Chrome: If you've ever researched anything medical , you probably know what it's like to have a bunch of jargon thrown at you, only to feel just as confused as when you started. Iodine's Medical Translator translates confusing medical terminology into plain English when you hover over the word.
In the heat of a stressful moment, it can be easy to lose ourselves. Everything you've worked on to reduce your stress level could fly right out the window in a really tough situation, but if you can remember these three simple dos and don'ts, you can make it through.
If you're wondering how secure the messaging apps and tools you use every day are, this scorecard from the nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation covers over three dozen messaging tools—including FaceTime, Google Hangouts, Skype, and SnapChat—to see how they stack up when it comes to keeping your messages safe.
MarketWatch reports that starting this week and ending on Black Friday weekend, guests of the retailer will have more opportunity to cash in on the company’s top holiday gift prices.
That’s roughly three weeks of Black Friday deals and promotions for consumers to get in on. With that kind of lead-up is it really even necessary for Black Friday to occur anymore?
Target, like Walmart, is offering consumers early access to deals by hosting pre-sales today and November 26.
Today only Target is offering a selection of top Black Friday doorbuster deals on Target.com for consumers using Store Pickup.
Additionally, shoppers who use the company’s Cartwheel application can also access additional Black Friday deals between November 23 and 29.
Those who can’t wait for until 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving to start their shopping can access deals via Target.com in the early morning hours.
“We know our guests are pulled in a million different directions as the holidays get underway, so we’re helping them save time and money by offering more access to Black Friday deals,” Kathee Tesija, chief merchandising and supply chain officer for Target, tells MarketWatch.
Target Announces Biggest, Most Digital Black Friday Ever with More Ways to Save Throughout November [MarketWatch]
Usually toys that come in kids meals bring joy and happiness to children, right? Apparently that wasn’t the case for 2.3 million whistle toys recently featured in McDonald’s Happy Meals and Mighty Kids Meals that pose a possible choking hazard.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that McDonald’s is recalling the Hello Kitty themed whistle because parts of toy can pose a choking hazard for children.
A recall was initiated after the fast food chain received two reports of children who coughed out pieces of the whistle that they had sucked into their mouths. One child received medical attention.
The whistles, which were distributed nationwide during October and the first week of November, are red and were included in a plastic Hello Kitty figurine holding a pink heart-shaped lollipop.
According to the CPSC, the whistle can be removed and used to make sounds by inhaling or exhaling though the mouthpiece. When closed, the figurine measures about three inches in height and width.
The bag in which the toy is packaged includes the text “Hello Kitty Birthday Lollipop” and the number “6” in the upper right corner.
Consumers can return the toy to McDonald’s for a free replacement.
McDonald’s Recalls Hello Kitty Themed Whistles Due to Choking and Aspiration Hazards [CPSC]
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There’s typically no shortage of interesting happenings at Walmart stores across the country. Just last week a teenager allegedly set fire to a display of christmas-themed stuffed animals, and this week a man allegedly set-off a firecracker in the video game aisle.
WPTV-TV reports that a man was arrested Saturday after an explosion and fire occurred inside a Florida Walmart store.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office reports that deputies were called to the store after security heard an explosion.
Security footage from Walmart showed a man lighting a firecracker, placing it on the bottom shelf of the display and walking away before it exploded.
A suspect arrested by deputies says he was approached by an unknown person who offered to steal a video game for him if he created a distraction inside the store.
The unknown individual allegedly told the man that there was a firecracker on the bottom shelf next to the store’s XBox games.
Local authorities say the blast caused burn marks on the floor and shelving, as well as destroyed $29 worth of video games.
The man was arrested and charged with first-degree arson and criminal mischief.
Thomas Hartman charged with setting off firecracker inside Walmart [WPTV-TV]
Just because birds have feathers does not necessarily mean they’re going to want to flock together. It was exactly the opposite at a recent L.L. Bean store opening in Vermont, when an owl attacked a hawk. Both were featured in the retailer’s display featuring birds of prey. Meaning birds who attack and eat other birds as part of their diet. So… yeah.
The Talons! A Bird of Prey Experience” display at a Burlington mall showcased a bit too real of an experience for shoppers when a European eagle owl attacked a Harris’ hawk, reports the Burlington Free Press. It was part of a grand-opening celebration for a new store at the mall.
From @PhilipTortora of BFP on Twitter:
At L.L. Bean display in Town Center mall, a European eagle owl attacked a Harris's hawk for a couple minutes. #btv pic.twitter.com/scpQ1vWTMs
— Philip Tortora (@PhilipTortora) November 7, 2014
But while to an outsider it might seem like a no-brainer to keep such fowl away from each other, a rep from the experience says the birds have done just fine before, and have known each other for six years.
“They’ve never, ever have gone after each other,” she said. “They’re always in close proximity, we make sure their leashes are not too close, and this time it was a matter of inches. They’re predators.”
Witnesses reported seeing the owl squeezing the hawk in its talons for a few minutes, with the hawk shrieking loudly until workers were finally able to separate them.
Owl attacks hawk at L.L. Bean display in mall [Burlington Free Press]
A Tampa man says Delta Airlines lost his dog. via CBS Los Angeles
CBS Los Angeles reports a Tampa man alleges that Delta Airlines lost his six-year-old dog, Ty, at Los Angeles airport Friday.
The man says he was in his seat when an airline employee told him the they couldn’t find the dog.
The attendant initially told the man the dog allegedly bit through his kennel, but then changed her story saying the airline simply couldn’t find the dog and that he had been missing for an hour.
“It’s been very depressing,” the man tells CBS Los Angeles. “Very upsetting. I’ve been crying. I’ve been angry.”
For its part the airline sent the man a letter saying the company regrets the incident and that “early indications show that procedures were followed, and the dog may have compromised the kennel on its own.”
“I just want my dog back,” the man says. “He’s my best friend, that dog.”
There’s no word on how Delta or LAX officials are trying to locate the animal.
Pet Owner Blames Delta Airlines For Losing His Dog At LAX [CBS Los Angeles]
According to the Associated Press, at least a dozen residents of the home on NYC’s Rockaway Peninsula have gotten notices recently from FEMA< saying that they'd been declared ineligible for aid checks that they received two years ago — money that many of them have already spent — because the money was only supposed to pay for temporary housing.
Those residents didn't ever have to pay for housing, as they were moved from one state-funded shelter to another. Yet they're expected to pony up the cash by Nov. 15, cash most of them don't have.
One 61-year-old resident suffering from a spinal disability and other chronic health problems says he has to send a check for $2,486 or file an appeal. He says he spent the money on food and clothing, things he needed after the storm, and was never told he was ineligible.
"We're on a fixed income. I don't have that kind of money!" he told the AP, saying FEMA workers urged him to apply for assistance in the aftermath of the storm, when residents were staying at an armory in Brooklyn. No one informed him it could only be used for housing, he said.
"Everyone asked, `Do we have to pay this back later on? Is it a loan?' They said, `No. It's a gift from Obama,'" he said. "If I wasn't eligible, then why give it to me in the first place? They knew we were living in an adult home. They knew our shelter was being paid for by the state. It's not like we lied on the application."
A FEMA spokesperson told the AP that the agency is required by law to recoup improper payments, but didn't directly address the residents' situation.
"FEMA remains committed to working with applicants and ensuring they have an understanding of the options available to resolve their debt, which includes making a payment, filling an appeal, requesting a compromise and establishing a payment plan," he said.
A local legal aid group that's worked with adult home residents in the past has offered to help this home's resident work on their appeals.
"Our position is that it would be an unbearable financial hardship and unjust," to require the residents to repay the money, said an attorney with MFY Legal Services.
NYC ADULT HOME RESIDENTS ASKED TO REPAY FEMA AID [Associated Press]
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While we all know how this little experiment is going to turn out, it still makes old hearts creak with nostalgia seeing the young whippersnappers trying to figure out how to turn the dang thing on in the first place, much less wrestle with film to make it actually take a picture. And it’s not like they’ve been forced back to the time of dageurrotypes — the camera even winds the film automatically! Such a treat.
In any case, the reactions are still enough to make you go “aww!” and then, “grumble grumble back in my day grumble grumble.”
Highlight might be watching some of the kids react to being handed actual film — “I’ve always wanted to see film!” and “A REAL FILM!!!”
Although (spoiler alert) most kids are outraged at the fact that you can’t see a photo after you take it, one girl does admit it’s “kind of sad” that the albums on a phone are named after actual albums where people used to place physical photos, something no one she knows does anymore. Sad, indeed.
W*USA 9 |
Bald eagle rescued by Fairfax officer had to be euthanized Washington Post An injured bald eagle that was rescued by an animal control officer at a Fairfax County park this week had to be euthanized because of health problems, police said. Kathy Prucnal, a Fairfax County animal control officer, used only a blanket to capture ... Va. police: Injured bald eagle had to be euthanizedW*USA 9 Bald eagle euthanized after rescue in AlexandriaRichmond Times-Dispatch all 10 news articles » |
Fairfax County adopt a pet Washington Post Socks, a 2-year-old female domestic shorthair, is available from the Fairfax County Animal Shelter. Gillian, a mother who just raised three kittens, is available from the Humane Society of Fairfax County. Gia, a spayed, 4 1 / 2-year-old hound-pointer ... and more » |
WJLA |
Fairfax County Animal Watch Washington Post No incidents were reported by the Animal Control Division of the Fairfax County Police Department. For information, call 703-246-2253. FAIRFAX CITY. The following incidents were reported by the animal control section of the Fairfax City Police Department. Fairfax Co. animal control officer rescues injured bald eagle in - DC News FOX ...MyFox Washington DC all 6 news articles » |
(Reddit)
Granted, the Dewrito is not on the market yet. It may never reach stores here or even in Japan, where the company reversed this concept and inflicted Mountain Dew-flavored Cheetos on the public. This is just a taste test, being inflicted on innocent college students, but you should find it terrifying that somebody thought of this, and that soft drink flavor chemistry is sufficiently advanced that cheese tortilla chip flavored Mountain Dew is even a thing that is possible.
“It honestly wasn’t that disgusting,” the taste-tester explained to the assembled horrified Redditors. “It tasted like orange with a Doritos aftertaste. It tasted like straight Doritos afterwards though.” The Doritos aftertaste has a Doritos aftertaste. Why?
Would you do the Dewitos? Doritos-flavored Mountain Dew might be a real thing [CNET]
When eating Oreos (of any flavor) have you ever said, “this is great, but I wish it were twirlier, and also warm?” No. You probably haven’t. Apparently someone at convenience store snack provider J&J Snack Foods did, though, and the company teamed up with Oreo-maker Mondelez International to sell Oreo-flavored churros. Churreos?
J&J calls itself “the leading churro manufacturer” in a press release, which is apparently a thing. The key thing to remember about these Churreos (not their actual name) is that they will be served hot, in convenience stores, and some snack fans suspect that the ready-made twisted cookie snacks will bring churros into areas of the country that have previously not had access to the Latin American treat.
Churros are usually twisted bits of plain dough served as a snack or dessert. They are usually not made out of ground-up Oreos, or out of chocolate at all. The licensed convenience store version will be served with containers of Oreo creme, or whatever toppings the convenience store thinks would be interesting. We suggest cookies and cream ice cream.
J&J is one of those companies that you’ve never heard of, but that makes items under their own and some licensed brands for convenience stores to prepare and serve with minimal cooking: think premade churros, cookie dough, packaged frozen treats, and premade sandwiches. You’ve probably eaten one of their products at some point.
NEED IT NOW: OREO CHURROS ARE COMING [First We Feast]
We’ve been keeping an eye on this trend for a few years now, mostly because we really like Thanksgiving and also think that our friends, family, and readers who work in retail deserve a turkey and mashed potatoes break before the holiday shopping frenzy begins. In 2012, Toys ‘R’ Us opened at 8 P.M. on Thanksgiving Day. Last year, in 2013, they moved the opening time up to 5 P.M., and they’re sticking with that for this year, then remaining open for 30 hours, finally closing at 11 P.M. on Friday.
Holidays? Who needs holidays?
Toys R Us will open at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving [CNN] (Warning: auto-play video)
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Like a lot of recent investment trends, the alpaca craze began during the height of the housing boom in the early and mid-2000s.
“The biggest marketing pushes were calling them a huggable investment and attracting people who just thought they were gorgeous little lawn ornaments,” one alpaca farmer and broker tells Modern Farmer. “We got people who weren’t really animal people, who weren’t really farmers, or even business people.”
He says the mindset of these buyers was “We’ll be able to hang out at home and retire, and people will knock on our doors and pay us all these thousands of dollars and this will be easy.”
At the time, a trade group called Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association (now the Alpaca Owners Association) ran a marketing campaign calling alpacas the perfect “phased retirement opportunity” for empty nesters and urbanites looking for an easy way to make money in the country.
The trade group openly pushed breeding of the animals, but did little to create a market for alpaca fiber.
And so alpaca prices began to sink and have continued to drop, leaving investors in the red, trying to sell their animals on sites like Openherd or Craigslist.
Without any buyers, farmers are sometimes giving alpacas away just be done with the expense of caring for the animals, while others are resorting to more desperate ways of thinning their herds.
The above-quoted farmer, who is starting an alpaca-rescue operation, says that some desperate alpaca owners who can’t afford to feed their animals are placing them in large freezers, slowly killing the animals by inducing hypothermia.
“They feel it’s more humane that way. It’s a really, really heart-wrenching reality,” he tells Modern Farmer.
While it’s common to sell alpacas for meat in their native South America, that isn’t as much of an option to farmers here in the U.S.
But much like the collapse of the real estate market and the surfeit of cheap homes has resulted in a new crop of investors buying cheap with the hope of eventually selling for a reasonable price, so has the bursting of the alpaca bubble created unlikely farmers out of people who obtained animals either through rescue operations or through bottom-dollar sales.
Last year, one Missouri woman who has been rescuing animals for three decades arranged an intervention with an alpaca breeding ranch that had allowed its large herd to become severely neglected. On a freezing cold January morning, she and a group of five volunteers herded 200 starving and sick alpacas into a barn for shelter and shots and then packed them into trailers for taking away to farms that could tend to the animals properly.
That’s how she and her family ended up caring for 60 of the alpacas and created a fiber processing mill in their basement.
“Since then,” she says, “we haven’t lost a single alpaca.”
A longtime board member of the Alpaca Owners Association defends the group’s earlier drive to increase investment in alpaca breeding.
“I think the marketing was appropriate,” he tells Modern Farmer. “I would always ask somebody that’s not very satisfied, ‘How much energy did you put into it?’ When I talk to somebody, I tell them, ‘This is a business, and if you’re not prepared to show up and work every day on your business, why in the world would you think it would be successful?’”
(Hershey)
Proving that candy can go on bread, the new spread “can be enjoyed on any food,” Hershey said in a press release, pointing out that people have been known to eat chocolate as a snack. You don’t say!
“Reese’s Spreads offer an authentic Reese’s experience to fans who are looking for delicious snack options throughout the day,” said Daren Russ of the Hershey Company. “Since 1928, we have been delivering the perfect combination of chocolate and peanut butter. With the launch of Reese’s Spreads, we are honoring our great heritage and bringing consumers a new, but still perfect, way to enjoy the Reese’s brand.”
Anyway, the spreads join the company’s existing line of Hershey’s chocolate spreads meant to be snacked on, and will be available nationwide in 13-ounce jars for $3.89 each.
Not everythigng on the Internet is a case of “what you see is what you get.” Because while yes, a Turkey-based company did, in fact, feature a photo of a rather hirsute man in its ad for hair removal products, it says it “didn’t know” that the fellow is a former Al-Qaeda leader and accused terrorist.
Below, the ad featuring Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, taken in 2003 when he was captured in Pakistan for his alleged part in planning the 9/11 attacks.
The ad’s copy reportedly translates to: “Waiting won’t get rid of that hair!”
Turkish hair removal product ad featuring Khalid Sheikh Mohammed pic.twitter.com/KImYWPjaop
— yusuf sayman (@ysfsymn) October 31, 2014
But see, that photo is some kind of popular meme that all the cool kids like, the company explains, reports the Hurriyet Daily News (via the Daily Star). It just wanted to use the photo “for his hair, not terrorism,” a spokesperson for the cosmetics company said.
“We didn’t know that he was a terrorist,” the rep said. “This image is in popular use in Turkish memes on the Internet. The guy is quite hairy, so we thought his body was a good fit for our ad.
“We didn’t want to imply anything political. We didn’t know that it could become an international story. I repeat: We featured him for his hair, not terrorism.”
Al-Qaeda mastermind featured for ‘hairs, not terrorism’ in cosmetic ad: Turkish company [Hurriyet Daily News]
Sticky Fingers is a small chain of 16 BBQ joints in the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee, and Florida. Following Tuesday’s elections, it announced that customers who bring in any of those roadside campaign signs will be entitled to a free appetizer of up to $7.99 (with purchase of other food, so don’t go in with a stack of signs and expect to eat like a king — or a Congressman).
While the restaurant wants to encourage people to clean up after the annual mess that is Election Day, it reminds them that they can’t steal signs off property that doesn’t belong to them. Additionally, it’s requesting that customers “Please don’t put yourself in harm’s way to bring us a sign.”
In case the campaigns still want their signs back, the Sticky Fingers stores will hold onto them for two weeks. If they go unclaimed, the signs will be recycled.
“I come through pretty often and I do enjoy visiting, because his voice just makes me smile,” one resident told KPLCTV.com of the show the cashier puts on.
He’s not humble about his talents, either, which he says he started honing as a way to make the time on the job pass more quickly.
“It’s kind of my talent that keeps putting me back here,” he explained.
Indeed, say his drive-thru faithful: “This young fella has such a voice that at first you think it’s a recording it’s so unique,” one customer said.
Lest you think he’s read to take his act on the road or try for a career on the airwaves, as some of his customers have encouraged him to do, he says he’s happy to perform where he is for now.
“It gives me that kick for an extra smile,” he explained.
Previously in tune-happy McDonald’s workers: Singing McDonald’s Employee Is Apparently Not Annoyint To Customers
Service with more than a smile: drive-thru cashier keeps customers laughing [KPLCTV.com]
This is according to Bloomberg, which reports that Costco is considering an end to its exclusivity deal with AmEx, and has talked to both Capital One and MasterCard about replacing its longstanding credit card buddy.
If so, it would be a repeat of what Costco announced for its Canadian stores earlier this year. Starting in 2015, AmEx will no longer be accepted north of the border and the Canadian Costco’s co-branded credit card will become a Cap One MasterCard.
But Bloomberg says that Costco is taking bids for both a card issuer and a payment network. It’s possible that AmEx could ultimately maintain its gigs offering both these services to the wholesaler.
Costco stores have long accepted only one brand of card. Before AmEx, shoppers could only pay with Discover cards. However, the company does accept other card networks for online purchases.
A switch to MasterCard or Visa as the payment network would significantly increase the number of consumers who could pay with plastic at Costco. This may be important if the company wants to expand its customer base.
Staples announced that it will open only briefly on Thursday evening, from 6 to 10 P.M., then close for eight hours and re-open at 6 A.M. Kohl’s will open at 6 P.M. on Thursday, then remain open until the end of the day on Friday.
Both of these stores also opened at 8 P.M. last year.
Like many things in national retail, all of these hours are void where prohibited: blue laws in many municipalities and counties and a few states prohibit stores from opening on Thanksgiving Day. Some retailers, including Costco, Nordstrom, GameStop, BJ’s, and other chains to come have announced that they will not be open on the holiday. That doesn’t mean that no one will be working on the holiday at all, especially for stores that will open exactly at midnight, but it’s better than whatever the heck it is that Kmart thinks it’s doing.
More Black Friday 2014 shopping hours and some news from Tops [Syracuse.com]
More retailers announce earlier opening times on Thanksgiving [Los Angeles Times]
Acme Foundry
Besides, the Minneapolis company, which makes gray and ductile iron pieces (it is unclear if anvils are also made there, but fingers crossed), had meant to get around to doing something like that at some point, reports Fox 9 Twin Cities, and now the hard work has already been done.
Workers arrived this week at work to find the cardboard cutouts chasing each other across the front of the building, and it seems to be going over well.
“We see and appreciate the humor,” Acme said in an email to Fox 9. “It is the best graffiti that anyone has ever done to our building.”
In fact, the company wants to find the artist to say thank you and help it with even more renderings of the cartoon characters.
And it only took a century to find the right person to finally graffiti the building, Acme tells UPI.
“We’ve been in business for over 100 years. I’m surprised it took this long,” Acme’s business manager explained, adding that the company will keep the cutouts as long as it can.
“It’s too humorous not to,” she said.
For those who need a reminder, the fictional Acme Corporation appears in many of the Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner cartoons on products that backfire or otherwise foil Wile E. in his quest to apprehend the object of his desire, eternally, the Road Runner.
Someone added roadrunner, coyote to Acme Foundry in Minneapolis [Fox 9]
Acme building graffitied with Wile E. Coyote, Road Runner [UPI.com]
Results for four of the 39 services currently evaluated on the EFF’s Secure Messaging Scorecard.
Thankfully, the folks at the Electronic Frontier Foundation had some time on their hands and put together a handy scorecard so you can not only look at what a particular service does or doesn’t do to protect its users, but also compare the various messaging services.
The EFF looked at seven different categories (see below for more details) to evaluate each service, ranging from the whether or not your messages are encrypted from end-to-end to the transparency and documentation of the cryptography used to a requirement for timely independent auditing.
Of the 39 services on the scorecard — which includes popular offerings like AIM, Facebook chat, FaceTime, Google Hangouts, iMessage, Skype, Snapchat, and Whatsapp — only six (ChatSecure, CryptoCat, Signal/Redphone, Silent Phone, Silent Text, and TextSecure) received green checkmarks in all categories.
Users of Apple’s iMessage and FaceTime may be glad to know that they were the most secure of the big-name services on the scorecard, qualifying for good marks in 5 of 7 categories.
But many of the most popular names failed at all but the most basic level of security. Services like AIM, Google Hangouts, Facebook Chat, Yahoo, WhatsApp and even Apple’s e-mail products, fail to provide end-to-end encryption of messages, meaning the service provider can have unencrypted access to the content of your messages.
Some of the bigger names, like AIM and Yahoo, only received one green check on the scorecard because their services haven’t even been independently audited in the previous 12 months.
Popular Chinese messaging service QQ and Mxit from South Africa were the true flunkies on this scorecard, failing to encrypt messages at any point.
“Many new tools claim to protect you, but don’t include critical features like end-to-end encryption or secure deletion,” explains EFF Technology Projects Director Peter Eckersley. “This scorecard gives you the facts you need to choose the right technology to send your message.”
Below are more details on the seven categories used for the scorecard. The EFF provides additional information in its Methodology section of the card.
1. Are messages encrypted in transit? That is, if someone were able to tap into your connection, would they need to decrypt the message before being able to read it?
2. Are messages encrypted so that the service provider can’t read it? This offers even more privacy, as not even the people at the company powering the message exchange can see what you’re sending.
3. Can you verify contact’s identities? This is more technical in nature, but involves giving users some sort of method for verifying that the person they are speaking with is the intended correspondent. It doesn’t mean that you can verify that SallyJonesXZ&Z1 is in real life your Uncle Jim, but that someone can’t impersonate SallyJonesXZ&Z1 on the service.
4. Are past communications secure if your keys are stolen? Another technical-sounding one. This is a check to see that “if users choose to delete their local copies of correspondence, they are permanently deleted.”
5. Is the code open to independent review? This looks at whether a service can make available relevant parts of its code to check for “bugs, back doors, and structural problems.”
6. Is the crypto design well-documented? Here the EFF asks if the developer can provide “clear and detailed explanations of the cryptography used by the application,” preferably in a white-paper written for review by an audience of professional cryptographers.
7. Has there been an independent security audit? This requires that an independent, qualified security team has audited the service in the previous 12 months. In most cases, this audit would come from an outside organization, but EFF allows for larger companies with internal-but-independent auditing teams to qualify.
Birds smudged because my mother reads this. (@chrisjoonior on Twitter)
