Quick and Easy Cucumber Salad

Most salads contain multiple vegetables and leafy greens like lettuce, tomatoe, and onion. The problem with some of these ingredients is they go back fairly quickly, especially lettuce, which becomes slimy, discolored, and smells. Grape tomatoes tend to wrinkle and look unappetizing. One vegetable, however, seems to stay and look fresh for about 2 weeks – cucumbers. Cucumbers are also high in water content, which can help you feel full and eat less. They are also low in carbohydrates and sugar, and have a low glycemic index (GI). This means that cucumbers don’t cause a rapid increase in blood sugar.  They can be a good snack for people who want to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight. 

Here’s a simple recipe for a cucumber salad.

Ingredients

  • Cucumber (1)
  • Water (1/2 cup)
  • Salt (1 tsp)

Instructions

  1. Pour water in a bowl
  2. Add the salt and mix till dissolved
  3. Slice the cucumber, add to bowl and mix

Leverage Gym Exercises

A leverage gym is one of the most versatile exercise machines available. They are perfect for a home or garage gym due to their small footprint. Some of the leverage gyms currently available in the market are

Powertec Workbench LeverGym

This machine costs $1600. One of its advantages is you can add attachments to the end of the bench for an additional cost to do additional exercises like bicep curls, leg curls, chest flys, etc.

Learn more

Syedee Leverage Gym

This machine costs $900. If you buy it without the bench, it costs $700. This is great if you already have a bench or if you want to buy a better bench like the Keppi Weight Bench 1000 Pro.

Learn more

Exercises

Note: not all leverage gyms can do all of the exercises below.

Incline Chest Press

Alternating Incline Chest Press

Flat Bench Press

Alternating Flat Bench Press

Hammer Grip Flat Bench Press

One Arm Pectoral Fly

Deep Push Ups

Dips

Shoulder Press

Alternating Shoulder Press

Shrugs

Standing Shoulder Press

One Arm Side Raise

One Arm Rear Delt Raise

Upright Row

Bent Over Row

One Arm Bent Over Row

Reverse Grip Bent Over Row

Under Bar Row

Wide Grip Lat Pull Down

Close Grip Lat Pull Down

Reverse Grip Pull Down

Standing Straight Arm Pull Down

Seated Cable Row

Reverse Grip Cable Row

Single Arm Lat Pull

Climber Grip Pull Up

Wide Grip Pull Up

Close Grip Pull Up

Hammer Grip Pull Up

Monkey Grip Pull Up

Full Squat Movement

Band Resisted Squat

Reverse Lunge

Calf Raise

Partial Stiff Legged Dead Lift

Hip Thruster

Abductor Cables

Kick Back

Adductor Cables

Squat Press Over Head

Low Cable Bicep Curl

One Arm Concentration Curl

Seated Bicep Curl

Standing Tricep Push Down

One Arm Tricep Push

Standing Abdominal Crunch

Standing Side Crunch

Straight Leg Knee Raise

Twisted Knee Raises

Super Easy Slow Cooker Shredded Salsa Chicken

This was super easy to make and it was very flavorful. Eat it as is or as part of a burrito or over a plate for rice.

Ingredients

  • 1.25 lbs Chicken (I prefer chicken thighs because chicken breast is too dry)
  • 1 oz Taco Seasoning Mix – Low Sodium (I actually used a chicken taco seasoning mix but any would do)
  • 16 oz Salsa – Your choice of flavor and heat (I chose Del Real, Red Salsa, Fire Roasted. It was a bit spicy though)

Instructions

  1. Cut up/trim the fat off the chicken, if needed
  2. Place the chicken into the bottom of your slow cooker
  3. Sprinkle the Taco Seasoning Mix all over the chicken
  4. Pour the salsa over the chicken
  5. Mix everything
  6. Put the lid on and let it cook on low heat for 4-5 hours or high heat for 2-3 hours (the chicken should reach 165F/73C)
  7. Optionally, shred the chicken 15-20 minutes before it’s done by using 2 forks or meat shredding claws

High-Protein Scrambled Steak ‘n Eggs

This dish contains 52 grams of protein and 500 calories.

Ingredients

  • 4 x eggs (24g protein, 312 cal)
  • 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese (12g protein, 80 cal)
  • 1 x Steak-eze patty (16g protein, 110 cal)
  • 1 or 2 handfuls of fire-roasted veggies
    • Trader Joe’s Fire Roasted Bell Peppers and Onions
    • Pura Vida Fire Roasted Vegetable Melange
  • Salt and pepper

Instructions

  1. Spray cooking oil on a medium pan and heat on medium
  2. Place patty and bell peppers and onion in the pan
  3. Sprinkle on some salt and pepper
  4. After 5 minutes, flip the patty
  5. After 5 minutes stir
  6. Combine the eggs and cottage cheese and blend
  7. Pour the eggs and cottage cheese blend into the pan
  8. Stir occasionally until desired consistency
  9. Enjoy

Make Money Filming Walking Tours

There are many types of videos you can make to make money on YouTube, but arguably the easiest type is where you do nothing but walk around somewhere interesting. For example, here are a few YouTube channels dedicated to walking tours.

So, how much do these channels make? One way to find out is by entering their YouTube username in SocialBlade.

@watchedwalker

According to SocialBlade, their estimated monthly earnings is between $157 and $2.5K and their estimated annual earnings is between $1.9K and $30.1K. We can also see their estimated earnings for each video.

Let’s check another channel’s estimated revenue.

@t0urister

This channel makes between $634 and $10.1K per month and between $7.6K and $121.8K per year. With this type of income, you can quit your job and literally just walk around to make a living (plus some minor video editing).

Camera

If you want to start your own YouTube walking tour channel, you’re going to need a camera. One of the cheapest and smallest cameras with impressive features for its price range is the DJI Osmo Pocket 3.

If you don’t want to hold the camera in your hand, you can mount it on your chest or a backpack strap for hands-free filming.

How Much Muscle Can You Build With and Without Steroids?

According to one of the most famous studies of anabolic steroids by Bhasin and colleagues

  • you can gain more than double the amount of muscle from using steroids than if you didn’t use steroids
  • you can gain almost double the amount of muscle from using steroids and without training than if you trained without using steroids
600 mg of steroids per week

It’s clear that steroid use makes a huge difference in your ability to grow muscle. The test above was conducted by given each subject 600 mg of steroids per week, which is the amount for entry-level bodybuilders, as indicated in the chart below.

High-level competitive bodybuilders typically take between 1000 – 5000 mg of steroids per week.

Interestingly, by just taking 600 mg of steroids per week, people can gain on average 1 lb of muscle per week without even lifting weights.

Average, not max, lean mass gained

To see the difference in body size between a natty (natural) bodybuilder and a bodybuilder who take steroids, consider Shaun Clarida, Mr. Olympia 212 Division Champion in 2020 and 2022.

Below are photos of Shaun before and after taking steroids. With steroids, he gained 3 times the amount of muscle that he was able gain naturally.

Genetics affect the ability to grow muscle and response to steroid use

According the chart below, the worst responding subject gained only 9 lbs of muscle in 20 weeks whereas the best responding subject gained 31 lbs of muscle in 20 weeks. This study was done where each subject simply took 600 mg of steroids every week and without lifting any weights.

Average muscle gain

The table below shows average muscle gain depending on whether you are a natural bodybuilder (no steroids), an enhanced bodybuilder (you take 600 mg of steroids per week), or a very enhanced bodybuilder (you take between 1000 – 5000 mg of steroids per week). The figures below refer to pure muscle gain, not total weight gain. People can gain more mass than the numbers shown, but some of that mass will be fat. Also, the figures below are averages. Some people will gain more, and some will gain less. Women can multiply the figures by ~60%.

Steroid Misuse Consequences

Following are some possible health consequences of steroid misuse according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

https://nida.nih.gov/sites/default/files/rrsteroids_0.pdf

Hormonal system – Men

  • infertility
  • breast development
  • shrinking of the testicles
  • male-pattern baldness

Hormonal system – Women

  • enlargement of the clitoris
  • excessive growth of body hair
  • male-pattern baldness

Musculoskeletal system

  • short stature (if taken by adolescents)
  • tendon rupture

Cardiovascular system

  • increases in LDL
  • decreases in HDL
  • high blood pressure
  • heart attacks
  • enlargement of the heart’s left ventricle

Liver

  • cancer
  • peliosis hepatis
  • tumors

Skin

  • severe acne and cysts
  • oily scalp
  • jaundice
  • fluid retention

Infection

  • HIV/AIDS
  • hepatitis

Psychiatric effects

  • rage, aggression
  • mania
  • delusions

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD9p9tEP9RE

Create a Custom-Designed Shirt Using Heat Transfer Vinyl

This tutorial will teach you how to create a custom-designed shirt at home using heat transfer vinyl. We will make a shirt that looks like this.

Equipment

I will be using the following equipment.

Instructions

Find an image (SVG)

First, you need to design your shirt by finding some images. You want the images to be SVGs so that you can scale the image without losing quality. To make the shirt shown above, I searched Google for “visit California logo svg”.

I found a “California” logo that I like, but I needed to edit it to remove the “visit” part.

I then searched for “california bear svg” and found a bear image that I liked.

After doing some image editing, I ended up with these 2 images.

Determine printed image dimensions

Lay your shirt down and, using a tape measure, decide how wide each image will be. For the “California” logo that would go over the chest, I chose 9 inches.

For the bear image that would go on the sleeve, I chose 5 inches.

These dimensions are not final. We will preview the design using cardstock (thick paper) first before using vinyl.

Import the images into Cricut Design Space

Download, install, and open Cricut Design Space. Follow the guided setup. Then, click the Canvas tab and then the “Upload” icon to upload each image. For the “California” text, I uploaded a large PNG on a transparent background and then set the width to 9 inches.

Do the same for the bear image. Since the Cricut Explore 2 machine can accommodate vinyl up to 12 inches wide and my video is 12 inches wide, I positioned the bear image below the “California” text.

After setting the width of the bear to 5 inches. I selected both image layers in the right column and chose “Attach” so that I could cut both images at the same time.

Cut images from the cardstock

In Cricut Design Space, click the green “Make” button. You will see a preview of the images on the mat.

You will see a preview of the design on the board. To make weeding easier, cut a sheet of 65lb cardstock large enough to accommodate the design. In this case, I round up to the nearest inch, so my cardstock will be 10″ x 6″.

Then, place the cardstock on the lightgrip mat as shown in the preview above.

Click “Continue”. Connect the Cricut machine to your computer via bluetooth or USB. Once Cricut Design Space detects your machine, you will follow a 3-step process to cut the images on your chosen material.

Make sure the dial on the machine is set to “Custom” because we will choose the material type in Cricut Design Space.

For step 1 (Set Base Material), click “Browse All Materials” and choose “Value Cardstock – 65 lb (176gsm)” since that’s the material we’re going to use first.

For step 2 (Load tools and material), make sure the correct blade is loaded in the correct clamp, load the material into the machine, and then press the flashing Load/Unload button on the machine.

When you press the “Load/Unload” button, the machine will grab and pull the mat a little to prepare it for cutting.

For step 3 (Press Go), just press the flashing “Go” button on the machine. Since we are printing on cardstock, where both sides of the cardstock are the same, we don’t need to toggle the “Mirror” option.

Once cutting is complete, click the “Load/Unload” button to unload the mat.

Notice the outline in the cardstock showing where the cardstock was cut.

Remove the cut images from the cardstock

Remove the cardstock from the mat and separate the cut images from the rest of the cardstock. Use a weeding tool, if needed.

You should be left with this.

Preview cut images on a shirt

We’ll want to preview how the cut images appear on our shirt. To do this, cut the transfer tape in the size as the cardstock – in this case, 10″ x 6″. Cut straight lines as that will make it easier to center and position the design on the shirt.

Remove the transfer tape from its backing.

Place the transfer tape over the cut images and press it on the cut images.

Remove the transfer tape using a weeding tool to keep the cut images stuck to the tape.

Cut the transfer tape around the individual images.

Wear your shirt and place the cut images on the shirt where you want them to go.

The size of the “California” text looks good to me.

The size of the bear, on the other hand, looks way too big.

Iterate

Since the bear looks too big, I’ll reduce the size from 5″ wide to 4″ and 3″, repeat some of the previous steps, and see how that looks.

This is how the 4″-wide bear looks on the sleeve of the shirt. It still looks too big.

This is how the 3″-wide bear looks. I think that’s a good size.

Now that we have our images and final dimensions, we’re ready to cut the images on heat-transfer vinyl (HTV) and iron them on our shirt.

Prepare images

Follow the same steps as above except instead of a 4″-wide bear, make it 3″ wide.

Trim heat-transfer vinyl

The vinyl I bought is an 8-foot long roll that is 12 inches wide. Since our mat is 12″ x 12″, I cut it to make it easier to work with.

I actually have some leftover vinyl from a previous project, so I’m going to use that.

Cut images from the vinyl

In Cricut Design Space, click “Make” and then “Continue”.

For step 1 (Set Base Material), click “Browse All Materials” and choose “Everyday Iron-on”

For step 2, you’ll notice 2 things:

  • For iron-ons, the “mirror” must be turned on. This flips the images so that when they are ironed on, they appear correctly. Cricut Design Space automatically toggles this on for you.
  • You need to place the iron-on material face (shiny side) down on the mat.

For step 3 (Press Go), go ahead and press go to start cutting.

Trim heat-transfer vinyl

Remove the vinyl from the mat and trim away material from the designs. To make it easier to position and align the designs on a shirt, I like to cut straight lines around the designs so I end up with perfect rectangles.

Remove the dull side of the vinyl

Use a weeder tool, if necessary.

You should be left with your designs on a transparent liner.

Determine design placement on shirt

Measure where you want the designs to be on the shirt. I’m going to position the top part of the “California” text to be about 3.75″ from the top as shown below.

Turn on heat press

Turn your heat press on and set the target temperature to 315 degrees Fahrenheit. Set the timer to 5 seconds.

Press the designs on the shirt

Put the shirt on a bath towel on a hard surface like the floor.

When the heat press is ready, place it on the shirt for 5 seconds where the design will go. This will remove wrinkles from the shirt.

Set the heat press timer to 30 seconds

Place the design on the shirt exactly where you want it to go.

Since I cut the design in a perfect rectangle, I could measure from the edge of the rectangle to various points on the shirt to ensure the design is straight and centered.

Optionally, secure the design to the shirt using heat transfer tape.

Place a sheet of teflon on the design to protect the shirt and the heat press.

Place the heat press on the design until the 30 second timer is up.

Wait one minute. Then, remove the transparent liner from the design. If the design comes off the shirt, then put the heat press back on and press firmly on it for another 30 seconds.

Once the transparent liner is removed, I like to put the teflon sheet over the design and apply the heat press once again for 30 seconds.

Now, let’s apply the bear to the sleeve. Lay the shirt down such that the seam is at the bottom and in the middle.

Cut a piece of cardboard and insert it into the sleeve as shown below. We need the surface of the top part of the sleeve to be flat. Otherwise, the design can be ruined due to the bump from the seam.

Remove wrinkles from the shirt by place the heat press on it for 5 seconds.

The brown cardboard could cause discoloration in the white design. Cover the cardboard in the sheets of teflon first as shown below.

Secure the teflon to the cardboard using heat-resistant tape.

Place the design on the sleeve where you want it.

Put a sheet of teflon on the design.

Press the heat press firmly on the design for 30 seconds.

Wait one minute. Remove the transparent liner.

Optionally, place a teflon sheet on the design and apply the heat press again for 30 seconds.

The finished product

Removing vinyl

If you make a mistake, this video will show you how to remove vinyl from your shirt.

Some other shirt designs

You can also iron vinyl on pants.

Not All Protein Sources Are Equal

Most people assume that all proteins are equal. You read the nutrition labels on foods, and you check how many grams of protein there is.

However, 3 grams of protein from one food source, like beef, is not the same as 3 grams of protein from another, like rice. That’s because not all amino acids that make up proteins can be absorbed as effectively as others.

Macronutrients

Macronutrients are nutrients that the body needs in large quantities to provide energy. The three main macronutrients are carbohydrates, proteins, and fats:

  • Fats: Help the body absorb vitamins A, D, E, and K, and are important for feeling full and balancing hormones.
  • Carbohydrates: Provide energy to the body and are found in foods like rice, pasta, bread, and starchy vegetables.
  • Proteins: Help repair and rebuild body tissues.

Protein

Proteins are essential nutrients found in the human body and are the major structural component of all cells, including muscle, body organs, hair, and skin health.

Amino acids

Amino acids are molecules that combine to form proteins. Amino acids and proteins are the building blocks of life. When proteins are digested or broken down, amino acids are the result. The human body then uses amino acids to make proteins to help the body:

  • Break down food
  • Grow
  • Repair body tissue
  • Perform many other body functions

Amino acids are classified into three groups:

  • Essential amino acids
  • Nonessential amino acids
  • Conditionally essential amino acids

Essential amino acids cannot be made by the body. They must come from food. Of the 20 amino acids that make up protein, 9 of them are essential.

Unlike fat and glucose, our bodies do not store proteins. If more amino acids are needed, protein will be taken from the breakdown of muscle fibers. This is why bodybuilders often consume lots of protein: to build muscle and avoid losing muscle.

Different protein food sources have different amounts of amino acids. During food processing and cooking, some of these amino acids are susceptible to damage, and so the amount of amino acids taken up by the body will vary.

DIAAS

DIAAS stands for Digestible Indispensable Amino Acid Score and is a method of measuring protein quality. It evaluates the proportion of consumed amino acids absorbed and utilized by the body.

  • No protein quality claim – Score of <75%
  • Good protein quality – Score ranging from 75% to 99%
  • Excellent or High protein quality – Score of 100% or more

DIAAS scores of protein sources

Protein SourceDIAAS Score (%)Protein Quality
Whole Milk Powder143High
Milk Protein Concentrate118High
Whole Milk114High
Egg – Hard Boiled113High
Beef111High
Whey Protein Isolate109High
Chicken Breast108High
Soy Protein Concentrate98.5Good
Whey Protein Concentrate98.3Good
Pea Protein91.5Good
Soy Protein91.5Good
Wheat91.5Good
Soy Protein Isolate90Good
Chickpeas83Good
Pea Protein Concentrate82Good
Mixed Diet: Wheat, Peas and Whole Milk Powder82Good
Peas – Cooked58Low
Rice – Cooked59Low
Rye47.6Low
Barley47.2Low
Wheat40.2Low
Almonds40Low
Rice Protein Concentrate37Low
Corn-based Cereal10Low

Notice in the table above that animal-derived protein is of high quality whereas plant-derived protein is mostly of low quality.

Camera Tips For Making Travel Videos

After making a number of vacation videos using

  • my phone (Google Pixel 8)
  • my action camera (Insta360 Ace Pro)
  • my two 360 cameras (Insta360 X3)

I’ve found the following works best for depending on the scenario.

Driving

  • If HDR is necessary and you only want to film in one direction, mount the Ace Pro on the windshield facing the front of the vehicle (FPV)
  • If you want to film both the vehicle occupants and the road, mount the Insta360 X3 on the windshield
  • Shoot either a regular video or a Timeshift video

Walking (Daytime)

  • Mount one Insta360 X3 on your chest (FPV). The Ace Pro isn’t a 360 camera, so it will not allow you to reframe later on to get subjects that are not directly in front of the camera.
  • Hold a second Insta360 X3 or X4 on an extended selfie stick such that the camera is at eye level to film yourself

Walking (Nighttime)

  • For good image quality, mount the Ace Pro either on your chest or on a selfie stick and use “Pure Video” mode to get good night shots.
  • If you use the Insta360 X3/X4, the image quality will be much worse.

Hotel Room Tour

  • Mount the Ace Pro on a selfie stick and film as FPV or film with the screen flipped up so you can film yourself (selfie)
  • Use “Pure Video” mode because you will be indoors and with unnatural (low) light.
  • I tried using my phone with a gimbal, but I preferred the simplicity and the results of using the Ace Pro.

Here’s a comparison of the picture quality from taking a snapshot of a video taken by both the X3 and the Ace Pro. As you can see, the Ace Pro picture quality is way better. Click on each image to open the original files.

Snapshot from 360-deg video on X3 – View enlarged image
Snapshot from 4K, 30 fps PureVideo using “Action” (wide) setting on Ace Pro – View enlarged image

Here’s another comparison.

X3 – 1080p
Ace Pro – 4K PureVideo

Eating

  • Use X3

Airplane Take-off and Landing

When filming a take-off/landing from a window seat of an airplane, the difficult is keeping the horizon level. Also, with HDR technology, the sky can look overexposed, white, and washed out. If you use a 360 camera, you can adjust the horizon in post, but that’s a hassle. Ideally, use a gimbal, like the one integrated with the DJI Osmo Pocket.

Replace Song Vocals With Any Instrument

There may be times when you want to listen to a popular song, but you just want an instrumental version of it. There are many tools that use AI to remove vocals from a song, but unless you are making a track for karaoke, where you’d provide your own vocals, simply removing the vocals from a song will not result in music you’d care to listen to. For example, if you search YouTube for an instrumental version of a song, you’ll find many where the vocals were simply removed – and with poor quality at that. A better instrumental version of a song is one made by replacing vocals with instrument, e.g. piano, saxophone, etc. Compare the 3 audio clips below.

Audio clip with original vocals

Audio clip with vocals simply removed (somewhat imperfectly)

Audio clip with vocals replaced with Alto Saxophone instrument

Audio clip with vocals replaced with Chill Wave Synth instrument

Here’s how to replace vocals with any instrument.

1. Create a BandLab account

https://bandlab.com

Some features require a subscription.

2. Open the splitter

Click the icon to the right of the BandLab logo, then click on the Splitter link. Or, go to https://www.bandlab.com/splitter.

3. Split a song into tracks

You will have to option to choose how many tracks to split the song into. Since we’re only interested in replacing the vocals, you can choose “4 Tracks”. Then, click the “Split” button.

BandLab will upload the song audio file and take a minute to split the audio.

When it’s done, click “Open in Studio”.

You will see the 4 tracks in the Studio.

4. Convert voice to MIDI

Right-click on the “Vocals” track and click “Audio to MIDI” > “Voice to MIDI”.

5. Change the MIDI track to one of 370+ instruments

You’ll see a new track below the “Vocals” track called “Audio-to-MIDI”.

On the “Vocals” track, click the “M” button to mute that track. The track’s soundwave will gray out.

6. Choose an instrument

  1. Click on the “Audio-to-MIDI” track.
  2. Click “Studio Grand” (the default instrument” to open the “Browse Instruments” dialog. Click on the play button to the left of an instrument to preview the sound. Search for an instrument by typing the instrument’s name in the search field. I will type “sax” and then click the “Alto Saxophone” instrument.

7. Preview the instrumentalized song

  1. On the “Audio-to-MIDI” track, move the vertical playbar to the beginning of some signals in the track.
  2. Click the Play button to preview the song.
  3. Experiment with different instruments.

Optionally, lower the volume of the “Audio-to-MIDI” track if that produces a better result.

8. Tweak MIDI notes

Some of the MIDI notes probably won’t sound right. You’ll need to tweak them.

  1. Click the “Audio-to-MIDI” track.
  2. Click the “MIDI Editor” button at the bottom left.
  3. Click on a MIDI note (a single blue bar to the right of the vertical piano keys) to hear the note.
  4. Left-click and drag the MIDI note up or down to change the sound.

9. Export audio

When you’re satisfied with the preview, download the audio by clicking Project > Download > Mixdown As”

Choose one of the download options.