Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. Well, Mattel has come out with their new line of Barbie dolls hoping to boost sales that have been on a decline since 2012. Interestingly after being introduced in 1959 (57-years-old and still looking good), the Barbie line still contributes 27 percent of their total revenue. This year (available sometime in March) they have introduced three new body types in an attempt to present a more “normal/realistic” body to all the little girls who buy and play with these dolls. Now girls can get Barbie in curvy, tall and…

Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. There is great news in the air…I am actually writing about a holiday “before” it even gets here. Insert “happy dance.” Yes, I am talking about Valentine’s Day. As you (my faithful readers of the pack) know that I understand the commercialism of the holidays and I am a big advocate of doing nice things all the time and not just on the designated holiday. So buck-up guys and gals, get in gear and do something special for those that play a significant role in your life. Now, I…

Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. If you remember last week, I was explaining how my billfold was on its last legs and how men really cherish their billfolds. With that being said I saw a commercial the other night about a slim billfold, so slim you do not even know you have one. “Ha!” I said, at no one particular, “My wallet was slim once too!” I shouted at the television. Just like me, over time, it has gained some in its girth. So I decided to get real about this topic and actually…

Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. The new year is not starting out very well…not counting the big drop in the stock market (thank goodness I moved all my stuff into fixed income investment), we had a layoff at work. Never a pleasant event, even if you are not one of unfortunate souls who were walked to the door. I, unfortunately, have had to make that walk in the past and it is not in the least any fun. In the past they would at least wait until Friday afternoon…call you in for a late…

Hello and welcome back to the new but old version of the Dogpound. New because we are in a new year… but in this issue we are going back to 2015 for a visit. At work, the month of December is usually a very quiet month for us. We usually have our annual physical inventory the first weekend of the month and we plan for a shut-down at the end of the year for the holidays, which this year started on the 24th through the 4th. A very long and appreciated vacation after another hectic business year. However, management had…

Hello and welcome to the 2016 edition of the Dogpound. Seems strange saying that, but at least I have not written any checks using 2015 as the date. Anyway, the start of 2016 has not been overly pleasant. My old cell phone finally gave up the ghost. It would show me four bars but have no signal, or I would have no bars and it would work fine, or it would just show me the image of a phone with a cross over it. I took out the battery and SIM card, cleaned everything, put it back together, worked for…

Hello and welcome back to the wonderful holiday world of the Dogpound. Well my faithful pack friends, we are at the end of another year and this is the last “new” issue for 2015. So for starters, Merry Christmas and God bless everyone as we celebrate this most wonderful time of the year. As of this writing I am about half way through my Christmas shopping, and I fully expect to be completed before midnight Christmas Eve (stores stay open late…right?). The selection can be limited at times but you would not believe all of the last minute bargains you…

Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. As they say…it is the season and I am way behind on getting anything ready for Christmas. Even though I know it comes the same time every year, each year it just seems to arrive faster. Shopping is always a hassle and with so many stores and options to choose from…local store…big city store…on-line and so on. ..however, there is one thing I always look for in a store and that is good customer service. Speaking of customer service, I recently ran into one that did not make me…

Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. Hopefully everyone survived another Black Friday. I, for one, am content to sit at home and wait for all the catalogs to show up. For some reason…this year…my mailbox has been overflowing. I have a small private mailbox, but still…it is just jammed in there. What happened to all this paperless stuff? Some humbug did come in the mail…my bank sent me a notice that they are going to start charging me three dollars every time they send me a savings or checking account statement. Really? Now realize this…

Hello and welcome back to the holiday edition of the Dogpound. As usual we at the Dogpound lose track of holidays and stick to our philosophy that for the most part holidays are just a reminder of something we should be doing on a regular bases. So for starters, a big shout out to all that have proudly served or are serving to keep this great country safe and free (Veteran’s Day). I served by joining the Army ROTC while in college and when it became time for me to become active, the Army, by a toss of the coin,…