Handy How-To's

Having trouble sleeping? A cozy blanket of sound may be all you need. Lately, I have been sleeping more soundly. I wake up refreshed and ready for the day ahead. The reason? Brown noise. It’s amazing because there are no drugs, no side effects, no therapies, and no huge expenses. Its low pitched sound is like the soothing, muffled rumble of the ocean. When it’s time for me to sleep, I play the brown noise, lie in bed and surrender to its tireless drone. Soon, I am in dreamland. The brown noise has a calming effect and induces sleepiness. It also smothers distracting sounds such as street noise and the neighbor’s TV. My brown noise setup To generate the brown noise, I use my Android smartphone or tablet, a Bluetooth loudspeaker with good bass response, and the Noise Wall app which I downloaded from the Google Play Store . Similar apps are available for iPhone and iPad at Apple’s App Store. The Noise Wall app can play white, pink, blue and brown noise. It can also play two or mo

Prepare a “travel kit” Here are some items that are so useful that they should have a permanent spot in your travel bag. Electrical plug adapter and extension cord You might encounter these situations that make it difficult or even impossible to plug your smartphone, computer and other electronic gadget into an electrical outlet. First, some hotel rooms have only one electrical power outlet. Second, the outlet is in an awkward location, such as behind the nightstand or under a table. Third, the outlet might not be of the same type as the one you use at home. The plug adapter lets you plug the extension cord into the outlet, while the extension cord lets you charge one or more smartphones simultaneously while they lie conveniently on a desk or table. Get a plug adapter that can be used in the USA, Australia, and Europe. A 3-meter-long compact extension cord with three outlets should be adequate for most situations. S hook Having an S hook is almost like having a third