I’d like to relate something that has occurred not once but thrice after receiving a great idea for a novel. These ideas seem to come from some strange nether place, if not handed from on high, so I’ll add: I’m feeling pretty darn lucky if I get a good idea at all. Basically what would [...]
Author Archive
12 Jul
An energy drink recipe: Green Tea Pepsi
Vu here. For a pumped up energy-drink (without all the added amino acids), I like to prepare a green tea and Pepsi mixture that not only tastes good, but has all the caffeine I’ll need (about 40mg) and all the benefits that green tea potentially offers. Here’s how to make it: Steep your favorite green [...]
1 Jul
Prevent Devices from Waking WinXP out of Standby Mode
I had the annoying problem of putting my computer on standby mode for the night, only to have it mysteriously come back on due to some device activity that I didn’t know about! Here’s how I investigated the issue and found a fix: 1. I opened a command window with start > run > cmd [...]
23 Jun
Fixing Autocorrect Behavior in MS Word
I’d like to discuss using macros to overcome a big limitation with Word’s Autocorrect feature: the expansion of single-character autocorrect entries in words with apostrophes before the last character. Suppose the letter “t” is set to expand into the word “the.” This will work as it should in most cases, except when typing words like “don’t.” Normally, [...]
15 Jun
Opening Tough Jars and Bottles for Tendonitis Sufferers
While I was dealing with tendonitis, I figured out how to open a variety of jars and bottles without too much strain. Here are some of the methods I’ve acquired: Spaghetti jars: Get a spoon. Wedge spoon slightly under jar lid and jimmy the rim. The safety button should pop. Lid comes off easily. Gatorade bottles. (This [...]
10 Jun
On making business cards with Photoshop
Vu here. Since signing onto this project, I’ve had to figure out a thing or two about the program I’d be using for the artwork, namely, Photoshop. (It’s true that I’ve only produced one or two works so far using the program. I also feel that “winging it” is the sine qua non of a [...]
