A quiz by UsvsTh3m figures out how well you are prepared for the apocalypse. With just a little knowledge and hubris, I managed to live to the age of 105 (if the apocalypse happens soon). I don't think they take your current age into consideration. Gerard at the Presurfer lasted an entire six months, because he's a city boy. How long will you survive?
Just imagine: You're out for happy hour drinks with work friends and you realize that you're going to be home two hours later than you anticipated, and your Crock-Pot is bubbling merrily along on HIGH. Is anyone else home yet? Should you rush home, even though the whole point of the slow cooker is that you shouldn't have to do that? Nope. Just use your iPhone.
Introducing the first of surely many more remote-controlled appliances to come: the Crock Pot WeMo Slow Cooker from Belkin.
Back in late September we did a roundup of ceiling pot racks under $100. A few of you asked to see some wall-mounted pot racks in the same price range, so today I've put together a list of solid contenders. Whether your kitchen just can't accommodate a ceiling pot rack, or you just prefer the look of a wall-mounted pot rack, here are 10 that won't break the bank.
(My boyfriend is a big motor head. I, however, do not get the obsession. We are watching a car show at my parents’ house, who we are staying with over the holidays. Some expensive ‘supercar’ has just come on screen.)
Boyfriend: “That is the sexiest thing I have ever seen.”
Me: “Um… Excuse me? Want to rethink that one?”
(My boyfriend gets very quiet and contemplative before finally responding.)
Boyfriend: “Nope. I’m not getting any tonight anyway. I stand by my statement.”
“As you probably know, Starbucks Coffee Co. is the owner of a number of world-famous trademarks, including the well-known FRAPPUCINO trademark,” reads the letter, which then takes issue with Exit 6′s Frappicino, which the letter notes “only differs from Starbucks Coffee Co.’s FRAPPUCINO mark by one letter, and is phonetically identical.”
Starbucks feels that the use of the similar sounding names “is likely to cause confusion, mistake, or deception among consumers” and requests that Exit 6 stop using the term “Frappicino” and have the beer de-listed from the Untappd website on which Starbucks located the beverage.
In a tongue-in-cheek attempt to avoid further confusion, the response from the owner opts to refer to “Frappuccino” as “The F Word,” and his tone matches the haughty legalese that is always packed into c&d notices.
“As you probably don’t know, Exit 6 is the proud owner of no trademarks,” reads the response, “including our own name much less than the name ‘F Word’ and nothing about Exit 6 is incontestable.”
Whereas the original Starbucks letter establishes the company’s bona fides by needlessly stating that Starbucks had sold millions of cups of coffee in the U.S. and abroad, the brewpub’s response notes that “Exit 6 has proudly sold at least 38 drinks in Cottleville, MO.”
The response also points out that, while there was that one-letter difference between the Starbucks trademark and the Exit 6 beer, the brewpub owners has actually planned on copying the name.
“Luck for us, we’re poor spelers,” reads the response.
However, in spite of the plan to use the Frappucino name, the owners say they never had any intention of confusing consumers.
“We never thought that our beer drinking customers would have thought that the alcoholic beverage coming out of the tap would have actually been coffee from one of the many, many, many stores located a few blocks away,” explains the letter. “I guess with there being a Starbucks on every corner of every block in every city that some people may think they could get a Starbucks at a local bar. So that was our mistake.”
The brewpub has also pledged to stop selling its “Starbuck-McDonalds-Coca Cola-Marlboro Honey Lager.”
In order to atone for its sins, Exit 6 chose to send Starbucks a check for $6, thus covering all of the profits it received from the three Frappicino beers customers mentioned buying on Untappd. The owners hope it can go toward Starbucks’ legal fees, as it certainly cost the coffee colossus more than that just to have its lawyer send the form letter.
“We just want to help a business like Starbucks,” concludes the response. “Us small businesses need to stick together.”
(I work in a party store. I am serving an eight-year-old customer.)
Eight-Year-Old: “Can I see your Christmas decorations? I need to get special Christmas decorations.”
Me: “Sure you can. Is there something special you want to get, little guy?”
Eight-Year-Old: “I want to get a pretty tree with ornaments, and stockings, and presents, and Christmas lights! It’s for my neighbor.”
Me: “That’s a lot to get for your neighbor, sweetheart. Why do you need all of that?”
Eight-Year-Old: “Their daddy died. They don’t have Christmas this year, so I wanted to give it to them. I even got $100 from my mom to do it.”
Me:*on the verge of tears* “That’s very generous of you. Tell you what, let’s pick out some stockings and a tree. Then I’ll talk to my manager to see what we can do about some toys. How many kids does your neighbor have?”
Eight-Year-Old: “Three. [Name] is my best friend. I’m going to give him my presents for Christmas. I asked Santa to bring him an XBox, too, but Santa might be busy. So I’m going to give him my XBox.”
Me: “I’m sure, in this case, Santa will be listening very hard.”
(I help him pick out some special decorations and a tree. I ask my manager what we can do. Apparently, the boy’s mother has told my manager about the neighbor’s husband having passed away a few weeks ago in a bad accident, leaving the wife to support their family. We do a special discount of 50% off everything. We even donate some bulk bags of toys and stockings. By this time, we’re trying not to cry. On their way out, the mother thanks us.)
Mother: “He doesn’t know it, but both he and his best friend are getting an XBox for Christmas. He’s only eight and he wanted to give them everything. He even demanded we have them over for Christmas day. He is adamant they’re going to have a Christmas, no matter what.”
dr. fartdance franklin went on to receive the nobel prize in medicine in 2024 for his gene therapy techniques that halted cancer cell growth in 92% of human patient trials. he credited his genius and his hard work to his parents, who engendered in him a love of learning after he was “beaten up all day, every day at every school and most jobs”
Giga Pudding is the most awesome DIY bucket of Japanese-style pudding/custard to ever live. And this is its mascot. It's so delicious that it takes joy in eating itself. Observe in the commercial below.
This blushing, smiling wasabi root plush looks like a very, very simplified version of the real thing, but...that's close enough. It also comes in girly pink.
"I want to be wrapped in bread plump!" This is how Google translates the description of this amazing bread and pastry-themed cushion set from Japan. I agree: I want to be wrapped in bread plump. Hell, don't buy this for someone else, buy it for yourself, if you can navigate the Japanese website. There's a wrap-around coronet sleeping bag with matching "chocolate" blanket, a set of four toast cushions with matching "jam" blanket, a cream puff pocket cushion with matching "cream" blanket, and a pancake wrap with a "matcha" blanket. Each costs ¥16000, about $155, but as far as I can tell you can't buy all four at once. It's sold as a sort of subscription where you get one item a month. If anyone who knows Japanese can clarify in the comments, please do!
Haba makes a wide variety of great food toys, one of my favorites being this plate of machine washable wiener schnitzel with a side of fries, a splat of ketchup, and a slice of lemon.
Still stinging from yet another legal defeat against a small New Hampshire coffee company over the “Charbucks” brand, the Starbucks legal team appears to be going after lower-hanging fruit, sending a cease-and-desist letter to a small Missouri brewpub that dared to sell something called Frappicino beer.
