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TNT Newsletter for December 20, 2007
Trick out your gifts, sing your heart out, feed people you don't know, cure that cough, and quit being so sappy.
Dear Readers,
The holidays are upon us in full force, and everyone I know seems to be swept up in the spirit of things. Savvy makers started planning their gift-making weeks ago and are proudly polishing the fruit of their labors. If you've been following the MAKE blog, you've surely seen The Open Source Gift Guide, a list of great open source kits you can give or make. The Instructables Homemade Holidays contest is a great place to show off your own gift projects or check out other ideas.
This newsletter has just a few simple ideas to help with last-minute touches. A great way to showcase your homemade gift is The Onion's Gotcha Gift Boxes. Colorfully touting ridiculous products, like a USB toaster or a 28-whisk set, the Gotcha Gift Boxes will hide the true intent of your handcrafted goods. Or you can give a gift to someone you've never met by playing the Free Rice game online. I included iKaraoke just because it's too much fun to ignore, and then you can sing The Cure at the top of your lungs at the office holiday party instead of Jingle Bell Rock. The last two tips are my gift to you--a tip a reader sent in for getting pine sap off your hands, and an easy way to ease coughing fits that my aunt told me about.
Happy holidays, and happy making!
Arwen O'Reilly
Staff Editor, MAKE Magazine
http://makezine.com
toolbox@makezine.com
Gotcha Gift Boxes
Reviewed by Arwen O'Reilly
http://store.theonion.com/gotcha-gift-boxes-set-of-3-p-68.html
$8
I haven't actually seen these in person, but one (or more) of the Gotcha Gift Boxes will definitely be under the tree, disguising my presents. My dad is always rattling and shaking and squeezing his gifts before opening them, so it's part of the fun to try to trick him as much as possible.
Each one purports to hold a different bizarre, preposterous, or totally useless item inside, like membership to the Salt of the Month Club, a smoke alarm that plays rainforest sounds, or a USB Toaster.
While the wacky and sharp-witted folks at the Onion suggest you put tacky bric-a-brac inside to disappoint the recipient, I think these are much more fun for gently teasing your loved ones. As they puzzle out why you thought they'd like a Make Your Own Umbrella Kit, or a 28-piece whisk set, you can smile knowing that when they open the box, they'll find what they really wanted inside.
Reviewed by Arwen O'Reilly
http://store.theonion.com/gotcha-gift-boxes-set-of-3-p-68.html
$8
I haven't actually seen these in person, but one (or more) of the Gotcha Gift Boxes will definitely be under the tree, disguising my presents. My dad is always rattling and shaking and squeezing his gifts before opening them, so it's part of the fun to try to trick him as much as possible.
Each one purports to hold a different bizarre, preposterous, or totally useless item inside, like membership to the Salt of the Month Club, a smoke alarm that plays rainforest sounds, or a USB Toaster.
While the wacky and sharp-witted folks at the Onion suggest you put tacky bric-a-brac inside to disappoint the recipient, I think these are much more fun for gently teasing your loved ones. As they puzzle out why you thought they'd like a Make Your Own Umbrella Kit, or a 28-piece whisk set, you can smile knowing that when they open the box, they'll find what they really wanted inside.
iKaraoke
Reviewed by Arwen O'Reilly
http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/ikaraoke#
$50
I love karaoke; there's nothing like singing your heart out to your favorite tunes while your friends and/or coworkers wince in embarrassment for you.
Up until now, I've had to wait until I could persuade someone to go with me to my favorite spot in Koreatown, but now I don't even have to leave my house. True, I'm missing those awesome videos of beaches and rainforests (although Griffin is now offering free Tuneprompter software so you can at least read the words), but I have a tambourine, and I don't care!
Reviewed by Arwen O'Reilly
http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/ikaraoke#
$50
I love karaoke; there's nothing like singing your heart out to your favorite tunes while your friends and/or coworkers wince in embarrassment for you.
Up until now, I've had to wait until I could persuade someone to go with me to my favorite spot in Koreatown, but now I don't even have to leave my house. True, I'm missing those awesome videos of beaches and rainforests (although Griffin is now offering free Tuneprompter software so you can at least read the words), but I have a tambourine, and I don't care!
Free Rice
Reviewed by Arwen O'Reilly
http://freerice.com
Shawn Connally, the managing editor of MAKE, has gotten all of us at the office hooked on Free Rice, a vocabulary game that also puts your brains to a good cause. For every word you get right, they donate 20 grains to the United Nations to end world hunger. (There's a small changing advertisement at the bottom of the page which generates the rice money.) Pretty cool idea, no?
It's surprisingly addictive, and you'll learn new words (and definitions) as you go. I'm up to 2600 grains of rice, which, admittedly is not that much, but I've learned that a "kerf" is a notch, "hebdomadally" means weekly, and a "dinkey" is a small locomotive.
Reviewed by Arwen O'Reilly
http://freerice.com
Shawn Connally, the managing editor of MAKE, has gotten all of us at the office hooked on Free Rice, a vocabulary game that also puts your brains to a good cause. For every word you get right, they donate 20 grains to the United Nations to end world hunger. (There's a small changing advertisement at the bottom of the page which generates the rice money.) Pretty cool idea, no?
It's surprisingly addictive, and you'll learn new words (and definitions) as you go. I'm up to 2600 grains of rice, which, admittedly is not that much, but I've learned that a "kerf" is a notch, "hebdomadally" means weekly, and a "dinkey" is a small locomotive.
Cough Cure
Reviewed by Arwen O'Reilly
$8
Maybe it’s just an urban legend, but after receiving an email forward about getting rid of coughs by putting Vicks VapoRub on your feet (don’t forget socks, so your bed doesn’t get all gooey), a friend tried it out and reported back in favor. “It’s incredible!” he said in awe. “I’ve gotta try it on my kids when they get sick.”
Reviewed by Arwen O'Reilly
$8
Maybe it’s just an urban legend, but after receiving an email forward about getting rid of coughs by putting Vicks VapoRub on your feet (don’t forget socks, so your bed doesn’t get all gooey), a friend tried it out and reported back in favor. “It’s incredible!” he said in awe. “I’ve gotta try it on my kids when they get sick.”
How to Remove Pine Sap from Your Hands
Reviewed by Boter
$1
It’s the holiday season and between steam punking your wreath and putting homemade solar LED lights on your tree, there is a fair chance that at some point you will have sticky, messy, nasty pine sap on your hands. I got this from the guy that sold me my tree last year and it works great: Alcohol Gel Antibacterial Hand Sanitizer.
Pour a couple of squirts into your hands and rub till the sap is gone, but then rinse your hands in water.
If you don’t rinse your hands while the gel is still wet the diluted sap will leave a sticky residue.
Reviewed by Boter
$1
It’s the holiday season and between steam punking your wreath and putting homemade solar LED lights on your tree, there is a fair chance that at some point you will have sticky, messy, nasty pine sap on your hands. I got this from the guy that sold me my tree last year and it works great: Alcohol Gel Antibacterial Hand Sanitizer.
Pour a couple of squirts into your hands and rub till the sap is gone, but then rinse your hands in water.
If you don’t rinse your hands while the gel is still wet the diluted sap will leave a sticky residue.
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