R.I. Man Pleads Guilty to Selling Fake Vermont Maple Syrup

Bernard Coleman of Rhode Island just plead guilty for mislabeling his maple syrup as pure Vermont Maple. He said that he originally sold the real stuff over the Internet until 2009 when prices went up, so he started to make his own by using maple flavoring, water and sugar.

According to the article, a couple who recently bought roughly $220 in his products thought it tasted off, and had it tested by the state Department of Agriculture Consumer Protection. Lo and behold, it was determined to be made from cane sugar.

What shocks me the most is that he's gotten away with it since 2009. How could no one have noticed by now? Three years? That's a long time to pull off maple flavoring, water and sugar as Vermont Maple Syrup. The real stuff is just too good to fake, or so I thought.

Even more shocking, he's facing up to three years in prison for "introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce with the intent to defraud or mislead." Lesson learned: do not mess with Vermont food products or you'll actually go to prison.

To view the full article, click here.


Image 1 via plimoth.com
Image 2 via deamstime.com

5 Popular Items That Don't Actually Work - And Some Substitutions That Do

Seeing heavily-advertised items for what they really are is tough. Marketing is a gift, and the people who do it are excellent at creating advertisements that consumers love and believe in - whether they're true or not. Here is a list of five commonly-purchased items that don't actually work at all, and what you can try using instead.

1. Airborne
Airborne was created by a school teacher and many doctors say there is no actual proof that it helps your immune system whatsoever. If you really want to avoid getting sick this season, eat a balanced diet, get enough sleep, drink plenty of water and wash your hands. Sorry folks, but a healthy lifestyle is the best immune system boost there is.

2. Diet Soda
In general, foods that are sweet but have zero calories are chalk-full of chemicals that are not good for your body. In fact, some studies have showed that because our bodies aren't designed to take in all of these chemicals, diet soda actually stores as fat in your body more so than regular soda. Have to have it? Try flavored Polar Seltzer or add some juice to club soda. Try here or here for a couple of good recipes.

3. Many Sunscreens
Many people look for sunscreens with the highest SPF to ensure that they're getting optimum protection. However, SPF ratings are part of an equation that includes how long the sunscreen is effective paired with specific skin types. When choosing sunscreen, look for 18 percent concentration zinc oxide or titanium oxide. Sunscreen for babies is a good way to go, or any of these kinds here.

4. Nose Strips
Unless you're a race horse, have a serious snoring issue and/or a deviated septum - nose strips won't help your breathing. Tests showed that nose strips don't actually improve the amount of oxygen you receive. They do however work well on horses and will improve your snoring. If you're only using them to better your breathing, though - it's not really worth it.

5. Many Acne Treatments
Acne treatments often have ingredients in them that serve as an irritant more so than a solution. So when you're shopping for treatments, make sure you're not following a commercial and follow the ingredient list instead. Look for a BHA treatment with a pH level of 3-4 and avoid any irritants. While ProActiv is a good solution, it uses AHA glycolic acid, which is a step down from the preferred BHA.
(*The worst offenders are Burt's Bees Natural Acne Solutions, Neutrogena Rapid Clear 7 Day Acne Intervention Kit, Avon Clearskin and Kiehl's Blue Herbal Collection.)

Want something you'll love that has an excellent reputation, zero false advertising and millions of fans? Try a Subaru. Head to our website or stop by to check out our new and used Subaru inventory today.


Check out the full article at Lifehacker.com.

Image 1 via thefrugalgirls.com
Image 2 via drerikson.com
Image 3 via chasing20.com
Image 4 via silvereaglelabs.com
Image 5 via beautybanter.com
Image 6 via socalsubies.com

Man Found Alive in Snow-Covered Car After Two Months

A 45-year-old man was found in his car, which was buried in snow, after two months of being stuck inside. The man appeared "emaciated" when he was found by two men on snowmobiles.

The Swedish man was close to the Article Circle, and evidently stayed alive with no food for the duration of the two months, but sustained himself by melting snow for water. The medical staff attending to the man say that he withstood the -22F degree weather by staying in his sleeping bag, and by the minute warmth provided by the snow encasing his vehicle.

All information and image via autoblog.

Ready for a Second City Market?

City Market will be opening a second location in the greater Burlington area. If you're one of the many who struggle through the City Market parking lot and lines, this will be a great addition for you. After some research,   G2G Research Group (a California consulting group) discovered that City Market has an impressive "sales-per-square-foot-performance-level" and thinks that customers would have a better shopping experience if there wasn't the huge cluster known as the City Market parking lot.

The researchers looked at northern Burlington, Winooski and the Pine Street area and have come to the conclusion that lower Pine Street in the south end is the best place for the addition. When will it happen? We're not sure yet. General Manager Clem Nilan says it's too early in the process to give an exact date. But we'll keep you updated!

For more information, view the article in Seven Days that also features the expansion of Healthy Living, which will be adding a new location sometime in January 2013 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Image via @CityMarket Twitter.

Cabot's New Mobile App

Cabot just released a new mobile app called Reward Volunteers, which will run as a trial from Feb. 14-July 7, 2012. The app is designed so that volunteers may share photos, tag organizations, log hours and post activity - and have a chance to win big for doing it.

"For now, during this first stage of development, volunteers can tag organizations, share photos, and post activity using Reward Volunteer on their iPhones and on Facebook. The more volunteer hours accrued, and the more sharing that occurs, increases a user’s chances to win prizes," according to an article in the Burlington Free Press.

Prizes include a Cabot plaid Burton snowboard, gift baskets, vacations, gift certificates, ski passes and cash. For more information, check out their website.

Image via Reward Volunteers.

How to: Make Your Own Ginger Beer

It's flu season, and there are high levels of the flu going around in our area. Not just the influenza flu - the nasty stomach one. Tough to beat. I'm the sole person in my house (of 4 people) that hasn't gotten it yet; the odds aren't favorable. Being the one flu-less member of my house also means that I'm the one dishing out ginger ale by the gallon, and it's made me remember how much I hate regular ginger ale, and love ginger beer.

So on a brighter note, here is a recipe for ginger beer that I found on serious eats this morning, I haven't tried it yet due to its very recent discovery, but it looks simple enough (despite being a long process).

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups peeled and minced fresh ginger
• 2 quarts cold water, divided
  
• 2/3 cup freshly-squeezed lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon dried champagne yeast

Directions:

• Mix sugar, ginger, and 4 cups water in saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand 1 hour to steep.
• Strain syrup through strainer and funnel into 2-liter soda bottle. Add lime juice. Fill with cold water to within 2 inches of top. Cap and cool in refrigerator or ice bath until about 65°F.
• Add 1/4 teaspoon champagne yeast. (Reserve remaining yeast for next batch.) Cap bottle and let stand at room temperature for about 2 days, checking bottle pressure intermittently by squeezing it or releasing the cap slightly and briefly.
• When ginger beer has achieved desired carbonation level, refrigerate.

Enjoy!

Recipe and photo 1 courtesy of serious eats.

Photo 2 courtesy of the Houston Press, edited in house.

10 Ways to Travel Smarter

For those of you headed on vacation this winter or just traveling for business - here are the top 10 ways to travel smarter to make your trip, well, easier.

10. Pack your bag more efficiently. You should roll your clothing to avoid wrinkles and create more space. State of mind while packing - "Pack like a flight attendant." Plus, unless you're flying JetBlue or Southwest, you don't want to pay $50 to check bags; just keep it as small and simple as possible.

9. Find a cheap place to stay by renting an apartment. The article recommends Airbnb, where you rent a place from actual people, not a company. You can also save a ton of money on food since most of the places come with full kitchens. Make sure you read the reviews and ask any important questions you may have before you book it!

8. Get a better rewards card to fly cheap, or free. Sign up for a card that gives you several thousand miles as a bonus, but choose carefully and pick a card that's right for your wants and needs.

7. Easy refill your travel-sized items. Refill your travel-sized items by creating a tube refiller. This way you can use the items in your bathroom that you already own and convert them to TSA-approved size.

6. Compare transportation type costs to find the cheapest way to go. Sometimes you may think it's a good idea to drive instead of fly to save money, but first, use this calculator from Lifehacker that can tell you if your deferred route of transportation may actually be the better way to go.

5. Get discounts at retail stores by asking for a tourist discount card. This is a card offered by some retailers that can get you up to 11 percent off of your purchase - just show your out of state ID and ask for a tourist card.

4. Ask retail stores to ship your purchases to your home to avoid dealing with over-bulky suitcases and extra airport charges. Most retail stores will do this for a small fee, just ask!

3. Pack these items.

2. Protect your home while you're away. The article on Lifehacker says to create do-it-yourself surveillance or motion detectors, but for the less technologically-savvy, just make sure you know what's in your house before you leave. If anything goes missing, you'll at least know about it when you get home.

1. Prepare your laptop and smartphone for travel. Download good travel apps before you go, like TripIt for an itinerary, and Google Places for points of interest.

via Lifehacker.com

photos from Color-Coded, BusinessWeek & WorldwideTourism

Subaru Helps Hawaii Wildlife

The Share the Love event by Subaru brought in $6,700 for the Hawaii Wildlife Fund, followed by an addition $5,000 when the Hawaii Wildlife Fund won the fan favorite.

According to the press release, '"Hawaii Wildlife Fund's multiple, ongoing conservation projects will benefit from Subaru Hawaii's generosity and the publicity of the Share the Love campaign," said Cheryl King, Hawaii Wildlife Fund vice president. "We can only hope that other businesses recognize the importance of giving back to the community so we can all work together to protect our natural resources, which makes Hawaii a better place to visit and live."'

They also said that because of this donation they will be able to save thousands of homeless dogs and cats. Once again, Subaru shows its never-ending love for animals.

If you haven't already heard - Subaru's Game Day Walk will take place on Feb. 5! Pledge online by clicking here!

To view the press release, click here.

via mauitime

Best Things to Buy in February

Another buyers update from Lifehacker. Major sales happen in January, but there are a few that carry over as well as a couple of new ones that start up with annual trade shows.

Here's the list of the best things to buy in February:

Boats (February is boat show season)

Broadway Tickets (It's off season for Broadway, and in Feb. you can score some 2-for-1 deals in the box office for shows like Rent and the Blue Man Group! Check it out here)

Digital Cameras (Now is the time of year when manufacturers are beginning to present their new models at trade shows, so you can get great deals on last year's models)

HGTVs and Home Theaters (Superbowl sales for one, and two; new models come out next month)

Video Games (All the new games came out in time for Christmas, so most of the superfans already own them and they'll go on sale this month)

And things to buy any time in the winter:

Wedding Supplies (for obvious reasons)

Gas Grills and Air Conditioners (for even more obvious reasons)

Now I know cars aren't on that list, but if you're interested in checking one out, please visit our website to see our selections of new and used inventory. Every season is a good season for a Subaru.

via Lifehacker.com

UVM Gives Up the Bottle

UVM just announced that they will be ending the sales of bottled water on campus. They are one of the first schools in the country to administer this new way of life, and will also be requiring that at least 1/3 of drinks sold in the 57 campus vending machines are healthy options.

This new approach marks the end of a ten-year contract that UVM has with Coca-Cola - starting July 1, UVM's dining service Sodexo will be providing the drinks on campus with their own national contracts. The actual termination of bottled water sales won't commence until next January, so that the school can retrofit drinking fountains around campus.

For more information, or to see the full press release, click here.