I heard this on the radio this morning, and then found the article:

Refrigerator will toss you can of beer
RALEIGH, N.C. – When John Cornwell graduated from Duke University last year, he landed a job as software engineer in Atlanta but soon found himself longing for his college lifestyle. So the engineering graduate built himself a reminder of life on campus: a refrigerator that can toss a can of beer to his couch with the click of a remote control.

More information, and a link to a video demonstration are at http://beerlauncher.com/.

When you’re in school and forced to read books for class, it is difficult to enjoy them.

I remember disliking Grapes of Wrath and Ethan Frome. I was bored by The Old Man and the Sea. Many others are a just a blur. I suppose I should re-read some of them!

A few months ago, I joined my neighbor’s book club. As an adult, it is a much different experience reading books that you didn’t choose yourself.

Left to my own devices, I will read chick lit or psychological thrillers. I don’t have much down time, so most of my reading is done during vacations.

In book club, we have a new book every month and approximately four weeks to read it. I’m sacrificing TV time for reading, but I don’t mind at all (that’s what the DVR is for!).

This month’s book is March by Geraldine Brooks — a historical fiction. I have never liked history and typically don’t like “period” movies, so I wasn’t sure how this was going to go over.

But, I am pleasantly surprised that I am enjoying this book, set during the Civil War. Even though this is fiction, the situations are real, detailing the horrors of the war and slavery.

I find myself thinking how I know so little about the history of my country. In all the years of history classes in school, not a lot stuck!

Not that I’m going to start reading history textbooks or anything, but it feels good to stretch my brain and get a little bit out of my comfort zone!

I was going to post a comment on Cecily’s site urging her to send a letter to the company (if she hadn’t already) regarding an unfortunate incident concerning a chocolate bar, but figured it was going to be kind of long so I might as well tell the story here.

Utz is a brand that makes potato chips and other snacks. This past fall, I was prompted to send an email (and photo) to the company after my husband found a “prize:”

We just got to the bottom of a “Family Size” bag of Utz Potato Chips, and found a small plastic bag with two keys in it (photo attached).

We figured you’d like to know since this is both unsafe and unsanitary.

I included the numbers on the bar code, the store where we most likely purchased the chips, and this photo:

I received a prompt reply from a sales manager, who dropped off a sample box with six bags of chips and a jar of salsa in exchange for the keys and empty bag!

The company also send me a letter following their “investigation” letting us know how their plant is considered to be one of the most sanitary, and they were unable to determine how the keys wound up in our chips.

They included a refund check and a brochure (in case we ever wanted to tour their factory).

So, this was not nearly as disgusting as Cecily’s discovery, but we got some free stuff!

Sometimes, it pays to complain!