There are tons of materials you can use to make your own coasters, from wine corks to old magazines, but something as basic as concrete can look surprisingly sleek. These DIY concrete coasters by Blair over on Man Made DIY look great and are super cheap and easy to make. All you need is a box of quick set concrete, some plastic cups, sandpaper, and felt if you want to line the bottoms. The process is simple—just mix up the concrete in the cups, let it set, remove it, and sand down any rough e...
Have you ever fallen asleep watching television only to be rudely awoken by one of those obnoxious commercials that randomly play three times as loud as everything else? While the FCC actually made excessively loud commercials illegal as of last December, it's up to providers to comply, so the problem will probably take a while to go away.
Do you want to know what's better than a bouquet of a dozen red roses? How about a bouquet of bacon roses? Or, if you aren't a meat-eater, a bouquet of hand-crafted origami roses or ones made of duct tape that won't wither away within a couple of days?
If the annual tradition of buying a new wall calendar at a heavily discounted price at some mall kiosk by the end of January is not exactly your scene, then how about making your own nifty DIY wall calendar for 2013?
The time is near—Messenger will finally kick the bucket come March 15th. So, if you're still using Windows Live Messenger for all of your IMing needs, it's time to finally make the move over to Skype, which Microsoft bought back in 2011 for a cool $8.5 billion. If you've been using Messenger, you probably already received the mass email that Microsoft sent out warning of the end date. Microsoft is looking to make the transition as smooth as possible. All you have to do is download the latest ...
So I was wondering around Barnes and Noble (which happens to be a very bad habit of mine) see what is new and just checking out the books. Granted I was also straightening shelves and tables as well, I used to work there and old habits die hard.
So you bought a new flat screen, and now you have to tackle the next issue—you have to mount it somewhere. Most people go for the wall, which is the most obvious place, but if you want to go for something a little different, the ceiling is always an option, too.
Soft focus photography can produce some beautiful images when used properly. It's used a lot in beauty and glamour shots, but can be applied to other types of photos as well. Some digital cameras have pre-programmed settings for soft focus shots, but if you're using a DSLR, you'll need a special lens or filter to do it.
Instagram allows us to vicariously live through others, experiencing their moments with them. It's an enormously popular application and has already garnered 100 million users, but it has only been made available for download on Android and Apple devices. Sure, there are third-party apps where you can browse, like, and comment on other people's Instagram photos—but they don't give you a way to upload your own pictures. So, what about all of the other people who want to share their lives, but ...
Turning unused items into usable pieces of furniture is a great way to save money and create some really good-looking pieces for your room. And nothing beats repurposing old wooden pallets. Redditor BaconStripsandFishin used old wooden pallets and a month's worth of coffee to create his own unique coffee table. To make this, unscrewed all of the wooden panels (top and bottom), placed them all together, and then screwed them back in reusing those same nails. Once he had all of the board togeth...
I have lived in china for 9 years now. I have lived in Shanghai and Hongkong. To me, I think Shanghai and Hong Kong are both very diverse places. Shanghai and Hong Kong have definitely modernized over the years and they are filled with people. Shanghai has been rapidly modernizing as a while back when I came to Shanghai, it wasn't as modern and there weren't as many people. When I came back, it was packed with people. Many young people here go to the clubs and shop along the road sides. The s...
There's nothing better than sitting around a fire in your own backyard, but store-bought fire pits can get pretty expensive, and unfortunately (but understandably), most states have pretty strict regulations on outdoor fires.
It's hard to believe that a photo-sharing service could become as big as Instagram has. So big, in fact, that there are tons of websites, software, and products aimed at integrating it into our lives even more. Hell, you can even be Instagram for Halloween.
Need to look like a rotting, decaying zombie corpse for Halloween? Rather than bribing your special effects makeup artist friend to treat you one for the night, you can definitely DIY a couple of good Halloween makeup effects using common household items in your pantry or medicine cabinet.
When you have expensive camera equipment, the last thing you want to do is just throw it all in a bag without any kind of protection. If you don't want to buy a separate bag, you can always use an insert, but they can get pretty pricey, too.
A smartphone is pretty much useless with a dead battery. When you're out and about, it can be hard to find a place to plug in (if you remembered your charger, that is). But this DIY solar panel backpack made by electrical engineer Theodore Protasiewicz will help you use the scorching sun to your advantage and make sure that your gadgets are always ready to go. Theodore started with just a normal backpack, some solar panels, 18 gauge wire, and a USB port and hacked it into a traveling solar ch...
The worst part about playing darts is that when you miss—it can damage not only your ego, but also the wall behind the dartboard if it's not protected. Redditor mavantix found a solution to this problem in wine corks. Over a year, he collected over 1,000 corks from family and friends to make this DIY Cork Dartboard Cabinet—that's a lot of wine!
Whether you're job searching, networking, or just giving your information out to someone you just met at a bar, this circuit board business card made by Brian Carrigan will make sure no one ever forgets meeting you! Sure, you could buy a customized USB business card on some online shop, but if you're trying to emphasize your geek cred, why wouldn't you make your own PCB card from scratch? Carrigan used a USB controller and added an Atmel AT45DB series flash chip so that it could store his res...
Want to make your own soda or maybe just bring a dull one back to life? Homemade sodas don't always live up to the store bought ones because they can taste flat by comparison. This quick and easy method makes super fizzy drinks with only four ingredients. Because putting dry ice in a sealed bottle would effectively turn it into a bomb, you'll need to make a safety valve for the bottle.
Through the hot summer months staying properly hydrated can be difficult and boring. Water is not a good "flavor" after your third or fourth glass of the day. There are store-bought re-hydration beverages available but they are expensive and generally packed with sugar. Here is a simple way to flavor your water with things you most likely have in the house.
Many foods do not come in natural packaging that is as useful and versatile as its content. Eggs are an exception. So, the next time you buy a carton of eggs, be sure to hold onto the eggshells after you are finished cooking with them.
There is going to be an annular solar eclipse on May 20th that will be visible in a narrow pathway that covers part of Eastern Asia and the Western United States. The eclipse will be seen as a partial eclipse over a much greater region of the World. I live in Redding, California, which luckily happens to be right in the center of the path, giving a perfect ring of fire effect during the peak of the eclipse.
In a riveting interview on TruNews Radio, Wednesday, private investigator Doug Hagmann said high-level, reliable sources told him the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is preparing for “massive civil war” in America.
I recently bought a new telescope and thought I would share a few images that I have taken with it. I am very new to astrophotography, but I hope to be able to post up some more images in the near future.
Your favorite device is running low on juice and needs a couple new AA batteries—and with a quickness. You run to the store and grab the first pack of AAs you see. But should you? There's tons of options available, so which make and model gives you the most power per dollar?
Welcome to the second official WTFoto Challenge! Last week's WTF Stock Photo Challenge went great (see winner here), so I figured it's time for another image search, this time—Fan Art!
Last week, I introduced a project that demonstrated how a BB machine gun could be made out of a soda bottle using only a handful of readily available parts. If you missed it, you can check out that project here before reading on.
Continued from Organize Yo'sef Part One!
It’s that time of year (in the U.S. anyway) when people are focused on getting organized -- or rather wishing they were organized. Being organized is great, it affords physical space, mental space and all but insures higher efficiency. But wishing and doing are two entirely different things. Wondering how to achieve the bliss of knowing where your stuff is? It’s easy... if you start small and don’t waste your valuable time watching TV shows or reading magazine articles on “how to” do it.
The biggest struggle with flashing DVD drives on Xbox 360s has been the price tag of the probe to extract keys on some drives. The probe and kit is required to extract the DVD key, which is needed to perform a drive repair, flash, or backup of any kind. Who wants to pay big bucks for the "pro" kit and then get added to a huge waiting list behind a million other people looking to buy the same product? We can hack the same thing together at home!
A little about myself and astronomy: I created this world because I love astronomy. I really, really, love astronomy. When I was ten, I went to a restaurant and saw a huge wall mural of the Andromeda Galaxy. At my house, we had a tiny refractor telescope. I knew this wasn't enough, so I bought (with help) an 8 inch Dobsonian reflector. I looked up one time to try to find something to look at and saw something fuzzy- the Orion Nebula. This is when I really got into using my telescope. I still ...
More Speed without buying expensive hardware. Windows Vista was never the step up in performance that people hoped for after XP. In fact a lot of people preferred the old XP or Linux until windows 7 arrived. Nevertheless there are a few things you can do to make your Vista OS system run faster and smoother.
Keep your smile pearly white without buying a teeth-whitening kit or making an expensive visit to the doctor's office. One popular home remedy is to add a little bit of baking soda to your tooth paste on a weekly basis when you brush your teeth. (Do not do this more than once a week, as too much baking soda can permanently erode the enamel on your teeth).
Dungeon Defenders is finally out on the PC, Xbox 360, and PS3. We've previously featured the tower defense RPG, and if you haven't had a chance to check out the PAX interview with Trendy Entertainment, now would be a good time.
eBooks are an amazing thing, especially with Amazon's Kindle. What's irrtating about eBooks as that you have an infinite selection of books at your fingertips, but they all cost so much! Well, as always, Null Byte has a trick up our sleeves for nabbing free ebooks from Google.
Nicholas Entertainment Group (NEG) is a Polish independent game publisher that recently got their hands dirty with development. Their first game (with Intoxicate Studios) is the forthcoming horror first-person shooter Afterfall: InSanity, which comes out next month—dangerously close to the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Battlefield 3 and Assassin's Creed Revelations release dates. That's some stiff competition for small company, especially since it's a $35 debut game.
Anyone who likes shooters is going to hate me for saying this: the best game of the 2000's for me was Psychonauts by Double Fine Studios. It came out in 2005 for the original Xbox, achieving critical acclaim, but never selling very well due to its sheer kookiness and poor marketing. Over the ensuing years it has become a cult classic, with downloadable re-releases on Xbox 360 (sadly no longer available). PC has allowed gamers who missed out on the original to bask in its ageless glory.
No Time To Explain is the first game by two man indie developer tiny Build Games. It's a fun and very stylish platformer in it's own right, available for $10 from the tiny Build website. Articles about the game on RockPaperShotgun, Destructoid, and other prominent PC sites helped it develop substantial hype and raise more than $26,000 via Kickstarter to fund development.
TINTYPE 62 points (12 points without the bingo) Definition: a kind of photograph [n]
The last week has been a trying one for me. On Sunday, there were four computers in my office, three of which were broken. The fourth was not really a computer, but more of a collection of parts that were cobbled together for the purpose of constructing a PC that would sneer derisively at the mere mention of turning down any game's ambient occlusion settings.
