Can we sell you some drugs?

"About us" page on Rexall.ca website

Banner on Rexall.ca website

Rexall Pharmacy in Kelowna



For some reason the management at Rexall think they need to remind customers the business that they are in. But the firm seems to be confused about what word should be used to define the stores.

 

On the outside of the store, and on the banner on firm's website, the business is described as "A pharmacy first". Yet on the "About us" page the owners are described as "a leading drugstore operator".

 

This leaves me confused, is it a "drugstore" or a "pharmacy"? If the company can't decide, then how do they expect customers to figure it out.



Please get the science right

Page from the Hello Kitty book, "Hello Shapes!"

As I've mentioned before, I have a young daughter and together we read a lot of children's books. (Yesterday we read nine books, today will probably be about the same.)

While I don't have a science degree, I know enough to know what isn't right. And this just isn't right.

Detail from a page from the Hello Kitty book, "Hello Shapes!"

The moon is closer than the stars. That means that if we are seeing a crescent moon we should not see any stars in the "missing" portion of the moon.

If you can't get basic science right you have no business producing things for children. The illustrator should be ashamed to make such a fundamental mistake.

Things are not what they seem

GM truck with lots of chrome
 

GM truck with lots of chrome (Detail)
 

GM truck with lots of chrome, that is not really chrome (Detail)

The first time I saw plastic disguised as metal was on Sony home stereo equipment in the early 1980s. Since then plastic has emerged as a replacement for metal in a variety of industries.

On the surface (pun sort of intended) the plastic looks like metal and presents some significant advantages. (Lighter weight, cheaper, and lacking the toxic waste problem that often comes with chrome plating.)

But as these photos show, when in a minor accident the plastic pretty much disintegrates. So, cheaper to make, but then the customer is left to pay the long-term price. Colour me astounded.

The problem with metric (And imperial)

Source: http://asset6.wellmedia.ca/i/307c67f470d7e86498a98c4039152fc9.jpeg

I've just finished dealing with a head cold. I was chugging back 30 ml of DayQuil at a time. And when I got to the bottom of the bottle my final dose was a bit under the 30 ml line in the dose cup.

And once I looked at the size of the bottle it made perfect sense. The size of the bottle is not a exact multiple of 30 ml. But 236 ml is 8 fluid ounces. This is just one of the ongoing problems with imperial to metric conversions. Things just don't work out evenly. Maybe one day Vicks will include the extra 4 ml to make this bottle an even eight doses. Until them all of the Canadian purchasers will just be a bit short on the last dose from the bottle.

When is a dollar not a dollar?

Dollar Tree store in Kelowna

Dollar stores are everywhere. at least they are found everywhere the dollar is currency. But despite the seemingly relentless climb in the value of the Canadian dollar, the prices in dollar stores have been creeping up.

So, despite the name of the chain, Dollar Tree, the stores no longer sell everything for a dollar.

Dollar Tree store in Kelowna

But, "Dollar Twenty Five Tree" just does not have the same ring to it. I wonder how long before the sign on the front of the store says "Everything's $1.50 or less".

Lunchroom, what's a lunchroom?

"School Safe" snack from Treasure Mills

It just goes to show that I'm getting old. When I was a kid, in grades 4-6, no one, and I mean no one, had lunch at school. You all went home. Everyone had a mother at home ready to serve you a bowl of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. And no one was allergic to nuts.

But now every kid seems to have two parents who work and lunch is eaten at school in a lunchroom bereft of one of the singular joys of childhood, the peanut butter sandwich.

So the world is bombarded with snacks like this that are nut-free and peanut-free. My questions is, where did these peanut allergies spring from?

Aeroplan, home of the least-loved products

Apple iPod on the Aeroplan website

Aeroplan is Air Canada's frequent flier reward programme. My wife has some miles that will expire at the end of the year, and I've been looking over the site to see if there are any goodies to tempt us.

This is the least sexy of all of the iPods. Based on the original iPod model, it is the sole surviving iPod that has a hard drive.

So, while I'd prefer to redeem the Aeroplan points than lose them, I'd really like to see some more attractive options. Where is the iPod Touch or iPod Nano?


Dell 17" Monitor on the Aeroplan website

And the only monitor on offer is a 17" Dell with 4/3 aspect ratio. How long has that been sitting around in the Aeroplan warehouse? I'd guess since 2008.

Strong teeth, like a train

Thomas the Tank Engine "Spinbrush" from Arm and Hammer

My daughter is 4 and has fallen hard for a quirky Englishman. But it's only Thomas the Tank Engine. She has underwear, books, all manner of trains, and now a toothbrush.

On one hand I look at this as the exploitation of the young and innocent, and on the other hand anything that can get her to brush her teeth is not a bad thing.

So, anytime that Thomas wants to come my house and get my daughter to brush her teeth he's welcome. Now if he could only get her to clean up her room.

Whatever happened to the dozen?

Safeway Flyer - October 26, 2012

Until pretty recently, cans of soft drinks have been sold in multiples of six. The six-pack, dozen and for the truly thirsty, the 24 pack.

But now Coca-Cola is offering a "Big 20 Pack". The interesting thing is that the "20 pack" is almost the same size as the old "24 pack". Will this new package confuse some some consumers? How will they compare prices?

And the ironic thing is that the "Big 20 Pack" is actually a smaller pack. Oh well, most consumers won't even notice.

Is IE dead?

Internet Explorer Error Message

I encountered this error message last night. Are they telling me that Internet Explorer (IE) is so far behind the times that I should stop using it? I have found problems using IE with some other sites.
Has IE fallen so far out of favour? I tried Chrome when it first came out and dumped it as it was buggy and slow. Should I dump IE and go back to Chrome, or use Firefox?

Well according to this graph, the answer is yes.


Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Usage_share_of_web_browsers_(Source_StatCounter).svg&page=1
 

Does anyone know? Does anyone care?

Posting on the Okanagan College website

I saw this on the Okanagan College website and was a bit curious. What is the ACCC? By going to the organization's website, http://www.accc.ca, I discovered that, "The Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) is the national, voluntary membership organization representing colleges and institutes in Canada and internationally."

But why should Okanagan College assume that everyone reading this notice knows about the ACCC and therefore knows what the acronym stands for? I wonder if it will have an affect on the number of volunteers?

How old is your brand?

Baker's Hot Chocolate Mix

Baker's is the oldest surviving brand in the United States. The company was founded in 1765, and has been trading under the current name, Baker's, since 1780. (Although the brand is now owned by Kraft.)

Is there any value in having a brand that is 232 years old? Does anyone care? Does it have any affect on sales? There is no indication on the packaging that this hot chocolate is manufactured by "America's Oldest Brand". But then is just surviving all this time reason enough to celebrate?

If I'm still around after 232 years I think that I might celebrate a bit.

How reliable is your water?

Water Testing data from backthetap.ca

backthetap.ca is an effort to get people to drink tap water rather than bottled water. I found a flier outside the Student's Union office at Okanagan College.

We all drink water and assume, or at least hope, that there is some sort of routine testing that will keep us safe. That did not turn out to be the case in Walkerton, but according to this flier, Toronto tap water is tested every 5 hours, while the average time between inspections of a bottled water facility is 2.5 years. So, the water in Toronto is tested over 4000 times more frequently than bottled water.

So, the question if you are drinking bottled water may be, "Do you feel lucky?"