Is your iPod making you old? (And 6 other ageing enemies)

Feeling the effects of age? Forget smoking and sunbathing – there’s a new army of crinkle-culprits...

By Kate Langrish, 06/06/2010

From niggling new aches and pains, to the wrinkle you're sure wasn't there yesterday, getting older is no fun. Fact.But we all know what ages us fast, right? No, it's not just a life of constant partying. Research has uncovered that culprits now include gadgets, health kicks, even 'miracle' creams.

"While genes play a role in how we age, lifestyle is a huge factor, too. Luckily, you can do something about that," says Dr Pixie McKenna from Channel 4's Embarrassing Bodies. Read on to find out what - then dust off your ID ready for the barman!

1: Ageing enemy:

Being so face fashionable

Yep, we're always leaving our sunnies in the park/office/pub, too - but buying a cheap pair to compensate could be a false economy as far as your eyes are concerned. "Many fashion sunglasses don't filter out the harmful ultraviolet rays that speed up the growth of eye diseases like cataracts," says Boots optometrist Carolyn Zweig. Not to mention the wrinkles from all that squinting

This season's wraparound specs - à la Sarah Jessica Parker - are perfect as they protect against harmful rays coming in through the sides, too. "Look for ones that filter both of the harmful tanning rays - UVA and UVB," advises Carolyn.

At full volume, MP3 players can reach 120 decibels - the same volume as a jet engine!

2: Ageing enemy:

Celeb-style workouts

You dutifully pound the park every morning to get a Teri Hatcher-style figure - but you could be adding years to your face. "Women take up running in the hope it'll make them look slimmer and younger, but too much jogging can strain skin," says diet and movement specialist Joanna Hall (Joannahall.com). "The constant up and down motion pulls facial tissues, reducing elasticity and firmness."

Walk before you run! "Walking won't put your skin under the same pressure," says Joanna. Step out in a pair of new Reebok EasyTone Flip Flops, £45 (Reebok.com). Bouncy air pockets in the soles reduce the skin-sagging impact and improve muscle tone in your calves by up to 28 per cent.

3: Ageing enemy:

Your love of GaGa

Your quest to drown out fellow commuters with Poker Face puts you at risk of permanent and premature hearing damage. "In-ear headphones you get with MP3 players aren't always great quality, so you crank up the volume - but this can permanently damage hearing after 15 minutes," warns Emma Harrison of the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID). Experts are calling for the maximum volume setting to be 85 decibels.

"Invest in a pair of noise-cancelling headphones (available at Rnid.org.uk), which remove background sound so you don't need to turn the volume up as loud," recommends Emma. If you're worried about your hearing, take the RNID's online hearing check on its website to rate your ability to hear with background noise.

4: Ageing enemy:

Your gloomy outlook

Always double-checking you've been given the right change? Or likely to eye up your friend with a look of doubt when she offers you a compliment? It's time to loosen up, because not trusting people knocks years off your life expectancy. "Research shows that people who don't assume everyone's out to get them will live longer," says Phillip Hodson of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (Bacp.co.uk). "By always being on guard, your body pumps stress hormones like adrenaline into your system to keep you alert, and this can take its toll on your heart. It's like constantly revving your engine and it will wear out."

Let your guard down. "If you're speaking to someone new, ask them lots of questions about their life," says Phillip. "This will shift the emphasis from you, so you won't feel defensive and suspicious."

5: Ageing enemy:

Crash dieting

Think ditching a couple of pounds will help you look younger? Have we got news for you. Research by Harley Street plastic surgeon Rajiv Grover found that the strain put on your body from crash dieting can cause an ageing spurt on your face. "Ditching meat, fish and eggs, which lots of dieters tend to do, can thin hair and make skin look old before its time," says Dr Pixie. "That's because they contain cell-boosting iron, which makes haemoglobin to carry oxygen to cells, and vitamin B12, a great cell regenerator. These are both essential for healthy skin and hair."

Ditch the 3pm chocolate fix. Sugar causes a process called glycation, where pesky sugar molecules attach to protein molecules (such as collagen, which is essential for plump, pert skin) and destroy them. The result is wrinkly, saggy skin. Nice.

6: Ageing enemy:

Making sex-cuses

OK, so we're not saying you need the sex drive of a Premiership footballer - but saying no to nookie could take its toll on your complexion. New research by Dr David Weeks, a neuropsychologist at Royal Edinburgh Hospital, has found that couples who are at it at least three times a week look around a decade younger than those who have sex less often. "Sex releases endorphins, which improves circulation to your skin and boosts your immune system - making you look younger and helping you to live longer," confirms Dr Pixie.

Get wed! If you're married this could lengthen your life expectancy by five years - experts believe the security of a relationship makes people less stressed.

7: Ageing enemy:

Your designer moisturiser

Many moisturisers contain sunscreen to protect against the ageing effects of UV rays - but cutting out the sun can age you, too.

"We need sunshine to make vitamin D, which protects us from certain illnesses. Not getting enough could make you prone to ones linked to old age, such as brittle bones," explains Dr David Grimes, a consultant physician at Royal Blackburn Hospital. "Be careful, but try to get five to 10 minutes a day in summer without wearing sunscreen."

Keep wrinkles at bay with the new Slendertone Face (£300, Slendertone.com), which emits pulses of electric current that tone droopy face muscles. After 12 weeks, 94 per cent of testers had firmer skin*.

10 new ways to meet a man

Matchmaking is getting a 2010 makeover. Here are the hottest new ways to bag a bloke and send your love life into a different dimension. Get ready for take-off!

By Laura Millar, Eimear O’Hagan & Gayle Schoales , 01/08/2010

1.Bag a divorcee

Finding The One after The One is hard work, especially when you've been out of the dating game for years. Step forward dating websites for divorcees! Lorna Harris, 40, a kids' entertainer and mum of four, from Maidstone, Kent, gave it a go.

Lorna says: "My ex-husband, Paul, and I divorced in 2002 after being together for 14 years. When we first separated, I was too busy being a mum to think about dating. After years of watching my divorced pals go on fun dates and meet men, while I sat at home feeling lonely, I decided it was time to get out there again.

Because I'd been in a couple for so long the idea of going to bars to talk to guys was terrifiying. Scared, I gave it a try, but the men I met were put off by the fact I was divorced with kids. I wondered if I'd ever get my dating mojo back.

Then a year ago, a friend suggested that I join Dating4divorced.co.uk. Online dating wasn't around the last time I was single, so it was a revelation. When the kids were in bed, I could go online and chat to guys in similar situations without the pressure of going out and making small talk. Everyone on the site's been through difficult times, so we understand each other and have common ground.

So far, I've been on a few dates and I had one relationship which lasted a couple of months. Martin*, 37, had two young daughters and had been divorced for two years. We had a great time, taking our kids for dates in the park, but he wanted to get serious. I'm not ready for that yet, so we ended it on good terms. I'm still online dating. I haven't met the right guy yet, but who knows what the future holds?"

2.Pull with a pooch

Canine dating (for their owners, not the pooches!) is the latest craze to come from the US to Blighty, where singletons are shunning bars for parks hoping that their pets will be conversation starters - and show they're caring types too.

But if a guy heads out to meet girls with a mutt in tow, will he really be more attractive to the opposite sex? We sent DJ Marvyn Williams, 28, from London, out to investigate, armed with his secret weapon a very adorable nine-month-old golden retriever.

Ruby wasn't so impressed by Marvyn's chat

"I normally confine my (bad) chat-up lines to clubs, so using a dog to get dates sounded like a silly idea. Wouldn't girls in my local park think I was odd if I rocked up with one and started chatting?

But I've been single for five months, so I ran the idea past my female friends. Amazingly, they didn't laugh outright. In fact one even told me she'd been sunbathing outside the week before, when she'd got talking to a guy with a puppy (apparently it was 'sooo cute'). Before she knew it, she'd handed over her number. Hmm... maybe there was something in this dog dating lark?

Intrigued, I borrow a friend's dog, Ruby. She's cuddly and fun - maybe that means girls will think I am, too (fingers crossed!). She's not a slobberer (women hate that stuff), or a crotch-sniffer (ditto), so that's got to go in my favour, right? Let's see.

I head to a north London park full of dog walkers, joggers and, most importantly, single ladies. As I chase along behind Ruby, making my apologies to anyone she bumps into, I try to spark up conversations, even if they're a bit lame ('Lovely day, isn't it?'). After 30 minutes of trying, we strike gold. Ruby bounds over to a gorgeous woman taking a morning stroll. As my new best friend gets tangled between the blonde's ankles, I apologise. 'Don't mention it,' she says. 'Your dog's beautiful.' A-ha! We start chatting about Ruby, then - ice broken - turn to other subjects. Soon, I know the blonde likes football and is a Masters student. Result! I ask for her name so I can find her on Facebook.

Back home, the blonde (AKA Amy) and I make friends on Facebook and arrange a date the next week. Now, I just need to think of a way to explain where Ruby is if she asks I'm a convert to the canine craze. Depending on how my date goes, Ruby and I could soon be on the pull in a park near you!"

3.Have a tweet-up

Whether you're a Twaddict who is always on Twitter, or a novice who doesn't know their @ from their elbow, we have news: the social-networking site is the place to meet men. As 24-year-old writer Sophie Robehmed, from Devon, explains

"I joined Twitter in April 2009, thinking it would be a great way to keep in touch with friends - reading their posts to see what was happening in their lives - but I never expected to meet a guy on it.

After a couple of months, I got an email from Twitter telling me that a bloke called Dan Worth, 25, was now 'following' me (in other words, getting the updates I posted on the site). I recognised his name, but didn't know where from. Intrigued, I found Dan's Twitter page. I discovered he was a friend of a friend and had been at Cardiff University with me!

I messaged Dan. He replied explaining that he'd seen my name on a mutual friend's Twitter page and liked my posts. We started chatting.

After three months of messaging daily, I felt like I knew Dan, who's also a writer, so we arranged a 'real world' date in the park. We had our first kiss a few days later.

Now, we've been together for almost a year. Without Twitter I'd never have met Dan."

4.Date on TV

Forget Take Me Out, the new matchmaking show is Dinner Date, and it hits our screens this month. Cue: lights, camera But did Fabulous' Laura Millar, 39, from Edinburgh, see any action?

'So Ian, are you doing the washing-up?'

Laura says: "Two of my all-time favourite things are food and men - in that order, but ideally in some combination. I've been single for three years, so when I heard that a TV company was looking for people to take part in a new dating show that involved both,

I signed up immediately.

In each episode, a man or a woman chooses from five menus put forward by members of the opposite sex, then selects three people they'd like to meet based on the menu. After the dinners, they choose their favourite to go on a proper date with.

I soon got the call to tell me I was going to be one of five women who'd have to submit a menu for a guy to choose from.

I went for baked Portobello mushrooms stuffed with spinach and goat's cheese, then red wine risotto, and Eton mess to finish.

The production company rang to tell me mine was one of the three menus chosen - I was in with a chance! Now all I had to do was cook it. On television. And win.

At 8pm the camera crew recorded for posterity my first reaction to well, not the sex god I'd been hoping for, that's for sure. Ian, a 42-year-old estate agent from Essex, seemed nice enough and the bottle of sparkling wine I had on ice ensured that the conversation flowed. The menu went down a treat - he had seconds - and I was convinced it was in the bag. But I had to wait for him to sample the other ladies' food before finding out if I'd been his favourite.

Two days later, the camera crew was back, ready to reveal who Ian had chosen. Did he pick me? Well, you'll have to wait and see"

Dinner Date is on weekdays, 12.30pm, ITV1, from Monday August 9.

5.And if you can't get on TV...

Why not sign yourself up to one of these foodie options instead?

Blind dinner dates: These take place over a meal in a local restaurant, where you'll be part of a group of guys and girls looking for love. To find out more, visit Whenthemusicstops.com.

Wine tasting: Try some new tipples, meet a guy who whets your appetite (hopefully), and come home with some phone numbers as well as your hangover. Job done. For more information, just take yourself off to Winedater.co.uk or Urbansocial.com on your lunch hour one day.

6.Get Meddled with

The premise is simple: cool bar + equal numbers of single men and women + alcohol = fun times! Well, that's the theory behind a new dating night called Meddlers Of Honour, anyway. But what if you're just not brave enough to go up to a guy you like the look of, even with Dutch courage? This is where the Meddlers come in. Sprinkled through the crowd with big, bright 'M's around their necks, these men and women will approach members of the opposite sex on your behalf and find out whether you're compatible. Simples! It's all right if you take a shine to your Meddler too; most of them, we're told, are also single. Visit Meddlersofhonour.com.

7.Pimp your profile

Getting your internet dating profile to stand out (in a good way) is tough. So why not hire a new kind of love coach - who makes over your profile for you. Evan Marc Katz runs E-cyrano.com and will advise you on everything from your pic (never use one of you with hot friends - he might fancy them more!) to your username ('Sexslave69' and Redhotmama' won't attract nice guys), to what to write (saying you have a 'GSOH' shows you probably don't). Your inbox will be innundated.

8.Try iDating

Could your phone find you love? Maybe! On the iPhone, you can download a nifty little app called StreetSpark, which tells you about men in your area who match your interests. Look at their profiles and either 'spark' or 'extinguish' them. If they 'spark' back, start chatting Visit Streetspark.com.

9.Go quirky

3 weird and wonderful ways to meet men:

Don't love - hate!

Speed-dating's evil twin. On 'speed-hating' nights singletons forget their Ps and Qs, instead discussing what annoys them. Both hate Jordan or Marmite? You could have a future. (Downwithdating.com).

Get your pulse racing

Adrenalin junkies meet like-minded (and bodied) singles on adventure trips. The One could climb, kayak or surf into your life! (Dateactive.co.uk).

If in doubt, say nowt

Hate making small talk? Then try silent dating. Armed with a pen and paper, singletons exchange notes rather than mindless chitchat. (Silentdating.com).

10.Chat up a celebrity

Fancy dating George Clooney? Then Celebritydatingnetwork.com could be for you. OK, so while you won't bag the actual Mr C (though they claim to have celebs on their books), the site will find the next best thing. By entering details about the appearance of your A-list crush, they'll match you up with the lonely heart that most resembles him.

It all sounds a bit stalker-ish, but if you end up bagging Mr Depp's double, who cares?!

How to Get More Time to Improve Your Work Output

How productive are you at work? The thing is, you spend most of your day at work but the amount and quality of work you deliver is probably not substantial enough. Take a look at these ways on how you can improve the quality of your output so you can really say that you’re worth your salt.

When you open your inbox, ignore the forwarded emails that are not related to work. Everyday we get a lot of these emails but make it a habit to check these personal emails during break time, after work hours, or best–on weekends. In the same way, don’t send out emails that are for “keeping in touch” with your friends and family. You can send personal emails on a weekday but limit it to very important ones.

Try to resist joining small talk for two reasons: (1) it steals precious time and (2) it makes you lose your momentum. Limit small talk when you’re just doing something menial like cleaning your desk but go back to work immediately.

Don’t waste time looking for files and searching for documents. If you know exactly where to find what you need, you will not be shuffling through everything and getting stressed in the process.

How to Deal with Mosquitoes

Aside from having irritating bites, some species of mosquitoes (especially those in the tropical areas) are known to possibly carry diseases. Some people can also have allergies to their bites. It is quite impossible to get rid of mosquitoes entirely but at least you can follow these guidelines to effectively reduce their population.

Get rid of stagnant water. Mosquitoes lay their eggs in stagnant water. Try to eliminate any possible source in your surroundings. Any spot where water tends to gather is a possible breeding nest. Store pails and open containers in your toolshed.

Clear the gutters. Two of the most common spots where mosquitoes can breed are gutters and drain pipes. Make sure that none are clogged. Clean your gutters from dried leaves and other debris that may keep water from flowing.

Screen your windows. If you live in a place where mosquitoes are a common problem, try to install screens on all windows in your home, making sure that there are no holes and gaps.

Invite other predators. If you have ornamental pools in your garden, place goldfish, small minnows and other species of fish that are known to feed on mosquito wrigglers. Constructing a birdhouse that attract swallows is also a way to get rid of mosquitoes with the help of other wildlife.

Repel them. When working outdoors where mosquitoes are known to be plenty, be sure to wear protective clothing that covers most of your body and apply mosquito-repellent lotion. In your home, lighting citronella candles around your home can ward them off.

Cleaning Rain Gutters

There are areas in the house where cleaning becomes a real pain in the neck. Among them is the rain gutter. But we all know the grave consequences if we just ignore this task. So if you decided to DIY, keep in mind these pointers.

Can you work on a ladder? The risk of cleaning gutters is that you must be able to clean while on a ladder. So don’t use any rickety ladder because what you need is a sturdy one, probably a stepladder or something safer.

Can you work while on the roof? This is an alternative if your roof isn’t slippery and if the weather allows for it.

Put on some safety gear -goggles and gloves to protect your eyes and hands.

Remove large debris first with a small trowel. But make sure you don’t just let it fall from the roof, lest you hit someone’s head from the ground.

Clear the drainpipes. Use an auger to pull debris from the pipe.

Wash out the mud and other small mess with hose. Make sure the pressure of rushing water does not destabilize your position on the ladder.

Clean gutters regularly. When gutters and drainpipes stay clogged for a long time, it will rot those that are made of wood and the metal ones will get rusty.

How to Take Care of Shower Curtains

There are two reasons for you to get rid of a shower curtain - 1) it’s all tattered and torn and 2) it’s out of style. I’d go with reason number 2 any day. And there’s only one way to get reason number 2 - prevent damages before they happen. It’s simply like any other thing you own, or your own health for that matter, cliche as it is, “Prevention is better than cure.” Here’s one great tip to do just that.

The most common source of curtain tear is “hemline” where the curtain holder holes are. You can prevent tearing by reinforcing the top and bottom sides with strips of canvas or duck cotton. Just sew it on both sides and you can reinforce holes with eyelets available from the hardware. This would make your curtain sturdy enough to last!

Just make sure to be gentle when sliding the curtain.

How to Cheat a Lie-Detector Test

There’s a reason why polygraph results are not allowed as court evidencein most laws. And for good reason. So unless you have a potential in-law who’s like Robert de Niro’s character in Meet the Parents, then there’s no need to worry.

In any case, you can always cheat your way through a polygraph test. Here are to routes to beat that test:

• Keep you cool
  Lie-detectors are designed to pick up non-verbal physical clues such as increased heart rates and pupil dilations but these are not enough to judge how true your words are. If you’re a pretty good poker player and can keep your cool and be calm all through out, then the machine will not be able to find any irregularities. But you should be an Oscar-deserving actor to pull this off. Either that or you’re a rock.
• Overreact at every point
  Another route that you can take is to exaggerate at every response. The test is designed to have control questions. These are designed to elicit obvious responses like your name, or if the sky is green (to which you reply “No”). This will be their basis in seeing “spikes” or irregularities in the test.
  Overreacting to every response will give the polygraph varying readings whether it’s a control question or not. Since you’ve messed with the controls, they wouldn’t have anything to base their readings on. You can even prick yourself with a pin or needle so to that your body will give off heightened signals due to reflex.

How to Reveal Passwords Hidden Under Asterisks

I keep an assortment of passwords for my different accounts. And since it’s not wise to write them down for some snoopy person to see, I just try to memorize all of them. Unfortunately for me, keeping too many passwords makes you forget which password was for a certain account.

It just so happened that I sometimes let my computer remember certain passwords that I don’t mind being stored in my PC. For example, my account connection to my DSL account is something that I don’t mind stored in my PC. It’d be quite tedious to keep typing that long password every time I connect to the Net.

Now what happens when I make the mistake of forgetting the password? Is all lost? Fortunately, the password is still in my PC. However, it’s hidden (or masked) under asterisks.

Here’s another freeware program that lets you unmask such passwords in dialog boxes and web forms: Asterisk Key. All you have to do is run the program, bring up the dialog box or web form with the asterisks, and it’d unmask the asterisks for you.

This works great on versions of Windows XP down. Works great with IE, Outlook, and Windows dialog boxes. You can download it here.

How to Maintain Hardwood Floors

Some people prefer the good old sheen and hardness of a wooden floor. It’s classy, it’s hard, and it’s wood. So if the thought of ripping off carpets and have your floors sanded to get that down to that hardwood crossed your mind, then you should also consider one other thing - maintenance.

Here are some pointers in keeping that hardwood floor shiny for years to come:

• Waxes
  The most common floor waxes contain petroleum solvent so better have some ventilation when applying these things. They’re noxious. Some waxes are water-based but steer clear of these. Water damages and discolors wood.
• Don’t be lazy, buff the wax
  Floor waxes usually need to be buffed after drying for you to get that sheen. Some one-step-leave-on waxes usually have duller finishes and attracts dirt. Besides the added task of buffing is good exercise.
• Get an electronic floor polisher
  Still too lazy but you want that great hardwood floor? Get an electronic floor polisher to buff that wax with less effort.
• Wax with coloring agents
  Those wax should be used only on very dark wood like walnut or rosewood. Coloring agents may just accentuate scratches and dings on a light-colored wood.
• Consider a polyurethane finish
  Several coats of a polyurethane finish would get you that shiny wooden floor that requires little to no maintenance. You need not even wax these. Routine dusting and . You might need to do some refinishing every few years though.

How to Get the Most Out of Your Kitchen Appliances

One of the most loaded parts of your home in terms of number of appliances is your kitchen. You’ve got choppers, dicers, juicers, blenders, dishwashers, mixers, stoves, microwave ovens and other watchamacallits. But haven’t you had the experience of just using one for a few times and then poof! It’s dead, leaving you wondering what the heck did I do and that’s another $100 down the drain.

Here are some tips in getting the most out of your kitchen appliances:

• Invest on a good brand
  There are so many brands out there. Some may come cheap, and some may come expensive, so which one will you invest on? It has been my personal rule to invest on heavy-duty appliances for the ones I use most of the time. Like if I like smoothies and shakes, I’d invest in a heavy-duty blender since I’d be using that most of the time. Better ask around for those “built-to-last” brands from relatives and friends.
• Mind that lifespan
  Let’s face it. Any machine takes wear and tear. So sooner or later, your 12 year-old microwave will give. Here are some of the most common appliances and their average lifespan in years:
  Cooking range: 12-15
  Garbage disposal: 10-12
  Microwave: 10-12
  Refrigerator: 10-14
  Dishwasher: 8-10
• Read those instructional booklets/manuals
  I’ve been stressing this for every tip I give regarding appliances - read the manual! It basically contains your basic how-tos, precautions, and basic troubleshooting. Operating and storing them properly ensures that you get the most number of years and optimal operation from your appliance.
  A good tip is to collate these manuals in a clearbook or have them bound together in an all-in-one kitchen manual for an easy grab.
• Eventually it will go bye-bye
  If your appliance reaches the end of its lifespan, it is quite wiser to buy a new one than having it repaired. Refrigerators, for example, are now built to consume less electricity than your old 10 year-old model. So in terms of overall expense, it’d be more economical to buy that new one. Repairs won’t guarantee you another decade anyway.

How to Pick a Good Garbage Bag

Okay, this may be mundane topic but a lot of you may not know one or two things about garbage bags (also called “bin bags,” “bin liners,” “trash bags,” or “can liners”. If you’ve been tasked to “Take the garbage out!” you probably know the importance of getting a good garbage bag. Not just those ones that wouldrip easily from the weight of the garbage. So here are some things that you might want to think about when picking a garbage bag.

• Size
  Garbage bags come in different shapes, colors, and sizes. And with those different labels and packaging, it’s hard to tell whether you’ve picked the tall and wide ones that you probably want or those small ones. This is quite tricky since labels usually indicate capacity by gallons. However, some manufacturers measure capacities when bags are filled to the brim whileothers measure them closed. It’s not uncommon to get a bag that’s labeled 26 gallons that would be too small for your 26 gallon bin. Good thing, I’ve seen some packages that are labeled according to length. It’d be wise to get measurements of your garbage can so you’d know what dimensions would fit them.
• Strength
  Much like some products (like toilet paper), garbage bags can also come in different thickness or number of plies. However, strength isn’t determined by the number of plies. It’s a bit better to get them judged by thickness or grade. They’re usually measured by mils. 1 mil is .001 inch thick.
  Heavy grade are best for light wood and metal scraps. Medium-grade are best for packaging waste and wet paper. Regular grade are for office uses mostly for crumpled paper and other light waste.
• Value
  You can always judge the best value for buck per bang. You can always get different bags for different wastes. Some bags even feature drawstrings or double-strength seams that definitely come with added cost. So it’s best to get them in quantities based on the types of garbage that you handle. If you’re unsure, investing on medium-grade bags would be okay since you can handle both medium and light wastes.
  If you’re concerned about mother nature, you might want to buy thebiodegradable ones. They have cornstarch mixed in the material to allow it to break down easily.

How to Reorganize/Rename Your MP3s

Believe it or not, MP3s may just be the bane of any anal-retentive, obsessive-compulsive music afficionado there is. And here are the top peeves I get from my own cluttered collection:

1. Different file name formats
2. Incomplete/blank ID3 tags
3. Inconsistent groupings in folders
   

Here are not one, but two tools that I could recommend to you for your MP3 woes - MediaMonkey and The Godfather.

MediaMonkey

MediaMonkey’s your all around MP3 Swiss army knife that acts as your music manager, player, encoder, decoder, converter, grabber, tagger, renamer, and playlister plus a whole lot more. It can even rip audio from CDs for precious backup (or just to keep your CDs in mint condition).

The Godfather

The Godfather’s a mass renaming program that lets you rename MP3 files the way you want them to be name. Plus you can mass edit ID3 tags. It can also generate playlists and comes with a LAME codec for encoding and decoding.

How to Make Your Own Furniture Cleaner

Pledge may have done the job, but here’s a bit of McGuyver stuff for you. I’ve come across these two “home-brewed” recipes for furniture cleaner that just might do the job of some commercial products. Here are home remedies to get dust and greasy film off your valued pieces of wood:

• 1/2 teaspoon light olive oil + 1 quarter cup white vinegar + water to make a pint
• 1 quarter cup walnut oil + 4 drops lemon extract

Vinegar has always been a household cleaner. Citrus (lemon extract) has a great cleaning effect on wood and wood finishes. The acid contained in these substances hack away at grease while mild enough not to ruin finishes especially when mixed with the oils.

Finding Your Wasted Time

It’s Different For Everyone

Most people hate to waste time. However, not many people have a good grasp on what time is actually wasted. They sit at home and watch an hour of TV and say, “I just wasted an hour.” But, was that time really wasted? Before you can manage your time, you need to figure out what your wasted time is because it differs for every person.

You need to sit down and analyze your day. Are there things you can multitask? Are there things you can drop? Are there things you can do faster?

Be Healthy
The biggest thing to remember is that the most important element in all of this is your health. A lot of people spend a lot of time getting things done; however, they’re never happy and they’re stressed out. So what’s the point? You have to make sure that everything you do is done to better yourself in some way. Sure, there will always be things you don’t want to do, but, if you make sure to reward yourself afterward, you’ll feel much better.

Let’s analyze the first situation we talked about, which is; watching and hour of TV. Now, don’t automatically think just because you’re doing something like watching TV that you’re wasting precious time. What does TV do for you? If you watch TV only out of boredom because you don’t want to do anything else, then you may feel like you’re wasting your time. But, make sure you note how you feel. That’s the most important thing. If you’re stressed out or tired, and an hour of TV relaxes you, then, you’re probably not wasting your time. Remember that it’s all about your health and about how you feel. That’s how you figure out what time of yours is “wasted”.

Cut Corners Safely
Look to cut corners in places that can be cut. Let’s look at a situation with someone and analyze it. Let’s call this “someone”, John Doe. So, here’s what John does: at 7:00 am every morning, John comes down to his kitchen and pops a bagel into the toaster as he pours himself a cup of coffee his wife prepared the night before. As his bagel toasts, John sips his coffee and checks his e-mail on his laptop. When his bagel is finished, he sits back down and munches it while he checks his favorite news/media sites to find out what’s going on in the world. At around 7:30 am, John gets into his car and tunes into his favorite radio and listens to music station while he drives to work; a half hour commute.

Ok, now that whole ordeal took about an hour. If John’s happy with his productivity during that hour, then, there isn’t any problem. Now, let’s say John wants to turn that hour into 30 to 40 minutes so he can sleep longer. Then, what he can do is this: he comes down into his kitchen and pops the bagel in the toaster. He then pours himself the coffee and checks his e-mail while the bagel toasts. When the bagel’s finished, instead of eating it while checking his news/media sites, he takes the bagel to go and eats it in the car. Then, instead of listening to his favorite radio station for music, he can turn on some local news station to get the news he needs. Then, he can just listen to music on his way home from work.

Now, that’s just one way in which that situation can be cut down. Now, although it seems a little odd to analyze every single hour of your day, it will help a lot. You’d be surprised exactly where corners can be cut.

Again, it all depends on you. Maybe that hour John spends in the morning is relaxing. Then that’s fine, there’d be no need to rush it if it puts him in a bad mood the rest of the day. But, if you like a fast-paced morning, then go ahead and make it that way.

It’s Your Time
Remember, it’s only wasted time if you feel that it’s wasted time. Don’t let anyone tell you what time you’re wasting and what time you’re not. Because, you may be the most productive person in the world, but if you’re unhappy, then all that productivity is wasted. Make the best of your day by allowing yourself to enjoy it. Then you won’t feel like you’ve wasted any of your time, because you’ve enjoyed every second of it.

Warming Up To Writing

Some days when you need to write, the words flow from you like a waterfall, and other days, the words don’t flow at all. When you just don’t feel like writing, or don’t feel that anything you write will be any good, you need to slowly warm up to what you want to accomplish.

Branching Diagram
Sometimes all you need to do to jump start your writing is to start a branching diagram. If you need to write about computers, write down a list of things you will need to write about under computers and continue to branch outwards until you have a good twenty or so words. Then take those words and write a sentence for each word. Once you are done, you will notice the skeleton of an article. A little polishing and transitioning between thoughts, and you are done.

Start Elsewhere
Other times when a branching diagram does not work, start writing something else. Writing about your day in a journal, or even a simple as writing about something you are more interested in working on, you can take the energy from that first bit of writing and transfer it over to the writing you need to do.

Change Location
One of the best ways to get creative and concentrate is to move your writing to another location. Some people find it helps if they go somewhere quiet like a park, or forest. Other people find it helps to move to an area with life, like a cafe, or in a busy book store. I personally feel more energetic and creative when I am surrounded by the energy and white noise of a large group of people.

Read To Write
The final tip I have for getting the words flowing is to read. When I read books I love, it inspires me to write my own works, though sometimes even just reading the newspaper, and the good and bad things going on in the world gets me in the mood to write something new.

Enjoy a Break
There are always ways to get the creative juices flowing, you just have to invest a little time and energy into making it happen, though don’t stress yourself out if it does not happen. Stress can make it even harder to concentrate and be creative. Enjoy your break from writing and enjoy the days where the words come to you endlessly.