Walmart rant #2 · Thursday November 29, 2007 by colin newell
Something wicked this way comes… and it’s arriving on our shores daily. And I blame you!
I have yet to blog much about China’s toxic waste exportation
program…
But.
I blame North Americans generally for their unceasing bleat
for “lower prices”.
Enter Walmart and their ilk – more than willing to help out
The main reason we see all this crap over here (from over there…)
is that we insist on 99 cent everything for our households.
So why are we surprised that Chinese-made, Walmart’s in-house Colgate Toothpaste contains anti-freeze?
Or that Chinese cat-food, Feline-Nibbles, contains, well, Puss…
and Boots!
And all those action-figures, plush-toys, duct-tape and roof repair gauze that contain a toxic buffet of industrial waste?
Hey. Our lowest price is your guarantee!
So. Todays headline is about Asbestos found in, of all things, the CSI Fingerprint kit… made in China and containing 5% asbestos.
And if you Google CSI Fingerprint kit right now, you will be amazed where you can still buy it… heat-resistant and all!
Biometric scanning at UNBC · Thursday November 29, 2007 by colin newell
University of the North, in Prince George, British Columbia has caught the eye of the media today – as they have just started rolling out some new technology in the Athletics department…
Biometric scanning… of fingerprints.
To allow access to sports facilities, UNBC students are now required to give up their valuable, unique and very personal identity to the University… so they can get into the gym.
The American made technology was quickly implemented with little discussion. It has, not surprisingly, raised the ire of the student body.
I was curious about this so I did a little scanning myself.
And I found a 2002 article about a hotel in Saskatchewan that instituted biometric scanning to replace punch clocks for staff…
Ostensibly because staff kept losing their ID cards.
That and finger prints do not rub off.
I have a problem with all of this – just a little too much big-brother for my taste.
Back to Saskatchewan for a moment – the Human Rights commission and the Labor relations board said it was OK and that there is nothing Illegal about demanding peoples finger-prints as a condition of employment.
Right. And there is nothing ethical about it either.
Additional reading: A website in the UK called Leave Them Kids Alone dedicated to fighting the trend towards fingerprinting all children…
CBC picks up the story here
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Dance to the Music · Friday November 23, 2007 by colin newell
It is always fun having someone walk up to you and compliment you on your life’s work.
Like if you are a butcher or something.
“Hey Colin… nice work on that brisket! It was a thing of beauty…”
Or if you are a writer and erstwhile singer.
Somehow we managed to get on the CBC Radio Playlist yesterday – note the “Two Old Goats” – Island Standard Time in fuzzy jpeg pixel-text. Click on picture for gallery view.
Yesterday, no less than a dozen people sailed by uttering the words: “Heard you on the CBC today…”
I think I said “Thank-you, very kind, thank-you very much…” about 25 times yesterday.
This spot-light thing could be very addictive.
Even though this is a single Christmas light sized spotlight at the moment…
probably a good thing that it will probably not get any bigger…
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Starbucks in decline · Sunday November 18, 2007 by colin newell
Walking through downtown Vancouver on a rainy November day, I cannot help but think that the precipitation has a familiar flavor to it…
Coffee. Yes, coffee.
Is it possible? Well, if one particular North American city has coffee on the mind (and in the air), it is most certainly Vancouver, British Columbia.
And if you walk as briskly as I do, it is entirely possible to pass 7 Starbucks locations in less than 3 minutes – more of them if you are creative – i.e. in a panic or running from a failed bank robbery or something.
But how busy are the Starbucks these days? Especially considering that Vancouver is now the hub of specialty coffee central in North America. Like London, England in the 16th Century, Vancouver has cafes for business people, for geeks like me, for artists, for construction workers, people on the move, people at rest… heck there are cafes in hospitals and bookstores… everywhere it seems.
What the numbers are indicating is – Starbucks is in a modest decline. A 1 percent drop in traffic at stores open at least 13 months marked the first time the company has seen such a decline.
In a recent earnings report it was revealed that Starbucks shares fell more than 9 percent, or $2.25, to $21.90 (U.S.). Amazing?
Maybe not. It is possible that Starbucks international may have mis-read consumers desire to have the one-brand experience where-ever they go.
Here is some classic Howard Shultz – C.E.O. of Starbucks:
Chairman Howard Schultz said coffee drinkers who try out cheaper competitors will upgrade to Starbucks.
“Those consumers over time are going to trade up. They’re going to trade up because they are not going to be satisfied with the commoditized experience or the flavor,” he said.
Commoditized experience, Howard?
Let’s let our readers sort out the utter irony of this statement!
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