As July comes to a close I took a look back and reflected on what a great month it has been. Nationally we are in the process of adding a Hispanic woman to the Supreme Court, GM has emerged from Bankruptcy, and the swine flu seems to have subsided for now. Not too bad for one month in my opinion. However, when most people think about July the first thing that often comes to mind is Independence Day. While the fourth is one of my personal favorites because of its historical importance and lets be honest great BBQ’s. I feel that many people overlook some of the less recognized, but equally important holidays that July has to offer. I am aware that they all don’t end with a fireworks extravaganza, but is that any reason to disregard International Joke Day (July 1), National Ice Cream Day (July 19), or the ever important Father-in-Law Day (July 30)?
For too long the B and C list holidays of July have gone overlooked or ignored by most Americans. If you are one of the many that did not celebrate Hammock Day (July 22) with a nap in your neighbor’s hammock until they asked who you were and told you to get out their yard like me. You are in luck because I am going to recap some these lesser known holidays with some suggestions and personal stories that may inspire you to celebrate next year.
What better place to start than the first of the month with Canada Day (July 1), I have always thought of our neighbors to the north as the quiet guy on the block with the well kept yard. But don’t be fooled, those Canadians know how to have a good time so grab a case (or a two – four in Canada) of Molson Ice, a couple of hockey sticks, stop pronouncing your O’s, and let the good times roll. If you wake up in Toronto with a Maple Leafs jersey on, you know you got every last drop of maple syrup out of Canada Day.
There are so many things to celebrate in July that some days are shared holidays. Did you know that Cheer up the Lonely Day, and World Population Day both fall on July 11? I was able to figure out how to celebrate Cheer up the Lonely Day with out much research, but I had to resort to Wikipedia to figure out World Population Day. This holiday was created to raise awareness of global population issues. I found a great way to combine these holidays into one celebration. It’s really very simple I find someone is who is lonely and I attempt to cheer them up by saying, “Hey lonely there are 6,774,026,709 on the planet get out there and find some one to hang out with.” I’m not sure if this really cheers the lonely up, but at least now they know the world population and understand that their not alone.
Who could forget a pioneer of American aviation, best selling author, world record holder, and hero to women everywhere? Not me, that’s why on Amelia Earhart Day (July 24), I get dressed like a pilot from the 1930’s, and head down to the San Diego Airport. While at the airport I perform a captivating retelling of Amelia’s transatlantic flight from her perspective. However since I am a man telling a story from a women’s point of view I often get strange and sometimes inviting looks, but when I ask these onlookers if they have a better way to celebrate Amelia Earhart Day their often left speechless.
I’m going to end this holiday overview just like the month does on July 31, Mutts Day. The mutt, like this holiday, is often ignored in the dog world. While there is no Best Mutt category at the Westminster Dog show we should not disregard these half breeds. This Mutt Day, brush up on your slang and learn the various terms for mutt’s world wide. Hawaiians call them poi dogs, in South Africa they are known as the pavement special, and the classic Brazilian and Dominican name for mixed-breed dogs is vira-lata which translates to trash-can tipper. So head to the pound and try out some of these names on mutts, who knows, you could end up brining one home.
Next July remember there is a lot more to celebrate in this month than our country’s independence. Feel free to consult http://www.holidayinsights.com/ for a list of all the holidays that often go overlooked and under appreciated.
The Breakfast Club dvd that were both understandable and stirring. This is more than I can say for most of the poems that were forced upon me back in school and given the recent emergence of the 140-character Twitter age, the six-word poem may enjoy a brighter mainstream future.
Although many of these poems are far too tragic and off-topic to make it onto the gap intelligence blog, I thought I would sum up a recent trend in the Copier-MFP space with my own attempt at a six-word poem.
During my daily correspondences with current or prospective members of the Gap Intelligence Dealer Partnership Program one major trend is becoming very clear. Now is as good a time as any to be in the used and refurbished copier business. Although well-connected dealers are still successfully selling respectable volumes of new systems, dealers’ response to the standard “how’s business” small talk commonly involves the strength of their refurbished MFP sales.
The recent growth of the refurbished copier market can be explained by basic supply and demand economic principals. In addition to the natural lease expirations that traditionally provided dealers with a stream of used models, loan defaults, company downsizing, and ongoing bankruptcies have helped to create a near-oversupply of lightly-used and low-cost copiers. Meanwhile, the “new frugality” and “eco-sustainability” ideals that have taken hold of the US consumer and corporate psyche has generated increased demand for refurbished systems from an even wider user base.
By many our of dealer partners’ accounts, the used systems that they receive have never been of higher quality or less expensive, while the demand for refurbished systems (vs. demand for new systems) has never been stronger.
Although dealers still have to push new systems to maintain their authorized status, many see little reason to resist this trend if their prospective clients are deterred by up-front costs and do not require next-generation technology. A dealer can acquire a lightly used Segment 2 monochrome system through an auction or wholesaler for roughly $1,000, refurbish it in house for under $300, and sell the same model for a gross margin that often surpasses 60 percent. On top of that, refurbished systems generally carry 20 to 40 percent higher maintenance and service costs than new models and often end up generating the same net revenue as a similarly-equipped new system after four years of use.
This is the Global Imaging sales and service business model on steroids! Used systems provide these dealers with low-priced differentiation from their extremely aggressive direct branch competitors, while guaranteeing a very respectable (and high margin) post sale revenue stream.
Although Canon and Oce have both expanded their roles within the refurbished markets, the increased relevance and improved status of refurbished copiers should be seen as very real a threat to sales of all vendor’s new models. Manufacturers can find solace in the belief that the eventual economic upturn will have a reverse effect on these same supply and demand factors.
However, below are a collection of six-word poems to consider in the mean time:
“Manufacturers should adjust production capacity accordingly”
A few months ago gap intelligence told the world, well at least those that read our blog or follow us on Twitter, that MicroCenter’s toner aisle was a complete disaster. For someone that visits this store each month, the process of moving all the toner boxes to find part numbers and price tags, write that info down, re-stack, grab another misplaced toner to find the price tag over and over and over again – was inhumane torture.
BUT, I am happy to report that the issue was addressed and the toner aisle looked AMAZING. Well, alright, it looked as good as a toner aisle at MicroCenter can look I suppose. The products were organized by manufacturer and like-items were grouped together. What a concept!
When I was in the infamous toner aisle earlier this week I heard the floor manager say to one of the sales associates how great the re-stacked and reorganized aisle looked. I turned towards that same sales associate and seconded that motion, telling him that I visit all the time and can vouch for how great the new aisle is. His response, “It only took me three hours this morning!”
Well, MicroCenter sales guy – I appreciate the effort and am happy that I stumbled in your store the day you organized the toner aisle. Always remember, toner is a precious profit, so keep that aisle organized!
I came home the other day and there they were at the front door…all three of them…just laying there…the Yellow Pages. Why oh why do we still receive the Yellow Pages? As I dragged them into the house, I wondered how many people throw them straight into the recycle bin. Who uses the Yellow Pages hardcopy books anymore?
Times have changed and the general public does not use the Yellow Pages as often since the onset of the internet. When I search for a business online, I drop a name into a search engine and a split second later I get instant results. The internet is quick and websites have plenty of informational content to answer most if not all of my questions. Internet searches feature up to date sales and specials, maps, directions, images, music and arguably most importantly, customer reviews.
Believe it or not, the Yellow Pages are the third most popular way to look for businesses after Google and Yahoo. However, according to a comScore study, people are turning to the Yellow Pages less frequently. Usage has decreased considerably and about 30 percent of local business searchers now spend more time online instead of offline, compared to 26 percent in 2007. The Yellow Pages acknowledged the increased popularity of using the internet as a search tool and made its information available online. There is even an app available through Apple for the directory.
So, while the Yellow Pages are no longer valuable for looking up what alarm companies there are in the neighborhood, I have found some new interesting ways to use those heavy books. I use them to prop up my monitors on my desk, does wonders for the neck and posture. They are great door stops, work well for a booster seat, or even duct tape them together and use them as a stair step for exercise!
While there are a ton of uses for those phone books that you will probably never open, Yellowpages.com in conjunction with Keep America Beautiful Works and AT&T Advertising & Publishing also offer to help you recycle old phone books. (http://www.yellowpages.com/recycle) The companies point out thatUntraceable buy12 Rounds moveShoot ‘Em Up full
Spring Breakdown movie recycled phone books can be made into useful products such as “…animal bedding, home insulation, bathroom tissue, cereal boxes, roofing shingles…” So, recycle or be creative – just don’t leave the Yellow Pages on the curb to rot! I searched around online and found this nifty business card holder made out of a yellow pages directory, which can also be used as a picture holder. Gift wrap, garden mulch…you can’t do any of that with your fancy internet can you? I might just spare my Yellow Pages this time and take up a new hobby of arts & crafts…what do you do with your Yellow Pages?
For an “opt-out” option to discontinue the Yellow Pages at your home, go to: www.YellowPagesGoesGreen.org
Microsoft has launched a pretty funny promotional video for its latest suite of Office software – Office 2010.
Fo us, Office Excel 2003 was dream come true – flawless in its design and capabilities – the spreadsheet creator powered countless innovations in our ability to collect, process, and present massive amounts of data .
(Did I mention that we finalize over 750,000 product price points per week!?!?)
Office Excel 2003 was so perfect that we had little choice but to be MAJORLY
dissapointed in Office Excel 2007. It was God Father 3 all over again – little screen space, HUGE menu buttons, bleck. Office Excel 2007 was dumbed down to the novice users just like Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menance was an insult to us hard core Star Wars fans.
gap intelligence still runs Office 2003 in this house and we’ll wait and see about going to the Office Excel 2010 matinee.
A bit of advice to Microsoft:
With the Excel, the mouse is your mortal enemy. The mouse takes your hands away from typing precious data and slows up time and productivity. Office 2003 hatedSmall Time Crooks movieBlack Angel hd
Honestly, how long is this presentation going to last?
This is the sentiment conjured when I hear the word “projector.” Sitting in a community college (required) public speaking class listening to my fellow pupils stumble through their powerpoint about the virtues of the kettle drum or why I should only buy organic fruits and vegetables. Not the most exciting of settings, and unfortunately, the projector is at its epicenter.
All that has changed.
I have experienced The Home Video Projector Scenario! I recently acquired a used projector, for the purpose of home movie watching. While the rest of my home lacks the wall space required for the viewing of a large image, my trapezoid shaped room turned out to be a remarkably fitting venue for such an activity. There were a few hurdles, however.
First, I needed a high, stable place to set the projector and adjust its angle (which happened to be right next to the best seats in the house, er, room). Such a location called for the (somewhat precarious) stacking of a moving box and a few textbooks. Second: Audio. I played the movie through a laptop hooked up to the projector, but the laptop speakers were not loud enough to overpower the whirring of the projector. To solve this problem I plugged the laptop into my guitar amp and viola! Essentially a giant television in my teeny tiny room!
Now, in real life, there is a more organized way to construct such a set up. On eHow.com there are a number of tutorials regarding the best way to set up your projector-home theater system and NONE of them involve old moving boxes, calculus books, or guitar amps. The point though, is that it was as
easy as plugging in a second monitor to your computer (easy, right?), but way more awesome because when the movie ended I put the projector back in its bubble wrap and tucked it away on a bookshelf.
A projector may not be the answer to replacing home televisions. One must consider that the room has to be sufficiently dark to see the image well, which wouldn’t do for Saturday morning cartoons or Days of Our Lives. However, projectors certainly ARE the answer to super-summer-nighttime-outdoor-movie-watching-fun, which is exactly the future lined up for the cute little ViewSonic parrots printed on the front of the projector on my bookcase. I hope they like The Running Man . . .
The widget is super easy to apply. Simply copy and paste socialmention’s HTML code, alter the search terms, and viola, I have a real time tracker of “FinePix”.
Here is another rolling “Pixma”
And lastly one that covers the best team in all of sports:
Much has been said about the hardships of the of the hardcopy media industry.Fewer people are turning to printed publications and are instead flocking to the internet to get their news.Boiler Room movie The reasons for the change are too numerous to list.Americans love their news bite sized (USA Today), so demand for elegantly written prose on global events has fallen.The internet is faster, more efficient, and has endless, endless outlets of information.
How can my paper best my Yahoo Hockey blog on sports, Perez Hilton for my Hollywood gossip, and the BBC for news?
Have I told you my newspaper idea?If I bought the Union Tribune, I would license nothing but blog content. Yes, my paper would be noting but updated blog posts – and beat reporters to cover local events.That’s it, no Associated Press, no expensive editorial trips to Washington DC and I would permanently ban Garfield from the comics.
Craigslist has left the biggest scar on newspapers. Gnaw divx
Classified ads were a huge revenue engine for newspapers and it seems absolutely illogical to pay $50 for 30 words and a promise that your item will sell in 30 days.Red Is the Color of dvd I put my 1995 Acura Integra on craigslist and I received my first interested phone call 15 minutes later.Tyrannosaurus Azteca movie
Sunday circulars are also a money maker for newspapers and it seems as if the fliers are going the way of the internet as well.Office Depot announced last week that the chain was going full internet and that its weekly hardcopy publication would be delivered online only.While Office Depot is the first chain to announce such a move, we can’t help but notice that others may be doing the same.This Sunday’s Union Tribune was as skinny as movie star.
gap intelligence continues to collect hardcopy advertisements around the country and we also rely on the internet to gather advertising data from zip codes around the country.Though we won’t miss our fingers turning black from newsprint, I will miss my local paper.
