Man Made DIY

If you're not aware, the reason that aged spirits - such as bourbon and scotch whiskeys, reposado and añejo tequilas, brandy, dark rum, sherry, and even some wines and vinegars - are smoky and aromatic and, well, tasty, is due to a traditional aging in charred (or "toasted") oak barrels. The water content will absorb the flavors in the wood, such as such as vanillin and wood tannins, as well as the smoky flavors from contact with the wood.

The trend of barrel-aging whole cocktails has emerged among mixologists (likely attributed to expert Jeffrey Morganthaler), and in the absence of your own tiny casks, you can aged your own "white" cocktails for a mere $10 investmen… read more

At first glance, this fun DIY project might seem pretty straightforward: You type some stuff on a piece of paper, print it out, then cut it with a craft knife.

And then you realize, if you tried that, you've ruined it before you even finish the first letter, because it's impossible to cut things out and have them still be stuck together in a single sheet...

Unless, of course, you know what you're doing.   … read more

If you don't know "bokeh" as a vocabulary word, you certainly know their effect: the attractive blurry, bubbley thing that happens to lights in photographs (and movies) with a shallow depth-of-field. In out-of-focus areas, each point of light takes on the shape of the aperture, most often a round disc. 

You can actually take advantage of this distortion, to produce these circles on purpose...which can look pretty great. … read more

Physical music media have gone through a curious century. The vinyl album dominated for nearly 75 years, than gave way to a ten-year success of the cassette, which was left behind by the CD, with all the 8-tracks and mini-discs and other less successful technologies mixed in. And now, at least among those who are serious about music - a mix of the two extremes: digital, either as actual files or subscribed up the in cloud somewhere, and the original vinyl LP, still reknowned for its warm fideiity and large cover art.

Of course, modern furniture isn't built to house LP collections. They don't fit in contemporary milk crates, and most of those little flatpack cube-storage units are just a half-inch too small. So, it's time to build your own.   … read more

Fifteen years ago, I first heard about peanut butter cheeseburgers, and I assumed it had to be a joke. I was at a sports bar in my hometown in Iowa that had this vile sounding concoction on the menu and my friends were adamant that I would love it.

So I ordered it, and immediately fell in love. And I've been eating them ever since.

Now whenever I tell people about this delicacy, the reactions I get tend towards the intense. But believe me…peanut butter cheeseburgers are amazing. The sweet, gooey peanut butter compliments the savory burger patty perfectly, and believe it or not, the ketchup and mustard mixed in there makes for a perfectly heavenly bite. 

If there is ever a reason to cite the "don't knock it 'til you've tried it" trope, this is the one… read more