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• How Can I Test My Computer’s Power Supply?

  - by Jason Fitzpatrick

  You’re concerned your computer troubles stem from a failing (or outright fried) power supply unit. How can you test the unit to be sure that it’s the source of your hardware headaches? Today’s Question & Answer session comes to us courtesy of SuperUser—a subdivision of Stack Exchange, a community-driven grouping of Q&A web sites. The Question SuperUser reader Sam Hoice has some PSU concerns: My computer powered off the other day on its own, and now when I push the power button, nothing happens. My assumption would naturally be that the power supply is done (possibly well done) but is there any good way to test this before I buy a new one? How can Sam test things without damaging his current computer or other hardware?   The Answer SuperUser contributor Grant writes: Unplug the power supply from any of the components inside the computer (or just remove it from the computer completely). USE CAUTION HERE (Though you’d only be shocked with a max of 24 volts) Plug the power supply into the wall. Find the big 24-ish pin connector that connects to the motherboard. Connect the GREEN wire with the adjacent BLACK wire. The power supply’s fan should start up. If it doesn’t then it’s dead. If the fan starts up, then it could be the motherboard that’s dead. You can use a multimeter to check if there is power output from the power supply. Adrien offers a solution for readers who may not be comfortable jamming wires into their power supply unit’s MOBO connector: Most well-stocked geek-stores sell a “power-supply tester” that has all the appropriate connectors to plug each part of your PSU into, with spiffy LEDs indicating status of the various rails, connectors for IDE/SATA/floppy power cables, etc. They run ~$20 US. With a little careful shopping you can even find a highly-rated PSU tester for a measly $6. Have something to add to the explanation? Sound off in the the comments. Want to read more answers from other tech-savvy Stack Exchange users? Check out the full discussion thread here.     

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• How to Backup Your Web-Based Email Account Using Thunderbird

  - by Jason Fitzpatrick

  If the Gmail scare earlier this week has you thinking about backing up your Gmail or other web-based email account, we’re here to help. Read on to learn how to backup your web-based email using open source email application Thunderbird. In case you missed it, earlier this week Gmail suffered an unusual series of glitches that led to 0.02% of Gmail users finding their inboxes totally empty. The good news is that the glitch was fixed and no actual data was lost (they restored the missing email from tape backups that were unaffected by the issue). While that’s wonderful nobody lost any important emails it’s also very unsettling. Not every “Oops, we lost your data!” scenario ends so well. Today we’re going to walk you through backing up your email using the free and robust open-source application Thunderbird. Latest Features How-To Geek ETC Have You Ever Wondered How Your Operating System Got Its Name? Should You Delete Windows 7 Service Pack Backup Files to Save Space? What Can Super Mario Teach Us About Graphics Technology? Windows 7 Service Pack 1 is Released: But Should You Install It? How To Make Hundreds of Complex Photo Edits in Seconds With Photoshop Actions How to Enable User-Specific Wireless Networks in Windows 7 Access the Options for Your Favorite Extensions Easier in Firefox Don’t Sleep Keeps Your Windows Machine Awake DropSpace Syncs Android Files to Dropbox Field of Poppies Wallpaper The History Of Operating Systems [Infographic] DriveSafe.ly Reads Your Text Messages Aloud

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• Bar Table Modded Into Standing Desk

  - by Jason Fitzpatrick

  This polished looking standing desk combines a stand alone bar-height counter with extra storage, cable management, and monitor riser. The end result looks like a $$$$ standing desk at a fraction of the price. Courtesy of IKEA hacker Marc Marton, the build combines the Billsta Bar Table, the Ekby Alex Shelf, and Besta legs to raise the shelf up off the desk and create a keyboard storage area. For more information about the build hit up the link below. Billsta Bar Table into Standing Work Station [IKEAHacker] 8 Deadly Commands You Should Never Run on Linux 14 Special Google Searches That Show Instant Answers How To Create a Customized Windows 7 Installation Disc With Integrated Updates

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• Tolkien’s Rivendell Rendered in LEGO

  - by Jason Fitzpatrick

  If you’re a fan of all things geeky rendered in LEGO–and we certainly are–you’ll want to take a moment to appreciate this incredible model of the mythical Rivendell from the Lord of the Rings universe. Courtesy of builders Blake Baer and Jake Bittner, the behemoth model measures nearly 4×3 ft. in size, weighs 120 pounds, and required over 50,000 LEGO bricks. Hit up the link below to check out the full set of photos. Rivendell in LEGO [via Geeks Are Sexy] How To Switch Webmail Providers Without Losing All Your Email How To Force Windows Applications to Use a Specific CPU HTG Explains: Is UPnP a Security Risk?

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• What You Said: What’s on Your Geeky Christmas List

  - by Jason Fitzpatrick

  Earlier this week we asked you to share what’s on your geeky Christmas list; you responded and we’re back to share your longed for tech goodies. The most requested item was this year’s hot introduction to the project board market: the Raspberry Pi. Dave writes: A Rapsberry Pi to tinker with, especially to see if I can get it up and running with OpenElec/Raspbmc and a torrent client for a low power media centre/htpc We just finished setting up a batch of new 512MB Raspberry Pi systems running the newest release of Rasbmbc and can’t recommend it enough–new refinements in Raspbmc and the extra 256MB of RAM really improve the media center experience. All John wants is a real keyboard so he can escape the torture of using a touch screen: How to Factory Reset Your Android Phone or Tablet When It Won’t Boot Our Geek Trivia App for Windows 8 is Now Available Everywhere How To Boot Your Android Phone or Tablet Into Safe Mode

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• Inside Sweden’s Nuclear Bunker Turned Data Center

  - by Jason Fitzpatrick

  A data center inside a decommissioned nuclear bunker is interesting enough, but one that looks as futuristic and awesome as the center under Stockholm begs to be seen. A hundred feet under the city of Stockholm is a decommissioned nuclear bunker that the government had previously leased out intermittently for various events, but it was never put to serious or extended use. Not until, that is,  Jon Karlung discovered the location and brought his vision of an ultra-modern, stylish, and secure data center to life. The passage from Wired’s write up of their photo tour that best encapsulates the feel of the bunker is: Most often data centers are built in boxy warehouses, so Bahnhof stands out as perhaps the world’s most stylish. In fact, it inspired Cisco IT Architect Douglas Alger to write a book on the world’s best-looking data centers. ”The idea that people were sitting in a design meeting and said, ‘what we need for our data center is waterfalls,’ that must have been a very fascinating discussion,” Alger says. Hit up the link below for the full photo tour. Deep Inside the James Bond Villain Lair That Actually Exists [Wired] Why Does 64-Bit Windows Need a Separate “Program Files (x86)” Folder? Why Your Android Phone Isn’t Getting Operating System Updates and What You Can Do About It How To Delete, Move, or Rename Locked Files in Windows

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• The How-To Geek Valentine’s Day Gift Guide

  - by Jason Fitzpatrick

  Valentine’s Day is less than week away; if you want to prove yourself the geekiest cupid around you’ll definitely want to check out our guide to geeky Valentine’s big and small. The following gift guide includes gifts for the geeks in your life and gifts for geeks to give those that appreciate their geeky nature. Our methodology for picking Valentine’s-related gifts focused on gifts that were either traditional Valentine’s day gifts with a geek-slant or a nod to an aspect of geek culture. Read on to check out the geektacular pickings we mined the internet to unearth. Latest Features How-To Geek ETC The How-To Geek Valentine’s Day Gift Guide Inspire Geek Love with These Hilarious Geek Valentines RGB? CMYK? Alpha? What Are Image Channels and What Do They Mean? How to Recover that Photo, Picture or File You Deleted Accidentally How To Colorize Black and White Vintage Photographs in Photoshop How To Get SSH Command-Line Access to Windows 7 Using Cygwin View the Cars of Tomorrow Through the Eyes of the Past [Historical Video] Add Romance to Your Desktop with These Two Valentine’s Day Themes for Windows 7 Gmail’s Priority Inbox Now Available for Mobile Web Browsers Touchpad Blocker Locks Down Your Touchpad While Typing Arrival of the Viking Fleet Wallpaper A History of Vintage Transformers [Infographic]

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• How to Use an Xbox 360 Controller On Your Windows PC

  - by Jason Fitzpatrick

  The keyboard and mouse might be a good fit for many native computer games, but it feels downright weird to play emulated games that way. Whether you want to play Super Mario with a proper gamepad or try out a new PC title like Diablo III in comfort, we’ve got you covered. Today we’re taking a look at how you can take a Microsoft Xbox 360 controller and configure it to work with everything from your favorite emulators to old and new PC games. Whether you want the authentic feel of a controller in your hand when you play old school games or you’re looking for a gentle-on-the-wrists way to play modern games, it’s easy to set up. How to Use an Xbox 360 Controller On Your Windows PC Download the Official How-To Geek Trivia App for Windows 8 How to Banish Duplicate Photos with VisiPic

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• What You Said: What’s Powering Your Media Center

  - by Jason Fitzpatrick

  Earlier this week we asked you to share your media center setups, tips, and tricks. Now we’re back to share of the great comments you left. The range of techniques you all use for getting access to your media is impressive. Some readers had setups as simple as tamasksz’s setup: WDTV Live with an external HDD… So simple, but works. Others started with simple setups, like a WDTV Live, and worked their way up, like Dave: How to Own Your Own Website (Even If You Can’t Build One) Pt 1 What’s the Difference Between Sleep and Hibernate in Windows? Screenshot Tour: XBMC 11 Eden Rocks Improved iOS Support, AirPlay, and Even a Custom XBMC OS

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• From the Tips Box: Pre-installation Prep Work Makes Service Pack Upgrades Smoother

  - by Jason Fitzpatrick

  Last month Microsoft rolled out Windows 7 Service Pack 1 and, like many SP releases, quite a few people are hanging back to see what happens. If you want to update but still error on the side of caution, reader Ron Troy  offers a step-by-step guide. Ron’s cautious approach does an excellent job minimizing the number of issues that could crop up in a Service Pack upgrade by doing a thorough job updating your driver sets and clearing out old junk before you roll out the update. Read on to see how he does it: Just wanted to pass on a suggestion for people worried about installing Service Packs.  I came up with a ‘method’ a couple years back that seems to work well. Run Windows / Microsoft Update to get all updates EXCEPT the Service Pack. Use Secunia PSI to find any other updates you need. Use CCleaner or the Windows disk cleanup tools to get rid of all the old garbage out there.  Make sure that you include old system updates. Obviously, back up anything you really care about.  An image backup can be real nice to have if things go wrong. Download the correct SP version from Microsoft.com; do not use Windows / Microsoft Update to get it.  Make sure you have the 64 bit version if that’s what you have installed on your PC. Make sure that EVERYTHING that affects the OS is up to date.  That includes all sorts of drivers, starting with video and audio.  And if you have an Intel chipset, use the Intel Driver Utility to update those drivers.  It’s very quick and easy.  For the video and audio drivers, some can be updated by Intel, some by utilities on the vendor web sites, and some you just have to figure out yourself.  But don’t be lazy here; old drivers and Windows Service Packs are a poor mix. If you have 3rd party software, check to see if they have any updates for you.  They might not say that they are for the Service Pack but you cut your risk of things not working if you do this. Shut off the Antivirus software (especially if 3rd party). Reboot, hitting F8 to get the SafeMode menu.  Choose SafeMode with Networking. Log into the Administrator account to ensure that you have the right to install the SP. Run the SP.  It won’t be very fancy this way.  Maybe 45 minutes later it will reboot and then finish configuring itself, finally letting you log in. Total installation time on most of my PC’s was about 1 hour but that followed hours of preparation on each. On a separate note, I recently got on the Nvidia web site and their utility told me I had a new driver available for my GeForce 8600M GS.  This laptop had come with Vista, now has Win 7 SP1.  I had a big surprise from this driver update; the Windows Experience Score on the graphics side went way up.  Kudo’s to Nvidia for doing a driver update that actually helps day to day usage.  And unlike ATI’s updates (which I need for my AGP based system), this update was fairly quick and very easy.  Also, Nvidia drivers have never, as I can recall, given me BSOD’s, many of which I’ve gotten from ATI (TDR errors).How to Enable Google Chrome’s Secret Gold IconHTG Explains: What’s the Difference Between the Windows 7 HomeGroups and XP-style Networking?Internet Explorer 9 Released: Here’s What You Need To Know

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• From the Tips Box: Pin Any File to the Windows 7 Taskbar

  - by Jason Fitzpatrick

  Every week we dip into the tip box and share the tips you send in. This week we’re highlighting a great tip and the accompanying tutorial video that shows you how to pin any file to the Windows 7 taskbar. Robert Jasinski writes in with a clever way to pin any file you want to the task bar. By default if you drag a text document to the taskbar it will pin it to the Notepad executable—the same thing happens with any other file that has an association with an executable. What if you want to pin that specific text file to the taskbar and not to the executable (or any other file for that matter)? Robert shares his method:  What is a Histogram, and How Can I Use it to Improve My Photos?How To Easily Access Your Home Network From Anywhere With DDNSHow To Recover After Your Email Password Is Compromised

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• Homebrew LEGO CD Duplicator Copies CDs On The Cheap

  - by Jason Fitzpatrick

  If you’d like to bulk copy CDs/DVDs without the sticker shock of a $500+ commercial duplicator, this DIY LEGO duplicator is a homebrew solution. Paul Rea wanted to rip and copy CDs and DVDs without shelling out for a commercial duplicator and without the hassle of being bound to that commercial duplicator’s propriety software. His homebrew solution–a combination of LEGO, a rotating base, an Arduino controller, and little ingenuity–handles his ripping and copying needs with ease. Watch the video above to see it in action then hit up the link below for the build log and Arduino code. CD Duplicator [PaulRea.net via Make] HTG Explains: Understanding Routers, Switches, and Network Hardware How to Use Offline Files in Windows to Cache Your Networked Files Offline How to See What Web Sites Your Computer is Secretly Connecting To

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• Inside The Kindle Paperwhite’s Display [Video]

  - by Jason Fitzpatrick

  By far the most praised feature of the new Amazon Kindle Paperwhite ebook reader is the new display; this video takes you behind the scenes with the design team and highlights what exactly makes the evenly lit display work so well. Accounting for the promotional nature of the video, it’s still fascinating to take a look at how they crafted the front plate of the display to yield such an even front-lit effect. You can read more about the Kindle Paperwhite here. [via ExtremeTech] HTG Explains: How Antivirus Software Works HTG Explains: Why Deleted Files Can Be Recovered and How You Can Prevent It HTG Explains: What Are the Sys Rq, Scroll Lock, and Pause/Break Keys on My Keyboard?

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• FrankenUPS Hack Turns a Server UPS into a Whole House UPS

  - by Jason Fitzpatrick

  This well documented build guide showcases the process of turning a rack-mounted UPS battery device intended for a server bank, into a super-charged whole-house UPS system with a massive 14 hours of backup juice. It’s a very ambitious build and, due to the work required in the main circuit breaker of your home, we highly recommend only those experienced with electrical work undertake the project. That said, it’s a really clever bit of recycling that yielded an impressive half-day worth of backup power. Hit up the link below for the detailed build log. FrankenUPS [via Hack A Day] The Best Free Portable Apps for Your Flash Drive Toolkit How to Own Your Own Website (Even If You Can’t Build One) Pt 3 How to Sync Your Media Across Your Entire House with XBMC

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• Increase Security by Enabling Two-Factor Authentication on Your Google Account

  - by Jason Fitzpatrick

  You can easily increase the security of your Google account by enabling two-factor authentication; flip it on today for a free security boost. It’s not a new feature but it’s a feature worth giving a second look. Watch the above video for a quick overview of Google’s two-factor authentication system. Essentially your mobile phone becomes the second authentication tool–you use your password + a code sent to your phone to log into your account. It’s a great way to easily increase the security of your Google account, it’s free, and you can set it so that you only have to validate your home computer once every 30 days. Google Two-Step Verification [via Google+] HTG Explains: When Do You Need to Update Your Drivers? How to Make the Kindle Fire Silk Browser *Actually* Fast! Amazon’s New Kindle Fire Tablet: the How-To Geek Review

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• DIY Grid-It Clone Organizes Your Tech Gear in Style

  - by Jason Fitzpatrick

  If you’re looking for a customizable way to organize your cables and small electronics, this DIY Grid-It clone uses a series of elastic straps to hold everything in place. Grid-It is a commercial cable and device organizer that is, essentially, a stiff insert for your briefcase or bag that is wrapped in inter-woven elastic straps. You lift and slide the straps the secure your items in place creating, on the fly, customized organization for your cables and small devices. This DIY project recreations the Grid-It system using an old hard cover book as the foundation for the straps–it doubles the amount of usable space, provides a stiff cover, and (if you select a striking book) looks striking at the same time. Hit up the link below to check out the full DIY guide. DIY Project: Vintage Book Travel-Tech Organizer [Design Sponge via GeekSugar] HTG Explains: When Do You Need to Update Your Drivers? How to Make the Kindle Fire Silk Browser *Actually* Fast! Amazon’s New Kindle Fire Tablet: the How-To Geek Review

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• How to Enable Desktop Notifications for Gmail in Chrome

  - by Jason Fitzpatrick

  Last year Google rolled out desktop notifications for Google Calendar, now you can get Gmail and Gchat notifications on your desktop too. Read on as we walk you through configuring them both. Chrome’s desktop notifications are clean, easy to read, and really handy for keeping an eye on what’s going on inside Gmail without keeping the browser focused on it. Setting it up is easy, grab your copy of Chrome to follow along. Latest Features How-To Geek ETC How to Recover that Photo, Picture or File You Deleted Accidentally How To Colorize Black and White Vintage Photographs in Photoshop How To Get SSH Command-Line Access to Windows 7 Using Cygwin The How-To Geek Video Guide to Using Windows 7 Speech Recognition How To Create Your Own Custom ASCII Art from Any Image How To Process Camera Raw Without Paying for Adobe Photoshop What is the Internet? From the Today Show January 1994 [Historical Video] Take Screenshots and Edit Them in Chrome and Iron Using Aviary Screen Capture Run Android 3.0 on a Hacked Nook Google Art Project Takes You Inside World Famous Museums Emerald Waves and Moody Skies Wallpaper Change Your MAC Address to Avoid Free Internet Restrictions

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• What If Nintendo Made Children’s Books?

  - by Jason Fitzpatrick

  What if the great minds at Nintendo had directed their energy towards children’s literature? These humorous cover mock-ups show us what the titles may have looked like. Hit up the link below for more books from the Nintendo universe; if you have a clever idea for a game-based children’s book that should exist, sound off in the comments. Videogame Children’s Books [via Neatorama] How to Stress Test the Hard Drives in Your PC or Server How To Customize Your Android Lock Screen with WidgetLocker The Best Free Portable Apps for Your Flash Drive Toolkit

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• The Evolution of Link’s Swords [Wallpaper]

  - by Jason Fitzpatrick

  If you’re a fan of all things Legend of Zelda, this high-resolution wallpaper showcases all the swords from every Legend of Zelda game. In addition to the wallpaper that gathers all the swords together in one place, you can also check out the description on the wallpaper’s Deviant Art page to grab high-resolution images of each individual sword. Hit up the link below to grab both the wallpaper and the individual renderings. The Evolution of Link’s Swords [Deviant Art] 7 Ways To Free Up Hard Disk Space On Windows HTG Explains: How System Restore Works in Windows HTG Explains: How Antivirus Software Works

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• Robbie: A Short Film Made Entirely From NASA Footage [Video]

  - by Jason Fitzpatrick

  Neil Harvey artfully took 8 minutes of NASA footage and spliced it together with a musical score and narrative overlay to create the story of Robbie; a self aware robot. If your boss asks why you’re crying in your cubicle, just make him watch it too. [via Neatorama] HTG Explains: Is ReadyBoost Worth Using? HTG Explains: What The Windows Event Viewer Is and How You Can Use It HTG Explains: How Windows Uses The Task Scheduler for System Tasks

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• How Can I Track the Modifications a Program’s Installer Makes?

  - by Jason Fitzpatrick

  What exactly are those installation apps doing as the progress bar whizzes by? If you want to keep a close eye on things, you’ll need the right tools. Today’s Question & Answer session comes to us courtesy of SuperUser—a subdivision of Stack Exchange, a community-drive grouping of Q&A web sites. How To Delete, Move, or Rename Locked Files in Windows HTG Explains: Why Screen Savers Are No Longer Necessary 6 Ways Windows 8 Is More Secure Than Windows 7

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• XKCD’s Take On Password Difficult

  - by Jason Fitzpatrick

  The more difficult to crack password doesn’t have to be the most difficult to remember; XKCD humorously illustrates the power of entropy. On a more serious note, if you’re looking to increase your password strength and variety, make sure to check out our roundup of password best practices. [via XKCD] HTG Explains: What Is RSS and How Can I Benefit From Using It? HTG Explains: Why You Only Have to Wipe a Disk Once to Erase It HTG Explains: Learn How Websites Are Tracking You Online

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• 16 Over The Top Video Game Mods [Video]

  - by Jason Fitzpatrick

  This roundup of video game mods includes such gems as My Little Ponies in Skyrim and Batman in Doom. One of the more entertaining videos in the mix? Randy “Macho Man” Savage as a Skyrim dragon. Hit up the link below for the full roundup at Neatorama. The 16 Funniest and Coolest Video Game Mods Ever HTG Explains: Why You Only Have to Wipe a Disk Once to Erase It HTG Explains: Learn How Websites Are Tracking You Online Here’s How to Download Windows 8 Release Preview Right Now

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• Trulia Adds Commute Time Calculator to Their Neighborhood Heat Maps

  - by Jason Fitzpatrick

  Trulia–a popular real estate site well known for their neighborhood heat maps covering crime, school locations, and property values–now shows commute times in heat map form; see instantly how far away your potential new place is from where you want to work. Accessing the commute heatmap is just like any of Trulia’s other top-down views. Search for your city, hit up the map, and select which heatmap overlay you want to view. Trulia [via Flowing Data] How to Make Your Laptop Choose a Wired Connection Instead of Wireless HTG Explains: What Is Two-Factor Authentication and Should I Be Using It? HTG Explains: What Is Windows RT and What Does It Mean To Me?

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• Domino Dump Turns Into Van Gogh Painting [Video]

  - by Jason Fitzpatrick

  We’ve seen a lot of domino projects in our day, but this is the first one we’ve seen that turns into a piece of classic art when it’s done. Courtesy of domino enthusiast FlippyCat: I recreated Vincent van Gogh’s “Starry Night” from just over 7,000 dominos. The second attempt took about 11 hours total to build. The first attempt failed, when I dropped a screw from the camera rig onto it. I was able to improve the swirling clouds better in the second attempt as a result though. I do not know how long the first attempt took, but I did not have any accidents building like I did in the second attempt! Next up, Edvard Munch’s The Scream? How to Use an Xbox 360 Controller On Your Windows PC Download the Official How-To Geek Trivia App for Windows 8 How to Banish Duplicate Photos with VisiPic

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