Thursday, September 30, 2010

Use Drawer Liner to Keep Couch Cushions in Place [Clever Uses]

 
 

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via Lifehacker by Jason Fitzpatrick on 9/23/10

Use Drawer Liner to Keep Couch Cushions in PlaceIf you have a chair or couch with cushions that perpetually slide off, lay non-slip drawer liner—intended for padding and stabilizing kitchen implements and glassware—beneath them to keep everything in place.

Photo by maka.

Lifehacker reader cramill shares this simple tip to keep your cushions from sliding out from under you:

Do you have couch cushions that keep sliding out of place? Try putting a sheet of non-slip drawer/shelf liner under the cushions to keep them from sliding out of place. It works like a charm!

Alternately, if you have a lot of cushions to keep in place or a large couch, you could buy a rug pad. Rug pads are essentially the same non-slip material as drawer liners but sized appropriately for a large area rug.

Have a tip or trick to help your fellow readers deal with household annoyances like slippery cushions, squeaky doors, or the like? Let's hear about it in the comments. Thanks cramill!

[via #tips]

 
 

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Earth911 Catalogs Recycling Centers for Household Goods [Recycling]

 
 

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via Lifehacker by Jason Fitzpatrick on 9/20/10

Earth911 Catalogs Recycling Centers for Household GoodsWhether you're looking for a place to recycle CFL bulbs or safely dispose of old paint cans you found in your basement, Earth911 catalogs centers where you can drop off all manner of household waste to be safely disposed of.

Click on the image above for a closer look.

Your community likely has dozens of locations that accept all sorts of hazardous and toxic materials but they're not always heavily advertised. Earth911 catalogs the locations of recycling and hazardous material disposal sites so finding where you can get rid of left over pain medication, dead batteries, burned out fluorescent tubes, motor oil, and more, is a simple search away. The listings at Earth911 include drop off locations, curbside programs, and mail-in programs.

Have a favorite tool, tip, or trick to help with recycling efforts? Let's hear about it in the comments.


 
 

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Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Crab Table, Crab Table…

we need a coffee table like this to match our sliding ottoman and sliding couch.

 
 

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via There, I Fixed It - Redneck Repairs by Cheezburger Network on 9/29/10

Submitted by: Unknown

Definitely not a kludge, but definitely still awesome. ~Not-So-Handy Andy



 
 

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Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Ben & Jerry's Dropping "All Natural" From Labels

 
 

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via The Consumerist by Chris Walters on 9/28/10

After the Center for Science in the Public Interest complained last month that "all natural" doesn't include things like alkalized cocoa and hydrogenated oil, Ben & Jerry's announced yesterday that it will stop using the phrase on its ice cream cartons.

It won't change any recipes, though, so if you're obsessed with a particular flavor you can rest assured it will still come with the same amount of alkalized cocoa, hydrogenated oil, dinosaur-shaped nuggets, pretzel hoops, and so on.

"Ben & Jerry's To Drop 'All Natural' Label" [The Associated Press] (Thanks to Alice and Ben!)


 
 

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Monday, September 27, 2010

Los Angeles Farmers Markets Full Of Lies, Warehouse Produce

Not just in Memphis...

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Los Angeles Farmers Markets Full Of Lies, Warehouse Produce




If you're in California and need to make a little extra cash, why not buy a bag of baby carrots from the supermarket, throw some potting soil on them, and sell them at your local farmers market as fresh-from-your-farm organic treats? Okay, maybe technically that's not permitted, but who's going to stop you? An NBCLA investigation found vendors at several farmers markets were lying to customers about their produce, and sourcing it from local warehouses instead of their own farms.



NBCLA's investigation began this summer, when we bought produce at farmers markets across the LA area, and then made surprise visits to farms where we were told the produce was being grown.



We found farms full of weeds, or dry dirt, instead of rows of the vegetables that were being sold at the markets.



The station also tailed a farmers market vendor on the day of the market and watched him drive to a warehouse and load up his truck with produce from farms as far away as Mexico. When they confronted him and asked whether he was going to sell the produce at the farmers market, he said yes.



As for pesticide-free claims, three of the five strawberry samples the station bought (all from different vendors) tested positive for pesticides, despite all promises to the contrary. NBCLA told one of the vendors about the results--her berries tested positive for four different pesticides--and asked, "You don't know how that happened?" She answered, "Nope."






View more news videos at: http://www.nbclosangeles.com/video.






"False Claims, Lies Caught on Tape at Farmers Markets" [NBCLA via Metafilter]



~david

(sent via mobile device)

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

RE:

I'm guessing this is a virus, right?


%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Jean DeSaix, Ph.D. Senior Lecturer in Biology
Director Health Professions Advising Office
Department of Biology Coker Hall CB#3280
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3280
Work Phone: 919-962-1068 Home Phone 919-929-1580
FAX 919-962-1625 email jdesaix@email.unc.edu
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%


-----Original Message-----
From: David Bouck [mailto:davidthetall@yahoo.com]
Sent: Tuesday, September 21, 2010 4:05 PM
To: dbouck.blog@blogger.com; derekb.lowe@gmail.com; DeSaix, Jean; elaine_yeh@unc.edu; eldon@chapelhilltire.com; laurieerh@aol.com; ewbeck@yahoo.com; pfardane@us.oracle.com; lindafstr@yahoo.com; Gallup, David
Subject:

http://podomondo.us/wwwroot/com.php

http://podomondo.us/wwwroot/com.php

Cook's Illustrated for iOS Provides In-Depth Recipes and Ingredient Reviews ...

 
 

Sent to you by David via Google Reader:

 
 

via Lifehacker by Kevin Purdy on 9/15/10

Cook's Illustrated for iOS Provides In-Depth Recipes and Ingredient ReviewsiOS only: If all Cook's Illustrated offered on the iPhone was recipes, it would easily settle into a very large pile. But the Cook's app, like the magazine, gives you background knowledge, recommends ingredient brands, and walks you through every step.

Non-subscribers to Cook's get 50 recipes from the app, but those recipes are tested over and over again, until the result is something you can usually bank on to pull off yourself. Video demonstrations are provided for key portions of the recipe, and if you're wondering which Worcestershire sauce to use with your steak, well, they've probably tasted about 10 of them.

Cook's Illustrated is a free download for iOS devices only. Subscribers to Cook's web site get access to the magazine's online archive through the app, along with other services.

Cook's Illustrated [iTunes Store via @nathos]

 
 

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Switch to Crayons for Always-Ready Dry Erase Board Writing [Clever Uses]

 
 

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via Lifehacker by Jason Fitzpatrick on 9/14/10

Switch to Crayons for Always-Ready Dry Erase Board WritingDry-erase markers stink and it's quite frustrating to find that all the markers on the ledge are dried out. It turns out that jumbo children's crayons work just as well and you never have to worry about them drying out.

Photo by laffy4k.

Lifehacker reader michah1_8 shares a tip highlighting how easily you can swap out dry-erase markers for large children's crayons.

Next time your dry erase markers dry up, grab a cheap box of "Jumbo" sized crayons. They write wonderfully on dry-erase surfaces, don't smear, kids can't huff them, and they don't dry out! It wipes off pretty easily with a dry washcloth and just a little scrubbing, or with a little squirt of dry erase board cleaner. Crayola sells specialty dry erase crayons, but I find that regular ones do the job just fine.

As someone who doesn't like the smell of dry erase markers, how often they're dried out at the most inopportune time, and how easily they smudge off the board when you're working with lots of writing, I'll definitely be trying out jumbo crayons as an alternative. If you have any experience with crayons as dry-erase marker alternatives let's hear about it in the comments. Thanks micah1_8!

[via #tips]

 
 

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Thursday, September 16, 2010

Battle Road Open House and Trades Fair, 18 September

we'll have to check this out the next time the houses are open...

 
 

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via Boston 1775 by J. L. Bell on 9/16/10

On Saturday, 18 September, from 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M., Minute Man National Historical Park hosts "Battle Road Homes Open House and Historic Trades Day":
This event offers a rare opportunity to see inside the restored colonial homes along the Battle Road in the park. Visit the Meriam House, Sam Brooks House, Noah Brooks Tavern, Job Brooks House, Captain William Smith House, and the Jacob Whittemore House.

Explore different trades and tales of the colonial period including a blacksmith, joiner and planemaker, tailor, cordwainer, and wood carver, along with flax processing, spinning and dyeing, agriculture, and archaeology.

Pick up informational materials at Minute Man and North Bridge Visitor Centers to guide your visit.
Dan Lacroix of the Westford Colonial Minutemen adds:
The vast majority of park visitors never get to see the interiors of the period homes along the Battle Road since they are only occasionally opened to the public. This Saturday is one of those days!
I suspect Dan will also be there demonstrating eighteenth-century joinery.

The photo above shows the Meriam House, courtesy of the National Park Service.

 
 

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Monday, September 13, 2010

Ask.com To Shut Down Bloglines

RIP...

 
 

Sent to you by David via Google Reader:

 
 

via Slashdot by timothy on 9/12/10

angry tapir writes "Bloglines, the venerable RSS reader, will cease to exist in a few weeks, according to its owner, Ask.com. Users should export their syndicated feeds to another RSS reader, as Bloglines will be shut down on Oct. 1, Ask.com said Friday in a blog post. Ask.com has posted instructions on the Bloglines home page for exporting feeds to another RSS management service."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.


 
 

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Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Free 3-month Amazon Prime Membership for Parents & Caregivers

This would last pretty close to Christmas...

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Free 3-month Amazon Prime Membership for Parents & Caregivers



~david

(sent via mobile device)

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Reenactment and Round Table at Minute Man Park

 
 

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via Boston 1775 by J. L. Bell on 9/4/10

Two different sorts of interesting events are coming up this month at Minute Man National Historical Park.

On the weekend of 11-12 September, the New England Campaigners will recreate Captain David Brown's Company of Concord Minute Men in an encampment near the North Bridge. There will be 18th-century military drill and musketry, and presentations on the role of Brown's company on 19 April 1775. The event is open to the public from 10:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. on Saturday, and 10:00 to 3:00 on Sunday. And it's free.

On Monday, 27 September, the park's Lexington Visitor Center will host the inaugural meeting of a new American Revolution Round Table, from 7:00 to 9:00 P.M.. As the Friends of Minute Man Park describe, this group:
is sponsored by the Lincoln Public Library, the Minute Man National Historical Park, and the Tufts University Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. The purpose of ARRT-MMNHP is to provide a nonacademic, informal continuing forum to review and discuss notable and recent books and research findings about the major events and personalities of the American Revolution.

In addition, the Round Table is intended to:
    (1) Encourage the study and discussion of the ideals of the American Revolutionary War;
    (2) Promote better understanding of the pivotal events and personalities of the American Revolution; and
    (3) Increase public awareness of the meaning, significance and legacy of the American Revolution.
At the September 27th meeting, the group will first discuss organizational plans, to be followed by a discussion of Ray Raphael's book, The First American Revolution: Before Lexington and Concord.
The organizers ask folks who want to participate to contact moderator Mel Bernstein (or call 781-259-9926) to reserve a place. This first meeting is free, but there will be a $25 annual membership fee to fund future sessions. The plan is to hold three meetings per year, in the fall, winter, and spring.

American Revolution Round Tables have been meeting in other parts of the country for years, and organizers like Bill Welsch, John Nagy, and Thomas Fleming have been asking me why we don't have one here in Massachusetts. I'm very grateful to Mel Bernstein and the sponsors for starting one up, so now I can attend without any extra work!

(Boston 1775 comments on The First American Revolution here.)

 
 

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Radiohead Helps Fans Make Crowd-Sourced Live Show DVD

guess we should check this out...

 
 

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via Slashdot by Soulskill on 9/4/10

Kilrah_il writes "After having a go with a Name-Your-Price album and an open-source video, Radiohead is again breaking new ground, this time with a fan-based initiative. A group of fans went to one of the band's shows in Prague, each shooting the show from a different angle. By editing it all together and adding audio from the original masters provided by the band, they have created a video of the show that is 'Strictly not for sale — By the fans for the fans,' adding, 'Please share and enjoy.' Can this be the future of live show videos?"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.


 
 

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