How To Videos » Life Tips http://www.ihowtovideos.com Sat, 21 Jan 2012 19:32:46 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 How To Understand Diamond Clarity http://www.ihowtovideos.com/how-to-understand-diamond-clarity/ http://www.ihowtovideos.com/how-to-understand-diamond-clarity/#comments Fri, 19 Feb 2010 23:52:52 +0000 How To http://www.ihowtovideos.com/?p=23 A very informative video, Ronnie Mervis of Mervis Diamond Importers tells viewers about the clarity of diamonds. He explains what clarity means (also called spotting, or the purity of the diamond) and goes through the different grades of clarity (IF, VVS1, VVS2, VS1, VS2, SI1, SI2, I1, I2, and I3). He explains that diamonds occur in nature, and like all things that occur in nature, they are not perfect. have natural marks inside them called “growth marks” that occur. The grade of the diamond depends on how minor those “growth marks” are. Trained inspectors magnify the diamond ten times or more to look for imperfections. Even the lowest-rated diamonds have imperfections that are very difficult to see with the naked eye. Ronnie Mervis tells us it is OK to buy diamonds with flaws (also called inclusions) because you can always upgrade later. He also tells us that the price difference is so drastic between a IF diamond and a lower-grade diamond because the smaller the inclusion, the rarer the diamond. So, if you’re not investing for rarity, go ahead and buy a lower grade diamond. It can be your secret.

How To Video – DanforthDiamond.com, specialists in engagement rings.

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]]> http://www.ihowtovideos.com/how-to-understand-diamond-clarity/feed/ 0 How Social Media Can Affect Your Relationship http://www.ihowtovideos.com/how-social-media-can-affect-your-relationship/ http://www.ihowtovideos.com/how-social-media-can-affect-your-relationship/#comments Mon, 27 Sep 2010 11:25:10 +0000 How To http://www.ihowtovideos.com/?p=16864 Matt and Tamsen try to help you wade through the treacherous waters of social media in this segment on maintaining your relationship in today’s cyber-soaked world.

One man wrote in to say that he was concerned that his wife was compared their relationship to the relationships of her friends on Facebook and Twitter.  Matt and Tamsen point out the act that people tend to report the good stuff – and Matt says to use the updates for ideas on how to improve your OWN relationship.  In the world of online updates, things are not always as they seem.

Another person writes in to say that in six months of online dating they’ve had little success.  The lady is paying for Match.com, Chemistry.com, and eHarmony.com.  Matt says the best way to date online is to create a really compelling profile.  Don’t give too much information – use short, clear, clever sentences to get a small amount of information across.  Tamsen says it’s important to diversify, too.  Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

From the two advice seekers Matt and Tamsen helped, we can see that social media affects not only those who are trying to find relationships, but those who are already in relationships.  Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, and the other sites shouldn’t be a place where you hide from your spouse or significant other.  It’s OK to have your own online identity, but a relationship is no place for secrets – even if the secrets seem small and in consequential.

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]]> http://www.ihowtovideos.com/how-social-media-can-affect-your-relationship/feed/ 4 How to Interpret a Wine Label http://www.ihowtovideos.com/how-to-interpret-a-wine-label/ http://www.ihowtovideos.com/how-to-interpret-a-wine-label/#comments Mon, 09 Aug 2010 12:17:48 +0000 How To http://www.ihowtovideos.com/?p=16750 If you’re not an avid wine drinker, buying wine can be sort of intimidating.  There are so many different types, and blends, and vintages, and wineries, that it’s hard to know for sure WHAT you’re buying, much less whether or not you’ll like it.  You can always read wine reviews, but when you’re standing in the grocery store or wine shop it’s hard to pull out the old iPhone and google.  And, if you don’t have an iPhone or similar, you have to just depend on the wine label.

Again, reading wine labels can be tricky.  That’s why Behind the Burner traveled to  Freemark Abbey Winery in Napa Valley to tell us how to decipher the information on a wine label.

First step – decide what you want.  Are you looking for a wine from a particular region?  From a particular winery?  Or are you seeking a particular varietal (grape)?  The name of the wine – Cabernet, Vioigner, etc. indicates the type of grape used in the wine.  Not all wines are 100% a certain type of grape – in fact, a wine only has to have 75% of one type of grape in it to put that varietal name on the label.

The year refers to the year the wine is grown.  As for alcohol content, the vintner interviewed says that his reds are about 14% alcohol, while the whites are 13% to 13.5%.  If there is too high of an alcohol content, the wine will taste funny. Some can pull it off, but with food it is better to go with a lower alcohol wine.  A more acidic, fruitier wine is better.

The bottom line is that it is good to have a little bit of education under your belt before you go to buy wine.  You have to find out what you like before you can be sure to buy something that works for you.  This means you’ll have to do some wine tasting.  It’s a tough job, but you owe it to yourself!

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]]> http://www.ihowtovideos.com/how-to-interpret-a-wine-label/feed/ 3 How to Look Your Best in A Photograph http://www.ihowtovideos.com/how-to-look-your-best-in-a-photograph-video/ http://www.ihowtovideos.com/how-to-look-your-best-in-a-photograph-video/#comments Fri, 06 Aug 2010 12:51:47 +0000 How To http://www.ihowtovideos.com/?p=16716 How many times has someone snapped a digital photo of you, you’ve asked to see it, and you’ve immediately erased it because EW!  That’s not what you look like!  Why are your eyes red?  Why do you have a double chin?  Do you have a double chin for real?  Crap!  Where did that come from?  Is your skin really that color?  Why did nobody tell you you had a zit there?  Sheesh, people!  What is going on?

Or is it just me?  Nope.  It has happened to everybody.  We’ve all had not-so-great photos taken of us.  So, how to we get some good photos?  This video will tell you how, but it supposes that someone is willing to take pictures of you.  I don’t know about you, but I’m not exactly flush enough to pay someone to take my picture, nor am I gutsy and vain enough to ask someone to take a series of pictures of me.  And, I’m one of those people who takes TONS of pictures of everyone else, and nobody ever says, “Hey, let me take a picture of you.”  So there are tons of times in my life where there are pictures of everybody else, all the dogs, the trees, and some bugs, but no pictures of me.

Your options are to either find someone to take some decent pictures of you to prove to yourself in 30 years that you really did look like this, or you can use the tips they give you on this video to make sure you do what you can to look good in a picture someone might randomly take.  Because if I’m there, I’ll probably take a picture of you.

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]]> http://www.ihowtovideos.com/how-to-look-your-best-in-a-photograph-video/feed/ 2 How to Become a Successful Comedian http://www.ihowtovideos.com/how-to-become-a-successful-comedian/ http://www.ihowtovideos.com/how-to-become-a-successful-comedian/#comments Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:30:20 +0000 How To http://www.ihowtovideos.com/?p=16523 Caroline Hirsch knows comedy.  As the owner of Caroline’s On Broadway, she has seem some of the biggest names in the biz come through her doors, and her club is now associated with a New Talent program called Caroline’s School of Comedy.  Classes are taught by Linda Smith (yeah, I’d never heard of her, either) and they teach up and coming comedians how to understand the business, hone their delivery, and sharpen their joke-writing skills.

Video Instructions on How to Become a Successful Comedian

Check out Caroline’s website, and you’ll see that people like Tom Papa, Paul Rodriguez, Ed Lover, Christopher Titus, Gibert Goffried, and Jeff Garlin are slated to perform in August alone.  Study up a little more, and you’ll learn that two young comedians who left the earth way too soon did some of their last gigs at Carolines (RIP Bill Hicks and Mitch Hedberg – you can still make me laugh out loud).  Dig a little more, even, and you’ll learn that since it opened in 1993, Caroline’s has been host to Dave Attell, Elayne Boolser, Colin Quinn, Andrew Dice Clay, Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, and more have performed at Caroline’s.

And now that you know all that, you can assume that this lady knows what she’s talking about.

The problem I have with this video is that it’s set up interview style, but the questions flash on the screen like a big flashy promotional video or something rather than someone asking Caroline the question.  Wait a minute.  Maybe that’s because this IS a promotional video.  Either way, Caroline’s insights are valuable, even if she does come off a little cocky at the end.  Worth a view, for sure if you are looking to become a successful comedian in your own right.

Just because I’m in charge, here are some comedy gems for you:

“I like an escalator because an escalator can never break. It can only become stairs. There would never be an ‘Escalator Out of Order’ sign. Only an ‘Escalator temporarily stairs. Sorry for the convenience.’”  Mitch Hedberg

“I’m against picketing, but I don’t know how to show it.”  Mitch Hedberg

“My apartment is infested with koala bears. Its the cutest infestation ever. Much better than cockroaches. I turn the lights on and a bunch of koala bears scatter. I’m like, come back! I want to hold one of you, and feed you a leaf.”  Mitch Hedberg

“I order the club sandwich all the time, but I’m not even a member, man. I don’t know how I get away with it.” Mitch Hedberg

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]]> http://www.ihowtovideos.com/how-to-become-a-successful-comedian/feed/ 1 How To Quit Smoking http://www.ihowtovideos.com/how-to-video-quit-smoking/ http://www.ihowtovideos.com/how-to-video-quit-smoking/#comments Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:50:22 +0000 How To http://www.ihowtovideos.com/?p=16331 For tips on quitting smoking, Registered Nurse Eletta Hanson talks (cold) turkey about what you should know.  As everybody knows, smoking causes lung cancer, emphysema, and a host of other terrible illnesses.  Quitting is important, but what steps do you need to take to make sure you’re successful?

She starts with getting ready to quit smoking – what is your motivation?  What types of support will you need?  It’s most important to get emotionally ready.  She gives you tips on what types of aids like gum, mints, stress balls, and other thing that help in this very difficult process.

The video includes a testimonial by a 20-year smoker who has been tobacco-free for five months now.  She belongs to a support group, and she attributes all her success to that.

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]]> http://www.ihowtovideos.com/how-to-video-quit-smoking/feed/ 1 How To Spend Less on Your Wedding http://www.ihowtovideos.com/how-to-spend-less-on-your-wedding/ http://www.ihowtovideos.com/how-to-spend-less-on-your-wedding/#comments Thu, 06 May 2010 12:55:18 +0000 How To http://www.ihowtovideos.com/?p=644 Weddings are traditionally very expensive.  It is always good to get some tips on how to save money, and this short video has lots of good tips.  Most importantly, the video teaches you how to save money without sacrificing quality, which is very important.

This video gives you tips on how to save on wedding flowers, wedding cakes, wedding entertainment, and more by hiring the right kind of people, and shopping in the right places.

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]]> http://www.ihowtovideos.com/how-to-spend-less-on-your-wedding/feed/ 0 How To Drive Safely – Passengers vs. Phones http://www.ihowtovideos.com/how-to-drive-safely-passengers-vs-phones/ http://www.ihowtovideos.com/how-to-drive-safely-passengers-vs-phones/#comments Thu, 22 Apr 2010 17:05:42 +0000 How To http://www.ihowtovideos.com/?p=221 This video discusses the danger of a driver talking on their cell phone vs. talking to another passenger in the car.  Obviously, it’s best to give your full attention to the road, but this guy says that passengers can help the driver be aware of road conditions, other drivers, and more, whereas the person on the other end of the cell phone has no idea what is going on.

All in all, it’s a pretty bad idea to talk on your cell phone while driving.  This dude even says that cell phone talkers and drunk drivers have the same amount of crash risk.  Whoa!  So where does that put the people who drive and text?

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]]> http://www.ihowtovideos.com/how-to-drive-safely-passengers-vs-phones/feed/ 0 How to Remove A Bumper Sticker http://www.ihowtovideos.com/how-to-remove-a-bumper-sticker/ http://www.ihowtovideos.com/how-to-remove-a-bumper-sticker/#comments Wed, 21 Apr 2010 22:26:36 +0000 How To http://www.ihowtovideos.com/?p=277 Be it a failed candidate, a band you haven’t listened to since college, or a quirky sentiment that gets you flack at the office, we have have a need (at some point or the other) to remove a bumper sticker.  Here is how.

It might not be a spoken step-by-step instruction video, but this one tells you definitively how to remove a bumper sticker.  Just make sure you have WD-40 on hand.

]]> http://www.ihowtovideos.com/how-to-remove-a-bumper-sticker/feed/ 1 How To Have Kids and Pets and Not Go Broke http://www.ihowtovideos.com/how-to-have-kids-and-pets-and-not-go-broke/ http://www.ihowtovideos.com/how-to-have-kids-and-pets-and-not-go-broke/#comments Fri, 16 Apr 2010 14:46:12 +0000 How To http://www.ihowtovideos.com/?p=228 Coupon Mom brings us this video about kids and pets.  Nichole has 5 kids and 7 pets, so she is a great person to tell us about the dynamic between kids and pets.  She does 20-25 loads of laundry per week.  That’s a LOT of laundry.  Plus, with 7 pets it is hard to keep up with veterinary bills and pet food.

So, Coupon Mom swoops in to save the day and tell Nichole how much money she could be saving with coupons.  They might be kind of a hassle, but you sure can save a lot of money with them.  Coupon Mom shows us that.  Coupon Mom has some great other tips as well.  For instance, she found out that her vet’s office will match the online price for pet medications.  What?  Who knew you could do that?

She also shares tips about “coupon stacking” where you can use the store sale price, plus a coupon to get the best savings possible.  Nichole was a little dazed from her experience with Coupon Mom, who is amazing but REALLY energetic and kind of aggressive. Everybody needs a Coupon Mom to come grocery shop with them.

Basically, it is all about education.  You have to understand the savings before you can take the most advantage of them.  Find out what stores double coupons and when.  Coupon Mom is a total genius.  She took the total grocery bill from around $134 down to $75 or so with the loyalty card, down to $5.21 with coupons.  That’s not a typo.  She saved 97% on those groceries.

Nichole is a Coupon Mom fan now.  Go Coupon Mom!

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