My biggest time suck is constant, urgent interruptions - phone calls, instant messaging, e-mails, drop-ins.

As a senior, highly-skilled technical person and the only one in our shop with hardware skills, I'm constantly in demand to help others with hardware and other complicated work - that's fine, that's part of…

Agree with the lighting and air compressor, benches and cabinets for storage, welding rig, but my biggest problem with my garage is it's too damn cold to work in it 5 months of the year. Same problem with my shop in an old granary. Both are uninsulated and have no heat and would be extremely expensive to heat.

I see nobody here has mentioned my favorite in the winter - bats. They can go through tiny crevasses and gaps like mice and get in your attic. But when it gets cold, they try to work their way into the warm house through small gaps.

First line of defense is to seal the attic from the outside - in the summer on a…

According to my financial advisor, I'm in very good shape and I should have no worries. By the numbers, I'm fine and could even retire tomorrow if I wish.

There is a place for complaining - and that's to complain to someone who can fix the complaint.

There may also be a minor benefit to working it out of your system and moving on.

But beyond that, there's no value in complaining about something that you can't change or can't get changed.

Four things I noticed that don't impact me, but may impact others are:

a) there is a significant marriage penalty built into the cutoffs for subsidies. Example: two single people making $35K each would qualify for a subsidy of their premium via tax credit. If they were married, their total income would be $70K and…

I have to draw the line at t-shirts, shorts and baseball caps. Blue jeans are on the edge, depending on what your job is. That's a bit more casual than than the company prefers at work.

For females. the short shorts are too short, no bare midriff and no see-through blouses or bare shoulders.

And nothing should be…

We have a medium sized steel can on the stove and collect cooking grease (not just bacon, but other fat as well. We really don't use the grease for anything, but putting it in the can prevents problem with plugged drains. I suppose we could make candles or soap or fire-starters, or use it in a fryer, but we don't.

I currently use a wireless DSL provider - I have a directional antenna on my roof which connects to an access point on a grain elevator in a very small town 7 miles away. Unfortunately, it's only 256Kbps, I think for a additional monthly fee I can bump that to 512.

Becuase it is so slow, I'm looking at a Verizon…

A tip about breakfast - most traditional breakfasts are very heavy in sugars and starches.

For example, toast with jelly/jam, pancakes or french toast with syrup or hashbrowns or breakfast potatoes, all bump your blood sugar very high, which leads to a mid-to late morning crash. Fruit juice can bump it further.

I…

I think we adjust somewhat depending on the characteristics of the setting.

For example, at work I'm much more extroverted, dynamic and a driven "Type A" personality than elsewhere.

Elsewhere, I'm more introverted - much more shy, low key and laid back than I am at work.

I don't consciously do that adjustment, it just…

RE: Tiger Direct. I bought an item via credit card from Tiger Direct. Product was fine and I was satisfied.

But, about six weeks thereafter, my credit card info I used in the TD order was used to purchase three laptops from WalMart.com to be picked up in the store in Chatsworth, California.

My credit card let the…

I have Crashplan and it works fine, even with my terribly slow internet connection. Have even tried restoring a few small files which worked fine. Due to my slow connection, doing any significantly large file, it might take a long time.

I do a backup to a external USB drive once a quarter for recovery from a hard…

My large multinational company, due to cost-cutting, no longer vacuums the carpet in our offices. They gave us these small 8 inch wide Hoky carpet sweepers to clean our own floors. They work, but they aren't anywhere near as good as a vacuum. I remember the big Bissell carpet sweeper my mother used to use and those…

A question - does a SSD give you any indication that memory cells are dying?

I am very attentive when I drive, yet when I get home, I remember few details of that particular trip if nothing eventful happens.

Concentration, attention and actively thinking while driving seem to gather "throwaway" information. I used the information at the time, but once used, it is purged from memory almost…

I really don't mind sheets and towels being a bit dingy, but my underwear is a problem ever since phosphorus was taken out. Can't use chlorine bleaches because they raise heck with the septic system. Really hot hot hot water causes the waistbands to lose elasticity.

The borax is on the right track. Will try the…

Good article. I'm still running Win XP Pro on my laptop. Seriously looking at upgrading to Win 7 and going from the 60GB hard drive to a larger SSD, then in a few years buy a tablet. By then, I may not need a laptop for everyday use.

You can purchase a multiple voltage and polarity power supply for relatively cheap - it's simpler than trying to hack a different voltage adapter.

I have a supply of a dozen or so different power supplies from junked equipment, some of which put out several amps.

One point to note - from looking at the cell…

I use clear finger nail polish.