pileofcrapola

Washing your clothes too often is wasteful and bad for your clothes. Wash them less frequently to make your clothes last longer and save time, money, and natural resources.

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If you use antiperspirant deodorant, applying it is most likely part of your morning routine. It's much more effective, however, to apply it at night before bed.

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When you go to a mall, finding a list of stores can sometimes be tough. Google Now is finally offering an easy fix for that.

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We make a lot of decisions every day and, if we're honest, not all of them actually have clear cut, objective right and wrong answers. To get past this, comedian Louis CK suggests a simple rule: if you're 70% happy with a decision, just go for it.

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It’s Friday, which makes it the perfect time to relay this happy news: Tucker the Dog, whose owner is a bartender who received a $1,000 tip to help pay for his surgery, is making a full recovery. He had to undergo emergency surgery to after swallowing a plastic ball. “”There are so many nice people out there,” she said of Tucker’s well-wishers. “We really got lucky.” [NJ.com]

In a move that would’ve had the Fuller Brush Man and his fellow door-to-door salesmen fuming 60 years ago, a town in Michigan has created a “Do Not Knock” registry to keep annoying solicitors from banging doors and ringing bells. But then what about my “Go away, punk!” doorbell sound?

In Troy, MI, residents are taking matters into their own hands in the creation of the new registry, reports CBS Detroit.

“It establishes a list that residents can sign their addresses up on,” the city clerk explained. “That list is given to any solicitors that are licensed by the city of Troy. It’s basically a list of addresses that are off-limits for solicitors.”

The program hasn’t been open for long but already 600 people have signed up, she says. While not everyone understands it completely, most people are grateful to keep the knockers away, she adds. Complaints abound in the spring when the days are longer as well.

“During the winter months they can only go until 6 o’clock and then during the summer it’s until 8 o’clock,” she said. “Personally, I don’t like having someone come to my door, you know, at almost 9 o’clock at night, asking if I want an estimate on my roof or something like that.”

Troy Creates ‘Do Not Knock’ Registry To Keep Pesky Solicitors At Bay [CBS Detroit]

We all learned in elementary school that an object’s mass and its size are different things. A pound of cotton candy is much larger than a pound of, say, raisins, because raisins are so much denser. Yet this package of squash that reader Adam spotted at Stop & Shop would have us believe that some of the same vegetable are twice as dense as others.

Maybe that’s possible with some veggies, but not these squash. The only difference, as far as we can tell, is that the smaller-looking squashes have been on the shelf longer, and were grown in Mexico instead of the United States. They have some fertile soil in Mexico, but not so fertile to produce super-nutritious dense squashes. Right?

We contacted Stop & Shop about this discrepancy, and sent along the photo, but they didn’t respond to us. Adam didn’t get a chance to weigh the squashes himself, which would have been interesting.

While numerous advocacy and public interest groups have publicly come out to declare their opposition to the merger of Comcast and Time Warner Cable, those companies whose business will most directly be affected by the tie-up — broadcasters, streaming services, production studios, advertisers — have remained relatively silent. But it’s not because they don’t have an opinion on the matter.

After all, these companies are not generally reluctant to speak up when their business interests are at stake. Just look at the ongoing legal battle between the broadcast networks and streaming startup Aereo. A quick run-down of the companies and organizations that have filed amicus briefs with the Supreme Court in this case shows just how willing media companies are to share their opinions — the National Association of Broadcaster, Viacom, Cablevision, the NFL and MLB, ABC, ASCAP, and Warner Bros. represent just a few groups that have gone on the record with their feelings about that case.

So why are so many of these companies refusing to speak out publicly — for or against — when it comes to the Comcast/TWC merger?

A couple weeks ago, Minnesota Senator Al Franken, a veteran of the TV, movie, and radio industries, claimed that the people he spoke to at these companies were afraid of speaking up out of fear of poking a beast the size of Comcast, which not only controls the nation’s largest cable and broadband operation, but also the massive NBC Universal entertainment octopus that encompasses everything from broadcast TV to multiple cable channels to movies, home entertainment, radio, music, and streaming video.

Want your cable channel to reach Comcast’s more than 20 million pay-TV users? Does your streaming service need to keep running shows produced by NBC studios? These are concerns facing companies who may be putting their business relationships with Comcast at risk by speaking out against the merger.

Sen. Franken has called on these companies to not be shy about their feelings, but Netflix is one of the few major media companies that has put its neck on the line in deriding the proposed merger.

A recent NY Times piece on this muted response to the merger indicates that Franken and Netflix are not alone:

Privately… media executives are eager to echo Netflix’s concern about the deal, and to cast themselves as victims of the potential megamerger. They use words like “omnivorous” and “rapacious” to describe Comcast, while expressing skepticism on the prospect of the largest cable company buying the second-largest.

One anonymous senior media executive said the entire industry has an opinion on the merger, but asks, “Who’s going to be the first to kick sand in the bully’s face?”

Industry analyst Craig Moffett tells the Times that there might be a benefit to this cowardice for those companies willing to leverage it.

“You can bet that everyone and his brother is trying to strike a sweetheart deal with Comcast right now in exchange for either supporting or simply not opposing the deal,” he explains.

The fact that so many typically loudmouthed companies are cowering in fear about this merger — or that those willing to support it may be demanding something in return for their support — is a good indication of just how much power Comcast already wields in this industry and how terrified its colleagues are of upsetting a beast that could make life very tough for them.

We can’t imagine how difficult it must be to box up packages in an online fulfillment warehouse, working with time constraints to find the best container for an unfathomable variety of products. Yet sometimes the packaging choices themselves are unfathomable, and that’s when we point out that the Stupid Shipping Gang has been at work. Stephen sent along this photo of his cat toy packaged in a comically oversized box.

This is an understandable case: feathers on sticks must be hard to package, especially if the customer hasn’t ordered anything else. Of course, this is Consumerist, where cats are an unofficial part of our editorial mission. “Does your cat enjoy boxes? The box itself could be seen as a giant cat toy,” we wrote back to Stephen.

This hadn’t occurred to him. “I never even thought of that,” he wrote back, “so basically I received two toys for the price of one. Sweet!”

Amazon was just being inadvertently helpful, that’s all. Assuming that his cat likes boxes.

For decades, Chuck E. Cheese’s has been a place where parents could bring their kids for wholesome activities like chowing down on overpriced pizza, running around uncontrollably, and playing around in pits of plastic balls that you convince yourself aren’t covered in germs. But one man in Washington state recently added another game to the mix, called “Go steal some purses and give them to me.”

KOMO News in Seattle reports that an Olympia, WA, man has been arrested for allegedly using three kids — ages 7, 8, and 10, who may or may not be related to him — for his own felonious gain.

One particular Chuck E. Cheese’s location in the area had been the site of between 15 to 20 purse thefts in recent months. A look at security camera footage from inside the eatery eventually pointed to footage of youngsters pilfering purses from distracted moms and then bringing them to an older man in the bathroom.

Then this past Wednesday, an employee at the restaurant called the police after spotting the man from the security footage and his trio of sticky-fingered moppets.

The modern-day Fagin and his artful dodgers had already left the restaurant by the time the police arrived, but quick-witted workers had made sure to get a description of his vehicle, which was soon pulled over by an eagle-eyed police officer. Inside the car were the three kids and a woman whose relation to this whole mess is currently unknown.

The man was arrested for suspicion of driving on a suspended license and an outstanding felony warrant.

If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go train a group of local Boy Scouts how to install card skimmers on an ATM before we go for a lunch outing to Dave & Buster’s.

Listen, everyone likes a good smooch now and again, but that doesn’t mean that a stranger in a store will appreciate an unexpected puckerjob. Police say a man went on a kissing spree through an Omaha Walgreens, topping the whole weird encounter off with a well-timed lick to an employee’s head.

According to police, a 35-year-old man wended his way through the aisles earlier this month, reports Omaha.com, dispersing kisses and unwanted advances as he went.

He first tried the photo processing area before moving on to find an employee to kiss. Then in another aisle, he allegedly grabbed a customer’s backside before going up to another woman and then allegedly approached another woman, grabbed her face, murmured “Hey baby” before kissing her and squeezing her rump as well.

She pushed him away, but that rebuff of his advances didn’t seem to deter him as he walked through the store tossing items and allegedly trying to kiss yet another lady.

And when a male worker stepped over a counter to stop him? Police say the suspect planted one on him, too.

He was finally escorted from the store, before returning a few minutes later. He then sat on a counter and refused to move, until he was escorted one more time from the store. That’s when he landed the coupe de grace, licking an employee’s head on the way out, cops say.

He’s been charged with misdemeanor sexual assault and three counts of disturbing the peace.

Man, 35, kisses his way through an Omaha Walgreens before licking an employee’s head [Omaha.com]

Prince William town elections set for May 6 Inside NoVA Voters in Prince William County's four towns – Dumfries, Haymarket, Occoquan and Quantico – will head to the polls Tuesday to elect their political leaders. The polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.. Diana Dutton, administrative manager of elections ... and more »

Prince William County crime report Washington Post Prince William County. These were among incidents reported by Prince William County police. For information, call 703-792-7245. ALEXANDRIA VA APRIL 29: A pedestrian walks in heavy rain on the lower part of ...

UPDATED: Nokesville auction owner charged with 58 counts animal cruelty Inside NoVA When police, animal control officers and a veterinarian raided Cross States Stables at the old auction house on Va. 28 in Nokesville earlier this month, they found dozens of animals living in what one person at the scene described as a “hell hole ... and more »

Fairfax County volunteer opportunities Washington Post Humane Society of Fairfax County needs volunteers to help in the thrift store at 4055 Chain Bridge Rd., Fairfax City. Meet customers and stock shelves and racks. Flexible hours. 703-631-4917, www.hsfc.org. The McLean Trees Foundation needs volunteers ...

"Top Gear" host Jeremy Clarkson has apologized and asked for forgiveness following allegations that he used racist language while he was shooting an episode of the popular BBC show.

Soon after the ferry began to tilt, high school students can be seen huddled below deck in a video, joking about the Titanic and taking selfies even as fear slowly built.

ven if the phone that housed it is damaged.

The president of the Los Angeles chapter of the NAACP has resigned following outrage over a decision he later reversed to give Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling an award for promoting civil rights.

D.C. is credited with being one of the greenest cities, one of the healthiest cities and one of the wealthiest cities. But it's also one of the most polluted cities.

Two teenage girls from Maine have denied felony animal cruelty charges alleging they put an 8-week-old kitten in a microwave and turned it on.

Two Alaska State Troopers have been shot and killed during an investigation in a remote village, including at least one who had appeared in a television show about Alaska officers on the job.

Someday, it might be possible to take the Pete Seeger Bridge to Pete Seeger Park and listen to Pete Seeger music by the Pete Seeger statue.

Oklahoma prison officials tried for 51 minutes to find a vein in a death row inmate's arms and feet before inserting an IV through the man's groin ahead of a botched execution this week, the state's prisons chief said Thursday in a report urging more oversight of executions.

State officials suspended a Texas veterinarian's license on Thursday after he admitted telling some clients that he would euthanize their pets but instead kept the animals alive in cages for months at his clinic in Fort Worth.

a sweet, light crude that regulators say contains higher concentrations of explosive gases than conventional heavy crudes.

A woman who prosecutors say left her 4-year-old daughter in a car for hours while she gambled at a casino has been sentenced to 5 days in jail.

Walter R. Walsh, who captured gangsters as an FBI agent in the 1930s and went on to train Marine Corps snipers and become the longest-lived Olympian, has died.

Former District of Columbia mayor Marion Barry is criticizing HBO and two journalists over their involvement in a movie about his life.

Clipping coupons can be a fun hobby and effective money-saving strategy, but a recent study shows that the coupons that come stuffed in your local paper are often for unhealthy or pre-made foods and brand-name products. Does this mean that coupons are completely useless if you don’t want to eat junk? No, not necessarily.

Coupons for whole foods (not Whole Foods) and healthier packaged foods do exist if you know where to look. It isn’t necessarily in the circulars from international food conglomerates that come in the Sunday paper. How do you do that? Here are some tips to save money on groceries without loading your cart up with chocolate frosted sugar bombs.

OBVIOUS THINGS
There are near-universal money-saving tips when it comes to food: cook your own meals from scratch. Eat whole pieces of fruit as snacks. Bake your own cookies. Check out discount grocers like Aldi (or Trader Joe’s, for slightly finer yuppie foods). Stock up when something you like to eat is on sale. Shop around the perimeter of the store where you find the essentials: produce, meat, dairy products, and beer.

It helps to have a general idea in the back of your head of how much a certain item costs at different stores so you can make comparisons, but that isn’t so important if you stick to only one store.

SHOPPER’S LITTLE HELPERS
You don’t have to do all the work of combing through local ads and rifling through coupons yourself. There’s an army of bargain bloggers out there who put together this information for their readers every week. Finding them is simple: simply type the name of your favorite grocery or discount store and the words “coupon matchups” in your favorite search engine. I live in the Northeast and shop at Price Chopper, for example, but also check the matchups for my local drugstores for interesting feats of couponing and loss leaders.

You might want to keep coupon inserts from the newspaper handy if you subscribe, but bloggers will also link directly to downloadable and printable coupons on matchup pages. (They often earn money from referrals when you click through and print out a coupon.)

Even if you benefit from coupon bloggers’ work and use their matchups, it’s a good idea to skim the produce and meat pages of your favorite store’s flyer either in print or online so you can look for interesting sales. You can’t really freeze lettuce, but you can plan your meals around what’s in season or on sale. Speaking of meat…

THERE’S A MEAT SEASON
If you eat meat and have a freezer, remember that there’s a meat season. Barbecue season, that is: most stores will hold sales for people holding backyard celebrations for Memorial Day, graduations, Independence Day, and just randomly during the season. No one says that you have to put this meat on your grill: stock up while it’s cheap and freeze it.

TREE-HUGGING HIPPIE BRANDS
If you shop at a health food store stick to the health-food section of the store due to dietary restrictions, food allergies, or personal preference, coupons exist for you, too. Here are two sites with coupons for common less-processed and allergy-friendly brands, some of which you can find in regular grocery stores:

• Common Kindness
• Mambo Sprouts

Unfortunately, signing up for coupon sites may mean that you have to sign up for an account. It’s the price one must pay to get a dollar off vegan hot cocoa mix.

You can also check the sites and social media accounts of your favorite brands: they may offer printable manufacturer’s coupons that can be used at any retailer.

BEFRIEND YOUR FAVORITE STORES
You’re more likely to get coupons for staples like milk, meat, and even produce directly from the store–coupon circulars come from the manufacturers of packaged foods, after all. Exclusive coupons from your favorite stores come in e-mail newsletters. Relegate these to a special e-mail folder (or let Gmail do it for you) if you prefer. Some stores also offer special deals to their Facebook followers.

REMEMBER THE BIG PICTURE
Coupons aren’t all about food. Don’t forget that if you use coupons and/or shop sales for other household staples like garbage bags, toilet paper, detergent, or paper towels, you can put that money back in your food budget.