I just made it a point to start the truck after every few charges to make sure I was'nt draining my battery. About 15 min of idle and then shut it off. Running a vehicle for 15 minutes doesn't even replace the charge it took to start the vehicle. Just leave it off. Almost all inverters (the doodad ...

Put a freshly washed old blanket under the tarp to cushion any rubbing areas. Make sure it extends beyond the edge of the tarp.

Google "glove box".

I didn't realize that Frank Lloyd Wright did dresses as well. Oh well, he was sure nosy enough to try. Actually, at least once, Frank Lloyd Wright designed the gown the mistress of the house was to wear to the housewarming of her new FLW house. When he arrived, he found she had moved some of the fu...

The one thing that has saved my ass on countless occasions is a kath-ee-ya (I don't know the actual spelling). It's 2.5 yards of unbleached muslin. It can be used as a dirt mask, an extra head covering on the most blistering times of the day, over the shoulders to protect the upper back and shoulde...

Incinerating toilets are an old, old concept. I have seen plans published in the 1920s for them. Also, folk migrating west in covered wagons across the prairie burned "buffalo chips"--sun dried buffalo dung for cooking fuel. The traditional concept is to use the heat of combustion to dry the fresher...

^^^^What s/he said! ^^^

I think you're allowed to drink Guinness through a straw.

Nothing beats a Cutawl for artsy projects.

What do you think of these?? A little over a buck apiece in a box of 20, and they fold flat to fit a pocket. I thought I'd use one or two and gift the other 18. http://www.allheart.com/3m1870.html NIOSH approved as a Type N95 respirator to meet OSHA requirements and CDC guidelines for TB exposure co...

I'm going through playa dust withdrawals!

Maybe you try taking a big ziploc of playa dust home with you to sprinkle in your food and hair when the urge hits.

I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be missed and would qualify as leaving no trace. . .

If you want a broad, uniform illumination, you need a diffuse, non-point light source. Cold cathode lighting will give you the most lumens per watt of power consumed, and they're readily available in 12v dc versions. Bouncing light off a reflector will make it more diffuse, and less intense. Shield ...

You might also try your local carbonated beverage distributor. (Coke-Pepsi-Canada Dry, etc.)

Wear gloves - you have to use acetone to scrub it off your skin.

I don't work with acrylic, but I'd suggest finding a solvent OTHER than acetone. Your body cannot excrete actone, it accumulates in your liver until you build up a toxic dose, then you die. Never apply acetone to your skin.

I've found that pounding in steel fence stakes, the kind used on farms for barbed wire or chicken wire, next to the poles, and then wrapping wire around both, really anchors these down nice, and gives extra strenght to the poles, up 3 or four feet, as high as the stake. Seems to work better than gu...

Check out

http://www.hammernutrition.com.au/fueling-guides.htm

It's geared toward athletes, but the science is there.

http://www.biorelief.com/store/G-Funnel.html

Let's you recycle those pesky 2-liter soda bottles, and then of course, there's this one:

http://shenis.com/

Edit: All right, why doesn't the URL button work right?

Edit: Never mind, got it, finally!

Be very cautious if you're only anchoring with the "feet." Some attach with only a thumbscrew, and some are plastic. Either way, with the right wind, you could end up with well-anchored feet still attached firmly to the ground while the canopy goes airborne. It's always best to guy a structure from ...

Another approach-- Screw it together for the trial with smallish screws. Once you know it works, go up one screw size for the real thing. Kinda like getting fresh holes for free. Also, old theatrical construction rule: Design it so the joints are under compression, not tension. (Parts should be bein...