Food is necessary to fuel our bodies, but sometimes we buy too much of it at the grocery store. When your produce starts to go bad, or when you’ve kept those spices around for just a bit too long, or when you thought you’d make a recipe out of all of those ingredients but just didn’t get around to it, there are many other ways you can still use your food instead of throwing it away. Surprisingly, it doesn’t involve eating it either.

Fruits

Before throwing away old banana peels, use them to shine up metals and leathers that you have. Rub the peel against the surface and then polish it with an old cloth. Banana meat is also good for reducing wrinkles. Dab a bit on those trouble spots, let it sit for a while, and then wash it off, and your wrinkles will disappear. Lemons are great to lighten skin and hair. If you have troublesome acne scars, dab a bit of fresh lemon juice on them and leave it overnight. You’ll notice a difference in the morning. Apple slices will help ripen tomatoes quickly when the two fruits are placed together in a paper bag, and orange peels are great fire starters for your next backyard fire pit party.

Vegetables

A slice of cold potato over your eyes can reduce puffiness and redness on your eyelids. Sit with the potato over your eyes as you would with slices of cucumber in a spa. Garlic removes splinters with ease. If you rub garlic over a splinter, it will come right out.

Oils and Condiments

Mustard can make you feel a lot better if you are suffering from a cold. If you use it like a vapor rub and apply it to your chest under a wet towel, you’ll feel better in no time at all. Butter can help you untangle all of those knotted necklaces that are in the back of your jewelry drawer. Just slather some on, watch the necklaces slip apart, and rinse them off. That high-calorie mayonnaise in your fridge that you are trying not to eat because it will ruin your diet is great for getting crayon off of the walls. The next time your kids draw all over, don’t worry. Slather some mayo on there and wipe it all away. Olive oil is a great product for your skin, as well as to quieten creaky hinges. If your dog or cat brings home fleas, using salt is a great way to get rid of them around the house. Just pour salt into the vacuum cleaner and around the baseboards. Let it sit, then vacuum the salt up. The salt dehydrates the fleas and kills them. Be sure to throw away the vacuum bag or empty the vacuum bin immediately, or some of the fleas can crawl back out.

Beverages

Everyone knows the trick of using club soda to get dark stains out of the carpet. But did you know it also works to get pet urine out of the carpet too! Beer is a great hair lightener. If you are out of lemons, try soaking your hair in beer before going outside. Just don’t forget to wash it out afterwards. That old 2-liter bottle of pop will work wonders if you need to clear out a clogged drain. Just pour it down the drain and watch the fizzes do their job of breaking up the gunk. Milk is great for stain removal, especially if your stain is some type of ink. Just soak some into the stain and watch it loosen up.

As you can see, there are so many other uses everyday foods have around the house. So next time, before tossing any food away thinking it is of no use, stop for a moment and think about all their uses mentioned here.

Imagine how people would look without a slight smile lighting up their face or the frown that lets you know they are disappointed. What if we weren’t able to let our eyes twinkle in recognition of the one we loved, or laugh out loud to our heart’s content at the petty surprises of life? The picture that comes in front of my eyes just describing this is a cardboard face devoid of any sort of emotions, drained out of life forever. Would you like it this way? Nah! At least I wouldn’t want to have a blank expression on my face 24/7.

I, personally enjoy looking at the different expressions around me; the smiles, the tears, expressions of satisfaction, of excitement, relief and sometimes of guilt. Just observing people in their most human form is enough to jolt me to a state of absolute awakening, especially when my day itself is gloomy.

In our day-to-day life, we try to camouflage our emotions with words. However, there’s a truth in the eyes only a few can see, the words that they speak are silent glimpses to the true emotions we hide. These emotions are nothing but reactions to situations and no matter how hard you try to hide, you will never succeed in hiding these microexpressions.

*Click on the images for a better view.

The only way to catch those microexpressions is to keep your eyes wide open. Besides, knowing how to read microexpressions will help you know if someone is lying to you. By the way, do not stop practicing your skills of micro-observing people around you; after all, practice will make you an expert ‘lie detector’ at least. Here’s where I sign off and get back to my favorite pastime of observing the people around me and leaving you to pursue it too.

By KATHY MATHESON

The Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA — If the world ends on Dec. 21, 2012 — as some believe the Maya predicted — that leaves plenty of opportunity to see a new exhibit that examines the civilization’s ancient kingdoms, intricate calendar systems and current culture.

Experts at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia apparently give little credence to the apocalypse myth, considering the show runs through early 2013. But they say the legend, which has been perpetuated in pop culture through disaster movies and sensational tabloid headlines, offers a chance to engage people about ancient and modern Maya society.

“Maya 2012: Lords of Time” features artifacts excavated from the historic Maya ruins of Copan in Honduras, including burial jewelry, food vessels and ceramic figures. Honduras President Porfirio Lobo Sosa is scheduled to cut the ribbon when the exhibit opens on Saturday.

The show also uses interactive displays to explain the culture’s glyph writing and sophisticated timetables. The upshot is that while it’s human nature to seek ancient insight into the current world, people should not interpret the Maya calendar as predicting a cataclysmic event.

“It’s just a turn of a cycle,” said curator Loa Traxler.

Regarded as one of the world’s greatest early societies, the Maya lived for centuries in parts of Mexico and Central America. Many of their iconic pyramids and other city remnants still stand in places like Copan, where 16 Maya kings ruled for about 400 years.

As early astronomers, the Maya devised various types of calendars by observing celestial movements. Their “Long Count” calendar begins in 3114 B.C. and marks time in roughly 394-year periods known as baktuns. Thirteen was a sacred number for the Maya, and some scholars believe the 13th baktun ends on Dec. 21, 2012.

Penn Museum experts say it ends Dec. 23, but that then another calendar cycle will begin — not Armageddon.

Traxler said while it’s hard to trace the origin of the apocalypse prophecy, she described it as “a conflation of a lot of different ideas,” including Aztec lore, Judeo-Christian end-of-days rhetoric and millennial hype. (Remember Y2K?)

Honduran officials don’t seem concerned. Norma Cerrato, minister counselor of legal affairs for the country’s U.S. embassy, said during a recent exhibit preview that she hopes it encourages people to visit the actual ruins. The show includes replicas of large stone carvings too delicate or unwieldy to leave Copan, designated a world heritage site by the United Nations’ cultural agency.

“Regardless of what some may say about the December 2012 phenomenon, the people of Honduras are certain that this year provides us a unique opportunity to share a part of our history and culture with the world,” Cerrato said.

Mexico, too, has designed a tourism campaign around the 2012 date. It’s expected to bring an extra 12 million visitors to the country, possibly boosting tourism revenue by $ 14.6 billion, according to officials there.

Though the last independent Maya city was conquered by the Spanish in 1697, Traxler said about 7 million people currently identify as Maya. The exhibit ends with translated video interviews with a half-dozen Maya, some of whom are bemused by the hype.

Jose Huchim Herrera, a Yucatec Maya and archaeologist, said in a video that anyone talking about a 2012 catastrophe is clearly an outsider.

“The Maya say nothing,” he said. “The Maya are very peaceful. They are not worried.”

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If You Go…

MAYA 2012 EXHIBIT: Through Jan. 13, 2013 at Penn Museum, 3260 South St., Philadelphia, http://www.penn.museum/sites/2012/. Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and until 8 p.m. on Wednesdays. Adults, $ 22.50, children 6-12, $ 16.50.

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Follow Kathy Matheson at www.twitter.com/kmatheson

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May 04, 2012 01:01 PM EDT

Copyright 2012, The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

In our world, there are some people who simply eat and drink to survive, and then there are others who find themselves on this page, wanting to know about the fine art of food pairing. On the other hand, the unenthusiastic are bound to be outraged with the big deal made out of nothingness. After all, don’t you just have to eat what you like and drink what you like?

Well, yes. But let’s consider for instance if you’ve wondered why certain wedding cakes have a distinct mulch-esque taste to it? Have you ever wondered if the champagne that you drank with it could have clashed with the cake’s flavor? Indeed it could have. Deceptive pairings like this one can assault your palate with their not-meant-to-go-together tastes. What results is an aversion to two seriously likable food and drink items, albeit not together. And this is exactly what brings us to the divine concept of food pairing, because when deliciousness is at stake, everyone stands up and takes notice.

Having said this, I must concede that subjectivity has a huge role to play when it comes to pairing food with the right drink. So, be open to experiment and go wild choosing the combination that you think is the best. Yes, we’re all aware of the basics of pairing, but a little attention to detail is what elevates a good meal to a heavenly one.

The Classic Pairs

RED WINE Beef When you have a wine that drowns your senses in the spicy, rich taste of black currants, you need an accompaniment that matches its headiness. A beef steak fits the bill almost perfectly, and so do braised short ribs. Cheese As an ode to the strong flavor of, let’s say the Cabernet Sauvignon, the best cheese would be the equally formidable brie, camembert, strong cheddar or Danish blue. Always remember to match the richness of the wine to the cheese. Turkey Very few things in this world can match the homeliness of the Thanksgiving roast turkey and a light red like the Beaujolais or even the Pinot Noir. These fruity reds compliment the herb-laden stuffing of the turkey like nothing else.

WHITE WINE Cream Sauce Pasta It really pays off well to match your food with your drink in terms of the color. Pair your creamy, melt-in-the-mouth shellfish pasta with a Chardonnay, and you’ll understand this better. Oysters Oysters make for an excellent starter, and the Pinot Blanc will bring out its taste really well. While we’re discussing starters, crab cakes are a very good option to pair with a Light Sauvignon Blanc. Caviar As far as legendary food and drink pairings go, champagne and caviar top the list. While we may not always have access to a bottle of Dom Pérignon and a serving of Beluga caviar, do remember to pick a dry champagne to go with caviar, and raise a toast to champagne wishes and caviar dreams!

BEER Pizza The beer and pizza combination might be offensively unhealthy, but it doesn’t make any difference to its royal fans. If there’s anything that makes this combination taste better, it’s a football match on ESPN. Nachos Nachos, with their cheesy, salty taste pair well with a golden ale beer and are easy to include in any party menu. As a matter of fact, the nachos can easily be replaced by anything that’s deep-fried and salty. Barbecue Barbecue and beer are perpetual summer specials when the sweltering heat of the day gives way to breezy evenings. This is one combination you can never go wrong with, though everyone has their favorite, barbecued meats taste better with pale ales.

The Cocktail Pairs

VODKATINI … .. With Shashlik One usually thinks of pairing cheese crackers with a regular martini, but since we’re speaking of its Russian variant, its appropriate partner is the shashlik. Shashlik is a Russian spin on barbecue, so it won’t be too nice to wash it down with anything except vodka.

MARGARITA … .. With Mexican Food Being Mexican, what else would they taste best with except Mexican food? So bring on the crudités, tortillas and tacos, make a pitcher full of margarita, and don’t forget the salsa dip! It’s a great way to spend an evening with friends.

NEW FASHIONED … .. With Pork Ribs The New Fashioned cocktail is whiskey-based, which tastes best with pork ribs. But make sure that the ribs are not soaked in spice-laden sauces, as that messes the taste of the whiskey. Always keep the meat simple, and relish!

The Best-loved Pairs

	Milk and Oreos
	Yes, milk’s favorite cookie also ranks high on everyone’s preferences. And how could it possibly not? A glass of cold milk, a stack of chocolaty oreo cookies; you can’t ask for a better midnight snack, especially when you’ve run out of ice cream!

Cherry Coke and Burger
What could be termed as a potential catastrophe for your arteries has to taste divine; just like this cherry coke and burger combo. Why the cherry coke, you ask? That’s because it works well for me! Feel free to pick your favorite cola to go with your favored burger.

	Afternoon Tea
	Quintessentially British, this custom deserves a mention due to its sheer elaborateness and the fact that it’s slowly disappearing out of our lives. Cucumber or smoked salmon sandwiches, scones with cream and jam, fruit cakes and finally, cream tea … ah! A taste of the good life!

Coffee and Cakes
Coffee and cakes have a charm of their own, and we need to be reminded of it as we usually tend to have our coffee on the run. In fact, the practice of takeaway coffee must be discouraged to let people meet and greet over a hot cup of coffee and a plate of cakes accompanied by some juicy gossip.

	Orange Juice and Oatmeal
	This one’s for the health freaks, and come to think of it, the sinners too. This is one combination that has the power to save you from that quadruple bypass surgery, if you’ve made a habit of consuming all the combos mentioned above with regularity, although it is sure to make your taste buds rebel.

It was Mark Twain who said, “The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don’t want, drink what you don’t like, and do what you’d rather not.” Most of the food and drinks mentioned here are categorized as sinfully unhealthy, but there are certain healthy fast food drinks out there, as are nutritious meals. All you need to do is, to reserve the ones mentioned here for special occasions and eat healthy otherwise. Bon appetit!

Apple has quietly continued the roll out of its iTunes Match service by launching it in five more countries. iTunes Match is now available in Italy, Greece, Portugal, Austria and Slovenia. iTunes Match was originally made available in the United States  back in November. It was then rolled out to a few more countries in December last year and now a five more have been added into the mix.

iTunes determines which songs in your collection are available in the iTunes Store. Any music with a match is automatically added to iCloud for you to listen to anytime, on any device. Since there are more than 20 million songs in the iTunes Store, chances are your music is already in iCloud. And for the few songs that aren’t, iTunes uploads what it can’t match. Even better, all the music iTunes matches plays back from iCloud at 256-Kbps AAC DRM-free quality — even if your original copy was of lower quality.

iTunes Match costs $ 24.99 a year in the US. and is certainly a very good way to secure your music library with a backup and also make your music library available across many devices. If you need any help setting up iTunes match we can help you out there too.

How to set up and use iTunes Match

If you still have questions and need some help, the iMore iCloud and iTunes forums are a great resource for information and assistance.

Source: Macstories

Taking aim squarely at presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, Vice President Joe Biden focused on Romney’s foreign policy ideas in a recent speech, noting that Romney was “totally out of touch” with the American people and would, if chosen as president, lead America back “to the past we have worked so hard to move beyond.” Biden made his comments during a speech at New York University, and went to lengths to connect Romney with the policies of former President George W. Bush.

Biden did not focus on the fact that President Obama’s reign has not seen any significant decrease in military spending, deaths of U.S. military personnel, scaling back of Guantanamo, nor greater freedoms from illegal actions by domestic U.S. agencies allegedly guarding against terrorism. “Americans know that we cannot afford to go back to the future,” Biden noted. “Back to a foreign policy that would have America go it alone, shout to the world ‘You’re either with us or against us,’ lash out first and ask the hard questions later, if at all.”

Biden then went on to ask a series of hypothetical questions. “Where does Gov. Romney stand? How would he protect our security? What would Governor Romney do? The truth is, we don’t know for certain. To the extent he’s shown any foreign policy vision, it’s through the glass of a rearview mirror.” Romney has claimed that Obama’s policies have alienated allies, though it’s really not clear how that is. Of course, there have been no real standout foreign policy victories for Obama either, so the chatter on the campaign trail would appear to be nothing more than hyperbole, lies and deceit…basically what you’d expect from politicians in a two-party political system.

By ADRIAN SAINZ

The Associated Press

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Priscilla Presley smashed a champagne bottle against a steamboat Friday, christening the American Queen as it resumed voyages along the Mississippi River.

“Just floating down the river brings back a lot of nostalgia for the heartland,” said Presley, the former wife of the late rock ‘n’ roll icon Elvis Presley, who lived in Memphis before his death in 1977.

The American Queen is the largest steamboat in the world, carrying 436 passengers. The 418-foot-long vessel is taking tourists on long-distance trips on the Mississippi for the first time since 2008, when its previous owner ceased operations.

The christening took place just before the boat left its home port of Memphis on a seven-day river cruise to Cincinnati.

The boat was purchased in August and has been refurbished and recommissioned by Great American Steamboat Company.

Presley thanked the boat’s owners for naming her godmother of the boat. “She’ll be bringing fun to families and friends from all over the world,” she said, adding that the American Queen represents a city her husband loved.

She also praised the company for creating more than 170 jobs with the relaunching of the cruises. The cruises are expected to have an $ 89 million impact on the area economy, with travelers spending on flights and hotel rooms before and after trips, and during shore excursions.

The boat will be traveling along the Mississippi and its tributaries to cities such as Vicksburg, Miss., Louisville, Ky., St. Louis, New Orleans and Pittsburgh.

Steamboats on the Mississippi represent a storied chapter in American history and folklore, harking back to the 19th century and the writings of Mark Twain.

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April 27, 2012 05:31 PM EDT

Copyright 2012, The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

By JOSHUA FREED

The Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS — Getting online while traveling has never been easier. Getting online for free is still hit-or-miss.

Travelers run into a patchwork of free vs. paid access as they trek from airports to planes to hotels. Speed also varies widely, from fast enough to stream a movie to just enough to send and receive email.

The good news: Free internet at airports is becoming more common. San Francisco, Dallas, and Minneapolis are adding free options after previously charging around $ 8 for access. Phoenix’s international airport has long offered complimentary access.

Still, plenty of airports require travelers to whip out a credit card to get online, including the big ones in New York and Los Angeles. The agency that runs New York’s three airports says it has no plans to offer free Wi-Fi. The exception is JFK’s terminal 5, where JetBlue offers it.

On planes, Delta has Wi-Fi access on its domestic flights, and American and Southwest have added it across much of their fleets. United says it is adding Wi-Fi to its planes but the whole fleet won’t be done until 2015. All of them charge something to get online, ranging from $ 2 for a mobile device on some flights to $ 18 to get a laptop online on long-haul flights.

Hotels vary in what they charge. Free Wi-Fi is common at midrange and lower-end motels outside of big cities. But service can cost $ 25 a day at New York hotels that already charge hundreds of dollars for a room.

User demand for Wi-Fi is soaring. Five years ago, people using Wi-Fi were business travelers with laptop computers. Now, 11-year-olds with Nintendos and iPods want it. More travelers aren’t content to send a simple e-mail — they’re looking to download a whole movie. In hi-definition. Smartphone users are increasingly looking for Wi-Fi to avoid caps on cellular data plans. The number of devices that use Wi-Fi jumped 5-fold between 2006 and 2011, according to Boingo, which runs hotspots in 34 U.S. airports.

Charges for staying connected on a trip can add up fast. A guest at the Embassy Suites near the Minneapolis airport would pay almost $ 5 to get online for three hours. They’d pay $ 8 more at the airport (It plans to add a free offering later), then another $ 5 to get online on board a Delta flight. Total internet bill: $ 18.

Travelers use all kinds of tricks to avoid paying for access.

Daniel Wolter, a lobbyist for drug company Pfizer, calls himself a “travel miser.” It’s possible to get close enough to frequent-flier clubs at airports to piggyback onto their free Wi-Fi service, he says.

“I seek out the free Wi-Fi,” he says, although he’ll pay for service on planes when it’s the only option.

San Francisco’s international airport now offers a free Wi-Fi option for users willing to watch a commercial every 45 minutes. Adding the free option means the airport loses $ 2.5 million in revenue, but airport officials hope to keep travelers from switching to airports in nearby San Jose and Oakland, which offer free Wi-Fi.

Boingo Wireless, Inc. says it’s seeing a move toward hybrid setups, where airports offer free service (often with ads or slower connections) and a paid option for people who want a faster connection. Denver has both options, and the free service is enough to check email and weather.

“If you want to download a whole movie … you would be able to do it over our free basic service, but it might take you an hour or two,” says John Ackerman, the airport’s chief commercial officer. It would take a few minutes using the paid service.

Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport is adding free internet access in September. Travelers will have to watch a short ad every 40 minutes. The new service is run by AT&T and will pay the airport at least $ 750,000 a year, depending on advertising revenue.

Free online access isn’t just a matter of location. Devices also make a difference. Boingo has cut a deal with Nintendo to allow owners of its 3DS hand-held video games to get online for free at 42 airports in North America. Some Kindle owners, however, have reported difficulty in using airport Wi-Fi. Amazon, which makes the Kindle, didn’t respond to requests for comment.

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April 26, 2012 07:11 PM EDT

Copyright 2012, The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.