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Holy cow! I haven’t been bitten by the flashback bug this hard in a long time. I can’t even count how many of these things I looked at as a kid. The internet is a wonderful place. Please go to bobopoly.com to see many, many more of these.
[via Drawn]
Tom Bihn was taking some guff on his message board from a customer about sourcing some parts from China. I liked his thoughtful, measured response:
I have to agree: boo-hiss on Chinese components!
But here’s the reality: with perhaps a few exceptions, anything you buy that is not “Made in China”, has components made in China: any manufacturer who tells you otherwise is either unaware of the origins of their materials or is lying to you. That goes for U.S. manufacturers and those in Canada, Europe, Japan, etc. etc. My favorite made-in-Romania hiking boots have parts from China I am quite sure. And pretty much any car you buy these days has at least a few parts made in China.
I promise you: we bend over backwards to source materials and components from the U.S.. And when we can’t find a U.S. supplier, our next choice is always #1 a democracy and #2 a country with labor unions, like Japan, South Korea, or countries in the EU.
Sadly, there are a few new components that we have been unable to buy or have made for us outside of China. This is because almost 100% of our type of products (sewn bags and backpacks) are made completely in China, and the thread, fabric, zipper, and plastic buckle factories, which used to be here in the U.S., have moved to China too. These ancillary industries moved to China sure because labor is cheaper, but also it’s just logistically easier to have your components made near where the finished goods are made. We now experience the flip-side of this when we order the few parts we do from China: they take freakin’ forever to receive!
I suppose we could use exclusively U.S.- made plastic buckles, for example, but the only styles still made here are clunky old styles used by the military (which by law - the Berry Amendment - must be sourced here; more on the effects of the Berry Amendment some other day). If we used these instead of the newest, high-tech sometimes-made-in-China buckles, we could say our products were 100% made with non-Chinese components. But our products would tend to look they were made in 1972. I’ve decided it’s better to make modern, cutting-edge products and stay in business rather than going out of business making a statement.
Is my sourcing a few parts (less than 3% of all of our components) from China a compromise? You bet! Am I happy about that? No.
Also: ABC’s marketing staff needs some direction.
So, I’m watching the intro to last night’s Saturday Night Football (Ohio State at Penn State), and the MNF-esque music intro is headlined by… Perry Farrell.
Seriously? Perry Farrell? I guess nothing speaks to college football fans like an effete 150-pound man who makes stagemate Mary J. Blige look beefy and masculine.
ETA photo, just so you can see how ludicrous.
These are some sweet-looking playing cards.
Yes, playing cards. But you should check out that link. They’re sold out there and are already commanding 6x original retail on ebay. Crazy.
Needless to say, I’d like to get my hands on a deck.
Ape Lad is Adam Kofford. He’s the guy that draws those ‘Laugh-Out-Loud-Cats’ cartoons that I like so darn much.
He’s drawing the Marvel Universe.
It’s early in the process but so far it’s very good:
…about my weird Moleskine obsession.
You know, because obsessing about pencils is weird.
Pencil collectors and users have been scarfing up and hoarding Blackwings since about 2001, when stock supplies began running out. By December 2002, prices exceeded $250.00 per dozen in venues such as eBay, and this trend continues today in 2004. In today’s marketplace, pencil companies are trimming their product lines, and some of your present favorites may one day disappear. Stock up now!
Put the final touches on my second Munny this weekend. I think it came out pretty cool, even if it was just a couple of spray paint applications with some simple brushwork. Next time I will work on my spray painting technique. It’s tricky to keep it from running.
Now I have a Mini Munny Mobile I need to start working on. Fun!
I’ve started getting into the Kidrobot DIY vinyl toys.
Fugitve Toys has the 2006 holiday edition of the Munny on sale for $20.
If you don’t need any non-Christmas accessories it’s a blank Munny $5 cheaper than normal and without the excessive Kidrobot shipping. I got one this week, and might get another soon to work on later.
Emma and I did one a couple of weeks ago and it’s good fun.
