PREMIUM! DUUUUUDE!!

I was pumping gas at my local Shell station recently when I noticed that they only had two grades of gas, regular and premium. It wasn't that they were out of the middle grade, they were no longer selling it. I can't imagine that middle grade gasoline was every a big seller. I tend to be the kind of person who, when offered three product levels, goes for the one in the middle even though the top version is always a better value, but I've never intentionally bought middle grade gasoline. Most manufacturers recommend that you put regular unleaded gasoline in your car, so unless you've driving an exotic sports car, there's no point it buying anything other than regular gasoline. I drove past another nearby Shell station yesterday and noticed that they're still selling middle grade gas, so it's not a company-wide thing just yet. If you aren't sure what I was referring to in the title of this post, check here. I can't think about gas stations or even the word 'premium' without replaying that scene in my head.

Look Sharp

In case you haven't heard, The Sharper Image filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday. My initial thought upon hearing this news was it's about damn time. For as long as I can remember, I've had nothing but contempt for The Sharper Image. I'm not entirely sure why. Could I really have been sophisticated enough as a 12 year old to realize that they sold a lot of overpriced junk to people who equated paying a lot of money for useless products with status? I guess so, and it's only taken the rest of America 20 years or so to catch up with me. I knew a guy in college who used to work at a Sharper Image store, but had to quit after he could no longer maintain the fiction that the products they carried were in any way useful and/or worth the price that they were charging. If only all of his co-workers had been so wise.

Mall Rats

The Economist's year-end issue has an interesting story about the history (and future) of shopping malls in America. I don't know if I agree with their assessment that the film Mallrats was a seminal testament to America's growing angst towards indoor shopping centers, but it's a good read nonetheless. According to the story, none of the scheduled new shopping center construction in the US in 2008 includes an indoor mall. I don't know if this has more to do with the uncertain economic outlook or American's distaste for enclosed shopping malls, but it's a surprising statistic either way.