This year one of my favorite Chicago bottle shops, Bottles and Cans, released a Halloween 6-Pack. My wife teetered on the purchase, as we already spend a lot of money there, and on beer in general. In the end, we decided it might be a fun gimmick, especially during a pandemic, where any bit of new excitement is welcome, and on a Halloween that felt unnatural.

The premise of the Halloween 6-pack was that you wouldn’t know exactly what beers you were getting until you picked it up from the store. B & C did tease a pic with a few of the selections, but the lure was in what you didn’t see. So, I thought it would be fun to write about my six-pack and whether or not it was a trick or a treat?”

Here is my 6-pack:

5 Rabbit Cerveceria’s Vida & Muerte Muertzenbier– “A Märzenbier (Oktoberfest-style) brewed with dulce de leche”

Avery Brewing’s El Gose– “Session Sour Ale With Limes & Sea Salt”

Half Acre’s Original Reaper– “American Stout”

New Holland’s The Poet–  “Oatmeal Stout”

Short Fuse’s Bear-ie White– “Pale Wheat Ale Wints Hints Of Fruit”

Three Floyd’s Zombie Dust  “Undead India Pale Ale”

I’ll be honest, I was looking for a little more darkness in my 6-pack by way of at least one barrel-aged beer. To be frightfully honest, I was hoping for one BA Pumpkin beer. What I got is more of the same: a few sours, a few stouts, an IPA, and a Frankenstein-of-a-Festbier.

I loved the ode to Oktoberfest and The Day of the Dead from 5 Rabbitts. Vida & Muerte Muertzenbier was the sleeper of the 6-pack. It kind of felt like a genuine split between a pumpkin beer and an Oktoberfest. This felt a bit new and exciting, which rarely happens in craft beer anymore.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, we got Zombie Dust, a beer that no longer seems exciting in the age of Hop Butcher and Phase Three. It’s an IPA that initially brought Citra to life, so for that, we thank FFF.

Bear-ie White and El Gose are not bad entries, as they hold down the candy portion with something a little sweet and something a little sour. I do like Half Acre’s Original Reaper, it’s a solid all-around stout for winter, and I haven’t had The Poet in a long while, so that was an interesting entry.

I would rate “Bottles And Cans’ Halloween 6-Pack” a 3.5 out of 5. The variety was good, and the artwork of each beer worked well with the theme. I see this idea as something that could really grow and get better each year. Maybe they even have different pricing tiers for those looking for something a little extra special and spooky.

Next up, the Bottles and Cans Advent Calendar.

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The game show Jeopardy debted on March 30, 1964. The original daytime version aired on NBC through January 3, 1974. The game was brought back in syndication in 1984.

There have been only two hosts of Jeopardy. Art Fleming hosted the original daytime version. Alex Trebeck hosted the syndicated show for thirty-seven years, until his death earlier this month.

Trebeck had taped shows that will air through Christmas day. But what will happen afterwards? There’s no doubt that Jeopardy will continue. There’s too much money involved in syndication to shut it down. It was announced on Monday that Jeopardy will have a series of guest hosts beginning in January 2021. Jeopardy legend Ken Jennings will be in the leadoff spot. More guest hosts will be revealed soon.

Jennings has been the name most mentioned as a permanent host. It makes sense. Jeopardy viewers love and respect him. His personality fits the program. He’s serious, but he also has a sly, self-deprecating sense of humor. You can call him Trebeck-light. However, he’s also already working on two other game shows. He’s one of the “Master Minds” on the Game Show network. He’ll also be a part of a new version of “The Chase”, on ABC. Perhaps adding a third is too much? Ken Jennings overkill?

Alex Trebeck is irreplaceable, so why even try? Jennings, George Stephanopoulos and some of the others mentioned as potential replacements would most likely fall short in comparison. Why not go in a totally different direction?
My choice for the new permanent host of Jeopardy is Brooke Burns?

So, as they say on Jeopardy, who is Brooke Burns?

Burns, 42, started her career as a model and actress. She spent three years on “Baywatch” and appeared in the films “Shallow Hal”, “Titanic 2” and “Where Hope Grows.” She also has a long history hosting game shows. It started with NBC’s “Dog Eat Dog” and “Hole in the Wall”, on Fox. Currently, she’s the host of both “Master Minds” and “The Chase”, on Game Show Network. Burns was nominated for a daytime Emmy for Outstanding Game Show Host, in 2016.

Both of her current shows are Jeopardy-esqe question-answer trivia games. That gives her the experience to walk in and handle Jeopardy on day one. If you’ve seen her host either of her game shows, you would see the capable way she reads the sometimes tricky worded questions. Plus, having a female host after almost five decades of men should bring an entire new audience to the program…if only out of curiosity. The newcomers will stay when they see how capable Burns is…and so will the veteran Jeopardy watchers.

Jeopardy has sadly been forced into making a change so why not take the opportunity to make a big one. Brooke Burns as the new Jeopardy host wold be a winning choice for the both the show and the loyal viewing audience.

Related Post: The Trump’s and Biden’s play Family Feud

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The deals are out there but how do you know if they are the real deal without a lot of homework?

Lucky for us WalletHub has done the work for us. The personal-finance website compared “Pre-Black Friday Prices” against the actual Black Friday Prices” of a broad selection of items.

Here are some of their deals (for more click link at the bottom of this post): 

The real deals

1. Gaming Laptop MSI GL75 Leopard 17.3″ Intel Core i7-10750H, GeForce RTX 2070, 16 GB DDR4, 1TB HDD, 512 GB SSD, Windows 10 Home
   Black Friday Price After Discount: $1,399
   Pre-Black Friday Price*: $1,919
   Additional Discount for Waiting Until Black Friday: $520 Newegg
   2. Lowrance Hook-2 12 in TripleShot US Inland Fishfinder Black Friday Price After Discount: $700
   Pre-Black Friday Price*: $1,450
   Additional Discount for Waiting Until Black Friday: $750
   Academy Sports + Outdoors
   3. LG 26.2 Cu. Ft. French Door Smart Wi-Fi Enabled Refrigerator with Dual Ice Maker
   Black Friday Price After Discount: $1,800
   Pre-Black Friday Price*: $2,499
   Additional Discount for Waiting Until Black Friday: $699
   Best Buy
   4. LED 3-Piece White Deer Set By Winter Wonder Lane
   Black Friday Price After Discount: $105
   Pre-Black Friday Price*: $202
   Additional Discount for Waiting Until Black Friday: $97
   Big Lots
   5. Firman 2900W Running/3200W Peak Electric Start Dual Fuel Inverter
   Black Friday Price After Discount: $650
   Pre-Black Friday Price*: $1,091
   Additional Discount for Waiting Until Black Friday: $441
   Costco
   6. Legion Y27gq-20 27 Inch WLED G-SYNC™ Gaming Monitor
   Black Friday Price After Discount: $405
   Pre-Black Friday Price*: $554
   Additional Discount for Waiting Until Black Friday: $149
   Lenovo
   7. Samsung StormWash Top Control 24-in Built-In Dishwasher
   Black Friday Price After Discount: $599
   Pre-Black Friday Price*: $845
   Additional Discount for Waiting Until Black Friday: $246
   Lowe’s
   8. Bethesda Softworks Wolfenstein: Alt History Collection – Xbox One
   Black Friday Price After Discount: $40
   Pre-Black Friday Price*: $80
   Additional Discount for Waiting Until Black Friday: $40
   GameStop
   9. LG 55″ Smart 4K UHD HDR TV
   Black Friday Price After Discount: $350
   Pre-Black Friday Price*: $498
   Additional Discount for Waiting Until Black Friday: $148
   Meijer
   10. Realspace 59″ Magellan L-Shaped Desk Gray
   Black Friday Price After Discount: $165
   Pre-Black Friday Price*: $465
   Additional Discount for Waiting Until Black Friday: $300
   Office Depot and OfficeMax
   11. Donco Kids Loft-Style Light Grey Twin over Twin Bunk Bed
   Black Friday Price After Discount: $673
   Pre-Black Friday Price*: $1,264
   Additional Discount for Waiting Until Black Friday: $591
   Overstock.com
   12. Arlo Pro 3, 3-Pack. Wire-Free Security Camera System with Bonus Solar Panel and Outdoor Security Mounts
   Black Friday Price After Discount: $399
   Pre-Black Friday Price*: $519
   Additional Discount for Waiting Until Black Friday: $120
   Sam’s ClubFor the full report visit 2020’s Best Things to Buy on Black Friday.

Grifting:  1. Swindling or cheating  2. Obtaining money by fraud or illicit schemes

Did a car dealer deliberately drill holes in my car and then lie about it? would have been my only blog about used cars if our son hadn’t asked for help finding one.

As a side note, when showed that blog, Orloff’s service manager waved it off as fake news.  

Recognizing my mistakes, I thought I had achieved a level of expertise in the procurement of used cars.  That turned out to be yet another mistake.

Here’s three blatant grifts you may encounter:

ONE
We drove up to Racine, WI to look at a 2019 KIA with very low miles.  I had negotiated a price with Zach, the used car manager during a lengthy phone conversation the night before.

Zach assured me this was the car I was looking for.

First thing I noticed was that a piece of the door handle was missing.  Opening the door, it got worse.

It looked as if someone had taken an axe to the door frame, leaving deep gouges.  It did not look like anything that could be fixed easily, if at all.

WTF? I exploded.  Without missing a beat, Zach said with aplomb, Take it for ride.

We were on the phone for 45 minutes, Zach.  Don’t you think you should have mentioned this before we drove up here?

Zach just hunched up his shoulders and shuffled away.

TWO
Our next stop was a KIA dealer in Elmhurst, Illinois where we saw a 2018 Nissan listed online for $12,000.

After a quick test ride, we sat down with the sales associate who asked the inevitable, How much do you want to pay for this car?

How about the advertised price? I asked.  $12,000.

Excusing himself to confer with the ubiquitous my manager, he finally returned with a detailed bill of sale, the price at the bottom being more than $18,000.

Why would I buy this $12,000 car for $18,000?

He explained to me that they have to price their cars aggressively online to get customers into the store.

In other words, they lie.  Some might call it bait and switch, but it is essentially fraud.

On Line 2, below the $12,000 was a $1,300 VIP package for free car washes.

Next was a $2,300 charge for inspection of the car to validate the warranty, which I would imagine they had already done.

I was baffled about the $1,000 processing fee, but stunned after it was explained to me that it was for facilitating the sale.

Since they didn’t send a limo for me, I couldn’t imagine what they had done to facilitate the sale, other than unlocking the doors that morning so I could come in and buy a car.

That one should offend even the most inexperienced buyer.

Every bill of sale in Illinois includes a $300 document fee, which they say goes directly to the state.  It does not.

$300 is the maximum Illinois allows dealers to charge for processing paperwork.  It was $175 until the Secretary of State bumped it up to $300 beginning January 1, 2020.

We left that dealer with only the free water they had given us.

THREE
Broomhilda called her old friend, Alyssa, whose husband, Tom used to be in the car business.  He vouched for a guy named Steve, who’s a Toyota dealer in Oak Lawn, Illinois.

Steve had a 2019 Nissan Sentra with only 2,200 miles.  It was almost too good to be true.  It was, in fact, too good to be true.

Our level of trust was high though, so we brought the car home for our son.  Entering the VIN online, his insurance premium doubled with one keystroke.

A little research into the car revealed that it had a salvage title.  We found pictures online of the wreckage before it was fixed.

Steve professed innocence of the car’s provenance and gave us our money back.  It wasn’t a bad car, but the nature of the title made it very expensive to insure.

These are just a few of the pitfalls one might encounter searching for a used car.  We were just lucky to run into all of them.

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