2005.01.02
Very random gripe: there's this radio spot for GEICO car insurance that ends with some smug claim along the lines of "GEICO's Satisfaction Rating stands at 97%. How would you rate your insurance provider?" I think this is annoying and a bit misleading -- the suggestion is that most people would rate their own company at something less than "97% Satisfactory"...but I'm sure that's not what the original factoid was about: the 97% figure probably comes from one of those "Unsatisfied - Not Very Satisfied - Satisfied - Very Satisfied - Extremely Satisfied" questions and only 3% of the people checked "Unsatisfied". The ad manages to imply that people are "97% Satisfied" with the service, when really it's just only 3% are Unsatisifed...which is actually a pretty good rating, but still.
Of course, this is apart from their whole dorky GEICO/gecko "mixup" campaign, which the radio ad is mercifully free of.
Sigh. Like the Simpsons' Comic Book Guy says, "Rest assured I was on the internet within minutes registering my disgust throughout the world."
Article of the Moment
Dave Barry's 2004 in Review. (Thanks Bill the Splut)
Quote of the Moment
Love is like a friendship caught on fire. In the beginning a flame, very pretty, often hot and fierce, but still only light and flickering. As love grows older, our hearts mature and our love becomes as coals, deep-burning and unquenchable.