Things We Won't See In 2009

as stolen from walletpop (even though, I only posted the ones I found interesting... Plus, you get my commentary on some of them.)

· Tom Mathison, Inventor of Produce Stickers
The next time you peel one of those tiny stickers off a fruit purchase, you can remember Tom Mathison, founder of Stemilt Growers and the first man to use produce stickers on a commercial scale, who died December 26.

· Polaroid Traditional Instant Film
Polaroid introduced its first instant camera in 1948. Its revenue peaked in 1991 at nearly $3 billion. But by 2001, the company had gone into bankruptcy. It was bought four years later by Petters Group Worldwide. The increased popularity of digital cameras led Polaroid to plan for the exit of traditional film in all formats and sizes. It will halt production in 2008. (Editor's Note: Polaroid filed for bankruptcy protection on Dec. 18, 2008, saying allegations of fraud at its parent company are to blame.)

· Zima
In Oct. 2008, MillerCoors LLC announced it will discontinue the clear malt beverage Zima, introduced by Coors Brewing Co. in 1992, due to "challenging malternative segment sales and declining consumer interest." Production of Zima ceased Oct. 10 with remaining orders to be filled on a first-come, first-served basis using available inventory. The last orders are expected to be filled in December. MillerCoors is asking distributors to replace Zima on store shelves with its Sparks malt beverage brand.

Ever had one? I think I did when they first came out and then forgot about them until just now.

· Bill Blass
The company that bears the name of designer Bill Bass is closing its doors according to an announcement on December 17. Blass retired a decade ago and the latest company designer departed in October.The label was put up for sale earlier this year by its parent company, NexCen Brands Inc., which announced in May that it was facing a severe cash squeeze. NexCen is still trying to sell the brand.
Has anyone worn Bill Blass in this millenium?

· Arena Football League (AFL)
Founded in 1987 as an American Football indoor league, the league grew in popularity through the years, but the increase was accompanied by greatly increased expenses and debt that led to the league to announce in December that it was suspending operations for 2009. The future of the AFL is questionable.

Poor Bon Jovi. Didn’t he own a team?

· Diet Cherry Chocolate Dr Pepper
Diet Cherry Chocolate Dr Pepper was introduced as a limited edition flavor on November 21, 2007. Although it had its fans, and was credited as tasting exactly like you would think it would, the flavor was discontinued in April 2008.

This doesn’t surprise me. This drink was TERRIBLE. I literally puked a little when I tried my try me for $1.00 promo can.

· Taco Bell’s Volcano Taco
According to Rob Poetsch at Taco Bell, the Volcano Taco was a limited time offer which is a common way Taco Bell markets new products. Taco Bell customers loved the Volcano Taco so much that it was one of its best selling limited time offer products. Alas, all good things must come to an end and the fast-food industry’s spiciest taco has been discontinued.

Seems stupid to me. Discontinue something that is popular. Especially in a recesssion.

· Smokey Chipotle Crispy Fried Chicken
In May 2008, KFC added its third fried chicken flavor to the menu -- Smoky Chipotle Crispy. The new flavor joined Colonel Sanders' Original Recipe as well as the Extra Crispy flavor. At the time, KFC said, "We've worked tirelessly to develop this new flavor. We don't take fried chicken flavor introductions lightly at KFC, and we took our time to painstakingly perfect this new recipe." It was discontinued in August.

· Linens 'n Things
In October, the bankrupt retailer said it plans to close all of its 317 remaining store nationwide. The New Jersey-based company had already closed 218 stores earlier this year. The closure notice came after the retailer was unable to find a buyer for the remaining stores.

· Sharper Image Stores
Sharper Image filed for bankruptcy protection in February, with plans to shut about half of its 184 stores and reorganize. The company put itself up for sale in April. The new owners announced in June that they plan to close all of its remaining stores. It has instead developed a licensing strategy for wholesale, retail, direct-to-retail, e-commerce and catalog businesses.

This one makes me sad. Even though I only ever bought one thing in that store, I love window-shopping in it.

· Steve & Barry's
At the end of November, this casual apparel shop announced it will be closing all remaining 173 of its stores across the country. The action follows an initial closing of 97 stores after the chain was acquired in August by two investment firms. At that time, the company announced "go-forward" plans for its existing stores, but it decided to close remaining locations.

Wow. My “city” friends loved this store.

· Lehman Brothers & Bear Stearns
Founded in 1850 by Henry Lehman, the firm was one the leading names on Wall Street until its amazing collapse in 2008. The company got caught up in the subprime mortgage mess and was unable to recover.Investor confidence eroded quickly in September and on the 14th, the company filed for bankrupcy and ceased operations. Many experts say Lehman's collapse is what triggered Wall Street's amazing downward spiral this fall. Earlier in the year Bear Stearns met a similar fate

· Bye-Bye to 25 Banks
According to the FDIC's Failed Bank List, there were 25 bank failures in 2008, as of Dec. 12. Washington Mutual and IndyMac Bank were two of the biggest banks to go under. For comparison, there were 3 bank failures in 2007, and none in 2006 and 2005.

· DHL in the U.S.
DHL, the German global shipping giant, will stop shipping within the United States on the ground and in the air, effective Jan. 30, 2009. All of DHL's 18 U.S. hubs will close.

· Cars
A few cars that have recently been shutdown globally include the Yugo, Dodge Durango Hybrid, Chrysler Aspen Hybrid, Chevy Trailblazer, GMC Envoy, Mercury Sable, and Ford Taurus X.

· Stadium Shutdowns
Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium are two sports grounds that have closed down in 2008 along with Texas Stadium where the Dallas Cowboys played for almost 40 years.After this year's baseball season, Shea Stadium shut down in order to move to a new field next year. Though the same thing happened to the 86 year old Yankee Stadium, officials chose the new Yankee Stadium for the All-Star Game site, believing it to be an appropriate way to usher out the historic building

Do I have a Problem?

I think I may be too transparent with my coworkers.  Either that, or I might have an addiction.

My Christmas gifts this year consist of Caribou Coffee Gift cards and Qdoba gift cards.  ha!  Can't say people don't know what I love!

I don't think I'll have to pay for a cup of coffee for most of 2009!

 

Awesome!

Crappy Secret Santa

I'm a crappy secret Santa. I've never done it before and I guess I'm a Scrooge this year, because it didn't occur to me to buy cute little bags to put my goodies in. I had just planned on plopping the gifts on the desk and leaving a note. Then today, I get a cute little bag of goodies. I suck. I considered using the gift bag I got for the gifts I have yet to give, but what if my secret Santa is the guy I'm buying for?! That'd be terrible!

I suck.

Online Parallel Bible

OK. My bible thumping girlfriends (There are two of you.... and I'm not sure about, but that is really into education, so she probably knows already too.) probably already know this, but I just found this super cool website! (PS, I'm testing out a new tool in google where I'm not actually in my blog, but I'm blogging in my blog. So if it doesn't work.. Sorry. I'll fix it when I get home.)

Online Parallel Bible: Weaving God's Word into the Web

Are you wondering if I suddenly got ubber religious or something and that's why I need to reference the bible while at work? No, I'm just my normal level of religiousness, I was just curious as to the difference of being Washed in the Blood and washed in water. -- Kenny Chestney of all people brought me there. --

This site is super cool because it gives you any verse in the bible with a bunch of different bible versions. So you can see the King James version vs the American Standard version and what not. Neeto.

Check it out.

Gotsta Get Me to the Bank!

I got a pleasant surprise when I stepped into my bosses office to ask if my outfit looked alright.

I got my bonus check!  Which was a very pleasant surprise since everyone is worried about everything these days.  So I gotsta get me to the bank and cash this baby so I can go spend some money!

 

woo hoo!

Things I've been wanting to Share Pt1

These are old news now, but maybe they will be equally entertaining as they would have been had I posted them at the time of the haps.

Let me take you back to two Tuesdays ago. It was a cold November 18th. I was driving our crappy "in case of" car because mine was in the shop being worked on. I was driving to work in the morning when 10 miles away from my office it starts to act weird. I decide that I must have a tire going down, so I decide to pull over before it blows completely. I pull over to the side of the road and my car dies completely. --Weird-- So I start to checkout my gauges. To the far right, I see the problem. I RAN OUT OF GAS! This damn car didn't even have a light that turns on to alert me of the problem. Stupid thing! So here I am on a very cold windy morning, in an old rusty car. Broken down, 10 miles from my office.

Luckily, the car started again and I was able to make it another mile before it died on me again. I was able to coast up an exit ramp. Then I called a coworker and asked him what a person does in this sort of situation. He first laughed at me, then told me he had a gallon of gas in his garage because he runs out of gas more often then a person should. So he came to my rescue! Yippie. It was totally embarrassing because of the way my car looked. No one even stopped to ask if I needed help. I think it was because they saw my ugly car and thought that this must happen to me all the time.

Thank GOD for cell phones! and that I actually had mine with me that day!

Should I be Worried?

It's been so long since I posted, I couldn't remember how to log in.

I'm not sure if I should be worried. My parents are taking my baby with them while they do whatever they are going to do today. I think they will be in for it when it turns 2:00 and she wants her nap, but won't sleep because there is too much going on.

I can't wait to see who comes out in a cheery mood by the end of the day today. Will it be my mom, or will it be my baby?

PS. I have so much to share but have no time to share it.