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    <title>DEBlog</title>
    
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    <link rel="service.post" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.typepad.com/t/atom/weblog/blog_id=369943" title="DEBlog" /> 
    <id>tag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-369943</id>
    <updated>2011-12-30T13:51:28Z</updated>
    <subtitle>Crossword puzzles, book reviews, and general observations from the subterranean lair of Debra Hamel</subtitle>
    <generator uri="http://www.typepad.com/">TypePad</generator>
    <atom10:link xmlns:atom10="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/the-deblog" /><feedburner:info uri="the-deblog" /><atom10:link xmlns:atom10="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" rel="hub" href="http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/" /><geo:lat>41.378447</geo:lat><geo:long>-72.858975</geo:long><logo>http://dhamel.typepad.com/deblog/favicon.ico</logo><entry>
        <title>Lake Whitney</title>
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        <published>2011-12-30T08:51:28-05:00</published>
        <updated>2011-12-30T13:51:28Z</updated>
        <summary />
        <author>
            <name>Debra Hamel</name>
        </author>
        
        
<content type="xhtml" xml:lang="en-US" xml:base="http://www.the-deblog.com/"><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><div align="center"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/debra_hamel/6600159015/" title="Lake Whitney by dhamel, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7143/6600159015_f15d25c1c5.jpg" alt="Lake Whitney" height="375" width="500" /></a></div><xhtml:img xmlns:xhtml="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/the-deblog/~4/zrce7lo053o" height="1" width="1" /></div></content>


    <feedburner:origLink>http://www.the-deblog.com/2011/12/lake-whitney.html</feedburner:origLink></entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Mr. Squirrel comes for dinner</title>
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        <link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="http://www.the-deblog.com/2011/12/mr-squirrel-comes-for-dinner.html" thr:count="2" thr:when="2011-12-17T15:13:41Z" />
        <id>tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451b86269e20162fde85ac8970d</id>
        <published>2011-12-16T19:19:19-05:00</published>
        <updated>2011-12-17T00:19:19Z</updated>
        <summary>I had to exit via the back door earlier so as not to disturb this guy, who was dining on...</summary>
        <author>
            <name>Debra Hamel</name>
        </author>
        
        
<content type="xhtml" xml:lang="en-US" xml:base="http://www.the-deblog.com/"><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>I had to exit via the back door earlier so as not to disturb this guy, who was dining on pumpkin. <br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/debra_hamel/6522331161/" title="Pumpkin-eating squirrel by dhamel, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7157/6522331161_ffd2cc7aa2.jpg" alt="Pumpkin-eating squirrel" height="500" width="375" /></a></div></p><xhtml:img xmlns:xhtml="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/the-deblog/~4/_Ilbvf5-4Zg" height="1" width="1" /></div></content>


    <feedburner:origLink>http://www.the-deblog.com/2011/12/mr-squirrel-comes-for-dinner.html</feedburner:origLink></entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Weekly Set Puzzle Challenge: November 12</title>
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        <published>2011-11-12T17:24:17-05:00</published>
        <updated>2011-11-12T22:24:17Z</updated>
        <summary>It's Saturday, which means it's time for the deblog's Weekly Set Puzzle Challenge! (View a list of winners of the...</summary>
        <author>
            <name>Debra Hamel</name>
        </author>
        
        
<content type="xhtml" xml:lang="en-US" xml:base="http://www.the-deblog.com/"><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>It's Saturday, which means it's time for the deblog's Weekly Set Puzzle Challenge! (<em>View a list of winners of the Weekly Set Puzzle Challenge <a href="http://dhamel.typepad.com/deblog/set_puzzle.html">here</a>.</em>)</p><p><strong>This week's scores:</strong></p><ul><li>Debra -- 0:45</li><li>Karen -- 0:51</li></ul><p><strong>How to participate:</strong></p><ol><li>Play the theoretically simple yet maddeningly difficult <a href="http://www.setgame.com/puzzle/set.htm">Set Puzzle</a>. (Remember, the clock starts ticking the moment you open the Set window.)</li><li>Post your time in the comments to this post.</li><li>The winner for the week gets to hoist the much-coveted <a href="http://dhamel.typepad.com/images/setduelwinner.gif">winner's badge</a> if they'd like.</li></ol><xhtml:img xmlns:xhtml="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/the-deblog/~4/tT84r5mGmM4" height="1" width="1" /></div></content>


    <feedburner:origLink>http://www.the-deblog.com/2011/11/weekly-set-puzzle-challenge-november-12.html</feedburner:origLink></entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Weekly Set Puzzle Challenge: November 5</title>
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        <link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="http://www.the-deblog.com/2011/11/weekly-set-puzzle-challenge-november-5.html" thr:count="2" thr:when="2011-11-06T00:33:12Z" />
        <id>tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451b86269e20162fc2a627b970d</id>
        <published>2011-11-05T18:08:27-04:00</published>
        <updated>2011-11-06T00:35:23Z</updated>
        <summary>It's Saturday, which means it's time for the deblog's Weekly Set Puzzle Challenge! (View a list of winners of the...</summary>
        <author>
            <name>Debra Hamel</name>
        </author>
        
        
<content type="xhtml" xml:lang="en-US" xml:base="http://www.the-deblog.com/"><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>It's Saturday, which means it's time for the deblog's Weekly Set Puzzle Challenge! (<i>View a list of winners of the Weekly Set Puzzle Challenge <a href="http://dhamel.typepad.com/deblog/set_puzzle.html">here</a>.</i>)</p><b>This week's scores:</b><br /><ul><li>Debra -- 2:42</li><li>Karen -- 1:29</li><li>Beastmomma -- 1:59<br /></li></ul><b>How to participate:</b><br /><ol><li>Play the theoretically simple yet maddeningly difficult <a href="http://www.setgame.com/puzzle/set.htm">Set Puzzle</a>. (Remember, the clock starts ticking the moment you open the Set window.)<br /></li><li>Post your time in the comments to this post.<br /></li><li>The winner for the week gets to hoist the much-coveted <a href="http://dhamel.typepad.com/images/setduelwinner.gif">winner's badge</a> if they'd like.<br /></li></ol><xhtml:img xmlns:xhtml="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/the-deblog/~4/3_0XbazFXz0" height="1" width="1" /></div></content>


    <feedburner:origLink>http://www.the-deblog.com/2011/11/weekly-set-puzzle-challenge-november-5.html</feedburner:origLink></entry>
    <entry>
        <title>The more you know the more you....</title>
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        <link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="http://www.the-deblog.com/2011/10/the-more-you-know-the-more-you.html" thr:count="4" thr:when="2011-10-28T13:20:43Z" />
        <id>tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451b86269e20153929ea03c970b</id>
        <published>2011-10-27T08:55:57-04:00</published>
        <updated>2011-10-27T12:55:57Z</updated>
        <summary>I just heard a Kohl's ad on the radio. I'm sure I've heard it a hundred times before, but this...</summary>
        <author>
            <name>Debra Hamel</name>
        </author>
        
        
<content type="xhtml" xml:lang="en-US" xml:base="http://www.the-deblog.com/"><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>I just heard a Kohl's ad on the radio. I'm sure I've heard it a hundred times before, but this time it wormed its way into my consciousness enough that I was irritated by it. They have one of the stupidest slogans ever devised:<br /><br />"The more you know, the more you Kohl's."<br /><br />Idiots. <br /><br />So I was thinking that I would toss off a mention of how awful it is, but before I did I Googled the phrase and lo! I am not alone in my disgust. There are <a target="_blank" href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-more-you-kohls-the-less-you-grammar/115351125149097?sk=info">Facebook</a> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=99764889194&amp;v=info">groups</a> devoted to hating the slogan. And discussions of its <a target="_blank" href="http://www.gianfagnamarketing.com/blog/2010/03/30/turning-your-brand-name-into-a-verb-why-it-rarely-works/">ineffectiveness</a>. It's garnered an unflattering reference in the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=kohlsing&amp;defid=4056539">Urban Dictionary</a>. It's nice to know that such an offense against aesthetics doesn't go unnoticed in the interwebs.<br /><br />Remarkably, though, Newegg <a target="_blank" href="http://www.dealerscope.com/article/newegg-sues-kohls-over-slogan-407193/1">sued Kohl's over the slogan</a> on the grounds that it violated their trademarked slogan, "Once you know, you Newegg." Which is not quite as stupid as Kohl's slogan, but also isn't a winner. It's like suing a neighbor over who gets to keep the dog feces deposited on the border of your properties.<br /><br />One can also hate Kohl's because of its perpetual sales. One never knows what the price of any item is going to be, because everything is always "on sale." The prices shown on the signs are never accurate. All you know is that the item will be less expensive than that by some percentage. You have to look at the small print to figure out how much less. It's irritating. And after a newbie's first excitement  (such as it is) of shopping at a sale, you realize soon enough that it's not really a sale, it's just a means of complicating the pricing and keeping customers guessing about what they're actually spending.<br /><br />Grrrr.<br /></p><xhtml:img xmlns:xhtml="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/the-deblog/~4/VFMI9aihaEE" height="1" width="1" /></div></content>


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