The Red Cross’s National Youth Contest is holding a t-shirt design contest where the winner gets their design featured on 600,000 t-shirts distributed at Red Cross blood drives across the country; a $1,000 cash prize and the benefit of media exposure.

Greetings from the National Youth Council. We represent one-third of American Red Cross volunteers. We bring our creativity and passion to the lifesaving work of the Red Cross.

This year, the National Youth Council is launching a contest to create a modern t-shirt design just for young blood donors. While supplies last, all presenting donors on a high school or college campus in the United States will receive this snazzy shirt as a thank you gift.

Participate. Design a tee that represents the significance of blood donation, the gift of life. Create something edgy that high school and college students will want to wear. Need some inspiration? Visit www.givelife.org to learn more about blood donors and recipients of blood products.

If your design is chosen, it will be screened onto 600,000 shirts and distributed nationwide. Your design will be worn by hundreds of thousands of young people all over the United States.

All details can be found here.

What a clever idea - use an old walkman to camouflage and protect your ipod.

Halloween has come early this year (or just in time for Purim). This how-to tip on Curbly is obviously inspired by the Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead movies - make your own chainsaw arm.

From Nature.org (via digg):

In fact, if you leave your computer on 24 hours a day, it could be responsible for releasing up to 1,500 pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere every year. The flying-toaster screen saver is cool…but is it that cool?

But if you have to leave your computer on, here’s a way you can make up for it: By joining a distributed computing network that models the effects of climate change.

Distributed computing networks harness the unused power of thousands of personal computers to perform complicated tasks.

For instance, climateprediction.net is a distributed network run by Oxford University and other partners that helps climate scientists run climate models on networked computers when those computers are on, but are not running at full capacity.

Wow - leaving a computer on to such a degree really does leave a heavy carbon foot-print for something that would just be sitting there otherwise. I say turn it off, but, yeah, if you do leave it on why have your CPU work away on something useful.

Funky DIY tip over on Curbly. Follow these instructions to transform a cereal box into a snazzy gift box.

Have an urge to hide? Follow this link to peruse a list of top hiding places.

With yesterday being Mother’s Day, why not connect the dots from that too childhood too Sesame Street. Thus, here is the clip of the Count’s first appearance on Sesame Street. In this scene, he meets Cookie Monster as well.

NPR (National Public Radio - the closest thing the U.S. has to a public radio broadcaster) has an amazing concert series available for download on their website. The line up is just dripping with amazing artists. Recent concerts include Peter Bjorn and John, the Arcade Fire, Iggy Pop and the Stooges, Ray Lamontagne (a big favourite of mine), Ted Leo and the Pharmacists and Cat Power. I cannot think of a better way to spend a day.

Check out this tip on how to make your own coasters out of records. As cool as this looks, I have to wonder whether destroying a great LP is really a wise thing to do to have a nice coaster. The only alternative would be to take a crap record and tear that up, but then your coaster features a crap record. Seems like a catch-22 to me.

Are you new to yoga, or thinking about getting into it? If so, here are some useful tips and starting guides:

- Tips for Yoga Beginners from Prevention Magazine;
- Some tips on taking your first yoga class and how to prepare;
- Some background on the different types of yoga and yoga gurus;
- More about yoga styles and what equipment/props are used in yoga.

Hello to all the beautiful people out there. Mmmmm, so today is that day - Valentine’s Day. Oh yes. As a way to get the day going, why not take the time to enjoy this live, that’s right live, version of Marvin Gaye singing ‘Let’s Get it On’.

Need something else to do today? Why not brush up on your kama sutra, send an e-card, or learn about the psychology of attraction and love.

This is a fantastic how to guide on making your own invisible/floating bookshelf out of books.

The classic educational toy Speak ‘N’ Spell is now online via this emulator. Let hours of jittery computer voiced fun return.

via found on the web

Woody Allen made this video short for the opening scene of the 2001 ‘Concert For New York’, which took place shortly after 9/11. It is a humorous and brilliant love letter to NYC. You have to watch it. It will make you laugh and put a smile on your face.

It is being able to find videos like these and view them that makes me love youtube.

Changing your car’s air filter is something that should be done in regular intervals. Why? Because a clogged or dirty, air filter can cause your vehicle to run rough, idle rough and reduce gas mileage. Plus it is something that you can do yourself.

What do you have to do? First, go to an autoparts store and buy a new filter that fits your car’s size (check the manual). Then try to follow the instructions from any of these documents:

- Edmunds.com’s how to guide (about mid-way through the page - there is also a video)

- Ehow.com’s guide

- About.com’s auto repair guide

Good luck!

Check out what is happening over at GQ.com:

Each month, from now until June, we’ll ask you to vote for your favorite GQ covers across a range of categories—all leading up to the big vote for your favorite GQ cover of all time. It’s all part of our 50th anniversary celebration.

Best of all, there is a contest for a ski vacation in the Alps.

Bang & Olufson’s website has a virtual factory tour that is an informative multi-media experience that is a perfect time spender/waster.

via grow-a-brain

Pop over to this page on Curbly to find instructions on how to fold a paper rose. As a bonus there is a how-to-video. Perfect for Valentine’s day.

The team behind the book D.I.Y.: Design It Yourself has a downloads page that includes a variety of materials to be printed out and posted/pasted on things. For example, they have a file for printing out vegetable and meat stickers or a stylish business card template.

D.I.Y.: Design It Yourself (Design Handbooks) is a design idea book that is meant to inspire the beginner to design their own logos, invitations, blogs, t-shirts and dozens of other items. The book is compiled by Ellen Lupton and written by and designed by a team of graduate students from the Maryland Institute College of Art.