pileofcrapola

You might want to keep a few teabags in your first aid kit. Besides being an extraordinarily healthy drink, tea applied to the skin can also be very healing.

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Giving the gift of a tin of freshly baked cookies is a wonderful thing, and the last thing you want is for your recipient to open it up to find the cookies all dry and crumbled in the tin. Thankfully America's Test Kitchen has a foolproof way to keep them moist for the long haul: Pack them with tortillas.

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If you apply for a job and the company gets back to you immediately, you may think you've lucked out and found a really great company that's interested in your skills. However, a new six year study of over 16,000 businesses shows the opposite: The companies in the biggest hurry to hire often have the highest turnover.

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- An overconfident pilot who got less than half the sleep he needed before a night training mission was responsible for causing a midair F-16 collision over the summer that forced the other pilot to eject over the Atlantic Ocean, according to a U.S. Air Force report released Wednesday.

When it comes to new cars, Consumer Reports ranks the Toyota Prius the best new-car value.

The National Zoo's orangutans turned into party animals during their birthday celebration Tuesday.

A routine tonsillectomy may have left a 13-year-old girl brain dead, according to her family members who are hoping for a miracle.

There's some good news for panda lovers in the new year!

Everybody likes pizza. It says so in the Constitution (at least the one I wrote for a class project when I was 9). Chipotle is banking on this widespread adoration for things pizza-like, but not by adding a line of bean/meat/cheese-covered pies to its menu. Instead, the company has decided to back an upstart, upscale pizza chain in Colorado.

Pizzeria Locale (you know it’s upscale when they slap that “e” on “local”) opened in Boulder, CO, back in 2011, as a full-service restaurant. In contrast, the partnership between Chipotle and Pizzeria Locale takes the burrito chain’s fast-casual approach to pizza, with customers able to customize their 10″ pizzas from the list of ingredients via an “interactive service line.”

The company claims it will only take two minutes for the pizzas to bake in the Locale fancy ovens, but the most interesting feature to us is the statement that, “Red or white Italian wine is available on tap.”

The first fast-casual Locale opened in Denver last spring, and Chipotle announced today that it will be looking to open a second and third location in the Mile High City, though it has not yet picked specific spots for these future eateries.

“[Pizzeria Locale founders Bobby Stuckey and Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson] are extraordinary restaurateurs who truly understand what it takes to provide an exceptional dining experience,” said Steve Ells, founder, chairman and co-CEO of Chipotle. “I have known them for years and I thought their pizzeria in Boulder presented the perfect opportunity to collaborate. Opening Pizzeria Locale using a model similar to Chipotle allows us to make extraordinary pizza, made with high-quality ingredients accessible to everyone.”

This is Chipotle’s second venture outside the burrito zone. It currently operates a half-dozen ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen restaurants in Washington, DC, and Los Angeles, and plans to expand into other markets.

“While both Pizzeria Locale and ShopHouse are exciting concepts, it’s important to remember that our growth will continue to be driven for the foreseeable future by expanding the Chipotle brand within the U.S.,” said Steve Ells.

It began with a cute, slightly baffling ad from Mercedes-Benz that compared the company’s vehicles to a chicken. Not because they are covered with feathers or because they are delicious, but because chickens are apparently really, really into not moving their heads, and they want us to associate this feature with their cars’ stability control.

Or “Magic body control.” Something like that. All we know is that it resulted in this cool but weird commercial.

Of course, once you’re airing ads with German engineers and dancing chickens, someone is going to realize that this is ripe for parody. In this case, that “someone” was Jaguar.

(Thanks, Dirk!)

Oh, Urban Outfitters, must we count the ways in which you’ve bumbled into offending large groups of people through your products? There was the army vest, prescription pill bottles as shot glasses, the shirt that made people think of the Holocaust and many others. We only trot out these examples as we wonder who let Urban Outfitters muck things up yet again by selling “Ganesh” socks featuring the Hindu deity of the same name.

It’s not just that the company slapped a figure sacred to a religious group on a pair of cheaply priced socks, points out Jezebel: The human foot is considered the lowest and most impure part of the body in the Hindu culture. So putting a deity between your impure foot and your shoe is just… well it’s not cool with many in the Hindu community.

UO found itself firmly in the crosshairs of that culture when Rajan Zed, the president of the Universal Hindu Society, wrote on his website to decry the socks, saying: “Lord Ganesh was highly revered in Hinduism and was meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not to be wrapped around one’s foot. Inappropriate usage of Hindu deities or concepts for commercial or other agenda was not okay, as it hurt the devotees.”

Since the furor, Urban has pulled the socks and done its usual “Oops, sorry, we didn’t mean to offend anyone dance,” telling Zed in a statement:

“We sincerely apologize if we offended the Hindu community and our customers. We appreciate Rajan Zed and the Universal Society of Hinduism for bringing this matter to our attention and for helping us understand the cultural and religious sensitivities this product carries. We will remove the Ganesh Socks immediately from our website and stores.”

Again — this shocks no one that it happened, but yet this kind of stuff keeps happening. It’s enough to make one wonder if Urban Outfitters has a “go with it and only pull if someone complains” policy in place.

As we all know, Costco is the place to get the hottest deals on huge quantities of consumer goods. For example, you can buy a box of Kleenex tissues that contains 260 pieces. Which isn’t a very big quantity, come to think of it…but now it’s shrinking.

Reports reader Elizabeth: the smaller box has “a new design, and a claim that the tissues are thicker.” Her verdict? “Not so much, they feel the same.” Maybe the extra thickness and sneeze-shielding ability is beyond our mere human powers of perception.

Drop that lemon or lime or other citrus fruit! When you treat it like cheese to be grated, you’re abusing it, making it bitter and not as prime of an ingredient for your holiday recipes. When it calls for a little grated lemon peel or a bit of orange zest, that’s not the time to go crazy with grater. Subtlety, friends. Subtlety.

See, there is such a thing as over-zesting or over-grating, explains Slate’s food and drinks editor. And if you do it wrong, you’ll get bitterness where you want a bit of zip.

It’s not peeling an orange for a garnish and it isn’t sanding a block of wood, she explains in the how-to video below. If you want a hint of nice citrus flavor, you’ve got to have a delicate touch.

The first thing you need? A microplane grater. The rest, well, you just need to learn how to treat that fruit right:

How to Zest an Orange. Or a Lemon. Or a Lime. [Slate]

Sulfites and hidden milk are everywhere, but not as common as actual erectile dysfunction drugs and their analogues in “natural” supplements. Welcome to the December Recall Roundup for edible items.

Our monthly Recall Roundups have grown so expansive that we’ve had to separate them into two separate roundups: one for consumer goods, and one for consumables.

If you have any of these listed items in your pantry, first check the varieties and flavors against the ones listed on the recall site or press release, then check expiration date or lot numbers.

If there’s a match, don’t panic! If an item is listed as having undeclared walnuts and you’re not allergic to walnuts, for example, you don’t have to do anything at all. You can keep the item, eat it, not eat it, or return it to the store or the manufacturer for your own peace of mind.

Items that may be contaminated with bacteria or foreign objects are worrisome for everyone, and you should return them to the retail store where you bought them, or contact the company for a refund and further instructions.

BABY FOOD

DESSERTS AND SNACKS
Bee International Sweet Spots – undeclared egg
Golden Lion Brand Dried Ziziphus Jujuba Mill (Dried Dates) – undeclared sulfites
Pin Hsiao & Associates Gluten Free Blueberry Mini Muffins – undeclared walnuts
Farmer Brand Dried Lily Flowers – undeclared sulfites

VEGETABLES
Del Campo Papa Seca (Dry Potato) – undeclared sulfites

PREPARED MEALS
Wegmans New England Clam Chowder – undeclared crab
Trader Joe’s Dried Seaweed Salad with Spicy Dressing – undeclared peanuts
Organic Traditions Dark Chocolate Hazelnuts and Dark Chocolate Almonds – may contain undeclared milk
Omaha Steaks Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo – undeclared egg
Wholesome@Home Classic Chicken Noodle Soup – labeled as Loaded Baked Potato soup

SEAFOOD
Fosforel Atlantika herring filets in oil – possible Listeria contamination

SUPPLEMENTS
Rhino 5 Plus, Maxtremezen and Extenzone – contain unapproved new drugs
RezzRX – undeclared prescription drugs
P-Boost, NatuRECT – undeclared prescription drugs
OxyELITE Pro Dietary Supplements – may cause liver damage
Hydravax – undeclared prescription drugs
EnhanceRx - undeclared milk products
Zanocap – undeclared milk products

MEAT
Bacon, ham, uncooked poultry, jerky, and sausage sold under the following brand names were recalled because they were processed under “unsanitary conditions.”

• Colorado’s Best Beef
• Corner Post Meats
• Four Sisters Farm
• Heart Rock Bison
• High Point Bison
• Horned Beef
• James Ranch
• Long Family Farms
• Luc’s Pizza
• Mile High Hungarian Sausage
• Mountain States Poultry & Meats
• Old Style Sausage
• Open A Bar 2
• Rocky Plains Quality Meats
• Schmidt’s Bakery & Deli
• Wag’s Livestock
• Wayne’s Specialty Meats
• Windsor Dairy
• Wyoming Pure Beef
• Yauk’s Specialty Meats

It’s been a while since I’ve been down to Florida so correct me if I’m wrong, but the saying there doesn’t go “Florida: Where the streets are paved with alligators!” Right? But then why would a man think he could trade a live, four-foot long alligator for a pack of beer at a convenience store? Oh, right. People will try anything once.

NBC Miami (link has autoplay video) has the security footage from the store where the man appears to walk in with the gator cradled in his arms.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, he had allegedly found the gator at a nearby park before trapping it so he could bring it to the store. When he tried to make the trade with the clerk — six-pack for gator, eh? Eh? Tempted? — the worker instead called the cops.

“This is absolutely bizarre. I can’t imagine somebody wanting to barter a live, 4-foot alligator for a 12-pack of beer. It makes no sense to me,” a spokesman for the commission said.

Police officers arrived on the scene and confiscated the gator, citing the man for taking possession of and trying to sell the alligator. But at least the little guy didn’t seem to have suffered from his brief foray as currency.

“It was pretty much in good shape, we didn’t notice any unusual conditions on it,” the wildlife commission spokesman said, adding, “I have never experienced anything like this in 25 years in law enforcement.”

Man Tried to Trade Live Alligator for Beer at Miami Store: FWC [NBC Miami]

As you probably know, the broadcast networks have all been filing lawsuits against streaming video startup Aereo, which takes freely available over-the-air feeds and makes them available online to paying customers. While you’d expect a large cable operator like Cablevision to stand behind the networks in this fight, a new paper from the company expresses concern that the broadcasters are going too far and, if successful, may call into question the legality of all cloud-based technology.

In the Cablevision white paper, the company agrees with the broadcasters’ basic stance that Aereo violates the networks’ copyright by retransmitting the feeds without approval or paying retransmission fees. However, Cablevision takes issue with the way in which the broadcasters are making their case.

In shooting down the broadcasters’ request for an injunction against Aereo, the Second Circuit held that because Aereo’s system uses arrays of small antennae, with each antenna dedicated to a single subscriber, the company was not “publicly performing” the streamed shows, i.e., that it was doing nothing more than providing the same service that a dedicated rooftop antenna does.

Cablevision does not agree with the court’s finding, but says the broadcasters’ appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court “advance a radical new interpretation of the statute with far-reaching implications.”

From the white paper:
They claim that a public performance occurs whenever a service provider enables consumers to transmit the same prior performance of a work, such as the same prior broadcast of a television show or the same prior rendition of a musical work, even if each consumer is independently transmitting a separate performance from his own separately acquired recording available to him alone. That interpretation threatens cloud technologies. It lacks any grounding in the Copyright Act.

Cablevision gives the example of two consumers who each independently purchase the same recording from Amazon’s MP3 Store and then upload the song to his/her own personal storage space on Amazon’s Cloud Player, from which they can stream the files back to themselves at will. Under the broadcasters’ argument, Amazon would be engaging in a public performance each and every time a cloud-stored song is streamed.

“That interpretation threatens a whole host of innovative cloud-based services offered by companies such as Google, Amazon, and Apple,” writes Cablevision, whose own cloud-based DVR system would be imperiled.

The company accuses the broadcasters of throwing the baby out with the bath water by making such an overreaching argument. Cablevision maintains that the broadcasters need not possibly undermine all cloud-based technology just to make its case against Aereo.

“Aereo’s system performs the same basic function as a cable system: It captures over-the-air broadcast content and offers to retransmit that content to anyone
willing to pay,” writes the company. “Thousands of mini-antennas and hard-drive copies do not change the essential nature of the service Aereo is offering.”

Cablevision also questions the legality of Aereo’s DVR technology.

“Subscribers have no fair use right to make copies merely so they can receive programming over an unlicensed television delivery service,” contends the paper. “A court should hold Aereo’s system unlawful on that basis without even reaching the public performance issue.”

Whether or not the Supremes listen to the Aereo case in the next session or not, the matter does seem destined to be ruled on by the highest court in the land at some point.

Meanwhile, various cable companies are prepping their own Aereo-like services in the hopes that the broadcasters’ legal attempts fall short, as such technology could be a way to get around paying billions in retransmission fees to networks.

Problem is, those networks each belong to much larger entertainment companies that provide cable channels and on-demand shows and movies to the cable and satellite operators. If the over-the-air retransmission fees vanish, these mega-companies will no doubt just negotiate higher prices for the rest of their content to make up for it.

Remember when we thought, “Oh good, the fight between GoldieBlox and the Beastie Boys is over because they totally apologized for using the band’s song in their ad and switched it out!”? Yeah well, it ain’t over until it’s over and in this case, that involves a countersuit from the Beastie Boys.

They’re of the mind that the ad wasn’t fair use and as such, GoldieBlox should hand over whatever profits they made while the song parody was in the commercial.

At first it seemed that the Beastie Boys weren’t ready to go into legal fight mode: When GoldieBlox filed a suit to stake its claim on using the song under fair use, the band was all, “Whoa whoa, we just sent you a letter asking why you didn’t seek our permission, and now you’re jumping the gun with this lawsuit.” I paraphrase, but you get the point.

But that tune has changed to one of litigiousness, as the band has filed a counterclaim in court, saying that rewriting its song “Girls” doesn’t work as fair use, so fork over the cash you made off the popular YouTube video, reports GigaOm.

In the counterclaim filed yesterday in New York, the Beastie Boys ask for the moolah and also that GoldieBlox is liable for copyright and trademark infringement. The band points to the toy maker’s use of songs by Queen and Daft Punk, among others, in its commercial jingles without getting permission.

So is it fair use? Well, it might, but it’s tricky, points out the Onion A.V. Club: A judge will have to decide whether or not GoldieBlox’s use of the song had an effect on the song’s potential market, or in other words, if people weren’t buying copies of “Girls” because they had a rewritten version in the ad to listen to, I suppose.

Another consideration is how much of the song was used in the ad, as well as what it was using for — which in this case, was an advertisement so ostensibly, the goal was commercial gain. But just because it was in a commercial doesn’t mean the Beastie Boys will win.

We’ll leave it to the legal and judicial experts to decide, but for now, this fight is far from over. The Beastie Boys are seeking profits, damages, lawyers’ fees and an injunction to prevent GoldieBlox from using the song — though we doubt it’ll try that again.

The full lawsuit is below, via GigaOm:

Beastie Boys countersue as fair use fight over “Girls” song escalates [GigaOm]
And now the Beastie Boys have sued over that toy commercial that used “Girls” [The Onion A.V. Club]

If, like me, you were raised on repeated late-night viewings of The Blues Brothers, you are more than familiar with the epic 3-minute scene in which Elwood and Jake lead some Illinois State Police around, in, and through a busy mall, all while cataloging the various things one can buy there (The new Oldsmobiles are in early this year). What better way to commemorate this brilliantly choreographed scene than with a shot-by-shot LEGO remake?

First, here is the full version of the LEGO remake…

Second, there is the side-by-side comparison video just how closely the folks at Bricktease stayed to the original movie:

Seeing this makes us hope for a LEGO Blues Brother video game… dare to dream.

The original chase scene was filmed at the Dixie Square Mall outside of Chicago. The mall had recently shut down, and director John Landis spent several weeks ramming the Blues Brothers’ Dodge Monaco and the in-pursuit police cruisers through countless windows and walls. Considering that the mall was vacant at the time and probably doomed for the wrecking ball, the filmmakers did not repair much of the damage done to the building.

The building lingered derelict for three decades until being demolished in 2012.

[via AVclub.com]

Santa Claus is real, so that’s not up for debate. But because he is kind of devoted to email these days instead of old-fashioned letter writing, the United States Postal Service has decided to help out to make sure your kid can send a letter to Santa and get a personal snailmail response from the North Pole.

In the time leading up to Christmas, the USPS is offering a program where children can write a letter to Santa and include all the wooden trains, yo-yos and whatever other toys kids like these days, then send it off like a normal letter.

Of course there are steps to follow to make sure the letter gets where it needs to go:

1. Write a personalized letter to a child from Santa Claus and sign it “From Santa.”
2. Insert the letter into an envelope and address it to the child.
3. Add the return address: “SANTA, NORTH POLE” to the envelope.
4. Ensure a First-Class stamp is affixed to the envelope.
5. Place the complete envelope into a larger envelope, with appropriate postage, and address it to:
NORTH POLE POSTMARK POSTMASTER
4141 POSTMARK DR.
ANCHORAGE AK 99530-9998
6. Santa’s helpers in Anchorage, AK, will take care of the rest!

If you want your letter to get to Santa on time, it’s got to be mailed to Anchorage no later than Dec. 10. Plenty of time to put together a list of checkers, spinning tops and a new pair of fuzzy red socks.

Manassas Mall Goes to the Dogs at Christmastime PotomacLocal.com MANASSAS, Va. – When it comes to pets this Christmas, Santa and his elves at Manassas Mall didn't forget about their furry friends. Hundreds lined up inside the mall Sunday night for the final night of pet photos with Santa. While there were mostly ...

- The Bank of England says it will start issuing plastic bank notes for the first time in its 300-year history.

- Giving a puppy or kitten to the pet lover on your list is a gift idea animal activists have long warned people to avoid. But a national animal welfare group says the fears of pets being rejected or returned are unfounded.

With Christmas just one week away, many people will finish their holiday shopping by buying gift cards.

A Navy pilot charged with extorting a 14-year-old Bedford County girl with whom he was having an online relationship is being denied bond for a second time.

A man and his black Lab guide dog escaped serious injury when a train passed over them.

Multiple shots were fired Tuesday at a Reno, Nev., medical facility and at least one person is injured, according to police.

Like it or hate it, your credit report and credit score have lots of power. These may determine whether or not you’re approved for a mortgage, car loan, or other borrowing, and will determine the interest rates on your credit cards. This information is often even used when you’re evaluated for an apartment, insurance or a job, or try to get a bank account. That’s why it’s incredibly important to check your credit report for errors, as mistakes on your report can haunt every part of your financial life for years.

Indeed, more than one-in-four reports contain errors, according to a recent Federal Trade Commission report.

To make sure yours isn’t one of them, the first step is to check your credit reports once a year for any mistakes. You can do this for free at annualcreditreport.com (and not any of the “free” credit report or credit score sites that are just trying to rope you into a monthly subscription). This site gives you once-yearly access to reports from each of the three major credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

You can get that once-a-year free report directly from each of the bureaus, but watch out for come-ons that make it seem like you need to pay, or sign up for a credit monitoring service, to get the free report.

If you’re turned down for a loan, insurance or employment based on a credit report, you’re also eligible for a free copy of the report used to make that determination.

Regardless of how you get your hands on the report, if you find an error, fix it. Pronto. Here’s how.

Action Item No. 1: Contact the credit reporting company
You need to contact the credit reporting agency — in writing — about the error you’ve found.

The FTC offers a sample letter that you can use to make sure you don’t exclude any essential details.

Your communication should include your full name and address, exactly which item(s) you dispute and why, and then ask that the information be removed or corrected. Include copies (NEVER originals) of any supporting documentation you have, plus a copy of your report with the wrong item(s) circled or highlighted.

Be sure to send your dispute certified mail, return receipt requested, and save a copy of what you send to the agency.

The credit reporting agency — per the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) — must investigate the dispute in 30 days if the report in question came to you because of a credit denial, or 45 days if it came from an annual free report.

When they’re done looking, the agency must report back to you in writing its findings, along with a free copy of your report if there was a change.

Importantly, it must tell you where the bad info came from (this is essential for Action Item No. 2, below).

At your request, if a fix was made, the agency must provide the corrections to anyone that received your credit report in the past six months. If the report went to potential employers in the past two years, you can have a corrected report sent to them. (Whether or not that’s happening, well, we’re hopeful but not stupid.)

Action Item No. 2: Contact the information provider
It’s terrific to have your credit report fixed, but if you don’t fix the source of the bad info, you can expect to see the mistake creep back onto your report in the years to come.

Using the same FTC sample letter, go through the same process with the source of the error.

If the credit reporting agency deemed your information to be inaccurate and made a change, include a copy of the correction.

Action Item No. 3: If they won’t make the fix
The FTC says if an investigation doesn’t resolve your dispute with the credit reporting company, you can ask that a statement of the dispute be included in your file and in future reports. You also can ask the credit reporting company to provide your statement of explanation to anyone who received a copy of your report in the recent past, and this may cost you a fee.

But here’s the kick in the pants: Many consumers have found they’re able to prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that some items on their credit reports are wrong, yet the credit reporting agency refuses a fix. This doesn’t happen just with the Big Three, but also with smaller credit reporting agencies that specialize in reports for employers and landlords.

Indeed, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that such specialty reporting agencies weren’t always following the rules that it issued a bulletin [PDF] last year, reminding these firms they must give consumers an easy way to get a free copy of their specialty reports and comply with FCRA.

Then, dear readers, you may have to get an attorney who specializes in FCRA violations.

Whether you have errors on your report or not, you should know your rights. This page on the FTC website provides some helpful information for all consumers about access to credit reports.

Have a topic you’d like to see covered in How To Not Suck? Or maybe you’re an expert who would like to share your insight with Consumerist readers? Send us a note at notsuck@consumerist.com.

You can read Karin Price Mueller’s stories for The Star-Ledger at NJ.com, follow her on Facebook, and on Twitter @kpmueller.

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How To Not Suck… At Lowering Your Utility Bills
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How To Not Suck… At Understanding Credit Card Rewards
How To Not Suck… At Getting Ready For Tax Season
How To Not Suck… At Picking A Retirement Plan
How To Not Suck… At Deciding When To DIY
How To Not Suck… At Getting Out Of Debt
How To Not Suck… At First Year College Budgets

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Stick what in my toilet? Let what hang out? Recycle… what? So many questions and so many odd suggestions, all in the name of trimming your utility bills. There are plenty of things you can do to cut costs. And with the cold weather coming — or already here for many of us — it’s a great time to see what you can do to stay warmer and save some cash.

This is by no means a definitive to-do list, but here are some surefire ways to save you a few bucks.

Start by subjecting your home to a home energy audit, during which a tech would check all the usual suspects for energy loss in your home. Many utility companies offer these audits for free. You can perform your own energy audit, or hire a pro.

The audit is no good if you stick it in a drawer, so once those problem areas in your home have been identified, make sure you finish the job and update, insulate, and do whatever else is needed.

If you decide to make energy-efficient home improvements, many companies and federal and state governments offer financial incentives for which you may qualify. Check out the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency to see what’s available for you.

NO-BRAINERS
Many of you will react to the following suggestions with “no duh” or “doesn’t everybody already do that?” The answer is “no,” which is why we bring up these basic bill-saving suggestions…

Use a programmable thermostat: You’ll be able to set with precision the temperature you want in your home. You can have the heat or AC at a minimally acceptable temperature when you’re not home or when you’re sleeping, and you can program a more comfortable temp for when you’re home and awake. The installation should take a beginner DIY-er about two hours.

Block the cold air: Check your windows and doors for winter breezes. If you can feel a draft, it’s time for this do-it-yourselfer goodie. Treat your windows and glass doors with clear plastic insulation (sort of like shrink wrap for your windows) and weatherstrip. If you have the cash and your windows are old, consider new EnergyStar-rated windows.

When you buy new, buy efficient: Do your homework before you buy and look for energy-efficient appliances. These may cost more at first, but your energy savings over the life of the product should save you money in the long-run.

Shut doors and vents: If you’re not using a room, it doesn’t need to be perfectly warm or cold. Shut vents in those rooms to save.

Use shades and curtains: Window coverings don’t just keep out prying eyes. A good set of heavy curtains will help keep out the cold and the heat.

Service your stuff: Regularly have your heating and AC units checked by a pro to make sure they’re in top working — efficient — order. Flushing out your water heater, for example, will eliminate debris and build-up and make your unit more efficient. Also be sure to change the filters on all your appliances, heating and cooling equipment.

Go Alphabet Soup for Lighting: LED and CFL lighting options use less energy and last longer than old-fashioned bulbs. Upgrading 15 of the inefficient incandescent light bulbs in your home could save you about $50 per year, according to the Department of Energy.

Let it all hang out: Use a clothesline or a drying rack rather than a clothes dryer, which costs about $85 a year to operate.

Create good habits: Just like your mamma taught you, make sure to shut off the lights when you leave a room.

THINGS YOU MAYBE HADN’T ALREADY THOUGHT OF
Here are some suggestions that not everyone has thought of…

Pack your freezer: Your frozen chicken legs and mint chocolate chip ice cream are like solid blocks of ice, so your freezer won’t have to run so often to stay chill.

Use fans year-round: It makes sense that a ceiling fan would cool your home in the warmer months, but you can also use your fan for good in the winter. Set your fan to run clockwise to push warm air down in the winter months.

Nuke it: Your microwave uses about two-thirds less energy than your stove. Also, if you’re reheating leftovers or heating up something like soup, you can usually microwave it in the same dish you’ll be eating out of, so fewer things to wash. Speaking of which…

Use your dishwasher: Yup, your dishwasher uses less water than washing dishes by hand. But don’t use the drying cycle in the dishwasher, just save the money and let them air dry.

Phantom loads: Three-quarters of home electronics still use energy when they’re turned off. Your computer, DVD player, VCR (do you still have a VCR?), television and others still suck power — think of the clock and other lights that stay on all the time. To cut back on “phantom” energy use, invest in a power strip and turn it off when you’re not using what’s plugged in. (That is, if you can stand seeing those blinking lights when you turn the darned things back on.) Don’t leave your phone, tablet and laptop chargers plugged into the wall when you’re not charging. And when you’re in the market for new electronics, look for those with stand-by modes.

Toilet savvy: Save on water bills by placing a heavy object in your toilet’s water tank, which will decrease the amount of water that fills your tank with each flush. Don’t worry — the experts say your flush will be just fine without all that H2O. A brick may seem like the obvious choice, but it may degrade over time and damage your tank, so use a plastic water bottle filled with some pebbles or sand instead. And though it might work, we don’t recommend using gold bars. Finally, while we’re talking about the throne, be wary of inventions that are too good to be true.

Go halfway: Turning the valves for your sinks halfway off will still give you plenty of water to brush your pearly whites and wash up.

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You can read Karin Price Mueller’s stories for The Star-Ledger at NJ.com, follow her on Facebook, and on Twitter @kpmueller.

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In a move that is both hypocritical and underhanded, Comcast is reportedly adding a $1.50/month “Broadcast TV Fee” to some customers’ bills in 2014, pretty much putting a lock on the cable giant’s appearance in the next Worst Company In America tournament.

Let’s first look at the underhanded aspect of this nonsense fee. As anyone could have predicted by all the very public spats between broadcasters and cable operators in recent years, cable bills were destined to keep going up. And the $1.50 fee will indeed increase the amount billed to Comcast customers each month. But since this is a fee tacked on above the bill, the company may still be able to advertise the monthly rate without the fee. So this is an attempt to jack up your bill without being transparent about the total costs to potential subscribers.

Others, like AT&T and Charter have similar tack-on fees, but unlike those companies, which have not benefitted in any way from increased retransmission fees charged by broadcasters, Comcast also happens to own NBC. Thus, isn’t it a bit hypocritical for Kabletown to be involved in finger-pointing that targets broadcasters as the cause of the problem? And how much of that fee is going to NBC?

Comcast Rate Hikes Expand, Adds New ‘Broadcast TV’ Fee [DSLreports.com]

Comcast’s 2014 Rates Will Include A $1.50 “Broadcast TV Fee” [Deadline.com]

On the one hand, these “Scroogled” items up for sale on Microsoft’s official online store provoke a response of ugh, groan. On the other hand, it’s all, cringe, no, awkward. Either way you go, Microsoft’s attempt to poke fun at its competitor just comes off as a little bit… sad.

It’s a real online store and a real line of shirts, hats and even a mug with phrases like a Chrome logo in a trench coat, “Keep Calm While We Still Your Data,” “We’re Watching You” and Microsoft’s favorite dig, the Scroogled logo. Because of course, this is the Scroogled section of the store, points out Wired.com in its shared disbelief.

While we can’t imagine anyone willingly donning a T-shirt with Chrome as a scary spider, apparently the mug is sold out.

And as for Google watching people, yes, its all-seeing eye does mine the treasure trove of your Internet searches to market products. But Microsoft’s Kinect feature of the XBox One also watches people — a little too closely for some, points out FastCoDesign. It watches you right in the junk.

Please, Microsoft. Give up on making “Scroogled” a thing. Or at least refrain from trying to sell merchandise with that on it and work on developing your own brand personality. Slinging insults via cringeworthy T-shirts isn’t going to get you too far in the image battle.

Know what will? Devoting your resources to developing great products consumers will benefit from. Just a thought.

These Anti-Google T-Shirts Just Make Microsoft Look Pathetic [Wired.com]