green living, smart spending
Alcohol and hot weather can be an especially dangerous mix. Drinking impairs judgment and increases risk-taking any time. In hot weather, you add the potential risk of heat stroke caused by dehydration. That’s because alcohol lowers the body’s tolerance for heat and acts as a diuretic, meaning it causes the body to lose more fluid
Read more
The last place you want to see fireworks is inside your car or truck. A few simple safety checks in the driveway before your family vacation can help avoid the short fuses, inconvenience and potential safety hazards of breaking down many miles away from home. I’ve been in a car that nearly caught fire, and
Read more
Kick up your heels and dance the night away while you sail away. Dancing during your cruise is one of the great pleasures of cruising, whether it’s a cruise themed to Big Band, Elvis or Country music. This is where you can dance at sea, perhaps even win a Mirror Ball Trophy: Avoid free cruise
Read more
One of the great joys of summer is the family road trip. Make sure Old Breakdown doesn’t live up to its name by taking some simple steps to avoid potential problems that could ruin your vacation. Schedule a tune-up to help the engine deliver the best balance of power and fuel economy and produce the
Read more
Identity theft is a growing problem, and a top reason I do not publish my cellphone number or put anything intensely personal, like private family photos, on any public social media outlet such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest, where anything I post is exclusively work related (I communicate privately with my family by telephone
Read more
Because I travel a lot, I applied for the so-called “trusted traveler” pass, to get me through airport security and US Customs lines faster, on special security lines. This article was published in 2013 The time-saving value of TSA Pre-Check and/or Global Entry remains valid in 2023. With the impending sequestration budget cuts for federal
Read more
There are nearly 50 world or North American debuts of new cars at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show. More than half are fuel efficient, eco-friendly green cars. It’s tough to choose the most important new car, but my vote goes to the BMW i8 Spyder Concept electric — pictured here — and the Volvo
Read more
Bargain hunters are not the only ones shopping online this Black Friday, Cyber Monday weekend. So are the online scammers. Beware of emails and websites that could steal your identity, infect your computer, or both.
Use your tablet or smartphone to increase the taste — and lower the cost — of your Thanksgiving dinner with FREE recipe apps. Here are the top five virtual cookbook recipe apps — Epicurious: An award-winning food site with more than 28,000 recipes created and tested by professionals at top foodie magazines Gourmet and Bon
Read more
Be on guard, owners of Toyota and Honda vehicles — your cars are the most stolen ones in the USA. Specifically, Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. Statistics released by Lojack for vehicle thefts in 2011 put older Accord models as the most often stolen and recovered, along with the 2011 Toyota Camry, which topped the
Read more