From the Newsroom : Rod Wood

Handy websites for vacation travelers

PHRankin — Fri, 30 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT

Post by Rod Wood - We are heading into the busy summer travel season and I know many of you will want online access to information as you plan your trip.

Here are six sites that Consumer Reports ShopSmart magazine says can help you find bargains and make traveling more comfortable and trouble-free.

FOR LAST-MINUTE DEALS: travelzoo.com
It digs up discounted prices for airfares, resorts, vacation packages and cruises.

FOR TIMING YOUR TRIP: farecast.com
It can help you decide whether to buy your airline tickets now or wait for prices to drop.

FOR THE BEST AIRLINE SEATS: seatguru.com
It can help you spot the seats with more reclining ability, more leg room, more width and, sometimes more padding than the other seats have.
The site can also help you avoid rows missing a window.

FOR TRAVEL REVIEWS: tripadvisor.com
It can tell you what recent guests have to say about a hotel, for instance.
You can also post questions in travel forums; check reviews of local restaurants, attractions and activities.

FOR ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS: johnnyjet.com
Think of this site as an encyclopedia, with hundreds of travel Web site links in an easy-to-navigate format.

FOR GREAT TRAVEL GADGETS: magellans.com
This is a one-stop shopping site for items like a doorstop alarm to alert you if someone opens your hotel room door, or a lightweight travel robe....and tips on everything tech related.

How to lower your grocery bills

PHRankin — Fri, 16 May 2008 22:46:00 GMT

Post by Rod Wood - Prices for just about everything at the supermarket are soaring. But with a little discipline, you can still reduce your grocery bill and provide your family with nutritious food.

Here are five tips from Consumer Reports:

(1) Make a list of food items your family needs before you go shopping and stick to it!
Walking aimlessly up and down the aisles will encourage you to pick up extra items like cookies and other munchies.

(2) Don't shop when you're hungry! Shoppers tend to be more impulsive, and pickup unnecessary items when shopping on an empty stomach.

(3) Buy store brands. The quality of store branded food items has improved dramatically in recent years and many now compete with major national labels. You can save anywhere from 20 to 50 percent.

(4) Evaluate unit prices. Compare the cost per unit on both big and small packages to see which is a better deal.

(5) Clip coupons. Look through circulars for special deals.

Have other money saving ideas? Send them along.

Picky about pasta? Which shape is best?

PHRankin — Fri, 09 May 2008 23:00:00 GMT

Post by Rod Wood - As a long time pasta fan, I know it can be confusing when buying the right shape pasta at the supermarket. It's not easy doing the shopping when you're the only non-Italian in your household. But I've finally found an excellent guide in this month's issue of Consumer Reports ShopSmart. It tells you how to pick the best shape pasta for whatever sauce you're making

The sauce:Marinara
Best pasta:Capellini

The sauce: Classic garden vegetable
Best pasta partner:Fusilli

The sauce: Puttanesca
Best pasta partner: Spaghetti

The sauce: Bolognese
Best pasta partner: Rigatoni

The sauce: Pesto
Best pasta partner: Linguine

The sauce: Alfredo
Best past partner: Fettuccine

My favorite sauce is my wife's and she says it's a secret recipe.
Perhaps you have some advice you'd like to add? Feel free to pass it along to me.

Are you left handed? You have some famous company.

PHRankin — Fri, 02 May 2008 23:30:00 GMT

Post by Rod Wood - From everything that I've read, right handed people make up about 90 percent of Americans. That leaves me among the ten percent who are left handers....or southpaws as we're sometimes called. I recently learned that Left-Handers Day is August 13th. Maybe that's the time for a celebration!

I was amazed recently to learn the names of hundreds of famous left handed people. Here are some of them:

Left-Handed U.S.Presidents
James A.Garfield
Herbert Hoover
Harry S.Truman
Gerald Ford
Ronald Reagan
George H.W.Bush
Bill Clinton

Miscellaneous Left-Handers
Joan of Arc
Alexander the Great
Julius Caesar
Napoleon Bonaparte
Prince Charles of England
Prince William of England
Fidel Castro
Edwin Aldrin, astronaut
Wally Schirra, astronaut
Edward R.Murrow
Jay Leno
Barack Obama

Any left-handed people you think should be added to the list?

Do you need a digital converter for your TV?

PHRankin — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 23:30:00 GMT

Post by Rod Wood - When February 17, 2009 rolls around, U.S. television stations will stop broadcasting analog signals and send only digital transmissions. By law, stations like NewsChannel 9 must make the switch.

Here are some questions and answers about the transition:

Why is this happening?
- DTV has better picture and sound quality. Also, stopping the analog broadcasts will free up a huge amount of airwaves. The government has auctioned off some of them for use by wireless broadband and cell-phone TV.

Do you need a digital converter box?
- If you have cable or satellite TV, only extra sets that are not hooked up will be affected.
- If you get TV over the air, your TV might not work without a converter box.
- Most new TVs sold today, including flat-panel sets, have digital tuners and won't need a converter box, but double-check when buying.

How much do the converters cost?
- The converter boxes generally cost $50-$60, so the final cost is between $10 and $20 per box after the $40 coupons given out by the government. Go to www.dtv2009.gov or call 1-888-DTV-2009 to get up to two $40 coupons per household.

Click here for many more questions and answers about Digital Television (DTV).

Click here to visit our DTV blog, where you can find more answers and ask your own questions.

- information from the AP

Springtime: Are Your Tires Safe For The Highway?

PHRankin — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 22:49:00 GMT

Properly inflated tires will keep you and your loved ones driving safely.

Post by Rod Wood - The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has attributed under inflated tires to crashes that result in 660 fatalities and 33,000 injuries each year. Sadly, a survey by the
Rubber Manufacturers found that an estimated 15% of drivers properly check their tires.

NHTSA also found that 27 percent of passenger cars and 32 percent of light trucks have at least one significantly under-inflated tire.

One flat tire is bad enough---don't get stuck with two. 71% of drivers do not check the inflation pressure in their spare. Check your spare tire every month.

Drivers can improve gas mileage by around 3.3% by keeping tires inflated to the proper pressure.

To properly check inflation pressure: Use the correct inflation pressure recommended by the vehicle manufacturer, not the pressure listed on the tire sidewall.

Check tires when they are cold or haven't been driven for at least three hours.

The Passing of “The Play Lady”

PHRankin — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 20:41:00 GMT

Remembering Jean Daugherty: A television pioneer.

Post by Rod Wood: I knew Jean had been in failing health in recent years, but I still wasn't ready to hear of her death over the weekend at age 84.

I first met Jean at the age of 11, when I appeared in plays put on by the Syracuse University Drama Department Children's Theater. We had a show on Thursday afternoons on what was then WHEN-TV channel 8.

Jean was the director, and one of the first female TV directors in the nation. One time I somehow didn't stand in the right spot for the camera and Jean quickly yet politely corrected me. That was 1952!

It would be 15 years later, before I began working with Jean again when I joined the news staff of WHEN radio and TV. She knew I had a knack for doing special voices, so she was quick to enlist me to do my part for “The Magic Toyshop.”

Christmas season was always a joy because she would have me emcee when the cast would entertain at the Saturday morning “Breakfast with Santa” program at the former E.W.Edwards store. I was known as "Mister Rod" at those functions.

Jean was a tireless writer, sometimes cranking out a week's worth of scripts in a single day!

She had a special way with children, their parents and grandparents. Jean almost never turned down a request for a community appearance and lent her support to countless causes for children, for the hungry and for senior citizens.

Thousands of children grew up to “The Magic Toyshop” and now they are parents, grandparents, and maybe even great-grandparents. What a shame children of today can't enjoy that wonderful program and its founder Jean Daugherty.

Jean will be missed both here in Central New York and in her native Barnesboro, Pennsylvania. She always spoke lovingly of that community.

Jean was one of a kind. She's looking down at us from heaven right now.

Used Car Buyer's Guide for Spring

PHRankin — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 22:38:00 GMT

Post from Rod Wood: Planning to shop for a used car this spring? According to Consumer Reports ShopSmart magazine, here are seven questions you should ask the seller before you buy:

(1) How's it equipped? For example, does it have a working air conditioner?
Think about what would be deal-breakers for you.

(2) How many miles on the odometer? Lower is better but you'll pay more.
Also, for every year it's been on the road, it shouldn't have more than 20,000 miles.

(3) Are you the only one who owned it? The fewer owners, the better.

(4) Was it ever in an accident or flood? Carfax.com and autocheck.com can ID some
(but not all) problem cars.

(5) Has it had any recalls? Major ones could be a red flag. Dealerships have records.

(6) May I see the service records and any receipts for repairs? Regular oil changes and
maintenance appointments are a good sign.

(7) Why are you selling it? Asking may reveal some surprises. Be wary of evasive answers.

Tired of E-Mail Spam?

PHRankin — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 05:11:00 GMT

Post by Rod Wood - Tired of SPAM? No not the meat in a can but that other garbage that turns up in your computer.

Consumer Reports ShopSmart magazine offers these five tips to protect yourself from spam:

(1) Never respond to spam. That just lets spammers know that your e-mail address is active.

(2) Avoid shopping from a spammed offer. At the very least, you're encouraging spammers to send out more junk mail. At worst, you're compromising your system. If possible, don't open the messages at all.

(3) Never provide your password in e-mail, and do not verify your account or provide other information by clicking on an e-mail link. No reputable company would ever ask you to do so.

(4) Set up two e-mail accounts, one for friends and the other for subscribing to online services like newsletters and for posting on forums.

(5) Make sure your antivirus and antispyware programs are activated. If you've just bought a computer, make sure you're running full versions of the software and not just short-term trials. If your e-mail provider offers an antispam program, activate it.

Have you had any bad experiences with spam? Feel free to write me.

More U.S. Oil Production

PHRankin — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 21:11:00 GMT

Posted by Rod Wood - With gas for our cars and trucks now around $3.30 a gallon and oil prices at more than $100 a barrel, news came from Associated Press this week that producers are suddenly taking a second look at idle, decades-old wells.

When oil sold for one-fifth the price or less, the old wells were considered tapped out and unprofitable.

California's oil production increased by 2.5 million barrels last year for the first time in years.

The story is the same across the nation. In Texas, one of the largest oil-producing states, producers filed more than 5,000 applications to unplug or upgrade old wells or drill new ones last year.

Does any of this mean pump prices will go down? I think not.

How do you folks feel about more U.S. oil exploration?

The Governor Spitzer Story: What To Tell Your Kids?

PHRankin — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 20:45:00 GMT

Posted by Rod Wood - Mercifully, a sad week in New York State history is coming to a close. It was a story that parents of young children were probably unable to shield them from. The story was out there.....EVERYWHERE! A governor involved in a sex scandal going on TV....his stoic wife by his side...and announcing his resignation to a nationwide audience.

What are we to tell our young people about all this? That good people sometimes do bad things? That there are flaws in human character?

For most of us, it's not something we can soon forget. What, if anything, are you saying to your kids about this? I'd be interested to hear from some of you parents reading this.

Inflated Prices: When Will They Slow Down?

PHRankin — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 06:01:00 GMT

Post by Rod Wood - You don't have to spend too long at the supermarket, the drug store or the gas station to realize prices have skyrocketed since the beginning of the year.
First, let's talk supermarket. Store brand Italian bread, for example, began the year at around $1.50 a loaf.

It's now $2.00 and probably going higher. Milk, which began the year at around $3.00 a gallon is now headed for $4.00. And meat is going out of sight. I went to the market to pickup some calves liver for my wife but it wasn't there. I was told by the meat manager that they stopped buying it a few weeks ago because they would have to charge $20 a pound to make a profit.

Next, let's talk about the drug store. For many of us, our insurance co-pay for prescriptions has doubled this year. That of course on top of the higher premiums we're paying now.

And last, but not least, let's talk gasoline prices. We began the year at under $3.00 a gallon.

We're now at $3.30 and up, OPEC doesn't want to increase production and here at home there's little support for anything other than conservation measures like taking the bus to work.

Has the world gone crazy this year? What can be done about the economic squeeze we're in? I'd like to hear from you folks reading this.

Let's Make It a Cleaner Syracuse! Can More of Us Help Out?

PHRankin — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 06:37:00 GMT

Post by Rod Wood - For the past several weeks, the city of Syracuse has received very little snow. While that means there's less snow to shovel, it exposes a larger problem we don't normally begin to notice until spring and summer: Urban blight.

Having spent my entire life living in the city, with the exception of three years in the Army, I find it amazing that more homeowners, apartment landlords and business owners can't spend a little more time picking up the papers, cans and other trash discarded by people who obviously just don't care about making it a cleaner place to live. What's so hard about spending just five minutes picking up the garbage on our properties once every week or two?

While you're at it, try and get your friends and neighbors to do the same. If more people would just take on a little more responsibility when it comes to cleaning up their properties...we could have a much more eye pleasing Syracuse.

Road Smarts: Pedestrian Danger At Dusk

PHRankin — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 03:44:00 GMT

Posted by Rod Wood - When the sun goes down, it can be nearly impossible to spot a pedestrian. In fact, most of the four-thousand pedestrians killed in the U.S. by cars each year are hit at night. Don't make the mistake of wearing dark clothes---you blend right in. Light-colored clothing definitely helps. So do reflective strips on your running shoes. As for drivers, keep your eyes open. More pedestrians are killed between 6 and 9 P-M than at any other time. When backing up, you also have to be on the lookout for people on foot. All cars have a blind spot behind the vehicle.

Armond Magnarelli Passing

shaunganley — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 21:39:00 GMT

Posted by Rod Wood - We learned today of the passing of Armond Magnarelli. To Syracuse northsiders, he was a man who did it all.

Born in the city in 1924, Armond was a standout in football, basketball and baseball at the former North High School.
World War II cut short his scholarship at Columbia University and he joined the Coast Guard.
After the war, Armond played one season of minor league baseball before enrolling at Oswego State University, where he played baseball, basketball and soccer. He also coached several high school sports teams and was active as a basketball referee.

In 2001, Armond was inducted into the Syracuse Northside Hall of Fame. Sports was by no means his only love. He was also active in local theater, namely the Pompeian Players.

He also had a great career in local politics, rising to President of the Syracuse Common Council. He also found time for a weekend radio show on WFBL.

Armond always had a funny story to tell you. Loved by all, Armond will be greatly missed.

Perhaps you have a memory of Armond? We'd be happy to hear from you.

Looking to lose weight this winter?

shaunganley — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 15:07:00 GMT

Posted by Rod Wood - Here are six habits of successful dieters, according to Consumer Reports ShopSmart magazine.

(1) Eat breakfast. 78 percent of the successful losers at the National Weight Control Registry say they eat breakfast, typically cereal and fruit.

(2) Bore yourself thin. Since variety stimulates the appetite, the more monotonous your diet, the less you'll eat.

(3) Cut out some carbs. Some people can safely lose weight on an Atkins-style diet that cuts out most carbohydrates, but you don't have to be that strict. Successful losers in the registry ate plenty of carbs while limiting fat and portion size.

(4) Fill up on low-density foods. Start your meals with a low-calorie soup or salad and eat main dishes that are full of vegetables. Such "low-density" foods have fewer calories per bite and have been clinically shown to help with weight loss.

(5) Crank up the activity. Do whatever it takes to get exercise like using the stairs instead of the elevator, or parking far away.

Registry participants report doing about an hour a day of moderate-intensity exercise, like brisk walking.

(6) Weigh yourself weekly. Successful dieters take steps to lose that extra pound before it has a chance to multiply.

Eight Things You Should Never Put in your Dishwasher

shaunganley — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 19:32:00 GMT

Posted by Rod Wood - According to: Consumer Reports ShopSmart magazine.
(1) Fragile glassware: It could chip, and high heat, detergent and hard water could cause tiny scratches called etching.

(2) Hand-painted china. The finish may come off.

(3) Sterling silver. High temperatures can strip it of its patina.

(4) Wood. It can warp and split.

(5) Cast-iron cookware. It can rust.

(6) Tin cups. They can rust.

(7) Non-dishwasher-safe plastic. It can melt.

(8) Dishwashing liquid. (the stuff you use to wash dishes by hand.). You'll have a lot of suds and a big mess to clean up.

Anything you'd like to add to this? Send it along.

Cleaning Up After The Holidays? Four Stain Removers Every Home Should Have.

Rod Wood — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 04:46:00 GMT

Posted By Rod Wood:

Ever get stains on your clothing but don't know how to get them out?

Consumer Reports ShopSmart says there are four stain removers every home should have.

1.Hydrogen peroxide. Good for removing red stains like blood or fruit juice.
Blot the stain with a peroxide-saturated cotton ball or white towel.
several hours before washing. Available at a drug store or a supermarket.

2. Amodex. This is an ink zapper. Place it directly on the ink stain and work it in
following directions on the bottle. Available at a stationery store.

3.Sodium percarbonate (such as oxiclean)
Good for stains of all colors. Use it only on any washable material. Dilute with water
and soak stains for several hours before washing. Available at supermarkets.

4. Grease buster. Fels-naptha.
Good for getting out oily stains like gravy, salad dressing, and pasta sauce.
Moisten a corner of the bar and work it into the stain. Then wash the garment
and hang it to dry. Repeat if needed. Available at supermarkets.

Picking a Tree for Christmas

shaunganley — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 14:26:00 GMT

Posted by Rod Wood - Heading out to buy a Christmas tree in the next few weeks? Here are some interesting facts from the National Christmas Tree Association. --The top selling Christmas tree varieties are balsam fir, Douglas fir, Fraser fir, Noble fir, Scotch pine, Virginia pine and white pine. ---There are about 21,000 Christmas tree growers in the U.S. --Of the 28.6 million Christmas trees sold in the U.S. in 2006, about 84 percent were precut, while the other 16 percent were cut-your-own. --In 2006, Americans bought 9.3 million artificial trees--85 percent of them manufactured in China --It can take as many as 15 years to grow a tree 6 or 7 feet tall. --The first retail Christmas tree lot in the U.S. opened in 1851 in New York City. What's your favorite type of tree? Do you prefer real vs. artificial? I'd like to know how you feel...

Black Friday Shopping Poll; Will You Be Shopping?

shaunganley — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 22:41:00 GMT

Posted by Rod Wood - Our friends at Consumer Reports tell us that the 2007 holiday shopping season is off to a slow start, but a survey by the magazine shows it will take off on Black Friday.

24 percent of consumers plan to hit the stores on Black Friday---up 4 percent from the 20 percent that shopped on the day in 2006.

According to the poll, only 38 percent of consumers have started their holiday shopping this year, compared with 43 percent who had begun this time last year.

Women are expected to lead the charge on Black Friday: 27 percent believe it will be a big shopping day, but they also know they will be shouldering much of the
burden throughout the season. Among married couples, 72 percent of women claimed they had completed three-quarters or more of the households holiday shopping last year. By comparison, only 12 percent of the men claimed to be this heavily engaged in gift shopping.

Consumer Reports found that shoppers number one gift to buy on Black Friday will be clothing (79%), followed by electronics(70%).
Other popular gifts consumers are planning to purchase include: toys(64%), gift cards(58%), and jewelry(40%).

The survey also shows 42% of adults plan to shop online this year. That's up 2% from last year.

Happy shopping everyone!