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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/utility

Ecoplay Reroutes Shower Water for Toilet Use

The Ecoplay system collects grey water from the shower and redirects it for use in flushing the toilet. Benefits of the system, according to Ecoplay::

* Saves water consumption by one third
* Highly energy-saving
* User-friendly in every way
* Minor extra costs compared to standard toilet units


Ecoplay estimates that the unit will pay for itself in 6 years. Perhaps if this catches on, Ecoplay will be able to afford to have people other than their children* drawing diagrams of the unit.

*Update: Looks like they've updated their site with really nice diagrams now.

via City Hippy

Kodak Now Offering Life Poster Service

Earlier this year, Mike Matas posted a howto on making a life poster. It was a great idea that caught on in a hurry. What was somewhat surprising was that the big online photo shops didn't latch on to the trend and offer an easy web app to capitalize on the poster's popularity. Well, Kodak now offers a product for making life posters (Kodak calls them collages) with their online photo printing service. The app allows you to adjust the whitespace between pictures as well as having a random tilt widget. For people who don't have the software or patience to do it themselves, this is a decent alternative.
       



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.

  • Behr's ColorSmart
    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 Personal Color Viewer
    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.

  • Sherwin-Williams
    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.

  • Sico Not that dynamic. Allows the change of one entire wall (only) and trim. Gives a good idea of how a room's feel is altered with different paint colors, but could be more functional.

  • Debbie Travis
    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.


  • 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...

    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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