Plane Learning

On a recent trip to Florida (from Seattle) I had a chance to peruse the inflight magazine on my Delta flight and while not generally on my list of favorite reading materials I did find some interesting tidbits I can share with all of you (and now you can feel guilt-free reading People or In Touch instead on your next trip).

Someone stole my idea! For many years I have been putting together weekly menus and shopping lists for all of our family meals. I hate shopping, including grocery shopping, so this saved me time and money because I only got what was on my list (90% of the time, anyway). So many of my friends said I should market the idea somehow. I didn't. But someone else did! For busy people who need to fix dinners for family or others when at home, there’s a new web site that will let you choose menus and make the grocery list for you. For $7.00 per month www.relishrelish.com will plan healthy meals and make those dreaded grocery lists. Those who don’t do, pay.

Seattle’s ultrachic BOKA Kitchen + Bar is highlighted as original and hip, noted for its “creative martinis and décor of bamboo glass sculptures, color-changing wall panels and an extra shot of eclectic swank. “ For info http://www.bokaseattle.com/

I was a bit busy while in Florida, and I did miss stopping in Galler. If I’d had a chance, I definitely would have prioritized going to “The Belgian Chocolate” store- the only location in the USA. Praline sticks to dip into saffron, cardamom, yuzu and ginger sounds unique and worth a courageous try.

My husband would LOVE this one … Tune Studio for iPod is the first 4-channel audio mixer that lets you create high-quality digital recordings directly onto your iPod. This mixer allows the input of up to four different instruments or audio sources, and records the audio onto your iPod for instant playback. It’s small enough to carry on a flight and mix music in your hotel room. How cool is that?!?

Just a fact, Maam … 1,700,000,000 is the estimated number of legal online music downloads in 2007. 3 – that’s how many I was able to download in 2007. I was just a little busy last year to be figuring out how to download music!

And finally … You can now track how many invitations are being sent out and how many users responded to social networking sites like FaceBook and MySpace, making it easier to quantify the previously unquantifiable – word-of-mouth endorsements! A recent study found that Internet social networking was 20 times more effective than more traditional marketing efforts such as print and television advertising. This makes online “friendships” even more lucrative than ever imagined. So go ahead, forward this blog address to all your friends, and let’s see how much word of mouth we can both get!

Rebecca