pileofcrapola

In a job interview, what you say matters as much as how you say it. So don't qualify your speech with unnecessary or unconfident adverbs, says Real Simple.

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The best time of the day to send emails may be around 2pm, according to data from email marketer Mailchimp. That's the time people are most likely to read and respond.

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Tattoos can be beautiful works of art, but they aren't always welcome in every situation. Whether it's a job interview, family reunion, or even your own wedding, here's the best way to get that ink covered up.

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Throwing your favorite meats on the grill can be the tastiest way to cook, but that delicious char can also be hazardous to your health. A recent study found that giving your meat a beer bath can fix that.

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Keeping your smartphone charged takes constant vigilance sometimes, and some apps drain your battery more than others. Over on Re/Code they take a look at a study that shows that messaging apps tend to drain the most power without people realizing it.

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Web: Which movie is safe for your kids to watch? For that matter, which film you plan on watching with your parents isn't going to have a scene that makes you feel awkward? Find out at Common Sense Media.

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Trying to eat a little healthier? Move all of your unhealthy snacks, treats, and beverages down to the lower shelves and drawers of your refrigerator, and put all of your fruits and vegetables up higher. That first glance in the fridge can help you make better choices.

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You probably spend quite a few hours each week on household chores. If you're time-crunched and have always longed to ditch the duster to spend more time with your family or catch up on your favorite shows, it may be time to hire some help. Here are a few things you should think about first, though.

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When life simply isn't going your way, the quick reactions are the ones we often regret. Remembering the acronym STOP curbs reactivity and keeps you in control.

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When you rent an apartment, you might think that your options are limited when trying to go green, but there's still plenty you can do to slash your electric bill. Even if you can't exactly cover your building with solar panels, you can do a lot of simple things like changing your light bulbs that can have a big effect. Say hello to Holland Dauterive—she works with our friends at Choose Energy, and has discovered some creative ways to go green while renting. Holland will be here for the next hour to answer your questions about how anyone can save electricity and money while helping the planet, even if you're a renter. It is Earth Month, after all, so ask away!

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The virtue and environmental impact of buying locally-grown produce is a controversial question, but produce trucked from a nearby farm usually tastes better, at least. It’s also nice when a grocery store points out which items of produce come from farms in your community. The key question is, how do you define “local”?

This question came up yesterday when we posted pictures of cilantro grown in California labeled as “local” at a Kroger store in Ohio. We assumed that this was an error, and an anonymous Kroger employee confirmed that for us. We had to wonder, though: what does Kroger consider “local” enough to put that sign on?

We wrote to Kroger to ask about the signage, but also asked about their definition of “local” when it comes to fresh produce. “Local product is within 400 miles of the area, although we do get a lot of items much closer,” a Kroger spokesperson answered us. That seems pretty far to be calling things “local,” but it’s not a completely unreasonable limit, either, especially in some expanses of the Midwest. It’s comforting to know that California isn’t considered local to Ohio.

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Cilantro Is Not Local To Ohio When Grown In California

Currently in my phone I have at least six photos of meals I’ve prepared and/or consumed. And yes, three of those have been posted to social media because I, like many other humans who eat food, sometimes find myself so full of admiration for the stuff, I feel the need to share it. But the idea of a veritable photo booth at a restaurant existing solely for food photos (phodos? phoodos?), well, that’s a bit intense.

It’s called #Dinnercam — because everything needs a hashtag whether you want it to have one or not, as without it, the task of navigating our new social reality is rendered impossible — and is the brainchild of a South Africa Internet provider called MWEB, reports Reviewed.com.

The thing itself is about the size of a microwave and is billed as “the world’s first portable photo studio for restaurant meals.” And one can’t help but consider that the “world’s first” might be one too many.

It looks like a mini photo studio, or a tanning bed that doesn’t close. I don’t know about you, but having to cart my food off to another location for a photo shoot seems like a bit too much work. Melted cheese cools fast, y’all.

Oh and of course it’s better than using your phone, which doesn’t involve carrying your meal anywhere, because it optimizes light conditions and better positions your food for maximum droolworthiness or something.

The #dinnercam is only available at one Mexican Restaurant in Cape Town, South Africa so far, and for that I think we can all be a little relieved. For now.

#Dinnercam: A Totally Frivolous Photobooth for Foodies [Reviewed.com]

Earlier this month, Chipotle (aka the restaurant your annoying co-worker calls “Chipoltay”) announced its first price hike in three years, citing increased costs for ingredients across the eatery’s menu. Now the company’s CFO is saying that customers who like the Chipotle steak burrito will likely be the ones who notice the biggest change in their lunch bill.

The AP reports that Chipotle CFO Jack Hartung said earlier today at a Barclays conference in NYC that customers had actually been getting a good deal on steak burritos at the fast-casual chain that only charged slightly more steak than it did for chicken.

“We’re going to widen that [price gap],” Hartung said of the difference between the price for the two menu items. “We’re going to allow our customers to choose whether they want to pay the higher price of steak.”

While he didn’t specify how much the company plans on changing the price of specific products, Hartung did say the general level of price increases will be between 4-6%, which is slightly higher than the previously announced 3-5% expected increase.

The new, higher prices are expected to start showing up on Chipotle menus this summer.

While beef is not the only ingredient responsible for the chain’s price hikes, it is a pricy protein. Hartung says Chipotle’s costs for beef have increased 25% in the last year.

The increased cost of beef is likely the explanation for a renewed push on chicken products by other chains, like Burger King, which has (sort-of) trotted out its decade-old Subservient Chicken viral marketing campaign to sell a chicken version of its Big King sandwich.

We all like to think that there are special tricks we can learn or technology that we can use to improve our fuel economy and save money on gas. That’s not so: there are tricks we can employ, but they’re intuitive and extremely boring.

1. Slow the bleep down. Driving everywhere faster does save the most precious natural resource of all: your time. That’s a pretty fair tradeoff, but just keeping up with traffic on the highway will use a lot more gas. How much? In their tests, our premium unleaded colleagues down the hall at Consumer Reports found that gas mileage dropped by anywhere from 9 to 15 miles per gallon when they sped up from 55 miles per hour to 75. Vehicles in that test included a Honda Accord, Toyota RAV4, and Ford Fusion…and they even tried it with a hybrid version of the Fusion.

2. Don’t carry stuff on the roof. Sometimes you have no choice but to carry stuff on the roof, but it will still hurt your fuel economy. Tests showed a 15 MPG decrease with a roof-top carrier on a Toyota Camry at 65 MPH.

3. Don’t run the air conditioner when it’s hot. That sounds counter-intuitive: when else are you going to run the air conditioner? The trouble is, the system works harder when the outside temperature is hotter, and does affect your mileage by maybe 1 to 4 miles per gallon. When every drop of fuel counts, crack open a window.

Gas-saving tips & myths [Consumer Reports]

In this month’s Recall Roundup, a lawnmower keeps going even after its operator has dismounted, computer batteries overheat, fireplaces explode, and a self-destructing goldfish bowl is no place for fish. (Actually, a goldfish bowl is no place for a goldfish: take the $20 you get back and put it toward an aquarium.)

Babies
Rechargeable batteries in Summer Infant video monitors – may overheat; fire hazard

Kids
Girls’ Sugarfly Peacoats with waist drawstring (Nordstrom Rack and Zulily.com) – drawstring could get tangled in small spaces or vehicle doors
BedHead Pajama two-piece pajama sets – do not meet federal flammability standard
J.P. Boden Boys’ Pajamas – do not meet federal flammability standard

Home & Kitchen
Petsmart glass fish bowls – can break or crack during normal use, which is a laceration hazard to people and a catastrophe hazard to fish
Pier 1 Hanging Glass Star Lanterns – welds on candle holder may break from heat of a candle
GunBox Gun Storage Boxes – lock may not work if safe is dropped
Whalen Stainless Steel Tool Chests (Costco) – laceration hazard from door
Kozy Heat, Ambiance and Stellar Hearth gas fireplaces and fireplace inserts – risk of explosion from gas buildup

Lawn & Garden
Ariens Snow Throwers and Power Brushes – blade or brush may keep spinning after motor is off
Remington and Troy-Bilt Electric Leaf Blowers – impeller may break and hit user
Hustler and BigDog riding mowers – mower may keep going after rider has left seat

Sports & Outdoors
2008 Felt S22 and S32 Triathlon Bicycles and 2010 Felt S32, B12, B14 and B16 Triathlon Bicycles – steer tube may break during use
Excalibur Matrix Mega 405 Crossbows – may launch arrows without trigger being pulled
Ontel ISO7X Isometric Exercise Device – handle grips may break off during use
K2 Kwicker and Kwicker BC snowboard bindings – can release unexpectedly

Electronics
Lenovo ThinkPad notebook computer battery packs – can overheat; fire hazard

Vehicles
E-Z-GO Golf, Shuttle, Off-Road Utility Vehicles – steering wheel may not control vehicle properly

Trains! Such adorable little vestiges of a golden era gone by, so rich in quaint customs like not allowing pets onboard, even as those young upstart airlines have accepted furry friends for decades. But Amtrak is possibly going to change that, with a new trial policy of allowing dogs and cats on trains — but just on certain routes for now.

Starting May 5 on the Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg trains between Chicago and Quincy, IL, furry passengers under 20 pounds can ride the rails for a $25 surcharge, reports NBC News.

But if you’ve had dreams of walking Fido down to the dining car or showing Buttons the view from the observation car, prepare for a reality check — pets must stay in secure carriers stowed under their owners’ seats, and can’t be taken out to do their bathroom business on any stops.

“There are stops at stations, but they’re not for that purpose,” a spokesman said. “The stops are pretty short.”

The route is part of a six-month trial program before Amtrak decides whether or not to allow pets on all its trains nationwide. This is a first for Amtrak, which previously only allowed service animals to travel in the passenger cabin. Some trains used to allow pets in the baggage cars, but not since the late 1970s.

All Aboard! Amtrak Now Accepting Pet Passengers on Some Trains [NBC News]

Look, we all know that there is a certain level of self-delusion involved every time we buy a hot dog from a street vendor, but we’d like to believe that any street-meat seller whose lack of cleanliness merits multiple Dept. of Health violations would be put out of business. Which is sort of true, in that the sketchy hot dog dealer merely can merely resurrect his business under a new name with a new license.

New York City requires street vendors to renew their licenses every two years, but those with four unpaid violations are blocked from renewing. However, that hasn’t stopped some sellers from continuing to ply their trade.

The NY Post has the story of one particularly vile vendor who racked up 64 unpaid citations worth nearly $48,000 before being shut down for good.

See, rather than pay violations — or, heaven forbid, maintain carts that don’t result in violations — this wiener-selling wienie and others have learned how to game the system by simply applying for a new license.

Perhaps that’s why the city only managed to collect on 25% of the $4.8 million in fines levied against street vendors last year.

“Vendors have tried to get a license under a new name rather than fix violations or pay accumulated fines, and detecting this type of fraud is difficult,” the Dept. of Health admitted to the Post.

A vendor’s license is given to the person who actually handles the food and operates the cart. NYC does put a limit on the number of licenses available at any given time. The license is separate from the Dept. of Health permit for the actual food cart. The city has a limit of around 3,000 such permits, so the person working the cart is not always the permit-holder.

In an effort to crack down on scofflaw vendors, the city has recently begun issuing violations to the permit-holder, as opposed to the vendor on duty. Given the relative scarcity of permits and the potential income loss if one is taken away, the city hopes this will convince sellers of hot dogs and other street foods to actually pay up when they are violated (or, again, not do things to merit a violation in the first place).

- Seychelles police say a mixture of heroin and alcohol caused the deaths of two former U.S. Navy SEALs.

Living little carries some big risks.

Colorado's marijuana experiment is threatened by the very popularity of eating it instead of smoking it, leading the pot industry to join health officials and state regulators to try to curb the problem of consumers ingesting too much weed.

It was before sunrise when the young man drove to the FedEx package-sorting center where he worked outside Atlanta, armed with a shotgun and Molotov cocktails. At 5:54 a.m. Tuesday, police said, Geddy Kramer opened fire on a guard at the entrance to the business.

The disappearance of Marvin Clark of Tigard, Ore., ranks as the second-oldest active missing-person case in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. Here are the other oldest cases, with information from the database.

Marvin A. Clark vanished during a short trip to Portland on Halloween weekend 1926, but the search to find out what happened to him may finally be drawing to a close nearly 90 years later.

An explosion and fire possibly caused by a dust buildup at a Southern California metal-polishing shop injured 11 people Tuesday, including two men who were critically burned, fire officials said.

- Trainers at Sea World's marine parks began wearing inflatable safety vests Monday whenever they work near killer whales, yet another safety measure implemented after the 2010 death of a trainer who was dragged into a pool by an orca.

A carriage driver has been accused of altering a hoof brand to make a 22-year-old draft horse with a breathing ailment appear to be a healthier horse nearly half its age.

Five ducklings rescued from a Bristol creek polluted by a sewage spill have died.

Every month, Playback the Tape hosts screenings at bars, galleries and restaurants throughout D.C. It's a way for the culturally curious to gather together and reminisce over old movies and TV shows now that the District's last video rental store is preparing to close soon.

Energy provider Exelon is buying Pepco Holdings Inc. for $6.83 billion to create a large electric and gas utility in the Mid-Atlantic region.

- The Virginia Zoo in Norfolk is celebrating its new $4 million animal wellness facility.