Last weekend, I passed through an event taking place in a public park. Aside from the presence of a Starbucks van, there was nothing to indicate what the event was or why they were holding it. I assumed it was some sort of Starbucks product sampling, and nothing more. Well, after I walked by a […]

I remember reading some articles last year about how restaurants can increase their dessert sales. The ideas were simple but seemed quite smart: offer lower-cost desserts with a meal purchase, provide smaller portions at a lower price, etc. Well, I’m happy to report that at least one restaurant chain in Chicago is finally giving this […]

While shopping for a Valentine’s Day gift for my wife, I started off in a nearby candy store that carries quite a selection of chocolate. Surely, I figured, they’d have a few boxes of dark chocolate, which she prefers to milk chocolate or (gasp) white chocolate. Well, I canvassed the whole store, and there was […]

After a particularly harsh snowfall, I read an article that talked about the difficulties of clearing sidewalks. Apparently, there are many situations where private businesses, rather than the city, are responsible for shoveling the snow away. But when a storefront is empty or an unused lot is neglected, the snow can pile up and create […]

While I was researching a fairly mundane household product, I came across the manufacturer’s website. The site was nicely done, aside from a bit too much Flash, and I quickly reached the Find a Store page. I noticed that their products were carried by Amazon, so I went to Amazon to check it out. Unfortunately, […]

Last weekend, I tried to use a gift card at a local Italian restaurant. When I gave it to the waiter, he was rather puzzled, despite the card bearing the exact name of the restaurant on the front. Then, he asked me if there was enough money on the card to cover the meal, as […]