Cyber Monday Madness

TheTechHearld.com

A/S/L anyone? memba that? (for my geriatric readers that stands for Age, Sex, Location)

Online sellers are stretching what they call Cyber Monday promotions all week in an effort to attract more shoppers after the holiday shopping rush.

"We're expecting the biggest Cyber Monday. We're seeing double-digit growth rates, and we don't expect it to stop," said Jerry Storch, CEO of Toys R Us to The Los Angeles Times.

This year, top Internet retailers are offering deep discounts on popular items such as HDTVs, smartphones, GPS units, headphones, laptops and more.

BestCyberMondayDeals lists some of the greatest sales from Best Buy, Walmart, Amazon, AT&T, Staples and Target.

Online research firm comScore Inc. reported late Sunday that online spending in November through Friday rose 13 percent to $11.6 billion, compared with the same 26 days a year ago.

Cyber Monday got its name from the National Retail Federation when computer shopping gained popularity. People returning to work after the holiday weekend would shop online from their office computers.

If you plan to engage in Cyber Monday, here's my security tip when shopping online: Since online shopping requires the use of your 16 digit credit card number as well as your social security number. Ok, not your social security number but sometimes shopping online poses serious security risks. ALWAYS make sure that when you're about to enter your credit card information that the website starts with 'https://.' The 's' stands for 'secure' and lets you know that the page is secure from fraudulent sites that pose as the retailer's website in hopes of obtaining your credit card information.

Happy Shopping!

Black Friday from the comfort of my warm bed.

www.opposingviews.com

Most retail stores offered the same in store deals online in order to minimize the early morning retail traffic.

It was a record day for spending, with consumers buying $10.69 billion worth of merchandise at brick-and-mortar stores, a 0.3 percent rise over last year, according to ShopperTrak RCT Corp., a research firm that monitors spending at more than 50,000 retail stores according to The Los Angeles Times.

Consumers were also very savvy about what they wanted and where they wanted to get it. Shoppers viewed 18 percent fewer products on sites than they did last year, suggesting that they were shopping with a specific item in mind and quickly moving on, Coremetrics said to The Los Angeles Times.

Black Friday shoppers swarmed online for convenience and deals this according to Paypal. The company reported a 27 percent increase in total payment volume and a 310 percent increase in mobile shopping on the day after Thanksgiving compared with the same day last year according to The Los Angeles Times.

Why not sleep in and take advantage of the same in-store deals online with free shipping?

Invasive pat-downs by TSA are all the rage this holiday season

www.weaselzippers.us

In an effort to prevent terrorist attacks, the Transportation Security Administration has progressed their pat-downs to '2nd base' level.

The TSA this month began more aggressive pat-downs, including checking sensitive areas such as the groin and breasts, for signs of weapons or explosives on some travelers according to The Los Angeles Times. The searches have sparked outrage, as has the TSA's alternative — greater use of full-body scanners that the American Civil Liberties Union has said amounts to a "virtual strip search."

"Clearly, it's invasive; it's not comfortable," John Pistole of TSA said to The Los Angeles Times of the pat-downs in an interview Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union with Candy Crowley."

But he said the agency was trying to strike the right balance between privacy and security to protect the nation from potential terrorist attacks, such as the failed bomb plot last Christmas by a man who authorities said had explosives hidden in his underwear.

www.weaselzippers.us

Here's an easy concept: take everything OUT of your pockets and you most likely won't get pulled aside for a pat-down.

Jupiter-like planet found at a close distance

www.Damego.com

A Jupiter-like planet is orbiting a red giant at a close distance according to The Los Angeles Times and scientists say it's remarkable that it exists at all.

The planet, about 2,000 light-years away from us, is orbiting an unlikely star at an unlikely distance.

The planet, called HIP 13044 b, appears to be a gas giant about 25% 1.25 times more massive than Jupiter. Its orbit is closer to its star than even Mercury is to the sun, and it circles the star in a mere 16 days according to The Los Angeles Times.

The discovery of this planet gives hope that Jupiter might survive when the sun becomes a red giant - a large, old, luminous star - 5 billion to 6 billion years from now.

Well, now we have to think of a new acronym that helps us remember the order of the planets. My-Very-Educated-Mother-Just-Served-Us-Nine-Pizzas.

Apparently, It's 'Movember'

ovember is taking over. I heard a little about the Movember madness but did some digging to find out exactly what it's all about.

During the month of November, the idea of Movember challenges men to change their appearance and the face of Men's health by encouraging them to grow a moustache.

But did you know that the idea originated in Melbourne, Australia in 2003 as a joke to "bring the moustache back"?

Fast forward six years- In 2009, global participation of the event had over one million donors raising $42 million U.S. equivalent dollars for Movember’s global beneficiary partners.

Check out this video.

Graphic warnings on cigarette packages...

www.chicagobreakingbusiness.com

...Because words aren't enough.

In the first major change to cigarette packaging in a quarter-century, the Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday it would require graphic warning labels that cover half a package's front and rear and the top 20% of all cigarette ads according to The Los Angeles Times.

The labels will feature either drawings or photos illustrating graphically the dangers associated with smoking and will be accompanied by text stating that smoking is addictive or that it kills.

The pictures feature such things as a diseased lung, a corpse and a man smoking a cigarette through a tracheotomy tube. They are not quite as grim as some used in other countries, but regulators hope they will be sufficiently frightening to keep young people from beginning to smoke and to strengthen the will of those who are attempting to quit according to The Los Angeles Times.

To this day, I still have the image of a poster about the dangers of chewing tobacco my 7th grade science teacher Mrs. Justin had hanging in her class room. It was of a dark-haired, healthy and handsome looking young man on the left of the poster and on the right was the same man but what he looked like after using chewing tobacco. In the picture on the right, his jaw was almost completely disfigured and his once wholesome looking appearance was now irreversibly tarnished. After searching the Internet for the poster, I wasn't able to find it BUT I did find his name and the back story that led to the poster. The unfortunate face on the poster was of Sean Marsee. He was only 19-years-old when he died from mouth cancer.

Thank you Mrs. Justin for scaring me with your poster. It worked.

Happy 235th Birthday to the U.S. Marine Corps!

www.Galsguide.com

Happy Birthday to an honorable organization that continues to fight with the core values of Honor, Courage and Commitment.

Thank you to all the marines who have served and continue to serve.

Your grateful citizen,

Kristen

P.S. Happy (early) Veteran's Day!