Today's tip comes from Ideal Bite

Got a stink that won't let you unplug your nose?

The Bite

The Benefits

• Not "plugging it in." At about 2.1 watts, those plug-in deodorizers don't use tons of energy, but none is even better.
• Sticking to what's essential. Some of those air fresheners are kinda dirty, containing chems such as carcinogenic phthalates; most reed diffusers use only essential oils.
• The scents stick around. Diffusers last hundreds of hours - way longer than your average scented candle.
• Hitting rooms with the pretty stick. Plug-in fresheners don't always go with your décor, whereas natural reeds in a beautiful glass look good anywhere.

Wanna Try?

• Botura - great earthy floral scent with geranium and patchouli ($43).
• Dani Eco Diffuser - comes in six nature-inspired scents, such as clover and fresh fir, and its packaging is biodegradable ($30).
• Ilio Modern Air - made using sustainably grown rattan reeds; also in six fragrance choices, including clean- and sweet-smelling D'anjou Pear ($29).
• Method Aroma Sticks - choose from cut-grass or sweet-water scents; has darker reeds and a ceramic vase ($15).
• VI Reed & Cane Reeds - just reeds if you wanna create your own scent-and-bottle combo ($10-$16/100).
• DIY Bite: Mix 15-20 drops of your fave essential oil with 3 cups of H2O in a spray bottle to use as a room spritzer.

BANG FOR THE BITE

If 10,000 Biters unplug their PlugIn for a month, we'll save enough energy to power a typical American house for about 17 months.

Posted in: go green, ideal bite, plug-ins on Friday, April 18, 2008 at at 11:40 AM 8 comments    

Ideally, you'll want to shoot your images straight, in-camera. Since straightening also require you to crop your image, when you straighten, you'll end up lowering the pixel count of your image if you have to straighten it later. Nevertheless, there will be times when you'll need to straighten an image, because you were sloppy when shooting, or conditions didn't allow you to shoot level, or because it was difficult to tell what was level while you were shooting.

Photoshop, Aperture, Lightroom and Capture NX all have very good straightening tools, as does Photoshop Elements.

Step 1: Open the Image
File>Open or Ctrl+O



Step 2: Select the Ruler Tool
Photoshop doesn't have an actual straighten tool, but you can use the Ruler tool to automatically straighten an image. The Ruler tool lives in the Tool palette in the same cell as the Eyedropper tool.



Selecting the Ruler from the keyboard~the keyboard shortcut for the Ruler, and all other tools that live in hte same menu is I. If you press Shift-I repeatedly, you'll cycle through the Eyedropper, Color Sampler, Ruler, and Count tools.

Step 3: Define a Straight Edge
Click with the Ruler tool on one end of something in the image that should be straight. (I'm using the bottom of the metal garage door). While holding down the mouse button, drag to the other end, a straight line will be superimposed over the image.



Step 4: Rotate the Canvas
Choose Image>Rotate Canvas?Arbitrary, and Photoshop will present the Rotate Canvas dialog box. The Angle field, which specifies how the image should be rotated, will automatically be filled in wiht whatever value is required to straighten the line you defined with the Ruler tool. Click OK, and your image will be rotated.



Step 5: Crop the Image
After rotating, your image will no longer be rectangular. Photoshop will have automatically changed the canvas size to encompass the entire, now askew image.



Aperture, Lightroom, and Capture NX provide straightening tools that perform rotation and cropping at the same time, making for a simpler straightening process.

Ta da! Here is your final straight image!


Technorati tags: digital, straightening, toolbox

Posted in: digital, straightening, toolbox on Wednesday, April 16, 2008 at at 8:20 PM 11 comments    

There isn't a place that my boy won't fall asleep if he's tired enough!



It could be while at the rodeo.



Sometimes it's while playing computer games on Noggin.



Other times it's while watching a movie on the couch.



He even falls asleep while playing "Power Rangers".



But his favorite time to let the sandman take over, is when he's snuggled up under a blankie with his baby!

Technorati tags: sandman, sleep, sleeping, sleepy

Posted in: sandman, sleep, sleeping, sleepy on Tuesday, April 15, 2008 at at 8:11 PM 13 comments    

What is a BzzAgent, exactly?

Agents are everyday consumers who believe in honest word of mouth. In other words, they like to:

• Discover and check out new products, services, books and other cool stuff
• Share their honest opinions with people they know
• Have their input and feedback taken seriously by companies and brands
• Build social capital by being in the know and always having something to talk about

Agents come from all backgrounds and walks of life:

• The young to the young at heart
• Big city professionals to small town, stay-at-home parents
• College students to married CEOs with two kids
  

As long as you're honest and enthusiastic, you'd fit right in as an Agent. While you wouldn't be paid (since word of mouth is genuine, natural and unforced), there are a lot of perks to being an Agent.

Because they like to participate in frequent word-of-mouth campaigns so they can:

• Have access to and knowledge of products before other people.
• Engage in productive, meaningful two-way communication with major brands and companies. Your voice will be heard!
• Receive special offers and discounts, both for themselves and friends.

Agents participate in word-of-mouth campaigns to discover new products or connect with brands they already love.

In other words:

• Agents try a product or service, then naturally share their honest opinions about it with others
• Agents then tell about those word-of-mouth interactions (both the positive and the negative) by submitting BzzReports on the website
• Agents get a personalized response to each report, with feedback, thanks and encouragement

I have two questions for you:

• Are you curious?
• Do you like to share your opinions and ideas?

Posted in: bzzagent, WFMW on Monday, April 14, 2008 at at 6:30 PM 0 comments    

With spring upon us and vegetable season quickly approaching, what could be better than a meal full of delicious, mouth watering veggies? Mmm, mmm, mmm!!

This enticing entree has TONS of fresh veggies in it, but beware, there are NO meat products anywhere in sight!

Cook this delightful meal and please all the vegetable lovers in your life!

Ingredients needed:
Butter
Olive Oil
3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
½ to 1 small onion, finely chopped
1 cup broccoli, cut into bite-sized florets and stem pieces
2 carrots, peeled and sliced on the bias
2 zucchini, sliced on the bias
1 yellow squash, sliced on the bias
½ red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 package white or brown button mushrooms, sliced
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup whipping (heavy) cream
1 cup half and half, plus a little more for thinning sauce
1 small wineglass of white wine
Low-sodium chicken broth as needed
6-8 fresh basil leaves
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Salt
Pepper
Penne pasta

In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter with 2 tablespoons olive oil.

Add onion and garlic and cook until translucent, about 2 minutes.

Now begin sautéing the veggies in batches, cooking only 1 or 2 minutes (at most) each. To begin, add broccoli and carrots to onion & garlic. Cook only for a minute, then remove to separate plate.

Add another tablespoon of butter to pan and add red pepper strips. Cook for one minute, then remove. Repeat with remaining veggies, being very careful not to overcook; veggies at this point should still be somewhat crunchy.

When all veggies have been removed and skillet is empty, pour ½ to 1 glass of dry white wine to pan. With whisk, begin to scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen all the nice, flavorful bits from the bottom. Cooking over medium heat, add ½ cup low-sodium chicken broth, 1 tablespoon butter, 1 cup whipping cream, and 1 cup half and half. Add ½ cup grated Parmesan. Stir together and cook to thick, adding salt & pepper to taste. Taste sauce as you go; don’t oversalt, but don’t undersalt either!

Chiffonade fresh basil leaves, and stir into sauce. Now add all the veggies, including frozen peas, at once. Stir gently to combine; if sauce seems to thick, add equal parts half & half and chicken broth to thin. Cook over low heat until warm, just a couple of minutes.

Dump in al dente penne pasta, stir to combine thoroughly, and pour onto a large platter. Garnish
with more basil leaves, throw on some more Parmesan, and devour!

Note: This makes a HUGE batch of food, so make sure you have lots of friends/family around to help you eat it all.

Recipe courtesy of The Pioneer Woman

Technorati Tags: pasta, recipes, vegetables, veggies, quick, easy

Posted in: easy, pasta. recipes, quick, vegetables, veggies on at at 6:29 PM 10 comments