Under the encyclopedia entry for "Missing The Point"

Last night's All Things Considered brought an article about the Royal Mail, who have found a Problem, and decided to do something about it. The Problem, it seems, is that their customers, especially at Christmas time, are being flooded with junk mail, which they are opening, glancing at briefly, and then simply throwing out. Okay, so far I'm with them: that *is* something of a problem, especially in our increasingly junk-laden world.

The solution to the problem? They have teamed with an advertising agency, which is trying to encourage advertisers to include scents and sounds in their advertising. These subtle scents and little sound clips will make the advertising more engaging to customers, so that people will be more likely to read the advertising carefully before throwing it out. Problem solved, right?

There are moments like this, when I wish I could reach through the radio, through the reporters to the subjects of the article, and give them a good shake...

Under the encyclopedia entry for "Missing The Point"

Last night's All Things Considered brought an article about the Royal Mail, who have found a Problem, and decided to do something about it. The Problem, it seems, is that their customers, especially at Christmas time, are being flooded with junk mail, which they are opening, glancing at briefly, and then simply throwing out. Okay, so far I'm with them: that *is* something of a problem, especially in our increasingly junk-laden world.

The solution to the problem? They have teamed with an advertising agency, which is trying to encourage advertisers to include scents and sounds in their advertising. These subtle scents and little sound clips will make the advertising more engaging to customers, so that people will be more likely to read the advertising carefully before throwing it out. Problem solved, right?

There are moments like this, when I wish I could reach through the radio, through the reporters to the subjects of the article, and give them a good shake...

Doomed to a new addiction

The latest addition to the Burlington Mall is looking to cost me a fair amount of money. They've just added Teavana, an expensive, fairly upscale tea chain.

I've never been a serious tea connoisseur, but this may well suck me in -- while the place isn't any better than Tealuxe and such, it's now far too convenient to ignore. So far, we're gotten two varieties, and they're both big wins. For my workday mornings, I picked up a tin of a delightful Lapsang Suchong: just the kind of dark smoky flavor that I so love, and strong enough that it should be enjoyed straight. Meanwhile, msmemory picked up a 50/50 blend of Mate Vana and Rooibos Chai that they pushed at us. It's a perfect cold-weekend starter: with the right amount of good sugar, it's almost like a highly-caffeinated cup of cocoa, with just the right blend of flavor, sweet and strength.

Given my fondness for novelty, the success of our first two experiments, and the fact that they sell something like eighty varieties of tea there, I can hear my doom calling. But I expect to enjoy every moment of it -- especially given that coffee really isn't good for my stomach any more, a tea habit is probably worth encouraging...

Doomed to a new addiction

The latest addition to the Burlington Mall is looking to cost me a fair amount of money. They've just added Teavana, an expensive, fairly upscale tea chain.

I've never been a serious tea connoisseur, but this may well suck me in -- while the place isn't any better than Tealuxe and such, it's now far too convenient to ignore. So far, we're gotten two varieties, and they're both big wins. For my workday mornings, I picked up a tin of a delightful Lapsang Suchong: just the kind of dark smoky flavor that I so love, and strong enough that it should be enjoyed straight. Meanwhile, msmemory picked up a 50/50 blend of Mate Vana and Rooibos Chai that they pushed at us. It's a perfect cold-weekend starter: with the right amount of good sugar, it's almost like a highly-caffeinated cup of cocoa, with just the right blend of flavor, sweet and strength.

Given my fondness for novelty, the success of our first two experiments, and the fact that they sell something like eighty varieties of tea there, I can hear my doom calling. But I expect to enjoy every moment of it -- especially given that coffee really isn't good for my stomach any more, a tea habit is probably worth encouraging...

Oh, well -- at least it's a good week for it...

Got deferred for the first week of federal jury duty, but it looks like I'm going to have to serve the other two weeks, starting this coming Monday. Please keep fingers crossed for me that I don't wind up on any long, involved cases: as it is, losing two weeks of work at this point is going to hurt like hell, and drawing a two-month trial would be Bad. Expect me to be a little incommunicado for the next couple of weeks, since I'm going to have to do eight hours of jury duty and then at least *some* work each day, so the project doesn't go too far off-course.

That said, at least it involves two holidays that weren't going to be productive anyway, so I'm probably only missing eight workdays.

Question to those who travel through downtown regularly: how bad is traffic on I93 early in the morning? I need to be at the Federal Court House at 8:15 each morning, and I have absolutely no idea how much time I need to allow for traffic at that hour. I know it's horrible by 9am, but I'm hoping it's not quite as bad an hour earlier...

Oh, well -- at least it's a good week for it...

Got deferred for the first week of federal jury duty, but it looks like I'm going to have to serve the other two weeks, starting this coming Monday. Please keep fingers crossed for me that I don't wind up on any long, involved cases: as it is, losing two weeks of work at this point is going to hurt like hell, and drawing a two-month trial would be Bad. Expect me to be a little incommunicado for the next couple of weeks, since I'm going to have to do eight hours of jury duty and then at least *some* work each day, so the project doesn't go too far off-course.

That said, at least it involves two holidays that weren't going to be productive anyway, so I'm probably only missing eight workdays.

Question to those who travel through downtown regularly: how bad is traffic on I93 early in the morning? I need to be at the Federal Court House at 8:15 each morning, and I have absolutely no idea how much time I need to allow for traffic at that hour. I know it's horrible by 9am, but I'm hoping it's not quite as bad an hour earlier...