Wal-Mart, Firearms, and Obesity

I was at Wal-Mart again today. The anniversary event is still on, and I took the opportunity to stock up on a year's supply of laundry detergent and several crates of pudding. Did you know they have power scooters that you can just take and use while you are in the store? You don't even have to walk!

I only noticed the scooters today, as it seems they are normally in use by the true pinnacles of human evolution (i.e. http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/?p=17652).  Michelle wouldn't let me use one, even though I offered to let her ride shotgun...

Another unfortunate feature of our present society can be witnessed at Wal-Mart over the next couple of days, and that is the paycheck cycle.

An excerpt from a Reuter's article last year sheds some light:

Q: How are consumers holding up? What are you seeing in terms of the paycheck cycle — when Walmart sees its sales decline as shoppers run out of money in between paychecks?

“We still see that … pronounced paycheck cycle. So it tells me that our customer remains under a significant amount of pressure. … The trend that we’ve seen away from credit … that trend continues. You see less in the way of credit, more in the way of cash and debit.

… Many of our customers receive food stamps, welfare, other forms of government assistance. On the first of the month their EBT card would be charged, and we can see literally real-time once the clock strikes midnight and EBT cards are charged, you can see our results start to tick up.”

http://blogs.reuters.com/shop-talk/2009/08/13/30-minutes-with-wal-marts-cfo/

Two weeks ago there was an interesting survey that found 59% of Canadians polled would be in financial difficulty if their pay was delayed one week. Incredible. I tend to maintain 6 months of living expenses in a highly liquid account (which we could easily stretch to more if we adjusted our lifestyle), but I guess that's just me.

In other news, as my past weekend involved educating Albertan migratory waterfowl on the different levels of the food chain, I stopped in at both locations of Wholesale Sports in Edmonton looking for a longer barrel for my Remington 870, or, in the event a barrel was unavailable, a new gun.

There seems to be this illusion that Canadians are not gun-toting nuts like those folk south of the border, but at both locations, I waited upwards of 45 minutes in line, on a Thursday evening, within 2 hours of closing, to talk to one of the six sales people at the gun counter (I prefer the north Edmonton branch, because they have a “take a number” machine).

I didn't even have to wait 45 minutes to ride X2 at Six Flags Magic Mountain last month.

I ended up buying a second Remington 870 at the north location (all the 870s were sold out on the south side). The price difference between a new barrel, which I would have had to continually swap with the shorter barrel, and a new gun, was only about $100. I love Remington; for less than this Netbook, I picked up a brand new 12 gauge.

I then elected to pay my hunting taxes – I mean, buy my licences – online; I thought I had thwarted the need to physically go down to any kind of venue for such paperwork. Turns out, after my WIN card renewal, my Wildlife Certificate, and my Game Bird licence, I still needed a Federal Migratory Waterfowl Permit. This piece of wonderful bureaucracy can only be picked up at select venues, and not online. It was sold out at the first 3 places I went, and I was finally able to get one of 6 left at a Shopper's Drug Mart Post Office outlet.

My last point of rage for the day involves fat people on airplanes.  I really think companies need to step up and take the baggage approach to ticket pricing.  Passengers should be charged BY THE POUND.  The volume of fuel used to transport a cesspool of lard is quite different than that used to transport a small bag of electrons.  What do you think?