Friday, October 05, 2007

One-Hit Wonders: From Hapax to Googlewhacks

The latest edition of the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary is a pleasing mix of the old and the new, with musty archaisms sharing the page with the leading edge of English vocabulary. Unlike the full Oxford English Dictionary, however, the Shorter doesn’t take up space with anything too archaic, using 1700 as the arbitrary cutoff date.
One-Hit Wonders: From Hapax to Googlewhacks

Breaking Rules makes your Brain light up

Researchers say they have identified the part of the brain that processes the threat of punishment for flouting social rules.
Breaking rules makes your brain light up

Zimmer's Words Of The Week

Zimmer's Words Of The Week

Aussies 'could become fatter than Americans'

Australians have been warned they could be fatter than Americans by 2020, as the Pedestrian Council urged them to take part in national Walk to Work Day today.
Aussies 'could become fatter than Americans'

Thursday, October 04, 2007

5 Things I learned about Personal Growth by Moving

Did you ever have a learning experience after a major change in your life that made you realize you could have learned that same lesson without having gone through the major change?
Obviously the change was a necessary catalyst for the lesson, but it still gives you the opportunity to slap yourself in the forehead and say, "I could have learned this years ago!".
5 Things I learned about Personal Growth by Moving

Marriages, Australia, 2006

Marriages, Australia 2006 provides information on marriages registered in Australia during the 2006 calendar year. Key indicators of marriages at the national and state level are included in the analytical commentary.
Marriages, Australia, 2006

'Phishing' catches Australians online

Alarming numbers of Australians still don't know what the internet scam called 'phishing' is, nor are they adequately protected against it, a Galaxy survey has found.
Phishing is a type of online fraud that tricks people into supplying sensitive information to someone they shouldn't through spoof websites or phony emails, often offering lucrative deals.
'Phishing' catches Australians online

Things to Consider Before Getting Married

Here are a handful of things that have become common themes. So before you say "I Do", make sure you have at least considered these.
Things to Consider Before Getting Married

Who Is Your Visitor? An Average Profile

You never really know who is going to visit your web-site next. You have no idea which configuration will be used, what browser will be installed, which screen resolution will be in use. However, since you’d like to comfort most of your web users, you need to know their habits and the profile of your average visitor — to adapt the design and layout to your users’ needs.
Who Is Your Visitor? An Average Profile

How Well Does Google Translator Cope With Idioms?

Google once boasted that their in-house machine translation efforts are award-winning. However, their internal software still hasn’t been released for all the translation language pairs their offer. The German - English language pair is one such example using an external translation provider.
How Well Does Google Translator Cope With Idioms?

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

GuerrillaMail - Disposable Temporary E-Mail Address

Guerrilla Mail provides you with disposable e-mail addresses which expire after 15 Minutes. You can read and reply to e-mails that are sent to the temporary e-mail address within the given time frame.
GuerrillaMail - Disposable Temporary E-Mail Address

Northern Territory, Australia

In Australia the harsh climate and landscape have shaped numerous indigenous languages that are now in real danger of extinction.
Northern Territory, Australia

Winners of 2007 Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge

The journal Science and the National Science Foundation have announced the winners of their fifth annual Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge.
Winners of 2007 Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge

Interesting Elevators

Here are some that may actually be enjoyable to ride.
Interesting Elevators

Strange and Bizarre Odours That Some People Love

There's no accounting for taste, or smell, in this case. Here are six intriguing, strange odours that some people love. Strange and Bizarre Odours That Some People Love

3 Things Your Customers Won’t Tell You … Unless You Ask

When it comes to driving your business, you want to have two magical things happen:
You want your customers to become even better customers
You want those customers to tell people about you.
3 Things Your Customers Won’t Tell You … Unless You Ask

Writing Blunders

It's amazing how many of the same mistakes you see over and over again. Different authors, same flaws.
Writing Blunders

10 Lessons to Teach Your Kids About Money

Teaching kids about money is a controversial thing — no one argues that you should teach them, but the how is a tougher question.
10 Lessons to Teach Your Kids About Money

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

Why Women Worry So Much

Scientists have known that on the whole, females of all ages tend to worry more and have more intense worries than males. Women also tend to perceive more risk in situations and grow more anxious than men.
Now we know why.
Why Women Worry So Much

Happy 30th birthday, Atari 2600!

See that Wii or Xbox sitting under your TV? The PSP or DS tucked away in your messenger bag? That copy of Pac-man on your cellphone which cost five bucks and expires next month? Each of them owe a debt of gratitude to the granddaddy of all videogame consoles, the Atari 2600, which ushered in an era of unprecedented television usage, and which turns 30 years old this month.
Happy 30th birthday, Atari 2600!

Monday, October 01, 2007

10 Tips for a Killer Presentation

Presentations are something that we’re all familiar with. Whether you are watching a presentation or giving a presentation, chances are you know what sucks and what doesn’t. However, in case you don’t know the suck from the not, here are ten tips to help ensure you are giving a good presentation.
10 Tips for a Killer Presentation

InterviewUp Aims to Help You Prep For Job Interviews

InterviewUp is a new Web 2.0 job site with the idea of helping you prep for that next big interview by getting you ready by reading possible questions your interviewer will have for you.
InterviewUp Aims to Help You Prep For Job Interviews

7 Tips for Resolving Conflicts Quickly and Peacefully

Everyone has to deal with difficult people, whether they are argumentative, abusive, stubborn, or combative. The question is, how can you assert your own rights without creating an unnecessary incident?
Resolving Conflicts Quickly and Peacefully

Staying Motivated to Exercise

Exercise is always a do-it-yourself venture. No other person and no machine can do it for you. Hence, it is important to have those motivating factors so that a person who is into exercise in order to lose weight will hang about.
Staying Motivated to Exercise

Enduring Voices Project, Endangered Languages Facts, Photos, Map

Every 14 days a language dies. By 2100, more than half of the more than 7,000 languages spoken on Earth—many of them never yet recorded—will likely disappear, taking with them a wealth of knowledge about history, culture, the natural environment, and how the human brain works.
Enduring Voices Project, Endangered Languages Facts, Photos, Map

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Vacuuming the Lungs

How to breathe deeply when you're nervous.
Vacuuming the Lungs

BBC - Human Body and Mind - Sleep

Whether you have trouble sleeping or not, take the Sleep Profiler and get tailored advice on how best to optimise your sleep.
BBC - Human Body and Mind - Sleep

Nice lllusion

This picture is not animated!
Nice lllusion

Saturday, September 29, 2007

What Kind of Memory Does My Computer Have Installed?

If you are looking to upgrade the memory in your computer, you are probably wondering how many open slots you have, what type of memory is already installed, and what you need to buy for an upgrade… without having to open your computer.
Since you shouldn't have to open up the computer just to figure out what you have installed, here's a couple of options for detecting the type of memory already installed in your system.
What Kind of Memory Does My Computer Have Installed?

10 Google Video Documentaries You Have To Watch

NicheGeek.com posted a list of top 10 documentaries hosted on Google Video.
10 Google Video Documentaries You Have To Watch

10 Benefits of Power Napping, and How to Do It

College students and kindergartens love them. Now, there may be proof that catching a few zzz’s in the afternoon can be beneficial to your health.
Researchers have found in recent years that the human body requires only as much sleep as the brain will allow it. In other words, so long as the brain is functioning at full capacity, there’s no great requirement for sleep.
10 Benefits of Power Napping, and How to Do It

Top 10 Freeware Software Nobody Knows About - But Should

It’s always a shame when a great program is not heard about by most people - especially when it’s free. Here are the top 10 freeware software that many people still haven’t tried, but definitely should.
Top 10 Freeware Software Nobody Knows About - But Should

Does Exercise Really Make Us Thinner?

Why most of us believe that exercise makes us thinner—and why we're wrong.
Does Exercise Really Make Us Thinner?

jZip - a free alternative to WinZip

The new free jZip.
Create, extract and manipulate Zip, RAR, TAR, GZip, 7-Zip and other file archives.
jZip is absolutely FREE for everybody, home and enterprise users.
jZip is an easy to use and fast archiving software.
jZip is based on proven 7-Zip technology by Igor Pavlov.
jZip - a free alternative to WinZip

Graphics Goodies for MS Excel–Seven Top Tips

Many computer users reach for Microsoft Excel to do much more than just standard spreadsheets. Many people reach for it as their preferred way to produce charts and graphics, or do graphical prototyping. Here are some useful ways to do Excel graphics and charts more efficiently, and make them look better.
Graphics Goodies for MS Excel–Seven Top Tips

50 Green Tips for Earth Day and Beyond

It doesn't have to be Earth Day for me to think about how I can make an impact (or less of an impact) on our planet. Here are a few of my favorite tips.
50 Green Tips for Earth Day and Beyond

101 Zen Stories

101 Zen Stories

Clever Uses For Dental Floss

I had forgotten that a woman I know used dental floss this past May to expertly cut a white sheet cake into 60 slices. Not that you'll be traveling with huge sheet cake, but it's good to know that if you were, and if you had dental floss, you'd have a way to wow the crowd.
Clever Uses For Dental Floss

Friday, September 28, 2007

Outback Race to Flush out Fastest Dunny

The world's eyes, and noses, are on the outback central western Queensland town of Winton today for the Australian Dunny Derby.
Outback race to flush out fastest dunny

Don't Forget: Drink a Beer—Or Two—Daily!

You may be hard-pressed to recall events after a night of binge drinking, but a new report suggests that low to moderate alcohol consumption may actually enhance memory.
Don't Forget: Drink a Beer—Or Two—Daily

Fruits, Veggies Won't Lower Colon Cancer Risk

Although eating lots of fruits and vegetables is good for your health, doing so will not reduce your risk for colon cancer, a Canadian study finds.
But fruits and veggies can still help ward off heart diseases and other cancers, one expert says.
Fruits, Veggies Won't Lower Colon Cancer Risk

How to Accept Criticism with Grace and Appreciation

How do you deal with criticism? I think the first reaction for most of us is to defend ourselves, or worse yet to lash back.
And yet, while criticism can be taken as hurtful and demoralizing, it can also be viewed in a positive way: it is honesty, and it can spur us to do better. It’s an opportunity to improve.
How to Accept Criticism with Grace and Appreciation

Coin Stacking Pictures

The following is the basic pattern for building cantilevered structures with Pennies. Although it looks trivial, we can build amazing structures with these pillars. All penny columns are ten high, a "stack". Two side-by-side pennies held in place by a penny above them is called a "triad". Below is a stack with two triads resting on top.
Coin Stacking Pictures

Ten Timeless Persuasive Writing Techniques

Want to convince your readers to do something or agree with your point of view?
OK, that was a silly question. Of course you do.
Ten Timeless Persuasive Writing Techniques

30 Fundamentals of a Wonderful Life

Here are 30 fundamentals of a wonderful life. Yes -I’m sure there are more, but if you can manage to get each of these under control you will have a strong foundation upon which to build a wonderful life.
30 Fundamentals of a Wonderful Life

Jaxtr Doubles to Two Million Users in 30 Days

It was exactly one month ago that we reported that Jaxtr had reached one million users. Today, the company that offers widgets that let people call you from your social networking profiles is announcing they have surpassed the two million user mark.
Jaxtr Doubles to Two Million Users in 30 Days

Searching For Music and Personalizing Those Results

If you're into music you might want to take a look at Pandora. Pandora allows you to list the songs and artists you like. Then, makes suggestions about songs and groups that you might also like to listen to. Then listen on the web.
Where does the information (metadata) originate to find similarities in the music so suggestions can be made?
Humans.
Searching For Music and Personalizing Those Results

The Lowly Hyphen: Reports of Its Death are Greatly Exaggerated

When a new edition of a dictionary is published, you never know what people are going to pick up on as noteworthy. Last week, when the sixth edition of the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary was officially launched, much of the surrounding publicity had to do with the all the brand-new material: the 2,500 new words and phrases and 1,300 new illustrative quotes. But what’s gotten just as much attention is something that’s missing. The hyphen.
The Lowly Hyphen: Reports of Its Death are Greatly Exaggerated

Thursday, September 27, 2007

A Year of Following All the Rules in the Bible

The guy who wrote The Know-It-All, a book about reading the entire Encyclopedia, recently spent a year trying to follow all 700 plus rules he found in the Bible. These rules ranged from the obvious Ten Commandments to the more obscure details of Old Testament laws, which ultra orthodox Jews might follow: leaving side hair uncut, dwelling in huts on certain holidays, strict dietary routines.
A Year of Following All the Rules in the Bible

10 Things You Can Do Today to Simplify Your Life

Simplifying can sometimes be overwhelming. The amount of stuff you have in your life and the amount of things you have to do can be too big a mountain to tackle.
But you don’t have to simplify it all at once. Do one thing at a time, and take small steps. You’ll get there, and have fun doing it.
10 Things You Can Do Today to Simplify Your Life

Quick Tip: Change the Registered Owner in Windows

If you've ever wondered how to change the name of the person that Windows is registered to, this is the quick tip for you. It's not all that useful, but it might come in handy if you got a computer from somebody else.
Quick Tip: Change the Registered Owner in Windows

World Freedom Atlas

The world freedom atlas is a geovisualization tool for world statistics.
World Freedom Atlas

Microsoft Excel : Calculation Issue Update

Yesterday we were alerted to an issue in Excel 2007 (and Excel Services 2007) involving calculation of numbers around 65,535. The Excel team would like to provide a description of the issue and explain what we're doing about it.
Microsoft Excel : Calculation Issue Update

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Think you know who's calling? Don't be so sure

When your phone rings and the caller's number or name pops up on the screen, don't assume that it's really their phone calling you. You could be being tricked.
Think you know who's calling? Don't be so sure

Watch For Ice!!!

Watch For Ice!!!

Australian Culture and Recreation News, Sep 2007

Culture and Recreation News is the half-yearly newsletter of the National Centre for Culture and Recreation Statistics (NCCRS). The newsletter highlights developments in arts and cultural heritage, and sports and recreation statistics, and provides relevant information for researchers, policy makers, service providers and others with an interest in this field.
Culture and Recreation News, Sep 2007

At last! Your real DVT risk

Researchers say they have finally nailed down the absolute risk of getting a blood clot from a long-haul flight: 1 in 4656.
At last! Your real DVT risk

Experienced Spiders pick smaller Mates

From post-coital cannibalism to love at first sight, the sex life of the African jumping spider is full of surprises, according to a new study.
Experienced spiders pick smaller mates

Excel 2007 Multiplication Bug

The example that first came to light is =850*77.1 — which gives a result of 100,000 instead of the correct 65,535. It seems that any formula that should evaluate to 65,535 will act strangely.
Excel 2007 Multiplication Bug

More on the necessity of antivirus software

Steve Riley on Security
A few days ago, I wrote a brief post about my non-use of antivirus software on my own computers. A number of people have asked me privately if I am recommending such a stance to other individuals or to organizations. Let me be perfectly clear: absolutely not. For the vast majority of folks, the four important steps to protect your PC still hold.
More on the necessity of antivirus software

Why You Should Mouse with the Other Hand

By switching the side of your mouse-pad you will force yourself to use your non-dominant hand. This, in turn, will stimulate the neural connections between the right and left hemispheres on your brain. Scientific research confirmed that people that use both hands equally have 10% more nerve fibers joining the two sides of the brain.
Why You Should Mouse with the Other Hand

How to stop a headache before it starts

8 drug-free tips to avoid agony and painproof your day.
How to stop a headache before it starts

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

The Magic Trick

It`s just unbelievable.
The Magic Trick

“Simpsons” Scenes and their Reference Movies

Here’s something for you film buffs who are also Simpsons buffs: 66 stills from various episodes of The Simpsons, each one beside the still from the movie scene to which they refer.
“Simpsons” Scenes and their Reference Movies

Parallel Universes Exist

Parallel universes really do exist, according to a mathematical discovery by Oxford scientists described by one expert as "one of the most important developments in the history of science".
Parallel universes exist

Forbidden Words: What Employees Can and Cannot Say to Customers

Rude store employees? This Chinese clothing store solved the problem by putting up a poster of what their workers can and cannot say to customers!
What Employees Can and Cannot Say to Customers

Sci-Doku Puzzle

SCI-DOKU is a sudoku puzzle that uses letters instead of numbers, with an added twist: a science-related clue accompanies each puzzle and the answer is spelled out in one row or column of the puzzle.
Sci-Doku Puzzle

Monday, September 24, 2007

Fight for the Top of the World

The Arctic has never been immune from politics; during the Cold War, U.S. and Soviet submarines navigated its frigid waters. But now that global warming has rendered the Arctic more accessible than ever — and yet at the same time more fragile — a new frenzy has broken out for control of the trade routes at the top of the world and the riches that nations hope and believe may lie beneath the ice. Just as 150 years ago, when Russia and Britain fought for control of central Asia, it is tempting to think that — not on the steppe or dusty mountains but in the icy wastes of the frozen north — a new Great Game is afoot.
Fight for the Top of the World

Australian Largest Population increase ever

Australia recorded its largest annual population increase ever, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Australia grew by an estimated 307,100 people for the year ended March 2007, the largest increase since record keeping began in 1789. The increase gave Australia an annual growth rate of 1.5% (the highest rate since 1990), and brings the population to an estimated 20.9 million.
Australian Largest Population increase ever

Nice job!

Hmmm...Nice job!

7 Amazing Holes

Looking at these photos is both scary and fascinating. The sheer scale of these holes reminds you of just how tiny you are.
7 Amazing Holes

List of Misquotations

Consists of things that many people think are correct quotes but are actually incorrect. Does not include quotes that were actually blunders by the people that said them.
List of Misquotations

The Right Angle

Sometimes, it doesn't matter what equipment you have or how much experience you've got. Sometimes, you just have to be at the right place at just the right angle.
The Right Angle

The Bug Bible

Did you know that around two million Australian's are affected by foodborne illness every year? Illnesses such as food poisoning are becoming more common as our lifestyles change - for one thing, we eat out more. However, it is still estimated that 20% of cases of foodborne illness are a result of meals eaten at home!
The Bug Bible

Food Shopping

Follow the advice below to make sure you not only have a well-stocked pantry for healthful eating, but are buying the right products at the right time in the right way. You’ll notice, by the way, that many of the tips below have you looking at a food product’s nutrition label and ingredients list for information. If you haven’t become expert at this, time to study up.
Food Shopping

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Web 'censorship' bill brings police state one stop closer

Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) has slammed moves to give the Federal Police powers to ban access to certain Internet content as "another step in Australia's descent into a police state".
Web 'censorship' bill brings police state one stop closer

5 nutritious habits of the planet's healthiest countries

If you've vacationed in an international destination, you know that learning about its food is one of the best ways to become familiar with a new culture. But lately, there is a greater interest in global cuisine because of health benefits attributed to certain styles of eating.
5 nutritious habits of the planet's healthiest countries

Japanese Vending Machines

PhotoMann has a large 'collection' of images of unique vending machines found around Japan. Over 50 of them can be seen here. The machines are everywhere.
Japanese Vending Machines

Is Your Computer Connecting To Websites Without Your Knowledge

If you are worried that some programs on your PC are secretly making connections to websites in the background, here's a quick tip that uses a simple DOS command to detect and prevent such suspicious activity.
Is Your Computer Connecting To Websites Without Your Knowledge

Do Martians live in Caves?

The NASA 2001 Mars Odyssey and Mars Global Surveyor orbital probes have found entrances to seven probable caves (nicknamed “Seven Sisters”) located on the slope of the Martian volcano Arsia Mons.
Do Martians live in caves?

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Is Australia the New China?

Several privacy advocates are in an uproar in response to a bill introduced by Australia’s Parliament, which would grant the country’s federal police the power to control which sites can be accessed by users of the Internet.
Is Australia the New China?

4 Simple Steps to Start the Exercise Habit

The Main Problems
So why do most people have trouble making exercise a regular habit? Well, there are probably a number of factors, but here are the main ones as I see it.
4 Simple Steps to Start the Exercise Habit

Real-Time Collection: Flight Tracking with Flight Explorer

As we continue to build our collection of real-time or near real-time data resources on the Internet, we’re adding another service that offers near real-time tracking of aircraft either in or arriving, departing U.S. airspace.
Real-Time Collection: Flight Tracking with Flight Explorer

Testing the People Search Engines

Somehow, a bunch of companies seem to have decided that “searching for people” is one of the great unsolved problems of the Internet. I admit that I do end up searching for information on people now and then, but Google has generally done pretty well for me. Still, Spock, SquidWho, WhoZat?, and Wink are all pitching the notion that they can supply some secret sauce that Google is missing in the people search arena.
Testing the People Search Engines

Friday, September 21, 2007

My Word Mate

"MyWordMate.com" is a project that aims to find as many synonyms as possible for different words.
My Word Mate

SMILEY:25 YEARS OLD AND NEVER LOOKED HAPPIER!

By Scott Fahlman
A lot of people have asked me about this. Yes, I am the inventor of the sideways “smiley face” (sometimes called an “emoticon”) that is commonly used in E-mail, chat, and newsgroup posts. Or at least I’m one of the inventors.
SMILEY:25 YEARS OLD AND NEVER LOOKED HAPPIER!

Laptop or Desktop Computer? - Lifehacker

Blogger Ron Schenone insists that the desktop computer is no longer needed to run heavy software, since laptops are nearly if not just as capable as most desktops on the market. Add to that the portability, small footprint and dramatic price drops for good laptops, and Schenone wonders why any normal user should buy a full desktop computer. So what I'd like to know is: 1) What are you using right now? and 2) Which would you purchase right now?
Laptop or Desktop Computer? - Lifehacker

Armless Artist Questioned In Neighbour's Death

Relatives of Charles Keith Teer, 47, claim he died after the armless man, William Russell Redfren, head-butted and kicked Teer during a fight.
Armless Artist Questioned In Neighbour's Death

10 Technologies That Will Change The World

ABCNews asked weekly columnists Jonathan Blum and Dan Evans to tell us about 10 technologies they believe will change the world. This is what they said.
10 Technologies That Will Change The World

Art of Writing - Writing Tips

As the world becomes increasingly digital, writing becomes more important. This is especially true for non-writers. If you work in an office, the majority of your communications are made with text by email or IM.
Art of Writing - Writing Tips

Oomphy Wordsmithery of the Anglosphere

Today’s an exciting day for OUP, as we launch the sixth edition of the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. If this were a birth announcement, we’d have to give the vitals: Oxford University Press joyfully announces the arrival of twin volumes, weighing a total of 13.6 pounds (6.2 kilograms), with 3,800 pages, 6 million words of text, more than half a million definitions, and 84,000 illustrative quotations.
New Entries in the Shorter OED

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Corrective Services, Australia, June 2007

This publication presents information on persons in custody and community-based corrections. The statistics are derived from information provided to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) from administrative records held by corrective services agencies in each state and territory, and from the Australian Government Attorney-General's Department for details on federal prisoners. Details are provided for each state and territory on: prisoner numbers and imprisonment rates by type of custody (i.e. open or secure custody or periodic detention); prisoner numbers by legal status (sentenced or unsentenced) for all prisoners and for Indigenous prisoners; the number of sentenced receptions into custody; the number of federal prisoners; and the numbers and rates of persons serving community-based corrections orders. Experimental data on the Indigenous status of persons in community-based corrections are also included in the Appendix.
Corrective Services, Australia, June 2007

2007 Australian Federal Election

Follow Australian politics with our map, videos, gadgets & more.
2007 Australian Federal Election

Malacca Strait Pirates

Modern pirates have long plagued Southeast Asia’s Strait of Malacca, robbing sailors, kidnapping crews, and stealing entire ships.
Malacca Strait Pirates - Photo Gallery - National Geographic Magazine

Skull-A-Day: FREE Skull Font!

Skullphabet free font TrueType (for PC) and Opentype (for MAC).
FREE Skull Font!

WOMEN vs. MEN

Punctuation is powerful!
WOMEN VS. MEN

The Steepest Streets in the World

A selection of some of the steepest streets on earth. To explain the grade percentage: as an example, a road with a 30% grade would rise 30 feet in height for every 100 feet travelled horizontally.
the steepest streets in the world

East or West...

All over the world when people decide to name cardinal points, they look at the sky. Terms used for orientation should therefore be immediately transparent: we expect them to mean “toward sunrise,” “toward sunset,” “related to a certain constellation,” “in the direction of a certain wind,” and so forth. And indeed, Latin oriens “east” is akin to oriri “to rise,” while occidens “west” is a cognate of occidere “to fall down.”
East or West...

Do You Recognize These 10 Mental Blocks to Creative Thinking?

Whether you’re trying to solve a tough problem, start a business, get attention for that business or write an interesting article, creative thinking is crucial. The process boils down to changing your perspective and seeing things differently than you currently do.
Do You Recognize These 10 Mental Blocks to Creative Thinking?

Stop: Don’t Send That Angry E-mail!

Over the course of my career, I have fired off my share of angry letters and e-mail. However, I cannot think of a single time when these communiques had a positive effect. Usually, they only served to escalate the conflict and alienate the recipient.
Stop: Don’t Send That Angry E-mail!