Fabbrication

I recently ordered the hard-to-find Wii Play video game online at JR.com. They were one of few stores that had the item in stock. Their price was good, especially with a ten dollar discount for signing up for Google Checkout.

Unfortunately, I never received the item I paid for.

It all started with the item shipment notice I received by email:

Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2007 22:50:04 -0800 (PST)
To: xxxx-bixx77970tih6@checkout.l.google.com
From: "JR.com Customer Service"
Subject: Item Shipped Notice
Dear YOUR NAME,

We are pleased to tell you that the following items of
yours have been shipped:

Order # SKU Product Name Quantity Shipped Shipping Method
Tracking Number
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
554772499577151 NIN WI-RVLRRHAE Wii Play with Wii Remote (
Nintendo Wii ) 1 First Class Mail (no tracking available)

The first thing that caught my eye was the fact that they say it shipped First Class Mail, and that no tracking was available. I don't know of any retailers who ship $50 software without a tracking number. I gave them the benefit of the doubt and waited about three weeks. I received nothing. I then emailed them asking for status:

The morning I let my cats choose which company's stock to invest in. Three dishes, three treats, one stock pick.

The Idea

This morning, as I ate breakfast and sipped my coffee, I pondered which of three interesting stocks I should invest in. The stock markets have taken plunge recently, which may suggest a good time to buy.

I like Chattem Inc. (CHTT), as I've noticed some of their products in my medicine cabinet (I cover my whole body in Icy Hot every night), and think they're well positioned to sell a lot of products to the hordes of retiring baby boomers. I've also been keeping an eye on Barr Pharmacuticals (BRL), who make generic prescription drugs (which our society eats like candy). Finally, when riding the Max train home from the airport (rubbing Icy Hot all over my body and chewing on a mouthful of generic drugs), I noticed the concrete railroad ties they're using these days. Turns out these are made by a company called LB Foster (FSTR), whose stock has taken a beating recently.

I take another sip of my coffee. I'm thinking about how choosing investments, especially stocks, takes some knowledge and diligence, but also incorporates a large amount of dumb luck. Then I look over at my pal, the cat, Jack. He's about as dumb (and lucky) as they get.

The idea strikes me: Why don't I let my cats choose which stock I should invest in?

The Setup
The experiment setup consists of three saucers with a kitty treat placed on each one. Each saucer is labeled with the stock ticker of interest. I put out all three dishes and take photos to document the cats' decisions.