Digital photo sharing goes analog in Polaroid Fotobar stores

by Cree McCree WHAT’S HAPPENING Before there were Instagrams, there were Polaroids: instant snapshots you could share with friends, no processing required. Now the company that invented analog photo sharing enters the Instagram age with Polaroid Fotobar stores, where consumers can turn their smartphone snaps into keepsakes. Beginning in February 2013, when the first Fotobar […]

School! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing!

by Cree McCree WHAT’S HAPPENING Steve Jobs. Bill Gates. Michael Dell. Mark Zuckerberg. College dropouts and zillionaires all. Why pay crazy money for school when you could be making crazy money instead? More Millennials are asking that question and just saying no to college (New York Times, 30 November 2012). Skyrocketing tuition and explosive student […]

Pinterest photos help therapist gauge clients’ moods

by Cree McCree WHAT’S HAPPENING Forget Rorschach tests. Pinterest is the latest therapeutic tool. Relationship counselor Crystal Rice scans people’s emotions by viewing the photos they post on the popular social media site. Rice, who runs Insieme Consulting in Hagarstown, MD, asks clients to pin pictures that reflect their mood every day. When clients return […]

More households headed by 75+ consumers, many of whom live alone

by Cree McCree WHAT’S HAPPENING The graying of America is picking up steam as Boomers cross into Medicare country. But that trend was well under way before the first Boomer turned 65. In 2010, 1 out of every 10 US households was headed by a consumer age 75 or older, according to Census Bureau data […]

Sam’s Club bucks Black Friday frenzy with later start time, free coffee

by Cree McCree WHAT’S HAPPENING Black Friday’s inexorable march backward into ever-earlier start times for door-busting sales threatened to lure shoppers to the mall before the turkey was even carved. Now, thankfully, sanity has prevailed, at least at Sam’s Club. Bucking the tide of its retail rivals, Sam’s will open for business on Black Friday […]

BlueState/RedState dating sites let young adults show their true colors

by Cree McCree WHAT’S HAPPENING Red state, blue state, which one is your true state? Young adults don’t have to second-guess each other’s politics thanks to an online dating service that works both sides of the aisle: BlueStateDate.com and RedStateDate.com. Cheeky videos at both sites help naive politicos unveil unworthy running mates. “Did you see […]

Gym rats weigh in on fitness teachers at RateYourBurn

by Cree McCree WHAT’S HAPPENING Physique 57’s Katie Mitchell? “Total rockstar of a teacher.” Chris Griffin at Equinox? “James. F*ing. Bond.” But skip Danielle Wettan’s Crunch class: “Maybe I signed up for karaoke by accident?” Fitness buffs weigh in on their instructors’ prowess (or lack thereof) at RateYourBurn. Burners rate teachers on intensity, cardio and […]

Young free agents hustle up multicareers

by Cree McCree WHAT’S HAPPENING “What do you do?” Good question. For young adults juggling multiple gigs, the answer is anything but straightforward. Dubbed “sidetrepreneurism” by MTV/Viacom, wearing many different hats in the marketplace has become business as usual for multicareerist Millennials (Forbes.com, 19 July 2012). Whether they work multiple jobs simultaneously or sequentially, freewheelin’ […]

Is nursing-home sex the last taboo?

by Cree McCree WHAT’S HAPPENING Sexual desire doesn’t come to a screeching halt when people move into retirement homes, but expressing that desire is verboten at most facilities. That could change. A paper published in the Journal of Medical Ethics argues that sex is a basic human right which shouldn’t be denied to eldercare residents. […]

Brains! CDC rolls out the Office of Zombie Preparedness

by Cree McCree WHAT’S HAPPENING Who says that the CDC doesn’t have a sense of humor? With flesh-eaters grabbing headlines and The Walking Dead stalking TV fans, the oft-stodgy government agency has opened an Office of Zombie Preparedness, complete with lurid posters and a graphic novella. It began as a tongue-in-cheek response to wild rumors […]

Baby, can I sniff your shirt?

by Cree McCree WHAT’S HAPPENING Forget speed dating. Sniff dating is all the rage for Los Angeles singles. Based on the theory that humans are led by the nose to potential mates, Pheromone Parties use slept-in T-shirts as a matchmaking tool. Participants sleep in clean white T-shirts three nights in a row, then take them […]

Skyping consumers get a lift for webcam closeups

by Cree McCree WHAT’S HAPPENING Let’s face it: Webcam closeups are not that flattering, especially for consumers of a certain age. Enter FaceTime Face-Lifts, a new type of cosmetic surgery designed for the Skype age. Developed by Dr. Robert K. Sigal and named for the popular iPhone app, the $10,000 procedure tightens up sagging necks […]

iGrill app lets backyard chefs cook remotely

by Cree McCree WHAT’S HAPPENING Outdoor entertaining is a backyard tradition. But why should the grillmeister miss all the fun? iGrill, a Bluetooth-enabled thermometer, lets chefs mingle with the guests instead of hovering over the coals. iGrill works as a standalone thermometer but earns its keep with remote apps. Once they set the desired temperature, […]

New tech shaves time off cable-guy waiting game

by Cree McCree WHAT’S HAPPENING Waiting for the cable guy (or service repairman) ranks high on the list of consumers’ pet peeves. Besides wasting time, it costs American workers $37 billion a year (CNN.com, 7 November 2011). To the rescue? ETADirect, next-gen tracking software from TOA Technologies. Like an air traffic controller or a parcel-tracking […]

Teens share passwords instead of exchanging rings

by Cree McCree WHAT’S HAPPENING Time was, teens swapped gum mouth to mouth to show their affection. Today’s true-love ritual is much less yucky, but arguably far more intimate: sharing passwords to email and Facebook accounts. The widespread practice is growing. 30% of US teens have shared passwords with a steady, with girls almost twice […]