DIY Life

Most of you know metronomes from sitting at the piano as a child grinding through your hour long practice. A metronome as defined by wikipedia is "any device that produces a regulated audible and/or visual pulse, usually used to establish a steady beat, or tempo, measured in beats-per-minute (BPM) for the performance of musical compositions. It is an invaluable practice tool for musicians that goes back hundreds of years." These instructions explain how to build your own metronome. All the materials you need can be found at your local electronics store.

Here's what you need:

1. 555 IC
2. 3x 1K Ohm Resistor
3. 2x 22uF 16V Capacitor
4. 9V Battery
5. 8 Ohms Speaker
6. 250K Ohms Potentiometer

Despite this project's perfect simplicity I still struggle to understand the scheme. Thankfully, he includes pictures with all the instructions and finishes off with a couple of videos. This metronome can be adjusted to various speeds by changing the resistance. Grab your guitar and play along.

Vinegar is a largely under appreciated household item. Sure it's great when it comes time to decorate Easter eggs or when composing a tossed salad, but other than that vinegar just doesn't get much attention. Vinegar actually has more uses than most of us can even imagine, below I'll outline a few of my favorites:

• Unclogging and deodorizing drains. I like this one because it is also a recipe for the at-home volcanoes that I make with my kids. A half cup of baking soda combined with one cup of vinegar poured through a funnel and into the drain starts the process. The foaming action of the combo is supposed to unclog your drain and leave it odor free. After the mixture does its trick, use a hot water flush on the drain followed five minutes later with a cold water flush.
  
  
• Smoke deodorizer. I like this one because I hate the smell of smoke as much I hate the fake smell of most room fresheners. Simply fill a container 3/4 full with white or cider vinegar and let stand in the smelly room for about a day. By then end of the day the room will be without any stench.
  
  
• Cleaning piano keys. My almost three year-old son loves to play our piano. He never stops to ponder the state of his hands and often i find spots of peanut butter and jelly lurking on the ivories. A carefully rung cloth dipped in a solution of equal parts vinegar and water will do the trick from now on.

I think one of the aspects about vinegar that I most appreciate is that it is non-toxic and environmentally friendly. I will never again look upon vinegar as a simple condiment, it has gathered quite a bit of respect in my eyes. For more clever uses of vinegar, click here.