Meddling

It would’ve worked, too, if it weren’t for those meddling kids!

There are 617 posts filed in Meddling (this is page 44 of 62).

Quake “foreshock” quote censored by Washington Post?

This Washington Post story ran yesterday with this quote from USGS Director Marcia McNutt (according to the International Business Times):

Minutes after the quake, the director of the USGS, Marcia McNutt — who watched objects falling from the shelves in her office — cautioned that the shaking might not be over.

“What the concern is, of course, is that this is a foreshock. If it’s a foreshock, then the worst is yet to come,” McNutt told The Washington Post.

Curiously, today the Post’s version of the article has removed that quote and substituted a much more mundane one:

Minutes after the quake, Marcia McNutt, USGS director — who watched objects falling from the shelves in her office — concerned about aftershocks, cautioned that the shaking might not be over.

“When something like this happens, remember what to do in the case of a seismic event. Duck, get under something sturdy like a desk or a doorway, get away from falling glass. Make sure that you are not in the way of falling objects like pictures, bookshelves, books, anything that’s not firmly connected the wall.”

The Post has provided no explanation for the change in the quote.

via Virginia Earthquake 2011: USGS Warns it May be a Foreshock – International Business Times.

LinkedIn responds to social media privacy concerns

I got an email from Hani Durzy, LinkedIn’s Director of Communications, alerting me to a LinkedIn blog post by LinkedIn’s Ryan Roslansky, clarifying LinkedIn’s use of social media advertising. Hani said:

Heads up that we just published a blog post on the issue around social ads that has come up over the last few days. In it, we clarify a few inaccuracies that we’ve seen in some of the recent media coverage, and detail a change we are making to part of our social ad offering — specifically, the use of individual names and images associated with certain actions in ads served to their networks.

http://blog.linkedin.com/2011/08/11/social-ads-update/

The description of this feature on LinkedIn’s account settings page (and referenced above) remains pretty vague, leaving open its interpretation. After reading Ryan’s post I feel much more comfortable with LinkedIn’s approach. I would hope LinkedIn would better describe its intentions on the settings page, too.

Also, kudos to LinkedIn’s PR department for its swift and proper reaction to the backlash. Well done.

LinkedIn quietly sells your info

A new “option” appeared in the accounts of LinkedIn users, providing LinkedIn permission to sell their users’ names and photos in “social media” advertising without asking its users about it first.

Here’s what the option says:

LinkedIn may sometimes pair an advertiser’s message with social content from LinkedIn’s network in order to make the ad more relevant. When LinkedIn members recommend people and services, follow companies, or take other actions, their name/photo may show up in related ads shown to you. Conversely, when you take these actions on LinkedIn, your name/photo may show up in related ads shown to LinkedIn members. By providing social context, we make it easy for our members to learn about products and services that the LinkedIn network is interacting with.
Continue reading →

Wrong transaction from your credit card in Sheraton Bal Harbour Beach Resort

Oh nooooooes!

Hey …. wait a minute! I’m pretty sure I was at home on July 26th. Could this be …. perhaps …. a scam?

From: “Reservation Departament”
To: Mark Turner
Subject: Wrong transaction from your credit card in Sheraton Bal Harbour Beach Resort
Date: Wed, 03 Aug 2011 20:00:33 -0700

Dear Guest!

Transaction: Visa 925136_F2
On July 26th, 2011 Hotel made wrong transaction debiting from your credit card for an overall amount of $1887.
For noncompliance of the service contract this Hotel was divested accreditation in Moverick Company.
For the return of funds please contact your bank and fill information in the attached form. Continue reading →

Piling on the sugar

One of my pet peeves is the habit food companies have of piling on the sweeteners. Some take the position that anything they sell can be made better with a double-dose of high fructose corn syrup. What results is a society with an obesity epidemic.

It doesn’t have to be that way, though. Take yogurt, for example. We’ve long been looking to buy a brand with less sweetener added. What we’ve found is it’s harder than you think.

You’d think that by buying brand-name food, or food that touts its health benefits most prominently, you’d be picking the healthiest, right? Wrong. Let’s take a look at three different yogurt brands in our refrigerator right now:
Continue reading →

Chris Tedesco arrested for rape

Chris Tedesco


Chris Tedesco of Garner was arrested Saturday on charges of second-degree rape, among other very serious charges:

  • KIDNAPPING 1ST DEGREE 14-39
  • SEX OFFENSE 2ND DEGREE 14-27.5 A
  • RAPE 2ND DEGREE 14-27.3 A
  • BREAKING AND ENTERING 14-54 (F)
  • ASSAULT W/DEADLY WEAPON 14-33

Chris Tedesco is the younger brother of Wake School Board member John Tedesco.

I don’t know what got into this guy but judging by the charges it looks like he’s got some serious anger-management issues. I hope the victim is okay.

‘Pilots could have saved’ Air France plane

A new report on the Air France 447 crash confirms that the pilots did not take proper action to recover from a stall, pointing the nose up when instead they should’ve pointed it down. Even beginner pilots know how to recover from stalls.

Again, there’s still no clear idea why the pilots didn’t follow this simple procedure.

The pilots of an Air France plane that crashed into the Atlantic in 2009 ignored repeated stall warnings and failed to follow textbook procedures, French investigators have found.

The updated account confirmed an earlier finding which said the crew responded to stall warnings by pointing the nose up instead of down.

“It seems obvious the crew didn’t recognise the situation they were in, for whatever reason, and more training could have helped,” said Paul Hayes, safety director at UK consultancy Ascend Aviation.

An aerodynamic stall — not to be confused with stalled engines — is a dangerous condition that occurs when wings are unable to support the aircraft. The textbook way of responding is to point the nose downwards to capture air at a better angle.

via ‘Pilots could have saved’ Air France plane – Europe – Al Jazeera English.

Universal Survey – 646-467-6665

I got a hang-up voicemail call today from 646-467-6665, a number apparently associated with a company known as Universal Survey. According to the comments at 800notes.com, the company can be rude to the people it calls.

I don’t know whether that’s true or not, but any reputable survey company would scrub its call lists against the national do-not-call registry before calling any number. Our phone numbers have been listed on the Do Not Call list for years now. Therefore, I made decide to tee this company up as my first defendant in small claims court for violating North Carolina’s Do Not Call law.

Michelle Young jury deadlocked

It looks like the jury in the Michelle Young murder case is stuck. I saw the Tweets on a note the jury passed to the judge and figured the jury has not been able to reach a verdict.

I thought at first that Jason Young was probably guilty. After seeing the route that Jason Young was supposed to have traveled between Raleigh and central Virginia were he were the murderer and the lack of any blood evidence in his vehicle, I have a difficult time believing he did the deed. Could he have done it? Maybe, but it seems unlikely he could’ve pulled it off.

But who killed Michelle Young? I’m not sure. I don’t know who else other than Jason Young might have had the anger to do this. But Jason Young can’t be in two places at once (or time travel). So I’m not surprised that the jury is hung.

I feel for the family of all involved, especially little Cassidy who has lost her mother.

The jury foreman in the first-degree murder trial of Jason Young sent a note to the judge Monday morning, telling him that the jury is "immovably hung."

But Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens instructed jurors to return to the jury room to continue deliberating.

“I want you to continue to deliberate, and if you find yourself unable to resolve the matter unanimously, then you will advise me,” Stephens said.

Jurors spent about two hours Monday morning before sending the note to Stephens.

via Jury ‘immovably hung’ in Jason Young murder trial :: WRAL.com.

Scam email: Federal Tax payment canceled

Got another scam email, this time purporting to be from the IRS. There’s a handy executable file which will not provide you the details but instead infect your computer with a virus. Beware!

Received: from 66.141.broadband10.iol.cz (66.141.broadband10.iol.cz [90.177.141.66])
by eddy.neusemedia.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id 319388AE824
for ; Wed, 22 Jun 2011 08:05:45 -0400 (EDT)
Received: from [130.104.251.35] (account practisingfu@travidia.com HELO lhisllbqq.epevnviqxbl.va)
by 66.141.broadband10.iol.cz (CommuniGate Pro SMTP 5.2.3)
with ESMTPA id 072829134 for me; Wed, 22 Jun 2011 23:05:47 +1100
Date: Wed, 22 Jun 2011 23:05:47 +1100
From: Eloy_Todd@irs.gov
X-Mailer: The Bat! (v2.10.01) Educational
X-Priority: 3 (Normal)
Message-ID: 9846395078.17E5RC9W861799@mvnus.ertqklybgfajqyk.info
To: Mark Turner
Subject: Federal Tax payment canceled

Internal Revenue Service United States Department of the Treasury

Your Tax payment (ID: 40459362352125), recently initiated from your bank account was returned by the The Electronic Federal Tax Payment System.

Rejected Tax transfer
Tax Transaction ID: 40459362352125
Return Reason See details in the report below
FederalTax Transaction Report tax_report_40459362352125.pdf.exe (self-extracting archive, Adobe PDF)

Internal Revenue Service, Metro Plex 1, 8401 Corporate Drive, Suite 300, Landover, MD 20785