New Year, New DIY Show Off!

post from DIY Show Off on 30 December 2011 10:06:30 PM. © DIY Show Off

Hi DIY friends! TGIF! In an effort to clean things up {and hopefully fix some issues}, the new year...

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-off.html

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New Years Eve is a Time for Reflection and Hope

post from Home Addition on 30 December 2011 08:34:08 PM. © Home Addition

A Message of Optimism for 2012

By Mark J. Donovan

My daughter commented this morning that New Years Eve is anticlimactic and that she doesn?t really understand what all the fuss and excitement is about. Though I can understand her point of view to some extent, as I?ve watched the ball drop in Time Square every year from the comfort of my sofa for as long as I can remember, I explained to her that New Years Eve represents a time of reflection and hope. That it?s a time when we think about all that was and wasn?t accomplished in the past year, and what we dream to accomplish in the year ahead.

For me this past year was a good year. The family was all healthy, the kids did well in school and their careers, my job went well, and I finally got my private pilot?s certificate. I also got a chance to visit a number of areas of the world including Europe, Asia, California, and the Caribbean. Considering the state of our country and the economic and political upheavals around the world, I feel very fortunate. About the only personal negative was Google?s Panda search engine update that continued to plague HomeAdditionPlus.com and much of the rest of the internet in 2011. But even monopolistic Google couldn?t dampen my spirits that much this year.

I?m also very hopeful for the year ahead. 2012 is a presidential election year and I?m very optimistic that the Great Pretender will be sent packing and will be replaced by a person of real substance and experience. With even just the hope of real change in the political climate, I?m confident the stock market will continue to rise, and that the businesses climate will improve and more people will find jobs. Simply the thought of a new political leadership landscape that is interested in producing more domestic oil in North America alone in the next 12 to 18 months should be a boon for the economy as soon as the first half of 2012. Couple that thought with less red tape for businesses and a stable tax environment, corporations and the stock market should be giddy in the months ahead. And yes, that giddiness will trickle down in the form of new jobs and hiring, and an improved housing market. My only real fear is that people won?t realize why the stock market is rallying prior to the presidential election and that the Great Pretender gets re-elected. To be crystal clear, the stock market will rally because of future expectations, rather than current economic policies that have hamstrung this country for 3 plus years.

For Europe I?m also hopeful. Although, I believe more days of reckoning are still ahead for them in the next 3 to 6 months and that their economic maturity growing pains will inflict occasional aches on the world markets. With an improving United States economy, however, I believe the aches felt around the world will be tempered. I also think China will see renewed growth as their inflation levels are beginning to recede. With lower inflation, the Chinese government will be able to go back to its policies of pro-growth by easing its monetary policy.

The only real concern in 2012 is the Middle East. It will most likely continue to be a hotbed of fomenting political hatred between its own people and factions in Egypt, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia. Diplomacy, and the threat of a big stick, will be key to keeping the peace inside and outside of those countries.

So to conclude, 2011 was again another difficult year for the world including the U.S., Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. No doubt 2012 will have its challenges as well, particularly in the Middle East. However, I am very optimistic for the United States. I believe with a change in the White House the citizens of this country will rally to a President who is truly proud of his country and communicates a positive message to its people.

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Vertigo (1958): Getting over Acrophobia

post from Do It Yourself Videos - Metacafe on 30 December 2011 07:00:00 PM. © Do It Yourself Videos - Metacafe

The clip getting over acrophobia from Vertigo (1958) with Barbara Bel Geddes, James StewartNo shoulder straps, no back straps, but does everything a brassiere should do.Works on the principle of the cantilever bridge.It does?An aircraft engineer down the peninsula designed it.He worked it out in his spare time.Kind of a hobby.A do-it-yourself type of thing.How's your love life, Midge?That's following a train of thought.Well?Normal.Aren't you ever gonna get married?You know there's only one man in the world for me, Johnny-O.You mean me. We were engaged once, weren't we?-Three whole weeks. -Good old college days.But you were the one that called off the engagement, you remember?I'm still available. Available Ferguson.Midge, do you remember a fellow in college by the name of Gavin Elster?-Gavin Elster? -Yes, funny name.You'd think I would? No.I got a call from Gavin today. He dropped out of sight during the war.Somebody said he went East. I guess he's back.-It's a Mission number. -That's Skid Row, isn't it?Could be.He's probably on the bum and wants to touch you for the price of a drink.Well, I'm on the bum. I'll buy him a couple drinks and tell him my troubles.Not tonight. How about you and me going out for a beer?Sorry, old man. Work.Then, I think I'll go home.Midge, what'd you mean, there's no losing it?What?The acrophobia.I asked my doctor.He said that only another emotional shock could do it and probably wouldn't.You're not gonna go diving off another rooftop to find out?-I think I can lick it. -How?I have a theory.I think if I can get used to heights just a little bit at a time just a little, like that, progressively, you see?
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Tags: Vertigo (1958) Getting Over Acrophobia Barbara Bel Geddes James Stewart AnyClip
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T Shirt Into Cardigan (No Sewing)

post from Cut Out + Keep on 30 December 2011 05:34:37 PM. © Cut Out + Keep

Super easy!

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Strawberry RAST Play Kitchen

post from IKEA Hackers on 30 December 2011 05:34:37 PM. © IKEA Hackers

Materials: Rast Bedside table, RAM frames, RIBBA frame, SORLI mirrors, even IKEA packaging

Description: Mandate: Create a play kitchen for my daughter for Christmas. Needs to fit space where a kitchen base cabinet is missing.

Labour: Building took 10 hours over 3 days. Countless hours on design/getting stuff.

Cost: Probably more than a shop bought kitchen - but that's mainly because I had to buy all tools, paints etc.

I'm thrilled at how well it has turned out, considering that I am a complete novice at DIY, the tight time deadline (before Christmas) and the fact I was nursing a painful tooth!

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Selecting a Portable Generator

post from Handyguys Podcast - Home Improvement and DIY Advice on 30 December 2011 04:07:58 PM. © Handyguys Podcast - Home Improvement and DIY Advice

Portable Generator Selection Checklist The Handyguys do not own generators but with all the power outages in the news they are certainly thinking about adding this “power tool” to their arsenal. Portable generators are easy to pick up at your local True Value store and you can be up and running quickly with some limitations. [...]No related shows.

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Pax Closet Palace from Komplement Interior Chest

post from IKEA Hackers on 30 December 2011 03:34:28 PM. © IKEA Hackers

Materials: Komplement chest of drawers, Solveig panel, Lack shelf, Pax corner add-on

Description: I moved into a basement apartment that didn't have any closet space or space to apply makeup etc. Being a fairly girly girl I wanted to have a closet *palace* not just a closet. I already had three 100cm Pax frames and interior fittings, so I devised a way to make utilize the space I do have as best as possible.

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How to Make Brunch for New Year's Day

Brunch for New Year's Day can be a tasty and thoughtful way to begin the New Year. It's also a great excuse to sleep through breakfast after partying the night before, filling up on delicious morsels a little later in the first day of the New Year.

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Installed a New Pull Chain Light Fixture

Spent Yesterday Morning Replacing an Old Pull Chain Light Fixture

By Mark J. Donovan

With time off this week I?ve been making a few minor home repairs around the house. Yesterday morning?s project was installing a new pull chain light fixture in the basement. The light switch pull cord had snapped off at the base of the light fixture and there was virtually no way to reattach it. Consequently I found myself running off to the local home improvement center to find a replacement. The store had plastic ones for around $1 and porcelain ones for around $4. I went with the porcelain pull chain light fixture as it also had integrated into it an electrical outlet socket. I figured the socket could come in handy at some point.

Installing, or should I say replacing, a pull chain light fixture is very easy to do. Just make sure to turn off power at the main circuit panel before working on it. My pull chain light fixture broke in the ON position, so for a couple of weeks we simply rotated the bulb counterclockwise or clockwise to turn if OFF or ON. With the bulb screwed in and the light ON I simply had to confirm the bulb turned OFF when I threw the circuit breaker at the main panel to ensure there was no power feeding it.

I then loosened the two screws that held the light fixture to the electrical outlet box. Afterwards I pulled the fixture away from the outlet box and used a screwdriver to loosen the wires that were attached to it. There were two white wires attached to the silver screw and 2 gold wires attached to the gold screws. The bare ground wire was not attached.

I then wired in the new pull chain light fixture exactly as I had seen it with the old one. This one also had a green screw for the ground wire so I attached it as well. I then pushed the new light fixture in place and reattached the two mounting screws to hold it firmly up against the electrical outlet box. I then attached the pull string to the small chain that hung from the base of the unit.

Finally I screwed a light bulb into the socket and turned the circuit breaker back on. With one pull on the string my new pull chain light fixture was operational.

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DIY Auto turn-OFF featured cheap Digital
Multimeter

Youritronics member Florin brings you a wonderful design that enables you to add an Auto-OFF feature for 15 mins in your old and cheap digital multimeter(DMM). With this you can save your battery consumption even if you forgot to turn-OFF your DMM. To add the Turn-OFF feature, you will be requiring a very few components like – microcontroller [...]

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