Organisational blogger Lorie Marrero recently had a hard drive crash on her; however, because of her savvy backup preparations, all was well in Muddville. She wrote up a few questions to help you figure out if you are truly prepared for the worst: What is your backup status? Do you have a machine accessible for you to use in case of emergencies? Do you know if your computer is covered?
Of course, you can avoid a lot of unpleasantness with a simple automated backup plan or a whole plethora of backup utilities. What’s your backup plan? Thoughts in the comments.
Sudden Hard Drive Crash! [The Clutter Diet Blog via Life Learning Today]Home improvement site DIY Life has compiled a list of fifteen uses for aluminium foil; among them is the ability to sharpen scissors. All you need to do is stack about seven pieces of foil together and slice through them with your dull scissors, and voila! Scissors are sharp again. I tried this myself and it took more than one cut-through, but it actually did work. After your sharpening work is done, you can recycle the foil for other tasks around your kitchen.
15 awesome uses for aluminium foil [DIY Life]Parent Hacks has a nice Google Maps hack: Every time my son gets invited to a friend’s house or a party, or if I even just pick up someone to take with us somewhere, I go to Google Maps, print up a copy of a map to their house, write the child’s name, phone number, address, and parent’s names on the printout. I then fold it up and paperclip it with the group of others in the glove compartment of my car. That way, it is always there when I need it at the last minute (which is when my son plans most of his outings). It is even there for “emergency” situations when I need to quickly call a parent if I’m late.
I did this last soccer season to keep track of the multiple fields I was trekking to all the time; they went right into a thin three-ring binder that fit nicely underneath my seat.
Keep track of friends’ street addresses and locations with Google Maps [Parent Hacks]Get more mileage out of your stored food with proper storage techniques from Gomestic, a domestic hacks site. For instance, if you store your fruits and vegetables separately, they won’t ripen as fast because they’re not sharing ethylene, a gas that speeds ripening. Oh, and if you use your own packaging (zip lock bags, vacuum sealed) instead of the store packaging for your meat, it will definitely last longer in the freezer – and with less freezer burn. What are your best food storage tips? Let’s hear them in the comments.
How to Store Your Food So It Lasts Longer [Gomestic]Those of us on a quest for that perfect steak will appreciate cooking blog Steamy Kitchen’s tutorial on how to transform the mediocre into the marvelous. Apparently, it’s all about the salt, salt and even more salt (don’t worry, most of it comes out). I’m willing to try anything within reason to get my steak just right, so this recipe is going on this weekend’s menu. If you’ve got a secret tip for the Best Steak Ever, please share in the comments.
How to Turn Cheap “Choice” Steaks into Gucci “Prime” Steaks [Jaden's Steamy Kitchen]The official Gmail blog has compiled their picks for the top 10 least known Gmail features. Of course, Lifehacker readers tend to be email ninjas, so this list might be a bit on the old-hat side to you. However, I found it a good refresher (conversation update notification, offline chat) as well as a good source of the new (reply by chat, mobile Gmail). If you have an unknown Gmail hack, please share in the comments.
Official Gmail Blog: Top 10 little-known Gmail featuresFind out which Wikipedia pages are receiving the most edits per editor over specific periods of time with Wikirage, a Wikipedia tracking service. I must say, it’s pretty fascinating to see which pages are getting attention at any given time; obviously, breaking current events are usually at the top of the list, but there’s always a few surprises in there. A good tool for the avid memetrackers among us.
wikirage: What’s hot now on wikipedia [via Search Engine Land]Taking effective notes is not necessarily a built-in skill. Productivity blog Lifehack.org has a nice write-up of exactly how to make your notes—whether they be for school, work, or whatever—the absolute most useful notes ever. Two things to remember: Write down what is new to you (there’s no point in writing down stuff you already know, right?), and write down what is relevant (what’s going to be of use to you later).
Advice for Students: Taking Notes that Work [Lifehack.org]
