The Deets

Best Buy RewardZone reminded me that they have an online outlet store. I decided to run some spot checks on their point and shoot digital camera prices vs Amazon’s.

The first price listed is Best Buy’s and the 2nd is Amazon’s (both taken at the same time on March 31).

- FinePix 6.3MP Digital Camera - Silver: $119 vs $129

- Casio - EXILIM 7.2MP Digital Camera - Blue: $179.99 vs $159.88

- Samsung - 8.2MP Digital Camera - Silver: $299.99 vs $249.88

- Samsung - Digimax 5.0MP Digital Camera - Silver: $349.99 vs $349.99

- Spectra - Hello Kitty VGA Digital Camera: $26.99 vs $39.99

- The Cheetah Girls Pix Click Micro Digital Camera: $15.99 vs $27.99

- American Idol Keychain Digital Camera - $12.99 vs $5.75

Just because something is sold in an outlet doesn’t mean it’s going to be the best price you can find.

Comparison shopping consumer electronics is very easy. Just search by the product’s model number (and take a minute look beyond Best Buy or Amazon if you’re serious about getting the lowest price).

Does Simon Cowell cry in embarrassment or laugh all the way to the bank every time an American Idol Keychain Digital Camera is sold?

I’m not sure why the monkey on Anti Monkey Butt Powder is giving a thumbs up. He looks like he could have used some Anti Monkey Butt Powder and has the grimace of someone who forgot to liberally apply Anti Monkey Butt Powder to his monkey butt.

This is available at the now-open East Lake St Frattallone’s Ace Hardware near the checkout. A perfect impulse buy.

It turns out that Anti Monkey Butt Powder has a website at AntiMonkeyButt.com

Aaron points out that Frattallone’s dropped off t-shirts at Longfellow homes that are good for 10% discounts when worn into our new Ace Hardware. Would wearing that shirt into True Value be considered a wardrobe malfunction or a hardware shopping fashion faux pas?

My brother-in-law Quinn likes to take yuppie shots at Carly and me. However, as of today, I think my new comeback will be, “at least we’re not like Elizabeth Dehn” who wrote the following for Minnesota Monthly:

I finally made it out to the new Crate & Barrel at the Galleria. It’s been open for almost two weeks, after all! Which, in style editor years, is, like, a lifetime. I guess I wasn’t in a hurry because a) I’m not-so-secretly annoyed and saddened that this meant a closing for the Nicollet Mall location (not to mention Southdale), which was at the very least, a visual asset for downtown and a nod Minneapolis as a shopping destination for the masses.

Admittedly, her job it to report on yuppie things for the MN Monthly yuppie crowd so that is to be expected. I hope Ms. Dehn can turn it off outside of work and relax with a Jucy Lucy and a Grain Belt Premium from time to time.

While renting a Ryder truck for our recent relo, I noticed this promotion on the wall:

I don’t plan on moving again anytime soon so it may take a while to earn that Bubba Keg. If you’re moving anytime soon, see if you can get your truck rental applied toward my Bubba Keg account.

It turns out that their is a method to the madness of naming furniture at IKEA.

Mystery solved: The IKEA naming system

IKEA products are identified by single word names. Most of the names are either Swedish, Danish, Finnish or Norwegian in origin. Although there are some notable exceptions, most product names are based on a special naming system developed by IKEA.

• Upholstered furniture, coffee tables, rattan furniture, bookshelves, media storage, doorknobs: Swedish placenames (for example: Klippan)
• Beds, wardrobes, hall furniture: Norwegian place names
• Dining tables and chairs: Finnish place names

So don’t expect to find a Helsinki bed or an Oslo dining room table. Ain’t gonna happen.

Wikipedia has more examples. More info here.

Would you buy glasses online? That’s one thing I haven’t bought online yet, but I probably would if I wasn’t buying glasses because I lost or destroyed my previous pair.

Your glasses are going to be made by someone you probably haven’t met who may or may not work at the facility where you picked them out. If you can save money by ordering them online, why not?

Adventures in $40 eyeglasses

I used to wear the same glasses for 3-4 years between changes so I’m finding it incredibly liberating to pick from five different sets of glasses each morning. I have a couple fashionable pairs for going out, a couple understated ones for working and I can even take a chance with a wacky retro frame if I’m in the mood. All told, my glasses cost me from a low of $26 to a high of $84 per pair, mostly depending on the options I picked for lenses. If I had to come up with any criticisms, the only (very) minor issue I had was one pair’s lenses (with identical prescriptions on both sides) were cut slightly different, so that when the light hits them, you can see a bit more of border on one lens over the other (like I said, it’s minor). I purchased frames from four different companies mentioned on the GlassyEyes site and every pair showed up intact and the prescriptions all seemed identical.

Oh yeah, there is that little thing about trying them on before you buy. Hmmm.

What’s up with this:

Does it feel better to be a tree that’s sustainably grown when you’re sitting rootless outside a Co-op?

What constitutes sustainable when it comes to Christmas trees? Organic fertilizer? Hand-cutting?

PlanetDan has a great story about his poorly thought out Target shopping list.

FUH2 @ MOA, originally uploaded by edkohler.

The latest in a series of FUH2 photos. This one was taken on the upper Eat side ramp at the Mall of America near Hooter’s.