100 Life Hacks that make life easier. (Know any shortcuts to "life"? Share them!)

[TargeT]

so this is a pretty comprehensive list of neat little shortcuts / life hacks.. I can't really think of anything to add beyond this list, but I'm sure there's more out there!



100 Life Hacks That Make Life Easier

Some examples:

http://cdn-2.lifehack.org/wp-content/files/2013/02/87-lean-your-phone-on-your-sunglassess.jpg

http://cdn-2.lifehack.org/wp-content/files/2013/02/89-how-to-waterproof-your-shoes-450x1024.jpg

http://cdn-2.lifehack.org/wp-content/files/2013/02/96-drop-the-battery.png

http://cdn-2.lifehack.org/wp-content/files/2013/02/41.jpeg

http://cdn-3.lifehack.org/wp-content/files/2013/02/7.jpeg

http://cdn-3.lifehack.org/wp-content/files/2013/02/9.png

Many more here:

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/100-life-hacks-that-make-life-easier.html



I'm a fan of using frozen beverage for "ice" so you don't water down your drink, I also freeze a few smaller cubes of lemon or lime juice for the appropriate drink as well :hat:

Know something easy to do and very useful? post a picture/ story / explanation about it!

[TargeT]

Some pretty useful video's on this same train of thought out there also...

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Here's a channel with a lot more videos with neat tricks and tips (video works even better than those stills I posted above) I've seen some really cool one so far; lots of alternate uses for tinfoil that seem very helpful.

http://www.youtube.com/user/HouseholdHacker?feature=watch

[MorningSong]

Thanks for the great ideas! I love stuff like that!

When I cook up a big batch of greens like spinach, I freeze then in balls in a muffin pan; that way they freeze in small portions. I put all the frozen balls in a ziplock bag for deep freezing. So when I need just a dab, all I have to do is take what I need and not have to thaw out a huge block at a time.

The ice cube tray idea is great for freezing portions of any sauce be it tomato or even pesto. You can also make a batch of fresh herb mixes with olive oil and freeze it into individual cubes, too.

I put scented soaps in clothes drawers to keep bugs out and keep things smelling nice, too.

I have never seen fabric softner sheets here in my part of Italy as hardly anyone even has a dryer... but being the spoiled American on the block, I buy liquid softner and put some on a damp washcloth and toss it in my dryer...works just fine and I use less in the dryer than I would by putting it into my washing machine.

Yogurt cups make great seed pots; just punch a hole in the bottom, fill it with soil and a seed and you're done.

Yes! Olive oil will dissolve tar spattered on your car, most paints, chewing gum, too.

Peanut butter will dissolve chewing gum, as well (parents take note!).

[soleil]

i know this is a small hack, but we freeze chicken stock in muffin trays, because more stock is always better. :) and then they can be taken out and put into freezer bag's.

[Daozen]

SAVE a fortune on laundry bills by giving your dirty shirts to Oxfam. They will wash and iron them and you can buy them back for 50p.


IDENTICAL twins. Use Morse code to cheat in exams by stabbing yourself in the arm with a sharp compass. The other twin, at home with a text book, can “feel” the question and stab you back the answers.


CREATE instant designer stubble by sucking a magnet and dipping your chin into a bowl of iron filings.


BUY a television set exactly like your neighbours’. Then annoy them by standing outside their window and changing their channel using your identical remote control.


CHEER loudly at 8pm each Saturday to fool the neighbours into thinking you have won the Lottery.


X-FILES fans. Create the effect of being abducted by aliens by drinking two bottles of vodka. You’ll invariably wake up in a strange place the following morning, having had your memory mysteriously “erased”.


AVOID jet lag by simply taking an earlier flight, thus arriving fully refreshed and on time.


INVITED by vegetarians for dinner? As you’d no doubt be made aware of their special dietary requirements, tell them about yours – ask for a nice steak.


OLD contact lenses make ideal portholes for small model boats.




Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/2695744/The-best-Top-Tips-from-30-years-of-Viz.html#ixzz2S3XulQzb



EMPLOYERS: Avoid hiring unlucky people by immediately tossing half the CVs into the bin.

MEN: When listening to your favourite CD, simply turn up the sound to the volume you desire - then turn it down three notches. This saves your wife having to do it.

DRIVERS: Avoid getting prosecuted for using your phone while driving. Simply pop your mobile inside a large shell and the police will think you are listening to the sea.

BANGING two pistachio nut shells together gives the' impression a very small horse' is approaching.

DON'T waste money on expensive iPods. Simply think of your favourite tune and I hum it. If you want to "switch tracks", simply think of another song you like and hum that instead.

CINEMAGOERS: Have consideration for pirate DVD viewers by using the toilet before the film starts.

DRIVERS: If a car breaks down or stalls in front of you, beep your horn and wave your arms frantically. This should help the car start and send them on their way.



Check out all the latest News, Sport & Celeb gossip at Mirror.co.uk http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/viz-is-30-our-50-all-time-best-427354#ixzz2S3ZPK4i4
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[TargeT]

I think I'll be doing this one soon since I have a few old smartphones laying around & a desire for security cameras ;)

Got an old phone? Make it into a home security camera.
http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/iphone-980x651.jpg
Smart security cameras are one of the easiest ways to start transforming your normal home into a connected home. Everyone knows about Alphabet's Nest cam, but there are plenty of other cameras to consider from companies including Samsung, D-Link, and Canary. However, you don't have to drop $200 on a bulbous eye-looking camera if you don't want to—there are apps for that. Numerous Android and iOS apps claim to use your old smartphone's cameras to replicate the features of these dedicated cams, letting you check in from your current smartphone whenever you want.

These security apps have nearly the same features as regular smart cameras but are free to download and require no extra hardware. Even older phones are powerful enough to be repurposed. That doesn't mean the apps are quite as good as purpose-built security cameras, though. We looked into the differences between home security cameras and their smartphone equivalents (specifically the apps Manything and Alfred) to see if one method of monitoring your home is better than the other.Features: Extra hardware or bare-bones software?

Stand-alone security cameras and monitoring apps share a number of common features, and one of the biggest and most important is live streaming. Any smart camera will give you the ability to watch a live stream of your home over Wi-Fi or data either from a Web application, a companion mobile app, or both. They'll also have a recording feature, and some are more customizable than others. Many stand-alone cameras like the Ezviz Mini will let you schedule a time during the day to record video footage. Others will just record whenever they sense motion (and in some cases, sound) in the room or in designated activity zones.

Cameras and apps will alert you when they sense a disturbance—most send a push notification to your smartphone, with a link to see what just occurred, and some give you the option to receive the alert by e-mail as well. For both types of products, you can watch the recorded clip of what happened, but the amount of recorded footage that is saved for a longer period of time varies depending on your subscription level.

The real differences arise when you compare a piece of software (the apps) to a complete piece of hardware (the stand-alone cameras). Thanks to their tangible nature, cameras can add extra aspects to the monitoring experience that a basic app cannot. The Canary cam has a 90 decibel alarm that you can trigger from anywhere using the companion app and environmental sensors that monitor air quality, and Samsung's Smartcam HD Plus has many prerecorded sounds, like dogs barking, that you can turn on to startle an intruder.

Night vision is another primary feature of stand-alone cameras. The Nest cam has eight LEDs that improve the quality of nighttime footage, and most other cameras have some form of night vision that ensure you'll be able to see clearly in low lighting. The app Alfred has a night vision setting, but it doesn't use the phone's flash (that's a separate feature, and it would be too obvious and obtrusive to use in night vision anyway). Rather, Alfred's night vision boosts the brightness and contrast of the video feed, making everything in the shot overexposed, extremely bright, and nearly unrecognizable.

Physical cameras may also feature a SD card slot—and that's a huge advantage if you don't want all of your home videos stored in a company's cloud server. Some cameras, like Samsung's Smartcam HD Plus, are equipped with a SD card that can be upgraded to hold up to 128GB of storage. Sure, if you pay a fee each month, you won't have to worry about losing space and losing video footage. But for those who want local content storage, it's easier to do so with a stand-alone camera.

Dedicated security cameras can also connect to smart home items more easily than an app on a smartphone. The Nest cam is fully compatible with other Nest products, such as the smart thermostat, as well as a number of other smart products in the Works with Nest family. If you're diving deep into the smart home sphere, you'll benefit from a stand-alone camera that can, say, connect to a smart door lock and start recording when the lock senses someone is trying to get in to your front door.

Both cameras and smartphones need two crucial things to watch over your home: power and Wi-Fi. Stand-alone cameras simply plug into AC adapters and smartphones can do the same with their charging cables. However, smartphones are slightly more versatile since you could charge your phone completely and set it in a specific area of your home while you go out for a few hours and the battery will last until you return. Due to slimmer, smaller frames, smartphones can also be placed in hard-to-reach spots of your home where a camera might not fit, especially if you use a flexible smartphone stand or wall attachment.

In terms of Wi-Fi, both devices will need it to stream live video to your phone or computer so you can see a real-time feed of your home. If you're using an old smartphone, chances are you're not paying for its LTE data anymore, but if you are, apps like Manything let you fall back on data just in case your Wi-Fi cuts out.Security: Minimizing risks

Basically any device that's connected to Wi-Fi is prone to hacking. If someone were to hack into your home's Wi-Fi network, there's the risk of them gaining access to your home security camera (be it stand-alone device or app-equipped smartphone) and other smart home devices. Phil Hochmuth, program director of Enterprise Mobility at IDC, explains that those who go the smartphone route will want to check if their monitoring handset is up to date on all its software and OS updates. And sometimes, there's only so many updates a phone can take.

"Security updates and improvements are regularly made in revisions and updates in mobile OS software," Hochmuth told Ars via e-mail. "If you are relying on older smartphone as a camera, the latest software releases may no longer be supported on the device, which could leave users at risk to whatever security shortcomings or vulnerabilities may be found with that older software version."

While stand-alone cameras don't have that kind of software issue to worry about, they still face the threat of possible Internet-related hacks. "Many of these consumer devices run versions of embedded Linux, or even modified versions of mobile OSes, like Android," Hochmuth explains. "A determined hacker could certainly obtain one of these commercial cameras and analyze its software for exploits; given the sensitivity and privacy associated with the device, it would be a tempting target."

You can't stop hackers all together, but Hochmuth recommends using strong passwords and encryption on home networking equipment as well as on devices and apps to reduce the risk of being hacked. Also, if there's a software update available for the smartphone you're using or a manufacturer-issued firmware update for your camera, you should download it and upgrade as soon as you can.
More: http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/03/teaching-an-old-smartphone-new-tricks-by-making-it-watch-your-home/

[TargeT]

3d Printers are cool, but what practical application do you actually USE them for?

How about orthodontics?


How one broke college student 3D printed his own braces to correct misaligned teeth
http://www.techspot.com/images2/news/bigimage/2016/03/2016-03-15-image-13.jpg
ne of the criticisms I heard most often in the early days of 3D printing was a lack of practical projects. It's taken a few years but we're finally starting to see some pretty clever and functional 3D printed projects emerge.

Amos Dudley is no different than many college students in the fact that he's broke. He also wasn't blessed with perfectly straight teeth, something he said left him feeling a bit self-conscious. One day while researching brand-name (likely Invisalign) clear orthodontic aligners, he happened upon a picture showing an aligner that appeared to have the same layer striations that 3D printed items exhibit.

One of the criticisms I heard most often in the early days of 3D printing was a lack of practical projects. It's taken a few years but we're finally starting to see some pretty clever and functional 3D printed projects emerge.

Amos Dudley is no different than many college students in the fact that he's broke. He also wasn't blessed with perfectly straight teeth, something he said left him feeling a bit self-conscious. One day while researching brand-name (likely Invisalign) clear orthodontic aligners, he happened upon a picture showing an aligner that appeared to have the same layer striations that 3D printed items exhibit.

Intrigued, Dudley wondered what would stop someone who has access to a 3D printer from making their own aligners. As it turns out, not much at all.

Dudley researched the professional process for creating clear aligners and realized that as an undergrad, he had – or could acquire – everything that was needed so he decided to give it a shot. For the sake of brevity, we'll skip past all of the technical details here which can instead be found on Dudley's blog.
http://www.techspot.com/images2/news/bigimage/2016/03/2016-03-15-image-16.jpg
The results speak for themselves. Dudley said he has been wearing the retainers day and night for the past 16 weeks, noting that only the teeth that he desired to move had any sort of noticeable pressure on them. The undergrad said he plans to fabricate a bunch of additional retainers for the current position which he can use in the future to help maintain his now-straight smile.
http://www.techspot.com/images2/news/bigimage/2016/03/2016-03-15-image-17.jpg
As an added bonus, Dudley found that the aligners double as perfectly-fitting whitening trays when trimmed down a tiny bit. Furthermore, they can also serve as night guards to protect against teeth grinding while asleep.
http://www.techspot.com/news/64118-how-one-broke-college-student-3d-printed-own.html

Full write with technical details:
http://amosdudley.com/weblog/Ortho



This could EASILY be a business... EASILY. ("invisalign" sells for $3,500-$6,000)

Hell, I'm gonna do this for my kids!