Today on Mac & Gaydos...
• 3:35 p.m.: Is your kid a food bully? Find out how nuts and milk can serve as weapons.
• 4:05 p.m.: "Glock blocks" are forming across the U.S., but are they the best way to keep your neighborhood safe?
• 5:15 p.m.: Would you have a problem if there was a gay Cardinals football player? One prominent figure says players and coaches wouldn't mind but fans might. Find out why.
The economy might not be in its best shape yet, but a recent study has found that people prefer to save money when there's a prize involved.
According to CCN Money, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) released a study this week that suggests that people save better when "treated like children."
None of this involves a piggy bank.
The study, titled "Do Lottery Payments Induce Savings Behavior?" asked 100 students to choose from different savings accounts. Some students chose traditional savings accounts while others chose "prize-linked accounts."
What did they find?
"Introduce a prize, and people are much more interested in saving and willing to save for longer. Overwhelmingly the students chose the accounts with the potential for big payouts, even though in most instances the guaranteed accounts ended paying more in the same time. The bigger the potential prize, even if the chances of winning shrunk, the more likely people would be to save."
Do you think this is a good idea, and could that potentially make us better savers?
Just in case you're not already jealous enough of your 6-year-olds energy, pageant mom Tori Hensley has created the ultimate sugar-based energy drink for kids, "Tinker Tea."
According to Radar Online, "Tinker Tea" first made its debut to the pageant scene and the energy drink market on the TLC hit show "Toddlers & Tiaras." This teeth-rotting concoction's main ingredients are Mountain Dew, sweet tea and of course Pixie Stix.
Hensley seems to be a mother in denial because when questioned about how healthy an energy drink for children could be she responded:
"A lot of studies show that caffeine reverses the effects of hyperactive children. Instead of medications and pills and nasty chemicals, why not give them caffeine?"
So the up side is you can keep your kids awake thanks to Tinker Tea but whats the down side? Besides maybe having to chase your kids around a little more you're also putting them at risk for tooth decay, obesity and the dreaded crash that comes with the sudden loss of energy.
According to The Stir, Hensley is in the process of negotiating deals in hopes of getting Tinker Tea out to the masses.
Does the story about Americans hating their jobs surprise you? It does me.
I know, a lot of people make sacrifices just to make ends meet, but it seems like maybe we should make better decisions about what we choose to do with our lives -- we spend a lot of time at work!
The survey finds that only 30 percent of American workers are "engaged or involved in, enthusiastic about, and committed to their workplace," meaning that 70 percent are not. Of those, 20 percent said they HATE going to work.
HATE.
That's a strong word.
OK, I will allow that on some days I don't want to go to work. I would rather go to the gym, get something done around the house, or go to my son's school to have lunch with him.
And heck, I will always take an extra vacation day over a raise or other monetary incentive, because above all things, I value my time.
But I love what I do.
I love the people here at the station and I love the fact that I get to talk about current events for a living.
I guess I am lucky that I always knew what I wanted to do. I never wanted to go into sales or try medical school. I wanted to watch news, read news and write news. And the old saying, do what you love, worked out for me.
I found what I liked to do and the job and therefore the money, followed.
But if 20 million Americans HATE their jobs, we're missing out on a lot of productivity. And a lot of people's short lives are feeling even shorter.
Maybe everyone who hates their job should get a week or two to "job hunt" and ask themselves tough questions about their passions and figure out if they really hate their jobs, or the fact that they have a job at all.
Today on Rob & Karie...
• 1:05p.m.: Glendale doesn't want the Coyotes, this saga is going to end in the next few weeks whether you're a fan or not.
• 2:15p.m.: The latest excuse for passing immigration reform: the government's budget failures!
Today on Rob & Karie...
• 1:05 p.m.: Glendale doesn't want the Coyotes. This saga is going to end in the next few weeks whether you're a fan or not.
• 2:15 p.m.: The latest excuse for passing immigration reform: the government's budget failures.
Have you heard about the paparazzi and all the international publications talking about at least $5 million for the first baby picture of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's new daughter?
Why do we need a picture when it's obvious the poor little girl is going to be the one with a big butt and a bad attitude? Whenever I see candid photos of celebrities with their kids doing really interesting celebrity things like walking, sitting on a bench, picking out a piece of fruit from a produce stand -- they're all surrounded by a pack of ravenous and aggressive photographers.
What possesses them to behave like hyenas in heat? Money…big money! Why is there so much profit in personality pictures? Because you buy the magazines they're in!
It's your fault that there's no privacy for any recognizable human being on earth and why there are baby pictures on Wall Street. Now, if it's a really rare collectible photo you're looking for, try to find one of a child whose celebrity parents are married.
I'm Pat McMahon.
It's not everyday you hear of a local politician saving someone's life. Then again, it's not everyday that popcorn nearly takes a life. Arizona Rep. Matt Salmon didn't do much. He saw Ted Poe choking, delivered some meaty blows to his back and stood by as an actual doctor Heimliched free a murder-bent corn kernel, but it was enough for Poe to bestow upon him the title of "lifesaver." And why not? I believe the closest I've ever come to saving a life was convincing friends not to rent "Runaway Bride."
Hey, let's cut her some slack. The Utah beauty embarrassed herself on national television because of a brain fart. We've all had them at one time or another, her's just happened to occur on a stage with cameras rolling. Oh, don't get me wrong, I have every confidence Powell isn't much brighter than a box of hair and that she's gotten by on her looks her entire life, which no doubt have earned her advantage after advantage despite a wisdom-less existence. But I think she's endured enough. Time to cut her a break. She seems to be handling the mishap fairly well. And WOW is she gorgeous.
LeBron James has had another less-than-stellar NBA Finals performance -- and Miami's Big 3 has opened themselves up to fair criticism -- but people need to be reminded that the Heat have been to the Finals all three years of their existence, so they've hardly been a flop. Secondly, over James' poor play, Dwayne Wade's disappearing acts and Chris Bosh's "never was" status, the biggest reason the Spurs led the series 3-2 going into Tuesday has been a shooting performance like we've never seen before in the history of the NBA. Mostly unknown Spur Danny Green has not only made an NBA Finals record number of 3-pointers, he's hitting them at 66 percent. Green has scored 75 of his 90 points in the series on only 38 field goal attempts. No one could have predicted such a showing. Green is the J.J. Barea of this year's playoffs, meaning the Big Three have been burned by an unknown threat twice in three years.
The American track and field diva is at it again with yet another misguided plea for attention. First, there was the "I'm a virgin" interview, then the tearful "It's not my fault I'm beautiful" rant at the Olympics and now Jones is complaining about how little she was paid for seven months of bobsled training. First of all, I didn't know bobsledders were paid at all. Secondly, if money was a concern, perhaps Ms. Jones should have inquired about the pay seven months ago. Even her reason for complaining is flawed. Jones claims she is trying to point out what an injustice it is that the athletes from bobsledding are paid so little, when "ballers" are paid so much. It's called business, Lolo. Football generates something called revenue and the players get a piece of the revenue. Last I checked the Professional Bobsled League of America was struggling with its latest TV contract.
I didn't know what to call the women who continue to hate Angelina Jolie because she stole Jen's man. Even pronounced rock lesbian Melissa Etheridge took a swipe at Jolie this week, suggesting she was being given too much credit for her double-mastectomy surgery. Let's look at some facts shall we. Fact #1: Hollywood marriages are hardly conventional, if real at all. See Travolta-Preston. Fact #2: Pitt wanted kids. Aniston didn't want to bear children and potentially damage her perfect hips. Sounds like a solid reason for divorce. Fact #3: Pitt and Jolie have now been together eight years and have six children, that's three years and six children more than the Pitt-Aniston relationship you Jolie-haters seem so desperate to keep elevated atop the pedestal.
Let me first say that this knife cuts both ways. Obama has had a difficult couple of months. One scandal after another has plagued the president and he's given us very little by way of explanation to make us feel better about his administration. However! The recent Republican response has far more to do with sour grapes than true outrage. Sure when you take the scandals Obama has been involved with and stack them up, it looks horrifying, but no more horrifying than the previous eight years. Need I remind you of the Iraq war, failure to capture Osama bin Laden, the largest economic crash since the Great Depression, the housing market crash, the near-crash of the U.S. automobile industry, Abu Ghraib, the mishandling of Hurricane Katrina and Bush's own wiretapping scandal? Look, I'm not defending Obama. He's obviously been dishonest with the American people and he's made poor hiring choices at best. But when you stack everything up, it's obvious that politics is a dirty business and every modern day president has needed a bath while in office.
Sports fans are going to rejoice, and we're going to give you another reason to get a Twitter account.
Ever out and about, or with family or a work function during a game you really wanna see? Do you sit there just hoping your friends will text you about it? Or you go online with your phone and hope to see a headline about it? But you know either way it's not going to be the same as seeing it live or knowing in the moment?
Here's another question for you: wouldn't it be better if you could just follow a thread that not only kept you in the moment of the game, but gave you photo and video updates in the moment too? Twitter is teaming up with ESPN to make that happen!
Sometimes a sports update can't be told in a text and can't be told in 140 characters or less, Twitter is recognizing the boundary and bursting right through it.
You might be out, but if you have a Twitter account you can see the game-winning homerun. The game-changing interception. The major-clinching putt on hole 18. You get it all, no matter where you are when it happens.
So get a Twitter account before they team up with ESPN and be ready to go, then make sure to follow the Data Doctors in case you need help with your new social media adventure.
We've got the answers to your technology questions.
All you have to do is ask us at facebook.com/datadoctors.
A 15-year-old girl going through a security checkpoint on a college tour says she was humiliated by a TSA officer at Los Angeles International Airport.
According to The Huffington Post, Mark Frauenfelder, founder of the blog Boing Boing, tweeted a picture of his daughter after she was allegedly "humiliated and shamed" for the way she looked.
The daughter sent a text message to dad explaining the situation:
"[S]he was at the station where the TSA checks IDs," he wrote. "She said the officer was 'glaring' at her and mumbling. She said, 'Excuse me?' and he said, 'You're only 15, COVER YOURSELF!' in a hostile tone."
Frauenfelder met with the TSA, which gave the following statement:
"TSA officers are trained and expected to perform screening methods in a dignified and respectful manner at all times. We work to make our screening procedures as minimally invasive as possible while providing the highest level of security for the traveling public. We regret that this passenger had an unpleasant experience and are in the process of thoroughly reviewing the circumstances."
