pileofcrapola

There are a dozen different ways you can finish (or refinish) wood furniture. Knowing more about the different finishes available can help determine what will work best for your project.

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The size of a shoe doesn't always tell the whole story. While a shoe may "fit", your comfort level can still vary. If you need some extra breathing room, put a baggie of water in your shoe and toss it in the freezer to stretch it a bit.

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Mixing herbs and spices in meals can be healthy , but you still need to know which spice goes with what ingredient. Spice Advice has a chart you can refer to for quick decisions.

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Whether you're planning a wedding, a shower, or any other major party for a major event, you'll probably have people who want to congratulate you—which means you'll need a registry. This week, we're looking at five of the best registry services for events of all types and sizes.

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If you ever find yourself staring at a hole marring an otherwise perfectly good wall, don't worry. Patching drywall is easier than it looks: you just need the right tools and a few basic principles.

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We all become forgetful as we age, but we still want others to give us a good job reference. If you give potential references a short list of accomplishments and talking points, you'll make their job easier.

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Onion rings are a tasty snack—and aren't too hard to make—but getting the right crunch is tough. Instant mashed potato flakes are the secret ingredient.

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Having an extra pair of eyes and ears to keep watch over your expensive ride might sound like a wonderful idea, but GM is now warning owners of its new Corvette that those valet nanny cams might be illegal, depending on where you live.

“Valet Mode” allowed owners of the 2015 Corvette to monitor their cars via a camera, which includes cabin audio, as well as turn off the entertainment system and lock storage compartments.

But if you live in one of 11 states where you can only record someone if both parties consent — meaning anyone in the car besides the owner — turning that feature on means breaking the law.

GM sent drivers and dealers a letter telling them to turn off the feature or to ask permission from anyone else in the car before using it, reports CNNMoney.

“U.S. customers have been sent a letter advising that they should not use the ‘Valet Mode,’ or that if they do they should obtain consent from the vehicle’s occupants before they record them in the vehicle,” GM said.

The company said Chevrolet would soon “be making a software update available to remedy this issue.”

As for how that’s done, it’s unclear — maybe disabling it depending on your car’s location or simply not recording people who haven’t given permission?

A CorvetteForum.com poster says the below letter is from GM, and was sent to dealers:

Attention:
General Manager, Service Advisor, Service Manager, Parts and

Service Director, Parts Manager, New Vehicle Sales Manager,

and Warranty Administrator

This notice is being sent to you regarding 2015 model year Corvettes equipped with the Performance Data Recorder (UQT).

The Performance Data Recorder (UQT) in these vehicles, when used in Valet Mode, allows a customer to record the driving of their Corvette when the vehicle is not in their control. In Valet Mode, the PDR will also record activity and conversations that take place in the vehicle.

To help our customers use the Performance Data Recorder (UQT) consistent with legal requirements that pertain to audio recording devices, we will be requiring a very important update to the system of each affected vehicle in the near future. We expect that the update will be available early next month. At that time, we will provide details about the update and let you know what steps you need to take, if any, to complete the update for vehicles in your inventory.

In the meantime, you must advise any customers who take delivery of an impacted vehicle that they should refrain from using the Valet Mode until the update takes place. If they do use the Valet Mode, they should (i) notify any occupants of the vehicle that they will be recorded while in the vehicle, and (ii) obtain their consent to this recording. It is very important that you explain this to each customer at the time of delivery.

Attached is a copy of a written communication for you to provide to customers to accomplish this notice. We are sending the same communication to customers who have already taken delivery of a Corvette vehicle equipped with PDR.

We greatly appreciate your cooperation in conveying this important information to your customers.

GM fixing problems with Corvette’s ‘nanny cam’ [CNNMoney]

Wal-Mart says actor-comedian Tracy Morgan and other people in a vehicle struck from behind by a company truck on a New Jersey highway in June weren't wearing seatbelts.

Police in North Las Vegas have launched an animal cruelty investigation surrounding a home where firefighters say at least 41 dogs were killed and 52 survived a weekend fire.

Gov. Jerry Brown announced Sunday that he has signed a bill that makes California the first in the nation to define when "yes means yes" and adopt requirements for colleges to follow when investigating sexual assault reports.

Prince William County community calendar, Sept. 28-Oct. 4, 2014 Washington Post Dale City Farmers Market, 8 a.m.-1 p.m., Dale City Commuter Lot, (behind Center Plaza Shopping Center), Dale Boulevard. Free. 703-670-7112, Ext. 227, or www.pwcparks.org. “War and Peace” tintypes, an exhibit of portraits by Melissa Cacciola depicting ... and more »

You buy an item, and a few days later, it goes on sale. It can be an annoying experience. But some retailers will refund you the difference in price. Kiplinger put together a list of popular retailers that with price drop policies.

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A construction calculator has specific functions that allow you to more easily do construction-related calculations. Some people swear by them, and others paid a lot of attention in fifth-grade geometry and don't need them. What do you think?

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Sure, you can save a great deal of money at Costco when shopping at the warehouse (even if you're not a member ). Don't forget you can also save a ton with Costco's services.

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A cordless drill is a handy tool to have around, but it can do a lot more than drill holes. Here are some interesting attachments that go beyond your typical set of bits.

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Whether you're shopping for books, music, software, or video games, the web is full of "bundles," or discounted packs, where you can get lots of goodies at a discounted price. Let's build a list of the best bundles around the web that offer good stuff at great prices—whatever that stuff may be.

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We teach our children to be safe in the real world, when walking to school or meeting strangers, but what about the great, big, sometimes dangerous place called the internet?

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Given how little time recruiters spend on a resume, you should use any edge available to stand out from the crowd. A recent survey of over 2,000 human resource professionals highlights the best and worst words to use in your CV.

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Your resume caught a recruiter's eye, you've had a phone interview, and now you finally get your foot in the door for a job interview. There's a lot of pressure to make a good first impression. So what do you wear?

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Developing your mental toughness can help you be more emotionally resilient, push you to go further and harder, and build armor to persevere against the bullets that life fires your way. It's not as easy to just "be tougher," though. Here are some tactics to toughen up your mind for life's hard knocks.

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Your to-do list is only as useful as as your ability to actually get it done. When you're planning out your day, start with the time that you need to be done with work and plan backwards from there.

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We all know that potential employers check out our social media profiles, but we aren't always sure what they are looking for. CareerBuilder surveyed employers and found out some surprising reasons they found to reject candidates

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You learn unique, useful skills in the military—not just for special ops, but also often applicable to everyday life. Here are ten of the most interesting ones we've learned over the years.

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Have you ever been shopping online at your favorite store, added items to your cart, then decided to not make the purchase for one reason or another? Maybe it was just to expensive. Maybe the shipping costs were a deal breaker. Whatever your reasoning for abandoning your online shopping cart, some popular online stores are now sending a follow-up email to try and entice you back with a coupon or discount to complete your purchase.

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The slow cooker. That awesome low-effort device that lets you come home to a complete meal —or wake up to one , like this complete breakfast of eggs layered with hash browns, sausage, and shredded cheese.

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Web: Glassdoor already does a good job of telling you salaries and work conditions from insiders at a company. The service has now launched Benefits Reviews to find out the perks and benefits packages that firms offer.

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We all enjoy good design, but not everyone has the experience to know how to do it right. Even if you're not an artist, there are certain principles that everyone can learn that are useful in everyday tasks.

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Service dogs are able to help people with a wide variety of problems, from diabetes to seizure disorders to blindness. Whenever there’s a controversy over whether a service dog dog should be allowed inside a business, we frequently hear that an employee told the disabled person, “you’re not blind!” Recently in California, though, a blind man, his family, and his service dog visited a restaurant and were told that Dogs Are Not Allowed.

Normally, service dogs are allowed to go anywhere that their owners are, including taxis, stores, and restaurants. Technically, a business owner can ask an animal to leave, but only if the dog isn’t housebroken or is being disruptive in some other kind of doggy way.

When the family visited this Indian restaurant in South Sacramento, they were asked to leave. Well, the dog was. “No dog. Get out. Just get out,” he recounted to the TV station. They decided to investigate for themselves. Instead of attaching a camera to the same customer, they sent in their own blind guy/service dog team. They were asked to leave, but pushed back by quoting the relevant parts of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

It turns out that the restaurant’s owner and staff simply weren’t familiar with the laws surrounding service dogs, and didn’t know that there are circumstances under which dogs have to be allowed inside. That could be an expensive lesson: the kicked-out customer could have sued them for not allowing him to bring the dog inside.

Call Kurtis Investigates: Sacramento Restaurant Denies Blind Man’s Service Dog [CBS Sacramento]

A teacher who spent just a month in prison for the rape of a 14-year-old student is going back to court to be resentenced after the original judge in the case was censured over comments that placed some responsibility on the victim.