Life Pro Tips

LPT: ever had those nights where you just can’t seem to fall asleep, no matter how tired you are? Here’s a trick used by the military to help you drift off in just 2 minutes.

1.  Relax Your Face: Start by letting go of all the tension in your face. That means your tongue, jaw, and the muscles around your eyes.


2.  Drop Your Shoulders: Let your shoulders fall as low as they can go. Then, relax your upper and lower arms, one side at a time.


3.  Breathe Out and Relax Your Chest: Take a deep breath and let it out slowly, relaxing your chest as you do.


4.  Relax Your Legs: Start with your thighs and let the relaxation flow down to your feet.


5.  Clear Your Mind: Now that your body is relaxed, it’s time to clear your mind . Do this by repeating “don’t think, don’t think, don’t think” for about 30-60 seconds. 

With a bit of practice, this technique can help you fall asleep quickly, even in the most stressful situations.

Hope this helps you catch those much-needed Z’s! 😴

This tip was given to me a few months ago, and any time I’ve had to use it I’m asleep in minutes. While laying awake, start naming any words that pop into your mind. Just a stream of consciousness of whatever words come to mind. Try to avoid patterns or connections and don’t think about it. Just start rattling off words. I was told that this mimics how our brains function while dreaming, therefore tricking us into falling asleep. Whether the science is real, the method seriously works.

A lot of people who struggle to accept praise (due to shyness, low self esteem, cultural emphasis on humility, etc) - tend to downplay their contributions as "no big deal", "just doing what anyone would do", and/or not as good as what others could do.

So instead of focusing my praise on their efforts, which can always be downplayed or compared unfavorably to others, I focus on the effect their work has on me.

"Hey, thanks for putting together that spreadsheet - having all the information clearly laid out like that saved me a ton of time and stress."

"Thank you for looking after my dog while I'm out of town - I always feel better knowing he's in safe hands, and I know he's much happier with you than he would be at a boarding facility."

"I love that painting you did! It reminds me of the camping trips I used to go on with my dad. Seeing it always makes my day."

That way, if they do still try to downplay it as nothing special, I just shrug and let them know that, regardless, it had a positive impact on me and I appreciate it.

Because, yeah, sure, maybe it didn't take much effort. Maybe anyone else would've done the same thing. And statistically speaking, there's probably somebody in the world who could've done it better. But here's the thing - no one else did do it. They did. And at the end of the day, that's all that really matters.

[Edit: yup, title should say "compliment" not "complement". I don't usually mix up my homophones, but ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯]

I got an eye appointment recently and since I had already ordered contacts this year I was not eligible to get new lenses, just new frames. So, I got myself a very nice pair of Maui Jims for about $40 bucks using this year’s $130 allowance and discount. “Frames” includes the non-prescription sunglasses lenses.

It occurred to me that I could have a few pairs as I passed up the use or lose it benefits a few times in the past as I am sure others have as well. My wife is also taking advantage and getting a pair as she has perfect eye sight and just gets the exam.

If you can't easily or safely reach your upper rain gutters to clear them and you have a leaf blower available, you can blast air UP the downspout and it has a good chance of clearing out a clog.

Yes, you should maintain and clean your gutters seasonally. But if there is a sudden strong storm and you notice overflow and nothing coming out the bottom, give it a try.

Just be prepared to quickly get the blower and yourself out of the way after you let go of the trigger because if you do clear it, it will be a massive flush!

If you plan to travel, buy a specific cord that is "Charge only" and not a "Charge and Sync" for use in public places. It reduces the risk of getting malware uploaded onto your phone or tablet when plugged into a USB plug.

Not only when you barely survive a dangerous moment like a car crash but being cognizant that it can ALWAYS be worse.

This helps you avoid being blamed for giving the wrong advice and is actually more helpful in the long run.

As I am sitting in the service dept of my dealership…

Places like Spirit Halloween (or just Amazon) sell jugs of liquid latex as zombie special effects make up. It’s the exact same thing as a lot of the masking fluids sold by art stores, but way cheaper.

I recently learned that flies and even mosquitoes don't see every color as well. White is one of the better one's it seemed so I started taping a white tissue to my fly swatter and I've been killing every mosquito on the first try!

Usually they are just so fast and seem to get out of dodge just in time but using this trick they don't see it coming as quickly and you'll improve your chance to get them immensely.

Just white paper tissue already works and I'm sure if you get creative with this knowledge you can find even better ways, good hunting out there!

Don't use the tops to the cans, just clean out the nozzle thoroughly under the sink and let it dry open in the fridge.

If you use the top, you're trapping moisture (and bits of milk/etc) that will get nasty. If you clean it out and leave it open, you're not going to get the gross bit that's been sitting in the nozzle next time you use it.

More often than not, they won't pay you back and nothing will be the same again.

I am not sure how many, many, many times I took advantage of using my credit card extremely good exchange rate (plus no exchange fees), when paying services or products in another currency, but never thought of putting it in writing (being so well known, I assumed ...).

Today I decided to do it, simply because vendors are making this increasingly difficult, I assume by taking a cut in bad exchange rates: while acquiring airplane tickets from Ryanair, for travel inside Europe, the default on their web site, of using my card (with the original ticket in €), was to have the payment in $US, with the exchange rate offered by Ryanair. Only by using a not so visible arrow, on the right side of the payment tab, I was able to pull down a long text box, which explained that it is not advisable, with a lot of non-sense reasons, to not accept the conversion, then - at the end of the text - a little checkbox, by default checked, which - if unchecked - reveals the actual price in original €s. For a ticket worth around €270, the difference between what Ryanair conversion offered, and my credit card final charge (checked post accepting payment in €) was of $20 (!!).

What I have just described applies to payments in stores, restaurants, etc., etc. I have seen instances when the vendor actually presses the "conversion" button on their PoS, without even checking with me (being forced to then decline to accept payment, and restart the PoS process),

Adult mosquitos in general can be difficult to kill, but their spawn are easier to eliminate.

Get a home depot bucket and a pack of "mosquito dunks," ~$10 for a pack of 8 pucks. Mosquito dunks are used typically for birdbaths, fish ponds, basically any standing water you'd have on your property. It is a chemical that targets the larvae and prevents them from growing to full on mosquitos. It does not harm any other bugs or animals.

Fill up the bucket halfway, throw in some dead grass to attract the egg laying mosquitos as the grass decays (think swampy water, mosquitos love it), and throw in 1/4 of a puck (do half or the whole thing if you want, but 1/4 is enough for a 5 gallon bucket). Refill water and add new dunks once a month.

Boom, no more babies born around your house. I have 4 of these buckets around my yard. You can use a flower pot if you are worried about esthetics. If you're worried about birds or other critters falling in, throw a stick in there so they can climb out or cover with chicken wire.

I noticed a HUGE decrease less than 10 days after setting up. Some people say that once a female has touched the treated water to lay eggs, any other water she touches will also become treated.

Whenever you're in a class, seminar, or any situation where everyone gets a chance to present and the organizer asks who will start first, I highly recommend volunteering to go first. Here’s why:

1. Set the Expectations: You get to set the tone and expectations for everyone who follows.

2. Avoid Pressure: The longer you wait, the more nervous you might get. Going first means less time to build up anxiety.

3. Relif: Once you’re done, you can relax and enjoy the rest of the session without the looming stress of your turn.

So next time you’re asked who wants to go first, be bold and step up. You’ll thank yourself later.

The sounds of fireworks used to freak out my dogs until I realized that by running 1 - 2 “air appliances” in our room, dogs sleep right through everything, even the finales on July 4.

Tonight, we will run dehumidifiers (my fave), HEPA air purifiers, fans - anything to get audible airflow going.

Protect the dogs! Happy 4th.

I hang out on r/moviesuggestions, and there's a tremendous bias by some against 'old movies', and that definition can include movies from the 90s or anything more than 10 years old.

Imagine Lord of the Rings being too old to watch.

There are plenty of good films going all the way back to the black and white era: Casablanca, 12 Angry Men, M, Metropolis, Chaplin, The Wizard of Oz, It's a Wonderful Life.

New films are built on the foundation of old films. Get your kids out of the habit of believing it's only good if it's new before it solidifies as they grow older.

Obviously, use your best judgement about what age is best for each film.

If you ever need a disinfectant sea water is the best solution to decrease redness and inflammation. When you get home make sure to apply some antibacterial cream on the sting anyway.

If course this apples only to minor stings, if you get an allergic reaction please seek medical attention

When you’re buying bananas, grab two ripe, three medium ripe, and two greens. Then you can eat them as they ripen.

I said this about my car the other day when I smelled some oil burning. Then I realized it fits with damned near everything in life. From cooking to your breath to the baby's diaper to car issues, fireplaces, body odor, the inside of your fridge, your kitchen drains... All of it. If you catch a whiff of it, stop and have a look, you just might catch an issue before it becomes a problem.

This ensures that you will not be wasting any money by leaving a small balance on the card.

I have a graphic shirt I'd like to resize as it's not just too big, but it is also too long. Its a Unisex M tall shirt (~33" long), I normally wear between extra small unisex shirts.

Normally I would just cut the excess off from the bottom BUT this shirt has the design start at the bottom and goes up. from there, I have about 13" of empty space between the design and the collar. I definitely don't want to make a scoop neck *that* deep as it would be to the bottom of the armpit.

Can I fix this with either cutting & weaving, or minimal sewing? I don't have access to a sewing machine and have arthritis, so I can only sew small amounts.

I've spent like 2 hours searching google, youtube, and reddit trying to find a solution but everything I find recommends to just cut the hem, but I don't want to loose the image as I actually really like it.

Thanks!