Why can't it be both. These decisions aren't always black and white. There's no way you will ever know what the main impetus is for a decision like this. it could be 90% environmental 10% to save money, or vice versa. Most likely they are spinning it as an environmental issue because that's far better from a PR perspective, but it's great that they do this. The goal of a business is to make money. ALL of their decisions should be to increase their bottom line. It's why car companies come out with more environmentally friendly vehicles, because consumers want to help the environment. When Whole Foods donates money to Rwandan refugees, they are doing it as positive PR. That's the beaty of our (sometimes) free market economy, that these can be harmonious actions that benefit both the company and the environment.
A company might save money by pumping chemicals into a lake, but it could be (and probably is) a bad business decision because of the immense negative press that is likely to follow. Enron was destroyed by the free market long before any criminal charges were brought up. Businesses have major financial incentives to act in the best interests of the environment. This is a wonderful thing.
This is so incredibly helpful! I'm involved in a start-up with my husband a few developers creating user-generated Web sites. These tips are invaluable, and will certainly give us a lot to ponder and discuss as we move our company forward.
I appreciate you compiling them.
I agree with number 27. I wouldn't have recommended food that was more expensive if it wasn't what I would eat. No one tips if they don't like your meal.
As to tipping issues, if you don't feel like following tipping rules, we servers suggest you stay home. We're not whining and we shouldn't get another job. We are payed a smaller than minimum wage amount of money, based on what society has decided are the rules of tipping. You tip hairdressers and cabbies and plenty of other people based on "rules" and food service is just a part of that. If that's not okay with you, either explain that to the server at the beginning of the meal, or get take out. You not tipping a college kid because your water wasn't filled doesn't change what is an unfair disadvantage to a subset of workers regarding payment. You shouldn't tip for bad service, but should make sure you alert a server or manager to your dissatisfaction, because different people expect different things, and a bad server may have no clue they are doing something wrong if they were improperly trained.
I enjoy walking and running, and I'm lucky enough to live near several trails, parks and lakes. But even though I am content spending an afternoon walking the trails, I do understand that is not for everyone. So for people who like to go out, I'd suggest checking the newspaper to see which local restaurants or bars have live music or open mic nights. If you live near a college, check to see when their symphony or performance arts schedules are open to the public. The tickets are usually quite affordable and plentiful. Also many students in the music departments graduate programs have recitals that are free (probably part of their graduate requirement) and they'd love an audience.
Does anyone know how to recycle fabric? I'm talking about old clothes that are too stained/holey to donate to Goodwill. I use them for rags, but is there a program to recycle clothing in general like there is for denim?
My fiance and I have made a pledge to keep our broadway subscription even in this economy. However, this year we bought the Saturday afternoon matinee package which was by far the cheapest. This way we can also go to the plays in the afternoon and not feel obligated to go out to dinner beforehand.
Another tip is many times you can get paid for recycling your soda cans. There's a place a few miles away from my place, which pays me for the cans, based on weight and whatever the price of aluminum is at the time. The very first time I turned in the cans I got about $15, which isn't too bad considering all you have to do is save the cans, put them in a bag, and drive down to the center.
I used to have a long-ish commute and I used to get so much reading done. Now it takes me about 15 minutes to get to work and I barely have time to open my book, which I miss.
Yes, I pulled out the bread machine and have been giving it a great work out. It's amazing the number of recipes that use simple, 'honest' ingredients that give a fantastic tasting loaf. I haven't bought bread from the store for simply ages now, and I'm staggered at the amount of unnecessary ingredients store bread contains. It's always great when you can save money and eat well at the same time!
Thanks for the inspirational articles and motivation...
I have had a netspend card for awhile now. yes i sought it out. This is a debit card and not credit card. It is the same as those prepaid visas you can get at a 7-11. It has no value unless you add money. It is not tapped into your bank or credit information. I have yet to have a problem with card yet and I use it all the time to pay for items on ebay. To put money on the card it costs me $2.00. That is less than your average atm fee at atm other than your normal bank. I cannot understand this panic you people are feeling. It seems the mob mentality is kicking in.
Wow!!! number 23. you are a moron. You dont like making less than min. wage then get a real job, it is not my responsibility to make sure you earn a good living of my tips. I worked as a blackjack dealer (tips), waiter (tips) and as a pizza delivery (tips) for dominoes pizza. I treat people the same if they tip me nothing or average or above average. You remind me of the type of person who would spit in my food if I did not tip you or you would give very poor service if I came back and got you again as my waiter. I tip around 20 percent because I know what it is like to have to work for low wages, but I dont insist on people having to tip me because I chose this line of work and was well aware of the pitfalls and rewards, It is YOUR choice to work there, dont blame others, if you deliver good service on a consistent basis you should get decent tips.
That being said, If you look at the restaurant.com certificates the tip is already included, which I do not agree with, why because if you buy a 100 dollar gift certificate you really only get 82 dollar gift certificate. Lets do the math 100 dollar gift certificate, must usually buy between 150 to 200 dollars worth of food. tip already added in at 18 to 20 percent. you buy lets say 150 worth of food, give them your gift certificate (make it simple no tax added) your total bill to pay with cash will be 68 dollars. but wait should it not be only 50(150 in food but 100 gift certificate equals 50) but the tip is already automatically added in so you pay 68. Why do I not like this, it defeats the purpose of tipping for good service. How, well if people like number 23 above know they are going to get tipped regardless of how service is you may not get as good of service as you should, which by the way is from personal experience. I find that if the waiter does not get a tip up front they tend to do a better job, thats why I also dont agree with the 15 percent tip added for party's of 8 or more either.
Dont feel bad, if the restaurant did not want you to use these certificates they would not have signed up for the service. It is to get new people in and try to make you a regular customer, Use them often and give as gifts.
We support our local kids/student production shows, to show young and upcoming artist an encouragement and usually shows are much reasonably priced. Best of both world for us.
I have purchased and used restaurant.com coupon codes/gift certificates many times over the past three years and have not had any problems. Certificates are good for one year once redeemed. It was a little challenging figuring out how to select the restaurants and redeem the gift certificate online the first time, but after that it's really easy----just print, save and enjoy great savings!!! no fears!!!!!
The 80% off coupon code expired 8/31/2009
Current special per www.BradsDeals.com starting 9/1/2009: Take 50% off dining gift certificates at Restaurant.com via bradsdeals website = http://www.bradsdeals.com
You'll find lots of other great sales and deals on bradsdeals.com too.
I really enjoy participating in cookie swaps, but definitely end up with way more cookies than we can ever eat. I buy the pretty, patterned scarf boxes at the dollar store, line them with tissue, and lay out a dozen different cookies in each box. Tie on a ribbon, and I have awesome gifts for co-workers. The scarf boxes are only about an inch deep, so it makes a very pretty presentation.
I suspect that what he does is a massive combination of things, both conning people on screen, and viewers at home. I believe that he doesn't use actors or stooges because that would come out too easily, and it is possible to do things like this, just highly improbable, without actors or stooges.
Some have suggested because it's on the Sci-Fi channel that it must be fake. In the UK he is on Channel Four, one of the five huge mainstream channels. I doubt that Channel Four could get away with a claim like that.
Anyone who has seen the System will note his idea of how he can flip a coin to come up with ten heads in a row. To this end he recorded for nine hours until a row of ten heads came up. It is improbable but possible, and probability states that it will work at some point.
In 'paying with paper' he will probably have tried this hundreds of times and shows the viewer the successful ones with a failed one (and a different subliminal message that the more observant will notice and use that as an explanation of the failure). To even get this to work once is phenomenally impressive, but I think there is manipulation of the audience at play. Paying at the jewellery shop is harder to explain, but he may have gotten lucky, or used sleight of hand, or hypnotised the guy beforehand. I can't explain it, but it is worth remembering that the impossible is seldom impossibly: just highly unlikely.
In our town, the local Opera Company and some musical groups will do mini-shows at the local library for free! It's fab.
My best hint is to go to concert rehearsals in churches. I saw St. Mark's in Venice all lit up (it's normally kept quite dark for tourists) and listened to heavenly music w/o any crowds during a rehearsal. Same with Ste. Chappelle in Paris -- sunset through the amazing stained glass windows while listening to a flute concerto.
Since I'm nowhere near Broadway, I would like the Amazon card, please.
I live in las Vegas.if you are a local there you can get local discount.some shows are two for one.it is best to read your local magazine.I have scored great tickets and seats for mamma Mia and phantom of the opera ,nestles,etc.If your not a local ,sometimes the magazines still have coupons for shows and dinners.
The Kmart stores in my area now say that in order to get double coupon savings you have to spend $25 in grocery and pharmacy. Does grocery mean food items only, or does that include soap and toiletries? It is confusing and they also did not have many items I had coupons for. Too many stipulations for me...
I took my old mobile phone, recharger and accessories to my local mobile phone company which advertised that you could bring your old mobile phones in to be sent off for recycling. The customer service person that i dealt with was quite unprepared for the event, but eventually worked out what they needed to do with my old mobile. They will get used to it once more people bring in their old phones for recycling. This one wasn't a paid program.
Cincinnati has an incredible program called Enjoy the Arts. If you're under 35, you can get an arts pass for $40 (or cheaper if you're a student) that gives you two free tickets to approximately 20 major arts organizations (the ballet, the orchestra, the playhouse, a trillion local theatres and dance companies). Once you've used your free passes, you can get buy one get one tickets. The only catch is that you can only get the tickets on the day of the performance.
I love this - it's 20 cheap dates for $40 and arts organizations get to build their audience base by giving away seats they wouldn't have sold.
OK I admit I can be boring!I didn't grow up the way people do now having to fill their 24/7 with every exciting event they can stuff into a day! We didn't have happy hour everyday! We played outside in our yard using our imaginations. We sold lemonade in the summer, we went bowling or rollerskating once a week but mainly we entertained ourselves.
I entertain myself by getting DVD's from the library! I have gotten some excellent movies (old ones too) and documentary's that have been very entertaining and very interesting historically.
I read...
I raise backyard chickens....
I garden....
I shop the sales....
I go camping....
I go fishing....
I go bowling....
I take my son rollerskating......
I go day tripping once in awhile...
I clean my house
Ditto for my yard....
And my car....
I have dogs...
And a cat...
I don't know I think life is in what you make of it even the mundane things can be made fun! I just don't think you have to always be filling your time up doing stuff!
OK this might work if you live anywhere else but Phoenix AZ.
Currently we here in the Phoenix area are breaking records with the heat. It is currently 110 degrees and trust me you need an air conditioner! Unfortunately we have to put our A/C on 80 to save money! This is great if you live back east and it's 95 but again it's 110 and 80 degrees inside doesn't cut it! Being naked in bed next to a sweaty body is not my idea of cool! The last thing in the world I want is some smelly sweaty dripping wet body next to me when it's 110 degrees outside and 80 inside!
Why can't it be both. These decisions aren't always black and white. There's no way you will ever know what the main impetus is for a decision like this. it could be 90% environmental 10% to save money, or vice versa. Most likely they are spinning it as an environmental issue because that's far better from a PR perspective, but it's great that they do this. The goal of a business is to make money. ALL of their decisions should be to increase their bottom line. It's why car companies come out with more environmentally friendly vehicles, because consumers want to help the environment. When Whole Foods donates money to Rwandan refugees, they are doing it as positive PR. That's the beaty of our (sometimes) free market economy, that these can be harmonious actions that benefit both the company and the environment.
A company might save money by pumping chemicals into a lake, but it could be (and probably is) a bad business decision because of the immense negative press that is likely to follow. Enron was destroyed by the free market long before any criminal charges were brought up. Businesses have major financial incentives to act in the best interests of the environment. This is a wonderful thing.
This is so incredibly helpful! I'm involved in a start-up with my husband a few developers creating user-generated Web sites. These tips are invaluable, and will certainly give us a lot to ponder and discuss as we move our company forward.
I appreciate you compiling them.
I agree with number 27. I wouldn't have recommended food that was more expensive if it wasn't what I would eat. No one tips if they don't like your meal.
As to tipping issues, if you don't feel like following tipping rules, we servers suggest you stay home. We're not whining and we shouldn't get another job. We are payed a smaller than minimum wage amount of money, based on what society has decided are the rules of tipping. You tip hairdressers and cabbies and plenty of other people based on "rules" and food service is just a part of that. If that's not okay with you, either explain that to the server at the beginning of the meal, or get take out. You not tipping a college kid because your water wasn't filled doesn't change what is an unfair disadvantage to a subset of workers regarding payment. You shouldn't tip for bad service, but should make sure you alert a server or manager to your dissatisfaction, because different people expect different things, and a bad server may have no clue they are doing something wrong if they were improperly trained.
I enjoy walking and running, and I'm lucky enough to live near several trails, parks and lakes. But even though I am content spending an afternoon walking the trails, I do understand that is not for everyone. So for people who like to go out, I'd suggest checking the newspaper to see which local restaurants or bars have live music or open mic nights. If you live near a college, check to see when their symphony or performance arts schedules are open to the public. The tickets are usually quite affordable and plentiful. Also many students in the music departments graduate programs have recitals that are free (probably part of their graduate requirement) and they'd love an audience.
Does anyone know how to recycle fabric? I'm talking about old clothes that are too stained/holey to donate to Goodwill. I use them for rags, but is there a program to recycle clothing in general like there is for denim?
My fiance and I have made a pledge to keep our broadway subscription even in this economy. However, this year we bought the Saturday afternoon matinee package which was by far the cheapest. This way we can also go to the plays in the afternoon and not feel obligated to go out to dinner beforehand.
Please submit me for both!
Another tip is many times you can get paid for recycling your soda cans. There's a place a few miles away from my place, which pays me for the cans, based on weight and whatever the price of aluminum is at the time. The very first time I turned in the cans I got about $15, which isn't too bad considering all you have to do is save the cans, put them in a bag, and drive down to the center.
I used to have a long-ish commute and I used to get so much reading done. Now it takes me about 15 minutes to get to work and I barely have time to open my book, which I miss.
The Writer's Coin | Follow me on Twitter
Yes, I pulled out the bread machine and have been giving it a great work out. It's amazing the number of recipes that use simple, 'honest' ingredients that give a fantastic tasting loaf. I haven't bought bread from the store for simply ages now, and I'm staggered at the amount of unnecessary ingredients store bread contains. It's always great when you can save money and eat well at the same time!
Thanks for the inspirational articles and motivation...
I have had a netspend card for awhile now. yes i sought it out. This is a debit card and not credit card. It is the same as those prepaid visas you can get at a 7-11. It has no value unless you add money. It is not tapped into your bank or credit information. I have yet to have a problem with card yet and I use it all the time to pay for items on ebay. To put money on the card it costs me $2.00. That is less than your average atm fee at atm other than your normal bank. I cannot understand this panic you people are feeling. It seems the mob mentality is kicking in.
Wow!!! number 23. you are a moron. You dont like making less than min. wage then get a real job, it is not my responsibility to make sure you earn a good living of my tips. I worked as a blackjack dealer (tips), waiter (tips) and as a pizza delivery (tips) for dominoes pizza. I treat people the same if they tip me nothing or average or above average. You remind me of the type of person who would spit in my food if I did not tip you or you would give very poor service if I came back and got you again as my waiter. I tip around 20 percent because I know what it is like to have to work for low wages, but I dont insist on people having to tip me because I chose this line of work and was well aware of the pitfalls and rewards, It is YOUR choice to work there, dont blame others, if you deliver good service on a consistent basis you should get decent tips.
That being said, If you look at the restaurant.com certificates the tip is already included, which I do not agree with, why because if you buy a 100 dollar gift certificate you really only get 82 dollar gift certificate. Lets do the math 100 dollar gift certificate, must usually buy between 150 to 200 dollars worth of food. tip already added in at 18 to 20 percent. you buy lets say 150 worth of food, give them your gift certificate (make it simple no tax added) your total bill to pay with cash will be 68 dollars. but wait should it not be only 50(150 in food but 100 gift certificate equals 50) but the tip is already automatically added in so you pay 68. Why do I not like this, it defeats the purpose of tipping for good service. How, well if people like number 23 above know they are going to get tipped regardless of how service is you may not get as good of service as you should, which by the way is from personal experience. I find that if the waiter does not get a tip up front they tend to do a better job, thats why I also dont agree with the 15 percent tip added for party's of 8 or more either.
Dont feel bad, if the restaurant did not want you to use these certificates they would not have signed up for the service. It is to get new people in and try to make you a regular customer, Use them often and give as gifts.
We support our local kids/student production shows, to show young and upcoming artist an encouragement and usually shows are much reasonably priced. Best of both world for us.
Great to know. I always donated stuff, did not know you can get some money out of it. Cool. Thanks.
I have purchased and used restaurant.com coupon codes/gift certificates many times over the past three years and have not had any problems. Certificates are good for one year once redeemed. It was a little challenging figuring out how to select the restaurants and redeem the gift certificate online the first time, but after that it's really easy----just print, save and enjoy great savings!!! no fears!!!!!
The 80% off coupon code expired 8/31/2009
Current special per www.BradsDeals.com starting 9/1/2009: Take 50% off dining gift certificates at Restaurant.com via bradsdeals website =
http://www.bradsdeals.com
You'll find lots of other great sales and deals on bradsdeals.com too.
From: jojo
Great ideas! I'm gonna try making bath bombs this year.
I really enjoy participating in cookie swaps, but definitely end up with way more cookies than we can ever eat. I buy the pretty, patterned scarf boxes at the dollar store, line them with tissue, and lay out a dozen different cookies in each box. Tie on a ribbon, and I have awesome gifts for co-workers. The scarf boxes are only about an inch deep, so it makes a very pretty presentation.
I suspect that what he does is a massive combination of things, both conning people on screen, and viewers at home. I believe that he doesn't use actors or stooges because that would come out too easily, and it is possible to do things like this, just highly improbable, without actors or stooges.
Some have suggested because it's on the Sci-Fi channel that it must be fake. In the UK he is on Channel Four, one of the five huge mainstream channels. I doubt that Channel Four could get away with a claim like that.
Anyone who has seen the System will note his idea of how he can flip a coin to come up with ten heads in a row. To this end he recorded for nine hours until a row of ten heads came up. It is improbable but possible, and probability states that it will work at some point.
In 'paying with paper' he will probably have tried this hundreds of times and shows the viewer the successful ones with a failed one (and a different subliminal message that the more observant will notice and use that as an explanation of the failure). To even get this to work once is phenomenally impressive, but I think there is manipulation of the audience at play. Paying at the jewellery shop is harder to explain, but he may have gotten lucky, or used sleight of hand, or hypnotised the guy beforehand. I can't explain it, but it is worth remembering that the impossible is seldom impossibly: just highly unlikely.
It's spelled DERREN. With an 'E'.
In our town, the local Opera Company and some musical groups will do mini-shows at the local library for free! It's fab.
My best hint is to go to concert rehearsals in churches. I saw St. Mark's in Venice all lit up (it's normally kept quite dark for tourists) and listened to heavenly music w/o any crowds during a rehearsal. Same with Ste. Chappelle in Paris -- sunset through the amazing stained glass windows while listening to a flute concerto.
Since I'm nowhere near Broadway, I would like the Amazon card, please.
I live in las Vegas.if you are a local there you can get local discount.some shows are two for one.it is best to read your local magazine.I have scored great tickets and seats for mamma Mia and phantom of the opera ,nestles,etc.If your not a local ,sometimes the magazines still have coupons for shows and dinners.
The Kmart stores in my area now say that in order to get double coupon savings you have to spend $25 in grocery and pharmacy. Does grocery mean food items only, or does that include soap and toiletries? It is confusing and they also did not have many items I had coupons for. Too many stipulations for me...
I took my old mobile phone, recharger and accessories to my local mobile phone company which advertised that you could bring your old mobile phones in to be sent off for recycling. The customer service person that i dealt with was quite unprepared for the event, but eventually worked out what they needed to do with my old mobile. They will get used to it once more people bring in their old phones for recycling. This one wasn't a paid program.
Thanks for the website suggestions.
Cincinnati has an incredible program called Enjoy the Arts. If you're under 35, you can get an arts pass for $40 (or cheaper if you're a student) that gives you two free tickets to approximately 20 major arts organizations (the ballet, the orchestra, the playhouse, a trillion local theatres and dance companies). Once you've used your free passes, you can get buy one get one tickets. The only catch is that you can only get the tickets on the day of the performance.
I love this - it's 20 cheap dates for $40 and arts organizations get to build their audience base by giving away seats they wouldn't have sold.
Enter me for both please!
OK I admit I can be boring!I didn't grow up the way people do now having to fill their 24/7 with every exciting event they can stuff into a day! We didn't have happy hour everyday! We played outside in our yard using our imaginations. We sold lemonade in the summer, we went bowling or rollerskating once a week but mainly we entertained ourselves.
I entertain myself by getting DVD's from the library! I have gotten some excellent movies (old ones too) and documentary's that have been very entertaining and very interesting historically.
I read...
I raise backyard chickens....
I garden....
I shop the sales....
I go camping....
I go fishing....
I go bowling....
I take my son rollerskating......
I go day tripping once in awhile...
I clean my house
Ditto for my yard....
And my car....
I have dogs...
And a cat...
I don't know I think life is in what you make of it even the mundane things can be made fun! I just don't think you have to always be filling your time up doing stuff!
OK this might work if you live anywhere else but Phoenix AZ.
Currently we here in the Phoenix area are breaking records with the heat. It is currently 110 degrees and trust me you need an air conditioner! Unfortunately we have to put our A/C on 80 to save money! This is great if you live back east and it's 95 but again it's 110 and 80 degrees inside doesn't cut it! Being naked in bed next to a sweaty body is not my idea of cool! The last thing in the world I want is some smelly sweaty dripping wet body next to me when it's 110 degrees outside and 80 inside!