Category Archives: Bidness

I was fascinated by the following in this LM Sixel column about Mayor White encouraging local businesses to offer more flexible work schedules as a way of reducing traffic at peak hours. Direct Energy Texas, for example, had to deal … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Given the amount of feedback to Ellen’s recent guest post on HSAs, I thought I’d link to this piece on how employer-offered HSAs are mostly being shunned by workers. “It’s got a lot of the right design features, but the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

A la carte pricing for cable channels, which I’ve blogged about before, just got another push. Most cable TV subscribers would save money if allowed to pay for only the channels they want, a Federal Communications Commission study said Thursday, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Fascinating article about Snapper lawnmowers, and the reasons why they pulled their products from the shelves at Wal-Mart. Definitely worth the read. Link via RC3. Continue reading →

I haven’t previously blogged about the patent-infringement lawsuit against Canada’s Research In Motion, Ltd, the makers of BlackBerry handhelds and servers, but since I administer a BlackBerry infrastructure in real life, seeing stories like this always makes me clench my … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Yesterday was your last chance to shop at Foley’s. The fact that Foley’s will become Macy’s in the fall of next year means little to some people. Others might even welcome it, being able to shop in familiar stores with … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I’ve been meaning to write about all the recent news about “family-friendly” cable packages and a renewed push for “a la carte” pricing since I first saw a couple of articles on the subject in the Chron awhile back, but … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Just wanted to make sure you saw today’s story about the SEIU organizing some 5000 janitors in Houston, which is a pretty big deal considering that the push to do so started in the spring. In case you’re wondering why … Continue reading → Continue reading →

After we closed the door on the last Trick or Treater on Monday night, I said to myself “So when does Christmas season start?” I was only joking, but the joke’s on me. No, it’s not your imagination. The advertising … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse… Starting in October, Houstonians will be paying more to watch their favorite shows on cable television. Time Warner said Monday it will raise its cable TV rates for existing customers beginning … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Behold the magic of frenzied corporate acquisitions. Premier Parks went on a shopping spree in the late 1990s that would be the envy of any fun-lover. Among the items: Elitsch Gardens Amusement Park in Denver, Waterworld USA parks in California … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Usually, when the advertising industry gets hold of a popular song for its nefarious purposes, the result is mortifying. Every once in awhile, though, you get something truly inspired. Target Corp. is advertising its back-to-school booty with a takeoff of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Coca Cola is tinkering with another icon – its classic 1971 commercial featuring the jingle “I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing”. Thirty-four years ago, a 60-second spot shot on an Italian hillside, with a cast of embassy workers … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Another piece of Houston history is biting the dust. Houston’s most famous homegrown retail name is officially disappearing. Federated Department Stores announced Thursday that 330 of the stores it’s acquiring in its $11 billion purchase of May Department Stores Co. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

So what kind of shape did Carly Fiorina leave HP in after she grabbed the golden handshake? Here’s a hint. Hewlett-Packard will cut 14,500 jobs worldwide, including an unspecified number from its Houston campus. Most of the reductions will come … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Every time I read an article like this, I’m glad to be a Costco member. I also never cease to be amazed at the values of the people who criticize Costco for how they do their business. [N]ot everyone is … Continue reading → Continue reading →

There were a couple of stories in the Business section that caught my eye recently. First is this piece about how the offshoring trend has had an unanticipated side effect – scheduling regular meetings with coworkers whose workday doesn’t intersect … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Via Technology Review, here’s an interesting perspective on the ChoicePoint debacle, from the Direct Marketing News. It’s part one of two, so I’ll have to check back again and see what else he’s got to say. One thing to bear … Continue reading → Continue reading →

A little perspective on $2/gallon gasoline. If you think gasoline is expensive, be glad your SUV doesn’t run on double half-caf mocha lattes. At $32 per gallon, the popular Starbucks brew can make today’s prices at the pump look like … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Have you been following the ChoicePoint story at all? ChoicePoint is a big credit-reporting firm, and they recently admitted that they sold some 150,000 credit reports to a gang of crooks that had posed as legitimate businessmen. At first they … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Two more pieces worth your time to read which cover a subject touched on here recently: the toothless Texas Residential Construction Commission and the forced march to binding arbitration instead of the right to sue. The Texas Observer covers the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Here’s an interesting article from the This Week section of the Chron regarding an acrimonious and public battle between a disgruntled homebuyer named Jordan Fogal and the builder who constructed her house, Tremont Homes. The basics of the feud involve … Continue reading → Continue reading →

UPDATE: This post about Ryan Pitylak is no longer accurate, and as it is apparently causing Ryan some harm, I have removed it. Continue reading →

OK, I think I’ve found the point at which the social stigma against smoking has gone too far. “We know that demographically approximately 25 percent of the adult population smokes, and that 25 percent tends to have less desirable characteristics … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Apparently all those doom-and-gloom predictions about the state of the telemarketing industry post-National No Call were based on faulty intelligence. In the months before the national do-not-call list went into effect, Stuart Discount laid off more than 150 of his … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Looks like TXU has backed off its ill-conceived plan to base rates on credit scores after State Rep. Rene Olveira (D-Brownsville) threatened legal action. Sarah has the details. Continue reading →

Rick’s Cabaret comes to the Big Apple. The only publicly traded chain of topless and swinger’s clubs is expanding into Manhattan with the acquisition of a topless bar near Madison Square Garden. Rick’s Cabaret — a club where Anna Nicole … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Want a reason to dislike TXU beyond their desire to charge poor people extra? According to this Texas Observer article, they may have committed securities fraud in the wake of the Enron collapse. There are two lawsuits pending against them, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Slacktivist is peeved by this Reuters story in which utility company TXU plans on linking credit scores to energy bills. In a new rate-setting tactic for electric utilities, the unit of Dallas-based TXU Corp. plans bigger rate increases for customers … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Man. I had no idea that people still leased telephones. Twenty years after the government’s breakup of the Bell monopoly, nearly 1 million consumers still lease their telephones from an affiliate of AT&T, paying anywhere from $4.45 a month for … Continue reading → Continue reading →

In a Playboy interview, which we’ll all read because that’s what we all buy Playboy for, right? According to Thursday’s Wall Street Journal, Google Inc. is now being investigated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an interview its … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Oops. An internal investigation by Belo Corp. has uncovered practices and procedures that led to an overstatement of circulation at the media company’s flagship newspaper, The Dallas Morning News. Dallas-based Belo said Thursday that the overstatement will cause an estimated … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Note: Since I first posted this, Ryan Pitylak has completely abandoned the spam business, and in fact has become an ardent anti-spammer. Please see this post for an update. UPDATE: As this post is no longer accurate, and is apparently … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Two headlines from yesterday’s Chron: Google stock will start at $108-$135 a share Web worm slows search sites Not that it really mattered, but the second headline appeared later in the day than the first one. Probably just as well … Continue reading → Continue reading →