Clean your plate or you could get fined in Seattle.

When Brendan Spaar was a kid he remembers hearing people say, “Clean your plate. There are starving kids in China that would love to have this food”. Maybe that’s why the US is having a problem with obesity. Now there’s another problem facing people living in Seattle, Washington. Too much food/ compostable material in your garbage could get you fined if you live there.

Right now, people living in single-family homes are encouraged but not required to dispose of food waste and compostable paper products in compost bins. Apartment buildings must have compost bins available, but residents aren’t required to use them. That’s about to change next year.

Under the new Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) rules, collectors can take a quick look each time they dump trash into a garbage truck. If they see compostable items make up 10 percent or more of the trash, they’ll enter the violation into a computer system their trucks already carry, and will leave a ticket on the garbage bin that says to expect a $1 fine charged on the next garbage bill.

January 1, 2015, garbage collectors will start tagging garbage bins and dumpsters with warning tickets  when they find violations. They won’t start collecting fines until July 1. Seattle already banned recyclables from trash 9 years ago. This is taking it a step further in an effort to cut down on things going to the landfill.

Brendan Spaar doesn’t think people will be lining up to get the job of sifting through the trash. It’s going to be hard to enforce because in an apartment you don’t always know whose garbage belongs to what tenant. Instead of fining people for not composting maybe they should think about rewarding the ones that recycle by giving a discount on their bill.

Want an all-in-one printer? This Canon printer can print, copy, scan AND play a video game.

Most of us use our printers for normal everyday things like printing resumes, copies of important papers, or making flyers about that dog you found. Well, Brendan Spaar found that a UK security researcher has taken the Canon Pixma wireless printer to a whole new level. Before you buy your next printer you might want to see if it will do what this Canon Pixma did.

Michael Jordon (no, not THAT MJ) is a security researcher who wanted to demonstrate the security problems surrounding devices that would form the “internet of things”. The Canon Pixma wireless printer can be accessed by using the internet so you can easily check the device’s status. The web interface has no user name or password on it,” he said. That meant anyone could look at the status of any device once they found it,

At first, the remote access feature didn’t look like a problem, until Mr Jordon realized it was possible to update the printer’s firmware, via the interface too. Even though the firmware was encrypted,he found it was possible to crack this protection system to reveal the core computer code. Reverse engineering the encryption system used by Canon also meant that if Mr Jordon wrote his own firmware the printer should accept it as authentic.

Of course this made Mr Jordan curious to see what he could do. So he came up with a plan to try to get the Doom video game to run on the printer. He believed that successfully running Doom would prove that you could control the printer. Being a video gamer and security researcher gave him the skill and determination necessary to spend the time to make it work.

The printer has a 32-bit ARM processor, 10 meg of memory and even the screen is the right size but it was a coding problem to get it all running together. The biggest problem, he said,was that the printer’s firmware lacked functions provided by the operating system on any PC or other device it was running on. A version of Doom does exist that runs on Arm processors, but a lot of coding and trial and error was needed to convert this so it could handle the quirks of the printer.

This wasn’t a quick and easy hack. It took months of writing code and testing in his spare time, and he finally got it to run two days before he was due to give a speech about the project at the UK’s 44Con hacker conference.

Watch where you sit when flying the not so friendly skies

Have you ever been on a crowded flight and just wanted to plug in the headphones to chill? You know you’re stuck in a tiny seat for a couple of hours with nothing to do. A nap sounds like a good way to pass the time…until you try to recline your seat.

Recently, several flights have had to be rerouted with an unplanned stop because passengers got into fights over legroom (or lack of). Just last week there were several instances where things turned nasty when the person ahead wanted to recline their seat. On a Miami to Paris flight, the American Airlines plane had to land in Boston because a man fought with a passenger in the seat ahead who was trying to recline his seat. Luckily, Air Marshals were on the flight and restrained the man who also had grabbed the arm of the flight attendant that was trying to calm things down. The 61 year old man from Paris was arrested and faces a federal charge of interfering with a flight crew.

Just the day before on a Newark to Denver United Airlines flight, a man used something called a Knee Defender to prevent the person ahead from reclining their seat. The woman in the seat got into an argument with him and threw a cup of water in his face. They were seated in the Economy Plus section which is supposed to have a bit more legroom than normal economy/coach seating. the flight was diverted to Chicago and the two passengers were escorted off the plane.

The worst flight had to be the one that passengers experienced last week on a Toronto to Cuba Sunwing Airlines flight. A fighter jet had to escort the plane back to Canada after a couple of passengers got out of control. It seems that two women decided to have a party with lots of duty free alcohol in the plane’s lavatory. Then they lit a cigarette (a big no-no) which set off the smoke alarm. Brendan Spaar has flown on a lot of different planes and can tell you the lavatory is not the place to party. Clearly, the alcohol didn’t help the situation because the women then started fighting and making threats against the aircraft. The women were arrested after the plane landed in Toronto. You can be sure that a hangover is the least of their problems now.

Maybe it’s that the world is more stressed or that confining people in smaller places makes them lose their cool more easily. Whatever the reason, flying is not the way it used to be. So the next time you plan a trip think twice when booking your flight. Maybe the seat at the very back might not be so bad after all!

Latest Paula Deen scandal: Cheating

As if things couldn’t get worse for Paula Deen. It has been months since the world discovered that she allegedly used a racial slur decades ago and it would appear that she weathered the storm that the politically correct police sent her way. Now Brendan Spaar has discovered that she has a new public relations nightmare to deal with. According to the National Enquirer (the same magazine that accused Benny Hinn of having an affair when he wasn’t even married), Paula was allegedly seeking comfort with another man while waiting out the racial PR nightmare she was going through. Is Paula having marriage problems? Is Paula even still married? Only time will tell.

Source: http://www.inquisitr.com/1022895/paula-deen-marriage-who-cheated-first/

Mega preacher Joel Osteen believes most people want to give him money

Many people have said over the years that mega preachers are nothing more than snake oil salesmen making promises to their flock in exchange for money. Brendan Spaar watched Joel Osteen this morning and found him to be a great motivational speaker. One thing that was a little odd was all of the merchandising throughout the hour. It seemed like every word was accompanied by something on screen prompting you to make a purchase whether it was for a book or an upcoming speaking engagement or even just “money for nothing.” Now Mr. Osteen is quoted as saying that ‘Most People Desire to Have a Relationship with God.’ Osteen may be confusing having a relationship with being God’s friend so that you can get into heaven. It’s sort of like putting up with a fat girl so that you can impress her hot girlfriend.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/newsmakers/joel-osteen-most-people-desire-relationship-god-184158010.html?vp=1

Wedding let’s them eat cake

This is a story that turned sadness into a happy ending. You see, Carol and Willie Fowler’s daughter Tamara was all set to marry the love of her life. Unfortunately, the wedding was called off just 40 days before they she was set to wed. The parents had a great idea though, they decided to let 200 of the area’s homeless feast on the 4 course meal that had been planned for the wedding guests. Elizabeth Omilami from the Hosea Feed the Hungry, an Atlanta GA area organization, arranged for the meals to go to a great cause. She said that children make up 70 percent of Atlanta Georgia’s homeless to this truly turned tragedy into a blessing.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/trending-now/family-hosts-200-homeless-people-for-dinner-after-daughter-s-wedding-gets-called-off-180643590.html?vp=1

Blame passing parents refuse to swallow the truth

If you are a fan of forgotten toys then there’s a new one to add to your list to rush out and get before they’re gone.  The company Maxfield and Oberton have announced that they will no longer make a toy called BuckyBalls due to all of the legal battles that they are facing over the toy which is very popular among IT cube dwellers.  BuckyBalls are small, pebble sized, magnets that you can string together to make all sorts of shapes.  The problem with them is that some people are bringing the BuckyBalls home and leaving them out for their babies and toddlers to pick up and swallow.  When multiple magnetic balls pass through a child’s digestive system, they tend to stick together and tear the delicate tissue.  It’s a horrible situation that could be avoided by better parenting.  Brendan Spaar doesn’t believe that companies should be liable for stupid people. 

a new survey of more than 1,700 doctors, who reported at least 480 toy magnet ingestions in the past decade, with 204 occurring in the past year.

If you leave magnets out for your child to swallow, it is YOUR fault, not the maker of the magnet.  Maxfield and Oberton have changed the labeling on the packages, stopped selling BuckyBalls in toystores frequented by children and have even launched an awareness website.  This hasn’t done a bit of good and has actually made the problem worse!

“The numbers have skyrocketed post-labeling,” said Dr. Mark Gilger, a pediatric gastroenterologist who helped author the study. “There’s just many examples of people ignoring the labels, or people who haven’t paid attention to them bringing them to their home inadvertently.”

Let’s stop suing McDonald’s because their coffee is too hot or Winnebago because you thought cruise control meant auto pilot (ok that last one may be an urban legend).  Because some stupid parents fail to take ownership of their actions, a fun toy is no longer being made.  Sure they are saying let’s make the magnets safer but at the end of the day, these are magnets that are easily swallowed.  If you don’t want your infant child to swallow them then you should not leave them out. 

Source: http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/02/magnetic-buckyballs-toys-discontinued/?hpt=hp_t3

You could be arrested for bargain hunting!

If you have ever bought a new car then you are probably guilty of haggling.  Hank Hill is the only person that Brendan Spaar knows of who gladly pays sticker price for every car that he buys (and not a penny more!). Well Danny Sawyer from Virginia recently bought a Chevy SUV.  When he got it home, he decided he didn’t like the color and wanted to swap it out for a blue one.  I had no idea you could do this but the sales manager obliged and the man went home with a new blue SUV.  End of story right?  Not exactly.

Turns out the blue model is about $5,000 more expensive than the black one the man had originally purchased.  Why?  Maybe blue paint is more expensive.  In any case, Danny signed a new contract to buy the blue SUV for $34,000.  A few days later the sales manager realized the mistake he had made as the blue model should have sold for $39,000.  The dealership repeatedly tried calling Mr. Sawyer to get the extra five thousand dollars but of course he wasn’t going to pay them.  Who would?  That lead to the dealership reporting the SUV stolen and having Danny arrested by sherrif deputies, booked into jail, and released on bond.  The charges were later dropped because he had actually purchased the SUV!  This is a prime example of shooting first and asking questions later. 

Danny Sawyer, who was wrongfully arrested, is now suing the dealership for $2.2 million (440 times the $5,000 mistake!).  The dealership has admitted all along that they made a mistake so Danny will soon be able to buy any car that he wants.  I bet he won’t be buying a Chevy.

Source:  http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/10/09/man-arrested-for-accepting-a-good-deal-at-car-dealership/?hpt=hp_c3

Parents could be arrested for spanking in Deleware

The lawmakers in Deleware must have had a tough time as a child because instead of working to clean up the tax shelter that their state has become, they are spending their time passing legislation that would have parents arrested and charged for spanking their children.  Now Brendan Spaar realizes that there are two polar opposite sides to this issue.  On one side you have parents that feel that their children should not be taught that violence is the solution to problems.  Then the other side feels that children need to be taught that there are consequences for their actions of which include violence.  This should be a wakeup call to voters in Deleware.  If you would rather your lawmakers spend their time on real issues then exercise your vote the next time they are up for re-election. 

Source:  http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/spanking-ban-delaware-first-state-pass-law-expanding-181200724.html

Lindsay Lohan did it again!

Lindsay Lohan, the former actress, has been arrested….again.  I say former because it doesn’t look good for LiLo now that she’s been arrested yet again.  This time it was for allegedly striking a pedestrian in a parking garage and fleeing the scene.  Brendan Spaar does not believe things would have escalated to the point of charges being filed if LiLo would have checked on the person that she hit.  Meanwhile, the victim was taken to a local hospital and treated for a knee injury.  Lohan’s rep had this to say about the incident:

“While some of the facts are still being gathered, it appears that this is much ado about nothing. We are confident this matter will be cleared up in the coming weeks and the claims being made against Lindsay will be proven untrue.”

I guess LiLo and her rep live on the same planet because I can’t understand for the life of me where she is coming from in that statement.  Someone was injured and Lohan’s car was the only one nearby.  How can her rep claim that it’s much ado about nothing and untrue?  I hear they are going to start selling maps in California to the places that Lindsey has been arrested.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/19/showbiz/lohan-arrest/index.html?hpt=hp_t3