Recent Stories with tag free

[UPDATE: Giveaway is over.] "Due to the large volume of visitors we are experiencing--since our "World's Best" Mac & Cheese became a favorite of a certain TV talkshow diva--we are currently offering a limited version of our website," explains Beechershandmadecheese.com. 

Turns out the "World's Best" Mac & Cheese from Beecher's is a claim Oprah might stand behind. To celebrate the sudden fame, Beecher's is giving away--that's free, folks!--hot dishes of mac & cheese until close of business (6 p.m.) today, November 19. You have three locations to choose from: their Pike Place store, Pasta & Co. at University Village, and Bennett's Pure Food Bistro on Mercer Island.

'Scuse us. Gotta run.

Virginia Mason says more than 350 men stopped in for a free prostate exam last year, so they're doing it again, with a visit to Seattle and Issaquah next week.

More than 55 million American men are at risk for prostate cancer, and early detection is key. That’s why Virginia Mason Medical Center, in partnership with ZERO: The Project to End Prostate Cancer and KOMO 4, will host the only mobile, free prostate cancer testing program Thursday, July 29, in Seattle and Friday, July 30, in Issaquah from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

In Seattle, look for the mobile unit near the intersection of Ninth Avenue and Seneca Street in front of the Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason. In Issaquah, it'll be in the parking lot at 100 N.E. Gilman Blvd., at the Virginia Mason Issaquah clinic.

You're assured that the drop-in screening is free and confidential. Volunteers will explain the screening process (a PSA blood test and an optional physical exam: see above video) and answer any questions, while Virginia Mason providers will perform the screening. ... (more)

Could someone get +Russ a beer? He dropped this photo in our Flickr pool, and it seems like a fair trade.

For more than a decade, Seattle has prided itself on its robust economy and unmatched blend of innovative, successful companies. We’ve had it all. So it’s particularly hard to see a local, homemade Seattle company get whacked and weakened by punch after punch from its competitors.

Starbucks [SBUX] is having a rough recession. They’ve had to close hundreds of stores due to declining sales and have seen their market share shrunk by the likes of McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts.  

Today, they’ve taken another smack to the gut from the boys behind the Golden Arches. Starting in January, McDonald’s will be offering free Wi-Fi. What this means is that the company behind the guy in the clown outfit has out flanked Starbucks yet again and gone directly to consumers with something they want and, frankly, demand.

For years Starbucks has stubbornly stuck to the notion that people like their stores and products so much that they will pay for an Internet connection they can find for free at a local café down the street (or now at a fast food chain with much cheaper lattés). In all fairness, Starbucks does offer free Wi-Fi, but only to AT&T Internet subscribers, or if you have a Starbucks card--otherwise, you pay for your time.

This might have made sense four years ago when wireless Internet first made its move towards ubiquity. But the world has changed and customers demand access as a prerequisite for settling down with a hot cup of Joe.   

Everyone else, it seems, has recognized that having people stay in your store and probably buy more than one drink, a donut, juice, or a Happy Meal is a very good thing. They probably realize that the income they generate from those incremental sales will pay for the cost the store incurs from an Internet connection.

The bitter irony, pun intended, is that Starbucks invented the concept of the coffee-house-as-office. They created the idea of a comfortable, cozy place to have an espresso and get a little something done. One could argue that the rapid rise of 3G phones is a direct response to people wanting tools that would allow them to be productive while sitting in someplace very much like Starbucks.  ... (more)