Apartment Therapy Unplggd Ohdeedoh Re-Nest The Kitchn

picantel's Profile

Display Name: picantel
Member Since: 8/13/09
Are all of these comments spam? For non-spam comments, please email us at help@apartmenttherapy.com

Latest Comments...

One thing I recommend is to put your ICE information on the lockscreen of your phone.
That way, if you're in an accident, and you're incapacitated, someone can easily get to your ICE info. What good is ICE info on your contacts when someone else can't access it in an emergency situation.

I have a picture of my driver's license in my album. That way, I can whip it out in case I forget my wallet.

I also take pictures of recipes, and google docs will automatically convert it to text. I also scan barcodes for books, video games, anything that catches my fancy, and store that into Evernote or Catch for later use.


10 Snapshots You Should Keep in Your Phone's Photo Album
5/2/12 3:18 PM

I've tried the white noise machines and several phone apps but I haven't found one that truly captures the sound a strong fan blowing. It usually comes out tinny sounding without the deep bass and because it's a loop, I can sometimes hear where it stops and loops again, and that is more annoying to me.

What I would really like is a full 8hr recording of the fan so there won't be any looping.


Do White Noise Machines Work?
3/27/12 11:33 AM

how about... i'm ditching printed books and ereaders for android tablet????


Why I'm Ditching an E-Reader for the New iPad
3/12/12 3:52 PM

There's only one type of headphones that I'm comfortable with - the ones that go in your ear. The ones like the ipod's don't work because they're not snug enough, and they always fall out, meanwhile the ones that completely cover the ear hurts after a few minutes because I wear glasses, and they press against the frame.

I have a pair of Bose in ear isolating headphones that are absolutely fabulous, and a plantronics in ear bluetooth one that can go from mono to stereo, and a samsung one that came with my son's phone that stays in the office.


How To Find the Right Pair of Headphones Just For You
2/8/12 2:55 PM

hey... what about the geek moms?

I'm a geek mom and proud of it.


A Generation of Geek Dads
2/2/12 3:30 PM

I'll have to try this tonight. Usually, when I buy green onions, I buy a whole package, then chop them up immediately, and then i put it in a jar and freeze it.

But this is great for when you need fresh green onions as a garnish.


Re-Growing Green Onions: Grow Your Scallions Back on Your Windowsill
2/2/12 1:46 PM

I have 95% of my media in digital format. The only ones left in physical media are my Star Wars, Indiana Jones, LOTR, and Gipsy Kings collection.

I'll be adding a Harry Potter boxed set once a complete set comes out. Other than that, everything is digital and on hard drives. I have a PC that I use as a media server, so anyone in the family can access it, and I can also access it through my phone or tablet.


How to Downsize Movie & Music Collections
1/26/12 10:34 AM

I have 3 external and 6 internal drives hooked up to my box since when I bought the drives, the large sizes weren't invented yet. Since the hard drives themselves are still solid, working, drives, why waste it?

I've got everything from 80GB drives all the way to 2TB drives. I organize my drives for separate items - one is exclusively for music, one for videos, etc.

I love her idea of strapping everything together.


Four Hidden Hard Drives and a DIY IKEA Standing Desk
1/23/12 9:57 AM

I love tech gadgets, but I don't always have the money to keep buying the latest and greatest, so before I buy any tech, the first things I look at are:
1. Is it upgradeable? Can I get add-ons or software upgrades down the line that will make it last longer?
2. How easy is it to upgrade or extend the life of the item?
3. How easy is it to maintain the item? Can I easily replace the batteries? What about the cost and availability of replacement items? Can I easily do it on my own?
4. Lastly, is are the features of the item good enough for what I want to use it for? Really think hard about the purpose of the item before buying.

A good example is when ipods first came out, people were buying ipods left and right. I didn't jump on the bandwagon, and instead bought a vosonic pmp/media storage device. It used a regular laptop hard drive that was upgradeable, it used regular rechargeable camera battery, and it played videos well before apple came out with video capabilities on their ipods. That gadget lasted 8 years before it finally clonked out on me. And after the unit itself stopped working, I could still salvage the hard drive and use it for storage!


Buying Tech for the Long Run
1/20/12 1:34 PM

I love getting a new tech gadget for christmas or my birthday. My husband knows this, and knows this well. He doesn't even bother looking at clothes, jewelry, and the like.

If I don't get a nice shiny new toy, then accessories for the gadget I already own also sends me to heaven. A new case, a tripod, a new memory card, a new hard drive, etc. Love them!


Where does Tech Gear Rank on Your Wish List?
12/1/11 1:37 PM

I started using google documents for my recipes. I set up a folder for each collection (fish, chicken, beef, appetizers, etc.) and each recipe document, I've tagged it to the collections that they belong to. Makes it easier to search.

Since I have an Android smartphone, I also have GDocs as an app, so I can access the files any time. The cool thing is that I can take a picture of a recipe and GDocs will actually convert the text in the pictures to actual text in a document, so I don't have to retype the whole thing.

Barring that, copy and pasting the file into GDocs works well too.


Best Way to Organize Recipes from Many Sources?
Good Questions

10/20/11 10:21 AM

Not just India, but I'm sure most of Southeast Asia does this too. It's so easy to buy food from street vendors.

A whole meal can be wrapped in banana leaves - rice, meat dish, vegetables, etc. and the leaves serves as your plate, and you eat with your hand. Once you're done, you can just throw everything away and not have any trash that can't be broken down by nature.

Banana leaves are also great for cooking food in. It imparts a subtle flavoring when steaming, or grilling. Love food wrapped in banana leaves.


Green Style: Banana Leaves in India
10/7/11 9:45 AM

If I'm taking a baked potato to work, I'll wet it, prick it with a fork, cover it with kosher salt, and wrap the whole thing in parchment paper.

When I microwave it, steam forms inside the parchment paper and really softens the outside, and allows the salt to make a nice crust.


How to Bake a Potato: Three Easy Methods
9/28/11 7:13 PM

I love my USB extension cord. Never leave home without it.

I find most USB cords that come with tech gadgets are really short (30cm or 60cm at the max) and most hotel outlets are going to be way out of that range. I now always carry around a 60/90 cm extension cord with me.


Our Favorite Lazy Tech Accessory? A USB Extender
9/16/11 12:40 PM

My MyTouch phone came in this case that zippers up. Perfect for carrying all those usb cords, ac adapters, etc. for all my tech gadgets.


Hidden Tech Gems & Why We Love Them
9/15/11 12:25 PM

You know you're old when...
- you can remember that computers used to come with two floppy drives and NO hard drives

- 100mb hard drive was amazing! So much storage.

- Windows installations used to take 12 floppy drives!


"You Know You're Old When..." Tech Edition
8/19/11 1:26 PM

when the kids were toddlers and very prone to car sickness, I tried keeping plastic bags in the car to catch the problems, but I found a lot of plastic bags have a small hole at the end or a rip. Many trips were ruined by slow leaking yuckiness!

From that point on, I stuck to ziploc bags instead. Not only are they leakproof, but once zipped up, they contain the smells too. To this day I keep a box of ziploc bags that I bought at the Dollar store.

Not only can I use it to contain the vomit, but also to ziploc the clothes that happen to get some crap on it too. All without the smell.


18 Ways To Reuse Plastic Bags
Care2

8/10/11 7:40 PM

Not all toothpaste are created equal. I've found only the actual white type toothpaste (not the gel kind) works.


5 Clever Uses For Toothpaste
Secret Tips From the Yumiverse

7/15/11 3:49 PM

If all else fails, reboot.


What Favorite Quote or Personal Mantra Do You Live By?
7/7/11 5:00 PM

right now it's a jumbled mess. This post is very timely as I have to get the mess under control.

I really like the idea of the mason jars.


10 Practical Ideas for Better Spice Storage
7/6/11 12:34 PM