The other night I walked in the door, and low and behold my wife was taping a CNBC original documentary for me.  Big Mac: Inside the McDonald’s Empire was an interesting, if not enlightening peek behind the closed doors of the world’s largest fast food corporation.  It examined the missteps that lead the company to it’s first ever quarterly loss a few years ago, the change in direction it prompted, and a number of other cool slices of life from behind the glass doors.  We got to meet McD’s head chef responsible for all of the new menu choices.  We saw their rigorous new menu item quality control testing.  We got a peek into their operations in China.  All in all, a pretty cool look at things.

Knowing the cable channels, there’s a good chance this will run over and over again for the next month.  If it doesn’t, you can just hop on the official website to check out some pretty lengthy clips from the show.  A great chance to see how things are done.

This isn’t a Bonus Offer in the true sense, as you have to “purchase” this gift, but it is a really nice tote and the items included look really nice (no details, but you can get an idea of what you’d receive from the photo)

You can buy this totebag filled with Estee Lauder products for $33.50 with any Estee Lauder purchase (while supplies last)

This article about Bill C-61 and how it threatens our universities was published in the Queen’s Journal. It’s a serious situation that can have grave consequences on our rights, universities and much more!

A proposed change to copyright law could change the way Canadians share media. It could also have a negative impact on the education system, said English professor Laura Murray.

An anti-circumvention clause in the bill would make it illegal to break digital locks on copyrighted material, nullifying the new allowances for most digital media.

Murray, also the author of the book Copyright: A Citizens Guide said, If passed, the bill could have a serious effect on Canadian universities.

“Decoding is being criminalized when there are a lot of legitimate purposes for it, especially regarding education,” she said.

Click here to read the full article

Let’s oppose this Bill before it’s too late!

Click here for information on how you can help

Click here to join the Fair Copyright for Canada facebook group

Little Tikes Ride & Relax Wagon is on sale at Sears Canada for $104.99 (regular price $129.99)

Not an extremely great deal, but still a decent deal if you’re considering buying one of these. Toys R Us Canada claims the regular price is $149.99 and is on sale there for $129.99 so Sears deal is pretty good.

Click here for details of Little Tikes Ride & Relax Wagon at Sears Canada

 

Just a reminder to anyone out there thinking about picking up an iPod Touch or MacBook Air — Apple.ca offers a wide range of refurbished products at a greatly discounted price.  They all come with the same guarantee and warranty as a new product, so picking these up over the new ones is a no brainer.

Check out their complete list of offerings here (iPods are on one tab, everything else is listed under “Refurbished Macs”).  I’ve been considering picking up a AppleTV in the fall.  Knowing I can save $60 on one gets my motor revving something fierce.

Thanks Catspajamas for posting this on the forum and thanks Koala for alerting me! ”

This is an awesome Canadian freebie and won’t last for long so hurry!!

Update: I got offered LOADS of samples! 

 When you register for P&G brandSAMPLER, you’ll get great samples from these top brands:

• Olay
• Head & Shoulders
• Fusion
• Pantene
• Gillette
• Crest
• Venus

 Click here to order your P&G Canada Sampler now

Dell Pocket DJ  5GB Refurbished is on sale at Creative’s website for $19.99 US. Shipping to Canada via USPS is $6.66. Total comes to $26.65.

Yes it’s not the latest or greatest Mp3 player, not to mention it’s refurbished. But for $26.65 including shipping that’s one sizzling hot deal!

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Click here to go to the MP3 player’s page on Creatives website
2. Add it to shopping cart. Don’t add more than 1 or they’ll charge you a lot for shipping
3. Fill out the information and then on the next page change shipping to USPS Global Priority
4. Enjoy 😀

Here is my order confirmation:

Your Order’s Details

Order Number: ######
Estimated Delivery Time: 5-15 days

Dell Pocket DJ Refurbished 5GB @ $19.99 x 1 = $19.99

Merchandise Subtotal: $19.99
Shipping & Handling: $6.66
Sales Tax: $0.00
ORDER TOTAL: $26.65

SHIP TO:
############

Shipping Method: USPS Global Priority

Currency, Customs, and Duties Notice: All prices listed are in US dollars. If your shipping address is outside of the U.S., you may have to pay customs fees or duties on your order in addition to the purchase price and shipping costs.

Click here to go to the MP3 player’s page on Creatives website

Always ask someone you love before you put anything in your mouth

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Financial micromanagement might not be for everyone, but sometimes it really helps to see where every penny is going.  You’d be amazed at how much you might spend on coffee or snacks.

In the past I’d used Excel to track my spending.  It might not have been the most simple form of tracking, but it was the most flexible in that (so long as you’re fairly competent with Excel) I could chart that data any way I wanted.

Still, there’s something to be said for simplicity.  Recently my family has tried to use the web-based MoneyTrackin.com.  It provided a good set of features, but still didn’t work exactly as I’d wanted.  Up next we’re probably going to take a look at Wesabe or Yodlee MoneyCenter.

What about you?  How do you track your spending?

Have you been enjoying your time in the garden this year?  You weren’t using any pesticides or herbicides, were you?

If not, David Suzuki wants to take a peek at how things are growing this year!  Take a photo/write a story about your garden for you chance to win any number of prizes from this years David Suzuki Digs My Garden program.

I could care less about the prizes — I just want a visit from the David Gnome.

Thanks bdnjdsmom for posting this freebie on the forum 😀

$25 Gift coupon no strings attached. I got this from my Brecks catalogue, however there is a fee for shipping ($7.95&up depending on how much you order), so if you spend say $16 worth of bulbs your order will be absolutely free.On the order page in Key no enter 901243.

Click here to order your free flowers now

Another great offering from Estee Lauder. The minimum amount you need to spend is a little higher than usual, but that’s pretty normal for Holt Renfrew.  

Retailer: Holt Renfrew
Minimum amount you need to spend: $55 CAD (before taxes)
Duration: ends August 10, 2008

What you get:
– Re-Nutriv Ultimate Youth Creme, 7-day supply
– Re-Nutriv Intensive Hydrating Creme Cleanser
– Golden Fluted Compact
– Sumptious Bold Volume Lifting Mascara, 10-day supply
– Pure Colour Long Lasting Lipstick
– a stylish deluxe tote with companion cosmetic bag

If you’re like most Canadians, there’s a good chance you’re swimming in credit card debt.  If you’re coming here, chances are you’d like to get out of it.  The Snowball Calculator on WhatstheCost.com can help.

Just punch in all of your individual debts, their minimum payments, interest rates, and the total amount of money you can commit monthly to paying off your debts.  The Snowball Calculator will map out the best payment plan and let you know just how long it will take you to be completely debt free.

Check it out and start getting out from under that mountain!

Pay with your Visa card and you can save 15% off any purchase (excluding taxes) when you present this coupon at any Banana Republic location in Canada.

Click here to print your Banana Republic Coupon

Just a heads up, and YMMV, but reports are pouring in to CheapAssGamer that EB Games Canada has lowered it’s retail price on PuzzleQuest DS to $4.99, with used copies going for $2.99.  This is an amazing deal on one of the best games of the past few years.

PuzzleQuest is one of those games that appeals to just about everybody.  It takes the simple match-3 gameplay of Bejeweled and adds in a story, RPG-elements, and combat.  It truly is the best of both worlds.

Reports are also coming in that since the price drop it’s become nearly impossible to find.  I’d suggest calling to see if they have any in before hitting the road.  No word on whether or not the price has dropped  PuzzleQuest for other systems (it’s on every platform known to man).