The Chronic Consumer

You’ve all seen those Heely shoes, right? They’re the ones with a wheel in the heel, and have been around for several years now. Well, the 9-year-old kid who lives next door has a pair and tirelessly cruises up and down the block doing tricks or whatever. Of course, my son thinks this is the coolest thing in the world, so he’s been bugging us for a pair of Heelys for a few months now.

The thing is, I think he’s a bit too young for the shoes. He’s 5 1/2 right now, but he’s small for his size and not coordinated enough for shoes like these. I can already see all the skinned knees — or worse — that would result if I bought these.

Unfortunately, the “debate” part of my title comes in because my husband thinks we should at least let our boy try the shoes. He’ll never learn coordination, balance, etc. if we keep him off scooters and skateboards until we think he’s ready.

In other words, it’s two against one here, so I’m probably going to lose this battle. Sigh.

Season 3 of the comedy How I Met Your Mother was released on DVD a couple days ago, and this is something I definitely want for my collection. I don’t watch too many comedies these days, but HIMYM is one of my favorites. Although the gimmick of Future Ted telling his kids all about his love life is creepy in so many ways, the issues that 30-something Ted deals with are fun. Plus, there’s Barney to look forward to… ’nuff said!

Anyway, the S3 DVD box set contains all 20 episodes (it was a strike-shortened season, remember?), as well as lots of bonus features, including cast commentary, a gag reel, and a Robin Sparkles video for “Sandcastles in the Sand” — awesome!

Unfortunately, the box set costs $25.99 right now, which is a bit too expensive for just 20 eps. I’m sure it will come down in the future, so let the monitoring begin.

Is it just me, or is there far more advertising all around us these days? I’m not just talking about the usual billboards and magazine ads; I’m talking about an increased number of digital signage displays in places like the mall, restaurants, the airport, and even busy city streets or major intersections.

Usually, I’m not a big fan of advertising (I routinely fast-forward through all commercials while watching TiVo and skip previews on DVDs), but I have to admit that most of the digital stuff I’ve seen is very cool and eye-catching. I’ve even “discovered” a couple of great new products from digital advertising that I never would have learned of otherwise, so that’s another point in its favor.

Anyway, what do you think? Is there too much advertising these days? Does it bother you or do you like being made aware of new products and services?