Saturday, February 14, 2009

I can't live without .....

I am on my fifth plane ride in four days. There are only so many movies that you can watch and only so many hours that you can work on your laptop (before it runs out of power). Bored out of my mind, I pulled out the Skymall magazine - the in-flight shopping guide.

I have never paid much attention to these magazines until today. As I was flipping through the pages, I was amazed at the stuff that you can buy these days. For instance, how can you live without a Sleep Regulating Sun Lamp that emits the wavelength of morning sunlight to ensure peaceful sleep? And can you imagine traveling without an anti-bacterial plastic cover for remote controls that will control the spread of germs when you are handling the TV remote in hotel rooms? Life can never be complete without a multi-function video pen that can record voice and video and yes amazingly enough can write as well!

And why would you ever want to deal with the hassle and mess of using real candles when you can buy a set of flameless candles that come with ... you heard it right - a remote control! And here's the item that is my favorite - a Barbeque branding iron - to help you personalize your steak, turkey and fillets with your initials.

It does make a statement about people! After all - we are what we buy.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Show me the money!

I have been back in the US for less than 24 hours but the enormity of the economic crisis and the criticality of a stimulus plan is clearly obvious. This hit me hardest when I read about Starbucks plans to lower prices of its signature coffees and offer combo breakfasts. The news on TV and newspapers is full of tales of layoffs, shutdowns, closures etc. International travel is down! Cost-effective valentines day gifts are being promoted! None of this is a major surprise because we have been constantly reading about this - but being in the eye of the storm makes it much more real.

The senate is scheduled to vote on the stimulus package today. I have been hearing a lot of debate on this but really hope that it passes. The country needs a real shot in the arm (one on either arm and possibly a couple in the butt!) to get things slowly moving back on track.