The Chronic Consumer

This is going to sound odd, but in 12+ years of shopping at Amazon.com, I made my VERY FIRST RETURN just a couple weeks ago! I bought an article of clothing that was too large, and since the item in question cost more than $100, I of course returned it.

The Amazon return process is very simple. First, you request a return authorization from your Amazon.com account by clicking on the appropriate button on your Order History Page. Then you print out a return label and a shipping address, and send the package back. Amazon handles it from there.

Once they get the package, they inspect the item for damage or whatever and then disposition it. My credit card (the method of payment I used) was credited for the full original amount of the item plus the original shipping costs. Yeah, I was out a few bucks sending the package back, but because the item cost so much to begin with, I didn’t mind that.

Anyway, I’m very impressed by Amazon’s easy return process — but even more impressed that this was the first time I ever had to use it!

Now that I’m working outside the home again, I have to spend more money on a suitable wardrobe. The last time I had a full-time job, I wore one of those full work jumpsuits that cover everything. That’s not gonna fly for my current position, so it’s back to shopping at department stores for suits, slacks, skirts, blouses, and other apparel that is deemed “business casual”.

You know, as much as I love shopping for clothes, I sometimes miss those halcyon days of wearing sweats or a uniform to work!

Just when you thought all those holiday cookies were behind you, now Girl Scouts (and probably their parents) are hitting you up for the annual cookie order. Have you ever wondered what their best-selling cookies are? Well, according to Wikipedia, here are the current rankings:

1. Thin Mints (25% of sales)
2. Samoas (19%)
3. Tag-A-Longs (13%)
4. Do-Si-Dos (11%)
5. Trefoils (9%)

That doesn’t add up to 100%, so there must be “other” flavors as well.

And speaking of other flavors, this year the Girl Scouts are introducing something called the Savannah Smile, which is a “lemon wedge cookie dusted in powdered sugar”. Sounds yummy! Maybe I’ll order some of those this year!

I haven’t eaten Hostess products since I was a kid, but this news still makes me a bit sad. I just read that Hostess will be filing for bankruptcy protection due to the high cost of labor and competition, as well as significant debts in the form of pensions and so forth.

For now, the company says its products, including Twinkies, Ho-Hos, Ding Dongs, SnoBalls, and Wonder Bread, will remain on the shelves. But the future is increasingly uncertain because of the issues listed above, as well as the fact that many people are now trying to eat healthier — which often includes eliminating white bread and snack cakes.

I loved Twinkies and Ho-Hos when I was younger. I used to eat them for breakfast rather than as a snack. I had a great metabolism back then though, and didn’t gain weight because of it. I honestly can’t imagine eating that stuff on a regular basis now — which I guess is exactly why the company is filing for bankruptcy protection.

So I finally decided to download the infamous Words with Friends app for my tablet pc. This is the game that’s supposedly so addictive Alec Baldwin got kicked off a flight because he refused to turn it off. I’d been hearing buzz long before that, of course, but for some reason finally decided to get it.

The thing is, I’m not that impressed with it thus far. I have the Scrabble app, too, so maybe that factors into my reaction a little bit. Words with Friends is basically Scrabble Lite, in my estimation. It’s the same game, just with a differently organized board and a different amount of tiles. Some of the point values on the tiles are different as well.

The main point in favor of Words with Friends is how easy it is to play against friends. You can find friends by contact information in your device or via Facebook/Twitter if you give the game your login information. You can also play games with “randoms” if you want a bit of an anonymous go at it.

That’s all well and good, but the thing I can’t stand about Words with Friends is its excruciatingly slow pace! There’s no time limit for any of the moves, so games literally drag on for days and days. This reminds me of when my dad used to play chess via postal mail with a friend way back before computers were commonplace. It took 3 days to make a single move and then the waiting would start all over again. That’s exactly how some of these Words With Friends matches play out. Ugh. I understand that people are at work/school and might not have time to play a full game in one sitting. But there should definitely be a “Quick Play” option that limits either the time between moves or the number of rounds in the game so the thing speeds up.

Overall, I’m not sure what the fuss is about. Maybe I’d change my tune if more of my friends had the app, but as it is, I prefer playing Scrabble against the CPU and getting the game over with in a reasonable period of time!

Oakley used to be known primarily for eyewear, but the company has branched out into producing a lot of other stuff, including snowboarding gear like the men’s jacket pictured here. This particular model is called The Goods, and comes with a bunch of cool features that you might not expect from a jacket.

First of all, this is a lightweight item with a waterproof shell. The specs on that are “10K mm waterproofing with 15K g/m2/24hrs breathability.” Honestly, I have no idea what to make of those numbers, but someone more knowledgeable can probably figure it out. The bottom line is that you’ll be dry and comfortable while wearing The Goods.

Another great feature are the two zipped chest vents at the front of the jacket. At first glance, they appear to be slash pockets, but when you lower the zipper, you reveal a mesh vent that allows air to flow in and cool you down. (Remember, this jacket is for skiing or snowboarding, so it’s possible you’d work up a sweat while wearing it.)

The rest of the details (as listed by Oakley), include:

• 100% polyester performance shell jacket
• Fully tape – welded seams
• Fixed hood with magnetic hold—down system
• Adjustable cuffs
• Fixed storm skirt system with snaps
• Pocket for your goggle
• Hand pockets with zips
• Double storm flap

What I particularly like about The Goods is that it is a very warm jacket without having all the bulk usually associated with warmth. I didn’t buy this for snowboarding or skiing, but it serves just as well as a regular, everyday winter coat. The waterproofing and extra features make this a great purchase — especially now that the 2011 models are on closeout at most places. You can find this thing for about $111 as opposed to the $160 I paid for it a few months ago! But nah, I’m not bitter

Liz Claiborne…. Ah, that name takes me back to when I was in junior high and high school in the late ’80s/early ’90s. That was one of the “in” brands for girls back then, and I had my share of cute Claiborne skirts, shoes, belts, and wallets.

I haven’t worn the brand at all since then, but I was still a bit sad to hear that Claiborne will be changing its name to Fifth & Pacific Cos., whatever the heck that means. Apparently, the Liz Claiborne brand itself will be shutting down, while other brands that it runs, such as Kate Spade and Juicy Couture will become its main focus.

Sigh. Nothing lasts forever, I guess — especially not in this kind of business climate.

I want to start getting more real productivity out of my iPad instead of just using it as a fancy notebook or web browser. Towards that end, I’ve been buying apps that let me use the device more like I would my desktop computer. My latest purchase was Pages, the iWork version of word processing.

Here’s the description from Apple:

Pages lets you create great-looking letters, reports, flyers, invitations, and more on your iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. And the story gets even better. Now iCloud keeps your documents up to date across all your iOS devices — automatically. So whatever device you’re on, your projects are ready for you to pick up right where you left off. Words have never come so easily.

I don’t need quite that much functionality, since I only have an iPad at the time. In fact, I don’t even know how to access iCloud (is it automatic??) or anything like that. But from the little bit that I’ve used Pages thus far, I have to say that the rest of the info from the description is right on.

Pages comes with a number of pre-loaded templates (formal letter, letter, resume, poster, visual presentation, etc.) so creating those kinds of things is a breeze. You just select a template, and then replace the existing text and/or graphics with whatever you want.

Creating new documents is even easier, and I love how there are quite a bit of options for fonts, sizes, and headings. This makes me feel like I’m using a powerful program, even if I do just select Times New Roman, 12-pt every time.

Another great thing about Pages is the ease with which I can add, edit, and otherwise manipulate photos and other objects in the document. I just grab photos right from my iPad, scale them down, wrap the text, and I’m good to go. This makes creating newsletters and similar photo-heavy documents easy.

And finally, I can open and edit Word documents, and export my own work as Word or PDF files so others can open/read what I’ve done. Oh, and did I mention that all my work is automatically saved as I type? No more worries about losing text if I get interrupted and have to shut down quickly.

All in all, I think Pages was a very smart purchase. It costs $9.99, which is expensive for an app, but I believe the product is worth even more than that. If this cost $19.99, for example, I wouldn’t blink an eye about paying that.

Anyway, if you want some true word processing functionality on your iPad, then you simply must get Pages. I wasn’t all that impressed with Numbers, but Pages is a great app!