Even here in Melbourne the cold weather is receding. Summer and barbecues may be a way off, but it’s a good time to think about testing your gas grill for leaks. Home improvement guru Bob Vila shows us how in just a few easy steps. You’ll need some dishwashing soap and a paint brush in order to make this work; basically, if your connections, hoses, or fittings bubble, you’ve got a problem. This is an easy and safe way to test for a potentially dangerous gas leak.
Test a Gas Grill for Leaks [BobVila.com]Financial blogger Ramit Sethi has written up an intriguing post on how to avoid potential sticker shock when planning a wedding. It all boils down to planning, planning, and more planning. A few recommendations: be realistic, set up a savings plan, and prioritise. Weddings are important, yes, but not to the point where they put you in debt (not a great way to jump off your life together). How did you or how are you saving some coin on your wedding day, you know, if that’s your thing? Thoughts in the comments.
The $28,000 question: Why are we all hypocrites about weddings? [I Will Teach You To Be Rich]Whether you’re just starting to become a better manager of your time or are a seasoned GTD (Getting things done!) veteran, LiteracyNet’s Time Management Assessment can help you figure out where your weak points are. Part One is all about how well you save time, and Part Two is how well you throw time away. Your score is figured between the two. If you take the test, please share your score in the comments, along with suggestions on how you could make it better.
Time Management Assessment [LiteracyNet via Copyblogger]Janne Pyykkö made a helpful blog post on new options for displaying project management information.
Janne shows a lovely way to use what Microsoft Excel and Voyant call ‘color scale’, saying “… the intensity of color tells us directly which project is hot and when.”
In the image we show here, a gannt chart is enhanced with some clear colour coding. The different blues represent the hours per week spent on individual projects, while the total row at the bottom displays the overall resources required using red color scale.
Business intelligence (BI) blogger Stephen Frew describes this as a “heapmap” approach.
Thanks to Catherine for the link. :) More »
Last week we wrote about PingMe, an SMS reminder service. I went back to their site for a second look, and I’m now glad I checked their terms of service. If you’re thinking about checking out PingMe, I suggest you do the same before you sign up! You’re not quite signing over your firstborn, but there were a couple of terms which raised my eyebrows. Click through to see some excerpts. More »
CNET Australia has published a video how-to on the subject of TV calibration. It’s just over 5 minutes long, and features display calibration pro Aaron Rigg of Avical Australia talking you through 4 picture settings you can easily set at home. It’s a followup to a TV calibration how-to video they ran earlier in the year.
(If, like me, you hate watching tiny embedded movies in websites, don’t forget to right click in the movie and select ‘Go Full Screen’. Thanks Adobe Flash Player 9!)
Perfect Picture: 4 steps to DIY TV calibration [via CNET Australia]Of interest to the politics junkies out there (and those of us addicted to newsfeeds)… the Washington Post has added a page of widgets to its website. You can now view Post headlines via your blog or MySpace page – some of the feeds available include Whitehouse Watch, Iraq Strategy as well as political and celebrity blogs.
