1. ENGINE COOLANT AND ANTIFREEZE
How Often: Check twice yearly, once before summer and again before winter; change if coolant has brown tint or rust bits.
Pay Now: Free to check; up to $5 to top off with correct mix of water and coolant or antifreeze. If you don’t use the right coolant for your car, you could damage your engine.
Or Pay Later: Without coolant, you can damage the water pump ($50 to $100) and possibly your engine.

2. OIL
How Often: Check monthly; change every 3,000 to 6,000 miles
Pay Now: Free to check; $20 to change yourself (oil, disposal fees); $20 to $40 at a shop.
Or Pay Later: Not changing the oil can void your warranty. Increased wear will shorten the engine’s life span. Rebuilt engines cost $1,000 to $3,000, plus labor, depending on the car. (more…)

1. Tackle tomatoes quickly
One or two tomatoes aren’t hard to handle, but working with a bunch can quickly turn frustrating. If you need to remove seeds and have a salad spinner handy, chop your tomatoes up whole and give them a few spins—most of the seeds are now separated. If you need to peel a lot of them, a drop in boiling water for 15-30 seconds makes it easy to yank skins with your hands, but if you only have a few, simply hold them over a gas or electric stove burner with tongs or a fork until the skin just blisters.
2. Get ahead with prep containers
Many recipes call for adding a number of liquids, solids or both at once, or in a few phases. If you’ve planned out a few dinners for the week, or if you have a little time before the cooking starts, pre-assembling these mixes—having what the French call mise en place can be a huge time saver. You don’t have to buy small dishes that end up getting washed—one Cook’s Illustrated reader uses leftover cough-syrup cups (after washing, of course), while others suggest a muffin tin tray, used yogurt cups, coffee filters and other containers. (more…)

Method #1: Quit While You’re Ahead

So you’ve had great flow working on a project. You sit back for a moment and think, “Hey, this is going great! I wish I always felt this engaged and sharp!”

Time to quit.

One maxim often repeated by writing teachers is to leave your last sentence unfinished at the end of the day so you have a logical place to continue next time. The same holds true for any creative work. (…) (more…)

Democrats

2004 - John Kerry* (38%) John Edwards (32%), Howard Dean (18%), Richard Gephardt (11%) and Dennis Kucinich (1%)

2000 - Al Gore* (63%) Bill Bradley (37%)

1996 - Bill Clinton* (unopposed)

1992 - Tom Harkin (76%) Paul Tsongas (4%), Bill Clinton* (3%), Bob Kerrey (2%) and Jerry Brown (2%)

1988 - Dick Gephardt (31%) Paul Simon (27%), Michael Dukakis* (22%) and Bruce Babbitt (6%)

1984 - Walter Mondale* (49%) Gary Hart (17%), George McGovern (10%), Alan Cranston (7%), John Glenn (4%), Rueben Askew (3%) and Jesse Jackson (2%)

1980 - Jimmy Carter (59%) Ted Kennedy (31%) (more…)

1. It helps you learn from your mistakes.
If we don’t reflect on our mistakes, we are doomed to repeat them. And that’s not very smart. However, if we reflect on those mistakes, figure out what went wrong, see how we can prevent them in the future, we can use our mistakes to get better. Mistakes, then, are a valuable learning tool, instead of something to feel embarrassed or upset about. Reflection is an important way to do that.
2. It gives you great ideas.
Like I said, every single post idea that I have for Zen Habits (or other blogs I write for) comes from reflection. Basically, I reflect on things that I’m doing or that are going on in my life. If things aren’t going well, I learn stuff I can share with others. If I reflect on something that’s a success for me, I think about how I got that success, and share that too. I’ve had hundreds of great ideas this year from reflection. (more…)

1. Web Design from Scratch - Your Complete Guide to Web Design.
2. Learn to Crochet - From the Lion Brand yarn company.
3. Learn to Draw Portraits - I couldn’t draw my way out of a paper bag. I still can’t after watching this. Maybe you’ll have better luck.
4. Bartending 101 - The American Bartending Association is offering a free instructional DVD.
5. HomeDecorating.com - Lists simple tutorials on how to hang wallpaper, decorating within your budget, color misconceptions, laying tile and more.
6. Learn Spanish - Online courses, quizzes, games and more.
7. Learn to Juggle - Might be fun.
8. Learn to Waltz - A nice way to spend a romantic evening at home.
9. Learn how to script Microsoft Windows.
10. Learn to Play Craps - I still don’t get it. (more…)

10. Get the local time anywhere
What time is it in Bangkok right now? Ask Google. Enter simply what time is it to get the local time in big cities around the world, or add the locale at the end of your query, like what time is it hong kong to get the local time there.
9. Track flight status
Enter the airline and flight number into the Google search box and get back the arrival and departure times right inside Google’s search results. (more…)

1. Go contrarian: Wall Street is biased, trust no one
The vast majority of business, economic and stock-market forecasters are not looking out for your interests. They’re biased, favoring their employers on Wall Street, Corporate America and Washington. The past few years they made huge bucks hyping the credit/subprime bubble. Witness their bonuses. In 2008 their rosy forecasts will continue. They can’t help misleading you, it’s in their DNA: “Greed is good.”
2. Do-it-yourself: You’ll make fewer mistakes
Remember Buddha’s advice: “Believe nothing, no matter where you read it or who has said it, not even if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.” You are the only “expert” you can trust: All brokers and money managers, newspapers, magazines, online and newsletter pundits, all television anchors, and every other special-interest guru is “selling” you something. Don’t buy “it.” (more…)