wayout

Just heard about this new app from today's morning paper....absolutely brilliant and seems like an obvious way to deal with the problem of cc fraud. Just need to get everyone on board (easier said than done). Is it checkmate or will the sleazeballs find a way around it? http://www.cnbc.com/id/101634492#. Fight fraud with remote control for credit cards Herb Weisbaum | @TheConsumerman Friday, 2 May 2014 | 7:53 AM ETCNBC.com Your credit and debit cards are always on, so they are always vulnerable to a criminal attack. If one of those cards is stolen or hacked, it can be used to buy things or drain your bank account—even if the card is safely in your wallet. Last year'sTarget breach reminded us of the threat. Wouldn't it be nice if you could turn off your cards and shut down access to your accounts when you aren't using them? Ondot Systems, a software company in San Jose, California, just unveiled a mobile app that lets you do that with a single touch of the screen. With CardControl, you can lock the card until you want to use it. When you're ready to make a purchase or withdraw cash from an ATM, just slide your finger across the screen and instantly activate the card. "We created a way to let people use their mobile phone as a remote control for their existing credit and debit cards," said Vaduvur Bharghavan, Ondot's CEO and founder. Source: Ondot Systems, Inc. CardControl app screens CardControl is more than a simple on/off switch. It's a way to let cardholders decide when and where their cards can or cannot be used, based on a series of preference screens. Read MoreData at risk as Americans don't protect smartphones "We allow the user to customize the use of the card to the degree they want to," said Rachna Ahlawat, Ondot's executive vice president. "While the back-end technology is quite complicated, the user interface is very simple. All the operations in the app are just one tap away." Various screens let you: Block specific types of transactions, such as an ATM withdrawal, online purchase, cash advance or transfer of funds. Stop transactions at certain types of merchants. For instance, you could specify that it couldn't be used at gas stations or restaurants. Limit the geographic area where the card will work. You can pick a region on the map such as your city, country or state. Or choose "active around me" which correlates the location of your phone with the merchant. If the two don't match, the transaction won't be authorized. Limit the dollar amount of any single transaction. The app is designed to give the primary user the same control over secondary cards—enabling parents and businesses to limit where those cards can be used and also to see purchases in real time. "I think this is a brilliant way for people to help protect themselves against card fraud," said Gerri Detweiler, director of consumer education atCredit.com. "Even though the customer isn't typically responsible for fraudulent charges, it's a huge hassle when you're dealing with fraud." Many banks make it possible to set up alerts that can warn of possible fraud. But Avivah Litan, a fraud analyst at Gartner Research, says the ability to turn the card off or limit where it can be used is far better than an alert that you receive after the fact. "This definitely gives the consumer the power they deserve to control their account," Litan said. Read MoreCell phone thefts soar as advocates hail 'kill switch' If you had this app and your card were lost or stolen—or you heard about a breach on the news—you could turn the card off immediately until you had time to contact your financial institution and figure things out. This could help reduce your chances of being victimized. The rollout begins Ondot won't offer CardControl to the public. It will sell the app to financial institutions, card issuers and processors who can offer it as an added feature to their cardholders. What's in it for the banks? They hope it will cut their fraud losses and get people to use their cards when they reach in their wallet. The company says it has partnered with four of the seven major credit card processors, which handle transactions for 10,000 banks and credit unions across the country. The only partner named so far is CO-OP Financial Services, a card processor for credit unions. BECU, the fourth-largest credit union in the country, headquartered in Tukwila, Washington, will begin testing CardControl this summer with debit card customers. "People know how they use their card and how they want it to be managed," said Tom Tyson, BECU's digital channel manager. "This gives them a way to take action without contacting us." Read MoreWhether PIN or signature, smart cards are coming Tyson said the company has heard from members who don't use their debit card because they are worried about the risk of fraud. "This can return the convenience of the debit card and give them a sense of confidence that wasn't there before," he said. "It's such a simple solution to such a big problem that we can easily put in everyone's hands." Lone Star National Bank in southern Texas has offered the original version of CardControl—an app with a simple on/off switch—to its debit card customers for about a year now. Kevin Pilgrim, chief information officer, said customers have been quick to adopt it, which has been good for the bank. "It not only lowered our cost of mitigating fraud, but our customers now feel more empowered, so they use their debit cards more," Pilgrim said. During that period, fraud losses dropped 60 percent and debit card usage increased by 54 percent. That's good for the bank, since it makes a little money through a processing fee every time the card is used. The start of a something new Mobile devices are rapidly becoming remote controls for various aspects of our lives, so why not leverage this mobility to control our payment cards? It seems like a natural fit. But are there downsides? What if your cards are locked and you lose your smartphone or the battery dies or you're in an area with no cell reception? "These are the early days and there needs to be a lot of testing," said Pradeep Moudgal, an analyst with the Mercator Advisory Group. "People have to get comfortable with this technology and use it, but eventually systems like this will provide greater flexibility for consumers and help them manage the cards in their wallet in a better way." —By CNBC contributor Herb Weisbaum. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter @TheConsumerman or visit The ConsumerMan website. Herb WeisbaumCNBC Contributor

Signs that state the obvious....

Sounds like a great place and if I am ever in the neighborhood I will stop by. I read some of the yelp reviews and especially liked the following comment/review: Make sure you follow the ordering rules- you'll be asked "how many?" And you answer with the number if hot dogs you want (protip: order more than you think you want. You'll want more and you won't want to stand in line again), and that's it. Later, you'll be asked (with the number of hot dogs you ordered), "five? What do you want?" And you answer with the toppings you want. Order the House- it's delightful. The Loaded is great too, but I like the House better. Don't forget to get a can of Moxie... When in Rome, right? Get your hot dogs and move on outside. Reminded me of Seinfeld and ordering from the Soup Nazi

National Meatball Day is March 9, for future reference http://nationaldaycalendar.com/2014/03/09/march-9-2014-national-barbie-day-national-meatball-day-national-crabmeat-day-national-get-over-it-day/

Whatever your preference for hot dog style might be, hope everyone has the chance to enjoy one (or more) today, July 23, National Hot Dog Day. Few things can beat those from the street vendors..... Except this perhaps.... And what is wrong with this picture below? The answer is provided by Dirty Harry in this clip:

Visiting Ohio.....

In two of my favorite series I watched all the time when growing up....RIP http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/james-garner-dead-86-report-article-1.1873583

http://www.ibtimes.com/archie-andrews-dead-comic-hero-shot-saving-gay-friend-kevin-keller-1627462

I remember it also and really was a big fan of WC. Thanks for the link for the episode list AS. Here is one on Youtube

Perhaps it should read "sex party" Best Wishes!!!!!!

Thanks for the heads up...I've scheduled my dvr to record it in case I don't remember to watch it on Sunday. It does look interesting and hope it lives up to expectations.

Four men are walking down a street in Yuma, Arizona. They turn a corner and see a sign that says, "Old Time Bar - ALL drinks 10 cents." They look at each other and then go in, thinking this is too good to be true. The old bartender says in a voice that carries across the room, "Come on in and let me pour one for you! What'll it be gentlemen?" There's a fully stocked bar, so each of the men orders a martini. In no time the bartender serves up four iced martinis shaken, not stirred and says, "That'll be 10 cents each, please." The four guys stare at the bartender for a moment, then at each other. They can't believe their good luck. They pay the 40 cents, finish their martinis, and order another round. Again, four excellent martinis are produced, with the bartender again saying, “That’s 40 cents, please." They pay the 40 cents, but their curiosity gets the better of them. They've each had two martinis and haven't even spent a dollar yet. Finally one of them says, "How can you afford to serve martinis as good as these for a dime apiece?" "I'm a retired tailor from Phoenix," the bartender says, "and I always wanted to own a bar. Last year I hit the Lottery Jackpot for $125 million and decided to open this place. Every drink costs a dime. Wine, liquor, beer it's all the same "Wow! That's some story!" one of the men says. As the four of them sip at their martinis, they can't help noticing seven other people at the end of the bar who don't have any drinks in front of them and haven't ordered anything the whole time they've been there. Nodding at the seven at the end of the bar, one of the men asks the Bartender, "What's with them?" The bartender says, “They’re retired people from Florida, They're waiting for Happy Hour when drinks are half-price, plus they all have coupons..."

Ever since someone posted a thread about Collabro on Britain's Got Talent, which I thoroughly loved, I started looking for other discoveries that I would like. I don't really watch any of the singing/talent shows so there are probably many great ones still to be discovered, but I stumbled across this one that I just had to share as I think it is pretty great. It is from The Voice in Australia from 2013. It is fairly long so you can skip ahead some to get to the actual audition, around the 2:50 mark. Sorry hito, but I have dibs on him for my son That smile just gets to me

While we are on this topic, here is an article with what they claim are the world's scariest runways...each with a short video clip. http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/the-worlds-scariest-runways/1 Some of the videos definitely give a sense of that scary factor and provides a greater appreciation for the nerves of steel and skills of the pilots. I suppose how scary it is depends on one's perspective...whether a pilot (and I like to think it isn't scary for them but perhaps just technically challenging, lol), passenger or bystander on the ground. I suppose it is often good to be blissfully ignorant of these things for the most part as a passenger. The one on the list that stands out for me that I used to fly in and out of as a passenger quite a bit was at the old Hong Kong airport (Kai Tak airport).

I tried my best to look at both sides of the issue and try to balance out the concerns and rights involved. It is not totally clear but there is a strong argument that the origins of "redskin" came from Native Americans themselves as a self-moniker to differentiate themselves, and as such it was certainly not derogatory in its origins. Whether or not someone outside of that ethnicity should use that term as a general description is debatable but nothing should preclude them from doing so as long as not in a derogatory manner. At some point in time, it seems as though it came to have some negative connotations and/or a strong reaction against non-Native Americans using that term. Sensitive (politically correct) individuals likely would avoid using the term altogether. In this specific case (and likely in most other sports teams with Native American related terms), we are going back quite a long time to when those names came about. It should be clear that those names weren't used in a way that would somehow reflect negatively on the team but rather they were likely selected, in part, because of some very positive attributes that it evokes in peoples' minds by using the names. Does that still hold today? Do we somehow associate Redskins with sports that are loved by millions but also associate it in a negative way towards the NA? Or is there actually a positive link between the two...a spillover effect of sorts? Personally I don't see it as negative but then I am not a Native American and their concerns can't be ignored. Which leads me to wonder how important this issue is to them. A google search shows some surveys/polls that indicate a significant majority aren't offended. I can't speak to the scientific robustness of the survey/poll so I have to be cautious about that. I may be totally off base to say this as a generalization, but it seems as though most of this country pretty much ignores most things related to Native Americans. Couldn't we leverage the positive aspects of connection with loved sports teams to promote greater interest and attention to them rather than try to paint it as a negative? Many of the issues they face are very serious as I have discovered by doing a little searching on this topic. Here are some disturbing details: "American Indians have the highest suicide, teen pregnancy, child mortality and school dropout rates in the country. On large reservations, the extreme poverty rate is more than six times the national average, which is part of the reason why Indians have the lowest life expectancy, too." If we change the names, are we just sweeping things under the rug and ignoring them even more, if that is possible? There are definitely some things that should be done, particularly in dealing with logos and mascots to help promote a better positive approach. But I am more inclined to think that changing the name would be missing a great opportunity for improvements and could even make things worse in some ways.