Tim Matheson Blog - Productive Tips and More

So you have a huge collection of bottle caps and your significant other is pressuring you to use em or loose em. The solution is obvious, make cool retro bottle cap magnets and display your bottle cap collection with pride.

To complete this project you will need the following supplies. I did not include any photos for this project as they are not needed due to the simplicity of the project.

1. 1 or more bottle caps any brand will do.
2. A “hot” glue gun (Be Careful). Super glue or any other adhesive can alternatively be used.
3. Some craft magnets pick em up online or Hobby Lobby or anywhere you like.

To begin place a bottle cap face down on a level surface and begin filling the cap with hot glue or equivalent. Allow the glue to fill the cap creating a flat surface of “dry” hot glue. This will ensure your caps do not damage your fridge, car, bike or whatever metal surface you are applying the magnets. Once the glue is hard or dry apply another small amount onto the newly formed surface and place the magnet on the glue. Allow the glue to once again dry 4 - 5 minutes and that’s all there is to it.

First off I would just like to appologize to my readers for my lack of fresh posts. I have been working on multiple projects. With that said here is a new tip for all you MSN messenger fans.

I have yet to try this method. It just sort of came to me the other day so i decided to write it down.

My cellphone has an email address and no I will not post it. But it looks something like this XXXXXXXXXX@email.uscc.net where the X represents the number. Now there are several different email domains for different providers and I have drummed up a list of them and provide it at the bottom of this post.

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Skype has turned out to be a pretty useful tool. With more and more uses becoming evident with each day. A friend of mine Nick Saramandich recently showed me how to easily check your cellular voice mail using skype. The advantage to this method as opposed to traditional methods is the comfort factor. Listening to your messages with skype allows you to relax in your favorite chair, sofa etc. and thoroughly absorb the real content contained within the messages. The latter method just leaves your ear ringing and sweaty and leaves much to be desired on the comfort side of things.

As a web designer I am asked to develop allot of rich media interactive sites. In order to stay on top of technology and keep my clients happy and coming back for more I have to have some sort of video integration into primarily FLASH projects. I have seen pre-fab green screens on the web go for as little as $80 but lets be real a green screen is nothing more than a green screen. So I turned to Google only to find an excellent tutorial on constructing a green screen for little cost. This is an excellent guide to making your own green screen at home that is portable. Creating a green screen on a budget

If you are anything like me making a grocery list to go to the store with is sometimes a hard task to conqueror. One day I thought to myself I know what I like now if I could just see it I could write it down. Then the idea came to me why not set up an Amazon Wish List then use there grocery store to make a printable shopping list. Well I did just that and find this very useful in making good shopping decisions.

Have you ever noticed the effect an array of coax can have on the look and feel of your living room? Well now you can minimize the cables with this handy gadget.

These units are designed to take an audio and video signal from an A/V device (like a VCR, DVD player, or some cable boxes with audio-video outputs) and send it to another part of the house. There are two parts to this system, a transmitter that is attached to the AV device and a receiver that goes next to the remote TV. The transmitter takes the signals from the Audio and Video jacks on the AV device and beams it over to the companion receiver next to the remote TV.

I found an interesting product over at SmartHome.com that is perfect for the job. The 2.4GHz Wireless Video Transmission System was just what the doctor ordered after deciding I wanted to run cable to my garage. I am working on having Windows Media Center up and running in my garage. With the weather getting warmer I wanted to spend more time outdoors while still maintaining my websites and emails. I wonder if this could be used to transmit cable internet from the main cable box to my cable modem ? I know you could just setup a wireless network to get internet to a garage or other part of your home. However that was not going to solve my no cable issue. This device is affordable and very well worth it I recommend it.

[TAGS] Home DIY, DIY, Wireless Cable TV, Home Theater, Garage Gadgets[/Tags]

First off I am by far not an interior decorator. These are just a few ideas I have for LifeHacker.com reader and student Sigbjørn to spruce up his dorm room. This article can be applied to a similar situation in an apartment or flat.
Hint: A quick way to cover up holes in a wall without spackle is to use white toothpaste. This is an old trick I have used for years. I am not advising anyone to go against their lease or dorm policy and put holes in the wall, just a quick tip.

1.You do not really need to make holes to hang items on the wall. There are several damage free wall hanging solution available at an affordable cost. Some of these solutions even accommodate brick mortar walls as well.

For hanging items on brick walls I found the following items online.

Brick and Mortar wall hangers

More Brick and Mortar wall hangers

For hanging items on a conventional wall I found the following products.

3M Wall hangers

3M Mounting Strips

2.Another solution to the NO HOLES IN WALL policy is to erect your own wall. This could be done fairly easy. I recommend having a look at MakeZine.com for any insight on this. However if your not a handyman or just do not have time to build a wall. You could buy cubicle walls from an office supply store, put them up, and decorate them. I found the following online for under $200 at Office Depot.

Cubicle Walls from Office Depot

3.For added flexibility check out Poster Changer. Poster Changer is a simple poster solution which allows you to hang posters of variable sizes and change them at anytime with ease. Used in conjunction with one of the NO HOLES hanging solutions mentioned earlier this is not a bad idea.

Poster Changer

4.Don’t paint your walls reflect colored light off them using mood lamps or spot lamps with colored bulbs. This will give you a more cozy feeling without the paint and you can easily change colors. You could also purchase a wall light that changes color to achieve a different result. I found a nice solution for this online that implements LED lighting technology. LED is a better lighting source because the bulbs will last forever and they have a lower power consumption than conventional light bulbs.

LED powered wall mood light

5.Use fabrics to soften up the hard edges in a room. You can use fabrics from any fabric store to give any room a softer look to it. You will however have to take into consideration the weight of the fabric if you do not want to make any holes in the wall. Hanging fabric over a wall is also a good way to reduce noise in a reading or study area.

6.Don’t forget to checkout Crib Candy for some unique furnishings when you finish decorating. Hopefully this article will help you decorate your space without the dreaded holes in the wall.