Mr. Toy's Mental Notes

At times I have considered starting a blog of Monterey Peninsula business reviews. Sort of like restaurant reviews, but for places we shop at or call on for services. But I don't really shop at that many different places, so the thing would likely not get very far. But I would like to share my expreiences at the two most prominent ofice supply stores, Staples and Office Depot. I tend to go to Staples because its closer to home, and right along my normal route home. Office Depot is usually out of my way, if only slightly. Both shops have been in business a good long time now, and I've noticed that they go through synchronistic, but opposite phases of service quality. When one is providing good service, the other tends to go downhill. In their early years, Staples service was distinctly inferior to Office Depot. After a time, the Staples crew improved dramatically, while Office Depot's people got sloppy and lazy. Now the trend has reversed again, and I'm finding Office...

I am thoroughly amused by the political pundits who seem unable to explain John McCain's success. They keep telling us that McCain isn't connecting with the Republican conservative "base" and therefore may not be a true conservative. Based on this, they question his ability to win, even while he is winning. The explanation is obvious to anyone who doesn't define the Republican party by its so-called "base." This base is assumed to be people who march in lock-step with a predefined set of "conservative" values exemplified by the Bush administration. The failed Bush administration. Of course, Bush has proven to be anything but conservative. Radical is a better word. I'm not a big fan of McCain, but he would be a much better president that the current guy. If McCain had won in 2000, we'd be in much better shape today. I think most Republicans are finally starting to realize this. Anyway, my point is that the so-called "base" of ...

I often read the news on AOL, after signing in to check my mail. The public comments that often follow the stories paint a pretty bleak picture of the thought processes of other readers. Unfortunately, there is often a lot of mindless hostility expressed. And today there was some mindless spelling. A story about Barry Bonds gave us these two comments: 1. "...strip Bonds of the Home run record and BAND him from Baseballs Hall of Fame for EVER !!!!!!!!!!!!" 2. "HE WAS BORN AND BREAD A BALLPLAYER." No further comment should be necessary on my part.     Tags: Spelling , homonyms , Barry Bonds , comments ,

Seaside wants us to approve a one-cent increase in the sales tax to pay for city services. That would give us the highest sales tax rate on the peninsula, at 8.25%, beating out Sand City's 7.75%. Add in the proposal for a half-cent increase to pay for county roads, and the sales tax in Seaside would be 8.75%, which would be obscene. So I'm voting against Measure R. As a Seaside resident we need better city services to be sure. But the city hasn't been doing enough to create the kind of economic development which would bring in tax revenue without raising taxes. Seaside has been trying to develop Broadway as a new "downtown" business district. It's a great vision, but so far the execution has hardly been inspiring. Take the beautiful new shopping plaza on Fremont and Broadway. That was supposed to be the catalyst for more development in the area. But that site needs an anchor type retailer that will draw customers from all over the peninsula, which would in ...