Good Tricks of the Trade

·         Have you ever noticed that you're terrible at choosing good pictures of yourself? Or that friends like pictures of you that you don't find particularly flattering? This is because most of us don't have a perfectly symmetrical face, and we tend to like pictures of us that more closely resemble what we see in the mirror. If you want to post a picture of yourself that is more likely to appeal to those who know you, use some image manipulating software to flip your images horizontally and make a selection from there ... then you won't be bothered by the fact that your image doesn't resemble what you see in the mirror.

·         When speaking publicly, imagine that your audience is hearing impaired. It will force you to slow down, speak up, and enunciate clearly.

·         If someone starts yelling to get their point across, don't respond -- just let them go on and on. Remain so silent that they eventually start wondering if you are even listening.  It doesn't matter what the issue was, you will have won the argument.

·         Yellow lights last longer when the speed limit is higher. As a rule-of-thumb I estimate about one second of yellow light per every 10 mph (e.g., a yellow light on a 45 mph road lasts approximately 4.5 seconds). The timing is probably based on some more complicated math involving speeds and braking times, but here in California this formula works pretty well.

·         When taking a photo of a portrait subject, count down 3-2-1-Cheese!, take one shot, and then take another shot immediately after. The smile in the first picture will often look stilted and posed, but there is usually a moment a split-second later when the model will relax and his smile will look much more natural.

·         Young people often think the secret to making a good first impressions is to talk about themselves. They couldn't be more wrong.  Remember to ask questions of new acquaintances. Ask follow-up questions to indicate you are listening. Avoid chiming in with your own "stories". The person will remember you as someone they know and like, even if you have shared nothing about yourself. Everyone appreciates a good listener.

·         Plot your course ahead of time and make it a close to a circle as possible, so when you are done with your deliveries you are near the beginning of your route. Then, when driving the route, remember that it's much faster to go clockwise instead of counter-clockwise, as you will have many more right-turns than left.

·         Always enter a conversations with a drink you are about to finish. If things don't go well, all you need to do is take one last gulp from your drink and excuse yourself to get another, never to return.  If the conversation is going well, finish your drink and ask the other person if you can get them anything when you go to get another. They will appreciate the gesture even if they decline, and it implies that you'll be returning for a longer conversation.

·         When photocopying journal articles or book chapters, copy from the last page to the first. When your copy job is done all the pages will be in the correct order, ready to be stapled.

·         When backing a trailer, put your hand on the bottom of the steering wheel and remember this simple rule: the direction you move your hand is the direction that the back of the trailer moves.

·         At home, its easy enough to use baby monitors to keep tabs on the little one. If you don't want to pack the monitors when travelling, though, you can instead use your cell phone. Call your spouse's phone with your own, put them both speakerphone mode, leave one in your child's room, and mute the other.

·         If you ever find yourself with a dead car battery and need to "kickstart" your vehicle by popping the clutch while it's in motion, here's a useful tip: push the car backwards and pop the clutch with the transmission in "reverse".  The gear ratios for manual transmissions make reverse the "highest gear." In other words, in reverse you won't have to push the car as fast as you would in any other gear. Efficiency!

·         When a carpenter approaches you for a job, pick up some paperwork and absentmindedly hand him a brunch of nails as you begin to talk. If he doesn't turn all the heads the same direction while you are speaking, he is not your man.

·         If you are rushed by a vicious dog, reach down as if you are going for a rock, regardless of whether there is one handy or not. Most will recognize the motion and do a u-turn.  If he is too close for that, give him your weakest forearm, and place the other behind his neck, using the two in concert with your height to break his upper jaw. Do not let him get you on the ground.

·         When rinsing out plastic milk or juice bottles for the recycling bin, use hot water rather than cold. You will be able to squash the warm bottle much flatter when you are done.

·         Here's an easy way to label your soft drink when storing it in the company kitchen. Write your name on a thick rubber band and put it around your soda before putting it in the fridge; when you swap it out for a new one, just transfer the band. It's a lot less hassle than a Post-it note or writing your name directly on the can every morning.

·         If you want to get people to participate in a workshop or presentation, ask them "What questions do you have?" and wait for someone to answer. The usual "Any questions?" acts as a participation deterrent, as it requires the questioner to be a speed bump in the presentation. "What questions do you have?" implies that participants are expected to say something, and they often will.

·         If you’re going to massage someone’s neck or traps and rhomboids (shoulders and upper back), have them lay on their back instead of sitting up or lying on their stomach. Slide your hands under them and massage. Their body weight will provide pressure so your hands and fingers don’t get tired as fast.

·         Before icing a cake, freeze it. It will taste the same when defrosted, and you won't have a bunch of crumbs mixed in with the frosting when you are done.

·         If you try to slice bread that you've just taken out of the over, you will likely crush it. The trick: spray your cutting knice with Pam or another non-stick spray before slicing.

·         When testing out a paint color, many designers will paint a 2x2 square on the wall they intend to use it on to see how it looks. A better method is to simply paint onto a piece of posterboard or cardboard. That way you can move it around the room to see how it looks in different light, and you haven't messed up a wall in the process.

·         When whipping egg whites, first wash the mixing bowl with white vinegar. You will turn a 5-minute task into a 30-second one, and your egg whites will stay fluffier longer.

·         It's hard to back up in a straight line while pulling a trailer, a camper, or a boat -- even if you have years of experience. Here's a simple rule to remember: if your trailer starts to get out of aliegnment, check both your side mirrors and turn your wheel toward the one the shows the most of whatever you're towing.

·         If you want to know if someone is lying about his identity and using a fake name, ask him or her to spell it. People are much slower at spelling fake names than they are at spelling their own.

·         If you get up in the middle of the night to grab a glass of water, there's a simple way to avoid stubbing toes on the way back to bed. Close one eye just before you you turn on the light or open the fridge door, and keep it closed the whole time the light is on.  When you turn the lights off, open both eyes. The eye you kept closed will still be dilated, and allow you to see in the dark.

·         When going on a trip, bring along your oldest socks, underwear and sleepwear -- the clothes you should have gotten rid of months ago. Then, afetr you wear them, just throw them out. Now you won’t have to carry dirty clothes around, nor wash them when you get home. Also, you'l have more room in your luggage for any souvenirs you pick up.

·         If you are bidding at an auction, hold your phone to your ear as if taking bids over the phone. It slows down the auctioneer, and everyone else will be intimidated by your "phone bidder" as they are usually serious buyers.

·         Sick of people borrowing your pen to fill out a form and never returning it? When they need a writing utensil, hand them the pen but keep the cap. They'll finish the form and, ten times out of ten, look around for the cap; when they see it in your hand they'll remember that the pen belongs to you.

·         Never use a red pen when you're correcting someone else's article on a hardcopy document, it looks like you've bloodied someone's precious article. Authors are much, much more receptive to blue ink. If there are a lot of marks on a page, when you hand it back to the author, say, "This will look like a lot of corrections to you, but really it's about average. This is in pretty good shape." I find that one small comment makes authors much more receptive to changes. Also, it keeps them from crying.

·         If your phone rings but you hear a fax carrier when you pick up the receiver, don't just hang up -- transfer the call to your office fax machine. After you receive the transmission you can identify the sender, contact them directly, and tell them they have the wrong number.

·         Don't ask for "donations." Instead, ask for people to invest in what you are doing, or to become an active partner in your charity. People will feel more involved and more likely to make a gift.

·         Before resealing a can of paint, blow one deep breath into the can and close it quickly. You'll fill it with carbon dioxide, which will keep the paint from oxidizing prevent it from developing the "skin" that paint gets when it sits a while.

·         People often get into trouble singing Happy Birthday because they don't know what key to sing it in, and often start too high. It helps to remember that the first note in Happy Birthday is the lowest note in the song.

·         Wash each side of a window in a different direction, e.g. left-right in the inside, up-down on the outside. Afterwards, if you see any streaks, you'll immediately know what side of the glass they are on.

·         When you also want to avoid getting into an endlessly long and boring conversation with someone at work who doesn't know when to stop talking, but you must talk to them, do the following:  Open up your cellphone, and approach their cubicle. Say into the phone, "hold on one second." Then tell your talkative friend exactly what you need to tell them. They feel important because you interrupted your other conversation, but then you can motion to the phone to disengage them from any further small talk. Walk away and continue talking to your dial tone.

·         When all that is left are the middle seats on the plane, ask the person at the counter if you can be seated between two people with the same last name.  Typically they will be family members travelling together and hoping to claim the whole row. If you split them up they will offer you a trade, and you'll wind up by the window or on the aisle.

·         You deal with a lot of short computer cables in the industry - 5 foot, 10 foot, 14 foot, etc. How to tell how long a cable is without measuring it? Use the fact that your armspan is almost exactly the same as your height. This is easiest if you are exactly 6 feet tall, obviously. Measure off lengths of the cable one at a time and add them up.

·         A tip for listeners: when having a call-in contest, radio hosts prefer winners who sound excited. So if you call a station and sound fun, there's a better chance of not only winning but getting on air as well. The whole "caller 9" thing is mostly a filtering trick, allowing the host to tell boring-sounding people "you're caller number 7, sorry."

·         Oil based paint can be cleaned off of your hands by using olive oil as a solvent. Pour a little in your hands, rub them together vigorously, and the paint will come off in about a minute. This is far safer than using turpentine or paint thinner on your skin.

·         Use a small tooth comb to hold small nails in place when hammering. This will keep your thumb and other fingers out of harm's way.

·         Most folks who bargain forget the cardinal rule: after stating your initial offer stop talking! Breathe normally, but wait for the other party to speak next. And after they make a counteroffer, continue to hold your peace for a bit -- faced with silence, many will immediately start to sweeten the pot.

·         If you're designing something and it just isn't working out, throw it out and start over. It'll take you much more time to make a failing design work than to start over on a fresh design. Usually your second or third design will be the one that really takes off and is most rewarding.

·         When making blueberry muffins (or any muffin with fruit, chocolate chips, etc), place the blueberries in a bowl with a dash of flour, then shake the bowl to coat them evenly with the flour. This will prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the muffins when you bake them

·         When asked to give a phone interview to a reporter, say you prefer to do it over e-mail.

·         If you have people working on your house for a couple of days -- contractor, roofer, landscaper, whatever -- they will often got the extra mile if you buy them a lunch or two. Twenty dollars for two workers usually covers a couple of days, and you will probably get much more than that in return.

·         Always give your pre-schooler two correct choices. They desperately want to be in control, so asking if they want to go to bed will always result in a NO! And simply telling them it's time to go to bed doesn't work either. Give them two choices, either one of which is a correct answer: Do you want to go up to bed on piggy-back, or fly like superman? Works in any situation, and you'll avoid many arguments!

·         Some times a lug nut becomes so "rusted on" that trying to back it off with a lug wrench results in the rounding the corners. if this happens, spray both the nut and the cavity of the wrench with a light oil, such as WD-40. Then put sand onto the oiled surfaces (the nut and the cavity of the wrench), enough to make some stick. Slowly slide the wrench onto the nut until it seats. As the sand fills in the missing corners, the nut will break for you.

·         If you're running out of money but still want a smooth vodka, buy the cheap stuff and run it through a Brita Water four or five times. This essentially refines the alcohol by removing toxins.

·         If your audience is reluctant to dance and you want to get them moving, play "Brown Eyed Girl" by Van Morrison. Regardless of the age or size of the crowd or their occupations, that song is more likely to pack the dance floor than any other. In fact, "Brown Eyed Girl" works as an effective opener for the evening, at the beginning of any set, whenever the energy is lagging, as your last song, or even as an encore.

·         You can extend the life of cut flowers by putting aspirin or 7-up in the water. The asprin lowers the Ph of the water, while the 7-Up provides nourishment in the form of sugar.

·         Pouring a little vanilla into a can of latex paint will greatly reduce the smell.

·         A very easy and practical way to remove wax spilled onto material is to first scrape the excess wax off of the material (a credit card works nicely), put butcher paper or newspaper over the spill, and place a warm iron on the paper. The wax should melt and transfer to the paper. This also works well for carpet and some upholstery.

·         If you forget your line while on-stage, try saying "What do you think?" to your fellow actors. 99% of the time one of them will know what to say, and, if you do it fast enough, the audience won't even notice.

·         For quick garment repairs, keep your sewing machine threaded with clear nylon thread (available at all fabric stores). No need to search for the correct color or re-thread the machine!

·         If your feet start get painfully cold while outside in the winter, stand some deep unpacked snow. Snow has a constant temperature just below freezing, which could be quite warmer than the air temperature on an exceptionally chilly day.

·         If you find that your key won't fit into a frozen lock, stick the key into the snow for a couple of minutes. The metal will usually contract enough to allow you to unlock your car door or whatever lock.

·         If you live in a cold area you may sometimes walk out to your car to find the windshield completely frozen over. Rather than scraping away at it you could just start you car, urn the window defroster on, and -- here's the trick -- put down the sun visors. The warm air will be forced back onto the inside of the windshield and it will defrost much faster.

·         Color copies are expensive, but a single 11x17 print is usually less than two 8.5 x 11. So copy store attendants will often advise their customers to print two 8.5 x 11 color copies on a single 11x17 sheet and then use the paper cutter to separate them. On big jobs, this can save a lot of money.

·         It is almost imposible to get spilled coffee off an item once it has dried, but it can be done. The trick is to pour more coffee onto the item -- the freshly brewed java will dissolve the dried coffee, allowing you to rinse them both off with water.

·         Disposable flash cameras usually contain two AA batteries which are used for the flash. When the camera's film is used up, the batteries are still pretty new. Since the film winds in to the spool in these cameras, it's safe to break open the camera, take just the film to the lab (it's just a normal roll of film) and use the batteries for your walkman or flashlight.

·         Here's an easy way to know if people are lying: they touch their faces. Even if they know not to, most people when under pressure and telling a lie will tug on their ears or scratch their noses.

·         When you've been working on a drawing for a while and feel there's something "not quite right" about it, but you're uncertain just what, view the drawing in reverse. If you're working digitally, flip the image horizontally; if you're working in traditional media, use a mirror. You'll see the drawing freshly and be amazed at how different it looks. Don't do it too often with the same drawing, though, or you'll lose the ability to see it "fresh".

·         Remember when you asked your high school math teacher when you'd ever use this stuff? Here you go. To find out if a wall and floor are exactly perpendicular to each other, make a mark on the wall three feet up the from the floor and a second mark on the floor four feet out from the wall. Now measure the distance between the marks. If it's exactly five feet, the Pythagoras' theorem tells you that you have a perfect right angle. (If it's more than five feet, the wall is tilting backwards or the floor is running downward; if it's less, the wall is tilting forward or the floor is running upward.)

·         Some agents will bake cookies or brew coffee in a home an hour before they open it to the public for show. An even better technique is to bring a bread machine full of dough to the house and let it run while people tour the premises. The scent of cooking bread is the most recognizable and emotionally resonant way to create a "this smells like home" atmosphere for potential buyers.

·         There is a better way to remove a price tag from a gift than trying to peel it off with your fingernail. Place a piece of tape over the sticker and rub it with your finger, leaving an end to pull on. Then rip the tape off like you would a band-aid, and the price tag will go with it.