Here’s an easy and cheap way to make your own noise blocking headphones. All you need is a pair of ear-protection earmuffs ($15.50), a cutting tool, and airline/walkman style headphones.
how-to
Make Your Own Replacement Snow Shovel Blade
By 4.25.07
“This last winter broken snow shovels starting appearing everywhere. I tried to track down replacement parts, but it turns out that replacement scoops don’t seem to exist. So I set about to make a simple replacement scoop using basic tools and found materials,” writes the author of this Instructable.
How To: Stop Impulse Shopping
By 4.18.07
I knew my spending was out of control, but I didn’t know how to stop it. If only I had been aware of the following strategies:
How To: Build Your Own WiFi Signal Booster
By 4.15.07
Boosting a WiFi signal can be an expensive proposition, requiring the purchase of either a second wireless router, or a wireless signal booster. Unless, of course, you build one yourself. From Instructables:
The parabolic Asian cooking (dumpling) strainer is the perfect candidate for this project. I was able to pick up 20 more access points in the city and connect to a network a few blocks away! This is BY-FAR the most simple of all Wifi extensions!
To build the booster, you need a USB extension cable, any USB WiFi adapter, and a tight-mesh parabolic cooking strainer. To reach WiFi signal heaven, stick the USB WiFi adaptor through the center of the parabolic strainer and connect it to the USB extension cable.
Lifehacker Roundup
By 4.11.07
“Using the 2x4s to create small steps inside the cabinets, you can get a nice tiered look at everything in your cabinet – nice for those of us who tend to lose track of everything hidden at the back.”
How To: Make A Cellphone Charger Box
By 4.9.07
Organizing the chargers for your cellphone, PDA, Nintendo DS, etc. can be hugely annoying and expensive. Why expensive? When you leave chargers plugged into the wall, they’re still drawing electricity—even when your phone isn’t plugged in.
What Is A Chargeback?
By 4.9.07
A chargeback is when the credit card company withdraws the money for a transaction from a merchant’s account and deposited in a consumer’s following a dispute.
How To Improve Your Credit Score With Department Store Credit Cards
By 4.4.07
A worker in the credit industry, Derek, gave us some tips to help young Paul boost his access to credit so he can live his American Dream.
How To: Sew A Button On The Right Way
By 4.2.07
It’s simultaneously easier and more difficult that our previous method of stitching madly through the button holes. Men in particular should watch this video and stop asking us females to sew buttons on your shirt. Many of us don’t have secret button knowledge. We just fake it so you’ll think we’re smart. —MEGHANN MARCO
LEAKED: 5 More Geek Squad Manuals
By 3.30.07
Here’s 5 more Geek Squad manuals. They’re not a fascinating as the troubleshooting manual, but perhaps if you use the Geek Squad you can use them to make sure they’re doing their job right. Or you could learn how to open up your own Geek Squad store. Sort of like a lemonade stand, except instead of turning lemons into a tasty beverage, you turn laptops into lemons.
Dealerships Rip You Off With The "Four-Square," Here's How To Beat It
By 3.30.07
Former used car salesman Alan Slone grows a conscience and reveals one of the major strategies dealership use to screw you when buying a new car.
18 Confessions Of 2 Former T-Mobile Reps
By 3.30.07
Eighteen insider consumer tips from ex-Tmobile customer service representatives Christof and Anon. Oh no, we’re not done with that series. Not by a long shot.
Savvy Cable Customer Know-How Roundup
By 3.29.07
“Dave’s story is swift, proactive and in the end, he gets what he wants and needs out of his cable company: a functional product at an acceptable price. Of course, he has to, figuratively speaking, shove a fist in their love handles, rip out their gall bladder and eat it in front of them, but sometimes a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do to get his DVR…”
