When I was about ten years old, I found a super cool button on the street. On it was a picture of a smiling balloon surrounded by hearts. It didn’t make a lot of sense to me, but not much back then did anyway (it was the late ’80s). Despite this, I decided to pin it on my jean jacket and wear it around town. It wasn’t until about five days later – days in which I had gone to school, grocery shopping and to the mall, and attended a friend’s piano recital – that my mom finally noticed what was adorning my jacket. And just like that, my button of the friendly balloon – which turned out to actually be a smiling condom with the caption “No Glove, No Love!” beneath it – was yanked from my jacket and whisked out of my life forever. [click to continue…]
DIY
You know all those sayings about the second time? Second time’s the charm, second come first served, anything worth doing twice is worth doing thrice, and do it right the second time. They are mainstays of our American lexicon. What’s that? They aren’t? Are you sure? I know I have always used second come, first served… Actually, come to think of it, it may have been first come first served. In that case, why is that with so many home repairs, we decided to not fix it right but fix it right now. [click to continue…]
So there’s this new technology out, perhaps you’ve heard of it. People are using this technology to cook with, grow their own plants, create electricity, heat their water and heat their homes. Apparently, I’ve been living under a rock because it’s been around for some time. The sun can, amazingly, do all these things and more and I never knew. Well for those of you who are as troglodytic as I am, here is a pretty simple and cost effective and best of all cheap solar air heater that actually works (and its less controversial than Solyndra!) [click to continue…]
I am a true geek. I have a pretty extensive science background and love reading books about math and science. Several years ago I read a book called “The Golden Ratio: The Story of PHI, the World’s Most Astonishing Number” by Mario Livio. While it is a little…dry, it was really an incredible read and I was inspired. For those you don’t know, and that may be many, ? (or Phi), is often referred to as the Golden Ratio or the Divine Proportion. While the ratio has been nature since nature has been, man began studying it and using it in sculptures, painting and buildings as far back as possibly the great pyramids and definitely in the time of the Parthenon. Throughout history it has been used by minds including Plato, Da Vinci, Fibonacci and Kepler among others, as well as being found throughout nature. [click to continue…]
HomeFixated deals with DIY on all levels – from the people with the skills to make their own Trundle Beds and Adirondack Porch Swings to those folks like me who might mistake an Angle Grinder for a pizza cutter. But even us novices have our projects and problems – like my recent one when my blessed IKEA furniture appeared to be falling apart. After we moved, we noticed a fair number of our BILLY bookcases were standing a bit like the Tower of Pisa – supremely slanted. Thankfully, there’s a quick fix for that which will leave your IKEA bookcases looking better than new! [click to continue…]
