Eine wirklich dumme idee

A really stupid idea

“The German Car Blog is reporting that VW chief Martin Winterkorn has decided to give the logo a freshening, making the symbol larger while also better separating the V and the W from the outer ring. The new look will be more 3-D, but the branding itself will retain its central location on the grille. Look for the new VW ornament to bow on the Golf VI.”

The Volkswagen logo is one of the world's most recognizable designs. I own a VW, and while it has not been the most reliable car, the logo works fine. I have never had trouble with the logo since I bought the car. I have had to repair or replace every other component, but the "VW" on the grill runs like a top.

I did some research (research meaning I googled some stuff) and found that there is some controversy surrounding the now classic icon.

The headline in the English newspaper The Telegraph reads:

"Nazis stole my idea for VW logo, claims designer"

The story reports that Nikolai Borg, 86, claims he was commissioned by the Nazis to design the VW logo for Volkswagen in 1939. Mr. Borg is suing Volkswagen not for financial compensation, but for formal recognition that he did, in fact, design the logo.

He is proud of his past work with the Nazis and wants to shout it from the rooftops! Listen here Herr Borg, you are lucky that is all the Nazis stole from you, you nut!

I also found this little tid bit:

"The original design featured the letter V above a W and surrounded by a cog. After the war, Britain had the cog changed to a circle and submitted that design for copyright protection in 1948. The Volkswagen or "people's car" project was part of the Nazi Kraft durch Freude propaganda scheme run by the Deutsche Arbeitsfront (DAF). The logo of the DAF was a swastika surrounded by a cog – from which the VW logo appears to be derived."

I really hope that VW does not decide to retro and switch back to the swastika. I am thinking that would be a bad PR move. I mean, look what happened with Coke Classic. That was a disaster.

I feel that when established companies update logos and redesign branding it comes across as a desperate attempt to remain relevant and "liven up" their products. Same company, new crappy packaging. VW has a great brand and their cars are very well designed (I did not say engineered, or put together) and I really hope they leave well enough alone. If they are really bored, I could send them a list of things they could improve upon, their image is not one of them.

Now the Nazis, they need a new image.

Recycle this

Lately, I have been tempted to throw in my recycling towel. It has become too much of a burden and I feel I am wasting other resources (gas, water) in order to meet all of the regulations.

The other day I was scolded by the recycling guy for not meeting all of the guidelines. Knowing what I know about organized crime, I am very hesitant to argue with any sanitation worker, but this guy was put off by the amount of recycling I had. Watertown only collects this stuff every other week, so I am left with trash all over my house until they come.

The official list of acceptable material states:

No plastic bags or soiled paper.
No junk mail, office paper, cereal boxes, juice or milk cartons.

Now hold on...No junk mail? No plastic bags!? How is that possible? There is a bill in the Massachusetts legislature that proposes making businesses charge customers for plastic bags. So I will now have to pay for something I do not want AND throw them in the regular trash bound for a landfill where they will sit for 8 zillion years.

Another thing the guy complained about was that I did not break down a box. I told him that I used the box to hold more paper to be recycled, so in a sense, the whole thing could be recycled.

He then told me that I need to breakdown the box.

I then restated that the box was filled with paper to be recycled and would he please just take the box and throw it in the paper section of the truck FOR THE LOVE OF GOD?!!

Another source of Green-aggravation is the bottle return. Here in Massachusetts we pay 5¢ deposit on bottles and cans. Growing up, my mom used to have a sticker on her refrigerator that said "If a $50 fine won't stop a slob, neither will 5¢" The point being that no one turns the bottles back in which creates a ton of waste and litter. I look at it as someone gets to keep my 5¢. So, I save up all of these cans and bottles in my house, load them in car and drive over to the supermarket to return them and get my money back.

Here is the rub...if the supermarket does not sell that bottle or can, you can not return it at their store. So now you are left with a few odd bottles that can not be returned and you have two choices; bring them back home and put them in the bin, or just leave them at the store. I think it might be easier to dispose of asbestos then a Wachusett Blueberry Ale bottle.

Why do they have to make this so hard? The point of the 5¢ is to make me inclined to recycle, but when I try to recycle I can't. They want me wash the stuff I am to recycle. That wastes huge amounts of water, which will soon be a pretty scare resource itself. So when they finally come out and tell us it's true, the planet is doomed, don't blame me. I tried, but they just will not take my empty box of Honey Nut Cheerios.

Buffalo Rob

Buffalo Tom is my favorite band. I love their hard-edge pop songs that stick in your head for days and weeks after hearing them. They are not pop, alt, or any other buzz word. They are a rock band the way a rock band should be. A little hard, a little soft and a little rough around the edges. Their songs are toe tapping jams that are full of great riffs and hooks that sound great both live and on record.

Last Tuesday was momentous occasion for BT fans everywhere; after nine years, their new album Three Easy Pieces was released.

Today is my birthday and it seems that Buffalo Tom always celebrates with me. Almost ten years ago my girlfriend (now my wife) and I went to Cape Cod for my birthday and we saw BT at a dive called The Beach Comber. It was like a private show. I think the bar held 100 people total. At that show, they previewed new songs from the (now old), album Smitten. It was fantastic.

In true fashion, BT will be playing at the Paradise in Boston Saturday. My wife got a bunch of tickets and we will all be there so they can wish me a happy birthday.

-DISCLAIMER- My friend MM already calls me a BT groupie, so when she finds out that I literally have ticket #1 to Saturday's show she will no doubt give me crap. But, she will be giving me crap at the Buffalo Tom Show!!

It used to be worth the trip

In the land that is New England, Dunkin' Donuts is the king of coffee. Say what you will snob-o's, but they do have good coffee. It seems to me that DnD is getting too far away from its original business model. The reason: they have too many choices.

Human beings don't respond well to having choices. They become confused. If you go to Starbucks, you expect to wait a bit for a cup of coffee. DnD used to be the anti-Starbucks. Three sizes (in English; small, medium, and large) and only basic options such as cream and sugar. These were the good ole' days. Now you will hear something that sounds like this:

"An iced Great One, with 2 squirts of blueberry, a little cream, and 3 Equals. Oh, and can you 'Turbo Charge' it?"

Huh? I just want a medium regular. Regular at DnD was once known as cream and sugar. Now when I say the word "regular" the employees look at me like I am insane. The have Coolattas, and Fruit Coolattas and all sorts of wacky drinks that take foreverrrrrrr to make.

I am very close to imposing a ban DnD.

Sometimes we take our daughter out for a walk. Well, me and my wife walk, Lucy just rides in the stroller. Occasionally, we stop at DnD to get Lucy 1 plain Munchkin. (A Munchkin being a donut hole.) It seems we can no longer purchase just 1 Munchkin. We have buy 4 or 5 (it varies by store.)

I do not want 5. I want one.

I bet some manager somewhere realized that the costs of the wax paper and the bag were more that the profit from selling one Munchkin. After getting some math on, they came up with the price point for squeezing the most profitability out the sale of Munchkins. Kudos. Well done.

Listen up Dunkin' Donuts- you are hereby on probation. One more incident and you will be banned.

All thumbs

So I said I would start blogging more...well, I was gearing up to then the other night I sliced my thumb while trying to cut a lime. They really do not make band aids for thumbs. Which is odd because I would bet the type of cut I sustained is pretty common.

I am not sure which sucks more, the large flesh wound on my thumb or the MLB All Star Game Pre-Game show on FOX. I was looking forward to seeing this game, but I have been burned once more by FOX Sports. As I write this both teams are following Willie Mays around the field. It looks like something from Police Squad. I think I just saw Barry Bonds try to hold Willie's hand. "Say hey!!"

Now they have Willie in a pink convertible cruising around the infield. The car has tail fins! God help us all. All I have to say to SF Giants fans is get over yourselves:

"May 11, 1972: Willie Mays was traded by the San Francisco Giants to the New York Mets for Charlie Williams and $50,000."

How do you trade Willie Mays? I do not care if he was dead, you offer him a contract.

OK, it is now 8:51pm and not one pitch has been thrown. I may cut the rest of my thumb off and send it to Rupert Murdoch.

Hear ye, hear ye

I am back. Did I go anywhere? Nope. Just stopped blogging. I am really going to try to post more often. Scouts honor.

So check back soon for some real hard hitting blog action.