The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Baby boomers begin April with reflections and suggestions

April is a great month. It starts with spring and April Fools’ Day, moves to National Beer Day, World Health Day, and National Empanada Day, rushes to Tax Day, then Earth Day, and ends with Easter and Arbor Day.

Baby boomers are in a reflective mood as April begins:

Tom Sightings at Sightings Over Sixty tells us that even though he's married, there are times when he go places by himself. The store, the coffee shop, the library, the movies. Now in “If You're Alone ...,” he offers some advice for people who are wondering about going out by themselves. And the advice – or the "rules" – come from an unlikely source,

This week, Jennifer Koshak of Unfold and Begin asks a simple question. Simple, but sometimes difficult to think about. And yet this one question can help you plan your life and set your goals. What do you want your epitaph to say? Think about it, it just might change your direction.

What do we hold on to that was never ours to carry? In a short article, Carol Cassara at A Healing Spirit invites us to stop and reflect about the reasons that hard things happen.

Baby boomers also offer suggestions:

Rebecca Olkowski with BabyBoomster.com spent an afternoon at the Festival of Tea in Pasadena, California, and participated in an authentic Japanese Tea Ceremony. She learned a few things about Matcha and Pu-erh teas and now has a better understanding of how to drink them.

It’s the little annoyances of everyday life that at times consume our time, energy, and patience. Meryl Baer of Six Decades and Counting experienced one of these issues recently. A problem with Baer’s iPhone resulted in misdiagnoses and the suggestion to spend hundreds of dollars in lieu of repair. Read about her efforts to resolve the problem in “I-Phone I-Repair.”

On my blog, my guest blogger Sean M. Cleary, attorney, writes about the dangers of drowning during spring and summer fun.

This is the Best of Boomer Blogs #591. Click on the links above to read the articles. And, be sure to join in the conversations. Boomer bloggers love to hear from their readers.

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Personal Finance Writer

Rechargeable power banks are being recalled by Daniel M. Friedman & Associates due to fire hazard

Daniel M. Friedman & Associates is recalling about 170,500 universal rechargeable power banks in the United States and about 6,900 in Canada.

The firm has received three reports of the charger overheating including one report of a house fire causing up to $150,000 in property damage.  No injuries reports have been received.

This recall involves universal rechargeable power banks for use with smart phones and tablets. The recalled chargers came in a variety of colors and shapes, including a unicorn head, a cat with sunglasses, and a rainbow between two clouds.

Vizio, Element, RCA, and Hisense TVs get low marks from Consumer Reports, while Apple, Samsung, OnePlus, and Google cell phones receive praise

Vizio, Element, RCA, and Hisense are no longer being recommended by Consumer Reports due to new information that shows that those brands have lower reliability compared to other TV manufacturers. In addition, survey data from the testing organization also showed that smartphones by Apple, Samsung, OnePlus, and Google are among the most reliable and most satisfying.

For the first time, brand reliability and owner satisfaction are being factored into Consumer Reports’ overall scores for televisions and smartphones, along with the data gathered during the organization’s lab testing. For reliability, Consumer Reports surveys its members about the products they own, then uses that data to make projections about how new models from brands will hold up over time. Brands that rate “fair” or “poor” for predicted reliability aren’t eligible for Consumer Reports’ recommended lists of products.

“As we incorporate reliability into our overall score for more product categories, we continue to see discrepancies in how products perform in our rigorous lab tests versus how well they hold up over time,” said Liam McCormack, vice president of research, testing, and insights at Consumer Reports. “But we know that consumers want products that both perform well in their daily lives and are reliable. Products that earn our recommendation are more likely to offer consumers the performance they demand and the longevity they expect.”

Facts and figures for the 2018 holidays

It’s that time of year. The holidays are upon us. Hanukkah has been celebrated and today is the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, the day with the least daylight and the longest night. Christmas is approaching rapidly as is Kwanzaa, Dec. 26 to Jan. 1.

Celebrants

Nine-in-ten Americans — and 95 percent of Christians — say they celebrate Christmas, according to a Pew Research Center survey. These figures have generally held steady in recent years. Today, 46 percent of Americans say they celebrate Christmas as primarily a religious rather than cultural holiday.

Five companies settle charges that they had mobile apps that didn’t keep sensitive user information secure

Five companies settled charges Friday that their mobile apps failed to keep sensitive user information secure when transmitted over the Internet.

The mobile apps of Western Union Financial Services, Priceline.com, Equifax Consumer Services, Spark Networks, and Credit Sesame had a security problem that could have allowed sensitive information entered by users – such as passwords, Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, and bank account numbers – to be stolen by eavesdroppers using simple techniques, tests by the New York Attorney General’s Office showed. Although each company told consumers that it used security measures to protect their information, the companies failed to determine whether their mobile apps had this problem.

The settlements with the New York agency require the companies to carry out comprehensive security programs to protect user information.

Comcast continues its poor customer service

On Wednesday evening, something happened to my Comcast internet connection. I was just starting to upload thousands of photos into iCloud which hadn’t been uploaded since early this year for some reason.

It was about bedtime, so I was hoping that when I woke up Thursday, it would be working. No such luck.

About 11 a.m., I noticed that my Comcast telephone wasn’t working either. Darn, darn, darn.

I called Comcast. An agent tried to reset my modem, telling me to wait 10 minutes to see if it worked. However, nothing happened.

FTC warns companies it’s illegal to say consumers must use specific parts or service providers for their warranties to be in effect

The Federal Trade Commission staff has sent warning letters to six major companies that market and sell automobiles, cellular devices, and video game systems in the United States.

The letters warn that FTC staff has concerns about the companies’ statements which say consumers must use specified parts or service providers to keep their warranties intact. Unless warrantors provide the parts or services for free or receive a waiver from the FTC, such statements generally are prohibited by the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, a law that governs consumer product warranties. In addition, such statements may be deceptive under the FTC Act. 

Each company used different language, but here are examples of questionable provisions:

Heart and brain tumors linked to cell phone radiation, Italian study shows

Laboratory animals exposed to cell phone radiation developed heart and brain tumors similar to the types seen in some studies of human cell phone users, according to an Italian study. The findings reinforce the need for people, especially children, to exercise caution when using cell phones and other radiation-emitting devices, the Environmental Working Group said.

The study by the Ramazzini Institute, published in the journal Environmental Research, supports the findings of the federal National Toxicology Program. Last month, the NTP reported that male rats exposed to radio-frequency radiation at levels including those emitted by cell phones had a greater chance of developing brain cancer and tumors in the heart and other organs.

The Ramazzini Institute’s research found that male rats exposed to radiation emitted by cellphones using GSM networks had a greater chance of developing heart tumors and increased reproduction of Schwann cells, which support the peripheral nervous system. Schwann cell tumors were also observed in human studies of tumors in cell phone users and in the NTP studies of lab animals.

Animal study links cell-phone radiation to increased cancer risk

The largest animal study on cell-phone radiation effects confirms earlier evidence from human studies that cell-phone radiation increases the risk of cancer. The study was conducted by the federal National Toxicology Program.

The research found that male rats exposed to radio-frequency radiation had a greater chance of developing malignant brain cancer, tumors in the heart, and tumors in other organs. Other tumors were also observed in mice exposed to radio-frequency radiation. The amount of radiation the laboratory animals were exposed to includes the levels emitted by cellphones millions of people use every day.

“This is the most authoritative study published that connects cancer with cellphone radiation – it should raise alarms for policymakers and awareness for all Americans,” said Olga Naidenko, Ph.D., senior science advisor at the Environmental Working Group. “These studies should have been done before more than 90 percent of Americans, including children, started using this technology day in and day out.”

Super Bowl 2018: Ads still mostly violent and ageism makes a comeback

A 30-second TV ad for the 2018 Super Bowl cost more than $5 million, down from $5.5 million last year. About 100 million people watched the big game, which is why advertisers are willing to pay so much for the ads.

Unfortunately, the ads again this year were violent, violent, and more violent. That was due, in large part, to the awful violent movie trailers and ads for TV shows. I just don’t know why children are allowed to watch so much of this kind of violence on television. I don’t go see horror movies and I don’t want to watch ads for them – ever.

Fortunately, Betty White or another person wasn’t tackled and thrown to the ground as happened in the 2010 Snicker’s ad or a man wasn’t slapped in the face because his sandwich was good.

However, the ad makers, and the companies that hire them, can’t resist using violence to sell.

Best ads

Ads for the Olympics featuring stories about how some of America’s top athletes became successful in their sports.