Clean up your act

Most of us learned how to use a washing machine or dishwasher in our parents’ house many years ago and haven’t really changed our methods, even though most appliances have evolved radically since then. We rarely, if ever, read the manuals when we buy a new one or glance through the instructions on the box of detergent or bottle of dishwashing liquid.

But because we’re probably using these appliances incorrectly, our dishes and clothes may not be coming out as clean as they could be. And we may also be damaging the machines.

When a Cap Full of Soap Is Not a Good Thing – NYTimes.com

Some money quotes:

“Most people use 10 to 15 times the amount of soap they need, and they’re pouring money down the drain.”

“If people see suds, they think their clothes are getting clean, but that’s wrong — it means you’re using a lot of extra detergent.”

“[P]rerinsing dishes before putting them in the dishwasher was not only unnecessary, it wasted thousands of gallons of water and could actually result in dirtier dishes.”

There’s more hints, including some for dryers and self-cleaning ovens.

And don’t forget to clean the vents at the base of your refrigerator!

You can do this, right?

The United States Department of the Interior

… was established 161 years ago today. It is the fifth in seniority among cabinet departments after State, Treasury, Defense and Justice.

The idea of setting up a separate department to handle domestic matters was put forward on numerous occasions. It wasn’t until March 3, 1849, the last day of the 30th Congress, that a bill was passed to create the Department of the Interior to take charge of the Nation’s internal affairs.

The Interior Department had a wide range of responsibilities entrusted to it: the construction of the national capital’s water system, the colonization of freed slaves in Haiti, exploration of western wilderness, oversight of the District of Columbia jail, regulation of territorial governments, management of hospitals and universities, management of public parks,and the basic responsibilities for Indians, public lands, patents, and pensions. In one way or another all of these had to do with the internal development of the Nation or the welfare of its people.

U.S. Department of the Interior

Interior manages 507 million acres of surface land, or about one-fifth of the land in the United States, including:

• 262 million acres managed by the Bureau of Land Management
• 95 million acres managed by the Fish and Wildlife Service
• 84 million acres managed by the National Park Service
• 56 million acres managed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs
• 8.6 million acres managed by the Bureau of Reclamation

Yours truly was a senior executive with Interior from January 1999 through January 2003.

Redux post of the day

This was posted here three years ago today. A sad prediction come true.

Although SeaWorld Adventure Park has done a good job of preparing its trainers to work with killer whales, it is “only a matter of time” before a whale kills one, state investigators have concluded after examining a November incident in which a trainer was dragged under water and nearly drowned.

“The trainers recognize this risk and train not for ‘if’ an attack will happen but ‘when,’ ” says a report by the state Department of Industrial Relations’ Division of Occupational Safety and Health.

Los Angeles Times

Idle thought

It’s not Chilly.

It’s CHEE-leh.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Web site for the theme park opening this summer. Very cool web site.

Word

Tom has found a great new word. He wants to apply it to wine, which is fine with me.

But I just like knowing the word. It is a particularly useful word when one lives on the desert. According to Wikipedia, “The term was coined in 1964 by two Australian researchers, Bear and Thomas, for an article in the journal Nature.”

Coca-Cola vs. Pepsi, Revised Edition

It was great fun, that image showing one Coca-Cola logo over the years to all those Pepsi logos. Except, well, it wasn’t totally accurate.

Coca-Cola vs. Pepsi, Revised Edition

Arch

azcentral.com photo — click image for larger version

Hoover Dam bypass bridge an epic marvel.

Factoid of the day

Guglielmo Marconi’s mother was Annie Jameson of the Jameson Irish Whiskey family.

Although Marconi’s invention of wireless telegraphy was an original and significant application of electromagnetic theory to commercial use, the family connection and money were instrumental in his early business success.

Time keeps on slippin’ into the future

2009 is half over at 1pm today (noon if you’re not on daylight time).

Best–and worst–bangs for your charity bucks

Consumer Reports Money & Shopping Blog has the lists and links.

We gotta get out of this place

… if it’s the last thing we ever do.

10 Best Prison Breaks

Today is the happiest day of the year

According to a formula worked out by a British academic, today is the happiest day of the year (I guess he means in the northern hemisphere).

How’s it working out for you so far?

Friday stuff

“On Thursday, the Washington Post confirmed it had fired liberal online columnist Dan Froomkin. On Friday, they gave a guest column to Bush war architect Paul Wolfowitz.”

— Raw Story

“In Prof. Chen’s study, although a third of consumers bought extended-service contracts, only 8% used them at least once. She said that many of those who bought the contract but didn’t use it defended their choice by claiming it gave them peace of mind.”

— The Wallet – WSJ

Saving money gives me peace of mind. During my time in retail, I can’t tell you how much pressure was on us to sell extended-service contacts.

Two great links from Elise:

No name-calling

Postcards From Yo Momma

Flight 447’s perfect storm

The gist of the accident appears pretty clear: Air France Flight 447 was victimized by a terrible storm.

How the airplane got into this storm, and what exactly happened once it got there, are two fascinating if perhaps unanswerable questions. The plane’s flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder — the proverbial black boxes — are apparently lodged amid undersea mountains, beneath thousands of feet of water. They may stay there forever.

And so we are left to speculate — as to how an experienced crew, at the controls of a $100 million jetliner, could have found itself in such deadly circumstances.

Pilot Patrick Smith speculates.

Linkage

Karen has a great post on driving in the clutch.

Lifehacker recommends taking notes: “I think the act of taking notes in front of others (especially doctors) entices them to give me more time and better information. Three times lately I have pulled out my moleskine and started taking notes in front of a doctor. Each time I have received tips, web site references, and ideas.”

From the oh-that’s-not-fair department: Rachel Alexandra won’t run in Belmont Stakes

Wall Street Journal music writer Jim Fusilli provided information a few weeks ago to eliminate any regret we might feel over Phil Spector’s 19-year-sentence. Fusilli included this:

Celebrities were treated to similar shenanigans. According to Mr. Brown’s biography, Mr. Spector, weapon in hand, locked the door to his Beverly Hills mansion behind Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas, refusing to let her leave. Mr. Brown also reports that Mr. Spector was wearing a handgun in 1973 when he attended the Ali-Norton fight at the L.A. Forum in a group that included Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond and James Taylor; later that night, when he was introduced to Frank Sinatra at Trader Vic’s, he was still wearing the gun. Once he pulled a gun in a studio at the Record Plant and accidentally fired it; the bullet somehow missed Lennon. On another occasion, a drunken Mr. Spector pressed the muzzle of a gun against Leonard Cohen’s neck. “Leonard, I love you,” he said. Nudging the barrel aside, Mr. Cohen replied: “I hope you do, Phil.”

And Political Animal cites Alito, O’Connor and Thomas as nominees who’ve claimed that personal background can, does and should play a part in judicial decision-making.

Do Hispanic and Latina mean the same thing?

Hispanic is an English word that originally referred to people from Spain and eventually expanded to include the populations of its colonies in South and Central America. Latino is a Spanish word—hence the feminine form Latina—that refers to people with roots in Latin America and generally excludes the Iberian Peninsula. For many, Hispanic has negative connotations because of its Eurocentrism. Others prefer it because it’s gender-neutral. Latino, meanwhile, is perceived as a more authentic-sounding, Spanish-language alternative. Generally speaking, Democrats use Latino more often than Republicans, who favor Hispanic.

Christopher Beam – Slate Magazine has more.

Dear Graduate

Timothy Egan with graduation speech aphorisms.

One example:

And that brings me to: Take risks. I don’t mean ski the double diamond runs, ask for a card in blackjack with 15 showing and the dealer holding a king, or hit a high note in a karaoke bar, while sober. That goes without saying.

Good stuff.

The 2009 Time 100

Always fun to browse the Time 100 each year and see if you know who everybody is (and why they’d be on the list).

The people who most impact our world.

Lazy blogging

Lazy blogging ‘cuz no links.

Some professor studied news pundits. Seems they are less accurate in their forecasts than chance. That is, they are almost never right.

That took an academic study?

Saw the word meretricious used yesterday describing CNBC (discussing Stewart’s classic takedown). It’s an awesome word and totally apt. It means (I had to look it up to be sure) “apparently attractive but having in reality no value or integrity.”

We live in a meretricious-filled society.

So far, among the few Twittering celebrities that I follow, John Mayer is the most interesting. Shaq likes to eat. Penn Jillette was 54 yesterday, but you knew that. Oh, and John McCain is meretricious.

Happy Square Root Day

Happy Square Root Day! It’s March 3, 2009, or 3/3/09, and three is the square root of nine. These days come around nine times every 100 years — all in a rush at the beginning of the new century, starting with 1/1/01 and 2/2/04, and picking up after today with 4/4/16, 5/5/25, 6/6/36, 7/7/49, 8/8/64 and 9/9/81.

The Numbers Guy has more.

Trader Sepp’s

Do You Know Who Owns Trader Joe’s?

Stall

Fascinating background about aerodynamics and what may have happened in the Buffalo crash from Atlantic’s James Fallows.

1-800-GOOG-411

It’s a free 411 service.

1-800-GOOG-411 [Video]

Thanks for the link, uncle.