Practice the piece without any regard to time at first. Once you know the notes and chords and have a good grasp on the order they are played, then you can begin to focus on performing the piece at the appropriate rhythm. Slow practice will make for fast playing.  Set your metronome to 60 or 80 BPM to begin with. Listen to the metronome for a few moments before you begin playing. You may want to tap your feet or watch the metronome to help you keep the time with your internal clock. Music is never equally difficult throughout the entire piece. Some spots will give you more trouble than others. Use the metronome at a slow speed and take it one note at a time until your hands become more familiar with required movements. You can also try adding in the notes one at a time to work out a trouble spot. Begin with just the first note of the piece. Play the note again, then add the second note. Stop. Start again with the first 2 notes and add the third note, and so on. Continue until you reach the end of the piece. Once you feel comfortable and confident playing the piece slowly, increase the tempo. Small increases are the best. Stick to about 5 BPM above the previous setting. Go through the piece until you are comfortable with performing at the higher speed. Then, increase the speed again. Keep raising the tempo slowly until you can perform the song at full speed. Make sure to play consistently with the metronome rather than faster or slower or you may learn to play certain parts of the piece at the wrong pace. Once you feel you have mastered a piece of music, you can try practicing the piece along with the metronome. You may not areas where your performance was not as even as you believed it to be. Work on those areas some more to become a better musician.

Summary: Familiarize yourself with the notes of the music before using your metronome. Start out slow. Focus on problem areas. Speed it up. Test yourself.


As you're heating up the grill, cover the grate loosely with aluminum foil. The intense heat will cause any debris to break down and dissolve, starting the cleaning process for you. This also minimizes sticking. At its highest heat, this should only take about 10-15 minutes.  "Blasting the heat" is another way of saying very, very hot. We're talking around 550°F (288°C) here. So, obviously, cover your grill while this process is going on. The heat will sear the fish initially, sealing it. If you throw it on a warm grill, it'll stick. If you're using a charcoal grill, those babies need to be gray, not black. If you used aluminum foil for the previous step, remove it now. Using a stiff-wired grill brush, scrape the grate clean. Fold a couple of sheets of paper towels into a small square or pad. Grasping the paper towels with tongs, dip the paper towels in oil (vegetable or olive) and rub over the bars of the grate. Continue to wipe the grate with the oiled paper towels until the grate is somewhat glossy. Plan on doing this about 5 times. It's a good idea to re-dip the paper towels in oil for each application.

Summary: Turn on your grill and blast the heat. Clean the grill grate.


This is important not just for training, but for his/her physical and mental health. Depending on what breed of dog you have, he may need a lot of exercise to keep him/her happy and in shape. Most dogs will pull on the leash when they're learning to take walks. When s/he starts pulling, stop immediately. Don't take another step until the dog comes to your side and focuses his/her attention on you. An even more effective method is to walk in the opposite direction and encourage your dog to come with you. Once s/he's caught up, praise and treat him/her. Your dog's natural impulse is to chart his/her own course and investigate his environment. You need to make walking by your side more appealing that that. Use an enthusiastic voice when changing directions, and lavish him with praise when he comes back to your side. Once the dog walks consistently at your side, you can give the behavior a name, like “heel" or “let’s go.”

Summary: Take your dog on regular walks with a leash. Discourage pulling. Change directions. Make it fun to be by your side. Pair the behavior with a verbal command.


Use the remote or close the door manually. This will allow you to access the tracks and the rest of the moving parts on your door. Before lubricating your door, you'll want to make sure that it's not on. Disconnect your garage door from the power source after you close it. If the plug to your garage door opener is hard to reach or hard-wired, turn off the breaker that controls it in your circuit box. The tracks are what the garage door rollers ride on to open and close. You don't want to lubricate these, but you do want to make sure that they are completely cleaned out for your door to operate correctly. Wipe down the inside of both tracks and remove any dirt and debris.  Make sure that there is no debris left in your tracks that the rollers can get stuck on. Use an automotive brake cleaner to loosen and wash away grime. If you are having issues getting debris out of the tracks, you can use a vacuum with a hose extension to suck out the dirt and debris. This is a great solution to reach the higher portion of the tracks that you may be having issues reaching.
Summary: Close the garage door. Cut power to the door. Clean out the tracks with a damp rag. Vacuum out dirt and dust from your tracks.