Plumbers - designated drinkers - hip anatacids Archives
Plumbers - designated drinkers - hip anatacids
Plumbers
While many students would be motivated by career-and-college prep, others have no interest in spending more time in the classroom than absolutely necessary. They want the academic skills needed to train for a skilled trade with decent pay. The good news is that if they learn enough to qualify as apprentice plumbers, they'll know enough to take advantage of community college classes. In fact, it takes higher reading, writing and math skills to get into apprenticeships than it does to get into two-year colleges.
"Turned on by career classes," Joanne Jacobs, April 6, 2006
Plumbers do more than make it easy for you to get a glass of water; they’re lifesavers. Throughout history, millions of people have died due to a lack of clean water. Diseases such as cholera, dysentery, typhus, typhoid fever, and even the plague, were all related to poor sanitation and infected water sources. Thanks to advances in plumbing in the late 1800s, these diseases are now rare in developed countries.
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The average yearly salary for plumbers in 2004 was $44,510, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Keep in mind that apprentices start work at half the salary earned by experienced workers. You can expect to receive raises throughout your training though, often every six months.
"Career: Plumbers," CollegeBoard.com
Designated drinkers
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission has been cracking down hard on bar patrons who are exceedingly drunk. Through sting operations at watering holes around the state, TABC officers are nabbing drinkers who've tossed back a few too many, with the idea that the operation will cut down on drunk driving.
"I Guess It's Like a Country Where You Can't Get Drunk," by Zach Patton, 13th Floor, April 7, 2006
Hip anatacids
Mr. Thomas [of Thomas Pharmaceuticals Ltd.] had his eureka marketing moment after viewing a spate of antacid commercials on TV. He realized the market was vast, but it had a gap: some antacids had fizz, but their presentation lacked pizzazz. "There has to be a consumer in this marketplace who wants something with a little bit of style and substance," he says.
Chic relief won't come cheap. A tin of 32 spearmint-flavored Acid+All tablets will cost about $3.89 (more if you buy them in a hotel); by contrast, a 3-roll pack of Rolaids totaling 36 tablets sells for $1.99 at Duane Reade and the same amount of Tums runs $2.39.
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"There's definitely a market for hip drugs for not-so-hip diseases," Ms. Leigh says. "A lot of manufacturers are repackaging to be hipper. There's so much competition that you need to differentiate." She notes that after Sucrets throat lozenges brought back its old tin packaging, sales of the product rose 50% at Drugstore.com in the fourth quarter of 2005. Rolaids, for one, now has "Softchews," which it sells in gum-like packaging in flavors including Wild Cherry.
"Will Heartburn Sufferers Pay for Chic Relief?" by Gwendolyn Bounds, Startup Journal, April 7, 2006
Who do you think will pay twice as much for a hip antacid rather than Rolaids? Someone with a college degree or a plumber?
April 7, 2006 06:11 AM Caught Our Eye
