If people were covered in oil right now rather than animals, do you think we'd be seeing the mass floods of busing down to the Gulf to help to aid in the recovery like we saw in Katrina?
It's actually a valuable lesson. Because the net devastation in the Gulf is probably economically comparable to Katrina. Yet, it's harder to understand indirect costs.
In order to get attention, you need to visualize it. Drench a baby in oil and watch a whole new wave of sympathy come flooding in.
July 9, 2010
The Future of Car Mechanics
Wow. Having air-conditioning in your car is amazingly different than not having it.
Let's backtrack a year and a half to when my A/C first went out. I took the car to my local mechanic and received a $1300 quote for the repair. I sadly sad no and drove home in the heat. It just wasn't worth it to us when we were financially nervous as it was. And I've been sweating in the summers ever since.
6 months ago, my power steering started going on the fritz as well. Drove back to the same mechanic and received a $1500 quote for the repair. I sadly drove home, thinking that it might make more financial sense to simply trade the car in. I told my friend (a real man) about the quote, and he told me that number didn't sound at all right for what was wrong with the car. So, I went to a local Tuffy's nearby that I had heard great things about. Got the power steering fixed for less than 1/3 of my other mechanic's quote.
I was floored. I didn't know that a commodity field like basic car repair would still have such outrageous price discrepancies. It was pure ignorance on my part. And so I started wondering if my old mechanic had been lying about my A/C fix as well. So, I brought it in to Tuffy's last week and got it fixed for $800 less than my old mechanic quoted me.
These are two completely different business models. In my old mechanic's head, he only needs 1/3 the amount of customers as long as they pay 3 times as much. And it's an easier work day.
The other business model makes a much smaller profit on each customer, but due to price popularity, he's continually overwhelmed.
The problem is that the first model relies solely on consumer ignorance. And while there will always be some. It's not something to build a business around. Because when guys like me wise up, they instantly leave, and they're outraged.
0 comments
Let's backtrack a year and a half to when my A/C first went out. I took the car to my local mechanic and received a $1300 quote for the repair. I sadly sad no and drove home in the heat. It just wasn't worth it to us when we were financially nervous as it was. And I've been sweating in the summers ever since.
6 months ago, my power steering started going on the fritz as well. Drove back to the same mechanic and received a $1500 quote for the repair. I sadly drove home, thinking that it might make more financial sense to simply trade the car in. I told my friend (a real man) about the quote, and he told me that number didn't sound at all right for what was wrong with the car. So, I went to a local Tuffy's nearby that I had heard great things about. Got the power steering fixed for less than 1/3 of my other mechanic's quote.
I was floored. I didn't know that a commodity field like basic car repair would still have such outrageous price discrepancies. It was pure ignorance on my part. And so I started wondering if my old mechanic had been lying about my A/C fix as well. So, I brought it in to Tuffy's last week and got it fixed for $800 less than my old mechanic quoted me.
These are two completely different business models. In my old mechanic's head, he only needs 1/3 the amount of customers as long as they pay 3 times as much. And it's an easier work day.
The other business model makes a much smaller profit on each customer, but due to price popularity, he's continually overwhelmed.
The problem is that the first model relies solely on consumer ignorance. And while there will always be some. It's not something to build a business around. Because when guys like me wise up, they instantly leave, and they're outraged.
July 8, 2010
The Economics of a Delayed Baby
Most of us want to have kid(s) at some point in our lives. Although, financially, it never quite feels like the right time. There's also the fear of "being ready" along with the worry that you need to get your career situation set up first before a kid comes and wrecks everything. And we keep putting it off.
Is this classic short-term vs. long-term thinking?
Would I have been better off having kids right out of college, struggling to figure out a way to make it happen, but be 5 years ahead of the game by now? Then, when my kids are adults, I'm only 40. And this is actually the time in one's career where you probably have a role with more responsibility that you need to have more time for.
Are we doing this backwards?
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Is this classic short-term vs. long-term thinking?
Would I have been better off having kids right out of college, struggling to figure out a way to make it happen, but be 5 years ahead of the game by now? Then, when my kids are adults, I'm only 40. And this is actually the time in one's career where you probably have a role with more responsibility that you need to have more time for.
Are we doing this backwards?
July 7, 2010
Ice Cream Bar: Sweet Table Chicago
I think my wife outdid herself this past weekend. She had this idea for an Ice Cream "Bar" dessert table for a party she got through her dessert table company, Sweet Table Chicago. And I liked the idea (what's not to like?) but I had no idea it would turn out THIS cool.
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I'll give you the description she offers on her Sweet Table Chicago blog.
"Rock candy "chandeliers" sparkled on both sides of the "Ice Cream Bar" sign hung above the table. We created custom labels to showcase the unique flavor combinations of the ice creams,which included chocolate malt on the rocks (rock candy, that is), sweet lime mint mojito, creamy coconut with hot fudge shots, and salted caramel martinis with chocolate cholives. We used edible spray paint to color the ice cream cones and waffle cups a shiny silver to coordinate with the other serving pieces. "Ice buckets" holding the ice cream were placed in between serving stations to keep the ice cream cold as guests made their way down the line."
It was simply awesome. My favorite one yet. Way to go wifey!
July 6, 2010
Oxygen Mask Failure
I had an... interesting.... discussion with a female family member this past weekend.
I mentioned how the show LOST has made me pay closer attention to in-flight safety instructions, because I am now convinced that my odds of survival depend on it.
But, I still don't feel confident in the procedures. Specifically, those little strings attached to the oxygen mask really freak me out. I'm afraid I won't get it right. Is it just a "tighten-for-comfort" thing, or will my precious oxygen escape into the cabin unless I create a vacuum tight seal around my face?
Then, this family member said, "Well, all I know is that you're supposed to put the mask on your kid first before you put it on yourself."
The room burst into laughter. We then incredulously explained that it was precisely the opposite action needed to keep her family alive.
She then reaffirmed, "Well, I would always choose my children over myself."
This was fascinating (and hilarious) on a million counts.
1) This member of my family has obviously not been paying attention on any of the roughly 100 flights she has taken in her lifetime.
2) After being presented with the actual information, her assumed truth overrode statistically relevant information, and she counted this as heroic.
She's heard the instructions countless times. But just assumes they're saying "save the kid before you help yourself" because that makes sense with every other lesson you learn as a parent.
Your takeaway:
When you're trying to teach someone something that isn't obvious, you have to make it absolutely obvious what you're doing.
0 comments
I mentioned how the show LOST has made me pay closer attention to in-flight safety instructions, because I am now convinced that my odds of survival depend on it.
But, I still don't feel confident in the procedures. Specifically, those little strings attached to the oxygen mask really freak me out. I'm afraid I won't get it right. Is it just a "tighten-for-comfort" thing, or will my precious oxygen escape into the cabin unless I create a vacuum tight seal around my face?
Then, this family member said, "Well, all I know is that you're supposed to put the mask on your kid first before you put it on yourself."
The room burst into laughter. We then incredulously explained that it was precisely the opposite action needed to keep her family alive.
She then reaffirmed, "Well, I would always choose my children over myself."
This was fascinating (and hilarious) on a million counts.
1) This member of my family has obviously not been paying attention on any of the roughly 100 flights she has taken in her lifetime.
2) After being presented with the actual information, her assumed truth overrode statistically relevant information, and she counted this as heroic.
She's heard the instructions countless times. But just assumes they're saying "save the kid before you help yourself" because that makes sense with every other lesson you learn as a parent.
Your takeaway:
When you're trying to teach someone something that isn't obvious, you have to make it absolutely obvious what you're doing.
July 2, 2010
Happy Dependence Day!
Use this time to celebrate the fact that our Mommy (Congress) and Daddy (President) love us very much and will always be there to take care of us.
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July 1, 2010
Our Continual Wedding Album: San Francisco
Many of you scoffed when my wife and I came up with the idea of a "Continual Wedding Album". Now, three shoots in, I'm so glad I didn't listen to democracy.
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Also, here is a brief video I took of our trip to San Francisco and Monterey. We had a blast!
June 30, 2010
Put Your Money in Smaller Banks: A Guest Post
This prompted some interesting Facebook conversations about what else we should be boycotting. Which leads us to a guest post today from my friend, Bry Willis. I offer a quick counter-point at the end.
Put Your Money in Smaller Banks
A guest post by Bry Willis
"When promoting small banks, we are more importantly advocating local banking. Local banking keeps money closer to the community, so the money saved there is more likely to be invested nearby. It's also better for small businesses, because proportionally, smaller banks lend more to small businesses than larger banks. When a local bank writes a mortgage, they also have a greater interest in scrutinizing the creditworthiness of the borrower. The largest banks tend to repackage these mortgages, passing the risk on to another party, so they have little vested interest in the quality of the loan or the community where the loan originated. Small banks were not responsible for the recent financial meltdown and failure of the derivatives market. They were also not creating these instruments and putting depositor money at risk.
Credit unions are another local alternative. They are similar to banks, but they are owned by their depositors. People with common interests pool their funds and earn interest on their deposits by providing loans to one another—think of the Bailey Building & Loan in the holiday classic film, "It’s a Wonderful Life."
Also, despite what you may assume, bigger banks statistically have higher fees and worse interest rates than small banks.
Smaller banks are also more likely to provide you personal service—to treat you like a human instead of a number. You are more likely to speak with a human instead of winding through a labyrinth of telephone service automation: “Press 5 to talk to someone. We care about your call; we just don’t care enough to hire someone to speak with you in the next 20 minutes…”
As the adage goes, “Think globally. Act locally.” These banks you should avoid like the plague: Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley."
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Thanks Bry! Although, I have a follow-up question on your logic. You have convinced me that local banks are better in my self-interest, from a sheer capitalist point of view. If this changes in the future, and I can get better interest rates and lower fees from a large bank with better efficiencies, should I switch?
June 29, 2010
What is the Q.E.D. Podcast?
June 28, 2010
The Death of Retail and Real-Life Browsing
