ESPN - Team Preview: Washington Redskins - NFL (1)
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Washington Redskins: 2008-09 Preview
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ckstevenson said:
The Washington Redskins are much improved, but the rest of the NFC East has risen as well. Look for them to complete halfway through the season, then suffer a key injury or two and not be able to compensate. Coach Jim Zorn will meet expectations and has total player buy-in.
Home Depot Tool Rental Review (1)
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I had a bad experience with Home Depot Tool Rental. I attempted to rent a tool and ended up sacrificing about 4 hours of my life. Perhaps this short post will give me some perspective. The Problem Monday’s post was about fixing a jammed floor nailer. Just before that, I decided to rent a nailer from Home Depot. I only had a small area left and I really wanted to finish. So I called the ...
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ckstevenson said:
Here is a classic example of botched customer service at the employee level, the customer-facing employee level who was even a manager. Companies via their employees, focus too much on making it hard on customers. They make it hard to get a fair deal, they make it hard to return bad goods. And by doing so, they make the consumer less inclined to be a repeat customer.I had the same experience with Z Gallerie. They took 4 months to get me a mirror from their warehouse, and when it got to me, it was not in good condition.After literally hours of phone conversations, my lovely wife, was able to get a decent % off the mirror prior to finding out it was damaged. So when we returned it (with zero help from them, nor an apology for the debacle), did they give us a coupon for a future purchase???? Of course not.
Selling to large enterprises costs big dollars no matter how frictionless your sale is (2)
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Ed Sim (19)
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BeyondVC (19)
2 days, 5 hours
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I have written a number of times about frictionless sales and how on-demand companies have a huge opportunity to reduce their sales and marketing costs and subsequently scale their business more efficiently. Here is an excerpt from a prior post:Frictionless sales means reducing the pain for customers to adopt and use a service/product and consequently reducing the cost of sales and marketing to get a customer and generate revenue. As I mention in an earlier ...
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ckstevenson said:
Great for software as a service companies, but what about solutions as a service companies?
Cheap Supper Night: Hacking One Meal a Week to Save Money (3)
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Trent (468)
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The Simple Dollar (448)
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Right now, I’m reading the book Miserly Moms by Jonni McCoy for future review. It’s a very solid book on frugality, but one concept from the book (only mentioned on a couple pages) really stood out at me: institute a soup and bread night. Basically, McCoy’s argument is this: if you have one supper per week that’s intentionally as cheap as you can possibly make it, you’ll save a lot of money over the long ...
How to get a bigger Social Security check (1)
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This weekend, while reading the Wall Street Journal, I learned a shocking, completely legal way for someone who has been taking Social Security payments to refile and get larger checks. Apparently, if you are a retiree who has been getting Social Security benefits you applied for when younger than 70, you can return the money, refile now that you’re older, and get the correspondingly larger payments. Here’s the form to file a withdrawal of application ...
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ckstevenson said:
Wow, sounds like there might be a lot of people refiling with Social Security...
Housing Starts (4)
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Barry Ritholtz (366)
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The Big Picture (1465)
1 week, 2 days
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I am otherwise jammed up, so I didn't get a chance to take apart the Housing Starts data -- but damn! if these two charts (via Merrill's David Rosenberg) don't tell the entire story: > We’ve come a long way... ...but barely dented inventory stockpile Charts via Census Bureau, Merrill Lynch
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ckstevenson said:
The two most compelling charts I've seen in months on the state of housing. We're nearing 1970s and early 90s lows on housing starts, but have WAY too much inventory left to be near the bottom.
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Soren said:
When are people going to understand the inventory issue.
Review: The Seven Minute Difference (2)
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Trent (468)
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The Simple Dollar (448)
2 weeks, 1 day
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Each Sunday, The Simple Dollar reviews a personal productivity, personal development, or business/entrepreneurship book of interest. A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about overcoming the tendency to lie to yourself about money. In it, I strongly encouraged people to set microgoals for themselves, pushing themselves towards small successes that would eventually build into a bigger pattern of success in their lives. After writing that article, I was contacted by a reader who strongly ...
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ckstevenson said:
A great review of an interesting concept/book. It can only take 7 minutes of your day, everyday, to change your life. 7 minutes of planning so you are more prepared. 7 minutes of reading and you can triple the number of books you read in a year. 7 minutes of introspection to calm your life. 7 minutes of brainstorming to increase your blogging output.
Lessons Learned From A Dangerous Year (5)
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Barry Ritholtz (366)
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The Big Picture (1465)
2 weeks, 5 days
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In the beginning of the year, a column I wrote for Real Money discussed some lessons of the past year. It never was moved over to the free site, so here is my belated update. It is a mix of fundamental, economic, technical and even philosophical lessons that those savvy CEOs, fund managers and individual investors who were paying attention picked up in the recent turmoil. 1) Ignore market rumors: It seemed every time some ...
"Markets" in everything (3)
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Tyler Cowen (829)
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Marginal Revolution (1090)
3 weeks, 5 days
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Playboy magazine in Braille. (The link is safe for work, by the way.) It is produced by...er...The Library of Congress. Thanks to Jason Kottke for the pointer.
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ckstevenson said:
After a tour of the Library of Congress (it is AWESOME) my wife asked "Do they have the biggest collection of porn ever?" And she may be right.
DCAA Fights Back (1)
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A senior auditor at the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) has written to Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO), challenging the recent GAO report which substantiated claims that DCAA management had pressured auditors to alter their reports on defense contractors. McCaskill wrote to DCAA chief April Stephenson last week, demanding accountability and calling for congressional hearings to investigate the matter. In his response, DCAA auditor Dan Hawkins takes serious issue with the GAO investigation, and requests that ...
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ckstevenson said:
Isn't the GAO an "independent organization"???
Vandergriff’s 12-point solution to our problems… (1)
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We are now facing the greatest catastrophic crisises in the history of our nation. If we don’t act now, TODAY, and start the transition, our nation will spiral into chaos. Sadly, the information, the resources (though strained), and the will of the people can make this happen, but it must happen now if we are to preserve the nation and its Constitution. What is left? LEADERS OF CHARACTER making hard decisions. What is Congress doing? ...
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ckstevenson said:
Several of these recommendations are good.The BIGGER POINT is that we aren't using our social tools to better our lives. We blather about iPods and Facebook. The smartest minds of our generations are trying to figure out how to monetize www clicks. What a waste!
New nanotech material uses waste heat to generate electricity (1)
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Lynne Kiesling OK, here's another one for the "how cool is this?" file: a new material than can generate electricity from engine waste heat in hot environments, such as automobile engines: The new material is called thallium-doped lead telluride. The development could have a direct application for converting car engine exhaust heat into electricity, according to a statement from the university. Using thermoelectric materials for generating power is not new. It is the group's improvements ...
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ckstevenson said:
Wow, all the various uses are amazing. Think of the vast number of manufacturing processes that generate that much heat. Question will be how efficient the production and capture will be.And could you just dig a thermo hole in the ground to generate power from the earth's crust?
Inside the Housing Rescue Bill (1)
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In case you missed it, Congress has passed the so-called Housing Rescue bill, and President Bush is poised to sign it into law despite his opposition to certain components of the bill. So what’s the Housing Rescue bill all about? What follows is a rundown of the benefits included in the bill… Homeowner benefits Up to 400,000 homeowners at risk of foreclosure will be allowed to refinance into lower-cost mortgages insured by the Federal Housing ...
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ckstevenson said:
Very good and concise explanation of the bill.
Should H.U.D. Really Be Dismantled? (3)
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Steven D. Levitt (156)
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Freakonomics (861)
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In a Times Op-Ed Friday, my co-author (and regular blog contributor) Sudhir Venkatesh argues that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (H.U.D.) has outlived its useful life. The Chicago economist in me is not so sure that the alternative he proposes - a new federal agency devoted to regional planning - is going to be [...]
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ckstevenson said:
Interesting food for thought on both sides.
Hidden Price Increases at the Grocery Store (15)
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J.D. (799)
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Get Rich Slowly (783)
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“Look at this,” Kris said yesterday when she returned from grocery shopping. She held up two yogurt containers for me to see. “So what?” I said. “Black cherry yogurt.” “Look closer,” she said. “That one’s smaller,” I said. “Did they change the container size?” “Yes,” she said. “But they didn’t change the price.” The incredible shrinking yogurt I’ve received several e-mails lately from readers noting the same thing. They go to buy a product they’ve ...
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ckstevenson said:
This is why you MUST look at the unit cost of everything you buy. The giant box of Cheerios may not be the better price. And price stabilization on your favorite food item may be in increase if they reduce the container size.
Painfully true (3)
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Crooked Timber (109)
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I keep referring to this cartoon in conversations and people keep telling me they have no idea what I’m talking about so I’m just going to put it here with the hope that it spreads to more and more folks. (I know some of you have already seen it, Vivian linked to it in her comment here. Nonetheless, it deserves its own post.) It’s amazing how well it tells so much. It reminds me of ...
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ckstevenson said:
Fair to how people reference females in sciences, but also any non white male (or anyone just not like them).
Move on -- this isn't true here (8)
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Tyler Cowen (829)
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Marginal Revolution (1090)
1 month
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I have a simple model of how some people -- but by no means all -- process political issues. Occasionally the real force behind a political ideology is the subconsciously held desire that a certain group of people should not be allowed to rise in relative status. Take the so-called "right wing." I believe that some people on the right do not like those they perceive as "whiners." They do not want these whiners to ...
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Jon said:
interesting, but I would argue the meritocracy views are held by the "right wing" and this they are the "monied" class...or they believe they will be based on the merit of their endeavors
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Dan Stowell said:
Ascribing mental models to people is a dangerous business. Nevertheless, I think Tyler's on to something here. I treat politics as fandom. You don't assess your team the same way you assess others. Not wanting to see other groups' status rise is the same as not wanting to see your rivals win the World Series. Different, but similar.
My Experience at Indy Mac: Fraud, Corruption, Criminality (3)
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Barry Ritholtz (366)
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The Big Picture (1465)
1 month
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Long time readers are familiar with my fascination with antique sports cars. One of my pals, Jan, is a well known Porsche collector who is also affiliated with the International Automotive Appraisers Association (IAAA). Its a hobby for him, and he specializes in the rehabilitation and appraisal of antique sports cars. He has rebuilt and appraised everything from celebrity Bugattis to classic Ferraris to modern supercars. I call Jan "landed gentry" -- he's owned a ...
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Jackson said:
An EXCELLENT story follows the blurb at the top, really worth reading.
Do you remember the first time? (1)
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Not the Pulp song; Siva Vaidhyanathan is looking for people to tell him about the first time that they used Google, if they can remember it. Personally, I can’t – there was a vague process of transition beginning with exclusive use of Alta Vista (remember that?) and finishing with exclusive use of Google, and I’m not sure what came in between.
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ckstevenson said:
Please respond to the survey if you can.
