2010May

SkyMall Monday: Slug Trap

This is the time of year when we all stop focusing on which sweatpants are most comfortable for when we’re watching TV and begin thinking about tending to our gardens. Am I right or am I right? From flowers to herbs to fruits and vegetables, it’s time for us all to thaw out our green thumbs. Those tomatoes aren’t going to grow upside down by themselves.

As we all look at our neglected patches of grass and soil, barren and ravaged from another long winter, we must develop solid plans for rejuvenation. In the past, SkyMall Monday taught you how to fend off one villain of the gardener with the Solar Powered Mole Repeller. Today, however, we direct our attention to an even more dastardly scourge of the backyard: slugs.

Slugs have wreaked havoc on human gardens since the dawn of time.* Don’t let their speed (or lack thereof) fool you. Slowly, methodically and with blatant disregard for all that we hold dear, slugs destroy gardens for no other reason than they just find destruction so erotically thrilling.** But how can one lowly gardener battle such an epic beast? For those of us who have tried to defeat slugs with traditional methods such as guerrilla warfare, trade embargoes and verbal abuse, we know that they are resilient. Thankfully, I’ve called in reinforcements. Leave it to SkyMall to finally figure out how to defeat our slug overlords. This week, we’re unleashing the Slug Trap.Slugs may be slow, but they are crafty. They lure you into a false sense of security and then strike when you least expect it. After a summer rain, you will often see slugs scattered around your yard seemingly overcome by the deluge. However, they are simply absorbing the Earth’s life force through the water.*** Strengthened and emboldened, the slugs unleash fire and brimstone on your flowers and crops. This is not only disheartening, it is life-threatening. For those of us New York City residents who rely on our gardens to sustain us through the long winter months, a slug attack in the summer can mean starvation for our elderly and children come winter.

Think that slugs can just be stepped on or ignored? Think that some salt will solve your problems? I bet you never had to stare a slug in the eye and wait until he blinked first. But, I’ll humor you (not that there is anything funny about slugs in your garden). Let’s take a look at the product description:

Slugs and snails can do a lot of damage in your garden, so use this charming slug trap to stop them in their tracks. No chemicals needed — simply bury the stem of the resin mushroom slug trap into the ground and add a few tablespoons of sugar water or your favorite beer to the tray inside. Instead of chewing on your plants, these destructive pests will be lured inside the slug trap where they’ll meet their end out of sight.

Beer is supposed to make you stronger, wittier and more attractive. The fact that beer kills slugs is proof that they are evil incarnate. And when evil incarnate is finally vanquished by beer and/or sugar water, it is best that they expire out of sight. Since slugs have no souls, their carcasses can turn humans to stone.****

Look, if you think you’re so smart, you can ignore the slug occupation and stand idly by as they destroy your garden, steal your wife and eat your children. But don’t come knocking on my slug shelter when your garden is overrun by those slimy angels of death. You’re on your own, buddy. I’m going to defend myself with the Slug Trap.

* Mike Barish does not employ a fact checker.
** Mike Barish has a wild imagination.
*** Mike Barish was never much of a biology expert.
**** Mike Barish may have dementia.

Check out all of the previous SkyMall Monday posts HERE.

Nashville’s Gaylord Opryland Resort to be closed for months after floodwaters rise

The Cumberland River breach this morning in Nashville, Tenn., has flooded the Gaylord Opryland Resort. Gaylord Entertainment now says that the hotel and popular convention site is damaged and currently closed.

Company officials say the extent of the damage has not been fully assessed, but that the hotel will likely be closed for several months.

Last night, as the threat of flooding rose, the Opryland Hotel evacuated approximately 1,500 guests to higher ground. No guests or employees at the hotel have been injured in the flooding.

The Gaylord Opryland Resort is the largest non-casino hotel in the United States, with more than 2,800 rooms and 600,000 square feet of meeting space. The hotel hosts hundreds of meetings, shows, weddings and other events each year.

It is a popular vacation spot for country music fans visiting the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, and the hotel’s lavish Sunday brunch is legendary among locals.

The Gaylord Opryland is situated on the banks of the Cumberland River, which winds through the city of Nashville. It was protected by FEMA-approved levees.

The company says it will spend the next 24 hours assessing the damage and arranging alternatives for the conventions booked at the hotel in the coming weeks and months.

Daily gear deals – $20 Logitech laptop kit, $10 headset and more

Here are the hottest gear deals for today, Monday, May 3rd 2010. Remember, these deals are often valid for just one day, so act fast before they are gone.

Today’s first deal is for a Logitech notebook wireless mouse/sleeve combo. Normally, the mouse alone sells for over $20, so you are essentially getting the padded sleeve for free. On sale for $19.99 over at Amazon.com.

Next up is a great deal on the Sony PRS300SC ebook reader. With space for 350 books and a 5″ e-paper display, this well priced reader can run for 7,500 page turns off a single charge. On sale at Buy.com for $139.99.

Today’s third deal is for the new Samsung WEP490 Bluetooth headset. The headset features Noise filtering, echo cancellation, and wind noise reduction all for just under twenty bucks, but once you fill in (and mail) the rebate form, you get it for just $10!. Click here for this deal and here for the rebate form (PDF form).

Do you travel with a lot of USB devices? Regularly running out of open ports? Then check out this 4 port high-speed USB hub – which happens to be the perfect size for travelers. Best of all, at just $1.87 you won’t have to break the bank to add open USB ports. Click here for this deal.

Detroit airport cop and TSA worker accused of stealing pizza and punching clerk

Ladies and gentlemen, we have two new contenders for the “dumbest TSA workers of the year” award. An airport cop and TSA worker both showed up at a Hartland Township, MI gas station to buy some booze in order to continue their buzz (which means they drove there drunk already). The two paid for the booze, then Renee Zima, the TSA officer, is accused of stealing two pieces of pizza, and leaving the store.

When the store clerk approached them demanding payment for the items, Zima flashed her TSA badge, claiming she was with Homeland Security. When the clerk tried to get their plate number, these two idiots bent the plate, then stood in front of it, blocking his view. When the clerk went back outside, Zima’s partner in crime (and off duty airport police officer) Richard Frederick punched him in the face.

The funny part is that all the effort put into covering up their license plate was completely useless, as these two smart criminals already identified themselves by paying for their booze purchase with a credit card, and I’m sure all the surveillance footage doesn’t help their case that much either.

When apprehended, Frederick claimed he punched the clerk because he felt threatened by “all the store clerks surrounding him”, even though the video clips only show one person. Both the Wayne County Airport Authority and the TSA have started an investigation into the actions. Zima has been placed on administrative leave, and Frederick has entered rehab.%Gallery-76818%

Boston hotels waive bottled water charges while city remains in a water emergency

Two million people in the Boston area remain without water today following a catastrophic pipe rupture this weekend. While state officials work to repair the pipes and restore normal water usage through Boston and its surrounding 29 counties, Boston hotels are handing out freebies on what is usually a hot hotel room commodity: bottled water.

What would normally cost visitors upwards of $3 from the hotel mini bar or presentation tray is now free to guests staying at hotels.

State officials have issued a mandatory “boil water order” to affected counties that include: boiling water for at least one minute before use; no hand-washing or dish-washing in tap water; and most importantly, no drinking water from a tap or faucet, even if it’s filtered. I checked in with a few hotels in the city to learn what they’re doing to help guests cope with the water outage.

The Colonnade Hotel
informed me that all bottled water and all mini-bar water is complimentary for hotel guests. The Mandarin Oriental Boston is handing out free bottled water to all guests and the hotel colleagues, and all the dish-washing units in the hotel rooms have sanitizing cycles with sanitizing tablets. The Four Seasons Boston is putting extra bottled water in all the rooms at turndown and using bottled water to brew all coffee.

At the Ritz-Carlton, Boston Common, general manager Erwin Schinnerl told me the hotel is taking every precaution to ensure guest and staff safety.

“The Ritz-Carlton, Boston Common has operated uninterrupted for the past couple of days,” said Schinnerl. “All guest rooms are provided with ample bottled water, fresh ice is being provided, cooking, coffee/tea brewing and dishwashing processes have been modified to include previously boiled water and sanitation procedures for dishwashing, to assure no health and safety procedures are compromised.”

Thankfully, the water crisis is close to over. State officials were able to take a water sample early this morning from the busted pipe and results are expected back this afternoon, according to Ria Convery, a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority. The MWA hopes that full water restoration will be back to normal within 24 to 48 hours, but until the all-clear comes from authorities, everyone in Boston is required to use and drink only bottled or boiled water.

Were you traveling through Boston during the water crisis? How did your hotel help you? Let us know.