Brilliant UFO abduction lamp.
Your blood puddle pillows are in.
Clean your dishwasher with Lemonade Kool-Aid.
Clever light bulb design.
Days Ago digital day counters are small gadgets that attach to your food containers via suction and magnets to keep a running count of how many days ago you put your leftovers in the fridge.
Scrabble furniture.
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.
Your blood puddle pillows are in.
Clean your dishwasher with Lemonade Kool-Aid.
Clever light bulb design.
Days Ago digital day counters are small gadgets that attach to your food containers via suction and magnets to keep a running count of how many days ago you put your leftovers in the fridge.
Scrabble furniture.
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.
Pelican Emergency Flashlight with Photoluminescence
If you've ever had your power go out in the evening and found yourself stumbling around in the dark to find your flashlight, you may be interested in a glow-in-the-dark flashlight like this one by Pelican (that also happens to contains a 4-hour backup bulb). From the site:
...outfitted with a lens ring that emits a bright glow in the dark. The new generation photoluminescent material in the plastic absorbs the energy from any light source - fluorescent lights, the sun, or even the flashlight's own beam
As useful as charging the photoluminescent matierial on the flashlight with the beam from the flashlight itself sounds, one might be better off storing the flashlight in the garage rather than a broom closet to expose the material to some light, both natural and artificial, during the day. The description suggests the material is 'new generation' - and it would have to be, as the stuff found in toys and trinkets never lasted long enough for any practical purpose. Perhaps Pelican used something along the lines of this material that is both brighter and longer lasting.
Something to think about before the next late night power outage.
Amazon.com link: Pelican Big ED 3700PL Flashlight w/ Photo Luminescent Shroud
Cydus Home RFID Deadbolts
A relatively new company called 'Cydus' has addressed the dearth of residential RFID access controllers in the marketplace by releasing a pair of modern electronic deadbolts. The locks operate as you may expect RFID proximity access controllers to, however, this unit, the MyKey 2300, unfortunately requires that a button be pressed before the unit is ready to read the keychain RFID tag. The higher end unit, the 4000, only requires the card to be in close proximity to the reader for activation. Besides it's raison d'etre; the convenience of keyless entry through small RFID cards, the deadbolts have some interesting features, including this backup battery system in case the unit's batteries die:Simply touch a 9v battery to the built-in battery terminal and your MyKey 2300 is up and running. The MyKey even stores all of your existing security keys, so even if it's without power, when you turn it back on your access cards and pin combination are fully intact!
Lost or forgotten RFID cards aren't the end of the world either, as the unit comes equipped with a nicely hidden keypad for which to enter your password.
See also: RFID Enabling your front door. This is a homemade RFID entrance controller with a PC backend. The author shares a parts list, source code and cost breakdown (see author's comments ).
Previously: DIR RFID Access to your Front Door
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Consumer Reports Air Conditioner Power Calculator
How powerful an air conditioner do you need? Consumer Reports have created a comprehensive air conditioner power calculator that uses criteria such as geographic location, room size, wall frame type, ceiling height, window size/orientation and more to determine the most energy efficient air conditioner for your space. The calculator uses your actual kWh rate to produce a yearly operating cost estimate.
Via Fepy.com
Clever Hands Free Drywall Installation Tool
If you've ever drywalled by yourself, or even watched someone drywall by themselves as you've tried to focus on the comics and eat your chips, you'll know it can get terribly awkward. Usually people will rent a drywall lift that temporarily holds the drywall to the ceiling, freeing up the hands of the installer to secure the sheet with screws. Well, the Free Hands drywall support tool might make renting and lugging home drywall lifts a thing of the past. It certainly doesn't look like it makes ceiling installs 'easy', per se, as you still have to lift the sheets to the ceiling yourself, but it will save at lot on rental fees as well as time, once you get the hang of it (at least judging by the video (Windows media) from the Free Hand site.
Available from Amazon.com.
Via the always interesting Smart Stuff.
Home Heartbeat Awareness System
Home Heartbeat is a notification system that continuously monitors your home's electrical appliances, faucets and other household devices while conveniently sending status data to the "Home Key" keychain, via the ZigBee wireless communication protocol. The system's base station offers internet connectivity that allows for remote monitoring, and the device can also be configured to issue status updates through email or text messages to the homeowner's cell phone. The system is built in a modular fashion, meaning the device can couple with many different types of (Home Heartbeat) sensors, as they become available. From the site:
The backbone of the Home Heartbeat system is a network of detection sensors: water sensors, open/closed sensors, power sensors, reminder and attention sensors. The sensors can alert the homeowner to a wide range of problems, including pipe leaks and flooding, opened doors and windows, and appliances that are left on. An additional feature is a water shut-off valve that can be controlled and activated by any of the sensors. Reminder and attention sensors can be set to alert homeowners about easy-to-forget tasks, such as changing batteries in smoke detectors or cleaning out the gutters.
According to Fast Company, the basic starter unit offers only one sensor as well as the base unit and keychain and will retail for $149 US.
Design your own Luxury Home Elevator
In the luxury home elevator world, there seems to be much more copy given to things like discriminating buyers, status, opulence and equity elevation than to sloth and physical fitness, but of course that might just be the jealousy talking. If you've convinced yourself that a luxury home elevator is the true benchmark of luxury, then here are a few manufacturers that would be quite willing to set you up:
- Concord Elevator
- ThyssenKrupp
- Acme Home Elevators
- Inclinator.com
- Residential Elevators Inc. Motto: 'Just say no! - to stairs'. lol
- Dayton Elevator
If you want, you can design your future elevator cab yourself.
Quick Home Repairs from Popular Mechanics
Popular Mechanics has a handy list of speedy repairs for around the house ranging from easily cleaning gutters (you could always try one of these foam eavestrough fillers, mind you), to giving your dishwasher a tuneup to silencing squeaky floors. They've also offered a list of the regular maintenance tasks that every homeowner should follow. Consistent Garage Parking with Laser Parking Helper
Stop hitting garbage bins as you try to gauge where to stop as you pull in to your garage with this handy laser parking gizmo. The laser is activated as you enter the garage and shines down onto your dash when you've reached your pre-calibrated parking sweet spot. It's like the tennis ball on a string trick, but costlier! And with laser action.
Invisiwire Super Thin Adhesive CAT5 Cabling
If you need to run cabling between devices and, for whatever reason, can't run it behind walls or otherwise hide it, this product may be a suitable alternative. Invisiwire is super thin (less than 3/32" inch thick) CAT5 cable with a self-adhesive backing that, once installed, can be painted or wallpapered over. At over forty dollars for a 25 foot run, it's not cheap, but if you only have to go a limited distance and have no other concealment options, it may be your best solution.
Protect Yourself with this Bedside Table
Designer James McAdam went to work to unclutter bedrooms, and this combination night table / stick + shield kit is the fruit of his labour. If you're ever being robbed, you would not have to scramble in a panic to find your shield as you would know exactly where it was - right beside you, doubling as a night stand! Simply disassemble and prepare for battle! The shield is very nice touch, as you really don't see a lot of shields in the area of personal self defence anymore - good work James McAdam!
Great Site with Fancy Napkin Folding Tutorials
Kick your dining routine up a notch on the class-o-meter with some of these great step-by-step instructions on folding napkins into fancy, snooty shapes. One night you could break out the Fleur de Lys and the next could be the Bull. Go crazy! The tutorials walk the reader through each step with clear illustrations and directions. As a bonus, all the folds are rated for difficulty (simple to hard), so you'll know where to begin.
Great Page of Home Equity and Mortgage Calculators
Can you borrow from your home equity? How much will you save by switching to bi-weekly mortgage payments? Is refinancing the right way to go? These are just some of the questions that this nice page of financial calculators will help you answer. The site also has personal finance, investment and auto loan calculators on the same handy page.
Great List of Kitchen Tips and Tricks
The Cooking Blog has an excellent list of tips and tricks for making life easier in the kitchen. Pros may know a lot of these already, but clever tips like: "Stuff a miniature marshmallow in the bottom of a sugar cone to prevent ice cream drips" are sure to be new to many, if not most, of the kitchen novices among us.
Roundup of Online Paint Selector Apps
A small and obviously not exhaustive list of some online flash-based paint selector apps, for your reading pleasure.Probably the best paint selector. Paint simulation looks the most realistic. Behr allows searches by paint name or number and automatically coordinates colors to match. Program enables users to paint individual walls. Includes a nice 'Inspiration library'.
Benjamin Moore's app presents the user with multiple rooms to choose from, as well as the unique selectable specialty finishes. Has a standard color slider selector, and is pre-loaded with some color combinations. Not bad, but not great.
Chose between interior and exterior paint jobs. Multiple room or home types to chose from. The automatic coordinating of color types is nice. Some drag and drop action.
Multiple rooms to chose from, but clicking a color changes the one and only dynamic wall in the picture (i.e. user is not able to select individual walls). Very straightforward and too basic.
Useful Flash Room Planner
If you have an empty room to fill or even just grown tired of your furniture status quo, then this slick flash app will help you hack out a new layout. Start with either a prebuilt room or design your own room from scratch. Once you've settled on a room design, you're able to play around with different arrangements to your heart's content - no lifting belt required.
Instant Boiling Tap Water
Quooker sells a nice looking product that produces instant boiling water, straight from the tap. The faucet draws the boiling water from an insulated tank mounted underneath the counter, where water is heated to 110°C. As the water flows from the faucet, it cools to 100°C. Quooker says that the unit's energy consumption is "next to nothing" in standby mode. I wonder if it would melt one of these. Caution! The boiling water you are about to enjoy is hot...
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