Shared posts

31 Mar 17:19

Mass hack attack on Yahoo Mail accounts prompts password reset

by Dan Goodin

Yahoo said it is resetting passwords for some of its e-mail users after discovering a coordinated effort to compromise accounts.

Attackers behind the cracking campaign used usernames and passwords that were probably collected from a compromised database belonging to an unidentified third party, according to Jay Rossiter, Yahoo senior vice president of platforms and personalization products, who wrote an advisory published Thursday. A large percentage of people use the same password to protect multiple Internet accounts, a practice that allows attackers holding credentials taken from one site to compromise accounts on other sites. There's no evidence the passwords used in the attack came from Yahoo Systems.

"Our ongoing investigation shows that malicious computer software used the list of usernames and passwords to access Yahoo Mail accounts," Rossiter wrote. "The information sought in the attack seems to be names and e-mail addresses from the affected accounts' most recent sent e-mails."

Read 3 remaining paragraphs | Comments


    






25 Mar 14:50

Want to save more online? Follow these 4 steps!

by Sandra Gordon

Cover-ScreenshotLooking for a great read about shopping and saving money? Let me recommend  “The Step-by-Step Guide to Saving Money with Coupon Codes and Shopping Online.” This ebook by Scott Elling, the founder and CEO of CouponPal.com, and Charlie Cohn, the site’s senior director of content strategy, has been sitting on my nightstand for about a month. I finally got around to reading it and I’m glad I did, because it’s packed with tons of online money-saving how-to’s, including some that even I haven’t tried—and I write about shopping for a living. Here are some highlights:

Stock up on discounted gift cards to use at your favorite stores. Sites such as GiftCardGranny.com, a comparison-shopping site for gift-card resellers, make it easy to buy gift cards from other consumers at a discount of 5 to 30 percent. On the site, which vets all buyers and sellers for legitimacy, you can purchase a $20 Kohl’s gift card for $18.20, for example. Using a discounted gift card plus a coupon code is a great way to stack your savings.

Set price alerts. If you’re stalking a particular item because you’re waiting for it to go on sale, set up a price alert. ShopItToMe.com is a great place to set price alerts for clothing. For air fares, set a price alert on AirFareWatchDog.com.

Buy single-use coupons on eBay.com. Many stores entice loyal customers and employees by offering huge discounts, such as 20 percent or more. These savvy shoppers know these coupons are valuable and often try to sell them on eBay. Enter “store name” and “coupon” (as in “Best Buy coupon”) and click search. Watch out for expiration dates and restrictions before completing your purchase so you know it’s a deal you can definitely use.

Use live chat to snag an unadvertised discount. If you can’t find a working coupon code for something you really want, check to see the retailer’s site has a chat function that allows you to communicate with a store representative. If so, add all the items on your shopping list to your cart (to demonstrate that you’re serious about buying), then have a live chat with a customer service rep. Ask if the retailer has any discounts or promos available. Mention that you found things you really want, but you’re considering shopping around to get a better deal. Bottom line: It never hurts to ask, “Is this the best you can do?” Don’t be afraid to be persistent. 

Have you tried any of these or other advanced shopping tactics?

01 Mar 23:04

You May Be Able to Negotiate Your Medical Bill

by Walter Glenn

You May Be Able to Negotiate Your Medical Bill

Medical bills can be staggeringly expensive, even for relatively minor procedures. If you find yourself owing more than you afford on a hospital stay or even a visit to your doctor, you may be able to negotiate a lower price.

Read more...


    






01 Mar 23:03

It's Lifehacker's 9th Birthday! What's Your Favorite Tip of All Time?

by Melanie Pinola

It's Lifehacker's 9th Birthday! What's Your Favorite Tip of All Time?

It's party time, folks. Lifehacker was started nine years ago today, and since then we've posted probably thousands of tips, how to's, and guides. In light of the occasion, let's share the most memorable or our favorite tips for all to enjoy.

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01 Mar 23:03

Beyond PB&J: How to Take the Hassle Out of Making School Lunches

by Melanie Pinola

Beyond PB&J: How to Take the Hassle Out of Making School Lunches

It's hard enough trying to figure out what to put in your own brown bag. When you're packing lunch for kids every day, the problem is exponentially multiplied—especially if your children are picky eaters or have food allergies. Let's get out of this school lunch rut and find ways to make a variety of healthy lunches that kids will actually eat.

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01 Mar 23:02

Grab Your Audience's Attention with Three Simple Steps

by Eric Ravenscraft

Grab Your Audience's Attention with Three Simple Steps

Public speaking (whether in person or online) is a nerve-wracking experience if you don't quite know what to say. If you have a little familiarity with your audience, though, you can grab them early on. You just need to engage a few key steps.

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01 Mar 23:02

The Fix or Fraud Quiz Tests Your Knowledge of Health and Nutrition

by Alan Henry

The Fix or Fraud Quiz Tests Your Knowledge of Health and Nutrition

If you're willing to test your health and nutrition knowledge against some science, the Fix or Fraud quiz is a fun way to learn—or teach—some basic food and nutrition tips while simultaneously dispelling a number of long-held superstitions and placebos that still get passed around.

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01 Mar 23:02

The Best Places to Meet New People

by Alan Henry

The Best Places to Meet New People

Let's face it, meeting new people and making new friends is hard. We're all busy, and it's not easy to just come across people with similar interests. That's why it's difficult to make friends after college, or when you move to a new city. Still, sometimes it's just about finding the right places or activities that suit you, whether you love nightlife, or less stressful online or quiet in-person activities. Let's build a list of the best ways to find and connect with whom you'll likely share interests, and want to make friends with.

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01 Mar 23:01

Look for the Black Holes in Your Budget

by Walter Glenn

Look for the Black Holes in Your Budget

Spend less than you earn. Makes sense, right? And the best way to ensure that's what you're doing every month is to make, and stick to, a budget. There are allkinds of ways to approach budgeting, but whatever method you use, be sure to watch out for budget black holes.

Read more...


    






01 Mar 23:00

Five Career Mistakes You Might Not Know You're Making

by Libby Kane

Five Career Mistakes You Might Not Know You're Making

Whatever your chosen profession, we all have something in common: We're trying to do the best we can in our careers. Of course we aren't going to gossip about our boss, fail to meet our deadlines, or do anything else to jeopardize our jobs or careers… knowingly.

Read more...


    






01 Mar 23:00

You May Have Conditioned Yourself to Sleep Poorly

by Walter Glenn

You May Have Conditioned Yourself to Sleep Poorly

You can experience many different sleep problems, including premature waking, problems falling asleep, and generally restless sleep. It's tempting to look for causes to these problems you can eliminate. But it's possible that whatever triggered the issue no longer exists and now you're conditioned to sleeping badly.

Read more...


    






05 Feb 22:21

Labrador retrievers set popularity-ranking record

- It's puppy love for the record books: The Labrador retriever was the nation's most popular dog breed last year for a 23rd year in a row, the American Kennel Club announced Friday.
05 Feb 22:21

District apologizes after taking student lunches

- Erica Lukes and other Utah parents were outraged when their children had their deep dish pizzas and other food taken and thrown away at their elementary school after a cashier said they owed money on their lunch accounts.
05 Feb 22:19

Lunches taken from Utah students who owed money

- Parents say about 50 elementary students in Salt Lake City had their school lunches thrown out because money was owed on their food accounts.
05 Feb 16:56

DC zoo sends 2 red pandas to Virginia for breeding

- The National Zoo has moved its red pandas, including one that escaped last year, to the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Virginia for breeding.
03 Feb 05:40

Walmart Testing Online Grocery Ordering And Pickup In Denver

by Laura Northrup

Ordering stuff online for in-store pickup is convenient and saves on delivery fees, but would you do it with groceries? Would you do it with groceries at Walmart? That’s what the mega-retailer hopes to find out by testing “Walmart To Go” service in Colorado. They’ve combined their grocery delivery and in-store pickup business models, which just might be the logical coc

The system is pretty much what it sounds like, and similar to the Site-to-Store service that the company has provided since 2007. Customers place their orders online, then stop by the store to pick them up. Simple.

What about impulse buying? Interestingly, more than half of customers that Walmart surveyed said that in-store pickup appeals to them because it gives them the option to run in the store and pick up things that they forgot to add to the original order.

Walmart has been testing grocery delivery services in different regions since 2011, but the in-store pickup concept is new for grocery items. Customers pull up to a dedicated pickup area, or to the drive-thru pharmacy window in stores that already have them.

At $5 to $7 per order, Walmart’s delivery service is more accessible than the Amazon Fresh pricing model, which charges $299 per year for access to delivery in limited markets. They don’t plan to ditch delivery, and are continuing the service even in greater Denver.

Take Our Poll

Wal-Mart picks Denver for online/pickup test [Denver Business Journal]
Walmart Begins Testing Online Grocery Shopping With Local Store Pickup Option In Denver [Techcrunch]

03 Feb 05:40

More Bad News For Babies: 216,000 Britax Strollers Recalled Over Finger Amputation Risk

by Mary Beth Quirk

(The Britax BOB Motion, B-Agile and B-Agile Double)

(The Britax BOB Motion, B-Agile and B-Agile Double)

It’s been quite a bad news week for babies and their parents — on the heels of yesterday’s recall of 200,000 baby pacifiers by Fred & Friends, Britax has announced it’s recalling 216,000 strollers over the risk of amputation.

Little fingers have a habit of going wherever they want, but that could be the very wrong place if it’s a Britax B-Agile, B-Agile Double or BOB Motion stroller, the Consumer Product Safety Commission says in announcing the recall.

“The hinge on the stroller’s folding mechanism can partially amputate consumers’ fingertips, break their fingers or cause severe lacerations, among other injuries, when they press the release button while pulling on the release strap,” the CPSC says.

The three types of strollers were sold in many color schemes including black, red, kiwi, sandstone, navy and orange. Major retailers nationwide sold the strollers, along with Amazon.com, albeebaby.com, buybuybaby.com, diapers.com, ToysRUs.com and other online retailers from May 2011 through June 2013 for between $250 and $450.

Check for the following model numbers on the label inside the stroller’s metal frame near the right rear wheel to see if your stroller is included in the recall:

B-Agile strollers: U341763, U341764, U341782 and U341783
B-Agile Double strollers: U361818 or U361819
BOB Motion strollers: U391820, U391821 and U391822

So far there have been eight reported incidents, including one partial fingertip amputation, one broken finger and severe finger lacerations.

Stop using the recalled strollers immediately and contact Britax for a free repair kit: toll-free at (866) 204-1665 from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET Monday through Thursday and 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Friday or online at www.britaxusa.com or www.bobgear.com and click on “Safety Notice” at the top right corner or on “Learn More” at the bottom center of the page, or e-mail strollerrecall@britax.com for more information.

Strollers Recalled by Britax Due to Partial Fingertip Amputation Hazard [CPSC.gov]

03 Feb 05:39

You Can Now Drive A Tesla Model S Cross-Country — If You Don’t Mind An 800-Mile Detour

by Mary Beth Quirk
Power up.

Power up.

After earlier test drives up and down the East Coast last winter, the next obstacle for the Tesla Model S in its quest for acceptance was the task of setting up superchargers across the country, to enable the kind of American road trip everyone says they’re planning to take someday. Anyway, you can now drive cross-country in a Tesla, but you’ll just have to take a bit of a detour.

Two teams of Tesla employees are in the midst of a publicity stunt to showcase the network of charging stations, reports CNNMoney. The teams left L.A. on Wednesday and hope to be in New York in three days.

“Easy! I did 2,800 or so miles in less than two days and with only one case of energy drinks and 18 packs of Slim Jims!” you might be saying.

But it’ll take these Teslas a bit longer, as the cars aren’t driving the most direct route due to the twisty, windy ways of the supercharger network. It spreads across 3,600 miles (according to Google maps) and more than 600 of those are on small highways instead of faster interstate freeways.

Tesla claims the route is more like 3,400 miles, which is still miles and miles longer than the usual route. This path meanders north a bit, skirting Mt. Rushmore, before it joins up with the more direct northern route. Then it swoops down to Maryland and Delaware before hitting the New Jersey Turnpike (a route that is never fun for anyone, believe me).

Each station’s chargers are supposed to juice up the cars for about 170 miles of driving, and there are 32 stations on the route Tesla will be taking.

At the rate it’s going, Tesla says there will be a new supercharging station every day, so that by the time we’re ringing in 2015, drivers can opt for a more direct route.

Tesla’s 800-mile cross-country detour [CNNMoney]

03 Feb 05:39

FAA Puts The Kibosh On Thirsty Ice Fishermen’s Dreams By Banning Beer Delivery Drones

by Mary Beth Quirk

Have you ever been ice fishing? There you are, out on the frozen expanse, huddled in a shack and focuses all your attention on a hole in the ice. Well, half your attention. The other half is all about talking to your friends and throwing back a beer. But one local brewery got in a spot of trouble for trying to make the beer part easier with a drone that delivered frosty cold drinks right to your ice fishing shack.

The Federal Aviation Administration frowns on people sending out their own drones into the skies, but the owners of Lakemaid Beer figured they were just doing thirsty fishermen a favor by ferrying drinks through the air so they wouldn’t have to leave their toasty shacks.

The company — which calls itself the fishermen’s lager — had just started the local deliveries near Stevens Point, Wis., but the Minnesota-based company had its eye on a bigger slice of the ice fishing pie, reports NPR’s The Two Way. It’d hoped to use the drones to shuttle beer to ice shacks from bait and beer shops all over the wintry north.

Though it had only recently arrived in the skies, the FAA told the company its drones had to be grounded afer this first test.

“We were a little surprised at the FAA interest in this since we thought we were operating under the 400-foot limit,” one of Lakemaid’s managing partners said. Everyone at the company “figured a vast frozen lake was a lot safer place than [what] Amazon was showing on 60 Minutes.”

Drones aren’t allowed for commercial delivery, however, and as such the brewery can’t go on with its plans to use American airspace to bring thirsty fishermen (and woman, don’t you doubt it) a cold one.

The FAA told Lakemaid in an email that it “recognizes that people and companies other than modelers might be flying UAS with the mistaken understanding” that their actions are legal. But those rules only apply to people flying model airplanes.

The partner says he can see where the FAA is coming from (until someone from the FAA goes ice fishing and runs out of beer).

“I understand their concern,” he says. “Drones whizzing around piloted by any knucklehead is probably not the Jetsons future we all imagined.”

Watch the test video below:


Beer Drone Can Buzz The Skies No More, FAA Says [The Two Way]

03 Feb 05:38

Great, Now Yahoo E-mail Addresses & Passwords Have Been Stolen

by Chris Morran

yahoologoIn news that makes you long for the days of handwritten correspondence, Yahoo has announced that usernames and passwords for an unspecified number of users have been compromised.

“Recently, we identified a coordinated effort to gain unauthorized access to Yahoo Mail accounts,” writes the company that is not Google on its Tumblr page. “Upon discovery, we took immediate action to protect our users, prompting them to reset passwords on impacted accounts.”

The statement continues:

“Based on our current findings, the list of usernames and passwords that were used to execute the attack was likely collected from a third-party database compromise. We have no evidence that they were obtained directly from Yahoo’s systems. Our ongoing investigation shows that malicious computer software used the list of usernames and passwords to access Yahoo Mail accounts. The information sought in the attack seems to be names and email addresses from the affected accounts’ most recent sent emails.”

Yahoo says it is resetting passwords on accounts affected by the breach and requiring secondary sign-in verification for these users to prove they are who they claim to be.

If affected account-holders have associated a wireless number with their account, Yahoo may notify these users by text that they need to change their password.

Yahoo says it is working with (the very busy) federal law enforcement to investigate.

Even if you are not told to reset your Yahoo password, you would be well advised to do so as you’d hate to find out too late that this data breach is larger than initially thought.

And just as a reminder, you should never use the same username/password pairing on multiple sites.

03 Feb 05:38

The Longest In-N-Out Drive-Thru Lines, As Seen From Space

by Laura Northrup

We hear that In-N-Out is a very popular burger-slinging establishment. We’ll take its fans at their word, because we don’t believe in leaving the East Coast. What we do know is that the combination of tasty burgers and car culture leads to such long drive-thru lines that you can see them from space.

(Foodbeast/Google Earth)

(Foodbeast/Google Earth)

Well…from the mapping satellite images available through Google Earth, at least.

We don’t know what time of day the satellites swept over these restaurants, but there were always impressive lines waiting for burgers.

The 8 Longest In-N-Out Lines According to Google Maps [Foodbeast]

03 Feb 05:37

Recall Of 200K Pacifiers: While A Baby With A Mustache Is Cute, It’s Not Worth Choking Over

by Mary Beth Quirk
(From left to right: Fred & Friends Chill Baby Artiste, Panic and Volume pacifiers.)

(From left to right: Fred & Friends Chill Baby Artiste, Panic and Volume pacifiers.)

Look that baby! She’s got a mustache and a tiny little beard! Isn’t that just so adorable, because see, babies can’t grow facial hair and also she’s a girl? Sure, it might be cute, but the company behind three novelty pacifiers, Fred & Friends, has announced it’s recalling 200,000 over safety concerns. Namely, that a baby could choke on some of the parts included.

In conjunction with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission as well as the government of Canada, Fred & Friends is recalling the Chill Baby Artiste, Panic and Volume pacifiers. On the Chill Baby Artiste, the beard can detach, as well as the knob on the Volume pacifiers, posing a choking hazard. In addition, the ventilation holes on the Volume and Panic pacifiers are too small.

Most of the recalled pacifiers are in the U.S. — 183,000 — with the rest in Canada. The pacifiers were sold at various online stores and other retailers from April 2013 through December 2013.

If you’re unsure if your hipster pacifier is one of those in question, check the name and UPC on the packaging:The Artiste’s UPC is 728987021282; the Volume style’s UPC is 728987020599 and the Panic style’s UPC is 728987020605.

So far Fred & Friends says it’s received one report of the knob on the Volume pacifier coming loose, but no injuries have been reported yet.

Pull those pacifiers from your babies’ mouths immediately, folks, and return them to Fred & Friends for a full refund. For more information, including how to get a prepaid envelope from the company to return the pacifiers, call Fred & Friends at 855-346-6372 or visit fredandfriends.com.

Fred & Friends Recalls Infant Pacifiers Due to Choking Hazard [CPSC.gov]

03 Feb 05:37

Sears Messes Up, I Have To Face Life Without A Light-Up Skiing Santa Pig

by Laura Northrup

pig skis spin_prod_871839512Mike had a simple desire. He wanted a lighted skiing pig Christmas decoration. He wanted several of them, actually. Sears had them available, so he placed an online order, choosing in-store pickup. Sears e-mailed him that his order was ready, and he happily drove 40 miles to Sears in winter weather to pick it up. If you’ve ever placed an online order with Sears, you know what happened next.

Look at the photo: if you don’t understand why he would want such a thing, we question your judgement. Heck, we’d keep those up around the Consumerist office year-round if we were able to get our hooves on one, but we can’t. The pigs were very popular and sold out.

We saw the e-mail that Mike received: the other items in his order were listed as “Processing,” but the pigs were ready. He scanned his barcode at the kiosk and waited for the clerk to come out with his pigs. He waited. The clerk came out and scanned the e-mail at the kiosk again. The pigs were not there.

“This wasn’t the first time that the Sears store clerks had no problem in making [me] stand there while they argued about what they were supposed to do on what system to deliver (or not) merchandise on the easy ‘ship to store’ promise,” grumbles Mike. Is a 40-mile round trip and waiting for people and systems to actually communicate worth a skiing pig?

Where did they go? Sears doesn’t know. We wrote to Sears with the facts of what happened and Mike’s order number, but they didn’t answer us. Based on past experiences, a few days after we publish this post, we’ll hear from two or more different departments at Sears offering their assistance without having communicated with each other. None of them will be able to bring the pigs back, of course.

You can still buy the pig decoration online now…for $130 on eBay. Mike paid a little over $25 for the two he ordered.

03 Feb 05:36

Southwest, JetBlue End Up Big Winners In US Airways/American Merger

by Chris Morran

When US Airways and American Airlines finally got the go-ahead from federal regulators to get hitched, one of the conditions was that the merged company divest itself of takeoff and landing slots at airports around the country, especially at Reagan National Airport outside of Washington, D.C., Southwest Airlines announced today it will be taking over half of the newly available slots.

According to the Dallas-based airline, it was the winning bidder on 27 of the 54 slots recently put up for auction by the combined airline. This will increase Southwest’s number of daily departures from 17 to 44.

Southwest says it will announce destinations, schedules, and fares for these additional flights later this quarter and expects to begin flying these new routes in the third quarter of 2014.

“Consumers who appreciate the value and reliability that Southwest and our People deliver are the real winners in this deal,” said Gary Kelly, Southwest Airlines Chairman, President, & CEO. “Reagan has long been a convenient but high-fare airport. Southwest plans to change that by bringing much needed competition to the nation’s capital.”

Meanwhile, JetBlue says it won itself a dozen slots in the auction, increasing its daily departures from Reagan from 18 to 30.

Like Southwest, JetBlue has not announced the planned destinations but says it hopes to introduce nonstop service to cities it does not currently serve out of the D.C. area.

JetBlue says it has also reached an agreement with American that would permanently transfer eight additional slots to JetBlue.

03 Feb 05:35

FCC OKs Tests That Would Replace Copper Landlines

by Chris Morran

(Drew P)

(Drew P)

We told you earlier today that the FCC was scheduled to vote on whether or not to allow landline telephone service providers to initiate regional tests that would replace existing landline networks with Internet-based VoIP phone service. The Commission has met and agreed that it will permit regional tests to move forward.

Telecoms are not required to take part in these tests, and surely some smaller companies will just let the bigger guys like Verizon and AT&T incur the costs of running these trials. Additionally, consumers in test markets will not be required to switch to VoIP service but will be given the option by their landline provider.

Even though there are several VoIP services available — from Skype and Vonage to phone service that comes bundled with TV and Internet service from cable companies — those existing services have never been considered as replacements for an area’s entire network of copper phone lines. The telecoms ultimately want their VoIP services to completely take the place of existing landline service.

Removing that old copper network from the equation is cause for concern for some consumers and advocacy groups who worry about interoperability of networks, compatibility of VoIP with business systems like credit card machines and alarm systems, and public safety. What happens when there’s a power outage?

Thus, the FCC says these regional tests will be used to “ensure that the nation’s communications networks continue to provide the services consumers want and need in this era of historic technological transformations.”

Among the Commission’s requirements for any VoIP network that replaces landline service:
• Public safety communications must be available no matter the technology
• All Americans must have access to affordable communications services
• Competition in the marketplace provides choice for consumers and businesses
• Consumer protection is paramount

Telecoms interested in these regional tests must submit proposals to the FCC by Feb. 20. There will then be a public comment and reply period lasting until March 31, with the FCC making its final decisions at its May meeting.

03 Feb 05:35

Get Your Health Insurance Company’s Attention: Use Twitter

by Laura Northrup

Over at ProPublica, they recently learned what we at Consumerist have known since 2008: when you’re having customer service trouble, sometimes the best way to use alternate means to get the attention of someone who can help you. Propublica discovered that some consumers are using Twitter to navigate the intensely personal and deeply confusing world of health insurance.

Health care reporter Charles Orenstein calls it “digital equivalent of line-jumping.” He’s not wrong. Tweeting puts you in a different line: a much shorter one.

@faramir22 We know this has been frustrating- we see your call to customer service and that representative is working on it for you.—
  (@BCBSIL) January 27, 2014

@sds52 We know the hold time is lengthy and we're sorry- is there something we can answer for you?—
  (@BCBSIL) January 27, 2014

If you don’t have a Twitter account, don’t want to “follow” a health insurance company so they can see your protected tweets, or just don’t want to yap publicly online about your health insurance, Twitter support can still help you. Just browse the company’s feed and look for replies to other users. Often they’ll give contact information out to Twitter users, and you can contact the social media team, too.

wellpoint

Not all brands that have a Twitter feed use it for customer service, but insurance companies are seizing this opportunity, especially as call queues fill up with new enrollees in Affordable Care Act plans. Orenstein even spotted one example of a company answering the tweet of a potential customer complaining about their current insurer.

@AdrianaK Hi. If you have questions about Aetna plans please let us know. Thanks! ^ TL—
Aetna (@AetnaHelp) January 27, 2014

If consumers use Twitter for routine inquiries, they’ll take this tool away from us. Only pull out your Twitter account when other means of contacting a company fail.

Can’t Get Through to Your Health Insurer? Vent on Twitter [ProPublica]

03 Feb 05:34

Super Bowl Ticket Scalpers Need A Hug Because Nobody Is Making Them Rich This Year

by Chris Morran

With thousands of tickets still available on StubHub and elsewhere for merely exorbitant prices, Super Bowl ticket scalpers are unable to charge their usual extortionate rates.

With thousands of tickets still available on StubHub and elsewhere for merely exorbitant prices, Super Bowl ticket scalpers are unable to charge their usual extortionate rates.

Can we pause for a moment to reflect on the plight of the lowly Super Bowl ticket scalper? He toils thanklessly for his art and all he asks in return is that you pay him several thousands of dollars to watch a football game in which you probably have no personal stake. With heartless, penny-pinching fans taking a risk by purchasing their Super Bowl tickets through “legitimate” means, this year’s scalpers may be forced to sink to selling NHL or NBA tickets just to pay the rent.

One scalper tells NY Magazine he’s been making football fans’ dreams come true by selling them insanely overpriced tickets to a game that is available to watch for free just about anywhere in the world, but that the lack of interest in this year’s game has made it the “worst Super Bowl ever.”

“Nobody likes the cold weather, they always want a warm climate,” explains the veteran scalper, ignoring the fact that there have been Super Bowls in cold weather cities, just not outdoors, and that baseball stadiums in cold-weather cities have been selling out NHL Winter Classic games that are played outdoors in January. “Usually around this time I’d be up $20 to $30,000. Last year, New Orleans was beautiful — I made $40,000. New York, I don’t know why they did it. I’d be happy if I make $5,000.”

Did you hear that? He may only make a profit of $5,000. Assuming he’s been pounding the pavement trying to sell his tickets for a full 50-hour week, that means his hourly wage was only $100/hour. And we’re sure he’s going to pay taxes on whatever profits he makes.

As of right now, folks with $1,450 in their pockets can still get tickets via StubHub, which currently has more than 3,400 tickets available for Sunday’s game. And that’s only a fraction of the tickets that people are trying to sell on other sites or that scalpers are pushing on the streets of Manhattan

That’s a significant drop from a week ago, when the least expensive ticket was $2,700.

“They’re dropping, and they are dropping fast,” another old-timer ticket scalper tells NY Magazine. “It’s going to be freezing out there. The people I deal with, the brokers firm I work with, it was on the board for $3,000, now it’s half that.”

He admits that he did sell some tickets for $7,000 recently and that he has made $6,000 in commission thus far.

A third scalper predicts that gameday tickets will be sold at bargain-basement price.

“I believe these are going to go down to $500,” he claims, looking into his scalper’s crystal ball. “You’d wait until the day of the game, and then you’d go over there to the stadium.”

Or just watch the game from home and spend that money on really good food (or invest it for your retirement).

03 Feb 05:33

Mayonnaise Defeats Ketchup For The Title Of Condiment King In America

by Mary Beth Quirk
(HatM)

(HatM)

You squirt it on burgers, dip your fries in it and maybe you even use it as a substitute for tomato sauce (nod judgments). But alas, ketchup is not king of condiments in these United States. No, it would appear that the tile of Most Popular goes to that polarizing condiment, mayonnaise.

While it seems that people either love mayo and couldn’t handle a sandwich without it, others basically shrivel up inside their own bodies in horror and disgust if you simply mention the stuff.

Despite that, we’re eating about $2 billion worth of mayonnaise every year, reports Quartz, compared to the spare $800 million we’re downing in ketchup. So maybe it’s Prince Ketchup to you.

In third place, perhaps at the Duke level, is soy sauce, which rang in at about $725 million last year. Barbecue sauce is deserving of an earldom at $660 million and now I’m imagining a condiment kingdom beyond my wildest dreams, though the titles would likely need to be properly sorted out.

Mayo owes its newfound popularity to its general ubiquity in sandwiches, deli salads or even in a sushi roll. Then there’s the whole low-fat mayo option, which has seen its market double since 2005. And also people like my former roommate who would just spread it on toast if there was no butter available, which again, no judgment. Just kidding, I totally judged her.

Quartz has a neat graphic showing the various condiment levels, color-coded by the hue of each condiment. Check it out in the source below but make sure you’ve already had lunch or you’ll start dreaming of the tuna melt to end all tuna melts.

Ketchup isn’t the king of American condiments. Mayonnaise is [Quartz]

03 Feb 05:33

Toyota Halts Sale Of Popular Vehicles, Because The Possibility Of A Seat Fire Is Bad

by Ashlee Kieler

Seat heaters provide a warm, cozy welcome to your frigid car; that is as long as it doesn’t catch fire. That possibility has Toyota halting the sale of its most popular vehicles after discovering the padding in seat heaters doesn’t meet flammability standards.

Popular models, including the 2013 and 2014 Camry, Avalon, Sienna and Tacoma and 2014 Corolla and Tundra, are being sidelined until the seat heaters can be replaced, USA Today reports.

The problem was discovered when the Korean Automotive Test and Research Institute found the fabric backing material used in seat heaters did not meet U.S. vehicle flammability standards. A spokesman for Toyota said the issue affects thousands of vehicles, but did not have a specific number.

A recall of vehicles already sold isn’t planned, the spokesman tells USA Today. The company has not received any complaint about fires in seats of the affected vehicles and only vehicles made at Toyota’s U.S. plants are affected. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will make its own decision on how to proceed with the issue.

This isn’t Toyota’s first issue with a heat related problem in their vehicles. In September, the company recalled 369,000 vehicles worldwide (235,000 in the U.S.) for possible problems with heat damage in two hybrids and a possible defect in engine bolts in Lexus vehicles.

Toyota halts sale of key models over safety issue [USA Today]

03 Feb 05:15

Fairfax County crime report - Washington Post


Fairfax County crime report
Washington Post
Fairfax County. These were among incidents reported by the Fairfax County Police Department. For information, call 703-246-2253. Former German boxing world champion Regina Halmich observes a female octopus, who was baptized after ...