It should be noted that Best Western properties are independently owned and operated. I hope HQ's requirement that franchisees buy this gear also means the equipment will be actually used on a regular basis and not locked away in Houskeeping and never used.

I'm more concerned about the drivers who are not part of the car train plus other hazards such as deer, semi tires which have lost a hunk of tread, or something falling off other vehicles.

I was surprised the old "open a beer bottle with a sheet of paper" method was not included.

I agree with your comment about a drop in quality. The Weber I bought in '99 lasted 10 full years whereas my 3 year old one is already showing signs. My old Gold model also included a top-mounted thermometer which has been dropped in the newer Gold. Ditto for a pair of charcoal baskets, which I swear by. …

My jumps were in the early 80s. The chutes were modifies round military chutes; they added an air outlet to the back of the canopy to provide some forward motion.

I quit skydiving after my sixth solo jump. Jumps 1, 3, & 5 went fine. The jumpmaster blew it on jump 2, dumping me in the woods. Jump four included a May West which resulted in a constant spin. I did not have to dump my primary and go to my reserve though. Jump 6, my first freefall, started with my helmet hitting…

Interesting idea. Some smaller diameter bungee cord and a few self-stick furniture protection bumpers from the dollar store and you have something very similar which unlike webbing, will stretch.

I have had two past dogs and have two now with three being retrievers. None has ever shown interest in a KONG for very long. If I put kibble or treats inside, they fall out in no more than a minute. Using peanut butter and such inside just makes a mess which even running through the dishwasher won't clean. Putting…

Laws could be very different in Japan.

It won't be the products launched over the next few months which will be telling as those have been in the pipeline for quite some time. It is the products launched in 2014 which will tell if Tim Cook's style affects the product development processes and culture at Apple.

I remember some fairly well to do family friends in the '60s having a remote which had only channel-up and -down. Instead of optical, each of the two buttons mechanically activated a little hammer which struck an aluminum rod, producing a tone. The TV 'listened' for the tones and activated a bidirectional…

It would be interesting if iSuppli did its usual unit manufacturing cost analysis on this charger. I would not be at all surprised if the UMC were about $4. Apple then sells it to retailers for $15 who then sells it for $25. For retailers, there is little margin for iOS devices but there is a lot of margin on…

Since cilantro is the plant which produces coriander, do cilantro haters also dislike coriander?

Apple, thanks for keeping our Oregon air clean and probably idaho's and Nevada's too.

Reluctantly. It is not common knowledge I work there. I am embarrassed being seen in public wearing my company-issue shirt. That is a problem now that coat-less weather has arrived.

I've been working in a Best Buy in the PC department for almost a year. The "Rec Sheet" is used by sales to verbally collect info from customers to help ensure sales and the customer are on the same page so the right PCs are offered. If they do not make a purchase that day, the customer is given the Rec Sheet and…

Ah, but if articles of relevance (signal) are surrounded by irrelevant articles (noise) they can drive away readers. Losing readers means losing eyeballs and therefore ad revenue which keeps Gawker in business. Gawker has closed other sites due to insufficient ad revenue, a fate which could happen to Giz.

Ah... I was not familiar with that quote. Thx.

The heavy lifting is capturing and compositing all the images. Creating the actual print is not all that difficult.

It will sell as well as Android phones with larger screens — very well.