My Fox Atlanta

At Atlanta pizzeria is receiving both cheers — and jeers — for the notice it recently printed on its menus asking parents of noisy children to take their kids outside.

After Donnie Parmer, co-owner of Grant Central Pizza, got an abundance of complaints (both in person and on the review site Yelp) about screaming or unruly children in his restaurant, he added the following notice to the bottom of his menus:

Dear all present and future patrons: GCP is proud of its reputation as a family restaurant, a title that we will work to keep. Unfortunately a number of our diners have posted unpleasant experiences because of crying and unsupervised children. To ensure that all diners have an enjoyable lunch or dinner with us we respectfully ask that parents tend to their crying tots outside.”

Parmer says that while he likes kids and Grant Central Pizza is a family establishment, it’s not fair for little ones to disrupt the entire dining room. He cites an incident in which a child hit an adult patron in the head with a toy as the last straw that made him print the public notice.

While some parents are offended, saying “noise is just part of the experience in a family restaurant,” other customers applauded the gesture and said it’ll make them more likely to visit the restaurant.

[My Fox Atlanta]

consumerist, Flickr

Does your job make the world a better or worse place? That’s what 30,000 workers were asked last year — and their answers have given researchers a lot to talk about.

Salary comparison site PayScale conducted the survey in which people were asked the question and told to choose from the answer options of “very much so,” “yes,” “a little,” “no” and “My job may make the world a worse place.”

While only one percent picked the last answer, the New York Times was curious about what types of jobs those people had, so PayScale investigated further. Here are the top 10 occupations that had the highest shares of workers saying they thought their jobs made the world a worse place:

• Fast-Food Worker: 42.3 percent
• Bartender: 5.8 percent
• Senior Attorney: 4.9 percent
• Fashion Designer: 4.1 percent
• Associate – Investment Banking: 3.8 percent
• Legal Assistant: 3.6 percent
• Account Executive, Advertising: 3.4 percent
• Claims Adjuster / Examiner / Investigator: 3.3 percent
• Personal Banker: 3.2 percent
• Petroleum Engineer: 3.1 percent

Although a lot of people would take issue with bartenders thinking they don’t make the world a better place, analysts noted two of the 10 spots were banking professions — possibly a reflection of the economic downturn that happened largely at the hands of Wall Street executives.

Sorted by industry, here are the top 10 fields in which employees said their jobs make the world a worse place (the number one slot isn’t a terrible surprise):

• Tobacco Manufacturing: 15.9 percent
• Gambling Industries: 5 percent
• Gasoline Stations: 4.4 percent
• Limited-Service Eating Places (e.g., Fast-Food Restaurants): 2.8 percent
• Beer, Wine and Distilled Alcoholic Beverage Merchant Wholesalers: 2.1 percent
• Petroleum and Petroleum Products Merchant Wholesalers: 1.9 percent
• Legal Services: 1.8 percent
• Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing: 1.7 percent
• Jewelry, Luggage and Leather Goods Stores: 1.7 percent
• Advertising and Related Services: 1.6 percent

[The New York Times]

AeroShot

An inhalable caffeine powder that went on the market late last month in two states is under review from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to determine whether the product is safe.

The inhalable caffeine powder, AeroShot, went on sale in New York and Massachusetts last month. Now its inventor, Harvard biomedical engineering professor David Edwards, wants the product to categorized as a dietary supplement, which doesn’t require rigorous FDA approval.

The FDA review was triggered after a request from New York’s U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, who told the Associated Press, “I am worried about how a product like this impacts kids and teens, who are particularly vulnerable to overusing a product that allows one to take hit after hit after hit, in rapid succession.”

Edwards said the product isn’t dangerous and doesn’t contain many of the common additives used to enhance the caffeine effect in standard energy drinks.

Breathable Foods, AeroShot’s manufacturer, maintains that when it’s used according to its label, it provides a safe level of B vitamins and caffeine — about as much as a large cup of coffee — and isn’t marketed to children.

Still, Schumer fears that it will be used as a club drug, citing incidents last year in which students looking for an easy buzz began consuming caffeine-packed alcoholic beverages they dubbed “blackout in a can” because of their potency. The FDA eventually stopped the marketing, distribution and sale of these drinks, including the popular Four Loko.

“We need to make sure that AeroShot does not become the next Four Loko by facilitating dangerous levels of drinking among teenagers and college students,” Schumer said in a statement.

Source: TheCheckup.com

Here’s a look at this year’s nominees in the major categories. Let your voice be heard and tell us who you think will win!

‘Hugo’ leads the way with 11 nominations. Will it end the evening with the most wins? You tell us:

Paramount/DreamWorks/DreamWorks

Frazer Harrison/Kevin Winter/Kevin Winter, Getty Images

Kevin Winter/Carlos Alvarez/Frazer Harrison, Getty Images

Frazer Harrison/Jason Merritt/Jason Merritt, Getty Images

Jason Merritt/Frazer Harrison/Frazer Harrison, Getty Images

Gareth Cattermole/Valerie Macon/Jamie McCarthy, Getty Images

DreamWorks/DreamWorks/Blind Wink Productions

Thinkstock

Federal health officials are warning that deaths from the liver-destroying hepatitis C virus are on the rise, and that baby boomers are especially at risk.

It is estimated that two-thirds of those with hepatitis C were born between 1945 and 1965. So some experts are recommending boomers get a one-time blood test to check for the virus — one that can otherwise go undetected and cause damage for decades.

Needle-sharing during illegal drug use is the biggest risk factor for becoming infected with the blood-borne hepatitis C virus, but before 1992, when widespread testing of the blood supply began, it was often spread through blood transfusions.

“One of every 33 baby boomers are living with hepatitis C infection,” Dr. John Ward, hepatitis chief at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told the Associated Press. “Most people will be surprised, because it’s a silent epidemic.”

Officials are urging testing in light of two new drugs that have the potential to provide a cure. Research published Monday by the CDC indicates the cost of testing millions of middle-aged people would be worth it, since thousands of lives could be saved in the process.

The CDC study analyzed a decade of death records and found the 15,000 deaths related to hepatitis C in 2007 were higher than previous estimates. What’s more, they even surpassed the nearly 13,000 deaths caused by HIV/AIDS virus.

“Mortality will continue to grow for the next 10 to 15 years at least unless we do something different” to find and treat the silent sufferers, Dr. Ward said.

Source: TheCheckup.com

Virgin Galactic

Last month Virgin Galactic announced it would begin offering commercial space flights later this year.

The two-and-a-half hour trip just cracks the space barrier and offers about five minutes of weightlessness. It also comes with a fairly prohibitive price tag of $200,000 a pop.

But let’s say money was no object. Would you want to be among the first commercial space travelers?

Poll Position asked 1,145 adults that very question and found that only 23 percent thought the thrill of the great beyond outweighed the risks. Fifty-two percent said they would not be willing to take such a flight and 26 percent had no opinion.

[Poll Position]

Justin Sullivan, Getty Images

Facing huge budget shortfalls, the United States Postal Service has proposed solutions including closing hundreds of post offices and eliminating Saturday deliveries. Now it may be considering jacking up the price of stamps, too.

The popularity of internet services like online bill pay have led in part to a 1.7 percent decline in mail volume, causing the USPS to anticipate losing $14.1 billion in 2012 — with bigger losses expected in the years to come.

In response, postal officials sent a letter to Congress last Thursday in which they recommended several changes, including the possibility of increasing the price of a stamp from its current 45 cents up to 50 cents. While stamp prices have gone up four times since 2006, chief financial officer Joe Corbett said, “Clearly, we’re [still] underpriced [and] would like the ability to move that price up.”

The USPS says the extra nickel, which would likely be added in one or two-cent increments until 2015, would raise revenues by $1 billion annually. Although taxpayers don’t foot the bill to keep the postal service running, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe told Congress that failing to help the organization limit its losses would result in a “long-term burden to the American taxpayer.”

[Time]

Thinkstock

A new Nielsen poll finds smartphones are becoming less of a luxury and more of a so-called necessity — at least for younger people.

Nielsen gathered data to learn more about the age, income and demographics of the typical US smartphone user. Specifically, the firm wanted to know if lower prices are making the devices more popular among those who earn less money.

Turns out more than half of people between 18 and 24 who make less than $15,000 per year are smartphone owners, compared to 43 percent of those aged 25 to 34 and just 31 percent of folks between 35 and 44 years old.

While researchers don’t know if the people surveyed, especially those in the younger group, have outside financial help (parents, spouses, etc.), it’s clear that even the respondents on limited budgets are making room for smartphone ownership.

But what researchers found most interesting is that although the younger set deems the devices a necessity, older people consider them more of a luxury — which is valuable information for developers, publishers and advertisers.

[TechCrunch]

Paul Morigi, Getty Images

State lawmakers in Indiana were recently presented with a resolution to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts organization and honor the positive influence the group has had on American women. Representative Bob Morris, a Republican from Fort Wayne, was the only representative to refuse to sign, citing a belief that the Girl Scouts is a “radicalized organization.”

The Indiana lawmaker sent a letter to his colleagues saying he plans to pull his daughters from their Girl Scout troop after he found information online claiming that the group “sexualizes” girls and promotes homosexuality. One source he cited was a conservative “news” website called World Net Daily.

In his letter, he claimed to have found allegations that the Girl Scouts are actually a tactical arm of Planned Parenthood that encourages the girls to have sex. He continued to say that the people who the Girl Scouts consider to be role models are all “feminists, lesbians, or Communists.”

He also mentioned an allegation that the organization allows transgender females to join. This misstatement of the facts was most likely based on a situation that arose last fall when a transgender male child was refused membership in a Colorado troop, but then allowed to join by the national organization, which encourages inclusiveness.

The scouts have received criticism for this inclusiveness and many groups and websites have been working very hard to “expose” them. Diane Tipton, president of the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital said in response, “Misinformation is passing as fact. The Girl Scout organization does not take a position on abortion or birth control, and these topics are not part of the Girl Scout program or our materials. We believe these matters are best discussed by girls with their families.”

At this time, the Girl Scouts are not planning any changes in policy, but they have released a statement explaining where they stand on sensitive issues.

[via Huffington Post]

Justin Sullivan, Getty Images

Over the last few months, there has been some data that suggests the sluggish economy could be improving. Mainly, the unemployment rate, which has dropped to 8.3 percent after reaching a 26-year high of 10 percent in late 2009. However, according to a new survey from Poll Postion, the public is split on whether America is entering into a period of economic recovery.

Thirty-eight percent of the 1,242 registered voters polled said the economy is improving while another 38 percent said it was still deteriorating. Twenty-two percent believe the economy is staying the same.

What political party the respondent belongs to seemed to have a big influence on their economic views. Sixty-eight percent of democrats believe the economy is getting better, whereas 53 percent of republicans think it continues to get worse. Political independents surveyed tended to agree with the republicans.

[Poll Position]

Universal Pictures

The Denzel Washington/Ryan Reynolds thriller ‘Safe House’ kept movie-goers on the edge of their seats this holiday weekend, earning $28.4 million to land at the top of the charts in its second week of release.

‘The Vow’ took in $26.6 million for the runner-up spot, barely squeaking past ‘Journey 2: The Mysterious Island,’ which sold $26.4 million in tickets for third.

Rounding out the top five? Nicolas Cage’s ‘Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance’ and the Reese Witherspoon rom-com ‘This Means War,’ which netted $25.7 million and $20.4 million, respectively.

Here’s a list of the top 10 movies at the box office Friday through Monday with estimated grosses, along with how much each movie has made since its release:

1. ‘Safe House’ – $28.4 million, $82.6 million total
2. ‘The Vow’ – $26.6 million, $88.5 million total
3. ‘Journey 2: The Mysterious Island’ – $26.4 million, $59.5 million total
4. ‘Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance’ – $25.7 million, new release
5. ‘This Means War’ – $20.4 million, $22 million total
6. ‘Star Wars: Episode I – Phantom Menace’ – $10.1 million, $36 million total
7. ‘Chronicle’ – $9.2 million, $52.6 million total
8. ‘The Secret World Of Arrietty’ – $8.1 million, new release
9. ‘The Woman in Black’ – $7.9 million, $46.5 million total
10. ‘The Grey’ – $3.7 million, $48.6 million total

[Box Office Mojo]

Taco Bell

Food lovers, rejoice! Taco Bell’s ever-popular fourth meal has a highly anticipated upgrade coming out March 8 involving the unholy union of their tasty tacos and a delicious Doritos shell. They’re calling this culinary masterpiece ‘Doritos Locos.’

Taco Bell CEO Greg Creed has high hopes and an optimistic outlook for this new menu item, saying, “This will be the biggest new-product launch Taco Bell has ever had.” Frankly, we’re just as pumped.

But do you may remember last year’s lawsuit with Taco Bell involving the quality of their meat and that strange filler-substance that it is allegedly made of. Well, that led to a 2-percent loss in same-store sales causing Taco Bell to take some drastic measures in improving their image. So, it looks like Doritos might be its savior.

Doritos Locos tacos will hit stores on March 8th and the world is more than ready to give them a try. On the list of things that Americans love, junk food and fast food are ranked pretty high, so it is hard to imagine Doritos Locos failing.

[via Tucson Citizen]

Source: TheFW.com

This First Alert Home Security System from Kenco Security and Technology is custom designed for your home and includes equipment, installation and one year of monitoring service.

Registering is easy, just click the “Enter Now” button at the bottom of this page to get entered!

The 2012 Spring Home Improvement Show will be held at the Montana Pavilion and The EXPO Center on Friday, March 2 – Sunday, March 4. The show will include over 650 exhibits, Over 100,000 square feet of indoor exhibits and additional outdoor exhibits.

Show Times:
Fri. 3/2 – Noon to 9:00pm
Sat. 3/3 – 9:00am – 6:00pm
Sun. 3/4 – 10:00am – 5:00pm

Be sure to check out these special features at this year’s show:

• Two High-Def Home Theater Rooms
• The Best Buy Game Room
• 13 food vendors
• The Kids Garden Area by Billings Hardware
• Free color-matched snow cones
• BBQ Demos
• Cooking Demos
• 12 national touring infomercial displays
• 5 constructed modular homes

Admission and parking is FREE! Be sure to check out the 2012 Spring Home Improvement Show.

Hey VIP Members!

We’re giving you a special chance to win a $3000 Outdoor Pondless Water feature from Horizon Landscaping and Sprinklers!  Click here to enter this VIP exclusive registration!

Joe Raedle, Getty Images

If you filed your taxes electronically, you may be wondering where your refund is. And, if you visited the IRS website’s “Where’s my refund?” page, you may have been given an error message that says the IRS has no information about your return.

Recently, people who have visited the IRS site to use the “Where’s my refund?” tool have been getting the message that the IRS knows nothing about their already filed return. The IRS now has a message on its site that says it is only a glitch that should be fixed in a few days.

The glitch was caused by a new e-filing system that was designed to prevent refund fraud. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first problem the “Where’s my refund?” tool has had. Early in tax season, it was telling taxpayers they would receive their checks a week earlier than they were actually receiving them.

Despite the glitches, the tool is an important one. More and more, thieves are stealing identities and using software like Turbo Tax to get other people’s refunds. Not only is it important to stop the thieves, the IRS wants to make sure American’s are getting their refunds because nearly half of all taxpayers say they use the money to buy food and pay bills.

[via Huffington Post]

Infrogmation, Flickr

The king cake is a traditional Mardi Gras food. It is usually a ring-shaped pastry, sometimes filled with cheese or jelly and sprinkled with the colors of Mardi Gras. It began as an Epiphany treat, celebrating the arrival of the Three Wise Men to the stable where Jesus was born. Oh, and it’s delicious.

The king cake tradition was brought to New Orleans by French and Spanish settlers who associated it with the Mardi Gras carnival. A dessert synonymous with celebrations definitely belonged with Mardi Gras and has been shared during the festive season ever since.

The secret of the king cake is that there is always a small trinket, often a plastic baby representing the Baby Jesus, baked inside that one lucky eater is bound to bite into. Of course, the lucky person who gets the baby in the cake gets special privileges, but is also usually responsible for bringing the next cake.

To get into the spirit of the impending Mardi Gras celebration, and to make your mouth water a bit, here are some delicious looking king cakes we found.

The Drizzled King Cake

niseag03, Flickr

The Beaded King Cake

all of olive, Flickr

The Discus King Cake

syvwlc, Flickr

The Mickey Mouse King Cake

Loren Javier, Flickr

The Go Big or Go Home King Cake

Aldon, Flickr

The King Cupcake

kristen_a (Meringue Bake Shop), Flickr

Double King Cake All the Way

HorizonsSC, Flickr

The Doing It Wrong King Cake

lesteph, Flickr

The Baby in the King Cake

mikebdoss, Flickr

The Eaten King Cake

mikebdoss, Flickr

An Amazing Rap About King Cakes

Want to Make One? Here’s How

Source: TheFW.com

Thinkstock

The U.S. suicide rate is the highest in 15 years, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The report found the suicide rate has been on the rise since 2000, and hit its highest point in 2009.

Between 2008 and 2009, the suicide rate jumped to 2.4 percent, with 36,909 suicide deaths reported in the United States. About 13 percent of people who committed suicide did so because of financial or employment problems.

There was a 14 percent increase in call volume at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, between 2010 and 2011, thus making mental experts place a stronger focus on job placement and financial services to lower the mental suffering that can lead to an increased number of suicides.

The recent increase in suicide, whether heightened by economic strain or other social triggers, signifies the need for education and training on understanding and preventing suicide,” Dr. Lisa Firestone, Director of Research and Education at the Glendon Association and Violence and Suicide Prevention Alliance, said in a statement.

“The suicidal state is both preventable and treatable. Services and education have been proven to save lives. Armed with the right tools to identify the warning signs and implement helper tasks, we can fight this crisis,” she added.

Nearly 8.3 million adults between 2008 and 2009 reported having serious thoughts of suicide in the past year, the CDC reported. Almost 2.2 million adults reported making suicide plans in 2011, and more than 1 million adults said they attempted suicide in the past year.

Researchers have also found that many people prone to suicidal thoughts have not received the proper treatment. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 20 percent of American adults suffered from mental illness in 2010, however, only 39.2 percent of that group admitted to receiving treatment.

Source: TheCheckup.com

Getty Images

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld is coming back to Montana for what may be the only show in the Treasure State of his 2012 tour.

According to the Independent Record, Seinfeld is scheduled to perform at 7 p.m. Friday, May 18, at the Helena Civic Center. Tickets are $62 to $78 and go on sale March 23.

Ranked as one of the 12 greatest stand-up comedians of all time by Comedy Central, he’s most famous for playing a somewhat fictionalized version of himself on the acclaimed and popular sitcom “Seinfeld” from 1989 to 1998. Seinfeld won numerous awards for his work on the show, including an Emmy for best comedy series, a best comedic actor Golden Globe, as well as several ensemble Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Seinfeld performed in Helena in November 2005.

Jim McIsaac, Getty Images

Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter, nicknamed ‘The Kid’ for the enthusiastic manner in which he played baseball, died Thursday. Carter was 57. He had been diagnosed with malignant brain tumors in May of last year. In his 19-year major league career with the Expos, Mets, Giants and Dodgers, Gary Carter had 324 home runs, 2,092 hits, three Gold Gloves and was an 11-time all-star.

Here are five of the greatest moments of Gary Carter’s career:

Rally Starter

With the Mets down two runs to the Red Sox in Game 6 of the1986 World Series, Carter’s two-out single in the bottom-of-the-10th inning started the rally that culminated when Mookie Wilson’s ground ball through Bill Buckner’s legs plated the winning run. The Mets won the World Series in Game 7. You can see Carter’s clutch hit at 0:33 of this clip.

All-Star Game Homers

Carter was named MVP of the MLB All-Star game in both 1981 and 1984. Carter hit two home runs in the 1981 game at Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium. In 1984, Carter’s home run at Candlestick Park in San Francisco gave the National League a 2-1 lead that it never relinquished. Here’s his second home run in the 1981 game.

Walk-Off Single

In Game 5 of the incredibly exciting 1986 National League Championship Series against the Astros, Carter singled to score Wally Backman in the 12th-inning, giving the Mets a 2-1 win.

ESPN New York

Welcome to New York

In his first game as a member of the Mets on April 9, 1985, Carter hit a walk-off home run off Neil Allen of the Cardinals in the bottom of the 10th inning to give New York a 6–5 victory on Opening Day.

Last Hit

Carter returned to the Expos for the 1992 season. In what turned out to be Carter’s final at-bat, he ripped a double to score Larry Walker with the game’s only run in the Expos’ 1-0 victory over the Cubs.

DoctorWho, Flickr

After Hurricane Katrina devastated the Atlantic Coast in 2005, New Orleans, and the region as a whole, gained more prominence in the national and international news, and rightly so.

Although the folks living there have been through a great deal recently, their spirit still shines through. Nowhere is that more evident than in the riotous party known as Mardi Gras.

The origins of Mardi Gras stretch way back into time, thousands of year before the advent of Christianity. It was a wild festival in honor of fertility and the arrival of spring. As Christian emperors began to rule in Rome, the celebrations were integrated into the new faith. ‘Carnival’ became one last crazy party before the austerities of Lent, when people had to give up some, if not all, of the vices they so cherished.

The French were the first European settlers of New Orleans. They brought with them the tradition of carnival, and held Mardi Gras on the North American continent as early as 1699. When the Spanish took over the region later, they promptly outlawed the parties. The festivities were only reinstated after Louisiana was acquired by the United States in 1812.

Many of the costumes and ideas of Mardi Gras come from traditional Catholic carnivals celebrated all over the world, plus a few innovations unique to New Orleans. The krewes, or organizations that host balls and parades as part of the celebrations, were first created in the American South — Southern culture at its finest. The music, marching bands, beads, King Cake and colorful floats evolved over time, making Mardi Gras the grand party that it is today.

[History]

Source: TheFW.com