Here’s the estimate of Santa’s current carbon footprint and suggested changes he could make in his manufacturing and delivery system to improve his numbers. See the entire graphic here.
Santa’s Shocking Carbon Footprint!
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Category Archives: All the news that fits
Free quart virgin coconut oil!
Thanks to Melissa for this email ’cause it’s a fantastic deal! She commented on my Whole Foods post about this company and I got sucked into the black hole of coconut oil collecting, processing – very interesting stuff. Since you still have to pay shipping (from Nevada) for your free quart of coconut oil, I decided to grab the BOGO 32 oz coconut cream concentrate special as well. Here’s what my invoice looked like (I chose the cheapest, slowest shipping because I’m not in any hurry):
my Nigerian ship has come in – woot!
This was at the top of today’s SPAM folder…wonder why?
Greeting to you, please ignore this mail if you are not expecting any fund from Nigeria.
I am sending you this mail in regards to the Victim fund files which I received here in my office, I tried to send you an e-mail this morning but the internet network was so bad that I can’t access my mail, sorry for the inconvenience.
After going through your fund file which I received here in my office, I discovered that you have been dealing with some individuals pretending to work with our Government, I will advise you to reply back to me immediately you receive my mail as to keep you posted in regards to your fund file here.
You really have to be very careful about the emails you receive from those people contacting you via email or phone calls.
Did Wall Street firm seal Dominick’s fate?
That’s the headline on the front page of today’s Chicago Tribune. Naturally it’s considered a premium article so I can’t link to it: apparently the numerous subscriptions I buy aren’t sufficient. If you didn’t bother getting papers ’cause there weren’t any inserts, find the article and read…it’s pretty horrible.
Mariano’s closes on 11 Dominicks stores
Mariano’s closed on its $36 million acquisition of 11 Dominick’s locations Friday, laying out a transition schedule that includes Dominick’s continuing to operate the grocery stores under a sublease agreement over the next several months.
The stores will be cleaned out, tidied up and handed over in stages to Milwaukee-based Roundy’s Supermarkets, the parent company of Mariano’s, according to Roundy’s spokesman Jim Hyland.
Five locations will cease grocery operations on Dec. 28, with Roundy’s taking over and running the pharmacies while Dominick’s parent, California-based Safeway, prepares to deliver the stores “broom clean” to the new owners, Hyland said.
Those stores are located in Park Ridge, Western Springs and Northfield in the suburbs, and 2021 W. Chicago Ave. and 5201 N. Sheridan Rd. in Chicago. Roundy’s will take possession of the stores on Jan.25, with plans to renovate and reopen them within 30 to 45 days under the Mariano’s banner, according to Hyland.
Read more, including the other six Dominicks locations purchased. And “broom clean” has already been achieved at some locations!
Darden’s to dump Red Lobster mid-2014
Darden Restaurants (DRI) will divest its Red Lobster seafood chain and slash spending as the struggling company confronts persistently poor financial results and a hedge fund that has been agitating for changes. Today’s results, which missed Wall Street’s expectations, highlight a continuing problem for Darden and other casual dining chains: Americans are no longer going out to eat as often as they did before the 2008 financial crisis.
The biggest problem at Darden is Red Lobster, where sales dropped 4.5 percent in the last quarter and customer traffic was down 7.7 percent. Overall, Darden said its full-year profit for fiscal 2014 will decline as much as 20 percent from 2013, with same-store restaurant sales all falling at Olive Garden, Red Lobster, and LongHorn Steakhouse.
Darden said it would complete a tax-free spinoff of Red Lobster in mid-2014 but would also contemplate a sale of the chain, which has 705 locations in the U.S. and Canada and had $2.6 billion in sales last year. “While we are highly confident the future is bright for both Red Lobster and Darden excluding Red Lobster, we also recognize that the operating priorities, capital requirements, sales and earnings growth prospects, and volatility profiles of the two parts of the business are increasingly divergent,” Darden Chairman and Chief Executive Clarence Otis said in a statement today. The company also said it would halt its expansion into new brands—it has eight now, including Olive Garden, Capital Grille, and Yard House—and curb the pace at which it opens new restaurants. Darden also said it will bolster an effort to cut annual costs, adding $10 million to the previous $50 million goal.
Read more from BloombergBusinessweek here.
regarding the Target security breach
Dec 19 at 9:02 PM
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| Dear Guest, |
| We wanted to make you aware of unauthorized access to Target payment card data. The unauthorized access may impact guests who made credit or debit card purchases in our U.S. stores from Nov. 27 to Dec. 15, 2013. Your trust is a top priority for Target, and we deeply regret the inconvenience this may cause. The privacy and protection of our guests’ information is a matter we take very seriously and we have worked swiftly to resolve the incident. | ||
| We began investigating the incident as soon as we learned of it. We have determined that the information involved in this incident included customer name, credit or debit card number, and the card’s expiration date and CVV. | ||
| We are partnering with a leading third-party forensics firm to conduct a thorough investigation of the incident and to examine additional measures we can take that would be designed to help prevent incidents of this kind in the future. Additionally, Target alerted authorities and financial institutions immediately after we discovered and confirmed the unauthorized access, and we are putting our full resources behind these efforts. | ||
| We recommend that you closely review the information provided in this letter for some steps that you may take to protect yourself against potential misuse of your credit and debit information. You should remain vigilant for incidents of fraud and identity theft by regularly reviewing your account statements and monitoring free credit reports. If you discover any suspicious or unusual activity on your accounts or suspect fraud, be sure to report it immediately to your financial institutions. In addition, you may contact the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) or law enforcement to report incidents of identity theft or to learn about steps you can take to protect yourself from identity theft. To learn more, you can go to the FTC’s Web site, at www.consumer.gov/idtheft, or call the FTC, at (877) IDTHEFT (438-4338) or write to Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Response Center, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580. | ||
| You may also periodically obtain credit reports from each nationwide credit reporting agency. If you discover information on your credit report arising from a fraudulent transaction, you should request that the credit reporting agency delete that information from your credit report file. In addition, under federal law, you are entitled to one free copy of your credit report every 12 months from each of the three nationwide credit reporting agencies. You may obtain a free copy of your credit report by going towww.AnnualCreditReport.com or by calling (877) 322-8228. You may contact the nationwide credit reporting agencies at: | ||
| Equifax (800) 525-6285 P.O. Box 740241 Atlanta, GA 30374-0241 Allen, TX 75013 www.equifax.com |
Experian (888) 397-3742 P.O. Box 9532 www.experian.com |
TransUnion (800) 680-7289 Fraud Victim Assistance Division P.O. Box 6790 Fullerton, CA 92834-6790 www.transunion.com |
| In addition, you may obtain information from the FTC and the credit reporting agencies about fraud alerts and security freezes. You can add a fraud alert to your credit report file to help protect your credit information. A fraud alert can make it more difficult for someone to get credit in your name because it tells creditors to follow certain procedures to protect you, but it also may delay your ability to obtain credit. You may place a fraud alert in your file by calling just one of the three nationwide credit reporting agencies listed above. As soon as that agency processes your fraud alert, it will notify the other two agencies, which then must also place fraud alerts in your file. In addition, you can contact the nationwide credit reporting agencies regarding if and how you may place a security freeze on your credit report to prohibit a credit reporting agency from releasing information from your credit report without your prior written authorization. | ||
| Again, we want to stress that we regret any inconvenience or concern this incident may cause you. Be assured that we place a top priority on protecting the security of our guests’ personal information. Please do not hesitate to contact us at 866-852-8680 or visit Target’s website if you have any questions or concerns. If you used a non-Target credit or debit card at Target between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15 and have questions or concerns about activity on your card, please contact the issuing bank by calling the number on the back of your card. | ||
| IF YOU ARE AN IOWA RESIDENT: You may contact local law enforcement or the Iowa Attorney General’s Office to report suspected incidents of identity theft. You can contact the Iowa Attorney General at: | ||
| Office of the Attorney General 1305 E. Walnut Street Des Moines, IA 50319 (515) 281-5164 www.iowaattorneygeneral.gov |
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| IF YOU ARE A MARYLAND RESIDENT: You may obtain information about avoiding identity theft from the FTC or the Maryland Attorney General’s Office. These offices can be reached at: | ||
| Federal Trade Commission Consumer Response Center 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20580 (877) IDTHEFT (438-4338) http://www.ftc.gov/idtheft/ |
Office of the Attorney General Consumer Protection Division 200 St. Paul Place Baltimore, MD 21202 (888) 743-0023 www.oag.state.md.us |
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| IF YOU ARE A NORTH CAROLINA RESIDENT: You may obtain information about preventing identity theft from the FTC or the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office. These offices can be reached at: | ||
| Federal Trade Commission Consumer Response Center 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20580 (877) IDTHEFT (438-4338) http://www.ftc.gov/idtheft/ |
North Carolina Department of Justice Attorney General Roy Cooper 9001 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-9001 (877) 566-7226 http://www.ncdoj.com |
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| IF YOU ARE A MASSACHUSETTS RESIDENT: Under Massachusetts law, you have the right to obtain a police report in regard to this incident. If you are the victim of identity theft, you also have the right to file a police report and obtain a copy of it. | ||
| Massachusetts law also allows consumers to place a security freeze on their credit reports. A security freeze prohibits a credit reporting agency from releasing any information from a consumer’s credit report without written authorization. However, please be aware that placing a security freeze on your credit report may delay, interfere with, or prevent the timely approval of any requests you make for new loans, mortgages, employment, housing or other services. | ||
| If you have been a victim of identity theft and you provide the credit reporting agency with a valid police report, it cannot charge you to place, lift or remove a security freeze. In all other cases, a credit reporting agency may charge you up to $5.00 each to place, temporarily lift, or permanently remove a security freeze. To place a security freeze on your credit report, you must send a written request to each of the three major consumer reporting agencies listed above. | ||
In order to request a security freeze, you will need to provide the following information:
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| The credit reporting agencies have three (3) business days after receiving your request to place a security freeze on your credit report. The credit reporting agencies must also send written confirmation to you within five (5) business days and provide you with a unique personal identification number (PIN) or password, or both that can be used by you to authorize the removal or lifting of the security freeze. | ||
| To lift the security freeze in order to allow a specific entity or individual access to your credit report, you must call or send a written request to the credit reporting agencies by mail and include proper identification (name, address, and Social Security number) and the PIN number or password provided to you when you placed the security freeze, as well as the identities of those entities or individuals you would like to receive your credit report or the specific period of time you want the credit report available. The credit reporting agencies have three (3) business days after receiving your request to lift the security freeze for those identified entities or for the specified period of time. | ||
| To remove the security freeze, you must send a written request to each of the three credit reporting agencies by mail and include proper identification (name, address, and Social Security number) and thePIN number or password provided to you when you placed the security freeze. The credit reporting agencies have three (3) business days after receiving your request to remove the security freeze. | ||
| FAQs | ||
| Is the CVV code the same as the three digit code on the back of my card? | ||
| No, the CVV code is not the same as the security code on the back of your card. As of now we have no indication that the three digit code on the back of the card has been impacted. | ||
| How do I know if this impacts me? | ||
| If you shopped at Target between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15, you should check your account for any suspicious or unusual activity. If you see something that appears fraudulent, REDcard holders should contact Target, others should contact their bank. | ||
| If I shopped at Target.com or in Canada should I be concerned? | ||
| No, this was an issue that impacted US stores. | ||
| Can I still use my card at Target? | ||
| Yes you can, if you used your card during the impacted periods, you should continue to monitor your accounts. | ||
| Has the issue been resolved? | ||
| Yes, Target moved swiftly to address this issue so guests can shop with confidence. We have identified and resolved the issue of unauthorized access to payment card data. The issue occurred between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15 and guests should continue to monitor their accounts. | ||
| How can I be assured you are taking the steps to protect my information in the future? | ||
| We continue to invest in our security practices to protect our guests’ information including the retention of a leading third party forensics firm to conduct a thorough investigation of this incident. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused our guests. | ||
| If I call you what are your hours of operation? | ||
| Agents are available to take calls from 7am to 11pm daily. | ||
My take? Look at the date and time this email went out: 12/19 at 9:02 pm. So a security breach went undetected for 2 1/2 weeks and then Target failed to notify card holders of said breach. do i smell Christmas lawsuit in the air – better than sugar plum and cookies for lawyers!
Military parents surprise families for Holidays
Maybe it’s ’cause I’m still sick with the flu, but this short clip on YouTube brought tears to my eyes.
Troops Surprise Families for the Holidays
1/2 foodborne illness from restaurants or delis…eat @ home
Restaurants are still falling short on several key foodborne illness prevention practices, according to a series of recent reports by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Restaurant food preparation and handling practices, worker health policies, and basics such as hand washing are factors that are often not reported during an outbreak, despite the fact that about half of the 48 million cases of foodborne illness that occur in the U.S. each year are associated with restaurants or delis, the CDC said. About 3,000 of the annual cases of foodborne illness are fatal.
The problem is in part because too little is known about the overall environmental factors that can lead to a foodborne illness outbreak and how they are investigated, the CDC said. Read the entire article here.
White Castle introduces kiosk ordering
The 92-year-old Columbus-based fast feeder is taking a step toward the future with its rebuilt restaurant at 1550 Hilliard-Rome Road by taking a step out of the traditional ordering process.
This new White Castle drops old-fashioned, go-to-the-counter ordering in favor of kiosks that allow customers to punch in their order and take a seat without the inconveniences and pressures of waiting in line. Read more here.