Current Events in November 2014

It's sort of like a cookie exchange -- the way children get passed around by their divorced parents during the holidays. It can be hard especially if it's the first year that you are doing this exercise. Here are a few guidelines that can help everyone out with this troublesome ritual.

Create some new traditions. Perhaps it's a new approach to gift-giving or maybe visiting friends, attending a play or concert, volunteering at a soup kitchen, or enjoying a special meal prepared by all of you. Hold onto traditions and activities from the past that worked for you and your kids.The aim is to help your kids bookmark memories of your time together.

Be prepared emotionally. It's not easy not being without your kids on Christmas Eve if they have to be with the other parent. But you don't want to make them feel bad or worry about you. So prepare ahead of time for yourself so that they know you are OK. Make plans with a friend or your family to be with people who can support you and will help you create your own new traditions.

Attitude is everything. Get in a positive mode. Remember that spending time with your kids doing enjoyable activities is the best part of this busy season. Bake cookies together. If you are apart on Thanksgiving do Thanksgiving another day at your house so they can help cook and participate. It's only a day on the calendar.

Validate your kids' feelings. This might be very hard for them, having to be trekked around to two different families. Let them know you understand. Don't throw out any guilt about being away from you. This was not their doing. You and your spouse need to keep it between the two of you.

Don't ask, don't tell. Don't interrogate them with what is happening at the other parent's home. No questions about the new boyfriend or girlfriend. Do not put them through the 20 questions. You ask about them and their time if you want to know. Keep your thoughts of exorcism to yourself.

Laugh. There is nothing like a good laugh to change a mood. Try to keep it light. Do things you enjoy like listening to music or working on a puzzle together. Just be together and value the time that you have -- there is no better time than the present. Stay there. It might be hard but it's the greatest gift you can give to yourself and your family.

Too much fat is bad for your but some fat is better than others. Take walnuts. Researchers at UC Davis have found that diets rich in whole walnuts or walnut oil slowed prostate cancer growth in mice.

Walnuts also reduced cholesterol and increased insulin sensitivity, as well as reducing levels of the hormone IGF-1, which had been previously implicated in both prostate and breast cancer. The study was published online in the Journal of Medicinal Food.

“For years, the United States government has been on a crusade against fat, and I think it’s been to our detriment,” said lead scientist and research nutritionist Paul Davis. “Walnuts are a perfect example. While they are high in fat, their fat does not drive prostate cancer growth. In fact, walnuts do just the opposite when fed to mice.”

Davis and colleagues have been investigating the impact of walnuts on health for some time. A previous study found that walnuts reduced prostate tumor size in mice; however, there were questions about which parts of the nuts generated these benefits.

Was it the meat, the oil or the omega-3 fatty acids? If it was the omega-3 fats, the benefit might not be unique to walnuts. Since the fatty acid profile for the soybean oil used as a control was similar, but not identical, to walnuts, more work had to be done.

Results replicated

In the current study, researchers used a mixture of fats with virtually the same fatty acid content as walnuts as their control diet. The mice were fed whole walnuts, walnut oil or the walnut-like fat for 18 weeks. The results replicated those from the previous study. While the walnuts and walnut oil reduced cholesterol and slowed prostate cancer growth, in contrast, the walnut-like fat did not have these effects, confirming that other nut components caused the improvements – not the omega-3s.

“We showed that it’s not the omega-3s by themselves, though, it could be a combination of the omega-3s with whatever else is in the walnut oil,” Davis said. “It’s becoming increasingly clear in nutrition that it’s never going to be just one thing; it’s always a combination.”

While the study does not pinpoint which combination of compounds in walnuts slows cancer growth, it did rule out fiber, zinc, magnesium and selenium. In addition, the research demonstrated that walnuts modulate several mechanisms associated with cancer growth.

“The energy effects from decreasing IGF-1 seem to muck up the works so the cancer can’t grow as fast as it normally would,” Davis said. “Also, reducing cholesterol means cancer cells may not get enough of it to allow these cells to grow quickly.”

Still, Davis recommends caution in diet modification.

“In our study the mice were eating the equivalent of 2.6 ounces of walnuts,” he said. “You need to realize that 2.6 ounces of walnuts is about 482 calories. That’s not insignificant, but it’s better than eating a serving of supersized fries, which has 610 calories. In addition to the cancer benefit, we think you also get cardiovascular benefits that other walnut research has demonstrated.

“It’s the holiday season, and walnuts are part of any number of holiday dishes. Feel free to consume them in moderation.”

Lundberg Family Farms is recalling specific bags of Brown Rice Flour.

The products have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

No serious illnesses have been reported to date from the consumption of the product.

The recalled Eco-Farmed Brown Rice Flour (UPC# 0 73416 00550 1) and Organic Brown Rice Flour (UPC # 073416 00500 6) were distributed in retail store bulk bins, and 25-lb bulk bags, between November 4 and November 12, 2014- in California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Arizona, Nevada, and by mail order.

The affected 25-lb bulk bags contain the lot numbers 141027, 141028, 141029, 141030 located on the bottom seam of the bag.

Distributors and retailers have been notified and requested to discard the affected products in stock.

Customers who have purchased the recalled product should discard it and contact the place of purchase for a refund.

Consumers may call the firm's customer service representatives at 530-538-3555 Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT, or by email at recall@lundberg.com.

Great American Appetizers of Nampa, Idaho, is recalling 662 cases of HyVee Mozzarella Cheese Sticks.

The product may contain soy flour, yellow #5 and yellow #6, allergens not listed on the label.

No illnesses have been reported to date.

The HyVee Mozzarella Sticks were distributed to retailers in Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

The recalled product is in an 8-oz. (227 g) carton (UPC #075450149913). The following product date codes are printed on the end of the carton: 14290402 (BEST IF USED BY 4/17/2016) and 14295402 (BEST IF USED BY 4/22/2016).

No other date codes are affected by this recall.

Consumers who have purchased HyVee Mozzarella Cheese Sticks may return them to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Consumers with questions may contact the company at 1-800-282-4834 from 8AM – 5PM Mountain Time, or by email at KalaT@appetizer.com.

The ongoing series of recalls involving cars equipped with Takata airbags simply underscores the importance of recalls when you buy a used car. If the vehicle in question has been subject to a safety recall, you need to make sure the issue has been addressed.

The Takata recalls are particularly serious. Honda has widened its recall of cars equipped with Takata airbags by another 170,000 vehicles after learning that a Malaysian consumer died in July after being hit by shrapnel from a deployed airbag. Four previous confirmed deaths occurred in the U.S.

So far this year more than 52 million vehicles have been recalled in the U.S., increasing the odds a U.S. consumer could drive home with a car with a serious safety issue. Used car website iSeeCars.com has studied the 35 most widely available used cars from the 2007 to 2013 model years to see which ones had the most recalls.

Time is money

The survey looked at the average number of recalls a particular model experienced and how much time a vehicle owner had to spend getting the problem fixed.

“Recalls are of course detrimental to the safety of the driver and the car's occupants, but they also represent a huge headache for consumers," said iSeeCars.com CEO Phong Ly. "You need to call to make an appointment with the dealer, then there's the driving to the dealership, waiting in line and waiting for the repair to be performed or for them to provide you a loaner car. Then you repeat the process again in reverse when the repair is complete."

At an estimated average of three hours per recall, the lost hours quickly add up. The iSeeCars.com survey found the Chevrolet Cruz had the most average recalls, at 4.8, barely edging out the Toyota RAV4 with 4.7. The Cruz recalls were also the most costly in terms of time lost, at 14.4 hours, compared the the RAV4's 14.0.

Number three on the list is the Jeep Grand Cherokee with 4.4 recalls and 13.2 lost hours. The Dodge/Ram 1500 is fourth with 4.3 recalls and 12.9 lost hours and the Jeep Wrangler is fifth, with 4.2 recalls and 12.6 hours lost. That gives Chrysler the dubious distinction of placing 3 models in the top 5 of iSeeCars.com's most-recalled list.

What to do

Ly points out the list covers a wide time span and the cars high on the list might not have had a recall in the model year you're considering. But there's an easy way to find out if any used car you are thinking about buying has not only been recalled, but had the recall issue addressed.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website has a searchable database where you can enter the car's Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) and it will tell you if there is an open recall. If there is, and you still want the vehicle, you can then have the dealer get the issue repaired before you buy the car.

The NHTSA database has proven somewhat unreliable, often crashing during times of peak usage. A similar but more robust database is available on the Carfax site. Each manufacturer also has its own VIN database.

It is particularly important to run the VIN through the database if you are buying a car in a private sale, such as a car you found on Craigslist.

Beyond whether the recall issue has been addressed, Ly says the frequency a model is subject to recall is a legitimate consideration when a consumer goes used car shopping.

The Wall Street Journal today lifts the lid on a hitherto-secret government program that uses airborne devices to collect, analyze and track millions of cellphone calls, searching for criminals, fugitives and terrorists.

The devices -- called "dirtbags" -- are mounted in small Cessna aircraft and are essentially flying cell towers. Cell phones are "pinged," identify themselves and log onto the device; those of interest to the U.S. Marshals Service are then tracked while others are disconnected.

The Journal says it learned of the program through individuals who are closely associated with it but did not identify any of them. It compares the program to the National Security Administration's (NSA) massive surveillance of landline telephones and Internet traffic.

The airborne interception program became operational in 2007 and operates at regular intervals from bases around the country, the newspaper said. The Justice Department would not confirm or deny the existence of the surveillance program.

The device can cause brief interruptions of calls when it identifies itself to nearby cell phones and connects to them. The sources quoted by the newspaper said the devices are designed to minimize such interruptions, especially 911 calls.

A major advantage of the device is that it eliminates the necessity of interacting with cell phone carriers to identify and track calls, since the dirtbag device connects directly to wireless phones within range, cutting out the phone company.

A spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union called the program "inexcusable."

The Journal's complete story is available online. 

You sort of have to feel bad for Cadillac. Its cars get top marks from reviewers and as luxury brands go, most models are a bargain, selling for tens of thousands of dollars less than comparable European or Japanese brands.

But somehow, the Caddies just don't have that certain, oh you know, je ne sais quoi -- snob appeal, for lack of a better term. A midtown Manhattanite might say they're something that would appeal to the "bridge and tunnel crowd." You know, those people. 

They don't sell all that well either. Sales have been off 5% through October at 141,000 vehicles, which puts Caddy in fifth place behind luxury competitors Mercedes, BMW, Lexus and Audi.

So, what's a simple Midwestern automaker to do? How can a comparative brute from Detroit possibly get it together sufficiently to appeal to the oh-so-svelte Manhattan hipster crowd? (Actually, the hipsters aren't exactly svelte. Plus they're mostly in Brooklyn and Hoboken but that's another story.)

Why, move to New York City, of course. After all, it you can make it there you'll make it anywhere, we're told. 

Never sleeps

So GM is helping Cadillac pack up and get ready to move to its exciting new digs in the City That Never Sleeps. It'll be at 330 Hudson St., it was reported today, in the neighborhood known as Midtown South. Neighbors in the building include Penguin Books and TripAdvisor, so maybe they'll take the gawky Midwesterner under their wing and knock some of the hayseeds off.

Seriously, though, GM insists it really thinks that putting its division headquarters -- meaning, mostly, its marketing and sales people -- in NYC will help it move up a notch or two and start hanging out with a better class of customer.

“There is no better atmosphere in which to better immerse ourselves into luxury consumer and brand expertise,” Johan de Nysschen, Cadillac president, said in a statement, according to Automotive News. “We look forward to being a good neighbour there,” the statement added, using British spelling for some reason. See, getting sophisticated already.

GM CEO Mary Barra has defended the move, saying she wants her team "thinking about Cadillac day in and day out.” And where better to think about Cadillac than in a town where most people don't even drive themselves around, jumping instead onto the subway and into filthy cabs or overworked Lincoln Town Cars?

“New York is where luxury is defined. It’s trend-setting. It’s much broader than the auto industry in terms of setting trends in luxury,” she said.

Well, OK. Hey, here's a suggestion from a former Noo Yawka: Tone down that emblem a little. I mean, Jeez ... whatya tryna say, anyhow?

Research continues to shed new light on childhood obesity, its consequences, and how best to prevent it. The latest findings underscore the importance of parental influence.

For example, pediatrics researchers at the University at Buffalo (UB) have made this correlation: preschoolers whose parents have rules about what they can and cannot eat don't seem to have a problem with obesity.

“Parents can make a difference here by training young children to self-regulate and also by setting food rules in the home,” says Xiaozhong Wen, senior author on the research. “We found that the combination of parental rules and young children’s ability to self-regulate their behaviors works best in teaching young children to eat healthy.”

The ability to self-regulate appears to be the wild card here. The researchers noticed that some children whose parents did not enforce strict food rules still managed to have healthy weights. The researchers noticed that these kids also seemed to be better able to control their emotions, which they say may be a controlling factor in food consumption.

Hard to change after fifth grade

It's important for preschoolers to maintain a healthy weight because researchers in Boston have found that if they are overweight or obese by fifth grade they have a high risk of becoming or remaining obese in their teen years.

The collaborative study by several universities highlights several risk factors, including too much screen time, having a parent who is obese, living in a lower education household and having a negative body image.

"We know from prior studies that obesity in children is correlated with their likelihood of being obese when they are older," said study lead author Dr. Mark Schuster, chief of General Pediatrics at Boston Children's Hospital and a Harvard professor. "But the pattern of change over time, of entry to and exit from obesity, hasn't generally been studied."

Overcoming the odds

While it is important to intervene with young children before they become overweight, Schuster says it is also important not to give up on kids who have become obese by fifth grade or later. While the odds may be against them, several interventions can help these kids.

"We as clinicians need to do more to educate families and encourage them to have healthier foods at home and especially when they eat outside the home,” Schuster said. “We also need to encourage them to increase exercise and reduce screen time."

Schools can play a role as well, such as improving school meals, removing sugar sweetened beverages and strengthening or restoring physical education programs. While there is hope, the present numbers are not encouraging.

The researchers found 65% of obese fifth-graders remained obese in tenth grade; 23% were no longer obese but were still overweight. Only 12% became normal weight.

On the other side of the coin, 87% of the children who were normal weight in fifth grade were still normal weight in 10th grade.

Helping or hurting?

Previous studies have suggested teens who are obese are almost certain to be obese as adults, leading to serious health problems, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Besides the health consequences, many of these adults spend millions of dollars on weight loss programs, drugs and even surgery.

A study by researchers at 3 universities suggests some of these obesity remedies are actually contributing to the problem.

"Weight management remedies that promise to reduce the risks of being overweight may undermine consumer motivation to engage in health-supportive behaviors," write authors Lisa E. Bolton of Penn State, Amit Bhattacharjee of Dartmouth, and Americus Reed, II of Penn. "Put simply, why put effort into living a healthy lifestyle when a weight management remedy can take care of the problem?"

The study warned that the very people who need to reduce weight the most and are desperately reaching for weight loss pills are unfortunately the ones most likely to then dangerously increase their consumption of unhealthy foods.

Wondering what to get that certain someone this holiday season? You can't really go wrong with a gift card.

According to a National Retail Federation (NRF) survey taken in October, 62% of of those asked said they would like to receive a gift card, making gift cards the most requested gift item for 8 years running.

A new NRF survey projects spending on gift cards will top all previous records -- $31.74 billion, with the average shopper spending $172.74 on them, compared with $163.16 last year.

“No longer impersonal or only about convenience, gift cards have become the perfect, practical gift item for millions of holiday shoppers,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. “And, as the most requested gift item for 8 years in a row, we’re sure there will be plenty of happy individuals this holiday season who can look forward to treating themselves to something shiny and new come January when retailers start to offer promotions on fresh new merchandise.”

The universal gift

According to the survey, conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, shoppers will spend an average of $47.87 per card, up $2.71 from last year. Total spending on gift cards has increased 83% since NRF began tracking consumers’ intentions to buy gift cards as holiday gifts in 2003.

Gift cards are a go-to gift for consumers of all ages; the survey found adults 65+ will spend the most on gift cards -- an average of $204.59. Young adults between 18-24 years old will spend the least at an average of $113.75. Additionally, men plan to spend significantly more than women on gift cards ($180.81 vs. $165.09 respectively).

When asked why they are planning to buy gift cards this holiday season, more than half (51.8%) of shoppers said that gift cards allow the recipient to select their own gift -- the highest since NRF started asking the question in 2010. Additionally, one-quarter (25.6%) said gift cards are easier and faster to buy, and 3.8% said this helps them stick to their holiday budget.

“These days, shoppers simply love the idea of gifting someone they care about with a little ‘free money’ in the form of a gift card,” said Prosper’s Principal Analyst Pam Goodfellow. “Consumers young and old want to find the best way possible to create a happy holiday experience for their loved ones, and gift cards are a great option every time.”

Plenty of choices

There are numerous options for shoppers when it comes to what type of card to get, and it is clear department stores, restaurants and coffee shops are among the most popular choice for gift givers.

According to the survey 37.7% of gift card buyers will give their recipients a gift card from a department store, and 34% will give the gift of a meal at a restaurant. One in five (20.6%) will pick up coffee shop gift cards, 18.1% will give the gift of entertainment, such as a movie theatre gift card, and 18.9% will give gift cards to electronics stores.

I know it's a little early to be pushing Christmas presents, but the retail stores had Christmas items up before Halloween and Black Friday is almost passé. 

Anyway, I have a gift for your favorite feline. It could be one that goes into Saks Fifth Avenue's Christmas catalog simply because of the price. What is it already you are asking?

It's simply a mouse. Now, mice are a dime a dozen -- actually most are free, but this mouse is a robot and it has the option of two different tails. You won't find that on your everyday mouse.

It's called the Mousr from Petronics on Kickstarter and it is a sensor-laden bot built for high-tech cat entertainment. It's a little bot that looks kinda like a mouse it's actually a little rounder than your average street mouse but it can detect your cat's approach from any direction and it reacts just like a real mouse by scurrying away from the cat. It also has sound with it. There is a hidden speaker just to make the chase that much more fun.

The Petronics team behind Mousr is working on developing a full-on AI system for the gadget so it can learn and adapt to your cat's style of play.

What would a robot be if it didn't have a phone -- a bluetooth connection no less? Don't be silly, it won't be calling you or your friends. The phone is one way you can control it by using the app. The other option is you can set it on the floor and let it roam around.

Just like dog people, cat people are happy when they buy their beloved pet a little toy to play with. The only issue is that this toy is a $140 pledge price right now, and that's a lot of catnip running around your apartment. But you would do anything for your beloved, right? Details are on Kickstarter.

Mousr has raised over $41,000 in pledges toward a $100,000 goal so far. That gray field mouse is looking pretty good about now.

Contact lenses are wonderful. No glasses to carry around and the ability to wear the most stylish shades are just a couple of the advantages. But they can also present a serious problem if used improperly.

In a first-of-its-kind study, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates U.S. residents make nearly a million doctor visits for eye infections each year, resulting in $175 million in direct health care costs.

Keratitis, an infection of the cornea, causes pain and inflammation and can lead to blindness in severe cases. Wearing contact lenses is the largest single risk factor for developing the infection.

In-depth analysis

CDC analyzed national databases of outpatient care centers and emergency rooms to develop the first national estimates of how much keratitis occurs in the US. Experts found there were an estimated 930,000 visits to doctor’s offices and outpatient clinics and 58,000 emergency room visits annually due to eye infections. Women were slightly more likely to be affected than men, accounting for 63% of office visits and about 55% of emergency room visits. The condition was spread relatively evenly across age groups. The report was published in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Keratitis occurs when germs invade the cornea, the clear dome that covers the colored part of the eye. The infection is most likely to occur when contact lenses are worn too long or are not cared for correctly. Wearing contact lenses overnight, not cleaning and replacing storage cases frequently and exposing contact lenses to water are some of the key behaviors that increased the risk for keratitis.

“Being able to see well is vitally important to performing everyday activities for most people,” said CDC Medical Epidemiologist Jennifer Cope, M.D., M.P.H. “Contact lenses can provide many benefits, but they are not risk-free -- especially if contact lens wearers take shortcuts and don’t take care of their contact lenses and supplies. Healthy habits mean healthy eyes.”

When patients seek care quickly, most complications of keratitis can be easily treated by an eye doctor. More serious infections can cause pain and lead to vision loss, depending on what germs caused the infection and how long the patient waits to go to the doctor.

What to do

To prevent eye infections, contact lens wearers should:

• Wash hands with soap and water and dry well before touching contact lenses;
• Take contacts out before bed, showering or swimming;
• Rub and rinse contacts in disinfecting solution each time they remove them;
• Rub and rinse the case with contact lens solution, dry with a clean tissue and store upside down with the caps off after each use;
• Replace contact lens cases at least once every three months;
• Do not “top off” solution in lens case; and
• Carry a backup pair of glasses in case contact lenses have to be taken out.

There are people called "debt brokers" who buy and sell portfolios of past-due debts. The purchasers pay pennies on the dollar for the debts and keep whatever they collect.

It's a seamy-sounding business and just to make it a bit seamier, two companies are accused of putting their debt-for-sale portfolios online, posting the sensitive personal information of more than 70,000 consumers on public websites.

The information included consumers’ bank account and credit card numbers, birth dates, contact information, employers’ names, and information about debts the consumers allegedly owed. 

At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, a federal court has now ordered the two debt sellers to notify the consumers whose data they exposed and explain how they can protect themselves against identity theft and other fraud.

No encryption

According to the complaint, the defendants posted their portfolios, in the form of Excel spreadsheets, on the website without encryption, appropriate redaction, or any other protection, meaning any visitor to the website could access and download the spreadsheets, and use the information to exploit consumers.

The website where the information was posted caters to the debt collection industry but was open to public viewing. The FTC alleges that the portfolios have been accessed more than 500 times.

“Debt brokers and collectors who play fast and loose with people’s sensitive personal and financial information are causing tremendous harm,” said Jessica Rich, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Companies must treat sensitive consumer information with appropriate care and security, and the FTC will take action when they fail to do so."

In its complaints, the FTC alleges the disclosures violated the consumers’ privacy, put them at risk of identity theft, and exposed them to “phantom” debt collection, a practice in which unscrupulous debt collectors try to extract payments from consumers when they do not have authority to collect the debts. The FTC noted that the disclosures also publicly branded the consumers as debtors, putting them at risk of other damage, including possible loss of employment or employment opportunities.

The defendants in the two cases include Cornerstone and Company, LLC, of Riverside, Calif., and its owner, Brandon Lambert; and Bayview Solutions, LLC, of St. Petersburg, Fla., and its owner, Aron Tomko.

The FTC’s complaints allege the defendants violated the FTC Act by unfairly exposing consumers’ personal information without their knowledge or consent. The agency is asking the court to stop the defendants from repeating these actions in the future and to require the defendants to provide redress to consumers injured by their actions.

This is the time of year when that little nursery rhyme "Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home" is said more than once.  In fact, ladybugs are probably hanging in your home already. It's getting cold out and they need a place to hibernate. Your house is nice and warm.

Wouldn't you know it -- ladybugs are into the pheromone thing. Ladybugs release pheromones, sort of like "perfume" to attract other ladybugs. Thats why you won't see just one. If you see one you can be sure there are at least 101 that are following it.

Ladybugs use pheromones as a means of communication during mating and hibernation. Insect pheromones are very powerful. They can be detected by others up to a quarter of a mile away. This helps ladybugs find each other and it lets future generations know of a good place to vacation for the winter.

Sure, they look kinda cute with their red and black shell or yellow and black but if you have had them around they are a mess. The chemical "scent" can remain year after year, and not only on the outside of a structure, but also within the walls, where ladybugs tend to hide before taking over your home.

These are not bugs that just go away with a little bug spray. They are tough to get rid of.

According to Tracie Jenkins, a retired entomologist and insect genetics professor at the University of Georgia you can suck them up in your vacuum and release them into the woods. A nylon stocking can be stuffed down the vacuum’s hose and secured to the opening with a rubber band to catch them.

Or you can call an exterminator. That would be my first choice. The vacuum idea would be my last, if I was on a deserted island with the vacuum being the only thing I could bring with me.

Easier than trying to get rid of them is keeping them out to begin with. To do this, secure the fort. Don't leave any cracks open around the doors or windows --everything needs to be sealed up tight and you can get some extermination companies to help you with this. It's called inclusion. It's a little pricey but well worth it.

The bad news is that ladybugs are annoying the good news is they won't bite you or actually do anything to you. They do bleed yellow and it's a pretty raunchy smell. It's what attracts the relatives to come over. But they are more of an annoyance as opposed to an insect that leaves welts all over your body or bores holes in your walls.

Retail sales bounced back in October from September's decline -- the first in 8 months.

The Census Bureau reports sales were up a seasonally adjusted $444.5 billion or 0.3% from the

previous month, and were 4.1% above October the same period a year ago.

Contributing to the advance were sales at Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores (+1.2), food services and drinking places (+0.9%) and health and personal care stores (+0.7%). Auto sales rose 0.5% after falling 1.1% in September.

Keeping a lid on the increase were sales at electronics and appliance stores (-1.6%) and gas stations (-1.5%).

Sterne Agee Chief Economist Lindsey Piegza notes that while the weakness in October was dominated by a few categories, there was insufficient demand elsewhere to compensate. "Consumers continue to spend," she noted, "but at a modest level with no sign of further momentum in sight."

The complete retail sales report for October is available on the Commerce Department website.

Volkswagen Group of America is recalling 393 model year 2015 Volkswagen Jetta and Passat vehicles manufactured September 23, 2014, to October 9, 2014, and equipped with manual front seatback recliners.

The seatback recliner retaining bracket may not engage correctly, resulting in unexpected movement of the seatback. Unexpected movement of the driver's seatback may distract the driver, increasing the risk of a crash.

Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the assembly of the seatback recliner retaining bracket, correcting it as necessary, free of charge. The recall began in October 2014.

Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 72F1.

Challenger Supply Holdings of Fort Worth, Texas, is recalling about 31,200 tankless gas water heaters in the U.S. and Canada.

The water heaters can overheat, posing a fire hazard.

The manufacturer has received 40 reports of the units overheating, including 4 involving burns on the wall where the heater was mounted and 2 involving fires and property damage. No injuries have been reported.

This recall involves all models of single- and dual-purpose Coaire and Quietside brand tankless gas water heaters. The recalled water heaters heat either 4 or 7.2 gallons of water per minute. They are white and come in the following dimension ranges: 25-28 inches tall x 15-19 inches wide x 8-14 inches thick. The words “S-Line Condensing” are on the top front and brand names “Coaire” or “Quietside” are on the bottom front of the recalled water heaters.

The heaters, manufactured in Korea, were sold at independent dealers nationwide and on various websites including Amazon.com from July 2008, through August 2014, for between $500 and $2,000.

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled water heaters and contact Challenger Supply Holdings to arrange for a free repair.

Consumers may contact Challenger Supply Holdings at (800) 729-6118 between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. CT Monday through Friday.

As retailers in recent years have jockeyed for Black Friday dollars, the lines between the traditional kick-off to holiday shopping and any other day have become blurred. So blurred that perhaps Black Friday, the day, has become almost meaningless in the whole scheme of things.

Walmart, the nation's largest retailer, states the obvious when it says Black Friday is not just one day, but a lot of days.

“Black Friday is no longer about waking up at the crack of dawn to stand in long lines and hope for the best. At Walmart, it has become a family shopping tradition where everyone shops at some point throughout the weekend,” said Duncan Mac Naughton, chief merchandising officer at Walmart U.S.

The day itself is still important

Make no mistake, Mac Naughton and everyone else at Walmart is hoping you show up when the doors open Thanksgiving night. They know that Black Friday has become an event in which many consumers want to participate.

But increasingly retailers like Walmart have been spreading out their deals in the days before and after the day itself in an effort to grab market share. Target this week announced a number of deals that will be available through its mobile app from November 23 through 29. Walmart's “new Black Friday” concept is now a nearly week-long promotion, extending through Cyber Monday.

“This year, we’re blowing it out with five days of deals in store and online,” Mac Naughton said. “We’ll have crazy low prices on the gifts our customers want.”

Fight for customers intensifying

Eric Jones of Jones-Dengler Marketing and operator of the BestBlackFriday.com web site, sees Walmart's move asjust another attempt to further increase sales in a market that may be becoming diluted.

“When retailers used to all open up early Friday morning, they had to fight for shoppers,” Jones told ConsumerAffairs. “Now, they're simply opening for longer times, so if a shopper happens to be at a different store at the beginning of the sale, they can still make that same sale later in the night, or even a completely different day.”

Compared to last year Walmart says it has lowered prices on popular Black Friday items. Last year a Vizio 60” Smart TV sold for $688. This year a 65” Vizio Smart TV will be available for $648 as part of Walmart’s 1-Hour Guarantee, meaning consumers in a certain area of the store at a certain hour are guaranteed the purchase at the sale price.

The Xbox One, available last year for $499, is going this year as a bundle for $329 with a $30 Walmart Gift Card. It too, is a 1-Hour Guarantee item.

The retailer has also beefed up its inventory, promising three times the number of PlayStation 4 and other gaming consoles available to shoppers. It says it will have 30% more smartphones, mobile accessories and other wireless offerings than last year.

New trend

Walmart is also joining other retailers not waiting for Black Friday, for fear of losing consumer dollars to a rival. Jones says it has been an accelerating trend in 2014.

“This year especially retailers seem to be offering Black Friday prices for special pre-Black Friday events that last one day,” Jones said. “We've already seen this with a number of retailers such as Sam's Club, Best Buy, Target and now Walmart.”

In fact, Jones says Sam's Club has released a Holiday Savings sale ad for this Saturday, November 15,, for a one day event with prices that are matching or beating many Black Friday ads that have already leaked.

New federal consumer protections for the prepaid credit card market, which include that an issuing company limit consumers’ losses when funds are stolen or cards are lost, are being proposed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

In addition, the issuing companies would be required to investigate and resolve errors, provide easy and free access to account information, and adhere to credit card protections if a credit product is offered in connection with a prepaid account.

New “Know Before You Owe” prepaid disclosures that would provide consumers with clear information about the costs and risks of prepaid products upfront are also being proposed.

“Consumers are increasingly relying on prepaid products to make purchases and access funds, but they are not guaranteed the same protections or disclosures as traditional bank accounts,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “Our proposal would close the loopholes in this market and ensure prepaid consumers are protected whether they are swiping a card, scanning their smartphone, or sending a payment.”

Prepaid products: What are they?

Prepaid products are consumer accounts typically loaded with funds by a consumer or by a third party, such as an employer. Consumers can use these products to make payments, store funds, get cash at ATMs, receive direct deposits, and send funds to other consumers.

Prepaid products are often bought at retail stores or online and are among the fastest growing types of consumer financial products in the United States. For example, the amount of money consumers loaded onto “general purpose reloadable” prepaid cards grew from less than $1 billion in 2003 to nearly $65 billion in 2012. The total dollar value loaded onto general purpose reloadable cards is expected to continue to grow to nearly $100 billion through 2014.

This proposal would apply a number of specific federal consumer protections to broad swaths of the prepaid market for the first time. The proposal would cover traditional plastic prepaid cards, many of which are general purpose reloadable cards. In addition, the proposal would cover mobile and other electronic prepaid accounts that can store funds.

The prepaid products covered by the proposal also include: payroll cards; certain federal, state, and local government benefit cards such as those used to distribute unemployment insurance, child support, and pension payments; student financial aid disbursement cards; tax refund cards; and peer-to-peer payment products.

Prepaid protections

Many consumers use prepaid products as an alternative to traditional checking accounts. Currently, however, there are limited federal consumer protections for most prepaid accounts. The proposal would ensure that most prepaid account consumers would have important protections under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act after registering their account.

The protections are generally similar to those checking account consumers already receive and include:

• Easy and free access to account information: Under the CFPB proposal, financial institutions would be required to either provide periodic statements or make account information easily accessible online and for free. The proposal would ensure that consumers are able see their account balances and a history of their transactions and fees.
• Error resolution rights: This proposal would require financial institutions to investigate errors that consumers report on registered accounts and to resolve those errors in a timely manner. If the financial institution cannot resolve an alleged error within a certain period of time, it would be required to temporarily credit the disputed amount to the consumer to use while the institution finishes its investigation.
• Fraud and lost-card protection: The proposal would protect consumers against unauthorized, erroneous, or fraudulent withdrawals or purchases, including when registered cards are lost or stolen. If consumers lose their prepaid card or find erroneous or fraudulent charges on their prepaid account, the rule would limit their responsibility for transactions they did not authorize and create a timely method for them to get their money back. As long as the consumer promptly notifies his financial institution, the consumer’s responsibility for unauthorized charges would be limited to $50.

Know before you owe: prepaid fees

The proposal also includes new “Know Before You Owe” prepaid disclosures that would provide consumers with standard, easy-to-understand information about the prepaid account. Under the proposal, prepaid consumers would have access to:

• Standard, easy-to-understand information upfront: The CFPB’s proposal includes two required forms, one short and one long, with easy-to-understand disclosures.
• Publicly available card agreements: To facilitate comparison shopping, this proposal would require that prepaid account issuers post their account agreements on their websites. Additionally, issuers would be required to submit those agreements to the Bureau for posting on a public, Bureau-maintained website.

Credit protections

The proposal also includes strong protections in connection with credit products that allow consumers to pay to spend more money than they have deposited into the prepaid account. Under the proposed rule, if consumers choose to use a credit product related to their prepaid account, they would be entitled to the same protections that credit card consumers receive today. The protections that would also apply to prepaid credit products include:

• Ability to pay: Like credit card issuers, prepaid companies would be required to first make sure consumers have the ability to repay the debt before offering credit. For consumers under 21, the companies would be required to assess these consumers’ independent ability to repay the credit.
• Monthly credit billing statement: Prepaid companies would be required to give consumers the same monthly periodic statement that credit card consumers receive. This statement would detail consumers’ fees, and if applicable, interest rate, what they have borrowed, how much they owe, and other key information about repaying the debt.
• Reasonable time to pay and limits on late fees: Prepaid companies, like credit card issuers, would be required to give consumers at least 21 days to repay their debt before they are charged a late fee. Additionally, late fees must be “reasonable and proportional” to the violation of the account terms in question.
• Limited fee and interest charges: During the first year a credit account is open, the total fees for prepaid credit products would not be allowed to exceed 25% of the credit limit. Card issuers generally are prohibited from increasing the interest rate on an existing balance unless the cardholder has missed two consecutive payments. Card issuers may increase the interest rate prospectively on new purchases, but must generally give the consumer 45 days advance notice -- during which time the consumer may cancel the credit account.

The CFPB’s proposal also includes some additional protections to ensure that the prepaid account and the credit product are distinct, such as:

• Thirty-day waiting period: The CFPB’s proposal would require companies to wait thirty days after a consumer registers the prepaid account before they could formally offer credit to the consumer.
• Wall between prepaid funds and credit repayment: Prepaid companies could not automatically demand and take credit repayment whenever a prepaid account is next loaded with funds. Further, prepaid companies could not take funds loaded into the prepaid account to repay the credit when the bill is due unless the consumer has affirmatively opted in to allow such a repayment. Even then, companies cannot take funds more frequently than once per calendar month. Payment also cannot be required sooner than 21 days after the mailing of the periodic statement.

Buying a car isn't as simple as it used to be. Consumers face more choices than ever and the array of technology options can be daunting. But Mercedes-Benz and MINI seem to have found the key.

For the fifth straight year, the two brands have topped the J.D. Power sales satisfaction index, thanks partly to their skillful use of dedicated "product specialists" to help consumers understand what they're buying.

Among luxury brands, Infiniti placed second, up from fourth place last year. Jaguar slipped to third, followed by Lexus and Porsche. Below average were Cadillac, BMW, Audi, Volvo, Lincoln, Land Rover and Acura.

Buick was second in mass-market brands, followed by Chevrolet, GMC, Fiat, Toyota, Honda, Volkswagen, Hyundai and Ford, all scoring above average. Below average were Nissan, Chrysler, Subaru, Mazda, Scion, Kia, Jeep, Dodge, Ram and Mitsubishi.

Tech-heavy vehicles 

The key to sales satisfaction seems to be providing plenty of assistance to consumers as they try to understand all the technology that's packed into today's cars.

“With such tech-heavy vehicles today, introducing product specialists into the sales process helps improve the delivery process and customer understanding of how to operate key features,” said Chris Sutton, vice president of the automotive retail practice at J.D. Power.

“Dealerships need to be mindful when dividing a customer’s time between a salesperson, product specialist, and the finance and insurance representative. That’s a lot of customer touch points. Adding more time to the sales process usually has a negative effect on sales satisfaction; thus, dealers need to ensure an integrated approach that respects a customer’s time,” Sutton said.

Besides using product specialists to enhance the new-vehicle sales process, many dealers may also conduct second or follow-up sessions with buyers to reinforce feature understanding. Industrywide, 15 percent of customers indicate they worked with both a salesperson and a separate product specialist when shopping for their vehicle. This percentage is slightly higher among buyers of premium vehicles (19%) than among those purchasing non-premium vehicles (15%).

Regardless of segment, overall sales satisfaction is slightly higher among buyers who work with a product specialist than among those who work only with a salesperson (856 vs. 853, respectively, for premium; 809 vs. 806, respectively, for non-premium).