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Bo.lt Shares and Remixes Web Pages
We've talked about URL shrinking , web page remixing using custom CSS , and social link sharing before, but free webapp Bo.lt offers all three services in one convenient package. Use it to make custom landing pages, creative wish lists, or just share and comment on nyan cat pics with your friends. Once you've added a URL, Bo.lt creates a copy of that page that you can edit, add comments that appear in the margins, and share on Facebook or Twitter with one-click. Your custom copy of the page remains as it is shared and commented on by your followers; you can even view page metrics and create custom landing pages; the original page is always one click away if someone down the line wants to go back to the source.
Last year, December 20-24 were dark days I'd like to forget. This year, I had found 80 percent of my gifts by December 1. The big difference? Smart use of the free Evernote service to keep a year-round gift idea database.
Become the Ultimate Gift-Giver with Evernote
Make Your Sauces, Oils, and Dressings Totally Awesome—with Spray Bottles
After spying this brilliant Sriracha hot-chili-sauce spray-bottle hack by reddit user aoisenshi, we just had to try it for ourselves. Would it work? Could the spray-top achieve a more perfect sauce distribution than traditional squirt-tops? What other sauces and dressings could (and should) we adapt this to?
If you've ever used an extension cord, you've no doubt experienced the heartache (yes, heartache! ) of pulling a few inches too far and disconnecting from the cord. Carpenter Robert Robillard explains how to knot your extension cord to keep your cords plugged in—a simple trick he learned his first day on the job. The image kind of says it all. Just hold the two cords together, tie them in a simple overhand knot , then plug in the ends.
Knot Your Power Cords Like a Carpenter to Avoid Unwanted Unplugging
Skip the Phone Support Queue by Calling Sales and Acting Confused
Apps like FastCustomer and LucyPhone can wait on hold for you, but when they're not an option there's a trick you can use for skipping the queue: just call sales line instead and act confused. Because companies essentially exist to make money, they're generally going to have a larger staff available to help with sales calls. That means less people are available for customer support and you're stuck with longer wait times. For this reason, you can often expedite your support call by simply calling the sales line instead. At the very least this will prevent you from dealing with the telephone tree as you can ask the sale rep to transfer you to the proper department. In some cases, if you act confused, you can request that the sales rep stay on the line with you until you get to the correct department.
Kibin Offers Free Editing and Proofreading for Your Papers and Other Writing
Want feedback on a paper, business document, or other writing? Kibin is an editing community where volunteer editors will proofread and offer unbiased feedback for free. The service is very easy to use. Upload your (doc, rtf, or txt) file and in about 24 hours you'll get your paper returned with edits/comments in the Kibin dashboard. (If you're in a hurry and need a guarantee that your editing will be done in 24 hours, you can opt to pay the $0.01 per word, but otherwise the service is free.)Home networking is something we all have to deal with, but it can be confusing as heck. This week, we're going to turn you into a networking wizard, starting with getting to know the most important device on your network: the router. Router Basics Your router is the glue that holds your home network together.
Know Your Network, Lesson 1: Router Hardware 101
If the pillows on your bed are as flat as the blankets when you get up in the morning, open the curtains and let them sit in the sun for a few hours to help fluff them up naturally. Real Simple points out that while we sleep, we tend to sweat (or drool) and that moisture winds up in the pillows. By placing them in the sun on a bright day and letting them sit there for a few hours, all of that moisture—and moisture that builds up over nights of use-will evaporate and the pillows will fluff up over the course of the day. You may still need to fluff them by hand before going to bed at night, but it's a good tip regardless. Your mileage, however, may vary, especially if you live somewhere the sun doesn't shine too often.
Leave Pillows in the Sun for a Few Hours to Plump Them Up Again
Change Your Car's Air Filter
Most car manufacturers state that paper air filters should be changed every year or 15,000 miles, whichever comes first. This is an extremely easy maintenance task that anyone can DIY instead of overpaying the tech at Jiffy Lube. Here are the basic steps. The video above by YouTube user myridevidoes goes into further detail: Buy a new air filter. Make sure you buy the correct model for your car.
Flavor Whole Coffee Beans with Spices
If you like the added flavors of vanilla, cinnamon, or other spices you can easily infuse the whole beans with spices instead of buying dubious flavored coffee laden with chemicals and preservatives. Homesteading blog Chickens in the Road offers this method for naturally flavoring coffee with vanilla beans: Pour your freshly roasted coffee beans into a bowl Split vanilla beans down the center and add to the coffee. Six vanilla beans is the right number for a pound of coffee beans. Mix until the vanilla bean halves have been thoroughly mixed and return the coffee to it's original container. Wait at least 24 hours to give the vanilla time to infuse the coffee.
The button below will generate a random phrase consisting of four common words. According to yesterday’s xkcd strip , such phrases are hard to guess (even by brute force), but easy to remember, making them interesting password choices. come opportunity camera effort I’ve set up a dedicated web page for this service, in several languages: Check out passphra.se ! It’s a novel idea, but xkcd stops short of actually recommending such passwords, and so will I.
xkcd Password Generator
5 Stealth Tools To Turn You Into A Street Superhero
It’s a scary world out there. Fires in London. War overseas.If you already have a vacuum sealer and frequently eat salads, you can use a wide-mouth jar attachment to seal salads that will stay fresh up to nine days. Do this once per week and in twenty minutes you'll have fresh salads packed for lunch every day. Salad-in-a-Jar's website claims that if you start with already fresh produce using their method will keep wilted lettuce at bay for up to nine days. Wash, cut, and spin your lettuce as normal.
Enjoy Fresh Salads All Week with a Vacuum Sealer and Mason Jars
There are many variations on the process of seasoning a wok, but they all essentially boil down to cleaning the wok thoroughly and heating it with some sort of oil or fat. Carbon steel woks are one of the most versatile pieces of cookware; you can stir-fry, boil, braise, and use them to make soups and stews, but only after the wok has been properly seasoned. New woks are usually covered in machine oil or grease to prevent rust that needs to be removed; steel wool works best, but dish soap and a sponge can work in a pinch. This is the only time you will ever use soap with your wok unless it becomes rusty.
How to Season a Wok
Editor's note: It's been awhile since anyone on staff here has been a fresh-faced undergrad bustling off to school, so we asked the savvy students at the HackCollege blog what you need to know before hitting campus this fall. Here's what they said. Students going back to school can be overwhelmed with new responsibilities, party obligations, and piles of homework. The HackCollege team has compiled our essential tips for going back to school.