DIY Life

Has the summer bug bit you yet?

If it has, you may be itching to try a new outdoor activity. Hiking and biking may have become passe, so get yourself a skateboard and wheel off to enjoy the great outdoors.

Expert Village has created a skateboarding video series that will teach you the basics, like how to stand, push, and turn on your new board. When you are ready for the fancy moves, watch their videos on the Ollie tricks and how to skate on ramps.

Heck, as a self-proclaimed DIYer, you just may want to build yourself a skateboard ramp. There are lots of free ramp plans available on the internet, and wikiHow even gives you step-by-step instructions on how to build your ramp based on your own plans.

So fire up that enthusiasm for your new hobby and learn to skateboard in style!

Multiplication and division were major parts of my son's 4th grade curriculum this past year. My son struggled with both concepts, which was problematic: the class didn't stop at multiplying and dividing. They brought the concepts right into simple algebra!

Over the summer, I'm doing everything I can to help him strengthen the skills he learned in 4th grade. He's more than happy to read with me, he loved going to a museum that reinforced what he learned in social studies, and he's always thrilled to work on backyard science projects with me.

When it comes to math, however, he really resists practicing his skills. So I was thrilled to find these fun Multiplication Thinkin' Logs. All of the templates for the "logs" are provided. Simply print out the times tables you want to practice, and make a game out of stacking the towers.

(Do you need a little helping hand with math yourself? If so, why not check out Francesca's post on Math made easy?)

Tim Ferris, author of The 4 Hour Work Week is at it again sharing his efficiency tricks and experiments with us. This time he's deconstructing and learning a new language in just one hour. He suggests that you ditch the books and CDs and instead delve into the mechanics of language and really dissect your subject.

First consider the new language a sport. With any sport there are some physical requirements. How closely does the new language resemble your native tongue? Does it use familiar sounds or will you need to re-train your brain and muscles to form sounds you've never experienced before? Tim walks you through the language deconstruction to determine how long it will take to gain fluency.

Once you know the rules of the game and the requirements of the specific sport, put your energy into training. Tim explains the theory behind this language deconstruction and outlines the process from curiosity to fluency. You might be preparing for a trip, or exploring a new language for business, or maybe you just want to dazzle your friends with some foreign vocabulary. Whatever your reason, this method looks a lot easier then suffering through hours of CD lessons and poring over language books.

Have you ever wanted to learn how cook and not known where to start? Maybe you know how to cook but there is some technique that you have never tried and don't know how to begin to do.

Kraft Foods has your solution. They have an extensive collection of how-to videos on everything from browning meat and making the perfect gravy to chocolate leaves and radish roses. While you won't become a gourmet cook by watching these videos they can help you get past the fear of not knowing what you are doing. If you weren't as lucky as I was to watch mom cook and pick up the basics then these videos can help.

For more beginner cooking tips check out Lisa Hoover's post on College Freshman 101: Cooking and Tanya Ryno's video on making popcorn the old fashioned way.

It wasn't so long ago that well-meaning parents, scholars, and knee jerk social engineers were pointing at the dawning of the computer age and claiming that computers were going to usher in increased illiteracy. These people had visions of video screens full of pictures which were activated by keystrokes, and they foretold the rapid demise of the written word. In bold defiance of that warped assertion, I kindly write this blog post.

These days, any person with a computer available to them has many virtual libraries right at their finger tips. These painstakingly assembled databases are growing daily and are providing hungry readers with every type of literature you could imagine. From pulp romance to legal text books and everything in between, it's now more readily available to the average reader than ever before. Let me provide you a few good examples:

Have you heard of NaNoWriMo? It's very popular in some circles, and still completely new to others.

Every November, thousands of people attempt to write a 50,000-word novel. This is actually a short novel; some people stretch the definition of "novel" to include other types of fiction or "creative nonfiction." A lot of fanfic writers use it as the inspiration for longer works of fanfic, while other aspiring writers use it to bang out a first draft. (Finishing a first draft is one of the most significant milestones that a new writer can achieve. Many run out of steam after a few dozen pages.)

NaNoWriMo, sometimes just called NaNo, is also a competition. You win by finishing: turn in at least 50,000 words before the end of the night on November 30. Almost one billion words were written, and presumably submitted, for NaNo last year.

But it's not until November!, you say. What are you doing posting about it now? I shake my head. Learn why, when you read more about NaNoWriMo after the break!

Have you ever wanted to take full advantage of traveling outside the U.S. but were afraid to based on the language barrier you would face? This was a fear of mine over a decade ago, so I found myself in an "immersion course" that concentrates lessons in foreign languages over the course of a few months on preparation for expatriate work or just an extended stay in another country without English as a primary language.

Do you have time to delve into Spanish courses for weeks at a time? Perhaps, perhaps not. But, if you've going on vacation in a country with Spanish as its primary language (Mexico, some countries in South America), you may be able to get by with a few choice phrases as well as a small 'translator book.' This will be enough for many, but as they say, 'when in Rome, do as the Romans do' -- why not go further than just a few phrases involving food and taking a restroom break?

After having just returned from the Play del Carmen area, I did see many Americans using small and easy-to-speak phrases to those Mexican citizens who were not English speakers. It worked -- but having a strong command of Spanish -- if you can commit the time -- makes things quite a bit easier. There are beginning, intermediate and expert ways to accomplish varying levels of Spanish-speaking success. Which do you choose (or have chosen)?