The Mini-dome on ETSU campus
I got my shot and then drove Carolyn around town to do errands; she had to go to the post office, Sam's Club, produce market, and the drugstore. While I waited in the Escape for Carolyn to buy supplies at Sam's, I noticed the parking lot was pretty well filled as it normally would be at Christmas shopping time, but the customers leaving the store did not have a lot of gifts; most of them anyway. The stuff being brought out was mostly the same things you would expect at any non-holiday time of year. She said the store was packed with people, but their carts were nowhere near filled with holiday items. Maybe it is still too early for present buying (or maybe a lot of people did the deed a week ago), or could it be people are cautious with their buying because of the economic uncertainty? Sam's Club is an enigma anyway; it was conceived by Wal-Mart people to cater to businesses for the most part, but it has more and more become mainstream Wal-Mart if not Main Street Wal-Mart. Some business products can still be found at Sam's, but you have to fight through the "everyday" people to get what you need. On top of that, Lowe's and Home Depot are giving them increasing competition in areas where they overlap Sam's product line, and online retailers are beating them all with lower prices, free or reduced shipping costs, and in many cases, no sales tax.
While groceries are still rising fairly dramatically in price, electronics prices are still falling. There are many no-frills 42" lcd tv's to be found online for less than $600 and are perfect for second tv's or for the bedroom. Blu-ray players can be found for around $100, but they haven't caught on really big yet. Me, I would like to have a Barnes & Noble Nook E-Reader for Christmas, but I'm afraid I have not been a very good boy this year and will likely get a lump of coal in my stocking. Actually they are all sold out and will not be available until sometime in January. I would much rater snuggle in with a real book, but some of my physical limitations make the readers attractive. Another thing, I have a lot of books that I love re-reading from time-to-time; many of them are out of print or not being produced for the e-readers and I do not want to have to repurchase any that are ready for that media.
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I got my shot and then drove Carolyn around town to do errands; she had to go to the post office, Sam's Club, produce market, and the drugstore. While I waited in the Escape for Carolyn to buy supplies at Sam's, I noticed the parking lot was pretty well filled as it normally would be at Christmas shopping time, but the customers leaving the store did not have a lot of gifts; most of them anyway. The stuff being brought out was mostly the same things you would expect at any non-holiday time of year. She said the store was packed with people, but their carts were nowhere near filled with holiday items. Maybe it is still too early for present buying (or maybe a lot of people did the deed a week ago), or could it be people are cautious with their buying because of the economic uncertainty? Sam's Club is an enigma anyway; it was conceived by Wal-Mart people to cater to businesses for the most part, but it has more and more become mainstream Wal-Mart if not Main Street Wal-Mart. Some business products can still be found at Sam's, but you have to fight through the "everyday" people to get what you need. On top of that, Lowe's and Home Depot are giving them increasing competition in areas where they overlap Sam's product line, and online retailers are beating them all with lower prices, free or reduced shipping costs, and in many cases, no sales tax.
While groceries are still rising fairly dramatically in price, electronics prices are still falling. There are many no-frills 42" lcd tv's to be found online for less than $600 and are perfect for second tv's or for the bedroom. Blu-ray players can be found for around $100, but they haven't caught on really big yet. Me, I would like to have a Barnes & Noble Nook E-Reader for Christmas, but I'm afraid I have not been a very good boy this year and will likely get a lump of coal in my stocking. Actually they are all sold out and will not be available until sometime in January. I would much rater snuggle in with a real book, but some of my physical limitations make the readers attractive. Another thing, I have a lot of books that I love re-reading from time-to-time; many of them are out of print or not being produced for the e-readers and I do not want to have to repurchase any that are ready for that media.
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4 comments:
It's nice that you write about Christmas gifts. :-) I haven't bought them yet.
There are also e-readers in Poland, more and more of them each year. Well, I like a lot real books. In this case I'm a bit old-fashioned lady, despite the fact that I've used computer since 1993. I know that you are interested in everything what is new in software. O, you haven't write anything about computer things for so long time… ;-))
Have a great weekend, my friend!
Hi Jola,
Are you a last minute shopper?
I like reading from a real book, too; seems more intimate with the characters. You have been using pc's about as long as have I. Usually something has to make me mad before I will write about computers.
Have a wonderful, wonderful weekend, my friend. :-)
It will be intersting to see how people spend this year.
As for the book readers I have mixed feelings. It would be cool. However I love the feeling from reading a book and Kindle or whatever you get are too much like a computer. Hell I would own a used bookstore if I could.
I believe there is some optimism in the economy, or maybe it is "last gasp" pessimism. Whatever, I think people will spend a bit more this year than last.
My problem has always been where to put the books I have. Most of them are in boxes in the basement and have been in boxes for 30 years. Old friends being ignored.
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