Christine Mendoza Picture Moment

NOKA-RIEDEL Experience: Chocolates and wine to make love bloom

Nothing can even come close to wooing your valentine as effectively as chocolates. Down the ages, chocolates have formed an intricate and inseparable association with romance. Add to it a few drops of wine, and Voila! the recipe of a perfect picture of love is all yours. Pop little heart-shaped chocolaes into your sweetheart’s mouth and sip on wine while looking each other in the eye. And anyday would be Valentine’s day. The NOKA-RIEDEL Experience plays on this beautiful concept to present the ‘2-piece Vintages with ‘2 Cabernet Glasses’ or the’ ‘4-piece Truffles with 2 Champagne Glasses.’ The inspiration behind the creation stems from 10th generation glass maker George Riedel and his exquisite glassware. George Riedel was floored the chocolates with champagne in a RIEDEL varietal-specific glass NOKA Chocolates boutique in Dallas. Who wouldn’t be floored? This experince which, in Riedel’s own terms, is ‘beyond words’, can be yours for between $96 and $104.

via Luxist / MarketWire

House of the Future is no longer a thing of the past!

Still looks pretty 70’s ish

The house of the future very quickly became a part of the forgotten past at the land of fun, joy and of course cartoons. But now Disney is bringing back the lost future as it plans to open a new and revamped ‘House of the Future’. So if you get to be in state of California this summer, then get ready to go on a journey in to the future courtesy of Walt Disney. The house is not just going to be a rehashed version of the old one, which barely lasted a decade, but will be brand new with gadgets that are aimed at startling you. The first House of the Future at Disneyland lasted from 1957 until 1967 and it should not come as a surprise to anyone that the technology inside the house quickly became the present than the future. The house was soon closed as it was obviously no longer the house that took you on a trip in to the future. It was Monsanto, which originally sponsored the first House of the Future and this time it will be software giants like Microsoft and HP along with LifeWare that sponsor the home. The new House of the Future would not just furnish the best in modern day gadgets but goes well beyond that.

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Bowflex Ultimate 2 Home Gym for complete fitness

I used to have one of the older Bowflex Ultimate, and loved it… when I got off my lazy ass to use it

So how far along have you gotten on your New Year’s weight loss and fitness resolution? If you’re anything like me, you have probably ended up with 5 pounds more than what you started with and the gym membership is only toning down your bank account! Well, what you need is a complete body fitness trainer at home. I mean it only makes sense that you workout when it’s convenient to you so that it doesn’t become a burden on your schedule and weigh down all your motivation. That’s why I simply loved this Bowflex Ultimate 2 Home Gym, which features over 95 exercises and 310 lbs of Power Rod Resistance Standard which not only feels better than standard free eights but also cuts down on joint stress! With a stunning range of exercises equipment integrated in one machine including lat tower, leg extension/curl, preacher curls attachment, squat station and ab crunch attachment, you have no reason to put working out down your list anymore. And the fact that the whole machine costs just $2,149, which is less than a year’s membership at a good gym, leaves no scope for doubt at all. Phew! I’m so motivated just telling you about it, I think I’ll go run 5 miles. And maybe catch a big, decked up sundae on my way back.

via Gear Crave

Apple Puts Restrictions on iPhone Purchases

In order to ensure that there are enough iPhones available to consumers this holiday season,
Apple has imposed new “purchasing restrictions.” In these restrictions that started Thursday, Apple will no longer accept cash for iPhone purchases and shoppers can only buy two phones at a time—with five being the max before. According to The New York Times, Apple is hoping that the two phones per person and credit or debit card for payment will hopefully discourage unauthorized resellers.

$100 to $1 Billion Dollars

Saw this on AOL and thought it was pretty intersting!

10 Years to $1.1 Billion

Do you ever wish you had invested in Amazon or Apple before they hit the jackpot? Nobody can predict the future, but if you went back 10 years with only $100 and the knowledge you have now, you could be a billionaire today.

· Yahoo (YHOO)

Year: 1997
Jan. 1: $100
Dec. 31: $611

If you invested $100 in Yahoo stock at the start of 1997, the year of the Spice Girls, Hanson, and ‘Titanic,’ you’d have $611 by the end of the year, thanks to Yahoo’s 511 percent return.

· Amazon.com (AMZN)

Year: 1998
Jan. 1: $611
Dec. 31: $6,532

If you invested the previous $611 in Amazon.com stock at the start of 1998, the year ‘Sex and the City’ debuted and Britney Spears was still innocent, you’d have (roughly) $6,532 by the end of the year, thanks to Amazon.com’s 971 percent return.

· QUALCOMM Inc (QCOM)

Year: 1999
Jan. 1: $6,532
Dec. 31: $175,327

If you invested the previous $6,532 in QUALCOMM stock at the start of 1999, the year Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC were big and everyone was freaked out about a global “Y2K” crash, you’d have $175,327 by the end of the year, thanks to QUALCOMM’s 2587 percent return.

· Lab Corp. of America (LH)

Year: 2000
Jan. 1: $175,327
Dec. 31: $836,704

If you invested the previous $175,327 in LabCorp stock at the start of 2000, the year hanging chads made for a very interesting election outcome, you’d have $836,704 by the end of the year, thanks to LabCorp’s 377 percent return.

· NVidia (NVDA)

Year: 2001
Jan. 1: $836,704
Dec. 31: $3,392,432

If you invested the previous $836,704 in NVidia stock at the start of 2001, the year Silicon Valley was imploding and stock investors were no longer printing their own profits, you’d have $3,392,432 by the end of the year, thanks to NVidia’s 305 percent advance.

· MEMC Electronic Materials (WFR)

Year: 2002
Jan. 1: $3,392,432
Dec. 31: $7,213,680

If you invested the previous (roughly) $3.5 million in MEMC stock at the start of 2002, the year ‘American Idol’ began launching homegrown superstars, you’d have $7,213,680 by the end of the year, thanks to MEMC’s 113 percent gain.

· Akamai Technologies (AKAM)

Year: 2003
Jan. 1: $7,213,680
Dec. 31: $43,270,538

If you invested the previous $7.2 million in Akamai Technologies stock at the start of 2003, the year the Iraq war started and the first ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ movie plundered box offices worldwide, you’d have $43,270,538 by the end of the year, thanks to Akamai Technologies’s 498 percent return.

· Sears Holdings (SHLD)

Year: 2004
Jan. 1: $43,270,538
Dec. 31: $179,147,269

If you invested the previous $43,270,538 in Sears Holdings stock at the start of 2004, the year John Kerry and George W. Bush went head-to-head for the White House, you’d have $179,147,269 by the end of the year, thanks to Sears Holdings’s 314 percent return.

· SanDisk (SNDK)

Year: 2005
Jan. 1: $179,147,269
Dec. 31: $448,904,325

If you invested the previous $179 million in SanDisk stock at the start of 2005, the year Hurricane Katrina demolished New Orleans and Pope Benedict XVI succeeded Pope John Paul II, you’d have $448,904,325 by the end of the year, thanks to SanDisk’s 151 percent advance.

· Allegheny Technologies (ATI)

Year: 2006
Jan. 1: $448,904,325
Dec. 31: $1,118,314,364

If you invested the previous $448,904,325 in ATI stock at the start of 2006, the year the Steelers won Superbowl XL, you’d have $1,118,314,364, thanks to ATI’s 149 percent gain. More than $1 billion in just 10 years.