Monday, April 13, 2009

Where are the Jelly Beans?

So I went on my annual cut rate Easter candy run today, and found that most places have been rather ravaged. And I consider myself something of an expert on the status of post-Easter candy stocks. What happened this year? I was particularly disappointed to find that Target (usually a treasure-trove of all sorts of unique and interesting goodies), was heavily picked over already, and in fact had nothing but chocolate in some various guises. (Mind you, I liked the look of some of that chocolate, and I got plenty of course.) I commented to the woman who checked me out on the slim pickings, and she told me they actually got hit harder than usual the day before Easter.

I made my usual perusal from store to store this year, and found only two (of six) that had any jelly beans at all. What's up with that? Is there a great jelly bean shortage this year for some reason? Was the crop damaged in the flooding? (OK, so while I'm a city boy, I'm not really that much of a city boy. But when I was little I did think beans were manufactured. I used to wonder about how they got wrapped up in those tiny little skins.)

I was idly wondering if the problem might be related to tough economic times, but wouldn't that mean people buying less candy? Or maybe manufacturers made less expecting people would buy less? Or maybe everyone waited until the last minute hoping for a sale? Or maybe I'm pulling these theories straight out of my a--Hey, Hey, Kids!

Two things did occur to me on the trip this time. One is that the hunt is almost as much fun to me as getting the candy itself. I get excited running around hunting for the good deals from store to store. The second thing I realized is that the strangest part of the trip this time was the fact that I set out specifically to buy a ton of discounted candy, and ended up buying a bottle of grapefruit juice as an impulse buy because it looked so tasty. Seriously, who does that?

Wednesday, April 01, 2009

Networked Copier

Good things about being able to send documents directly to the copier:
  • I can make a set of handouts from my office without having to stand and wait for the copier to finish in the office.
  • I don't even have to stand and wait for the copier to warm up if it's been shut down!
Bad things about being able to send documents directly to the copier:
  • Occasionally I make 35 copies of my class roster or something by mistake. On the printer rather than the copier. I have not yet accidentally done this with a 40 page paper or anything, but I still have plenty of time.
  • I also end up looking for things in the printer that I actually sent to the copier by mistake.
  • Sometimes I forget to pick up the class handouts that I made the night before. And sometimes I forget on the way down to the office. That may just be a sign of creeping senility, 'though.