A New Take on Shoes

I was wasting time on the internet the other day, and look what I found! I can't decide if I hate it or if it is the coolest thing ever. Check it out for yourself.



This is a new concept from a company called Skins. It is a two part shoe system that consists of a removable inner piece called the "bone" and collapsable outer piece, aka, the "skin". The idea is to get buyers to buy one bone and multiple skins, so every pair of shoes has the same fit and feel. Each bone is molded to each individual's feet, so there is no "breaking in" period for a new pair of shoes.

The bones cost around $50 and the skins range from $120 to $300.

I have my doubts that Skins will be the next big thing and here's why:

1. They are pretty expensive
2. If I were still selling shoes, I would hate dealing with these things. What happens when you run out of a certain size in a bone? If you can't sell customer a bone, you can't sell them any skins, so keeping a steady supply on hand would be crucial for shops.
3. What happens if somebody changes their mind after buying the bone? Can it be remolded to another person's foot?
4. Crocs. I think they are the ugliest things ever, but people love them because they are cheap, comfortable, and hey, guess what, they mold to your feet. Huh, weird.
5. How long does the bone really last and does it start to smell after awhile?? Alot of the women's designs look like they would be worn without socks, so I'm thinkin' the bone is going to get pretty stanky somewhere down the road.

There could be hope for Skins, though. I think Skins could be popular with people that have foot problems, or people who are on their feet all day, or people who have some money to throw around. I could see these becoming popular with celebrities, for sure. When I was working at River Sports, I had a lady come in one day and hand me a prescription for Superfeet, so maybe if doctors get behind it, that might help.

The system is only scheduled to sell in select cities in select boutiques around the country. The website says that a store in Memphis is scheduled to have them. The initial product launch was set for January 2007. That was pushed back to summer 2007 and that has since been pushed back to fall/winter 2007. So, we'll see. Good new for Skins though, some sizes in a few models have already sold out during the pre-order phase.

Bad Dog!

yeah, so what's your point?

From the Knoxville News Sentinel "Local News" section:

UT image: Frat, jock school with financial aid issues

The Princeton Review ranks the Knoxville campus of the University of Tennessee almost everyway you can think of. How do the publication's ranking stack up? Leave you comments below.

Some of these are unlikely to be on a UT T-shirt.
Princeton Review Rankings of UTK

Rank List

#19 Professors Make Themselves Scarce

#7 Students Dissatisfied with Financial Aid

#5 Teaching Assistants Teach Too Many Upper-Level Courses

#20 Their Students (Almost) Never Study Academics - do these people actually graduate?

#9 Alternative Lifestyles Not an Alternative

#9 Everyone Plays Intramural Sports - I watched an intramural game once. I think it was soccer.

#10 Students Pack the Stadiums - gotta support those hard working athletes.

#6 Major Frat and Sorority Scene - duh, we're in the south.

#16 Party Schools - back when I was a frosh, we acheived the #1 ranking in this category. Sad to see the decline in recent years. :P

#11 Campus Is Tiny, Unsightly, or Both - hey, we're working on it! UT is covering everything that is unsightly with nice, new concrete.

#6 Jock Schools - Go big orange!

House Sitting for the Mewetts

I'm pretty sure Callie is irritated with her current living situation while MO and Geri are in Greece. Usually, when MO and Geri go out of town, Callie gets to go on a little doggie vacation and spend quality time with her other human friends. This time, things are a little different. Since I live at home with two very high strung and pretty much insane golden retrievers and Tom has a "little" bulldog puppy that is just a little too young for Callie's taste, MO asked me if I would just come over and stay at the house while they are away. Of course, I said I would because I like to get out of Hardin Valley when I can, I'm closer to downtown, and it cuts my work commute in half, which is awesome.

I think Callie is disappointed that she wasn't consulted before any arrangements were made. Normally, when I dog sit for Callie, she whines and makes little noises here and there while she trots around the house and checks things out. But, she then makes herself at home and has a good time playing with toys that she steals from Boo(my cat). Callie is making sure that I notice how annoyed she is. She follows me from room to room so I can hear her grunt and groan while she lies on the ground, and when I am watching tv, she lies on her doggie bed and gives me sideways glances when I say something to her. I try to entertain her as best I can, but she tires of me quickly and goes back to her bed to glare at me.

Today I needed to stop by my house to get a few provisions for the rest of my stay, so I decided I would take Callie with me to get her out of the house. She was REALLY excited to get in the car. Usually, I would take her to Cherokee to play in the water, but she had a minor surgery on her head recently, so I figured the dirty waters of the Tennessee River wouldn't be the best treament for a healing wound. So, anyway, I took her to my house and let her run around the yard before I took her inside and introduced her to Truman and Austin, the crazy goldens I mentioned earlier. After a little sniffing, all of the dogs decided everything was OK, and Callie trotted around the house to check things out. She quickly found the toy basket and chose a squeaky football to carry around for the rest of her visit. I think Callie got tired of the other dogs and was ready to leave when the time came.

So, now we are back in South Knoxville, and Callie is tired enough that she went right to sleep on the cool floor with no complaints. Good thing we are going to go visit Leah and Feedy tomorrow at their new house. That should keep Callie entertained for awhile. :)