Payton Place

Programmer Michael T. Bee offers up a small, desktop-friendly JavaScript file that starts Google’s Chrome browser in Incognito Mode for those privacy-please browsing sessions. Actually, the script, which you can paste into Notepad or another editor and save as a .js file, starts Chrome, opens a no-cookie, no-tracks-left Incognito window, then kills the first window. If your system can’t launch Chrome by running chrome.exe in Windows’ “Run” dialog, you might have to tweak the sixth line of the script a bit. Otherwise, it’s a handy trick for, as the Hacks Blog puts it, “birthday shopping.”

Wired’s How-To Wiki runs down how to optimize your web connection using tools like OpenDNS, a regular old router, and add-ons that block bandwidth-hogging content you don’t care about. If you’re stuck on dial-up or a cellphone data modem, see also our guide on how to survive a slow internet connection.

The one DIY skill most of you don’t have (according to last weekend’s poll) is the ability to tie a bowline (knot, that is). Unless you’re a sailor or a Girl or Boy Scout, you’ve probably never heard of a bowline (pronounced “boh-lin”). But this super-useful knot creates a loop that’s strong enough to put around someone’s waist and pull them out of the water, or hold down heavy objects, and it’s very easily undone. Hit the play button above to learn how to tie a bowline using an easy-to-remember bunny metaphor. Just recently I hung a hammock using a bowline. Any knot nerds out there put the bowline to good use in regular everyday life? Any other knots you know and love? ‘Fess up in the comments.