KWBaker

It has almost been 50 years since man touched the surface of the moon and many other interstellar missions have been conducted since then. We have reached Mars, the Sun, and even Jupiter.

Going to the outskirts of space seems like a very exciting adventure, but it also has risks involved. Let us look at the stories of every Apollo mission in history and what happened during each of them.

(Image credit: NASA)

I’ve loved photo books ever since I was a kid, so when I learned about Motif Photos, a native extension for Photos on macOS, I knew I had to make one of my own. Motif uses cutting-edge technology to simplify the process of putting together a top-of-the-line photo book, card, or calendar; in minutes, anyone and everyone can use this tool to design the perfect holiday gift. Whether you’re a professional photographer or a hobbyist, this new extension makes it easy to build a beautiful collection of your favorite images.

I quickly downloaded Motif Photos from the App Store, and then I let my creative side take over. The concept for the book was a seasonal collection of winter landscapes from photographers all over the world. I didn’t want anything typical or overly cheery; instead, I imagined a book that reminded me of that sort of pleasantly melancholy feeling I get on chilly December days. I spent hours searching for some of the most magical and surprising images I could find, and in the end, I had a curated collection of almost forty images. Once I launched Motif, it took me less than five minutes to bring my book to life! The extension took care of all the hard work, and it was smooth sailing for me. Let’s take a look at the process.

Tip: Before you get started, it helps to view everything in full screen.

Once you’re ready, open up the album you want in “Photos” and click “File > Create > Book > Motif”.  Motif has hardcover and softcover books in all different sizes. Each of them is affordable, with the least expensive softcover starting at $9.99. I chose a 10 x 10 hardcover for its durability, good size, and trendy square format.

From there, Motif instantly creates your project. They have tons of themes to choose from, ranging from the classic and chic to the hip and unexpected. I almost went with “Pretty in Pink” because the color complemented some of the images I’d curated for the book, but in the end, I settled on “Gold on White” because I wanted to keep everything as simple as possible and bring the images to the fore.

If you, like me, don’t have graphic design experience, I highly recommend you opt to “Autoflow” your book. The Motif technology understands images and formatting, so I trust it to do that part better than I ever could. Don’t worry: they’ll even help you edit your photos! If you have a bunch of images that look similar, like I did, they’ll pick out the best ones for the book. Motif will also analyze every image for printing quality to make sure it’ll look great in the final book.

When it came time to design the cover, I knew exactly what image I wanted to use: a pensive horse seemingly lost in a paradise of snow. I titled my book Winter Landscapes, and while I loved the sophisticated gold, I mixed it up a bit with a deep green for the text to match the trees in the cover photo. The font was perfect for what I wanted, so I didn’t change it.

Here’s where the fun really starts. Motif is amazing when it comes to sequencing images for you, but you can easily change any detail with their intuitive and interactive image tray. The image tray tool is like your own personal photo editor, so you’ll see your best photos have been noted with a checkmark and sequenced beautifully according to their colors, atmosphere, and composition.

When it came to the first page, I went with a classic Icelandic scene. I deliberately chose a few images with an “on the road” theme (i.e. snowy streets, misty railroads) because I wanted readers to feel as though they were “traveling” through the book. From there, we visited a pastel vista from Luxembourg and a lovely polar bear from the Arctic.

One of the page layouts literally made me smile. The image tray tool paired the deer photo with a gray-muzzled golden retriever. It wouldn’t have occurred to me to pair these two animals together, but seeing them there on the pages, I couldn’t ignore the similarities between their expressions. There was also something vulnerable about both of them; the deer looked like he was hunkering down for a harsh winter, and the pup had clearly reached his golden years. They somehow belonged together in a way that was both heartwarming and poignant.

Motif surprised me again with a stunning layout of five images: on the left, a misty swamp, and on the right, a group of images that together formed tapestry of greens and whites. These photographs images were perfectly paired, and they shared similarly moody, wild, and ethereal atmosphere. It was a stroke of genius for Motif to couple the Swedish landscape with an abandoned waterslide; I only realized the parallel lines in these photos when they were presented side-by-side.

Next up were pages 14 and 15. The cutting-edge technology over at Motif paired up two vertical frozen landscapes, which I had hoped for from the start! That layout was followed by two sublime and mysterious photos in which all shapes and forms seemed lost in blankets of fog. From there, we went straight into another Icelandic vista across and a serene forest, and I decided to add an almost abstract crop of tree branches into the mix. As we drew to the end of the book, I wanted the images to start to feel airy and delicate, as if we were heading into the eye of a blizzard, and Motif helped me tap into that vibe.

Before checking out, I gave myself a full run-through of the entire book to make sure it was just right.

I eagerly awaited the arrival of my book, and within a few short days, I found it right outside my doorstep. The packaging was beautiful, and the book itself knocked my socks off. I grew up looking at art books, and this one instantly stood out as pretty and sophisticated. The colors came to life on the printed page, and together, the images helped tell a story about frosty and enchanted winter days. I made a cup of hot tea and spent quite a while thumbing through the volume over and over again.

Winter Landscapes is now proudly displayed as the pièce de résistance of my bookshelf, and I know I will return to it many times throughout the upcoming months, curled up on the coach and watching the snow fall outside my window. I also created a Motif Photo book for my husband, and the process was so intuitive and quick that I know I’ll be making more in the future. Using Motif was such a fun, easy experience from start to finish, and I am delighted by the results.

The post Make a Stunning Photo Book with This Great New Tool appeared first on Feature Shoot.

Santa is really busy this time of year, but that doesn’t stop him from answering every letter he receives at the Santa Claus Museum & Village. That’s right. The big man sends a letter back! The original Santa Claus Post Office has been responding to letters since 1914.

• Related: What’s the Cajun Night Before Christmas?

You can write your letter at the at the Santa Claus Museum & Village or in the comfort of your own home.

Tell him what you want for Christmas. Or plead your case to the big guy and tell him why you should be on the ‘nice’ list.

Related: Tri-State’s guide to Christmas trees and tree farms

Santa’s helpers at the Santa Claus Museum & Village make sure each and every letter gets a personalized reply.

Just be sure to send your letter early enough for the jolly old man’s helpers to get a letter in the mail.

Every letter received by December 20, 2018 will receive a reply.

Don’t forget to include a legible return address. Santa’s elves hate to read a great letter and not be able to reply.

It’s free, too!  Just pay for postage.

Last year Santa received and replied to thousands of letters from all over the world. Santa’s helpers sent letters back to Russia, Taiwan, Germany and more!

Most letters addressed ‘To: Santa’ or ‘To: Kris Kringle’ make it to swift hands of the elves in Santa Claus, IN.  Although ‘To: Santa’ will work most times, its best to address your letter to the original Santa Claus post office at the address below:

P.O. Box 1 

Santa Claus, IN 47579

Santa Claus, IN has the only post office with Santa’s name!

If you plan to write your letter at Santa Claus Museum & Village, they are open daily through the month of December.

• Monday – Friday: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
• Saturday: 10a.m. – 7 p.m.
• Sunday: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

There will specials events at the Santa Claus Museum & Village at these dates:

Saturday, December 8

• Holiday craft
• A morning with Mrs. Claus

Saturday, December 15

• Christmas Carols with Bomar & Ritter
• Bomar & Ritter Christmas Songs
• The Story of Santa Claus with Susan Fowler

The post Santa Claus answers every letter sent to this address appeared first on The Southern Weekend.

Southwestern spirit chaser Ryan Bingham will release his sixth studio album “American Love Song” on February 15th, 2019.

That will mark a four year stretch between his latest and the criminally overlooked “Fear and Saturday Night.” That’s a long time for fans, like me, to wait. Though there was a pretty sweet live album to hold me over.

Like Bingham’s last three albums “American Love Song” will be released on his own label, Axster Bingham Records. The album is co-produced by Austin music legend Charlie Sexton, fresh off his extraordinary portrayal of Townes Van Zandt in Ethan Hawke’s “Blaze.” The album was recorded at Austin’s Arlyn Studios and Public Hi-fi. Additional recording was done at Matter Music in Los Angeles.

Listen to Bingham play his ode to personal strength “Wolves” live on The Off Camera Show. (That glorious voice!) “Wolves” is available to download now with all pre-orders.

Pre-order “American Love Song” here.

Bingham is currently touring across America on a sold-out solo acoustic tour. He hits the road with a full band in March in Salt Lake City, UT. See full dates below.

Bingham has also announced his own curated music festival “The Western.” The festival looks like a winner right out of the gate featuring the Old 97s, Margo Price, Jamestown Revival, and Colter Wall already booked. The event will feature an exclusive “Campfire Jam,” highlighting an acoustic song-swap with Bingham and Price.

The festival will take place April 12th and 13th, 2019 at the storied outdoor venue Luckenbach, TX. Visit www.thewesternfestival.com for more information.

Ryan Bingham – “American Love Song” Tracklist:

1. Jingle and Go
2. Nothin Holds Me Down
3. Pontiac
4. Lover Girl
5. Beautiful and Kind
6. Situation Station
7. Got Damn Blues
8. Time for My Mind
9. What Would I’ve Become
10. Wolves
11. Blue
12. Hot House
13. Stones
14. America
15. Blues Lady

U.S Tour 2019 (Full Band)
March

19 – Salt Lake City, UT
21 – Phoenix, AZ
23 – San Diego, CA
24 – San Luis Obispo, CA
26 – Santa Cruz, CA
28 – Los Angeles, CA
29 – San Francisco, CA
30 – Petaluma, CA

April

2 – Denver, CO
3 – Lincoln, NE
4 – Springfield, IL
5 – Chicago, IL
6 – Minneapolis, MN
7 – Milwaukee, WI
9 – Kansas City, MO
12 – Luckenbach, TX – THE WESTERN
13 – Luckenbach, TX – THE WESTERN
16 – New Orleans, LA
17 – Atlanta, GA
19 – Philadelphia, PA
20 – Boston, MA
21 – Washington, DC
22 – Asbury Park, N
23 – Brooklyn, NY

Running a WordPress site with more than a few hundred visitors is tough. Get the hosting plan wrong, and you could end up spending money for a site that doesn’t respond to your needs, and those of your readers.

Common issues with bad hosting include slow speeds, bottlenecks, and the possibility of knocking other websites on the same server offline. Managed WordPress hosting is a better idea.

This is what Kinsta offers. The company promises “premium WordPress hosting for everyone, small or large.” Let’s take a look.

What’s Different About Kinsta Hosting?

Used to a web host that offers slow shared hosting? Or a poorly configured expensive VPS?

Unless the host’s system admin knows how to correctly configure the hardware, and manage the virtual server, your WordPress site will never meet its potential.

To reach your goals, you need to move.

Kinsta hosting is one of the best destinations for your blog or store. Its managed WordPress hosting relies on the Google Cloud Platform, using Google’s premium tier global network to ensure sites load fast. Kinsta also offers 18 data centers around the globe, allowing you to situate your website on the server nearest your audience.

Every WordPress site on Kinsta is housed in its own isolated LXC container, with all resources dedicated to your site. The LXC is managed using the LXD lightweight container hypervisor. While not a precise comparison, you can think of an LXC container as a virtual server.

Each LXC container includes Linux, Nginx, PHP (versions 7 to 7.3 are available), and MySQL, as well as the WordPress software. This gives you everything you need to run your website.

To keep your website running 24/7, support is available around the clock all 365 days of the year from Kinsta’s support engineers. They’re all WordPress developers, capable of writing themes and plugins and contributing to the core code of the software.

Thus, you can be confident that they know what you need.

The independent testers at Review Signal have rated Kinsta among the top WordPress hosts. In fact, Kinsta has held the award for Top Tier WordPress Hosting Performance for four years in a row.

Features You Get With Kinsta Hosting

That’s how the service works. But what features should you expect from Kinsta’s hosting?

To start off, free content delivery network (CDN) ensures your site loads media as quickly as possible, thanks to KeyCDN integration. Meanwhile, page caching delivers content rapidly. This pairs with Kinsta’s own cache plugin to improve speed and control over caching.

You can also make sure your site offers the necessary security to your readers and customers by enabling HTTPS. Kinsta offers Let’s Encrypt integration for creating SSL certificates for free, and you can also add custom certificates.

Kinsta considers your site security a priority. The company offers a daily backup service, and a free hack fix if your site becomes compromised.

For testing new features, Kinsta offers a staging environment, enabling you to try new themes and plugins before rolling them out. There’s also SSH support for sysadmin tasks, and if needed, you can use tools such as Git, npm, WP-CLI, and other package managers to add software.

You’ll manage your hosting package via a custom-designed dashboard. This not only gives you instant access to your WordPress installation, plugins, data, and backups, but also holds analytics reports for performance analysis.

Enhanced Hosting Options

Kinsta will accommodate the peculiarities of your website. In addition to some advanced options, this WordPress host offers optimizations and server-level rules for WooCommerce stores. The same is available for Easy Digital Download stores.

So whatever type of website you run on WordPress, whether it’s a blog, news site, or something else, Kinsta’s managed WordPress hosting can accommodate you.

Kinsta Hosting Plans: What’s Best For You?

Reckon you’re ready to sign up with Kinsta? We recommend you try the Starter plan. This is ideal for single WordPress installs, for sites with up to 20,000 visits. With 5GB of disk space and free SSL and CDN, this package also comes with a 30-day money back guarantee.

It costs just $30 per month. Alternatively, you might pay $300 for 12 months, thereby saving $60.

For bigger sites, larger packages are available. For $60 a month, the Pro package includes two installs, 40,000 visits, and 10GB of storage. $100 per month will upgrade you to the Business 1 package for five installs, 15GB of storage, and 100,000 visits.

Check out the Kinsta Plans page to see which one is right for you.

What happens if your plan isn’t quite large enough to satisfy your site or visitor numbers? Kinsta charges overage rates; you can receive notifications when your site is at 80% and 100% capacity. Overage is charged at $1 per 1,000 visitors.

Free Migrations Make Moving Your Site Easy

Moving your website between hosts can be time-consuming, fraught with risk, and difficult.

Fortunately, Kinsta offers a migration service for new accounts. This means you can provide the company with the necessary information, and support staff will migrate your data from the existing host to your managed WordPress hosting.

If your focus is on creating and editing content rather than on the technicality of web hosting, this could be beneficial. It lets you concentrate on your strengths and site continuity, without the distraction of moving data yourself.

Setting Up Your WordPress Site With Kinsta

Once you’ve signed up with Kinsta, it takes just a few minutes to set up your hosting. If you’re using the free migration service for an existing site, you’ll receive a notification when everything is ready. Otherwise, you’ll need to set up a new WordPress blog.

Begin by opening the my.kinsta.com admin dashboard and entering your Kinsta username and password. Then head to Sites > Add site, and input your preferred server location, name of the site, domain details, and select Add a brand new WordPress install, then Add.

Make a note of your username and password, and wait as the WordPress software installs. To access your site, go to Sites > Domains and look for the Open WordPress Admin button. Click this to sign into your site’s admin account.

From here, you’re ready to select a theme, add plugins, and write content.

If you’re familiar WordPress, you’ll know how easy it is to use. Just get your site configured as required, confirm you’ve enabled the Yoast SEO plugin, and you’re all set!

What If You Need More From Kinsta Hosting?

Setting up a Kinsta account is easy, getting your hosting primed is fast, and setting up WordPress is simple. You should be up and running in minutes, but what if you want more?

Kinsta offers a selection of add-ons for sites with special requirements. You’ll find support for Nginx reverse proxy, Redis, Elasticsearch, Cloudflare Railgun, and can even opt for hourly backups.

Why You Need Kinsta Managed Hosting

By now, you should least be interested in taking advantage of Kinsta’s easy migration service. If your site needs a performance boost that you won’t get from shared virtual hosting and you can’t afford a premium VPS, then Kinsta’s managed WordPress hosting is surely your best bet.

To recap, Kinsta offers:

• The full LAMP experience with WordPress pre-installed
• Easy migration to bring your site from another host
• Fast web page delivery thanks to integration with KeyCDN and Google Cloud Platform
• HTTPS and SSL from Let’s Encrypt integration
• Free hack fix service, and daily backups that you can restore for up to 30 days
• 24/7 support, 365 days a year, from WordPress developers
• A range of affordable packages, depending on your requirements
• Upgrades to customize your package, a detailed dashboard, advanced features like Cloudflare support, and even hourly backups

(Some of these features are only available with multi-site subscriptions.)

Kinsta’s managed WordPress hosting is a great opportunity for you to level up and take your existing website to the next level. At just $30 a month for the basic package, it’s an opportunity you should seriously consider.

Read the full article: Why Kinsta’s Managed WordPress Hosting Is Great For Everyone

Einstein's name is synonymous to genius. His fame is known the world over for his revolutionary ideas in physics. But nobody told us he had a very interesting backstory.

In 1902, a young, depressed, and solemn 21-year-old Albert Einstein was on the verge of giving up on his dream of becoming a physicist... And after graduating, Einstein couldn’t get a job—in fact, he was passed over for a role as a lab assistant, and even contemplated selling insurance.

After two frustrating years of job hunting, Einstein moved to Bern to work as a clerk in the Swiss patent office. Working six days a week as a patent clerk, Einstein could barely find any time to develop his scientific ideas, and would eventually give up on a career in physics.

Or would he?

(Image credit: Wikimedia Commons)

We spent three weeks fixing fences and cutting hay bale twine in rural New Hampshire with 18 multi-tools, and the Leatherman Skeletool CX was the best tool for most jobs. Its minimal lineup of well-executed essentials and sleek, lightweight design is easier to use and carry because it’s unburdened by an abundance of rarely used tools. In fact, the Skeletool’s pliers, knife, screwdrivers, and bottle opener were all we ever needed to deal with minor fixes and get on with our day.

Located on Kenya's Masai Mara Conservancies, the Asilia Mara Bush Houses are a more private way to get the safari experience. The property hosts just three dwellings. Each one can...

Visit Uncrate for the full post.

The Brits just slapped the ridiculous price tag on the two Scambler models — $14,000 for the Scrambler 1200 XC and $15,400 for the more hardcore XE.

Sure, you could give that live-fire cooking-obsessed special person in your life another piece of grill gear. Or a cookbook or barbecue seasonings or a gift certificate to a favorite barbecue joint.

But this year, how about a gift that keeps on giving and the barbecue experience of a lifetime? {Researchers at Cornell University determined that unlike material goods, experiences actually become part of who we are.)

We speak, of course, about Steven Raichlen’s Barbecue University—ranked the #1 barbecue experience by the Food Network.

Picture a summer camp for adults, set at a Forbes 5-Star, AAA 5-Diamond resort—the luxurious Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado.   Envision three days and nights of burning grills, smoking barbecue pits, sizzling meats, succulent seafood, dazzling desserts, and dishes you’d never dream you could grill.

Our students come from as far away as Austria, Dubai, and Hong Kong. Graduates leave with finely honed grilling and smoking skills, through-the-roof barbecue confidence, and memories that will last a lifetime. Forbes.com writer and BBQ U graduate Larry Olmsted summed it up this way:

What you learn here has instant practical applications and almost every student was eagerly looking forward to getting home and wowing friends and family… 

Your professor will be PBS TV personality and bestselling author, Steven Raichlen. The world’s foremost authority on live-fire cooking (he’s lectured at Harvard and the Smithsonian), Raichlen has personally led thousands of people up what he calls “the ladder of barbecue enlightenment.”

Students learn by doing, using the more than three dozen grills and smokers at our state-of-the-art mountainside classroom, the Cheyenne Lodge at the Broadmoor.   The popular host of Project Fire and Project Smoke delivers his lessons through engaging lectures and 30-plus carefully curated recipes. Attendees will master the five methods of live-fire cooking, learn how to grill meat (including the best brisket of their lives), seafood, vegetable, and more (even cocktails) under Steven’s supervision.

Class concludes with a belt-loosening lunch of the day’s recipes.  Students have afternoons off to enjoy the Broadmoor’s three championship golf courses, spa, hiking, fishing, and other activities as well as stunning Colorado Springs.

Barbecue University is the ultimate holiday gift, an awesome bonding opportunity for husbands and wives, fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, grandparents and grandchildren, as well as friends and co-workers.

Two sessions of BBQ U 2019 are scheduled: May 23 – 26 and May 26 – 29.  Packages start at $2425 per person.

For more information or to make a reservation, please call The Broadmoor at 855-634-7711.

In the meantime, here is a sensational holiday menu we culled from past sessions of BBQ U:

Cedar planked camembert to start

Green lightening shrimp or smoked shrimp cocktail:

Grilled corn chowder

Whole smoked beef tenderloin w 3 hots horseradish sauce:

Stuffed potato

Thai grilled kale

Bacon bourbon apple crisp to finish

The post The Ultimate Holiday Gift for Grillers and Barbecuers, Plus a Festive Holiday Menu appeared first on Barbecuebible.com.

RIP Allen & Son Barbecue in Chapel Hill

Declare a day of N.C. barbecue mourning. One of the great ones has closed. @DrewJackson is on the story. https://t.co/psxUvITyMz

— Kathleen Purvis (@kathleenpurvis) December 6, 2018

Here’s Our State’s last article on Allen & Son’s from 2017, where you can understand why Keith Allen is ready to retire:

In 1971, when Keith was 19, he quit his butchering job at the A&P, sold his landscaping equipment, and borrowed $3,000 to open a restaurant. He gave it the same name as the one his father owned in Chatham County, where Keith worked the barbecue pit from the age of 10. Ever since, he’s gotten to his Allen & Son at 2:30 a.m. five days a week — splitting every piece of hickory, roasting every shoulder, chopping and seasoning every serving. “Nobody’s hands but mine touch my barbecue,” he likes to boast, “until the customer’s do.”

A recipe for collard chowder from Matthew Register of Southern Smoke BBQ in Garland; his cookbook comes out in May but is available for preorder now

The latest from J.C. Reid explores the barbecue explosion in Houston from a geographic standpoint:

The latest post from @HoustonChron #BBQ columnist @jcreidtx on the geographic distribution of barbecue in greater Houston. #HouBBQ https://t.co/0Wsry4GRNV

— Scott Sandlin (@TxArch) December 10, 2018

Sweet Lew’s gets some coverage in Charleston Eater for 4 new notable Charlotte openings

In memory of Dale Volberg Reed, who
was wife to John Shelton Reed and with him co-authored the best book on NC barbecue, Holy Smoke: The Big Book of NC Barbecue

I figured Dave Grohl would stop into Buxton Hall while in Asheville last weekend for Warren Haynes’ Christmas Jam:

There’s some piggies in the hiway, some piggies in the snow, piggies going faster than they’ve ever gone before

There were piggies in the snow on I-40 #I40
https://t.co/3RsyWcHyoa

— Mark Price (@markprice_obs) December 10, 2018

Buffalo Rock is a ginger ale that is defined by superlatives: darker, bubblier, stronger. Compared to today's intensely sweet sodas, this Alabama favorite packs a sinus-clearing spiciness.

Sidney Lee, a grocer at the Alabama Grocery Company in Birmingham, created Buffalo Rock in 1901. His approach was consistent with the technique of the time: Add bubbles and sugar to a medicinal tonic (originally invented by a local pharmacist), then sell it as soda. The beverage received a boost after the United States enacted Prohibition in 1920. Buffalo Rock was not only a refreshing drink, it also packed a punch reminiscent of alcohol. Those who lived above the law found that using the soda as a mixer made bootlegged hooch much more drinkable. 

By 1922, the company's headquarters had a four-story neon sign that read, "Drink Buffalo Rock." Lee's company shifted into ginger ale production exclusively in 1927, and the product survived the Great Depression in the form of five-cent bottles. When sugar rationing struck during World War II, James Lee Sr. (Sidney's son) went to Mexico City to replenish sugar supplies. In 1966, Buffalo Rock moved to a new, larger bottling plant. Movie star Joan Crawford attended the grand opening celebration.

Though the aggressively spicy brew has since been eclipsed by less intense soda brands, it remains a niche, regional fan favorite. Today, the soda lives on in low supply and high demand. It first debuted outside the Southeast on Amazon in 2015 and sold out in under two days.

539 points, 59 comments.

"After two years in Washington, I often long for the realism and sincerity of Hollywood."

Looking to get started in film photography and hunting for your first camera in the used marketplace? Photographer Casey Cavanaugh made this helpful 9-minute guide containing 5 tips to ensure you find a good one.

Here’s a rundown of the 5 tips (watch the video for an in-depth look at each one):

#1. Check Shutter Speeds: Test the 1-second shutter speed to see if age has affected the shutter speeds of the camera.

#2. Check Light Seals: Look around the edges of the door for intact light-tight material. A flashlight can be used to check shutter curtains on certain cameras.

#3. Check the Lens: See if the lens has any fungus or haze. These can be caused by improper storage.

#4. Check Focus: Check focus as best you can based on known distances and whether the system has any obvious flaws in the camera.

#5. Bring Battery and Flashlight: Test the camera’s electrical functions using a fresh battery. A flashlight can be used to check for light leaks and lens flaws.

You can find more of Cavanaugh’s videos by subscribing to his YouTube channel.

Even with a turbo and leather seats, it remains a hideous icon from an era that nearly killed the station wagon.

Barbecue sandwiches may be a delicious part of the Memphis legacy, but they’re only a part of the story. It’s impossible to think about Memphis without thinking about the music, if you’ve heard a Southern soul record sometime in the last 50 years, you’ve heard the influence of Stax Records.

Hundreds of records were produced here by some of the most beloved soul and R&B bands in the world. The surrounding neighborhood is even named Soulsville, USA, if that gives you an idea of how important Stax Records is to the city.

The original recording studio may have closed in the late ’70s, but it has been lovingly restored, allowing music fans to come and pay homage to some of the best music ever made.

We got a chance to catch up with the museum’s executive director, Jeff Kollath, and he painted a picture of humble beginnings and incredible achievements.

First, though, we walked in to a church. That’s right, a church. When they rebuilt the museum they brought the church all the way up from the Mississippi delta, back to the roots of the music. The church is their way of paying homage to the spirituals and gospel music that are the foundation of soul. As our friend Jeff said, “blues and soul are Saturday night, and gospel is Sunday morning.”

Studio A is where titans of American music like Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, The Staple Singers, and Booker T and the Em-Gees recorded hundreds of award-winning records. To people who know recording, they sound of a Stax record is instantly recognizable. The room was built in an old theater, which gave it a distinct sound. Especially in early recordings, the room was usch an important part of the final record. The space at Stax was just about perfect acoustically, and it left it’s mark on the music.

The museum is full of original instruments, stage clothes, and a copy of every single Stax record ever made. The showpiece, though, is the stuff of Memphis legend – Isaac Hayes 1972 Cadillac El Dorado. It features a refrigerator, a TV, and a purple sheepskin interior. If you grew up in Memphis, you may even remember the car being driven around.

Thank you, Stax, for showcasing such an important piece of American history!

The post If you’ve heard a Southern soul record in the last 50 years, you’ve heard the influence of Stax appeared first on The Southern Weekend.

If Elvis is the king of Rock and Roll, then Graceland is definitely his palace. Every year over half a million people make a pilgrimage to Elvis’s home in the birthplace of rock and roll.

Elvis purchased this house at 22 years old, and it was a lifelong place of comfort for him and his family. Every single item in the home is an original piece from when Elvis lived in the house. And all these years later, people still lose their minds when they enter the King’s palace.

We began our tour in the legendary Jungle Room, which definitely lives up to its name. Elvis bought all the furniture to annoy his dad, and ended up keeping it. It’s covered from floor to ceiling in shag carpeting. You can actually FEEL the presence of The King as you walk through the house, as can those that still come to pay their respects.

You can’t think of Elvis without thinking of screaming fans and fainting women. Turns out, they still see a lot of that today.

When we  think of Elvis I just think of screaming fans and fainting women. You will probably still see a lot of behavior today.

“We really do,” admits Angie Marchese, who runs the archives at Graceland. “I have to admit, I have had to wipe off a lot of lipstick prints off of jump suit cases.”

Angie is right when she says that everyone connects to Elvis on an emotional level. “They feel his presence here. They can imagine what he did in these rooms or they what what they’ve heard happened here at Graceland. And it really is an emotional journey through this guy’s life.” And what a life it was!

The journey doesn’t just stop in the mansion, though. There’s a legit museum, shops, and restaurants that take up a full city block. If you’re a VIP, you can even put on a pair of white gloves and hold one of his famous (20 lb!!!) belts, touch a 16 ct. diamond ring, and more. There’s even a 40 foot wall covered in awards he received after he died.

Truly a memorial fit for a king!

This content was created in partnership with Elvis Presley Enterprises.

The post The VIP tour of Graceland and why you should visit The King’s palace appeared first on The Southern Weekend.

Dyer’s Burgers stays packed on the weekend. And it’s not just because they’re smack dab on Beale Street. No. It’s cause they’re using grease they’ve had since they opened…over 100 years ago.

Okay, we know what you’re thinking. “100-year-old grease? That can’t taste good!”

But y’all. These bad boys melt in your mouth. And yes, they’re safe to eat.

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That grease is absolutely treasured. Each of the countless burgers they’ve created has added to the Dyer’s flavor which makes their grease, plus the custom-built cast-iron skillet, priceless.

It’s so priceless that when Dyer’s moved across town, the grease got a police escort.

No, we’re no kidding.

Every burger at Dyer’s since they opened in 1912 is pounded into a paper-thin patty before getting dipped in the savory, salty, one of a kind grease.

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And that’s basically it. Top it with some cheese. Add a little mustard, and some pickles and onions. And you’ve got the burger that’s been making mouths water for over 100 years.

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Q: My neighbor keeps his Christmas decorations up past New Year’s. Tacky, right?

A: Ain’t them neighbors a bitch. But, no matter how legitimate you may think your badge, your appointment as Xmas Decoration Cop is shaky. Offensive (to you) as the life-size illuminated Santa and reindeer are up on his roof, bathing your house in a heartwarming Walmart glow, do please dial back the policing. You must’ve not gotten the memo on the jolly, centuries-old holiday interplay of the Julian and Gregorian calendars. January 7 was Christmas for better than a millennium, until, in the 1580s, Pope Gregory XIII got fed up that Julius Caesar’s calendar, decreed before Christianity, scattered Easter across the church docket. Gregory wanted to fix the resurrection in one dependable spot, and in his doing so, Xmas got moved up by a couple of weeks. Epiphany, commemorating the coming of the Magi, remained on January 6. But, the English. They never listened to the popes. So, while the secular world goes (largely) for the Gregorian calendar, chunks of the liturgical world—the orthodox in Russia, the Levant, Egypt, and Greece—still celebrate Christmas in January. England, and its settlers here, didn’t get around to accepting the Gregorian calendar until the mid-eighteenth century. It’s perfectly acceptable to keep your decorations up through Epiphany. The queen, at Sandringham, keeps hers up till February. Why don’t you write in to Her Majesty’s Master of the Household about how tacky that is, and see where you get.

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Q: What’s clabber, and why don’t we have it anymore?

A: The backbone of dairy farms prior to refrigeration, clabber is the South’s version of Scandinavia’s filmjölk or South Africa’s amasi. And we do have it, but mostly, only if you make it. Brought to the Appalachians by the doughty Scotch-Irish, bonnyclabber, as it is still called (from the Irish bainne, meaning milk, and clabair, the genitive of a word meaning sour thick milk), is raw milk that’s evolved into a specific, quite stable curdle. Clabber is a solid, like yogurt, but unlike yogurt requires no culture—the key to its robust tartness is that its native bacilli have been allowed to build their cities in the rich soup of milk proteins so that (and here’s where Mother Goose kicks in) the proteins bind into curds and the “water” in the milk becomes whey. Those bacteria have the power: Clabber will make bread rise, hence its inclusion in old baking receipts. Across the South, on every farm with a milk cow, the noun became a verb—“to clabber” meant to preserve milk in this way. My original clabber-girl grandmother Minnie was fed a bowl of it on her South Alabama farm every morning, spiced with cinnamon and molasses. We’re still debating whether the clabber or her hardy constitution was the key to her robust 104 years. Might want to set out a jar of raw milk in the cupboard and try some.

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Q: Isn’t there some tie between moonshine and stock-car racing?

A: The bond is tight. Chary as I am to call upon the Scotch-Irish twice on a page, allow me to reassure you that it’s wholly logical for a group of settlers to be good farmers and to possess a talent for making fine firewater, an agricultural by-product. As the notion of the United States solidified into fact, part of the thinking was that a man’s home and livelihood were not entirely his. The South’s whiskey makers held the opposite opinion: Their corn belonged in the bottle, and the bottle was theirs. The insanity of Prohibition made a prized athletic ability out of these bootleggers’ driving skills in evading federal “revenuers.” From the popular dirt-track races the bootleggers staged on Sundays to keep sharp (after church, naturally), NASCAR was born. Almost all the early drivers—e.g., Lee Petty, Tim Flock, Charlie Mincey—had run shine. The Virginia-born Tom Wolfe’s brilliant 1965 Esquire profile of North Carolina stock-car legend Junior Johnson remains that history’s finest chronicle. Johnson kept his night job of running his daddy’s product. The revenuers couldn’t catch him on the road, so they staked out the family still and caught him firing it up. Johnson’s eleven months in prison made for barely a blip in his fifty-win career. Like all great bootleggers, he never looked back. 

The post When Should My Neighbors Have to Remove their Christmas Decorations? appeared first on Garden & Gun.

Ella Brennan
The Original Influencer
November 27, 1925 – May 31, 2018

Ella Brennan laid the cornerstone of modern Southern hospitality. The New Orleans native began expanding her family’s dining empire in the late 1960s, researching recipes, wines, cocktails, and service techniques to create the modern “haute Creole” style that took root at her famous Garden District establishment, Commander’s Palace—one of more than a dozen restaurants the Brennan family came to own. To Brennan, a customer’s dining experience wasn’t limited to what was served on the plates. She strived for an atmosphere that felt like an intimate cocktail party; a place where the cuisine, the service, the décor, and the ambiance all combined to create an unforgettable sense of pizzazz. Brennan’s kitchen turned aspiring chefs, like Emeril Lagasse and Paul Prudhomme, into revered culinary figures. “Ella was the embodiment of a class act, whose vigor, passion and tenacity are unparalleled,” Lagasse wrote in his tribute to Brennan. “She was the grande dame of our business and pioneered our industry, not just in New Orleans but America.”

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George H.W. and Barbara Bush
The President and First Lady
June 12, 1924 – November 30, 2018 (GHWB)
June 8, 1925 – April 17, 2018 (BB)

When Jenna Bush Hager asked her grandfather in an interview who he hoped to be reunited with after his death, George H.W. Bush was quick to say his wife, Barbara Pierce Bush, who died in April 2018, followed by his first daughter, Robin, who died of leukemia. “I haven’t figured it out if it will be Robin as the three-year-old that she was, this kind of chubby, vivacious child or if she’ll come as a middle-aged woman, an older woman,’ Bush said. “I hope she’s the three-year-old.”

Bush served as the forty-first president of the United States from 1989 until 1993, the culmination of a career that began in 1963, when he was named chairman of the Republican Party of Harris County, Texas, and included terms as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, the director of the CIA, and vice president under Ronald Reagan. Meanwhile, Barbara became the influential matriarch of one of the most dominant political families in American history—which included her sons George W., the forty-third president, and Jeb, once the governor of Florida—and a relentless proponent of literacy. Natives of New England, the Bushes moved to Texas as a young couple in the late 1940s and made the Lone Star State their home—first Odessa, then  Houston.

During their seventy-three years of marriage, George and Barbara had six children, seventeen grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren, and are remembered as a couple who were formidable, faithful, and loving. In an undated letter addressed to Barbara, George wrote, “I have climbed perhaps the highest mountain in the world, but even that cannot hold a candle to being Barbara’s husband.”

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Roy Clark
The Showman
April 15, 1933 – November 15, 2018

Country Music Hall of Fame and Grand Ole Opry member Roy Clark brought heart and humor to people all over the world through his music. Born in Meherrin, Virginia, Clark was the oldest of five children, and grew up in a musical household, where he mastered the guitar, banjo, and mandolin. “When I strummed the strings for the first time, something clicked inside me,” Clark said in a 1987 interview with The Tennessean. During a career that spanned seven decades, Clark became a highly respected country music star, with hits like “The Tips of My Fingers” (1963), “Yesterday When I Was Young” (1969), and “Come Live with Me” (1973), and he made history as one of the first country musicians to tour the Soviet Union, though he’s perhaps best known as the co-host, with Buck Owens, of the country music variety show Hee Haw, which debuted in 1969 and aired until 1997. “He was both a showman and a virtuoso,” said Country Music Hall of Fame CEO Kyle Young, “with a love of music that beamed across air waves and into millions of living rooms.”

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Mildred Council
The Southern-Cooking Pioneer
April 11, 1929 – May 20, 2018

It only took $64 for Mildred Council, better known as Mama Dip, to redefine Southern food. Council opened Mama Dip’s Kitchen in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, early one morning in 1976 with just enough food to cook breakfast for a few passersby. Within hours, Council had made enough money to cover her expenses for lunch and dinner—and the rest is history. Word about Council’s home cooking travelled fast, and soon people from far beyond the Triangle were making pilgrimages to get a taste of her famous fried chicken and warm pecan pie that “came as close to heaven as tall clouds in a blue sky,” as the food writer Kathleen Purvis described in her tribute. Always humble, Council never considered herself a chef, despite recognition from presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, multiple national television appearances, and the publication of two highly-acclaimed cookbooks. Instead, she saw herself doing exactly what her father had taught her to do growing up on a farm in Chatham County, North Carolina: Cook Southern food the way it should be.

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Frank Fleming
The Wonder Maker
June 17, 1940 – March 18, 2018

Frank Fleming didn’t speak until he was eight years old. As a child growing up on a farm in Bear Creek, Alabama, the future sculptor had a speech impediment, and often found comfort in the outdoors, where he let his imagination run as wild as the woods. The art he created as an adult blended man and beast, the natural and the totally unnatural. His sculptures, in bisque or bronze, could range from a slender calla lily blossom to a life-sized ram-headed figure reading a book to a gathering of woodland creatures, as featured in The Storyteller, the fountain he created for Birmingham’s Five Points South. In his lifetime, Fleming’s work was featured in more than eighty solo exhibits in galleries and museums, and numerous public and private collections around the world. “I think animals are people who come back,” Fleming told Garden & Gun in a 2014 profile. “I have a recurring dream of me being a bird that soars.”

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Aretha Franklin
The Queen of Soul
March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018

One of modern history’s greatest singers had no formal musical training and learned by ear. But that didn’t stop Aretha Franklin. Not much of anything stopped the Queen of Soul. Though famously associated with Detroit, Franklin was born in Memphis, Tennessee, to a Baptist preacher and a gospel singer. Her natural musical talent and ability to play piano and sing any tune by ear helped her skyrocket to the top of the Billboard charts, and her renditions of “Respect,” “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” and “Chain of Fools” became not just hits, but cultural touchstones. She sold more than seventy-five million albums and was the first woman inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, in 1987. Franklin also performed at the inaugurations of three U.S. presidents: Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama. “Aretha is a gift from God,” said the R&B singer Mary J. Blige in a Rolling Stone article naming Franklin as the greatest singer of all time. “When it comes to expressing yourself through song, there is no one who can touch her. She is the reason why women want to sing.”

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Billy Graham
America’s Pastor
November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018

With his stentorian voice and captivating stage presence, Billy Graham became one of the most influential religious leaders of the twentieth century. An ordained Southern Baptist minister, Graham filled arenas and stadiums on what he called “crusades,” reportedly preaching the gospel to more people in person than anyone in the history of Christianity. Graham’s evangelical fervor took him from his Charlotte, North Carolina, home to points around the globe, and he served as an unofficial chaplain to every U.S. president from Harry Truman to Barack Obama. “When he prays with you in the Oval Office or upstairs in the White House, you feel like he is praying for you, not the president,” Bill Clinton said at the dedication of the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte in 2007. Graham was also a strong proponent of civil rights, opposing racial intolerance on moral and spiritual grounds. “There is no excuse ever for hatred. There is no excuse, ever, for bigotry and intolerance and prejudice,” Graham once said at a crusade. “We are to love as God loves us.”

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Rick Hall
The Father of Muscle Shoals Music
January 31, 1932 – January 2, 2018

When it came to good music, Rick Hall, the architect of the Muscle Shoals Sound, was colorblind. Hall thought nothing of bringing in black and white artists to record together when he founded the Florence Alabama Music Enterprises (FAME) in 1959—just five years after Brown v. Board of Education. In Hall’s eyes, talent was talent, and he helped develop the careers of such musicians as Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Duane Allman, and Etta James. In the 1960s and 70s, FAME brewed a potent mixture of R&B, country, rock, gospel, and soul with hits like “When a Man Loves a Woman,” “I Never Loved a Man (the Way I Love You),” “Mustang Sally,” and many more that put his small Alabama hometown on the world’s music map. Singer Dylan LeBlanc, one of Hall’s mentees, recalls the music producer as tough and task-driven—but with results that speak for themselves. “He was a tough son of a bitch,” LeBlanc told G&G. “They don’t make ’em like Rick Hall anymore.”

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Keith Jackson
The Voice of College Football
October 18, 1928 – January 12, 2018

With idiosyncratic catchphrases like “Whoa, Nellie!,” and the long, drawn-out “Fum-BULL!” or “Hold the phonnnnne!”, ABC sports commentator Keith Jackson supplied the signature voice of college football for more than five decades. “For generations of fans, Keith was college football,” said Robert A. Iger, the chief executive of the Walt Disney Company, which owns ABC. The color in Jackson’s commentary came courtesy of his upbringing on a farm outside of Carrollton, Georgia. Jackson also lent his voice to ten Summer and Winter Olympics, and he made history as the first American sports commentator to broadcast from the Soviet Union, in 1958. Jackson’s pure love of football made him a revered figure in the sport—he received the National Football Foundation’s Gold Medal Award and was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame after he coined the phrase, “The Granddaddy of Them All” in reference to the annual bowl game.

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Floyd Miles
The Man Behind the Band
April 13, 1943 – January 25, 2018

 

 

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Team GA was saddened to hear of the passing of Floyd Miles. A great friend and inspiration to the Allman family. Much love to the Miles family in this time of sadness and grief. Rest In Peace Brother. #Music #Blues #Legend

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A city worker living in Daytona Beach, Florida, with a passion for R&B, the singer, guitarist, and drummer Floyd Miles used music as a way of crossing racial barriers during a time of segregation and racial intolerance. Miles started singing at clubs near the base of the Daytona Beach Pier where his band, The Untils—comprised of Miles, a black man, and several white musicians—would draw crowds. Among them: Gregg and Duane Allman. Miles befriended the brothers and began mentoring them as musicians, eventually touring with them several times. Beyond his relationship with the Allmans, Miles found success with his own albums, like Crazy Man (1992) and Goin’ Back to Daytona (1994). “No one could be more soulful or sing the blues better than Floyd, and he just did it naturally,” Dan Randolph, one of Miles’s promoters in Daytona, said. “It came from his heart. Whatever he felt, he just blasted it out.”

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Burt Reynolds
The Southern Charmer
February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018

Burt Reynolds never planned to pursue acting. However, after a car accident left him with a knee injury that cut short his stint as a halfback for the Florida State University Seminoles, he switched from the gridiron to the stage. By the late 1950s, he was booking roles on television shows. The longtime Florida resident was one of the first actors to successfully make the leap from the small screen to the big, and by the mid-seventies, Reynolds’ easy-going masculinity and natural Southern charm had helped make him a top box-office draw in films like Deliverance, The Longest Yard, and Smokey and the Bandit. “[He] made living down here, being a Southerner, something to appreciate and love,” author Ace Atkins wrote in tribute. And as Reynolds himself wrote in his memoir, But Enough About Me: “Nobody had more fun than I did.”

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Dovey Johnson Roundtree
The Legal Trailblazer
April 17, 1914 – May 21, 2018

Dovey Johnson Roundtree broke through countless barriers in her five-decade-long career as a criminal defense lawyer. Roundtree played a critical early role in the desegregation of interstate bus travel when the now-defunct Interstate Commerce Commission ruled in favor of Roundtree’s client, Sarah Keys, in 1955, after she had been arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white Marine. Throughout her legal career in Washington, D.C., Roundtree defended predominantly poor African-American clients, often accepting homegrown vegetables as payment for her legal advice. Roundtree’s grit and determination led the Charlotte, North Carolina, native to become one of the first women to receive full ministerial status in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the first African-American nominated for membership in the all-white Women’s Bar Association of the District of Columbia, and a member of the first class of African-American women to be trained as officers in the newly created Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps during World War II.

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Tom Wolfe
The Revolutionary Storyteller
March 2, 1930 – May 14, 2018

Dressed in his ubiquitous summer-white suit, often with the accoutrements of a monochromatic hat, tie, and shoes, the author and journalist Tom Wolfe was one of the most unconventional (and snazzily dressed) writers of his time. Born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, Wolfe moved up the coast in the 1960s to New York City, where he was credited with spearheading what became known as New Journalism, a then-unorthodox movement that pushed the boundaries of traditional nonfiction writing by incorporating the dramatic techniques of fiction. His particularly distinctive voice, flamboyant syntax, and explosive punctuation also found their way into his best-selling nonfiction books, including The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (1968), The Right Stuff (1979), and The Bonfire of the Vanities (1987). “He was in such a world of his own that you could only admire him, and never could dare try to influence him, or be influenced by him,” Gay Talese, his longtime friend, told Rolling Stone.

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David Wolkowsky
Mr. Key West
August 25, 1919 – September 23, 2018

When real-estate developer David Wolkowsky returned to his hometown of Key West in 1962 after years spent restoring properties in Philadelphia, he saw nothing but potential. Soon after, Wolkowsky began a revival project for Key West’s historic Old Town, which had suffered natural disasters, like Hurricane Donna in 1960. In addition to his restoration work, Wolkowsky also helped elevate the island by befriending such prominent literary figures as Truman Capote and Gore Vidal, and encouraging them to soak up the southernmost island’s sun. He opened the Pier House Hotel in 1968, and Jimmy Buffett played some of his first gigs in the hotel’s bar. Bob Marley, too. “David began to renovate those buildings and really, I think, was one of the main people responsible for the historical preservation movement,” said Key West historian Arlo Haskell, “and for showing people that Key West’s past, its history, was worth saving, had a certain glamour to it, was beautiful.”

The post In Memoriam: Fifteen Southerners Who Shaped the World appeared first on Garden & Gun.

The top social, technological, economic, ecological and political trends that will impact business next year.

525 points, 30 comments.

At zero miles, with factory plastic wrap still intact, this Ducati Supersport 1000DS 'Race' could be yours for just under $5,000.

$3 tacos from hidden taquerias inside Mexican grocery stores to late-night hangs on Buford, there is a taco for everyone

Atlanta’s love for tacos runs deep, and the city’s taco scene is as dynamic as the city itself. From beloved neighborhood taquerias and $3 tacos found in the back of Mexican grocery stores to buzzy new taco joints pushing the boundaries of tradition, there’s no shortage of bold flavors to explore. They offer everything from no-frills street-style tacos and flavor-packed birria, to less traditional takes — mashed potato taco from Nuevo Laredo Catina, anyone? There’s a spot for every kind of taco enthusiast, and here are the best places to hit up around Atlanta.

This latest roundup includes new additions like Tacos La Villa, Nuevo Laredo Catina, Chicheria, and Supermercado Chicago. The taquerias are listed from south to north. Don’t see a favorite Atlanta taco spot listed? Email the Eater Atlanta tipline with suggestions to check out for the next update.

Instagram now lets you send voice messages to other users. Given that voice messaging is a thing on virtually every other app of Instagram’s size and stature, this has been a long time coming. However, it also moves Instagram further away from its origins.

How to Send a Voice Message on Instagram

To send a voice message on Instagram, just open an existing conversation or start a new conversation. Then, press and hold the microphone icon, and record your message. When you’ve finished recording, your voice message will appear in the chat as a waveform.

Voice messages can be up to one minute long, and you can send them in both private conversations and group chats. You’ll have to be very sure the message is appropriate for everyone in a group before sending it though, or you may regret recording it.

Starting today, you can send voice messages in Direct. Talk the way you want to be heard, whether by whispering what you’re up to or shouting a compliment. pic.twitter.com/3rkdQneNXO

— Instagram (@instagram) December 10, 2018

Be warned that a voice message will be sent automatically when you release the microphone button. So, if you change your mind while recording it, or aren’t entirely happy with what you’ve said, be sure to slide your finger to the trash can instead.

This feature could be useful for people who prefer to message rather than speak live, who don’t have their hands free to type, or who don’t have time to get into a full-blown conversation. But it will probably be mostly used for fun and frivolous reasons.

Every App Now Does the Exact Same Thing

It has taken Instagram a long time to add voice messaging. Facebook, Instagram’s parent company, added voice messaging to Messenger several years ago. But then unlike Messenger, WhatsApp, et al, Instagram was never intended to be about messaging.

All of these popular apps seem to be copying off each other to the point that it’s difficult to tell them apart. The only discernible difference is their respective attitudes to privacy and security, which led us to suggest Telegram is the only messaging app you need.

Read the full article: You Can Now Send Voice Messages on Instagram

Treehouses come in all kinds of shapes and sizes but this one could reign as most unique. Formed after its namesake, the Pinecone Treehouse is currently sited in a forest...

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Binoculars can be used for hunting, bird-watching, astronomy or watching the action at sporting events or concerts. However, not all binoculars are created equal, and being able to choose the right pair for your particular hobby makes a big difference in the long run. By knowing what to look for in a pair of binoculars and how to evaluate them, you’ll be able to make sure you get the right type of binoculars for you.

EditSteps

EditKnowing What Type of Binoculars to Choose

1. Choose binoculars with a 7x to 10x magnification for general use. The number that comes before the “x” when describing binoculars refers to the magnification factor, or how much closer objects will appear to be. If you just want binoculars for general use, rather than for a specific hobby, binoculars with 7x to 10x magnification are best. These will give you adequate magnification for most activities and won’t be destabilized if your hand slightly shakes.^[1]
   
   • Binoculars are referred to with 2 numbers, such as 7 x 35 or 10 x 50. The second number is the diameter of the main (objective) lenses in millimeters; 7 x 35 lenses are 35 millimeters (1.38 inches) in diameter, while 10 x 50 lenses are 50 millimeters (1.97 inches) in diameter.
   • While binoculars with relatively small magnification factors produce images that are less magnified than those produced by binoculars with higher magnification factors, these images will be sharper and your field of view (how widely you can see) will be wider. If you need a wide field of view, such as for viewing a football game from high seats, choose a lower magnification.
2. Look for high magnification for long-range hunting and astronomy. If you’re hunting in the mountains or in wide open ranges, you’ll want to use binoculars with larger magnifications, such as 10x or 12x. This range of magnification would also be suitable for viewing the more minute elements of the night sky, such as tiny light-points within dense star clusters.^[2]
   
   • Note that the higher the magnification of your binoculars, the dimmer the image will be. Although the image you see will be larger, your field of view will narrow and it’ll harder to keep the image focused. If you choose binoculars with 10x magnification or greater, get a pair with a tripod socket so you can mount and steady your binoculars when needed.
   • If you’re hunting in a forested area, you may find that binoculars with a 7x to 10x magnification factor are more appropriate.
3. Prioritize larger lenses for bird watching or low-light activities. Binoculars with larger objective lenses have wider fields of view, which are better for finding and following birds when bird watching. They’re also able to gather more light, which is important in low-light activities such as hunting at dawn or dusk.^[3]
   
   • If you’re more interested in seeing the details on smaller birds at greater distances, then you may want to opt for binoculars with larger magnifications and smaller lenses.
   • Note that the larger the lenses are, the more the binoculars will probably weigh.
   • Generally speaking, standard-sized binoculars have objective lens diameters larger than 30mm, while compact-sized binoculars have lens diameters smaller than 30mm.
4. Determine ahead of time what your price range will be. It’s generally true that the more expensive, top-of-the-line binoculars have higher image quality and are also more durable. However, there are also a lot of cheaper binoculars that are adequately durable and have decent optical quality. Thus, pick a price range that you feel comfortable buying binoculars at and don’t feel compelled to go beyond it.^[4]
   
   • Think about how you intend to use your binoculars; a pair you intend to keep at home to look out the window don’t need to be as durable as a pair you want to take hiking with you.
5. Decide how heavy a pair of binoculars you can handle. As noted, high-magnification and large-lens binoculars weigh more than standard binoculars. If you plan to travel long distances or don’t have a lot of storage room, you may want to settle for less powerful but lighter binoculars.^[5]
   
   • You can compensate for the weight and stabilize the binoculars by mounting them on a tripod or with a strap that lets you carry them around your neck
   • How you intend to use the binoculars is especially relevant here. If you plan to carry them around your neck while hiking, heavy binoculars may be a real burden.
6. Consider waterproof versus water-resistant binoculars. If you don't plan on using your binoculars in bad weather or in conditions where they'll get wet very often, you can get by with water-resistant binoculars. If you plan to take them along whitewater rafting or skiing, get waterproof binoculars instead.^[6]
   
   • Note that waterproof binoculars are usually more expensive than water-resistant binoculars.

EditEvaluating a Pair of Binoculars

1. Choose glass lenses for better quality images. Most binoculars have glass lenses, which generally provide better image quality. Glass also partially reflects the light that hits it, although this can be compensated for with the right coating. If image quality is your highest priority, make sure the binoculars you plan to buy have glass lenses.^[7]
   
   • Note that glass lenses are also typically more expensive than plastic lenses.
   • Binoculars made with Extra-low Dispersion (ED) glass produce the most high quality image, though these are also one of the most expensive types of lens material used in binoculars.
   • Lens coatings are described with the following codes: C means that only some surfaces have been coated with a single coating layer; FC means that all glass lens surfaces other have been coated; MC means that some surfaces have been coated with multiple layers; and FMC means that all glass lens surfaces have been coated with multiple layers. Multiple-layer coatings are generally superior to single coatings but add to the cost of the binoculars.
2. Opt for plastic lenses for durability. Plastic lenses might not give you the most quality image, but they’re much more rugged than glass lenses. If you intend to use your binoculars mainly outdoors and in rugged conditions where durability is an important factor, choose a pair with plastic lenses.^[8]
   
   • For example, binoculars with plastic lenses are the best choice for activities such as hiking and mountain climbing, or for children who are handling binoculars for the first time.
   • Note that while plastic lenses are generally inexpensive, a set of plastic lenses that provide the same image quality as a set of glass lenses will cost more.
3. Evaluate the eyepieces. The eyepiece lenses should rest a comfortable distance from your eyes, and even further if you wear glasses. This is called "eye relief" and normally ranges from 5 to 20 millimeters (0.2 to 0.98 inches). If you wear glasses, you'll need an eye relief of 14 to 15 millimeters (0.55 to 0.59 inches) or greater, as most eyeglasses rest from 9 to 13 millimeters (0.35 to 0.5 inches) from the eye.^[9]
   
   • Many binoculars include rubber eye cups around the eyepieces to help you seat the eyepieces over your eyes when using the binoculars. If you wear glasses, look for binoculars with eye cups that retract or flip out of the way.
4. Test the focusing function. Look at how closely you can focus the binoculars in the store and measure the distance between them and the object you're looking at. If you care about spotting tiny details from far away, you’ll need to make sure the binoculars have good focusing ability.^[10]
   
   • Binoculars focus in 1 of 2 ways. Most binoculars have a center-post mechanism, as well as a diopter corrector in case one of your eyes is stronger or weaker than the other. Waterproof binoculars, however, usually have individual focusing for each lenses, with controls on each eyepiece.
   • Some binoculars are "focus-free," with no ability to adjust the focus whatsoever. These binoculars can cause eyestrain if you attempt to focus on something closer than the pre-set distance.
5. Look at the prism design to gauge how good the images will be. Most binoculars have their main lenses spaced wider than the eyepieces, thanks to the Porro prisms they use. This makes the binoculars larger but makes nearby objects appear more 3-dimensional. Binoculars that use roof prisms let the main lenses rest in line with the eyepieces, making the binoculars more compact but usually at the cost of image quality. However, roof prism binoculars can be made to deliver images of quality equal to Porro prism binoculars but at greater cost.^[11]
   
   • Less expensive binoculars use BK-7 prisms, which tend to square off one side of the image, while more expensive binoculars use BAK-4 prisms, which deliver more light and sharper, rounder images.
6. Check out the manufacturer's reputation and guarantees. Consider how long the manufacturer has been in business and what other optical products they make, if any, as well as how they'll handle matters if the binoculars get damaged. Note as well whether the manufacturer offers a warranty for the binoculars.^[12]
   
   • If you buy an expensive pair of binoculars and they become damaged, having a warranty or guarantee from the manufacturer would make it much easier for you to get them replaced.

EditVideo

EditTips

• Some binoculars have the capability to view images in a range of magnifications, letting you take in an entire scene or zoom in to your favorite part of it. Note that as you increase the magnification, your field of view will narrow and you'll find it harder to stay focused on the image.
• Some more expensive, high-magnification binoculars include built-in stabilizers to help you stay focused on an image. Generally, these binoculars cost $1,000 or more.

EditRelated wikiHows

• Select Astronomy Binoculars
• Calibrate Binoculars
• Calculate Magnification

EditSources and Citations

EditQuick Summary

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Because they get heavy everyday use, bathroom sinks can easily become chipped, stained, or scratched over time. When this happens, you may want to install a new sink to enhance the ambience of your bathroom and create a fresh, clean look. While replacing a bathroom sink takes a bit of time, and replacing the faucet is a separate but essential element of the process, the overall job is manageable for most DIYers.

EditSteps

EditPreparing the Old Sink and Buying the New One

1. Turn off the water supply and empty the lines. The shutoff valves are usually located in the cabinet under the sink. Turn both the hot and cold valves clockwise until they resist further turning. Then, turn on the hot and cold faucet taps to empty the faucet lines.^[1]
   
   • If the shutoff valves won’t stop the flow of water completely, you’ll have to replace them. Unless you have some plumbing experience, this may be a job best left to a professional.
2. Disconnect the P-trap portion of the drain pipe. If the P-trap is made of PVC, loosen the slip nut that connects it to the underside of the sink drain by hand. If the P-trap is made of metal, loosen the connecting nut with channel locks.^[2]
   
   • You don’t need to remove the P-trap to replace the sink, but you may want to remove it temporarily so you can clear it of debris. To take it out, unscrew the nut (by hand or with channel locks) that connects the bottom of the P-trap to the drain line below.
   • Place a bucket or heavy towel at the bottom of the cabinet to catch any dripping water.
3. Unfasten the hot and cold water lines with a crescent wrench. These are flexible lines that run from the shutoff valves to the underside of the faucet. Disconnect them right above the shutoff valves. Some types may have nuts you can loosen by hand, but you’ll often have to use a crescent wrench.^[3]
   
   • You can reuse these water lines if you want—just disconnect them from the underside of the sink later, then reattach them during installation. But this is also a good time to replace them.
4. Measure the dimensions of the old bathroom sink with a measuring tape. If you want to reuse your existing countertop, makes sure you get a new sink that will fit in the same spot as the old one. Write down the length, depth, and width of the sink, as well as the length and width of the countertop.^[4]
   
   • You’ll likely have to replace the countertop as well if you want a new sink that’s a different size.
5. Buy your new sink at a home improvement store. Bring the measurements of the old sink and countertop with you. This helps to ensure you purchase the correct size before putting in a bathroom sink. Make sure the replacement sink is the same type (top-mount or undermount) as the old one!^[5]
   
   • Ask an employee for assistance if you need help selecting a new sink.
   • Most bathroom sinks are still made of ceramic, but there are other options, and many colors to choose from beyond the traditional white.

EditReplacing a Top-Mount Sink

1. Remove the clips under the sink that hold it against the countertop. Many, but not all, sinks have clips underneath them that create a pressure connection against the underside of the counter. If your sink has them, loosen them either by hand or with a screwdriver.^[6]
   
   • If your new sink requires clips, it should come with them. However, you may want to keep these old ones for the time being, just in case they might come in handy.
2. Cut any sealant between the sink and the countertop with a utility knife. Carefully run the blade of the knife between the rim of the sink and the countertop. Doing so will slice through the caulk or other sealant that secures the sink and countertop together.^[7]
   
   • Work slowly and carefully so you don’t cut into the countertop, especially if it’s made of laminated wood. Of course, if you’re replacing the countertop as well, you can be as messy as you like!
3. Lift out the old sink from the counter. If you can get a good grip from above, you can lift it straight up and out. Otherwise, have a second person push up from below, then lift out the sink when it pops up.^[8]
   
   • Once the old sink is out of the way, scrape away any residual caulk or sealant on the countertop. Use a plastic putty knife for scraping, then clean up any residue with a rag dipped in mineral spirits.
4. Install the faucet and drain on the new sink. You can either remove the faucet and drain from the old sink and reuse them, or buy a new faucet and drain to go with your new sink. If you are not experienced with this type of project, you may be better off with a new faucet and drain, since they will come with detailed installation instructions.^[9]
   
   • Faucet and drain installations will vary quite a bit based on the particular brand and model you select. However, with a good set of instructions, it is a project most DIYers can handle. Otherwise, contact a plumber.
5. Apply silicone caulk to the underside of the new sink’s rim. Squeeze a steady strip of caulk all the way around the underside of the rim. This will hold the sink in place and prevent water from dripping down into the cabinet.^[10]
   
   • Choose a silicone caulk intended for use with bathroom fixtures. Don’t use acrylic or other non-silicone caulks.
6. Lower the sink into the hole in the countertop. Lift the sink carefully and slowly drop it straight down into the opening. Once it’s in place, push down on the sink and wipe off any excess silicone that squeezes out with paper towels.^[11]
   
   • This job may be a bit easier if you have a second person reach up from inside the cabinet to support the sink from below.
7. Attach the sink to the underside of the counter with fastener clips. Follow the instructions that come with your new sink regarding the placement of the clips. Either tighten them by hand or with a screwdriver, as indicated by the instructions. Once secured, they’ll apply pressure to hold the sink tight to the underside of the counter.^[12]
   
   • Not all sinks require clips for installation. If your model does use clips, they should come in the package with your new sink. If you’re missing a clip or 2, it’s possible that the clips from your old sink may work.
8. Run a bead of caulk around the rim of the sink where it meets the countertop. Your goal here is to create a waterproof barrier between the rim of the sink and the countertop so that water can’t seep in under the sink rim. Once you’ve run the bead of caulk around the sink rim, wet your index finger and run it around the entire bead to smooth the caulk in place. Then use damp paper towels to wipe away any excess.^[13]
   
   • Use the same silicone caulk you used to adhere the underside of the sink to the countertop.

EditReplacing an Undermount Sink

1. Cut through the caulk that connects the sink to the underside of the counter. Reach into the sink from above and run the blade of a utility knife through the bead of caulk, all the way around the rim of the sink. Work carefully so you don’t scratch the lip of the opening in the countertop.^[14]
   
   • This caulk helps to hold the undermount sink in place but is primarily there to prevent water from getting between the sink rim and the underside of the counter.
2. Remove the holding clips under the sink while supporting it from below. Although it will be a tight fit in the sink cabinet, this is safer and easier with a second set of hands helping you. While the second person holds the bottom of the sink, remove the several clips (often 4-6) that pin the sink rim against the underside of the counter. They will either be screwed or epoxied into place.^[15]
   
   • If they’re attached with screws, simply use a screwdriver to remove them.
   • If they are stuck in place with epoxy, use a putty knife to scrape, pry, and wedge the clips apart from the underside of the counter.
   • Once you remove the clips, the sink will be free to fall, so make sure it’s being held up by someone!
3. Lower the sink down and out of the cabinet. Now that the caulk and the clips have been removed, simply guide the sink downward and out of the cabinet. If you are reusing the existing faucet and drain, remove them now. But it’s more likely that you’ll want to install new ones with your new sink.^[16]
   
4. Install the faucet, but not the drain, in the new sink. Unlike with a top-mount sink, don’t install the drain before installing an undermount sink. But it’s easier to install the new faucet now instead of having to work from inside the sink cabinet.^[17]
   
   • Installing a faucet is within the skill set of most DIYers, but the process differs based on the type and model of faucet. Closely follow the instructions that come with the new faucet.
5. Apply a bead of silicone caulk around the entire top rim of the sink. Use a silicone caulk designed for bathroom applications. Make sure the bead is continuous around the entire rim of the sink.^[18]
   
   • Like the stuff you removed from the old sink, this caulk is mostly there for waterproofing, but also helps hold the sink in place.
6. Secure the sink in position with a piece of lumber and a bar clamp. Cut a section of lumber so it’s at least a few inches/centimeters longer than the width of the opening for the sink in the countertop. Lay this piece of wood across the opening. Then, while a second person lifts the new sink up into place from beneath, feed the bar clamp up through the drain opening of the sink so that one of its clamps holds up the sink from below. Secure the other clamp to the piece of wood and tighten it.^[19]
   
   • Make sure the clamp is tight enough to make the some of the silicone caulk squeeze out between the rim of the sink and the underside of the counter. Wipe away this excess caulk with a damp rag.
7. Secure the included clips in place with screws or epoxy. Your new undermount sink will come with support clips to place around the underside of the sink where it meets the underside of the counter. In some cases, these clips may attach with screws. If so, drill pilot holes and use a screwdriver to secure the clips in place. Otherwise, use the brand or type of epoxy recommended by the sink manufacturer.^[20]
   
   • In most cases, the clips are adhered in place with a 2-part epoxy that hardens in about 10 minutes after being combined. Follow the product instructions carefully and apply the proper amount to each clip. Then press them into place as per the installation instructions for your sink.
8. Wait 24 hours, then install the drain. Even though the epoxy should be fully set in 10 minutes, it’s important to give the silicone adhesive time to cure fully. Leave the piece of lumber and bar clamp in place for a day before removing them. After that, you can put the drain in place and continue with the installation.^[21]
   
   • Like faucets, drain installations vary by type and brand, but the process is DIY-friendly if you follow the instructions carefully.
   • You could rely on the epoxy to hold everything in place after 10 minutes and not wait the full 24 hours before proceeding, but this is not recommended. Be patient!

EditMaking Final Connections and Testing

1. Allow the caulk on a top-mount sink to cure for 24 hours. Instead of making the final connections right away, it’s better to give the silicone caulk time to set up. This will prevent the sink from shifting and breaking the solid bead of caulk that you made.^[22]
   
   • If you’re installing an undermount sink, you should already have waited 24 hours before putting in the sink drain. In this case, you can proceed with the last steps of the installation.
2. Reconnect the water lines and the P-trap underneath the sink. You just need to do the reverse of the disconnecting process. Hand-tighten the water lines where they connect to the hot and cold shutoff valves or use a crescent wrench if needed. Similarly, use your hands to tighten the nut on a PVC P-trap or channel locks for a metal P-trap.^[23]
   
   • If your new sink drain is a little shorter than your old one, you can buy a P-trap pipe extension at your local hardware store. The extension can be cut to fit and will also connect in place with a nut that you’ll either hand-tighten or secure with channel locks.
   • If your new sink drain is a little too long, you can cut off some of the pipe either at the top of the P-trap or the bottom of the drain. Use a hacksaw or pipe cutter to make the adjustment.
3. Turn the water back on and check for leaks. Open the hot and cold water valves by turning them counterclockwise. Then, open the hot and cold faucet taps fully and let the water run for at least 2-3 minutes. Watch under the cabinet for any leaks in the water lines, drain lines, or elsewhere. Tighten any loose connections as needed.^[24]
   
   • Keep the bucket or towel at the bottom of the sink cabinet while you test for leaks.
   • If you have a leak at a pipe connection, try shutting off the water, undoing the connection, wrapping some plumber’s tape around the pipe threads, and then re-making the connection.
   • If you can’t figure out where a leak is coming from and/or how to fix it, shut off the water supply lines and call a plumber.

EditThings You'll Need

• Measuring tape
• Pencil and paper
• New sink
• Channel lock pliers
• Crescent wrench
• Screwdriver
• Utility knife
• Silicone caulk
• Paper towels
• Fastener clips
• Plumber's tape
• New faucet
• Piece of lumber (for undermount sink)
• Bar clamp (for undermount sink)
• 2-part epoxy (for undermount sink)

EditRelated wikiHows

• Replace a Bathroom Faucet
• Install a Bathroom Sink
• Repair a Delta Brand Kitchen Faucet
• Install a Shower Faucet

EditSources and Citations

EditQuick Summary

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