John Cox

Blogs · @wyome

Tagged tips · everything

www.zdnet.com

I changed 13 settings on my TV to dramatically improve its performance - here's how

Modern smart TVs function as full computers with operating systems and internet connections, requiring optimization beyond basic use. The article provides thirteen practical adjustments—from disabling motion smoothing and switching to filmmaker picture modes, to clearing cache, updating software, and disabling tracking features—that can significantly improve picture quality, performance, security, and privacy. For best results, the author recommends using external streaming devices like Roku, enabling wired Ethernet connections, and periodically cold-booting the TV, while noting that privacy controls and accessibility features can be enabled with minimal trade-offs to functionality.

Permalink technologyperformanceprivacysmart home

www.tomsguide.com

‘I wear an Apple Watch every single day, and I never knew you could do this.’

A long-time Apple Watch reviewer discovers that holding down the Find My Phone button on your watch makes your iPhone's flashlight flash, making it easier to locate a misplaced phone—a feature apparently unknown to many users despite the watch's widespread adoption. The trick works on all Apple Watch models with the Find My feature, though newer devices like iPhone 15 and Apple Watch Series 9 also offer a precision-finding tool that shows distance and location.

Permalink technologyfitnesstipsiphone

www.homedit.com

I Put My Oven Racks in the Bathtub and Didn’t Expect This

Cleaning oven racks becomes dramatically easier when you soak them fully submerged in hot water with dish detergent in a bathtub rather than attempting to clean them in a sink or on a counter, because full immersion allows the grease to soften and detach naturally before any scrubbing is needed. The author discovered that the real problem with oven racks isn't how dirty they are but how unevenly they get cleaned with partial methods, and once the chemical and thermal conditions are right, minimal physical effort is required. After switching to this approach, the cleaning process stopped feeling like a chore, took less time and effort, and the racks stayed cleaner for longer.

Permalink diybathroomcleaningkitchen

www.rd.com

How to Make a Vinegar Fruit Wash That Really Cleans Your Produce

A vinegar fruit wash—made by mixing one part vinegar with three parts water—effectively removes bacteria, mold spores, and pesticides from produce because vinegar's 5-6% acetic acid kills pathogens and prevents mold growth, extending freshness longer than plain water rinsing alone. The article explains when and how to use the wash (spray method for smooth fruits, soaking for small or textured produce), emphasizing the importance of washing all produce immediately upon purchase and drying thoroughly before storage to prevent cross-contamination in the fridge.

Permalink fooddiystoragecleaning

www.nytimes.com

How to Fold a Suit, According to King Charles’s Former Suit Maker

Frequent travelers should choose suits made from wrinkle-resistant fabrics like hopsack or high-twist wool rather than delicate linens, and fold them carefully using soft garments like rolled socks and sweaters for padding to maintain structure. The proper packing technique involves laying the suit flat, positioning padded items at stress points like shoulders and the jacket waist, and folding methodically to create a compact parcel. Contrary to popular travel advice, steaming or hanging suits in humid bathrooms damages the internal construction and finish; instead, simply hanging a suit in a dry, warm room for 12 hours should allow wrinkles to fall out naturally.

Permalink travelclothingpackingtips

www.mentalfloss.com

7 Spots in Your Home You’re Probably Forgetting to Clean

Most people have cleaning routines that miss frequently overlooked spots where dust, grime, and germs accumulate—including ceilings, crown molding, tops of doorways and cabinets, air vents, door handles, light switches, walls, baseboards, and underneath furniture and couch cushions. The article provides specific techniques for tackling each area, such as using a vacuum with a HEPA filter for ceilings, degreaser spray for kitchen surfaces, and the crevice tool attachment for tight spaces. Regular attention to these neglected zones—particularly high-touch surfaces and areas prone to humidity—can significantly reduce dust, allergens, and the spread of bacteria throughout your home.

Permalink healthfurnitureorganizationappliances

www.mentalfloss.com

The Right Way to Fold Fitted Sheets

Most people roll up fitted sheets in frustration because their elastic edges and sewn-in creases prevent them from folding neatly, but there's a technique that works: hold the sheet inside-out, tuck all four corners into each other to create a cone-like shape, then straighten and fold it into thirds both lengthwise and widthwise to create a compact rectangle. With practice, this method produces a properly folded, stackable fitted sheet suitable for linen closet storage, eliminating the need to simply ball it up and accept wrinkles.

Permalink sleeporganizationlifestylecleaning

www.howtogeek.com

7 Handy Microsoft Excel Features You May Have Missed

Excel has seven lesser-known features that can streamline spreadsheet work: Sparklines create compact graphs within single cells, Data Validation restricts entries to specified types and can generate drop-down lists, the Status Bar displays quick calculations like sums and averages without adding formulas, Flash Fill automatically completes patterns (like splitting names into separate columns), Remove Duplicates eliminates repeated rows with one click, Watch Window monitors formula results across large workbooks without hunting through sheets, and Analyze Data provides automatic insights and visualizations. The guide explains how to access and use each feature to save time and reduce errors.

Permalink productivitysoftwaretipsexcel

www.fatherly.com

55 Essential Disney World Tips, Tricks, And Dad Hacks

Disney World demands strategic planning through apps and itineraries to maximize a costly visit, but the real secret to a memorable trip is balancing structured priorities with flexibility—hitting key attractions early, taking mandatory midday breaks to prevent meltdowns, and embracing downtime at the pool rather than trying to cram every experience into exhausting days. Expert parents emphasize that pacing matters more than volume, practical logistics like proper footwear and sunscreen prevent misery, and the most cherished memories often come from unrushed moments rather than checking off a list.

Permalink traveltipsdisneyparenting

Tutorialzine

10 Tips for Writing JavaScript without jQuery | Tutorialzine

Modern browsers have evolved significantly since jQuery's heyday, making vanilla JavaScript viable for many projects without sacrificing productivity—the author demonstrates ten essential techniques (DOM ready, element selection, event handling, class manipulation, content changes, DOM insertion/removal, tree navigation, array iteration, animations, and AJAX) that are now straightforward with native APIs like `querySelector`, `addEventListener`, and `classList`. While jQuery remains valuable for complex applications, simpler projects like basic web pages, extensions, and mobile sites can benefit from lighter vanilla JavaScript implementations that reduce page bloat and load times.

Permalink developmenttipstutorialjquery

www.stevesouders.com

Onload in Onload | High Performance Web Sites

When scripts are loaded asynchronously in an onload handler, any third-party script that also relies on an onload handler to initialize won't execute properly, since browsers don't fire a second onload handler added during the first one—a problem demonstrated through cross-browser testing. Scripts should check `document.readyState` to detect whether the page has already loaded and execute immediately rather than waiting for an onload event that will never come.

Permalink performancetipstutorial

X (formerly Twitter)

www.sitepoint.com

12 Little-Known CSS Facts

A collection of lesser-known CSS properties and behaviors that even experienced developers might overlook, including how the color property affects not just text but also alt text, list markers, and borders; the rarely-used visibility collapse value for tables; the expanded background shorthand now including background-size, background-origin, and background-clip; and quirks like vertical percentage values being calculated against container width rather than height, the clip property only working on absolutely positioned elements, and text-decoration becoming a shorthand property for line, color, and style. The post also covers niche features like border-image, empty-cells for tables, and the oblique font-style value, most of which have limited practical application but are worth knowing about for edge cases.

Permalink developmenttipstutorialcss3

Telerik Blogs

Seven JavaScript Quirks I Wish I’d Known About | Telerik Developer Network

JavaScript has several counterintuitive behaviors that trip up developers transitioning from typed languages, including type coercion with the == operator (which should be avoided in favor of ===), the dynamic nature of the `this` context that changes based on how a function is invoked, and the difference between function declarations and function expressions in how they're hoisted and scoped. Understanding these quirks—along with practical techniques like using bracket notation for dynamic property access, immediately invoked function expressions (IIFEs) to manage scope and avoid polluting the global namespace, and methods like `call`, `apply`, and `bind` to explicitly control function context—enables developers to write more reliable code and avoid common pitfalls that create subtle, hard-to-debug issues.

Permalink programmingtipstutorial

flippinawesome.org

tech.pro

7 JavaScript Basics Many Developers Aren't Using (Properly) - Tech.Pro

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splay.at

7min Workout

Nowgoal is a live sports scoring platform that provides real-time updates, betting tips, and expert analysis across multiple sports including football, basketball, tennis, and esports. The site features comprehensive match schedules, updated league standings, detailed livescore tracking with match statistics, and in-depth odds analysis to help users make informed betting decisions. Nowgoal distinguishes itself through fast data updates, user-friendly interface, robust security, and a large active community of sports enthusiasts, positioning itself as a reliable alternative to other sports information platforms.

Permalink healthfitnesstipsexercise

Tumblr

One Thing Well | Remote SSH using Back To My Mac

This post explains how to use SSH to remotely access another Mac over iCloud's Back To My Mac service by connecting via IPv6, leveraging the fact that iCloud accounts are shared across multiple Macs. The author provides the technical steps to find your account number and configure SSH, then shows how to simplify the process by adding an entry to your SSH config file so you can connect with a single short command. An update notes a way to dynamically retrieve your Back To My Mac address instead of hardcoding it.

Permalink remote worktipsmactutorial