Free Republic

DIY (Do It Yourself): Furnace Air Conditioning Saving Project. I've moved into a new home in a retirement community and don't want big bills to replace my furnace A/C down the line. I also don't like the idea that my energy bills may go up significantly with the global climate change policies that many are embracing. What can I do? DIY (easy): Powered Furnace Filter - $149 Amazon. Improves air flow by 30% (lower heat/cooling bills), captures much finer/more particulate matter saving the furnace A/C down the road. DIY (Moderate): Nest 3rd Generation or equivalent Wi-Fi Thermostat - $206 Amazon....

Fallout shelters can cost millions of dollars. But this DIY underground bunker costs about $1,000. You wouldn't want to live in this makeshift underground bunker forever. In a pinch, this DIY fallout shelter would be better than an above-ground building, an expert said.In the event of nuclear war, the ultra-rich can hide away in their luxury bunkers that cost anywhere from $35,000 to $14 million. But what about the rest of us?Turns out, if a nuclear attack is imminent, you can build your own DIY fallout shelter for relatively cheap.You would just need a couple of days' time, some equipment,...

Americans turned into DIY fanatics during the pandemic, beautifying their apartments, homes and condos while they were stuck inside and tired of looking at the same drab interior every day. But the Covid emergency is over, prices are (much) higher, consumers are growing fearful of a recession and people are spending less at Lowe’s and Home Depot. Lowe’s on Tuesday lowered its profit and sales outlook for the year, saying consumers were spending less on home improvement. It comes on the heels of rival Home Depot also posting disappointing sales and a somber forecast last week. “We are updating our...

I installed a compression shut off valve for a toilet supply line for the first time. I had plenty of pipe, so I cut off the old soldered valves and then used Emory cloth and a deburring tool to prep the pipe. I didn’t expect the hard part to be putting the nut on the pipe. I had a hell of a time, but I finally got it on and tight with no leaks. But, I ultimately have nine valves to install and would like to know if there’s an easier way. Maybe some kind of lubricant that won’t compromise...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it is "unfair" that he is forced to repeatedly ask allied nations for security assistance when they have arms sitting in storage. "If we had access to all the weapons we need, which our partners have and which are comparable to the weapons used by the Russian Federation, we would have already ended this war," he said in a late-night address Tuesday. "That is why I emphasize the simple truth in literally every contact with the leaders of the democratic world, in all negotiations, in all interviews - it is unfair that Ukraine is still...

I'd like the ability to post by entering only the Source URL, clicking a button and having software populate the entries of Title, Author, Date Published, and Source. The user would still supply Topics and Keywords (if any). This would be optional -- the user could still fill out the fields as is done now. It's good to have diversity of sites. Free Republic is text-heavy, which makes it easy and fast to scan many posts. But I do think the suggested feature would make it easier to use, like Reddit, where if you enter a URL, it generates a...

Could use some help please. I make a calendar every year for my dad that includes daily text entries to remind him of birthdays, but also has jokes and puns which he likes. I have always used the iPhoto calendar template in the past, but Apple no longer supports making calendars from iPhoto. Last year the Apple template was available but I had to order the calendar from Mimeo by sending them a PDF of my iPhoto calendar.. Mimeo has a calendar template but it limits text entries to maybe 20 words per date. I have searched all over but...

Fresh off his several-month hiatus for being caught in an inappropriate situation during a Zoom call with his former New Yorker staff members, CNN chief legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin is sounding the alarm on voting rights expansion. Tuesday, the Senate failed to meet the 60-vote threshold needed to advance the debate on the so-called “For the People Act,” which would have federalized America’s electoral system.

NYC has seen vending machines for engagement rings and Brooks Brothers shirts, as well as PPE like gloves and sanitizing wipes, but this new Manhattan machine is really testing the limits. Since January, a storefront at 225 W. 34th St. — formerly home to a Lane Bryant — has hosted two of health company Wellness 4 Humanity’s new vending machines, which sell DIY at-home COVID tests instead of snacks or sodas. For $149 — credit or debit cards only, no cash — you can pick up a PCR saliva test, use it at your leisure, mail it to one of...

As we all know by now, a respirator or mask is most useful for protection when you must be in close quarters with one or more people. That's why they are a must for healthcare workers and it looks like we'll be seeing more mask mandates for the general population. If you have to wear a mask in public, my feeling is it might as well be a good one. At the start of the Covid-19 epidemic, demand for masks worldwide outstripped production capacity and prices jumped to outrageous levels, prompting many of the handier types, like myself, to some...

There’s an expert for pretty much everything here… I am patching a pretty crappy concrete driveway, and I had a 6” at deepest hole to fix. I cleaned it out, washed it repeatedly with my pressure washer, painted it with bonding compound, and filled it with Quikrete Commercial-grade concrete (orange bag)… and discovered I was probably about 2 bags short. It finished ½” to 1” short of the end depth. It has been curing for two days now.

Where there is a will there is a way. Some folks have fashioned weapons from Playstation controllers to explosive devices. Many of these weapons that were home grown is due to their lack of economy but great in innovation to bring the fight. Guess that's why they strap every weapon they have and hope that physics is in a good enough mood today to let them fire knives out of their machine gun. The following are groups in no particular order that were fanatics in their cause while launching their own DIY wrist rockets at each other: Blyskawica Submachine Gun...

I am not a contractor, as I believe you will conclude: (Foreword: The tape you observe in the photos was a TEMPORARY measure for initial tubing mount) My goal is to enhance the aesthetic of the auto watering system that I expanded, and ran up the side of a verticle wall, from which I have taken down very many plants for now. The timed watering system goes up outside of concrete wall via 0.5 inch plastic RainBird type irrigation tubing. Right now the aethetics of my set-up aren't great: After I take down the temporary stuff, I want the irrigation...

WASHINGTON, D.C., June 28 (C-Fam) The idea of self-induced abortion has a long history as a scare tactic in legal debates over abortion both in the United States and around the world. Abortion advocates wielding coat hangers have argued that abortion should be a decision left to women and their doctors. Yet the World Health Organization (WHO) is moving toward a standard that frames doctors—and even women themselves—as non-essential to the discussion. According to a new guidance from WHO, self-induced first-trimester abortion using pills “without the supervision of a health-care provider” is “recommended in certain circumstances.” Specifically, they refer to...

War is horrific and sometimes you have to take the life of your fellow man in the most brutal and extravagant ways…and you just don’t have a good enough weapon to do it as hard as you want. That's when you start strapping every weapon you have to every other weapon you have, and hope that physics is in a good enough mood today to let you fire knives out of your machine gun. Like these guys: Anti-Tank Sniper Rifle When the Nazi war machine rolled into Stalingrad, they had no idea what was in store for them: Crazy ass...

There are at least five easy ways to make AR15 receivers at home. 1. Purchase an 80% blank and finish it with a drill, files and patience, it gets easier with a Dremel type tool. Or use a drill and mill and skill. Many videos on how to do it  are available on the Internets. There are numerous sites on the Internets vying for profits, good reviews, and price point. 2. Purchase an 80% receiver and finish it with a programed CDC machine, i.e. the Ghost gunner. Order it on the Internets. The Ghost Gunner has an excellent reputation...

(From Netease) Chinese folks have always had the self-entertaining mindset to compare little things to big renowned things even just for the slightest resemblance. We had a post last year talking about a homemade knockoff Lamborghini by a 25 years old guy. Recently a chef from Zigong City, Sichuan Province became famous on the Internet for spending only about 4000 yuan in designing and handcrafting what netizens called a knockoff "Hummer". The 2 meter long, 1.5 meter high homemade auto took Qu Zhibo 3 years to build since he was busy running his own restaurant. Small as it is, it...

"Ok, this isn't perfect. I just did one take, and could explain a few things better, clarify some stuff, but the overall idea comes through pretty well, I think. ...the important part." - J Mantzel Maybe he's eccentric, but an inspiration to me, especially concerning the amount of physical work he is willing to devote to his ideas and "out-of-the-box" thinking. Jamie and family currently live in a concrete dome structure, he built himself, among the mangrove islands of eastern Panama.

When something breaks, the temptation is to simply go out and buy a new one. ... The repairs may not be pretty but, for the most part, they seem to do their job. From a pair of shoes fashioned out of cling film, to a hand-drawn clock and torches sellotaped to a car bonnet to replace broken lamps, there's ingenuity in spades in the gallery below.

Now, this is something you don’t see every day. Many a man would scream sooner than do what this young lady did. DIY stuff is big these days. There are more articles, how to’s, and DIY ideas than you can shake a stick at. But what about the DIY snake trap that catches huge snakes? Well, we’ll just leave that to this young lady. If you don’t like snakes, you sure won’t like this video. Calm, cool, and collected, this gal looks like a seasoned veteran in the snake trapping game. Pretty smart little contraption if you ask me. By...