pileofcrapola

Winter driving takes special skills and often a modified setup for your car. Prepare for the season, think ahead and don't panic. And for starters, avoid the following ten mistakes.

Read more...

If you have a customer service request or inquiry, it pays to be patient. StackSocial writes that helpdesk software will send users who submit inquiries too close together to the back of the line, which means both requests will take longer to be addressed.

Read more...

If you've ever had to remove stubborn wallpaper, you know how frustrating and time-consuming that can be. Apartment Therapy offers a simple solution that can keep you from tearing your hair out while you're trying to tear the wallpaper off:

Read more...

"What's for dinner?" might be the most dreaded question of everyday life. Even if you have a ton of ingredients at the ready, you have to figure out what to do with them and, more importantly, whether you can make something you're in the mood for. Learn how to make a few basic sauces, however, and you have flexibility—turn whatever you have on hand into an awesome meal.

Read more...

There are hundreds, if not thousands of ways to save money, but some may be simpler than others. If you want to know which ones will save you the most money for the least effort, run them through the One-n-Done filter.

Read more...

Every day around 3pm, my brain gets weary. I've tried numerous techniques to counter this challenge: coffee (especially when McDonald's is giving away free smalls), splashing cold water on my face, surfing around online, snacking. Yet I've found one technique to be the most effective: going for a walk.

Read more...

Buying fresh carrots from the farmer's market is great, but it sucks when they're limp and grody after a day or so. Slow down the process by cutting the greens off the ends of your carrots.

Read more...

Whether you love cooking or do it by necessity, a well put-together kitchen can make all the difference when it comes time to put on your chef's hat and apron. That said, the best kitchen tools can do lots of things, and make your life easier. Let's build a list of the best, budget-friendly kitchen upgrades you can buy.

Read more...

Taking steps to conserve energy can cut your electricity bill by as much as $600 a year. Don't believe it? Up to 30 percent of a home's energy usage can be lost by drafts alone! Do a home energy audit to pinpoint the best ways to reduce your utility bills this winter.

Read more...

While we prefer to avoid checking a bag whenever possible, if you have to put yours into the hands of someone else you should at least take a picture first. That way, if your suitcase is lost (or temporarily missing) you can file a claim easily.

Read more...

A word to the wise: Revelry is all fine and good, but if you’d like to keep your town on the Internet, shooting off a gun to celebrate the new year might not be such a good idea. Especially if you’re in the vicinity of a vital fiber-optic cable. “Whoops,” someone in Alaska is saying right now.

It’s a tradition in the community of Tanana to shoot off guns at midnight in the village, right where two rivers come together. But it’s all about location, location, location, reports the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner — this time, someone happened to point their gun straight at one of the main fiber-optic cable lines.

“You can’t fix stupid,” the owner of Yukon Telephone and Supervisions Cable TV said in summing up the incident. Tell us how you really feel?

He adds that it was likely a .410-gauge shotgun, as he picked up a bunch of empty shells for that type of gun near where the shooter or shooters were standing. Directly. Under. The cable line. It’s unclear whether or not someone was aiming for the box or just happened to hit it, however.

So far no one has fessed up and as such, the town has been without Internet this week while the company waits for parts to splice the line together. And that’ll take another two or three days to do once the parts arrive.

There’s no word on whether a city slicker doctor happened to be in the area and is now just waiting on those parts to restore Internet access and book a flight home, or if he’s going to fall in love with a local and take up ice-fishing. Because that’s what the movies tell me happens.

Internet, TV lost in Tanana as New Year’s revelers shoot out fiber optic cable [Fairbanks Daily News-Miner]

There are often some great deals to be scored at your local thrift shop, but what if you didn’t possess the anatomy you need to open the door to go inside? There’s no reason to be frustrated, deer friends, just bust through the window like a buck did in Alabama this week. He needed that $0.25 soft, retro T-shirt soooo bad.

Shoppers at the thrift store were going about their usual business over the weekend, reports the Montgomery Advertiser, when suddenly the sounds of breaking glass rang out, along with a shout of “deer!” A buck had apparently gone through the glass window next to the entrance.

“We think he saw his reflection in the window and jumped at it,” said a manager on duty during the incident. “He jumped over two school desks sitting outside then came in, and started shopping with us.”

The deer made it all the way to the clothing section (told you he wanted a T-shirt) before employees managed to pin him down in the sporting goods section. Seems the poor guy wasn’t doing so well walking on the slippery floor.

“I was just sitting in the back enjoying my biscuits and coffee when I heard the shatter,” said the employee who caught the incident on tape. “I went to see what was happening, then ran back and got my camera.”

Employees managed to maneuver the deer safely out of the store, whereupon it ran into a Dumpster before getting its bearings and heading off on its way.

The store shut down temporarily to clean up the broken glass, but one customer who’d dashed for cover apparently didn’t get the all clear of deer signal.

“When we closed the store to clean up, we noticed one guy was still hiding inside,” laughed another manager.

Previously in deer shopping: Three Deer Walk Into A Kohl’s Department Store Way Too Early For Black Friday Sales; Deer Wanders Into Frozen Yogurt Shop, Does $5,000 In Damage

Deer makes visit to Wetumpka thrift store [Montgomery Advertiser]

Almost everyone has a horror story about a long, unreasonable, inappropriate, or otherwise terrible job interview process that they’ve been through. The Internet learned this week that applicants for jobs with the not-for-profit Operation Smile go through an all-day marathon of interviews that culminates in planning and cooking a an evening of dinner, drinks, and entertainment for forty people. 

Is this position, for a job as, say, a catering manager or personal chef? No, it’s for an entry-level job as a program coordinator with the group at a salary of around $23,000. Twenty finalists for five positions went through this four-month process that culminated in a 15-hour interviewpalooza. The applicant explained:

They also made the 20 final candidate[s] cook dinner for and entertain the senior staff at the executive director’s house. We were given 2-1/2 hours to plan, shop, and cook for 40. We also had to find the address of the director’s house, which turned out to be a 30-minute drive away.

Does that sound wacky? It gets wackier from there. Ask A Manager wrote back to the job applicant for clarification and to make sure that all of this crazy stuff actually happened.

When I arrived at the interview, I was given the schedule for the day, which included five individual interviews and said that from 5 pm onwards, there would be a group activity. At 5, they simply announced that our group activity was to shop for and prepare a meal for 40 with entertainment, to be served at 7:30 at the director’s house. We were given a budget of $350 and information about food allergies in the group.

The interviewee’s question for AAM was this: was all of this reasonable, and this is what the current job market has come to? Or should the applicant have turned around and run away from this weird Top Chef challenge and other mind games that went on during the interview process?

Maybe this was all a misunderstanding. Maybe the person who wrote to Ask a Manager was a disgruntled rejected employee who wanted to make Operation Smile look bad. Nope. Gawker looked into it this morning, and learned that they’ve done interviews like this for 30 years, and that the process helps give the group a sense of how the applicants respond to a challenge.

Take Our Poll

I had to prepare a meal and entertain 20 people for a job interview — and so did 19 other candidates [Ask A Manager]
Operation Smile’s Job Interview Process Is Insane [Gawker]

A new Gallup poll is making me very jealous, because I still have VHS tapes lying around that I can’t watch because my roommate made me throw out my old TV/VCR combo. Anyway! It turns out that 58% of Americans still have a VCR, which yes, is down from the 88% in 2005, but is still remarkable in this age of HD and digital whatnots. Anyone want to watch old taped episodes of My So-Called Life? I’ve got the VHS, if you’ve got the VCR. [Gallup]

The classroom supply closet is nearly empty and so are your pockets. Well, if you’re a K-12 school teacher, don’t worry, your credit union has your back — in the shape of a personal loan.

That’s right, credit unions across the country are targeting teachers with classroom supply loans, Mother Jones reports.

In a time where school budgets are tight, more teachers are taking on the burden of paying for classroom supplies. Mother Jones estimates teachers already spend $1.6 billion out-of-pocket for school supplies.

In what supposedly lessens the burden, credit unions are now offering low-interest, short-term loans for teachers.

The loans start as low as 0.0% APR and go up from there. Most have limited the terms to 12 months and up to $1,000.

And the credit unions aren’t holding back any punches when it comes to appealing to teachers’ need to provide for students.

“We pick up where the school district leaves off,” The Gulf Coast Educators Federal Credit Union says on their website. “We offer a one-year loan up to $1,000 that we hope will help teachers afford the task of creating a teaching environment that meets their exceptional standards.”

They’re not the only ones touting these type of personal loans. Nerd Scholar published a list of credit unions and their loan terms.

There will always be a need for erasers, pencils and other school supplies, but is taking out a personal loan really necessary? We want to know what you think:

Take Our Poll

Credit Union Offers Teachers Personal Loans for Classroom Supplies [Mother Jones]

You might remember, if you cast your mind back to last May, the case of a carpet cleaner who was perturbed by some negative reviews on his business’ Yelp page that he claims were written by competitors or other ne’er-do-wells who weren’t actual customers of his business. Yelp has been fighting to keep those reviewers anonymous, but it appears a court just put the kibosh on that fight.

A Viriginia appeals court ruled that Yelp must identify seven of the anonymous reviewers who left anonymous reviews on the carpet cleaner’s page, reports Courthouse News, which is a win for the business and an apparent loss for reviewers in terms of First Amendment rights — if they are in fact, customers of the business.

See, the situation is a bit sticky — he couldn’t prove they weren’t customers because they’re anonymous, and Yelp can’t prove they are without revealing to him who they are. If they aren’t customers and are making false statements, that might be defamatory. But if they are customers, they should be protected by the First Amendment.

It’s hairy, to say the least, but a judge has broken that standstill.

“Generally, a Yelp review is entitled to First Amendment protection because it is a person’s opinion about a business that they patronized,” a judge for the majority wrote. “But this general protection relies upon an underlying assumption of fact: that the reviewer was a customer of the specific company and he posted his review based on his personal experience with the business. If this underlying assumption of fact proves false… the review is based on a false statement of fact – that the reviewer is writing his review based on personal experience. And ‘there is no constitutional value in false statements of fact.’ “

Anonymous Yelp Users Face Identity Disclosure [Courthouse News]

If you’re a Gmail user who likes to keep tight control of your inbox, with nary a missive gone unread, you probably noticed an announcement from Google last night waving the carrot of: “Contact more people you know.” Sounds great! But what it really means is that anyone on Google+ can email you, even if they don’t have your email address.

Yes, that Google+ user first has to move you into one of their Circles, which is a matter of a few clicks. And no, they will not be able to see your actual email address unless you actually respond or move them into one of your Circles.

But still — there’s a reason you didn’t give that friend of a friend’s cousin your email address. When you want someone to contact you, you give that person your information. And if you don’t know or are aren’t paying attention, you might think that a stranger who’s emailing you via Google+ somehow got your email address.

Before you panic, start wailing away at the injustice that is free email, there’s hope. You can opt-out, and it might be best to do it now, while it’s fresh in your mind, if this is the kind of thing that bothers you.

The email Google sent you has a hyperlink to a “new setting in Gmail” that you’ll want to click on. Alternately, you can click on the wheel in the upper righthand corner of your Gmail inbox, that should be right under your photo. Then click on Settings.

Once you’re in General settings, scroll down until you see “Email via Google+” and adjust the “who can contact me” dropdown to have those in your Circles be able to email you, Extended Circles or No One. Much easier than freaking out, eh?

We know, Google+. You want people to like you. We’re just not sure this is the way to go about it.

The U.S. Navy has identified the sailors who died in helicopter crash. 

- Hank Hunt's granddaughter tried calling 911 from the East Texas hotel room where she could hear her mother dying, just as she was taught to do in an emergency. She didn't know she had to dial 9 on the hotel phone first.

- A Tennessee preacher who used poisonous snakes in his religious practices won't face criminal charges. But he also won't get back the 53 serpents wildlife officials seized from his Tabernacle Church of God.

- Tim Rutledge's eyelid had frozen shut. His voice was hoarse after competing for hours with bitter-cold wind and humming truck engines while screaming for help. He was losing consciousness, pinned under his rig in sub-zero temperatures at an Indiana truck stop.

A water main break occurred in Arlington on Friday morning.

When you're ready to give up contracts but you still want a decent phone on a solid network, you have options. A number of pre-paid carriers and MVNOs are ready to support you. Last week we asked you for the best, then highlighted the five best carriers and put them to a vote. Now we're back to feature the winner.

Read more...

Chrome (and Firefox): Tired of web pages making fonts so small you can't see them, making you fool around with the page's size until you can? If you don't want to repeatedly make this adjustment yourself, Minimum Font can get the job done for you.

Read more...

If you think you're stuck with the major carriers when you go looking for cellphone service, you'll be happy to know there's an array of pre-paid carriers, MVNOs, and alternatives that may use the big guys' towers, but can offer you flexible plans, better pricing, and outstanding customer service. Here are five of the best, based on your nominations.

Read more...

I hear every single day from readers who want to know exactly how I've made money with my blog, The Simple Dollar, or how they can make money doing a similar thing, whether it's starting a blog or posting YouTube videos or writing ebooks. I'm going to spell all of this out in detail so that the reality of it is as clear as possible.

Read more...

Great discussions are par for the course here on Lifehacker. Each day, we highlight a discussion that is particularly helpful or insightful, along with other great discussions and reader questions you may have missed. Check out these discussions and add your own thoughts to make them even more wonderful!

Read more...

Some people love to haggle, while others don't (or they just don't know how). Founder of Get Rich Slowly J.D. Roth explains why he loves the art of bargaining, and offers his tips for getting started.

Read more...

It’s no secret that dining out can be a poor choice for your health. A chain-restaurant entrée can be shockingly full not only of flavor but also of fats, calories, and sodium.

On the heels of a new study, the folks over at Time have been comparing sit-down restaurant meals to options from the drive-through, and the results aren’t pretty. Even the “healthy” options on a restaurant’s menu may be higher in the bad stuff than you think.

Researchers from Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania studied over 2500 menu items at chains like Olive Garden, TGI Friday’s, and Red Lobster. In news of the “sky up, water wet” variety, the research team found that dinner at any of those eateries is likely to exceed the recommended calories, sodium, and saturated fat levels for a single meal:

Federal guidelines recommend adults eat around 2,000 calories daily and children consume around 1,400 calories. The researchers found that meals with an adult entrée, side dish, and a shared appetizer averaged around 1,495 calories, with 28 g of saturated fat, 3,312 mg of sodium, and 11 g of fiber. If a drink or dessert were added, the total tipped 2,000 calories.

Time also notes that over half of the menus the team looked at somehow classified a percentage of their offerings as healthy or healthier options, but that the meaning of “healthy” varies widely from restaurant to restaurant.

Of course, there are ways to mitigate the damage. Skipping the appetizer and taking half the entrée home in a doggie bag will significantly drop the number of calories consumed in a single meal.

But skipping dessert might just be crazy talk. Chocolate cake forever!

Is Olive Garden Healthier Than McDonald’s? Maybe Not [TIME]

We’re not quite sure how this happened, but it’s an important cautionary tale for all pet owners. A British couple says that their puppy’s chewing antics caused an explosion that did about $3,300 in damage to their home. Bad dog.

Of course, puppies can’t read. The pup stole and chewed up a deodorant can, but couldn’t read the warnings that caution consumers not to do things like puncture the can or place it near a heat source.

Adolescent pups like the six-month-old whippet mix like to chew anything in sight and even a few things that are out of sight, and Zeus the puppy chewed on the can a bit, puncturing it. Then, reports Metro, he left it next to the gas-powered fireplace. When the house’s boiler came back on, the can exploded, blowing out the living room window.

The couple were out of the house at the time. “We were out in the car when we received texts saying our house had been blown up,” explained the dog’s owner. They came home to find fire trucks putting out the flames. Fortunately, all of their pets escaped to safety.

Puppy BLEW UP house after chewing through can of DEODORANT – causing £2,000 damage