Well, well. The world's largest retailer has launched an apparently "secret website" that details some special offers for an "Early Black Friday" that will start pleasing shoppers the morning of November 2. The regular Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) Christmas Shop website is already open to the general public, but this special section is apparently available only if you know the web link to get there. Neat-o!

Examples of items on sale tomorrow morning include a Sanyo 50" plasma HDTV selling for $998 and an Acer laptop PC selling for $348. While a $350 laptop was in the mix last Black Friday, a large 50" plasma TV for under $1,000 is quite a new entry for low prices on big flat-panel HDTVs. Customers will surely be lining up for that one.

I remember the first time I tasted a gingerbread latte. It was the winter of 2000, and Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) had just opened a new outlet a block away from my suburban condo. I hated the suburbs! But I loved those gingerbread lattes, they made me feel like home for the holidays. And let's face it: ginger and spice are delicious. I could eat them year-round.

But, alas, in January the gingerbread latte disappeared, preceded by the eggnog latte and closely followed by the peppermint mocha. Every season we await their return, their appearance on the specials board a better harbinger of the season than the weather, or the opening of the "Christmas" display at your local grocery store. And every season we mourn their passing.

While I'm not about to suggest Starbucks move the eggnog latte to its permanent menu, serving it alongside tangerine Frappuccinos this summer, I think the company would receive dividends in customer goodwill and extra sales if it extended the holiday beverage season through at least March. Let's put it this way: I love the peppermint mochas so much I'll go to Starbucks to buy them, even though I like the service and the coffee at my neighborhood alternative indy coffee shop better.

And I still love them in March. Surprisingly enough, my tastes don't change between December 26th and February 15th! And I'm not the only one. According to Starbucks Drinks Simplified, the eggnog latte is so popular "People start asking about it in September, but on average these aren't sold until mid-November sometime."