Months ago our fearless leader shot out a company-wide email, telling us to keep June 28th open because he was treating us to a "mind-blowing surprise." We patiently (and excitedly) waited for the day to come, spitballing ideas for what Dave could possibly be up to.

None of us were even close.

Dave surprised us all with a day of riding Segways, a visit from Lloyd’s Taco Truck and some gourmet cupcakes. Mind-blowing indeed!

We cannot thank Dave enough for such a rad day and excellent surprise.

TAGS [ SEGWAY | KEGWORKS ]

The tagline for this Guinness ad is "Good Things Come to Those Who Wait" but, before I reached the end where the tagline was displayed, I was thinking the idea behind the ad might be that the evolution of man culminates with a tasty pint of Guinness. Whether it’s that or simply that the wait for a pint of Guinness to properly settle is absolutely worth it, as the tag suggests, the ad itself is an interesting one. Enjoy.

TAGS [ GUINNESS | BEER AD ]

I love social media. We posted about jockey boxes on our Facebook page and a fan by the name of David Pinsent commented with a link to this crazy YouTube video on the Cruzin Cooler, a new product featured on the Discovery Channel.

These motorized beverage holders move up to 27 kilometers (about 16 miles) an hour. Watch the video or check out the Cruzin Cooler website for all of the details. What will they think of next?

TAGS [ CRUZIN COOLER | MOTORIZED COOLER ]

In college I interned for a well-known toy company. As a writer, the last place I expected to be placed was the packaging department. I quickly learned just how much thought, design, engineering and consideration goes into making something that’s ultimately thrown away. It’s pretty intense.

When our awesome IT Director pointed out that Sixpoint Brewery (in Brooklyn) would be using vanity barcodes on their new cans, I was instinctively intrigued. The artsy barcodes are designed to resemble the NYC skyline (even Lady Liberty makes an appearance) and each one is entirely scannable.

Just yesterday, the Wall Street Journal ran an article titled Art in Aisle 5: Barcodes Enter Expressionist Period

According to their report, "When Sixpoint Brewery planned to launch a line of canned beer this year, the Brooklyn, N.Y., company set out to fashion the perfect can design. It soon realized, ‘you need this big, ugly barcode so people can scan them,’ says Shane Welch, president of Mad Scientists Brewing Partners LLC, which owns Sixpoint. ‘I thought, why can’t we do our own custom barcode?’ Launched last month, the silver cans bear a barcode that integrates the Statue of Liberty and skyscrapers."

Way to stand out and make the customer experience a little more enjoyable, Sixpoint. Everything I’ve heard about the brewery and the beer is fresh, innovative and exciting. Hope to pick up some of those cans soon.

TAGS [ SIXPOINT BREWERY | BARCODE ART ]