Consumerist
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Repairs
Geek Squad: Sorry We Accidentally Hosed Your Motherboard. Here's A Vastly Inferior Replacement
Geek Squad tried to repair a broken fan in Brian's Sony laptop, but somehow managed to instead break the laptop's motherboard, processor, and much of the internal cabling. Though Geek Squad replaced all the damaged parts, Brian soon realized that the laptop's new processor was slower and cheaper than the original model... More » -
Kansas
Need An Ambulance? If You're Overweight, It's Going To Cost An Extra $543
An ambulance ride with American Medical Response in Topeka, Kansas will soon cost an extra $543 for folks weighing 350 pounds or more. Though AMR already owns cots that can support up to 500 pounds, they claim that because of rising demand from so-called "bariatric patients," they now need to buy winches and "extra large and reinforced cots." More » -
Everything will kill you
Recall Roundup - Pretty Much Everything Is Catching Fire
The big news in recalls this week was continuing recalls of Simplicity drop-side cribs. Since the company is no longer in business, in order to get the crib away from your children, return it to the retailer where it was purchased. Also, check your home for other problematic recalled Simplicity products. More » -
infomercials
Quick, What Is This Woman Doing?
She has some form of pump attached to her face. She's moving her head up and down rhythmically... What the....?? More » -
Flickr
Consumerist Friday Flickr Finds
This week we've selected ten wonderful photos submitted by readers to The Consumerist Flickr Pool. There's one beautiful summer one for foot fetishists, a final shout out to Billy Mays, and then we're going with a general Americana vibe for the rest in honor of the Fourth of July. More »
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Pets
No, Your Dog Does Not Want To Watch Fireworks And Drink Margaritas At The Beach
Consumer Reports is always ruining my fun. First, they want me to make sure that the fireworks I set off in my backyard are safety certified. Whatever. Now they're telling me that I shouldn't bring my dog to see fireworks with me. AND that I shouldn't give her any beer, or even let her help herself to the barbecue this weekend. More » -
Above and Beyond
Allergy Card Company Sends Useful Things You Didn't Order
Select Wisely is a company that makes food allergy/sensitivity cards and medical emergency cards for travelers in a wide variety of languages so you don't need to worry about random shrimp or peanuts showing up in your food on a business trip to China. Reader Michael (commenter LetMeGetTheManager) ordered a set of cards, and was so delighted with their service that he just had to e-mail Consumerist. More » -
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bureaucracy
Everyone Knows How To Handle A Stolen Checkbook Except For Verizon
Yesterday I was musing that Time Warner Cable was passing the cost of customer care off to other businesses, by requiring customers to take half-days or full days off of work just to wait for a cable repairman. Today I think I stumbled upon another hidden economic impact of bad customer service: it's responsible for generating a lot of the "free" content online. The next time you're reading an IMDB entry about "Damages" or "Big Love" for example, you can thank Verizon's collection of angry, confused, and possibly insane employees, and all the idle time they create for a customer who has to deal with them. More » -
Bernie Madoff
Tell Your Great-Grandchildren To Protect Their Money In 2139
When Bernie Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison, they weren't kidding around. Here's a screencap of his profile in the U.S. federal prison system database. He's in the system as scheduled for release in 2139.
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Privacy
Marketers Announce They Will Bring More Transparency To Personal Data Collection By 2010
Several major advertising trade groups announced yesterday that starting in 2010, they will implement a new set of self-imposed guidelines on how they collect and use your personal info, in an attempt to prevent the government from handing down federal regulations. More » -
AOHell
Ex-Time Warner Employee's Zombie AOL Account Finally Put To Rest
You may remember Jennifer, who we wrote about on Wednesday. She suddenly started receiving collection notices for an AOL account she hadn't paid for since 2000. Her situation has since been resolved, and serves as an important reminder about accounts and benefits when changing jobs. More » -
Badvertising
Circa 1960s Ad: Sugar Prevents Overeating
Last week, we wrote about how sugar isn't any better than corn syrup when it comes to you health. But it turns out we were wrong. According to this old ad I just found, sugar is perfect for weight-watching: "That's because sugar helps prevent you from overeating... with sugar in your diet, you're happier with smaller portions of everything." More » -
Diy iphone dock
How To Maintain Your New iPhone's Erection—For Free!
I've been a satisfied owner of an original iPhone for a while, and recently upgraded to an iPhone 3G for $99. The crappy part is, on the new phone, Apple is no longer including the handy little dock, forcing the poor device to lie prone, without dignity. More » -
That end-of-the-school-year DVD may have been homemade by the teacher, but that doesn't mean it can't pack an accidental porno cherrybomb. An elementary school teacher in Sacramento mistakenly included 6 seconds of a "home movie" in a compilation she sent home to students. Click through to the article for an awesome photo illustration of how adults think kids react to gross-out grownup stuff. [SFGate] (Thanks to Paul!) (Photo: Adactio)
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Amalgamated sea creatures
Sci-fi Fish Scaring the Hell Out Of Us
If you subsisted on a diet entirely of fish, which would kill you first: mad-cow fish or super tuna? Two stories this week make you wonder. First, Reuters reports on the risk of mad cow disease from farmed fish. Scientists are concerned that the fish, who, curiously enough, dine on pieces of cow, may transmit Creutzfeldt Jakob disease to humans. More » -
Money
Personal Finance Roundup
Michael Jackson's Death and Your Estate Plan [Smart Money] "For those who already have an existing estate plan, here's how the larger 2009 exemption could affect you - along with some advice on how to avoid potential danger zones."
How to Make the Most of a College Degree [Free Money Finance] "What can/should potential graduates do to make the most of their college degree financially?"
Keeping Finances Afloat During a Divorce [Wall Street Journal] "Here are some ways to salvage finances during a divorce."
Is 'Cash for clunkers' right for you? [Bankrate] "Before taking up Obama on 'Cash for clunkers,' decide if selling your car would bring in more money."
The 10 Most Dollar-Discounted Housing Markets [US News] "Listing prices in these cities have been slashed by millions of dollars over the past year."— FREE MONEY FINANCE (Photo: frankieleon)
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Traveling
Never Pack Your Jewelry In Checked Baggage
This past February, a Delta customer had her expensive heirloom jewelry stolen from her checked bag on a trip from Rochester through Atlanta to Las Vegas:
More »My suitcase had been opened, my jewelry bag unzipped, and my fine jewelry (gold, diamonds, sapphires) had been hand picked out of the jewelry bag and the inexpensive jewelry (plastic, glass, metal) left strewn across my belongings inside my suitcase.
New York, 11:36 AM
Sat Jul 4
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