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Go Bold for a Better Chance of Achieving Your Resolutions [Resolutions]

It's a new year, and lot of us are doing our best to put together achievable goals and resolutions. Programmer and productivity blogger Jonathan Tran reminds us that often bold change is a better recipe for success than small habit adjustments.

When you try to change a little, your old mindset still has its old values and attachments, and you inevitably slide back into your old groove. But when you change enough to create a new mindset, you can free yourself from your old way of looking at things and create a new groove.

Tran's advice makes a certain amount of sense taken abstractly, but it hits home when he discusses how it applied to goals of his own that he consistently found himself failing at. For example:

For years I tried to wake up about 30 minutes earlier than my regular routine. It would work for a while, but then I'd inevitably start waking up later and later until I reached my regular schedule. However, when I got a new job that required me to wake up 2 hours earlier, sure it was tough at first, like adjusting to jet lag, but it became my new routine. And I've had no problems consistently waking up 2 hours earlier than my old routine.

Head over to the full post for more specifics and examples about how going bold helped the author achieve goals he'd struggled with in the past, then let's hear what you think about the idea. Do you aim for bold or small changes when you set goals? Let's hear it in the comments.

Linky Opens Multiple Links in Google Chrome [Downloads]

Chrome: If your conversion to Chrome has left you longing for Firefox extensions like previously reviewed Multi Links and Snap Links, Linky can help fill your link-opening-needs.

Linky allows you to highlight a swath of links and then open them all by clicking on the Linky button on the Chrome toolbar—as seen in the screenshot above.

It doesn't quite have the finesse that the Firefox extensions have (both Multi Links and Snap Links support a right-click-lasso tool) but it beats hand selecting each link. Check out the video below to see it in action:

Have a favorite Chrome tip, trick, or extension? Let's hear about it in the comments.

Find Actual Uses for Your Very Hot Sauces [Clever Uses]

People love to give hot sauces as gifts because they're unique and fun. But, assuming you don't eat chili daily, what can one actually do with the red stuff? Serious Eats has quite a few suggestions, food-related and otherwise.

Photo by moonrat24.

You can add a milder, more flavor-focused sauce (Tabasco, Frank's Red Hot, Sriracha) to just about any food, but the hotter stuff is often harder to find legitimate, non-wager-related uses for. Chile Pepper magazine editor Andrea Lynn tosses in a few general uses for your extra bottles of Jim's Exploding Devastation Whatever, among great recipe ideas:

• Put a few drops into birdseed to keep out squirrels.
• Train your dog against eating from the table (mild heat, of course).
• Pat on nails to kick a nail biting habit.
• Combine a few drops with simple syrup, then toss with a fruit salad.

What have you used your hot pepper sauces for that turned out surprisingly edible or useful? Contribute your concoctions to the comments.

Ubuntu 10.04 to Include Beginner's Manual [Ubuntu]

The Ubuntu Forums are helpful, if slightly chaotic. The wikis are better organized, but inconsistent and occasionally outdated. Now a team of users and contributors to the free Linux distribution have organized to create a beginner's manual for Ubuntu, to be included by default with the next release (Lucid Lynx) in April. The manual aims to include "comprehensive guides, how-tos and information on anything you need to know after first installing Ubuntu," and is, as you might imagine, being written in wiki form, so anyone can contribute. What newcomer topics and how-tos would you like to see covered in an Ubuntu manual? [via Kabatology]

Use a Hotel-Style Curtain Setup for Better Sleep [Sleep]

Some bedrooms catch a lot of sleep-disturbing light at night, but many sleepers like to wake up with a bit of natural light. Meet the morning halfway with a hotel-style setup of curtains over sheers, as suggested by Apartment Therapy.

The home and design blog isn't talking about the magnetic-latched, absolute blackout curtains you'll find at some motels with too much light. Instead, find a pair of heavy drapes that match your decor, and run them over some gauzy, privacy-providing sheers you can pick up fairly cheap at your local general merchandise store. As Apartment Therapy suggests, this setup blocks the majority of street lights, passing headlights, and other sleep-disturbing lights at night, but gradually lets in an adjustable amount of light each morning to help you wake up.

You could also combine this treatment with another measure, like the DIY window frosting Jason showed us. If you've found the beautiful mid-point between sound sleep and natural light mornings, tell us your own solution in the comments.