In this installment of 10 Questions for . . ., Associate Editor Gian Trotta speaks with Jon Strimling, president of WoodPellets.com about the pellet market. Strimling also addresses some of our readers' concerns about wood pellets and their delivery.
Join us the first Tuesday of November — Nov. 3 — for a live chat with Curtis Arnold, founder of CardRatings.com. Read the rest of this entry »
Kids of all ages can eat free on Halloween!
Properly weatherizing your attic can cut 10 to 30 percent off your
heating and cooling bills, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
And while you might not want to spend the money (or the time) to do the
work, keep in mind that the federal government offers a 30 percent tax
credit up to a maximum of $1,500 on weatherization materials, and
utilities and states in place like Massachusetts, New York, and
Washington offer additional incentives that sometimes cover labor
costs.
No, they’re not really flying flu shots. But beginning this week, you can get a flu shot at the airport. BWI-Marshall has an AeroClinic that is providing seasonal flu shots for $40 and the H1N1 vaccine - when it’s available - for $22. (Not sure why the H1N1 shot costs less - it’s more in demand so my Economics 101 lessons tell me it should cost a whole lot more.)
As we covered in Buzzword: Shale gas, this natural gas contained within fine-grained, sedimentary rock is a topic of much interest for the energy industry. There are vast reserves of shale gas nationwide, and energy companies are working hard and fast to tap these natural-gas sources through what's called water fracturing, also known as hydraulic fracturing or hydrofracking. (The graphic below details how hydrofracking works. It was created by Al Granberg and is being used courtesy of ProPublica: Journalism in the Public Interest, a site that features lots of coverage of shale gas and gas drilling.)
If you bought a Halloween-themed flashlight from Target to illuminate your trick-or-treating path, better bring it back to the store for a refund — or risk spending Fright Night in the emergency room.
Ahoy there, readers! We here at Consuming Interests know you like coupons and discounts — that’s why those $1 Boston Market chicken meal coupons have been so popular.
146.00
Current level of the 20-City Composite Home Price Index, part of the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index, which tracks residential prices in housing markets nationwide. The August 2009 level marks four consecutive months of improved readings and is up 1.2 percent from July, although it is still down 11.3 percent from it was a year ago. The index is calculated monthly and published with a two-month lag.