Thread--please forgive me for that which I am about to do: support Maurice on the p. . . ing issue.
Economists categorize certain products as "perishable commodities", and yes, rotten tomatoes are a sub-set of this class but of greater interest here is the special category known as 'time dependent perishable commodities'. Now even the most blighted among you (i.e., those that did not experience the exquisite pleasure of being econ majors) know what TDPC's are even if you think you don't: hotel rooms, rental cars, and tee times come to mind.
Think about that $325 green fee at Pebble Beach for the 10:08 tee time: 4 mad golfers are about to fork out $1300 for the sublime privilege of playing the Vatican of golf. But wait! we have 2 last minute no-shows and can't get the word out in time to replace them. Zappo, bongo: $650 just went up in smoke and will NEVER be recovered. [at least the rotten tomatoes can get squished into catsup or some damn thing]. How about that $5000/night penthouse at Don Trump's Plaza Hotel in Noooooo York Citteeeeeee? Not if it goes vacant on Wednesday night sport's fans: Wednesday's cash register will ring up a goose egg and the heck with what the published rack rate says. That rental car sitting in the lot when the last business person has turned it in for the night? Toast.
Well that's what will happen to our constellation of birds as they whirl around the planet: for each pass that they're not used, or under used, we ain't never gonna see that dough for that pass. So Maurice says: mark it down to a penny a minute, cuz it's a whole lot better than the alternative which is zippity doo-dah and, unlike our stranded golf course owner, Bernie Schwartz has the means of getting the word out right now, pronto, in real time. Interestingly, the web is coming to the 'rescue' of vendors of TDPC's: surf on over to priceline.com and make a bid on an airline ticket. Heck you may get lucky and only spend $100 to fly down and see Maurice in which case you'll get this diatribe continued in all of its infinite permutations. Ain't life grand? Mike Doyle |
