pileofcrapola

Creative professionals have a habit of carrying a portfolio with them for interviews, but The Daily Muse advises every type of job-seeker to have a body of work prepared—and unlike a portfolio, you leave it behind with the hiring manager.

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There's a lot to be gained by planning your meals . You eat better, healthier food, do more cooking for yourself and put more thought into what you eat, try new recipes, and save at the grocery store at the same time. However, it can be a little daunting; sifting through recipes and making lists. That's why there are apps that help. This week, we're looking at five of the best.

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You can get more lemon juice by cutting them lengthwise or rolling them first. But how do you avoid the seeds? Chef Seamus Mullen also recommends rolling them, but prefers is to cut lemons into five pieces.

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Some things just take too darn long. If you'd like to be more efficient at life's daily tasks, here are 10 tips that will have you living life like The Flash.

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Xbox controllers: people love them for gaming, but why not extend that fondness to walking dogs and picking up their crap? That's what Instructables user mikeasaurus decided to do, and he ended up creating one of the most ridiculously awesome ways to repurpose a gaming device.

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When you're staying in a hotel, noise can be a problem. Most of us know to avoid low-level rooms by the street or any room near an elevator, but sometimes you have other noisemakers to contend with. Google Street View can help you find them.

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Whenever you search for something on Facebook, your search terms get stored in your Activity Log. Here's how to view it (and erase if, if you so desire).

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- Film star Sean Connery is urging fellow Scots to vote for independence when a referendum is held in September.

- A New Zealand man will be the first musher en route to the town of Nome when the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race begins Sunday.

- A federal study of Prince William Sound sea otters affected by crude oil spilled from the Exxon Valdez has concluded that the marine mammals have returned to pre-spill numbers a quarter century after the disaster.

It was 125 years ago that President Grover Cleveland signed the bill establishing the National Zoo.

The deputy mayor overseeing the District of Columbia fire department says a rookie firefighter was properly trained despite his claim that he didn't know what to do when people came to his fire station seeking help for someone nearby.

The number of international students continues to rise at Liberty University.

A bill that passed the Virginia State Assembly would give localities authority to create regulations for owning so-called wolf-dog hybrids.

D.C. City Council hears multiple stories from drivers who contacted WTOP Ticketbuster to complain about the Department of Motor Vehicles.

- A resolution honoring the life of the late U.S. Sen. Harry F. Byrd sparked a walkout by black lawmakers from the state Senate floor.

The 5th Annual Car Show and Swap Meet opens this weekend and will benefit wounded servicemembers and their families in the D.C. area.

There's no shortage of apps that'll play any song you can imagine at any time, but Radio Search Engine is a webapp that does it by searching out what's playing live on the radio right now. From there, it can build a playlist of other live streaming tracks for you.

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PotomacLocal.com

Call to Action: Habitat Re Store Needs Furniture, Appliances PotomacLocal.com ... Foley. · Good morning Prince William – spring is right around the corner and the wonderful folks at Special Olympics are gearing up for lots of sports activities. Coaches and volunteers are needed to teach golf and volunteers are needed to help the ... and more »

If you’re 23 or older, have a driver’s license and car insurance, and have a nice, clean late-model four-door car, you can sign up to drive strangers around for UberX. Should you? Well, it depends on your feelings about voyeurism, cash, and people eating in your car.

Writer Mickey Rapkin signed on to drive his 2013 Prius for UberX in Los Angeles, and you really should check out his “Uber Cab Confessions” in the March issue of GQ. He pondered the wide swath of humanity (who can afford car service and smartphones) who climbed in his backseat, he gained new insights into life. “As I merge into traffic,” he recollects about a trip driving four young partying young adults who are drinking out of a pimp cup in his immaculate backseat. “I begin to understand how my parents must have felt all those years ago chauffeuring around me and my idiot friends.” So it’s like driving your kids around, but with strangers who you can’t ground or guilt if they misbehave.

Driving for Uber does provide some quality eavesdropping and glimpses into others’ lives that you may not have expected. It becomes addictive after a while. “The job becomes akin to binge-watching a TV series late at night on Netflix,” he writes. “Okay, just one more.”

Uber Cab Confessions [GQ]

A franchise of the sandwichery Così in Washington, D.C. was closed down yesterday due to a failed health inspection. What were the restaurant’s violations? Meats stored at unacceptable temperatures, improperly labeled food, food preparation surfaces not clean or sanitized, and mice. So many mouse droppings.

It turns out that the same restaurant was temporarily closed after a health inspection for a rodent infestation last year. When a crew from TV station WUSA stopped by to report on the situation, as they do for all post-inspection restaurant closures, they were ordered out of the restaurant. In a follow-up e-mail, a district manager told the station that “asking questions aggressively” and looking under the furniture caused “a great deal of distress towards our customers and our Cosi team.” You know what else causes customers distress? Mouse crap.

The franchise owner followed up with the station and promised to improve conditions in the restaurant and improve staff training. The $10,000 bet entered the picture when they reminded him of this promise a year ago.

If the restaurant gets cited for rodents in 2015, the franchise owner will make a $10,000 charity donation to the reporter’s choice of organizations. “Tell me the charity and we’ll make the donation on your behalf,” he said. Mark your calendars.

Restaurant Alert: Metro Center infestation closes Cosi [WUSA] (WARNING: AUTO-PLAY VIDEO)

We've shown you some clever ways to hide your valuables, but this secret compartment, built into the back of an IKEA LACK floating shelf, takes the cake. Not only is the safe hidden, but the compartment itself can't be opened unless you have a magnet to act as a key. Here's how it works.

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Some skills are handy to have, but others are almost essential and can make your life so much easier. Let's compile a list of the most useful life skills you can easily learn.

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If you're looking for the best baby bottles, stroller, or co-sleeper, look no further than new blog The Nightlight. It's like the Wirecutter for baby products, and run by Gawker's editorial director, Mr. Joel Johnson himself.

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Could construction be underway for a new Barbie dream house? Mattel certainly has the building Bloks on hand after announcing plans to takeover a Canadian toy maker.

On Friday, Mattel, the company behind Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels, announced it would buy Mega Brands, Inc., the manufacturer of Mega Bloks, in a deal valued at $460 million, the Los Angeles Times reports.

The building sets were the largest category that Mattel was missing from their toy arsenal and puts the company in position to compete with LEGO. Currently LEGO is the world’s number one line of construction sets, while Mega Bloks sits at the number two spot.

Mattel CEO Bryan Stockton says the purchase of Mega Brands is a growth driver for the company has been looking for.

“The acquisition will allow us to enter the construction category quickly and gives us a solid foundation to strengthen our business in the category,” he tells the Times.

Mattel has seen demand for its core products diminish in recent years. Although, Barbie was recently featured on Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit cover and one creative consumer is snatching up Hot Wheels to avoid ATM fees. Meanwhile, Mega has enjoyed more than $300 million in revenue from the construction set sector.

Officials with Mattel say they have no plans to shut down Mega’s Montreal headquarters.

Mattel to compete with Lego with $460 million Mega acquisition [Los Angeles Times]

A couple near Pittsburgh were just minding their own business and getting ready for dinner when they heard a sound like an earthquake. There was not an earthquake in Pittsburgh: there was a tanker truck full of milk on a collision course with their house.

A massive milk spill is bad enough when it takes place on the highway, but things get pretty scary when you combine huge amounts of milk, sub-freezing temperatures, and what’s supposed to be the property where someone lives.

Fortunately, no one was injured: not the occupants of the house, and not even the driver. The truck ended up upside down, crushing part of the house and filling both the yard and the house with milk. A fully-loaded tanker truck weighs more than 75,000 pounds.

In an interview with TV station KDKA, the couple’s adult son “Everything’s soggy, every step you take is just milk.” He noted that even the carpets were soaked with milk, concluding, “I don’t know that they’ll ever live in this house again if you ask me.”

That is definitely something to feel sad about. The state Department of Environmental Conservation may have to weigh in on the possible environmental impact of that much milk soaking into the ground, since it didn’t all go into the house’s carpets and furniture.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation.

Milk Truck Overturns, Crashes Into Hempfield Twp. Home [CBS Pittsburgh]

- SeaWorld has filed a complaint alleging that an Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigator who investigated a SeaWorld trainer's death engaged in unethical conduct by fraternizing with makers of a documentary critical of the park.

As testing for the new DC Streetcar line continues, wires that power the cars will remain energized and officials are reminding the public to stay clear of the power stations and overhead lines.