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polls

I’m a gold expert!

When some time ago I extended my Premiere pay-TV subscription (the German pay-TV provider), I also got a cheap receiver as spare for a few bucks, and its package also included (all quotes translated by me):

  • A leaflet: “Voucher for playing lotto for free 4 times”.
  • An envelope with “A thank-you for Premiere subscribers”: A cell-phone offer.
  • An envelope with “For you as Premiere customer!” on it: An electricity provider switch service.
  • And an envelope “Expert survey 2008” from Bayerisches Münzkontor, a coin mail-order company.

The latter says:

We picked you representatively – your opinion is especially important to us. Our expert survey 2008 has the motto “Do you consider gold a secure investment?”.

Aaah yes, Premiere receiver buyers are representatively selected… Maybe they should use that text only for their direct mailings (which doesn’t imply that it’s necessarily correct then…); at least in the past years they did some mailings, see e.g. (in German) here or with other topics here.

Included was a questionnaire – “Opinion sheet no. 842/7452”, is that really a unique number? – with 8 questions such as “Would you invest in gold?”, “Should Germany, considering the current economic situation, sell parts of its gold treasures?” and “Would you consider giving gold in bars or coins as a present […]?” At least some of them, it seems to me, are likely to influence the advertising you’ll receive in the future.

The return envelope with its print “Important documents!” and a field for entering the date of arrival are probably “a little” exaggerated, kissing up to the potential customer…

A “personal thank-you package” is also available: A coin at a “preferential price” of 10€ instead of 49,99€ – for acquiring new customers, selling something below value isn’t uncommon, there’ll probably be nice margins later on for regular prices –, a collector’s box and a wrist watch.

And if you don’t read the fine print, you’re also about to receive, “as a special service”, more coins every month – at least this can be canceled and the coins returned at any time, they say, and that’s what one can expect anyway. Well, it should be known anyway that you have to read everything attentively… At any rate, you might be in for some advertising in the future, I guess…

Hearing only one half?

The delivery note pocket of yesterday’s poster delivery also included an ad sticker from Bose, displaying about 2/3 of a drum and the text (translated) “Do y u also only hear o e h lf?” What’d be your reply to that question?

Do you only hear a half?

View Results

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See also:

» The Bose FAQ

Poll about the links of the week

Vote! Since the end of last year, I’ve presented more or fewer links of the week every Sunday which briefly link to various posts, articles, etc. – and I’m asking myself (or rather you) if you think this should continue like that, or if I rather should present some or all of them on any day (i.e. when I come across them myself) in a separate post each, in which I’d write one or two sentences more or show a picture (if possible).

Background is that I think that on the one hand, some interesting things might rather pass unnoticed in the links of the week, and on the other hand (too?) many short “link posts” would be the result… so what do you think?

Links of the week or separate presentation?

  • Keep links of the week as they are now (78%, 7 Votes)
  • Partly this, partly that (11%, 1 Votes)
  • Don't care (11%, 1 Votes)
  • Rather separate posts on any day of the week (0%, 0 Votes)

Votes total: 9

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You can, of course, use the comments for further ideas.


Photo: absolut – Fotolia.com

Who will become European football champion?

Who will become European football champion?

  • Germany! (60%, 9 Votes)
  • Has to! (40%, 6 Votes)
  • In any case! (0%, 0 Votes)

Votes total: 15

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Erm, yes, this poll is not to be taken seriously…


And what do astrologers and fortune tellers say? Florian Freistetter of Astrodicticum Simplex (German) took a look around – and of course most of them make only very vague statements and platitudes like

“Silly errors, inattentiveness, misunderstandings among players or wrong decisions by the referees can be pivotal for some match results.”

(Astrologie Heute, my translation), and the few fantasts daring concrete statements surely have excuses such as

“The penalty was a good scoring chance for the Swedes which, however, missed the goal. I astrologically rated this scoring chance as a goal.”

(astrologie.de for the World Cup 2006, my translation). And I’ll realistically rate this statement as rubbish…

» To the German article on Astrodicticum Simplex.