Build a Bicycle Cargo Carrier with a Milk Crate and PVC Pipe

This story will display in ...Nov 18, 2012 4:00 PM  

We've covered DIY bicycle panniers made with kitty litter buckets before but those require your bike to be fitted with a cargo rack. If you don't have one and still need to carry a few basics you can use PVC pipe and fittings to support a milk crate.

Instructables user bonedoggie needed a basket to transport vegetables and used ¾" PVC pipe to build a frame to hold the milk crate. His bike had an unused hole drilled by his rear axle so he drilled holes in the PVC to attach and built up a frame to hold the milk crate. This seems to be a great way to add cargo room to a bike on a budget.

PVC and Milk Basket Bike Basket | Instructables

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DIY PVC Trash Bag Dispenser

This story will display in ...Nov 17, 2012 1:00 PM  

It's not rocket science, but if you need a way to keep plastic garbage bags around and you have a leftover piece of PVC pipe you can make a simple bag dispenser by cutting a slot in the side of the pipe and mounting holes on the back.

To use just slide in a roll of bags and pull one out through the slot. PVC project weblog PVC Workshop used a jigsaw to cut out the bag opening, but I'm pretty sure I could get the same cut done by drilling a hole and using the saw on my Swiss Army Knife.

Trash Bag Dispenser | PVC Workshop

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Back Up and Sync Your Game Saves on All Your Computers with Dropbox

This story will display in ...Nov 18, 2012 1:00 PM  

If you're a hardcore gamer who spends a lot of time on games such as Minecraft or Terraria you won't want the chance of losing your time-consuming masterpieces. Why not use Dropbox to sync your game saves so you can access your creations from any of your computers running Windows, Mac, or Linux.

The How-To Geek recently recommended moving your ‘saves' folder from the default file folder to your Dropbox folder for both backing up and making life easier if you play games from multiple computers. The only tricky part of the process is after you've moved the ‘saves' folder to Dropbox you must create a symbolic link in the command line interface to point your local version of your game to the synced Dropbox folder. See the source link below for the command for Windows, Mac, or Linux systems to see how to do this for Minecraft but you should be able to use the same technique for many other games.

Before you start moving around your ‘saves' file you should copy it somewhere else as a backup just in case you have problems with the changeover or your computer picks that time for a system failure.

How to Backup, Restore, and Sync Your Minecraft Saves on All Your PCs | The How-To Geek

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Create a Spy Kit This Weekend

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Spy Week may be coming to an end, but that doesn't mean you can't continue your training in the arts of espionage. One of the most exciting parts of being a spy is the gear. This weekend, put together your own kit.

Earlier this week we posted a spy pen that doubles as a video and still camera, but that's not the only secret gadget you can employ. If you don't want your message to stick, use this disappearing ink pen. Want to hide your data? Try this USB flash drive lighter. To keep your identity safe, whether you're spying or not, an RFID-blocking wallet (or, at least, a passport protector) is a good buy. Hide your valuables in plain sight with a book vault. See behind your with these rearview sunglasses. Hide money in a battery. Hide your data on a microSD card and inside of a coin. You don't have to buy anything, either. Plenty of your existing gear can become spy gear. Create a secret compartment in your hat to hide your valuables. Make a safe out of a wall outlet or avoid buying a book safe and just make one. Need to conceal your smartphone? Hide it in a book, too! Pretty much any everyday object can be upgrade to spy status, so get creative with what you've got and see what you can hide inside.

Keeping your classified information a secret is an important element of being a spy. You need to make sure any sensitive data in your spy kit is well-hidden. To create secret messages, modify your printer to use invisible ink. Create a thumb drive privacy kit so you have computer privacy tools at your disposal. It also can't hurt to have a few disposable credit card numbers for emergencies. One service that's very easy to use that we like is Entropay. You can use it to create single or multi-use cards and use them only when you need to privately charge something.

A few weeks back we talked about some awesome keychain upgrades, but you can take it to the next level by adding some spy gear. For example, this utili-key puts several helpful tools on your keychain to get you out of a bind. Need to control any TV? Try this mini remote. You can even hide a camera in your keychain. And, of course, there are plenty of tools you can add to a keychain so you always have a screwdriver, a knife, a flashlight, and more.

This post is part of Spy Week, a series at Lifehacker where we look at ways to improvise solutions to every day problems Bond-style. Want more? Check out our spy week tag page.

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Before Moving, Check Your New Address with Your Insurance Company to Avoid Higher Rates

This story will display in ...Nov 16, 2012 3:30 PM  

As if moving wasn't costly enough, your insurance rates may go up based on the location of your new home. And it's not just homeowner's and renter's insurance—car and health can rise as well because companies are allowed to charge more or less based on your location.

The LA Times reports:

Joan Swope, 62, moved recently from Cathedral City, just down the road from Palm Springs, to nearby Palm Desert. She informed her insurer, Anthem Blue Cross, of the change of address. A few weeks later, Anthem responded with a notice stating that, because of the move, Swope's monthly premium on her individual policy will increase to $524 from $418. That's a more than 25% rate hike. For a move of less than 10 miles.

When I moved about the same distance, my renter's insurance increased minimally because I supposedly chose to live in a higher risk area. According to crime statistics and safety ratings, I actually switched to a safer location. The same thing happened to a couple of friends of mine. While these increases were very negligible, some people aren't so lucky. Before you move, call your insurance companies and find out if you'll be subject to a rate increase. If the change is significant, you may want to look at another location.

Patient trapped in health insurance rate hike | LA Times via The Consumerist

Photo by tanatat (Shutterstock).

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Repurpose Clear Storage Totes as Mini-Greenhouses

This story will display in ...Nov 18, 2012 3:00 PM  

If you have warm temperatures during the day but cold nights and want to add plants to your Fall or Winter garden you can start your seedlings in small containers stored inside clear plastic totes. Take the totes outside before you leave in the morning so they can get a day's worth of sunlight and build up cold tolerance then bring them inside at night.

This idea comes from homesteading weblog The Prairie Cottage. They recommend grouping seedlings into plastic totes according to their cold tolerance. That way you can bring in your most vulnerable plants well before sunset while other plants may be fine for another hour or two. Eventually most of your plants will grow and build up their cold tolerance so they can be planted in the soil and you can flip the clear tote over as an improvised cold frame while the plant's root systems are getting established. The plastic totes may not seem like much but they will keep wind chill from hurting your plants as well as trap a little solar heat.

Mini Greenhouses | The Prairie Cottage

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How Difficult Is It to Pick a Deadbolt Lock?

Easier than you think. As YouTube has proven, even little kids can pick a lock. Make sure that your deadbolt isn't dead-easy to crack open. The DIY experts at Stack Exchange offer answers on keeping your deadbolt locked tight.

I wonder how secure my deadbolt lock is.

How difficult is it for a professional to open such a lock?

— Originally asked by TCL

Any lock can be opened. The questions are:

- How long will it take?
- How much skill is required?
- What tools are needed?

Depending on the particular deadbolt, it will be somewhere between trivial and moderately difficult. At some point, anyone who wants to get in will just move to the windows or other weak points.

— Answered by KeithB

In general, a professional is going to be able to open anything you have, because that's what they do all day. The reality though is that with the exception of high security locks like Medeco, it doesn't even take a professional to open them. But you ask about a deadlock, so let me provide some background...

A deadbolt is more about resisting kicking open or using a credit card to slide in and raise the bolt. It's not so much about being harder to pick, as the lock mechanism in it is going to be extremely similar to a normal door handle lock.

The things that really matter in a normal (not a high-security lock) are how tight the tolerances are, and how many pins. For example, the 6 pin Kwikset Titans (aka UltraMax) are quite a bit harder to pick than the 5 pin regular Kwiksets, and a Schlage 5 pin is harder than a Kiwkset 5 pin. But they both are dramatically easier to pick than a Medeco which has additional features to make it much harder to pick.

However, bump keys can make most traditional locks quite easy to open. And anyone who has time and space to drill can get in to pretty much anything. And don't forget: putting a strong lock next to a window may just mean the window gets broken.

One thing you may want to consider is putting a high security lock on your house may advertise to thieves that you have something you particularly want to protect.

— Answered by Sean Reifschneider

A couple of tips for making it harder to pick a lock:

- Keep the lock well lubricated. This prevents some of the pins from becoming stuck at the shear line (meaning that they are effectively already picked).

- Install the lock upside down, so the jaggy side of the key goes in facing down instead of up. A locksmith friend of mine said he found they are harder to pick upside down, and my experience is the same.

Beyond getting a better lock (higher quality, more pins, higher security design), these may be alternatives for slowing someone down.

— Answered by mohlsen

Illustration by Sean Gallagher.

Have your own insight on picking deadbolt locks? Disagree with the answers expressed above? Bring your expertise to the question at Stack Exchange—a network of Q&A sites on diverse topics from software programming to Apple & Android to bicycles...and plenty in between.

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