What we've learned today

My 'reflections from sunny places desk calendar' today says, "There are as many ways to be happy as there are grains of sand by the sea". What an appropriate way to start this entry.

Though I am not going to delve deep into what should or shouldn't make any human happy, (that is truly a personal search and in-depth reflection) I do want to share with you this week, what others (aka people who make and create stuff we buy and use) think, makes us happy.

I get a series of 'briefs' that hit my inbox everyday. Some track consumer trends, others announce the next greatest gizmo or service. For today, I have a number of consumables and interesting facts.

Here is an interesting fact from The Centre for Media Research quotes an article from 'Comscore' to do with gaming: 'On average, gamers are 41 years of age with an average annual income of $55,000. Further, females account for 52 percent of the gaming audience. The average gamer has been online for nine years and 84 percent have broadband access at home.' Just think about it for a bit the correlations will amaze you.

Are you looking for just the right piece of clothing to make a statement about yourself? How about a T-shirt that shows the public your very own 'Top 5 List'. t-lists.com is betting that you will like the idea. You can create your own list, pick a layout, order online and for $28.00 (plus shipping) you can have your very own partially custom 'list t-shirt'. I looked at the site, no, there is not layout or heading for a list of 'top 5 favorite positions'.

A company in the US has just taken 411 to a new mobile level. 'To use the CS411 service, mobile consumers simply send their search query to shortcode C-S-4-1-1 (27411) and enter their search query. The query can be the name or type of business along with a location entered as city or ZIP code. So, someone looking for pizza in New York might enter "Pizza.10001" or Pizza.New York, NY."

The request will return up to four results with names, phone numbers, addresses and Citysearch ratings of local businesses. Up to four relevant results will appear even if someone enters the name of a specific business or establishment.' You can read the entire article here.

Now that is rather a cool idea. I know something I would be likely to use (once I became proficient at using my phone's text tools) - to my knowledge though, there is no service like it available in Canada. I am not surprised; apparently, Canada is 2-4 years behind the US in wireless services. Is it any wonder why we don't get excited about our cell phones here - completely new conversation and off topic for today.

Given that we are fast approaching the Christmas season, here is one for those who utilize online shopping (another topic we will cover later). Chapters Indigo has just added 'Toys' to their inventory. "Hours of fun are guaranteed with the thousands of toys we’ve selected from trusted brands including Lego, Corolle, Thomas & Friends, Playmobil, Melissa & Doug, Bruder and more." Not only can you shop and order your toys online now, until the end of November, shipping is free.

The last couple of years Chapters Indigo have added 'Virgin Mobile Phones' and 'Apple I-pods' to their traditional bookshelves. Now it is toys. Chapter's goal? Well, an insider told me a few years ago that the company wants to become not only 'your go to bookstore' but also the first place you go to buy gifts. Well, only time will tell if toys will fit this vision. Check out this very good online version of the bricks and mortar store at Chapters.Indigo.ca

Now online - TOYS! Until November 30th, FREE SHIPPING on select toys. See site for details

That's it for my finds and me today. Feel free to share yours. Add your comments, post your links. Have a cherry fine day.