Table Of Content

SSS ll my eFromltahe makers of Wi ui Volume OF Pr Matt ae p> Uv as wy Ww ie TIHL STIHL Volume one Welcome Sometimes you might not even realise there’s much a simpler way of doing a difficult job: these are life hacks. In this first volume we'll walk you through tips and tricks on everything from building a garden shed to surviving a marathon. It's a lifeline for hapless DlYers and a guidebook for technophobes, but even if you think you're life hack a guru, prepare yourself for some truly elegant solutions to problems you've never even thought of. es FE ho 06 THE RIGHT WAY 14 UNLOCK 1,000S 24 JUMP-START TO PUT UP A TENT OF HIDDEN YOUR CAR NETFLIX MOVIES Top tips that will make sure you'll Flat battery? Getting moving always be a happy camper No more region restrictions again is a lot simpler than you 08 GRIND COFFEE 16 PUT UPA might think WITHOUT A SHELF STRAIGHT 26 DECORATE GRINDER LIKE A PRO Avoid the pitfalls of this back-to- There's no need for allthose basics DIY task Dodge a potential DIY disaster whizzing electrical gadgets 18 MAKE THE with this handy painting guide 10 WRITE A NOVEL PERFECT SMOOTHIE 28 HOW TO CAST IN MONTH A FLY LINE A The ideal method and a tasty It's possible! Bust that block and recipe for a healthy breakfast Fly fishing made easy pen a bestseller in no time 20 ESCAPE A 30 COVER UP A CAR 12 CHOP WOOD BURNING BUILDING PAINT SCRATCH LIKE A CHAMP In a house fire, these tips could Save yourself a hefty bill and buff Safe and effective tips make allthe difference out the bodywork yourself wy no. W — - Fy GSE e> 3« GET BETTER 40 COOK THE ACOUSTICS IN PERFECT PULLED AWKWARD ROOMS PORK ROLL Max out speaker configuration Pig out with these tips fortender, 34 STEPS TO AVOID mouth-watering pulled pork Go from hobby vlogger to TERRIBLE EBAY 42 TURN YOUR internet sensation CUSTOMER SERVICE PHONE INTO A 48 CARVE LIKE A PRO When eBay goes wrong 3D HOLOGRAM Show dad how it's really done at 36 TURN YOUR A projection project every family meal TABLET INTO A 44 SURVIVE YOUR 50 FIX PUNCTURED A PLAYSTATION FIRST MARATHON BIKE TYRE WITHOUT A REPAIR KIT This emulator makes a console Great tips for preparation and out ofyour Android tablet getting you through the big day Don't let a flat catch you out 38 BUILD A SHED 46 BECOME 52 USE THE CLOUD AYOUTUBE Level up your DIY skills with our Make organising documents and SUPERSTAR garden shed-building guide imagesa lot simpler Y lag Camping isn'tsobad,right?Afewnights you?), youwillhavethetentupandthetea awayfrom itall,getting intouchwith brewing in minutes, aswe'vedoneallthe natureand livingthesimplelife—does groundworkforyou andaddeda smattering thatsound nice?Well,yes, intheoryitcan ofpatienceand know-howto helpmake bea lovelyexperience, butthatsmall bag this process less likea nightmare. THE RIGHT containing a baffling collection offabric, Aswith seeminglyeverything,a little bit loops, ties andtelescopic poles may infact ofcommon sensegoesa long way.Aslong WAY TO PUT beatemporaryhomeforawhile, butthe asyou've remembered allthe kit (double- stressofputting thetentupcould makeyou checkeverything isinyourtent bag before 1) wishthatyou had headedtoa hotel instead. you march offintothewilderness), pickthe Fearnot,though,foras longasyou've rightspotandtakeyourtimethenyou're packed thiscopyofGadgetmagazine guaranteed the perfecttenting holidaywith Top tips that will make onyourcamping trip(andwhywouldn't nofrustration whatsoever. sure you'll always be a happycamper 01 Location, location, location Thefirstthing todoispickthe perfectspotforyourtent. If you'vegotan allocated plotona campsite,then itshouldalreadybe shelteredand flat, butifnot,make sureyou getaspotthat’saslevel aspossible,shelteredfromthe wind — nexttoa hedge isalwaysa good idea —andwith notreesor powerlinesoverhead. Ifthespot isexposed, trytomakesureyou havethewind behindyousothat itdoesn'tblowthroughthetent, andalways pitch itatleastten metresawayfromanyopen firesor barbecuestoavoid anystraysparks landing onthetent’smaterial. 0 Getyourselforganised Soyou've pickedtheperfectspot; now it’stimetogetthetent up. Unpackeverythingand ensureeverythingyou need istherebeforeyoustart. 0 Layout the poles Apartfromthetent itself,youshouldalsohavea Nowfixtogetherallofthepolesandthen layouttheinner smallrubbermallet (youcan graboneforaround canvasonthespotyou'd liketocamp, takingcarethattheentranceis £2atHalfords) toknock inthetent pegs. Unlessyou facingthecorrectway. Followingtheinstructionsthatcamewiththetent havea particularlyfancyorunusualtent, it’ssafeto (and don'tpanic ifyouthinkyou've lostthem,asthey'reoften attachedto assumethatyou haveanumberofpoles (probablyof theinsideofthetent bag) begintothreadthroughthefirstofthepoles. differentsizes), an innercanvasandan outerone(or Theyusuallygofromcornertooppositecorner,andtherewillbeseveral flysheet}togooverthetopofit. smallsleevesalongthetopofthe innercanvastofeedthepolesthrough. Startingtotake shape CAMPING O Withapolealreadythreadedthrough,connect eachendofittotheeyelets inthecornersandthen MUST-HAVES you're readytoinsertthenextone.Thiswillbeharder, asthebentshapeofthefirstpolewilldoitsbesttoget Cinch inyourway.Takethisstageslowly.Carefullythreadthe Pop-up Tent polethroughthesleevesandtrynottopullthepoleat anypoint,orit’slikelytocome apartunderthesleeve Possiblythecoolesttent — and it'sanightmaretotryandthen connect itback you'deverown.Itpopsup up. Oncethrough, insertthepole intotheothertwo injustafewsecondsand eyelets, andyoushouldthen haveabasictentshape. comeswithLEDlighting andtentpegs,light- reflectiveguyropesand evenasolarpacktocharge yourphoneortablet. £150 $195 | cinchpopuptents.co.uk AirPad 2+ Take(some)ofthestress outofcampingwiththis ingeniousairmattress. Thankstoacleverly designedvalvesystem, <—pit'spossibletoinflatethe , AirPadwithjustafewpuffs ofair.Soundscrazy,butit actuallyworks. £75 $100 | windcatchergear.com Offthepeg O Throwtheflysheetoverthe tentandmakesurethattheseamsof Scrubba Portable both parts match up.You'llneedto Washing Machine attach-theflysheet byeithertiesor Betyoudidn’tthinkyou'd clips eitherwillbeattachedtothe beabletotakeawashing insideoftheflysheet,sogoaround machinewithyou.Drop each seamconnecting thetwoparts _ yourclothes,waterand ofthetent. Nowpegoutthecorners detergentinand,usinga oftheentiretent, pullingthepeg neatinternalwashboard, loopstightsothattheshape isrigid yourclothescouldbeclean andtheflysheet isn'ttouchingthe injust30seconds. innertent—you'llgetcondensation £35 $55 inthemorning ifyou do. Pegs thesc|rubba.com should bedriven inatroughly45° pointing intowardsthetentinorder tostopthem becoming unhooked if IceMule Cooler there'sawind. Thisten-litrecoolerwill keepanythingniceand chilledforyouforupto24 hours.Justdropintheice andyoucanstoreanything fromfoodtodrinks it's - handyforperishables.It'sa t backpack,too,soyoucan easilytakeitoutwithyou. £40 $50 | icemulecooler.com BioLite Finishing touches O PowerLight Now,finishoffbygoing aroundthetent Bundle peggingoutanyloopsalongthesides.When itcomes tothedoorofthetent, makesurethatthezipsareall Thisbundlegivesyoua thewaydown, otherwiseyou mightfindthatthefabric standardlanternortorch, istootighttoclosethem afterwardsifyoudon't.The ™ butitcanalsobeusedto coloured guylinesarethereforextrasecurityin high chargeupyourphone,and winds, andyoucan adjusttheir length-bymovingthe / comescompletewitha plastic runnerupanddowntheropes ifyoustart pairofdaisy-chainlights with itaroundonethirdofthewayupfromtheground, foroverheadlighting. then thatwillhelptoavoid peopletripping overthem. £85|$110 bioliteenergy.com ae 3935 LD) COFFEE WITHOUT A 4 Da Sea Is hammer up to a gem GOMEDIEVALWITH APESTLE ANDMORTAR Soyou'vefinallyrealisedthatinstantcoffee Tkhitechree'nsacuppobsosaibridlisty, athnadttyhoautwmoauyldhabveeiademalofrotarrthaendjopbe.sItdleeallu,rbkuintgtriincktyh,eabsathckeornouonnde,somfoyoouthr isdisgustingandthatthe‘fresh’stuffyouget surfaceofthebean makesthemtrickytocrush.Thebestmethod istostartwithasmall isfarfromthebrewyougetfromyourlocal amountofbeans, crushthemandthen swapthemforafewmore.Themoreyou practice coffeeshop.You'vedecidedthat it’snowtime yourtechnique,thentheeasierthis method gets. togrindyourown coffee beans. But it’snot Didthismethodwork?Yes quiteasstraightforwardasyouthink: high-tech grinders have loadsofsettings —turning your beans intoanything from gravelto powder. Beforeyou goinvesting a load ofmoneyin a newgrinderand start pounding the lifeoutof everycoffee beanthat'scrazyenough tocome within afive-mile radiusofyou,though, it’s worth spending sometime looking intowhat youwantyourgrindertodo, andthesortof coffeeyou liketodrink. Ifyou reallyfancythe DIYapproach, then we've gota range ofoptionsforyoutogrind coffee beanswithoutalltheexpenseand hassle ofhavingtogeta grinder. Witha bitofpractice and a smattering ofpatienceyou'llsoon be makingcoffeethattastes infinitelybetterthan anything fromoneofthechains. & \\ STICKYOURBEANSABLENDER Itseemsobviousthatadevice used forblending thingswouldbeperfectforgrinding up coffee, butin realityitdoesn’tactuallyworkthatwellatall. Firstly,thegranulesproduced from blender-ground coffee beanswillend up beingdifferentsizes — nomatterhowlongyou grind them for.That's important becausean inconsistentgrindwillaffect boththeflavourand caffeineextraction ofthebeans. It’sontherighttrack, butnotquitethewholeticket. Didthismethodwork? No THE GRIND IS REAL You mightthinkmaking coffeeisjustacaseof | blitzing some beansandstickingthem in hot water, butgettingyourgrind wrong can leave a bittertasteinyourmouth literally.Thefiner yougrind beans, thelargersurfaceareatheywill haveinwater, meaningthelesstimeyouwant tosteepthemtoavoid overloading theflavour. Readontodiscoverthebesttypeofgrindto 4 useinyourpreferred cupofJoe. ' Coarse grind S° e Yourcafetiere(orFrenchpress}steeps * . coffeeinwaterforseveralminutes. beforestrainingouttHe.grounds,50 thegrindneedstobayerycoarse ortheendresultwilltastevehgbitter.«o IT’S HAMMERTIME igs “s Oneof-theeasiestwaystosmashyourcoffee beanstosmithereensisusinga nice,weighty object we recommendahammerormeat-tenderising mallet. Putthebeansintoathick freezerbag (anything toothinwillsimplyripwhenyou starttohammerit)andhammerthem withshort,evenstrokes. Whilethis isaneasymethod, it’salsoveryhardtogetaconsistentsize ofground beanssoyourcoffee'stastewill, unfortunately, sufferasa resultofthis. Didthismethodwork?Sortof a Medium grind m Thisisthekindofcoffeeyou'llmostlybe usedtodrinkingincafesasitsusedin adripbrew.Madeinlargebatcheswith contacttimedictatedbyasmallholein thebottomofthebrewingbasket,the att By grindneedstolookliketablesalt. Fine grind Yourmorningespressoisbrewed byusingpressuretoforcewater throughcompactedcoffee grounds. Thecontacttimeisvery short,requiringafinegrindsize. GENTLYDOES ITWITHA ROLLING PIN Ifyou're lookingforsymmetryinthesizeofyourcrushed coffeebeans,thenwerecommend puttingyourhammerawayfornowinfavourofa rolling pin. Putthebeans inatoughfreezer bag,sothattheywon'tflyallovertheplace, then rolloverthebeanswithjustenough pressure tobreakthem 'fvoudon'thave arealling nintahand thenyou can substitute |withanyother cylindricalobjectthatwon'tbreakunderpressure. Didthismethodwork?Yes ee Extrafine grind naveamucniargersurface area meaningthetasteic sPieR)LOM Borers tc £sa2g0e0a|pSpNlia/Anc|es.co.uk partofaTurkishcoffee. - . WRITE A we fe 4A AAO 4 NOVELINA ara Aw aa MONTH Ka oe1371 oo? AF “7 0 A! fe A tome wasn't built in a 7 but4 weeks is doable wa” day, . eH Throughout Novemberhundreds ofthousands ofpeoplewillbetaking part in NationalNovel / Writing Month.Alsoknown NaNoWriMo, participants inthis competition aimtowritea St 50,000-word novelbeforethe month isover wi —that’s1,667wordsa day.Thatmaysound likeadauntingtask, butthe NaNoWriMo has ~~ a passionate communityofusers,withover 430,000 participating lastyear, whospur eachotherown.The NaNoWriMowebsite (nanowrimo.org) also motivatesyou by awarding badgesfor keymilestones. There is noformalprize, mostparticipants doitforthe loveofwriting. Buttherehave been thosewhohavegoneontofind fame andfortune: over250 novelswritten during theeventhave been published. Most notably, Water For Elephants bySara Gruen waswritten for NaNoWriMo in 2006. Notonlydidthis novelgoontobepublished worldwide, it was alsoadapted intoa moviestarring Reese Witherspoon and Robert Patterson. Ifyou'veeverthoughtaboutwriting a book, this isthetimetotry. Read ontotofind out howtogetthe mostoutofNaNaoWriMoand discoverthe bestgadgets forwriters. x18 @@8 0 Getting started Earning yourbadges O Theeventdoesn't begin until midnight, 1November, butyou Onthehomepageyoushouldseeyour‘MyNaNo’profile,this can sign upforitatanytimeofyear.Onceyou've madeyouraccount will haveinformation aboutyourselfanddisplayyourbadges.Thereare and selectedwhereyouwillbewritingfromyou can seetheregion's threetypesofbadges: participation,writing andpersonalachievements. MunicipalLiaison.These people moderatetheforumsaswellasorganise You awardthesetoyourselfbyeitherentering information orbydoing localeventsthatyoucan attend.Onceyou'reallset upnothing is fulfilling certain requirementsonthewebsite.Youdon’treceiveanything stoppingyoufromjottingdownyourideas. forearningthem butit'sgoodtoshowoffyourmilestones. Af GADGETS FOR WRITERS Livescribe 3 Smartpen ThispenusesBluetoothtosendwhat you'rewritingtoasmartphoneor tablet.Itscompanionappcanconvert yournotesintotextandhasasearch functionforyourhandwrittennotes. £130 |$150| livescribe.com OlympusWS-853 Ifyou'restrugglingtogetyourideas onpaper,whynottrytelling italoud, recording itandtypingitupafter?This dictaphonehasgreatqualityaudio andiseasytouse. SS £60 $65 olympus.com | | Varidesk Pro Plus 36 Avoidanybackproblemsduring alongwritingsessionwiththis adjustablestandingdesk.Itsitseasily onexistingdesksandoffersplenty ofroom. £335 $400 varidesk.com | | Hemingway Editor Simplycopyandpasteyourworkinto thiswebappanditwitlhighlightany - unnecessarydescriptions,sectionsof densetext,andtellyouhowreadable yourwritingis. Free hemingwayapp.com | Logitech Create foriPad Pro Afull-sizebacklitMackeyboardbuilt intoaniPadcarrycase.Ithasanauto- wakefeaturesowhenyouopenthe casethedeviceturnson. £110 $130 logitech.com | | Yoropen Superior Ballpoint Pen + Forthosewholiketowriteonpen Ye 1"saenedwpahpaetr,yothue'reYowroriptienngamlloowrescyloeaurltyo andisdesignedtoreducehandstrain. £6 $8 yoropen.com | | eto, EQFAGsoosFEY ola NationalNovelWritingMonth PepTalks (eatghetratrangnpairattoonnaeteonfsrwyaeaby Somapaes dog.Thequickbrownfoxjumpoverthalazydog, ‘tTehroewqnuifcokxbjuromwpnafoovxerutmheeslaozyverdothge.lTahzeyqduoigck.Ttrhoewqnufiocxk. | 0 Just keep writing 0 Get professional help Youneedtowrite50,000wordsbeforethemonthends; thevalue Youdon'twriteyournovelonthewebsite,thesiteisthere purely ischosen because, astheorganiserssay, “it'schallenging,yetdoable”. forencouragementandtohelpyoufinish.Youwriteyourbookhowever Thisequatesto1,667wordsadayandwriting thatamountwhilstworking youwish, beitbyhand oronakeyboard.Onthewebsiteyou canfind orstudying amongyourdailychoresmayseem likean impossibletask, peptalksfromestablished authors,scoreboardsshowingwhich locations thankfully, NaNoWriMooffershelptothosewhoneed it.You'renot arewritingthemost, livestreamswithwritersanswering questionsand expectedtowritethegreatestnovelofalltime,thegoal isjusttofinish it. moretoolsavailabletokeepthewriter'sblockatbay.