Surge Pricing Coming To A Wal-Mart Near You

by Kevin Burton    The Wal-Mart closest to our house is almost finished with a major remodel, including all shelves and bins and even its drive-through pharmacy.    I am guessing this is not about being tidy, but about making a tidy profit.    I think this is about surge pricing. Apps such as Uber …

Feds: Pepsi Discriminated Against The Blind

by Kevin Burton    If you’re looking for something to drink, or somewhere to work, choose Coke, not Pepsi.    According to multiple published reports, PepsiCo hired a blind man for a call center, then fired him rather than get him a screen reader – even after a state vocational rehabilitation counselor offered to buy …

Coffee Chain Creating Jobs For The Disabled

by Karen Shimizu Food &Wine    Bitty & Beau’s is a civil rights movement disguised as a coffee shop.   Bitty & Beau’s has everything you could want from a neighborhood café. The coffee is hot and strong, there’s ample seating, and the free wifi encourages you to linger.    But the experience it offers is rare …

Mary Wells Disappeared After “My Guy”

by Kevin Burton    In my alternate Motown universe there is a lot more Martha Reeves and a lot less Diana Ross. There is also at least a little more Mary Wells.    It’s Wells we focus on today. Sixty years ago, Wells’ “My Guy” became the first Motown record to hit number one on …

Gerry Rafferty Was Born 77 Years Ago Today

by Kevin Burton    The headline to an article in The Independent called Gerry Rafferty a “bipolar alcoholic industry misfit.” His biographers including his daughter Martha dispute none of that.    The article was printed on the occasion of the 2021 release of “Rest In Blue” an album of Rafferty demos polished and completed by …

Karaoke Machine Inventor Dies At Age 100

by Kevin Burton    Shigeichi Negishi, the inventor of the world’s first commercially-available karaoke machine, has died in Japan at age 100, according to National Public Radio.    Never knew the man, but boy has he filled up my Saturday nights.    You take a character from Billy Joel’s Piano Man who is“sure that I …

“No Hard Feelings” By Eric Carmen Is A Gem

by Kevin Burton     You remember Eric Carmen for “All By Myself” and for the Raspberries’ “Go All The Way.” But it’s one of his B-sides that resonates most with me.    We got word last week that Carmen had died at age 74. The news sent my mind to several places, including to a …

Wendy’s Serves Up A PR Blunderburger

by Kevin Burton    In the face of a consumer backlash, Wendy’s is trying to talk its way around plans to implement surge pricing.    Wendy’s is the second-largest burger chain in the US, with 6,000 restaurant locations. Last week it announced it would begin fluctuating prices for its food products next year, depending on …

The Colorful Military History Of M&Ms

by Kevin Burton    Let’s all salute innovation and progress today and tomorrow by knocking down a couple of packs of M&Ms.    Let’s do so under the heading, “Melts in your mouth, not in your hand, stays on your waistline.”    M&Ms are 83 years old as of tomorrow. Forrest Mars secured a patent …

British Businesses Say No To The Blind

by Sophie Huskisson The Daily Mirror    Twenty percent of businesses say they would not be willing to adapt their workplaces to employ a blind or partially sighted person, research has found.    One in five companies said adjustments to make their firm more accessible would be too costly, with nearly half not knowing how …