I quit travel blogging, but...
At some point I am going to seriously take apart the airlines here. I know I am Joe Nobody and the airlines have functioned for decades without my input, and I am just sure the people who manage them are industry experts who know far more than me.
Yet I just have this nagging feeling that when I take what I know about business and technology and then compare them to airline practices, something just does not add up. I'm thinking that there might be something to that as even the largest of the airlines are operating at a loss and desperate for cash.
I just don't have the energy to do it tonight. However, I just hit Platinum status with American Airlines, which means I have logged over 50,000 actual travel miles with them this year. I have completed over 40 flights in the span of less than 6 months. In my brief time reacquainting myself with air travel certain words are rarely used to describe my impression of the air travel industry. Words like "customer service", "quality", "efficiency", and "competency" rarely spring to mind. Oddly, it seems like it is not confined to American Airlines, but most of the industry. If an entire industry is doing poorly, at what point does someone step back and ask "what are we doing wrong"?
Yet I just have this nagging feeling that when I take what I know about business and technology and then compare them to airline practices, something just does not add up. I'm thinking that there might be something to that as even the largest of the airlines are operating at a loss and desperate for cash.
I just don't have the energy to do it tonight. However, I just hit Platinum status with American Airlines, which means I have logged over 50,000 actual travel miles with them this year. I have completed over 40 flights in the span of less than 6 months. In my brief time reacquainting myself with air travel certain words are rarely used to describe my impression of the air travel industry. Words like "customer service", "quality", "efficiency", and "competency" rarely spring to mind. Oddly, it seems like it is not confined to American Airlines, but most of the industry. If an entire industry is doing poorly, at what point does someone step back and ask "what are we doing wrong"?
Black Friday in perspective
He doesn't have the Livejournal mirror for this post up yet, but Howard Tayler of the excellent strip Schlock Mercenary had some excellent thoughts on this past Friday.
Sure, I can get 75% off on that gadget, but I may have to commit aggravated assault in order to close the deal. So I stay home.
I suppose I should be pleased to learn that this year's Black Friday was a commercial success, and that the retail pulse of our nation's economy has quickened. Another part of me worries, though, that we have become a nation of consumers rather than producers. I'm sure more educated and eloquent writers than myself can decry consumerism more effectively, and perhaps even put forth alternatives. Me, I'll just quietly worry about it. But remember, when you buy something at 40% off, you're not saving money. You're SPENDING money. Saving money is what happens when you put the money into a bank.
I've worked retail before but never Black Friday. There is a reason for this, mostly because I have a very strong survival instinct. I also think it's crazy what people will do for a deal. All the way up to Christmas we are going to see more sales. More than likely that item you covet so much is going to be at that same price before Christmas sometime again. This happens every year. The difference is that on that one momentous day, everything is on sale everywhere. Still, if you want to be a smarter consumer, just watch the ads in December. Also, I have noticed that holiday pricing is sometimes a predictor of what some items will cost after Christmas, especially for items that have been on the market for awhile. Retailers not only use Black Friday as a way to lure people into their stores and increase sales, but it is a great time of year to unload stock that hasn't been moving but maybe used to. That's why Target was offering the Lord of the Rings DVD's at something like $3.50 a pop.
I also worry, as does Howard, that we are becoming consumers and not producers. The problem with that is that a country of consumers is eventually going to fall. We're using our money to prop up other countries' economies rather than our own. Sure, the world economy is often tied into the US, but doesn't that just make the prospect scarier? When we demand lower and lower prices to the point we refuse to buy anything at a price where it could be profitable to make in the US, we are actually hurting ourselves. I don't necessarily insist everything I buy be made in the US, but I think that insisting on the cheapest price for everything brand new is a bit silly. The real irony is that there is stil so much angst over off-shoring jobs. Well, whose job couldn't be off-shored? Sure, it's a great arguement that you won't get the quality you would if it were done here, but if your concern is cost then quality is obviously not the focus.
40% off and spending yourself out of a job does not sound like a great plan for a viable long-term economy. How much of the money that was spent this weekend will actually end up in the hands of US citizens?
To be honest, I'm not going to obsess over it. Lately the US doesn't seem to learn any lessons until it is far too late anyway. I also don't think the situation is as dire as some, and I believe that the market will march on. Still, at some point are we going to wonder exactly what the US does for the world, besides make movies? I think it's wonderful that we bring so much technology and innovation to the world, but if we continue to off-shore that then what is left? After you off-shore labor, people go into the idea market. What happens after ideas? What's left? While everyone runs around like lemmings worried about 40% off, I think I'll focus on the fact that my time and sanity is worth more to me than getting cheaper Christmas presents.
If nothing else, like Howard, I'm not big on committing assault in order to get a deal. I deal with enough rude people on a weekly basis to get a concentrated dose on Black Friday.
Sure, I can get 75% off on that gadget, but I may have to commit aggravated assault in order to close the deal. So I stay home.
I suppose I should be pleased to learn that this year's Black Friday was a commercial success, and that the retail pulse of our nation's economy has quickened. Another part of me worries, though, that we have become a nation of consumers rather than producers. I'm sure more educated and eloquent writers than myself can decry consumerism more effectively, and perhaps even put forth alternatives. Me, I'll just quietly worry about it. But remember, when you buy something at 40% off, you're not saving money. You're SPENDING money. Saving money is what happens when you put the money into a bank.
I've worked retail before but never Black Friday. There is a reason for this, mostly because I have a very strong survival instinct. I also think it's crazy what people will do for a deal. All the way up to Christmas we are going to see more sales. More than likely that item you covet so much is going to be at that same price before Christmas sometime again. This happens every year. The difference is that on that one momentous day, everything is on sale everywhere. Still, if you want to be a smarter consumer, just watch the ads in December. Also, I have noticed that holiday pricing is sometimes a predictor of what some items will cost after Christmas, especially for items that have been on the market for awhile. Retailers not only use Black Friday as a way to lure people into their stores and increase sales, but it is a great time of year to unload stock that hasn't been moving but maybe used to. That's why Target was offering the Lord of the Rings DVD's at something like $3.50 a pop.
I also worry, as does Howard, that we are becoming consumers and not producers. The problem with that is that a country of consumers is eventually going to fall. We're using our money to prop up other countries' economies rather than our own. Sure, the world economy is often tied into the US, but doesn't that just make the prospect scarier? When we demand lower and lower prices to the point we refuse to buy anything at a price where it could be profitable to make in the US, we are actually hurting ourselves. I don't necessarily insist everything I buy be made in the US, but I think that insisting on the cheapest price for everything brand new is a bit silly. The real irony is that there is stil so much angst over off-shoring jobs. Well, whose job couldn't be off-shored? Sure, it's a great arguement that you won't get the quality you would if it were done here, but if your concern is cost then quality is obviously not the focus.
40% off and spending yourself out of a job does not sound like a great plan for a viable long-term economy. How much of the money that was spent this weekend will actually end up in the hands of US citizens?
To be honest, I'm not going to obsess over it. Lately the US doesn't seem to learn any lessons until it is far too late anyway. I also don't think the situation is as dire as some, and I believe that the market will march on. Still, at some point are we going to wonder exactly what the US does for the world, besides make movies? I think it's wonderful that we bring so much technology and innovation to the world, but if we continue to off-shore that then what is left? After you off-shore labor, people go into the idea market. What happens after ideas? What's left? While everyone runs around like lemmings worried about 40% off, I think I'll focus on the fact that my time and sanity is worth more to me than getting cheaper Christmas presents.
If nothing else, like Howard, I'm not big on committing assault in order to get a deal. I deal with enough rude people on a weekly basis to get a concentrated dose on Black Friday.
eBook pricing
My wife and I recently purchased Palm Zire 31's. His and hers if you are so inclined. With the nature of my work combined with constant travel, the use for such a device is almost limitless. Not to mention that modern PDA's have almost unlimited extensibility, even if they don't possess unlimited storage capacity.
One activity I find myself doing a lot more of these days is reading. Unfortunately, as I have taken this up again I am quickly reminded of why I have not been reading anything other than technical books for the last 4 years or so. Quite frankly, I am a voracious reader. I read Jurassic Park within a day's time. Hell, I read the whole book in while working at a job site. I was doing road construction at the time and I read anytime we were driving between sites, on breaks, or at lunch. By the end of the shift I had read the entire 300+ page book. Large books do not scare me, so long as the story is there. I love to read, but I read quickly. I am a literary glutton. Unfortunately, a cheap paperback now runs about $7 these days. I try to limit my reading time these days, but even then I'm likely to be spending at least that much per week on a new book. The problem is that if the book is any good it's difficult for me to reserve it for just the airport and the plane.
Libraries are not much of an option because of the borrowing concept. There seems like something fundamentally wrong to me about borrowing something and then hauling it the 1,100 miles to where I am going to spend most of my week. I'm taking something that is in no way mine to an entirely different region. I am not comfortable with this concept.
So I figured with the purchase of a Palm I was good to go. I could download some eBooks and read those on the plane. I would be a little more limited since I would have to have it turned off at certain points, but for the most part it would be an ok concept.
The problem is that eBooks are not any cheaper than a paperback novel. A concept that makes absolutely zero sense to me. The only explanations I can think of is businesses trying to protect their physical media business or just really clueless individuals in the boardrooms of the publishing houses. Conspiracy aside, I just don't get it. Once you transcribe something to a digital media it becomes cheaper than any other storage of reproduction that ever existed. Once you've copied it to a hard drive you never need to do anything else to it. People can then download a copy of it again and again with the same quality of the original. If you were charging people half what you charge for a physical copy you would still make plenty of money.
I honestly think this is the future. As I search one bookstore after another, both physical and on-line, trying to find the missing books of various series I am struck by how limited they are by space. They don't have the books I am looking for because it would be simply impossible for them to carry everything. On the other hand, when stored in digital format the only limitation is disk space, which is many times cheaper than physical shelf space. Since I've never delved into this space before I wasn't aware of why the adoption of eBooks was so slow despite the fact that I knew interest is high. Now that I'm actually involved, the mystery seems much clearer to me.
DISALLOWED (Random)
One activity I find myself doing a lot more of these days is reading. Unfortunately, as I have taken this up again I am quickly reminded of why I have not been reading anything other than technical books for the last 4 years or so. Quite frankly, I am a voracious reader. I read Jurassic Park within a day's time. Hell, I read the whole book in while working at a job site. I was doing road construction at the time and I read anytime we were driving between sites, on breaks, or at lunch. By the end of the shift I had read the entire 300+ page book. Large books do not scare me, so long as the story is there. I love to read, but I read quickly. I am a literary glutton. Unfortunately, a cheap paperback now runs about $7 these days. I try to limit my reading time these days, but even then I'm likely to be spending at least that much per week on a new book. The problem is that if the book is any good it's difficult for me to reserve it for just the airport and the plane.
Libraries are not much of an option because of the borrowing concept. There seems like something fundamentally wrong to me about borrowing something and then hauling it the 1,100 miles to where I am going to spend most of my week. I'm taking something that is in no way mine to an entirely different region. I am not comfortable with this concept.
So I figured with the purchase of a Palm I was good to go. I could download some eBooks and read those on the plane. I would be a little more limited since I would have to have it turned off at certain points, but for the most part it would be an ok concept.
The problem is that eBooks are not any cheaper than a paperback novel. A concept that makes absolutely zero sense to me. The only explanations I can think of is businesses trying to protect their physical media business or just really clueless individuals in the boardrooms of the publishing houses. Conspiracy aside, I just don't get it. Once you transcribe something to a digital media it becomes cheaper than any other storage of reproduction that ever existed. Once you've copied it to a hard drive you never need to do anything else to it. People can then download a copy of it again and again with the same quality of the original. If you were charging people half what you charge for a physical copy you would still make plenty of money.
I honestly think this is the future. As I search one bookstore after another, both physical and on-line, trying to find the missing books of various series I am struck by how limited they are by space. They don't have the books I am looking for because it would be simply impossible for them to carry everything. On the other hand, when stored in digital format the only limitation is disk space, which is many times cheaper than physical shelf space. Since I've never delved into this space before I wasn't aware of why the adoption of eBooks was so slow despite the fact that I knew interest is high. Now that I'm actually involved, the mystery seems much clearer to me.