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   <title>On The Level</title>
   <link>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/</link>
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   <description>Bob Vila has long been a trusted expert in home renovations and upgrades. Our home improvement blog On the Level keeps you informed on the products and trends that we see in the field. At On the Level, staff from BobVila.com post their views on what's new and newsworthy in home gadgets, tools, and trends.</description>
   <language>en-us</language>
   <pubDate>Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:03:24 GMT</pubDate>
   <lastBuildDate>Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:03:24 GMT</lastBuildDate>
   <copyright>Copyright BobVila.com 2006</copyright>
   <ttl>5</ttl>

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    <title>On The Level</title> 
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      <item>
    <title>A Safer Way to Pull Out Nails</title>
    <link>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/A-Safer-Way-to-Pull-Out-Nails-4289.html</link>
    <guid>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/A-Safer-Way-to-Pull-Out-Nails-4289.html</guid>
    <description>
     <![CDATA[Ever notice how pulling out nails with a hammer claw leaves marks on the wood? Donald Shenk did, and he decided to do something about it. A skilled craftsman with a commitment to building more efficiently with wood, Shenk saw an opportunity to give the building and DIY world a badly-needed innovation and seized it.    

The result was the Zadok Hammer Pad, one of those amazing creations that has the two qualities of a brilliant invention: 1) it is dead simple and, 2) everyone will wonder ...]]>
    </description>
    <author>blogs@bobvila.com (Ben)</author>
	 <comments>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/A-Safer-Way-to-Pull-Out-Nails-4289.html</comments>
    <pubDate>Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
   </item>
      <item>
    <title>Vent-A-Hood Attempts to Perfect Ductless Cooking</title>
    <link>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/Vent-A-Hood-Attempts-to-Perfect-Ductless-Cooking-4288.html</link>
    <guid>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/Vent-A-Hood-Attempts-to-Perfect-Ductless-Cooking-4288.html</guid>
    <description>
     <![CDATA[I used to live in townhouse-style apartment with a ductless kitchen hood--you know, the kind that doesn't vent to the outside but instead recirculates the air through a filter? It was misery. I would have that thing humming on High while boiling pasta, baking chicken in the oven or stir frying veggies in the Wok and in every cooking scenario I would be left with an apartment that smelled for days of whatever I had been cooking. I'd usually have to crack a kitchen window to let excess ...]]>
    </description>
    <author>blogs@bobvila.com (Ben)</author>
	 <comments>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/Vent-A-Hood-Attempts-to-Perfect-Ductless-Cooking-4288.html</comments>
    <pubDate>Fri, 05 Feb 2010 07:06:00 -0500</pubDate>
   </item>
      <item>
    <title>New Dimmer Resolves CFL Flickering Problems</title>
    <link>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/New-Dimmer-Resolves-CFL-Flickering-Problems-4287.html</link>
    <guid>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/New-Dimmer-Resolves-CFL-Flickering-Problems-4287.html</guid>
    <description>
     <![CDATA[Anyone who has used dimmable CFL bulbs with a standard dimmer is no stranger to the flickering issues inherent in the energy-saving conjunction of the two technologies. Dimming a CFL with a standard dimmer not only results in occasional flickering, it can also lead to limited dimming ranges and a flat out inability to turn the lights on at all when the dimmer is in a certain position.    

Enter Leviton's new Decora CFL Slide Dimmer, launched at the 2010 International Builders' Show a ...]]>
    </description>
    <author>blogs@bobvila.com (Ben)</author>
	 <comments>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/New-Dimmer-Resolves-CFL-Flickering-Problems-4287.html</comments>
    <pubDate>Thu, 04 Feb 2010 07:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
   </item>
      <item>
    <title>Charity Blog Series Part Ten - Caring House Project Foundation</title>
    <link>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/Charity-Blog-Series-Part-Ten-Caring-House-Project-Foundation-4286.html</link>
    <guid>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/Charity-Blog-Series-Part-Ten-Caring-House-Project-Foundation-4286.html</guid>
    <description>
     <![CDATA[Welcome to our tenth and final installment of our Charity Series Blog.

Over the past few months we've been blogging about worthy national charities. It's been pretty easy finding quality charities, as sites like The Charity Navigator which evaluates and rates thousands of charities on a four star system, based mostly on the charity's efficiency, operating costs and the CEO's salary. It's a great way to do charity research. 

But not every charity gets reviewed by the Charity Navigator ...]]>
    </description>
    <author>blogs@bobvila.com (Ben)</author>
	 <comments>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/Charity-Blog-Series-Part-Ten-Caring-House-Project-Foundation-4286.html</comments>
    <pubDate>Wed, 03 Feb 2010 07:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
   </item>
      <item>
    <title>Backyard Hockey, Interrupted</title>
    <link>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/Backyard-Hockey-Interrupted-4285.html</link>
    <guid>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/Backyard-Hockey-Interrupted-4285.html</guid>
    <description>
     <![CDATA[There is a reason hockey is played indoors.     

    

While most Vermonters lamented the loss of the state's snow during last week's January thaw, we backyard hockey rink builders were clapping our hands in delight. The thaw, combined with a few inches of warm rain, acted as a natural Zamboni, smoothing out the surface of Lake Champlain and ridding Mallett's Bay of the piles of snow accumulated over the past month. We were going to lose most of our snow-bank rink "boards," but we were ...]]>
    </description>
    <author>blogs@bobvila.com (Ben)</author>
	 <comments>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/Backyard-Hockey-Interrupted-4285.html</comments>
    <pubDate>Tue, 02 Feb 2010 07:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
   </item>
      <item>
    <title>EcoRebates Is Your Source For Appliance Rebate Info</title>
    <link>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/EcoRebates-Is-Your-Source-For-Appliance-Rebate-Info-4284.html</link>
    <guid>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/EcoRebates-Is-Your-Source-For-Appliance-Rebate-Info-4284.html</guid>
    <description>
     <![CDATA[Are you thinking about buying a new appliance? If so, you'll want to know what cash rebates are available through your state's "cash for appliance" rebate program.    

EcoRebates has a simple search-by-state function that lets you know exactly how much money your state has been allocated by the Department of Energy, which products are covered by your state's program and how much rebate cash is available within each product category. Not every state has its program up and running. ...]]>
    </description>
    <author>blogs@bobvila.com (Ben)</author>
	 <comments>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/EcoRebates-Is-Your-Source-For-Appliance-Rebate-Info-4284.html</comments>
    <pubDate>Mon, 01 Feb 2010 07:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
   </item>
      <item>
    <title>A Maintenance-Free Deck: Is This for Real?</title>
    <link>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/A-Maintenance-Free-Deck-Is-This-for-Real--4282.html</link>
    <guid>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/A-Maintenance-Free-Deck-Is-This-for-Real--4282.html</guid>
    <description>
     <![CDATA[What do you do when your wood deck is faded, rotted and splintering? Why, roll out a new one, of course. 

Maintaining a wood deck is a pain. On a visit to my brother's home in Virginia a few years ago we spent our "quality time" together sanding and staining the shoddily-constructed and poorly maintained deck that came with his house. The sand paper was routinely shredded by overlooked nail heads and our staining job was undone by a freak and sudden rainstorm that passed through. ...]]>
    </description>
    <author>blogs@bobvila.com (Ben)</author>
	 <comments>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/A-Maintenance-Free-Deck-Is-This-for-Real--4282.html</comments>
    <pubDate>Fri, 29 Jan 2010 07:01:00 -0500</pubDate>
   </item>
      <item>
    <title>Singing in the Rain--Moen's Showerhead Giveaway</title>
    <link>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/Singing-in-the-Rain-Moen-s-Showerhead-Giveaway-4283.html</link>
    <guid>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/Singing-in-the-Rain-Moen-s-Showerhead-Giveaway-4283.html</guid>
    <description>
     <![CDATA[I just received an email reminding me to update or create a profile for my chance to win a Moen Rainshower Shower head.

Unfortunately I am not eligible to win, but I bet 99 percent of you who read this blog are. I wish I were, as my wife would be thanking me for months for installing this fixture in our bathroom.  

To be eligible to win, you must sign up by February 3,2010.
Here is the link: 
Moen At Home eNewsletter Sign up

And this is the email Moen sent me in its entirety: ...]]>
    </description>
    <author>blogs@bobvila.com (Greg)</author>
	 <comments>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/Singing-in-the-Rain-Moen-s-Showerhead-Giveaway-4283.html</comments>
    <pubDate>Thu, 28 Jan 2010 07:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
   </item>
      <item>
    <title>Throw Out The Key</title>
    <link>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/Throw-Out-The-Key-4281.html</link>
    <guid>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/Throw-Out-The-Key-4281.html</guid>
    <description>
     <![CDATA[The announcement out of Schlage that their BE365 electronic keypad deadbolt just earned the notable "Best Buy" rating from Consumers Digest comes at a good time, as I am fresh off a visit to the Schlage booth at the International Builders' Show in Las Vegas.         

Retailing at $119, the BE365 is a solid investment in home security and convenience. I have an older Schlage electronic keypad deadbolt on my front door and I must say I love having it. It means one less key on the keychain. ...]]>
    </description>
    <author>blogs@bobvila.com (Ben)</author>
	 <comments>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/Throw-Out-The-Key-4281.html</comments>
    <pubDate>Wed, 27 Jan 2010 07:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
   </item>
      <item>
    <title>Charity Blog Series Part Nine - Farm Aid</title>
    <link>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/Charity-Blog-Series-Part-Nine-Farm-Aid-4280.html</link>
    <guid>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/Charity-Blog-Series-Part-Nine-Farm-Aid-4280.html</guid>
    <description>
     <![CDATA[Welcome to the ninth installment in our 10-part Charity Blog Series.         

As a Vermont resident, the preservation of working farms is of both local and personal concern. The state's physical, historical and economic landscape is very much intertwined with the fate of our family farms, which teeters forever on the brink of uncertainty. Vermont dairy farming -- commemorated in every pint of Ben &amp; Jerry's -- is just one pie slice of the state's farming heritage that contributes its ...]]>
    </description>
    <author>blogs@bobvila.com (Ben)</author>
	 <comments>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/Charity-Blog-Series-Part-Nine-Farm-Aid-4280.html</comments>
    <pubDate>Tue, 26 Jan 2010 07:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
   </item>
      <item>
    <title>Don't Mess with My Tool</title>
    <link>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/Don-t-Mess-with-My-Tool-4279.html</link>
    <guid>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/Don-t-Mess-with-My-Tool-4279.html</guid>
    <description>
     <![CDATA[A woman from Olympia, Washington allegedly was so angry when her husband left her that she left him with a little extra power in his power tool. So when he attempted to use his table saw he received a powerful electric shock.

The Olympian newspaper reported that the woman is accused of reversing the wires on his 220-volt table saw causing him to receive a shock so intense it knocked him to the ground. Thurston County sheriff's deputies say the man did not need to go to a hospital.

From ...]]>
    </description>
    <author>blogs@bobvila.com (Greg)</author>
	 <comments>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/Don-t-Mess-with-My-Tool-4279.html</comments>
    <pubDate>Mon, 25 Jan 2010 07:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
   </item>
      <item>
    <title>International Builders' Show Day #2</title>
    <link>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/International-Builders-Show-Day-2-4277.html</link>
    <guid>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/International-Builders-Show-Day-2-4277.html</guid>
    <description>
     <![CDATA[They say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but I'm gonna spill the beans...on my experience at the International Builders' Show, anyway.    

Day #2 of IBS 2010 at the Convention Center in the City of Sin didn't fail to deliver, as I was treated to the finest in residential sprinkler systems (soon to be mandated in a state near you), a stainless steel cooking hood built exclusively for an outdoor kitchen, the quietest in garage door openers and home ventilation systems and more. ...]]>
    </description>
    <author>blogs@bobvila.com (Ben)</author>
	 <comments>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/International-Builders-Show-Day-2-4277.html</comments>
    <pubDate>Thu, 21 Jan 2010 07:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
   </item>
      <item>
    <title>Checking out the 2010 IBS</title>
    <link>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/Checking-out-the-2010-IBS-4276.html</link>
    <guid>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/Checking-out-the-2010-IBS-4276.html</guid>
    <description>
     <![CDATA[After 10 hours of trucking around the 2010 International Builders' Show at the Convention Center in Las Vegas, I finally have a chance to put my feet up and comment on some of the cooler products and innovations I saw on day #1.     

Whirlpool's MicroEtch refrigerator shelves warranted a snapshot from the iPhone and a TwitPic. Not exactly bells and whistles, but anyone who has suffered a spill in the fridge can appreciate a simple containment system worked into each shelf.     

Owens ...]]>
    </description>
    <author>blogs@bobvila.com (Ben)</author>
	 <comments>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/Checking-out-the-2010-IBS-4276.html</comments>
    <pubDate>Wed, 20 Jan 2010 08:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
   </item>
      <item>
    <title>Bob Talks Antique Homes to Local Writer</title>
    <link>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/Bob-Talks-Antique-Homes-to-Local-Writer-4275.html</link>
    <guid>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/Bob-Talks-Antique-Homes-to-Local-Writer-4275.html</guid>
    <description>
     <![CDATA[In case you missed it (and you probably did, since it's a relatively small blog), here's a link to a recent interview Bob Vila gave with Leslie Mann of "Wicked Local," a blog serving Eastern Massachusetts Communities.     

In it, Bob shares some valuable thoughts and tips on owning an antique home. Relining fireplaces, remodeling cautions and common pitfalls are all brought into light.     

Do you own an antique home? What are some of the challenges you have faced? ]]>
    </description>
    <author>blogs@bobvila.com (Ben)</author>
	 <comments>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/Bob-Talks-Antique-Homes-to-Local-Writer-4275.html</comments>
    <pubDate>Tue, 19 Jan 2010 07:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
   </item>
      <item>
    <title>The Ants Don't Stand a Chance</title>
    <link>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/The-Ants-Don-t-Stand-a-Chance-4271.html</link>
    <guid>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/The-Ants-Don-t-Stand-a-Chance-4271.html</guid>
    <description>
     <![CDATA[I love when science gets put to good use for the benefit of homeowners. If it's not putting space shuttle technology into our walls, it's finding better ways to kill ants.     

Nature-Cide's latest line of natural insecticides might not be a triumph of the latest scientific discovery, but it is putting old science to good use. I'm talking about a good ole, all-natural mix of cedar oil and cinnamon to kill those rampaging ants in your home.     

Nature-Cide's fumes are toxic to ants ...]]>
    </description>
    <author>blogs@bobvila.com (Ben)</author>
	 <comments>http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/The-Ants-Don-t-Stand-a-Chance-4271.html</comments>
    <pubDate>Mon, 18 Jan 2010 07:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
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