Over the last several years, my wife and I have become reasonably skillful practitioners in the art of buying items in bulk, through trial and error. Our goal, of course, is to save money. A well-executed bulk purchase of an item can save you a lot of money. A poorly-executed one, though, can cost you money, as we've learned the hard way several times over the years.
    
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There's not really a right answer for when your kids should be allowed a smartphone. It's all parental preference. When are your kids old enough?
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Dear Lifehacker,
In both my work and personal life, I'm supposed to delegate responsibilities to others. Usually this is great because it helps get things done, but some of my co-workers and family just don't do a good enough job (e.g., incomplete reports or lousy laundry skills). Outside of doing everything myself or firing/no longer working with these folks, what can I do?
Signed,
Helped But Feeling Helpless
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Dolphin Browser is still our pick for the best web browser for Android, but it's been a while since we reviewed its features and explained why it's our favorite, especially considering Chrome's massive popularity (and our love for it) and the many other alternatives for Android.
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You can have a plain desktop. That works. When you don't have much going on, you can concentrate on your work without distraction. That said, a weird desktop can make you smile whenever you look at it, giving you a break from the monotony that sometimes infiltrates the work day. These wallpapers can get you started on a stranger path.
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Dear Lifehacker,
I keep hearing conflicting arguments on the state of Android security. Eric Schmidt says it's more secure than the iPhone, but people laughed at him. Plus, I keep hearing about the threat of Android malware. Who's right? Is Android safe? Should I install security software like I do on Windows?
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After almost a year of researching marijuana and how to go about selling it legally, Washington state adopted rules yesterday for the recreational sale of pot, and everyone is watching. Well, everyone who’s interested in how to go about doing something similar in their home state or country.
Countries like Mexico, Uruguay, Poland and other locales are checking out the regulations, reports the Associated Press, which cover things like how big licensed marijuana gardens can be, security at those gardens, hoe many pot stores can open in the state and more.
Oh yes, and then there’s also a new high… TAX that is. Puns! Ahem. Anyway, Washington will tax pot highly and only allow for 90 metric tons to be produced in the state. Sales are expected to start by the middle of 2014.
The state’s liquor board members said the goal was to make pot accessible enough so that people will choose the legal stuff over the black market, but not so easy to get that it would threaten public health or safety. A state of stoners would be undesirable, in other words.
As such, the state’s new regulations require procedures like seed-to-store tracking, background checks for license applicants, and child-resistant packaging.
“We feel very proud of what we’re doing,” said Sharon Foster, chairwoman of the Washington Liquor Control Board, as she and her two colleagues approved the rules. “We are making history.”
Washington state approves rules for pot industry [Associated Press]
(Coyoty)
In a new study, titled “Meat intake and semen parameters among men attending a fertility clinic,” published in the journal Fertility and Sterility researchers from Harvard investigated a possible link between the consumption of various forms of meat and “semen quality.”
They looked at 364 semen samples from 156 men. These subjects had come to the Massachusetts General Hospital Fertility Center with their female partners to be evaluated for possible fertility problems.
The results?
Processed meat intake was associated with lower percent morphologically normal sperm while white meat fish intake was associated with higher percent morphologically normal sperm. Dark meat fish intake was related to higher total sperm count.
More precisely, men who ate the most processed meat (between .39 and 2.79 servings per day) had 1.4% fewer sperm that were of a size and shape of normal size compared to men who ate less processed meat. Abnormal sperm morphology is believed to negatively impact the odds of fertility.
Conversely, men who at the highest amount of white fish meat (between .1 and .51 servings per day) had 1.6% more morphologically normal sperm than those who at the least (.02 servings per day or fewer).
And dark fish meat seemed to have an impact on subjects’ sperm count. Men who ate between 0.16 and 0.86 servings of tuna, salmon, or similar fish per day had a 34% higher sperm count than those with dark meat fish intake below .02 servings per day.
The researchers don’t yet know of an explanation for these differences, but if they are accurate, it looks like you wouldn’t need to eat too many fish in order to boost your sperm count and quality. After all, .1 servings per day is only one serving every 10 days.
(BBC)
The marsupial in question did just what any ailing human would do, reports the BBC, and hopped its way through the Qantas terminal (because the airline’s logo is a kangaroo, of course) and into a pharmacy. Because he was hurt, see? Squee.
Wildlife volunteers were able to catch the eastern grey kangaroo safely and tranquilize it, after it’d managed to shock a few shoppers with its unexpected appearance. Volunteers named it Cyrus after one of its rescuers, and took it to the vet for treatment.
It appears that the kangaroo hopped to the airport after it was hit by a car.
“He has got injuries to his feet at the moment. His claws are quite worn, that’s from hopping down the tarmac and things like that,” a wildlife volunteer said.
Rest up, little buddy. We’re glad you found help.
Kangaroo hops its way into Melbourne airport [BBC]
AT&T adds new cell tower near Manassas, expands 4G LTE Inside NoVA As part of its continuing network investment and ongoing 4G LTE rollout, AT&T has upgraded an additional mobile Internet cell site in Manassas near the intersection of Va. 234 and Colchester Park Drive to expand coverage for area residents and businesses. and more » |
Prince William County and Stafford County home sales Washington Post These were among sales data provided to The Washington Post by Lender Processing Services. To find sale and assessment records for homes elsewhere in the Washington area, visit www.washingtonpost.com/homesales. Prince William County. BRISTOW ... and more » |
Heavy rainfall in some areas, and drought in others, means it's not a great pumpkin year in several states.
New York City police say two teenage girls believed to be shoplifting were stopped as they were leaving a Manhattan store, and a security guard checking their bags found what appeared to be a fetus.
Parents are outraged after reports that two freshmen at a Georgia high school engaged in a sex act in the school cafeteria while another student recorded it.
Arlington National Cemetery is relaxing its policies to allow family members to leave behind small mementos in Section 60.
Police expect the scene to be cleared within the next 3 hours.
The nation's biggest convenience store chain has quietly begun to sell ultra-premium wines at about $19.99 at 700 locations in 16 states.
Not that the government is open, the panda cam is up and running Thursday.
Courtesy of meteorologist Howard Bernstein.
Happy Hump Day! We hope you enjoy this total cute fix today.
