Odds are…

I crave McDonald’s once in a while.. who doesn’t.

The restaurant chain is running the Monopoly promo game once again, and at my last craving I actually started dreaming of winning the $10,000 prize given with one combo I acquired both Illinois and Indiana Ave (the reds) and missing just one.

… until I found the odds of winnng and was brought back to reality. Damn you Kentucky Ave.!

If anyone has Kentucky.. I wanna be you’re friend. :)

Though I did hear about one McDonald’s promo that was cracked. BestBuy’s promo where they gave away $ off coupons through McDonald’s items, similar to Monopoly. Bestbuy though gave away a min prize every time, but they didn’t do the math.

With these types of promos, they need to provide a way to play without the purchase of a product (by law). All you need is a self-addressed stamped envelope and they’ll mail you back a sticker. Well.. the cost of mailing the envelope was always less than minimum prize ($1 off). So as long as you needed something from BB… :)

I don’t think BB will repeat that promo, but I’m sure Canada Post won’t mind if they do.

Don’t forget to tip Radiohead

Last week, Radiohead released their latest (7th) album called In Rainbows.

Why is this worth a blog post besides the rave reviews it’s receiving? Well, now that they finished their contract with record label EMI, they decided to distribute this album in a unique way. The album is currently only available in DRM-free digital format, and let’s you the consumer, decide the price. Yes, the site accepts $0.00. However, many fans did appreciate the gesture and were willing to pay an average price of $8 for the album. This is apparently not a new thing. This phenomenon is dubbed “tipping”, or also referred to as “warm glow“. Could this be the business model that the music industry is looking for?

Eat Local

Ran into this article in NOW magazine…

Idea is to eat locally grown food and discourage the shipment of imported produce/foods which in turn require the burning fossil fuels to get them to your neighborhood grocery. At the same time there is the benefit of supporting the local farmers/economy.

Another interesting related fact. Most fluorescent bulbs are made in China in coal powered factories then shipped across oceans via fossil fuel burning ocean liners to their final destination: your local hardware store. In the grand scheme are florescent bulbs environmentally friendly?

They might still be, considering they last 8 times as long and use a third the electricity. But it would be interesting to see the results of such a study.

Heard a similar argument from a friend recently about Christmas trees. Fake trees do save trees from being chopped down every year, but real trees are farmed and do serve their purpose while they grow to a standard 7 foot height, then are naturally recyclable, while the fake trees sit in dumps for years (and are also likely manufactured and shipped from China).

Another study I’d be interested in seeing the results for… until then these arguments will be stuck in my head.

The A in Apple stands for Al

Al Gore (former US VP) was awarded the Nobel Peace prize for his efforts to spread the word about Global Warming.

This brought about a lot of controversy over the true criteria for the prize. Global Warming ~ Peace?

But Apple is certainly proud! … Did you know Al has been on Apple’s board of directors since 2003? I didn’t!

Technically he was awarded 1/2 the prize along with the IPCC. It’s interesting how the Nobel site declares the prize and its portioning.

Will be enough to bring Gore back to US politics? I believe so…

Family Day! Thanks Dalton

October 11, 2007, the day after being re-elected into office, Primier Dalton McGuinty declared Family Day as an official holiday in the province of Ontario. The holiday will occur on the third Monday of February. This brings Ontario’s long weekend total to 9!

I will have to admit, at the start of this election, I wouldn’t have predicted Dalton McGuinty winning after his misuse of voters’ trust, never mind running away with another majority government. But once he was in, he didn’t waste anytime in making good of one promise made September 3, 2007, to help redeem that trust.

I’m all for the extra holiday (naturally). But more importantly, I’m glad to see some light in what is often seen as the gloomiest month of the year in Ontario.

I can see the marketing wheels turning already. Yet another Halmark moment. Can’t wait for the Family Day sale at FutureShop!