With the future uncertain, or at the very least, pretty different from normal, for Chrysler and GM, does it make sense to buy a car from one of these companies? How doe s the restructuring affect you as a potential new car owner? Consumer Reports Online Auto Crisis Center has the answers to six questions every Chrysler and GM car owner will want to know before signing on the line which is dotted.
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Alert: Crunchberries Are Not Real Berries
By 6.4.09
Late last month, a U.S. District Court judge dismissed a complaint filed by a woman who said she’d been buying Cap’n Crunch’s Crunch Berries cereal for four years under the assumption that crunchberries are a real berry. “The plaintiff, Janine Sugawara, alleged that she had only recently learned to her dismay that said ‘berries’ were in fact simply brightly-colored cereal balls.”
New York City Converts Luxury Condo Into Homeless Shelter
By 6.4.09
Could this be the nicest homeless shelter in America? The Daily News is reporting that the city is paying $90 a night per apartment for the use of a failed luxury condo development — which features granite countertops, marble bathrooms and walk-in closets. (The $90 a night figure includes social services, housing help and job counseling designed to get families back on their feet.) Local residents, some of them interested in renting an apartment in the building, are pretty ticked off.
Passenger Spots Handgun Being Smuggled Past Airport Security
By 6.4.09
An eagle-eyed passenger at Philadelphia International Airport spotted another passenger handing a bag directly to an airline employee — skipping airport security. The passenger alerted the TSA, who located the US Airways flight and searched the bag. Guess what was inside? An unloaded handgun.
5 Things For Chrysler & GM Car Owners To Know Now
By 6.4.09
Now that Chrysler and GM are getting remixed, what does this mean for me? Consumer Reports Online Auto Crisis Center has the answers to five questions every Chrysler and GM car owner will want to know as the two car companies move their restructuring.
HP Overdrafts Your Checking Account After 4-Day-Old Laptop Breaks
By 6.4.09
The hard drive of Chris’s HP laptop failed within its warranty period. Technically, it was four days after he bought the brand-new computer, but who’s counting?
Ryanair Supposedly Not Kidding About Installing Pay Toilets
By 6.3.09
If the NYT is to be believed, the CEO of Ryanair, one Michael O’Leary, was not kidding when he said that the low cost airline would be installing pay toilets on board their aircraft. In fact, it seems that these hypothetical toilets will be accepting credit cards.
First-Time Home Buyers: Use $8k Tax Credit For Down Payments Or Closing Costs?
By 6.3.09
BusinessWeek has an interesting article about a little known program that will allow first-time home buyers (technically, those who have not owned a home in three years) to use the 8k tax credit to offset down payments or closing costs.
California To Fight Health Insurance Rescissions?
By 6.3.09
The LA Times is reporting that California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner will reveal new regulations aimed at stopping a controversial health insurance practice in which customers with costly illnesses are retroactively dropped.
Netflix Can't Decide Whether Puerto Rico Is In The USA
By 6.2.09
Puerto Rico and other U.S. Territories are in sort of an awkward place. Are they part of America, or not? Sure, they can’t vote in presidential elections, but they are on the back of a quarter. This confusion has led to problems for Netflix users in Puerto Rico. Netflix will provide them with DVDs-by-mail service at the same price as service in the 48 contiguous United States, but considerably slower. However, they won’t let Puerto Rico customers stream movies over the Internet, which would be handy while they wait three or four days for their DVDs to show up.
Amazon Releases June '09 Coupon Codes
By 6.2.09
Amazon.com has released the latest batch of special coupon codes and Probargainhunter has the roundup. This month, they seem to all be for groceries.
What's Your Favorite Recipe Site?
By 6.2.09
As numerous commenters on our “50 Restaurants Where Kids Eat Free Or Cheap” pointed out, it’s easier to get good food at a good price with a nice home-cooked meal with fresh ingredients. Then we have the perpetual dilemma, what to make, and how to make it?
TGI Friday's Learns That Serving Decomposed Snake Heads Is Bad For Business
By 6.1.09
Back at the beginning of May, Consumerist broke the story of a man who discovered a decomposing snake head in his side order of broccoli at TGI Friday’s. We even had charming pictures. The next week, Albany, NY-area news media reported that the snake wasn’t steamed with the broccoli, but the restaurant and police still don’t know who the herp perp could be. What they do know is that the notoriety from the snake incident has hurt business.
10 Crappy Cars That Blew Up GM
By 6.1.09
GM is bankrupt so now the hindsighted punditing can kick into overdrive, hence Jalopnik’s gallery of the 10 vehicles that bankrupted General Motors. I always liked the GMC Envoy XUV, pictured, because beneath its pricey and puzzling retractable rear roof each one came with a free set of antique cabinets.
This Certified Refurbished Dell Laptop Comes With Large Scratches And A Pirated Copy Of Microsoft Office
By 5.30.09
Ever wonder if “certified refurbished” is just corporate doublespeak for “not entirely broken crap?” Well, at Dell, it is! The refurbished Dell Studio Joseph bought as a gift for his father-in-law arrived with large scratches and a CD-R in the optical drive containing a pirated copy of Microsoft Office. Dell’s response? They’re willing to take back the laptop and waive the restocking fee, but that’s it.
Sorry, You Can't Fly Because Your Name Is Hyphenated
By 5.30.09
Alright everyone, gather round and let me share with you the pain of living with a hyphenated name. Occasionally it’s fun and amusing, a third nipple stapled to your ID. Occasionally, it’s a miserable nightmare, as Yarn Harlot Stephanie Pearl-McPhee learned when she wasn’t allowed to board a flight after an anonymous airline’s computer severed her hyphenated name. Neither passports, a conversation with the booking agent, nor a printed receipt showing the proper hyphenated name could convince the airline gate agent that Pearl-McPhee was anything more than a foolishly named terror.
Time Warner's Revised Subscriber Agreement Allows For Consumption Based Billing
By 5.30.09
Time Warner has revised their Subscriber Agreement to lay the legal foundation needed to implement consumption based billing, including usage caps, tiered rate plans, overlimit fees, and speed throttling. Though Time Warner’s metered broadband plans lie in shambles after a barely-averted run in with Congress’ legislative mace, the cable giant clearly has no intention of letting such a potentially massive cash cow escape from the paddock. Inside, the dangerous new legalese that may soon appear in teeny tiny print on your next Time Warner bill.
Memphis Burger Kings: Global Warming Is Baloney
By 5.30.09
At least three Burger Kings in Memphis have recently displayed “GLOBAL WARMING IS BALONEY” on their letter boards, according to the Memphis Flyer and a reader.
