Ranting to /dev/null

Law School I and entry 1000

This will be my first entry from Notre Dame and, coincidentally, my 1000th entry on this site.

You know how they always say that the campus bookstore is always a ripoff? That they overcharge you for textbooks that are already ludicrously expensive?

Amazon.com to the rescue, right? Yes, but not in ways you might expect. I just went and got all of my textbooks at the campus bookstore and immediately came back to my apartment to look them up online. The prices are exactly the same. I even saved enough getting one textbook used to pay Indiana state sales tax. I also have the books in my possession now, and Amazon says they'd ship them to me in 4-6 weeks.

This is how capitalism works: if someone comes along and offers a good for less, other players must respond. University bookstores no longer have a stranglehold on access to textbooks, and are now selling them for an un-marked-up retail price.

I can't say all that much about Notre Dame, because I haven't had much official contact there yet. My apartment is decent: nothing fancy, but far roomier than any apartment I've lived in up to this point. It's also furnished, and though Spartan, anything I didn't have to cram in my car for the trip out here is no bad thing.

South Bend is something else though. Things are pretty conveniently located to campus: the mall, Wal-Mart, a Super-Target, and two grocery stores are all within about two miles of campus. But the terrain is unbearably flat. No line of hills out in the distance. You also can't see very far because you've no elevation. Buildings obstruct your view, so you can rarely see for more than a mile. Depressing.

Speaking of the trip: it costs about $70 for me to drive out here one way, including $22 in tolls. This is what's called a "disincentive" towards Ryan driving home more than absolutely necessary.

Posted by ryan at August 16, 2006 03:26 PM | TrackBack