As the owner of three (yes THREE) pairs of Crocs, this story caught my eye.
The safety of Crocs shoes is being questioned.

Japan questions Crocs’ safety
by Zac Bissonnette

After losing about 40% of its value last week, Crocs (NASDAQ: CROX) has another headache.

The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required) that “Japan has asked the maker of Crocs to look into changing the design of its footwear after complaints that children wearing the colorful plastic clogs have had their feet injured on escalators.”

The company has faced similar accusations in the United States and Crocs is reportedly working with the Elevator/Escalator Safety Foundation (I can’t believe that even exists) on public education initiatives.

What does all this mean for Crocs? Probably not much beyond the company’s already dismal financial results, although the posters warning about the dangers of Crocs near escalators in Japan probably won’t do much to spur sales.

Crocs’ dramatic fall from grace has been an interesting story to watch, and the company just doesn’t seem to be able to catch a break.

The safety concerns are not disclosed as risk factors in Crocs’ latest 10-K, indicating that the company’s management may not see them as a material threat to sales.

The safety concerns are not disclosed as risk factors in Crocs’ latest 10-K, indicating that the company’s management may not see them as a material threat to sales.

Truthfully, I don’t particularly like Crocs. They irritate my feet unless I wear socks with them. And it looks a little silly to wear socks with Crocs. However, they are so convenient. Similar to the convenience of flip-flops but without that annoying band between the toes. So, I wear them on occasion.

Crocs are a fad, though, and like all fads, they will fade. Something else will arrive on the scene to take their place. They might remain as a type of gardening, all-weather shoe. However, they DO look cloddish, and something so silly looking can’t be popular for long.

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Identity Theft is scary because after experiencing your identity theft, it can take literally hundreds of hours of work to get your credit straightened out and to restore your good name. Here are some facts about identity theft will give you a realistic perspective of this problem. Usually a stolen identity is used up to THIRTY times, and most people only discover that their identity has been stolen when they are turned down for a loan or start getting calls from collection agencies. Your identity could be stolen right now and you wouldn’t even know it. Now there is LifeLock which not only protects your identity through proven methods, but they also guarantee their work up to a million bucks and willd handle all those hundreds of hours of work if your identity is even stolen. They provide identity theft protection not only for individuals but for children, students and entire families.

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Now there’s the perfect place for people who feel that pouring a bowl of cereal requires too much effort. Cereality is the newest concept in restaurants. It’s the place where you can go for a bowl of cereal.
Here’s a little background info from their franchise site:

Cereality is more than just a place to get cereal, it’s a new way of thinking about cereal. Cereality offers over 30 favorite name-brand cereals and over 30 toppings, making it easy to create the perfect bowl. Customers can also choose from our delicious oatmeal, smoothies, parfaits and an assortment of coffees and teas. All of our cereals are served in distinctive cereal boxes and are perfect partnered with our famous SLOOP, a straw and spoon all in one!

A SLOOP? I could understand calling it a “Stroon” or a “spraw” - but SLOOP doesn’t fit! A “scoop” could fit in there somewhere, but what is the “SL” from?

Looks like the only Cereality restaurants are in Arizona, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. I guess if I need some cereal, I’ll just have to pour my own.

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NetSimplicity helps you handle the unique challenges and opportunities of industries around the world. They offer Meeting Scheduling Software along with other specifically designed software for customers ranging from university and hospitals to law firms and Fortune and Global 100 enterprises. Their software eliminates costly manual processes and it optimizes productivity by managing rooms, equipment, assets and resources.

I was pleased to see that they offer scheduling solutions for educational organizations. Scheduling is a major issue in all levels of schooling.

Right now they have a free 30 day trial of one or both key products. Check out the website to see how this leader in scheduling software solutions can help you.

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If you have a business and you want to get marketing data, sales leads and mailing lists, then SalesProspects.com may be the answer for you.  SalesProspects.com is a licensed data wholealer specializing in marketing data and mailing lists.  They can help your business find the most qualified prospects because the list you receive is customized according to your particular filters.  Whether it’s a  telemarketing list, a mailing list, or sales leads that you need, SalesProspects.com can provide it for you.  Their databases are updated monthly.  You can use filters such as industry, main contact, annual sales volume, employee size and lots of other great filters. 

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I started playing around at VistaPrint this afternoon and ended up designing car door magnets advertising my cooking website, Cabbie’s Cooking.  VistaPrint provided plenty of templates to choose from - or I could have uploaded my own graphics.  I used one of their templates to make the magnet to the left.  I think it’s really cool, and I believe it would get a lot of attention on the side of my car. 

I’ve really like VistaPrint.  Two years ago I designed my custom business cards at VistaPrint for the past couple years, and I LOVE my business cards - professional but one-of-a-kind.   It’s fun to just play around at their website designing various customized items.

VistaPrint offers a wide selection of printing services such as announcements, checks, rubber stamps, business cards, and now they have CAR MAGNETS!  You see car magnets all over town.  If you use a car or a truck for your business, then this has got one of the least expensive methods of advertising.  Your car or truck becomes a moving advertisement - your business is on display as you take care of errands around town.  The best thing, besides the great price, is that you can customize the items that you order.  I love personalized things because they make things so . . . . well, personal!   And when you order, for example, a car door magnet, they show you examples of other coordinating personalized items such as labels, rubber stamps, etc. 

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I had a principal once who told our faculty that our goal was to work smarter - not harder.  He was right.  For most businesses, being organized is the key to working smarter.  A label printer is an excellent way to get your small business (or home) organized. DYMO has label printers that can be used for postage labels, printing needs, shipping labels, address tags, and even online stamps.  Label printers can help you get your small business organized and working more effectively and efficiently.  This is a product that will help increase your productivity by saving you time and effort. 

DYMO label printers quickly and easily connect to your PC or MAC, and they can work with both Word and Outlook.  That saves you from having to switch from one program to another in order to print your labels.  Another wise person once told me that life is in the details.  The success of a business is also in the details.  Using technology such as DYMO label printers enable you to handle the details with ease and efficiency.  This allows you to spend your time on the big picture of your business.

DYMO has a wide variety of label printers.  There are desktop models and handheld models. 

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While most people wouldn’t consider making a major purchase without investigating all the details, many will get a mortgage without making sure it’s the best deal for their particular case.  Mortgages are a major topic of conversation and news these days.  The housing market is doing great in some areas and bottoming out in others.  That means that if you want to buy a house, you should do your homework.  That means that you should think through all your options and needs carefully. 

Make decisions about the place you want to live, what you’re looking for in a home, what your needs are, and most importantly, decide if you able to afford the house you want.  Money Magic is a UK company that will provide free and fast mortgage quotes.  Just follow the links on their website.  They will find the best mortgage quote for you.  The website has information on types of mortgages, mortgage guides and news from the world of mortgages.  With the housing market so volatile right now, it is only smart to make sure that you make the right decision when it comes to buying a house and obtaining a mortgage.

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Signs are important.  They tell the world (or at least the world that sees them) whatever message you have for them.  My son has a landscaping business, and each truck has a sign on it identifying the company, their services and their contact information.  Those signs on their vehicles are responsible for a large chunk of their business.
Whether you are looking for custom banners, car magnets, real estate signs, parking, political, or plywood signs, BuildASign.com is a great place to get started. B

The cool thing about BuildASign.com is that it lets you design signs and then buy them online in less than five minutes.  You can upload your own graphics and make the sign look just like you want it to look - without going through the hassle and expense of paying a designer.  Just think of the time, energy and money that you will save while maintaining top quality.

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