Review: The Base Camp Zoom Cycling Bike Helmet – Future Cool or Spaceballs Geek?
For a long time, I had been annoyed by sun getting into my eyes while biking. Even when wearing sunglasses and a helmet with brim, the sun seemed to “leak in” from the sides. Sure, wrap-around sunglasses solves that, but when I wasn’t wearing...
How to Get Rid of Ants in Your Home: Terro vs. Amdro Liquid Ant Bait
We had a bad ant problem. It got to the point where if a crumb fell on the floor, in thirty minutes there would be an ant trail going to it. We tried some of those ultrasonic insect repellents. They either didn’t work at all, or didn’t work well enough....
How to Plan a Formal Wedding in Less Than Three Months
I got engaged on New Year’s Eve. We wanted to get married as soon as possible with a formal wedding, and we were able to do so in less than three months on March 18th of that year! When we told folks we were planning to get married so soon, many were shocked....
Does the Apple Watch Series 3 Work with Strava?
Like many runners, I used the Strava iPhone app to track my runs. But, I was tired of having to carry my iPhone with me; I had it in an arm band and it was difficult to remove, making checking my pace almost impossible without stopping. So, when the iPhone Series 3...
Ten Reasons To De-Clutter Today
When I moved to the East Coast, I only took a fraction of my stuff with me. I left a lot of it back in L.A: most of my music equipment, lots of books, some clothes, furniture, and so forth. The interesting thing is the entire time I was away, I didn’t miss any...
Maybe We Should Agree to Stop Exchanging Gifts
One Christmas, my family came to an agreement that made all of us breathe a sigh in relief: we agreed to stop exchanging gifts. The truth is, we were headed in that direction anyway. It was getting kind of ludicrous – my brother and I would just ask each other,...
Awesome Things to Do in Las Vegas That Aren’t on the Strip
Las Vegas is famous for gambling and the Strip, but there are many other cool things to do there that are often overlooked in the afterglow of the casinos. If you aren’t into gambling, or you ran out of money, or you’re just plain tired of the madness of the...
How to Hide Embarrassing Bathroom Noises in Your Home
It’s a common problem: you have a bathroom with thin walls and/or a flimsy door adjacent to a living room or other common area. Whenever someone uses the toilet, everyone can hear the person doing their thing. My condo has that problem. It’s embarrassing...
My Top Tips for Freelancers and Small Businesses Just Starting Out
Many people dream of quitting their jobs and going freelance or starting their own business. Are you one of them? Maybe you want to control your own schedule, escape a bad boss, or get out of the cubicle and work from home. In 2012, I did just that, becoming a...
The Best Way to Carry a U-Lock on Your Bike
This is the best solution I’ve found for carrying a U-lock on a bike. I discovered the hard way that a steel cord bike lock is NOT secure and can be cut in seconds, so I switched to a U-lock for my bike. I’ll never rely on a cable to lock my bike up...
Top Ten Things I Love About My 2017 Ford Fusion Hybrid SE
After my BMW 325i got totaled in an accident, I did a bunch of research to find a new car. I knew I wanted something with good gas mileage which was moderately sporty-looking. Oh, and it had to have folding rear seats to carry big things. After reading a lot online, I...
The Ten Worst Things About the 2017 Ford Fusion Hybrid
From the title of this article, you might think that I hate my 2017 Ford Fusion Hybrid. But actually the opposite is true. I love my Fusion and I highly recommend it! Read my article, Top Ten Things I Love About My 2017 Ford Fusion Hybrid. But, no car is perfect, and...
How I Lived Without a Car in Los Angeles
In 2016, I was hit by a drunk driver and my car was totaled. After I recovered, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to do an experiment: to go without owning a car for at least three months (from November through January) in the car capital of the world, Los...
Amazon Echo Review: Expensive Toy or The Future of Home Tech?
A little while ago, I got an Amazon Echo using expiring airline miles. I didn’t know much about it, and was skeptical about its usefulness at first, but now I’m a huge fan! What Is It? In one sentence, the Amazon Echo is a voice-controlled cloud-based...
Your Travel Checklist – Don’t Leave Home Without It
Here’s that travel checklist that I use before traveling, whether for business or pleasure. These are things that I’ve been prone to forget when traveling in the past. Before You Leave Here are some things to remember to do before you leave: Check your...
The Best White Elephant “Yankee Swap” Gift Exchange Ideas
After going to my fair share of White Elephant gift exchange parties (also known as Yankee Swaps), I’ve compiled a list of the most fun gifts I’ve seen. In case you’re not familiar with the concept of a White Elephant gift exchange, each of the...
Restore the Factory User Bank in Your Alesis QS6.2 Synthesizer
I recently fired up my old Alesis QS6.2 synth after a long hiatus, only to discover the user bank was hosed. Not only did I want those sounds to play with, but they have special significance to me, since I worked on them while I was at Alesis! Opening up the unit, I...
How to Play DVDs and .mpg Files on Windows 10 for Free
One thing that sucks about Windows 10 is that Microsoft has removed the ability to play DVDs and .mpg files in Windows Media Player! This apparently is due to licensing issues. So, how do you play DVDs on your Windows 10 system? First, check to see if you have the...
How to Deal with the Worst Condominium Villains
Living in a condo is fundamentally different than living in a free-standing house because your property decisions are intermingled with the desires and needs of other people. This is very important to understand, and many current or potential condo-owners don’t...
Build Your Own Kickass Windows PC
Building your own computer can be a rewarding experience and can save money in some situations, but not all. I recently undertook my first Windows PC build. Here’s what I learned from the experience. I’ll try to help you gauge whether building your own...
Tips to Avoid Getting Hacked
I recently attended a major information security conference here in L.A. where leading industry professionals talked about the current state of Internet security, mostly from the perspective of developers, managers, and network folks. But, from their talks I also...
Ten Ways to Increase Your Productivity on a Computer
Do you work on a computer all day? How would you like to get more done in the same amount of time? Here are my top ten tips on how to be more productive on a computer, without getting a new computer. Some involve hardware changes; some involve behavioral changes. Some...
