There's nothing like buying an awesome new gadget, but it leaves you with one problem (besides an empty wallet)—what do you do with the ones you already have? There are plenty of ways to put your old gadgets to use, but if you'd rather get rid of them, you may as well get something out of it, right? Here are five places where you can recycle your electronics and replenish your cash stash.
The original NES controller has become one of the most recognizable symbols of the Nintendo gaming culture, thanks to its perfectly rectangular shape and simple button design. But despite its popular appeal, people just don't game with them anymore. So, what do they do with them? They savor the memories and turn it into something more useful, like a light switch.
Old newspapers come in handy for many different uses around the house, from birdcage liners to shipping cushioning and even a little fish cooking. But for backyard rocket scientists like Markus Bindhammer, they're more suitable as an ingredient for rocket propellant.
Technology is awesome. You can use your iPad to record music or even turn your tunes into a solar system, but sometimes being plugged in all of the time can leave you nostalgic for simpler times. This new concept by Joelle Aeschlimann brings together the best of both worlds by turning your iPad into an old-fashioned, hand-cranked music box. The artist created three different music boxes, each one with its own unique song and visualization. The music boxes were made using wooden cylinders with...
Always downing a glass of red wine in the evening? Don't be ashamed. Red wine has some great health benefits when consumed in moderation, including improved memory, lower risk of heart disease, and even bone strengthening. Photo by Joe Shlabotnik
Want an electric car without the price tag? You could always build your own, or maybe just hack your old gas guzzler into an eco-friendly electric machine... This weekend at Defcon, security consultant David Brown showed off his "Voltswagon" project, a 1974 Beetle named Shocky that he converted to electric for only $6,000. He removed the old combustion engine, radiator, and a few other unneeded parts to make it lighter. Then he loaded it with batteries front and back, ten Interstate DC-29, 12...
Chopsticks are very easily reusable, yet they always get thrown away. You use them when you get Chinese takeout, then toss them out without even a backwards glance.
Summer is in full swing! Everywhere you look, plants are in full bloom and green is a way of life. Gardeners are clearly living up to their full potential. I cannot think of anything else that personifies summer better than gardening.
One thing that's very crucial to gardening is the seed starter. Seed starters are very important for a number of reasons, including the fact that is an excellent way to make sure your seeds survive in their own little environment until you’re ready to transfer them to your garden. Plus, it is very rewarding to grow plants from seeds (versus transplanting).
In this video, I show you a technique for hacking a four foot mega magnifying lens out of your old projection TV. Not only are these TVs everywhere, they can be found easily—for FREE!
PowerPoint 2008 for Mac can help you turn boring old bulleted lists into something nobody would forget. With SmartArt graphics in PowerPoint you can now make your bullet lists pop using pre-formatted charts, graphs, and more. The Microsoft Office for Mac team shows you just how to make a bulleted list more visual in this how-to video.
This video demonstrates how to install trailer lights on your boat's trailer. In order to determine what size replacement kit you will need, you must figure out the width of the trailier at the widest point. First, remove the old lights. Use a large slotted screwdriver to remove the cover. Don't forget to wear eye protection. Next, use vice grips and a wrench to remove the exposed stud. Using a wire brush, remove the salt and loose corrossion. Then grease the threads of the studs. You are now...
Turn your old t-shirts into pillow covers. You will need:
Watch this video tutorial to learn how to color your hair at home. You'll save a bundle using a coloring kit instead of heading to the salon every six weeks. Plus, dyeing your tresses at home has never been simpler.
If your old outlet has become so loose that a cord barely stays in place, it's time to change it. It's not just an annoyance—it's a hazard. Learn how to replace an electrical outlet with this instructional video from Howcast.
The two-step is a step found in many folk dances, and in various other dances. The Washington Post Two Step is a 19th Century name originating in the USA. It is similar to the traditional two-step dance but slowed down and a bit jumpier. This video is only a demonstration, and unfortunately it does not give step by step instructions.
This video demonstration shows an odd, comedic dance/skit from the 19th Century. In order to perform the "Blind Man's Bluff", a man sits in a chair blind folded while two woman sit in different chairs in front of the blind folded man. The blind folded man must then pick one of the two women sitting in front of him to dance with. However, while the blind folded man is contemplating on which of the women to pick, a different man is placed in one of the woman's seats. Therefore, the blind folded...
This is a video demonstration of the late 19th Century waltz. This waltz is a ballroom and folk dance. The waltz first became fashionable in Vienna around the 1780s, and spread to many other countries in the years that follow. The waltz, and its closed position, became the example for the creation of many other ballroom dances. Subsequently, new types of waltz have developed, including many folk and several ballroom dances. This video is only a demonstration, and unfortunately it does not giv...
Little girls are always in a rush to look just like their mommies. Just think pint-sized fashionistas like Suri Cruz and Courtney Cox's daughter Coco, who was recently caught by the paps wearing the same ruby lipstick as her mommy on a stroll. While we don't think that wearing makeup is all that age appropriate for a five year old, beautiful, youthful hairstyles are.
Jean Grey was one of the five original X-Men, and is old enough to have gone through some major changes in her career. She's more recently been called Phoenix and Dark Phoenix, and that's what she's known as in her appearance in Marvel vs. Capcom 3. This video will show you the basics of how to fight with Phoenix / Dark Phoenix in the game, including combos and special moves.
This two part video show you how to remove an old shower valve, preparation and installation of a new shower valve. Also, you'll see how to clean, cut and connect copper plumbing pipes. Don't forget to watch part two and always make sure to shut off the water main first!
Samimy is at it again. And this time, his ingenuity has tackled a clever way to take something old and broken and restore it to something new and useful. What are we talking about? Modding a broken hard drive and some busted cell phones into a useful rechargeable USB / solar-powered light, which also acts as a portable mobile charger.
This recipe is for a shrimp cocktail like none other you have ever tasted! Ingredients you will need for the Court Bouillon:
Salvador Dali was a crazy old man, and we mean that in the most respectful way possible. He was, of course, the artist who painted the back of his wife's head exploding like a nuclear mushroom bomb. Exploding heads aside, he created some groundbreaking, ingenious works of art still heralded today, including the "Mae West Room."
The padlocks that secure most of America's high-school lockers are one of the easiest types of locks to open in the world for thieves and other miscreants. The easiest, cheapest way to do so is using a shim. These can be bought online, but why both when you can make one yourself out of an old soda or beer can? This video features a professional lockpicker at a conference explaining exactly how to make your own can shim and use it to open any padlock. You little devil you.
These days, pennies are useless when it comes to buying things, and that's why Canada doesn't even have any anymore. But, there are a lot of cool things you can do with those worthless pennies, and what's better than a good old-fashioned prank?
DOS may be a distant memory for most computer users at this point, but for many it will always be the first thing that pops into their head when they ponder PC computing. Nowadays, the only time most people see anything that even looks like DOS is if they're playing old PC games in a shell or something has gone very, very wrong with their computer. With this prank, you can make your friend believe that the latter has happened to them! All you do is open the DOS command program (Windows XP or ...
Google is the biggest and best search engine on Earth, and if you are a webmaster and want your website to be a big success it would really behoove you to know as much about how it works as possible. The Google Webmasters series of videos and website were created to teach webmasters, SEO professionals, and others how Google works by answering their questions and giving them insights into how they can best integrate and utilize Google's functionality to improve their business. This video will ...
The ukelele is a great little instrument that is easy to learn, sounds good, and is portable. How much better could it be? They work especially well for covering pop songs, since they're very simple and catchy, which is the essence of the ukelele. This video will teach you how to play a few basic songs on ukelele:
New to Microsoft Excel? Looking for a tip? How about a tip so mind-blowingly useful as to qualify as a magic trick? You're in luck. In this MS Excel tutorial from ExcelIsFun, the 664th installment in their series of digital spreadsheet magic tricks, you'll learn how about how the new Excel 2010 AGGREGATE function that can calculate these 19 different functions depending on what number you put into the 1st argument of the AGGREGATE function. This is an improvement over the SUBTOTAL function wh...
In this video, we learn how to make a Tyler Oakley inspired rag doll. You will need: an old t-shirt, a needle, felt, googly eyes, pen/pencil, paper, yarn, thread, and scissors. Start out by drawing the body of the doll out on the piece of paper, then cut it out. Now, trace the body shape onto the t-shirt and cut out two of these shapes. Now, take a needle and thread, and sew the two pieces of fabric together, leaving a small opening. Next, fill up the doll and then sew it back together. Now, ...
If you're making films on your own, good on you. Do you ever find yourself without the money or means to get the props that you need? Every day most likely. This video is here to both inspire and provide practical aide. It describes the construction of a really cool sci-fi gun (dubbed the MKX300) that this filmmaker made for his webseries out of mostly old bottles. It was cheap and looks incredible, so watch this video and either make your own MKX300 or apply these lessons to the construction...
Toilets are one of the greatest boons to public health of all time, but they do use a ton of water when they flush. If the old adage "If it's yellow, stay mellow. If it's brown, flush it down," disgusts you, but you still want to find a more green way to flush, then watch this video. I will show you how to modify your toilet at home, making it use less water without sacrificing flushing efficiency. Don't waste money on a low-flow toilet or destroy the planet. Watch this video.
If you are unfortunate enough to own one of the XBox 360's that shipped with a 20gb hard drive, then you've realized that that is way to little storage for everything that you want to have on your XBox. If you've decided to buy a larger drive from Microsoft, this video will show you how to transfer your precious saves and other files from the old hard drive to the new one using a transfer kit. Now you can buy as many downloadable games as you want or even install your disc games on the hard d...
In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to replace caulk on a bathtub. Begin by placing a fresh blade into a utility knife. Then use the knife to cut out the old caulk. You want to make 2 cuts. The first cut with the knife plying flat on the edge of the tub. The second cut with the knife tip up at about a 45 degree angle. This will allow most of the caulk to come out in one piece. For any remaining caulk, take a razor blade and scrape it off. To remove any remaining mildew, apply 6 ounces o...
If you've barely got your hands on the hit Xbox 360 game, Red Dead Redemption, get ready to saddle up! In this old Western game, you'll be killing bad guys, tying up women, and be on a quest for revenge. But, along the way you can also complete some easy side missions or even go after some achievements.
Actionscript 2.0 may be an old man by scripting language standards, but some browsers still use it so it is still worth learning if you want to create Flash websites. This video series will introduce you to the basics of scripting in Actionscript 2.0, leaving you well on your way to creating dynamic, widely compatible websites.
The alluring and stylish GiannyL is the DIY fashion design guru of the web. Do-it-yourself has never been so sexy before. Her fashion design video tutorials make new outfits not only hot, but cheap and easy. And recycling and reusing old clothing is not only practical, but eco-friendly.
The alluring and stylish GiannyL is the DIY fashion design guru of the web. Do-it-yourself has never been so sexy before. Her fashion design video tutorials make new outfits not only hot, but cheap and easy. And recycling and reusing old clothing is not only practical, but eco-friendly.
Do you admire the look of vintage photographs? How about the production of the old plastic cameras like the Diana and Holga? You can create that same photo effect with your digital photographs through the use of Adobe Photoshop! In this video, learn how to create a faux lomography effect also known as the "lomo effect". By using Blend Modes and Adjustments Layers you can achieve a pretty cool effect that can be used on any photo!
