Coffee Talk Archives

Coffee Talk from Honor Credit Union – Monday, August 24

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Before COVID, lots of people thought that remote workers had it made. Now, people are beginning to understand the downsides of working from home. According to voters on ranker.com, here are the Top 10 Worst Things About Working From Home:
  1. People not understanding that you actually work really hard.
  2. People thinking your life is one big vacation.
  3. All the distractions.
  4. Needing to master time management skills.
  5. Having to wait for a response to a simple question via e-mail.
  6. Missing out on co-worker interactions.
  7. It can be hard to get in touch with people.
  8. Feeling like you need to prove you’re being productive.
  9. Not being able to collaborate as easily.
  10. Having too little human interaction throughout the week.

You’ve got to wear a mask … why not match with your dog? Dog supplement company Goodboy is selling matching human face mask and dog bandana sets. For $33 a set, you and your favorite furry friend can look extra stylish on your daily walks. (People)

 The USDA has recalled Progresso Organic Chicken Noodle Soup because the cans do not contain chicken or noodles. The mislabeled cans contain meatballs and pasta and have a “best buy” date of “BestByMAY262022.” The USDA posted the recall after customer complaints.

American Girl is making dolls to honor COVID-19 heroes. American Girl asked fans to nominate people for their “Heroes with Heart” contest. The five winners are workers who have risked their lives during COVID-19. The dolls are: April, a paramedic; Laurent, a pilot; Sarah, a healthcare worker; Xavier, a grocery store worker; and Pam, a teacher. (Mental Floss)
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Coffee Talk from Honor Credit Union – Friday, August 21

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According to a new survey, more than one-in-five college students won’t be enrolling in college this fall.
We’ve already seen some problems with coronavirus-related shutdowns and movements to online-only learning on the campuses of Notre DameNorth Carolina and Penn State — among others.
In response to the uncertainty that we’re all dealing with, 22% of college students looking for a “normal” on-campus experience are choosing to sit the year out and try again in 2021. (MarketWatch)

Have you taken your dog for a walk today? In Germany, a law has been introduced that would make it mandatory for owners to take their dogs for walks at least twice a day – for a minimum of one hour (in total). The proposed “Dogs Act” also states that owners would not be able to leave dogs chained up or alone for an entire day and puppies would be required to have human companionship for at least four hours a day. Agriculture Minister Julia Klöckner said in a recent interview, “Pets are not cuddly toys; their needs have to be taken into account.” If passed, the law could go into effect next year. (BBC)

Speaking of puppies … A group of puppies recently took a field trip to Sea World in San Diego. The park is closed, so the puppies were allowed to roam around and even get up close to the shark and dolphin enclosures. SeaWorld teamed up with Mission Bay Puppy Rescue and Pups’N Boots to organize the event, with the goal of raising awareness for adoption. You can see a video of the puppy field trip on Sea World San Diego’s Instagram. And if you want to adopt one of these adorable pups, go to Mission Bay Puppy Rescue. (Insider)

Have we actually found a hangover cure? We all have our own hangover “cures” – from eating a greasy breakfast to “sweating it out” with a workout, to popping Ibuprofen. But a study from Finland may have discovered what could potentially be a real cure. Researchers from the University of Helsinki and the University of Eastern Finland found that the amnio acid L-cysteine decreased hangover symptoms like nausea, headache, stress and anxiety. L-cysteine is found naturally in the human body and is also abundant in protein-rich foods. The amino acid is also sold as a dietary supplement. (Delish)
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Coffee Talk from Honor Credit Union – Thursday, August 20

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Today is National Radio Day, a day where we celebrate all of you! The listeners who make radio popular. Thank you for listening and for supporting your free, local, community-focused radio stations.

Northern California, including the San Francisco Bay Area, continues to do battle with a series of fires, many caused by lightning storms.
Since Sunday morning, an unusual barrage of lightning strikes in Northern and Central California, combined with extreme heat, have sparked hundreds of fires.
Over the last three days, state officials say there have been more than 10,000 lightning strikes in California. And as of Wednesday afternoon, California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has declared a state of emergency, said there were 367 major fires burning in the state. (Los Angeles Times)

For those of you who love tourist-trap locations like I do… The NY Daily News says a replica of the bar from the TV show ”Cheers” is closing its doors in Boston. The owner says the pandemic and high rent prices have killed his business.

This may be the biggest Zoom mishap yet … Forget people seeing you in your pajamas or having your kids or dogs disrupt a Zoom work call … A couple in Brazil has you all beat. Seems the frisky couple were caught getting busy during a Zoom call for Rio de Janeiro’s city council. Apparently one of the people on the call forgot to sign out before getting back to the bedroom action. Oops. (Insider)
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Coffee Talk from Honor Credit Union – Wednesday, August 19

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John Ratzenberger, better known as mailman Cliff Clavin on Cheers, thinks he knows how to save the U.S. Postal Service.
The actor detailed his plan in a Cameo video.
Ratzenberger said, “The post office is in a little bit of a pickle right now. It is certainly in the news, being bounced back-and-forth so I had an idea. Why not do all your Christmas shopping early at the Post Office store?”
He encouraged fans to use the money they would have spent on Christmas gifts to buy stamps and send that to their family members instead. He explained, “It’s easy to carry, easy to mail, easy to ship. And it’s worth something, and it’ll be worth something for a long time.”

The Girl Scouts announced that they are releasing a new cookie flavor in 2021. The Toast-Yay! is a French toast-flavored cookie iced with a maple syrup-flavored frosting. Toast Yay! cookies are already available in select areas and will go nationwide in January. (PRNewswire)

Reports are coming out of people complaining of eye irritation, tearing, and eye discomfort related to minty lip balms or even gum and breath mints while wearing a mask. According to doctors, the peppermint oil or menthol, depending on the product, will get trapped under the mask in a concentrated amount and migrate toward the eyes, causing irritation. When mint can dissipate in the open air, it’s no big deal, but when it’s concentrated under your mask and makes its way to the delicate eye area through the space between your nose and the top of the mask it can result in red, irritated, itchy, and watery eyes. You don’t want to be touching your face or your eyes when you are out and about in a pandemic — so skip the minty stuff when you’re wearing a mask. (Women’s Health)

Residents of a town in Switzerland were shocked earlier this week when it suddenly started raining chocolate outside.
A ventilation system at a nearby Lindt chocolate factory malfunctioned and started blowing cocoa powder all over town, leaving a brown dusting on the ground and on cars. The company insisted that the cocoa dust posed no health risks to residents and offered to pay for any cleanup. The ventilation system was eventually fixed and production resumed. (USA Today)
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Coffee Talk from Honor Credit Union – Tuesday, August 18

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Highly trending last night and this morning on Twitter is Michelle Obama: The former first lady gave an impassioned speech on the first night of the Democratic National Convention. The convention isn’t actually a convention this year at all, as all of the speakers taped their speeches individually safe at home.

Also trending is Google Meet. The videoconferencing service has been under fire for being slow and sometimes dropping out completely for some users during meetings, conferences or video learning. Google says they will be beefing up the service and capacity of the popular service.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, one of the largest schools to attempt to bring students on campus for in-person learning, said Monday that it will shift to all-remote classes for undergraduates after testing has shown the spread of COVID-19 on campus.
The decision comes just a week after classes started for 30,000 students at the university, as 177 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed out of the hundreds of students tested. Another 349 will be quarantined both on and off campus after they were possibly exposed to the virus.
The order for remote-teaching for undergrads will go into effect today and the school will allows students to vacate campus dorms without economic penalties. (The Washington Post)

Because it’s Pinot Noir Day – and it’s 2020 … You can now get a shower wine glass holder – with a Bluetooth speaker. It even has a built-in microphone – so you can call your friends while you’re singing in the shower. (Pop Sugar)
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Coffee Talk from Honor Credit Union – Monday, August 17

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Northern California has unfortunately been suffering from some wildfires lately. But one fire got a lot worse recently with a phenomenon known as a FIRE TORNADO. The New York Times says fire tornadoes spawn in a combination of extreme heat from fire, turbulent winds and uneven terrain, according to meteorologists. No thanks!

Who says hard seltzers are only for summer? Just in time for Pumpkin Spice Season, VIVE hard seltzer is releasing a Pumpkin Spice flavor. (PRNewswire) Not to be outdone, Delish magazine says Pumpkin Pie Pop Tarts have hit store shelves. A box of eight sells for $3.68. Pop-Tarts launched their pumpkin pie pastries early this year because of the Pumpkin Spice craze.

You’d think that these days – where no one is going, well, anywhere — FOMO, or Fear of Missing Out, wouldn’t be a thing. But according to experts, FOMO hasn’t gone away – it’s just changed. Instead of looking at other’s people’s vacation pics from exotic locations and feeling terrible about yourself, now people are looking at pics of people doing amazing things during their time at home – while they’re just sitting on the couch. “It’s shape-shifted,” says Jennifer Wolkin, a New York-based neuropsychologist, “It might not be looking at pictures of someone’s vacation or their parasailing trip or swimming with dolphins. It now becomes ‘They’re making sourdough starters,’ and ‘They’re going for a hike in these woods with their family, and I’m just on the couch and doing nothing and surviving and trying to find my breath.'” (USA Today)

Speaking of FOMO … There’s a company in Southern California that will set up a picture-perfect beach picnic for you. Bliss Beach will create the Insta-perfect beach day for you – with pillows, lounge chairs, a table, umbrella, cooler … everything you need for ultimate relaxation. No more schlepping all your stuff to the sand – just show up and it’s all there. (Travel & Leisure)

Fox News says the oldest person in the United States turned 116 on Saturday. Hester Ford has 12 children, 50 grandchildren and 120 great-grandkids. She credits her long life to family and a strong faith in God.
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Coffee Talk from Honor Credit Union – Friday, August 14

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KTVE says an inexpensive head lice medication is showing positive results in treating the coronavirus. Doctors in West Monroe, Louisiana have been treating patients with Ivermectin. They say the patients were in bad shape before taking the medication, but quickly improved after several doses. Doctors say Ivermectin may remove the virus from the body. Doctors have yet to see any side effects.
The FDA says, “People should not take any form of Ivermectin unless it has been prescribed to them by a licensed health care provider and is obtained through a legitimate source.”

For those of you hoping we’ll have an NFL season with healthy players that follow quarantine orders so they can play, think again. Real GM.com says the Seattle Seahawks recently cut a rookie player after he was caught on video trying to sneak a woman into the team hotel. She was wearing Seahawks apparel in an attempt to disguise herself as a player. The team says the unnamed rookie cornerback put the other players at risk because of the coronavirus.

WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids says a family was recently boating off the coast of Grand Haven on Lake Michigan when they found a dog swimming four miles from shore. The family used a pole to bring the dog into their boat. They took her to a veterinarian, who scanned her microchip and reunited her with her owners.
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Coffee Talk from Honor Credit Union – Thursday, August 13

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Today is:
  • National Prosecco Day
  • National Filet Mignon Day
  • International Left-Handers Day
Some famous lefties: Leonardo da Vinci, Mozart, Presidents Obama, Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Reagan; The Queen of England, Prince Charles and Prince William; Oprah, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Babe Ruth, Jimi Hendrix, Neil Armstrong, Paul McCartney, Bill Gates, Angelina Jolie, Keanu Reeves, Lady Gaga, Tina Fey, Justin Bieber.

The coronavirus is beginning to completely mess up shooting for shows and movies so deeply that some of them aren’t even premiering on time for Fall. Deadline Hollywood says “The Voice” will not premiere on NBC in September as it usually does. ”America Ninja Warrior” will replace the series until it is ready to air.

The Sun newspaper says a blow-up doll shortage is occurring because of the coronavirus. Many of the dolls are made in China where factories have been shut down due to covid-19. Blow up doll orders have spiked by 51% since the start of the pandemic.

Vladimir Putin‘s claim that Russia has the first coronavirus vaccine ready to be administered was met with worldwide skepticism, and Dr. Anthony Fauci certainly isn’t buying it.
The country’s top infectious disease expert is casting doubt on the science and safety of the Russian vaccine and believes they are taking an unnecessary risk. Fauci says he hopes Russia has “actually definitively proven that the vaccine is safe and effective. I seriously doubt that they’ve done that.” He added that the U.S. is working on a number of vaccines and “if we wanted to take the chance of hurting a lot of people or giving them something that doesn’t work, we could start doing this, you know, next week if we wanted to. But that’s not the way it works.” (ABC News)
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Coffee Talk from Honor Credit Union – Wednesday, August 12

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The most-talked-about trending news of yesterday involved two different spectrums of topics: Politics, and Football. In politics, Joe Biden chose Kamala Harris as his Vice Presidential running-mate. And in Football, the Big 10 and Pac-10 conferences cancelled their football seasons due to concerns over the coronavirus. Locally, Lake Michigan Catholic was the first local school to cancel their Football season.

Have you ever been the subject of a backhanded compliment? Or perhaps gave one and didn’t realize it until later? Al Roker was recently featured on The Kelly Clarkson Show to talk about his new book, You Look So Much Better in Person. But it’s not just a funny book title – it’s a backhanded compliment both he and Kelly get from fans regularly. During the interview Kelly said, “I love the title. Anybody that knows me that sees your book, buys your book, reads your book, is going to laugh because literally the thing said most to me in my life, in my career … is, ‘You look so much better in person.’ I honestly thought it was just me.” (Country Living)

I know it’s mid-August, but since the year has been so bad for most brands and retailers, they’re already preparing for and talking about Christmas. So Chicago Candy company Brach’s is releasing a bag of candy corn with flavors that taste like a Thanksgiving dinner. Each candy corn is a different flavor of the dinner — Green Beans, Roasted Turkey, Cranberry Sauce, Ginger Glazed Carrot, Sweet Potato Pie, and Stuffing. (Delish) So if you already hate candy corn for Halloween, you’re sure to hate it for Thanksgiving.

Speaking of the holidays and Halloween candy … You’re going to see Halloween candy in stores much earlier than usual. Candy companies like Hershey have requested that retailers set up their Halloween displays earlier this year in an effort to help with sales — since Trick-or-Treating will likely be cancelled due to COVID concerns. Don’t expect to see fancy packaging this year either. Mondelez, the company behind Sour Patch Kids and Swedish Fish will focus on family-size packs of their candies because they predict parents will arrange small get-togethers instead of typical Halloween celebrations. Even Hershey announced limited Halloween packaging, choosing to save money and keep their normal packaging due to the uncertainty of the season. (Eater)
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