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News: MSG Is the Ultimate Healthy Flavor Hack

Hear me out. No, really. Before you sharpen your pitchforks and give me anecdotal evidence of your Chinese restaurant syndrome, I think you need to know a few things about monosodium glutamate. First of all, it's a naturally-occurring chemical compound that can be found in anything from tomatoes to cheese, and is used in all kinds of foods from KFC to breakfast sandwiches. So spare me the comments on MSG and Chinese food—you probably eat MSG on a daily basis without even knowing it. (And also...

How To: Score Great Wine at Bargain Prices

Whether you're a seasoned wine drinker or just beginning to explore the wondrous world of fermented grapes, finding fantastic wine on a budget isn't as difficult as one may think. With these 8 tips, you'll see how and why you need not shell out $45 to get a great-tasting, high-quality bottle of wine without settling for vino.

How To: The Only 'Recipe' You'll Ever Need for Roasting Veggies

I've never had a problem with veggies—we've always been the best of friends—but I do have a lot of other people in my life that have been less than enamored with this basic food group in the past. Some cite the bitter flavor associated with veggies like Brussels sprouts, while others dislike the various consistencies that come with boiling or steaming vegetables such as broccoli or eggplant.

How To: 10 Reasons Why It's Better to Be a Jerk

Nice people finish first—or is it last? Though you may have been told throughout your life that being kind pays off, there are some obvious advantages to getting mean. So whether you're driving towards a goal at work, or need to attack a task in your personal life, acting like a jerk just might help you get what you want.

How to Train Your Python: Part 9, Basics of Error Detection and Handling

Welcome back! In the last iteration of how to train your python, we covered loops, today we'll be covering something that I wish I had learned about much earlier in my scripting career, errors. We all run into them, and they can be frustrating, but there is also a silver lining to them. Today, we'll be discussing why some errors are unavoidable, and what we can do when we run into them. Also, this article will be more of a concept and less of writing actual code, but the information is equall...

How To: 10 Common Food Myths Debunked

Common knowledge is a funny thing: it represents a majority's opinion on a particular subject and somehow makes that opinion fact. If that 'fact' goes unopposed and unchallenged, then it is passed on and preserved from one generation to the next—regardless of whether it is true or not.

Cooking with Booze: Brunch Edition

Ah, the joys of bottomless brunch. Paying a flat rate for endless mimosas while having a long gossip over eggs Benedict is exactly how many of us love to spend our Saturdays. However, in practice, this isn't the sophisticated affair we all like to imagine. After refill number four we sway in our chair, doze off into our porridge, and end up tipping 50% because math is too hard. In short, not a very successful brunch.

Knives 101: How to Care for Your Knives Like a Pro

Ask 100 chefs what the most important tool in their kitchen is, and you'll get 100 chefs saying the exact same thing: their set of knives. For home cooks and professional chefs alike, nothing is more important (or exciting) than a good knife. A good knife allows you to work more quickly, more efficiently, more consistently, and more safely. And best of all, they're just a lot of fun.

News: Why Is Linux & Other Open-Source Software Free?

Welcome back, my greenhorn hackers! As hackers, we often take for granted that nearly all of our hacking tools and operating system are free and open source. I think it's important to examine a bit of background on how we arrived at this intriguing juncture in the history of computer software. After all, we pay for nearly all of our other software (Microsoft, Adobe, etc.) and nearly everything else we use in life, so how is it that Linux and all our hacking tools are free?

How To: Hone Your BS Detector

Can you tell when your friends are serving up a bunch of BS, or are you constantly oblivious, unsure if they're spinning a valid story? With so many ways to lie and fake information floating around, it can be impossible to tell what's the truth from what's complete BS. Here's how to sort through what you hear and find the real truth.

Coffee Mugs: They're Not Just for Coffee

Coffee mugs: nothing proliferates more quickly in my kitchen cabinets. People are always handing them out as gifts or as swag, plus I always seem to find a vintage model or two at a garage sale that I'm compelled to buy. I used to do a yearly purge of my excess muggage, but it turns out it's a good idea to hold on to one or two extras.

How To: Break Your Bad Habits Without Getting All Stressed Out

Old habits die hard. It may be a cliché, but it's undeniably true, especially when it comes to the bad ones. Nail-biting, fidgeting, and overspending can label you as someone who is obsessive-compulsive, overly nervous, and routinely stressed out, but you can make the break less painful with a few simple tweaks to your routine and by understanding how your habits work.