Drink more coffee...

The FDA confirmed that sleeping pills can cause sleep-driving, sleep-eating, sleep-sex, and other nocturnal disorders. Reports include phoning people, painting, and buying things online while asleep. The agency wants clearer warning labels about these risks. Sleeping-pill industry spin: Such side effects are relatively rare. Rebuttal: Yeah, but when you spend $1 billion on ads to sell $44 billion in sleeping-pill prescriptions, relatively rare becomes pretty common.

Via Slate.

Coloring for the Complete Klutz

Wicked cool coloring program. Almost impossible not to come up with a spectacular color-combo.

I actually found this while "researching" color palettes for an African web-site.

Another fun discovery is the Color Palette Generator. You enter the URL of an image to get a color palette that matches the image.

For example:

Mr. Coffee-All-Over

(Submitted to Mr. Coffee March 6, 2007.)

Dear Mr. Coffee

I am totally baffled why you would make a coffee pot that spills coffee every time you pour it.

Granted, I went low-end. I got the $24.99 DR12. (Does that stand for Dribble 12?) I don't expect it to clean itself or adjust the brew strength according to my mood. I don't need it to play MP3 files or keep track of my appointments. I just want it to heat water, drip it through coffee grounds and pour the results into my cup. Am I naive to expect this from your entry-level model?

Despite having burned myself badly last year by knocking over a french press full of hot coffee, I am not a klutz. I can juggle five balls. I study slight-of-hand magic. I can spin a basketball indefinitely on any finger of either hand. I cannot, however, pour a cup of of coffee from my Mr. Coffee pot without spilling about 30% of it. Not just a dribble. A lot of coffee. And in case you think I'm crazy, go ahead and Google Mr. Coffee +spill.

What happened? Coffee pots are your core competency. Very little is expected of them other than to contain and pour liquid. To fail at one of these primary functions is ludicrous. This is mature technology--you've been making these since 1977. Other people have been making pots that pour nicely for over 7,000 years.

Please consider sending me a coupon for one of your non-spilling models. Or a gift card to Starbucks. Or a few rolls of paper towels.

Sincerely,
Daniel Coyne