Yes, they may be first world problems, but there should be no guilt in finding an easier way to do everyday tasks. Storing wrapping paper against the ceiling is one way to declutter. See the other 25 ideas at The Daily Buzz. Link -via TYWKIWDBI

(Image credit: Flickr user Frank Farm)

Most people who want extra tip money try to write something clever on their jars, but the geniuses over at Depanneur, a grocery store in Brooklyn, know just hot to get the dollars moving: make it a contest between two geek icons. Personally, I’d give my money to Alfred because he needs it more, but that’s just me.

Link Via The Consumerist

Bruce Wayne is incredibly focused on wearing the perfect suit for the occasion (he’s ordered more than 20,000 hats according to the movies), and while your work-wear won’t be stab-proof or taser-resistant, it also has the advantage of not needing to be stab-proof or taser-resistant. One of many advantages of a business degree is the idea of getting a job where you don’t need to offer fries with that, help people carry things, or outwit a demented madman determined to poison the city’s water supply.

Read the rest and put it to good use. Link

One of the occupational hazards of eating pasta is the way it slings sauce on everything around you—shirts, jacket … dates. Physicists creatively named this the spaghetti effect, the tendency of long flexible strands (like spaghetti) to whip side to side when pulled into a container (like your mouth). It’s a mild annoyance at dinner but a real danger in industrial settings where ropes or chains are rapidly pulled to and fro—or at home, when your metal tape measure goes feral. Fortunately, you can tame the noodle. —Judy Dutton

Instructions for better spaghetti-slurping follow. Link

Whenever I go through the takeout dance with a host (she retrieves my food, I pay—inevitably with a credit card—and my eyes scan down to that darned gratuity line), I feel anxious. Am I rude if I don’t tip? A sucker if I do? What’s the proper percentage? (Surely not the full 15% to 20%.)

“I’ll leave a couple of dollars, maybe more if it’s a larger order and required more work by the host,” says Heather Chang, a former hostess at a San Diego gourmet pizza restaurant. What constitutes more work? “Things the host would’ve helped put together, like a salad or something that required fancy packaging.” If this turns out to be the case, 10% is plenty.

Link -via the Presurfer

(Image credit: Dave Dugdale)

James Bond is one of the best and coolest guys in the film world. He is capable of almost anything, and has a ton of tricks up his sleeves. From the author who brought you 55 Tricks of Jason Bourne, here are 69 Tricks and Tools of James Bond, from the first five Bond films, Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, and You Only Live Twice. From Goldfinger:

5. When in the enemy’s bathroom, Bond inspects the room for peepholes, and covers them with his clothing and shaving cream. In addition, he detects a two-way mirror, which lets him know a peephole is close.
6. In a guarded cell, Bond managed to jump to the ceiling and stay there temporarily to lure the guard in and escape.
7. Bond always keeps an eye on the person who has the keys to his handcuffs, so when he is dead, Bond can grab the keys.

Link – via squealingrat

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by squealingrat.

Photography can be such a serious art, but taken too seriously it becomes formal and boring – at least for folks like Ivar Gravlejs. With 78 exhaustive tips he ranges from humorous to obvious, dead-pan to just plain stupid. Still, some of us would do well to remember the basics when taking pictures – or will at least get a laugh out of his twisted spin on conventional photo tips.

Link via Gawno

Look like a genius using these secrets for navigating everyday life

Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by ahammel.

So you want to blog. Perhaps you’re worried about your job security, or perhaps you just want an extra source of income in these bad economic times. Blogging is fun – and it can be profitable, if you know what you’re doing.

In the first of what I hope is a series of forum posts about blogging, I’d like to give back to the readers of Neatorama. If you want to blog, you don’t have to buy an eBook that promises to tell you the secret of making money online. I’ll tell you what I’ve learned from three years of blogging – what I think I did right and wrong. In a nutshell, I’ll tell you the secrets of Neatorama’s growth and success.

In this article, I’m going to assume two things: you’ve never blogged before (but you want to try) and you want to blog for fun and profit.

I hope you like it – if it’s popular, I’ll post more: Link

(Chart: Time to Look Busy by Jessica Hagy of Indexed)

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