I Disagree

One of my greatest passions in life is the pursuit of GREAT coffee, and it's even gotten so that I even roast my own coffee beans. I know...I know it's sad...but it is in order to meet a quality of freshness that is unsurpassed.

(Often times, I am having my first cup of coffee from the batch only hours after roasting. It is sooo good, even if I do say so myself.)

And when we are out and trying a new coffee shop, my wife will tell you that my litmus test for the shop is to see how they make their plain ole cup of coffee.

That being said, I guess it's only natural that I was a bit taken aback to read a survey by Consumer Reports that McDonald's Coffee beat out Starbucks in a taste test!!!!! What?!?!? Yup.

The test was taken by trained tasters as they sampled a medium cup of black coffee from McDonald’s, Burger King, Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks. According to the magazine, McDonald’s coffee beat the rest.

Now, I have been in a hurry, and whipped through the drive-thru to get coffee from both places, and I gotta say that I strongly disagree.

Please don't get me wrong...McDonald's did a great job in instituting better coffee, and by NO means do I feel that Starbucks is the be all, end all--best cup of coffee in town. It isn't. I just can't wrap my taste buds around what CR found better in McD's coffee over Starbucks, because I feel that Starbucks has the upper hand in all categories, except for price.

(Sigh) Well, I have said my piece.

I think I'm just going for my favorite cup of ink...Costa Rica coffee beans--handroasted at the Harper household. :)

CH

Where's Waldo???--21st Century Style

I found this link from another blog that I try to keep up with... a fun site that challenges the power of the Internet:

The project is called Find Satoshi, and basically asks you to see if you can find this random guy simply by posting his photo and giving his name. Then, asking you (along with thousands of your friends) to track him down.

Honestly, it is a real-life "Where's Waldo?" Although, as far I can tell--there are no red-and-white striped shirts involved.

Here's the link if you would like to find out how you can participate in the game, and for updates.

http://www.findsatoshi.com/index.html

CH

Lucky...

If you've ever taken the kids to Disney World, you know that as you walk down Main Street in the Magic Kingdom, right in front of you is Cinderella's Castle.

As you walked, your daughter might have wondered if Cinderella would ever have a slumber party at her place?Well, actually, she did last night!!

The Fouch family --Lisa, Jim, their 16 yr old son, Brad, and 8 year old daughter, Hannah, were the first people ever to spend the night in the Castle as they were winners in Disney's "Year of a Million Dreams" celebration.

Even more interesting is that there was no 3x5 card, no email or website entry involved. Rather, a computer randomly picked a person sitting in a certain seat in the Star Tours ride at MGM Studios to stay in the castle--That person was Brad.

CH

A Quick Pondering

There were a lot of factors to consider when you had your children, and there are still many to think about when you’re considering having another one —finances - work or stay home - daycare or nanny, and where you live.

Fit Pregnancy magazine talked to the experts, looked at the research, and measured everything from maternity leave to daycare laws in the top 50 most populated cities, and came up with top places to have a child.

1. Boston -phenomenal healthcare, and is home to some of the nation's most highly regarded specialty hospitals.

2. San Francisco- air quality is excellent, and the plentiful hills and parks.

3. Minneapolis - has almost three times the average number of licensed daycare providers for every 1,000 children under age 4.

www.fitpregnancy.com

Bacon Bits

I just received an email from Kevin Bacon!!!

Okay, so it was one of those mass emails...but it was fun to read the subject line; Chalmer, Kevin Bacon has sent you a message." LOL!

You might have played the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game...you know where you connect an actor or an actress with Kevin Bacon in six steps through the different movies and such that they've been in.

For example, take Val Kilmer. Val has never been in a movie with Kevin, however, he has been in a movie with Tom Cruise (Top Gun.) Tom Cruise was in A Few Good Men with KEVIN BACON....That's a quick one.

Well, Kevin has discovered a way to make the game so much more than a gimmick. As a matter of fact, this could turn into something legendary.

A year ago, he bought the domain name SixDegrees.org. And now, he has turned it into an online charitable-giving site, where you can find out about a favorite celeb's charitable work and make online donations to that cause.

You can also collect celebrity "badges" and attach the interactive icon to your outgoing e-mail, Web page or blog, thus creating the connections with potential to grow exponentially.

Also, you can create your own badges, which will link to their favorite charity.

The very intesting thing is that Kevin said he was inspired by Paul Newman's salad dressing.
Noticing that Newman took a simple idea - he likes to cook - and hundreds of millions of dollars later, he has this fantastic charity.

Find out more at www.sixdegrees.org

CH

Random Things

Every once in a while, there are so many neat things to talk about that I just have to let you know about them all. Today is one of those days! So, enjoy!

It could be considered an age-old battle--Wanting your kids to make fantastic grades. However, they need motivation, and you can't offer them the moon. Well, some school systems are now taking that matter into their own hands by experimenting with an incentive to coax good grades out of students --By paying them up to 100 dollars for good performances on state achievement exams.

The third- through sixth-graders in the study receive 15 dollars for every score of "proficient" on a state exam and 20 dollars for better results -- so they can collect 100 dollars if they have high scores in all five subjects.

But they aren't giving cash...The money will come as gift certificates redeemable at a local pizza parlors and shopping centers.

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It could be your worst nightmare...not knowing what's in your kid's textbooks...and then, they ask you for help with their homework. Well, that quick dilemma, could soon play out on national television. Yes, national television, and this time, the kids rule!

Fox announced that it is making a new game show, "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?" where adults will compete in a quiz based on questions from elementary school textbooks. The fun part is, actual elementary school students will be on hand as "experts" for the adults to consult with.

It will air sometime later this year, or maybe as early as spring.

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If you Talk on the phone...Fix your makeup...or sip a bit of Starbucks while you're driving...You're not alone. I read today that 81 percent of Americans do a lot more than drive when they're behind the wheel.

Most talk on the phone...followed by eating, fixing hair, and putting on makeup. Then, sending text messages, checking email, and even shaving. I had never really thought of doing that...but then it even goes down another road where drivers also admitted to changing seats with passengers, painting their toenails, and putting in contact lenses while driving.

No wonder we say we "live in our cars." :)

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Have a great day!
CH

Space-The Final Frontier

If you have a child who dreams of being an astronaut, or maybe you've always wanted to be one yourself...this is your lucky day!! You can be an integral part of a new space mission launch--no space suit required.

In 2010, a small unmanned research spacecraft designed by students will launch into Earth's orbit, and they invite you to participate in this landmark mission by uploading content to be printed on their spacecraft.

Use your "space in space" to fly your name, signature, corporate logo, or photograph! If you choose a location on the outside of the spacecraft, then you will receive pictures of your content--photographed from space!!! If you choose a location inside the return vehicle, five weeks after it's been in orbit--they'll return to you the actual piece of spacecraft hardware which carried your image into space.


Believe it or not, options start as low as $35 for a single square centimeter and all monies go to help science research at Georgia Tech and MIT--so that means they are tax deductible, too! YAY!

More at www.yournameintospace.org

CH

Candy Coated

This is me as an M&M-- LOL!!!

You can become one, too, at www.becomeanmm.com

Have fun!

CH

Top Dogs

The cold weather has returned after a very warm weekend.

As a matter of fact, my wife, Meredith, and I went to Sycamore Shoals in Elizabethton to walk the dogs around and get some exercise. It was a lot of fun! We hadn't been there in a while, and it seems that everyone thought it was a good idea to bring their dogs too!

We ran into soooo many different dogs....there were Boxers, Labs, a Yorkie, a Poodle, a Chihuahua, a Collie, Aussie Shepherds, mixed breeds, and our two Welsh Corgis! I think it is only fitting that the AKC released it's list of the top dog breeds in America yesterday...actually, there's a surprise near the top of that list.

The top dog in the country, as it has been for 16 years, is the Labrador Retriever (I had one once...great dogs!) But making a jump into second was none other than the Yorkshire Terrier...Yup, the little Yorkie took its fun and fiesty attitude to number two over the Golden Retriever, the German Shepherd, and the Beagle...

Not too far down the list were our buddies, the Corgis...jumping up a spot to number 22...see the full list at www.akc.org

CH

What's In A Name?

It's not something boring and mechanical...It's a relationship...

That's the way many people are describing their VEHICLES...

I was reading that researchers found that many feel their car has a personality of its own and they even have a nickname for it --things like Betsy.

And that relationship isn't just "paint" deep as people talk about their strong feelings for their cars and trucks, they mention dependability, time spent keeping them up and the freedom that comes from cruising on the open road.

And believe it or not, women were more likely than men to attribute personal traits to their cars, more likely than men to give their car a nickname and more likely to see their cars as female. Researchers also concluded that intense vehicle loyalty may be linked to the amount of effort an owner has put in keeping the car in good shape.

Does your car have a nickmname...or personality?

My first car did...it was a manual shift '87 Ford Ranger XLT Extended Cab -- Green and Tan.

Nickname: Mermobile

Personality: Superhero-do extraordinary things with its resources in order to help.

And to this day, I still think it was the best automobile I have owned....the personal investment is probably why...but some days, I think...I should have never sold that truck.

CH

Winter Finally Arrives!!!

YAY! Snow!!

We haven't had much cold weather lately, so this first snowfall of winter is such a beautiful thing to see and experience. It was even cold outside. Nice! Thought I would share with you some photos of what the WCQR building looked like just a few minutes after it started. It was coming down fast!!!

It almost makes me want to pull the Christmas music back out and play "Let It Snow" several times over.

Be careful picking the kids up from school early today...and don't forget the milk, bread, and eggs. :)

CH

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MIKE PERRY!!!!

Super, Super, Super

We are starting to approach Super Bowl time,. And though your husband will want to watch for the football, you might want to watch for the commercials!

You'll particularly want to be glued to the TV if the wish a man secretly named JP comes true! Now, the reason why he has a secret name is that he doesn't want to spoil the surprise should he be able to propose to his girlfriend in Super Bowl Commercial!!!

The idea came to him during the summer, and since September, he's been chronicling his quest on MySuperProposal.com


At last research, Super Bowl commercials cost somewhere in the range of 2.5 million, and JP has done well so far, but he doesn't have enough as he stands at only $100,000. So, he's trying to find a marketer who will put him in an ad.

And you have to give him credit, he has already spoken with three diamond retailers and two hotel groups. He's even in contact with AOL and Yahoo as potential underwriters. That way, he can make the proposal and then place a video of the response on one of those sites for the world to see her reaction...

Let's just hope she doesn't get thirsty during commercial breaks. LOL!
CH

He's a Lego Maniac!

This is just awesome!! Legos bring out the total kid in me...and this particular model really does. When I was younger, I would play with GI Joe, Voltron, He-Man, and other action figures.

So, I was excited to read that Lego fan--rather, Lego Maniac-- Malle Hawking, 36, has not stopped using Legos. As a matter of fact, he built a giant model of the Harry S Truman aircraft carrier using 300,000 bricks!!!

Someone must've given him a few gift certificates to Toys R' Us, because that's a whole lotta moo-lah spent on some Legos.

Well, just seeing this has me wishing to do something child-like today. My wish is the same for you...Hope you get a chance to be a "kid" again today or in the very near future!

CH