Reader Heather recounts the unfortunate discovery:

I thought I'd bring to your attention Mini Babybel Cheese, which was one that surprised even me. I got a message from the cashiers saying it didn't scan, which I thought was ridiculous, since it's always been popular. But there you go, a whole 2g less per wax packet. Sigh. And, you guessed it, the price is staying the same.

All this shrinking makes a lot more work for poor file maintenance workers like myself. But ah well! Such is the way of things in this wacky world.

I have attached a few photos of the "offenders", including the original as well as the copy-cat. The original Babybel package was 132g in total, the new one is 120g. I looked at each cheese packet, and yes, there is a noticeable size difference between the two.

Thank you for your time, and keep up the great work, guys! I'll be sure to keep you guys informed if I notice anything particularly interesting.

Larry writes:

I just attempted to buy, at Circuit City, using my charge card, and one of the $40.00 government-provided coupons, a TV converter box. After swiping both cards, the sales clerk presented me with two printouts to sign. One was for $21.19 and the other was for $40.00. Of course the $21.19 was the one for the difference between the purchase price minus the government coupon (plus the sales tax). Both printouts ended with this statement:

"The cardholder agrees to the credit card amount shown hereon and agrees to perform the obligations set forth in the cardholder agreement with the issuer."

I refused to sign the one for $40.00. I spoke with the manager, Kim, (whose last name is "the only Kim in the store") to cancel the transaction. She said she couldn't and insisted that I sign both printouts. I could see this was going to turn into an issue so I quickly pocketed both unsigned receipts, the government coupon card, and my credit card and left while Kim was threatening to call the police. NOTE: I removed no merchandise from the store.

As I was driving away, Kim was standing outside writing down my license number and talking on her cell.

The government is distributing $40 coupons to subsidize converter boxes that will allow people to watch television over-the-air after February 17, 2009, when all broadcast signals switch from analog to digital.

Retailers are required to accept the coupons, and customers are required to sign a slip so the coupon can be redeemed. For some mindless reason, Circuit City is using a credit card agreement as their signature slip, and making it appear as if the customer is about to pay an extra $40.

Circuit City already called Larry to tell him that his $21 charge would be reversed. As for his $40 coupon, apparently, it will be "refunded to the government."

Last year, the Loraxes at Greenpeace accused Apple of hating trees and raping the environment. In response, Apple announced that it was transitioning to L.E.D. screens, and that they would shrink their retail packaging. Clearly, it was all for show. Welcome, Apple, to the stupid shipping gang!

I was browsing in a local shopping center today and I came across the greatest tee shirt hung on display outside their door. My husband started turning it over looking for a price tag and I almost fell over laughing when he uncovered the treasure it had buried.

Reader Christina wants to know why there's black schmutz all over her Aunt Mille's homestyle seeded Italian bread.

She writes:

On Wednesday I went to Meijer to purchase bread. I purchased Aunt Millie's (Home style seeded Italian) because they were out of my regular brand (why the heck not its HFCS free) When I got home I wanted to make myself a sandwich,but to my surprise I found some mystery black stuff on my bread in diagonal slashes. At first I thought is was mold but looks more like residue stuff from some machinery.

We'd take the high fructose corn syrup over the bread-staining industrial gunk. Can anyone identify the mystery marks?

The New York Times explains:

...a recent short hop I took on Horizon Air set a new dismal standard for cost efficiency.

The lavatory had no sink.

Ick.

It did have a lone plastic bottle of hand sanitizer glued to the counter.

The proposed passenger bill of rights recently thrown out by the United States appeals court would have provided travelers with “food, water, fresh air, power and working restrooms on any flight that has left the gate and been on the tarmac for more than three hours.” That document didn’t feel the need to expressly define restrooms as including a sink within which to wash one’s hands.

The article then goes on to discuss the impact of airline aesthetics on the customer experience. Yawn! Let's talk about the sink.

We're not ones for extremist speculation, but let's consider a hypothetical.

The Era Of Sinks Has Sunk!: That's right, gone are the days of hand washing in airplanes. It's outdated, unnecessary. Besides, it's not like you need to wash your hands before the meal service.

And with oil cresting $140 per milliliter, it's too expensive to haul all that weighty worthless water when airlines can instead turn hand washing into a money maker. Money maker, you ask? Sure! What if passengers use up the one glued-on bottle of hand sanitizer? What will you do then?! Buy a new personal-size bottle of sanitizer, clearly. $5 per bottle, available alongside snacks and headphones.

-OR-

This Particular Sink Was Broken: This option is boring and consequently wrong. This sink is obviously a flying harbinger of doom.
Plan accordingly.

Fear of Flying [NYT]
(Photo: Bryan Burkhart)

Looks like Applebees in Lexington, VA doesn't believe in truth in advertising. Compare the menu's Hot Fudge Sundae shooter, which fills the glass and spills over the top, to the Sundae they served me, which barely fills half the cup. I guess I didn't get my two dollar's worth.

Beware diners, the inflation-powered Grocery Shrink Ray has escaped from store shelves and is now lurking in restaurant kitchens. It is destined to terrorize the masses until Ben Bernanke angrily rises in opposition after being served an equally disappointing dessert.

Does that mean there's another sign boasting: Girls! Girls! Girls!?

My daughter and I ordered a book as a Mother's Day gift, and I was disappointed to learn it would ship late and miss the big day. I had waited until the last day of the promotion (April 30th at about 9:00 PM EST), so I didn't want to complain. Then this landed in my inbox.

Dear Daniel,
 
Thank you for your recent Apple photo order.
 
I understand that you submitted your order to us in time to be received by May 11th.  You may have noticed that the tracking information for your order indicates the estimated delivery date is after May 11th.
 
To ensure that your order is received by May 11th, your order is being reprocessed free of charge and will be sent via expedited shipping. When it ships, you will receive a separate email with the tracking number for your duplicate order. Please accept both orders as a goodwill gesture.
 
I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you. I hope you continue to enjoy using Apple Photo Services for your creative projects. If you have any questions or concerns, please reply to this email and we will assist you further.
 
Thank you for being a loyal Apple customer and have a wonderful day.
 
Sincerely,
 
Sofia
Apple Photo Services Support

Apple saved Mother's Day! Landed at 10:00 AM on Friday - plenty of time to wrap it up. Very impressed that this was an unsolicited effort to make an annoying situation perfect.

We make it back to the Duluth store (Store 3220) and the floor manager Mike Jones starts giving Anthony crap about returning the TV, saying that “we wont take that TV, sorry but I have a store to run. You can take it back to Athens.”

How about we just get our money back? I mean, we got the wrong TV, we should at LEAST get a refund. We had the receipt and everything.

Nope. No refund. Mike tells us that we can “leave the TV on the curb for all he cares, he’s not taking the TV back and not refunding the money.”

Anthony is (rightfully) livid, and calls his manager, his manager’s manager, anyone he can to get this thing resolved and us leaving with either the correct TV or a refund.

No dice.

Upper management decrees that Anthony must take this busted ass floor model with him to Athens so that his district manager can sort the whole sordid affair out. It appears that Mike Jones is under the impression that Anthony is trying to pull a fast one on the Duluth store, by walking out of there with the correct TV and attempting to return a busted floor model as if that was the one he received when he was there eariler.

So what does that mean for Anthony? He’s currently out $1200, he’s being accused of lying, and has a busted ass floor model of a TV to show for it.

Doesn't seem all that new. How'd Anthony pay?Had Anthony charged the entire balance to his credit card, he would have been able to end the situation by filing a chargeback, or, if the television wasn't a piece of busted junk, possibly doubled the manufacturer's warranty.

Circuit City appears to have resolved the situation. His friend says only, "The whole fiasco is over. Anthony has the TV. Case closed. gg Circuit City." Yes, gg, Circuit City.

F*ck Circuit City [The Hansen Family Website]

Back in the glory days, when credit and food were cheap, it took a mere 2-liter bottle of Pepsi to bait customers into filling out a Walmart credit card application.

Recent events have forced America's largest retailer to resort to increasingly drastic methods to entice applicants. Filling out an application is now worth one of four different sodas, VitaminWater, or a box of candy. The way things are going, a completed Walmart credit card application will soon be worth a party-size bag of chips. The horror!

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PREVIOUSLY: Dell Won't Stop Sending Me Catalogs So I'm Burning Them

Tipster Michael writes:

Apparently the local Best Buy has an unbeatable service option for you. Looks like they will come to your house and insert your game to your 360 for you. Wonder how much they would charge to turn it on and put the controller in my hand?

I sent AmEx two checks for a penny each, one for two cents, two for three cents, one for four cents, and one for a nickel.

I didn't want them to accidentally drop one, and I was still in a bad mood, so I folded the first check up. Then the second. Then I realized I could fold them all up... around each other.

Topped off with the billing slip, with "stupid bill" written in green marker on it.

Smith writes:

Since at least 1994 I have had an American Express Optima card.

We finally paid the darn thing off.

I waited patiently for my final billing statement, and sent in the payment electronically the next day.

Except AmEx doesn't believe in Grace Periods, only Average Daily Billing.

So, AmEx decided my final bill of 340 odd dollars was an average daily bill of $23. So they sent me a bill for $.19 interest.

Unfortunately for all involved they sent me that in the middle of a really BAD week.

I thought about this.

What is the most evil way I can pay this thing?

If I do 19 payments of one cent each through my bank it will just go to the AmEx computers. That's too easy.

I started to send in $.19 from my desktop piggy bank.

Then I realized I wouldn't know they received it, and I really don't want a LATE bill for nineteen cents.

So I started to send a check for one center and 18 cents cash. (I have sent in $1.00 or similar checks before with paper forms to other billers—- then I know they got the damn thing).

Decided I didn't want to pay for the postage to mail a nickel.

Realized my bank gives me unlimited checks, unlimited check cashing for free.

So I tear out a chunk of checks.

Realize that if I'm the person processing the check, 19 checks for a penny each is pretty easy.

So I sent AmEx two checks for a penny each, one for two cents, two for three cents, one for four cents, and one for a nickel.

I didn't want them to accidentally drop one, and I was still in a bad mood, so I folded the first check up. Then the second. Then I realized I could fold them all up... around each other.

Topped off with the billing slip, with "stupid bill" written in green marker on it.

It just might have taken less time to wait on hold and be transferred 17 times trying to get them to waive a bill for $.19, but I have my doubts. AmEx has call centers in India just like everyone else.

Am I a bad consumer, or just sick of bull hockey? How hard would it have been for the computers to be programmed to say, "bill amount is less than cost of mailing, cheaper to waiver bill?" I have one medical laboratory I deal with who doesn't bill below a threshold — it's cheaper to eat the bill than send out and process a bill for some minimum.

Stupid conglomeramegacorporation.

-Bad Consumer Smith

Here's how Sabrina tells the story:

So there I was....eating a bowl of Cranberry Granola cereal a couple nights ago when I chomp down on a hard mass. The cereal is rather chunky and nutty, like most granola is, so i figured it was just a shell of a nut that snuck in there....WRONG!!

I proceeded to pull it out of my mouth only to find something that resembled a bone of sorts. I turned it over and discovered it had TEETH! A lot of them. Too small big to be mouse teeth. I am thinking rat, chipmunk or squirrel!

I started dry heaving immediately! I can't believe this was happening. I think I am still in shock! Thank goodness I didn't crack my back molar. I did cut a portion of my gum line...but nothing major. My jaw hurt for the rest of the night....and my stomach turned for the rest of the night and into the next day.

I cannot believe I was biting down on the head/jaw bone and teeth of a nasty rodent!
What do you do in a situation like this! I was not hurt...so I am not sure I even have a case. This is just so awful though! I am nauseous just thinking about it!

The company is "Bakery on Main" natural gourment. The cereal was nutty cranberry maple granola. This is an organic company out of connecticut.

Yesterday I brought the the bone and packaging to Hannaford ( the grocery store where i bought it). I was very polite and explained to them what happened. I didnt want to give the bone to anyone just yet...but they said as part of their "process" they needed the package and bone to seal up and send to headquarters. I was uneasy about it at first...but realized that everything was going to be properly documented. She doubled my money back.

When i got home...I called "Bakery on Main" and spoke to them. They were very apologetic and offered me TONS of free cereal products...BUT....I declined. I think I will be very weary about eating cereal for quite a while and the thought of eating any at this point makes me nauseous. He then offered me a hannaford gift card. I said that was kind of him...and whatever he felt he should do is fine. I was very polite with him...it wasn't his fault what happened. He said the farmers he gets grains from is what was most likely the issue. The scanning systems pick up metal and such, and bone is harder to find I guess. I told him I am fine aside from a cut on my gum line. Either way this is terribly disturbing. I chewed on remains of a rodent head!!! I told him that Hannaford will be contacting him as well. I asked if he wanted to see pictures..and emailed them to him.

So that is the action I have taken. I am still in shock by what i found. It is too bad...I really liked their products!

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I saw this today at the Toy"R"Us store in Elizabeth, New Jersey and though you folks would be interested. This Lego kit (the Exo Force Sentai Fortress Battle Set) has a sign that indicates its original price was $19.99 and that it is on sale for $69.98. The sign helpfully indicates that this is a savings of negative $49.

(Photo: Ben Popken)

That's the sign I saw at the Bath & Body Works store in a Tanger Outlet Mall in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. I didn't go inside to find out if my legal tender was no good there or what, but I'm a fan of the site and thought y'all would get a kick out of the pics.

An avid reader of your website, I was a little bit concerned by the choice of picture to illustrate the "IDT Energy Scamming Spreads Past New York City" story.

Granted, the picture shows an IDT building in the background, but in the foreground are catenary wires, which are quite distinctive from power distribution wires...

Catenary wires are used to deliver electric power to trains and thus are designed to very narrow specifications (after all, they have to be able to be touched by trains moving as fast as 120 miles per hour).

The unfortunate effect of your picture is to imply that IDT powers trains, which is most definitely not the case, as railroad electrifications has often used "nonstandard" voltages (like 11,000 volts at 25 hertz in some places of the Northeast Corridor), and thus had to maintain their own distinct power generating plants and distribution networks (just google for "Cos Cob power plant"); the use of "commercial" (standard) power on railroads has been only a recent development made possible by the development of high-power solid-state electronics (think of super-duper-duper-duper-duper transistors, I mean one to whom your whole house power input is just an appetizer).

I bought a small but overpriced postal scale at Staples ($22). When I took it home and opened the box, there was a broken, not-for-sale scale in it. I took it back and exchanged it for another one without any problem. But it's a crappy scale even when it's functional: it's not set at 0 and I don't see a way to resetit.

I went by my local Circuit City in Catonsville, MD today trying to get a birthday gift for my dad and noticed something interesting in the parking lot. They had the sign telling people to park for online pickup in front of the row of handicap spots. They have the deal of your order being ready in 24 minutes or you get a $24 gift card. I guess that $24 gift card would come in handy after you pay the $98 fine posted for illegally parking in the handicap spot itself. I looked around, this was the only sign they had for online pickup. Anyway, thought you might find this interesting. By the way, along with this disregard of the ADA, I also had a nice experience of Circuit City failing to follow their own 110% price match "guarantee". They were selling an external hard drive for $70 more than I had seen 15 minutes earlier, less than a mile away, but they would only offer to match the price and not give the extra 10% because 1) the price difference was "too much" (170 vs. 100) and 2) I had "seen the other price first". According to the manager, if I had bought the drive at CC first, then seen the other price, he'd give me the 10%. Unfortunately he refused to even look at the CC price match policy even though I had pulled it up for him on one of their laptops 2 feet away from him. For the record, their policy is "Find a lower advertised price from another local store with the same item in stock, and we'll gladly beat their price by 10% of the difference." Well, they didn't "gladly" do that at all. And in fact, if I had purchased it at CC first, I would have been ineligible for the extra 10% because "Plus, if you see a lower advertised price within 30 days of your purchase with us, we'll refund 100% of the difference." It became a matter of principle and it would have been a measly $7 that could have kept a customer. It also would have earned them over $200, because not only did they lose one sale on the hard drive (since I decided to give my business to the other store), but they lost a second sale on my father's gift too. Who is training these managers? Keep up the good work. -Andy p.s. For the record, I'm not leaving my dad hanging. I got his gift somewhere else. :)

My two years on my initial Sprint contract was up in January of this year, so I worked through Retention and got them to agree to a plan I was happy with. This included free incoming calls (like I had on my old contract), 300 more minutes of other calls than I had before, and free text messaging. I got them to commit to the same price I was paying before - $50/month.

Naturally, because this is Sprint, my January, February and March bills have all been issued with enough errors to this custom-built plan that I have had to call Billing to get things squared away on each one. Surprisingly, they've been easy to deal with and have processed the fixes for me without any trouble at all.

So, I've grown to expect Sprint to screw up my bill a little bit. A *little* bit. I'm not sure a teenage girl in Prom season could use up all these minutes I was mysteriously granted...

(Photo: bg_poker)

(Thanks to Sanford!)

From Photocritic's "secrets" article:

Here's some of what you may find on their shopping lists, and at least one reason each has its rightful place in the photog's apron pocket:

Blowtorch, for browning the edges of raw hamburger patties, the goose-bumpy skins of nearly raw poultry, and hot dogs. (Caution: simmer hot dogs for a while before torching, unless your goal is an action shot of a pink-meat food explosion.)

Motor oil, as a stand-in for unphotogenic syrups.

Glycerin, along with various sizes of artist's paintbrushes (to make seafood look like it was just caught that morning) and a misting bottle (to spritz lettuce salads, giving them that just-picked-and-rinsed look).

"werbung gegen realität" [Pundo3000] (Thanks to Ben!)
"The dirty tricks of food photographers" [photocritic.org]
(Photo: Pundo3000)

Here's a bill I received from The Tennessean several months ago that I just remembered about and thought might enjoy seeing. The story is that about a year ago, my sweet wife signed us up for The Tennessean at a promotional rate for six months. For the subscription, she used our debit card and had them auto-withdraw the bill every month. I used the customer service section of their website to view my account and was able to anticipate what the monthly charges would be, when they would be applied to my account, and when my six month promo rate was up. As sincere as the intentions were to have a newspaper subscription (I am quite the current events whore and keep a sharp eye on Google Reader for new posts throughout the day) the paper just wasn't being read, and really, I get all the same content on their website (yay, i'm "going green").

After calling customer service on the sixth month to inform them that this will be the last month and I do not wish to continue my subscription, I got the follow up call from the retention dept. the next day wondering why I was leaving and how they could continue to send me the newspaper, take my money, and kill trees. I politely said no to every attempt and thought I would be free.

About three months later, I get this bill in the mail from The Tennessean for the amount of 0.08. There's no itemized list explaining what the charge is for (leftover amount from the subscription, unpaid fees, etc.) On top of this, about 3-5 times a week, I get calls from the retention department to get me back as a subscriber (which I usually use to prank them, honestly I don't really mind it). So I'm wondering why they didn't just take the eight cents out of my account like they were doing so smoothly before because I am not going to be sending them an eight cent check with a 41 cent stamp on it. I'd thought about sending them eight envelopes with one cent checks or even pennies, but I'm going to hold on to my precious copper and keep this bill around for a good laugh.

Stop placing the open-box items right next to the old price tags! The pictures people send us are not (usually) staged. They are taken by ordinary shoppers who could care less about your precious policies, and who can spot idiocy when it stares them in the face. Don't make the screw job so !@#$% obvious and we might stop making fun of you. Well, we're going to make fun of you anyway, but geeze, make us work for it, alright?

He writes:

Howdy Consumerist,

I stumbled across your site recently and am now addicted to it. Today I got a package from OfficeMax where we recently ordered some CD-Rs.
One of our front office gals opened the box to find the following: (attached picture #1)

Quite a bit different than what is pictured on their website.

I guess whoever packaged the cds was hard up for spindles? The shrink wrap from the spindle was still in the box, but the cds were not in the shrink wrap. We're sending the cds back of course and hopefully the next batch won't come unwrapped, unspindled, and with scratches all over them!

In addition, I used to receive catalogs from Dell Home and Home Office but they honored my unsubscribe requests. Obviously whoever is running the small biz catalogs is not doing their job right. It's my hope that this series of beautiful and seemingly childish gestures might possibly prompt Dell to investigate the matter. If it results people's unsubscribe requests actually get honored, then I will have saved more trees by burning this catalog then if I recycled it. It's just a hunch, but somehow I don't think simply placing the catalog in the recycle bin will have the same effect as my direct marketing pyre.

On Sept 30, 2007, I rented a 24ft Budget Truck for the purpose of moving myself and my roommates from one apartment to another. Upon rental, I opted for the optional damage waver/insurance and was informed that that waver specifically did not cover overhead damage. I proceeded with the normal inspection, noting minor wear and tear that I could see as well as graffiti damage to the truck.

While driving, I was extremely careful to observe all overhead clearances, and did not drive the truck under any bridge where it could be "clipped". Upon return of the truck, the rental agent immediately asks me what I hit, because he notices damage to the top of the truck. Incredulous, I answer that the only thing I could have hit were low-slung city trees. What looked like a minor scrape from ground level was pointed out to me, and I doubted that a tree could make that kind of damage, but there it was.

Upon returning to the inside of the office, I am informed by the Budget Agent, Dennis Neuhauser, that I had 2 options: 1) That I could pay $670 for the damage immediately up front and resolve the claim or 2) I could go through Budget Corporate, which could potentially cost me "thousands of dollars". Although I was wary of the origins/cause of the damage, I was put under extreme duress by the draconian options presented to me by the rental agent. Fearing the prospect of having to pay "thousands of dollars", I opted to pay the $670 and wash my hands of the damages. My roommate was there to witness the offer and the terms that were presented to me, and it was made clear that, by choosing to pay immediately, I could resolve myself of this issue (that was the only reason why I chose to).

November 28, 2007, I receive a Vehicle Damage Claim from Budget Corporate seeking an additional $1,910.93 for damages to the truck, for a total of $2,080.93 once the $670 I already paid was factored in. I am also sent the estimate/invoice for the repair of the truck, as well as low-res black and white images of the damage areas. This invoice has 20 line items, 12 which are marked as "judgment items". Even things that I had marked on the original inspection form as pre-existing, such as the graffiti, were included on the claim I am on the hook for. The estimate itself is dated more than 2 weeks after I returned the truck, 10/17/2007, meaning I have no way of knowing if any of that additional damage was incurred by other drivers and/or was pre-existing, since I was never given any opportunity to inspect the roof, which is where all the damage was.

I think it is pretty clear from the confluence of these circumstances that Budget is trying to frame me for charges that could have no way been incurred while I was driving the truck for a few hours. I did not hit any structures, and the damages are shown at multiple, un-related points. They clearly just wanted to fix the entire truck and pin it on my rental. This is already in addition to the fraudulent verbal contract I was offered by the agent and the coercing of an immediate payment which was obviously made no difference in the handling of the claim.

In response to the claim letter I had been sent, I wrote a letter in response outlining my objections and demanding a refund of the $670 to pursue my legal options. I have been sent 3 more letters demanding that I respond to the claim, and I have sent 3 letters in response, all of which are documented as confirmed delivered. Given my experiences with Budget thus far, I wanted all communications about this claim to be delivered in a form that could be documented, such as postal mail. All letters have been ignored, and I have just received a final notice claiming that I have made no attempt to contact the company in regard to this claim, which I obviously have. They are threatening to report the charges to a collection agency and destroy my credit. I have even emailed the truck claims examiner, Janice Messinger, directly at her janice.messinger@avisbudget.com email address, and that too has gone unanswered. All I'm faced with is a destroyed credit report if I do not pay by February 25, 2008 at 5:00pm. I am writing this because I feel it is necessary for this story to be publicized to let other know how Budget treats its customers. I don't know how else I can go about resolving this problem. I have been clear in all letters and emails that I am not running away from the claim, but I am challanging it. That said my responses are being stonewalled at every turn. Thanks in advance for any attention you might be able to give my story.

These pictures show damage to multiple points on the roof, and the damages look like they were incurred by multiple collisions, since hitting or scraping one structure, like a bridge, for example (which I didn't even do), wouldn't result in points of impact this varied. In addition, the cracking peeling of the top paneling appears as just wear and tear, and the graffiti is something I noted on the inspection form. They are charging me for ALL of it.

Kevin's story is a sad reminder to take a mess of pictures of any rental before driving away to establish a baseline to dispute any fraudulent claims. From the look of it, Budget is trying to bully Kevin into underwriting a batch of unrelated and overdue repairs. Sending disputes via certified mail is the right move, as is keeping a meticulous record of any documents. If they push the matter further, it may be necessary to consult a lawyer.

I work for a merchandising company and we often have some of the in-store promotional materials shipped directly to our merchandising employees. We just received this photo of how an employee of ours in Florida received a shipment of packages from UPS. All one shipment. Our employee was so dumbfounded by what they found, they took photos and sent them to management. Nonetheless, we've contacting UPS about this and also forwarding the photos on to them.

Taking pictures is not illegal, but FYE—like any private store—can always ask anyone to leave. We said we deleted the pictures (whoops!), but that false friendly gesture wasn't enough to get an explanation for the sign. You know FYE employees, the menacing youths might leave you alone if you were nicer. Something to consider. Regardless, thanks for the sign. It made our day.

(Photo: Robert Koeth III)

CompUSA - The Final Days [So Wonderfully Idyllic]

I thought that the long lines and the produce always being out of stock was bad enough, but then I noticed the small family of birds living at my local Safeway (Nutley St, Fairfax, VA). I wrote a letter to Safeway's corporate offices about a week ago to complain about the poor state of the store, but I guess that management really doesn't care enough to act quickly. My question is, if there's no birdbath inside Safeway, then where do the birds bathe?

We can't imagine a more perfect bird sanctuary than a supermarket: plenty to eat in produce, "rainfall" every day, and no predators. At least not at this Safeway.

(Photos: josecmelia)