Armareo – the cupboard. Here at Armareo we intend to keep the cupboard full by bringing you the most interesting news and events stories from around the world!

Rekeying Your Locks For Security

If a house or apartment has cheap or broken exterior door locks it makes sense to simply replace them. If a residence has quality, more expensive locks in good condition, though, and the goal is to prevent anyone who already has a key from entering, then a good alternative is to rekey the locks. Rekeying a lock involves removing the pins from the metal cylinder of the lock and replacing them with a new set of pins. The combination of the pins will be completely different from the original, and that will prevent the original key from being inserted and used to open the lock. In short, any existing copies of the key to the lock become unusable.

Rekeying is essential for those who have recently purchased a house or have just moved in to a newly rented or leased condominium or apartment. Sturdy, quality locks might have been built-into the exterior doors of the house or rental unit, but it isn’t due to a lack of quality that you’ll rekey locks. Instead, you’ll want to do so because you have no idea who, or how many people, have kept a set of keys to those locks. You might have received the keys from your realtor who assured you that there are no additional copies around, but it is advisable to take caution. It isn’t unheard of for the construction company to dispense copies of the home keys to their construction workers during the period when a house is under construction. They do this so that the electricians and carpenters can work on the job immediately after they show up. For this reason, consider that there is the chance of one dodgy worker returning and making use of his own key to empty your house of your valuables.

The above situation equally applies to the case of previous tenants at an apartment you’ll be renting. Previous occupants of your apartment will probably give the keys to the landlord, but there’s really no way of knowing how many copies the previous renters might have created and handed out to their own family members or roommates. In many cases landlords are not required by law to switch locks between tenants. Nonetheless, it is certainly reasonable to inquire of your landlord to find out if the locks have recently been changed.

If renting, then prior to rekeying you will need to look at your rental contract to see the policy concerning alterations to locks. Should there be no stipulation preventing you from switching the locks, find a certified, licensed locksmith to do the job. Otherwise, let your landlord or apartment complex manager know of your security concerns and request authorization to undertake a rekey even if you must pay for it yourself. When it comes to security, you won’t want to try to save just a few dollars when the result could be a much greater loss of cash.

Rekeying a lock is an essential task that is best taken on by a licensed and skilled locksmith. Washington DC residents will want to contact Express Locksmith DC to take care of this type of job, or any other work where a reputable locksmith in Washington DC is needed. Express Locksmith DC
is located at 1600 K Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20006 and can be reached by phone at 202-683-6116.

Car Warriors Mustangs to Be Sold in Auction

Leake Auction Company has been chosen to auction two 1966 Ford Mustangs that were featured from the initial show from the first season of Speed Network’s Car Warriors. The automobiles are going to be sold at No Reserve during Leake’s annual Dallas auto auction, November 18-20. The premise of the Car Warriors show is to pit two teams against each other to custom build a car during a three day challenge.

The show’s All Star crew is made up of some of the industry’s leading customizers. The Challengers Team is composed of people from local auto body shops throughout the nation. Southern Fried D’Lite, with team members from Lubbock, TX, was the first group to beat the All Stars.

During the intense auto building challenge, both teams were given a stripped down 1966 Ford Mustang Coupe and usage of cutting edge equipment to perform the contest. Additionally, the teams were given a parts cage that included everything they required to customize their cars. Their objective was to build the top custom ride. Upon completion, the cars were judged by George Barris, “Mad Mike” Martin and Jimmy Shine. The cars were evaluated on interior, exterior, engine bay and performance. After a difficult deliberation, Southern Fried D’Lite’s “Old Skull” Mustang beat the All Stars’ Gasser Mustang in part due to its artistic paint style. As a result, Southern Fried D’Lite kept their Mustang and the All Stars’ Mustang.

Ryno Templeton from the All Stars team, Trick My Truck and West Coast Customs will make a special appearance at the auction. The team members of Southern Fried D’Lite will also be present at the auction.

“Car Warriors gained a massive following during its first season, and this is a rare chance to own a car that kicked it off,” stated Richard Sevenoaks, president of Leake Auction Company. “We are thrilled to have Ryno Templeton join us for the auction. He is known for his painting abilities on Car Warriors and CMT’s Trick My Truck. There will be a lot of excitement surrounding the two Mustangs as they compete for top bidding honors.”.

Study Questions Whether Public High School Students Are Prepared for College

A Tribune study of information open to Illinois residents for the first time raises basic questions about how well the state’s public high schools are preparing their students for higher education. The data indicates these students battle to obtain a B average as freshmen at the state’s universities and community colleges, even after graduating top-performing high schools with good grades.

“More and more students seem to be less prepared for college; particularly math and English skills are not where we would like them to be when they come to college, ” said Chancellor Rita Cheng, at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.

College and K-12 officials blame the performance declines on myriad factors, from inadequate high school preparation to high school grade inflation, newfound independence and increased partying away from home.

Gery Chico, chairman of the Illinois State Board of Education, said that a C+ average as a freshman “is not a horrible thing, ” pointing out that college-level work is more complicated than high school courses, and college instructors have a tougher grading system. As students adjust to college, they can improve their GPAs, he said. Chico, however, also expressed concern about high school grading practices that inflate performance and give students the impression that they’re ready for college.

Several university officials stressed the need for improvement. “It is a national issue, ” said April Hansen, director of postsecondary services at the ACT company, whose college entrance exam is taken annually by Illinois juniors as part of state testing.

Following a state General Assembly resolution in 2007, ACT tracked college freshman performance in partnership with the key state agencies for K-12 and higher education: The Illinois Board of Higher Education, the Illinois Community College Board and the Illinois State Board of Education.

Some educators to criticize the data as an incomplete picture as the reports rely on information from Illinois public high schools, community colleges and universities, so students who enrolled in out-of-state or private colleges are not included.

The Link Between Tossed Out Food and Global Warming

For the guilt-ridden food wasters in our midst, a small company in Oregon just lately discovered a means to poke people to buy more prudently. The company has crunched the numbers to exhibit that the greenhouse gas emissions from the production, transport and removal of all the food we could eat — but don’t — adds up.

CleanMetrics develops software that does life cycle analysis for companies and organizations who want to measure and reduce their environmental impact. Last year, Kumar Venkat, the company’s founder and president, was asked by the Environmental Working Group to measure the climate impact of meat consumption, which resulted in its Meat Eater’s Guide to Climate Change & Health.

That project got him thinking about other emissions associated with food, and wasted food in particular. So he gathered USDA’s estimates of food loss from retail and consumers for 2009. And when he fed it into his software, the most interesting story was tht he found that food waste is responsible for 135 million tons of greenhouse gases every year, or about 1.5 percent of all emissions.

So how does that break down for a family or an individual? The average family is responsible for about 1, 800 pounds of emissions from food waste, while an individual contributes about 440 pounds a year, Venkat found. A typical car, meanwhile, emits about 9, 000 pounds a year. The emissions from food waste don’t include food eaten in restaurants or the energy used in cooking or packaging wasted food, however.

But all this food that goes to rot isn’t evenly distributed across the grocery store. For example, we waste about 35 percent of the chicken, fish and fruit we produce, while we only waste about 15 percent of the nuts and legumes on the market, according to USDA.

And some foods also have a much bigger impact on the climate than others. “If you compare beef to tomatoes, beef has a much higher footprint,” says Venkat. “So if you’re going to reduce waste, you need to prioritize.” And by the time the food has reached you, the consumer, the real story is that a lot of those emissions are already on their way to the atmosphere. Venkat says that nearly 80 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions come from producing and processing food.

But not only does food waste make a sizable contribution to global warming – it’s also a lot of money. Venkat calculated that if household food waste could be cut in half, a family of four could save $600 a year. And since there are no regulations that force companies or individuals to reduce their emissions yet, the opportunity to save money is probably the best incentive to reduce food waste there is, says Venkat.

California Law Prohibits Teens From Tanning

California Governor Jerry Brown authorized a bill that forbids teenagers from tanning in tanning beds, making California the first to take action. Four years ago State Senator Ted Lieu attempted, but failed, to make it illegal for people between the ages of 14 and 18 to use ultraviolet beds to tan. Now his efforts ultimately reaped rewards.

Previously, those between 14 and 18 could use tanning beds if they had a parent or legal guardian’s permission. That is no longer allowed, though the use of “a phototherapy device … used by or under the direct supervision of a qualified physician or surgeon” and certain services offered at tanning facilities, like spray tans, are still legal for young people.

While most states regulate how minors can use tanning facilities, California’s recently enacted restrictions go further than any other state, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Some counties also address the issue, with the same organization noting that Howard County, Maryland, was the first jurisdiction to ban indoor tanning for all under age 18.

Governments in other countries have taken similar actions, with Brazil banning tanning beds altogether.

Such steps come after the International Agency for Research on Cancer, which is part of the World Health Organization, in 2009 classified “UV-emitting tanning devices as ‘carcinogenic to humans.’”

The determination was made after reviews of more than 20 epidemiological studies found that one’s skin cancer risk increases 75% when a person starts using a tanning device before they turn 30, the agency noted on its website.

Lieu explained that excessive tanning at an early age can be especially perilous because tanning and its negative effects are “cumulative.” But he said that one concern is how tanning salons market such services.

“They often say come in (and get) the package deal, where you can tan a lot over a (relatively) short period of time and do intense damage,” said the Democrat from Torrance.

Still, he said that at least in some circles — including the MTV reality show “Jersey Shore,” where “gym, tanning and laundry” is a way of life — he believes the message about the danger of tanning beds may be getting through.

“I know that Snooki on the ‘Jersey Shore’ has changed to spray tanning,” Lieu said. “Spray tanning has no known harmful effects, and you can get tans from lotions or cream. There are safe ways to get that brown look.”