For the first time since The Price is Right moved to daytime television, a contestant bid the exact price of his showcase!

On the episode which aired December 16, one of the final contestants, Terry, was able to correctly guess the value of his showcase at $23,743, which earned a double showcase win. For his pricing acumen, Terry won the contents of both showcases, which included; a trailer, karaoke system and billiard table as well as a set of trips to Chicago, Canada, South America and Scotland...for a total value of $56,473!

No "perfect bid" can get by without a good batch of controversy and conspiracy to liven it up. In case you're wondering why Drew Carey is less than excited when he announced the perfect bid, it's because the show took a 30-45 minute break so that CBS and the producers could verify that no cheating had taken place.

With two of these solicitations within a week of each other, it seems now is the time of year that small business owners like myself are being targeted with this "business program" scam.

The phone calls I received went like this: The caller is a "producer" for a generic-sounding business television show (or so they make it seem) with a celebrity host. They're looking for "guests" to be on a show about [insert your industry], and wonder if you'd be interested in participating.

I call this stuff a scam for several reasons. The "show" isn't really a show at all. It's really just a commercial that ranges in length from three to ten minutes. You're told that the "show" is used as filler material in between the major programming at cable networks, and so they get lots of viewers. In my world, filler material is what's commonly known as commercials.

You learn about all the fancy production that will be done to make your "show" fabulous, and all the millions of viewers who will see it. Of course, such things are worth far more than any advertising you could buy. This is where you get suspicious because you realize they're going to ask for money. And sure enough... The "producer" asks for a fee of $10,000 to $20,000 to cover "production costs," and this fee is (of course) quite a bargain for you! Want to sign up?

Amid all the depressing news about the lousy economy and even worse retail season I find one piece of news quite cheerful: not only have flat panel TV prices fallen enormously. They're on their way down further.

Writing for the New York Times recently Eric Taub points out that while salesmen say prices are as low as they can get (Shocking!), prices are due to dip further. (He also helpfully notes that springing for the higher resolution 1080p is pointless if you're getting a television that's 40 inches or less. Samsung told investors today in San Francisco that price wars are hurting its margins, so it's investing in a more expensive, faster-refreshing screen.

While reading The Ethical Executive by Robert Hoyk and Paul Hersey, one of the learnings that struck me most was that the happiness gained from very big achievements; such as getting a big raise or financial windfall, for instance; lasts, at most, three to six months. In many cases our happiness has returned to pre-achievement levels after only a few weeks.

So when I read the headline about bargains in today's Wall Street Journal, "Deals Abound, But Which Offer Lasting Delight?" I thought it would be an expose to the truth: delight doesn't last, especially if it's just about saving a few hundred dollars on a flat screen. Karen Blumenthal doesn't really touch on the lastingness of happiness, but more whether or not happiness (beyond the initial thrill of the deal) lasts at all.

According to the experts she consults for the piece, spending time with family and friends makes you far happier than the enormity (or relative price:value) of your material goods. She recommends that you, for instance, buy a home that's closer to work and friends' homes than one that's in a prestigious neighborhood; or a big-screen TV if it allows you to become closer to your children (hers encouraged her college-age daughters to come over and watch the Olympics at her house). I'd take this a little further, encouraging consumers not to buy anything simply for the satisfaction of the savings (even if it's something you actually want), and remind you that all this is just more evidence that shopping doesn't make you happy, not in the long term. Put away your credit cards and play chess with your children; go to a knitting or book group; join a craft circle; or just go for a long walk with someone you love. Your happiness may not always last a long time, but at least it didn't cost you anything.

You'll see it all over your house: that little red light on your television, your DVD player, your kitchen stereo, your coffee maker. Every electronic gadget and doodad that has a remote control has the magical standby mode: so off is never off (and with many game consoles, off is a state seldom used). Estimates are that 1% of the world's greenhouse gases are emitted by machines on standby; and 10% of the average consumer's power bill is spent in keeping the machine on just enough so that, when you press "on," on it goes.

Thanks to some brilliant Spanish entrepreneurs, the planet (well, 1% of it) and your electricity bill (well, 10% of it) are saved. An invention by the company Good for You, Good for the Planet is essentially a power strip with a special switch allowing consumers to get their appliances "100% off" and then returned to standby when they're ready to start channel surfing again. The most useful part of this device is that it controls each device individually, making it superior to the best practice today: plugging everything into a single power strip and then turning that off when you're ready to put your technology use to bed.

Other devices compete with the 100% off solution -- and one, simply pulling the plug each time, is free -- but consumers will likely have to come up with some way of snuffing out the standby mode, as many states and countries are considering regulation to end the standby power suck.

It seems that many of our congresscritters took advantage of the public outcry for a quick passage to pack a bunch of pork into the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. It seems ridiculous, but members of Congress took advantage of a bill meant to save the economy to fund questionable programs in their home states. While many contend that the pork was needed to get enough votes for the bill to pass, you'd think the threat of martial law would have given senators enough reason to pass the bill without the added fat.

Taxpayers for Common Sense compiled a list of the Top 10 pieces of pork stuck into the bailout bill, the most ludicrous listed below.

1. Tax break for manufacturers of wooden arrows used by children -- Cost $2 million
2. 7 year tax extension for Race car Tracks -- Cost $100 million
3. Tax incentives for film and TV production companies -- Cost $478 million

These are just a few of the crazier examples of pork attached to the bailout bill, the rest of the list encompassing billions of dollars in expenditures is sure to turn your stomach.

Not all pork has to be bad, there are many other extras added into the bailout bill which in my opinion fall under the bacon category, as in pork that tastes good!

It's no surprise that consumers have been making cutbacks this past year in many area. I've written about how my wife and I were skipping out on tickets, and now it looks like others are doing the same. Even though Major League Baseball brought in record breaking attendance this past year, professional sports overall are suffering due to the current economic crisis.

With rising prices and shrinking disposable incomes it's no wonder that the NFL is expecting lower revenue this year. The commissioner even took the same stance as corporate America, toting the importance of cost cutting to league staff. The League already took action to change its labor contract in order to remain more viable in the future, and the price of an average NFL ticket rose almost 8% this year.

If like me you're a stay at home fan you may not think that these issues will affect you much. I mean you weren't willing to pay $67 bucks that an NFL ticket cost last year so why should you care about a $5 increase this year? Unfortunately the answer is both simple and complex thanks to the draconian broadcasting rules employed by the NFL.

MSNBC decided over the weekend to pull Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews from live coverage of political events. For months NBC has been fretting over whether the two liberal-leaning anchors have broken the old TV news formula and rules. Yes, of course, they've broken the rules and that's why people like them.

Olbermann and his brash style of news analysis is why MSNBC is the top cable news network among 18-34-year olds. Matthews and his unrelenting questioning of Democrats and Republicans alike is why MSNBC drew 37,000 more young viewers than it did last year, while flavorless NBC News only grew that part of the audience by 2,000. Olbermann and Matthews are the reason why MSNBC is always on at the gym or anyplace else younger viewers pick the news channel.

The standard TV rules seem to require news readers to present issues in a flaccid, straight faced he-said, she-said style. The old standard is to defer to elected officials and whatever they say. If facts are challenged, it's from someone who's put up by the other side to argue or in a segregated "fact-check" segment. The emotional range of a TV news anchor is supposed to go from earnestness to consternation and, on rare occasions, to earnest consternation. The Daily Show and the Colbert Report would not have an audience if network news didn't provide such a mockable target.

Traditional TV news is cowed by authority figures. Network news dutifully reports anything a celebrity, politician or corporation says if they say it with authority. TV network news has no way to respond to the Orwellian naming conventions of the Bush Administration ("Healthy Forest Initiative", "Clear Skies Act," etc.) Network TV news is flummoxed when politicians just repeat political talking points. They interview elected officials and let them get away with dodging questions by repeating slogans. Look at this clip of Chris Matthews nailing an Obama supporter for not knowing his legislative accomplishments. This is how every journalist should do the job.

I distinctly remember how cowed I felt when I visited the house of another family from my birthing class. It was my first child, and the classmates from our birth preparation series were all we could see of our "peers" as new parents. We had one Baby Einstein video. They had the entire Costco-packaged series! How could we ever compete!

Somehow, we managed to compete on the television viewing playing field, but now it turns out our friends' well-meaning "investment" in $100 or so of baby videos may have been a stunningly bad one. Slate reports that baby television and videos? Might cause autism. (Related: we're having behavioral issues with our oldest son that are pretty major.) (Also related: we just cancelled cable two months ago.)

The aha! moment came when researchers (and separately, the Slate reporter) realized that autism rates began increasing at about the same time VCRs and cable television started becoming common in homes. The problem is in the two-dimensional stimuli; too much, and the brain, craving three-dimensional stimuli, goes off on a wrong course.

If you've done any online shopping for electronics or computers recently you've most certainly come across a refurb section with items at deeply discounted prices. Matthew Dillon at GottaBeMobile.com, rounded up a great collection of the different ways you can save money buying refurbished, and also compiled several great sources for finding refurbished electronics.

Types of refurbished products:

• Refurbished - The unit was determined to be defective and given a complete overhaul to fix the problem.
• Scratch-and-Dent - These products will have slight variations on the exterior appearance, but they should function fine.
• Open Box - You'll find these in the corner of a brick and mortar store often missing remotes and manuals. These are usually returns or floor models, the latter taking heaps of abuse at the hands of customers.

The most recognizable source for refurbished goods is the Apple Store, which offers amazing deals on refurbished laptops, iPods and iPhones. I've gotten many great deals on open box items at Best Buy, where returned TVs usually net at least a 15% discount. And during inventory clearance season, savvy shoppers can get an additional 40% off. One of my friends had similar success purchasing a scratch and dent TV from ABC warehouse, negotiating an extra two years of warranty for free, on top of the lowered purchase price.

Still not sure? Keep in mind that refurbished products have usually been looked at and tested more closely than the original units that ship. Just make sure that the return and warranty policy policies are favorable before you purchase. GottaBeMobile has many more tips on getting the best deal on refurbished products.

Do you buy refurbished? Have you had good luck?

In a recent poll of customers and their satisfaction with customer service cable and satellite providers have been ranked the lowest, dropping 3% since the first survey was performed last year. This drop in satisfaction with customer service is even more pronounced for cable companies who many customers are out of touch with their needs. The survey performed by the CFI group found that cable and satellite companies failed to help 20% of customers calling them for assistance, something which may be attributed to the growing complexity with cable and satellite company offerings.

The survey additionally showed that the percent of people who looked elsewhere for help including online, fell by half to just 17%. With more people going straight to the company for help it's no surprise that customer service representatives, under a deluge of support calls, are found to be unable to effectively handle an issue or seem uncaring. Still it's sad that these companies have a disorder, I refer to as the cable company complex, in which they believe customer's will stay no matter what, because the competition doesn't exist. Direct TV has been cashing in on this dissatisfaction with its recent "You deserve better than Cable" advertising campaign, which sadly sums up my experience with cable customer service.

Late last year during a service call to figure out why my HD reception was better described as LD or Low Def, a "glitch" caused my cable box to become de-authorized, which prompted the first of many calls. Time Warner was able to quickly turn my box back on and to their credit they had improved the HD picture quality, however several months later a large bill showed up including an additional cable box and a PPV movie purchase.

Sex and the City is making a leap to the big screen today. Did you hear that? Sex and the City is officially premiering on the big screen. In case you didn't get the memo, Sex and the City will be in theater. Has there been more hype surrounding a movie since, um, Snakes on Plane?

While Sex and the City: The Movie may not be as forgettable as Snakes on a Plane, the viral and media blitz surrounding the show may have annoyed more than just a few people. Particularly since, well, none of the actresses are what some consider household names. In the four years since most viewers last saw the girls, millions of degrees have been earned by people across the nation, and millions have been married. Many young girls attached to the show have, essentially, moved on with with their lives. Of course, so have the Sex and the City ladies, I'm sure. Unfortunately, the careers of the ladies from Sex and the City hasn't been as eventful.

Sarah Jessica Parker can be considered the most successful of the stars -- but measuring success is up to the viewers. A pulled Gap Ad and a clothing line at a discount store may not be what some define as a success for someone considered a fashion icon. And, making Maxim's unsexiest list isn't exactly an accomplishment.

Can Cynthia Nixon be a consider a big draw when the most buzzed about topic following her most memorable role is her lesbianism? Who knows? What will bring you out?

MSN Money has rounded up 5 things you should never rent, especially under a rent to own program! Many people recognize that rent to own stores don't offer the best prices for pretty much anything, but don't realize that some items the cost of renting to own is high enough to purchase the item three times over. The high cost of these rent to own items comes from the risk that the stores take on over the period of the rental, but most consumers can avoid these fees by going without for a few months and saving up or lowering their expectations!

Big screen televisions and computers top the list of items you shouldn't rent, these items can be purchased outright and even through a payment plan with a store such as Best Buy or Dell for a much reduced price. Every other week I get email offers for Dell computers priced below $500, for which a rent to own customer would spend at least $2,000 over the rental period. Another prominent item to avoid renting are rims to pimp out your 1995 ford escort; stick with the stock because no one likes a car that is all show and no go.

The article does recognize that there are some items where renting makes the most sense such as a tuxedo so long as you don't attend black tie affairs every weekend. I can also understand renting a big screen TV for a big sporting event but in this day in age it seems like at least one person in a group of friends has a big screen already, even if it is from Smitty's Rent-a-Center. Do yourself a favor and avoid renting to own. You can save buckets of money by exercising patience.

Sometimes all it takes is a little pressure to get the wheels of a corporation moving. It turns out that shortly after the story of Tom, a Sears customer who was charged $1070 for a TV he never received, gained traction in the media, Mark Ennis, from the Presidential office at Citibank service contacted him. Mark had tried calling the Sears store where Tom purchased the TV but was given the same treatment Tom experienced. Undeterred Mark went "off script" and pulled the records for every Tom who purchased a TV on "Black Friday" in order to find out what went wrong on the order.

It turns out that just after the first TV was refunded, it was re-rung, resulting in the outstanding charge to Tom's Sears card. None of the individuals Tom spoke to over the past 4 months looked past the initial refund transaction to see what was really happening. If they had spent an additional 5 minutes investigating the billing issue, Tom's problems could have been solved months ago. Thankfully the story has a happy ending, Tom is getting a refund for his undelivered TV and some Sears employees will likely be getting a refresher course in customer service. That is if they aren't shown the door for this heinous neglect of customer service. Bravo to Mark for helping out the consumer and making extra effort along the way. We need more people like you in corporations.

Via Consumerist