As IF Times

link Japan earthquake and tsunami: Sales of doomsday nuclear bunkers soars 1000% | Mail Online.

Like a scenario from an Arthur C. Clarke science fiction novel, entrepreneurs are taking advantage of the recent disaster in Japan to capitalize on the fears of a gullible public.  Or at least a very small slice of the gullible public, because these disaster shelters are designed to house only 950  people apiece.

Putting aside the mentality of people who would be tempted to partake in this scheme, consider that  the real filter will be that of money.  At the moment, for the tantalizingly cheap price of $25,000, one is offered a chance at safety should a nuclear disaster strike.  That’s cheap!  You can’t buy a parking spot for that in New York City. 

However, I’ll bet on human nature that as an imminent disaster looks more likely, the owners of this scheme will renege on the deposits and instead, re-sell the spaces to the highest bidders.  After all, what are aggrieved people going  to do? Sue?  “We’ve assigned you a court date in one year”.   Therefore, this logically leads us to the worst part of this scheme.  The people who will be safely ensconced in these tombs of doom will be people with plenty of financial resources. 

Only lots and lots of money will get you in.  That means if you’re lucky enough to get a spot, your co-habitants for a year or so will be sports stars, Hollywood celebrities, business moguls, oil sheiks,  crime bosses and people who own real estate in Vancouver.   Given that, some would rather die a horrible death by radiation, but there will always be detractors.  The configuration of the bunkers is an obvious  issue.   It’s unclear how they will be able to build a space large enough to contain the egos given that all of these constituents are used to having their own expanses of privacy.  At 137,000 sq ft per bunker, it’s barely the size of Donald Trump’s guest bathroom.  You’d have to believe that there would be room made for chefs, cleaning people, publicists and yoga instructors, all key people in this groups’ entourage.   A year without yoga?  Please. 

It’s unclear how distribution of resources and maintenance of civil decorum will occur in such a close space.  Since despised  lawyers likely have been forced to populate their own bunkers, the administration of social decorum will at best be decided by the tried and true, rock, paper scissors method, or at worst, the Lord of the Flies method.  You can imagine what kind of chaos will erupt when someone consumes all of the Cabernet Franc in the first month.   One very serious consideration will be the food supply.  While it can be possible to store lots of freeze dried food and water, eventually, you run low.  It may be a good idea to have maximum weight limits for prospective buyers because you don’t want them unduly straining resources.  So, fat people are out. 

If you really subscribe to this scenario though, the best thing to do now is to get into the racket of selling these things as soon as possible.  At the very least, you may be able to save up enough to purchase a spot for yourself.   The possibility of spending a year with Oprah and the Donald?  Priceless.

link Tipping Doesnt Reward Good Behavior – SmartMoney.com.

 If you want to get a party discussion going, avoid politics and religion and bring up the subject of tipping. 

As this article correctly points out, the connection between the amount of tip left and the service delivered have almost no correlation.  Even if a waiter or waitress was marginal in their service, it would be a supremely bold move not to leave a tip on the final bill.  Somehow, over time, tipping has become an expected form of social etiquette, at least in most western societies.   Not to tip is generally looked upon as a social faux pas, akin to loudly passing gas in mixed company.  This is illogical since in few other commercial transactions would we feel the need to include a gratuity on top of bad or indifferent service rendered. 

Do we tip the guy who installs the muffler on your car?  How about the guy who measures you for a suit?  These two guys may be the unfortunate ones because when you think about it, in almost all kinds of service industry interactions, a tip is expected.  While it’s a brave person who doesn’t leave a tip in a restaurant, many other professions  expect tips as part of their compensation as well.  Cab drivers, barbers, masseuses, lawn mowers, doormen and bellhops, dog walkers and babysitters.  There’s even pressure to tip golf caddies. 

I will concede that in some of those professions mentioned, service over and above the expected minimum should be compensated by some small consideration.  I can see a tip offered at the end of a lap dance or certainly for your golf caddy, since they are serving or servicing you directly.  In the case of restaurant tipping however, the rationale is iffy.  A while ago, my son received egregiously bad service at a restaurant and to his credit, left no tip.  The waitress actually accosted him to ask where her tip was.  She was told of her indifferent service and relented when confronted with the reasons.  I’m not sure if I would be as confident as my son, but the point here is that the waitress expected a tip, regardless of service level.  My son of course was right, the tip should be viewed as bribe for better service, not extorted protection money.

 Inflation has hit tipping as hard as anything in the cost of living index over the past 20 years.  For two people dining out with a bottle of wine at a reasonable restaurant, ie, where the napkins are not paper, the bill before tax can easily be $120.  When you add tax of approximately 10% and tip of 15% or more, the cost of indulgence starts to add up.   Smart waitresses will know that serving  a table of men is the best gig.   A little flirting and a little cleavage can net a 20 or even 25% tip on the billed amount.  Perhaps that is justified as payment for entertainment value.  Or it may be altruism as  guys trying to help the poor gal out with with the surgical bills.

In the case of dinner and wine, the logic is questionable.  Presumably, it takes just as much effort to pour wine from a bottle of swill as it does for a fine Barolo.  When the bill comes and the wine is at least 50% of the tab, it’s hard to justify paying the tip as a percentage of the overall amount.  It’s harder still not to do so.  Why is that?  This makes as much sense as tipping the golf caddy based on the value of the clubs he has to carry.  This is especially galling when you know that much of the cost of a bottle of wine is taxes.  So in effect, you are paying a tip on taxes.   It’s a pretty good side benefit to be given extra free money just because you did your job well and that should never be discouraged.  It’s the slackers who ride the coattails of the earnest ones that are annoying.  Sort of like kids showing up for trick or treat at Hallowe’en without a costume. 

I wonder if waiters and waitresses are good tippers when they go out.