Stacy Keibler Goes Forest Bathing With A Smile On Her Face, Broncos Fans

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Let’s get the morning started with this headline that stood out on Tuesday

It reads: “Study: Nearly half of Americans are still paying off debt from last holiday season.”

And it just happens that last night Mrs. Screencaps and I began our yearly QVC journey where we analyze the latest offerings as we head into the holiday season.

I pray that none of you are putting “gourmet” mac and cheese on “easy” pay with four payments of $21.

Are you willing to admit you’re still paying off debt from last holiday season? I will keep you anonymous. Share your story.

Email: joekinsey@gmail.com

Speaking of blowing money, Mike T. pointed out that Yeti is now selling “double wall insulated” shot glasses. You get 4 shot glasses and a carrying case for $50.

I need someone to explain why these are better than some dumb shot glass you can buy off Amazon for $5. I’m willing to have my mind changed.

Has anyone tested the ice maker Costco is selling?

I saw this at Costco last week and even took a photo, but then I went to Kentucky and forgot all about it until Mike T. in Idaho emailed me on Tuesday with news of his latest Costco run.

Yes, we need to cover this topic.

Yes, we went over this subject approximately a year ago and my big takeaway from that discussion was that cleaning the ice makers is a huge pain in the ass. I concluded that I was going to wait to pull the trigger.

Mike T. says the box on this Frigidaire model makes some sort of claim about “new cleaning” methods.

My question this morning:

Has anyone had luck with a basement ice maker over the last 12 months? Is this new offering from Costco better than past ice makers?

Email: joekinsey@gmail.com

Costco pricing explained by Screencaps economist Jared P.

– Jared P. teaches economics at an Ohio college that isn’t some woke haven:

This might be too technical, though I have great confidence in Screencaps readers, but Costco’s new price changes make sense given their general pricing strategy. Economists describe their pricing strategy as a two-part tariff. The first part is the entrance fee (i.e., the fixed fee for a Costco membership). The second part is the marginal cost charge (i.e., the cost of purchasing each item).

Like any company, Costco is trying to maximize its profit. Charging a higher fixed fee helps the firm cover its fixed cost (e.g., the cost of building the store is the same whether they sell few goods or many goods, assuming the store size is the same) and reduces Costco’s revenue risk because the fixed fee gives a stable source of income. This stable source of income allows a firm to charge lower prices than a firm that does not have an entrance fee.

Changing the marginal cost gives consumers more control over what they purchase, and thus, more control over how much they spend overall. The higher the price, the fewer items the consumer purchases and the lower the price, the more items the consumer purchases. Whether Costco makes more or less revenue from a change in price, depends on whether the price effect (the change in price of a given unit) outweighs the quantity effect (the change in the number of units sold).

Without seeing Costco’s profit and loss statement, it would not surprise me if Costco earns most of their revenue from the fixed cost and little revenue from the marginal cost of selling the items. Costco is probably worried about customers spending less per visit so lowering the marginal cost makes sense. I doubt many people will balk at the higher entrance fee because that is spread across all the visits a customer makes, so increasing the entrance fee makes sense. I am curious to see if BJ’s and/or Sam’s Club responds in kind, since they have the same business model.

In summary, the pricing scheme can be beneficial to both the producer and the consumer, particularly for consumers who make frequent visits and can take advantage of the lower marginal cost and spread out the higher fixed cost across the visits.

Is Tito Francona healthy enough to manage the Reds?

– Chris A. asks:

Congrats on getting one of the great all-time managers to lead your Reds, but this feels like a rental rather than a purchase. I fear for the guy’s health, and I wonder if his ongoing issues will impact the team’s performance. He will be absent from the dugout on occasion due to his health, and seeing him go out to home plate to argue a call might trigger a pitch clock violation. So, fingers crossed for your Reds, but I think it will be a disappointment on par with Earl Weaver’s return to my Orioles in 1985.

To your question about who is worse between Buck/Aikman on MNF vs. Blowhard Bob Costas. there’s no contest. Bob thinks he’s God’s gift to language (so does Jim Nantz, but that’s a topic for another time), and fancies himself as Vin Scully’s successor. Please. He’s boring, insufferable and irrelevant.

Why he’s thrown into the baseball playoffs announcing mix every year while pros like Kevin Brown or Jon Miller sit on the sidelines is a head-scratcher. Bob must have really good pictures of someone.

The results are in & Screencaps readers aren’t big fans of Bob Costas calling MLB playoff games

The NHL already started its season

– Nate asks:

Despite the grueling nature of the sport, are you surprised the NHL has such short off-seasons when compared to the other 3 major sports?

Kinsey:

OutKick’s Matt Reigle would be the guy to discuss this topic. I had no idea the NHL season starts so early in October. That totally went over my head.

I assume the early start is to make for more off-days during the season which would help with rest. That said, it doesn’t surprise me that the NHL has a shorter offseason.

Add it all up and I don’t know how some of you can get so focused on a hockey season before it starts snowing. I couldn’t possibly invest time into hockey this time of year. It hasn’t even frosted yet.

Do you remember the Cleveland backyard pizza oven lawsuit I wrote about like two years ago? Someone turned it into a documentary

The cliffnote version of the story was that a married couple had a backyard pizza oven that put off the beautiful smells of freshly baked pizza and the air wafted into a neighbor’s house. The neighbors, a married couple, took Paul and Mary Lynne to court over their pizzas.

https://www.clevescene.com/news/the-backyard-cleveland-heights-pizza-oven-lawsuit-hits-the-big-screen-45236175

– Harvey D. in the 419 writes:

Stumbled across this future Academy Award Winner!

I guess you can stream it if you buy a ticket?

https://watch.eventive.org/cdff2024/play/66be193e12f0470041f194c2

26 mins runtime, 12 bucks, good 5g signal in a clean por-to-let on the jobsite, may be worth it. I will report back.

Who can pass up neighbors hating neighbors if you ain’t involved!

#notsponsored

If I make the trip west to Oregon with Mrs. Screencaps one of these days…

– Steve E. writes:

If you do come out this way, we have to do an SC get together. I know there are multiple people here in the Portland area (at least one guy from Lake Oswego, IIRC), and others like Tom S. in central Oregon, so I’m sure we could have a great time.

Kinsey:

Shawn in Canby, OR is another one on the list. There’s also Vern K. in SW Washington that I’d be honored to chat with. I haven’t heard from Vern in a long time. I hope all is well with him and that he’s still reading.

Trust me, Oregon is FIRMLY on my to-do with Mrs. Screencaps list. She’s never been.

Seasonal creep: Tax season

– Beer Guy Neil from Cleveland reports:

I just saw a turbo tax commercial offering some sort of discount if you switch from your current tax preparer to turbotax. These guys have really jumped the gun. I remember the ads starting somewhere around college bowl week. Can we enlist someone in caps nation to create a database of the worst seasonal offenders? There has to be some desk jockeys who read screencaps while billing clients that have the time and ability.