Cheesy

We live in Wisconsin and as such, eat a lot of cheese. Good cheese.

Was recently introduced to some varieties from Vermont, particularly Cabot and Grafton Village aged sharp cheddar.

My wife and I put them to the test against a brick of Steve's Cheese aged sharp cheddar, locally considered to be some of the Wisconsin's best. The Vermontonians (Vermontites, Vermonties?) won.

That's not saying that Wisconsin cheese isn't any good -- I'm just saying they make some mighty fine stuff in Vermont.

Disingenuous

Best Buy is kinda like Starbucks. You go there because they're everywhere and it's just too much work to go anywhere else when you need a fix in a hurry (electronic or otherwise).

I was in Best Buy today and they asked me to sign up for their new "Reward Zone" frequent buyer/points/certificate program. They pitched it hard at the checkout, said things like, "Just think, those points can really add up if you buy a TV...!".

I was cleaning up and glanced at the program explainer they gave me before I pitched it -- it's weak. Really weak. I mean, it starts at $5 on $250 and runs up to a lousy 20 bucks on $1000, a mere 2% rate. If you have a little time to shop, you'd be better off finding a good deal somewhere else, like buy.com.

When you put smoke, mirrors and fancy bells around a weak program, it doesn't lure people in, it turns them off and shows how cheap you really are. People's bullshit radar is just too high today to be doing this. It's not worth it.

But then again, I'm sure some marketing executive at Best Buy or the agency they've hired thought this idea was brilliant. I doubt they'll be around too long.

Dates and meaning?

Seth Godin writes:

7/7/07

Why all the hoopla about a date? (Marriages are up by 30% year on year for today over a similar Saturday last year, for example).

Simple. People are meaning machines. We look for hints about what the future will hold and add meaning, often where there is none.

Putting a lucky number on your marriage certificate is just as silly as all the other cues (from the typeface in the ad to the tie on the applicant's neck) that we use to make decisions.

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Fortunately we only have five more years of this, then it's all done.