November 28, 2005
 
Two days of above freezing temps an a lot of rain has pretty much melted all the snow and opened lake water that was recently frozen. I'm pleased that the snow melt was so complete since I've dealt with rain-saturated snow re-freezing and creating ice dams on roofs.
 
Our local WalMart wants to rebuild as a Super Store. But, until that happens the existing store is using aisles, nooks and crannies to display additional and seasonal wares, much to the inconvenience of the shoppers. Many aisles become one-way only. WalMart practices the old marketing principal of frequently moving stock throughout a department so the customer has to search for items on their lists. The premise is that, in searching, the customer is exposed to other products, and may make impulse purchases.
 
I personally prefer shopping at stores where stuff stays put! I can get to know a store and know where to find things. I can make a list and find stuff I need. If I have some extra time, I'll browse and maybe do some impulse buying. Hardware stores and lumber yards are good examples of where stuff stays put. Maybe it's just logistics. Say, for example, you need 10 8ft 2x4's to build a wall in the basement. Does it make sense for the lumber yard to use employees' time and effort to move the 2x4's every few weeks so you are forced to view the 1x2's, the 4x4's, or the 6d finish nails? Not likely!
 
But, marketing peeps tend to be morons who live in their own little moronic world. A world usually devoid of moral responsibilty!
 
I did a stint as Internet Project Supervisor for a catalog company that was in the early stages of making a strong online presence. Our programming team accomplished a great number of improvements to our websites, improving product search and presentation, ordering and shipping info, ease of use, etc. Enhancements were also made to our web services, including email newsletters. I approved of an 'opt in' method for subscribing to emails. The head of marketing wanted to go the 'opt out' route so that if you placed an online order you'd automatically got a plethora af spam. It was a tough arguement, seeing that my boss then was also a marketing moron, but I believe that the company still uses opt-in to this day. Anything else is just plain immoral!
 
If you're looking for some special gifts for those 'hard to shop for' folks, try www.cherchies.com. I am a total nut for their Champagne Mustard. Thankfully a local shop carries this product, but Cherchies offers so very much more in original sauces and food products, so I occasionally order off their website. From gift baskets to stocking stuffers, there's great products available from them. Reasonable shipping and fast, personalized service (thanks for the note Rose!)
 
Until later.....DKHT

 
November 25, 2005 ... the day after Thanksgiving
 
It's been hectic the last several days. My Mom was hospitalized down in Wichita Falls, Texas, where she now lives. Lots of calls to/from doctors and relatives down there, sister in Florida, nephew and other relatives and friends in Illinois, and many friends and church members up here so we can all keep updated on her condition.
 
However, with Mom stable, and everyone notified, I couldn't help going into town for one of those "day after" sales. Most of the stuff on sale was either something I already a better version of or was junk just to get you in the doors. Listening to GeoTruk's radio on the way home an announcer was talking about how all the 'big-box' stores were aggressively marketing on the 'day after' (and occasionally through the weekend), often offering items at cost to get people into their stores.
 
The biggest complaint was that the marketing was so successful that the customers were overwhelming the understaffed sales associates, and customers were getting pretty darned upset (ever tried to find a 'sales associate' in a Walmart or K-Mart except where you came in and checked out?). Many quality items were short on quantity, and rain checks weren't being given.
 
Ever since I had a boss who was schooled in marketing (he never graduated) I've been of the opinion that marketing peeps are incapable of seeing the overall aspect of a job or project and never can foresee the fallout of their narrow mindedness. If I am upset with service or lack of advertised merchandise, I'm not going back to that store. Duh!
 
I'd like to shop locally in the smaller stores where I often know the owners or sales staff, and I do when I can, particularly on specialty items. But the small stores can't compete on prices for volume items that the 'big-box' joints offer, albeit with less personalized service.
 
That's why I prefer to shop the Internet! I usually get order tracking service and customer service either by toll-free phone or email. OK, so it doesn't always work, but for all my holiday gift buying I stick with those companies that do offer these services that I've already tested. That way I have a method of comparing prices, and usually don't have any surprises. I usually get the advantage of volume discounts or internet competetive pricing. And, I don't have to make long trips to bigger towns to find the stuff on my family's "wish" lists!
 
Until later.....DKHT

 
November 22, 2005
 
We've had a couple of days of daytime temperatures above freezing, but it dropped back to about 20F this am. The bay of the lake I live on froze over night, although the larger part of the lake remains open.
 
The gun deer season opened last Saturday. The woods were alive with flashes of bright orange. I normally avoid getting out in the woods during this time... in past years the noble deer hunters have shot horses, cattle and even each other! It's the old 'if it moves, shoot it syndrome that way too many hunters have!
 
However, Sunday's temps were nice. No new snow had fallen, and I had the duty of getting a Travel Bug (see this page for an explanation) on it's way. Fellow geocachers over in Eagle River recommended a nearby cache that would probably be safe from hunters, so after a delayed start I headed over that way.
 
This began a chain-reaction comedy of errors.
 
I rely heavily on the laptop in GeoTruk for planning routes to caches. The two software packages I run (Delorme Street Atlas 2006 and ALK Technologies CoPilot version 7) also use GPS technology to display GeoTruk's position along the route.
 

Photo courtesy of Paul Huml
 
Imagine the logistics of developing a database with all the roads and streets. in most of North America! Even paper maps are not 100% accurate. Add to that the fact that I prefer to explore the back roads whenever possible. Well, the route I picked kept getting deeper and deeper in the woods, requiring 4-wheel-drive on increasingly slippery roads (the fact that they hadn't been plowed should've given me a hint)... into the realm of blaze orange and guys named 'Bubba' with big caliber guns, quart-sized flasks of hooch and the eyesight of a mole. The road finally became what appeared to be a snowmobile trail, or maybe, a game trail. Anyway, it was obviously time to backtrack. Now I was really running late and headed on the best main road journey to the cache. I arrived at the parking area and soon found the cache with the GPSr. Dropped off the TB as the daylight began to fade.
 
I had planned to hit another two geocaches as well as meeting fellow geocachers Timberline Echoes and their friend Eric. But I also had to get back home, a 31 mile trip, for an important scheduled phone call. I tried to call Timberline Echoes on my cell, only to discover the battery was dead (I forgot to turn the thing off after programming in their number earlier). So I headed back home. If the number of cars/trucks/trailers I saw with deer on them was any indication, there's only 32 live deer left in these Northwoods!
 
By the way, if you're into geocaching and in this area, we have lots of quality geocaches. While we have a lot of cache placers here, I really have to recommend those by Timberline Echoes and GrouseTales as outstanding. I tend to have a limited hiking range, and there are so many caches with a higher degree of difficulty which I haven't visited (OK, I could find them but may have to be MediVac'd out!)
 
Gas/Diesel update (most local stations): Reg. Unleaded $2.299/gal, Reg. Unleaded w/Ethanol $2.279/gal, Diesel (typ) $2.879/gal. Oh yeah, record profits for Exxon reported. Thanks, George Dubyah!
 
Until later.....DKHT

 
November 18, 2005
 
I actually procrastinated yesterday (again) and didn't get around to plowing...until today! 'Old Reliable' lived up to her name (knock on wood).
 
Took a picture of the snow on the oak outside my office window. Ice pans are forming at the shores of the lake.

 
and another of the roof over the front deck...7" to 8" here...

 
Made a quick trip to town after plowing snow today. The gas stations were hurrying to drop prices (Wisconsin initiated a citizen 'price gougeing inquiry system' because so many northern resort towns had gas stations who were inflating gas prices up to $0.15/gal over other areas during the summer tourist weekends. Recent prices were as high as $3.21/gal, then dropped and leveled at $2.39/gal for quite awhile. Today they were scrambling to drop to $2.34/gal ($2.30/gal for Ethanol-enhanced garbage). Sadly, diesel has dropped only slightly from $3.34 to $3.29/gal. We're beginning to see the effect of high diesel prices in all the commodities we have trucked in.
 
Finally got an email from my sister for a Christmas 'wish list'. Later I heard from my mom who had suggestions for my nephew Dan and his bride Mayra. Managed to do almost all my shopping online! Just have one niece left to hear from. How about it Alison?
 
Until later.....DKHT

 
November 16, 2005
 
Well, I started an elaborate overview of Geocaching, figuring I could knock it out in a few days. However, I've had some priorities change so I've decided to do a proper job of it and post it when finished.
 
This pristine part of North Central Wisconsin got wacked with a nasty snowstorm yesterday afternoon and continuing through tonight. First freezing rain, then heavy wet snow, then dropping temps, then high winds with more snow.
 
Many area roads are either icy or drifting over. Tons of car accidents (always happens with the first 'real' snow of the season).
 
So, disregarding the weather advisories, I decided to drive the 30-odd miles to Rhinelander today. I had GeoTruk loaded up with recyclables and garbage, so a stop at the Oneida County Sanitary Landfill was in order. This is a well run facility, overseena nice fella by the name of Bart Sexton. It allows for free recycling of standard goods (plastic, glass, newsprint and magazines, tin and aluminum cans, wet cell batteries, used motor oil, etal) while maintaining reasonable prices for regular household trash as well as old appliances and metal goods. The low prices are important to help prevent people from dumping their cast-offs on public or forestry lands (at least people with a brain and a conscience!).
 
I intended to place a geocaching 'travel bug' (Dino) in a popular TB exchange cache along my route today, and although I might've found the cache under the snow, I was afraid this one could get frozen in for the winter or get 'muggled' by my tracks. I'll have to find a new location. {Need an interpretation? Go to this geocaching glossary }
 
After a quick stop at OfficeMax to pick up a few necessities and ogle some hardware and software I can't afford, I met up with my pal Paul who happens to work in Rhinelander. We met for Lunch at a Chinese Buffet...$4.95 for all you can eat! WooHoo! I owed Paul since he and his family treated me to dinner a while back after a full day of Geocaching. Paul introduced me to Geocaching and to speciaty beers, both things I totally enjoy and can barely afford (Got my GPS unit on ebay at a super price...now if they'd only offer specialy beers on ebay!). Anyway, Paul and I had a great visit.
 
Next stop was WalMart. I checked their website and found an automatic blood pressure monitor that came highly recommended, but the store didn't have that model. So weird, the website has entirely different products than the stores have!
 
So, I was off to Menards, my last scheduled stop of the day. Menards is a 'guy' kinda place. It's a regional version of building center, kinda like Home Depot. Picked up only necessary items (well, maybe except for that bag of beef jerky).
 
Tomorrow, I'll dig out my Arctic regalia, jump on 'Old Reliable' an antique tractor with a big-bucket front end loader.... and plow snow. The temperature is forecast in the teens.
 
Until later.....DKHT