Dispose of Fireplace Ashes Properly

Fifteen years ago this week, a huge fire engulfed an entire apartment building at the Chase Pointe Apartments in Virginia Beach, leaving 35 people homeless.  The anniversary comes on the heels of a deadly Christmas Day house fire in Stamford, Connecticut, that killed a couple and three grandchildren.  Investigators found both fires were caused by improperly discarded fireplace ashes.

It's a mistake that apparently is made all too often.  The National Fire Protection Agency reports that improperly handled fireplace ashes cause hundreds of house fires every year.

The problem, experts say, are the embers, which can smolder for three to four days after a fireplace fire.  The smoldering embers, insulated by a blanket of ash, allowed early man to transport fire from place to place, according to the Fireplace Channel.

In the 1996 fire in Virginia Beach, fireplace ash was left in a plastic bucket on a third floor balcony.  In this week's fatal fire in Connecticut, the ash container was placed just outside the door.

To dispose of fireplace ash properly, the National Fire Protection Agency recommends the following:

"Allow ashes to cool before disposing. Dispose of ashes in a tightly covered metal container and keep the ash container at least 10 feet away from the home and any other nearby buildings. Douse and saturate the ashes with water." (boldface added for emphasis)

Incidentally, the 1996 fire was the first of three over a nine year period at the Chase Pointe Apartments, according to the Virginian-Pilot archives.


Here's another story on those fires.


Links:
www.thefireplacechannel.com/woodashes.html
www.leduc.ca/City_Government/Departments/Fire_Services/Safety/Fireplace_Ashes.htm

Update: Ice Scrapers as Stocking Stuffers

I'm guessing my mother read last week's post suggesting ice scrapers as a last minute Christmas gift.  Every adult in the family got an ice scraper from Mom...my wife and I got once each.

I would suggest a big screen TV as a great gift idea, but Mom's too smart for that.

AAA Tow to Go Promotes Holiday Safety on the Road

The AAA Tidewater Virginia and Budweiser are teaming up again this holiday season for their "Tow to Go" sober driving campaign.  Now through 6am New Year's Day, the AAA is offering free rides home to anyone who has had too much to drink to driving safely.  The driver's car is also towed home, free of charge.

The program is available to anyone in Hampton Roads, even those who are not AAA members.  To find out more, call (757) 631-1700 or 1-800-AAA-HELP.

Learn more about Tow to Go and other AAA traffic safety programs here.

Crowbar: Bad Choice for Scraping the Windshield

Need a last minute idea for a stocking stuffer?  Consider giving an ice scraper.

It seems that a lot of people lack this most basic need for road safety during the winter.  An image search for unusual methods of scraping ice off car windows finds people using a credit card, a college ID, a snow shovel, and, most ironically, a tube of sun screen.


To further emphasize the point, Glass Doctor of Virginia Beach sent over a list of do's and don'ts for getting the windows frost free.  The tools they advise not using:  hot water, keys, vinegar, a blow torch, and a crowbar.

Eight Do's and Don'ts for De-icing the Windshield, courtesy of Glass Doctor.

DO: Pour cold water to gradually melt the ice on a “sealed,” frozen door.

DON’T: Pour hot water on the vehicle's windshield and windows to melt the ice. The extreme temperature change can cause the glass to break.

DO: Start the vehicle and use the defroster setting to warm the glass. Wait at least five minutes for the glass to warm up.

DON’T: Try to “unseal” the door by using a hair dryer, cigarette lighter, ice pick, screwdriver, propane torch or portable heater.

DO: Use a plastic ice scraper and a soft plastic bristle brush or broom to clear the ice once it starts melting. A squeegee also helps.

DON’T: Scrape the ice off the windshield with a metal ice scraper, key, spatula, utility knife or crowbar. The metal scratches and cuts grooves in the glass.

DO: Make sure no ice or snow is obstructing the vehicle’s tailpipe. If it is covered, remove the ice or snow to prevent the possibility of carbon monoxide poisoning.

DON’T: Pour a mixture of vinegar and water on the windshield. Vinegar eats pits into the windshield glass.

Update on the Adderall Shortage

The Food and Drug Administration has a webpage devoted to all current drug shortages.  In case you're wondering, the API in "API supply issues" stands for "Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient."

Click here for the FDA's drug shortage page.

My thanks to Michelle Peregoy at the Virginia Department of Health for providing the link.

Click here to read to full post on the shortage of the ADHD medication, Adderall.

Combating Drinking and Driving

Drunk driving in America, by the numbers.

• 900 -- Number of people killed in in a drunk driving accident during the 2009 holidays.
• 10,839 -- Number of people killed in a drunk driving accident for the entire year of 2009.
• 10 -- Average number of minutes between drunk driving accidents in America.
• 33 -- Percentage of Americans who will be involved in a drunk driving accident in their lifetimes.

Those statistics and many others are available from MADD, the nationwide non-profit that is leading the effort to reduce incidents of impaired driving.  I could continue to quote DUI statistics, but they would lack the impact of the stories behind the numbers.  Sadly, one of those stories happened recently in Hampton Roads.

On December 4th, Sierra Smith and Kimberly Brin were passengers in a car that was hit head-on by an SUV that was going the wrong way on Interstate 64 in Hampton.  The two teenagers, both students at Christopher Newport University, were killed.  The Virginia State Police say Jessie Evans, a 33 year old Army staff sergeant from Newport News, was driving drunk.  And, according to court records, Evans may have been a repeat offender.  He has a court hearing later this month on a suspected DUI from September.

Mike Goodove, the President of the Hampton Roads chapter of MADD, says people who drive after drinking demonstrate a lack of personal responsibility and a lack of understanding of the impact of getting caught.  In Virginia, a drunk driving first offense a class-one misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and up to a $2,500 fine.  It becomes a felony following a third DUI offense.

Hear my interview with Mike Goodove

Podcast Powered By Podbean

MADD recently gave Virginia's DUI laws 4 out 5 stars.  Virginia missed a perfect score because the law does not require an ignition interlock for cars owned by first time offenders.  The interlock would lock the controls of the car if it detects alcohol on the driver's breath.  MADD and the State Police will push for such a law at the next General Assembly.

Because so many people will attend parties to celebrate Christmas, New Year's Eve, or football games, MADD considers the holiday season the worst time of the year for drunk drivers.  A state trooper once told me that during the holidays, for every 10 drivers he sees on the road after dark, he assumes one of them is drunk.

MADD recommends that party goers plan ahead on how they will get home.  Goodove recommends a designated driver for groups of people.  Or have the phone number of a local taxi company handy.  Goodove says the cost of a taxi ride is nothing compared to the risk of driving a car after drinking.

To contact the Hampton Roads chapter of MADD, call 757-412-1004.  Or visit the website of the national organization at www.MADD.org.

Where Has All the Adderall Gone?

Adderall, a drug used by millions (including a person in my household) to help them deal with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, is for some reason in short supply.  And the shortage has been going since before  Halloween.

I first noticed the shortage in early November, when our local Rite Aid reported it was out of our usual dosage.    They did, however, have a smaller dosage, which prompted me to contact the doctor to get a revised prescription.

Six weeks later, Rite Aid is still out of the standard 20mg tablet.  A pharmacist told me there might be one Rite Aid in the entire city that has that dose of Adderall in stock.

What's causing the shortage?  The answer isn't clear.  Some doctors are blaming the fact that more people, at least 5 million, are using Adderall, and the numbers are growing by five percent a year.  Manufacturers blame a shortage of Adderall's active ingredient, amphetamine, which is controlled by the Food and Drug Administration.

Another possibility:  drug abusers.  Adderall is said to be a favorite for students studying for exams.  It's also said to be a replacement drug for oxycodone addicts.   

One article I found suggested there was a shortage of generic Adderall but that the name-brand drug was available.  I found just the opposite at my local drug stores:  they were out of Adderall but had the generic version.

Whatever the reason for the shortage, no one seems to know when it will end.  I've read that pharmaceutical companies will sometimes make 12 to 36 months worth of a single drug at once and then re-tool for a different drug, so it may be a while before Adderall supplies catch up with demand.  Until it does end, expect to see me calling around to various pharmacies every couple of months, trying to refill a prescription.

Poinsettia: Not Poisonous. Mistletoe: Poisonous

It's a question that arises every Christmas:  are poinsettia plants poisonous?  In spite of the widely held belief that they are, the fact is, eating a poinsettia will, at most, give a person an upset stomach.

It's a myth that dates back almost a hundred years.  It's said to have started in Hawaii in 1919, when the two year old child of an Army officer died of poisoning.  It was incorrectly assumed she had eaten poinsettia leaves.  According to WebMD.com, a person would have to eat 500 leaves to even get sick.

However, other traditional holiday decorations ARE poisonous.  Some species of mistletoe are toxic.  Holly plants are poisonous throughout; eating the berries could cause severe stomach problems.

WebMD.com has an excellent article on what Christmas plants are toxic and which are not.

More links:
WebMD on the toxicity of poinsettia.
Snopes.com on poinsettias
National Institutes on Health on mistletoe

Generic Lipitor is Coming Soon

The nation's top-selling drug, the anti-cholesterol medication Lipitor, will soon be available in generic form.  Pfizer's patent on the name-brand form of Lipitor expired on November 30th.

By law, generic drugs must contain the same active ingredients as their name-band cousins and be as effective.  Generics are also less expensive.  Lipitor, which costs about $150.00 per month, could sell for a fraction of that amount in generic form.

As I reported last May, Lipitor is but the first of several best-selling drugs that will soon be available in generic form.  Generic versions of drugs for blood pressure, asthma, diabetes, depression, high triglycerides, HIV and bipolar disorder are expected on the market in the next 12 months.

A drug company's patent on a new drug is good for 20 years, beginning before clinical trials.  Drugs go through years of extensive study before being approved for sale to the public.  A name-brand drug's active life on the market under patent protection generally lasts seven and twelve years.

Refunds on the Way

Dominion Virginia Power is refunding more than $78 million dollars that customers overpaid over the past couple of years.  The State Corporation Commission reports that refund checks will average about $17.00.

Meanwhile, the Internal Revenue Service reports it has $153 million dollars in unclaimed refund checks.  Agency officials said most of the refunds could not be delivered to taxpayers because they had filed returns with incorrect addresses. 

Are you eligible?  You can check the IRS's "Where's My Refund?" website.  You'll want to have last year's tax return handy when you look.

Hurricane Season 2011 -- By the Numbers

• 19:  Named storms during 2011 Atlantic hurricane season
• 11:  Number of named storms during an average hurricane season
• 14:  Out of the last 17, hurricane seasons that have been above average
• 2:  Number of tropical systems that made landfall on the U.S. coast.  Hurricane Irene was the first hurricane to hit the U.S. since 2008.
• 17:  U.S. states affected by Hurricane Irene
• $10.1 billion:  Estimated damage caused by Hurricane Irene
• 1:  Storm category of Hurricane Irene, the weakest on the Saffir-Simpson Scale.
• 120:  Number of fatalities blamed on hurricane season

Long range forecasts for the 2012 hurricane season will be released next spring.

More Ways to Save

The news has not been good lately for Groupon, the deal-of-the-day website and former Internet darling.  There are almost daily reports of tumbling stock prices and low reviews of Groupon's business model.  However, Groupon continues to offer solid deals and inspire copycat ventures, much to the benefit of the consumer.

Groupon is one of several deal-of-the-day programs available in Hampton Roads.  Others include:

Pilotonline.com's Daily Deal
WVEC's Yollar
WAVY's Save Now Local

For those unfamiliar with the concept of Groupon, the idea is in the name.  The word groupon is a  combination of the words "group" and coupon," a device called a portmanteau (see, reading is educational, both for the reader and the writer.) Groupon and similar sites offer discounts on goods and services, often 50% or more, provided enough people buy into the offer.

Consumer Reports has a summary of Groupon and other group offer sites.

Meanwhile, there have been allegations of Groupon inflating the regular price to make the deal price seem like a better value.  The Atlantic Wire reports there is no scam involved, however.

Keep Grease out of the Drains

Local utilities officials are making a concerted effort this Thanksgiving to remind people not to pour cooking grease down the kitchen sink.  Virginia Beach has a website devoted to reducing oil and grease in the sink.  And it was Topic One during last week's edition of Hampton Roads Topics, my Sunday morning public affairs program on 92.9 The Wave, Star 1310, ESPN Radio 94.1 and 97.3 The Eagle.  Katie Cullipher and Brianna Venner from HRGreen, the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission's environmental program, came on the show to talk about the problem.

Venner said that when poured into drain pipes, cooking grease will cool and harden.  The result could be a clog, either in your pipes or in the neighborhood sewer pipes. The EPA reports that cooking grease backups lead to thousands of sewer overflows in the United States every year.  For a view of the end result, click here.

The best advice for getting rid of old grease:  throw it away.  Venner advises that grease can be poured into a jar and kept in the freezer.  Once the grease hardens, throw the jar in the garbage.

For the more environmentally conscious, frying oil can be recycled.  On her blog, Cullipher includes a list of fry oil recycling centers in Hampton Roads. 

Grease is not the only problem for sink drains.  Any fatty food, such as ice cream, butter, or salad dressing, can lead to a drain clog.

Links:
AskHRGreen.org
Virginia Beach FOG (fats, oils and grease) page.

Telemarketing Scam

The State Police are warning Virginia residents about a telephone scam in which people claiming to represent law enforcement are asking people for personal information.  The callers often claim to be with the Bureau of Criminal Investigation or Judicial Support Bureau.  The warning suggests the scammers are identity thieves, interested only in getting victims' social security numbers and addresses.

There are actual organizations that do telemarketing on behalf of law enforcement or fire departments, but they also should dealt with cautiously.  They're called "Badge Organizations."  The Federal Trade Commission reports badge organizations do support law enforcement, but that in many cases, most of the money they raise goes to pay their staff.

According to the Better Business Bureau, a charity should not spend more than 35% of donations on salaries.

The Federal Trade Commission advises that if you do want to support local police or fire departments, contact them directly to find out how.

Links:
Federal Trade Commission report on dealing with badge organizations.
Guidestar.org -- Records and reviews of non-profit organizations.

Do People Really Give Cars as Christmas Gifts?

Here it is Thanksgiving week and we're already two weeks into the Christmas sales hoopla.  The endless "holiday sales" commercials on TV include several from automotive companies, many featuring an image similar to the one at right:  a car with a giant ribbon.  That got me to wondering...do people really give cars as Christmas gifts?  Yes, they do.

In 2010, CNW Marketing Research estimated that 56,884 new and used vehicles were bought by people as Christmas gifts.  It sounds like a lot, but gift-giving actually amounted to less than 2% of the more than 900,000 cars, new and used, that were sold during the holidays last year.  Also, the car as gift numbers for 2010 are less than half what they were in 2005, when more than 130,000 vehicles were given as gifts.  That, of course, pre-dates the recession.

According the editors of automotive marketing firm TrueCar.com, the commercials with cars wrapped in ribbons are intended more to keep consumers minds on the auto industry during a time of year when shoppers are thinking of buying everything but a car.  Giving a car as a gift rarely happens, they say.

Then again, the end of the calendar year is seen by many as the time of year to get the best deal.  TrueCar.com forecast in 2010 that dealers, trying to make sales quotas, would offer new cars at about 6.85% below MSRP in late December.

Who are the people who give a car as a gift?  According to USA Today, they are grownups with a lot of money...between the ages of 30 and 60 and making more than $100,000 a year.

Links:
USA Today article
Article from Consumersearch.com

Transportation Planners Seek Opinions from the Military

Local transportation planners are asking military members, veterans and military civilian employees to fill out an online survey about their daily commutes to work.  Officials with the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization are hoping at least 2,000 people take the survey to help them identify roadway problems and hopefully fix them.  More than 120,000 people make the commute to a local military base every day.

The survey should take five to ten minutes to complete.  It will be available online through February 20th.

Link:
The survey

Virginia Beach Hotel and Restaurant Inspection Reports are now Online.

Virginia Beach has launched a new website that includes Health Department inspection reports on every hotel, motel, bed & breakfast and restaurant in the city.  In a news release, city officials said the inspection reports date back five years.  The Virginia Beach Hotel/Motel Task Force, made up of representatives of the health, fire and code enforcement departments, inspects every hotel once a year.

Links:
The Virginia Beach inspections report page
The press release from the city

HRBT Among the Nation's Worst Bottlenecks

Subtitle:  Tell me Something I Don't Already Know

The Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel has earned the dubious distinction as the 5th most congested traffic corridor in the country, only ranking behind roadways in two much larger urban areas, New York City and Atlanta.

The Texas Transportation Institute, an agency of Texas A&M University, identified 328 traffic corridors that were at least three miles long and had at least 10 hours of traffic congestion per week.  Those 328 corridors represent only six percent of the nation's  freeways but account for more than one-third of the traffic backups in the country.

The researchers found it takes five-times longer to get through the HRBT at rush hour than at off-peak hours.

As I have detailed previously, working early morning radio has its disadvantages, such as the early bedtimes and early alarm times, most of which are outweighed by the advantages.  One of those advantages is that I don't have to deal with rush hour traffic.  I am reminded of that fact every time I'm on ESPN Radio 94.1 reporting on a five-mile backup at the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel.

Links:
The report from the Texas Transportation Institute
Pilotonline.com's report

America Recycles Day

Do you have your first computer, a vintage 1991 286 IBM clone, sitting in your garage?  A CD player that operates only when it rains?  Twenty old cell phones?  On Tuesday, November 15th, you can get rid of those old electronics in your home or office and be assured that they won't be cluttering up a landfill.

This Tuesday is America Recycles Day, a day held every November 15th to celebrate and encourage recycling.  In Hampton Roads, HR Green is devoting America Recycles Day to rounding up old electronics.

There will be two electronics recycling events in Hampton Roads.  Document shredding and plastic bag recycling will also offered at both events.  They will run from 9am to 3pm.

• The Gallery at Military Circle, Norfolk.  MAP
• York County Sports Complex, 4311 George Washington Memorial Highway, Yorktown. MAP

According to HR Green, more than one million tons of electronics that could have been recycled ended up in local landfills in 2009.

Remember, you can recycle electronic gear anytime through your local Best Buy or Goodwill store.

Links:
America Recycles Day homepage
America Recycles Day events in Hampton Roads
AskHRGreen.org
Daily Press article about America Recycles Day

Free Oil Changes for Military Veterans

In honor of Veterans Day, the Meineke Car Care Center located at 1837 Laskin Road in Virginia Beach is giving free oil changes to all active-duty military and military veterans.  The offer is good through 7pm Friday, November 11th.

For more information, call 757-428-8033.

Links:
Meineke's homepage
Map to the location

Recycling Rates are Up

Virginia is recycling more than ever.  The Virginia Department of Envionmental Quality's recycling report for 2010 shows the state reused or recycled more than 3.4 million tons of material, a little over 40% of the state's total solid waste.  The percentage is all-time high for Virginia.  All 71 municipalities tracked in the report met recycling goals for the year.

In Hampton Roads, the recycling rate has grown significantly in recent years, climbing from 31% in 2008 to over 39% last year.  Richmond is the state's recycling leader, with over 55% of its solid waste stream being reused or recycled.

State environmental officials credited the spread of curbside recycling for the growth in the recycling rate.  Suffolk, which dropped curbside recycling in 2007, restarted their program this year.

Links:

News report from the Virginia Gazette

The DEQ report

Update: WVEC settles with DIRECTV

DIRECTV customers can continue to watch their Dancing with the Stars.  On their website, local ABC affiliate WVEC has announced an agreement between parent company Belo and and DIRECTV over retransmission rights.  Terms were not disclosed.

As I detailed earlier, retransmission rights of local television signals by cable and satellite companies often come into dispute at contract renewal time.  Local stations are sometimes blacked out during the disputes.  Belo's prior contract with DIRECTV ended on Halloween.

Links:
WVEC's statement
Broadcasting & Cable's report

Trick-or-Treat Times in Hampton Roads

All cities in Hampton Roads follow the same basic guidelines on trick-or-treating, except on starting times.  Some specify a star time of 6pm, while others allow trick-or-treating to begin at dusk.  Across the region, Halloween trick-or-treating is open to children aged 12 and under.  Below are the times by city.

• Chesapeake: 6pm to 8 p.m. 
• Hampton:  dusk to 8 p.m.
• Newport News:  until 8 p.m.
• James City County: 6pm to 8 p.m.
• Norfolk: until 8 p.m. 
• Portsmouth: dusk to 8 p.m. 
• Suffolk:  until 8 p.m.
• Virginia Beach:  dusk to 8 p.m. 

For those wondering when dusk is...with the sun setting a little bit after 6pm today, dusk will hit at about 6:30pm.

Cancer Patient has Medical Records Stolen

A Chesapeake woman who is beginning treatments for cancer is pleading for the person who stole her medical records to return them as soon as possible.  Jessica Diehl says the records were in a laptop computer bag that was taken from her car at Portsmouth City Park Sunday afternoon sometime between 3pm and 6pm.

Diehl, a military veteran, says her papers are vital to her cancer treatment and are irreplaceable.  Not having them could affect her benefits from the Veterans Administration, she says.

Diehl has filed a report with the Portsmouth Police Department but says she would willing to forgo charges if the person who has the records returns them.

If you have any information, contact Portsmouth Police at 757-393-8536.

WTKR-TV is also covering this story

Look...Up in the Sky

There are some great advantages to working morning radio.  Having my workday done before noon gives me the rest of the afternoon for reading, shopping, exercising, cleaning, helping the kids with homework or playing video games. 

There are also plenty of disadvantages.  There's the 3:40am alarm buzz, for starters.  Also, I can't watch the NFL or NBA in primetime because sports get me too keyed up to sleep.  I can't stay out late because, frankly, I'm falling asleep by 9pm.  And I can't stay up and skywatch.  It's this last point that leaves me disappointed today.

Tuesday morning found the news wire and social networks lit up with reports of the Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights, being seen in half of the United States, as far south as Georgia.  A reddish sky was reported as nearby as Richmond.

Scientists say a coronal mass ejection, or a huge release of energy from the Sun, hit the Earth's magnetic field Monday at around 2pm EDT, creating a specular aurora.  I, of course, didn't see it, having checked out at my customary 8:30pm. 

Scientists say the storm that created the lights is subsiding but add that its effects could linger for another day.
Tonight, I think I'll peek out the backdoor after 7pm and take a look for myself, just in case.

Links:
www.Spaceweather.com -- includes news and photos from Monday's aurora
Animation showing how the aurora grew over the North Pole during the magnetic storm.

Time for the Flu Shot

Today I rolled up my sleeve for my annual flu shot.  It's a precaution I didn't used to take.

With a wife and two kids in school, I always assumed there was nothing I hadn't been exposed to.  But now that I am (sigh) middle-aged, and presumably more at risk of flu-related illness, I forced myself to go and get immunized at my local Rite Aid today.  It was during my ten minute wait before the shot that a thought occurred to me:  how many strains of flu are there?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are three types:  A, B, and C.  Type A is the most common, most varied, and most virulent of all of the flu viruses.  There are at least 27 different sub types and strains of the Type A virus, each designated by the type of HA and NA proteins present on the virus's surface.  The H1N1 virus, better known as the Swine Flu virus, made headlines in 2009.

There are also Type B and Type C flu viruses.  Both are less common and somewhat less dangerous than the viruses in the Type A family.

Helping protect us against the flu is the influenza vaccine.  Each dose contains three influenza viruses:  two Type A and one Type B, based on the World Health Organization's flu forecast.  According to Wikipedia, the 2011-2012 flu shot is composed of vaccines against...

• an A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)-like virus;
• an A/Perth/16/2009 (H3N2)-like virus;
• a B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus

It's the same formula as last year.

Each immunization should provide a lifetime of immunity against the strains of flu in each shot, assuming the viruses don't mutate.  And influenza is one of the those pesky viruses, like the cold virus, which is always remaking itself, forcing our immune systems to adapt and forcing us to get a new flu shot every year.

The CDC recommends flu shots for the very young, senior citizens, and those with compromised immune systems.  But experts say that everyone can benefit from having a flu shot.  Studies have shown immunizations greatly reduce hospitalization rates due to flu.

The flu is more than just a fever and chills, doctors say.  The National Institutes of Health has estimated more than 200,000 Americans are hospitalized every year due to the flu; more than 40,000 Americans die from it.

The U.S. should have a solid supply of flu vaccine this year.  The CDC estimates more than 160 million doses will be available.  Flu shots are available at your doctor's office, local health departments, most pharmacies and even some grocery stores.

Links:
CDC report on flu strains
CDC report on flu shot supply
Wikipedia article on flu shots

Update: Orphaned Bear Cub Dies

Officials at the Wildlife Center of Virginia are working to find the cause of death of one of the two bear cubs that were rescued in Suffolk this week.  The cub described as the quieter of the two was found dead in its enclosure Thursday morning. Veterinarians who did the initial examinations Tuesday said both animals were a bit underweight but otherwise appeared healthy.

The second cub, which fell 40 feet from a tree after being hit with a tranquilizer dart, was still in good condition Thursday.  Officials will continue to monitor its health with the goal of releasing into the wild at a later date.

The cubs were orphaned when their mother was hit by a car on Route 58 in Suffolk. 

On the web:
www.wildlifecenter.org

The Channel 13-DIRECTV Conflict

WVEC-TV 13 has launched a public relations campaign explaining their side of their negotiations with DIRECTV over retransmission rights.  The current agreement between WVEC and DIRECTV expires October 31st.  DIRECTV subscribers could lose the ABC affiliate if a new agreement isn't reached.  WVEC's campaign involves the spot below, which is in fairly heavy rotation on the station.



The controversy is similar to one earlier this year between between LIN Media, NBC affiliate WAVY's parent company, and Dish Network.  That issue wasn't resolved until after Dish Network blacked out WAVY's programming for several days.  WAVY was also blacked out in Eastern North Carolina for a time in September due to a disagreement between LIN and Mediacom.


Such disputes grow out of the 1994 Cable Television and Protection Act.  The law banned cable companies from charging local TV stations to carry their signals, but it also gave local TV the right to negotiate with the cable companies over retransmission rights.  The agreement could involve cash paid by the cable company to the TV station, or there could be other considerations.  WVEC's now defunct local news channel LNC 5 was a byproduct of a retransmission agreement between the station and Cox Communications in the 1990's.


Links:
WVEC's side of the story
Retransmission consent explained on Wikipedia

Ophaned Bear Cubs now at Wildlife Rehabilitation Facility

The two bear cubs who became orphans when their mother was struck and killed by a car this week in Suffolk are being cared for at the Wildlife Center of Virginia in Waynesboro.  Veterinarians said both cubs appeared healthy, despite a 40 foot fall from a tree suffered by one after it was tranquilized by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

Officials determined both cubs were males.  At about 20 lbs each, they are considered somewhat small for their age.  The cubs will be fattened up and monitored before they are released into the wild.

The Wildlife Center of Virginia also cared for more wildlife from Hampton Roads earlier this year.  Three eaglets were removed from their nest at Norfolk Botanical Gardens in April when their mother was struck by a passenger jet.  The eaglets were raised at the Wildlife Center and released into the wild over the summer.

One of the center's resident bald eagles is a Norfolk native.  "Buddy" was rescued from his nest at Norfolk Botanical Gardens in 2008 when a bout with avian pox left him with a deformed beak.  It's believed Buddy would have difficulty surviving in the wild, so he lives at the center.  Officials there say they hope to use buddy in educational programs.

Link:
The Wildlife Center of Virginia

Cell Phone Companies Pledge to Warn Before they Charge You

Cell phone companies pledged Monday that they will soon warn customers who were getting close to their monthly usage limits.  The warnings will help customers avoid costly over-usage fees. 

Some cellular companies like AT&T and Verizon already have warning systems for their data plans.  But wireless association CTIA is now promising that a formal advisory system for all carriers for data, calling and text is in the works.


For the time being, cellular customers should keep track of their own monthly usage.  It's expected to take up to two years to fully implement the warning system.

In Monday's announcement, the FCC and CTIA credited the publishers of Consumer Reports for raising awareness of the issue.  A Consumer Reports article on avoiding cell phone overage charges is available here.

My Bin Overfloweth

If you were to do a Google search of this blog for the word, "recycling," you would find at least a half dozen posts I've written on the subject.  Recycling was one of the reasons I started this blog.  I've stopped assuming that everyone knows what can be recycled and where.  My neighbors regularly provide evidence to the contrary...many of them fill their curbside recycling bins with garbage.

One of the recycling problems I run into is that my curbside bin is sometimes full before the collection day.  In such a case, I have four options:  let the recycling pile up in the house until the bin is emptied (messy), dump it in my neighbor's bin (sneaky), throw it in the garbage (wasteful), or haul it away myself.  I'm lucky to live close enough to one of the four recycling drop-off centers in Virginia Beach that hauling it away myself is practical.

1. First Landing State Park -- near the Shore Drive entrance.
2. The Virginia Beach Landfill -- 1989 Jake Sears Road
3. Princess Anne High School -- 4400 Virginia Beach Boulevard, behind the portable classrooms
4. Municipal Center Parking Lot -- George Mason Drive at James Madison Boulevard

View Virginia Beach Recycling Drop-Off Centers in a larger map

For information on what can and cannot be recycled in Virginia Beach, visit the city's recycling info page.

E-Cycling Event Rounds Up 28 Tons of Electronic Waste

Well done, Hampton Roads.  Officials with the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center have announced that 28 tons of old computers, TVs, and other electronic waste was collected at the aquarium's recent e-cycling event.  Three dozen volunteers, including many from the Navy, GEICO, and the Shadowlawn Civic League, filled four trailers with old electronics, which will be diverted from landfills back into the economy.

The aquarium has been holding these events since 2009.  In that time, more than 120 tons of e-waste have been spared from the garbage dump.

Remember, e-cycling is available all year round at your local Best Buy or Goodwill store.

Shred Documents for Free in Virginia Beach this Saturday

On Saturday, October 15th, Virginia Beach Police and Cintas Document Management company will be shredding documents for free at two locations. 

• 9am-11am:  Marian Manor, 5345 Marian Lane MAP
• 11am-1pm:  Our Lady of Perpetual Help, 4560 Princess Anne Road MAP

The program is designed to keep documents containing personal information out of the hands of identity thieves. 

The event is free, but participants are encouraged to donate non-perishable foods for a food drive.

Drug Take-Back Event October 29th

Do you have outdated prescription or over-the-counter medications cluttering your medicine cabinet?  You can dispose of them properly and for free on Saturday, October 29th during the 3rd National Drug Take-Back Day.

The first Drug Take-Back Day occurred in September of 2010; the second, last April.  The round-up keeps drugs out of the hands of people who might abuse them.  It also prevents people from flushing their old medicines down the toilet, thus reducing the amount of drug residue that gets into the public water supply, which is a growing concern in the U.S.  Nationwide, more than 188 tons of drugs were disposed of in the April drug take-back.

There will be a number of drug collection sites across Hampton Roads between 10am and 2pm on October 29th.  Visit the Drug Take-Back Day website to find a collection point in your area.

From the archive:  a post from April on how to properly dispose of medicines when it's not drug take-back day.

Bank Fees from Federal Regulation D

I spotted something interesting in the monthly newsletter from my credit union that has helped explain a series of pesky transfer fees I incurred several years ago.  It has to do with Federal Regulation D.

Federal Regulation D, as it's name so clearly indicates, is a banking rule.  It limits the number of withdrawals from a savings or money market account to only six per month.  If you regularly transfer funds from your savings to your checking account, you could get charged a fee if you make the transfer more than six times in a month.  

Links:
Wikipedia's easy to read entry on Federal Regulation D
The government's not so easy to read entry on Federal Regulation D

DMV Disruptions this Weekend.

If you need something from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles before Tuesday, October 11th, do it today or Friday.  The DMV will be partially offline this weekend.

Due to system maintainence by the Social Security Administration, DMV officials say certain transactions, like applying for a first time driver's license, will be unavailable this Saturday, October 8th.  In addition, the DMV and most other state offices will be closed Monday, October 10th in observance of Columus Day. 

More information is available here.

Energy Star Sales Tax Holiday this Weekend

Friday, October 7th through Monday, October 10th, Virginia will mark its annual Sales Tax Holiday for energy saving appliances.  Certain Energy Star and WaterSense rated appliances costing less than $2,500 are exempt of Virginia's 5% sales tax during the holiday.

The 2007 General Assembly created the sales tax holidays.  Virginia has three.  In addition to the Energy Star weekend, there's the Hurricane and Emergency Preparedness Equipment Sales Tax Holiday in May that offers savings on emergency supplies.  The Back to School Sales Tax Holiday in August discounts school supplies.

As I detailed in August, the tax holidays are not big money savers in themselves.  Shoppers will save $5.00 for every hundred they spend; a person would have to spend to $1,000 to save $50.00.  But items that qualify for the sales tax holiday are often discounted by retailers hoping to lure sales tax holiday shoppers their way.  Plus, swapping an older appliance for one that's more energy efficient will save a little on the utility bills every month.

Links:
Tax Holiday details from the State Department of Taxation
2007 article announcing the inaugural Energy Star Sales Tax Holiday.

Drivers: "Do As I Say, Not As I Do"

Almost everyone agrees it's wrong, but more than a third of people surveyed by the AAA have admitted to reading or sending text messages while driving.  And that was just in the past month.

These are some of the results from AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety's Annual Traffic Safety Culture Index survey.

•  95 -- Percentage of drivers who viewed reading or sending texts by other drivers as a serious safety threat.
• 35 -- Percentage of drivers who admitted to reading or sending texts while driving in the previous month.
• 88 -- Percentage of drivers who viewed talking on a cell phone while driving as a serious safety hazard. 
• 67 -- Percentage of drivers who admitted to using a cell phone while driving.

The survey results were released as part of the AAA's "Heads Up Driving Week."  The auto club is encouraging drivers to pledge not to text while driving for a week.

Texting while operating a motor vehicle is illegal in Virginia.  And drivers under age 18 are banned from any use of a cell phone.  Both offenses are secondary, meaning an officer must observe a primary infraction, like speeding, to issue a ticket for texting.

Links:
AAA's Distracting Driving Report
Texting while driving laws by state

Changes at Virginia Beach Town Center

Some changes are on the way for the area around Virginia Beach Town Center.  Employees of Fuddrucker's restaurant on Virginia Beach Boulevard arrived at work Tuesday to find the restaurant closed and the sign removed.  Company officials said the building would have required too much work to overhaul.  They're looking to relocate elsewhere in Virginia Beach.

Meanwhile, the Shell gas station at the corner of Virginia Beach Boulevard and Constitution will close for good this weekend to make way for a new drug store.  The gas station, known for its festive Christmas decorations and weekly high school car washes, has been at that location for 42 years.

Voter Registration Deadline: October 17th

Monday, October 17th is the deadline to register to vote in the November 8th elections.  This year's elections will focus on seats in the House of Delegates, the Virginia Senate, and local city councils.  Those wanting to become a registered voter can do so at the Virginia DMV.  From their media release...

"Customers may apply to register to vote at any of the 74 Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) customer service centers or 57 DMV Select locations throughout the state, or at their local registrar’s office. For information on DMV locations, hours and schedules, visit www.dmvNOW.com.

Citizens are urged to check their voting status before the October 17 application deadline. If you need to find out if you are registered to vote or where your polling precinct is located, visit the Virginia State Board of Elections website at www.sbe.virginia.gov, call 1-800-552-9745 or contact your local voter registrar."

Help Your Neighborhood School by Shopping

With municipal budgets being squeezed tighter every year, public schools need every bit of help they can get, including corporate help.  Below are a few ways you can support your local school simply by shopping. 

Box Tops 4 Education -- Clip "Box Tops 4 Education" box tops from hundreds of products and deliver them to the school's office.  Each box top is worth $0.10 for the school.  List of participating products.  
In addition, shop more than a hundred retailers online through www.BoxTops4Education.com to earn e-box tops for your school.


Register Your Shoppers Card -- At checkout, link your shoppers card to your school and the store will donate a portion of your purchase amount to the school.  Stores participating include Harris Teeter, Food Lion, Kroger, and Office Depot.

Labels for Education -- Help your school earn free educational equipment by giving them Labels for Education proofs of purchase from Campbell's Soups and other products.  www.LabelsforEducation.com

E-Cycling Event in Virginia Beach This Saturday

Here's your opportunity to purge your home of old, broken computers, televisions and more.  Bring your old electronic components to a free e-cycling event this Saturday, October 1st, at the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center.  The collection point is in the East Parking Lot, across General Booth Boulevard from the museum's main building.

I did this last January and can say it's very easy.  Just pull your car into the queue and wait your turn.  Volunteers will come to you to collect your stuff.  You don't even have to get out of the car.

Computers, computer peripherals, fax machines, telephones, cell phones, PDAs, stereo equipment, gaming systems, and TVs smaller than 32-inches will be accepted.  Click here for more details.

You can e-cycle anytime through Best Buy or Goodwill, as I detail here.

Astronomy Exhibit Coming to Newport News

On November 29th, the Virgil I. Grissom Library in Newport News will welcome a new exhibit celebrating four hundred years of astronomy. "Visions of the Universe:  Four Centuries of Discovery" will span the evolution of astronomy, from Galileo's first observations through a telescope to modern images from the Hubble Space Telescope.  The exhibit will be on display through February 15th and is free to the public.

It bears pointing out that the library that will host the exhibit is named for an explorer.  Virgil Grissom was better known as known as Gus Grissom, one of NASA's original Mercury seven astronauts.  Grissom and his fellow astronauts did much of their training at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton.

To promote the traveling exhibit, the American Library Association has provided the media with some beautiful, high-resolution photos from the Hubble Space Telescope.  The graphic at the top of this post is an example.  You can view more here.

Links:
www.nngov.com/pressroom/press-releases/universeexhibit
NASA Langley's role in Project Mercury

Red Light Camera Scam

Police in Northern Virginia are warning residents of a scam involving red light cameras, the automated traffic monitoring devices now in use at busy intersections in a number of Virginia cities.  Several residents of Vienna have reported receiving phone calls and being threatened with arrest if they didn't pay a fine for red light camera infraction right then.  The would-be victims are then told they can take care of the fine if they would just provide the caller with a credit card number.

Authorities are calling it an identity theft scam.  In Virginia, red-light violators are notified of the infraction by mail, not over the phone.

The scam has not shown up in Hampton Roads...yet.  The Daily Press reports that police in Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, and Newport News, the three Hampton Roads cities with red light cameras, have not had a complaint about the scam.

In the Daily Press report, Virginia Beach police officer Brian Walters offered this advice to help reduce the risk of being scammed over the phone.

• Ask the caller for a copy of the citation, but don't give out your home address.
• Don't give out personal information, like credit card or social security numbers, unless you initiated the call.  This applies to any over-the-phone transaction.
• Record the time and date of the call.

 Links:
Daily Press report on the scam.
Yahoo News report

Central Library Sculpture will be Repaired

Recent visitors to the Meyera E. Oberndorf Central Library in Virginia Beach have noticed yellow police tape surrounding the mount on which the building's iconic wind driven sculpture once stood.  The sculpture was heavily damaged by Hurricane Irene in August.  Library spokeswoman Christine Brantley tells me the sculpture is being repaired and should be back in its usual spot in a couple of months.

Update:  I've learned the sculpture is called "Pennant."  It was created by New Orleans artist Lin Emery, who just unveiled a new piece called "Wings" at the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts.

Below:  the sculpture in action

Amazon Launches Library Lending for Kindle

Months after announcing it was coming, Amazon has quietly launched library lending for its popular Kindle e-reader.  The move eliminates the Kindle's primary weakness and puts it on par with Barnes and Noble's Nook and other e-reader devices, which have supported public library checkouts for some time.

I just tried it with the Virginia Beach Public Library and it works great.  I visited the library's "Overdrive" site, which powers the city's e-lending.  Since our Kindle belongs to my wife, I looked for a book that was both available and trashy-looking enough to suit Mary's tastes.  I then clicked "add to cart" and then proceeded to check out. The check out process will actually take you to the book's Amazon page, which will copy the book to your Kindle.

The checkout period for Kindle e-books is 21 days.  The library has only so many e-copies of each book so some titles may not be available right away.  But you can put e-books on hold, just like with regular hard copy books.

Contact your local library if you have questions about library lending for the Kindle.

Link:
Virginia Beach Public Library E-Lending Page
Virginia Beach press release announcing Kindle e-lending

The Tumbling Satellite

By now you've heard that a wayward NASA weather satellite the size of a school bus is expected to fall to Earth this week.  The story conjures up memories of Skylab, which provoked a fair amount of hysteria when it crashed to the ground in Australia in 1979.  Here's what scientists know and don't know about this week's falling space junk.

NASA knows the satellite will fall out of orbit in the next couple of days.  They know that about two dozen pieces of it should survive re-entry.  What they don't know is exactly when they will fall or where.They don't know the specifics because of the satellite's immense speed (18,000mph) and variances in the earth's upper atmosphere, which affect the satellite's trajectory.

NASA also doesn't know exactly what risk the satellite poses to people, but scientists have hazarded a guess.  By factoring in the earth's population (7,000,000,000), the space vehicle's usual orbit, and the estimated amount of falling debris,  NASA has predicted a 1 in 3,200 chance that a human will be struck by a chunk of the satellite.

NASA has issued regular reminders that whatever debris falls on land still belongs to the owner of the satellite it came from.  Space junk is not for souvenir hunters, they say. 

That proclamation generated a somewhat deeper question.  Actually, it was my wife who posed the question:  if the satellite owner also owns the debris, is the owner then liable if falling chunks of satellite cause property damage or hurt someone. 

For that answer, I turned to NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton.  NASA's public affairs division reported there are a number of overlapping international space treaties dating back several decades that deal with damage liability.  How an actual case of damage or injury would be dealt with under the treaties has never been put the test in court, they report.  Let's hope there is never a case where the courts would have to figure it out.

An article on space damage liability was published just this week by The Space Review.

The odds of the satellite hitting a person.

Low Cost Rabies Clinic in Suffolk this Saturday

Spotted this on the City of Suffolk's Facebook page...

A low cost rabies clinic will be held this Saturday, September 24, from 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. at Suffolk Animal Control, 124 Forest Glen Drive. The clinic was scheduled in response to a record number of rabies cases in the city, and is sponsored by the Suffolk Humane Society and Suffolk Animal Control. The clinic is open to anyone (not just Suffolk residents).

Vaccinations will cost only $5.00 and have been provided by Nansemond Veterinary Clinic. Volunteers will be available to answer questions, and vaccinations will be given on a first come, first-served basis. Suffolk Animal Control will also be selling city dog licenses for $5 each.

Again, rabies vaccinations are available for $5.00 for pet owners in all Hampton Roads cities, not just Suffolk.  As I detailed earlier this summer, rabies has been especially prevalent this year in Suffolk and other western portions of Tidewater. 


Link:
www.suffolkva.us/anml_ctrl

Virginia Destroyers Food Drive

Amid the hoopla leading up the Virginia Destroyers' home debut this Saturday is a food drive for the local Food Bank.  The team will be collecting canned food at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex between 4pm and 7pm.

The UFL's Virginia Destroyers will host the Las Vegas Locomotives this Saturday at 7pm.

Meanwhile, you can save 40% on Virginia Destroyers tickets here...

Links
www.ufl-football.com/virginia-destroyers
www.foodbankonline.org

Free Museum Day this Saturday

This Saturday, September 24th is Smithsonian Magazine's Free Museum Day.  Admission to a number of Hampton Roads museums will be free, including the Children's Museum of Virginia and the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in Portsmouth, the Contemporary Arts Center in Virginia Beach, and the Peninsula Fine Arts Center in Newport News.  In addition, the historic Jamestowne and Yorktown Battlefields will have free admission.

To participate, visit www.SmithsonianMag.com/museumday and print out an entry ticket to one museum.  The ticket will cover admission for up to two people.

For a list of Virginia museums that will have free admission on Free Museum Day, visit this page.

Shore Birds by the Road

Efforts to control the population of shorebirds at the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel are working...somewhat.  College of William and Mary biology professor Ruth Beck tells the Daily Press that the laughing gull and herring gull populations on the tunnel's man-made islands have been cut by more than half in recent years, but adds that those birds have been replaced by rising numbers of terns.  The birds are seen as a safety hazard to passing motorists.

Some past endeavors to control the birds, such as an effort years ago to shoot them, have been controversial.  A more humane project to coat gull eggs with vegetable oil, thus suffocating the embryos, has proven more successful.

Read more in the Daily Press

Triple Coupon Day

I am writing to report that I have successfully completed and survived my first-ever Triple Coupon Day mission. The pros are right; you really do need to plan and organize to make it work.

I learned of Harris Teeter's Triple Coupon Week from AFrugalChick.com, Laura Oliver's increasingly popular blog on tips, coupons and deals.  It's one of the websites in my bookmark group called "daily sweep," a handful of sites I make a point to visit every day.  The others include VARTV.com, a site about local radio and TV, and Sun-Sentinel.com, where I read the latest dire predictions about my team, the Miami Dolphins.

To get myself organized for triple couponing, I had to know the rules.  Laura's website includes a link to the coupon policies of most of the local retailers.  I learned that between September 14th and 20th, Harris Teeter will triple the value of any coupon up to and including $0.99.  Customers can redeem up to 20 coupons per visit.

I have been clipping coupons since college, but I only recently began putting any real effort towards it, times being what they are.  The greatest effort went in to creating a searchable coupon database using Microsoft Access.  It has about 400 coupons listed, sortable by product name, coupon value and expiration date.  To pick which ones to use, I selected all of my coupons with a value under $1.00 and asked my home's chief menu planner, my wife, to mark the good ones.  I then pulled those coupons from my coupon book, made a list, and, on the morning of September 14th, headed off to Harris Teeter.

I quickly learned that my coupon planning efforts were nothing compared to some of the other shoppers'.  The store was fairly crowded with customers, many armed with long lists and coupon organizers as big as phone books.

Laura, the "frugal chick," had advised during her regular Sunday appearance on WVEC-TV to get to the store early on triple coupon days because items sell out quickly.  Good advice.  One of my $0.50 coupons (worth $1.50 on this day) went to waste when I found the store's entire stock of Domino sugar was gone.  The same was true for the Betty Crocker Deluxe Brownies.  But I did find plenty of other things on my list that were in stock, and many of them were on store discount with my Harris Teeter shopper's card.

At the register, my selection of Campbell's soup, Hamburger Helper, Bisquick, Duracall batteries and more totaled about $48.00 with the store discounts.  With my one dozen coupons, my final price came down to $25.00, almost half the original price.

Hardcore couponers, like those seen on the TV show, Extreme Couponing, might scoff at my rookie effort, but I take solace in this.  We've all heard the anecdote of a person who bought $200.00 worth of groceries for $5.00.  But Laura Oliver has told me that with the restrictive coupon policies of the grocery stores in my area, it's really difficult to pull that off here.  Also, I only bought things that I would have bought anyway.  I could have tripled a $0.50 off-the-shelf coupon for Tide detergent, but we have plenty of detergent already and we don't generally use Tide.

One more note on organizing your coupons.  I recently found a website that includes a database of all of the coupons that are released through the mail and the Sunday newspaper.  The database is searchable.  And with a free membership to the website, you can select individual coupons and put them in your own private database, a "coupon box" so to speak, that is also searchable.  The coupons listed sometimes don't match the coupons from the newspaper exactly, but each entry in your "coupon box" is editable.  The website is http://coupondatabase.dealseekingmom.com/main-database

More Links:
www.AFrugalChick.com -- Laura Oliver's money saving blog
Hear my interview with the Frugal Chick

Also in the News

The Stuff that Didn't Make it on the Air

VDOT will temporarily close two drawbridges in the coming days.  Wednesday and Thursday nights, the Gilmerton Bridge will be closed between 8pm and 5pm.  VDOT is doing more construction work in advance of the planned replacement of the bridge.  Meanwhile, the High Rise Bridge on Interstate 64 will be closed for about an hour this Sunday at 6am for routine maintenance.

A Crime Line caller whose name was accidentally revealed to the violent crime suspect he had called about has dropped his lawsuit against the crime tip organization, but his lawyer vows to refile the lawsuit, the Suffolk News-Herald has reported.  According to the lawsuit, the tipster claims defendant Bubble Jones confronted and threatened him.

Fifteen percent of employers in Hampton Roads are planning to add workers in the 4th fiscal quarter, employment group Manpower is estimating.  Eight percent excepted to cut jobs, for a net job outlook of seven percent.  A year ago, that number was in negative territory.

The foundation in charge of the September 11th Memorial in New York City is pledging to fix a small error on the memorial.  When the memorial opened to the public Monday, the sister of 9/11 victim Jeffrey Schreier discovered her brother's first name was spelled "Jeffery."

The Easy-Bake Oven is getting a makeover.  With the government phasing out incandescent light bulbs, which served as the famous toy's heat source, Hasbro has announced the new Easy-Bake Oven will have an actual heating element, much like a real oven.