Man Spends $700 On Cell Phone Minutes To Get $700 Unemployment Check

Man Spends $700 On Cell Phone Minutes To Get $700 Unemployment Check: "

Filing for unemployment benefits can be an exhausting bureaucratic mess, but it shouldn't cost you hundreds of dollars. In theory. According to TV station KOB, though, a New Mexico man spent so many hours on hold with the unemployment office that he ran up a $700 cell phone bill.

Sanchez says his cell phone is his only line, and if he didn't make the calls to Workforce Solutions, he wouldn't have gotten his money.

The bill shows Sanchez made 1,114 calls to the unemployment office in one month. Some days, it took hundreds of calls to get through—each call costing $0.45.

When he would get through, he says he would be put on hold. One time, he was on hold for almost 3 1/2 hours.

I think the only thing worse than listening to bad music on hold for the unemployment department has got to be paying 45 cents per minute for the privilege.

Man racks up huge cell bill to claim unemployment [KOB] (via Huffington Post - thanks, Rodrigo!)

39% Of Bagged Salad Is Gross, Some Has Poop

39% Of Bagged Salad Is Gross, Some Has Poop: "

As we told you earlier this month, sister pub Consumer Reports tested 208 bagged salads and found 39% had excessive bacteria, including fecal contamination. That means there's poop in the greens. And now there's something you can do about it.

Consumer Reports tested for total coliforms and other bacteria including enterococcus. According to industry experts, 10,000 or more colony forming units per gram (CFU/g) is excessive. The tests of 16 different brands had 39% exceeded that level for total coliforms, and 23% for enterococcus.

Hate spinach? Bacteria doesn't. Many of the unacceptable packages contained spinach and were within 1-5 days of their use-by date. Bag vs clamshell, organic vs non, baby greens or no baby greens, made no difference. And packages that were 5-8 days until their use-by date fared better.

Even if the package says super-duper-washed, you should still wash them by hand. Or, better yet, just buy your salad elements separately, wash them, and chop them.

The big problem is the FDA hasn't set limits for how much poop or other bacteria can be in bagged salad. Tell 'em to get crackin' by signing this petition.

Bagged salad: How clean? [Consumer Reports]

PREVIOUSLY: Who Keeps Pooping In My Bags Of Salad?!

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The Secret Government Surveillance Document Microsoft Doesn't Want You To See [Privacy]

The Secret Government Surveillance Document Microsoft Doesn't Want You To See [Privacy]: "

Microsoft has a 22-page document which outlines how they store all your private data in their online servers. The document also tells government agencies how they can get it. But, oh surprise, they don't want you to see it:

Microsoft Spy

The document was unearthed by Cryptome, the site who previously unveiled similar papers by Facebook, Skype, and other online giants. When Microsoft learned about it, they sent their rabid law dogs to tear Cryptome apart, Digital Millennium Copyright Act in one hand, iron bar in the other. So far they have managed to coerce Cryptome's host company to take down the site the pages aren't taken down. Network Solutions complied with Microsoft's barking, passing along the message to Cryptome that, if they don't take down the 'secret' material, they would take down the whole site.

Obviously, Microsoft and Network Solutions don't give a damn about public interest. Make no mistake: Knowing what Microsoft can disclose and how, no matter if you are a criminal or just some innocent dude using Microsoft's services, should interest you. [Microsoft Spy via Business Insider]

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Infographic: buying DVDs vs pirating them

Infographic: buying DVDs vs pirating them: "


This pithy and funny chart does a superb job of explaining how the insertion of a lot of 'business model' (FBI warnings, unskippable trailers, THX vanity sequences) makes buying a DVD a lot worse than pirating the same disc online. I rip all my kid's DVDs (not least because she has a tendency to scratch them to hell), and the difference between firing up a movie on a laptop and it just starting versus trying to explain to a toddler why Daddy has to spend five minutes pressing next-next-next menu-menu-menu is enormous. I think it all comes down to the stuff in the DVD-CCA spec that allows DVD creators to flag sequences as unskippable: that's such an attractive nuisance, it's bound to attract every hard-sell marketer and power-tripping fool in any media company, who will eventually colonize it with so much crapola that it comes just short of destroying the possibility that anyone will voluntarily pay for the product. (Be sure to click below for the whole thing)

If you are a pirate, this is what you get

(via Making Light)

TSA Makes Disabled Child Remove Leg Braces, Walk Through Metal Detector

TSA Makes Disabled Child Remove Leg Braces, Walk Through Metal Detector: "

The TSA forced a disabled 4-year old to get out of his stroller and remove his leg braces and walk unassisted through the metal director. After the humiliating and frightening incident, the boy's father, a cop, told the supervisor, 'This is overkill. He's 4 years old. I don't think he's a terrorist.' The supervisor then said, 'You know why we're doing this,' and walked away, according to the father. It turns out that this didn't even follow TSA policy, which would have allowed for the boy to be privately screened and swabbed for explosive material traces, without having to remove his braces.

Another case of TSA overkill [philly]

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Adjust Your Car Mirrors to Fully Cover Your Blind Spots [Driving]

I have been using this method for more than 5 years and love it

Adjust Your Car Mirrors to Fully Cover Your Blind Spots [Driving]: "

The way most drivers, and car makers, keep their side mirrors doesn't actually cover the blind spot outside the driver's vision. Car and Driver illustrates a car mirror setup that, once you get used to it, could prevent lane change freak-outs.

The auto magazine culls its mirror alignment diagram from a paper published in 1995 by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). That paper suggested, basically, moving your side mirrors to point further out into adjacent lanes, a trick that can take some getting used to:

The paper advocates adjusting the mirrors so far outward that the viewing angle of the side mirrors just overlaps that of the cabin's rearview mirror. This can be disorienting for drivers used to seeing the flanks of their own car in the side mirrors. But when correctly positioned, the mirrors negate a car's blind spots. This obviates the need to glance over your shoulder to safely change lanes as well as the need for an expensive blind-spot warning system.

So the trick is to get the side mirrors aligned just outside what your rearview mirror covers, and rely on your own vision to cover the areas in your peripheral vision. Neat trick, but as the magazine (and their commenters) mention, you'll want to train yourself on a neighborhood road before taking this setup out on the interstate.

Check out the Car and Driver post for a full look and explanation of the SAE-approved side mirror setup. Got a better solution to your side mirror setup? Do tell in the comments. Thanks for the link, cipheroid!.

How To: Adjust Your Mirrors to Avoid Blind Spots [Car and Driver]

Shotgun Revolvers Are the Newest Thing In Gang Weaponry [Guns]

Shotgun Revolvers Are the Newest Thing In Gang Weaponry [Guns]: "

What do you do if you want the stopping power of a shotgun, but also want the convenient of shoving said shotgun down the front (or back) of your pants? Shotgun revolver. Boom.

This crazy DIY monstrosity apparently isn't the first shotgun revolver, but it is the first one authorities in Taiwan found that can shoot standard 12-gauge rounds. Think about that. 12-gauge rounds in a revolver.

I'm not quite sure why there's a stamp on the side that says 'Made in USA' either. [Liberty Times via Evreydaynodaysoff via Neatorama]