DIY Yarn Lamp
by Jonas Blake on Feb.23, 2010, under Life Upgrade
For those of you who love those great decorator lamps, but don’t want to shell out the big buck for something that is essentially just shaped string, this is an awesome do-it-yourself project from pickles.com.
Enjoy!
Make Your Bed Like A Pro
by Jonas Blake on Sep.06, 2009, under Life Upgrade
One of the cornerstones of military training is uniformity, in everything. Such as how your bed looks in the basic training barracks.
If you are like me, and barely manage to have sheets on your bed at all sometimes, knowing how to make your bed really well probably won’t help; but just in case you are one of those people who does make their bed every morning (or even just when you have guests) knowing how to make it look as crisp and clean as an Army Bunk might be really useful.
And anyway, doing things better is the name of the game here.
For the full video, check it out on About.com here.
Enjoy!
Make a Wi-Fi Booster Antenna with a Drinking Straw
by Jonas Blake on Aug.27, 2009, under Life Upgrade
Rather than heading to the store to buy the $30 Wi-Fi booster antenna, this video shows you how to make your own for about $0.05, using only a big drinking straw and some wire.
The procedure is pretty simple, and totally worth not having to buy the expensive extender.
Caution: You do need a soldering iron for this!
Remove a Car Dent with Compressed Air and a Hair Dryer
by Jonas Blake on Aug.25, 2009, under Life Upgrade
Remove Car Dent With Airduster - Click here for this week’s top video clips
After your cousin Bob leaned on your car last week, your side panel has never been the same. The sleek, glossy lines of your beautiful Corolla are marred by a big, ugly dent.
Other than expensive body work, what can you do?
Well, with a can of compressed air and a hair dryer, you can use physics to take out the dent.
Check out this great video from Metacafe for the down-low.
By the way, sorry about the awful grammer in the video…it wasn’t me, I swear. (”My big dent disappear”? Really?) But the information is still great, just not well written.
Job Listings vs. Unemployment by City
by Jonas Blake on Aug.21, 2009, under Uncategorized
If you are in the market for a new job, this nifty bit of research from indeed.com (a job searching website) might help you figure out where to look.
The study is not exactly scientific, just a comparison of the number of unemployed vs. the number of job postings, but it does give a general view of the national job market by metro area.
You might notice that Washington D.C. tops the list…I’m not surprised. After all, the bailout money is coming from there…
Take a look at the full list here.
Thanks to indeed.com for this bit of info.
9 Ways to Improve Your Memory
by Jonas Blake on Aug.14, 2009, under Mind Upgrade
If you are having trouble with your memory, or just want to study more efficiently for that big test, check out this list of 9 ways to improve your memory.
Also, check out the video about it from Howcast, here.
1) Play games
Puzzle games like Sudoku or crossword puzzles stimulate the brain and help you develop new neural pathways.
2) Drink grape juice
Drinking 8 oz of purple grape juice (or anything else high in antioxidants) per day, can improve your memory by up to 20%.
Note: Organic fruits and vegetables have up to 40% more antioxidants than conventional produce…spring for organics.
Think Before You Speak - Undo Send IRL
by Jonas Blake on Aug.10, 2009, under Social Upgrade
Gmail recently added a feature called “Undo Send”, which actually holds your email for 5 seconds before it sends it. In the mean time, you can press the “Undo” button, and potentially save yourself some embarassment.
As it turns out, 5 seconds is just long enough for most people to realize that they made a mistake, and hit the Undo button.
Wouldn’t it be great if we had a Undo Send button in real life?
Well, maybe we do. All you have to do is wait five seconds to respond to something, especially if you are upset. In the typical conversation, a five second pause is just that, a pause. It won’t seem strange to the person you’re talking to, and it might just prevent you from telling your boss where to shove it.
Many Uses: Mouthwash Edition
by Jonas Blake on Aug.08, 2009, under Life Upgrade
Mouthwash can be a lifesaver on that big job interview, or on a first date. After all, that tuna sandwich was tasty, but no one really wants to smell it after the fact.
But mouthwash has so many other uses, it is almost a shame it’s called mouthwash.
For example, to take care of those annoying white flakes on your black shirt:
Nix dandruff with a simple mix of one part witch hazel and one part mouthwash with eight parts water. Put it in a spray bottle and spritz at your roots – on your scalp – after shampooing and conditioning, while your hair is still damp. Leave in, and style with your usual products.
For more brillient uses of the common household mouthwash, check out this great video from HowCast.com.
How Americans Spend Their Time
by Jonas Blake on Aug.07, 2009, under Social Upgrade
This awesome website by the New York Times has a flash chart of what Americans are doing with their time, by hour of the day. It is also broken down into categories, like male and female, enployed and unemployed, etc.
Check it out here.
