Posts Tagged "howto"

Fetish of the Day: How Does I Self-Bondage?

Seems puzzled but the instructions look fairly straightforward to me.

The MelDiva Milky Way

Milky Way
Servings: A bunch
Time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Chocolate Syrup
• 3/4 Cup Caramel Syrup
• 1 Gallon Milk

Directions:

1. Mix together.
2. Serve hot or cold.

Thanks for the picture Heather!

How to Play NDS ROMs and Homebrews on Your DS

When I got a DS for Christmas, the first thing I wanted to do was find out how to play pirated games on it. Unfortunately, the numerous devices available make the whole thing complicated. Even worse, old tutorials mingle with new and it becomes a puzzle to figure out exactly what you need. Here’s everything you need to know!

(Some may call this “hacking your DS,” a term which I have now just included for search engines, but buying a special cart for your DS doesn’t count as hacking in my book. Hacks could come later, though.)

Hardware:
• Nintendo DS
• Slot-1 Flash Cart
• MicroSD Card
• EZ-Flash 3-in-1 (Optional)

The Flash Cart:
A Slot-1 flash cart is a cartridge that goes into Slot-1 (the NDS cartridge slot) of your DS. It is loaded like a normal NDS cart and contains firmware which will allow you to play ROMs (game files) and homebrew applications. These ROMs are stored on a microSD card which fits into a slot on the flash cart.
Other methods of loading ROMs exist but this is currently the easiest, most prevalent, and most compatible. Wikipedia has a good overview of older methods if you are interested.

Which Flash Cart to Buy?:
If you want to explore your options GBAtemp has reviews of the many available flash carts. Good flash carts should be “100% compatible” with games and have “DLDI auto-patching” (meaning every ROM doesn’t need to be specially patched for your cart).
I went with the CycloDS Evolution for it’s good reviews, frequent history of firmware updates, compatibility with online play, and some of it’s extra features (such as its in-game text reader). Also, it comes in a shiny tin.
It is likely your flash cart will not come with instructions. Look for them on the maker’s website or search for them with Google. You’ll want to know how to check and update your firmware, as your flash cart will probably not arrive with the latest version installed.

Where to Buy Flash Carts:
GBAtemp has a list of reliable flash cart dealers and many cart makers’ websites list dealer’s they have authorized. I bought my flash cart from Dealwoot.com: shipping was free, took about one week to arrive and came with a free Pokemon charm. I highly recommend them.

The MicroSD Card:
The microSD card is what you will be putting the game and other media files on. It is recommended you buy a card from a well known brand such as Kingston or SanDisk as many people report lagging and crashing when running files from poorly made. To avoid speed problems it is also recommended that the microSD card is Class 4 or faster. GBAtemp’s wiki lists speed tests on many cards.
Not all cards support the microSDHC format cards, the cards that come in capacities higher than 2 GB. Check before you buy.
You will also need an adapter to connect the microSD to your computer, so you can transfer games to it. Most flash carts come with one.

The Ez-Flash 3-in-1:
This is Slot-2 (the GBA slot) cart. It is not necessary for playing NDS ROMs and homebrews, but will add functionality to your flash cart. Running GBA ExpLoader on your flash cart, you can run Game Boy Advanced ROMs on the cart’s temporary memory, or make the cart act like a genuine GBA cartridge – which can be loaded from the DS main screen (this will also let you transfer Pokemon from Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald to Diamond/Pearl/Platinum). Using the 3-in-1, or one of the few other Slot-2 carts that support GBA, is the only way to play GBA ROMs on the DS.
The 3-in-1 also has a Rumble Pak (you will need to see if your flash cart supports the 3-in-1 to use this feature for NDS games), and can serve as the Memory Pak necessary to run the Opera DS Browser (requires a patch, however the CycloDS patches it automatically).
I’ll talk about the 3-in-1, and some of the things you can use it for, in a later post. More information about the 3-in-1 here, in the GBAtemp Wiki.
Note also: The chipset of the 3-in-1 has recently been changed, resulting in the cart no longer being recognized by many flash carts and homebrew applications. This should be fixed in the next update of the firmware or application. GBA ExpLoader, the homebrew for running GBA ROMs has been updated for the new chipset and should run correctly off of any flash card.

Once you’ve got your hardware, you want some files to play with. A few places to find homebrew applications:

• GBAtemp
• DS-Scene
• DS-Xtra’s DS Homebrew Directory

Once you’ve gathered everything you need it’s very simple: Put files on your microsSD, put the microSD into the flash cart, put the flash cart in the DS, boot the flash cart like a normal NDS cartridge. Browse through the file menu and load the game or app you want to play with. Ta da!

There are lots of things you can now do with your DS. Not only can you play ROMs but there are many interesting homebrew applications. I’ll be listing some of the clever and useful homebrews I’ve been playing around with, soon. Look forward to it!

More info:

• GBAtemp
• Scene-DS
• Poketheaven Wiki

Anything unclear, incorrect, missing, or if you still have a question, please comment.

How to Make a Really Cheap Camera Case

This howto is going to get tagged “simple” and “obvious” and “not really much of a howto but I managed to make something and I want some recognition for it.”
Excuse the poor quality photo’s in this entry, they were taken with my cellphone camera, for obvious reasons.

Observe. Here is the nice camera you spent all your money on:

You don’t want it to get all beat up, but you are broke now, so no money for a camera case. Fuck!

Here is the simple solution: Look in the back of your drawer and find a sock you don’t wear. An unworn sock is ideal. You’ll need to find one small enough that it will wrap around the camera tightly. The one I used had no match and was in a style I find uncomfortable…I doubt is was mine to begin with. (Sorry Sarah, you probably wouldn’t have got it back anyway.)

Cut the sock to fit the camera. See…now the camera is snug and warm.

If you can afford or already own thread and needle, you may be able to further improve your case by adding fancy bells and whistles such as a drawstring, snaps, accessory pockets or embellish your case with decorative stitching.

And here is the bottom of the sock, being used as a DS case. Obviously, this method of cheap scratch protection wont work for things with very delicate screens. So, not the best solution for an iPod.

Coming next from obvious howtos: “How to Make a Cheap Toothbrush Holder From a Cup” and “How to Make a Cheap Bookend with a Full CD Spindle.” Look forward to it!

How to Make a Cupcake in a Mug

Edit to add: Been following the comment explosion on this post. To all the people who see random ideas on the internet, then go off and try it out: I salute you!

This recipe has been floating around the Internet for a while but I had not yet been brave enough to try it. Blog reactions vary from “gross” to “amazing.” Let’s admit it: a single serving cupcake, made quickly and with the minimum of supplies? A cupcake whenever you crave one?! It must be too good to be true! Here is what I discovered…

Procedure:

Ingredients and Tools: Flour, sugar, egg, cocoa powder, milk, oil, mug, and recipe. Also, you’ll need a teaspoon (not shown) for measuring and mixing.

First, mix four tablespoons each of sugar and flour, and two tablespoons cocoa powder in the mug of your choice.

Crack one egg into the mug. (If you are not practiced at this, you may want to crack the egg into a separate dish and then transfer it – but don’t worry, cracking eggs IRL is not as hard as in Cooking Mama.) Mix the egg very well with the dry ingredients.

Almost done! Add three tablespoons of milk and three tablespoons of oil. Mix completely.

Microwave the mug and its contents for approximately three minutes.

This part looks scary. The cupcake is going to rise in a large column out of the mug…oh god…

…only to collapse when you take it out of the microwave.

Results:
At this point I was looking at the unattractive top of my “cupcake” regretting this experiment. It looks awful.

Guess what? It tastes great! I was afraid it would be dry and rubbery, but it wasn’t – it was moist, and delicious too! The consistency was different than an oven-baked cupcake, more dense then I expected, but nonetheless chocolaty and satisfying! I will definitely be making this again.

Conclusion: Huge success!

Microwave Mug Cupcake

Servings: 1
Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 Tablespoons flour
• 4 Tablespoons sugar
• 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 Egg
• 3 Tablespoons milk
• 3 Tablespoons oil

Directions:

1. Mix dry ingredients in mug.
2. Add egg and mix together.
3. Add milk and oil and mix.
4. Microwave mug and contents for three minutes.

Gone are the days when we must plan ahead for our cupcake cravings!