Just what I was looking for to track my car mileage! I drive a 2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse with over 100,000 miles on it. It is running well and I try to guess its mileage with every fill up by setting up my trip meter with every fill up and making a mental note of the number of gallons I put in.

The problem with that is: I kind of know what the mileage is but I don’t know for sure. I could have kept track of it in a spreadsheet but that wouldn’t be cool would it. With my love for web applications, Mymilemarker is just what I needed.

Quick Facts

Mymilemarker is a simple web application and it offers

• Quick and easy signup
• Name your car or cars if you have multiple
• Enter date, odometer reading, the number of gallons you filled and price per gallon.
• It gives you a nice projection of miles that you will drive in a year, projected costs and average mpg based on your history.
• You can change the forecast time from the default one year to whatever you want, say, like 6 months.
• You can add every fill up using your Twitter account.
• You need to fill-in data about atleast 3 fill ups before it will start spewing numbers and projection graphs at you.

I like the simple approach taken by Mymilemarker. It just tracks my mileage data as well as my driving habits. Looking at projections out for a year could be very helpful for someone like me driving a car with over 100,000 miles on it. I have to plan for a replacement sooner or later. I think this little web application is going to come in handy for me.

Do you attempt to track your mileage? Do you know how much you will be spending on just gas alone in the year to come? You might be in for a surprise and I am hoping this will make me change my driving habits for the better. I will post an update after 2 more fill ups on the promising usefulness of this service.

[via SolutionWatch]

Hello newcomer, did I say welcome to ShanKri-la yet? Before you move on, just wanted to thank you for visiting and we hope you come back and see us again!

Dig this: It’s a balmy summer’s day, in a very picturesque house by the beach, on a outdoor patio with a thatched roof, with flowing cotton curtains, a tall Brazilian model with extra long legs, a hulk of a guy with an oiled up body, a bubbling Jacuzzi foaming up steam, a bottle of champagne on ice and the couple getting cozy.

The girl says, “Honey, would you help me wax a bit?”

“Oh sure baby…I would love to help you with the wax” says the hulk.

Freeze! Cut! Cut! Cut!…Visual over.

Reality: My wife asked me to help me out with the waxing. And, I agreed. Though it may sound romantic and intimate, interestingly it is not so. She bought a tub of wax and a wad of waxing paper. She wanted me to help. I wanted to help her so that I can get out of the house for a guys-day-out trip. And I had very little time to start with. Unfortunately, waxing on a short fuse is a very bad idea.

We have quite a big bathroom where we could have done this. Having never done this in life myself, I said, “Come on, why don’t we sit at the dining table” (A decision that will haunt me for the years to come).

The inner hurry in me manifested as enthusiasm. I wanted to do everything fast. The tub of wax said, “Microwave this for 30 seconds”. The zeal in me prodded me to enhance the entire process, and so I microwave-d on high for 60 seconds. Apparently, wax, not only has a melting point but also has a boiling point. And, boiling stuff doesn’t go well with the skin as well as with the mental stability of my pretty wife who is lying on a mat with sliced cucumber over her eye lids.

I said to my wife, “Relax! Let the master do his work”. I scooped some honey-looking wax and looked at my not so waxed-looking honey and went for the easiest part, the shin.

I gently dabbed. “Eeeeeowwwwww..what the f#[(< was that!” screamed my wife.

It blistered almost.

“The wax is damn hot you idiot”, she said.

Romance was starting to wane at that point.

I brought her some Aloe Vera, soothed the burning sensation, and apologized. I cut four big cucumber slices now, had two and gave here two to get her to relax. I cooled the wax a bit and the applied a clean rectangular strip on her calf. I put the waxing paper on top of that.

Now, the moment of truth.

Since I have already hurt her with my aggression, I wanted to be very gentle. I tried to peel the wax strip in slow motion.

Again she yelled, “Eeeeeeoowwwwww.. what the f#[(< are you doing?”.

I said, “I am being gentle”.

Apparently, the technique is to pull the strip off in one quick motion.

I learnt it. I was doing Strrrrrupppp! Strrrrrupppp! Strrrrrupppp! But the wax is a bad thing to work with. It made my fingers stick. Oh it’s icky. Whatever I touched got stuck to my fingers. I am a hairy guy. My decision to wax without a shirt was a stupid idea. The wax wouldn’t drip clean. High viscosity, I guess. The strands of wax fly about and have an inclination to stick to my chest hairs. The natural tendency to pick the fuzz complicates the issue.

We went through a lot of stick and goo and ick and ooh. Mess on the floor, stuck eyelids, twisted moustache, striped legs, flaring rage, foul language, kicked privates, clawed face. Yeah, my wife is such a pussy cat.

Finally, we both agree, it is more than justified if a salon charges $100 for this work. If my wife does want to pay them, I would gladly do.

My wife is all red, smooth, and melting at the same time. Now, guys, the visual is like a zombie with rotting skin walking. She is furious and doesn’t want to be in the same room as me. She barks at me “Clean this mess”. She rushes upstairs to the bathroom.

Now, the moment of temptation.

All hairy me (1-inch long hairs in my shin), wax and strips. Should I or should I not? I just wanted to know what the fuss is all about. I brave it. I dab a dollop of wax on my calf (my idea of obscurity). I plaster the wax paper clean and square on my calf.

Now, I am scared.

I ask my son to reverse his toy ride-able Jeep. I took a clip-on wire and clipped one side to the waxing paper (Yeah the one on my calf). I tied the other end of the wire to his jeep.

I prayed.

I say, “Gentlemen! Start your engines!”

My son yells “Green!” and steps on the gas.

“Eeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaoowwwwww!”

I understood that there are some things in life that can put a grown man in tears. Wax is one.

If you are in the market for a Wireless Router, you might be in luck. I just ordered this today and will be using this to track my shipment.

Buy.com has a TRENDnet TEW-432BRP - 54Mbps 802.11g Wireless Firewall Router for $9.99 after a $30.00 mail in  rebate. If you open a new Google Account and use Google Checkout, you can get $10.00 off which means you get this literally for free and with free budget shipping. Now, I call that a sweet deal. You have to purchase this before June 25, 2007 to get this deal.

The reviews for it are pretty good as well, so for the price I’m going to give it a try. Would you?

[via Buy.com Newsletter - this is the only newsletter to find some real deals]

Everyone likes to be healthy and in shape and we try in our own ways to achieve that elusive balance between eating our favorite food and watching the calories. My wife and I have many a times ordered a Salad at McDonalds or other fast food restaurants over a burger or a sandwich thinking we are making a healthy choice.

Consumerist has thrown some new light on it and I was, to say the least, wasn’t delighted. Their findings suggest that some of these salads have not just higher calories than a burger or a sandwich, but also high in carbs!! An excerpt from the Consumerist article..

If calories aren’t your biggest concern, the salads also packed quite a hefty helping of sugar and carbs. Since they’re often marketed towards carb-conscious eaters, we were surprised to see the amount of sugar in some of these salads. Wendy’s Garden Sensations Mandarin Chicken Salad has more sugar, yes sugar, than 8 oz. of Coke.

Well, now when we try to make a healthy choice we know what really is healthy. I know I’m giving up a little bit of my health just stepping into a fast food place but atleast I won’t have the false sense of making a healthy choice there. And I don’t have to sacrifice my favorite Grilled Stuft Burrito over a Fiesta Taco Salad which has more calories as well as more fat!

Have you chosen a fast food salad over burgers thinking the same? How does this make you feel towards the fast food chains? Do you feel cheated?

This interesting concept caught my eye today! In today’s real estate market, where selling a home has become so hard, sellers are doing everything at their disposal to sell their property. Lot of sellers are offering concessions in closing costs. Some offer LCD tvs. I saw a couple of offers where they threw in a car with the deal. Today’s motto seems to be whatever it takes to sweeten the deal for the buyer.

Zillow.com, RealEstateABC.com have helped buyers search for homes in their areas with a touch of ajax in their interface.

Traditionally, it was the buyers who did a lot of searching until they found the house of their dream. ‘BuyerHunt.com - Real Estate in Reverse’ hopes to change that.

Here are the quick facts:

• Buyers: Create a profile for free. BuyerHunt will index your data.
• Sellers: Now, you have the power to search for buyers. Search for buyers in your area who are looking for homes like yours and send them a virtual flyer.
• Cost: FREE
• How does it work? Buyer can send personal information to the Seller if the house in the virtual flyer interests them and arrange for a showing with or without their agents.
• BETA: Site is in BETA right now and it doesn’t have ads yet but in the future it might as they offer this service for free.

This question would be of particular interest to someone interested in listing their property as it may have some legal consequence if you are already listed with a Realty company.

My home is already listed with a Realty® company. Can I still use BuyerHunt™?

Absolutely! With or without professional representation, users can logon to BuyerHunt™ and create Buyer Profiles and Virtual Flyers. But, to protect against unwanted legal problems and complications, BuyerHunt™ strongly encourages both buyers and sellers to consult with real estate professionals.

Check out their FAQ for more details. It will be very interesting to see how this idea catches on. I see it as a great way to get your home to a targeted segment of buyers who are looking for homes just like yours in addition to the regular channels of Realty listings.

One shouldn’t forget the good old (and free) Craigslist when it comes to advertising for free.

Tips make our lives easier. Tips are bite-sized words of wisdom passed on to other people in the hope that it might benefit few other souls. I will pass on to our readers whatever tips that I find myself using in day to day work around the house.

Here are a couple of starters that I learnt from my friends:

• Fresh smelling microwave: Take a bowl of water with a couple of pieces of lime in it and heat it for 5 minutes. Take a towel and wipe the insides of the microwave. Voila! Clean and fresh smelling microwave..
• Fresh smelling carpet: Take a small ball of cotton and put a few drops of scented oil. Drop it in the vacuum bag and vacuum the carpets! You’ll love the lingering fresh smell in the carpet for days to come.
  

I stumbled across this site Tipnut.com with tons of tips that the author has saved over the years! Learn a few tips and make your everyday chores a breeze! Don’t forget to share some of your own tips in the comments here..

Everyone has heard of the sheep clone, Dolly. But have you ever heard of a Recipe clone? Todd Wilbur from Top Secret Recipes does just that. He clones recipes from popular restaurants like Applebee’s, Olive Garden and others. Check the site out for a complete list of recipes.

There are numerous sites on the web that claim to have these recipes but this site claims to have nailed the recipes down. The recipes look pretty impressive and I am about to try out a few in the coming weeks. This “Bang Bang Shrimp” looks yummy and I’ll let you know how it turns out shortly.

One little note about this site: not all the recipes in the site are free but the new recipes are free for a week. You can subscribe for an alert to know when there is a new recipe on the site.