Operation: Chicken Scratch

If you own an Xbox 360 and your network router is in another part of the house (or just too far to run an ethernet cable), then you’ll want to use a WiFi connection to connect to Xbox Live! Of course M$ offers an adapter for about $90 that connects via USB to your Xbox 360, but we’ve figured out a solution that may save you some loot!

If you own a Mac with an airport wireless card installed, you are most likely connecting to the internet via Airport (Mac’s WiFi connection). If your Mac is closer to your Xbox than your router is (or if you use a laptop), simply connect a Cat5 ethernet cable (not a crossover cable) between your Xbox and the Mac’s ethernet port.

Then goto: System Preferences>Sharing and click on Internet Sharing. (The box will likely not be checked). You’ll want to make sure your “Share your connection from:” drop down menu says Airport. Then check the box that says Ethernet. After you’ve done this, you should have an option to Start internet sharing.

Now you’ll need to configure the Xbox to communicate with your Mac:

Open the Terminal.app on your Mac and type: ifconfig en0

You should see a line that reads: inet 192.168.2.1 Note this IP address for later use.

Now type dig in the Terminal.app and look near the bottom for a line that starts with “SERVER”. You’ll want to note this address as well.

On the Xbox, enter the network settings menu (refer to manual) and edit the information as follows:

IP Configuration: Manual
IP: 192.168.2.2
Mask: 255.255.255.0
Router/Gateway: 192.168.2.1 (or the address returned from the ifconfig command above if it’s different)

Then edit the DNS information as follows:
DNS Configuration: Manual
DNS Address:[enter the IPs of the dns server displayed from SERVER line of the dig command]
PPPoE Settings: Off
Advanced: Automatic

Now test your settings and you should be online!

If you’ve ever had a light bulb shatter, you know that removing the remains form your lamp can be a daunting task.

However, the housing can be quickly removed using NO tools at all. When a light bulb shatters the remaining portion is likely to be the glass mount (small glass rod containing filament) and the housing (screwed in to the lamp). Using pliers can crush the glass mount, so a potato is our tool of choice!

Take a potato and carve it in to a rectangle roughly the width of the base of the light bulb. Next, push this potato on to the Glass Mount. Then twist to the left. The potato is just strong enough to form a tight grip over the Glass Mount with out crushing it and the remaining portion of the light bulb can be unscrewed.

Ever find yourself standing in front of a Pepsi machine, thirsty as hell, but don’t have any change? Well, we have a solution that just may quench your thirst!

1. Find a Pepsi machine with an LED screen.
2. Enter the engineer’s access code 1,3,2,4 by using the keypad or drink selection buttons. Depending on how the machine is configured, button 1 is the top, button 2 is the next one down; or if the buttons are side by side, 1 is the far left, 2 is the next one to the right, and so on. This is the menu access sequence, which is rarely modified from the factory defaults.
3. Navigate through the machine’s menu, until you find the “free drink” option.

*Although we don’t necessarily condone ’stealing’, this little trick comes in handy in the event the machine malfunctions and doesn’t give you a soda when you’ve actually paid for it.

We are going to let you in on a little technique called “bid withdrawal” . . . a loophole those in-the-know have been exploiting since eBay’s beginning. Here’s how it works:

1. Choose an item to bid on that has no bids and no reserve price. Make your first bid $1000 (it will only show at whatever the opening bid is, which could be as little as $0.01)
2. Use a friend’s account (or a fodder account) to make a second bid for $990. You will automatically become the highest bidder at $995
3. Seconds before the end of the auction, withdraw your friend’s bid, and the final selling price will revert to the opening bid. When the auction ends, as long as nobody has sniped you, the seller will be obligated to sell to you at this lower price . . . Sucker!

Obviously you’ll want to adjust these figures to just slightly above fair-market-value for the item you are bidding on, or just high enough to keep others from bidding. If you drive an item’s price up to $995 that is only worth $50, the seller is likely to cancel your bid or the auction entirely.

Can you really get a First Class ticket for the price (or less) of a coach fare? YUPP.

Actually, we mean YUPP as in the special type of fare that airlines offer, describing it as either a Coach seat with an automatic upgrade, or deeply discounted First Class. These seats can often be cheaper than even the most expensive Coach seat!

Next time you book a flight, ask the ticketing agent about a YUPP fare (sometimes referred to as QUPP or Z fare).

Happy flying!