Archive for July, 2006
Build Your Own DC Converter
I’m comfortable rewiring basic household circuits, but this steps outside my electrical comfort zone. Pedro shows us how to build a Direct Current converter, which, according to the site, uses the CMOS 4093 IC to build an oscillator that drives an audio power transistor to pilot the primary of a small transformer…which output give us about 200 to 220 VDC. This is enough power for things like Neon lights, nixie tubes and a variety of transmitters. If anyone knows of a better way to make a DC converter, pass it on.
dc converter, direct current, neon lights, nixie tubes, oscillator, power transistor, transformerHow to Make a Muslin Photography Backdrop
Photography studios generally have a ton of backdrop choices at their disposal. One common common backdrop is a slightly textured background with a subtle tie-die like pattern of variations on the same color. If you purchase backdrops from a photography supply store they can be expensive. With some RIT dye and a large section of muslin cloth, you can accomplish the same thing for under $20. DIYPhotography.net shows us how to make a Cheap DIY (Homemade) Muslin Photography Background.
backdrop, photography background, photography supplyHow to Create the Perferct .htaccess File
Or how to prevent unwanted scraping of your content. On a Web server, the htaccess file is sort of like a keyless entry system for visitors. With the right credentials, you walk right in. Wrong creditinals, you’re left standing on the porch waiting for someone to answer the door. That’s not exactly a perfect analogy, but that’s sort of how it works. Good sites, like Google want to search your server for pages to index. Bad sites might want to summarily scrape your content for a spamblog. Using an htaccess file, you tell these visitors whether they can pay you a visit or whether they get kicked to the curb. While the scraping tools are constantly a moving target, JavaScript Kit provides something close to a perfect resource (for now) on building an htaccess file to defend your site by blocking bad bots and site rippers.
bots, htaccess, javascript, scraper, web scraperHow to Plant a Tree
The rules for tree planting vary by climate, but the basics are the same. While the nursery you purchase trees from should have some instructions, it’s always good to double check with other experts before proceeding. The Virgina Forestry service offers some good information on planting a variety of trees depending on how they were packaged for delivery from the nursery, including balled and burlapped trees, bare-rooted trees, and container trees. Before you start digging a hole in your yard, review the steps on how to plant a tree to make sure your tree gets a long healthy life.
How to Save Money on Car Insurance
Car insurance is one of those necessary evils you can only live without if you don’t own a car. Even with a clean driving record you’ll still pay several hundred dollars every year, in some cases a couple hundred dollars per month. The most common tip I’ve seen for reducing car insurance bills is to raise the deductible. Many other factors play into how much you pay and with careful examination of the bill, you can drop your rates even further by eliminating stuff you don’t really need. Over the life of owning a car, these dollars start adding up. Get rich slow offers advice from someone who works in the insurance business on how to cut cost on car insurance.
car insurance, driving record, insurance, insurance bills, insurance businessHow to Boost Cell Phone Reception with an External Antenna
My house is a cell phone dead zone. Particularly my basement office, which munges most conversations and renders Cingular’s BroadbandConnect service nearly useless. The only solution I can think might work is an external cell phone antenna to boost signal strength. I hesitate to purchase one of those external car antennas, because I’ve never found them truly useful. Graeme at Earth: Mostly Harmless offers a compelling alternative by boosting his cell phone signal strength with a modified WiFi antenna, taking his house from cell phone dead zone to functional. I have tons of WiFi gear laying around; this just might do the trick.
car antennas, cell phone antenna, signal strengthHow To Compose a Great Looking Picture Almost Every Time
Shot composition is one of the hardest things to learn about digital photography. You need to start with things like being in focus and finding decent lighting. But once you’ve mastered the basics, composition is what takes a photo from good to great. Total Image looks at a series of steps you can follow to compose great looking shots almost every time. You may still get a dud every now and then, but burn these photography rules into your brian and you’re well on the way to undertstanding how to compose great looking photos.
How to Publish iCal Calendars without .Mac
Apple offers an awesome calendar sharing feature as part of the OS X Calendar app, but it requires a .Mac account or some other WebDAV enabled server to make it work. Unless you’re an ubergeek, setting up WebDAV is really tricky. System Boy found a slick solution for sharing iCal calendars online without the hassle of configuring WebDAV or the fees of a .Mac account. You do need to sign up for a free Box.net account to get on the iCal bus, but that’s a minor inconvenience for major calendar accessibility. System Boy offers detailed instructions on publishing iCal without .Mac.
apple, calendars online, icalHow To Send a Girl a Drink
HowToBehave offers a number of tips for acting with confidence in social situations. How to Send a Girl a Drink is no exception. Instead of pulling a cheeseball move, the video walks you through the suave way to send a drink and follow up with polite conversation. I’m not in the single scene, so I can’t validate the sucess of the tip, but it looks like it might work. Ladies, is this a one-way ticket to a slap-in-the-face or the right way to make an introduction?
Download How to Send a Girl a Drink
confidence, dating scene, polite, social situationsGTD: Doing a Fast Mind Sweep
I admit I never fully applied Getting Things Done to my daily life. I use some of the organization techniques, but I’m currently too stubborn to change existing methods to fit the GTD program verbatim. One important takeaway I internalized is the need to clear your mind of all those nagging tasks by writing them down. 43 Folders offers some good tips on accomplishing this using David Allen’s mind sweep technique of collection.
david allen, gtdHow to Wire Your Own Ethernet Cable
If you plan on wiring your house with CAT-5 or CAT-6, knowing how the wires work is a necessity. Without proper pinouts on the connectors, you get nothing but Local Network Connection Unavailable balloons from the Windows system tray. Along with proper tools, like a cable crimper, wire cutters and a mountain of patience, a configuration diagram will save you hours of troubleshooting later on. Follow the Internet Centre tips on wiring Ethernet cable to avoid frustration and acheive maximum throughput.
cat 6, crimper, ethernet cable, wire cuttersHow to Make Bottlecap Magnets
Fridge magnets are both functional for posting pictures and notes in the kitchen and an entertain diversion for my 4-year-old. They regularly disappear, which means we need to find new ones or do without. Using a collection of bottle caps from leftover beverages of any flavor, combined with a hot glue gun and some magnets from the neighborhood science store, making more becomes a fun project with a functional result. Bonus points for taking thumbtacks and making new pushpins for a bulletin board using the same strategy. Deep Fried Kudzu shows you how to make bottlecap magnets and pushpins.
bottle caps, fun project, hot glue gunHow to Apply Blush
My complexion looks like I bask in LCD rays all day long, but I’m not likely to start wearing blush anytime soon. Even so, fashion tips from a celebrity makeup artist are hard to ignore, which is what makes this demo from Elke Von Freuden a must watch for glam rockers and fashion hopefuls alike. You can see more of the video on YouTube in the fashion collection from philleif.
celebrity makeup artist, fashion tipsMake Your Own Floor-to-Ceiling Whiteboard
For all the time I spend at my computer, there’s still no real substitute for standing in front of a whiteboard and brainstorming. Microsoft’s OneNote is okay for real quick brainstorms, but if I need to dive in and detail out a plan, a whiteboard is the way to go. Buying a whiteboard from an office supply store will set you back several hundred dollars for the useful sizes. Instead, some white tileboard from the bathroom section of Home Depot will work just as well. 4×8 sheets are under $20, letting you cover an entire wall for less than the cost of buying something off-the-shelf. Cover that woodgrain panelling with dry erase paradise using the tips from Kevin Kelly’s Marker Board Walls.
DIY Infrared Security Camera
Home security is equal parts fun and functionality if you’re implementing the whole system yourself. Sure it’s less headache to call up the local security firm, have them install a bunch of motion detectors and cameras, and monitor the whole operation, but that’s friggin’ expensive. Instead, there are plenty of DIY alternatives for building your own security system from components easily monitored via the Web. This one takes the guts of a Webcam and an old VHS camcorder and remixes them to create a functional infrared security camera capable of functioning in low light. No more having the neighbor’s cat sneaking up on the porch unannounced with this contraption on duty. ComputerGuru365 offers all the details on making a DIY infrared security camera from spare parts you might already have lying around.
diy, motion detectors, security camera, security systemDIY paper lunch bag CD covers
As someone who burns compilation CDs and makes backup copies of tracks purchased from places like eMusic, I need creative ways to store CDs. This clever hack offers a slick alternative to mortgaging your house to collect enough jewel cases for all those disks. Instead, buy a package of brown paper lunch bags from the store and you’re set. Detailed instructions, including customizations and decoration will get you from lunch sack to CD sleeve in a few simple steps. Find out how DMC makes his DIY paper lunch bag CD covers and start wrapping up those compact discs.
backup copies, compilation cds, diy, jewel cases, paper lunch bags
