Getting a Handle on Reusable Bags

Interesting article on Care2 recently that discussed what to do with your reusable bag once it becomes unusable, like when the handles tear off. In short, the author suggests sending your broken bag off to ChicoBags Company, which in turn has the bags cut into strips for rugs. It's a great suggestion, and definitely something to consider should that come to fruition for any of us, since recycling is always an excellent option.

I just have to wonder if, however, after all of these decades (centuries?) of using bags to carry things... isn't there a better way to make a handle so it won't break off so easily?

Gravity being what it is, I understand that the heavier the items you're carrying, the more stress it puts on the bag that is holding them (see, I learned something in physics class!). But just for that reason, I have to ponder whether or not we can develop either a better implement to help us carry things to and fro, or stronger handles so that they won't rip off of the bag so easily. In other words, if bag handles keep breaking, reusable bag or not, we're wasting a lot of resources in this defective design.

Despite my in-depth knowledge of physics (!), I'm not savvy enough to develop a new design to make it easier to carry things from point A to point B. It's just not my bag, baby. That's why I ask all of those physicists out there to unite and develop a better bag handle to help the world out. You'll be doing the world a lot of good!

Land Rover Ad Laughable

Had to laugh when I saw an ad for Land Rover while reading the Philadelphia Business Journal today.

Here is the advertisement's headline:

"75% of all the vehicles we've ever sold in this country are still on the road"

Alright, well that's relatively benign.

Subhead:

"Now that's a long-term investment."

Ok, I just bought a new car this week (full disclosure: NOT a Land Rover), and the minute I drove off the lot I literally chuckled to myself and said, "well I just lost 20% of my money in a matter of seconds." It's sad but true.

It is common knowledge that cars lose a huge percentage-- generally considered to be about 30% of their value-- in depreciation during the first year after purchase. So why would an advertiser try to pull the wool over our eyes and say that buying a Land Rover is "an investment?"

An investment, lest we forget, is supposed to be something that makes you money over time, not loses money. Cars are inherently not an investment. They get beat up and lose their luster compared to newer vehicles, thus they are not worth as much as when you buy them new.

Sorry Land Rover, you're not fooling anyone. Or at least you're not fooling 75% of us, but I guess somebody out there is buying your message.

Ozone Layer: Old News?

Just was thinking that I haven't heard much about the hole in the ozone layer that was so widely publicized just a few years ago. Perhaps I may have simply missed any recent stories about this important environmental topic, and it seems like it would be more talked about in these days of growing environmental consciousness.

A quick search for "ozone layer" on the Google News tool shows few articles in recent weeks that focus on the ozone layer, other than with a passing mention of it.

I would imagine that the status of the Earth's ozone layer has only gotten worse over the years, which means that we should still be alerted to how it is doing. However, like any news story, hearing the same bad news over and over gets to be a drag and people tend to tune it out. But a periodic reminder might not hurt...

What if...

What if... every child was required to visit a sewage treatment plant, a mine shaft, a landfill, and a slaughterhouse?

Pretty gruesome, yes, but that's the whole point!

Unfortunately I think most Americans are so far removed from the processes that make our lives comfortable that people just take things for granted without thinking of the consequences of their actions.

It's easy to toss a plastic soda bottle in the trash can, rather than recycling it, because it just gets sent off on a garbage truck and you don't have to worry about it anymore. It's just gone, move on to other things in your life, right? But set your eyes, ears, and nose on a 100 acre landfill, and you'll quickly see that everything that gets tossed has to go somewhere, not just magically vanish into thin air.

I certainly can't sit here and say that I'm a perfect saint when it comes to sustainability, but I think by actively taking notice of what I do and how it affects my surroundings puts me way ahead of most people in this country, and perhaps this world. We are all lucky to have what we have and I'm proud of the fact that I live during the most advanced time in history, but at the same time, I realize that there's a long way to go in order for us to live at peace with our world. Hopefully it's not too late, but what if... it is too late???

The Little Things Go a Long Way

Stopped by my local dry cleaners today to pick up clothes that my wife dropped off about a week ago. I'd say I make an appearance at this dry cleaner about once every 2-3 months... in other words pretty infrequently.

It's a family owned business and I've never really chatted with the owners, just drop off, pick up, not much to it.

But today it was a little thing that went a long way. A younger fellow, possibly the owner's son, greeted me with a hello. I returned the greeting and said I'm sorry, but I don't have my receipt slip with me today.

He promptly took out a book that he has people sign when they don't have their slips, presumably to serve as a record for who picked up the clothes and when in case there's any dispute. I've had to do this in the past because I often lose the slip, so I'm used to it by now.

But I noticed that right off the bat, he flipped to the section labeled "S"... as in the first initial of my last name. I was shocked!

He scribbled out some things on the notebook lines, including my last name and the date. He then proceeded to give me the book to sign and then went and flipped the switch for the rotating clothes hanger and took them off without even flinching.

This small little sequence really amazed me! I barely knew this kid, yet without me telling him my name, giving him a credit card or any other type of identifying information, he already knew who I was and didn't hesitate to process the transaction. Unreal!

I must say, that's true one-on-one marketing right there. It was quick and personalized service like you rarely see anymore, and all from a fellow who I've hardly said two words to in the past. But that little moment I'll certainly remember, for the sheer simplicity yet effectiveness of it.

Sometimes I Just Don't Understand People

I enjoy playing basketball.

I'm not an all star on the court, but I can hold my own. Put me on the floor with a group of guys who can run really well, and I'm happy be the role player and let the other guys shine. Put me on the court with fellas who are average at best, and I don't mind taking the spotlight. I just like to play, get some exercise, and win as much as I can.

Over the past year I've played with three different groups of players. Two of them were pickup games (two separate groups, we'll call them group A and group B), and the third was a paid league at a local gym with refs, scorekeepers, team records, and playoffs. Unfortunately, I will no longer be participating in the latter group.

In all three of these groups I hardly knew anybody before starting to run with them. Each group contained a wide mix of players, old, young, good, not-so-good, you name it. But the league players turned out to be absolutely obnoxious. And I can't figure out why.

Logic, in my mind, would state that if you're playing in a paid league, you would want to work hard to jell as a team and support each other. That never happened... if you did something wrong, a teammate would get in your face about it. You would also think that since the games were shorter than the pickup games (roughly 30 minutes worth of playing time in a league vs. 1-2 hours in pickup games), that you would want to get the most out of your run, and try to be very efficient. That didn't happen either. Half the time, the players are yelling at the refs for bad/missed calls, or showing up late to the game, or crying like babies because they don't get the ball enough. This behavior totally boggles my mind.

In my two groups of pickup games, I NEVER heard any serious arguments or borderline fights break out. Yet in practically every game of the paid league, a screaming match would break out (usually directed at the refs) or somebody would play rough and cause guys to jaw at each other during stoppages in play, all while the clock was running. Meanwhile in pickup games, yes there would be trash talking, but it was all good natured and light hearted, even if you didn't know the other guys that well. If you fouled somebody, you called it and moved on. Slightly bump into a guy during a league game and it was grounds to yell for a foul or start swinging elbows. Unbelievable.

Sometimes I just don't understand people...

Stretched Thin by Social Networking

This social networking craze has gotten a little out of hand.

As sensible and easy as it is to connect with others online, I've become stretched thin by all of the social networks I've signed up for over the past few years. Now I'm at the point where I find that most of the ones that I'm signed up for I rarely, if ever, even find time to look at. Here's how stretched thin I've become when it comes to online social networks:

-LinkedIn: This may have been the first social network site that I started using. However, I don't think I've ever gotten much of value out of it, but I can see how it could be valuable for things like finding a job or researching somebody's background.

-MySpace: I used this for a few months and grew out of it. I don't think I've updated my page since sometime last year. Too hyper and shallow for me.

-Twitter: I signed up for this recently, and have had several fleeting moments of interest in it, but for the most part I don't have time to get bombarded with messages all day, so it's pretty much fallen by the wayside.

-Ning: I'm signed up for 3 separate Ning networking sites, none of which I check with regularity. One site has a ton of members signed up for it, but is basically dead quiet. Another has lots of chatter but I don't know anybody. And the third just got started up so we'll see where it goes.

-Plaxo: Somebody recently sent me an email to sign up for Plaxo, and so I did, and so goes another page that just sits there and I don't look at.

-Facebook: Right now, FB is the clear leader for me, though my interest in it is starting to wane. I enjoy the games on there and occasionally catching up with friends, but for the most part, reading about how people don't feel like going to work/class/relative's house is just not all that intriguing to me. Good site to kill a few minutes while relaxing on the couch.

As you well know, there are literally thousands of social networking sites available on the internet, but I just have to wonder at what point this whole system will either collapse or radically change in some way. Most people I know enjoy using one or two of these sites, but the return on investment of time put into them seems to decline after a while. Plus the fact that you have to tip-toe around what you say because it could come back to haunt you makes them a little less inviting. Let's see what the future holds for social networking, and hopefully it develops in a positive direction. In the meantime, I'm going to go check my good old fashioned email...