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What happens to the billions spent on unused gift cards?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:16 GMT

Gift cards make great stocking stuffers — just as long as you don't stuff them in a drawer and forget about them after the holidays.Americans are expected to spend nearly $30 billion on gift cards this holiday season, according to the National Retail Federation. Restaurant gift cards are the most popular, making up one-third of those sales.Most of those gift cards will be redeemed. Paytronix, which tracks restaurant gift card sales, says around 70% of gift cards are used within six months.But many cards — tens of billions of dollars’ worth — wind up forgotten or otherwise unused. That’s when the life of a gift card gets more complicated, with expiration dates or inactivity fees that can vary by state. Jury’s Out: Gift card scams and holiday party liability Here’s what to know about the gift cards you’re giving — or getting:LOVED, BUT LOSTAfter clothing, gift cards will be the most popular present this holiday season. Nearly half of Americans plan to give them, according to the Nat...

What Are the Best Cannabinoids for Weight Loss?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:16 GMT

View the original article about The Best Cannabinoids for Weight Loss at Real Tested CBD.Weight loss is always one of the “top five” resolutions at the start of the year. Indeed, the CDC now says about 50 percent of American adults are trying to slim down with exercise and diet changes. Despite these efforts, Americans continue to struggle with their waistlines. Data now suggests that about two-thirds of Americans are either overweight or obese.Although there’s no “magic pill” that will rev up your metabolism, many people believe hemp could play a supporting role in their weight loss journey. A few select cannabinoids show potential in curbing appetite and speeding metabolism, but customers have to know what to look out for. Choosing a hemp-derived product without the “right” cannabinoids could stall their weight loss goals.Three Hemp Cannabinoids That May Help Beat The “Belly Bulge”THCV May Inhibit “The Munchies”“THC” and “weight loss” aren’t terms you often see together. If anythi...

92 Melted Bananas

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:16 GMT

Melt-BananaCell-Scape (A-Zap)92 Melted Bananas: Quinn Barnum, bassist with Long Beach hardcore band ’92, told us about his love for a Melt-Banana gem.(A-Zap)Quinn Barnum: I love how the guitar can morph a noise of pure effects drenched feedback into the type of riff that is impossible not to bob your head to. The band effortlessly fuses chaos and dissonance into harmony and groove. It is extremely difficult to overstate just how much this juxtaposition inspired my teenage musical mind. Still to this day, with every listen, I find something new I love about this album. Every track is like an audio feast. In particular, the track “Shield for your eyes, a Beast in the well on your hand”. This song encapsulates everything I love about this band. Of course the guitar is amazing, but the bass tone is perfect, punching right through the sonic assault.  The build up from the intro is perfectly paid off when YAKO’s vocals come in. This song taught me alot about how I like energy to flo...

San Jose State football: Amid bowl loss, a memorable journey

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:16 GMT

At mid-season, San Jose State’s football team was in deep trouble.After blowing a 20-point lead to Boise State on the road, the Spartans stood 1-5 and needed to win five of their remaining six games to qualify for a bowl game. Instead, they won all six to mark one of the greatest in-season comebacks in school history.The season didn’t end in storybook fashion. The Spartans, a 10 1/2-point favorite in the Hawaii Bowl on Saturday night, were shut out for three quarters and lost 24-14 to Coastal Carolina.That’s not what coach Brent Brennan will remember about this season.“A lot of 1-5 teams end up being 2-10,” Brennan said Saturday night. “The fact that these guys finished the season tied for the lead in the Mountain West after where they were, speaks to the quality of their character and the quality of their work ethic. This is a special group of guys.”The Spartans finished 7-6 with all the losses coming to bowl teams and an opening schedule among the most imposing in the ...

Wish You Were Here: Astride camels in the Sahara Desert

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:16 GMT

Our readers have circled the world over the last year, heading for Alaska for a bear-watching vacation, the Galapagos for wildlife adventures,  England to explore maritime history and more, sharing travel tales and helpful tips along the way.Today’s reader missive comes from four South Bay friends whose adventures included camels in the Sahara Desert.Wish You Were HereMOROCCO: A 15-day tour of Morocco took Pete Anderson of San Jose, Sarah Sherfy of Gilroy, Sylvia Shih of Seaside and Debbie Anderson of San Jose on a guided adventure across the sands of the Sahara (pictured) near Merzouga, a small town near the Algerian border. “We traveled together with a local guide, Youssef and a driver, Nabil,” Debbie says. The tour included Casablanca, Fes, Midelt, Ouarzazat and Todra Gorge, as well as the port city of Essaouira and coastal town of Safi on the Atlantic coast. “We stayed in riads, a traditional Moroccan house or palace with an indoor garden and courtyard lo...

TasteFood: You say breakfast, I say dinner, we all say delicious

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:16 GMT

Who doesn’t like eggs for dinner? If you raise your hand, then you might try this North African stew. Shakshouka is a bright and spicy one-skillet meal — a thick ragout of tomatoes and sweet peppers with runny eggs poached in the sauce. It’s traditionally served for breakfast throughout North Africa and the Middle East, but shakshouka is also a vibrant brunch dish and a warming, homey dinner.The base of shakshouka is flexible and forgiving, thus amenable to additional ingredients and varying heat levels. This recipe nudges the stew into dinner territory with the hearty additions of chickpeas, wilted greens and spicy sausage. These ingredients are optional; for a meatless option, add black olives to the ragout and feta cheese scattered over the top. Or point the dish toward North Africa with the addition of spicy lamb merguez sausages.Whichever way you customize it, serve shakshouka with crusty bread or couscous for soaking up the egg yolk and sauce.Prepare shakshou...

Why have three San Jose outdoor cats suddenly rejected their warm beds?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:16 GMT

DEAR JOAN: In 2022, we purchased three outdoor houses for our three outdoor cats; one on the front porch and another two in the backyard. The houses are exposed but under a porch roof and barn roof.The front porch cat is female, while there are two male cats in the backyard, and they do not mingle. The cats initially slept in these little houses, especially when the weather was cold, but now none of the three venture inside these structures.We have cleaned the bedding and keep them free of debris. We are looking for an answer to why the three cats refuse to sleep in these three structures, especially now as the weather turns colder.— Patrick and Mary Taylor, San JoseDEAR PATRICK AND MARY: Cats can be extremely picky and fickle when it comes to sleeping choices, but my guess is that some other creature came sniffing around the houses, perhaps even taking a snooze inside, and now the cats don’t feel safe. When you’re an outdoor cat, you’re perhaps at your most vulnerable when yo...

Share the Spirit: How one Concord garden made a world of difference, and a reason to get out of bed

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:16 GMT

Walk inside the Bayberry Skilled Nursing and Healthcare Center and it looks and feels like any other nursing home.There’s a temperature check, a sign-in desk, a corkboard with activities and a handful of residents hanging out in the nearby dining room. It’s mostly quiet, aside from the television and some murmured conversations.But walk through the dining room, push open the exit door and there’s a whole new world outside.Residents Lillia Alvarez, from right, and Lynn Jaeger garden at the Bayberry Skilled Nursing & Healthcare Center in Concord, Calif., on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023.​ (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) In a small courtyard, covered in warm sunlight, a handful of residents are laughing, talking and focused on their very important job: maintaining a vibrant garden full of flowers and strawberries, cherry tomatoes and bell peppers, and an array of other potted plants.Lynn Jaeger, 64, walked over to one of the plants, plucked a fresh basil leaf off and handed it to ...

Unique Bay Area Christmas display a symbol of neighborly good will to all

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:16 GMT

A beloved hillside Christmas display has returned for the 74th year in El Cerrito, welcoming families in an annual tradition and serving as an enduring testament to the vision of its creator – and the holiday spirit.The display, a broad nativity scene on Moeser Lane, began in 1949 when a Sikh immigrant named Sundar Shadi hung a humble star outside of his home during the Christmas season. In the following years, he added Wise Men constructed from plywood, then eventually animals made of chicken wire and plaster.Related ArticlesEntertainment | Political cartoons: Who’s naughty and who’s nice this Christmas? Entertainment | Holiday travel season off to a smooth start across the country Entertainment | 5 tips for tackling Disneyland during the busiest week of the year Entertainment | 10 Champagne alternatives, budget bubbles to toast in 2024 Entertainment | Emerging COVID variant is spreading ahead of...

Homeless housing projects in Berkeley, San Pablo move forward with state Homekey money

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:16 GMT

Two planned homeless housing projects are moving forward in the East Bay after millions in state grants were allocated toward putting a roof over the heads of almost a hundred unhoused residents.The state this week announced more than $30 million from its Homekey homeless housing program will go to the facilities expected to open in Berekely and San Pablo, as the Bay Area continues ramping up efforts to bring thousands of homeless people off the street. Both sites will offer social services and allow residents to stay permanently. In Berekely, more than $14 million will help buy the former Rodeway Inn motel at 1461 University Ave. and convert it to 42 studio apartments. The city has already been leasing the property to temporarily shelter local homeless people. Renovations are expected to start in the spring.It’s Berkeley’s second award from the Homekey program. In 2020, the city won $16 million to transform the former Golden Bear Inn on San Pablo Avenue into supportive ...