But what I have found that works is not gimmicky at all, but based on pure science – better spark plugs and better air filter.

If your engine can spark hotter, more fuel will burn (lots of exhaust is unburned fuel vapor). And that means more miles for every gallon.

Pulstar Spark Plugs Burn Hotter for better Gas Mileage

Here is a nifty video showing the plug in action: Pulstar Spark Plug Test

I have tried splitfire and halo spark plugs in the past, only to find moderate success. But I recently ran across Pulstar Iridium spark plugs. The marketing touts a hotter burn from a better capacitor (iridium). The plugs are priced about 4 times more than other advanced plugs, but the premium material pays for itself in about 5 tanks of gas (or about 2 months). In my 2008 Subaru I have seen on average a 20 percent increase in gas mileage, reaching up to 30 percent when I drive 45 to 50 MPH. Of course, savings will vary by car.

Gas Milease, Horsepower and Torque Gains from Pulstar Spark Plug

I also run a permanent air filter from KN. I’ve forked over the $35 on my last four cars and trucks only to see a consistent MPG increase. Like the spark plugs, its a one time cost and pays for itself in a matter of months (not to mention, no more disposable air filters).

Both products provide greater torque and horsepower too.

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Image via Wikipedia

As a new father, I continue to stumble across tips and tricks about a month or two late. Here is a brief summary of some of those tips and tricks for other new and aspiring fathers:

The Five “S” from Dr. Karp: We ended up stumbling across some of these by chance, but missed a few of the powerful techniques. They only work for newborns, but they appear (and I can attest are) super effective. You can buy the book and DVD or catch the freebies on YouTube.

Magic baby hold: We came across this one late in the game. Simply hold your baby on their left side.

Skip night changings: Ever hear “never wake a sleeping baby”? There is a lot of truth to that because you may never get them back to sleep. At night we doubled up the diaper (reusable). It was saturated by AM but worked. He did not seem uncomfortable. The exception might be when the baby poops – if you know it, you might change it to prevent diaper rash.

Cosleep with your baby: It sounds “unamerican” but its the way most civilizations do it. In reality, it will save mom and dad a ton of sleep – no one needs to get up, out of bed, to tend to baby (well, unless you bottle feed). For breastfeeders, mom simply rolls over. The catch is you need to be conscious not to roll over on the baby or cover baby with a sheet or blanket.

Reusable diapers are less about the environment and more about saving money: For all the debate about diapers, it seems the green impacts are about equal. That aside, you’ll save thousands over the course of your baby’s diaper changing if you go reusable. There are no old-school pins anymore, so clipping with “snappies” is fast and easy. And make sure you buy good diapers, not the cheap Gerber ones at most stores. You need to wash small loads pretty frequently (every other day for us), but that depends on how many diapers you have stored and how big your pail is. If you don’t have a clothes washer, go the disposable route. The biggest drawback to reusable is traveling (we plan to use disposables when there is no washer near) and the stench from the laundry room when washing. But that can be remedied with an open window.

Related articles

• Earth Friendly Babies – Doodle-Bums (biosil.wordpress.com)
• Cloth or disposables? Half-century debate still on (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Five overpriced kids products and their bargain alternatives (mint.com)
• The best advice I never got for life after baby ()

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With some aluminum foil, card stock and scissor, you can make a simple Wifi extender to boost your signal 9 to 12 dBi. Can’t say I can measure the exact gain, but I certainly see a slightly improved signal with my installation.

Simply print the template on some card stock and cut it out. attach foil to the reflector and attach the two pieces. Slide the contraption over your Wifi antenna and point in your direction. That is it!

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After rooting my Motorola Droid 1.0, I was intrigued to test out a new ROM. The most common ROM is Cyanogen Mod, which I used (v6). I wasn’t totally sold on it – Cyanogen didn’t offer me much more than the stock ROM. I knew there were numerous other ROMs out there.

After some research, I found other Droid 1 users who had tested various ROMs and indicated that Ultimate Droid seemed to offer the fastest experience, though with fewer features than others (especially now that Cyanogen 7 has lots of great bells and whistles). However, after installing Ultimate Droid, I immediately noticed the increased speed over Cyanogen and the stock ROM.

After poking around a bit, I found other great features normally reserved for other stand alone apps: CPU over clocking and forcing use of the SD card for app installs, among other things.

Of course, this all goes without saying: you need to root your Droid first. Thankfully, I found a super simple way to do that.

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Admittedly, I had problems with mine the first time. After a few backups, wipes and installs, it’s actually quite simple. It took me quite some time to sift through all of the various options and dated instructions out there. Note: I use the original Droid, though you can find other similar phones and methods at Lifehacker. And this method is only for Windows.

Downloads

• Visit the Motorola site to download the USB drivers
• Download the SuperOneClick rooting software

Process

1. Install the USB drivers
2. Put your phone in the USB debugging mode (Settings > Applications > Development and check the USB Debugging box at the top)
3. Install and start SuperOneClick
4. Plug your phone into the USB (do NOT mount the SD card)
5. Click “Root” on the SuperOneClick application
6. Once completed, it will ask you to confirm and test
7. Open your app drawer and find SuperUser application – if this exists, your phone is rooted.

For more details or help, visit the SuperOneClick site

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