It isn't stupid. They found that people who are dog lovers can't stand those horribly sad commercials, so they were turning off the show. I don't think they'd have a different opinion if it were sad pictures of puppy mill purebreds, and they would allow happy pictures of shelter mutts.

Self-insurance is where an employer just pays claims itself instead of buying insurance. There may be an insurance company administering the claims, but the employer is on the hook for the payouts. This makes sense where a company can reasonably afford to pay the claims—cuts out the middleman's cut taken by insurance…

She was the mom in the British version of Life on Mars.

I'm from Aiken, and loved Maine for seven years, but it really is nicer back in Columbia, where people don't look behind them when you say, "hey." Our politics may be crazy, but our people are genuinely friendly. You know it!

I just downloaded Lastpass, and read the Lifehacker primer, and have no idea what to do next. I hate this. I watched the stupid video, but it assumes you already have an account or something. Geez—I hope I haven't screwed myself.

If you have seriously sensitive skin, you can't beat a thin layer of Vaseline, but I swear by dermatologist recommended Cerave cream—not the lotion, for face, body, whatever. Restores the skin barrier with ceramides. Aquaphor has lanolin, which might trigger an allergy or sensitivity.

Corrugated cardboard is not only much more eco-friendly, and biodegradable, but earth worms love it. You can put it down, and just punch holes where the plants or seeds will go and the rest will be mulch—keeping the soil moist and happy and weed free, without chemicals!

CAYG—Clean As You Go—especially useful in the kitchen—wipe up spills and put dishes in the dishwasher ASAP, empty the trash daily and the dishwasher ASAP), but also useful in areas like "It's just as easy when you take clothing off to drop it into a nearby hamper or hang it on a nearby hook, or drop the shoes on the…

Theater person here: black is the darkest/harshest—duh. Cool tones will stand out more. Warm tones blend more (within reason). Warm will contrast more with your eyecolor, but be careful—with pale skin, you will need to blend blend blend.

Or you could use one or more cheap, washable poly-fill pillows to fill...

Oy, despite my carefully curated Amazon Universal Wish List, from which I received nothing, I got, among other undesirables, a crocheted shoulder cape that ties at the neck like a haircutting one, a silk scarf made by Vietnamese artisans that smells overwhelmingly like the toxic chemicals used to dye it, in singularly…

Why wrap a tennis racket? Sort of obvious what it is, no?

There are harnesses widely available that clip into the seatbelt. A dog can walk around with it one. We fold the back seats flat and put up one of those grates designed for an SUV. Probably not as safe as the harness, but two German Shepherds will fit into the back of a Jetta that way!

I live in a state capital, also the largest city in the state, and there is not a decent bakery within ten miles of my centrally located house. All bakeries are just adjuncts of grocery stores and bake prefab stuff.

At what point do I say "to heck with Facebook"? i wonder how many people they lose each time they "improve" it. Harrumph. Get offa my lawn!

OMG—the first time I heard it, we were driving through Appalachia. Then it was played on each new station we could pull in. Must have heard it at least once an hour. My husband said it made him want to scratch himself.

You can have two different tensions by tying a surgeon's knot in between—it's like the lopping over you do to start to tie a bow, before you make bunny ears, but with one extra looping.

A leading consumer reporting organization just reported that Sam's and other warehouse clubs beat all other outlets on price by a great margin, except in a very small number of instances—super-duper loss leaders on soda, for example.

I have "baby" cataracts—not bad enough to be operable, but enough to make me wish I could clean my glasses, but I'm not wearing any. I wonder if these might help?

Theatrical wardrobe mistresses (and masters) use a solution of vodka and water to refresh costumes. I haven't dry-cleaned anything in years. All sweaters get washed in my front-loader machine, as well as any tailored clothes that aren't acetate. I haven't had a problem yet. I have even washed my lamb leather jacket.