After the massive security breaches at Target and Nieman Marcus recently, we could all stand to be more aware of the security features on our credit cards and debit cards and how banks protect our money. Some banks offer more security features than others. Let's take a look.
    
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Mag-Lite flashlights are some of the best you can buy. They're heavy, well built, incredibly bright, and last a good long time on the batteries you put into them. Still, those batteries are disposable. Instructables user monjnoux didn't like that idea, so he tweaked his for easy outlet recharging instead.
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At work and at home, it's easy to say "yes" so often, you forget what you're saying "yes" to. Learning how to say "no" is a powerful skill. Author Scott Fetters explains why you should say it more often (and how to get better at it).
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Getting more veggies into your diet is a good idea for everyone. The key is figuring out which ones fit into your lifestyle, and into your method of cooking. Over at Summer Tomato, author and neuroscientist Darya Rose offers up some ideal vegetables for the laziest of home cooks.
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You can never prove someone is lying just by looking at non-verbal cues—but they can let you know when something might be off. David DeSteno, a professor of psychology at Northeastern University, conducted a thorough study and found four non-verbal indicators you might want to look for.
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Getting access to high-speed internet on the go doesn't have to mean using someone's wide-open Wi-Fi. There are plenty of great 3G and 4G hotspots that get the job done, don't cost an arm and a leg, and are small enough to keep in your pocket for when you need them. Whether you're on the road or cable's out at home, here are five of the best mobile hotspots to keep you connected.
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If the simple sleeve roll doesn't work for you, the Master Sleeve Roll (demonstrated here by Antonio Centeno of Real Men Real Style) will fix this problem by staying firm and looking good doing it. Plus, it's easier to unfold/unroll too.
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Android: Most of the apps on your Android device probably require a data connection, and you may not even know when they are sending or receiving data. NoRoot Firewall puts you in control of Internet access for apps, as well as how they can access it.
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DIY projects are all the rage here at Lifehacker and if you have a young one in whom you want to kindle an interest for such stuff, then MakerParent is a fantastic resource where one parent is collect activities to do with kids.
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Your mind can be tricked into making healthier choices, such as treating healthy foods like samples. But the best way to make a healthier choice is to push that decision till you're exhausted, says a new study.
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Valentine’s Day can be a wonderful time to celebrate love; it can also be a hellish disaster waiting to happen. Here’s how to hack Valentine’s Day to make it a night you’ll actually want to remember—whether you’ve got someone to spend it with or not.
Not every malady deserves a visit to the doctor or pharmacy. Some, like headaches, stomaches, hangovers, or even athlete's foot can be cured with ingredients from your kitchen. So, we want to hear about it: what home remedies do you swear by?
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I prefer the Cajun Kick-Ass sauce.
Just to recap: We reached out to McDonald’s on behalf of a few Consumerist readers who wanted to know if they would ever be able to dip their McNuggets in the Hot Mustard dipping sauce that had been part of the chain’s menu for decades.
Rather than say “yes” or “no,” a McD’s marketing mechanism churned out a 60-word marketing spiel about how f-ing awesome some blah blah bold blah habanero ranch sauce is, and how this bold buttkicker of a laboratory project could also be found on other McDonald’s menu items that we didn’t ask about.
After we published our goofy little post, McDonald’s re-reached out to us, apologizing for the lack of clarity, and stating without qualification, “McDonald’s is removing Hot Mustard sauce from our lineup due to its slow moving performance.”
See? Was that so painful?
Had McDonald’s just sent us that to begin with, there would have been no post. We would have sent the info on to the readers that asked about it and that’s where it would have ended.
But the Golden Arches couldn’t resist the temptation to slather on all the marketing language it could, trying to stuff the message of “HABANERO RANCH IS SO DANG RAD YOUR GREAT-GRANDKIDS WILL BE BORN CRAVING IT!!!!!!” down consumers’ throats like so many handfuls of salty fries.
Anyway, all this talk about dipping sauces with horrible names makes us hungry for some Franch dressing from the folks at Madrigal Elektromotoren.
So here is some (badly re-edited) footage of one of the company’s dipping sauce taste test sessions (Don’t watch if you haven’t seen Breaking Bad but plan to do so at some point) —
You can now follow Chris on Twitter: @themorrancave
“Did you return the movie?” “I thought you were returning the movie.” “You’re such a monster-in-law.” “Indeed.”
Fox Carolina reported on Friday [via Ars Technica] that a Pickens, South Carolina, woman was arrested and charged with failure to return a rented video cassette after her (now out-of-business) local video store said she’d not responded to any of its demands to return the movie.
To get the easy joke out of the way: Yes, this is the one person who rented Monster-In-Law. Alternate easy joke: The real crime is that she was still renting VHS tapes in 2005.
Moving on.
The customer had initially rented the film for a period of 72 hours. When it didn’t get the tape back, the store says it sent multiple letters to her home, and then a warrant in Sept. 2005.
It was that warrant that popped up during a recent records check on the J.Lo fan, finally resulting in her arrest.
The suspect says she never received the letters.
“I didn’t rent a movie with the intent of keeping it,” wrote a woman claiming to be the long-term renter, “at the time i had to up and move out of state due to my husbands job and honestly forgot all about it just as I’m sure some of you haters have done. I’m no criminal, but pickens county sheriffs office sure made me feel like i was.”
Amazingly, Monster-In-Law, which received almost universally dismal reviews, somehow managed to earn more than $150 million at the global box office during its release.
If you’re going to be arrested for not returning a J.Lo film, at least have it be Out of Sight.
This is just one of many library book/video rental arrests we’ve covered over the years. Here are some previous stories from the Consumerist archive:
•You Can Go To Jail For An Overdue Library Book
•That Overdue ‘Twilight’ Book & DVD Could Get You Arrested
•Library Sends Police After 5-Year-Old Girl To Tell Her To Pay Up Or Return Two Overdue Books
• George Washington Owes $300K For Overdue Library Books
• Judge Fired In The Case Of The Overdue DVD
• Iowa Woman Arrested For Failing To Return Library Book
• 6 Days In Jail For Overdue Library Books
You can now follow Chris on Twitter: @themorrancave
Scientists have been listening to the masses, who are clamoring for pizza as one of their options for meals ready to eat, or MREs, reports the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. These lightweight, individual field rations have been around since 1981 and are eaten by soldiers in combat zones or other places where a kitchen is impossible.
Pizza is known as the Holy Grail of MREs, and now researchers in a Massachusetts military lab say they’re closing on just the right formulation. No refrigeration or freezing required.
“You can basically take the pizza, leave it on the counter, packaged, for three years and it’d still be edible,” said a food scientist at the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center.
Pizza is high on the list of requested items when soldiers are asked every year what they’d like to eat, she adds. She’s spent almost two years developing the recipe to oblige those requests.
It’s a tall order — moisture in tomato sauce, cheese and toppings end up sinking into the dough over time, making it gross and soggy and prime for bacteria.
Recent research has helped scientists figure out how to keep that from happening, partly by using ingredients called humectants — like sugar, salt and syrups — that bind to water and keep it out of the dough..
The real question is, how does it taste? The head of the taste lab says so far the latest prototype batch of pepperoni isn’t half bad.
“It pretty much tastes just like a typical pan pizza that you would make at home and take out of the oven or the toaster oven,” she said. “The only thing missing from that experience would be it’s not hot when you eat it. It’s room temperature.”
Still, even room temperature pizza is better than no pizza at all, am I right, or am I right? I’m right.
You can follow MBQ on Twitter where she will most definitely talk about pizza: @marybethquirk
Military food researchers say they’re near the holy grail: MRE pizza that lasts 3 years [Minneapolis Star-Tribune]
This isn’t a microwave cake, but it’s just as delicious!! (Morton Fox)
Valentine’s Day is nearly over, but that doesn’t mean you can’t whip up a decadent dessert for your sweetie. If you have a microwave and one minute, then you’re well on your way to chocolatey bliss.
So get your chocolate ready and prep your microwave (or Bill O’Reilly’s if you’ve got the dough) because this 20-second chocolate cake recipe from PBS is bound to blow your mind.
Grab your two favorite mugs and oil up the sides. Then mix sugar, cocoa powder, heavy cream, an egg and vanilla until there are no lumps. Once that’s finished top with baking powder and quickly mix.
Next, split the batter between the mugs, making sure there are no air bubbles. Then head to your microwave.
Set for 30 seconds and closely watch the cake bake in front of your eyes. When the cake rise about half-way up the sides of the mug it’s done!
Transfer your ooey-gooey cake to a plate, ASAP or you’re bound to get a rock hard chocolate flavored hockey puck. And get ready to impress you Valentine with your culinary expertise.
Ingredients:
Steps:
Prepare a Decadent Chocolate Cake in One Minute or Less! [PBS.org]
In recent weeks, we’ve noticed a lot of visitors coming to our site because they’re looking for information on heart-shaped pizza. Yes, chain pizza places like Papa Murphy’s and Papa John’s offer heart-shaped pizzas, and you can make your own by shaping the crust into a blobbular heart-ish thing. For the ultimate in adorableness, though, try heart-shaped pepperoni. They’ll keep their shape better than a whole pizza, filling the space with way more hearts.
All you need to make this magic happen are a 1.5-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter and some pepperoni. (You could use just about any other shape, too.) Get step-by-step directions over at Serious Eats.
What should you do with the cutouts? You can use the outline anti-hearts to decorate another pizza, one that marks the hollowness and futility of love. Or just eat ‘em.
Vegetarians aren’t left out of this lovefest: you can form tasty veggie hearts out of red peppers or tomatoes.
It requires more work, yes, but is significantly cuter than what passes for “heart-shaped” pizza on a bad day at the chain pizzerias:
Top This: How to Make Heart-Shaped Pepperoni Slices [Serious Eats]
For a lot of people, going to a four year college seems like an automatic choice when they graduate from high school. The reason is obvious—more income. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, a college degree accounted for $15,000 in additional income per year versus a high school diploma ($30,000 versus $45,000). Over a thirty year career in the workforce, that adds up to a $450,000 difference.
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