From the monthly archives: June 2012
Interesting infographic on Pinterest’s exploding popularity – from LinkJuice:
This is kind of ironic as we once needed some powered sugar and the local store was out since it was a “seasonal” item – lol! If I had only known about how to make it myself, this would have been great! Many people suggest adding a tablespoon of corn starch to a cup of sugar to add a little flavor and aid in anti-clumping. Details from Lifehacker:
If you ever need powdered sugar and don’t have any on hand you can make it yourself by blending regular granulated sugar in a blender for a minute or two.
Last night my wife decided to use up leftover lemons by making lemon bars, but we were out of powdered sugar to dust the bars. Fortunately natural household weblog Keeper of the Home shared the tip on their page for making unrefined powdered sugar. The authors of that weblog use naturally-produced sugars such as Sucanat or Rapadura but rest assured that the technique works equally well with plain white granulated sugar.
If you have a smaller or less-powerful blender you won’t want to make more than a cup at a time as the weight of the sugar will pack down the blades and overwork the blender motor. Even if you have a Vita-Mix or other performance blender you will still only want to make a maximum of two cups in a single batch. In our Magic Bullet we made a half cup by blending for 45 seconds or so. Also keep in mind that blending sugar could scratch a plastic blending jar—I didn’t notice any scratching on our Magic Bullet, but it might scratch with repeated use.
If you compare the cost per ounce of powdered sugar to granulated sugar you might find it worth your time to forget commercial powdered sugar and make it yourself as needed.
How to Make Your Own (Unrefined) Powdered Sugar | Keeper of the Home
Yuck! Enough said……
From FoxNews:
It’s flu season again and it seems like the biggest carrier of germs could be that sleek little smartphone you just can’t live without.
That’s right. Personal touch-screen devices like iPhones, iPads, Droids and BlackBerrys carry more germs than a toilet in a subway bathroom, according to a study published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology.
And that’s not even the half of it. The study also found that these devices are so good at spreading viruses, that sharing them may be as bad as sneezing in someone’s face.
“If you’re sharing the device, then you’re sharing your influenza with someone else who touches it,” Timothy Julian, a Stanford University doctoral student who co-authored the study, told the Sacramento Bee
.
“If you put virus on a surface, like an iPhone, about 30 percent of it will get on your fingertips,” Julian said.
And if you’re really worried about getting the flu – stop by your local drug store or call your doctor to get the seasonal flu shot.
Wow! Awesome timelapse footage of my city! This is really cool from Copious Films:
Downtown LA Timelapse from Copious Films on Vimeo.
Copious Films presents a Downtown LA timelapse of traffic. It was all shot on a couple of Canon 7D DSLRs.
The music is by:
TRON: Legacy (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Daft Punk
Love the idea of cheap and fast and easy cleaning! Here are some floor cleaning tips from Lifehacker:
Before you spend all day mopping your wood or laminate floors with straight soap and water only to track back over them before they’re dry, add a little glass cleaner—or vinegar, if you prefer—to your mop water or solution before you get started. The fast-drying glass cleaner will promote faster drying and leave your floors ready to walk on sooner than if you had used soapy water alone.
This tip comes to us from Redditor maruluna, although it’s a pretty old idea for those of us who have spent any length of time trying to keep a high-traffic floor clean. Vinegar is another good option, mostly because it too evaporates quickly and its cleaning power is well documented. Still, whatever you do, make sure you don’t drown your wood or laminate floors with solution when you clean them—too much liquid and you’ll do more harm than good. Have you tried this before, or have a different method to get the floors clean without everyone walking on them before they’re dry? Let us know in the comments.
LPT: Glass cleaner in mop water with floor cleaner prevents footprints and accelerates drying. | Reddit
A small taste of things to come (iOS6) with this new app release from Apple. Looks like a cool way to manage your podcasts! Details from MacRumors:
Earlier this month, it was reported that Apple would be launching a standalone podcast app in iOS 6. Instead of waiting for the next version of iOS, Apple posted the Podcast app on the App Store today. [App Store]
Podcasts app is the easiest way to discover, subscribe to and play your favorite podcasts on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Explore hundreds of thousands of free audio and video podcasts from the Podcasts Catalog, and play the most popular podcasts, organized for you by topic, with the all-new Top Stations feature.
Features:
- Enjoy all of your audio and video podcasts in a single app
- Explore hundreds of thousands of podcasts including shows in over 40 languages
- Try the innovative new Top Stations feature to find new podcast series in a variety of topics, including arts, business, comedy, music, news, sports, and more.
- Browse by Audio or Video podcasts, or see what’s most popular in Top Charts
- Tap subscribe for your favorites and automatically receive new episodes for free as they become available
- Stream episodes or download to listen while offline
- Skip forward and back using simple playback controls
- Turn on Sleep Timer to automatically stop playing a podcast while listening in bed
- Share your favorite episodes with friends using Twitter, Messages and Mail
- Optionally sync your favorite episodes from iTunes on your Mac or PC
- Sync your episode playback for seamless transition between devices
The app supports streaming or downloading of episodes and offers syncing of episode playback between devices. This means that users can, for example, start listening to a podcast on their iPhone and finish on the iPad.
Update: Some users have noticed a redeem button within the Podcast app suggesting the possibility of paid podcasts down the line.
Podcasts is a free download for the iPhone and iPad on the App Store. [Direct Link]
