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NOTICE: Large moosehead wall lights have finally been invented.

360 Modern is a real estate firm in the Pacific Northwest U.S. that specializes in modern homes. Beautiful stuff.

Handy way to skip all the intro crap on DVDs that is usually forced on you when you throw a disc in your player. Apparently the chapters on DVDs that you can't skip (FBI warnings, copyright stuff, etc.) are flagged, on the disc, as UOP, or User Operation Prohibited. This site lists some of the techniques you can try to skip the ennui.

This colour coordinated bookshelf looks cool, but you might have a hard time finding a particular title.

For chewie edge lovers or corner brownie fans - it's the Edge Brownie Pan. All edges, all the time. Via BoingBoing

Puzzle carpet.

This to That is a handy site that will tell you what adhesive to use when attempting to glue various objects together.

Super creative bathroom tiles.

Skinny house in Brazil.

Apparently there are many LED lightbulbs available already. Via TreeHugger

WiiRoomba. YouTube of a guy controlling his Roomba with a Wii remote.

Hardcore Lost fans have a party and repackage the snacks and beer as Dharma Initiative rations. Make your own with the PDFs that they've so generously shared.

Here's a nice set of home improvement videos with the energetic and snappy Eric Stromer.

Faucet Fountain turns your regular faucet into a drinking fountain.

Kids and the Home Office. Here's a list of tips for the parent that works from home.

Save the Internet.

Great Pac-Man bathroom tile work.

Crazy toaster from the future TODAY!

Here is a nice napkin folding howto site with clean pictures and straightforward instructions. I think the shirt's my favourite.

DIY T-Shirt Rack via Instructables.







Househacker/tags/garden

Quick and Easy Upside Down Tomato Planter Project

Here is our attempt at making our own upside down tomato planter. We're not trying to duplicate the appearance of the as-seen-on-TV Topsy Turvy Tomato Planter, but instead elected to use a coco planter, which we thought was attractive and fairly inexpensive. We will post progress pics throughout the growing season and with any luck, we will have a bushel (ok, maybe not quite a bushel - but who knows?) full of upside down-grown tomatoes by the summer.

Link: DIY Upside down tomato planter

Enviroscaping to Conserve Energy

Enviroscaping to Conserve Energy is an interesting guide on maximizing your home's energy efficiency by modifying various aspects of its immediate environment, or "Microclimate".

A microclimate is any small, local area within which the effects of weather are both relatively uniform and easily modified. Microclimate modification involves the best use of structural and landscape design elements to maximize or limit sunlight, shade and air movement. Structural modifications involve the design of the house and associated construction (walkways, fences, patios). Landscape modifications (enviroscaping) involve the use of plants to further increase or decrease the impact of sun and wind upon the local environment.

This site, which applies mostly to homes in hot weather climates such as Florida, offers a lot of interesting ways that a home owner can creatively reduce energy usage. Some of the suggestions apply to potential home builders, such as home orientation (a house is more energy efficient if it is oriented with the long axis running east-west), however the majority of the tips apply to existing residences.

There are many examples of "enviroscaping" strategies on the site, such as optimal tree placement for maximum shading, tree type (In winter, the sun is low in the southern sky. Southern exposures of a home in north and central Florida can receive free benefits of passive solar heating, provided that deciduous trees are used along the southern exposures. Deciduous trees shed their leaves in the fall, and are bare during the coldest months of the year.), fencing options (fences vary in amount of air circulation), shrub and vine placement along walls, increasing air conditioner efficiency and much more.

Link: Enviroscaping to Conserve Energy: a Guide to Microclimate Modification
       



eXtreme Gardening via Weed Burners

Are you ever out gardening and realise that, as relaxing as it may be, the whole experience could benefit from a flamethrower? If so, one of these weed torches might fit the bill. From the site:

Use this lightweight burner to clear weeds and their roots in driveways or walkways in summer, or to melt dangerous ice patches in winter. Adjustable regulator valve lets you control flame intensity. Durable, nickel-plated steel and brass burner uses widely available standard 14 oz. propane tank (not included).

These aren't new though: here's a heavier duty unit and a video demonstration of another one in action (although not on weeds, but whatever - you get the idea).

Would it safe to say that people that use these probably aren't the same people that sit on these?

Weed Burner at Amazon.com

Via Toolspotting

Make Your Own Topsy Turvy Tomato Planter

If you like the Topsy Turvy Tomato Planter but don't want to spend the money, why not make your own poor man's version? From the site:

There were of course the usual hanging planters that are really nothing more than a regular pot with strings tied to a ceiling hook. These really didn?t appeal to me due to previous experiences where the water of flowed down through the soil and filled the overflow basin at the bottom. Another option is hanging inverted planters which have been around for a very long time. Some in a much older design made from terra cotta in a traditional mexican style and a newer one made of plastic that had internal foam spacers for dirt/water containment. This naturally put my mind into make it myself mode.

With flora becoming so elevated lately, we may never get to try the nifty gardening chair, sadly.

Topsy Turvy Upside Down Tomato Planter

Featured as one of Time Magazine's Best Inventions of 2005, the hanging Topsy Turvy upside down tomato planter produces tomatoes that are bigger, better and easier to grow than with traditional methods. The planter's elevation has the added benefit of preventing certain bacteria and fungus, as well as keeping critters at bay.

Handy Dandy Gardening Chair

Originally intended for milking cows, this height-adjustable, light weight (4 lbs) back and joint saver looks like it would make weeding even the most overgrown garden a bit less crappy. The seat is made of 'sturdy co-polymer'. Sturdy is definitely the word you want to hear when sitting on something like this.

via Treehugger

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