Stand On The X, Get A Parachuting Grilled Cheese Hurled At You

What is a jaffle? It’s sort of a grilled cheese sandwich or panini with its edges sealed, making it easy to transport. Every few months, some “profit-agnostic” entrepreneurs from Melbourne, Australia draw an “X” on the ground, let their followers know through social media, and fling parachute-suspended sandwiches at their customers.

Team Jafflechutes has been at it in Melbourne for some time, but recently held a successful crowdfunding campaign to take their grills and parachutes on tour to North America. Specifically, New York and Montréal. We learned about this endeavor from Urban Daddy, which ran an article about the project before its visit to New York City.

The procedure is simple: you learn which day the jaffles will launch through the company’s social media channels. You place an order on their site and pay using PayPal, then show up and stand on the X at your appointed time. Your sandwich floats down to you (from where?) wrapped in brown paper and festive colored ribbons.

The most important thing about this project isn’t immediately obvious until you watch this video of a sandwich drop in Melbourne. Strangers gather in a real-life space around the mark on the ground where the sandwiches arrive, brought together by the Internet. The whole enterprise is more like a midday party than a simple sandwich delivery.

Jafflechutes [Official Site]

Jafflechutes [Twitter]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

The Most Calorie-Filled, Super-Salted Menu Items At Your Favorite “Italian” Chain Restaurants

Olive Garden’s Lasagna Fritta appetizer has more than 1,000 calories and a full day’s worth of sodium.

Most of us are fully aware when we step into an American-style, sort-of-Italian restaurant like Olive Garden, Carraba’s, Maggiano’s, or Macaroni Grill that we’re going to leave in worse shape than we entered. But while the calorie counts vary greatly from menu item to menu item, almost everything you’ll get at one of these chain eateries is full of sodium.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest’s latest Nutrition Action Healthletter [PDF] takes a look at wide range of menu items from these four chain restaurants, where offerings have as few as 340 calories and as many as 1,690 for a single dish. Alas, even many of the dishes under 600 calories still contain at nearly a day’s worth of sodium.

Here are some highlights, course-by-course…

APPETIZERS

•Most Calorific: Olive Garden Lasagna Fritta

It’s lasagna pieces that are then breaded and fried… then served over alfredo sauce and topped with parmesan cheese and marinara. So your appetizer course has already set you back 1,030 calories, including 21 grams of saturated fat, and 1,590mg of sodium — about a full day’s worth.

•Most Sodium-Soaked: Carabba’s Calamari

The two sauce options for calamari at Carabba’s — marinara or “spicy Italian pepper and lemon butter” — make a huge difference in terms of calories, with the latter pushing this appetizer to more than 1,500 calories. But regardless of which sauce you choose, you’re devouring a ton of sodium. The calamari with marinara sauce tops out at 1,960mg of sodium, while the lemon butter sauce goes even saltier with 2,130 mg.

•Least Harmful Option: Carraba’s Tomatoes Caprese

It’s just non-fried mozzarella, tomatoes, onions, basil and balsamic vinegar, which explains why it’s only 450 calories, and why its 340mg of sodium is only about 1/3 of what you’ll find on almost all of the other apps.

PASTA

•Shrimp Is Not Necessarily a Diet Food: Maggiano’s Shrimp Scampi

You might think that shrimp, which contain minimal fat and calories, would result in a pasta dish that is relatively not unhealthy, but this dish at Maggiano’s was had the most calories (1,680) and highest sodium level (2,490mg) of any pasta dish in the survey.

“To your arteries and waistline, this dish looks like three Big Macs,” writes CSPI.

By comparison, Olive Garden’s spaghetti and meatballs — a menu item you’d probably assume would have more calories — has 700 fewer calories and 720mg less sodium than Maggiano’s shrimp dish.

•Low-Cal Doesn’t Mean Low Sodium: Olive Garden Seafood Brodetto

There are a few lower-calorie pasta dishes available at these restaurants, but many of them still have nearly a day’s worth of sodium. And then there’s this Olive Garden offering with shrimp, scallops, and tilapia; it only has 480 calories, but it also brings a whopping 2,250mg of sodium to the table.

ENTREES

•Anything with Trio in the Name Probably Isn’t a Health Food: Macaroni Grill Mama’s Trio

It shouldn’t surprise you that this sampler of three different dishes — Chicken Parmesan, Lasagna Bolognese, and Chicken & Mushroom Cannelloni — adds up to a hefty calorie count (1,430), but it’s the sodium that’ll get you. With 3,430mg, this plate has more than two days’ worth of the stuff!

•A Chicken Dish Takes the Calorie Crown: Maggiano’s Chicken Saltimbocca

Much like the previously mentioned “It’s shrimp, so it can’t be that bad for me” mistake, the chicken breast in this dish might lead some to think it’s not going to kill them with calories. But thanks to the inclusion of prosciutto, provolone, butter, and pasta, it adds up to 1,690 calories, 28 grams of saturated fat, and 3,370 mg sodium.

DESSERT

•That’s Crostada Calories: Maggiano’s Apple Crostada

Take Granny Smith apples, bake them in a buttery pastry crust, then dip them in cream and crystallized sugar… oh, and serve with caramel sauce and a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. All that deliciousness adds up to 1,330 calories, 40g of saturated fat… and 23.5 teaspoons of sugar.

“Why not save some money and head to McDonald’s for five Baked Apple Pies plus a Vanilla Cone?” asks CSPI. “They’ll do about the same damage.”

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Coinstar Wants To Cash In Your Gift Cards

(The Joy Of The Mundane)

Do you have any gift cards sitting around that you would rather turn into cash/ now that I’ve mentioned it, do you want those gift cards gone right now? Coinstar will be happy to make that happen for you at any of their more than 400 instant-gratification Coinstar Exchange kiosks.

You know Coinstar: they’re the company happy to take away strange metal money discs that you keep in a jar, taking a modest 10.9% fee, and exchanging them for cash. Sure, the fee is a little high, but their kiosks can be found in convenient locations, and you can avoid the fee by cashing in your coins for gift cards instead. Now Coinstar is bringing the operation full circle: they’re installing Coinstar Exchange kiosks nationwide. They don’t accept gift certificate codes from Coinstar machines, which would really be full circle, but do accept physical plastic gift cards from a number of big retailers.

The company’s cut? We’re not quite sure. The “offer” that customers get will probably depend on the gift card arbitrage markets that at that particular moment.

Coinstar’s parent company, Outerwall, also runs Redbox movie and game-rental kiosks and EcoATM phone trade-in kiosks. It’s that last business model that the gift card trade-in process resembles the most. In order to avoid becoming robotic fences for stolen mobile phones, the EcoATM has security procedures that remind us of Pennsylvania’s short-lived experiment with wine kiosks. A mysterious worker at a remote site checks users’ IDs against pictures that the kiosk takes of the person trying to sell a phone.

It sounds like Coinstar Exchange will use similar safeguards, which is either comforting or intrusive and creepy.

If this sort of thing appeals to you, and you don’t mind losing some of the face value of your gift cards, you can find Coinstar Exchange kiosks in more than 400 towns as of this writing.

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Can’t Remember Where You Parked? Google’s Here To Remind You

Apparently, we consumers can’t be trusted to remember where we parked. But have no fear, Google is here keep us from wandering around the mall parking lot aimlessly looking for our vehicles.

A new update to Google Now allows consumers to easily find their parked vehicles, Gizmodo reports.

The service uses a phone’s sensors to determine when you’ve exited a moving vehicle and remember that location.

Sure the program will give you extra information you might not want, like the parking locations when you get off public transpiration systems. But, consumers always have the option to turn off the service completely when not needed.

The Google Now update comes with a few other new features, such as the ability to give contacts nicknames, a new reminder interface, and the ability to use new setting by voice control.

Google Now Can Remember Where You Parked [Gizmodo]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Small Airports Struggle To Survive, Lose Most Flight Options Over Last Decade

(Eric Spiegel)

Between continued consolidation and rising fuel costs, the last decade has taken a toll on airlines catering to smaller markets. It shouldn’t be too surprising then that passengers are finding fewer available fights and seats when planning their travels from their small community airports.

A new report [PDF] by the Government Accountability Office examines how rising fuel costs, mergers and other factors have created a decline in flight service at small-hubs, and what options could help lift these once prominent airports from the ashes.

While air travel to all airport types has declined since 2007, the 76 non-government subsidized small-hub airports – which cater to approximately 365,000 passengers annually – have suffered the most. These community airports have seen flights decrease by as much as 24% and available seats reduce by nearly 18%.

So what has caused such a dramatic decrease in small airport flight options? GAO found a mix of declining populations in small communities, a more concerted effort to conserve fuel and a pilot shortage for regional airlines have contributed to the decline.

Jet fuel prices have more than quadrupled from 2002 through 2012. The costs not account for 30% of airline operating costs. In a move to cut back on those high costs, many airlines have opted to stop using small aircraft, those that typically seat between 19 and 100 passengers, because they have been found to be 40% to 60% less fuel-efficient than aircraft used by larger airlines.

Small communities have also seen a decline in population over the past 30 years, GAO reports. With fewer constituents there is less of need for air travel. Additionally, the report found consumers are more willing to travel to larger airports in order to access better service and lower fares.

Additionally, airline mergers, such as the one between American and US Airways, have reduced the number of flights operated by regional carriers. This has caused regional airlines to struggle. Those challenges are only exasperated by an expected pilot shortage.

The Boston Globe reports that Republic Airways Holding, which flew 21.5 million passengers last year, had to ground 27 regional flights because they failed to meet their hiring goal by 50 pilots.

In February, the GAO found there was an adequate supply of pilots, but lower starting salaries and new FAA regulations could contribute to a shortage in the future.

While most small-hub airports have encountered declines in service, some small facilities have actually increased flight and seat availability because of government grants and programs.

The number of flights serving the 160 small-hub airports in the federal Essential Air Service (EAS) program has increase by nearly 20% since 2007.

Under the EAS program, if an airline cannot provide air service to eligible communities without incurring a loss, DOT provides an airline a subsidy to serve those communities. The program provides subsidies to airlines to serve small airports that are at least 70 driving miles from the nearest medium- or large-hub airport, or requires a per-passenger EAS subsidy less than $200 unless such point is greater than 210 miles from the nearest medium- or large-hub airport.

Additionally, the Small Community Air Service Development Program (SCASDP), a grant program that helps small communities enhance air service, has increased service by just 1% since 2007.

SCASDP grant funds can be used to cover various projects that can be reasonably related to improving air service to the community, such as any new advertising or promotional activities, or for studies to improve air service and traffic.

Despite an increase in service, the two programs and their associated airports face challenges, the GAO reports. Passengers more often than not choose to use other airlines because subsidized airports lack variety in destinations, fly infrequently and have higher costs than many larger airlines.

GAO found that while these programs have reported an increase in service, most of their flights operate at only about 37% capacity. And as discussed previously, the use of smaller aircraft, especially when not filled to capacity, is not a fuel-efficient, and in turn means the airline or airport is essentially losing more money.

To help small communities better connect to larger airports with out the use of small airports, the GAO suggests several community-based approaches. Bus access to larger airports or air taxi service could be a more cost-effective plan to connect passengers to larger airports than the use of government subsidized small airports.

Status of Air Service to Small Communities and the Federal Programs Involved [Government Accountability Office]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Will FCC Overturn State Laws Blocking Municipal Broadband?

(Carly Lutzmann)

Because heaven forbid someone other than cable and phone companies offer quality Internet access, some 20 states have laws that either ban or heavily restrict municipal broadband, and recent attempts to ban muni broadband in Kansas, and Georgia have only failed following public outcry. Yesterday, FCC Chair Tom Wheeler gave some hope that his agency would stop new bans from being put in place, but didn’t mention the fate of the existing laws.

Speaking yesterday at a cable industry conference, Wheeler stated that the lack of competition in broadband “makes it all the more important that we knock down public and private barriers to competition and avoid erecting new ones,” and that is important to “encourage competition wherever it is possible.”

But many states, under pressure from telecom industry lobbyists, have enacted far-reaching restrictions on municipalities who want to create their own broadband networks.

For example, here in Pennsylvania, a city can’t sell broadband service if a “local telephone company” already provides broadband to residents. So even if the service sucks and the price is extortionate, the municipality’s hands are tied.

And in Nevada, municipalities are allowed to provide broadband, but only if they have fewer than 25,000 residents, or in the case of a county that wants to provide broadband, fewer than 50,000 residents. That is effectively a ban on service, as it is rare (but not impossible) for a community of so few people to have the capital to invest in a new broadband network.

Meanwhile, Texas makes no effort to couch its ban in terms of existing services or population size. Instead, municipalities in the Lone Star State are prohibited from “offering telecommunications services to the public either directly or indirectly through a private telecommunications provider,” so a city couldn’t even partner with an existing provider to provide competitive service.

While we’ve beaten up on FCC Chair Wheeler in recent weeks — with good reason — his speech on Wednesday did offer a glimmer of hope that he understands the important role that muni broadband could play in finally bringing competition to the ISP marketplace.

“I understand that the experience with community broadband is mixed, that there have been both successes and failures,” he explained. “But if municipal governments — the same ones that granted cable franchises — want to pursue it, they shouldn’t be inhibited by state laws. I have said before, that I believe the FCC has the power — and I intend to exercise that power — to preempt state laws that ban competition from community broadband.”

Notice that he said “preempt,” not “overturn.”

Wheeler does not appear to be a man who chooses his words lightly, so it’s telling that he opted to declare his intent to cut new bans off at the pass without specifically mentioning the multiple laws that already exist.

He also chose to say “ban” and not “limit,” perhaps implying that the FCC will only preempt those new laws that seek to place an outright ban on muni broadband, leaving the door open for things like the Pennsylvania and Nevada laws that place ridiculously restrictive conditions on municipalities but don’t specifically outlaw local governments from offering broadband.

Ars Technica questioned these same distinctions and brought them to the attention of a rep for the FCC, who clarified that Wheeler “is not trying to make a distinction between ‘ban’ or ‘limit.’ The point is to look at the effect of the law.”

The rep also said it’s too early to say how the Chairman will deal with the existing slate of laws that throw up roadblocks to muni broadband, but said “We will be taking up this issue in the technology transitions proceedings, and there should be an announcement about this in the next few weeks.”

So until then, we reserve judgement, but hope that Wheeler does use the FCC’s authority to overturn the restrictions that have kept muni broadband from being a reality for nearly half the country.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Former Jiffy Lube Mechanic: We Sold Services, Didn’t Actually Perform Them

It began with a customer complaint to St. Louis TV station KMOV: customers accused one local Jiffy Lube franchisee of a disturbing scam on the part of the store’s staff. Customers claimed that mechanics sold services to customers, then didn’t actually perform the repairs that they sold. Worse: one customer claims that employees asked for cash, claiming that the shop computers were down, but hadn’t performed the repairs.

This left that customer with no recourse and no receipt. “I felt like somebody was stealing my money and I didn’t know who it was,” he told KMOV. When a reporter visited the shop where these alleged misdeeds took place, the manager didn’t want to speak to him, which is no surprise.

After that story aired on Tuesday, a former employee of the same shop came forward, who the shop kept anonymous for obvious reasons. “We were out there doing transmission flushes or saying that we were,” the mechanic claims, “it actually wasn’t happening behind [closed] doors because customers [weren't] paying attention to the work getting done.” Well, no, if customers knew enough to do that, they would do their own transmission flushes at home.

“We take all allegations regarding technician performance at our Jiffy Lube franchise service centers seriously and are working with the local franchisee to conduct a thorough investigation,” Jiffy Lube said in a statement to the station. The franchisee also said that collecting cash for work never performed is against their policies, and promised to investigate and “take action.”

Former Jiffy Lube employee: Several local locations ripped off customers [KMOV]

Customers: Local Jiffy Lube location is defrauding customers [KMOV]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Groupon Joins The Bulk-Buying Ranks With Newly Launched Groupon Basics

Once upon a time, if consumers wanted to satisfy their bulk-shopping needs they had to drive to the warehouse store, push a heavy cart from aisle to aisle, wait in line to pay and then drive home. Not anymore. Now with just a click of the mouse you can order a 20-pack of paper towels from online retailers like Amazon and have it delivered to your front door. Well, you can add yet another online retailer to the list of companies hoping to give traditional bulk retailers a run for their money.

Groupon Basics, a newly launched expansion of the site’s Groupon Goods portal, offers discounts on bulk purchases of household, personal care and health products – all without a membership fee, TechCrunch reports.

“We’re putting the bulk buying power of Groupon to work for our customers, helping them save on serious quantities of the things they buy and use every day –– all from the convenience of their home,” Aaron Cooper, senior vice president of Groupon Goods, says in a statement.

Starting with 100 items — including vitamins, razors and feminine care products — the company plans to expand into canned and packaged foods in the next several months.

Discounts on products range from 20% to 30% off retail prices. Free shipping is offered on orders over $24.99. Achieving free shipping shouldn’t be difficult; a quick glance at the site shows there are only two products currently available under $24.99. Additionally, the company is giving consumers 5% of the total purchase back in “Groupon Bucks,” the site’s loyalty currency.

Groupon is just the latest online retailers expanding into a new goods ventures. Last week, Amazon announced Prime Pantry, a grocery shopping service with about 1,000 items.

Groupon Goes After Costco And Sams Club With Groupon Basics, A Portal For Home Goods [TechCrunch]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

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