Just Released: 35th Annual LSSU List of Banished Words

Word “czars” at Lake Superior State University “unfriended” 15 words and phrases and declared them “shovel-ready” for inclusion on the university’s 35th annual List of Words Banished from the Queen’s English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness.
Just Released: 35th Annual LSSU List of Banished Words

Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 1/2010 - January 1, 2010

The latest issue of new Family Friendly sites listed on The Black Stump.
Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 1/2010 - January 1, 2010

More Tips about Making and Keeping New Year's Resolutions Than You Could Want

More tips about making and keeping resolutions than you could want.
More Tips about Making and Keeping New Year's Resolutions Than You Could Want

Why do some people mispronounce fungi

Monthly gleanings from OUP.
Why do some people mispronounce fungi

10 Healthy Things to Eat and Drink in the New Year

Here's a roundup of the most healthy (and tasty) foods to start eating (or eat more of) in the new year.
10 Healthy Things to Eat and Drink in the New Year

10 Business Mistakes That Will Nearly Break You… Literally

Starting a business is hard! You know it, I know it, and everyone else in this world knows it. But what you probably don’t realize is that it is really easy to screw up your business. Entrepreneurs have to a tendency to mess things up through stupid mistakes. So save yourself from being one of these foolish entrepreneurs by avoiding the following mistakes.
10 Business Mistakes That Will Nearly Break You… Literally

How to Remove Super Glue from Practically Anything

Super Glue and its off-brand cousins are the next best thing to duct tape when it comes to good-enough repairs, but heaven help you if it spills. Luckily, there's a guide to getting SuperGlue out or off of nearly anything.
How to Remove Super Glue from Practically Anything

How to Clean Gold Jewelry

Although gold doesn't tarnish, it can easily get dirty. To clean your precious rings, bracelets, necklaces and other gold jewelry, just follow the steps below.
How to Clean Gold Jewelry

What Twitter and Facebook's 2009 Trends Tell Us About Ourselves

As the year comes to a close, several social media companies decided to take a look back and reflect on the events, people, technologies that captured our interest this year. Twitter took the first crack when it revealed the most discussed topics of 2009. Facebook was next when it released its Facebook Memology for the year.
What Twitter and Facebook's 2009 Trends Tell Us About Ourselves

5 Big Real-Time Web Trends of 2009

Web technology and social media change radically from month to month, so it’s difficult to make predictions about what The Next Big Thing is, but you can be confident that the real-time web will get bigger and more essential in 2010. It came to a head in 2009, though, and this year’s applications can give you some idea of what to expect after the New Year.
5 Big Real-Time Web Trends of 2009

2009 review: Favourite picture galleries

From carnivorous robots to exploding stars and bizarre medical devices, here are your favourites from the image galleries we posted this year.
2009 review: Favourite picture galleries

Best of the Decade: A Collection of 30 "Top 10" Lists

From publications dealing with gadgets to those that cater to soccer fans, everyone is compiling lists commemorating the first decade of the 21st century. Here are some publications' choices.
Best of the Decade: A Collection of 30 "Top 10" Lists

Tracking Santa with Bing Maps in 2009

MSN and The Today Show (.com) have united forces to create this year’s Santa tracker with the Bing Maps Platform. This year’s effort allows you to follow Santa’s current location as well as where he’s been. Check Santa to see his current position.
Tracking Santa with Bing Maps in 2009

On Santa Claus

Ever wonder where the jolly father of Christmas came from? Well I have! So I turned to Oxford Reference Online which led me to The Oxford Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature. Below is an excerpt about everyone’s favorite man in red. Happy Holidays to all!
On Santa Claus

Top Ten Dinosaur and Fossil Finds

Large, "lost," or simply unusual, a bevy of prehistoric beasts were brought to life in National Geographic News's most popular paleontology stories of the year.
Top Ten Dinosaur and Fossil Finds

Restaurants Use Menu Psychology to Entice Diners

The use of menu engineers and consultants is exploding in the casual dining arena and among national chains, a sector of the business that has been especially pinched by the economy. In response, they are tapping into a growing body of research into the science of menu pricing and writing, hoping the way to a diner’s heart is not only through the stomach, but through the unconscious.
Restaurants Use Menu Psychology to Entice Diners

Now, Dasher! Now, Dancer! Track Santa and his sleigh with NORAD

NORAD's Santa-tracking dates back to 1955, when a Sears and Roebuck magazine ad in Colorado Springs accidentally directed readers to call NORAD instead of the "Talk-to-Santa" hotline they were advertising. Embracing the holiday spirit, the folks at NORAD provided callers with Santa's location according to their radar and have tracked his journey ever since.
Now, Dasher! Now, Dancer! Track Santa and his sleigh with NORAD

Why It's Better To Pretend You Don't Know Anything About Computers

Oh Yeah!
Why It's Better To Pretend You Don't Know Anything About Computers

60 Stunning Satellite Photos of Earth

Looking at nature from different perspectives can create stunning compositions for your photographs. This couldn’t be more true than when we look at our planet from outer space and appreciate the reality of its beauty from such an incredible and rarely seen perspective. The images in this compilation are from the Landsat 7 satellite and were created to introduce the general public to the Landsat Program.
60 Stunning Satellite Photos of Earth

Facebook Unveils Most-Mentioned Topics of 2009

Last week, Twitter revealed its list of the most-discussed topics of 2009, based on Twitter’s trending topics. Now Facebook has come out with their own list, based on data from the millions of daily status updates of its users.
Facebook Unveils Most-Mentioned Topics of 2009

Lifehacker’s Guide To 64-Bit Vs 32-Bit Operating Systems

You’re probably aware that 64-bit and 32-bit versions of your operating system exist, but apart from ascribing to a bigger-is-better philosophy, you may have no idea what separates the two. The question: Should you use a 64-bit version of Windows, and if so, why?
Lifehacker’s Guide To 64-Bit Vs 32-Bit Operating Systems

How To Protest Against Internet Censorship Laws

It’s clear Lifehacker readers think the plan to make Internet censorship mandatory in Australia in 2010 is a deeply stupid idea. While there may be ways of working around the filter, not having the filter would clearly be a better idea. How can you effectively make your views known?
How To Protest Against Internet Censorship Laws

10 iPhone Apps to Avoid Work Disasters

Ten battle-ready apps for your iPhone armory to help keep your work life as organized, streamlined, and efficient as possible. With these at the ready, you’ll be prepared for just about anything.
10 iPhone Apps to Avoid Work Disasters

How to build a successful Internet filter

Sen. Conroy has obviously received rather poor advice. If he follows these instructions, he'll have an unbreakable Internet filter.
How to build a successful Internet filter

Best New Blogs of 2009

Bygone Bureau editors Kevin Nguyen and Nick Martens and fellow bloggers talk about the latest and greatest additions to their RSS readers.
Best New Blogs of 2009

Top List Of Brands That Experienced The Most Phishing Attacks In 2009

Avira has published a top list of brands that experienced the most phishing attacks in 2009. The top 3 brands according to their chart are PayPal with 32205 threats followed by Chase Bank with 25901 threats and eBay with 18738 threats. Each threat in this case refers to a unique Internet address that was being used to phish data from users.
Top List Of Brands That Experienced The Most Phishing Attacks In 2009

Blackstump Australia Issue 35 -December 20, 2009

The latest issue of new Family Friendly sites listed on The Black Stump.
Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 35 -December 20, 2009

Retirement and Retirement Intentions, Australia

This publication presents information about the retirement status and retirement intentions of people aged 45 years and over who have, at some time, worked for two weeks or more.
Retirement and Retirement Intentions, Australia, Jul 2008 to Jun 2009

Capture Handwritten Notes on Your iPhone

Dan Bricklin’s Note Taker App lets you take quickly take notes on the go by sketching onto your iPhone’s/iPod touch’s screen using your finger. Because scribbling small notes would be difficult, the app lets you write using large gestures, then shrinks your notes to fit onto the pages, which are about the size of a 3×5 index card.
Capture Handwritten Notes on Your iPhone

The Most Influential Twitter User in the World Is...

How do you measure influence on Twitter? While follower count is perhaps the most obvious metric, other activities, like the numbers of times you’re retweeted, provide a bit more insight. Along those lines, INQ Mobile has just released their 2009 Twitter (Twitter) influence study, determining the most influential Twitter users in both the UK and the world.
The Most Influential Twitter User in the World Is...

Google Zeitgeist 2009

Google has released the year-end statistics of Google Zeitgeist 2009 which includes information about the most search topics in various niches in 2009. The default statistics show the search queries for the United States with the option to switch the country to view them for several dozen other countries including Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany or the European Union.
Google Zeitgeist 2009

Scientists crack cancer codes

Scientists are hailing the unlocking of the complete genetic code of two of the most common cancers as "a fundamental moment in cancer research".
Scientists crack cancer codes

Yale Book of Quotations Annual List (2009) of Memorable Quotes

Fred Shapiro, the editor of the Yale Book of Quotations and associate librarian and lecturer in legal research at Yale Law School, is out with his annual list of memorable quotes.
Yale Book of Quotations Annual List (2009) of Memorable Quotes

What You Watched and Searched for on YouTube in 2009

This year has been the biggest yet for online video, and for the first time we're sharing our official Most Watched lists and some of the fastest-rising search terms on YouTube. Some moments were big (President Obama's inauguration), some small (a Minnesota wedding party erupts into dance), some expected ("New Moon"), some surprising (Susan Boyle) — but all of them inspired, entertained and connected millions of people around the world via YouTube.
What You Watched and Searched for on YouTube in 2009

10 iPhone Apps That Bring Holiday Cheer

In the spirit of the holiday season and an attempt to recover some of that holiday excitement, the following are 10 fun iPhone apps to help put a little more festivity into your lives.
10 iPhone Apps That Bring Holiday Cheer

Twitter reacts to Australia's internet filter

Senator Conroy's announcement has been controversial, sure, but the reaction from Twitter has been decisive, and loud.
Twitter reacts to Australia's internet filter

Australia: Internet Censorship Plan Gets the Green Light

The Federal Government has announced it will proceed with controversial plans to censor the internet after Government-commissioned trials found filtering a blacklist of banned sites was accurate and would not slow down the internet.
Australia: Internet Censorship Plan Gets the Green Light

How to Prevent Identity Theft

In 2008, there were almost 10 million cases of identity theft in the US alone, 22% more than the previous year.[1] While people are getting better at recognizing identity theft, and minimizing the damage, the best solution is to prevent it from happening in the first place by following these steps.
How to Prevent Identity Theft

Google Year-End Countdown Easter Egg

Just found out about a neat little Google search box Easter Egg for the New Year: Click on the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button with nothing in the search box to see a live count down of seconds left in 2009. What they should have done is linked the seconds number to a "seconds in days" calculator search to let people know what it is. Time marches on….
Google Year-End Countdown Easter Egg

Change DNS Servers With DNS Jumper

DNS and DNS servers have been pushed into the mainstream with Google’s announcement that they have released public DNS servers to speed up computer user access to the Internet. We have already given tips in the past how to benchmark DNS to find the fastest and most reliable one from all the public DNS that are offered by various organizations and companies.
Change DNS Servers With DNS Jumper

Mathematics of slicing pizza

For almost twenty years, mathematicians Rick Mabry and Paul Deiermann have attempted to figure out the perfect way to slice a pizza for sharing. urns out, mathematicians have been pondering pizza slicing problems since at least the 1960s.
Mathematics of slicing pizza

The Happiness Project Secrets of Adulthood

The Happiness Project: Each one changed my life, once I figured it out. Gretchen Rubin.
My Secrets of Adulthood

Mystery Giveaway at 1saleaday.com.au Pay only $4.95 for delivery Aust wide. - OzBargain

At 1saleaday, they need to make space for new and exciting products so they’re giving all their old stock away. If they’ve sold it in the past, chances are it could be here in the mystery giveaway. All you have to do is pay the 4.95 postage. You could get anything from a memory card to iphone Case to HDMI cable.
Mystery Giveaway at 1saleaday.com.au Pay only $4.95 for delivery Aust wide

TeuxDeux: a simple online to-do list manager

TeuxDeux is an new online to-do list manager created by Tina Roth Eisenberg (AKA Swissmiss) and Fictive Kin. It’s not as full-featured as some other online to-do list applications, but if you’re looking for something that’s easy to use and has a strikingly elegant and minimal user-interface, then you should definitely take it for a test drive.
TeuxDeux: a simple online to-do list manager

Most Popular Top 10s of 2009 - Lifehacker

Every weekend, we comb our memories and archives to compile 10 useful items addressing a specific topic you may have forgotten about, or just happen to be excellent. Here are the 20 list(icle) posts that proved the most popular in 2009.
Most Popular Top 10s of 2009

Most Popular How-To Features of 2009 - Lifehacker

We cover a lot of tips every day on Lifehacker, but we get our greatest pleasure from putting together in-depth, step-by-step guides. From Windows 7 to Hackintoshes and beyond, here's a look back at our most popular how-to features of '09.
Most Popular How-To Features of 2009

IPL 15 Things

From the Internet Public Library - Explore our first seven of 15 "Things," Blogs, Microblogging, Social Networking, Wikis, Virtual Worlds, Podcasting, and Videos, and take the 15 Things Challenge!
IPL 15 Things - IPL Wiki

Australian Social Trends, Dec 2009

The December issue reveals that over the last decade, the number of jobless families has fallen, while the number of people who live alone has been increasing. We also see that Australians are less likely to smoke than in the past, but more likely to be obese and that many workers work non-traditional hours.
Australian Social Trends, Dec 2009

FAIL Blog’s Top Ten FAIL Lists for 2009 « FAIL Blog

Drum roll please! The votes have been tabulated and FAIL Blog has the official results for our first annual Top Ten Lists of the Biggest FAIL Moments, the Biggest FAIL People and the Most Epic FAIL Blog Videos and Pictures for 2009 as voted on by 100,000 FAILers. It was a year of many fails, but Kanye West won the grand prize of “King of Fail” for 2009.
FAIL Blog’s Top Ten FAIL Lists for 2009

Mystery mountain range explained

Scientists have explained how a mysterious mountain range in central Australia was formed 550 million years ago.
Mystery mountain range explained

The Louvre iPhone App's Like Being There Without the Plane Ticket

If you're not traveling to Paris anytime soon to visit The Louvre, then grab the art museum's free iPhone app. It's packed with enough info about its famous paintings to make you feel like you're there on a private tour.
The Louvre iPhone App's Like Being There Without the Plane Ticket

WhoCrashed Explains Why Your Windows PC Crashed

Generally, when your computer crashes, your best hope of figuring out what went wrong (and thus preventing future crashes) usually hinges on sifting through complex log files. WhoCrashed aims to make this process easier by summarising what happened when your computer went down, including specific information on exactly what piece of hardware, software, or driver caused the crash.
WhoCrashed Explains Why Your Windows PC Crashed

Australian Bushfire Map Offers Up-To-Date Fire Tracking

Bushfire season is in full swing early, and online resources are key to keeping track of where things are happening. The Australian Bushfire Map integrates fire warnings for four states (NSW, Victoria, Queensland and SA) with Google Maps to provide up-to-date news of current fires.
Australian Bushfire Map Offers Up-To-Date Fire Trackin

John Lennon tribute: "War is Over!" crowd-sourced translations

Yesterday, December 8, marked the anniversary of the death of John Lennon. In tribute, Yoko Ono and the Imagine Peace team are crowd-sourcing translations of the famous John & Yoko "WAR IS OVER!" poster for people to print and share over the holiday season as cards or posters.
John Lennon tribute: "War is Over!" crowd-sourced translations

Population by Age and Sex, Australian States and Territories, Jun 2009

This issue contains estimates of the resident population of Australian states and territories as at 30 June of each reference year. Estimates up to 2006 are final, based on the results of the 2006 Census of Population and Housing. Estimates for June 2007 have been revised and estimates from June 2008 onwards are preliminary.
Population by Age and Sex, Australian States and Territories, Jun 2009

Japanese subway etiquette poster campaign

I like the art and colors of these Japanese subway posters that remind people to be considerate of others.
Japanese subway etiquette poster campaign

namebench - DNS Benchmark Utility

Are you a power-user with 5 minutes to spare? Do you want a faster internet experience? Try out namebench. It hunts down the fastest DNS servers available for your computer to use.
namebench - DNS Benchmark Utility

How to Never Be Late For Work or Anything Again

I hate to be late. If I’m driving to a business meeting and get stuck in traffic, I whip myself into a frenzy, imagining the person on the other end checking their watch every two minutes and cursing me for having such little regard for their time.
How to Never Be Late For Work or Anything Again

How to Know When Your DNS Servers Are Failing

Now that both Google Public DNS and OpenDNS offer alternative, public DNS services anyone can use instead of their service provider's DNS servers, the question is: How do you know if your DNS service isn't working properly and if you should switch?
How to Know When Your DNS Servers Are Failing

Google Launches Real-time Search

We knew that it would be coming eventually and the time apparently has come today. At least for some users that is as Google stays true to its policy to roll out changes to their services over time. Real-time search is an addition to the standard Google search results that users see when they perform a search in the search engine.
Google Launches Real-time Search

The Top 10 Gadgets of the Decade; Will the Data These Devices Hold Be Accessible in Another 10 Years?

We love gadgets and it’s likely many of you also love them. The same goes for lists. So when a list containing selections for the Top 10 Gadgets of the Decade, we have to make mention of it.
The Top 10 Gadgets of the Decade; Will the Data These Devices Hold Be Accessible in Another 10 Years?

Q&A: To treat or not to treat visual migraines?

Every couple of months I get a visual migraine—flashing lights in my field of vision, but no headache. My ophthalmologist says not to worry and that I don’t need any treatment. Is he right?
Q&A: To treat or not to treat visual migraines?

Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 34 -December 6, 2009

The latest issue of new Family Friendly sites listed on The Black Stump.
Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 34 -December 6, 2009

100 Blogs that Will Inspire You to Be a Better Person

Everyone needs a little help sometimes in getting motivated, relaxing, feeling happy or just getting those creative juices flowing. Luckily, the Internet is full of places to find inspiration. These blogs can help you get moving towards your goals, whether you want to give back more to the community, feel better about yourself, or just get in shape.
100 Blogs that Will Inspire You to Be a Better Person

Eight Tips to Know If You're Being Boring

How do you know if the other person is interested in your conversation – or not? One challenge is that the more socially adept a person is, the better he or she is at hiding boredom. It’s a rare person, however, who can truly look fascinated while bored.
Eight Tips to Know If You're Being Boring

Is it time to kill the Antarctic Treaty?

Fifty years ago, 12 nations—Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Britain, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the Soviet Union and the U.S.—agreed to cede their claims to Antarctica. The continent would belong to no nation and become a nature preserve and scientific laboratory open to all.
Observations: Is it time to kill the Antarctic Treaty?

iPhone Constantly Running Low on Juice? Try a $15 External Battery

A $15 external iPhone battery from MonoPrice that can store enough juice to charge the phone twice over.
iPhone Constantly Running Low on Juice? Try a $15 External Battery

Step-by-Step Math

Have you ever given up working on a math problem because you couldn’t figure out the next step? Wolfram|Alpha can guide you step by step through the process of solving many mathematical problems, from solving a simple quadratic equation to taking the integral of a complex function.
Step-by-Step Math

NORAD Santa Tracker 2009 Goes Live

The NORAD Santa Tracker service has just gone live for those who are ready to start searching for St. Nick. While you won’t actually get to track him until Christmas Eve, there are resources at the site now.
NORAD Santa Tracker 2009 Goes Live

Lasik: is it worth $6000?

Excimer laser technology was first used and developed by IBM to make etchings on computer chips in the 70s. The first excimer eye surgery was conducted in 1988, and the basic underlying technology has remained pretty much the same since then. There are a few things that are new now.
Lasik: is it worth $6000?

AOL’s List Of Lists – Top Searches 2009

AOL has weighed in with a heavy hitting list of 2009’s top searches in the categories below.
AOL’s List Of Lists – Top Searches 2009

Official Google Australia Blog: ​Melbourne in 3D on Google Earth

Been to Melbourne lately? If not, it has become a whole lot easier to get your Melbourne fix without jumping on a plane, thanks to recent updates to the 3D buildings layer in Google Earth.
Official Google Australia Blog: ​Melbourne in 3D on Google Earth

Yahoo Releases Top Searches of 2009 (Twitter Nowhere to Be Found)

2009 was a year of ups and downs for Yahoo search. While we wait for the Yahoo/Microsoft search deal to take effect, we know that Yahoo still holds firm as the number two search site, with 18.8% market share (to Google’s 64.9%) according to October data from comScore.
Yahoo Releases Top Searches of 2009 (Twitter Nowhere to Be Found)

Google’s 2009 Aussie Zeitgeist results zoom into the room!

Google’s top list of Australian searches for 2009 has been revealed, showing the ideas and spirit of the times as they were down under, and as you can imagine, many of the major Australian and international events of the year such as Twilight, Susan Boyle and stimulus packages all definitely make the cut!
Google’s 2009 Aussie Zeitgeist results zoom into the room!

Find of the Month - National Archives of Australia

Long before the six white boomers of Rolf Harris and Christmas cards of Ken Done, Lionel Lindsay created uniquely Australian greeting cards. From the cattle dog stealing the Christmas turkey to the big boomer acting as Santa Claus, and native animals toasting in the New Year, Lindsay’s cards took a whimsical look at how ordinary Australians and our native wildlife might celebrate the festive season.
Find of the Month - National Archives of Australia

Do You Really Need More Than 4GB of RAM?

With the price of upgrading system RAM extremely low these days, people are always asking me whether it's really worth it to upgrade beyond 4GB; today we'll answer that question for everybody.
Do You Really Need More Than 4GB of RAM?

Twitter Declared Most Popular English Word of 2009

While Twitter may have taken second place in Bing’s 10 most searched topics of 2009, we’ve now learned that it has become top dog in something far bigger: the entire English language.
Twitter Declared Most Popular English Word of 2009

Top Bing Searches in 2009

Cue Music. Awwww, 2009. It was a year of UFO shaped dirigibles, mom jeans on pop stars, real housewives, a new president, and a new decision engine. Oh and there may have been something about Vampires too, we weren’t really paying attention. Yes, it was quite a year and what better way to reminisce then by taking a trip down memory lane with a look back at what topped the list of Bing searches. If you’re curious how we determined the top searches, we analyzed billions of search queries and developed the list based on searches made with Bing.
Top Bing Searches in 2009

10 Views of Earth from the Moon, Mars and Beyond

For more than 40 years, missions throughout the solar system have sent back stunning images of our home planet.
10 Views of Earth from the Moon, Mars and Beyond

How to Fix Your Relatives' Terrible Computer

Drop your bags, grab a drink, and grab the XP CD—it's time for the holiday ritual of fixing up your relatives' computer. Here are some tips and downloads to keep handy while you're cursing all the auto-starting crapware.
How to Fix Your Relatives' Terrible Computer

How to Light a Fire in a Fireplace

Lighting a fire in a fireplace is, in general, viewed as an easy task. Because of this, a majority of people may forget a few key steps in the process that would help them enjoy their fire better. What could have been a nice night by the fire can easily become a smoke filled room. Here is a recommended method that if followed, should help make your fire enjoyable from the start.
How to Light a Fire in a Fireplace

61 Free Apps We're Most Thankful For

Cornucopia of excellent free software and webapps we're extremely thankful for. So whether you're an American celebrating the season or not, the selection of apps below is like gravy-drenched turkey and mashed potatoes for your computer.
61 Free Apps We're Most Thankful For

Diamond optical illusion

Antonio at Fogonazos writes about this interesting optical illusion. The four rows of diamonds appear to be colored with different shades of gray, but all the diamonds are identical. In fact, the diamonds aren't solid gray, they are tinted with a gradient (lighter on the top, darker on the bottom).
Diamond optical illusion

How to maximize coupon savings

Yesterday we came across this amazing YouTube video of a Good Morning America segment profiling Kathy Spencer, who runs How to Shop for Free. By using a few techniques highlighted in the video, she manages to feed her family of six for less money than you probably have in your sofa cushions right now.
How to maximize coupon savings

Cash is King: Proverbs about money

With yet more stories in the press about banks, bailouts, recession, and the economy, I wondered what the new edition of The Little Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs had to say about money. Unsurprisingly, it’s something that has preoccupied people for a very, very long time. Here’s a selection of money-related proverbs from across the centuries.
Cash is King: Proverbs about money

How to Do Laundry While Traveling

If you're going to be away from home for more than a few days, washing clothes along the way will mean carrying far less. On an extended trip, washing clothes may be the only way to travel. It's not difficult or even time consuming to wash your own clothes while you are away.
How to Do Laundry While Traveling

Deaths, Australia, 2008

Death rates in Australia have remained steady over recent years, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The standardised death rate was 6 deaths per 1000 people in 2008 - unchanged since 2005. Twenty years ago, the rate was 9 deaths per 1000 people. There were 143,900 deaths (73,500 men and 70,400 women) registered in 2008.
Deaths, Australia, 2008

10 Ways to Reduce Your Risk of Getting Cancer

Below is an expanded list of things you can do to reduce your risk of getting cancer.
10 Ways to Reduce Your Risk of Getting Cancer

Gmail, Windows Live Hotmail and Yahoo Mail Comparison

Have you ever asked yourself how you did end up with the email account that you are currently using? Chance is that you have at least one account at one of the three most popular web based email service providers Gmail, Yahoo Mail or Windows Live Hotmail.
Gmail, Windows Live Hotmail and Yahoo Mail Comparison

Math tackles the rear-end collision

According to U.S. researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology, rear-end collisions can be avoided by a simple algorithm inserted into your car’s computer that tells a driver that the car in front is going slower than they are.
Math tackles the rear-end collision

Buzzword: Teeth bleachorexia

Bottom line: With so much still unknown, we think you should take it easy on how frequently you use tooth whiteners. If a super-white smile is especially important to you, break out the kits for special occasions, like before you greet your friends over the holidays. With any luck, that should tide you over until at least swimsuit season.
Buzzword: Teeth bleachorexia

Simple, cheap remedy for toenail fungus

I used to cringe when my yoga instructor told us to “take off your socks.” The big toenail on my right foot was an ugly flakey brownish gray, a condition I’ve had for years. It may have started when I was taking Tae Kwon Do and kept landing on my big toe while trying to do roundhouse kicking.
Simple, cheap remedy for toenail fungus

How to Make Luggage Easier to Spot

After a long flight, the last thing you want to do is pull a dozen pieces of luggage off a baggage carousel to check if they're yours, since they all look pretty much the same. The best way to avoid this is to buy unique luggage, but if you've already got luggage that looks like everyone else's, here are some ways to make it stand out.
How to Make Luggage Easier to Spot

Digger's diary recounts 'hell on earth'

After 94 years of research and historical writing, you might expect that we would know everything there is to know about the Gallipoli landings. But the State Library of New South Wales has just proven that there is more to learn, especially on a personal level. The library took possession of a digger's diary, largely penned in the trenches by a young soldier from Sydney called Charles Hardy.
Digger's diary recounts 'hell on earth'

Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 33 -November 22, 2009

The latest issue of new Family Friendly sites listed on The Black Stump.
Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 33 -November 22, 2009

8 Reasons We Don't Do Things We Should and How To Break the Mould

Our lives are full of things we “should” do but for a range of reasons we don’t do them. Whatever it is – exercise, healthy eating, saving money – most of the time we choose to take the easier road, the road well traveled.
8 Reasons We Don't Do Things We Should and How To Break the Mould

The Ten Most Influential Internet Moments of the Decade

Earlier today, the organisers of the Webby Awards announced their selection of the most influential moments on the Internet in the past decade.
The Ten Most Influential Internet Moments of the Decade

Save Your Lungs, Blow Real Air With Your iPhone [Video]

We know how hard it is: birthday after birthday, those stubborn candles aren’t extinguishing themselves, and your poor lungs aren’t getting any younger. You know the drill: there’s an app for that! The iPhone app is called Blower and it works by moving air through the speakers of your iPhone (strictly speaking, the same thing happens when you play music through those speakers, but let’s not be too harsh on the novelty part of the application).
Save Your Lungs, Blow Real Air With Your iPhone [Video]

International Travel Tips

You should try to get as much information as possible about the country you are visiting, but this list of tips should give you some good starting points that are relevant for most any destination.
International Travel Tips

Do Speedy Math in Your Head

Arthur Benjamin is a wizard at maths. Literally. At Hollywood's Magic Castle, the world-famous conjurer's club, he wows the crowd by multiplying big numbers — quick, what's 57,682 squared? — faster than you can use a calculator. Here he shares three cool tricks. (The answer, by the way: 3,327,213,124. See how easy it is?)
Do Speedy Math in Your Head

Keep Frequent Business Travel Stress In Perspective

If you travel a lot for business, you know it’s often not as glamorous as it sounds. Check out one frequent flier’s tips on keeping business travel burn-out in check.
Keep Frequent Business Travel Stress In Perspective

How To Change Default Programs In Windows

Default programs in Windows are those programs that are started when opening or editing certain file types or protocols. It can be an image viewer or editor for image formats or a web browser like Firefox or Internet Explorer for the http protocol. I recently encountered a problem in Windows 7 that was driving me crazy. My preferred image editor Paint.net was not the default program when right-clicking an image or photo and selecting edit from the context menu. Windows 7 would instead open the default Paint application that was overhauled for the operating system.
How To Change Default Programs In Windows

“Unfriend” is Oxford Dictionary’s Word of the Year

It seems that “word of the year” announcements have become the de facto way for dictionary makers to grab some social media buzz by selecting a word from our neck of the woods. And sure enough, they’ve done it again, this time with Oxford Dictionary declaring “unfriend” the word of 2009.
“Unfriend” is Oxford Dictionary’s Word of the Year

How to Use "i.e." Versus "e.g."

The abbreviations "i.e." and "e.g." are very commonly misused. This is because very few people actually know what they mean. This article should help improve your understanding of these little tidbits of grammar.
How to Use "i.e." Versus "e.g."

2012: Six End-of-the-World Myths Debunked

The end of the world is near—December 21, 2012, to be exact—according to theories based on a purported ancient Maya prediction and fanned by the marketing machine behind the soon-to-be-released 2012 movie.
2012: Six End-of-the-World Myths Debunked

Windows Clipboard Manager PasteCopy

It is not really clear why Microsoft
never improved the default behavior of the Windows Clipboard. The biggest flaw in the eyes of most users is the inability to store more than one entry in the clipboard. So called clipboard managers are designed by third party developers to provide this and additional functionality. PasteCopy.net is but one of those Windows clipboard managers.
Windows Clipboard Manager PasteCopy

We''ll be back on Monday

Beyond...The Black Stump is taking a weekend off! Crazy Loco....see ya Monday!

5 Hot Social Shopping Trends to Watch For

The Internet has already radically changed the way we shop. Googling for promotion codes, free shipping, free return shipping, virtual models, live chats with sales associates – it’s all become common place.
5 Hot Social Shopping Trends to Watch For

Fine and Dandy (In All Except Etymology)

Dandy first made its appearance on the Scottish border and in the 1780’s became current in British slang. Its origin (most probably, dialectal) remains a mystery—a common thing with such words. Etymologists have grudgingly resigned themselves to the idea that dandy goes back to the pet name of Andrew.
Fine and Dandy (In All Except Etymology)

The EZ Cracker

Just watch the failed attempts to crack an egg in the advertisement for the EZ Cracker. Seriously, who has this much trouble cracking an egg?
The EZ Cracker

Baked Australia: Water Management Lessons for the World from Down Under

Another summer is heating up Down Under, and the forecast looks as worrisome and as potentially deadly as last summer's. A decade of drought is parching landscapes, devastating farmers, killing gum trees, and forcing a new definition of conservation into the continental nation's colorful lexicon. Could Australia see a day when a bottle of water is worth more than a bottle of Shiraz?
Baked Australia: Water Management Lessons for the World from Down Under

Twelve Surprising Uses for Vicks VapoRub

Vicks is an age-old mentholated topical cream intended to relieve head, throat, and chest stuffiness. It uses menthol to elicit a response from receptors in the nose and chest and can work wonders on children with colds or chronic bronchitis. Vicks has been around for over one hundred years and is one of the most widely used over-the-counter decongestants. Lately, there’s been a lot of buzz about unique and unconventional ways to use this odiferous ointment. You’ll be surprised to learn that Vicks VapoRub is a supposed treatment for so much more than just a congested chest.
Twelve Surprising Uses for Vicks VapoRub

Births, Australia, 2008

Australia has again set a new record for the number of births in a year, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). A total of 296,600 births were registered in 2008, surpassing the previous record years of 2007 (285,200 births) and 1971 (276,400).
Births, Australia, 2008

16 Lessons in Customer Service from a Car Salesman

Customer service lessons learned from buying a new car.
16 Lessons in Customer Service from a Car Salesman

Find and Get Rid of Old Files with an Advanced Explorer Search

It's easy to visualize your hard drive usage by file size to get rid of big files you don't need, but if you want to hunt down the files you haven't used in ages, this quick search query can help.
Find and Get Rid of Old Files with an Advanced Explorer Search

Are Extended Warranties Ever a Good Deal?

Extended warranties are everywhere. Every time you buy a car, a house, a computer, a cell phone or pretty much any appliance, you'll be offered a chance to purchase an extended warranty on it. Are these warranty contracts ever a good deal? They shouldn't be. To make a profit, the private companies that offer these things need to take in more money than they pay out in warranty claims. And they do make money.
Are Extended Warranties Ever a Good Deal?

How to Fix an iPhone 3G Screen

You, like many people, have broken your iPhone screen! These steps and video will show you how to fix it yourself. Read entire guide before beginning the process.
How to Fix an iPhone 3G Screen (with video)

3 Faster Less Obtrusive Google Search Engines

There are two main reasons for switching to one of Google’s alternative search interfaces: Speed and Usability. The following three Google search engines utilize the same search index and parameters that the default Google search engine offers with the difference that all four of them are faster, more accessible and less obtrusive when displaying search results.
3 Faster Less Obtrusive Google Search Engines

Top 10 Clever Fixes for Your Broken Stuff

Buying a replacement at Target isn't always the necessary solution when your stuff goes on the fritz. Fix common problems or altogether broken gear with these clever repair methods.
Top 10 Clever Fixes for Your Broken Stuff

If they don’t spot him, we’re doomed

Another likely suspect!
If they don’t spot him, we’re doomed

Blackstump Australia Issue 32 -November 8, 2009

The latest issue of new Family Friendly sites listed on The Black Stump.
Blackstump Australia Issue 32 -November 8, 2009

How To Be Great

If you have plans on becoming great, you’ll want to read this brief article.
How To Be Great

What's Your Favorite Stress Reliever?

If you turn to your MP3 collection when you're stressed out, you're not alone. The American Psychological Association found that a majority of people polled for the last two years running claim music as their number one stress reliever.
What's Your Favorite Stress Reliever?

Knocking Out the Beliefs That Hold You Back

“Freelance writing can’t be a successful business.” That was my limiting belief. (To be fair, it was a belief I held long before the well-meaning professor reinforced it.) So I took a full-time job as an editor, and on the side I’d write maybe one or two magazine articles a year. I didn’t believe I could have a thriving freelance business, so I didn’t even try.
Knocking Out the Beliefs That Hold You Back

It's safe to drink rainwater in Australia

According to a Monash University study, people in Australia who drink rainwater are just as safe as others.
It's safe to drink rainwater in Australia

Secrets of Telemarketing From an Industry Insider

They call you at all hours. They don't care if you're eating dinner or taking a shower. And they really don't like to hear you say no. They're telemarketers. And recently, someone from "behind enemy lines" came forward to give us all invaluable tips on dealing with those harassing calls.
Secrets of Telemarketing From an Industry Insider

Feeling grumpy 'is good for you'

In a bad mood? Don't worry - according to research, it's good for you. An Australian psychology expert who has been studying emotions has found being grumpy makes us think more clearly.
Feeling grumpy 'is good for you'

Eight Tips for Feeling More Energetic

Feeling energetic is a key to feeling happy. Studies show that when you feel energetic, you feel much better about yourself. On the other hand, when you feel exhausted, tasks that would ordinarily make you happy—like putting up holiday decorations—make you feel overwhelmed and blue.
Eight Tips for Feeling More Energetic

The iPhone is the worst phone in the world

That's right, we said it -- and we're not taking it back. The iPhone may be the greatest handheld surfing device ever to rock the mobile Web, and a fabulous media player to boot. It may be the highest-rated mobile phone on CNET UK, rocking the pockets of half of our crack editorial team. It's certainly the touchscreen face that launched a thousand apps. But as an actual call-making phone, it's rubbish, and we aim to prove it.
The iPhone is the worst phone in the world

How to Get Rid of Bad Breath

There are many ways to cover up bad breath, but if you're tired of quick fixes and want to banish halitosis once and for all, take these instructions to heart--or should we say mouth?
How to Get Rid of Bad Breath

6 Natural Remedies You Probably Already Have

Natural spices in the kitchen cabinet have been ingredients of home remedies for several generations, and in this post, I want to share some of these spices that I have grown to love and respect.
6 Natural Remedies You Probably Already Have

Open a Bottle of Wine with Your Shoe

Got a bottle of wine on hand but no corkscrew to get it open? You can argue all you want about whether or not the guy in this video really needs more wine, but you can't argue with the results.
Open a Bottle of Wine with Your Shoe

How to Know How Much Sleep You Need

Do you feel drowsy? Can't stop yawning? Maybe you're not getting as much sleep as you should. Or perhaps you overslept--there is such a thing, and it's not good for you, either![1] How much sleep you actually needs depends on your age, activity level, and even genetics. This article will help you figure it out with a test.
How to Know How Much Sleep You Need

Browser Speed Tests: The Windows 7 Results

Firefox 3.6 Beta 1, like every other browser, makes a claim to being "faster." We took Firefox and all the other latest browsers, put them on Windows 7, and ran them through our human-measured speed tests to vet the bragging.
Browser Speed Tests: The Windows 7 Results

Convert Photos To PDF

Converting multiple photos into single pdf documents has several advantages. A single file can be stored and managed more comfortable and it’s also easier to distribute them without running into the problem of missing photos in the process. One interesting use would be for instance to convert photos that have been taken on the last holiday into one pdf document to send the document to friends and relatives.
Convert Photos To PDF

Google Maps Creates New UK Town Called Argleton

Google and its UK map provider, Tele Atlas, are cleaning the egg off their faces this week over the appearance of a town called Argleton in Google Maps. It’s right there on Google Maps, and there’s even an Argleton place page with photos and more.
Google Maps Creates New UK Town Called Argleton

How To Remove Your Bike Chain

Being able to remove your bike chain is one of those things anyone who owns a bike should be able to do. Blog OzSoapbox details how to go about it in a chatty, experience-filled post.
How To Remove Your Bike Chain

.A Secret to Happiness That I Overlooked -- Until Now.

People are adaptable. We quickly adjust to a new life circumstance—for better or worse—and consider it normal. Although this helps us when our situation worsens, it means that when circumstances improve, we soon become hardened to new comforts or privileges. Scoring air-conditioning, a bigger house, or a fancy title gives us only a brief boost in happiness before we start to take it for granted. As Aldous Huxley wrote, “Habit converts luxurious enjoyments into dull and daily necessities.” That’s the hedonic treadmill.
.A Secret to Happiness That I Overlooked -- Until Now..

How to Get Out of Bed When You Really Don’t Feel Like It.

We’ve all been there: the alarm goes off, we’re feeling groggy, reach out and slap it to snooze. Five minutes later, the same things happens. We switch the alarm off again. The thought of getting out of bed seems like way too much effort. We know that, once we get up, we have to launch into the day – that to-do list we made last night, those chores that need doing…
How to Get Out of Bed When You Really Don’t Feel Like It

Melbourne Cup iPhone App

The race that stops a nation takes place today, and gadget junkies can add a little techno-flare to the occasion with the official Melbourne Cup iPhone application from the Victoria Racing Club.
Melbourne Cup iPhone App

How to Be Assertive Without Being Arrogant

Assertiveness is an important means for communicating your needs in a way that is fair to both yourself and to others. Unfortunately, for some insecure people, assertive people are sometimes threatening and it is easier to label them as arrogant, selfish, or unhelpful when they receive the answer "no" or when boundaries are made clear by the assertive person. In particular, those with manipulative, neediness, and trust problems can see assertive responses as undermining their own agendas and will seek to respond with negative critiques of an assertive person's behavior. This is where it can get a little tricky for the newly assertive convert but it's no reason to suddenly start worrying that you are arrogant!
How to Be Assertive Without Being Arrogant

7 Email And Notification Gadgets For Windows 7

The following list contains ten email and notification gadgets for Windows 7 (or Windows Vista). These gadgets display information and notifications about online services such as Facebook and Twitter or software programs like Outlook or Skype on the Windows desktop. Some of them even come with additional functionality like being able to send status updates to the online service or chatting with friends right from the desktop without having to open the software program to do so.
7 Email And Notification Gadgets For Windows 7

Facebook Warns of New Viruses

Facebook has warned users of two different viruses that users should be aware of. The company writes “Watch out for two new viruses that are spreading across the web. They involve emails made to look like they are from Facebook telling you to take some action on your account. Remember that we will never send you a new password as an attachment.”
Facebook Warns of New Viruses

A Tokyo photographer offers tips on taking pro shots with an iPhone 3GS

Koichi Mitsui is a professional photographer in Japan. When he's not on the job shooting for magazines and ads, he wanders around Tokyo taking pictures with his iPhone 3GS. "The iPhone has a single-focus lens with no zoom, and this simplicity keeps me devoted to only composition and the perfect photo opp," Mitsui says. Keep reading for a selection of his work with tips on how you can take amazing photos with your iPhone, too.
A Tokyo photographer offers tips on taking pro shots with an iPhone 3GS

The game of Haggling: How to Get a Great Deal on a Used Car

We bought our car for less than 75% of the asking price, and got an extended warranty at half price. They gave us a good value for our trade-in and a very low interest rate on our loan. Here's how we did it.
The game of Haggling: How to Get a Great Deal on a Used Car

Consumer Price Index, Australia, Sep 2009

Rose 1.0% in the September quarter 2009, compared with a rise of 0.5% in the June quarter 2009.
Consumer Price Index, Australia, Sep 2009

5 Ways to Get Free Tech Advice Online

It happens almost weekly for some: your computer freezes, your iPhone won’t power down, or your printer is jammed in a big way. The frugalist in you just doesn’t want to make an expensive house call to a tech professional, and most of the time, that’s OK! We’ve got 5 top resources for finding free tech advice online, and a few tips for helping you decide which tips are worthy.
5 Ways to Get Free Tech Advice Online

Get Facebook's "Old" News Feed Back

Are you already feeling some ill will toward Facebook for splitting up your Facebook home page with a split "News Feed" and "Live Feed"? Web PR consultant Steve Rubel posts a sorta-kinda fix.
Get Facebook's "Old" News Feed Back

Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 31 - October 26, 2009

The latest issue of new family friendly sites listed on The Black Stump.
Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 31 - October 26, 2009

Best of Twitter: 20+ Funniest #oneletteroffmovies

It’s hard to ignore the fact that Twitter has been overtaken this weekend with a new meme: #oneletteroffmovies takes the titles of popular flicks and changes just one letter for comedy effect.
Best of Twitter: 20+ Funniest #oneletteroffmovies

How to Get Laid Off: A Step-By-Step Guide

It seems ironic in this economy, and with a high unemployment rate, that anyone would want advice about getting kicked from a job. But last week a question was posed to me, and it was genuine — “How do I get laid off?”
How to Get Laid Off: A Step-By-Step Guide

Why I’m Dumping Vista For Windows 7

The sound of cheers swell across the nation: Today, Vista users can finally dump the clunky and sluggish operating system for Windows 7. Praise for the new version has already started coming in from early adopters and reviewers.
Why I’m Dumping Vista For Windows 7

What's Your Favorite Facebook App of 2009?

It’s been a good year at Facebook. Traffic to the site is up over 200%, from 40 million visitors per month at this time last year, to nearly 125 million now — and that’s just US traffic. Growth is equally impressive for active users Facebook-wide. The company started the year with 150 million active users and they’ve already blown by 300 million. Facebook is easily the most popular social network in the world, and their growth, which doesn’t show any signs of letting up, isn’t just happening in raw user and visitor numbers. Other Facebook initiatives are also growing steadily this year.
What's Your Favorite Facebook App of 2009?

Sports and Physical Recreation: A Statistical Overview, Australia, 2009

This publication presents an overview of the sports and physical recreation sector. It contains information about the number of people who play sports; the most popular sports played; the number of people attending sporting events; the amount people spend on sports and physical recreation; the economic activity of businesses, clubs and associations involved in providing sports and physical recreation goods and services; the people who work in sports and physical recreation occupations or industries; and the support provided by volunteers.
Sports and Physical Recreation: A Statistical Overview, Australia, 2009

Lifehacker's Complete Guide to Windows 7

Windows 7 officially launches today, but we've been testing, tweaking, customizing, fixing, and writing about this OS for a year now. We present here a guide to everything we've learned about the OS, from first install to final settings change.
Lifehacker's Complete Guide to Windows 7

10 Really Dumb Old Inventions And Their Modern Counterparts

These things are so damn stupid they became obsolete before even becoming real products.
10 Really Dumb Old Inventions And Their Modern Counterparts

Eight Excellent Tips for Living that My Parents Gave Me

Have you received any great advice from your parents?
Eight Excellent Tips for Living that My Parents Gave Me

View Your Google Tasks in Actual Full-Screen

Lifehacker pointed to an iGoogle interface for Google's Tasks to-do manager yesterday that gave users a pretty big view inside their custom home page. Want a totally full-size Tasks view without launching iGoogle? Bookmark the "Canvas view" page.
View Your Google Tasks in Actual Full-Screen

The Oddest and Dumbest English Spellings

Solemn and column are now pronounced without n. In the speech of some people kiln is homophonous with kill, g is always mute in diaphragm, phlegm, and so forth.
The Oddest and Dumbest English Spellings

Arts and Culture in Australia: A Statistical Overview, 2009

Participation and Attendance, Time Spent on Cultural Activities, Attendance at Selected Cultural Venues and Events, Characteristics of Attendees, Frequency of Attendance, Reading, Children's Involvement in Cultural Activities, Hobby Activities.
Arts and Culture in Australia: A Statistical Overview, 2009

Windows 7: To Upgrade or Not to Upgrade

Launch day for Windows 7 is just a few days away. So you might be wondering whether you need to plop down between $120 and $220 for the new OS, buy a new computer, or maintain your status quo.
Windows 7: To Upgrade or Not to Upgrade

Prep Your PC for Windows 7

When Windows 7 drops this Thursday, you can either spend many, many hours watching a progress bar, or you can boot into a clean, speedy system with that new-OS smell. Let's get your system set up for a proper Windows 7 upgrade.
Prep Your PC for Windows 7

What You Still Don't Know About You

After however many years of living, do you still have things about yourself, who you are and how your brain works that you don't entirely understand? To celebrate their 150th issue, the email version of The British Psychological Society's Research Digest asked 23 top psychologists to write 150 words on their nagging questions about themselves. From human consciousness, to death and forgiveness, to the dark Dalek-y corners of the mind, the answers are a great read--and an excellent place to jump into asking similar questions about ourselves.
What You Still Don't Know About You

Turn Your PC into a Home Surveillance System

If you're interested in building out a serious, multi-camera home surveillance system complete with wireless cameras, weblog MakeUseOf details how to do so.
Turn Your PC into a Home Surveillance System

Wolfram Alpha Launches $50 iPhone App

On Thursday WolframAlpha launched its developer API, which should allow large and small developers (as well as businesses and educational institutions) to harness the power of the computational knowledge engine to enhance their own applications or products. Today, the WolframAlpha iPhone app (iTunes link) — which was built using the new API — was released to the App Store.
Wolfram Alpha Launches $50 iPhone App

Top 5 Twitter Trends to Watch Right Now

We’ve been taking an active analytical look at emerging Twitter related trends on a monthly basis. This month instead of analyzing the state of the Twittersphere on our own, we thought we’d give some of the web’s most experimental, influential, and knowledgeable thought leaders an opportunity to share their perspectives on Twitter trends.
Top 5 Twitter Trends to Watch Right Now

Top 10 Time-Saving, MacGyver Cleaning Tricks

Very few people truly enjoy spending time cleaning, and fewer still love buying expensive cleaners for every little task. Here's a handful of clever, time-saving DIY substitutes for common household cleaning jobs.
Top 10 Time-Saving, MacGyver-Style Cleaning Tricks

Nominate Walkable Spaces for the Street View Trike

Google's Street View cars can't drive everywhere, and especially through some of the most interesting walkable destinations around. One engineer came up with a solution in the form of a Street View Trike, a bike with an image capture trailer attached. Check out a few of the places captured for virtual tours so far, like Legoland California, and nominate other walkable spots for the trike to capture.
Nominate Walkable Spaces for the Street View Trike

10 Very Common Stupid Tricks That Wreck A Good Life

Many people go through life acting like trained circus animals. They repeat the same antics they observed their neighbors, parents and family performing. What they often don’t realize is that they are wrecking their lives.
10 Very Common Stupid Tricks That Wreck A Good Life

Top 10 iPhone Apps as Judged by Mashable Readers

Mashable: Each Friday we choose a Lunchtime Poll topic to get a sense of how Mashable readers feel about the chosen topic of the week. Below are the results from last Friday’s poll, where we asked your favorite iPhone apps.
Top 10 iPhone Apps as Judged by Mashable Readers

HOW TO: Organize an Event on Facebook

This guide will show you how to successfully run an event on Facebook.
HOW TO: Organize an Event on Facebook

Seven Tips If You’re Chronically Late

Feeling as though you’re always running twenty minutes behind schedule is an unhappy feeling. Having to rush, forgetting things in your haste, dealing with annoyed people when you arrive…it’s no fun.
Seven Tips If You’re Chronically Late

Clothes no cover for airport scanner

A human x-ray machine which produces "naked" images of passengers is being tested at an airport in Britain. Here's a video of how it works from Scientific American.
Clothes no cover for airport scanner

Want to Remotely Start Your Car? There's an App for That

If you live some place where it gets really cold in the winter — you might already be familiar with the advantages and convenience of a remote-start car system. Rather than fumbling to open an icy door or waiting a few minutes for the car to start and the heat to come on, you can start the car using a keyremote and even turn the heat on, so that by the time you get to the car, it’s on and warm.
Want to Remotely Start Your Car? There's an App for That

The Forgetful Mind

Whenever I have a stray thought that might be useful at all to remember later, I jot it down in a “thought notebook” and then review it later, usually a couple of reviews a day. Figuring this out has truly been world-changing to me. It’s helped me to retain good ideas, remember to do certain things, and record data that I’ll need later on (like addresses and phone numbers and such).
The Forgetful Mind

The Web’s Inventor Regrets One Small Thing

Any conversation with Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the Web’s bedrock software standards, tends to be fast-paced and nonlinear. A historical question then. If he were do it over again today, would he do anything differently? Any regrets?
The Web’s Inventor Regrets One Small Thing

The 2009 Nobel Prizes

Explore the advances that earned this year's crop of Nobelists one of the world's most famous prizes--and in some cases, read about the prizewinning discoveries as chronicled by the researchers themselves in Scientific American.
The 2009 Nobel Prizes: In-Depth Reports

A cure for jet lag?

A pill that cures jet lag is a step closer today, after scientists discovered how signals from the brain control our biological clocks.
A cure for jet lag?

20 Fantastic Free iPhone Apps for Parents

It’s hard to believe that a little device that’s the size of your hand can actually help parents become more organized, time-efficient, knowledgeable, even relaxed. However, that’s the beauty of an iPhone. The key, though, is to find the right apps to get you there, and with so many choices (more than 75,000), it takes time and effort to find good ones.
20 Fantastic Free iPhone Apps for Parents

Top 10 Reminder Tools for Forgetful Minds

Tweak your workflow and inboxes all you want, but your mental memory might always be the weakest link in your day-to-day life. These 10 tools take some of the workload off your brain, and prevent a few forehead slaps.
Top 10 Reminder Tools for Forgetful Minds

Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 30 - October 11, 2009

The latest issue of new family friendly sites listed on The Black Stump.
Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 30 - October 11, 2009

10 Ways To Conquer Fear of Public Speaking.

The most common phobia people have is the “Fear of public speaking”. Some people dread public speaking even more than death. Most of us live with this fear throughout our lives. Being an underrated skill we fail to get proper guidance to overcome our stage fright. As schools and colleges do not provide any training on public speaking, most of us lack the confidence to speak in public when we reach adulthood.
10 Ways To Conquer Fear of Public Speaking.

Ping: Free iPhone-to-iPhone Text Messaging

Ping! is simplified iPhone-to-iPhone messaging with push notifications (also works with iPod Touch). It uses a unique Ping! ID, and works similar to Blackberry Messenger so that messages can extend to friends anywhere in the world without text messaging costs.
Ping: Free iPhone-to-iPhone Text Messaging

Leaked Hotmail Password Data Analysis

Remember back then when AOL decided to provide downloads of an anonymized snapshot of their search engine logs? One of the first things that Internet
Marketers did was to analyze the data to see what users where looking for. Groups focused on privacy would analyse the data to see if it was possible to identify single users from the data that was offered by AOL.
Leaked Hotmail Password Data Analysis

A Doctor's Advice On How To Read Health News (And Know Whether It's Full of Crap) - Boing Boing

Biased and badly done are two very different things. I don't have data on this, but I think it's fair to say that, when the main-stream media gets a health story wrong, it usually isn't trying to be intentionally wack. Trouble is, whatever the intent, it leaves you--the reader--in the same place. Conflused.
A Doctor's Advice On How To Read Health News (And Know Whether It's Full of Crap) - Boing Boing

8 Awesome Mashups Made Possible by APIs

Thanks to APIs, new programs can be built up that take advantage of one or more services in ways the original creators might not have intended or even imagined. That allows the creativity and ingenuity of the developer community at large to shine by creating highly useful new services without requiring complicated licensing protocols and fees or even specific partnerships between the companies.
8 Awesome Mashups Made Possible by APIs

Watch NASA’s Exploding Moon Rocket Live on NASA TV

Remember the LCROSS project, the one in which NASA plans to fire a huge exploding rocket into the moon? The goal is to eject debris from the surface of one of moon’s craters and discovering whether there’s frozen water there.
Watch NASA’s Exploding Moon Rocket Live on NASA TV

Go Straight to Your Unread Gmail Messages with a Shortcut

You probably already know how to find unread messages in Gmail (just search is:unread in:inbox), but if you want quick, bookmarkable access to only those unread messages in your inbox, CNET has a simple suggestion.
Go Straight to Your Unread Gmail Messages with a Shortcut

Make Your Battery Last Longer

Over on TheAppleBlog, Liam posted “14 Ways to Be Kind to Your Battery,” a list of simple measures you can take to conserve battery power if you’re away from an outlet. Check out Liam’s post for the full list of tips and more detail. These tips aren’t only useful for Apple hardware; most of them would work equally well on any make of laptop or netbook.
Make Your Battery Last Longer

Phishing Protection Tips

It is time to update the phishing protection article that we published some time ago (see Phishing explained) with the recent news that thousands of Hotmail users (and apparently Gmail users as well) fell pray to yet another phishing scam. What is phishing? Phishing, which stands for password fishing, is a popular technique to get collect data from users without their knowledge. This data is usually sensitive in nature, like credit card information or usernames and passwords. The attackers need to get a user on a specifically prepared website first which often is looks exactly like the real website the user wants to visit.
Phishing Protection Tips

Most Common Hotmail Password Revealed!

A researcher who examined 10,000 Hotmail, MSN and Live.com passwords that were recently exposed online has published an analysis of the list and found that “123456″ was the most commonly used password, appearing 64 times.
Most Common Hotmail Password Revealed!

Price Comparison With Invisible Hand For Firefox

Price comparison is one of the essentials things that Internet users should do before buying a product on the Internet. It does not matter if they do it manually by visiting several Internet shops that carry the product or use one of the price comparison services. Users can save lots of money when comparing prices before buying a product.
Price Comparison With Invisible Hand For Firefox

Phishing Attack! Gmail, Yahoo Mail Join Hotmail; Passwords Exposed

Google’s Gmail and Yahoo’s Mail were also targeted by a large-scale phishing attack, perhaps the same one that harvested at least 10,000 passwords from Microsoft’s Windows Live Hotmail, according to a report by the BBC.
Phishing Attack! Gmail, Yahoo Mail Join Hotmail; Passwords Exposed

Reviews of 8 Free Twitter Clients

All of the clients are free to download and use. The first link takes you to a PC World Slideshow with a screenshot and brief overview. The second link labeled “Review” takes you to a complete product review from PC World’s sister publication, Computerworld.
Reviews of 8 Free Twitter Clients

How to Stop Buying Clothes You Never Wear

These tips are applicable to women and men, whether you’re a high-power attorney or a stay-at-home parent.
How to Stop Buying Clothes You Never Wear

Illusions: What's in a face?

Our brains are exquisitely tuned to perceive, recognize and remember faces. We can easily find a friend’s face among dozens or hundreds of unfamiliar faces in a busy street. We look at each other’s facial expressions for signs of appreciation and disapproval, love and contempt.
Illusions: What's in a face?

PhotoSketch: Photoshop + Image Recognition = Awesome

This technology is just mind-boggling. PhotoSketch may be the coolest program we’ve seen or written about since the invisible speakers.
PhotoSketch: Photoshop + Image Recognition = Awesome

5 Ways Self Storage Units Are More Sad Museums Than Savvy Solutions.

Although self storage (like easy credit), can be beneficial to a percentage of the population, it's a pact with Satan for many folks who don't have an iron fist over their finances or excellent time management skills. Quite simply, it's bad on several fronts.
5 Ways Self Storage Units Are More Sad Museums Than Savvy Solutions.

Hotmail Phishing Attack: Time To Change Passwords

Microsoft has recently confirmed that thousands of Windows Live Hotmail customer’s credentials were exposed on a third party website. According to Neowin the account information were posted by an anonymous user at the pastebin website. The list that was posted contained over 10.000 account details of accounts starting with the letters A and B which suggests that additional lists might be in the hands of the attackers. Initial investigations suggest that only accounts used to access Windows Live Hotmail were affected (which includes email accounts ending with hotmail.com, msn.com or live.com.
Hotmail Phishing Attack: Time To Change Passwords

Use a Tennis Ball to Buff Out Scuffs and More

If you've got a few tennis balls laying around not earning their keep on the court, you can put them to work around your home. Check out some (more) novel uses for tennis balls.
Use a Tennis Ball to Buff Out Scuffs and More

Video of Anne Frank Surfaces on YouTube

The only existing film footage of Anne Frank has been uploaded to YouTube by the Anne Frank House. The Amsterdam museum is hoping to bring attention to Anne’s story and diaries and reach a new generation who may be unfamiliar with her story.
Video of Anne Frank Surfaces on YouTube

Web Resources for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Web Resources for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Best of the Ig Nobel prizes 2009

Why don't pregnant women topple over? Do cows notice kindness? Does cracking your knuckles bring on arthritis? And is there more than one use for a bra? These questions and more inspired the research rewarded at the Ig Nobels, which were handed out on Thursday at Harvard University in a ceremony organised by the Annals of Improbable Research.
Best of the Ig Nobel prizes 2009

Can't remember last time you had a good night's sleep?

A U.S. study finds that not getting enough sleep each night could play a role in the development of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers suggest that sleeplessness should be evaluated when treating Alzheimer’s.
Can't remember last time you had a good night's sleep?

The Official Appreciation Page for the Best of the Wikipedia Rejects

It's been a couple of years since I checked on Clifford Pickover's The Wikipedia Knowledge Dump, a blog about deleted (or marked for deletion) Wikipedia articles. I forgot how much fun it is!
The Official Appreciation Page for the Best of the Wikipedia Rejects

Aluminum versus aluminium and more

This pair is another famous example of the difference between American and British English, second perhaps only to fall ~ autumn, truck ~ lorry, and sidewalk ~ pavement. Sir Humphrey Davy called his invention (1812) aluminum, but in England i was later added to it on the analogy of chemical substances like sodium. American English preserves the earliest form.
Aluminum versus aluminium and more

Google’s Nifty Document Viewer

Sometimes the simplest things are the most useful, you know? Google has announced a handy dandy Docs viewer, available at http://docs.google.com/viewer. This viewer allows you to generate links to view PDFs, Powerpoints, and TIFF documents from the comfort of your own browser.
Google’s Nifty Document Viewer

Eighteen Tips that Aren't, It Turns Out, From a Churchyard.

I always thought Desiderata was an inscription in an old churchyard, but it was actually written by Max Ehrmann in 1927. This bit of information detracts from its mystique somewhat, but it's still an interesting list.
Eighteen Tips that Aren't, It Turns Out, From a Churchyard.

Facial recognition face-off: Three tools compared

Last week's Picasa software update from Google brought with it a neat trick--facial recognition. But it wasn't the first free consumer photo-editing software to find faces. In January, Apple unveiled the latest version of iLife, which included an updated version of iPhoto that could detect and recognize faces in your photos. And this time last year, Microsoft released an updated version of its Windows Live Photo Gallery desktop software that could find faces inside of photos, though it couldn't (and still can't) recognize who's in them.
Facial recognition face-off: Three tools compared

Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 29 - October 1, 2009

The latest issue of new family friendly sites listed on The Black Stump.
Blackstump Australia Issue 29 - October 1, 2009

What Happens To Your Luggage Once It’s Checked In?

Travelling by air without checked luggage is often a sensible goal, but sometimes you have no choice but to stow your bags in the hold. What happens to them once you’ve handed them over to a hassled check-in clerk?
What Happens To Your Luggage Once It’s Checked In?

Lamest. Foodstuff Name. Ever.

They could have taken all sorts of inspiration for naming the “new” vegemite. They settled on a naming convention cornered by Apple. Lame. Seriously lame.
Lamest. Foodstuff Name. Ever.

Best Of The Best: Tools And Apps, Third Quarter 2009

From Lifehacker Australia. The third quarter of 2009 was filled with all sorts of useful communication tools, time saving applications and software to help you get things done. Here’s a look back at the winners in each of the categories.
Best Of The Best: Tools And Apps, Third Quarter 2009

Examine Hand Gestures and Smiles to Detect Lying

Some people are better liars than others. The next time you want to gauge whether someone's pulling your leg, try searching for clues based on their hand gestures and smile. It goes without saying that the following suggestions are not hard-and-fast rules, but more potential tip offs that someone may be fibbing.
Examine Hand Gestures and Smiles to Detect Lying

Banned Books Week

Held during the last week of September, Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books.
Banned Books Week

Reclaiming the night sky: award-winning astrophotography

Iranian photographer Babak Tafreshi has won the 2009 Lennart Nilsson scientific photography prize. According to the award panel, his images "reclaim a night sky that most modern people have lost" – see some of them here.
Reclaiming the night sky: award-winning astrophotography

Tip of the week: How to best email your digital photos

Everyone at one time or another has received an email with a very large image file attached. It can be very annoying. I've even deleted some emails that were just way too big. Here's how to do away with the problem by reducing the size of your photos before you email them.
Tip of the week: How to best email your digital photos

How to Tell if You're Watching TV in HD

High Definition Television (HDTV) is a form of Digital Television capable of "near photo" quality images on an HDTV screen. Unsure if you're seeing an HDTV signal or not? Read on for help.How to Tell if You're Watching TV in HD

Knowing When to Walk Away: Financial Planning for an Unknown Ending

People somehow have a built upon a notion that they must amass a certain amount of money, no matter how long it takes, before they can retire. Yet, what if it took you 40 years of work to reach $1 million, and the very next year you died? Would all your work be for naught? It depends on how much you enjoyed your work, of course, but for the most part, this scenario is not ideal.
Knowing When to Walk Away: Financial Planning for an Unknown Ending

Cheap Passport Pictures

Below are four online passport photo companies, each offering varying levels of service (with corresponding costs).
Cheap Passport Pictures

The Best Online Tools for Families

It’s easy to feel absolultely overwhelmed when you look for a tool or useful website online. There are hundreds of choices, and sometimes, it feels like they’re all pretty similar. There’s a theory that in this age of information, our range of choices — from toothpaste flavors to online calendars — stress out our bodies and our minds to the point that we’re actually less able to make sound decisions.
The Best Online Tools for Families

USB Car Adapter Charges Any USB Device On-the-Go

The iLuv Micro USB Car adapter turns your car's cigarette outlet into a universal USB charger, so you don't have to buy specialized car chargers for all of your USB-chargeable gear.
USB Car Adapter Charges Any USB Device On-the-Go

Australian Social Trends, Sep 2009

The September issue reveals that extra hours, multiple jobs and weekend work are all cutting into Australian family life, while one-quarter of our children are overweight or obese. People may also find it hard to balance employment and care, while Australia's links to China and India continue to grow through migration, trade and education.
Australian Social Trends, Sep 2009

Six Tips for Coping with the Fact that You've Forgotten Someone's Name

If you’re like me, you sometimes have trouble remembering people’s names, or even how you know them.
Six Tips for Coping with the Fact that You've Forgotten Someone's Name

5 Focus Killers … and How to Beat Them

It doesn’t matter how focused you are, working from your remote office likely entails more than a few distractions. For each of us those distractions will be different (I just had to break my morning’s work to move my goat to a new patch of grass; you may not have to cram this particular commitment into your schedule). And, truth be told, they’re not always unwelcome.
5 Focus Killers … and How to Beat Them

Dust storm chokes Sydney

Sydneysiders are being warned that a huge dust cloud will continue to affect the city through the day, after they woke to an eerie red dawn.
Dust storm chokes Sydney

Amazing video of girl barely missing an out-of-control car

A 6-year-old girl very narrowly misses getting squashed by an out of control car.
Amazing video of girl barely missing an out-of-control car

7 ways to fewer wrinkles

Some people are born lucky—but for the rest of us wrinkles are a natural part of aging.
7 ways to fewer wrinkles

Oxford English Dictionary Update

On 10 September 2009 the New Edition was updated with new materials which fall into three main categories: (a) alphabetical series of revised entries based around significant words from across the alphabet; (b) the sequence of revised entries from red to refulgent; (c) a series of new entries and senses from across the alphabet. The table below shows the ranges which were covered, together with some of the more notable entries within them.
Oxford English Dictionary Update

Directory Size Calculator

The best way to free up some hard drive space is to sort the files and folders of that hard drive by size. Windows Explorer is able to sort the files by size but not the folders. It is possible to get the folder size of one folder by right-clicking on that folder and selecting properties but that’s not practicable if there are more than a few on that drive.
Directory Size Calculator

Last Words

Last week, reports of executions — one postponed in Ohio, one carried out in Texas — punctuated the news more frequently than usual. These reports prompted me to reflect on an archive of executed prisoners’ last words I found on the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Web site while researching parole terms. The archive’s earliest entry dates from Dec. 7, 1982; the most recent was added after Stephen Moody was executed on Wednesday by lethal injection for murder.
Last Words

Fastest PDF File Viewer

Adobe PDF is not the fastest pdf reader that is available these days even with programs like Adobe Reader Speedup which remove some of the unneeded features. There are quite a few popular alternatives like Foxit PDF Reader which provide a similar functionality but offer faster startup and loading times.
Fastest PDF File Viewer

How to Use a Dash in an English Sentence

Do you use a dash a lot? What about a hyphen? Many people can not tell the difference between them. Some people even think they are the same thing. If you are one of them, check this out and master the dash.
How to Use a Dash in an English Sentence

Swine flu and a new age of social greetings

The swine flu pandemic has wreaked havoc on traditional greetings worldwide. France’s health ministry has recommended that countrymen avoid “la bise,” and Spain has reportedly recommended halting their “besos”—both are the traditional kisses on the cheeks.
Swine flu and a new age of social greetings

How To Hang Artwork Easily & Precisely

Tutorial on how to hang artwork in a grid "easily and precisely".
How To Hang Artwork Easily

The Best Retirement Calculator - Ever

Have you seen the investment calculator on WolframAlpha? It's amazing. With a few simple inputs like portfolio starting value, age, and other values, you can get a huge amount of data crunching power at your finger tips.
The Best Retirement Calculator - Ever

How to Sample Wine Without Looking like a Clown

Here's some more unpretentious wine instruction from Kathryn Borel Jr.
How to Sample Wine Without Looking like a Clown

Moon is coldest known place in the solar system

Poor Pluto. First it gets kicked out of the planet club, now it's not even the coldest place in the solar system. Dark craters near the moon's south pole have snatched that title – which is good news for the prospects of finding water ice on Earth's companion.
Moon is coldest known place in the solar system

Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 28 - September 19, 2009

The latest issue of new family friendly sites listed on The Black Stump.
Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 28 - September 19, 2009

Beatles remasters: the Metzger review

The definitive review on the recently-released Beatles remasters.
Beatles remasters: the Metzger review

Unclog a Toilet with Dishwasher Detergent

It's not a clever hack any of us want to have to use, but the Art of Manliness blog has a homebrew fix for the next time your restroom trip ends in disaster.
Unclog a Toilet with Dishwasher Detergent

How to Add 5 Consecutive Numbers Quickly

Bet someone you can add five consecutive numbers faster than they can. You can use this as a bar trick, with your friends, or (if you are a student) impress your teacher!
How to Add 5 Consecutive Numbers Quickly

Underwater Suffering: Do Fish Feel Pain?

Many a seafood fan has parroted the popular idea that fish and crustaceans do not feel pain. New research, however, suggests that they may, revealing that their nervous system may be more complex than we thought—and our own awareness of pain may be much more evolutionarily ancient than suspected.
Underwater Suffering: Do Fish Feel Pain?