Monday, October 01, 2007
When Corporate Sloganeering Attacks!
by Tom Bozzo
Go to the page for requesting a return for the latest recalled TtFTE items, and that bulks up to "RC2 Corporation - compelling passionate parenting and play for all ages."
And I thought I was getting some more time to myself now that John builds his own track layouts...
Otherwise, RC2 Corp. has compelled me to direct family members to the Whittle Shortline R.R. I like the Metra set, myself.
At the recalls page for TtFTE toy distributor RC2 Corporation, the browser window title simply reads, "RC2 Corporation."
Go to the page for requesting a return for the latest recalled TtFTE items, and that bulks up to "RC2 Corporation - compelling passionate parenting and play for all ages."
And I thought I was getting some more time to myself now that John builds his own track layouts...
Otherwise, RC2 Corp. has compelled me to direct family members to the Whittle Shortline R.R. I like the Metra set, myself.
Labels: I Just Love Corporations, Thomas the Frackin Tank Engine
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Not the QOTD
by Tom Bozzo
Now, I don't mean to suggest that you're a lazy sod if you, dear reader, don't occasionally bike or walk to work in the rain (though let's face it, it may not exactly kill you, either). The crazy thing, though, is that most people won't get out of their cars (or trucks) even for a three-mile commute in perfect weather — see Peter Gordon here — whether to save the planet, to save some amount of cash, or to arrest some spread of middle-aged backsides. When I'm feeling misanthropic, this factoid doesn't help my sometime view that we're not making a good case for ourselves that we shouldn't be allowed to go extinct. And don't get me started on the likes of Virginia Postrel spreading manure regarding energy-efficient lighting. (Style, maybe; substance, no.)
What actually surprises me is that one doesn't see more from traditionalist commentators to the effect that inability to endure a few drops of rain is contributing to the decline-and-fall of the culture. Forget Ma and Pa Ingalls and family surviving winter in Upper Midwest without modern utilities, just set the way-back machine to The Sad Story of Henry [1945], in which the big green engine's inability to endure a few drops of rain serves as a lesson in the evils of vanity and indolence. I suppose that the likely suspects either haven't transcended the need to Show the kids who bullied them in their youth with fast cars, or otherwise hope to transcend their mortal bodies.
Adding to yesterday's extract, Nick Kristof again:
Mr. Cheney’s image seems to be of a dour stoic shivering in a cardigan in a frigid home, squinting under a dim light bulb, showering under a tiny trickle of (barely) solar-heated water, and then bicycling to work in the rain. If that’s the alternative, then many of us might be willing to see the oceans rise, whatever happens to Florida.Oh, ho ho ho. Now I partly resemble that remark, having taken this morning's ride to work (#70 since the snow melted in late March!) in just enough of a mist that I had a few droplets to wipe off my glasses. It also made the ride a bit more refreshing — soon to give way to bracing — which was good, since the good-for-almost-nothing office building's water heater was on the fritz this morning and the post-ride wash-up was extremely bracing and mercifully brief.
Now, I don't mean to suggest that you're a lazy sod if you, dear reader, don't occasionally bike or walk to work in the rain (though let's face it, it may not exactly kill you, either). The crazy thing, though, is that most people won't get out of their cars (or trucks) even for a three-mile commute in perfect weather — see Peter Gordon here — whether to save the planet, to save some amount of cash, or to arrest some spread of middle-aged backsides. When I'm feeling misanthropic, this factoid doesn't help my sometime view that we're not making a good case for ourselves that we shouldn't be allowed to go extinct. And don't get me started on the likes of Virginia Postrel spreading manure regarding energy-efficient lighting. (Style, maybe; substance, no.)
What actually surprises me is that one doesn't see more from traditionalist commentators to the effect that inability to endure a few drops of rain is contributing to the decline-and-fall of the culture. Forget Ma and Pa Ingalls and family surviving winter in Upper Midwest without modern utilities, just set the way-back machine to The Sad Story of Henry [1945], in which the big green engine's inability to endure a few drops of rain serves as a lesson in the evils of vanity and indolence. I suppose that the likely suspects either haven't transcended the need to Show the kids who bullied them in their youth with fast cars, or otherwise hope to transcend their mortal bodies.
Labels: Energy, environmentalism, Thomas the Frackin Tank Engine
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Sir Topham Hatt's Railway Isn't a Good Product Safety Model
by Tom Bozzo
(*) We've been there before.
David Leonhardt scores some easy points (*) in a good Economix article on outsourcing that puts in the Paper o' Record something I said in our comments last week: it lets rich-country outsourcers reap benefits of what would otherwise be outlaw behavior while (mostly) preserving their corporate images. Leonhardt:
This secrecy [about companies' relationships with Chinese contract manufacturers] brings a number of advantages. It keeps competitors from finding out tricks of the trade. It keeps consumers from discovering that their $100 brand-name shirt comes from the same assembly line as a $40 generic version. And it prevents activists from criticizing a company for the working conditions in a factory where its products are made. The companies get the cost advantages of outsourcing without the publicity disadvantages.This leads us to the Quote of the Day, from Dani Rodrik:
[Rich and poor nations] should consider instead exchanging policy space: “I [poor nation] will allow you to protect your national social compact, if you allow me to engage in development strategies that conflict with WTO and IMF rules of good behavior.” The challenge is to design procedures that enable the use of policy space for socially desirable purposes, while limiting it for beggar-thy-neighbor purposes.That's from a short essay (MS Word), "Saving Globalization From Its Cheerleaders," linked from this post.
(*) We've been there before.
Labels: Economics, Outsourcing, Product Safety, Thomas the Frackin Tank Engine
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Putting the "F" in TtFTE
by Tom Bozzo
Sure enough, there is one, announced today — related to lead-based paint used on an array of those rather pricey TtFTE vehicles. Details of the affected products are here. Not too surprisingly, our little Thomas fiends have several of the affected items. Maybe yours do, too.
In any event, it's yet another chance to wonder if there are any limits to the depths to which E. coli capitalism will sink.
Site Meter was telling me that several Googlers were searching the term "Thomas the Tank Engine Lead Recall," leading me to wonder WTF.
Sure enough, there is one, announced today — related to lead-based paint used on an array of those rather pricey TtFTE vehicles. Details of the affected products are here. Not too surprisingly, our little Thomas fiends have several of the affected items. Maybe yours do, too.
In any event, it's yet another chance to wonder if there are any limits to the depths to which E. coli capitalism will sink.
