LifeHack: Dyson Handheld is a GREAT Mosquito Catcher!

My children’s bodies don’t react well to mosquito bites 🙁 Not that anyone does, but where I might get a bite/bump about the size of a pea, they might see a huge bump the size of a 50 cent piece for a number of days. Needless to say, when the children see a mosquito in the house, they go crazy. Whatever you image crazy is, double it.

In my whole life, I have squashed mosquitos, but only after they land. A wall. A mirror. A door. Anywhere, once they land, I’m pretty good at swatting them. But sometimes, it’s a lamp or a Lego set, you can’t just swat it. Then you’re forced to shoe it away to land on something else.

Tonight, quite by accident, I was holding the Dyson Handheld and Cameron yelled for a mosquito. It was midair … I pointed the Dyson towards it like a light saber, turned it on, and from about 3 inches away, the mosquito jumped right in! How great was that?

It didn’t die, I could see it flying around inside, so I took the Dyson outside, opened it and let it go.

I’m sure this is something millions of others had already figured out, but it was new to me, and exciting enough to write a quick post. Try it, you’ll like it, and be surprised at just how easy it is.

We have an old Dyson with a dying battery, and this is the Dyson DC34 (Amazon Referral Link) I’ll be buying as a replacement.

Microsoft OneDrive vs. DropBox

OneDrive from Microsoft wins over Drop Box, just because of it’s “Make Available Online Only” feature. Drop box has this (sort of) with what they call Selective Sync. The problem with Selective Sync is … it’s folder based, and it’s all or nothing. OneDrive let’s you right click any file, and select online only. You can choose to do this by directory as well. Then All child directories and files are marked online only.

So much better than drop box, because the file APPEARS to still be on your machine. Even images, have their tiny thumbnails. if anything needs that file, it’s downloaded on demand, as if it was there the whole time.

My laptop has a nice little 256GB SSD. and today I rec’d a warning of < 10% available. I had a bunch of Videos, that of course I want to keep, but needed the space. They’ve already been synced to OneDrive, so they are currently on all my machines and phones. Right Click, Online Only, and BOOM the Vid Directory is online only, and I have 35 more GB of available space.

Really nice. Heck for all I know, there is a way to do this with DropBox now, and I just don’t know it. BUT … if they don’t have that … they really need it.

If you’re new to OneDrive, use my referral link and we’ll each get some extra free storage space.

Request ATT to Unlock your Phone

If your mobile provider is ATT, head on over to http://att.com/deviceunlock and request to unlock your phone. This process takes 3-5 days, so do it before you leave if you’re heading international. If successful, you’ll be able to buy any local (compatible) sim card, and have a much cheaper talk/text/data plan that paying the Int’l roaming rates.

You’ll need you phone IMEI number, which you can grab without powering off your device by dialing #*06# (UPDATE: *#06# is correct) and pressing SEND on your phone. TIP : TRICK: Do this for all your devices, even your old unused devices. They are great hand-me-downs, give-a-ways, and backup phones, when you break your screen 🙂 Why not do this now, even if you don’t have a trip coming up. Best to have it unlocked so if/when you need it, it’ll be available for you.

QRCode scanner in Windows Phone 8.1

Did you know there is a native QRCode scanner inside your Windows Phone? It’s been moved around from Windows Phone (7,75,8) and in 8.1, it’s now part of your camera, as a lens named Bing Vision.

This quick screen cast shows you how / where to find and use the QRCode scanner.

[Read more…]

Windows Phone: Lost Screen App

You just realized you don’t have your phone in your pocket or purse! #Panic! #Panic! You’re also safety conscience, and you have a lock on your phone. Now all the good people of the world, have been limited on how they can return your phone. You’re only hope is you remember where it is, and go back and get it. Sure there is Login to WindowsPhone.com and use the FindMyPhone feature. OK, I’ll give you that. Remote Ring, Remote Secure Wipe …. those are nice features. This nice little app, by Scott Hanselman ( @shanselman on twitter ) will also help get your phone back the next time you leave it behind!

This quick video/screen cast shows you how to setup the app, and add your private information to the lock screen on your phone.

[Read more…]