Look, I'm no food snob. I once dedicated an entire day to eating only deep-fried things (butter, Twinkies, Oreos, pickles) at the Minnesota State Fair. But even I draw the line at instant mashed potatoes. I mean, why bother? It's not that hard to make perfectly delicious and fluffy mashers yourself.
Every now and then, you'll bite into the end piece of a perfectly good cucumber only to get an unwelcome bitter and acrid taste. This happened to me for years, no matter how carefully I selected my cukes, although I generally had better luck with ones I got from local growers and the farmer's market.
In the Apple's iOS beta 3, we were introduced to a new iCloud Drive feature, an option to disable QuickType, time indicators for Recently Deleted pics, and a way to keep "self-destructing" media.
CyanogenMod is one of, if not the most popular, third-party operating system for Android devices. It's so popular in fact, that it is the standard, out-of-the-box operating system on the recently released OnePlus One. CM is a lightweight ROM built on top of AOSP (Android Open Source Project), which is the base for all Android builds.
Samsung devices may dominate the Android market, but that doesn't mean everybody loves TouchWiz, the user interface on all of their smartphones and tablets. It's difficult to modify, comes with lots of bloatware, and isn't much to look at, to say the least.
Amazon's Fire TV set-top box has been out for over a month now, and the hacks are starting to come together. Sure you can play your Amazon Instant Video, Hulu, and Netflix content without any issue, but what about your personal media, like movies and music?
So you've decided to transform your drab backyard into a Japanese Zen garden. You've made the right choice. Yes, tire swings and crab grass can slowly kill the soul. That being said, a bit of planning lies ahead. This article offers a list of How To tips, culled from the Landscape Network and other professional Japanese style landscapers, for planning an effective Japanese style landscape in your home. Step 1: Research.
Have you ever fallen victim to a clever Jedi mind trick? Don't worry. It happens. There are evolutionary reasons as to why our brains sometimes give into the oldest tricks in the book. Fortunately, the more you understand the tricks of a salesman, the easier it is to avoid their gripping psychological influence. Clue #1: Too Much Specificity
Videos are great for catching fleeting moments, and photos are insanely easy to share with anyone, but how can you get the best of both worlds?
Apple has acknowledged a problem with the sleep/wake key, better known as the power button, on a certain number of iPhone 5's manufactured through March 2013. As a result, the company has announced the iPhone 5 Sleep/Wake Button Replacement Program, which will replace the power button mechanism, free of charge, for certain iPhone 5 models.
We've already taught you a few tricks for getting chilled, rock-hard butter to spread easily on toast, and some of you probably bypass that issue entirely by purchasing spreadable butter from the supermarket. But why waste your money when you can make a healthier, tastier version at home for a fraction of the cost?
In a flurry of moves today, Microsoft has not only released their suite of Office apps for the iPad, but they also updated their Android and iOS Office Mobile apps to allow for creating and editing documents without requiring an Office 365 account (so long as it's for "home" use). Microsoft Office Mobile for Android & iOS
If you've never played Cards Against Humanity, it's time to get initiated. Originally funded through Kickstarter, the free to download card game is basically an obscene version of Apples to Apples.
Privacy features have become quite the hot commodity, emerging from the aftermath of the NSA scandals that rocked the United States this past year. While the NSA has the means to gather information on all of us (regardless of any security software we implement), it doesn't mean that they're the only ones looking.
While it may not serve much of a purpose here in sunny Los Angeles, it's still a good idea to keep constant tabs on the weather forecast, because you don't want anything to rain on your parade.
Leaving your Wi-Fi radio "on" allows your smartphone to auto-connect to trusted wireless networks in lieu of using cellular data, but it also consumes battery power while it's constantly network hunting.
With the the general computer users understanding of Information security rising (at least to the point of not clicking on unknown links), and operating system security getting better by default. We need to look for new and creative ways to gain a foothold in a system.
Greetings, all ye happy miscreants! In my last article, I showed a certain technique for throwing a knife without spin. If you haven't read that article yet, do so now. This article will be useless to you if you have not read my article on proper throwing technique. Anyway, in this article, I will show you a cool trick you can do with my throwing technique.
If somebody really wants to gain access to your iPhone, they'll get in. Phone thieves (and mischievous friends) can easily figure out your passcode just from looking over your shoulder or tracing over the oily smudges on the screen. And if you're using popular passcodes, birthdays, and addresses on your iPhone, you might as well disable lock screen security entirely.
It's been a great week for Chromecast owners. First, Google released the development kit, allowing devs to install the casting code into their apps. Then, CyanogenMod dev Koush updated his AllCast app to support the Chromecast. That means you can shoot personal movies, music, and photos directly from your Android device over to a Chromecast-connected display.
The Chromecast may be slowly weaving its way into the smartphone ecosystem, but the amount of supported Android apps that are available for the streaming media player are still severely limited.
What you watch in the privacy of your own home should be no one's business but yours. That was the case until Prime Minister David Cameron decided that there was too much porn available to minors in the United Kingdom.
Cloud storage looks pretty good compared to the heavy restrictions that hard drives and other types of external memory carry. The cloud is not only limitless in what it can hold, but it can also easily be accessed from any device that has Internet—your smartphone, work computer, personal laptop, tablet, and more. While accessing a specific cloud storage system like Dropbox or Google Drive may be easy on your Samsung Galaxy Note 2, managing all of them individually can not only get confusing, ...
Facebook knows who all of your closest friends and family are. When you backpacked across Europe last summer, they went along on the trip. Remember that break up two years ago? Yeah, they were there. The breakfast you ate this morning? They probably have a picture of it. They're even right under your own feet.
In one of my previous articles, I showed off how to make water freeze into ice instantaneously. In this article, I'd like to elaborate on this, and show how a glass of water can turn to ice instantly on command. What exactly is this supernatural power? Discover the secrets to ice-bending—in real life.
Last month, Alexander Heit drifted into oncoming traffic after being distracted from the road. His sudden correction forced his vehicle to roll and flip over. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital shortly thereafter. All because of a freaking text message. He was only 22 years old.
Plastic red cups are synonymous with college parties, beer pong, and generally a good time. The reason these cups are so rampant in the party scene is because they're cheap, easily disposable, and, well... who wants to drink out of a blue cup?!? Oh, to be young and in debt.
During the colder months, it seems like almost everyone wears boots. Even when it's hot out, people can be spotted with knee-highs and westerns. Whether it's for fashion or because you live in a place where 3 feet of snow is common, a good pair of boots (or five) is nice to have.
With this article, I'll be continuing the series I started with my recent plague doctor article. That is, examining tropes that may at first appear to not fit into Steampunk.
Perhaps the most important decoration of the holiday season is the Christmas tree. It's where all of the magic happens. If you're not into real Christmas trees, there's always some festive alternatives, but for those of us who can't live without a natural Christmas tree, choosing the right one for the right price can be an impossible task.
Maybe not water per-se, but with this simple technique you can turn one of the most abundant materials on earth into a highly explosive gas.
LEGO may no longer be in its heyday, but those colored building blocks of joy can still make some really cool and creative things. I mean, take a look at these pieces from LEGO artist Nathan Sawaya. While making something like that is undoubtedly impressive, it could be just a little too difficult for the common LEGO enthusiast—and expensive (LEGOs aren't cheap these days). So, for the regular LEGO-builders, usefulness is more important that extravagance.
The convenience of storing things on the cloud can definitely make life easier, but if you're storing sensitive files, it could be a total disaster if anyone hacked your account. Some encryption services can be expensive, but if you just need it for personal use, there are some really great ones that don't cost anything. Here are three programs that let you encrypt your cloud storage for free. BoxCryptor
Facial recognition software is being more widely used with every passing day. Your local law enforcement is probably already using it, and it will be even easier for them now that the FBI handed out its own facial recognition software to state authorities. Even the fine folks at Facebook are using this technology. Obviously, this brings up some pretty serious privacy concerns amongst most people, because honestly, who wants to be tracked? Right now, there's not a lot we can do about it being ...
Sometimes you just want to grill. It doesn't matter where you are, what you have, or whom you're with—you just want a delicious burger and you don't care what it takes.
In this tutorial, we learn how to remove stains from your car seats and carpet. To start, you will need cheap orange cleaner that you can find from your local Dollar Store, as well as cheap carpet cleaner. When you find the stain that is on your carpet, you will first spray it with the orange spray, then go over it once more with the carpet spray. After this, use a scrubbing brush and wash cloth to scrub out the stain in the affected area. When finished, let dry or use a vacuum to soak up any...
In this video you will learn how to check your internet speed without using any software. In order to do that just follow these simple and quick steps and instructions: The first thing that you need to do is to double-click on your Local Area Connection icon. A window will appear and you will see what your speed is on the right of it. The speed of your internet will be in Mbps. If you follow these easy and quick steps you will now how to check your internet speed without using any software or...
A cold frame is a great way to extend the growing season in your garden. When you set up a cold frame, you can keep your plants healthy and growing, even when it's cold outside. In this video tutorial, you'll learn how to set up and use a cold frame.
Aerating your soil is an essential part of gardening, but it can be long and back-breaking work. In this episode of Growing Wisdom, Dave Epstein will teach you how to use a broadfork to aerate your soil. Using a broadfork, you can aerate the soil without damaging the soil's ecology.
Looking for a great idea for a science project? In this video series you'll learn how to build a battery-run light board which can test the electrical conductivity of various objects. You can find these supplies easily at your local hardware store.