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Starbucks Birthday Rewards Are Ephemeral

A few years back, I remember the Starbucks rewards for a free birthday treat had a duration of several weeks. This freebie in the form of a mailed card had a redemption window shorter than an earned reward, but it was long enough. Now with the proliferation of mobile devices and the push for mobile order and pay, your birthday reward comes electronically and is good for an ephemeral four days.

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I got a reward on Monday, March 7 with an expiration date of Thursday, March 10. Of course, I wasn’t about to let a venti Smoked Butterscotch Latte with an extra shot pass me, by so I redeemed it the following day. But if you forget or don’t have time, you’ll likely miss your birthday treat. How about at least one week Starbucks?

Adidas by Stella McCartney Pure Boost X

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The Adidas collaboration with Stella McCartney resulted in interesting kicks for women. But sadly, the Pure Boost X just didn’t work out. Featuring Boost, Primeknit, and the odd-looking free floating arch, the lacing and $170-price tag was its undoing.

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The only positive from this (returned) purchase is that now I know Adidas offers free two-way shipping via ShopRunner.

See more images of the Stella McCartney Pure Boost X on Flickr.

Adidas Pure Boost x Stella McCartney

What Is a $14 Peach?

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So what does a peach costing $14 from Minamoto Kitchoan taste like? Freelance blogging contributor, Kimi, shares her thoughts about the Momosayaka and the Tousenka.

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peach-2First off, this peach is not a fresh piece of fruit from the grocery, but rather a peach preserved in jelly. The Momosayaka is half a peach, costing $14. If you want the entire fruit, you need to pay $20 for the Tousenka. If shelf life is a consideration, the Tousenka should be consumed within two weeks while the Momosayaka lasts three months preserved in its jelly.

A sweet jelly encompasses a soft sweet peach and is refreshing but too sweet for delicate tastes. Kimi says, “It was like a fancy Del Monte fruit cup with better ingredients. My palate is sensitive to sugar so I don’t think most people would think it’s too sweet. To help you gauge the sweetness factor, I can only eat plain yogurt because all the yogurts with fruit or flavored yogurt is too sweet for me.”

So what’s Kimi’s final say?

I wouldn’t purchase this for myself, but I think it would make a nice gift. Since the Momosayaka and the Tousenka taste the same, I would recommend buying the Tousenka to get more bang for your buck.

So if you’re a diehard peach fan, get the Tousenka and enjoy!

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Amazon Alexa Devices – Echo, Echo Dot, and Tap

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Joining the Amazon Echo device is the new Amazon Tap and Echo Dot. All of these are powered by Alexa and have me interested.

The original Echo does it all from a fixed location. The Tap is like a mobile Echo since it’s battery powered but you do need to touch/tap it before it pays attention to you. The Dot on the other hand is mute but is always listening. You need to pair it with your own speakers for a combined Echo-like experience. The Dot goes for $89.99, the Tap is $129.99, and the fully equipped Echo is $179.99. Unfortunately, you can’t simply buy the Dot. For now, you need to be the owner of an Echo or Fire TV and a Prime member. That’s unfortunate since I already have wireless and wired speakers that could benefit from the Dot.

Hmmm, there was a loophole in the iOS version of the Amazon app that allowed you to search for the Echo Dot then from the search results screen, add it to your shopping cart. This no longer works with the right swipe option replaced by See Details. Even your Amazon Shopping History hides the Echo Dot as a recently viewed item, guessing that’s another way to get to the Dot ordering page.

But… a wish list. That’s a different method. Visiting amazon.com on a computer and adding an Echo Dot as a pre-order or adding to a wishlist may just give you different results wink, wink.

Tivo Roamio Skip Feature

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Just noticed that new little green button on my Tivo Roamio menus and while watching shows. After finally paying attention to it, I learned that’s the new SkipMode of the Tivo software.

On recorded shows, when the commercials begin, if you see the Skip button on screen, you push the green “D” button on the Tivo remote, and the show jumps past all the commercials. No need to manually fast forward. So convenient!

Is the Shannara Chronicles Done?

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So after ten episodes of the Shannara Chronicles, is it all done? Is this storyline/saga over and will there be follow-on shows? I admit this series has been fun with solid costumes and effects although some of the big bads didn’t seem that bad. There are still questions to be answered, and not having read the books, I don’t know how faithful the television adaptation has been. But still though, definitely a fun ride through the Four Lands.

Oh, here’s music from the Shannara Chronicles.

Next up, the end of Downton Abbey. 🙁

Starbucks Revamps its Rewards Program

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Every few years, Starbucks tweaks its loyalty program, and April 2016 will see the latest changes. No longer “My Starbucks Rewards,” the simply termed “Starbucks Rewards” now factors in the amount spent per Starbucks transaction. So that $6 drink will garner more stars that than $2 coffee. Sounds fair.

Essentially, the revamped program feels the same but “rules of the game” have changed a bit. There’s a new Double-Star Day promotion where Gold-level members earn 4 stars for a $1. But these days are random, and you’re notified via email. I’m guessing the Double-Star days would coincide with your personal low activity days (Starbucks does know when you do and don’t visit).

This change should also alleviate delays when customers split orders into individual items to load up on stars. No longer needed since that $20 order will get you 40 stars (2 Stars for every $1).

For all the details about Starbucks Rewards, visit http://morestars.starbucks.com/

For a history of the Starbucks loyalty program, check out Starbucks Melody’s post.

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Will These CP3 Make @gquiks487 Quicker?

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Will these Jordan CP3.VIII AE make @gquiks487 faster than he already is?

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Found these Chris Paul signature kicks line at Ross, and @gquiks487 was looking for this Multicolor Rainbow colorway. Pretty comfortable shoe for guards although it has an awkward name. For the record, CP3 is for Chris Paul who wears the number 3. This is CP’s eighth (VIII) signature shoe under the Jordan label, and the AE? I think that stands for Artisan Edition which are special colorways made for th playoffs.

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