Thought for the Day

"Land on your feet and stay inside the lines."

Al Trautwig,

NBC TV, at the Women’s All-Around Gymnastics Championships in Beijing

8/15/08

Your Tax Dollars

Sorry, but I have to play Jay Leno today.

Wouldn’t it have been cheaper to hold the press conference here on Earth?

Thanks to Biz Stone for the tip.

The Great Illinois Corn Flake

I wish I was smart enough to make this stuff up.  Pictured at the left is a Kellogg’s Frosted Flake that you can purchase on eBay.  According to its owner, it is an exact replica of the state of Illinois.  As of yesterday afternoon, the high bid was $200,440.00! 

The bidding started on 7/13 at a meager $9.99.  It was three days before the bid was bumped up to $12.00.  By the end of the day on the 16th, the high bid for the stately flake was all the way up to $55.00.

On St. Patrick’s Day things went crazy (something that never happens).  A total of 39 bidders upped the price from $55.00 to over $200,000.  You still have time to bid on this amazing flake, but keep in mind that there’s an additional charge of $4.99 for shipping and handling.

To help with your purchase decision, here’s a picture of the Land of Lincoln flake alongside a picture of the state itself. 

Really?

Happy Friday! 

From our "pointing out the obvious" department.  This is a real copyright notice from a real web site with the owner’s name removed.

You just can’t make up stuff this good. (Click on the image to see a larger version.)

Cool Site of the Month

Here it is, Monday morning, time to get all serious and charge into the work week.  It’s a day when you probably expect your favorite blog (that’s us) to give you some nugget of wisdom (nugget=MINE Your Own Business) that will help you improve your bottom line.  That was the plan for today.

But, sometimes something comes along that’s just too good to pass up.  Thanks to Ralph Garcia for passing along the link to this web site.  He writes:

"HEMA is a Dutch department store. The first store opened on November 4, 1926, in Amsterdam. Now there are 150 stores all over the Netherlands.  HEMA also has stores in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany.

"In June of this year, HEMA was sold to British investment company Lion Capital.  Take a look at their web: HEMA’s product page. You can’t order anything and it’s in Dutch, but just wait and watch what happens.  Turn up your sound."

You’ve got to check this out.

Bonus fun fact:  The Dutch word for "blender" is "blender".

Oh Great! A duck?

Thanks to Mike Anderson’s St. Louis Media Newsletter for posting the following sign seen in a local grocery store.  I wonder how much not so good ducks cost?

Here’s a tip:  Alway proof read your signs.

Monkeys??

From our "You Think You’ve Got Problems?" department,

this is an actual traffic bulletin.  "Traffic is jammed on westbound Interstate 70 in St. Charles due to stuffed monkeys on the roadway."

Is It, or Isn’t IT?

Happy Friday!  Your intrepid blogger does enjoy a good oxymoron.  (See Worth 2,000 Words.)  Here’s one I have to pass along.  Sorry for the poor quality of the picture, but it’s the best my Sprint phone could do.
In case you can’t make it out, the printed sign on the door says "NOT AN EXIT".

I wonder what the fire marshal would think?

Happy Monday!

Not sure exactly how to categorize this, but if you’ve ever worked with a computer or a copy machine (or any number of other mechanical devices) you have to feel this guy’s pain.

Enjoy.

By the way, thanks to MyRagan for sharing this.

BONUS POST! How Does a Sewing Machine Work?

I know, MYOB is a blog about business for ALL independent retailers, but you have to see this video, no matter what you sell. 

Here’s how YouTube describes it:

"Junkyard Wars audition tape (successful!). Ever wonder how a sewing machine works? See a larger than life model constructed, and the operation played thru."

Three self-proclaimed "nerds" (New England Rubbish Deconstruction Society) build a larger-than-life sewing machine using themselves as the vital parts (needle, looper, bobbin case, tension, and feed dog).  It’s a hoot and does a pretty good job of explaining how the magic happens.

These guys will actually appear at your school, or trade show, or special event.  The details are on their web site.  (Check our post later today on special events.)