RIP Ralph Kiner, 91, Baseball Hall of Famer and longtime broadcaster for the NY Mets. Despite a long career behind the mike, he remained unpolished, and it became an endearing quality to fans. His strength was the stories he was able to tell about the players past and present. Here are two gems attributed to him: "Two-thirds of the earth is covered by water. The other third is covered by Garry Maddox." (Centerfielder) "Cadillacs are down at the end of the bat." (Home runs)
CVS has made a bold move. The chain pharmacy is phasing out tobacco products, planning to have them off the shelves by October 1st. This will cost the company more than a billion dollars in profits. I’ve never understood why people smoke, and I hate the stink that comes with it, so I have no problem with the move. A company has every right to choose which products it offers, and there will still be plenty of places to buy the evil weed. Tobacco remains a legal product that government profits highly from in the form of taxation. The argument that it increases the cost of healthcare is disputed by those who claim it kills many prematurely -- some before they ever collect a dime of government benefits. Will there be unintended consequences to CVS' decision, such as an increase in the lucrative black market? I suppose Indian reservations will see a substantial increase in business. And I wonder if the company will eventually ban soft drinks or soda or ice cream. Given the obesity epidemic and its costs to the system, shouldn’t they, if their aim is to be a healthcare provider? Shouldn't the logic apply across the board?
I’ve rented at least 1060 DVDs from Netflix. It keeps a tally of how many I rate. All have been played on a Panasonic device. Last night it stopped working during the latter stages of a film I was watching. I assumed there was debris on the disc, as is often the case when a film stalls, but wasn't this time. It looks like the machine has finally broken down. I tried another DVD and the message came up “No Disc.” I checked the manual for possibilities but it seems like this is truly the end. I will try it again before I make a decision. I visited to Amazon and was surprised to find a similar one for $40. I have $37 worth of gift certificate money stored there, so it would cost practically nothing. I may wait a few weeks until I earn another GC in order to cover the entire cost, which would allow me to avoid using my credit card. I leave as little of a paper trail as possible.
Doing surveys online is often tedious. I’m currently engaged in one that has broken the mold. I’m logging whatever mail I receive. The company has sent me a scanner to read and store those pieces that have a bar code. It’s been fun so far. I have no idea what the aim of the research is, and don't care, as long as I'm compensated.
It would have been a decent day to sell books if not for the ice and snow. I'll probably set up shop tomorrow. First I will have to shovel my regular nook and clean off a portion of the ledge that surrounds the apartment building. I don't think I'll be able stand another day on the sidelines.
Vic's 4th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Horror Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp
Vic’s Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
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