The Deets

The Yellow Pages is going green. How? By shrinking in size. We already know that it would be a lot greener for the Yellow Pages to simply stop delivering their book of ads to people who don’t want them. But according to a new report from Borrell Associates, it’s not just consumers who are pulling back from the YP. Advertisers are too:

“Over the next five years, we are expecting 39% of the ad spending on print yellow pages to vanish. After 12 years as an advertising medium, the Internet has finally reached small-business owners with viable marketing opportunities in the form of keyword advertising, interactive directories and low-priced online video commercials. The recession appears to be triggering the shift. Click here to download an executive summary or the full report.”

Let’s see: Consumers opt-out of receiving the books. Advertisers start to wake up and realize that their money invested in YP goes less far these days since fewer people rely on the YP for business information. Less advertisers use that channel to advertise their business. As less advertisers use it, the consumers start to notice that the YP is less comprehensive than it used to be so they end up turning to other sources for business information.

I feel like I’m watching a big tub of water that’s starting to swirl.

It turns out that dog poo bombing of dumpsters continues to be a problem for local home improvement types. For example, here is a dumpster positioned conveniently outside The Freets’ house:

Now, take a look inside this freshly dropped off dumpster:

The Freets breaks it down:

“Clearly, we did not put a passive-aggressive (or aggressive, or passive) sign on our dumpster. For this, we paid the price: in bags of dog poo.”

This mistake cost him dearly. This was only the first of three dog poo dumpster drops he has to contend with. Next time, he’ll remember to create a sign like this:

A detail oriented type may have noticed something peculiar about the 2nd photo. The Freets explains:

If you look closely, there’s a fly on the bag o’ poo. He’s trespassing and I called the cops on him.

Thanks for bringing flies to the neighborhood, dog poo dumpster droppers.

Making the Sweet Bathroom Love, originally uploaded by edkohler.

This just in from Annie Bailey’s in Lancaster, PA men’s room.

Palace Hotel Carpet News, originally uploaded by edkohler.

This just in. The Palace Hotel in San Francisco is considering putting in new carpet in the lobby. I repeat: New carpet in the hallway.

Developing . . .

How to Make Good Movies, originally uploaded by edkohler.

The Town Hall restaurant in San Francisco delivers the tab inside this instructional book.

Continuation is one of the important factors for making good movies according to the chapter where our tab was placed.

Thanks to my cousin Mary for the restaurant recommendation.

The Twin Cities group on LiveJournal has a thread going on where to find the best pizza by the slice in Minneapolis. Interesting topic.

As you might imagine, Pizza Luce is getting a lot of love. Cossetta’s is leading among St Paul options. Personally, I like both. Cossetta’s can have a long wait, although the wait for pizza is generally faster than the wait for pasta during busy times.

Do you have a preference?

Westin TP - San Francisco, originally uploaded by edkohler.

Quick update on the Westin TP scene. Again, they’re now folding it in a uniform manner, but this time it looks like their may be some rhyme to the reason.

I think they’d call this their “style” or something. Not sure.

Ben from BenCredible.com is also in SFO and is staying at a different Westin, so I’ll check in with him to see is what he’s found.

Developing . . .

This is the first in what is so-far a one-part series. Everyone seems to be feeling some pain due to rising costs of things like gas and travel combined with slowing of raises at work.

Because of this, I thought I’d put together some tips I think are helpful for maintaining a tight budget.

Money Saving Tip #1: Never Shop at Target

Target is a great store. It offers convenient access to a wide range of products, are easily accessible for just about everyone in the Twin Cities, and their prices are very competitive. All good.

However, as the local joke goes, if you walk into target to pick up a few things, you end up leaving with $100 worth of crap. If you’re trying to maintain a budget, this is not a good thing.

A better strategy, in my opinion, is to shop at stores where you’re more likely to find ONLY what you need and NOTHING else.

For example: Walgreens. When was the last time you impulse purchased something at the counter like blank VHS tapes, Valentine’s Day candy, or joint cream? It doesn’t happen. Sure, their prices aren’t as competitive as Target on many items, but the measure shouldn’t be savings on a product by product basis. The only number that matters is the one at the BOTTOM of your receipt.

Prescription Decisions

If you happen to get your prescriptions filled at Target, I strongly recommend you consider the costs of doing so. Why are you forcing yourself to visit a store on a regular basis that costs you more money than you save?

Target also seems to have the slowest pharmacies I’ve ever been to. But what incentive do they have to improve? Target probably makes more money off of you by forcing you to wander around their story throwing random crap that you don’t need into your oversized shopping cart.

Break the habit. Avoid Target.

46th & 46th Condos Action, originally uploaded by edkohler.

Just saw some action at the long-stalled 46th & 46th condo project near Minnehaha Falls. Looks like they’re removing the showroom.

I’m not sure this is a sign of progress since it must be difficult to show an unfinished development without a showroom.