Author: Chris Morran

Having a sense of humor is important to survival. It helps you cope with the down times and to appreciate the good times. Just ask those yucksters at Microsoft, who have put together a very helpful guide on how to gauge your level of humor competency.

According to those wild and crazy Softies, someone who is competent at humor, “Has a positive and constructive sense of humor. Can laugh at him/herself and with others. Is appropriately funny and can use humor to ease tension.”

They also provide a helpful guide (see above) where you can determine where your level of humor proficiency on a scale from “Basic” to “Expert.”

If you’re on the lower end of that chart, Microsoft has some questions you can ask yourself to get out of your comedy rut:
• In a seemingly serious situation, what nuggets of humor or irony can I find?
• When faced with a potentially difficult situation, is there a way that humor could help? Could lead to a better outcome?
• Am I funnier than I think I am? Less funny? Who will give me an honest assessment of my sense of humor?
• Could I start my next meeting, presentation, or conversation by telling a funny story?

Or maybe you’re just too “on” all the time… like Robin Williams during his cocaine years. In that case, here are the navel-gazing questions to ask of your inner gut-buster:
• When have I used humor in the last year when I shouldn’t have? When it may have backfired?
• Do I ever encourage a near party atmosphere because of my comfort with using humor?
• Do I avoid discussing or solving the real issue by making a joke?

They even have a list of recommended reading that includes such subversive literature as a Dilbert book and an audio recording by Dave Barry.

We hope that this has all been of assistance in increasing your humor quotient.

Competencies: Humor [Microsoft, via Geekosystem.com]

The 21-year-old California man who found a prototype iPhone and then sold it to gadget site Gizmodo.com says he now regrets not attempting to return the phone to its rightful owner.

Talking through his lawyer yesterday, he admitted to Wired.com that he was paid by Gizmodo for what he believed was exclusive access to review the iPhone and that the site told him “there was nothing wrong in sharing the phone with the tech press.”

“He regrets his mistake in not doing more to return the phone,” says Bornstein’s statement. “Even though he did obtain some compensation from Gizmodo, Brian thought that it was so that they could review the phone.”

The finder of the phone has been interviewed by police, but not yet charged. However, the cloud is not gone from over his head just yet.

Writes Wired:

The person who found the phone “is very definitely one of the people who is being looked at as a suspect in theft,” San Mateo County Chief Deputy District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe told Wired.com Wednesday. “Assuming there’s ultimately a crime here. That’s what we’re still gauging, is this a crime, is it a theft?”

The finder made no direct effort to return the iPhone himself, though reports claim that a friend of his attempted to contact AppleCare to no avail. According to the owners of the bar where it had been found, he never told anyone there that he’d found the phone. If he had, he’d have learned that the Apple engineer who’d lost it had come back to the bar on several occasions to see if it had been found yet.

As reported earlier this week, police searched the home of the Gizmodo editor who wrote the story.

“This thing has gotten completely, completely out of control,” said the iPhone finder’s lawyer. “He made a mistake… He should have just immediately turned that phone in.”

iPhone Finder Regrets His ‘Mistake’ [Wired.com]

Buying a home is a trying and complicated process. It often strains relationships and puts an enormous amount of stress on buyers physically, mentally and financially. That’s why the folks at the Boston Globe have put together this list of 10 things to keep in mind as you weather the home-buying storm.

1. Get your financing in order
“The seller wants to know that if they do accept the offer, that barring catastrophic title issues or inspection issues, the deal is going to go through,” said Gary Dwyer, broker-owner of Buyer Agents of Boston. Another expert recommends having a full pre-approval within the past 30 days: “Six months is no good anymore, because the rules keep changing.”

2. Understand your time horizon
“As a shorter-term buyer, you might consider whether the place is a good investment, and if it’s the kind of property that’s going to be attractive for the next buyer…A house near train tracks, for instance, is probably not what most people are looking for. But for someone who’s planning to stay longer, a good school system or larger lot size might make up for the trains thundering past.”

3. Know the overall market conditions
Investigate what comparable properties have sold for over the past three to six months, Dwyer advises. If you’re not working with an agent, sites with pricing information such Zillow.com or Trulia.com could help.

4. Search and buy within your means
“If the housing crisis has taught us anything, it’s that buying with the expectation that prices will continuously go up — and that if you can eke out the payments each month, you’ll be in a good spot in the long run — isn’t such a good idea.”

5. If you’re waiting for prices to go lower, think again
Real estate is a bit like the stock market, Hillman says, in that it’s unpredictable. Though some people might be waiting on the sidelines for housing prices to dip lower, she says, “looking at the numbers, I can’t see them continuing to go down.”

6. Don’t get too sucked in by appearances
Buyers should keep in mind that many sellers will try to present their homes in the best possible light. “If the house has been staged, what [potential buyers] forget is that all that stuff is going out when [the sellers] leave,” says Needham realtor Harriet Lieb. “Sometimes you’re better off buying something that needs a little decorating, because it’s going to take on your own look anyway.”

7. Have questions prepared
“Sellers and their agents should be prepared to answer questions including how old the roof, heating system, hot water heater, and windows are; if the basement has taken water in the time the seller has been there, and if there’s a sump pump; and what utilities and homeowner insurance generally cost… If there’s been recent renovation work, buyers should find out of all building permits have been signed off and if all of the contractors and sub-contractors have been paid in full. If there’s a pool, buyers should ask if the seller has a permit from the city or town.”

8. If you’re thinking of buying a brand new house…
Consider that a home that’s been lived in has been tested, says Lieb. The seller will be able to tell you if the basement takes on water in a rainstorm, for instance.

“People will pay a lot of money for a brand new house. I tell people, it’s only new once. It’s like a car — you drive it out of the lot, it’s not new,” she says.

9. If you’re buying a condo, know the rules
“Condo lending rules have become more stringent, making it difficult for some would-be buyers to get financing. Lenders generally want buildings to be at least 50 percent owner-occupied, Dwyer says.”

10. Think about a home’s intrinsic value
“[Buying a home] has always been a consumption decision and an investment decision,” says Nicolas Retsinas, director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard. In recent years, “we moved that dot along the continuum, and it became an investment decision… Questions such as ‘Is this where I want to raise a family’ and ‘Is this close to the things that are important to me’ will factor more into the decision.”

10 things to know if you’re buying a home now [Boston.com]

Reuters recently conducted a new poll in an attempt to understand those things that Americans are most loyal to. Not surprisingly, the top of the loyalty list was country. But of some interest is that more respondents said they were loyal to their favorite brand of soda than said they were loyal to the company that currently employs them.

Of course, it’s generally easier to be more loyal to something that gives you even a small amount of pleasure than it is to something that many people do out of pure necessity.

And it’s much easier to be tempted away from your current job by more money or better benefits (or even something like a shorter commute) than it is to be lured into giving up your favorite fizzy drink.

That being said, we want to hear from you:

Americans more loyal to brands, country than company [Reuters]

Today, the FAA’s new rule that will penalize airlines for planes stranded on the tarmac for three or more hours goes into effect. While the regulation has some up in arms, the big question is: How big of a hassle is this going to be for the airlines?

Here’s how the AP puts it into perspective:

The government said there were 903 delays of 3 hours or more last year — but that’s out of more than 6.4 million flights — one for every 7,143.

In other words, while you’re more likely to have a lengthy delay than sink a hole in one in golf (1 in 12,000, according to Golf Digest) it’s still pretty rare. But 4,717 flights were delayed between two and three hours last year. A number of those will likely be canceled once the rule goes into effect.

It’s that greyish area between 2-3 hours that will determine how many flights end up being turned back to the gates or just outright canceled. Since the penalty kicks in if passengers are still on the plane at the 3-hour mark, airlines are telling their pilots to turn back as early as 2 hours into a tarmac wait.

Do you think the new rule is going to improve airline efficiency? Or is it just going to strand passengers whose flights are canceled?

Have questions about the new tarmac rule, set to start Thursday? Here are some answers [Chicago Tribune]

Ever wondered what your primary care physician is doing when they’re not seeing patients. Quite a lot, says a new study that breaks down the daily tasks faced by doctors at a small family practice.

Dr. Richard Baron and his colleagues at their Philadelphia practice studied the data in their electronic health record and recently published their findings in the New England Journal of Medicine.

In addition to seeing an average of 18.1 patients/day, each day the doctors in the study:

* Received and made an average of 23.7 telephone calls “of sufficient clinical import to engage a physician,” almost 80% of which were handled directly by the doctor.

* Averaged 16.8 e-mails. 59.3% for interpreting test results, 21.7% for responding to patients, 9.3% for administrative problems, 5.0% for acute problems, 2.8% for proactive outreach to patients, 1.9% for discussions with consultants.

* Processed 12.1 prescription refills, not including those as part of a patient visit.

* Reviewed 19.5 lab reports

* Reviewed 11.1 imaging reports

* Reviewed 13.9 consult reports

And of course the reviewing of the above reports all involves updating of patient records, as well as communicating with both the patients and those who provided the reports.

The study said that the physicians in this office averaged a 50-60 hour work week and that there were 3.5 members of support staff for every one physician.

What’s Keeping Us So Busy in Primary Care? A Snapshot from One Practice [NEJM via WSJ]

Consumerist reader Rachel was recently trying to book a train trip from Washington, D.C., to Newark, NJ, on Amtrak’s website and ran across a bit of a snag — When she attempted to claim the Student Advantage discount, her ticket was suddenly $13.90 more expensive.

Here’s how Rachel tells it:

Tonight I went online to buy an Amtrak ticket for next month (5/22) on the usually expensive Northeast Corridor Line though I lucked out and was able to find a $49 ticket. Coupled with my Student Advantage Discount, I was pretty pleased that for once I wouldn’t be paying a ridiculous sum to ride the rails. However, when I put in my information for the discount, the price of the ticket jumped to $62.90.

Does Amtrak have some sort of policy against using discounts on fares lower than $50? It seems pretty ridiculous to be unable to take advantage of your discount at all times (excepting the policy that tickets must be bought no later than 3 days in advance), but hey, that’s me.

We were able to replicate Rachel’s situation and got the exact same results. And when we tried one of the higher-price fares listed for that day, the Student Advantage discount was actually a discount.

Looking at the Amtrak page that details the Student Advantage program, there doesn’t appear to be anything in the listed limitations regarding a threshold at which the discount no longer applies.

Our best guess is that, aside from a computer glitch, Amtrak considers the $49 fare as an already-discounted rate, but then Rachel should have gotten a message that she could not combine the discounts instead of a higher price.

Below are screenshots of the fare with and without the Student Advantage “discount.”

It’s almost graduation time, which means that lots of parents and recent graduates will be in the market for a dependable car for heading off to college or full-time work. Our cousins with the cool test track at Consumer Reports have come up with their annual list of Best Cars for Teens.

According to the CR car peeps, features you should be looking for include electronic stability control (not to be confused with traction control), antilock brakes, and curtain air bags, as well as good crash-test results.

Here’s more from them:

Stay away from trucks and large SUVs because they tend to have clumsy handling, poor fuel economy, and their high centers of gravity make them more likely to roll over. Sports cars or other especially quick cars are another bad idea, with a higher rate of accidents than other cars and insurance rates to match.

The good news is you can get a safe, reliable used car with those important safety features starting at less than $10,000.

And now, the list:
Small cars
Hyundai Elantra SE (2008-present) $11,775-$18,695
Mazda 3 (2007-) $13,025-$19,070
Scion xB (2008-) $14,075-$18,630
Scion xD (2008-) $13,675-$16,620
Subaru Impreza (2008-) non-turbo, $13,700-$19,106
Suzuki SX4 Crossover (2007-) $10,150-$17,519

Family cars
Acura TSX (2004-) $13,725-$29,675
Honda Accord (2008-) 4-cyl., $17,725-$22,795
Kia Optima (2007-) 4-cyl., $9,900-$20,365
Toyota Prius (2004-) $11,750-$22,950
Volkswagen Jetta 2.5 (2006-) $12,825-$22,965

Small SUVs
Honda CR-V (2005- ) $13,300-$25,805
Nissan Rogue (2008- ) $16,550-$25,850

CR includes the Toyota RAV4 [(2006- ) 4-cyl., $13,625-$25,405] on their list with the caveat that they have temporarily suspended their recommendation of the vehicle because of the sticky accelerator issue.

And what about hand-me-down cars?

That’s fine, as long as it is a relatively recent model, with all the latest safety features, rather than a worn-out, low-value clunker.

What do you think of CR’s list? I know my college parking lot was pretty evenly split between relatively new cars like you’d see on this list and duct-taped beaters like the ’71 Chevelle I drove.

2010 Best cars for teen drivers [CR Cars Blog]

Meet Consumerist reader Jerry. He’s in the middle of moving and has shut off his Comcast internet service as he prepares to vacate his current abode. And while Comcast has made the nice offer of coming out to pick up his modem free of charge, there’s a hitch — It’s his modem, not theirs.

Take it away, Jerry:

I just checked my voicemail to find a wonderful message from someone calling on behalf of Comcast. I shut off my Comcast services last month as I was moving out of my apartment, and now they are wanting me to return my cable modem, and that I can schedule a time for them to pick up the modem at no cost.

The problem is, I bought the modem long before I started receiving service from Comcast, and as far as I know, it is a brand and model of modem that Comcast doesn’t even lease out.

All of this is also coming after a very long (over an hour) discussion with a confused Comcast customer service rep months earlier about removing/refunding the monthly modem lease fee from my bill, as my modem does not, and never has, belonged to Comcast.

I called them back, and explained that I purchased the modem on my own, years ago. The rep needed me to provide the modem’s serial number. I didn’t have it since my modem was boxed up somewhere back home and I was calling from work. She advised me to call back when I could get the serial number. It’s just my opinion, but I believe that the burden should be on them to prove they own the modem, not me.

Has this happened to anyone else?

While there’s much heated discussion about Arizona’s controversial new immigration laws, the folks at AriZona Iced Tea have somehow found themselves caught in the crossfire, with some even calling for a boycott on the beverage brand. That’s why one of the founders of the company wants everyone to know that, just like inauthentic picante sauce, they’re originally from New York City.

Explains Don Vultaggio:

AriZona Beverages proudly traces its origins back to New York… In 1992, two hard working guys from Brooklyn with a dream created AriZona Iced Tea. Since then … we have remained loyal to our family-run business based in New York. For the last 16 years, our headquarters have remained on Long Island.

While the AriZona folks hope this takes the heat off their iced tea for a bit, there are still several Arizona-based companies being targeted for boycott by those against the immigration laws.

From the NY Daily News:

Actual Arizona firms that face a boycott: Cold Stone Creamery, Dial soap, PF Chang’s, Fender guitars, U-Haul, Go Daddy, Sky Mall, US Airways and Best Western.

San Francisco has banned official city travel to Arizona and pressure is growing on Major League Baseball to move the 2011 All Star Game from Phoenix.

AriZona Iced Tea brewed in New York, actual Arizona firms include Cold Stone Creamery and U-Haul [NY Daily News]

Last August, a homeowner in Massapequa, NY — the town that gave us the Baldwin brothers, Jerry Seinfeld, Steve Guttenberg, Marvin Hamlisch and Joey Buttafuoco — began selling raffle tickets at $50 a pop for a chance to win his 5-bedroom, 4-bath house. Eight months and 10,000 raffle tickets later, he still hasn’t given the house away.

According to reports, the original date for the raffle was Dec. 15. That then became Feb. 15, and then March 20. That day has come and gone, and those holding useless raffle tickets are not happy.

The tickets had been sold through PayPal, but when at least on ticket-buyer attempted to get his refund he was told “PayPal won’t honor anything that’s in excess of 90 days.”

The homeowner talked to a local CBS affiliate. He told them that the raffle had been called off and he then claimed to have refunded the money for 10,000 tickets.

All that CBS was able to verify was that the PayPal account used for the raffle is frozen. They say, “PayPal has not been able verify anyone has gotten their money back, and several ticket holders said they haven’t seen any money back.”

Ticket Holders Burned By Canceled Mansion Raffle [WCBSTV.com]

After months of rumor and speculation, Hewlett-Packard announced today that it will indeed purchase Palm Inc. for a grand total of $1.2 billion.

HP had been one of several companies rumored to be interested in acquiring Palm, whose smartphone sales have been lackluster in recent months. The acquisition of Palm gives HP an inroad into the growing handheld market.

Says a VP from HP:

Palm’s innovative operating system provides an ideal platform to expand HP’s mobility strategy and create a unique HP experience spanning multiple mobile connected devices.

The deal is expected to be completed by the end of July.

Hewlett-Packard buys Palm for $1.2 billion [MarketWatch]

We’ve all seen the Olive Garden ads where the popular chain of Italian eateries touts the Olive Garden Culinary Institute of Tuscany, a picturesque cooking school in Italy where they claim to educate chefs and develop new products. But, like many others, the folks at Jaunted.com wanted to know just how reality stacks up against the advertisements.

To their surprise, they found that the Culinary Institute isn’t a complete load of PR bull.

Writes Jaunted:

It is indeed a group of beautiful rustic buildings (even a pool!) in the region of Tuscany, close to Siena, and it does indeed host Olive Garden cooks, managers, and waiters from their chain restaurants every so often, but it’s not a full-time Olive Garden cooking school.

They explain that it’s actually called the Tuscan Culinary Institute, and while it was created by O.G., the restaurant only uses it a handful of times during the year — mostly in the winter — for training and menu development.

The site of the school, known as the Riserve di Fizzano, is available for visitors who want to tour the school or even take classes.

Is There Really an Olive Garden Cooking School in Tuscany? [Jaunted]

For five years, the people at BrandZ (you know they’re in branding because of the “Z”) have been evaluating customer opinion and awareness of various global brands, and then putting a dollar value on that evaluation for their annual Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands report. Here are the top 10 brands on the BrandZ list.

1. Google
“Google is now the number 1 brand by far with a value of $114.3 billion, on the strength of a 32 percent compounded annual growth rate since 2006, when Google ranked number 7, with a brand value of $37.4 billion.”

2. IBM
“The IBM brand experienced 24 percent compounded annual growth rate during the past five years and now, with a value of $86.3 billion, ranks second in the BrandZ Top 100, having advanced from position number 8.”

3. Apple
“Apple, now ranked number 3, with a brand value of $83.2 billion, moved up 26 places [over a five-year period] from number 29.”

4. Microsoft
Microsoft remained unchanged from 2008 with a value of $76.4 billion.

5. Coca Cola
With a value of $67.98 billion, the Coca Cola brand remains the top beverage brand by a long shot. The closest on the list is Budweiser at #38. Pepsi ranked #58 on the list.

6. McDonald’s
The Golden Arches slipped just 1% from last year’s value, but it was still the only fast food restaurant in the top 50. Subway, the only other fast food brand on the list was ranked #64.

7. Marlboro
At a value of $57 billion, the Marlboro brand actually increased in value by 15% over the previous year.

8. China Mobile
The world’s largest mobile network is also the highest-rated non-U.S. brand on the list.

9. General Electric
GE’s brand value slipped 25% from the previous year, but it was still enough to keep the brand in the top 10.

10. Vodafone
The UK-based mobile carrier is the highest-ranking European brand on the top 100.

Other brands of note:
*Walmart barely missed out on the top 10, with a #13 ranking.
*BMW, at #25, is the highest-ranking automobile manufacturer, edging out Toyota — the world’s largest car maker — which ranked 26th.
*The highest-ranking U.S.-based bank on the list is Wells Fargo at #30, with Bank of America coming in at #37 on the list.
*While Comcast may be America’s largest cable company — and the Worst Company In America for 2010 — it is nowhere on the top 100 list. Perhaps the Xfinity rebranding is needed after all?

Click here to download the entire report [PDF]

World’s Top 10 Brands [Chicago Tribune]

It seems like it’s almost been two weeks since the last Toyota recall, meaning… yep, it’s time to announce another Toyota recall. This time, the car giant has issued a voluntary safety recall on around 50,000 early-2003 Model-Year Toyota Sequoia SUVs to upgrade program logic in its Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) system.

According to Toyota:

The VSC system can help control a loss of traction in turns as a result of front or rear tire slippage during cornering. In vehicles without the upgrade, the VSC system could, in limited situations, activate at low speed (approximately 9 mph) for a few seconds after acceleration from a stopped position and, as a result, the vehicle may not accelerate as quickly as the driver expects. There have been no reported injuries or accidents as a result of this condition.

Toyota says they actually identified this problem during the production run of the 2003 Sequoias and claims that they have “been responding to individual owner concerns by replacing the Skid Control Engine Control Unit (ECU) in Sequoias impacted by this condition.”

While the number of vehicles covered under the recall totals 50,000 Big T says that around half of these Sequoias have already been serviced under warranty.

In late May, Toyota will begin mailing letters to all 2003 Model-Year Sequoia owners included in the recall, including owners of vehicles that have been previously serviced.

If you are the owner of one of these vehicles and had previously paid to replace the Skid Control ECU for this specific condition, you should mail a copy of your repair order, to the following address for reimbursement consideration: Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., Toyota Customer Experience, WC 10, 19001 South Western Avenue, Torrance, CA 90509.

Detailed information and answers to questions are available to customers at www.toyota.com/recall and at the Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1-800-331-4331

Official Recall Announcement [Toyota.com]

Don’t say we didn’t try to warn people. We posted yesterday that our benevolent benefactors at Consumers Union would be unleashing Bankzilla upon the innocent people of Washington, D.C., and we were not kidding. Just check out the video for the evidence.

By no coincidence, Bankzilla is rampaging through the streets of D.C. at the same time as the Senate attempts to vote on financial reform.

Whatever you might think of the hullaballoo in Washington right now, you can just enjoy the site of a grown man being swallowed whole by an inflatable monster:

Among the problems faced by chicken breeders who pack their chickens into close quarters is that the territorial birds will often henpeck each other, often to the point of cannibalism. One way to cut down on chicken-on-chicken crime is to trim the beaks of the birds. But a professor at Purdue University thinks he’s found the solution — breed nicer chickens.

William Muir of Purdue claims he’s developed a method of breeding the birds that would make for a more peaceful atmosphere in the coops and would cut down on the whole cannibalism thing.

Muir says peaceful hens would live longer and happier lives, meaning more eggs and less waste.

The big question facing those concerned with animal rights is: Does the fact that the birds aren’t killing each other as much make it okay to keep chickens in small spaces?

Purdue University scientist invents breeding method to produce peaceful chickens, reduce cannibalism

A flight from Houston to Washington, D.C., was diverted to an airport in North Carolina earlier today after what is being described as a threatening message was discovered on the jet’s bathroom mirror.

According to the TSA, Continental ExpressJet flight 3006 was supposed to have landed at Washington Dulles International Airport but instead touched down at the Piedmont Triangle International Airport outside of Greensboro, NC, “out of an abundance of caution” following the discover of the message.

After landing in Greensboro, the Embraer 145 commuter jet, which seats about 50, taxied to a remote area of the airport where it was met by the authorities.

Continental flight diverted because of threat: TSA [Reuters]

If your kids pester you into purchasing McDonald’s Happy Meals, they could be severely disappointed the next time they visit Santa Clara County in California, where the county supervisors have voted to pass a law forbidding toys in Happy Meals and other fast food kids meals that don’t meet the county’s nutritional guidelines.

Among the nutritional guidelines set forth in the new law, toys can not be included in meals totaling more than 485 calories, or containing more than 600 mg of sodium. This means that some meals — like Wendy’s 4 chicken nugget meal with mandarin oranges and low-fat milk — would still have the toy, while many meals containing french fries or soda will not.

For now, the new law only effects the unincorporated portions of the county. Of the 151 restaurants in the county offering kids meals with toys, only around a dozen will actually be required to follow the regulations.

“This ordinance breaks the link between unhealthy food and prizes,” said the county supervisor who sponsored the initiative. He claimed the goal of having toys in the fast food meals is “to get them hooked on eating high-sugar, high-fat foods early in life.”

The law will come up for a final vote on May 11. If passed as is, the county health dept. would be able to fine restaurants for violating — $250 for the first violation; $500 for the second and $1000 for each violation thereafter.

Is this a bold move toward preventing childhood obesity? Or is the county trying to interfere where it shouldn’t?

Santa Clara County: Supervisors ban toys with fast-food meals [MercuryNews.com]

A prank involving some sort of smoke bomb recently sent four employees of a Maryland McDonald’s to the hospital and has authorities on the hunt for suspects.

According to police, around 8 p.m. on Friday night someone left a plastic bottle on one of the tables inside the McD’s. Inside the bottle was what is being referred to as a “chemical reaction bomb” that released smoke and toxic fumes into the building.

Four employees were treated at a local hospital for nausea and sore throat pain.

The fire dept, county hazmat and health departments have since deemed the McDonald’s safe. e also came to investigate.

No arrests have been made yet. If anyone has information regarding the incident, please contact the Maryland State Fire Marshall’s office in Elkton at 410 996 2793.

Toxic Fumes In Fast Food Restaurant [WMAR.com]