When your toilet's got rings and lime scale stains and you've got no cleaning gear on hand, grab a can of Coke out of the fridge.

According to wikiHow, you can pour Coke into a dirty toilet and the carbonic, citric, and phosphoric acids in it will break down stains, especially if you can leave it overnight to do the work. (Soda water will work too, without all the sugary residue.) Be warned though: this technique won't save you from the dreaded brushing of the bowl itself.

Filed under: Cool tools, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

TUAWUSA Today for iPhone helps you keep up originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Those of us in the San Francisco Bay Area can watch the construction of the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge anytime we want. Unfortunately, most of the time that means sitting in traffic on the current Bay Bridge. But now there’s another option, and it’s not just for us locals: Watch it on Google Earth.

The large construction project is now being rendered in full 3D in the “3D Buildings” layer on Google Earth. It’s the first time a construction project has been featured, according to the Google Lat Long Blog.

Seeing as completion of the bridge isn’t scheduled until 2013, it’s obviously not all built yet, but a transparent placeholder is also displayed in 3D for the remainder of the bridge. This allows you to see what the one giant suspension tower will look like.

From the Google Earth entry:

The signature portion of the new East Span—and the Bay Bridge—will be the world’s largest Self-Anchored Suspension Span, which will also be the first bridge of its kind built with a single tower.

Oddly enough, I was just remarking over the weekend on Twitter how I don’t fully appreciate that I can see the Golden Gate Bridge from my desk, and users on FriendFeed were quick to point out that, thanks to online services like Google Earth, pretty much anyone can see such great views virtually. Now that includes giant construction sites as well.
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Just a quick heads up to everyone that IDT has nothing of value to offer you, so if someone claiming to be from IDT (or any other energy company that's not the one you already buy energy from) comes to your door and asks to see your bill, give them a good how do you do and send them on their way. I've had IDT scammers hit my building twice in the past two weeks, and just now returned from throwing them out of the building a few minutes ago.

It can be easy to give in to their pitch if you're not wary; the "salesmen" are attractive young women, and they hold out badges as identification when they introduce themselves. Read more about IDT here.

You might also want to post a notice in your building so that non-Consumerist readers know what's going on.

Filed under: SUVs, Trucks/Pickups, Isuzu

Isuzu will cease selling passenger vehicles in America on January 31. In a news blurb that's about as abbreviated as the company's product lineup, Kelley Blue Book reports that the troubled Japanese automaker will stop selling its Ascender SUV and i-Series pickups at the end of the month, both badge-engineered versions of General Motors trucks. Isuzu sales have been winding down for some time now (it sold just over 7000 units last year), and the move had been expected as the plant that underpins the Ascender (shared with the Chevrolet Traiblazer, GMC Envoy, and Saab 9-7X) shuttered just before the holidays.

For all of you little Troopers, Hombres, and Amigos that remain brand loyalists, Isuzu has stated that it will continue to offer parts and service to owners, including honoring warranty claims.

Isuzu to cease passenger vehicle sales in America at month's end originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Windows only: Free application Disable Startup keeps just any old app from adding itself to your list of startup applications, keeping your boot time snappy and RAM happy.

At its core, Disable Startup is a startup manager similar to the built-in Windows System Configuration Utility. It does the trick if you just want to use it for that, but it's really nothing special strictly as a startup manager. If you're willing to run Disable Startup in your system tray (which will cost you about 4MB), it'll closely monitor your startup applications for new additions. The app gives you the option to disable all new startup entries, warn you when new startup apps are added, or allow any new additions. Likewise, Disable Startup can prevent new software installations from changing your IE start page. It may not be worth the added system tray app for some, but if you install a lot of software that ends up sneaking entry after entry into your list of startup apps, this simple utility is perfect. Disable Startup is a free download, Windows only.

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360

• Wii Energizer Power & Play Charging Station - $40, comes with two battery packs. Extra pack $13.
• X360 Energizer Power & Play Charging Station - $30.
• PS3 Energizer Power & Play Charging Station - $30.

Energizer charge stations keep controllers going and going originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You just gotta love Unify4Life. We first saw Unify4Life at WES 2008, when they unveiled their BlackBerry Remote Control solution (read full review) that allows you to control all of your home's AV equipment right from your BlackBerry.

AT CES 2009 this week Unify4Life will be on hand at RIM's booth and will be demoing their next product for BlackBerry, the Garage|Shadow. Check out the video above to see it in action. TOTALLY SWEET. The Garage|Shadow will be available for sale on April 6th, 2009. The final pricing hasn't been set yet, but sounds to be pretty reasonable. Yet another must-have accessory for CrackBerry Addicts everywhere!

CrackBerry.com's feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. Use Your BlackBerry As a Garage Door Opener!

You know what would make for some good drywall? The waste materials from scrubbers on coal-fired power plants. That's apparently what some Chinese manufacturers thought during the housing boom. When they leak and combine with the moisture on AC coils, the result is sulfuric acid, according to complaints by some Floridian homeowners. The acid dissolves the coils on the AC units and in some cases the units fail. Imagine what it does to your lungs.

Drywall complaints go up [news-press] (Thanks to Richard!) (Photo: The County Clerk)

Need some quality alcohol at discount prices? Don't want to sign up for a Costco, Sam's Club or BJ's membership? There may be hope for you!

SmartMoney did a little investigation and what they uncovered is downright magical — old state blue laws allow citizens of certain states to buy alcohol from "membership only" wholesale clubs — without a membership.

Here are the details:

Costco: Membership is not required for purchases of alcohol in the following states: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Texas and Vermont.

BJ's Wholesale Club: Membership is not required for purchases of alcohol in the following states: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Texas and Vermont.

Sam's Club: No membership required!

SmartMoney says that you shouldn't expect employees to actually know about this policy — so print their article and take it with you. Speak to a manager, and you'll be pouring drinks in no time. Keep in mind that not all locations carry alcohol, so make sure you go to one that does. Also, don't try to sneak other items through with your purchase— these laws apply to alcohol only.

UPDATE: Reader Tracy says she checked with the Vermont Department of Liquor Control and they claim that there is no such law in Vermont — so the SmartMoney article may be incorrect. However, the article claims to cite each store's individual policy, not necessarily the laws, so who knows. The article also says that the government officials they contacted had no idea that the laws even existed, and there's a quote from BJ's spokesperson confirming that the policy is real.

According to our Chief of Education, Licensing and Enforcement, Bill Goggins, there is no such law in Vermont. Liquor laws are very different from state to state; so, it very well could be that there are laws against requiring a membership to purchase alcohol in other states, but it appears that Vermont is not one of them.

Thank you,

Marcia
Marketing/Customer Service Supervisor
Vermont Department of Liquor Control

The Cheapest Way to Buy Booze [SmartMoney]
(Photo: greenwenvy08 )

At the risk of allowing this post to devolve into a discussion about the morality of "double ended male" products in general — we thought we'd share this photo of a sign spotted in the window of an ACE Hardware store.

It reads:

Double ended male "adapters" are illegal, dangerous, a fire hazard, and possible [sic] immoral.
If you have need of this "adapter" you have hung a string of lights backwards.

Reader Ben, who spotted the sign says:

I didn't realize that using the wrong adapter is "possible immoral." If the sign creator thinks those adapters are sinful, I'd hate to hear what he or she thinks of a Jenna Jameson movie.

We don't have anything to say about the morality of these "adapters," but we are having fun picturing the number of times this product was requested before the manager finally threw a fit and made this sign.

Filed under: Fitness

Don't bring me when you're heading out to buy a 2009 gym membership, bring my husband. I'm a pathetic negotiator. My tummy was in knots watching him buy our car, the fridge and that high-end mattress set. He makes these outrageous, low-ball offers and usually wins.

Like the economy, gyms are going through rough times. Memberships were down three percent in 2007, and 2008 couldn't have been good. So on top of the current great offers out there, chains and independent gyms are likely to make a deal -- if you ask. LA Times outlines a host of tips to get you haggling, here are a few good ones:

• When In A Position of Power, Use It -- Review gym benefits on-line prior to a tour, clarify every included or not included detail with staff, then drop the bomb and ask for more -- a free month, a bigger discount, free guest passes, free/discounted personal training, free a la carte services (e.g., the pool).
• Do You Need the Free Mouthwash? -- Why pay $100 a month or more for a luxury gym, when you can score cutting-edge equipment at a cheaper gym, good classes, and longer hours (24/7 in some cases).
• No Contract, No Enrollment -- Can you avoid a full-year contract and negotiate for month-to-month instead? Ask the gym to waive that annoying, up-front enrollment/initiation fee.
• Freeze Your Membership -- Clubs will often freeze your membership if you lose your job or blow out your knee. Save yourself a few bucks until you get it together.

Key note -- if you haggle like a limp fish, bring someone with a backbone along. Then hand 'em those free guests passes.

In what's sure to be a controversial move on the part of the Mac maker, those familiar with the new...

This poster set is about our old friends, 3.5 inch floppy disks. It shows, how many floppies are enough for current softwares.

Result (Approximate)
46 disk for iTunes 8.02
358 disk for Adobe Photoshop CS4
1760 disk for the Sims 3
12 disk for Firefox 3, 36 disk for Firefox Add-ons

More info at Antrepo Output Report

Posted by mgozetlik for Design Yout Trust, 2009. Permalink | 2 comments
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MyOpenBar is a web site that catalogs where you can drink for free in major cities across the United States. Drink on the alcohol companies dime!

Alcohol companies and bars list promotions on MyOpenBar to attract patrons and increase exposure for their products. You just have to scan over the listings to see who is running a promotion in your area. There are listings for New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chcago, Miami, and Honolulu with plans for more metropolitan areas in the future. Locations are ranked and events can be sorted by days. All listings include contact information and directions. Photo by Saquan Stimpson.

Every year, Jek's talented husband Jeff makes her a new sock monkey. In past years he's done a Sock Monkey de Willendorf, a Buddha Monkey, and a Sock Monkey de Milo. This year he's done the Saras Sock Vati, representing the Hindu goddess of the arts, Sarasvati.

Filed under: Scuba Diving, Gadling Gear Review

Innovative product adds an HD camcorder to a scuba mask originally appeared on Gadling on Sun, 04 Jan 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Filed under: Desktops

Mac mini update with dual display support, banner unfurling rumored for Macworld festivities originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 04 Jan 2009 20:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We got tipped by an anonymous Gamestop employee that the chain won't accept original Xbox games, consoles and accessories as of Feb. 9. Looks like this is officially it for the console.

Says our tipster:

"The Marketing kit for this coming Sunday has a sign that says Gamestop will no longer be accepting Xbox games, systems and accessories as of Feb 9th. Finally, corporate has realized this, after selling an incredibly low number of systems and games. My store probably sells one Xbox a month or so."

Is it just me, or is this now a milestone for original X's demise? I'm guessing they'll sell or bury the rest of their original Xbox stock over time. But when your console's no longer currency at Gamestop, the party is over, my friend.

Posted by userz2k for Design Yout Trust, 2009. Permalink | No comments
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Instructable user arcticpenguin unraveled the mystery behind various screw types (what? You think that there are only Phillips and slotted screws?). Take for example, the history of the Phillips screw:

This cross drive screw story starts when Henry Phillips purchased a crude form of a cruciform-recessed screw head concept from an Oregon inventor named J.P. Thompson.

Henry F. Phillips (1890 to 1958), a U.S. businessman from Portland, Oregon, has the honor of having the Phillips head screw and screwdriver named after him.

The cruciform shape can be considered to be a cruciform design with their 90 degree shapes as most have similar physics properties.

Phillips developed Thompsons invention screw into a workable form. Phillips had come up with a recessed cross screw designed for efficiency on an auto assembly line. The idea was that the screwdriver would turn the screw with increasing force until the tip of the driver popped out, called camout. When tightening a Phillips screw with a Phillips screw driver you will notice that when the torque gets to be too strong, the screw driver winds itself out of the screw so the screw head would not be ruined or brake off.

Phillips also founded the Phillips Screw Company in Oregon in 1933, but never actually made screws. He had called on every established screw manufacturer in the US and was told simply that the screw could not be made. Screw makers of the 1930s dismissed the Phillips concept since it calls for a relatively complex recessed socket shape in the head of the screw; as distinct from the simple milled slot of a slotted type screw.

Phillips then called on the American Screw Company, a newcomer to the industry whose new president, Eugene Clark, personally became interested in the new product, despite the opposition of his engineers, who like others in the industry had insisted it could not be made. According to one printed report, the president of American Screw Company said: "I finally told my head men that I would put on pension all who insisted it could not be done. After that an efficient method was evolved to manufacture the fasteners and now we have licensed all other major companies to use it." (Source)

Link - via Make

Continue reading Kodak's rugged Zx1 handheld camcorder does 720p in the jungle

Filed under: CES, Digital Cameras

Kodak's rugged Zx1 handheld camcorder does 720p in the jungle originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 04 Jan 2009 14:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Have you ever been scared yet deeply intrigued by something at the same time? Well, I’m like that with this Bacon Gumballs at the Web’s strangest store, Archie McPhee. I’m not sure if it’ll taste good, but how can you not try bacon gumball? Link - via Everlasting Blort

AT&T is encouraging its customers to upgrade to the faster 3G network—by downgrading their older EDGE service.

Although the change will improve 3G speeds, customers with EDGE phones, including the original iPhone, will experience decreased quality indoors and in rural areas. We're all for improving your networks and staying modern, but we think EDGE is still widely used to the point that AT&T is going to be hurting a lot of their customers.

Upgrade Or Else: AT&T Downgrading 2G Service, Stranding Older Phones With Lesser Service [Gizmodo]
(Photo: jetsetpress) Thanks, David!

At $1999 on eBay, this one-of-a-kind Venom sculpture "stands 8 inches tall and weighs about 2 lbs -- kept in a basketball case." Unfortunately, it lacks animatronic capabilities as well as any superpowers. Auction page. Click here for first picture in gallery.

Inspiration for this figure came from the comic and the movie so I made a hybrid Venom. I hated how the movie stylized Venom but I loved the symbiote liquid when it was forming on the person.

Of course now that the major question for many online companies is that of monetizing the resources they have, we will see new innovative approaches to making money off traffic and users everywhere. The recent example that definitely deserves noting as it offers a direct road to the bright future for quite a number of our favorite web projects is that of Reddit, the social news website.

Reddit is well-known for its intellectual audience that is usually supposed to be more grown-up than that of Digg - hence one can often find stories here that will be more thought-provoking that anything one can ever see on Digg. And while Digg is still struggling with its advertising trying to monetize the huge traffic, Reddit has figured out a totally new model that will probably turn into a success for the site.

The new idea introduced by Reddit is to offer sponsored links in addition to regular user-submitted links and offering them some extra exposure. Such paid-for links appear among the regular links in the New Links box right at the home page of Reddit but are distinguished by the blue background and also by the “sponsored link” text in the corner. The most interesting part is that users can vote such links up or down, comment on them or hide them same as they do with regular links - so if a sponsored link is good enough to attract attention from Reddit users, it will also be featured prominently on the home page among popular links.

Of course it is no surprise that the Reddit team had to offer some explanation that sounded more like an excuse to its users trying to persuade them that advertising is “a fact of life on the web”. I have seen quite a number of animated discussions on Reddit about online advertising and my opinion is that the Reddit community is totally unwilling to accept advertising so it is pretty logical that there are already tips on how exactly one should configure the ad blocking browser plugins to avoid such sponsored links as well. But at the same time there are also users who seem to understand the reasons behind this decision pretty well and realize that there favorite online community needs to make money to support its operations. You can watch (or join) animated discussions both on the announcement post at the Reddit blog and on its sponsored submission to Reddit as well.

I have not found any information on how much it is to buy a link on Reddit: advertising on Reddit requires initial inquiry to the site’s team so it’s not like submitting a link and paying with your PayPal balance right away. I myself think that this new model with sponsored links will work much better if it offers something more automatic to buy links. If it is possible to go and buy a link to any new website you launch or a blog post you really want to be seen (and are prepared to pay for it to be seen), I have a feeling that the demand here will be pretty good. A similar approach has been practiced for some time by StumbleUpon and I think Reddit joining the trend is a good sign as it will probably be the example of how social news websites can be monetized instead of pushing meaningless ads to the community that can’t even say anything about these ads.

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Windows 7 build 7000 already outperforming Vista and XP in "real-world" tasks originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 03 Jan 2009 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Filed under: Photos, Photo of the Day, Travel Health, Travel Deals

Photo of the Day (1.3.09) originally appeared on Gadling on Sat, 03 Jan 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Filed under: Emerging Technologies, Audi

Continue reading New all-LED headlamps are standard on Audi R8 V10

New all-LED headlamps are standard on Audi R8 V10 originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Sat, 03 Jan 2009 17:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pepsi is suing an Atlanta distributor for distributing Mexican Pepsi, sweetened with cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup, in the U.S.

In quite possibly the most bizarre clip of 2009, the cast from Metal Gear Solid 4 improvises a scene in which they're "suffering from delusions of being the characters they portray in the game."

Voice actors David "Solid Snake" Hayter, Jennifer "Naomi Hunter" Hale, Paul "Colonel Roy Campbell" Eiding, Christopher "Otacon" Randolph, and Quinton "Raiden" Flynn do an off the cuff, fifteen minute session for Sadie's Gaming Infection, one that really must be seen to be believed.

Like most improv, it can be painfully awkward at times, surprisingly hilarious in others. There's lots of "Snake? Snake! SNAAAAAAAKE!!!" and "I love puppies" and even more general weirdness. Watch. Or Listen. Then try to figure it out.

Thanks, RazielPrime1!