The easiest and fastest way to make your own soda is to create a thick flavoring and add a small amount to already-carbonated soda water. If you want to start from scratch, skip to the next method and brew your own. Making syrup saves you the trouble of messing with yeast, and works in much the same way an old-fashioned soda jerk used to work, or a modern soda machine. In a saucepan, mix the following ingredients: 1 cup granulated sugar about 1/2 cup water 1/2 cup fresh fruit juice, or two tablespoons of flavor extract Whisk vigorously to keep the sugar moving, staying careful to avoid burning it. It should melt thoroughly and form a thick syrup. Bring the syrup to a boil. Turn down the heat and let simmer until half of mixture is left. It'll look pretty thick and sweet, which is good. It should be very sweet and concentrated, perfect for cutting in cold soda water. Let the syrup cool and store it in an easy-access container in the refrigerator. It should be good for a few weeks, or more. If you've got a sports water bottle, that would be perfect for storing. You can portion out a squirt or two of the syrup per glass of soda you want to make, and keep it nicely slotted in the fridge door. Fill a glass with soda water and add a small squirt of the soda syrup to it, mixing it thoroughly with a spoon until it becomes integrated. Give it a taste and add more if necessary, or dilute it further with more soda water. Serve chilled and enjoy. If you've got access to a carbonator, you can even bubble up your own soda water to streamline the process and make everything yourself. While a carbonator can cost a pretty penny, you'll be able to start making your own soda water for free. If you drink lots of it, it'll pay for itself in no time.

Summary: Start by making a thick soda-syrup base. Bring the mixture to a boil in a heavy saucepan. Reduce the syrup by half. Store in squeeze bottle and refrigerate. Serve by mixing with ice and seltzer water.

After mixing up a batch of perfect purple, gradually add more red to create a lighter, warmer shade of purple. Be careful to mix together the paint completely so there aren't any patches of pure red or pure blue leftover. Try adding a small amount of white paint to this mix if you want to soften your purple even more. If you don't have the true blue and true red that are needed to make a basic shade of purple at home, you can use pre-mixed purple and white paint to make an array of purple shades. Put some purple paint on your palette, and gradually add in small amounts of white paint to get lighter shades. Don't be afraid to play around with your other paints, too! Although yellow will turn purple paint brown, you may have some other colors you'd like to try mixing in. It won't hurt anything, and you'll learn something in the process.

Summary: Create a warmer shade of purple by adding more red to the mix. Alter a pre-mixed purple with white to create various shades of purple.

You can create a program that opens another program on your computer using a batch (BAT) script. Type cmd.exe into Notepad. . Make sure that you use the .bat extension when saving. Doing so will open a new Command Prompt window.

Summary: Open Notepad. Enter the Command Prompt file's name. Save your program Double-click your BAT file.

This way, you'll see more stars, and you won't get wet from rain, or overly-hot due to humidity. A breeze can mean less pollution near a city, but strong wind can be chilly, so bring extra blankets and sweaters if it seems windy. Summer nights (during June, July, and August) can offer great stargazing conditions. You'll also be more comfortable than you would be in the winter, and can pack a bit lighter. You are most likely to see meteor showers in the summertime. The "Perseids" meteor shower is awe-inspiring, and visible from nearly everywhere in the Northern Hemisphere. It occurs every August. Some constellations that can be seen year-round (meaning they are "circumpolar") are: Cassiopeia, Ursa Major, and Cepheus. Try to avoid major cities and densely populated areas. Stargazing will be difficult in these areas because of the light pollution and noise they produce. For a relaxed stargazing experience, you'll want to find some peace and quiet, likely in a more rural area. If you are able to find a sparsely populated, rural area to stargaze in, chances are good that some wildlife will be around. Deer, bears, coyotes, raccoons, and possums are common camp-crashers. Research what animals are found in your area, and keep a sharp eye out while you are outside at night. Wherever you decide to stargaze, always bring bug spray. You certainly won't be comfortable if you're swatting at mosquitos all night! You can bring a bright floodlight or something to make loud noises with, to deter animals that may come near while you are stargazing.
Summary: Stargaze on a dry, clear night. Stargaze in the summertime. Get out of the city for the most relaxation. Watch out for wildlife.