Entries Tagged 'Awful Concepts' ↓

Okay, we’re kidding about the cabin pressurization (at least for now), but the rest is true - Jet Blue is the latest airline to start charging a fee for accouterments that used to be free on domestic flights - this time, it’s the pillow and blankie.

The discount carrier is planning to do away with the standard recycled blankets and pillows used on its flights, and will now offer a travel blanket and pillow for purchase at $7.00 on all flights two hours or longer.

To soften the blow, the pillow and blanket will come in a packet that also contains a $5 off coupon to Bed Bath & Beyond.

JetBlue’s communications office has declined to predict to the media how much the sale of these kits will raise, saying that the company only offers such details on its quarterly earnings conference calls.

It appears that we’re not the only ones in the world who hate (and don’t abide by) Wal-Mart’s policy of checking your receipt as you leave the store.

A website called “Can I See Your Receipt: Someone’s Stealing and it Could be You” has been launched to bring publicity to this awful practice. (standuptowalmart.com)

Visitors are encouraged to share their receipt-check horror stories, and the site provides links to articles on receipt-checking and the law.

The site’s owner has a goal of getting Wal-Mart to stop this practice by Christmas of this year… somehow, we just don’t think that is going to happen.

What is the best way for dealing with this annoyance? Well, we’ve been doing this for years and have tried every imaginable response. The best is really the most simple - slowly keep walking past the receipt-check employee, and calmly and politely say “no thank you” when asked.

Mississippi politicians have proposed a bill that would prevent restaurants and other food establishments from serving food to anyone who is obese. Under the legislation, establishments that serve food would be monitored for compliance under the State Department of Health and violators could have their business permits revoked.

Here is the text of House Bill 282:

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An act to prohibit certain food establishments from serving food to any person who is obese, based on criteria prescribed by the state department of health; to direct the department to prepare written materials that describe and explain the criteria for determining whether a person is obese and to provide those materials to the food establishments; to direct the department to monitor the food establishments for compliance with the provisions of this act; and for related purposes. Be it enacted by the legislature of the state of Mississippi:

SECTION 1.

(1) The provisions of this section shall apply to any food establishment that is required to obtain a permit from the State Department of Health under Section 41-3-15(4)(f), that operates primarily in an enclosed facility and that has five (5) or more seats for customers.

(2) Any food establishment to which this section applies shall not be allowed to serve food to any person who is obese, based on criteria prescribed by the State Department of Health after consultation with the Mississippi Council on Obesity Prevention and Management established under Section 41-101-1 or its successor. The State Department of Health shall prepare written materials that describe and explain the criteria for determining whether a person is obese, and shall provide those materials to all food establishments to which this section applies. A food establishment shall be entitled to rely on the criteria for obesity in those written materials when determining whether or not it is allowed to serve food to any person.

(3) The State Department of Health shall monitor the food establishments to which this section applies for compliance with the provisions of this section, and may revoke the permit of any food establishment that repeatedly violates the provisions of this section.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2008.

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If this bill manages to pass, can you imagine what would happen? Restaurants would have to have scales at their entrances to weigh you. Have a BMI of 30 or higher? You won’t be served. Also, here goes your privacy, because restaurants will have to keep records of their customer’s BMI counts.

Think this cuts a little too closely to your personal freedoms? Let the bill’s lead author, Representative W.T. Mayhall, Jr., know:

Capitol Address

W.T. Mayhall, Jr
P. O. Box 1018
Jackson, MS 39215

Home Address

W.T. Mayhall, Jr
8417 Cedarbrush Drive
Southaven, MS 38671
(662)393-2069 (H)
(901)734-9540 (C)

E-Mail:

tmayhall@house.ms.gov

Hershey candy company will be halting production of its new line of mints called Ice Breakers PACS after sharp criticism from law enforcement officials that say the candy looks like illegal street drugs.

The mints, which first arrived on store shelves in November, are dissolvable pouches that contain a powdered sweetener. These pouches resemble the bags that are often used to sell powdered street drugs, like cocaine.

Members of the Philadelphia Police Department Narcotics Squad had commented that there was great danger to children if they were familiar with the mint candy product, and then came across a similarly-sized bag that contained cocaine. Lisa Wagner, a Philadelphia narcotics officer told CNN that “I will not buy a Hershey’s product again. I think they were really irresponsible” in marketing the product.

The company has not recalled the mints, but will just allow stock at stores to deplete over time. They estimate that all supplies of the candy should be gone in a few months as the candy was distributed on a limited basis.

The California Energy Commission has advanced a proposal that would require the installation of thermostats that allow the government to control the temperature of homes and businesses in case of high energy prices or shortages.

The proposed regulations would require all residential and non-residential buildings to have a Programmable Communicating Thermostat (PCT).

The regulations say that thermostats will be configured with a non-removable radio communications device which can be used by utilities to send adjustment signals. For pricing events, thermostats could be offset by as much as four degrees, but customers would be able to override the offsets and thermostat settings at any time during these price events.

What is scarier is that when the unit gets a signal of an energy shortage, it will set the thermostat to a government-defined setpoint that the customer cannot reset or control.

Frightening? You bet. You can read the full text of the regulations in this PDF file.