Sunday, May 18, 2008
Pack a Photography Survival Kit
9:15AM Kevin Purdy | Planning a long, leisurely trip through the wilderness, down the highway, or maybe around Thailand, and want to return home with some killer pictures to look through? David Hague, managing editor of Australasian Camcorder magazine, has been there, and back, many times. Hague keeps three separate backpacks for varying degrees of roughing it, but his list of potentially equipment-saving stuff is good for any on-the-go kit. Among the provisions, for still or video cameras (and yourself): Sealable plastic bags as emergency camera ‘raincoats’ Lens cleaning kit Jeweller’s screwdriver kit Small table top tripod (from eBay – around $10) Dry socks More »
Best Scenic Drives in the U.S.
9:00AM Adam Pash | If you’ve got a hankering to hit the road and take an all-American scenic road trip this summer—despite the astronomical gas prices—Yahoo Travel rounds up a few editor-favourite routes. The article highlights: …everything from the obvious Highway 1 in California to the less-obvious — but brilliantly named — Going-to-the-Sun Road in Montana. We’ve picked routes for their history; for their natural scenery; for their romantic appeal; and for their remote wild beauty. Got a favourite stretch of road in your neck of the woods? Let’s hear about it in the comments. And before you’re taking that drive, check out our many tips for saving on gas. Photo by cadmanof50s. Best Scenic Drives in the U.S. [Yahoo Travel] More »
Learn to Play an Instrument Online
9:00AM Adam Pash | Chances are at one point or another, you’ve either purchased an instrument or considered doing so with the intention of learning to play it; most of us, however, never get around the the learning part. The internet is a glorious fount of freely available information, and it’s slowly filling up with excellent tutorials for getting good at just about anything—including playing a new instrument. Hit the jump for a handful of great resources for getting started with a new instrument online for the low, low price of free. More »
Clean Cast Iron Cookware with a Potato
8:35AM Kevin Purdy | The dinner was a success, the guests are gone, and your cast iron pans—well, they’ve seen better days. The TipNut blog suggests pulling out a spare potato and going to town on your sauce-crusted cookware: To remove rust, slice a fresh potato in half and cover the cut end in liquid dish detergent. Rub the rust spots away with the potato, rinse clean, dry, then apply a light layer of oil to the cookware. Hit the link below for inexpensive cleaning tips for other kinds of cookware. Photo by cybrgrl. Cookware Cleaning & Stain Removal Tips [TipNut.com] More »
Cubescape Makes Isometric Art Easy
8:35AM Kevin Purdy | Cubescape, a free design tool from code wizards The Man in Blue, is a refreshingly easy way to design a great-looking logo, send a memorable message, or just doodle with the simplicity of stacked blocks. The controls are super-simple, consisting of coloured and clear blocks you drop and arrange into patterns and a tool to destroy your errors. Hit “Save,” and your design is locked away, and you can link to a time-lapse animation of how you built it. Feel free to send the URL to that discouraging high school art teacher. Cubescape [via WebWare] More »Pit a Ripe Avocado the Easy Way
8:30AM Gina Trapani | If there’s one useful thing that I learned when I moved to California, it’s how to slice and pit a ripe avocado. Forget scooping out the pit with a spoon and losing any bit of that precious green butter inside—tap the pit firmly with a knife to lodge it there, and twist the pit out. Hit the play button above to see how. More »
