* Illustration: Jason Lee * How to ... Do Bar Tricks
You've been buying your own booze at the local bar like a sucker ever since you turned 21. But with a stiff shot of science, you can hustle the tipsy into picking up your tab. Try this pub magic to score yourself some free rounds. — William Snyder
The Cork Stand
The challenge: Drop a wine cork so it lands upright. The barfly's secret: Hold the cork horizontally and drop it from a height 1.5 times its length. Almost every time (don't bet the house on this), one end of the cork will strike the table first. Its rotational momentum will be just great enough to make it pivot 90 degrees on the hop and stick the landing like an Olympic gymnast.
Beer Money
Bottle openers are first-class levers, but all you really need to crack a beer is a dollar bill. Fold the buck in half and roll it tightly like a cigarette. Then fold it in half again to create a sharp corner. Hold the open end between your thumb and index finger. Grip the bottle's neck with your other hand to act as a fulcrum. Stick the corner under the lip of the cap and pop. You'll need substantial finger strength, but the payoff is free beer. And you can leave your lever as a tip.
Playing With Fire
Whiskey and flames make this the Snake River Canyon of bar stunts. First, bet your buddies you can pick up a shot glass with the flat palm of your hand, no cupping. Then fill said glass about halfway with 100-proof well whiskey (80 proof won't do) and set it ablaze. Press your palm firmly over the mouth of the glass: The flame dies instantly and the resulting vacuum seals the glass to your hand. Lift. Celebrate your feat with a (now free) single malt.
Illustration: Jason Lee... Avoid Paying Late Fees
So you rented No Country for Old Men, were confused by the ending, and borrowed the novel from the library hoping to find answers. Now you're no more enlightened and facing late fees from two places. Well, unlike No Country's Llewelyn, you have a way out. First, smuggle the contraband back into the place you got it and, when no one's looking, return the offending item to the shelf. When the next person checks it out, the computer will see that it hasn't been officially returned. Most systems automatically attribute this to employee error (someone forgot to scan it back in) and erase your late fee. It's your only hope of getting away clean. Well, aside from ponying up the whopping five bucks you owe. — James Lee
Illustration: Jason Lee... Build a Gaming PC
Pricey prebuilt behemoths rule the PC gaming world, but with ever-falling component costs (and color-coded cables), why not build your own fraginator? If your desktop shipped this century, chances are the case, drives, and peripherals are still up to snuff. You can get every-thing else at wholesale prices from online retailers like Mwave, Newegg, or ZipZoomfly. Here's what you need to create a Crysis-capable powerhouse for less than a grand. — Sean Hollister
Gigabyte GA-EP35C-DS3R motherboard ($155)
With support for the latest memory and processors, it's as future-proof as they come. Ground yourself before attaching components.
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 CPU ($230)
Nobody does parallel processors better than Intel (for now). After you socket the CPU and affix the heat sink, don't forget to plug in the fan.
Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX DDR2 memory sticks ($92)
Special heat sinks keep these sticks from flash-frying.
EVGA e-GeForce 8800GT 512MB ($240)
Per dollar, one of the fastest videocards ever made. Accept no substitutes.
Ultra X2 550W PSU ($85)
This power supply's modular cables let you feed only what you need (like that smokin' graphics card).
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