2016 Winter January 20 Wednesday

29 degrees (21 degrees wind chill) this morning.  Walk 25:58 minutes

Walking shoes are now over 50 % of estimated life.  If I had gotten the lower quality (well, at least lower price) shoes, they would be ending their estimated life.

The walking shoes retain their “spring” and probably aren’t quite as good as new, but they certainly are still well suitable for walking.

I have found that products (especially shoes etc.) deteriorate slowly and you don’t really realize how bad it is until your feet start to hurt etc.  

Of course, “estimated” is just that and I find most products either last longer than expected or fall apart soon.  

I am still amazed at the advertising that says there is a “lifetime” guarantee and then in small print (or somewhere else completely) defines “lifetime” as 5 years or whatever!  To me, “lifetime” should mean “lifetime”, or it should be advertised differently.  

Certainly no one is making them use the term “lifetime”, so they should be honest and say 5 years or whatever.  

I do like my “UnderArmour” sweatshirt, it actually does stay cool but maintain’s heat while I walk and is very light.  

Of course, other, less advertised and way less expensive brands do just as well, although I don’t have a sweatshirt quite like this from another brand.  

It is actually one the few of the heavily advertised athletic brands I own, since I normally avoid Nike etc., since I figure if they can give $90,000,000 to an 18 year old kid and spend billions  of money on uniforms etc., they are probably charging too much for their products.  

Also, it seems the money could be used to improve their products.  

I’m sure they have studies showing it is money will spent and will increase sales and profits etc., but I will continue to make my small one person protest.  They don’t really care anyway, since I am hardly their target audience anymore, but at least I know I am not contributing to the huge sums of money spent on marketing, etc.  

That is somewhat the same with the hybrid car, at least I am not contributing (or contributing as little as possible) to the “oil cartel” that pays for terrorism etc. 

I think small, personal protests are important to a person, even if it doesn’t really make any sense and the huge businesses  could really care less.  At least a person knows they are doing what they can to protest whatever it is they don’t support.

While walking this morning, I was astounded a the lights from the shopping center behind the row of brand new houses, how they lit up the backyards of houses like a football field.  

This, in addition to the huge video billboard and the Sonic with its’ huge video billboard and 24 hour loud music pretty well destroys the residential character of the area.  

Our house is not impacted by this, but I am ashamed of a city that has such poor planning and such disregard for it’s residents that it allows such destruction of its residential areas.  

I really feel the residents should boycott the shopping center and Sonic, as well as the companies that rent on the huge video billboard.  And perhaps vote against any of the “development initiatives” (with a resulting sales tax, the most regressive tax) until some of it is spent on neighborhoods.

Spent the day “in the field” yesterday.  It is always interesting.  I am always surprised by how I run into something new, and, than that same day I will have three or four of the same situation (that I never ran into before) happen that same day!  

That’s it for now, Wednesday, January 20, 2016.