Dec 31, 2009

Green Bay composer Kevin MacLeod scores movies, commercials, and videos for thousands of people around the world



Green Bay Composer Kevin MacLeod scores movies, commercials and other creations and helps You Tubers with their videos, too, allowing use of other compositions he puts in the public sector. Glen Loyd's Blog will soon feature a video about Kevin, himself. Clicking the button above, you will hear six seconds of music entitled "Action Man" composed by Kevin, acknowledging Glen's early days in Green Bay as the Action Man consumer reporter.

Needled meat: E. coli-tainted beef infects 21 people in 16 states

Washington Post
Consumer advocates say mechanical tenderization poses contamination risks in meats that are served rare, such as steaks, because it can bring bacteria from the surface of meat to the center of the cut. A rare steak may be cooked enough so that bacteria on the surface are killed but those inside the meat survive.

Company’s Record on Beef Treatment Questioned

NYTimes.com

Dec 28, 2009

Then vs. now: How prices have changed since 1999

WalletPop

Media Notes: Howard Kurtz on the evolution of media in the Awful Aughts

Washington Post

Adding Fees and Fences on Media Sites

New York Times
“One of the problems is newspapers fired so many journalists and turned them loose to start so many blogs,” Mr. Mutter said. “They should have executed them. They wouldn’t have had competition. But they foolishly let them out alive.”

Dec 26, 2009

Away down the river,
A hundred miles or more,
Other little children
Shall bring my boats ashore.


Robert Louis Stevenson's poem reflects our fascination with rivers...their jeweled surfaces and tree-lined shores, interesting meanderings, and links to other people and places.
My son, Glennon, has a wonderful house overlooking the Rock River in Janesville, WI where I am getting to know a lot about the River. Here are seven videos I made in 2009 about the Rock River (If video stops, pause, which allows download to continue. When red line shows completion, video will play and replay without interruption):

Lincoln and the Rock River


The Rock River still flickered in Reagan's memory

Rock River and the Blackhawk War



Indians on the Rock River


Rock River Thresheree


Madison area lakes, rivers and streams flow into the Rock River. In fact, when it rains and snows in southern Wisconsin much of the water ends up in the Rock, a Mississippi tributary. In this final video: A record setting 3.63 inches of rain falling in Madison on Sept 21,2009 which eventually became the Rock River.


Washington state suing DirecTV on consumers' behalf

Seattle Times

Jack Shafer reviews 'Googled' by Ken Auletta

Washington Post

Banks Bundled Bad Debt, Bet Against It and Won

New York Times

At Tiny Rates, Saving Money Costs Investors

New York Times

Dec 25, 2009

FTC chief Leibowitz now watches over firms he once lobbied for

Washington Post

Resolution: Get a Deal on a Gym Membership

New York Times
This article gives good advice. But my advice is to know that too many people signing up for these memberships stop going and lose money. Try walking. It's free and its good exercise and if you stop you don't lose money

Dec 19, 2009

What to buy at Wal-Mart

CBSMoneywatch.com

I was stunned this week when I saw Epic Systems' $300 million complex near Madison, WI

Skunk at the buffet

Charley, a buffet manager friend of mine, was a hero the other night to his fellow workers and to me. When a woman in her twenties came into the restaurant with two companions, Charley said to his boss, "I'll bet you she pulls the "hair in my food" scam. Sure enough, when the woman finished eating she began protesting about the hair and demanded her money back. Charley had remembered her pulling the same trick on several past occasions. She didn't get her money back and was told to get out of the restaurant. By the way, the food preparer has a crew cut.

Charley also told me about a man who calls all the restaurants in town claiming he had eaten there recently and found something in the food. The caller says he didn't want to embarrass the restaurant at the time by making a fuss. He's now asking for free meal. Many restaurant comply.

House flipping makes a comeback

Wall Street Journal

FTC Sues to Stop Robocalls With Deceptive Credit Card Interest-Rate Reduction Claims

FTC

Gift cards are useful; give me cash

Wall Street Journal

FTC to consider stricter online privacy rules

Networkworld

Shrinking products: "The parade of downsized items continues"

Mouseprint

Paper files suite over UW records

Milwaukee Journal

Scam to borrow National Guard soldier's identity thwarted

Milwaukee Journal

Dec 11, 2009

Be careful of door-to-door sellers

As I am sitting here working on this week's blog, when the door bell rings and a door-to-door meat salesperson with body piercing tells me it's my lucky day.
Be careful of these people because they often don't reveal price per pound and it is impossible to figure out what kind of a deal you are getting without that knowledge.
Often door-to-door meat salespeople describe their products as "restaurant quality" which really doesn't mean anything official about how good the meat is.
These salespeople can be very aggressive. Don't be afraid to shut the door on them or call the police if they get out of hand.

Secrets revealed about new car prices

Bankrate.com

MousePrint: AMEX gift cards, no monthly fees but....

MousePrint

The American taxpayer has put up $12,200 for every General Motors vehicle sold through the beginning of 2011, and $7,600 for every Chrysler vehicle

National Taxpayers Union

FTC Website Educates Kids about Privacy and Fraud

FTC

Some credit cards charge you for inactivity!

Bloomberg

Consumers Union: Two-thirds of broiler chickens contaminated

YahooNews

Dec 5, 2009

Holiday shoppers say some retailers out of line

Consumer Reports

One in three laptops fail over three years

SquareTrade

Glen Loyd's take-a break video: Springs at UW Aboretum

WalletPop on infomercial man:"Trudeau was definitely playing a con's game in the late 1980s, leading to criminal charges in 1990

WalletPop"Trudeau was definitely playing a con's game in the late 1980s, leading to criminal charges in 1990 for larceny (posing as someone else to cash $80,000 worth of worthless checks) and credit card fraud (for using a bunch of his customers' credit card numbers to ring up more than $120,000 in charges). He went to federal prison for two years and was released in August 1993."