Yahoo! Answers

Photo by Bob Jagendorf

As I’m sitting here, dampened by yet another rainy day in the middle of July, I can’t help but wonder what the heck is going on with the weather? This summer has been particularly strange, at least here in New York. We’ve always had the occasional summer thunderstorm, but this year it feels like we’ve been under a constant deluge since spring. I’m exaggerating of course, but I think we’ve certainly had more than our fair share of rain thus far. And according to the forecast, there’s plenty more sogginess to look forward to in the coming days.

With all the talk of global warming and people’s deleterious effect on the environment, the paranoid in me is getting riled up. I wonder whether this is just part of the natural cycle of weather patterns or if this is an indication of something worse. I’ve recently read that that El Niño is on its way. Could that have something to do with this infernal soaking? How will El Niño affect weather in various parts of the country in the coming months? What is El Niño anyway? There must be some weather-head Answers users out there to help me figure this out!

First, I guess I need to figure out exactly what El Niño is. For that, I turn to retired research meteorologist 1ofSelby’s, who has answered quite a few questions in the Weather section. His explanation is too detailed to reproduce here, but check out his answer to gain a better understanding of El Niño and how it differs from La Niña. Answers user uni-verse further helps us understand the mechanics of how El Niño and La Niña episodes are caused by ocean currents and global weather patterns.

As for the positive and negative effects of El Niño, both ridonculous and DustinDawind offer some interesting answers in response to that exact question posed by Ty. Matt answers a very similar question, focusing on how El Niño specifically affects the Atlantic hurricane season, a subject of particular importance in my region. I’ve learned that El Niño can be especially dangerous on the West Coast, in particular California, so for more on that I turn to our current top answerer in the weather section, cyswxman, who assures us that Southern California is probably in for an especially wet winter.

Thanks to all of these wise and informed weather experts, I can safely say that this irritating rain is probably just part of New York’s natural weather cycle and not indicative of anything more worrisome. I also have a clearer understanding of El Niño and La Niña events and realize that they are also just part of earth’s natural weather cycle. I guess I can safely lay my paranoid fears aside. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to run to the hardware store to buy some wood for my ark.

Have you been experiencing any unusual weather where you live? And how do you think this year’s El Niño will affect your area in the coming months?

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We’ve seen a lot of activity lately on Yahoo! Answers and the Forum related to the new “Cash for Clunkers” program. Community members want to know how it works and what the time frame is for taking advantage of the available funds.

The Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Act of 2009 was signed by President Obama on June 29. The program it outlines is officially called the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) and is designed to help consumers pay for a new, more fuel-efficient car or truck. To qualify for the rebate, you must work with a participating dealer and purchase a new car that is more fuel-efficient than the old one you’re trading in.

The rules are still being determined, but the program should roll out by July 24 and will end November 1, 2009, or whenever the funds run out-whichever comes first. So if you think you’d like to take advantage of this opportunity, you probably shouldn’t wait too long once the program kicks off.

In the meantime, here are some qualifications to keep in mind:

Your trade-in vehicle must have a “new” combined city/highway fuel economy of 18 mpg or less, be in drivable condition, and have been continuously insured and registered to the same owner for the full year preceding the trade-in. It must also have been manufactured less than 25 years before the trade-in date.

Top Contributor Shelby‘s Best Answer offers more in-depth information and step-by-step instructions–check it out here.

Shelby points out that this program is designed to benefit:

*Consumers – provides something tangible and useful in this economic environment
*The economy – supports the automotive industry which plays an important role in the overall health of our economy
*The environment – allows us to get greener faster
*New vehicle dealers – provides a tremendous opportunity to reach out to a huge base of customers

For the most current information, visit the official government site at www.cars.gov.  For the official (new) fuel economy ratings, visit www.fueleconomy.gov.

We’d like to send a special shout-out to Shelby for taking the time to provide such a detailed and informative answer to a topic that so many of our community members have been asking about.

Do you have a gas-guzzler that qualifies for this program? Is the rebate enough of an incentive to get you seriously thinking about trading it in? Leave us a comment and let us know what you think of CARS, aka “Cash for Clunkers.”

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Photo by Tony the Misfit

I want a bike. I haven’t owned a bicycle since I lived at home with my parents, and probably haven’t actually ridden one (aside from the stationary model at the gym) in the intervening 18 years since moving out. But now I’ve been bitten by a summertime bicycle bug and I’ve become a wheel-obsessed pedestrian. I admit that I don’t know the first thing about bikes, which is where all of you intrepid Answerers come in.

Most of my former bikes were those BMX-style, gearless dirt bikes that you brake by pedaling in reverse. They might have been perfect for a scrappy 12-year-old with nothing but grass trails behind his house, but probably aren’t the best for tooling around NYC. Obviously, something larger with multiple gears is probably going to better suit my current needs, but that’s where I get stuck. What are the differences between mountain bikes, road bikes, and touring bikes? I’ll be doing most of my riding either around Central Park or on city streets, so what would be the best type for my needs? And what kind of protective gear will I need? Is a helmet enough, or do I need to the full regalia of knee and elbow pads?

Along with choosing the right bicycle for my specific riding needs, I need to choose one that I can store easily. I live in a pretty typical New York apartment, which translates to virtually no space to store a vacuum cleaner, let alone a bike. I don’t have a garage or backyard in which to keep it, nor do I have any available space in the entryway of my building. My only option is to rent a storage unit or to find a place inside the apartment, and that is going to be a bit of a challenge. What are my options regarding hanging a bike from the ceiling or on a wall? Are there any new and novel ways that you inventive cyclists have found to store your wheels in a tight space?

Someone recommended that I check out one of those portable, folding models-but to be honest, they look like more of a pain than they are worth. Granted, I’ve never ridden one, but they don’t seem much easier to ride than my old-school BMX bike. Their portability and size make them the ideal solution for a small space like mine, but would I be compromising performance and durability?

Can anyone help inform my quest for the perfect bicycle? And what safety and maintenance tips can you recommend for a new bike rider/owner?

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Photo by YOUscription
I need some advice.  I have a relatively new friend who has recently started smoking and I’m not sure if I should try to do something about it.  I try to practice compassion and remain nonjudgmental toward my friends and loved ones, but smoking is a huge pet peeve of mine.  Having never been a smoker myself, I view it as a disgusting, destructive habit and I simply can’t understand the appeal.  On the other hand, I’m not without my own vices, so who am I to judge anyone else for theirs?  Besides, my friend is a smart adult who has all the facts.  He’s informed of the well-publicized dangers of smoking and has chosen to go ahead and light up anyway.  Is it really my place to say something?

This isn’t the first time I’ve been in this situation.  My best friend has been smoking since before we met, over 16 years ago.  I’ve watched him try to quit at least six or seven times, without success.  His father, a chief pathologist at a well-known hospital, has warned him over and over of the dangers he’s exposing himself to, but nothing seems to be sufficient motivation for him to quit for good.  He always starts up again within a few weeks of trying to quit.  At this point in our friendship, I’ve pretty much stopped trying to convince him to give up smoking – I guess I’ve resigned myself to the fact that he’s a smoker and will always be one.  But facing this dilemma with another friend has brought the issue up in my mind once again.

What do you think?  Should I just keep my opinions to myself or should I express my concern and try to convince him to quit?  And can any of you ex-smokers share your experiences with successfully giving up cigarettes?

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Photo by worak

Last week my daughter started a project for her archaeology class. She had to keep a log of every activity that took place in the kitchen. At the end of the week, she had to go through the garbage bags layer by layer to catalog and correlate the remains with the activity log.

She taped notes up everywhere to remind us to write down each kitchen task as we did it, whether or not it resulted in something getting thrown away. As we didn’t want to screw up her chance of getting a decent grade in the class, we complied.

Looking over the log yesterday, I was amazed at all that went on in the kitchen. I expected the usual stuff: fixing meals and cleaning the dishes. But this list included everything: feeding the dog and cat, opening mail, cutting tags off of clothes, planning the front garden, general discussions, talking on the phone, applying a bandage, making coffee, taking aspirin, washing hands, watering plants, reading, doing crosswords, cleaning shoes, paying bills, getting a glass to trap a bee, etc.

Granted, it wasn’t a very exciting list, but it was extensive and filled up many pages. The kitchen is definitely the hub of our house. Whether it’s just us or a group of family and friends, we always end up in the kitchen somehow. Our huge golden retriever likes to lie down in the middle of the kitchen floor so that we all have to constantly step over him–he likes to be in the center of all the action.

I don’t know how the archaeology project will turn out, but after seeing my daughter–armed with yellow rubber gloves-stoically picking through the garbage, I hope she gets an A. But I guess we’ll also find out if we’re really eating enough fruits and vegetables, and if we’re being as conscientious as possible with our recycling.

How about you? Is your kitchen the place to be? What do you think your garbage will reflect about your lifestyle years from now?

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