A Weblog of Centrist Voices in American Politics
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A Weblog of Centrist Voices in American Politics | |
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May 28, 2005New Bathrobe: Ready to BlogThe Profesora just gave me a bathrobe, so now I can properly blog in my bathrobe. And I gotta get started somewhere, so here we go. I went looking through my backlog, but it's just two really long posts that still need more work than I want to think about, and two short halfway-done posts that I don't care about any more. And I have another post kind of in mind, which would be short, but need almost one link per word. So, the Profesora suggested a topic: Nordstrom's, where she got the robe. She said, "Didn't you blog about Nordstrom's? Just tack on to that post, or something." Well, I haven't blogged about Nordstrom's. They were a key source of inspiration to a business plan, though, and I mentioned them in the plan. So I'll just repeat that bit. Although I'd much rather spend time at Frys, I do admire their biz plan. As incomes have risen, more and more of us can and do afford more and better stuff. One way that extra money is spent more and more is on service. Nordstrom's is the embodiment. You can get goods anywhere now. But Nordstrom's offers most kinds of help you might want getting goods. They have personal shoppers who will giving you exactly the level of support you want, and give you the comfort of repeated service. That raises the value of their goods, letting them charge more. What's more, Nordstrom's can sell expensive goods that require customizing, like the dress and skirt the Profesora bought. This seems to be one of several important directions the economy is shifting. IBM has been making Open Source pay by using it to offer packaged services, making money hand over fist. Of course, dealing with the unusual level of service is embarrasing to some. And, high labor costs mean that buying at Nordstrom's can be an almost painfully expensive experience. "Definitely more expensive than Goodwill," the Profesora said. Posted by Jon Kay at May 28, 2005 12:52 AMComments
Did you see Danica Patrick become the first woman ever to lead a lap at the Indy 500, and come within a hair of winning? Good show! Posted by: Blue Jean at May 29, 2005 07:14 PMYeah! Someday, "You drive like a girl!" may be a compliment. ;-) Posted by: Blue Jean at May 29, 2005 08:21 PMOf course, she might have won if she hadn't been putting on make-up those last few laps.... [DUCKING QUICKLY] I'm joking, I'm joking! I only kid! Seriously, she did a great job. Racing is a grueling sport, much more physically demanding than a lot of people realize, I think. From what little I've read about her, I suspect that right now she is probably not terribly excited about being the first woman to lead an Indy lap, but more ticked off that she didn't win. Maybe next year I'll put some money on her -- she'll be out for blood. Posted by: PatHMV at May 29, 2005 08:35 PMTo quote the great Orange Hope: "I like you, Pat: that's why I'm gonna kill you last. " ;-) Seriously, at least you're not like Robbie Gordon, who says he's never going to race again unless female drivers are given a weight handicap to make up for their lighter frames. Since he weighs two hundred pounds, and Danica Patrick weighs one hundred, the big lug feels the mean little girl is picking on him. Yes, cue the tiny violins, please. I was reading this whole discussion over at Kevin Drum's blog at the Washington Monthly. As one of the posters said, "Fifty years ago, the notion of a woman entering a man's sport would have triggered off hysterics over the loss of feminity, the insult to masculinity, and the general collapse of civilization as we know it. Now, the only comments are "You go, girl!" and "Gawd, she's HAWT!", which represents progress of a sort." Actually, I wasn't expecting her to do as well as she did. Not because she's a woman (natch!) but because rookies never do as well as their hype suggests. Next year, look for her in pole position; you'll probably win your money. Posted by: Blue Jean at May 29, 2005 10:41 PMI thought she did great. Your right BJ--rookies always face a rough go of living up to the legend the media creates...lol. As far as women drivers go, I must share a few observations. For every woman I've seen applying make-up, I've seen men shaving with electric razors. And, of course, I think cell phones are universal...lol. I'll never forget during my Corporate Training days, I had a new (problem) employee in an Orientation class. She came in one morning with a cast on her arm and was describing driving in from the mainland (the class was on Pensacola Beach, which meant you had to cross a bridge well over a mile long) in her car that had a manual transmission, smoking a cigarette, doing her make-up, and talking on the phone. That was her excuse for being late...lol. I'm suprised she didn't go over the side of the bridge. Posted by: AR at May 30, 2005 08:27 AMLOL, AR! I'm surprised she didn't go off the side of the bridge too. Are you sure she wasn't hiding some extra arms under her coat, like Doc Oc in "Spiderman"? ;-) Posted by: Blue Jean at May 30, 2005 12:33 PMLet's not forget that the Orange Hope lied when he said that! :-0 Nice showing by Danica Patrick. If Robbie Gordon is so concerned about the weight factor, I suggest he look into dieting, or re-engineering of his vehicle. Or contemplate how much tougher it is for a smaller person with less upper-body mass to control that car. Maybe we should be handicapping him with a surgical muscle reduction. We could start between his ears! Seriously, what a maroon. Posted by: Tully at May 30, 2005 04:24 PMJust to head back towards topic, I'd never shop at Nordstrom's. I'm too cheap, and I can't stand being hovered over in stores. Oh yeah, and I'm too cheap. I'm willing to test that and see if massively higher cash reserves could overcome my conditioning. Send the lottery fairy this way and we'll check it out! Posted by: Tully at May 30, 2005 10:05 PM===Let's not forget that the Orange Hope lied when he said that! :-0===== Damn, you blew my cover! I guess I'll have to forget about my killing spree, at least for now. 8-( Speaking of colors, the maroon's face is red now, as you can see on his blog; http://www.robbygordon.com/artman/publish/article_422.shtml Posted by: Blue Jean at May 30, 2005 10:07 PM |
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