I totally agree with you, but consider a couple of things:
1) It's very hard for the average person to quantify "what's enough." People have a hard enough time deciding how much to spend on who. Imagine the stress involved when those same people feel like they have to do good deeds and the like to fulfill obligations.
Of course, you could argue that those obligations are figments spawned by an overall need to "return the favor", a spinning wheel happily propelled by the retail establishment and the advertising of all the parties involved.
2) Many retail businesses live and die by Christmas. If there were an overall attitude adjustment in our culture shifting away from purchasing gifts (turning 12/25 into a holiday more like, say, Thanksgiving or July 4), a whole lot of those businesses would have to close their doors... which leads me to wonder just how many stores and mail order outlets get year-long revenue of levels sufficient to maintain operations.
Exactly. The scary thought here is how much waste goes into all the pieces that never reach an inbox somewhere. I wonder what the hit:miss ratio is, generally.
Slashdot Mirror
Steve,
I totally agree with you, but consider a couple of things:
1) It's very hard for the average person to quantify "what's enough." People have a hard enough time deciding how much to spend on who. Imagine the stress involved when those same people feel like they have to do good deeds and the like to fulfill obligations.
Of course, you could argue that those obligations are figments spawned by an overall need to "return the favor", a spinning wheel happily propelled by the retail establishment and the advertising of all the parties involved.
2) Many retail businesses live and die by Christmas. If there were an overall attitude adjustment in our culture shifting away from purchasing gifts (turning 12/25 into a holiday more like, say, Thanksgiving or July 4), a whole lot of those businesses would have to close their doors... which leads me to wonder just how many stores and mail order outlets get year-long revenue of levels sufficient to maintain operations.
- Traig
Exactly. The scary thought here is how much waste goes into all the pieces that never reach an inbox somewhere. I wonder what the hit:miss ratio is, generally.
- DDT
Midnight pacific = 0300 eastern.
There is already a portable SNES. It's called Game Boy Advance.
Though, I tell ya, I'd rather carry around a 13" TV than try to make out what's going on on that etch-a-sketch screen of the GBA.
- DDT
I have one, it's a nice newsreader for *nix and --
Oh, I thought there was another 'n' in there. My bad.
Sounds like a man in-the-know, doesn't it?