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More and more research studies are concluding that regular dinners are the key to a happy, healthy family. Dinnertime is a great time to discuss how well your family is working. The Week highlights an agile approach to this (something we've seen similarly applied to parenting in general).

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Dear Lifehacker,
I've heard cow's milk is actually bad for you, or at least not beneficial when compared to the many alternative options. But if I shouldn't drink milk, what's the best alternative? Are any of them good? I've heard good and bad things about most, so how do I decide?

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Android: Retail stores are tracking your movements with your smartphone. While you could stop this by turning off Wi-Fi every time you leave the house, an easier solution is AVG's free PrivacyFix app.

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With just a few hours of your time, you can make enough meals to cover you for weeks. And you can do it really inexpensively.

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If you think summer pests suck, just wait until winter comes along. The only thing worse than a winter influx of bugs is the parade of rodents that can follow it. Your warm home becomes extra attractive to pests when winter comes around. Here's how to minimize some of the more annoying pest problems.

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Gift cards and the holidays go together like naan and curry. However, those pesky tiny remaining balances can be a bit difficult to get rid of. We've featured a few methods, but how do you avoid losing the remaining balance?

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Brewing a great cup of coffee or tea doesn't really require high-end gear, just a little know-how and practice. That's not to say the gear also can't be a lot of fun. We'd like to see how you make yours.

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While we use the term "go bag" loosely, it traditionally refers to a pack filled with survival tools. Reader Oscar Lara decided to go the classic route and make his go bag fit the proper definition.

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When you go out to eat at establishments ranging from the fanciest restaurants to a humble hot dog stand, there’s a pretty good chance that at least part of your meal came from either Sysco or U.S. Foods, the two biggest companies in the category. Now Sysco has announced plans to acquire the smaller company, and together they’ll have 25% of the food-service supply business.

They’ll pay $3.5 billion in stock and cash. Sysco actually wanted to take over its closest competitor seven years ago, but the price was too high and they demurred. Since then, they’ve been gobbling up smaller suppliers like so many chickpeas at a salad bar.

Sysco to Buy Rival US Foods in Deal Valued at $3.5 Billion [NY Times]

Maybe last week’s news that there are now fewer banks in the U.S. than ever before didn’t bother you. But here’s a chart of historic customer satisfaction scores that stands as a reminder of how so many banks have been absorbed into larger banking Voltrons in just the last two decades.

The above chart is the latest banking report from the American Customer Satisfaction Index, and while it shows that people don’t hate banks as much as they used to, it also shows how few banks remain to service consumers in the U.S.

While there are 16 individual institutions listed on the chart, with data going back as far as 1995, the latest ratings only have scores for 4 banks (along with an aggregate score for “all others”) — JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.

So what happened to the others on the list? With the exception of PNC and Key — which apparently didn’t receive enough data from customers to merit a score — the rest of the banks are all now part of one of the four remaining biggies.

We mentioned the fate of NationsBank in the earlier story, but the short version is that it merged with BankAmerica to form Bank of America.

Citicorp became Citigroup following its 1998 merger with Travelers Group.

First Union merged with Wachovia in 2001. When Wachovia failed following the collapse of the U.S. housing market, it became part of Wells Fargo, which had already acquired First Interstate in 1996, two years before Wells Fargo was acquired by Norwest (but kept the more recognizable Wells name).

Chemical Bank acquired Chase Manhattan in 1995, but chose to keep the Chase name intact, and then merged with J.P. Morgan to form JPMorgan Chase, which in 2004 merged with Bank One, which had previously acquired First Chicago.

These now-gone banks are just a drop in the bucket of the 10,000+ financial institutions that have disappeared (whether through merger or failure) since 1984.

Fewer options is never a good thing, especially at a time when the companies that control the market increasingly treat the average consumer like a necessary evil who should pay dearly for the privilege to have a place in which to deposit his money.

The Internet makes many things possible. You can see videos of puppies and babies, babies and cats, cats and puppies or just cats at any time, day or night. You may find yourself giggling maniacally over a gif of a total stranger falling down with the click of a button. Or you could discover a rollercoaster designed to humanely off its passengers. This kind of thing is why I very much love and very much fear what else is out there beyond the catbabypuppy videos.

But yes, a deathcoaster, a rolling mortality ender, an ambulatory killing machine — it’s a thing, and I only discovered it via a friend’s Twitter post: “TIL someone once designed a rollercoaster that would humanely euthanize its passengers” with a link to the Euthanasia Coaster entry on Wikipedia.

While there’s no theme park that would ever host such a thing, that didn’t prevent someone from designing it and turning into a scale model in 2010, specifically, a PhD candidate.

He’d worked at an amusement park said he simply wanted to take lives “with elegance and euphoria,” reads the Wikipedia article. So why would anyone need this? For “euthanasia” or “execution” purposes, obviously…?

You can read more about how exactly it works (insufficient supply of oxygen to the brain) but be warned, it might make you want to just stick to videos of cute animals and humans being adorable and not dying or killing anyone on a terrifying Journey To Death.

It’s your Internet, people. Use it as you will. Although if you’re already scared of rollercoasters, this might not be up your alley.

They say it’s better to give than to receive, but if you can also get a little something back when you give, what’s not to like? While there’s absolutely nothing wrong with tossing some cash to those bell-ringing Santas, there’s a better way to give.

You see, giving to charity is one of the easiest ways to lower your tax burden, as long as you follow the rules and do it by Dec. 31.

Here are 15 things to know to make the most of your selfish reasons for charitable donations.
1. In order to deduct a charitable contribution, you must itemize your deductions on Schedule A of your Form 1040.

2. You must give to a legitimate, qualified organization before the end of 2013 to take the donation on your 2013 return. Check that your charity is eligible to receive tax deductible contributions exempt with the Internal Revenue Service.

3. You can’t deduct contributions that you give to individuals, however needy, nor can you deduct donations to political organizations and candidates.

4. Some charities solicit bids on goods as fundraisers. If you received a benefit from your donation, such as concert tickets or merchandise, you can only deduct the amount that exceeds the fair market value of the item you received.

5. Speaking of fair market value, if you clean out your garage or closets and donate property, don’t expect to deduct what those items initially cost. Plus, clothing and household items must be in good used condition or better (who wants your old socks, anyway?) to be deductible. Refer to the IRS’ guide to properly valuing donated property.

Also make sure your targeted charity actually wants the items you’re donating.

6. If you plan to donate expensive items such as antiques, artwork or medical equipment, pay for an independent appraisal. Once you give away the items, if the IRS questions their value, it will be too late.

7. The IRS has ramped up its checks on the fair market value of donated cars in recent years. Make sure you get a proper appraisal before giving.

8. If your total deduction for all non-cash contributions for the year is more than $500, the IRS requires you add Form 8283, (Non-cash Charitable Contributions), to your tax return. If your non-cash contribution exceeds $5,000, don’t miss Section B of Form 8283, and add that appraisal.

9. If you’re giving cold, hard cash, or a check, you’re generally okay with donations under $250, but make sure you receive a receipt. The IRS expects the paperwork to show the name of the organization, the date of the contribution and amount of the contribution. You’ll need the proof of a telephone bill if you’ve given via text message donations, but the bill will have to show the name of the receiving organization, the date of the contribution and the amount given.

10. If you give cash of over $250, the IRS says you’ll need “a bank record, payroll deduction records or a written acknowledgment from the qualified organization showing the amount of the cash and a description of any property contributed, and whether the organization provided any goods or services in exchange for the gift.” And if the total of all your cash donations for the year is more than $500, you’ll need to add IRS Form 8283 (Non-cash Charitable Contributions) to your return.

11. If you give your time to charity rather than cash, there are other deductions you can take. You can deduct $.14 a mile if you drive for charity, for example, plus tolls and parking costs. Make sure to keep good records. Think creatively and you may find many of your actions constitute help for charity, just know you can never deduct your time because you weren’t paid for it.

12. Rather than give cash or property, consider donating appreciated stock or mutual funds. The benefits to you are several. You won’t have to pay capital gains tax on the donation, and the funds from the sale won’t be added to your taxable income. And, you get the donation.

13. You can donate directly from your Individual Retirement Account (IRA). If you’re older than 70-1/2 and you must take Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs), you can donate the RMD directly to charity. It will count toward your RMD for the year and you’ll save on the taxes you would have owed on the distribution, but you cannot take a deduction for the donation.

14. If you’re in the money and plan to leave it all to charity when you bite the dust, consider starting a charitable remainder trust. You’d put your investments and other property in the trust, and you’d still receive income from the investments. When you’re gone, the charity keeps what’s left in the trust.

15. You can also contribute to a professional donor-advised fund, which allows you to take a tax break in the year you donate but you can dole out the money to charity later.

Before you give, make sure the charity you choose is genuine and not spending too many dollars on administrative costs rather than helping those in need. Remember the Florida charity that collected $127.8 million in donations but used only $3.2 million for the dying kids it professed to support?

Use the tools offered by CharityNavigator.org, GuideStar.org and the Better Business Bureau to do some sleuthing.

Have a topic you’d like to see covered in How To Not Suck? Or maybe you’re an expert who would like to share your insight with Consumerist readers? Send us a note at notsuck@consumerist.com.

You can read Karin Price Mueller’s stories for The Star-Ledger at NJ.com, follow her on Facebook, and on Twitter @kpmueller.

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How To Not Suck… At Disputing Credit Report Errors
How To Not Suck… At Lowering Your Utility Bills
How To Not Suck… At Home Inspections
How To Not Suck… At Understanding Credit Card Rewards
How To Not Suck… At Getting Ready For Tax Season
How To Not Suck… At Picking A Retirement Plan
How To Not Suck… At Deciding When To DIY
How To Not Suck… At Getting Out Of Debt
How To Not Suck… At First Year College Budgets

DISCLAIMER: Any websites, services, retailers, or brands mentioned in the story above are only intended as some of many options available to consumers, and do not constitute an endorsement by Consumerist, Consumerist Media LLC (CML) or its staff. Per Consumerist’s No Commercial Use Policy, such information may not be used by others in advertising or to promote a company’s product or service. In addition, this policy precludes any commercial use of any of CML’s published information in any form, or of the names of Consumers Union®, Consumer Media, Consumer Reports®, The Consumerist, consumerist.com or any other of CU or CML’s publications or services without CU or CML’s express written permission.

When we began to see this story from China propagating around the newsphere, we hoped that it was something from the strange imagination of the Daily Mail. It couldn’t be true: a man in his thirties argued with his girlfriend while shopping, and then jumped seven stories to his death.

That headline is where a thousand jokes about how men hate shopping began, but there’s probably more to the story than that. No one would jump to their death just because he thought his girlfriend already had enough shoes. Would he?

All we know is that according to eyewitnesses, the couple argued–possibly about whether they should continue to shop–and the man very intentionally climbed over a railing and jumped seven stories to his death.

At least he didn’t hurt anyone on the ground: the man fell onto a kiosk, smashing the counter but not hurting any shoppers or workers below.

A mall spokesperson apparently told reporters: “This is a tragic incident, but this time of year can be very stressful for many people.” Yes.

Man suspected his girlfriend shopping expensive jumped to his death (via Google Translate) [CQnews]
Harassed boyfriend jumped to his death after his girlfriend insisted on going into another clothes shop [Daily Mail]

America, we can all sleep more soundly in our beds now that a Transportation Safety Administration agent has successfully disarmed a passenger with a weapon in his bag. His name is Rooster Monkburn and he’s a toy sock monkey that no longer has a tiny toy pistol.

The monkey — who is named after the True Grit character Rooster Cogburn — was part of a collection a woman flying from St. Louis to Seattle had in her carry-on bag. She sells unique sock monkey dolls and had Rooster, other monkeys and sewing supplies with her, as well as the tiny pistol.

She’s says she’s “appalled and shocked and embarrassed all at the same time” about the incident, reports King5.com.

She and her husband were going through the airport security screening process when she realized one of her bags hadn’t come through.

“And the (TSA agent) held it up and said ‘whose is this?’” she said. “I realized oh, my God this is my bag.”

The agent went through the bag and found the two-inch long pistol, which was immediately questioned.

“She said ‘this is a gun,’” said the woman. “I said ‘no, it’s not a gun it’s a prop for my monkey.’”

“She said ‘If I held it up to your neck, you wouldn’t know if it was real or not,’ and I said ‘really?’” added the passenger.

The gun would have to be confiscated, said the agent, and really she was supposed to call the police as well. Be my guest, said Rooster Monkburn’s owner.

“I said well go ahead,” recalled the passenger. “And I said really? You’re kidding me right, and she said no it looks like a gun.”

“She took my monkey’s gun,” she added, saying she hopes everyone she flew with rested easy because of that.

“Rooster Monkburn has been disarmed so I’m sure everyone on the plane was safe,” she said. “I understand she was doing her job but at some point doesn’t common sense prevail?”

The TSA issued a statement regarding the gunless Rooser, saying: “TSA officers are dedicated to keeping the nation’s transportation security systems safe and secure for the traveling public. Under longstanding aircraft security policy, and out of an abundance of caution, realistic replicas of firearms are prohibited in carry-on bags.”

TSA agent confiscates sock monkey’s pistol [King5.com]

The dispute over a couple of missing hash browns escalated quickly — I mean, it really got out of hand fast — at a Mesa, AZ, McDonald’s recently, with at least three different people calling the police and claims of assault-by-tossed-food being made by employees.

The couple say they had each ordered a breakfast combo at the McDonald’s, only to realize after receiving their food that they were lacking in the hash brown department.

“It’s a meal,” the wife tells ABC15. “Just like you should get fries with your hamburger, we should have got our hash browns with our breakfast sandwiches.”

That seems like a sound argument to us, but apparently didn’t go over so well with the people at McDonald’s, who the couple claim refused to provide them the fried potato products they had ordered or give them a refund.

That’s when the wife threw her bag of food at the person behind the counter.

“And that was out of frustration which I probably shouldn’t have done, but I did,” she admits. “Fighting over $2 of hash browns is ridiculous. It is ridiculous to have to fight that hard just to get customer service.”

Oh, but it gets more ridiculous, dear readers.

The husband then decided to call 9-1-1, saying he had no choice. Meanwhile, an employee at the eatery also called 9-1-1 to deal with the upset customers.

“We need an officer here right now because I was just assaulted by a patron,” the worker tells the 9-1-1 operator. You can listen to the whole call below.

“They’re getting very belligerent up front right now,” he continues, after clarifying that no weapons were used — aside from the bag o’ breakfast food — and that no paramedics were needed. “The customer is behind the counter. We need an officer right now.”

The customer’s call can also be heard below, with the husband telling the operator that the McDonald’s employee is “basically trying to rob me,” adding that the man behind the counter refused to give back the food that had been thrown at him by the wife (or perhaps fiancee; the caller refers to the female customer using both terms).

“The customer’s not right in this store and I’ll be having a war with this damn… executive, whoever I need to talk to. This is getting crazy,” says the man involved in the incident.

“I just was barely able to hold myself back,” he tells ABC15. “And if not for the 911 call operator calling me back, I probably would have went berserk on him.”

ABC15 says that another customer at the McDonald’s also called 9-1-1, though that call is not included in the recording below.

Police did arrive at the McDonald’s and reportedly charged the couple with disorderly conduct and assault.

Here are the two 9-1-1 calls, first from the employee and then from the male customer:

Everyone needs a hobby. When an Arizona man had to retire from professional wrestling due to injuries, he says that he began visiting his local Walmart a few times a day, sometimes toting sale flyers from other stores and invoking the store’s price match policy. He never expected to be hauled off in handcuffs for it.

Yet that’s what he says happened during a recent trip to his local Walmart. An employee told him that ad-matching isn’t allowed, and the man complained to store management. The retired wrestler insists that he wasn’t threatening or aggressive in any way, but something about that encounter made a Walmart employee contact the local sheriff’s office about him.

“I was upset,” he told a local TV station, “but never once did I say anything to the gentleman.”

The next time he came to Walmart, three sheriff’s deputies met him. he wasn’t arrested, but they did handcuff him and present him with a letter banning him from all Walmart stores in the world for life. Just for price-matching, something that Walmart explicitly allows and is making a big deal of this holiday season?

Maybe the price-matching policy is like the return policy: something that some employees make up as they go along.

Something is obviously missing from this story, and we’ll update you when we find out what that is. Meanwhile, the price-matcher still has to go to court, where he’s facing charges of threatening, intimidation, and disorderly conduct.

Valley man banned from Walmart for life [ABC 15] (Thanks, Dave!)

In this month’s Recall Roundup, wheels break, fire bowls turn into fiery explosions, and chargers and refrigerators alike might overheat and catch fire. It’s a dangerous world: that’s why we bring you these recall listings.

Sports & Outdoors
Nantucket Distributing (Christmas Tree Shops) Clay Bowl Outdoor Fireplaces – fire may cause bowl to explode
Tailwind bicycle racks for trailercycles – top of rack may break
Avalanche Airbags – may not deploy
SRAM Bicycle chain derailleurs – may jam

Babies & Kids
The Bailey Boys Children’s Pajamas – violation of flammability standard
L.L. Bean Girl’s Pajamas – violation of flammability standard
Little Willy’s Hooded Sweatshirts – strangulation hazard
Babycottons children’s nightgowns – violation of flammability standard
Girls BCG Hooded Windsuits (Academy Sports) – strangulation hazard
Vans Boy’s Hooded Jackets – strangulation hazard
Wearever Girls’ long sleeve hooded jacket and pant sets (Burlington Coat Factory) – strangulation hazard
Lullaby Cradle Glider – mattress support may fall out
American Boy and Girl Infant Sandals (Meijer) – choking hazard
BreathableSack wearable blanket – choking hazard

Toys
Step2 Whisper Ride Touring Wagon – Blue seat may fall out, taking child with it
Manhattan Toy Quixel baby rattles – choking hazard

Home & Kitchen
Viking Built-In Side-by-Side Refrigerator Freezers – fire hazard; wiring may overheat
Crown Boiler Home Heating Boilers – Carbon monoxide poisoning hazard
Circo Chloe and Conner Sitting Stools (Target) – stabilizing bar may break
HeathCo Motion-Activated Outdoor Lights – electrical shock hazard
Wood Castle Furniture Riley Duo Bunk Beds – guardrail openings are too big
Infinity Green Products LED Candelabra Lights – fire hazard
Cooper Crouse-Hinds Ceiling Light Boxes – may crack and fall

Vehicles
Baja Motorsports Mini Bikes – front fork may separate from wheel
Precedent golf and transport vehicles – front wheel spindles may crack
ElliptiGO outdoor elliptical cycles – front wheel fork may detach
Denver Global Products Multi-Purpose Yard Vehicles – vehicle may move on its own, blades may start on their own, gas lines may leak.
K2 Revo Kick kickboards/scooters – front assembly may break
American Honda Foreman ATVs – steering shaft may break

Electronics
Linear Personal Emergency Reporting System Transmitters – battery connectors may corrode
A/C Adaptors for Polaroid Internet Tablets (Big Lots) – fire hazard
Ryobi P113 Dual Chemistry Battery Chargers – fire hazard

- A desperate search for a couple and four children missing for two days in the below-zero cold of Nevada's rugged mountains turned jubilant Tuesday when rescuers guided in part by cellphone signals and footprints in the snow found them alive and well near their overturned Jeep.

- The parents of a Marine sergeant who died while stationed in Greece say that they discovered weeks after his funeral that his body had been sent home without a heart -- and that the Department of Defense later gave them somebody else's heart in its place.

- Comet ISON, once optimistically called the comet of the century, is dead, the victim of a way-too-close brush with the sun. It was barely a year old.

- A teenage girl found carrying a dead fetus in a shopping bag at a Manhattan lingerie store is headed toward trial on a shoplifting charge.

- A judge has awarded nearly $80 million to the family of a New Mexico woman who died in 2002 when a tractor-trailer struck her car and buried it in sand, suffocating the woman as teachers and students at a nearby school tried to dig her out.

- Federal officials say 18 current and former Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies saw themselves as being "above the law," engaging in corruption and civil rights abuses that included beating inmates and visitors, falsifying reports, and trying to block an FBI probe of the nation's largest jail system.

Three "well-dressed grandmas" are accused of stealing more than 100 Christmas cookies from the Blue Star Motel in Douglas, Michigan.

It's not just the NSA.  Local cops are mining cell phone data to reveal the location, identity and call information of hundreds of people at a time, whether they're suspected of criminal activity or not.

 

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If you don't have a college degree, can you find a job making higher than minimum wage?  

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