Dani.friedland

Are you looking for a new car? The Most Reliable Cars infographic from MoneySupermarket rates how reliable the manufacturers are as well as specific car models. The lower the score, the more reliable the car is. If your current car isn’t on the list. Maybe it is time to get a new one.

It is never a pleasant experience to find yourself stranded next to a broken down vehicle at the side of the road, particularly during the winter. Breakdown cover can help to reduce the pain somewhat, but it is still worth making sure that you pick the most reliable car available.

MoneySupermarket.com has therefore teamed up with Warranty Direct to put together the following lists which highlight the most reliable cars on the road. This is decided upon by taking into account overall reliability and the average cost of repairs for these manufacturers and models – coming up with an overall Reliability Index (RI) score. Just for reference- the average RI is 100, and the lower the score the better.

We’ve broken this down by both car make and by individual vehicle models to come up with a definitive list which could prove invaluable to you during the car buying process.

This is a really good use of bar charts.  The company logos or car photos and the relevant data is built directly into the chart so there is no need for a chart legend.  Very easy to read and understand.

Thanks to Mark for sending in the link!

Retail | Barrington, RI, USA

(I am working in the print department of an office-supply store. An older customer comes in with a folder of very old newspaper articles.)

Customer: “Hello, young lady. I was just wondering if you could make some copies of these articles for me. They are getting old and I would like to preserve them.”

Me: “Of course!”

Customer: “Thank you very much. If you don’t mind, I’m going to go look around while you do this.”

(I agree, and he hands me the articles. I can see that it is an article about a man who was killed during World War Two. In one of the articles, it shows a picture of the deceased man holding a baby. As the customer has requested, I make copies of the articles that are beginning to fray, rip, and yellow. After making the copies, I quickly laminate them in order to keep them really preserved. The customer comes back.)

Me: “So you know, sir, I noticed that the articles you had were starting to rip, and I assumed that was why you were making the copies. When I finished the copies, I laminated them for you.”

Customer: “I appreciate that young lady, but I can’t afford the lamination.”

Me: “I like history, and I think historical documents are very important to keep. The lamination is free of charge!”

(The customer begins to cry.)

Me: “Sir, are you alright?”

Customer: “Yes, yes. Do you see this baby in this picture? This was me when I was just a few days old. This was the only time my father ever held me before he died. This is all I have to remember him by, and you just helped me to keep them preserved so I can keep his memory alive. Miss, please… can I give you a hug?”

Me: “Of course!”

(He gives me the warmest hug I have ever experienced.)

Customer: “Thank you, miss. You have no idea how happy you just made an old man.”

(I am also crying, due to the joy I gave this customer by taking two seconds to laminate his articles. After pulling away from him, I notice that my manager is also beginning to cry.)

Manager: “Sir, these copies are on the store. Have a nice day, and come see us if you ever need anything else.”

(The customer leaves with a huge smile on his face, and my manager and I are both cheery for the rest of the day. When I arrive at work the next day, I find a small bouquet of flowers sitting on my desk with a note from the customer.)

Note From The Customer: “I picked these flowers for you from my garden. They aren’t much, but I was hoping I could brighten your day as much as you brightened mine.”

(I still have that note, along with one of the flowers that I kept and pressed in a scrap book. I will never forget that man, and the father he never knew.)

One of the things that most excited me most about coming to Stockholm was to visit Pärlans Konfektyr. The moment I heard about it, I knew I had to go. I mean, a small shop that makes artisanal caramels, in one of the best dairy-producing countries in the world, with a wink-and-a-nod to traditional Swedish charm? Count me in.

So I asked if I could come and watch them make caramels. When I walked in, I got the usual cheerful Swedish greeting, and I realized I was surrounded by caramels in an array of flavors – some traditional, others less-so, and some beautiful jars of sauce which, after I tasted a sample, had me seriously consider risking getting busted for trying to smuggle a few home in my carry-on. I didn’t, although I’m sure the agents at the airport would have been very, very happy to confiscate them!

The beautiful logo, the warm welcome with a lilting “Hej!” (“Hi!”), the rows and rows of wrapped caramels, and jars of sauces with “l”, “J”, “Å” and Ö”-heavy names I could barely pronounce. Judging from the steady stream of customers – many with kids in tow (and towheaded kids, at that – after all, it’s Scandinavia), it seemed to be an obligatory stop in the neighborhood.

After a few moments of admiring everything, the folks at Pärlans invited me into their pristine kitchen and I felt an air of happiness as the workers diligently cut up butter, boiled up sugar syrups, measured out fruit purees, and were hand stamping wrappers for caramels.

Continue Reading Pärlans Caramels...

Bookstore | Mount Pleasant, MI, USA

Customer: “Hi, I’m looking for Tolkien’s books.”

Me: “Alright, which ones?”

Customer: “The four he wrote.”

Me: “Well, ma’am, he wrote more than just four books.”

Customer: “The Lord of the Rings.”

Me: “Ma’am, not to be rude, but The Lord of the Rings is only three books.”

Customer: “The first one of that trilogy then! The Hobbit!”

Me: “I’m afraid we don’t have any copies of that at the moment.”

Customer: “Oh. Well, do you have anything else by Tolkien?”

Me: “Well, we do have The Silmarillion—”

Customer: “I don’t speak Spanish. I guess I’ll try at one of the other stores, thanks.”

Holy crap, I could keep playing with this all day. The folks over at Us Vs. Th3m created "6 lines of JavaScript that write Doctor Who plots indistinguishable from the current series." And amazingly enough, it works quite well. Steven Moffat, bookmark this page.

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Liquor Store | Calgary, AB, Canada

(I’m in line at a local liquor store. The customer in front of me has clearly had too much to drink already, and is slurring his words when he speaks. The cashier is a smaller gentleman with long hair, who doesn’t look much older than 20.)

Cashier: “Good afternoon, sir. What can I help you with?”

Customer: “I’ll tell you what you can help me with; you can give me all the money you got up in this b****!”

(The man proceeds to pull a gun out of his coat, which then falls to the ground. He stumbles after it, and points it towards the cashier, who hasn’t moved or said anything at this point.)

Cashier: “Sir, please put the gun away.”

Customer: “Not until you give me all your f****** money, you dumb-a** b****!”

(At this point, I’m ducking behind one of the displays but can still see what is going on. Suddenly, the cashier reaches over the counter, presses the clip release on the gun, and takes the clip out. The inebriated customer looks shocked.)

Cashier: “Sir, I’ve just recently returned from my tour in Afghanistan. I can tell that one, you have the safety on, two, this is an airsoft gun that you painted to look like a real gun, and three, you’re clearly far too drunk to fight back if I were to defend myself. So please, do yourself a favour; leave this store before I alert the authorities.”

(The inebriated man looks down at his gun, back up to the cashier, and then drops the gun and runs out of the store before stumbling and passing out just outside. The other customers and I are laughing at this point.)

Cashier: “Anybody want a free airsoft gun?”

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Sorry, Charlie. This has been another episode of Social Media for Restaurants.

Courtesy of the best soup buffet ever. [Photograph: Yvonne Ruperti]

This soup was my very first meal—my very first breakfast—upon arriving to Singapore. It was unlike anything I'd ever eaten, and after tasting it I knew immediately that my time spent here was going to be food-tastic. Even in the sweltering heat, I chow down on this hearty, hot soup as often as I can.

Yong Tao Foo (also spelled yong tau fu or yong tofu) is a Hakka Chinese soup dish. Yong tao foo means "stuffed bean curd" and refers to the numerous vegetables and tofu that are stuffed with a fish or meat paste.

Every food court has one of these stands, some offering a much wider selection of soup add-ins than others. The idea is simple: grab a bowl and a pair of tongs, and start selecting the items that you want to go into your soup. It's perfect for wary travelers because you'll feel like you're in total control of your dish.

There's a base price for the soup and an additional charge for each item. Most places require at least six items, which isn't hard to do. It's tempting to shove as much as you can into your bowl.

I usually go for the veggie and tofu items such as stuffed bitter gourd, stuffed chili, fried tofu, mushrooms, and cabbage. I pass up the mystery meats and cured squid option, and I always pop a hardboiled egg in my bowl if they have it.

Bouncy fish balls anyone?

Next, pick your noodles. There's usually a choice between thick yellow egg noodles, thick white rice noodles, and bee hoon, or thin rice vermicelli (my favorite). Unlike wimpy wheat pasta, these noodles stay firm to the bottom of the bowl.

Give your bowl to the nice auntie and she'll take it to the back, slice up your add-in selections into bite size pieces, cook them briefly in simmering water, and then give it back to you with your freshly cooked noodles and piping hot broth. You can also opt to eat it dry, where it's served with a sweet chili sauce, but I don't like this decidedly sweet variation—for me it's salt all the way.

For the broth, the classic option is a clear one, but I always go for the drop-dead rich (and quite unhealthy, I'd imagine) curry laksa. Bursting with coconut milk, spicy chili, and seafood flavor, this soup will keep you going all day long if you let it start your day. My yong tao foo came to $4 Singapore dollars (about $3.20 US). This is a total steal, especially when compared to a $1.50 glass of lime juice!

About the author: Yvonne Ruperti is a food writer, recipe developer, former bakery owner, and author of The Complete Idiot's Guide To Easy Artisan Bread. You can also watch her culinary stylings on the America's Test Kitchen television show. She presently lives in Singapore working on her new baking cookbook, and as a recipe developer for HungryGoWhere Singapore. Check out her blog, shophousecook.com, or follow her on Twitter @yvonneruperti.