Day: June 23, 2014

League of Legends developer Riot Games this week rolled out an interesting new program that offers new hires cash to quit the company. Any new hire in North America can participate in the new Queue Dodge program during their first 60 days on the job, and are eligible to receive 10 percent of their annual salary to leave the company, up to $25,000. Why do this?

According to Riot, the Queue Dodge program gives employees a safe way out of the company if they don’t enjoy Riot’s unique studio culture. "If someone gags on the unique flavor of our culture, they’d be doing themselves and the company a disservice to hang on just for the paycheck," Riot says in a post on the developer’s website. "Culturally aligned people and teams are more effective, and alignment around mission and values allows us to better serve players. We’ve designed Queue Dodge to help self-identified mismatches move on in an open, positive, and constructive way."

But can’t this be addressed during the new hire/onboarding process? Yes and no, Riot says.

"We carefully vet every new hire through a rigorous interview process, but that’s not enough to ensure a great fit every single time," the company explained. "Rather than allow mismatches to fester, we want to resolve them quickly. This is good for the company, and good for the professional. We don’t know yet how many people might choose to Queue Dodge, but we’ll learn from this and make better hiring decisions as a result."

Riot is not the first company to offer such a program. Online clothing company Zappos, which is owned by Amazon, launched a similar scheme all the way back in 2008.

Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on Twitter @EddieMakuch
Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com

from Gamespot’s Site Mashup http://ift.tt/1ysX4gH
via IFTTT

Filed under: Recalls, Safety, Honda, Mazda, Nissan, Toyota

UPDATE: Honda, Mazda and Nissan have all issued statements about the airbag issue, which you can now find below. Interestingly, only Honda is actually using the word "recall" in its statement, with Nissan calling it a "field action" (like Chrysler), and Mazda referring to it as a "special service program." Honda has also added various Accord, Pilot and Ridgeline models to the list, as well as Acura MDX, TL and CL. Mazda, meanwhile, has added certain Mazdaspeed6 and MPV vehicles to its list. We expect a full list of Nissan vehicles later this week.

Three million more vehicles can be added to the worldwide tally to be repaired for the faulty airbag inflators supplied by Takata. Honda, Nissan, and Mazda have all issued recalls to replace the bad part, including about 1.2 million of them in North America. NHTSA has been investigating all three companies, plus Chrysler and Toyota, for potentially affected vehicles.

Honda is recalling roughly 1.02 million Civic, CR-V, Odyssey and Element models In North America, built between April 2000 and October 2002. Mazda needs to repair 14,794 units of the RX-8 and Mazda6, and Nissan has 228,000 vehicles in North America to be fixed.

Chrysler is also starting what it calls a "regional field action" to replace the inflators in the 2006 Dodge Charger, according to a company spokesperson. The company says that it has not yet found the problem in any of its vehicles, but it’s being done "out of an abundance of caution." The final number of Chargers affected will be announced later this week.

The faulty component was originally discovered in April 2013 when the four Japanese automakers recalled 3.4 million vehicles worldwide, and the situation reignited on June 11, 2014, when Toyota announced 844,277 vehicles in the United States needed to be fixed for the same problem. According to Automotive News, Honda reported that there have been two deaths and 41 ruptures in the US linked to the bad parts, and in NHTSA’s preliminary evaluation, it reported six other incidents of the issue occurring.

To prompt the recall, the inflators contain a potentially defective propellant that can cause them to explode when the airbag is meant to deploy. Not only does this affect the bag’s inflation, there is also the possibility of shrapnel from the part hitting occupants. According to Automotive News, the problems may stem from the propellant being exposed to moisture during storage.

Autoblog has reached to all three automakers and Takata for more detailed information on the affected models. We will update this story as we hear back from each of them. Scroll down to read the entire statement from Chrylser.

Continue reading Honda, Nissan and Mazda recalling 3 million vehicles for airbag inflators [UPDATE]

Honda, Nissan and Mazda recalling 3 million vehicles for airbag inflators [UPDATE] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 23 Jun 2014 09:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

from Autoblog http://ift.tt/1pa5rf2
via IFTTT

Bamboo rockets are really cool. They are wheels with a central rod full of solid fuel and nozzles that spin into the sky until they stop and fall back to Earth on a parachute. Or explode. It’s a big thing in Thailand—so big that they celebrate festivals to watch them fly and broadcast them on TV.

Read more…

from Gizmodo http://ift.tt/1mcTVMC
via IFTTT

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety, Videos, Canada

Sometimes being an animal lover can get you into serious trouble, especially if you’re not thinking of your fellow man. In 2010, Emma Czornobaj stopped her car in the left lane of a Canadian highway south of Montreal to rescue a group of ducklings. However, a motorcyclist riding with his daughter as a passenger crashed into the back of Czornobaj’s car while it was stopped, killing them both.

The case went to trial, and the story has dominated Canadian news for some time now. On Friday, Czornobaj was convicted of two counts of criminal negligence causing death and two counts of dangerous driving causing death in a Canadian court. According to the CBC, her explanation in court was that she saw the ducklings along the side of the road without their mother in sight. As an animal lover, she decided to stop her car to rescue the birds and take them home with her.

Her punishment for the deaths isn’t yet known, but according to the Montreal Gazette, sentencing is scheduled for August. Czornobaj’s lawyer is trying to make sure she gets no jail time because this is a first offense and there was no criminal intent in the fatalities. Regardless of the sentencing outcome, it’s a tragedy all around. Scroll down for a video with commentary about the jury’s decision.

Continue reading Czornobaj found guilty of two motorists’ deaths after stopping car to save ducks [w/video]

Czornobaj found guilty of two motorists’ deaths after stopping car to save ducks [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 20 Jun 2014 16:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

from Autoblog http://ift.tt/1uLLHLW
via IFTTT