Thursday, May 29, 2008

Windows Steady State


Use Windows SteadyState to manage and lock down user accounts for shared access computers

Posted on July 20, 2007 at 10:36 am

Windows SteadyState is a new and free software application for Windows XP that allows non-IT Professionals to protect and secure shared computers quickly and easily. This program is basically a stripped down easy to use version of Group Policy Management Console in Windows Server 2003. Now you might be wondering why I am writing about it on a blog that's supposed to be for the "common man"!? Well, it's because this program is not meant for IT Pro's, it's meant for regular people who need to control a few shared computers, such as at a library, Internet cafe, school, or in your home.

The program is very small (only 4MB), but it has a lot of features and it's very simple to setup. This is a great program for anyone who has lots of kids and there is only one poor desktop that gets used by everyone for Internet, music, movies, games, work, etc. Eventually that computer gets a virus or a crap load of spyware and then the IT Pro has to be called (like me), who then charges you $100 to wipe out the whole system and reinstall it fresh! If you're already in that state, this won't help you!

Otherwise, you can setup your new freshly configured desktop with Windows SteadyState and do the following things: place restrictions on an account by account basis (these include restricting access to Windows settings, controlling Internet access, protecting files and folders from being accessed, and removing items from Windows interface), schedule software updates, and use Windows Disk Protection to prevent any changes to the operating system.

Once the program is installed, you'll get a help guide that will walk you through all of the settings that you can configure. Here's what the main screen of the program looks like:

Clicking on Set Computer Restrictions will give you the options for restrictions that are to be placed for the entire computer, regardless of the user account. Schedule Software Updates is basically the Automatic Updates console from the Control Panel: you can schedule a time for updates and also choose which security programs you would want updated if you have Anti-Virus installed.

The main features, however, are the things you can do with user accounts. First, you would want to click Add a New User to create a new shared user profile. For the User Location, choose the C drive unless you have Windows Disk Protection on. I'll explain why later. Now that you have a new user, you can click their name in the User Settings box and configure all of the restrictions! And there's a lot of them!

The General Settings allow you to lock the profile, so that if the user makes changes to the desktop, start menu, etc, those changes will not be saved once the user logs off. You can also set a timer for an idle or in-use session, so that the computer will log off after a specified number of minutes.

But it only gets fun once you get to Windows Restrictions! Here you can either choose a template setting of High, Medium, Low or No restrictions or you can manually check and uncheck the features you desire. They are broken down into Start Menu and General Restrictions. I would suggest just picking one of the templates and seeing how it works on your own. You can also hide certain drives from the user also!

Next up are the Feature restrictions, which include Internet Explorer and Microsoft Office. Here is where you can block all sites on the Internet, except the few that you want your child to view. Again, you can choose a template from the left side. If you're not sure what these options mean, go ahead and set them and then use the account yourself to test whether it stops you from doing something you would want that user to be able to do.

And lastly, you can block programs that you don't want that user to be able to run. The nice thing is that you get a list of every program installed on your computer on the left and you simply have to choose it and add it to the box on the right to block it! So if you don't want someone to run Yahoo Messenger or open up TurboTax and view your tax info, add it to the right!

Also, I forgot to mention what Windows Disk Protection does! If you turn that on, it will basically protect your Windows systems files from being changed. That means, let's say you turn it on and install 10 programs, then once you restart the computer, the computer will revert back to the state it was in when you first turned the protection on, which means all those programs are gone. This is only useful if you want to protect a computer from viruses and spyware or you do not want anything changed after a certain configuration (useful for libraries or schools).

So that's Windows SteadyState! A free and very cool program that you can use to help prevent your computer from becoming a piece of junk! I can attest that placing restrictions on computers is the BEST way to avoid spyware, viruses or just a slow computer. It's used in just about every office of large organizations, but has always been too complicated to use for regular folks at smaller places.

Try it out!

16 Firefox Add-ons For Web Designers

16 Firefox Add-ons For Web Designers

Firefox can be extended to do just about anything you want, so why not have it help you with your web development and design? We've got a dozen suggestions to get you started down the road of turning Firefox into a powerful design and development tool in your arsenal.

Be sure to check our first toolbox of Firefox add-ons for developers and designers, too.

    font finder

Font Finder - Highlight any text on a page, right click to click on "Font Finder" and you can get all of the styling information for that section.

    linkevaluator

Link Evaluator - Quickly check the links in a page to make they are resolving to live links. Good links show up as green, problem links will show up in red.

    LiveHTTPHeaders

LiveHTTPHeaders - Adds a way to view the headers to the page info viewing area, will also let you work on new ones in real time.

    operaview

OperaView - Just like the infamous IE ab, OperaView lets you view webpages as rendered by Opera without ever leaving Firefox.

    pagediff

Pagediff - Compare the coding of two different pages so that you can see where they differ. It may just help you figure out a tricky coding solution.

    Python Sidebar for Mozilla

Python Sidebar for Mozilla - You can add this quick reference to your Firefox sidebar for quick reference to Python commands.

    rankquest

RankQuest - Toolbar that gives you rank checking abilities, will test your headers, verify your pages and a heck of a lot more.

    seoforfirefox

SEOforFriefox - Adds information to your Yahoo and Google searches giving you instant knowledge of the site's standings with various ranking services for easy reference as you check out your competition.

SEOQuake - Gives you a lot of options for checking the ranking of your site to see how you place in various search engines.

    total validator

Total Validator - An all-in-one validation tool that will check HTML, Links, take screenshots and a lot more.

    validaty

Validaty - Adds a one-click button to check the validness of the HTML in a page.

    view cookies

View Cookies - Adds a tab to the Page Info screen that lets you see the cookies being set by a page, a quick way to test your own cookies.

    viewsourcewith

ViewSourceWith - Allows you to open files such as CSS in external editors directly.

Web Developer Toolbar - Gives you a plethora of tools such as disabling portions of a web page, shutting off cookies, viewing source and more.

    window resizer

Window Resizer - Automatically resize your browser window between 640×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1280×1024, 1600×1200 to see how pages appear at these resolutions.

    yslow

YSlow - Ever wondered why a page is loading slowly? This tool from Yahoo will help you determine which part of the page is causing the hang-up.

Monday, May 26, 2008

Negotiations - Harvard Syle

Harvard Negotiation Project: 5 Lasting Rules For Negotiating Anything

Carleen Hawn, Sunday, May 25, 2008 at 9:00 AM PT Comments (6)

I recently had dinner with a friend of mine, a physician-turned-businessperson-turned-founder. We were discussing the virtues of transferable skills, and I asked him what management tools he brings to entrepreneurship from his earlier career in medicine. He pondered a bit before confessing that radiology skills don't, in fact, translate so easily. Instead he referred me to what he called "one of the most valuable books" he's ever read.

Turns out he was referring to one of the original publications to come out of the famed Harvard Negotiation Project, a seminal workshop that was started in 1979 with a mission to improve dispute and conflict resolution. Harvard's researchers focused on negotiation for all kinds of conflicts, from the interpersonal to the international geopolitical. But since conflict negotiation is something businesspeople do daily, it's not surprising that the fruits of their work were also published as a business book just two years later in the now classic best-seller, "Getting to YES: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In," by Roger Fisher, Bill Ury and Bruce Patton.

I picked it up. As my friend suggested, it's as relevant as it always was, a common sense approach to effective negotiation rooted in five basic ideas. And if you can manage to absorb and apply these five rules, you'll be much better off going into your next deal.

1. Don't Bargain Over Positions
Most of us begin negotiation by identifying a position and arguing for it, such as: "I want to retain the CEO title." But such positional bargaining can limit your ability to arrive at a "wise agreement" that benefits both parties — the proverbial middle ground and the whole purpose of negotiation. Instead of thinking of a "position," identify the goal. You want remuneration for the sweat you put into your company. You want, for example, status (to remain CEO). But a specific position is binary — you either get it or you don't. A goal can be attained in many ways, giving you many more options for arriving at a solution.

2. Separate the People From the Problem
Most negotiation is emotional. You want something, after all. And emotion clouds our objectivity. But you can limit the emotional content of your negotiation by thinking of the person you're talking to as your partner and the problem you're trying to solve as an object. Take, for example, the question of how much a company's equity is worth. In this case, you're not negotiating against the investor over a position, you're engaged with that person to arrive at the right answer to the question. Some will urge you to make your negotiation opponent a partner, but this can lead to Stockholm Syndrome. Instead just think of engaging the other person, using their input to arrive at the right answer. Maintain your independence.

3. Focus on Interests

We all have interests. The pursuit to fulfill our interests leads up to adopt positions. But bargaining for stated positions, such as titles, will not necessarily produce a wise agreement that takes care of the interests that led you to adopt the positions in the first place. Think instead: I want to remain engaged in the business. There are many ways to achieve goals without having specific positions.

4. Invent Options for Mutual Gain
This is the creative part. You must examine each other's interests to come up with options in which both parties gain. Your investors have an interest in a pro-CEO who can sell into large corporations (you've never done that). You need funding, but also want to remain engaged. Both parties can draft a list of options for your new role that satisfy everyone's needs: COO, president, chief innovation officer, etc. Negotiate from this list.

5. Insist on Using Objective Criteria

We all have personal standards. CEO conveys more status than chairman, etc. The key is to let go of personal standards in favor of objective ones upon which both parties can agree. (Think of the Kelley Blue Book, a set of agreed-upon standards for those looking to buy or sell a car). But here you have to do some real homework and investigate the objective standards that apply to your negotiation ahead of time. Some to consider: market value; legal or business precedent; scientific judgments (patents); efficiency; and reciprocity.

When Body Building Goes too Far

Bodybuilder Ronnie Coleman 21


Bodybuilder 3

Bodybuilder 1

Bodybuilder 2

Bodybuilder 4



Bodybuilder 5

Bodybuilder 6

Women Too
Bodybuilder Kim Chizevsky 15


Bodybuilder Kim Chizevsky 18

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Reboot your Sleep Cycle

Easy way to reset your sleep cycle: Stop eating

15 comments

Posted May 25, 2008 - 06:39 by Will Chen

Filed under Channel: Extra Commentary
Filed under Age:

beat_jet_lag.jpg
Photo: Mayr

Not eating for 12-16 hours can help people quickly reset their sleep-wake cycle, according to a new study from the Harvard Medical School. This discovery can drastically improve a person's ability to cope with jet lag or adjust to working late shifts.

Scientists have long known that our circadian rhythm is regulated by our exposure to light. Now they have found a second "food clock" that takes over when we are hungry. This mechanism probably evolved to make sure starving mammals don't go to sleep when they should be foraging for food.

The lead researcher Clifford Saper explains:

The neat thing about this second clock is that it can override the main clock ... and you should just flip into that new time zone in one day.

It usually takes people a week to fully adjust to a new time zone or sleeping schedule. To think that this new "food clock" hack can help you change your internal clock in one day is mind boggling.

How does it work?

For example, if you want to start waking up at 2:00 am in the morning, you should stop eating between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm the previous day. When you wake up at 2:00 am, eat a nice healthy meal to break your fast.

Another example: If you are travelling from Los Angeles to Tokyo, figure out when breakfast is served in Tokyo, and don't eat for the 12-16 hours before Tokyo's breakfast time.

Why does this work?

Like everything else in our evolutionary history, it has to do with survival:

"For a small mammal, finding food on a daily basis is a critical mission. Even a few days of starvation, a common threat in natural environments, may result in death," the study said.

"Hence, it is adaptive for animals to have a secondary "master clock" that can allow the animal to switch its behavioral patterns rapidly after a period of starvation to maximize the opportunity of finding food sources at the same time on following days."

The shift is a survival mechanism in small mammals that forces them to change their sleeping patterns, Fuller suggests. One starvation cycle is enough to override the traditional light-based circadian clock, the study suggests.

"This new timepiece enables animals to switch their sleep and wake schedules in order to maximize their opportunity of finding food."

"A period of fasting with no food at all for about 16 hours is enough to engage this new clock," says Saper.

"So, in this case, simply avoiding any food on the plane, and then eating as soon as you land, should help you to adjust — and avoid some of the uncomfortable feelings of jet lag." CBC (quoting study published in the May 22 issue of Science.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

8 Types of People Found in Starbucks

Here are 8 types of people you'll find inside a Starbucks that are guaranteed to annoy the shit out of you.

8. Manager Who Refuses to Recognize the Words Small, Medium, and Large

manager.jpg

I understand, you're a corporate guy and thus must abide by company policies by calling the different sizes by their Starbucks Christian names of Venti, Grande, etc…. But if I ask you for a small, don't act like I'm speaking to you in that Native American langauge we used in World War II to deliver coded messages. You're familiar with the sizes small, medium and large, and if you're not, then you might want to change underwear because there's a good chance there's a sizeable amount of shit in them due to your inability to grasp the concept of wiping your asshole after defecating.

7. Intern Who is Buying for the Entire Office

intern2.jpg

Wearing an all-white or striped button down shirt, this guy shows up with a legal pad full of hastily scribbled orders. "Yeah, I'm gonna need 24 tall skinny soy lattes with sugar free hazelnut extra hot…and 32 grande no caff cappuccinos with light whip cream, sugar free hazelnut and vanilla with white chocolate mocha. And 14 grande supremos with a triple shot, sugar free vanilla, extra white mocha, no whip, no foam and an extra drizzle. Oh, and can I get a smiley face on the bottom of all those?" And he knows if one of these orders is screwed up, it's going to cost him a chance at the a full-time gig as assistant editor where he can bring coffee to even more important people. So instead of just grabbing his bags and leaving, he inspects all 70-odd cups in his 17 flimsy cardboard holders. If you get behind this guy, you may as well give up any hopes of getting a cup of joe in your lifetime. You're better off flying to Columbia, slitting Juan Valdez's throat and stealing his coffee-harvesting burro.

6. The Writer Who Wants You to Know They're a Writer

writer2.jpg

Being a writer is a pretty cool occupation, but unfortunately you can't tell someone's a writer just by looking at them. And having to tell someone you're a writer is way less impressive. Therefore, these people go to the busiest Starbucks and pop open their iMac, making sure their screen is clearly displaying a full page of text (or clear screenplay format for those in Los Angeles). Their next step is to make sure they're facing away from where everyone goes to pick up their drinks while staring at the screen while remembering to take deep breaths which will indicate to others that deep and creative thought that normal minds are not capable of, is taking place. Who gives a shit if an asshole and his mac have spent six hours taking up a table normally reserved for four people, it's important you know that they're juggling a complex story about a boy in Alaska who comes of age and befriends a bear. That's right, they're creating that using only their minds!

5. Overly Happy Line Greeter/Order Taker

baristaged.jpg

At some point, the Starbucks Corporation realized that their growing legions of employees didn't have the best people skills. Their answer was to create their own version of the Wal-Mart Greeter who also takes your order. But since they don't pay shit, you end up having some G.E.D.-havin' dumbass or an excruciatingly-lonely elderly woman force their brand of corporate chit-chat down your throat. Instead of waiting to pay for your overpriced chai in peace, you have to deal with: "Goooooood morning today! How are you? Some kinda weather we're having isn't it? I wish I was outside in the park! Wouldn't that be nice? It's sooooo sunny! And what's better for you than a nice big dose of Mr. Sun! Maybe some coffee? Ha! So, what can we get you today? Need a little pick-me-up? You do! I think we ALL could use one, yes we could! YES WE COULD! Anyway, I'll get this chai order right up for you. What's your name? Terry? That's my cousin's name! Small world. Yes. It. Is. Small world indeed….Hi! And how are you doing today?!?!"

4. Complicated Order Guy Who Needs his Coffee Right The F*&K Now.

businessdude.jpg

When you order coffee, it shouldn't sound like you're giving the pass code to a missile defense system. If you're lactose intolerant, on a strict diet, and can't handle a full dose of caffeine, how about instead of ordering a "non-fat, grande, soy chai latte with a half shot of espresso and no foam" and then stand in front of the pick up window and pace like one of Michael Vick's pitbulls watching Vick pull out the rape stand after losing a fight, you just grab a glass of god damn water and drink that. Last I checked that won't give you exploding diarrhea or anxiety… unless you're at the Starbucks in Tijuana.

3. The Guy Who Hates Starbucks But Goes There Every Day

dudewhohatestarbucks.jpg

Armed with armchair political rants, this guy is the world's biggest bore and the world's biggest hypocrite combined into one big uber-shithead. He won't shut up about how Starbucks is bad for the environment and how they're taking over the world and how their coffee totally "doesn't taste like the gourmet stuff downtown." But when you bring up the fact that he's ranting about Starbucks while he's actually inside a Starbucks, his crappy hippie-wannabe excuses just start piling up. "Well, here's the thing, I just didn't have time to make it over to my usual coffee place. You know the one way over on 2nd Ave? Yeah, it's one of the last mom and pop coffee shops in the area. I toooootally love that place. It's so real. I was on my way over there, but the traffic was a killer, so I was totally forced to get my fix at this place. I mean, the rich get richer, right? That's the law of the land. I totally can't stand that I have to come here, but that's what they do. They tie your hands, man. These big corporations. They just own you. They're everywhere. Can you hand me one of those Splenda?"

2. Study Groups

campus_starbucks.jpg

Hey, screw the library with all it's "room" and "group space." It makes way more sense to go to an incredibly busy and crowded Starbucks with tables that have insufficient space to lay your books. Everyone knows you have a poli-sci midterm, mostly because they can hear every fucking thing you're saying because you're yelling so that you can be heard over a frappucino being made. If you could, would you hold a study group session in a Turkish prison? Because Starbucks is basically the same thing, except with less gay sex, and a little bit better coffee.

1. The Person Who Peruses the DVD Section As If They Might Purchase.

akeelahbee.jpg

It's really great when you're waiting in line behind somebody only to realize that they're not in line, but instead deciding whether or not they want to purchase the "Pursuit of Happyness" DVD. "Gee what's this movie Pursuit of Happyness about? I didn't hear of it last summer when it grossed over 100 million dollars. Even though I've come here for coffee, I should carefully peruse the back cover to find out more about it!" Also, please don't pick up a copy of "Akeelah and the Bee" as if you were going to buy it. No one buys that movie. In fact, I'm pretty sure it's not even a real movie, it was just a box cover created by a group of white Starbucks executives so that customers could hold it in their hands and pretend to read the back, giving the impression to those around them that they're progressive thinkers who seek out and enjoy films with African American casts.

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Monday, May 19, 2008

Secure Your Data

Best Free Ways to Protect Your Private Files


When you're saving sensitive files on your computer meant for your eyes only, make sure you've got the right tools on hand to keep them private. Whether you want to shield your brilliant startup business plan from the Pointy Haired Boss, or hide your stash of Gillian Anderson photos from the kids, there are several free tools that can encrypt, password-protect, or obscure files and folders from others who might use your computer. Let's take a look at various methods, tools, and levels of privacy and security you can use to lock up your sensitive data.

TrueCrypt Encrypts Entire Volumes or Just Folders

truecrypt_thumb.pngThe strongest and most bulletproof consumer encryption tool out there is the free, cross-platform, open source TrueCrypt. TrueCrypt requires more setup and elbow grease than other, lesser-secure options, but your efforts buy you Top Secret government file-level security and encryption, the kind that even the FBI agents who break into your house on a surprise sting will have trouble cracking if you manage to close the container before they get to you. (We say this for illustrative purposes, in the hope that you're not reading this to find out how to dodge FBI agents.)

Here's how to encrypt entire disks or subsets of files and folders with TrueCrypt.

Encrypt Passwords (and Files!) with KeePass

keepassattach_thumb.pngTo secure a list of passwords or software serial numbers, look no further than KeePass Password Safe, an encrypted database that will lock up your sensitive logins tight as a drum. A lesser-known KeePass feature lets you attach files to database entries, which means you can also use it to lock up data as well (though this works best for files associated with various KeePass entries).

Here's more on how to securely track your passwords (and files) with KeePass.

Hide or Password-Protect Files and Folders with Free Utilities

Several Windows utilities offer ways to assign a password to a folder full of files, or just plain text files. Here's a sampling:
  • 7-Zip: Primarily an archiving, zip utility, the free 7-Zip offers a handy feature for the privacy-minded: the ability to password an archive you create with it. Keep in mind that others can browse file and folder name listings in passworded archives, but the password is required to extract them.
  • My LockBox (original post): It won't stop someone from finding your files by booting up a Linux live CD, for example, but for a simple way to assign a password to a folder, My LockBox gets the job done.
  • Free Hide Folder 2.0 (original post): Similar to My Lockbox in that it's low-level protection, Free Hide Folder does a bit more than just checking off the "Hidden" box in Windows' file Properties dialog.
  • fSekrit (original post): Turn your secret plain text file into a password-protected .exe file with fSekrit, which is small enough to fit snugly on your USB thumb drive.

Mac users, it's very simple for you to create an encrypted disk image with Disk Utility.

Embed Data Inside Innocent-Looking Files with Steganography

stego_thumb1.png If you want to transmit private data via email or embed a password somewhere most people wouldn't dream of looking, you want to try out steganography. A kind of digital invisible ink, stego uses the big mass of bits that make up digital files to obscure private data—so only those with the proper decoder can see it.

Check out our full guide to hiding data in files with easy steganography tools.

Installation-Free Privacy Through Obscurity

If you can't install any special tools on the computer where you'd like to hide files, there are a few low-security Windows tweaks that can help you keep folders out of unwanted hands. You can always hide folders and files inside Windows by checking off that box in the Properties dialog (and making sure that "Show hidden files" isn't enabled in Windows Explorer), but to take things a step further, see how Lifehacker reader Sean uses a blank folder name to hide secret files.

As commenters in the original post point out, this is NOT a high-security tact, it's just enough to keep casual computer browsers from finding your stuff.

What are your favorite methods and tools for hiding private files? Tell us about 'em in the comments.

Gina Trapani, the editor of Lifehacker, likes to keep some folders and files to herself. Her weekly feature, Geek to Live, appears every Monday on Lifehacker. Subscribe to the Geek to Live feed to get new installments in your newsreader.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

50 Tips for the Kitchen

ou know all of those helpful kitchen-related suggestions that old-timers are so willing to share with the younger generations? These little tips and tricks might be called "kitchen hacks" these days, but they're still the same good old nuggets of wisdom that they always were. As with any old wives' tale, hack, or tip, your mileage may vary. Some of these gems have been around for several lifetimes - and according to most grandmas, they really work.

1. For cleaning smelly hands after chopping onions or garlic, just rub them on a stainless steel spoon. The steel is supposed to absorb the odor.

coffee beans

2. Fresh coffee beans can also absorb nasty odors from your hands.

3. If you happen to over-salt a pot of soup, just drop in a peeled potato. The potato will absorb the excess salt.

boiling eggs

4. When boiling eggs, add a pinch of salt to keep the shells from cracking.

5. Never put citrus fruits or tomatoes in the fridge. The low temperatures degrade the aroma and flavor of these persnickety fruits.

6. To clean cast iron cookwear, don't use detergents. Just scrub them with salt and a clean, dry paper towel.

7. Will milk curdle if it is allowed to boil? It turns out that this age-old piece of wisdom isn't true, after all. Milk that has been boiled is perfectly safe to consume.

8. To clean an electric kettle with calcium buildup on the heating element, boil a mixture of half white vinegar and half water, then empty.

9. When storing empty airtight containers, throw in a pinch of salt to keep them from getting stinky.

10. If you are making gravy and accidentally burn it, just pour it into a clean pan and continue cooking it. Add sugar a little at a time, tasting as you go to avoid over-sugaring it. The sugar will cancel out the burned taste.

11. Burned a pot of rice? Just place a piece of white bread on top of the rice for 5-10 minutes to draw out the burned flavor. Be careful not to scrape the burned pieces off of the bottom of the pan when serving the rice.

chili peppers

12. Before you chop chili peppers, rub a little vegetable oil into your hands and your skin won't absorb the spicy chili oil.

13. If you aren't sure how fresh your eggs are, place them in about four inches of water. Eggs that stay on the bottom are fresh. If only one end tips up, the egg is less fresh and should be used soon. If it floats, it's past the fresh stage.

14. To banish ants from the kitchen, find out where they are coming in and cover the hole with petroleum jelly. Ants won't trek through the jelly. If they are coming under a door, draw a line on the floor with chalk. The little bugs also won't cross a line of chalk.

15. Before making popcorn on the stove or in an air popper, soak the kernels in water for 10 minutes. Drain the water, then pop as normal. The additional moisture helps the popcorn pop up quicker and fluffier with fewer "old maids."

bananas

16. Don't store your bananas in a bunch or in a fruit bowl with other fruits. Separate your bananas and place each in a different location. Bananas release gases which cause fruits (including other bananas) to ripen quickly. Separating them will keep them fresh longer.

17. To keep potatoes from budding in the bag, put an apple in with them.

18. If you manage to have some leftover wine at the end of the evening, freeze it in ice cube trays for easy addition to soups and sauces in the future.

19. To clean crevices and corners in vases and pitchers, fill with water and drop in two Alka-Seltzer tablets. The bubbles will do the scrubbing.

20. After boiling pasta or potatoes, cool the water and use it to water your house plants. The water contains nutrients that your plants will love.

21. When you clean your fish tank, the water you drain can also be used to water your house plants. The nitrogen and phosphorus in fish droppings make aquarium water a great fertilizer.

22. When defrosting meat from the freezer, pour some vinegar over it. Not only does it tenderize the meat; it will also bring down the freezing temperature of the meat and cause it to thaw quicker.

onions

23. The substance in onions that causes your eyes to water is located in the root cluster of the onion. Cut this part out in a cone shape, with the largest part of the cone around the exterior root section.

24. Taking the top layer off of a onion can also reduce the amount of eye-watering misery.

25. Toothpaste is a great silver cleaner.

26. Baking soda isn't as effective a deodorizer for the fridge as that baking soda company would like you to believe. Activated charcoal is much better at absorbing fridge and freezer odors.

27. Baking soda is an extremely effective cleaner, though. Use it with vinegar to deodorize drains and clean stovetops and sinks.

28. A favorite tip of thousands of grandmas: when you nick your finger while cutting veggies, wait until the bleeding stops and paint on a layer of clear nail polish. It will keep juices out of the wound and won't fall off into the spaghetti sauce like a bandage.

29. The jury is still out on what to put in the bag of brown sugar to keep it from going hard: a slice of apple, a piece of bread, and a shard of a terra cotta pot have all been used.

adhesive tape

30. Got a nasty invisible splinter from your kitchen tools? Put a piece of adhesive tape on the area and then pull it off to remove the splinter.

31. When you burn yourself in the kitchen, just spread mustard on the affected area. Leave it for a while and it will ease the pain and prevent blistering.

32. For aluminum pans that are looking dull, just boil some apple peels in them. This will brighten up the aluminum and make your house smell yummy.

33. To keep cookies fresh, savvy grannies like to put some crumpled-up tissue paper in the bottom of the cookie jar.

34. If your salt is clumping up, put a few grains of rice in with it to absorb excess moisture.

35. To clean fruit stains off of your fingers, rub them with a fresh, peeled potato. White vinegar can also do the trick.

36. Keep iceberg lettuce fresh in the fridge by wrapping it in a clean, dry paper towel and storing lettuce and paper towel in a sealed baggie in the fridge.

37. If your loaf of bread is starting to go stale, just put a piece of fresh celery in the bag and close it back up. For some reason, this restores a fresh taste and texture to the bread.

aloe vera plant

38. Always keep an aloe vera plant in your kitchen. It's invaluable when you scrape your arm or burn your finger. Just break off a leaf and rub the gel from the inside on the injury.

39. When making a soup, sauce, or casserole that ends up too fatty or greasy, drop in an ice cube. The ice will attract the fat, which you can then scoop out.

40. To reuse cooking oil without tasting whatever was cooked in the oil previously, cook a 1/4″ piece of ginger in the oil. It will remove any remaining flavors and odors.

41. If your milk always goes bad before you can finish it, try adding a pinch of salt to the carton when you first open it. It will stay fresh days longer.

42. Water that has been boiled and allowed to cool will freeze faster than water from the tap. This comes in handy when you're having a party and need ice pronto.

43. Remove tea or coffee stains from your fine china by mixing up a paste of baking soda, lemon juice, and cream of tartar. Rub it over the stains and they'll come off easily.

44. If two drinking glasses become stuck together after stacking, it's not impossible to unstick them. Just put ice in the inner glass and dunk the outer glass in warm water. The warm glass will expand and the cold glass will contract, making the glasses separate easily.

45. For splinters under the fingernail, soaking the affected finger in a bowl of milk with a piece of bread in it is said to draw out the splinter.

cola

46. Did grandpa ever give you a drink of cola for an upset tummy? It turns out that this is actually a pretty effective remedy. The sugar and carbonation can soothe many tummy problems - but it can also exacerbate others.

47. Putting salty bacon on a boil is said to "draw the poison out" of boils.

48. To help old wooden drawers (without runners) open and close smoothly, rub a candle on the tracks.

49. A cotton ball soaked in white vinegar and applied to a fresh bruise will reduce the darkness of the bruise and help it disappear sooner.

50. Drinking cranberry juice and eating blueberries regularly will help stave off urinary tract infections.