Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Factory Tour

What could be better than a pint of heaven? Going to the place that makes it! Nestled in the Green Mountains of Waterbury Vermont is a place that will make your mouth water. 

It's a family friendly place with a little playground for the kids, and more than a few beautiful photo opportunities. Every 30 minutes you have a chance to tour the wonders of ice cream making.

This isn't just any ice cream. Next time you are in the store pick up a pint of Ben & Jerry's and pick up a pint of any other brand of ice cream. Choose one that's similar in price. Feel the difference in weight. All pints are not created equal. That's not from all the stuff added. That's lack of air. Why pay for air?

If you find yourself on the tour one day, remember these words - pay attention to the details the tour guide tells you. When I was there, as the tour was ending there was a quiz. The tour guide gave out treats for the person that answered each question first and correctly. This might have been a tour guide preference, but why risk it? Besides, if you pay attention you'll have lots of fun facts to share with your friends and family when you get back home.

Until next time, go forth and get brain freeze with a pint of your favorite Ben & Jerrys!

Pirate Dice Game

There is a game that's been out for over a year with the real Disney Pirate's look to it. Shake your dice, tip over the cup and carefully spy what you have. Take turns lying like a rug, or don't. Just don't let on, and don't get caught without any dice or you are out of the game! It's best played with three or more players. What makes this a good game, besides all the fibbing for fun, is that it is a great pickup game and it lasts about five to ten minutes per game. It may take longer if you like to play up the drama and suspense.

For all you pirate fans out there, the best part of it all is, if you think your friend is lying, you get to say that famous line from the movie, "Will Turner, you're a liar!" Everyone then promptly takes up their cup and the truth is revealed. Was your friend correct when they said there were five sixes? You better hope not, or you lose one of your precious die! Arrrrrrh!

If you don't want to get the rules online and use coffee mugs and snitched dice from other games, Pirates of the Caribbean Pirates Dice: A Game of High Seas Deception is not too expensive. I've seen the price vary, but you certainly shouldn't have to pay more than 15 bucks for it. It comes with four rubber cups that look very real, including some barnacles for that extra special touch; 20 dice, which is five for each cup; and some instructions. There's a nice twist to this game. There are no 1's. They are little skull and crossbones that are wilds. Certainly makes things more interesting!

UPDATE: This game is reaching collectible status and is getting harder to find, so grab it while you can!

Yuengling - America's Oldest Brewery

Beer - there's no denying it is part of our culture. Popularity rises and falls, depending on fads, but overall beer in general always hangs strong. This decade microbreweries are in high fashion within the beer world. In what other time in American history could you walk into a local pub and ask for an oatmeal stout with chocolate overtones and not get laughed at?

But let's take a step back to the beginning of American beer history. If you've ever wondered what beer brand has been around the longest there is only one undeniable answer - Yuengling! It's been pleasing pub frequenters for over 178 years.

I'm not the biggest beer fan, as I only drink it less than a handful of times a year, but I do like good beer - beer that has a distinctive flavor and full body. Don't worry I'm not going to go connoisseur on you, so beyond those two descriptions that's it for my basic needs as an infrequent beer consumer.

I've been on one beer tour to date and that was a spur of the moment, dropped in because I happened to be nearby, trip to Yuengling Brewery in Pottsville Pennsylvania. It was very educational and you are paid well for your journey up and down all those steps by having a chance to sample 2 cups of Yeungling straight from the tap. I found two new favorites that day - Porter and Lord Chesterfield. It was during the last leg of the trip that I attained enlightenment over what a bung hole was. If you go to their website and click on "Fine Beers" they give a nice description of every beer they make.

Pottsville is a friendly little town tucked away in the hills of Eastern Pennsylvania. (I'd call them mountains, being from the East, but those of you that have experienced The Rockies might argue what makes a mountain.) Nearby there are coal mines to visit as well as natural caves. If you are traveling by car, are in the general area, and have some time, be sure to pick up some brochures of the area and discover some real gems.  If you are a fan of American Literature you may already know that John O'Hara was born in Pottsville and there is a historical marker a few blocks from the brewery, marking where he lived.


If you have not tried Yuengling, and are lucky enough to live in a state it distributes in, be sure to ask around for it. I'm seeing a variety showing up in liquor stores that only had the Lager if I was lucky. This Christmas I was pleasantly surprised to find not only Lager, but every single flavor Yuengling makes stocked at my local liquor warehouse.

Merry Christmas to me and the six pack of dark and yummy Yuengling Porter! (Full of B vitamins by the way.)

Until next time - Have a Happy and Safe New Year!

Free Survey Site - Get Paid for Your Opinion!

I've spent quite a good deal of time figuring out the best survey sites. Some are legitimate, but many don't pay all that well for the amount of time spent. Learn to identify these time wasters and increase your chances of a pleasurable experience. 

It has been a long journey, but I think I have reached a peak in quickly identifying survey sites worth spending my time on.

My favorites are the ones that send checks or deposit money directly into my PayPal account. The website has to make it easy to get the money, and not make me jump through almost impossible hoops. After all, didn't I earn the money already by taking the surveys and giving my valuable time, so the owners of the sites could get paid (very well I'm sure) by companies that need my opinion to make informed decisions?

They also have to not make it impossible to get a survey that I "qualify" for. Too many websites waste your time by allowing you to be "pre-screened" with dozens of questions, ones that you already have answered many times before, or that require a lot of reading to answer properly, only to tell you that you do not qualify.  Even worse is to have this happen over and over and rarely being able to complete a "real" survey.  It's also insulting to answer lengthy pre-screenings only to be told the survey is full. 

According to my criteria, Survey Spot is the top in the list. It is not to say I haven't made more on other sites, either in money or in things that translate into something valuable to me, but this one pays straight to PayPal, it is easy to request and I actually receive the funds I have earned.

I will say this: don't rush survey questions. Give thoughtful answers. I believe these better clearinghouses for surveys do, in some way, keep track of how mindful you are of answers. It is not to say that you should answer in an unnatural way, just be mindful and honest and you will be fine.

As for Survey Spot, make sure you check your email every day; several times a day if you can. The good surveys always fill up fast, sometimes within a few hours.  I am sure that Survey Spot figures out certain things about you and over time sends you invitations to surveys that you are more likely to qualify for. Also, if you are a mindful survey taker, in time you will get more valuable survey opportunities.

You may also get free stuff to try. I'm still waiting to get something big like a vacuum or a car, but you never know! I've gotten everything from cereal to fruit snacks. None were out on the market yet. Make sure you answer the follow up questions on anything you receive. A lot of times there is a week or so window to answer the questions, so don't mess around. They may opt not to send you anymore products to review if you don't give them feedback.

Every time you at least try to complete a survey they give you a chance to win in their sweepstakes. They give away nice chunks of money every year, several times a year, as well as gas cards, mp3 players and other various prizes. That's a nice bonus, but I'll gladly take surveys for cash.

Free Samples from Walmart

You probably don't realize Walmart gives away free samples on a regular basis. I didn't know until a few months ago.

It's easy  to get your samples and they are really free. The site asks you sometimes if you would be interested in taking a short survey in the future having to do with the sample you receive, but it is not required and they don't always ask.

There are usually three or four samples to choose from every week and from what I see, they have at least one new sample each week. I've received about four so far and they usually arrive within a few weeks. Everything is something you would find in Walmart, usually hygiene related (bath and body) or food.

When I get a sample I set it aside in my bag of goodies, unless it's something I really really wanted. Every month or so I send a box to a soldier overseas. Soldiers deserve samples too! If I were far from home I know I would miss my samples.

Don't forget to check back to the Walmart site every week to get your new samples. Here is the link to go to sample page directly.

More later on the boxes that I (and so many others) send overseas.

Go forth and sample!

Dirty Jobs and Mike Rowe

Dirty Jobs - Who doesn't love them? Well, I'll tell you who does - Mike Rowe!

If you haven't heard of this Discovery Channel hit show, then check to see if you still have a pulse, and perhaps a TV, then go find a TV schedule and tune in!

Mike Rowe will try just about anything once, and he always tries his best to do a good job, but I think he holds the unofficial world record for failing at the most jobs.

One job he doesn't fail at is voice overs, that's narration to some of you, or just "the voice you don't see and don't really pay attention to (if they are good at what they do)."  Have you seen the "Swap Your Ride" commercials for Ford? Listen to the voice. Have you watched Ghost Hunters on the Sci Fi Channel? That's him! Good ole Mike Rowe doing his "serious and somewhat urgent" voice at the beginning of the show. ("Tonight on Ghost Hunters... Jason and Grant investigate...." Couldn't have done it better, Mike!)

I'm not sure if this voice over bit is something new that has opened up for Mike Rowe or if I'm just starting to notice his voice all over the place, but it does pretty much guarantee him a nice income and future when he finally flubs up the last dirty job on the planet.

Head on over to the Dirty Jobs section of The Discovery Channel website and be sure to click on "Write your own caption." It's below the Vexcon box. See if you can find my caption!

Until next time, go forth and get yourself dirty ala Mike Rowe!

NaNoWritMo - National Novel Writing Month

It's  NaNoWritMo or "National Novel Writing Month" or just November to most people. I found out about this website about a week before the 1st and signed up immediately.

This website helps increase your chances of writing (and finishing) a novel. Writing is usually at the bottom of someone's list and life almost always gets in the way so November is a "no excuses" month! That is the spirit of the website. You don't win anything, but you can connect with fellow writers, including locals, for moral support and helpful tips. There aren't many rules, except that you weren't supposed to write anything more than an outline before the 1st of November.

I checked out the website, I believe it was under FAQ, and they had a list of people that signed up at their website, wrote a novel and have subsequently been published. Sounds promising. Sounds like the place to be if you want a chance at being a "real author"! Perhaps being a part of the program wins you brownie points in the eyes of some publishers... who knows!

I have a whole couple hundred words written, even though I should have about 5,000 by now. I could blame it on any number of things (namely spending five days fussing with a new DSL connection that doesn't want to work, and finally a wireless router, just to find out that my 3 year old computer that is out of warranty did not contain the internal wireless adapter that was supposed to come with it!) But I won't. I could also blame it on the fact that I have to count my words manually because I don't have any fancy "office" programs to do it for me. But I will not blame any of these things.

I hand counted words back in high school for those fussy teachers that didn't want pages but a set amount of words. Really, 500-600 words, 2000-2200 words, these word control freaks needed to rethink what they were doing to stressed out teenagers. And then there was the teacher that marked me off for supposedly quoting someone and not providing a footnote! For the record they were my words Mr. H! It didn't help he waited until the grades for the last report card of the year were already calculated.. I took the hit and took it as a compliment.

He doesn't know I wrote the whole thing the last night, all 13 pages, staying up all night, and had just enough time to get a shower and get on the bus. The report required 5-7 pages and he asked me if I knew that. I said yes, but that I couldn't get the point across in 7 double-spaced pages; it was impossible. My topic? The Church-State Debate. I was an angry young teenager with a chip on my shoulder. Those were the days, fired up and ready to pound out a few thousand words in one night; edit; edit again; and again; and feeling alive as the words poured out of my fingers. I need to get that feeling back to write this book.

I don't have an outline; I have no idea which way the story will go. I only have a few ideas and a history of the main character. She will need to take on a life of her own, as well as the story, bit by bit.

Do you have vague dreams of being a published author? Now is the month! Go forth and write something, anything... like before November ends... no excuses... go... scoot... make me a novel to read!

Where's George? Currency Tracking Website

The first diversion I'd like to post about is one of my favorites - Where's George?

The basic premise of this website is to track your money. I've had hundreds of "hits" so far and as time goes on, I enter more and more of the money that passes though my hands.

If you decide to sign up, please be patient - It may take months to get a hit!

A hit is where someone sees the website written on the bill you entered and enters that bill's serial number and series and denomination.

There are some guidelines to remember - so if you are interested please check out the FAQ and lurk at the forums.

There are some die-hard Georgers out there! If you look up "Where's George" on YouTube you will find some interesting videos that give some insight into just how dedicated some members are to their hobby.

Enjoy!