Article: Have you ever had the experience of cracked, uneven ice cubes when you try to remove them? That usually happens when room temperature water gets poured over already-frozen cubes. If you want all your ice to be even and consistent, only fill the tray when it's completely empty. Rinse the tray out beforehand, to remove freezer sediment and little chunks. This also helps to warm up the tray slightly, resulting in more even cubes. Cubes will be easier to get out later if you do this. If you you need to, empty the ice cubes into a Ziplock freezer bag, or store them in a bowl in the freezer. Easy fix. When the water freezes, it expands. This is why the ice in your drink floats, even in a glass of water. When you make ice, try to account for the fact that the cubes will get a little bigger as they freeze, and don't overfill. Pro tip: If you want perfectly clear ice, instead of cloudy, boil the water first. When it cools, freeze it normally. The more times you boil, the more clear the ice when it freezes. For the best ice cubes, place your ice cube tray flat and even. Clear out any freezer bags or other items that might be in the freezer, and set the trays on a flat surface. Don't stack ice cube trays on top of one another, if you can help it. Sometimes, you'll get weird cubes, or spill the water on the bottom of the freezer. Freezers are usually set at 32 degrees F (0 C) or below. In most freezers, water should freeze in about one to three hours, depending on the size of the cubes and the temperature of the freezer. After your cubes are frozen, turn the tray to make sure they're not liquid on the inside. To pop them out, you can usually just pry one up and out, or twist the tray very slightly to loosen them from the sides, then pull them out. Sometimes, it takes some work to get the cubes loose from the sides of the tray. Don't start banging it around, though, or you'll crack the tray. Instead, run a bit of warm water in the tap and wet a cloth. Sit the ice cube tray on the cloth to melt the underside slightly. They'll pop right out. Ice cube trays come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and features. You can get an ice cube tray with a cover, to prevent freezer burn and crystals from forming on the top. You can get big cocktail ice trays and individual ice cube trays shaped like the Death Star from Star Wars. Get creative! If you don't want to buy a tray, don't. Look around your kitchen from strangely-shaped objects you could fill with water. That lobster-shaped pan? Make a big lobster cube. Make a coffee-cup-shaped ice cube. Why not?
Question: What is a summary of what this article is about?
Remove any remaining ice in the tray before refilling it. Fill the tray up just below the rim. Place flat in the freezer. Twist the tray gently to pop the cubes out. Consider upgrading your ice tray.
Article: You won't be able to flirt effectively if you think your appearance is holding you back. Flirting is about confidence, and your physical grooming or the lack thereof says a lot about how confident you are. You don't need to look like you're going to the White House to meet the president, but you want to look elegant and clean. Make sure what you're wearing fits you, is not a fashion statement from the 70s or 80s, unless you intended it to be, and is something you're comfortable in. Shower or otherwise clean yourself regularly. Wear deodorant, brush your teeth, wash your face, cut your nails, etc. Don't forget to use mouthwash right before you see/talk to your crush. Wear your hair in a style that makes you feel pretty/handsome and compliments your facial structure. Don't be afraid to do something fancy with your hair if you're a girl. If you're a guy, take it easy on the cologne. Guys are notoriously heavy-handed with cologne. They sometimes spray on enough cologne to injure small animals. Seriously, though a little cologne goes a long way. Flirting comes naturally if you're confident. You visualize success instead of fearing failure. You go after your goals because you believe in yourself. If flirting were a sport, confidence-building would be the training your coach would put you through in order to succeed. Surround yourself with other people before you flirt. Be around members of the opposite gender right before you flirt. It will get you accustomed to feeling comfortable around them. It will also get you in the mood to be social, helping you gradually build up to that knock-out confidence you'll want to flirt. Find a way to pump yourself up right before you flirt. Do something you do really well right before you flirt: it will make you more confident, and it will give you a little bit of an ego boost. This could be playing sports, practicing an instrument, or acing a test. Flirting can seem hard to some because the stakes are so high: if the person doesn't flirt back with you, or give signs that they like you, you feel inadequate as a person. Don't let that feeling overcome you. Your worth as a person is much more than whether you can flirt. Shrug off mistakes. Everyone messes up a line when they're nervous around someone they like. It literally happens to everyone. The flirting pros just shrug off these mistakes and don't let it dent their confidence. Don't let it dent yours. Ask yourself: what's the worst that could happen? If you're feeling really nervous, try to ask yourself this question. It helps put things in perspective. Flirting is nerve-racking, but it's actually not a huge deal. If the person you're flirting with doesn't flirt back, it's not the end of the world. If you have love to give, someone will love you back eventually. Don't make one person the all-or-nothing. The key to flirting is flirt with more than one person. You have your crush, and that's fine, but you can practice around other people. The truth is that you're going to get rejected some of the time that's just the way life is. If you hang around a couple people you're interested in, rejection from one person won't be as crushing.
Question: What is a summary of what this article is about?
Be aware of your appearance. Find a way to feel confident. Don't worry about failure.
Article: Once you've removed the shrimp's tail, head, and shell, you need to clean the shrimp to make it presentable for eating. To clean the shrimp, put the shrimp down on a cutting board. Take a paring knife, and run the knife's blade along the back of the shrimp, in the middle of the shrimp's back. Cut more deeply if you want to butterfly the shrimp. You do this by pulling the small gray vein out of the shrimp. You can use the tip of the knife to do this. Make sure you don't cut too deeply into the shrimp's back. The vein is the shrimp's digestive tract. It looks like a string. Run the shrimp under cold water when you are done peeling and deveining it. Once you've peeled and deveined the shrimp, it's time to cook and eat them! There are many recipes for cooking shrimp. Or you could eat it raw with cocktail sauce. Try turning the shells, tails, and heads into stock. To do this, wash them off and then put them in a saucepan with cold water. You will want enough to cover them. Add peppercorns, a bay leaf or fresh parsley. Simmer uncovered about 15 minutes. Strain the shells out. Add the stock to a shrimp recipe to increase its flavor. Remember that it doesn't take shrimp very long to cook. In fact, shrimp can cook in as little as three minutes. You will know they are done when they appear pink.
Question: What is a summary of what this article is about?
Cut the shrimp down its back. Devein the shrimp. Cook the shrimp.