It's Here!

And the box it comes in is smaller than my hand. I love Apple's minimalistic packaging. They are so good at marketing and design, it makes me want to buy all that is Apple. That's how they suck you in and get you to buy their stuff even if it is generally 20% more expensive than the non-Apple comparable model. Thankfully, I have fiscal restraint.

Anyway, the bummer is that I can't play with my new toy until like 8pm tonight because I agreed to sub yet more yoga classes this week. So I can only look longingly at the cute little package and count down the hours.

The other funny thing with the iPod was how it got here. Apple Store shipped it directly from China (Shenzhen). So the FedEx tracking system showed Shenzhen as the origin. It then stopped in Anchorage, Alaska. About an hour later, it was sent to Indianapolis, Indiana. Four hours later, it got security clearance (since it's an Int'l package) and went to San Diego. It arrived in Carlsbad on my desk just 4 hours after it landed in California. This package moved around so fast, it is crazy. It began its journey around 2pm PT in China on Monday and arrived before 10am PT on Wednesday. China --> Alaska --> Indiana --> California in less than 44 hours. Many props to FedEx.

(And I chose to engrave my Red Nano with a quote from A. J. Muste: "There is no way to peace. Peace is the way." I had to use something with meaning because I am a dork. I also thought about "Party Like It's Inaguration Day 2009", but then I thought that if Giuliani somehow gets elected President I would be annoyed whenever I looked at the back of my iPod.)

How Low Can You Go?

That is a good question for the US Dollar. One Canadian Dollar now gets you 1.0602 USD (this is insanity since only 5 years ago $1 CAN was about $0.65 US). Oil is up to $95 a barrel. However, we are still not in a recession... which is interesting. But we are still cutting rates. Now, I've been confused by our economy before, but my level of confusion is at an all-time high, and it's not because I know diddly-squat about money. I do have a minor in Economics, so I am not a complete idiot when it comes to this stuff.

Anyway, I am perplexed. The dollar is doing REALLY badly. Inflation is a threat (and I can see it as a consumer -- prices have risen quite a bit in the last year or so on basics like food). The GDP has yet to contract (it even grew 3.9% last quarter).

So why are we cutting rates?

The only rationalization I can come to for cutting rates is the sub-prime mortgage cluster-f*ck. The only way to stop it from becoming a gigantor black hole sucking down everything in it's proximity is to keep rates low so lenders/banks can continue to operate. The Fed must feel that the sub-prime debacle could have VERY icky consequences if they don't do something to keep it under control. For most of middle-class America, our biggest asset is our house. If that plummets in value, it's like impoverishing the middle-class, who are really supporting the economy through consumption of goods and services (cute little iPod... 6 more hours).

But even with my layman's assessment, I am still scratching my head at the situation. And I still believe that if we could just get out of Iraq, and stop spending SO MUCH MONEY, we would see our economy improve.

Oh well. Maybe I don't know what I'm talking about. Or maybe I am on to something. But why do I even think about these things? Other people can just go about their day not worrying about 1/2 the stuff I worry about. Not me. The noggin is going, going, going. Topic A [connect --> jump] Topic B [jump] Topic C [jump] Topic M [jump] Banana [jump] Potassium [jump] Sodium [jump] Cottage Cheese [jump] lunch [jump] ... you get my point.

Comments

  1. never mind the economy...have you seen Apple's vending machines?

    ReplyDelete
  2. No, I haven't! I'll have to Google that now.

    ReplyDelete

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