Monday, January 14, 2008
Tips for reusing plastic shopping bags
2:27PM Sarah Stokely | Even if you have your own reusable shopping bags, sometimes you get stuck at the supermarket without them – and so your plastic bag collection grows.Not to worry – the Wise Bread blog has seven ideas for reusing those pesky bags that keep coming home with you. Among the suggestions are using them to stuff cushions (as a bonus, when you move house you have a secret stash of plastic bags!), or keeping a few in your bag or car for cleaning up after your dog when you go for walkies. But far and away the most fun and original suggestion was making a kite out of a plastic shopping bag. (see My Best Kite for a full run down on how to do this).So how do you keep from being overrun by plastic bags? Do you carry your own bags? Or do you have your own clever uses for leftover shopping bags? Please share in comments.
The Plastic Bag Dilemma: Seven Strategies for Coping [Wise Bread] More » 
Back up your Firefox preferences
1:59PM Sarah Stokely | Sure there are Firefox extensions out there that let you save your Firefox preference tweaks, but if you like the security of knowing you’ve done a manual backup, the MakeUseOf blog explains how to do it. For Windows users, you’ll need to go to your Firefox profile folder in Windows Explorer. The default location is Documents and Settings > Mozilla > Firefox > Profiles.
The file you’re looking for is prefs.js. Copy it to a USB stick or burn it to CD.
If you need to reinstall Firefox, drag your backup copy of prefs.js into your Firefox profile. You’ll get a message asking if you want to replace the existing prefs.js file with your copied file -say yes, and you’ll have restored your Firefox preferences the way you wanted them.
Of course there’s no point backing up if you don’t do it regularly – so be sure to update your saved prefs.js file when you tweak your Firefox settings.
Quick tip: Backup Firefox preferences [MakeUseOf.com]
More » 
Aussie Broadband
12:04PM Sarah Stokely | Community broadband website Whirlpool has its annual broadband user survey up and running for 2007. In the words of Whirlpool News Editor Phil Sweeney: “As always, the survey is not about advertisers or company research — we
just want to share your opinion on important issues like download
limits, pricing, customer service and reliability of service.” They got over 20,000 responses last year, so if you’d like to have your say on Australian broadband in 2007, do so here. The results should be in by early March – we’ll keep you posted. More » Get free local POI data for your Tom Tom
11:45AM Sarah Stokely | While Tom Tom only releases updated POI (place of interest) overlays for Australia once a year, the Ozpoi website offers user-created data overlays which are more frequently updated, and can be hacked for use with other GPS devices including Navman, Garmin, and Mitac Mio.Overlays include “safety cameras” (red light and speed cameras) and school zones. Check the site’s update history to see what overlays are available and how recently they’ve been updated.The site includes instructions on how to install the POI files on your Tom Tom, and how to convert them for other GPS systems using the free POIEdit software.
[via The Age] More » Bulletin
11:42AM Sarah Stokely | In this week’s print issue of The Bulletin, futurist Richard Watson has nominated “Making things” as one of the trends to watch in 2008. He singles out MAKE magazine as exemplifying our interest in hacking technology and combining high and low tech interests. He attributes the popularity of MAKE to the internet’s ability to hook people up with others who share their “wierd and wonderful interests”, and a “countertrend” towards old fashioned hobbies like knitting as a reaction to our “fast and virtual” way of life. I’m no knitter, but it’s certainly a pleasant surprise to know that hacking and DIY are high enough on the mainstream radar to rate a mention in the Bulletin. More » Clever Uses for Plastic Lids
11:00AM Tamar Weinberg | If you own many plastic containers, you’ve probably found that the lids outlast the containers themselves. If you have an excess of lids lying around your house, why not recycle them? How-to website Curbly inspires you to do so with twelve practical uses. Use the lids to scrape the bottom of pot or pans without causing any damage to the surface. If you’re a crafty type, use the lids to hold onto your paint or glitter while you’re doing art projects. Put small plastic lids in your shower underneath your shaving cream to prevent the bottom of the can from creating rust rings on the edge of your bathtub. Place lids on the bottom of houseplants to catch leaks (and to prevent your furniture from staining). Before you store your hamburgers in the freezer, use the lids to separate the chunks of meat so that they’re easy to break apart before they thaw. What other uses do you have for plastic lids? Feel free to share them in the comments. Top 12 Uses for Plastic Container Lids [Curbly] More »
Afford Anything
9:00AM Tamar Weinberg | Photography aficionado Ken Rockwell recently shared some insightful information about how he’s able to afford thousands of dollars in camera equipment. His key point: prioritise and only buy what you really want. If you really want something, buy it, or wait until you can. More »Turn a Camera Lens into a Close-Up Lens with Binoculars
8:00AM Tamar Weinberg | Do-it-yourselfer Chris Knight explains that the innards of cheap binoculars can double as a macro lens for digital SLR cameras and camcorders and can prove especially useful in situations when a macro lens is unavailable. Unscrew the binoculars and remove the front lenses. Tape the lenses securely to the front of your camera. When you first start the camera up, it will take some time to acquire the best focus, but with practice, you’ll be able to capture objects at extreme close-up detail. DIY Macro Lens Made from Binoculars More »
Conquer a Cold with the Right Foods
4:00AM Tamar Weinberg | Can chicken soup really cure a cold? According to medical research, it sure can. Health.com lists out several foods that can boost your immunity and fight against the cold you may have caught this season. Start your day with a breakfast with grapefruit or orange juice in addition to whole-grains and black tea. Eat yogurt for a snack. Enjoy hot chicken soup for lunch and an anise-seed cookie for dessert. For dinner, eat a salad of bitter greens followed by a main course of pasta, tomato sauce, and lots of garlic. Wash it all down with ginger tea. If you have the appetite, adding all these ingredients to your diet can suppress inflammation, break up congestion, and bring you back to full health quickly. Cold-Fighting Foods [Health] More »
