Tag: How To

One family’s quest to go one year without Disney

Post author By web gangsta
Post date September 1, 2010
1 Comment on One family’s quest to go one year without Disney

Mousetrapped: A Year and a Bit in Orlando

Web Watch has to admire people like Lisa Ray.

Lisa has strong convictions and a big stick-to-it attitude that isn’t often seen elsewhere. She really does mean what she says, and says what she means. Good for her.

Lisa, the founder of PARENTS FOR ETHICAL MARKETING, was upset at how the Disney corporation handled a refund request for the Baby Einstein line of early-learning DVDs. Her reaction to those events (already documented elsewhere) led her to comment to her family, “I wish we could boycott Disney. But I don’t think we can. They’re too big.”

This got her 12-year-old daughter thinking, and she suggested that maybe they could go a year without Disney.

Lisa liked this idea so much, she decided that was exactly what she and her family were going to do: go A YEAR WITHOUT DISNEY.

Tags boycott, business, Disney, food, How To, News, parenting, Party Talk, Pixar, shopping, Tigger Watch, website

How To Internet

How to pick the best photos for your online dating profile

Post author By web gangsta
Post date August 31, 2010

Dating Online Christmas Ornament

Successful online dating requires a few things.

The least of which is an adequate photo of yourself to apply to your online dating profile.

There are some RIGHT WAYS TO SELECT A PHOTO FOR YOUR ONLINE DATING PROFILE, and some wrong ways.

Tags How To, Internet, Relationships

10 Things How To

Buying a car off Craigslist? Here are some things to look out for

Post author By web gangsta
Post date August 18, 2010

How to Buy a Car

Buying a used car can be a scary experience, as can selling one.

A few years ago, Web Watch had reason to sell our 14-year-old truck, after 200,000 miles. The vehicle still ran perfectly fine. We kept up-to-date with oil changes and other maintenance, but it was starting to get some quirks that were becoming more annoying than not.

The sunroof would leak on occasion. The radio was flaky. The dashboard illumination lights were starting to burn out. And we think – but can’t prove – that there was an oil leak that would have been rather costly to repair. The rear passenger door wouldn’t close unless you knew how to shut the door the right way. There were a few other things, but the truck ran great and could get you where you were going. Still, it was time to ditch the truck for something newer and sportier.

Tags 10 Things, Cars, CraigsList, How To, Internet, shopping

food How To

How to determine the shelf life of foods in your pantry, freezer, or refrigerator

Post author By web gangsta
Post date August 16, 2010

Mountain House canned food - 25 year long shelf life
Mountain House canned food – 25 year long shelf life

One common food joke is that Hostess Twinkies can survive through almost anything, with an infinite shelf life. Truth be told, the common Twinkie’s shelf life is a more realistic 25-days. Seriously – who even keeps Twinkies in the house that long?

Every once in a while, you should take the time to clean out your pantry. It’s not just a good idea from a re-organizational viewpoint, but also as a way to rotate the older foods you have stacked in the back of the cupboard towards the front so that they can be used in a more timely manner.

Yes, everything in your pantry has a shelf life – except for honey, which can pretty much be stored indefinitely. Sometimes things will merely go stale, such as crackers or cereals. Other pantry items will turn rancid and become inedible and should be tossed to prevent anyone from getting sick from eating it.

Tags food, How To

10 Things Book food

Drink This, Not That: Lose weight through smarter drinking habits

Post author By web gangsta
Post date August 15, 2010

Drink This, Not That!

Web Watch has always been a fan of the EAT THIS, NOT THAT series of books from Men’s Health, which boil down dieting and weight-loss to one simple task: you may not be exercising as much as you want to, and you may not be eating as healthy as you would like to — but making the right choices in eating can help offset the lack of exercise.

Remember, gaining and losing weight is paritally to do with the number and type of calories and fat that you take in. So change your meals, and even if you do nothing else – you should lose some weight simply by eating better.

The premise of their latest book, DRINK THIS, NOT THAT concentrates specifically on beverages, and what you should substitute when you go out for a drink. Not a lot has changed between the 2009 DRINKS YOU SHOULD DRINK, AND DRINKS THAT YOU SHOULDN’T and the 2010 LIST OF DRINK THIS, NOT THAT CONTENDERS, so let’s take a look at some of what’s listed in their HALL OF SHAME:

Continue reading “Drink This, Not That: Lose weight through smarter drinking habits”

Tags 10 Things, diet, food, How To, survey

How To Websites

How to potty train a 6-month-old? Just say “pss-wss-wss” and you’ll be diaper-free in no time!

Post author By web gangsta
Post date August 7, 2010

Potty like a Rock Star bag

Web Watch has heard horror stories from our parent friends about the difficult times they have toilet training their children. One couple is still doing the diaper thing with their four-year-old, continuing to take the stance of “when they’re ready to use the potty, they will” rather than trying to force a child to do something that they’re not willing to do on their own.

Hey parents – here’s a hint for you: maybe they are ready, but they really like the attention that they get by you continuing to wipe and diaper them every few hours. We’ll hazard a guess that once you stop pampering your child with luv (puns intended), then maybe they’ll start taking care of their business on their own.

But let’s harken back a few years ago to a New York Times article entitled A FAST TRACK TO TOILET TRAINING. The article talks about how parents are trying to get their children to use the potty earlier in life – most often around 6 months old, but with one interviewee claiming that her child was using the potty at 10 weeks old.

Tags bathroom, How To, parenting, website

Disney How To Websites

How to take a photograph of a popular location without any people in it

Post author By web gangsta
Post date August 5, 2010

Photobomb!

The Photobomb. It was a great picture… until somebody walked into the shot.

When it comes to vacation pictures at popular tourist destinations, a photobomb is inevitable. Someone always will get in your way as you try to take that once-in-a-lifetime shot.

Web Watch’s friend Chip recently posted an article entitled HOW TO GET THOSE EMPTY DISNEY PARK PHOTOS where he goes on to describe an elaborate process that many people do in order to get that classic “nobody is in front of the Castle” shot down Main Street USA at the Magic Kingdom.

While Web Watch was able to get our own photo of the Castle without any people in it by running down Main Street immediately after the rope-drop and taking the picture before the throngs of madly-rushing people behind us got in our way (it’s a great picture, in case you were wondering) – Chip’s solution is to make an early-morning breakfast reservation in the park, and take your picture while you’re heading over to the restaurant before the park opens for the day.

While Chip’s answer offers a more leisurely method of getting the photo compared to our rope-drop version, there’s still an infinitely easier way to get that same “ghost town” effect on any photo that you want to have of a big, popular tourist destination.

Tags Disney, How To, photography, Photoshop, website

Gambling How To sports

How to pick the ultimate Fantasy Football team name

Post author By web gangsta
Post date August 1, 2010

Official NFL Fantasy Football League Draft Kit

It’s about that time of year again.

With the World Cup over, we can officially move on from “football” to “hand egg”.

(You know, “hand egg”. Because that’s what an NFL football looks like. Oh, never mind – we’ll start over.)

Take 2: With the World Cup over, we can officially move on from soccer to professional football.

And with professional football comes everybody’s favorite office diversion after Farmville, managing your FANTASY FOOTBALL TEAM. And Web Watch is here to help you with the most important part of managing your team — CREATING THE BEST FANTASY FOOTBALL TEAM NAME.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

Tags Fantasy Football, football, Gambling, How To, sports