Thursday, October 14, 2010

McRibs Existence

"The sandwich's elusiveness has created a fan base of people who go to considerable lengths to munch on a McRib. Ryan Dixon of Burbank, Calif., once drove 10 hours to Medford, Ore., after hearing a McDonald's there was selling the sandwich.McRib (courtesy of McDonald's)

"It has a ghostly quality," says Mr. Dixon, a 30-year-old graphic novelist. "You don't know when it will appear. It's the girl who you are in love with who has always been a tease to you."

On Nov. 2, for the first time in 16 years, McDonald's Corp. will offer the McRib at outlets across the U.S., but even then, only for six weeks or so. "It doesn't sell well all year long because people get tired of it," says McDonald's USA President Jan Fields.

Derided by some as "mystery meat," the McRib has served as the inspiration for a Simpsons episode about a "Ribwich," and appeared on David Letterman Top 10 lists and in the movie Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, in which a character cites the McRib as an example of African-American Irish culture.

Nearly 300 Facebook groups are devoted to the sandwich, including "Bring back the McRib, Please," with more than 500 members.

Some people don't get the attraction. Justin McDaniel, a 32-year-old health-care-industry worker in South Pasadena, Calif., says he'll go out of his way for some fast-food products, but the McRib is "pretty disgusting" and he'll never sample one again.

"It's a conglomeration of pork waste, as far as I can tell," says Kate Sedgwick, 34, a travel blogger who lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She has never actually tasted a McRib, and isn't familiar with its ingredients because, she says, "I saw a dog turn his nose up at a piece of one. That's all I need to know."

Plenty of companies offer limited-time products to coincide with holidays or promotions. Burger King (NYSE: BKC - News) offered actual ribs for a while this year. Mars Inc. sells red and green M&M's at Christmas.

For McDonald's, with about $23 billion in annual revenue, these sorts of items might be considered a drop in the bucket. While the chain says it sold more than 60 million McRib sandwiches in the last three years, it sold 1.5 billion Big Macs in the same period. But every sale counts in a business that demands month after month of strong same-store sales.

"A tenth of a point in sales at McDonald's is a lot of money," says Dennis Lombardi, executive vice president for WD Partners, an Ohio restaurant design and development firm. "There's a certain percentage of people, when a product is not available, that crave it, and for the short amount of time that it's available again, it stimulates traffic."

A McDonald's spokeswoman said the company isn't behind any of the McRib fan groups on Facebook and that there is no connection between McDonald's or any of its McRib lovers.

Still, the franchiser has helped cultivate the McRib mystique. Five years ago, one of the company's marketing regions in the South said it was permanently removing McRibs from all restaurants and announced a "McRib Farewell Tour." At the same time, the region created a "Save the McRib" website sponsored by the fake "Boneless Pig Farmers Association of America." The sandwich continues to be sold on and off in the region."



source: yahoo.com

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Ipad Finger Paint



Thought this was pretty cool... Hope you all enjoy. Skip to 6:25 if you want to see all of it done faster without watching every second of his finger creating this piece.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Commercial Jetpack?

Martin Jetpack
The first commercial Jetpack will available soon, crazy! 


"The jetpack in question is being developed by the Martin Aircraft Company which was founded in 1998 and operates out of New Zealand. Despite what may be the oddest coincidence in the aviation community- an industry not typically known for its love of hilarious coincidences- the Martin Aircraft Company was founded by Glenn Neal Martin, not to be confused with Glenn Luther Martin, whose “Glenn L. Martin Company” became the “Martin” in “Lockheed Martin”. In 2003, Martin Aircraft Company received its first round of funding from the Venture capital group, No 8 Ventures, and formed a board of directors with the goal of growing the company through the revenue produced from the Martin jetpack. "
Martin Jetpack
"Currently Martin Aircraft Company is fulfilling an order for 500 jetpacks to be used by emergency services, as well as four unnamed defense companies. As of right now, the company’s focus is to produce jetpacks specifically for governmental purchase, but they are seeking funding to build at least one new factory with the purpose of producing jetpacks for the average (extremely rich) customer."



Source: Yahoo.com 

Friday, October 1, 2010

Key Largo...


I'm so jealous of this. This is a hotel in Jules Undersea lodge, in Key Largo, Florida. I will have a room like this in my house when I'm older.. I will.