observed8 the buzz
A LATTE FUN INVENTORS
In a digital age where face-to-face communication is becoming obsolete, Delray Beach inventor Richard C. Levy wants to bring people back to the kitchen table for some oldfashioned fun. Levy, 63, and fellow inventor Gary Carlin, 52, have created the Coffee Talk Game, which they describe as a “conversation in a bag.” The game’s premise: a player picks a topic card, and everyone has 45 seconds to jot down whatever comes to mind (topics range from Jay Leno to Google to Las Vegas); players move their “coffee bean” along a game board based on the number of their original ideas. You can also change an idea by creaming it or sweet talk opponents with sugar packets. “It’s all about conversation, not strategy,” explains Levy, a 35-year veteran of the toy and game industry and author of 12 books. The Coffee Talk Game retails for $15 and goes on sale this month at Toys“R”Us and Amazon.com. For more information, visit coffeetalkgame.com.
Richard C. Levy and Gary Carlin
– Samantha Shavell
OVERHEARD
ODDBALL
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Don’t make the same mistake I did and ignore your family for business.
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–Neil Austrian, 71, Chairman and CEO of Office Depot, in The Palm Beach Post
PLUS
{
STATS
45{ 23 THE NUMBER of these firms being investigated by the state of Florida
Source: The Sun Sentinel
18
THE NUMBER of South Florida firms opened to offer gold investment opportunities since 2007
& MOUNTING
T H E B O C A R AT O N O B S E R V E R
CUT THE CRAP In order to stop dogs from pooping all over their Jupiter neighborhood, the Village At Abacoa condo association last month required that all residents pay a $200 fee to the DNA Pet World Registry, a Tennessee outfit that identifies dogs by their doo based on DNA collected from mouth swabs. The way it works: Droppings found in common areas are collected in plastic containers and mailed to the company; if they match a dog in residence, the owner may end up with a $1,000 fine or a lien on his home, according to a report in The Palm Beach Post. If the pooch continues to do its business in all the wrong places, he could be taken from its owner. “This is nuts. They will be testing all kinds of poop,” condo owner Troy Holloway said in The Post. “Is this America?”