Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Moving Day Just a reminder...this blog is moving tomorrow! Update your bookmarks to Hackley's Blog. 2:02:35 PM

Monday, August 17, 2009

Make an Inexpensive and Simple Fruit and Vegetable Wash [Food Hacks] . The washing sprays stashed around the vegetable and fruit stands in the supermarket are a rip-off. Use this simple recipe instead to make a concoction that keeps your produce looking clean and crisp. Photo by trekkyandry. At the home-centric blog Re-Nest, they've shared a recipe to make your own produce wash. Why would you want to use a wash instead of just running water over your produce? Most chemicals used on produce won't be washed off with a simple application of water—if they were, they wouldn't be very effective in the face of growing season rainfall. A produce wash, however, has just enough kick to it to more effectively cleanse the surface of the fruit and wash away contamination. The recipe below relies on some basic staples like vinegar and baking soda to get your fruit and veggies extra clean. 1 cup water 1 cup distilled white vinegar 1 tablespoon baking soda 20 drops grapefruit seed extract (available at Whole Foods or your local health food store or you can substitute lemon juice in a pinch) Combine all ingredients in a large container. Then, transfer to a spray bottle with a pump. Spray mixture on produce (avoid using on mushrooms), let sit 5 to 10 minutes and rinse. When it is time to rinse, you can rinse the entire pile of produce all at once in a large bowl or colander to cut down on water use. Have a handy kitchen trick or two? Share them in the comments. How-To Make Your Own Fruit and Vegetable Wash [Re-Nest] [Lifehacker] 5:01:35 PM

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Using Hotmail as a secondary address? Be very careful. Filed under: Internet, Security, E-mail, Microsoft If you're like me, you have at least two email addresses. One of these email addresses is for important business; you hand it out to co-workers, friends, and family, whose emails you actually want to pay regular attention to. The second email address is for other stuff, like signing up for newsletters, shopping online, or creating accounts for services on the web. Also, if you're like me, you might tend to forget to pay attention to that second email address for days, weeks, or months at a time. As it turns out, forgetting to check a free Windows Live Hotmail account might have some dire consequences. According to the Windows Live help files: Free Windows Live Hotmail accounts become inactive if you don't sign in for more than 270 days or within the first 10 days after signing up for an account. After an account becomes inactive, all messages, folders, and contacts are deleted. Incoming messages will be sent back to the sender as undeliverable. Your account name is still reserved. However, if the account stays inactive for an additional 90 days, the account name may be permanently deleted. If you don't use your Windows Live ID for 365 days, your Windows Live ID may be permanently deleted. ( The user name and password that you use to sign in to any Windows Live, MSN, or Office Live sites and services. If you have a Passport Network, Hotmail, or Messenger account, you can use it as your Windows Live ID. ) What does this mean to someone who is using a Hotmail address to sign up for things on the web? It means that, once your year of inactivity has passed, anyone can sign up for a Windows Live account with your expired username. The unintentional side effect of this is that if your Windows Live account expires, one could potentially create an account with the same name and use the password reset function on almost any online service attached to that email address, receive the email with the password (or further instructions) and take over your account entirely without your knowledge. This very technique is how the personal accounts of Twitter employees were taken over by malicious users. Continue reading Using Hotmail as a secondary address? Be very careful Using Hotmail as a secondary address? Be very careful originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments [Download Squad] 9:31:19 AM

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Travel Etiquette Site Explains How to Behave in Different Countries [Travel Tip] . Every culture has its distinct customs and traditions. Web site Travel Etiquette breaks them down by country to help teach you how to behave before you head off on your trip so that you can represent yourself and your home country well. Photo by Ed Yourdon. So far the site has over 60 articles including tips on how to behave when in any place from Morocco and Japan to South Africa and Portugal; new locations (including U.S. destinations) are added regularly. To find tips, you can type in the country name using the search box or just scroll through the continents and countries listed in the sidebar. The site also lists featured articles on its homepage. Sample tips include how to dress appropriately, dine properly, and meet-and-greet people. For example, Travel Etiquette says not to be surprised by social situations in Argentina that involve swearing. ...Don't be alarmed or surprised to hear what you might consider to be name-calling or swearing amongst friends. In this instance, political correctness certainly does not rule supreme, and Argentines might readily use phrases such as 'fat' or 'big balls' when talking to friends. No harm is meant, it's simply the culture and friendly banter! The site also provides more general tips like how to behave in hotels and airports, and also offers tips for blending in with the locals. Have you traveled to a foreign country and learned some local customs in the process? Save your fellow readers from possible embarrassment by sharing below. And since odds are you'll be carrying a map, learn how to fold one like a pro before you go. Travel Etiquette [via AppScout] [Lifehacker] 12:27:23 PM     The Big Book of Everything Organizes Important Personal Information [Organization] . There is a whole host of information in our lives that is important—bank accounts, tax records, credit card information—but not usually easily organized together. The Big Book of Everything helps keep important information organized and in one place. The Big Book of Everything is a workbook created as a free and compact alternative to the massive and expensive It's All Right Here, a life organizer created by Mark Gavagan. While The Big Book of Everything weighs in at nearly a tenth the size of It's All Right Here, it covers the basics quite nicely. Printed off and stored in a folder or binder it makes it easy to organize important personal information for your own use or the use of your next of kin in the event of your death. There are pages for passwords, bank accounts, insurance policy information, tax records, and more. If you fill out a few pages a night you'll have the entire thing filled out before the end of the month. The Big Book of Everything is available as a PDF and an Excel spreadsheet. The Big Book of Everything [via Get Rich Slowly] [Lifehacker] 12:26:00 PM

Monday, July 20, 2009

ManualsOnline Keeps Your Manuals Organized [Manuals] . If you're looking for an easy way to store the manuals you've collected over the years or just want all the online information in one spot, then web site ManualsOnline is for you. Once you've created your free account, you're ready to set up and compile your manuals. Choose the room, category, brand, product type, and model, and ManualsOnline adds it to your profile. After you're done, you'll have an organized collection of all your household manuals in one easily accessible spot. Next time you're consulting your manual but still aren't able to stop that VCR from blinking (hey, I've still got one), the site also provides a forum where you can ask for product help from the ManualsOnline community. But before you go ditching those paper manuals, upload and share any unlisted manuals if you can. Someone, somewhere will be grateful you did. If you like the idea but aren't keen on the site, check out previously mentioned SafeManuals for another take on the same idea. ManualsOnline [via MakeUseOf] [Lifehacker] 11:59:50 AM

Monday, July 13, 2009

Know What Questions to Ask During a Job Interview [Job Search] . It's nerve-wracking enough worrying about how best to answer interview questions. Unfortunately, it's also important to ask questions during the exchange. Weblog Lifehack.org details how best to turn the tables with a list of seven noteworthy questions to raise. Photo by brymo. Apart from inquiring about your day-to-day responsibilities and opportunities for career advancement, Lifehack suggests you ask the following: "How do you feel that I measure up to your requirements for this position?" The author argues that far too many candidates take a passive role during job interviews, and though it may come across as pushy, it's better to know upfront if there's any reason you might not be offered the job. By extension, if it turns out that you really want the job, you can then use the opportunity to counter any holes in your resume by detailing relevant experience or other skills you have. Taking a more proactive role during interviews is also important because it allows you to steer some of the conversation, and therefore leave more of the impression you want. Hit up the post for their full list of questions to ask prospective employers, then let's hear any other questions you'd suggest posing in the comments. Seven Great Questions to Ask At a Job Interview [Lifehack] [Lifehacker] 11:47:59 AM

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Hohm Details The Dollars and Cents of Home Energy Costs [Energy Conservation] . Want to know the straight dollars and cents of your home's energy costs? Microsoft's Hohm site gets really, really detailed on your property and tells you the costs and break even times on money-saving projects. If you just want a quick, easy quiz on whether you've bought insulated windows or not, Hohm isn't the site for you. This webapp asks you detailed questions about all your appliances, the doors and windows on every side of your house, whether you're using compact fluorescent or incandescent bulbs in each room—it gets to the point of asking whether your roof is "dark" or "medium-dark." The payoff, though, comes in a full report at the end, detailing what your estimated annual energy costs are, where the biggest savings could be found, and, most helpful of all, a project-by-project listing for your specific home with dollar figures on annual savings, the cost of doing it yourself or hiring a professional to do it, and when your project cost pays itself off (listed in that order in the screenshot below): You can generate all kinds of reports to inspire your energy efficiency jones, including reports that show all the projects in your home that total less than, say, $500. Depending on where you live, Hohm can also detail your electricity or gas usage over time with a supported provider, sparing you the effort of breaking out the month-by-month bills and a new spreadsheet. Hohm is free to use, requires a Windows Live sign-in. Microsoft Hohm [Lifehacker] 3:36:14 PM

© Copyright 2009 Jocelyn Shaw. Last update: 9/15/2009; 2:05:46 PM. Photo curtesy of Marjorie O'Brien