2 - Discount: 20% gets my attention. However, sales or discounts don't cause me to buy when I normally wouldn't anyway. At best, it will cause me to make an already planned purchase sooner.
Q3 - Groceries: I'd say I'm buying less because my budget is the same, but the cost of the food isn't. On a related note, I'm spending more eating out this year than last. It's one of those things that I've always struggled controlling my spending on.
Q4 - Preparedness : In the entirety of my life, I've never had anything but total confidence in the preparedness of the men and women in the military. The only thing I don't have confidence in is much of the leadership. There is a lot of politics involved in becoming a General or Admiral, and there are many at that level that are just piss-poor strategists and leaders -- much like the politicians in Washington DC. When it comes down to the guy on the ground though, I'd confidently pit our nation's military against any other in the world, even if the technology were equal.
1. When I was five, I kept leaving my super-sweet Macho Dirt Bike with sparkly red paint out in the yard. Dad kept telling me that if I continued forgetting to put it in the garage at night, someone would steal it. To prove his point, Dad took my bike and hid it at a neighbor's house for a week. After believing I'd lost it forever, he gave it back. Then, after leaving it out yet again about a month later, someone really did steal it. Why oh why didn't I heed my dad's very creative warning? I miss that bike.
2. Minimum of 50% off to get my attention. Offers become exponentially more interesting to me with each additional 10% off after that. If it's free, I don't care what it is: I'm all over it like stink on monkey.
3. I should be buying less, both for economic and weight loss reasons, but I'm not. I've been buying about the same. I'd say I pay a LITTLE more attention to organic fruits and veggies than I used to, but I am not yet an organic convert.
4. I'd say we're about as prepared as we were a year ago, but I also think we're the most dominant military power on the planet.
q1: the key to my garage door
q2: this depends a lot on other things but in general i'd say anything over 25%
q3: probably about the same
q4: i think we spend too much money on military
Q1 - I haven't really lost anything of extreme importance to me that I haven't been able to "replace" or "move on" without.
Q2- I usually ignore most discounts unless the word "free" is involved in a form where I don't have to give out my social security number, shoe size, and/or my first born to act on the offer. I'm a fan of the buy this (for cheap) and get this free (or for really cheap).
Q3- I'm buying more because I am feeding two more mouths...but we are careful of what we buy and how much. I am eating more in the home and not at restaurants, fast food or sit-down.
Q4- I have no idea. I don't watch television or read the news all that much, but I don't think you can ever be too prepared for something (within reason). You just never know when the unexpected will show face, so you need to be as prepared as possible.
Q1: A pocketknife that ironically, I found on a pack trip with my dad in the Wind Rivers as a kid. I lost it in college somewhere on campus.
Q2: 30% and up is pretty good. Where is your mom's B&B BTW?
Q3: Same. I never give really give preference to organic. The price just isn't worth it, and I have to say that I think I would probably rather have pesticides keeping things out of my food. Maybe I'm just a procrastinator, but the prospect of cancer down the road seems a bit less daunting than crunching through a wad of insect.
Q4: We are probably more prepared in the sense of being experienced, but I have to think that resources are being stretched kind of thin at this point.
1. hmm can't think of much stuff I'm really missing that much. Oh, if I was 9 again, it would be all my star wars characters I left out in the yard that got swiped.
2. A twofer! buy two get one. That ranks right up there with the biggie size offer, so American.
3. Hmm no change really. I still can't convince my wife that buying bulk at Costco is actually just buying more stuff that we usually don't need (did I just contradict my answer in number 2?).
4. I don't think military preparedness means the same thing it did decades ago. We are no longer fighting wars with front lines. I think we have plenty of good people to fight like that, but no wars that call for that kind of fighting. So, even though I might be talking out my ass, I'll say that our military is not adequate in an idealistic way, not a technologic. Technologically, we can best most any other nations weaponry, logistics or intelligence gathering.
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