Gluttons for Rewards

Is there any real surprise that we have a problem with obesity in this country? Not only are we encouraged to overeat (and eat a bunch of packaged crap) with every trip to a restaurant or grocery store, but stuffing your innards beyond anything the human body ever was designed for is a full-blown spectator sport.

In the latest “competitive eating contest,” held this past weekend, Joey Chestnut, 23, of San Jose, Calif, swallowed 103 small hamburgers in 8 minutes to take home $10,000 in cash. He surpassed the previous record of 97 Krystal burgers — grilled 2.5-inch square patties (see clip below) — formerly held by Japan's Takeru Kobayashi.

"We never thought we'd see someone anywhere near, let alone past, the century mark when we started the Krystal Square Off in 2004," said Brad Wahl, Krystal Co. VP.

Even harder to believe is the fact that people actually filled up bleachers to watch someone gorge themselves, as did TV crews from ESPN.

Now, we know pie eating contests at the country fair are a long strand of the American fabric. But there is a huge difference between a local mayor or high school football player eating a few pies to raise money for charity and a professional circuit on which "athletes" shake and sweat to essentially do nothing more than work up the largest turds known to man.

Don’t get us wrong, we love fun and games, but outright gluttony should not be a career move. What’s next, contests to see who can sloth around a couch for the longest time … extra points for the biggest dent in the cushion?

It all reeks of the barf-orium parties of ancient Rome. And we know what happened to the great Roman Empire.

Krystal Burger

Don’t Forget, Money Also Is Green

Earth-friendly power has not proven exempt to the conventional rules of supply and demand. The prices of generic renewable energy credits, or RECs, has risen about 35 percent this year, while the cost of certifiable credits has nearly doubled, according the Cadence Networks.

The promise of state mandates that will require corporate purchase of RECs, intense media coverage and nationwide interest in green initiatives are driving the demand, and hence the higher prices, says Christian Blattenberger a certified sustainable development professional for Cadence Networks.

The thing is, we’d expect REC prices to decline as volumes ramp up. After all, moving markets according to the rules of demand and pricing elasticity tend to come into play when profit margin is the prime desire, not a healthier planet.

Consider for example green power pricing in the earlier part of this decade, before all the mainstream attention. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the average price premium charged for green power through green pricing programs continued to decline through 2006, falling to 2.12¢/kWh from 2.36¢/kWh in 2005, and 2.45¢/kWh in 2004. Since 2000, the premium has declined at an annual average rate of more than 8 percent, until this year, that is.

Through 2006, prices were driven down by higher fossil fuel costs or because providers were able to enter into more favorable contracts for renewable energy supplies. So how has that changed now?

Maybe we’re missing something here, and we intend to find out, but something smells fishy nonetheless.

This makes my bones hurt …

Here’s what we all have to look forward to, courtesy of the LA Times and the Center for Disease Control. It’s the percentage breakdown of those who say they get no leisure-time physical activity. Actually, it’s rather encouraging how a real increase doesn’t show up until after age 75.

Age 18-29: 19%
Age 30-44: 22%
Age 45-64: 25%
Age 65-74: 28%
Age 75 and older: 36%

Dag, my flip flops are the reason I didn’t win the Chicago Marathon

Don’t think that’s a legitimate excuse? Well, the folks at PêcheBlu would back me up. You see, “regular flip flops,” which many athletes wear off the field, make the feet “work harder to re-grip the soles with every step,” says the company, leading to “foot fatigue.” And tired feet “put skilled athletes at a competitive advantage,” say the marketing wizards at PêcheBlu.

After all, “A tenth of a second can mean the difference between first and last place,” says the company. Well, maybe that’s true if there are only two people racing.

PêcheBlu certainly is not the first company to incorporate form-fitting, performance designs and comfort into a flip flop, as the company suggests, but it’s the first time we’ve seen après footwear sold as a performance enhancer. Nice run.

Beginning to Smell a Lot Like Christmas

Holiday sales before Thanksgiving can be a little annoying, but if consumers get a whiff of holiday sales weeks before Halloween, Yule logs won’t be the only things burnt out this December. Still, that’s exactly what some major chains are doing, according to a recent story in the New York Times.

“Shattering records for an early start, Wal-Mart is cutting prices on toys in mid-October, but the company is not calling it a holiday sale. L. L. Bean has started advertising free shipping — but it is shying away from the H word. And Toys “R” Us is marketing a temporary store in Manhattan, but consumers have to study ads to find the name: Holiday Express,” according to the Times.

Wal-Mart Left Holding Green Bag

Wal-Mart Stores this week introduced a recycled, reusable, washable shopping sack to help reduce waste generated from plastic shopping bags. The sacks will appear in stores on the West Coast this week, and will roll through the country eastward throughout the month.

Made from 85 percent recycled materials, the bags carry as much as two to three plastic sacks. Consumers can purchase the bags at the checkout aisle for $1 each. When they have worn thin, they can be returned for recycling.The bags are part of Wal-Mart's sustainability program, which was created to help improve its reputation as a corporate giant often criticized by labor unions and special interest groups, says Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott. Of course, Scott also adds that the efforts have not been done "as a marketing ploy."

So Scott is telling us the program was created to improve Wal-Mart’s reputation but is not a marketing ploy. Hmm? Either way, Wal-Mart deserves some credit here.

In Honor of Al's Nobel

A Sporting Chance?

There may be some evidence that the merchandise selection, shopping experience, overall value and customer service provided by specialty retailers is gaining appeal among consumers, says analyst-types at Gluskin Townley Group and BIGresearch. Compared to a year ago (August 2007 versus August 2006), major discounters like Wal-Mart and Kmart lost ground while major sporting goods chain increased their share of store shopped at most often for sports gear.

Wal-Mart remains the mass merchant most often shopped by sporting goods consumers, but fewer consumers made this choice this year compared to last year, 13.1% versus 14.9%.Dick’s

Sporting Goods, while still lacking stores in all 50 states, has gained substantially on Wal-Mart, increasing its store shopped at most often share to 9.3% versus 6.8% in August 2006. Dick’s is now within 3 points of overtaking the world’s largest retailer as the sporting goods retailer of choice among U.S. sporting goods consumers.

Here's Lead in Your Face

So, China-made products containing dangerous levels of lead paint are being recalled left and right, but for some reason U.S. toy maker Mattel felt compelled to apologize to officials in China over the recent toy recall.

"Mattel takes full responsibility for these recalls and apologizes personally to you, the Chinese people, and all of our customers who received the toys," said Thomas A. Debrowski, Mattel's executive vice president for worldwide operations, speaking to China's product safety chief, Li Changjang, with reporters and company lawyers looking on.

Of course, many of Mattel's recalls were due to design flaws that had nothing to do with their suppliers and foreign factories. But it still seems strange that Mattel felt compelled to apologive to Chinese officials essentially because Mattel's problems were compounded by the use of illegal lead paint, usage that clearly is not limited to Mattel's suppliers.

Mattel clearly is concerned about backlash from the Chinese government and the possibility of more taxes and regulations that could stem from the embarrasment. Still, it's a bit worrisome when suppliers/manufacturers yield so much control over their customers' business.

Barbies dolls pay the ultimate price for containing lead paint. Onion.com

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/chinese_authorities_execute_10