Practical Concept Search Results

How To: Install a garage door opener

A garage door opener has become an almost indispensable part of modern life. It offers an overwhelming number of convenience and safety features that will make you wonder how you lived without one for so long. On a rainy night, the last thing you want to do is climb out of your car and heave the garage door open manually. Some garage door openers include an outdoor keypad that enable you to punch in a code to open the door – just in case you don’t have the remote control or your house keys. F...

How To: Celebrate National Boss's Day to Get What You Want by "Managing Your Boss"

Boss's Day is on October 16th, and this year it falls on a Saturday— what better of a day to celebrate Boss's Day? More than likely, you won't be working in the office this weekend, and if you are, you probably don't feel like celebrating and thanking your boss for being so kind and fair. So, forget the cake and ice cream and instead, take the chance to develop a good relationship with your boss, because hating or kissing up to your boss just isn't the way to go.

How to Pick Locks: Unlocking Pin and Tumbler Deadbolts

Lock picking is defined by locksmiths as "the art of opening a lock without the key". There's many ways to accomplish this, but I'm specifically interested in using a lock pick set. Since locks vary in shapes and size, it's better to stick with just one kind of lock at first. Most locks are based on fairly similar concepts, so sharing methods across locks is possible.

News: Advanced Cracking Techniques, Part 2: Intelligent Bruteforcing

Following the first part in this series on advanced cracking techniques, we are going to go over how we can intelligently crack passwords using the old-fashioned bruteforce method. These unique cracking techniques aren't widely used, because most crackers are Script Kiddies who have no idea what the concepts are behind cracking passwords, thus, word won't get around too quickly.

Weekend Homework: How to Become a Null Byte Contributor

We're officially seeking Null Byters on a weekly basis who would enjoy taking their time to educate the community. Contributors will write tutorials, which will be featured on the Null Byte blog, as well as the front page of WonderHowTo (if up to par, of course). This is a job meant for anyone with the will to share knowledge. There is no need to be intimidated if you fear you lack the writing skills. I will edit your drafts if necessary and get them looking top-notch! You can write tutorials...

News: So there's this new Predators movie.....

We don't often get super excited about upcoming flicks over at thesubstream.com, especially during the long, hot & more-often-than-not disappointing stretch of cinematic cruelty that summer has become. We've been hurt before. We've been buoyed up on cresting glorious waves of hype and what-ifs and heady nostalgia only to be sent hurling like a fat guy from Ohio on vacation down onto the cruel, razor sharp Jar-Jar Binks reef.

How To: Change the Google Logo to Your Favorite Google Doodle All Year Round

We all love it when the Google logo changes to celebrate or commemorate special events— pop-culture touchstones, civic milestones, scientific achievements and holidays— their latest one for this holiday season is a Christmas card to everyone— an interactive Google Doodle with 17 artworks from different artists, each depicting a seasonal greeting from a variety of cultures and countries.

How to Act Like a Food Snob: Molecular Gastronomy Edition

I first heard the term molecular gastronomy while watching an episode of Bravo's Top Chef a few seasons back. Intrigued by the concept, I sought to find out more about this modern, deconstructed type of cookery. If you happen to be around foodies and the topic of molecular gastronomy comes up (which very likely will at some point) you'll want to have a few points to contribute and maybe even give them a run for their money.

News: Stop Doing "Right" and Start Doing Well

Creativity is a very important aspect of keeping a balanced mind. The more balanced your mind is, the more able it will be to perform the tasks you ask of it. And don’t think “creativity” has to be writing a novel or painting a masterpiece. The brain (and ‘spirit’) can benefit from simple and small adventures in non-linear thought and action.

News: 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.

Scrabble Bingo of the Day: MIASMIC

Scrabble Bingo of the Day: MIASMIC [adj] Miasmic is an adjective for miasm (or miasma), which means a noxious vapor—"bad air" harmful to health. The word miasma comes from the ancient Greek word for pollution. And the concept of bad air also gave rise to the name malaria, from old Italian "mala" (bad) "aria" (air).

News: Goodbye Giveaway Tuesdays!

First, we'd like to congratulate Marek Antozi, the winner of our very last Giveaway Tuesdays! Photo Challenge. Thankful for Dialogue is a concept most family members can relate to—the occasional stressful Thanksgiving bickering and inevitable resolution is not uncommon, after all. ;)

News: Planning a Scavenger Hunt Based on Age

For any scavenger hunt to become a hit, you need to contemplate the age groups or capability levels of your persons who are actually going to take part. It's fairly apparent that the scavenger hunt easy enough to end up being completed by young kids could jolly well be boring for grownups that wouldn't be interested in something so easy. However, it is also a fact that integrating exactly the correct quantity of intricacy for various age ranges is usually pretty difficult. What do seven year ...

News: Cure Insomnia with the Pzizz Sleep Aid App for Android and iPhone

Dealing with insomnia? Just can't fall asleep at night? Well, there's a few things you can do to escape those restless nights. You can take a hot bath (unless you're a shower person), do some yoga (granted you can do the downward-facing dog), or try a little tapping (if you don't mind smacking yourself in the face). But let's face it—most people who have trouble sleeping use prescription medication or natural remedies like melatonin. If you don't want to be dependent on sleeping pills, then m...

Receipt Racer: A Paper and Laser Tangible Video Game

Video games have been a purely digital medium for some decades now. They exist in the electronic nether, embedded on discs and projected on screens. Since digital distribution has gained popularity, even the physical manifestation of the game disc is going away, leaving games (especially digitally distributed indie games) more ethereal than ever before. It is unclear whether this slightly unsettling fact was on the minds of the three people who made Receipt Racer, but regardless, it stands as...

News: Enter the Weird World of Hojamaka Games

Without Japan, video games would not be very fun. Atari's early work was important, but Japanese developers, publishers, and hardware makers were responsible for almost every major advance in video games for the first 25 years of their mainstream existence. In recent years, it has often been said that they have become less relevant than Western developers. In the indie games movement— (our area of greatest interest here at Indie Games Ichiban)—Japan does not have anywhere near the presence th...

What You See Is What You Get: The Street Art of RERO

Inspired by the beauty of traditional signage printed on doors and buildings, Rero is a French graffiti artist who makes a simple, yet heavy mark. Using the universally common Verdena typeface, Rero brands abandoned public spaces in extreme disarray with his own codified messages based on theories of public use of imagery and private property.

How To: How Would You Explain the Kindle to Charles Dickens?

Everyone knows who Charles Dickens is—the famous English author responsible for such iconic novels as Great Expectations, A Christmas Carol and The Adventures of Oliver Twist. But what if this Victorian era novelist (who died in 1870) was resurrected into today’s futuristic world? How would you explain the concept of a technology he’s never seen before? Even something that perfectly fits his area of expertise—books? How would you elucidate the Amazon Kindle?

Outland: A Polarizing Experience

Sticking with our theme of XBLA games with uninspiring names, we have Outland. This game shares its name with an unrelated sci-fi cult film from 1981, unrelated comic strip from the '90s, and unrelated region in World of Warcraft. Didn't exactly try hard to build name recognition. Other than that, Finnish developer Housemarque has created the best 2D platformer I've seen in years.

Size Matters: World's Largest Touchscreen Hacked Together with Ordinary Hardware

It's gigantic! It can handle over 100 simultaneous touch points! It has a curvature of 135 degrees! And best of all, it is not the newest, insanely expensive gadget to hit the market. Instead, this touchscreen was hacked together with a bunch of PCs, video cameras, projectors and cheap infrared illuminators at the University of Groningen, in the Netherlands. It works like this: "The cameras, illuminators and projectors are all placed behind a large, cylindrical screen (formally used as a 3D t...

News: Disposable Wedding Dress?

Want a dress that's so eco-friendly you can literally make it disappear after the ceremony? This new gown, from British researchers at Sheffield Hallam Unniversity does just that. It actually dissolves in water, reports the U.K.'sTelegraph. The dress is made with polyvinyl alcohol -- the same stuff found in laundry bags and washing detergents -- sewn into the fabric. That basically makes it water soluble, and dissolves it without harming the environment.

News: There's No Such Thing As Perfection... But I Am Expecting It???

What Am I Doing???? Last night, I was reminded on the negative impacts of striving for perfection. It's not possible to be perfect. We describe many things as being perfect. IE, an afghan, a hat, a tablecloth and more over, there is always something better... a different colour, a slightly different pattern, and so on. As time progesses, the colours we choose this fall might be the OUT colours of next fall.