Brent Burkey: October 2008 Archives

I used to think companies did those "if a sports player does X, we'll give away Y" promotions to get their names out there, without having to give away too much product for free.

Look at the bread sticks giveaways at Revs games from Pizza Hut, where they pick one player, and if they player gets struck out by a Revs pitcher, the entire crowd gets free bread sticks.

Not a whole lot of people involved, and not an overwhelming chance it'll happen - but everyone who ever goes to a game gets to thinking about Pizza Hut bread sticks. Now granted, it's happened a good bit, but still. The odds are better that it won't happen.

But after Taco Bell's promotion at the World Series, I rethought the logic. Or maybe Taco Bell is just dumb. Because if you really didn't want to give away a taco to every person in America, you shouldn't have said everyone in the United States could get one if ANY player stole a base in ANY game of this World Series.

These two teams run the bases. A LOT. And now, everyone in America gets a free taco between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. next Tuesday. Only took til about half way through Game 1 last night.

So I want to see if the little ploy actually works. If you go get your free taco, York County, and then decide to buy more Taco Bell products based on that one taco, please let me know.

So I just said about an hour ago on the blog gas prices have fallen a lot, down to $2.75. Well, I just saw $2.59 while running out to walk my dog.

So where do you think the bottom is? Will it actually get "cheap" again? And what exactly would a "cheap" price be?

A colleague of mine says gas isn't "cheap" until it falls below $2 per gallon for regular. And apparently a lot of you out there agree.

A couple-year-old local service that tries to hook up commuters with possible carpool partners send me a press release today, saying that it added 1,000 new participants since early September.

Commuter Services of South Central Pennsylvania, as it is known, now has 11,000 members. The growth is despite gas prices falling since early September to around $2.75 per gallon for regular.

So my question is this: Is this because people have the foresight on the interest in saving the environment to start carpooling? Or are people so scared about the economy that they are pinching the pennies they were willing to spend just a few months ago?

I know I am.

Shafting close family members with no gifts this year would just be plain mean, but I need to do something to afford it.

Smarter has so far meant getting my mom's gifts taken care of at the Linens 'n Things going-out-of-business sale last weekend. But don't tell my mom, it might give her a hint about what she's getting.

No, not Spring Grove. Chillicothe, Ohio, which usually votes the way the all-important Buckeye state does. Glatfelter purchased a plant there a few years ago and has struggled to make it a go there.

And now, it is the town politicos across the country are watching for which way the election is going to go.

Read about Chillicothe's politics here.

I can't think of a worse investment than a college education right now. Houses, cars and even AIG stock are at bargain prices, but the prices for degrees keep going up. And the resulting debt looks scarier by the day, considering the job markets.

Just look at the amount of debt students are taking on just to get a degree - $22,000 on average. That's more money than people pay for anything except their houses

I think this is just as dangerous as the mortgage mess. Sure it's less money than a house costs, but it's also debt taken on by people who are beginning their lives, and have absolutely no savings to fall back on.

I seriously think we need to rethink our education system in this country because of debt issues. After the mortgage mess, any system that convinces people they need something to live the American dream - and puts them in debt to get it - needs to be reconsidered.

What do you think?

Got word of this e-mailed from a friend this morning, and if you have a pet, you probably want to click the link to find out if your pet food, treats or whatnot are on the list.

The list of items possibly contaminated with a strain of Salmonella is pretty long.

The information is also on the FDA Web site, and it's a voluntary recall.

I got a chance to talk to someone over the weekend who didn't even know Congress passed the bailout, buy-in, or whatever word you choose for a $700 billion government intervention.

He's been busy working, and was chopping firewood when I went to visit Saturday afternoon, after finishing up a story. And for the record, he's my parents' neighbor and first cousin, once removed.

So what did he have to say about it all once I filled him in? Anger and disgust, but then, a simple perspective. Even during the worst economic crashes in American history, most people kept feeding themselves.

And in the end, that's all that really matters. Beyond that, anything else we lose are just cushy modern frills. I thought it was good perspective to have as everyone goes around yelling the sky is falling and earth is blowing up tomorrow.