Newses

[elfs]

A school in Osaka, Japan has decided that all children's uniforms will have a RFID chip installed so tha the school can know with certainty where every kid is at any time.

Meanwhile, in Mexico, politicians are getting RFID implants for security purposes.

Do you say "soda" or "pop"? Now you can find out, with this nifty County-by-County map of which is most prevalent where you live. I can't find much correlation between this map and a similar map of The 2000 Election.

A blind student in Quebec was denied access to an English language immersion course because he could not abide by the rule that he not speak French in the classroom. It's what his dog knows. After a civil-rights complaint was entered, he was allowed to take the class.

And finally, have you ever heard of The Color Marketing Group? These are the people who get paid bucks to figure out what colors will be "in" next year. Obstensibly, they're supposed to guess what people will want, but let's face it, as Neilsen Hayden points out, if a manufacturer doesn't follow the CMG's recommendations their stuff will look peculiarly out of step. Some might consider this a good thing, but the vast majority of Wal-Mart and Nordstroms purchasing officers do not.

What's really going on is the need for change. Once you've got a wardrobe of colors you like, you don't need to buy more. By making you feel subtly out-of-step with the rest of the world, CMG creates a marketing void and the subsequent consumer need.

Comments

[mouser.livejournal.com]

I like the idea of politicians getting RFID implants. As long as we release them back into the wild...

Wild politicians?

[jenkitty.livejournal.com]

Is there a bag limit on those things? Or are they considered vermin?

Re: Wild politicians?

[omahas.livejournal.com]

I think it really depends on the type, actually. There are vermin politicians, and there are no bag limits on those. I think you can actually get paid good money for bagging them in some areas...if you bring them back in good condition (they have enough bullshit in them they make good compost, for example).

But the rare Honest Politician you don't really want to hit. I mean, you could, and display it on your mantle piece, but more and more people are gonna look at you askance and ask why you would do such a thing to such a rare species. I know that they are going extinct, but the more that can be returned to the wild, especially with these RFID implants, the more we will understand about them. Maybe we can start a breeding program?

I grew up in a totally "Soda" area

[dakiwiboid.livejournal.com]

as I thought. I was always surprised to meet anyone in my area who said anything different, and I see I was not out of line to be surprised, it's obviously the prevalent term, far outstripping even "sody", which still prevailed among old folks when I was young.

Re: I grew up in a totally "Soda" area

[omahas.livejournal.com]

I've never understood that stuff. I mean, they don't account for how I grew up at all. For me, it was "coke" or "pepsi" all the way (I'm a "pepsi" for what it's worth). When I say, "anyone want a pepsi?" literally that's a question for people if they want sodapop or not...because there really isn't anything else of worth. If there isn't any pepsi, then I'll settle for whatever other carbonated beverages there happen to be if I must.

[rfreebern.livejournal.com]

Referring to Teresa Nielsen Hayden as just "Nielsen Hayden" threw me for a loop.

Now that's just odd

[shemayazi.livejournal.com]

We were just googling the so-called color gurus to add weight to a, you guessed it, marketing presentation, where we got to see they liked the color we'd already picked. Useful for backup, but good to ignore if they disagree with you. However, I've noticed that no-one upstairs keeps track of the changing "experts" we cite to back up our personal opinions. Funny that.