Putting up and taking down Christmas lights is the pits. It’s dangerous. It’s time consuming. It’s frustrating. It sucks the Christmas spirit out of you. But… I love Christmas lights. I love the look of them and (once they’re up) the Christmas spirit they do bring. Christmas is my favorite season of the year but …
Author: Nils
Smart Homes: 9 Tips for Starting or Upgrading Your Smart Home
Items of Note: No Hubs. You don’t need a hub nowadays, with all of the hub-less smart home devices out there Amazon or Google You can do an Amazon Alexa-based smart home or a Google Home-based system – either works fine. Apple HomeKit and other systems are powerful but generally more limited Prerequisites: Decent WiFi …
4K Projector Showdown – I Spent $7,000 Comparing 4 UHD Projectors
Long HDMI Cables Can Kill Your Receiver! How To Run Long HDMIs Safely
PRODUCTS (these are affiliate links): • HDMI Over Ethernet 4K HDMI Extender (the one I use): https://amzn.to/2TZi3rb • Cat 7 Ethernet (30 ft): https://amzn.to/2DTNCgL • Optic HDMI Cable (33 ft): https://amzn.to/2Q4yt3p • 1080P Wireless HDMI Kit: https://amzn.to/2KMdr3O • 4K 60Hz Wireless HDMI Kit: https://amzn.to/2SmKkGM • Active HDMI 30 ft: https://amzn.to/2DWrsdR Standard (passive) HDMI cables aren’t …
How to Build an American Girl Doll Bunk Bed
Learn to build a simple but cute bunk bed for 18″ dolls like the American Girl Dolls or the Our Generation line of dolls. This bed size is patterned after manufactured 18″ doll beds and fits the dolls comfortably. The plans use simple and available lumber, including 2x4s or 2x2s, 1x4s, 1/2″ plywood and 1/8″ plywood. …
How to Install Fiberglass Insulation
Installing insulation yourself is not a difficult task. It doesn’t take too long and, contrary to what some believe, is not typically a super-itchy experience. The last couple of times I did this it was easier than I expected and definitely worth doing myself. You don’t need much at all by way of tools, either. …
DIY Ocean Desk – A Standing Desk with Personality
Because I spend so much time at my desk, I wanted to create a unique and beautiful desktop that I could place atop a motorized base. I started researching and discovered these gorgeous desk by a French designer in the Caribbean. He uses local stone, some serious machinery and a boat-load of epoxy. There’s a …
How to Add an Electrical Outlet for a Wall Mounted TV
After we wall-mounted our new TV, the first thing we had to deal with was all of the ugly wires hanging down. In a related article, I show how to hide your TV wires for just $10. In fact, I later came out with another article and video showing how to do this by using …
How to Fix the Hook Timing on a Sewing Machine
When my wife’s sewing machine was broken I decided to call a sewing machine repair shop but they told me it was going to be $90 just to take a look at it. I’m a cheapskate so I decided to do a little internet research to try to figure out how to fix it …
Building a Woodshop From Scratch – Drywall, Mud, Tape, Paint and Epoxy Flooring
A lot has happened on the shop in the last several weeks. If you haven’t already taken a look at the progress, be sure to check out the framing, the siding, trim and roofing and broken rib and the electrical work as well. Let’s take a look at the latest.