Helping to ferry that enthusiasm along is Mike Senese. Hes also obsessed with making the perfect pizza. We caught up with Mike to learn a little about how he works. ):Mac laptop. Ive been using a 13 MacBook Pro for the past few months, running 10.10.2 (Yosemite). What apps, software, tools cant you live without? I live with a second screen set toChartbeat, our websites live-traffic dashboard. Our siteMakezine.comis on Wordpress; the magazine is made with the standard Adobe Creative Cloud programs....

Form and function have to combine to work well together, but they both need to be present. Without it wed still be drowning in nested menus and layered toolbars, which many applications still cling to. In the same vein, theres a pervasive belief that form doesnt matter as much as function. Well, its about more than guts. Youd likely consider the same things when buying a smartphone, or a pair of headphones....

A carefully placed carabiner fixes that. Just plug the extension cords together, hook both cords inside the carabiner, and pull. The carabiner will only slide so far down the cords and keep them unplugging. 7 Carabiner Life Hacks| YouTube

As the weather heats up, its time to think twice before taking your dog for a walk. A scorching hot pavement can be uncomfortable for their paws (or worse, it could burn them). Use the five-second rule to see to it its safe to walk your dog. This tip comes via Moon Valley Canine Training, and its pretty simple. Whenever you take your dog out, place the back of your hand on the pavement....

Chocolate chip ice cream should be easy to DIY. What could possibly be difficult about throwing some chocolate chips into a pint of vanilla? Nothing really, except it might not yield the result youre looking for. The best way to get bits of chocolate in your ice cream? Make like the Italians and drizzle some in some stracciatella during the last few minutes of churning. This lowers the melting point of the chocolate, resulting in velvety chips that melt in your mouth....

Youll get the texture youre looking for, and it speeds up the process. Next, use a knife to chop all the ingredients together instead of using a fork to mash them. This leaves you with well mixed, yet still super chunky guacamole. This method only really works if youravocados are nice and ripe, so keep that in mind. If youre a fan of chunky guacamole, this method can make mashing your ingredients even easier....

Facebook has been quietly rolling out a feature that allows you to send money to your friends via Messenger. By default, however, theres no password or PIN protection at all for your payments. Heres how to enable it. Thats neat if you want to share payments. However, Facebook requires no authentication of any kind by default for sending money. Under Preferences, change the Password setting from Off to On.

A simple thing like fresh cut flowers can brighten your mood when at home or work. Prolong their cheery effect by removing any leaves that fall below the water line in your planter or vase. Cut-Flower Care| University of Illinois Extension Image fromProFlowers.

There are better times of the day to do each of these different types of runs. Runners World explains a few reasons why go for a long run is best in the morning. Check out the article below for more tips on scheduling your running sessions. How to Time Workouts for Best Performance| Runners World Photo byFort Wainwright Public Affairs Office.

These are hard truths to internalize, when most freelancers dont want to lose or get rejected by clients. Head to his article for that minimum possible rate calculation. Youre probably not charging enough. How to talk yourself into charging more| Andy Adams Photo byTax Credits.

Managing your finances can be a chore. However, if you do it right, you shouldnt need to spend all your time on it. In fact, once youve figured out your budget and systems, you could evenset your finances on autopilot. Certainly spending time figuring out a budget and changing your habits would be just as time-consuming, right? Actually, not really. Once you start this simple form of self-care, youll be amazed at the changes youll see....

They compared the costs of DIYing these projects to show how much more your ROI would be. The other projects include a deck addition, bathroom facelift, garage door replacement, and window replacement. DIYing also trades your time and effort for money andsometimes its best to leave projects to the pros. Check out the post below for more DIY versus hire ROI comparisons. Best Money-Saving DIY Projects (and Tips for Doing Them Right)| HouseLogic...

The custom workspace and stairs combo was created by Bates Masi Architects and featured on Contemporist. ensure any photos you include are at least 640x360. Keeping them to 16:9 helps, too! If your clever organization and good design sense catches our eye, you might be the next featured workspace. Design Detail - A Stair/Desk Combination| Contemporist viaMinimal Desks