Sunday, January 6, 2008
Make a Disco Ball With CDs
11:00PM Gina Trapani | Turn that stack of free AOL CDs into a dance party: cut them up into small squares, glue gun them to a Styrofoam ball and, presto! You’ve got a disco ball. Careful, though: cutting CD’s with scissors can be difficult. The tutorial suggests dipping the discs in boiling water first to soften them up. How to Make a Disco Ball With CDs [wikiHow] More »
Leopard’s Additional Screen Capture Options
2:20PM Lifehacker US Edition | Mac OS X Leopard only: You already know that Cmd+Shift+4 will take a screenshot on your Mac, but a few more key combos give Leopard users more features. While you hold down Cmd+Shift+4, you can also hit the: Spacebar to drag the selected capture region around the screen. Shift key to vertically or horizontally lock the capture region. Option key to expand or reduce the size of the region proportionately. To see the new keys in action, hit up the QuickTime video over at Macworld that demonstrates. Use new screen region capture options in 10.5 [Macworld via MacUser] More »
Protect Yourself When Buying a Used Car
5:00AM Tamar Weinberg | If you’re in the market for a new vehicle and opt to go used, avoid falling into car cloning traps: when thieves resell stolen cars with fake papers and a manipulated vehicle identification number (VIN). When you stumble upon a good deal, question the price. If it’s too good to be true, it probably is. Before you meet with the seller, call them on a land line. Cell phones are common but are much harder to track. Inspect the car in broad daylight to see if there are any signs of damage. Check the registration papers, maintenance papers, and insurance forms and confirm that everything matches up. Double check the VIN on the vehicle itself so that there are no obvious signs that it’s been tampered with. Above all, trust your instincts. If you’re feeling suspicious about the purchase, walk away. Something better will come along at the right time. Car Cloning – Identity Theft on Wheels More »Remove Clutter in the Background of Photographs
4:00AM Tamar Weinberg | Have you ever taken a photo that loses its visual appeal because there’s just too much clutter in the background and the subject is lost in a swarm of color? If so, weblog Photodoto suggests that you ignore the background while taking the photograph itself. Instead, focus on editing the photograph after the fact. First, I crop such images to remove part of the background. That alone makes the background somewhat less intrusive. But often I don’t want to eliminate it entirely; I merely want to de-emphasise it. One quick fix is first to blur the background slightly and then to adjust the saturation of both background and subject. By adding the blur to the background, you not only lessen the emphasis on the unimportant parts of the photo, but you also give the photograph the appearance of some creative depth-of-field. If you simply cannot move your subject to another location, the photo editing tip can still add an original touch to your photograph and keep the subject in clear focus. Quick Fix for Cluttered Backgrounds [Photodoto] More »Publish Google Docs Presentations on Your Site
2:27AM Lifehacker US Edition | Google Docs adds another way to share presentations online: by embedding them, YouTube video-like, onto your web site. To do so, go to the Publish tab in a presentation and copy and paste what they call the “Mini Presentation Module” code onto your web or intranet page. Google released a few more feature tweaks to Presentations, like the ability to drag and drop images onto slides, to import selected slides from another presentation, and to rearrange slides. Above check out a slideshow Google put together describing the upgrades. New features for 2008! [Official Google Docs Blog via Google Blogoscoped] More »
Write a Cover Letter
2:00AM Tamar Weinberg | Looking for a job? Your cover letter, which is typically the first letter that any prospective employer reads, must be well-written. Ensure that your cover letter reflects that proper research was conducted into the job or industry. Boost your chances by writing about the company and detailing the value you can add to the available position based on your background or interests. Look at the qualifications listed on the job description and write check marks next to those requirements you meet. When writing the letter, make sure the letter is written professionally with the right heading elements. Briefly (in three to four paragraphs) explain how you meet the criteria for the job based on your research. More »
Stay Healthy Year Round
1:00AM Tamar Weinberg | With work and school back in session and a cold draft in many parts of the country, you’re more likely than ever to catch cold or flu this season. If you’re looking to stay healthy, Reader’s Digest recommends that you avoid touching your face with your fingertips. Instead, use your knuckles; they don’t have as many germs. Carry hand sanitiser with you at all times. Change your toothbrush often, especially after you’re sick. You can also sterilise your toothbrush in a microwave (on high for 10 seconds) or store it in hydrogen peroxide (ensuring that you rinse well before using). Keep the windows open, if only a bit, to encourage the flow of fresh air. More »
