Liz McLaughlin

Edmunds.com offers 6 ways to spring clean your car to avoid a big maintenance bill and keep you safe before summer travel:

1. Check the Tires. Tire pressure changes about 1 pound per square inch for every 10 degrees Fahrenheit change in outside temperature, so it’s important to check tire pressure after weather changes. Check your owner’s manual for the recommended pressure for your tire, and never exceed that. Learn more about proper tire maintenance by reading “Tires: Traffic Safety Tips.”
2. Check wiper blades. Your wipers work hard all winter removing dirt and debris, including salt spray. Since the life expectancy of a wiper blade is six months to a year, check that the blades are making full contact with the windshield and have not dried out. Don’t wait for a heavy spring or summer rainstorm to discover your blades aren’t performing properly. Also, refill the wiper fluid reservoir.
3. Change the oil and oil filter. Some car manufacturers recommend changing to a heavyweight oil to help the engine perform more efficiently during hotter weather. Your owner’s manual will tell you which grade is best for your car. Change the oil filter each time you change the oil, since it’s obvious that a dirty filter won’t keep the new oil clean. Gather insight on how to change your oil yourself by reading “How to Change Your Oil (The Real Down and Dirty).”
4. Change the air filter. The air filter prevents dust and other impurities from getting into the combustion chambers of the cylinders, resulting in wasted gas and weaker engine performance. The time-honored way to check for dirt is to hold the filter up to the light, but since many new filters show light when dirty, or show no light when clean, it is more reliable to change the air filter every six months, and more often in dusty locations. Get the knowledge you need to change your car’s air filter yourself by reading “How to Change Your Car’s Filters.”
5. Flush and fill your cooling system. This is cheap insurance against engine failure. The Car Care Council recommends flushing every two years, or 24,000 miles for most vehicles. Simply draining your radiator is not enough; you need to flush the system with a radiator flush product, not just plain water, to remove stubborn rust, grease and sediment. Then, refill with a 50/50 mixture of coolant and water. (If you live in a more severe climate, increase the percentage of coolant to about 70.) Find out more by reading “How to Maintain Your Vehicle’s Cooling System.”
6. Check the radiator and gas caps. A snug radiator cap helps raise the cooling system pressure, giving added protection against boil-overs. Radiator caps don’t last forever, so replace yours whenever you flush the cooling system. Pressure recommendations vary, so get the right cap for your vehicle model. With gas at record prices, be sure there’s a tight seal on the gas cap, too, to prevent that high-priced octane from vaporizing. Nearly 20 percent of vehicles have gas caps that are damaged, loose or missing altogether, wasting some 147 million gallons of gas every year.

Have unwanted items or just need extra cash? Here are some websites where you can sell your stuff:

Consumer Reports recommends Gazelle to sell your gadgets and tech gear.

Real Simple recommends eBay to sell clothing and collectibles, Amazon to sell books, Glyde to sell video games, and ThredUp to sell children’s clothing.

Are you a DIY master? You can also turn your crafts into cash online. Etsy is a popular website for users to sell handmade and vintage items.

shortformblog:

nbcnews:

Budweiser sued for watering down beer 

(Photo: Kirsty Wigglesworth / AP)

Beer lovers across the country have filed $5 million class-action lawsuits accusing Anheuser-Busch of watering down its Budweiser, Michelob and other brands.

Read the complete story.

This lawsuit could have been filed anytime in the last 50 years.

(Seriously, though, Bloomberg Businessweek had a killer cover story on this very topic not so long ago.)

Heavy winter storms are sweeping the Midwestern United States, and that means more icy sidewalks and potential injuries. But how do you know if that embarrassing fall needs medical attention? 

Mercy ER doctor Tony Mazzeo says you should definitely seek help if you experience any of these symptoms after a fall:

• headache, loss of consciousness or blurred vision (after head injury) 
• inability to bear weight or walk

If the injury appears to be minor and the pain is tolerable, Dr. Mazzeo advises applying ice for about 20 minutes every hour. 

If you are still hurting after a few days, the doctor suggests switching to heat pads or warm baths for relief.

If you are experiencing a lot of pain or have doubts about your injury, seek medical help.

Roller Derby is the fastest growing women’s sport. Here in Charlotte, NC, the Charlotte Roller Girls take on a variety of competitive WFTDA teams at the Grady Cole Center. The organization also takes time off skates to give back to the community and continue to grow the sport.

Click here to find out more or get tickets to a bout.

charlotterollergirls:

Spectators that are new to the sport will find a hard-hitting race, with offense and defense played simultaneously. Jammers (racers) try to pass opposing players to score points. And the blockers do everything (legally) possible to help their jammer through the pack and stop the other jammer from getting through. Seasoned fans will be excited to see that new rules are in place this season: Jammers will take off the same time blockers do, creating an even faster, fiercer start to the bout.

Want to have a more youthful look without going under the knife? Some say it’s possible with a series of exercises called “Face Yoga”. 

It may look a little strange but Annelise Hagen, author of “The Yoga Face”, says it can have instant results.

“The exercises themselves help to stimulate the production of collagen and elastin, so you’re definitely going to get more tone, firmness and resilience,” said Hagen.

Find out more or see it in action.

Taking down champagne to bring in the new year can lead many to a morning of regret and suffering. But a study in the Journal of Food Science suggests the amino acids and minerals found in asparagus extract may alleviate alcohol hangover and protect liver cells against toxins.

There’s a long list of hangover prevention methods that people swear by, but this year it wouldn’t hurt to try biting into a few asparagus shoots before a big night out.

Happy New Year!

(*Please remember to drink responsibly)

New research from Squaretrade shows accidental damage to phones is more likely based on lifestyle choices. The survey results indicate that factors like frequent sex and tattoos adversely affect iPhone safety.

SquareTrade’s CMO Ty Shay said, “Who knew that people who have sex regularly also have iPhone accidents more frequently? We were also surprised to see that stock traders and tattoo aficionados had something in common.”

 SquareTrade’s 2012 Smartphone Accident Survey revealed that the following groups of people are more likely to have had an accident with their iPhone:

1. People who trade stocks frequently – 40% more likely
2. People with tattoos – 25% more likely
3. Motorcycle owners – 25% more likely
4. People who have sex more than once a week – 15% more likely
5. Big households – 15% more likely
6. Pet owners – 7% more likely

Danny Brown sat down with us during the last leg of his tour with A$AP Rocky sponsored by Scion A/V.

Here are the most-streamed songs by American Spotify users for the year 2012:

10. Nicki Minaj - “Starships”
9. The Wanted - “Glad You Came”
8. M83 - “Midnight City”
7. Flo Rida featuring Sia - “Wild Ones”
6. One Direction - “What Makes You Beautiful”
5. Maroon 5 featuring Wiz Khalifa - “Payphone”
4. Fun. - “Some Nights”
3. Carly Rae Jepsen - “Call Me Maybe”
2. Fun. featuring Janelle Monae - “We Are Young”
1. Gotye featuring Kimbra - “Somebody That I Used To Know”

MILFORD, Mass. (AP) - Don’t tell Popeye. It turns out you don’t need to eat your spinach to get the world’s biggest arms.

Massachusetts bodybuilder Moustafa Ismail eats seven pounds of protein, nine pounds of carbohydrates and three gallons of water each day to help maintain upper arms that measure 31 inches around - as big as a small man’s waist.

Skeptics say there must also be steroids or some other artificial means behind Ismail’s beyond-bulging biceps and triceps, and Guinness World Records is waffling on whether to recognize him.

But he insists they are all-natural, the result of a punishing workout regimen he started after a guest at his uncle’s wedding in his native Egypt mocked his overweight frame.

“They call me Popeye, the Egyptian Popeye,” Ismail, 24, said while working out in the Boston suburb of Milford. But unlike the cartoon character, “I like chicken, beef, anything but spinach.”

thedailyfeed:

Before you begin your Thanksgiving cooking and cleaning, consider swapping out your kitchen sponge. Why? For starters, it’s about 2,000x germier than your toilet seat.

Dr. Chuck Gerba, professor of microbiology at the University of Arizona, found that there are about 10 million bacteria per square inch on a sponge. In comparison, the average toilet seat only holds 50 bacteria per square inch, his studies found.

Fast facts about this years’ race to the White House via the official NBC Decision 2012 Election Briefing Book:

• This is the first presidential election since World War II without a candidate on either ticket who has served in the military. 

• If Obama is re-elected, it would be the first time since Jefferson, Madison, Monroe that Americans have elected three two-term presidents in a row. 

• If President Obama loses, he will join Jimmy Carter as the only incumbent Democrat to lose reelection since the turn of the 20th century. 

• This presidential election marks two-straight cycles without a southerner on the ticket. The last presidential election before 2008 without a southerner was 1972. 

• This is the first presidential election since 1984 without a sitting or recently resigned U.S. senator on the ticket.

• Only once since the turn of the 20th century has a sitting president lost re-election after taking over from the opposite party four years earlier. That happened in 1980 when Ronald Reagan defeated Jimmy Carter.  

• This is not Mitt Romney’s first run for president, a trait he shares with every non-incumbent Republican nominee since 1968 – other than George W. Bush in 2000. 

• Romney is unlikely to win Michigan, the state where he was born. Bob Dole is the only Republican nominee since Reagan to win the state in which he was born. 

• This is the first election since 1972 – before the post-Watergate campaign-finance reforms – in which neither candidate has accepted public funds. 

• Iowa and New Mexico are the only two states that have voted for successively different candidates in the past three presidential elections. They both voted for Gore (2000), Bush (2004) and Obama (2008). 

• Of the seven NBC News toss-up states, five have been decided by single digit margins in the last five presidential elections. Those states are Colorado, Ohio, Virginia, Florida and New Hampshire. 

• So far in this election cycle, outside groups have spent $787 million, up from $301 million in 2008 and $200 million in 2004. 

• Ten U.S. senators are not seeking re-election this cycle – the most retirements since 1996. In addition, Republican Sen. Dick Lugar of Indiana was defeated in his state’s primary, meaning at least 11 new faces will join the Senate next January.

• Since 1832, at least one state with 10+ electoral votes has flipped from the previous cycle in 43 of 45 presidential elections. Indiana (and its 11 electoral votes) seems assured to flip this November, while Florida (29), Ohio (18), North Carolina (15), Virginia a (13), and Wisconsin (10) remain candidates as well. (Via Univ. of Minnesota’s Smart Politics)

Incredible photo of taxi’s under water in Hoboken, New Jersey.

(Courtesy: Charles Sykes - Associated Press)

breakingnews:

Sandy still hundreds of miles offshore but effects being felt across the globe as transport shuts down

CBS News: Hurricane Sandy grounded thousands of flights in the U.S. northeast Monday and upended travel plans across the globe, stranding passengers from Hong Kong to Europe.

The massive storm threatens to bring a near halt to air travel for at least two days in a key region for both domestic and international flight.

And to add to the travel chaos the mass transit systems of New York City, Boston and New Jersey have also been shut down with Hurricane Sandy lingering hundreds of miles offshore packing its 90mph punch.

You can follow all our Hurricane Sandy updates on BreakingNews.com

Photo: This stretch of Atlantic City, N.J., was flooded on Monday. (Mario Tama / Getty Images )

One of the most buzz-worthy quips from the third presidential debate was Obama’s defense of the decrease in Navy ships since 1917.

“I think Gov. Romney maybe hasn’t spent enough time looking at how our military works,” Obama replied. “You mentioned the Navy, for example, and that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. Well, governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets, because the nature of our military’s changed.”

But some argue the bayonet is not as obsolete as the president suggested. In 2003, more than 120,000 bayonets were commissioned to supply one for each Marine, at an estimated cost of $4.3 million. 

And, according to the Los Angeles Times: 

The Army has 419,155 bayonets in its current inventory, Army spokesman Wayne V. Hall said Tuesday. The Marine Corps plans to buy 175,061 bayonets this year, in addition to the 195,334 bayonets it bought in 2004, said Captain Kendra N. Motz, a Marine spokeswoman. Even assuming some were lost or damaged in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the military probably has more than 600,000 bayonets on hand.

Military analyst Loren B. Thompson said that we probably have more bayonets today than we did a century ago. But, comparing bayonet inventory is just as misleading as comparing the number of ships in our Navy. Military technology has changed, the way we use weapons has changed and comparing quantity is just an oversimplification of the capabilities of our defense.

theweekmagazine:

Can Newsweek survive as a digital-only publication? Not with a subscription, says Felix Salmon at Reuters.

But, his opinion is not the only one. 

Last night, President Obama claimed that from the beginning, the White House held that the attack in Benghazi was an “act of terror.”

If Obama’s Rose Garden speech was indeed the White House position, it did not inform any subsequent statement by the White House press office – and was even directly contradicted by his own spokesman several days later.

On September 20 – eight days after Obama claims to have called the Benghazi attack an “act of terror” – Jay Carney affirmed to reporters that the White House had never called it “a terrorist attack.”

From the gaggle on Air Force One, en route Miami, 9/20/2012:

Q: Can you — have you called it a terrorist attack before? Have you said that?

MR. CARNEY: I haven’t, but — I mean, people attacked our embassy. It’s an act of terror by definition.

Q: Yes, I just hadn’t heard you —

MR. CARNEY: It doesn’t have to do with what date it occurred.

Q: No, I just hadn’t heard the White House say that this was an act of terrorism or a terrorist attack. And I just —

MR. CARNEY: I don’t think the fact that we hadn’t is not — as our NCTC Director testified yesterday, a number of different elements appear to have been involved in the attack, including individuals connected to militant groups that are prevalent in eastern Libya, particularly in the Benghazi area. We are looking at indications that individuals involved in the attack may have had connections to al Qaeda or al Qaeda’s affiliates, in particular al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

Here, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney actually affirmed Gov. Romney’s position that the White House did not call the Benghazi attack an act of terrorism. Carney also said the now infamous video “precipitated some of the unrest in Benghazi” the day before.