There’s a thing called the Internet where we can sometimes… surprise, surprise… shop for stuff and then hope to receive it at our homes with as much ease as it is described and promoted on the websites selling the stuff. That much I’ve...

Tough economic times mean tightening belts. Governments are scaling back financial commitments and consumers are holding back unnecessary purchases. Even kids are having their allowances cut. Of course, these are all boilerplate cliches. In real life,...