Internet And The Home Shopping Network

In the past people were actually required to leave their homes in order to purchase goods they needed. Now with the evolution of the Internet shopping experience combined with the At Home Shopping Network, consumers no longer have to leave their comfy recliner to shop. We can all sit on our butts and order whatever we need (minus some perishable items) and they will be delivered directly to our from door in a matter of a few days. Heck if you pay extra you can even have them in one to two days. Consumer purchasing is becoming easier over the years and I think that one day we will be able to purchase items faster than we can change the channel. Or is that already a reality? Watch this video for a good laugh!

Useless Clothing Purchases

In the past, our ancestors wore clothing that would protect their bodies from the elements. Over the years clothing became more fashionable and it's original purpose had changed from not only keeping the occupants sheltered, but also to provide the wearer with a sense of fashion. In today's day and age people have huge closets full of all kinds of clothing for similar situations. Is all that really necessary? We are just human creatures from the planet earth. Why would a creature possibly need 50 of the same style t-shirt? It's seems like madness to me. I am just as guilty as all the others. There are countless shirts hanging in my closet that I know I will never wear again, but yet I still haven't gotten rid of yet. We need to stop focusing so much on style and fashion and just buy clothing that fits certain situations and actually has a purpose; i.e. hunting, cycling, running gear etc. When the world goes into an Apocalypse are you really going to be happy you bought $300 worth of fancy underwear? I don't think so. And just to clarify I'm not a believer of any doomsday. That's not my style....YET!

EMERGENCY EXIT!

So I'm going to assume that everyone who is reading this knows what an emergency exit is. The signs for the exits are located at the end of every corridor in every public building and must be at least 6 inches in letter height and 3/4 inches in letter width. These signs direct you to the emergency exit that will usually have a posting that says "Emergency Exit Only: Alarm Will Sound". Everyone is nervous around these doors because most of us have had an occurrence of almost opening one of these doors by mistake. Because we realize that some crazy loud alarm will sound if we open the door, we stay far away from them. There is a set of doors at the Marga Hosaeus Fitness Center that lead you out to the running track on the west side of the gym. On these doors is posted "Emergency Exit" in big bold yellow letters on all four doors. I have watched numerous people stop and stare at these doors before they pass through them because they aren't sure if an alarm will sound or not. It has actually become comical to me and I admit that I have had the same reaction before. But why is it that we are so hesitant? Most of the people I have seen stop at those doors I have ran with on the track in the past. They know that there is a running track through those two sets of double doors and that it's still there. It's because when we see the words "Emergency Exit" our automatic system tells us that we should be cautions because an alarm may sound. Till this day I am still skeptical of what might happen if I open a door that is labeled emergency exit. There is a difference between an emergency exit and an "Emergency Exit Only", but sometimes it just doesn't click fast enough. That's probably a good thing though.

Door in the basement of Renne Library (see how they make it VERY obvious not to go through it).

The Purchase of Something Dangerous

Purchasing a firearm can be a very difficult thing to do. As I mentioned in class, I have a hard time not purchasing a firearm when I get my tax return back. I have gone through the process of purchasing a firearm more than once and it's never easy. Even though there are purchases of much higher monetary value that take less consideration, why do us uneducated gun purchasers take so much time to make our decision. It could be because we don't know who to ask for the right information. Company websites are a good source, but they're going to be biased toward their own products anyway.  Friends and family members are also a good place for information, but if they are older collectors than they are also biased to the brands they have been using for years and years. I've always found that the best source is the guy behind the gun counter at a prestigious retail location. Even though they will generally push you towards a more expensive purchase, I feel that they are usually good hearted and willing to help. But maybe I've just had good experiences myself.

The Wonderful World of Buy One, Get One Free!

The other day I was watching a movie at my house with some friends when part way through I was jonesing for some gas station candy. Because I live so close to the Holiday gas station I decided to walk there.  I'm generally broke as a joke, but today I had a couple bucks in my wallet so the candy now became necessary. As I was looking through all the candy on the abnormally large candy rack, I saw a sign that said "Two for $2.22". I thought about it for a minute and then said to myself "That's not even a good deal". To me, a good deal on a candy bar is $.99 and with these candy bars at the Holiday station having a retail price of $1.19 a piece, two for $2.22 didn't even look like a savings. The sale would coax you to buy two candy bars and save a whopping seventeen cents. What a rip off! The sad part is that marketers realize that the average person will see this as a good deal because they fail to look at the retail price. They also realize how catchy two for two twenty-two sounds. They bank on our lack of research, but now that my eyes have been opened in recent years to marketing ploys, these sneaky little tricks don't fool me anymore. In the end I bought a pack of gummy bears and a pack of sour worms for a "Two for $2.99" deal.  They retail at $1.99 a piece so I feel better about the $.99 savings. Does that mean that their marketing ploy tricked me? Maybe they purpously priced the candy bars at a small savings in order to get me to buy the more expensive gummy treats?......... I'de like to think I won that battle.