Don’t Want to Shell Out for MS Office? Get a Free Alternative

Among free productivity application suites that can save you from shelling out money for Microsoft’s Office suite, GoogleDocs and OpenOffice tend to get all the attention. Lately, though, I’ve been experimenting with some alternatives, and they’re more than good enough to use in place of Microsoft’s applications. ThinkFree Office, in particular, is worth a look.
Don’t Want to Shell Out for MS Office? Get a Free Alternative

Six Ideas That Will Change the World

They are making orange peel plastic and robots that can heal themselves. They are six researchers with six ideas that will one day change the world.
Six Ideas That Will Change the World

Lifehacker guide to election day

It's election eve in Australia, so we've compiled a roundup of all the information you need for voting tomorrow. Below the cut you can find information on the best information available online to find out who your candidates are and where to vote, along with the a wrap up of the election guides that are available online, and even how to get the election results SMSed to you!
Lifehacker guide to election day

New words - Oxford English Dictionary

On 14 September 2007 the alphabetical range proter-purposive was added to the New Edition: every word in this range has been thoroughly revised and updated. Below are listed all the new words in the range. We have also added a further list of new words from across the alphabet.
New Words - Oxford English Dictionary

The Social Media Manual: Read Before You Play

So many questions from people about Digg, Propeller, Reddit, Stumbleupon, and other social news sites every day - decided to write this little "manual" as something to read before you jump in head first into any social site, and to keep by your side as you progress through the ranks. It should not only help you succeed with your social media marketing efforts, but also help you avoid some of the mistakes.
The Social Media Manual: Read Before You Play

Products in Translation: Photos

One of the great adventures of travel is sampling the local fare. To do so, it sometimes has a few odd translations for product names, signs and food labels.
Products in Translation: Photos

The Hidden Truth Behind Hotel Drinking Glasses

I've always wondered where that wonderful flavor comes from. Now I know.
The Hidden Truth Behind Hotel Drinking Glasses

The Rolling Bridge

Rather than a conventional opening bridge mechanism, consisting of a single rigid element that lifts to let boats pass, the Rolling Bridge gets out of the way by curling up until its two ends touch.
The Rolling Bridge

250 Things You Wish You Know That Will Guarantee Your Speaking Success

#1. Audience always comes first, ask yourself “How can they benefit from listening to me?”
etc
250 Things You Wish You Know That Will Guarantee Your Speaking Success

On Being Pretty Ugly: A Nice But Quaint Oxymoron

The etymology of the adjective pretty has been investigated reasonably well. Many questions still remain unanswered, but it is the development of the word’s senses rather than its origin that amazes students of language. The root of pretty, which must have sounded approximately like prat, meant “trick.”
On Being Pretty Ugly: A Nice But Quaint Oxymoron

How does Bluetooth work?

We go straight to the source and get Bluetooth executive director Michael Foley to wirelessly transmit an answer to this query.
How does Bluetooth work?

The 10 People you'll find in any Gym

Step in any gym in any city in any state in this entire country and you're sure to find the same people. Of course not the exact same people, but the same types of people.
The 10 people you'll find in any gym

10 things you can do to get a promotion

Very few people hire on with any company or organisation with the intention of remaining indefinitely at the position for which they were hired. These ten tips will help you ask for advancement.
10 things you can do to get a promotion

How to Win at Monopoly ® - a Surefire Strategy

I'm a big Monopoly fan and I recently saw a great website that did something I've always wanted to do: calculate how long it takes to return your investment in the various properties and houses/hotel purchases. Knowing this is really the key to developing a strategy to win the game. Without it, how do you know whether to focus on putting hotels on Boardwalk or buying all the Railroads? You can't do everything - the key to winning is making the right trades and decisions at the different stages of the game. This is just my interpretation of the numbers, but I propose a winning strategy below and then back it up with the data.
How to Win at Monopoly ® - a Surefire Strategy

Lose Belly Fat - Is It Really Possible?

Yes! Of course it is! Don’t give up! There is hope. The key is to understand how your body works and to have a comprehensive plan that you will execute over a reasonable period of time. Translation: this is not a quick fix. But, remember, it is doable! Take the turtle approach, slow and steady, and you’ll get there.
Lose Belly Fat - Is It Really Possible?

Telework is Good For You

Or, to be more precise, “telecommuting has mostly positive consequences for employees and employers,” according to a press release from the American Psychological Association. The release summarizes the findings of a paper from Journal of Applied Psychology that performed a meta-analysis of 46 different studies of telecommuting over the years.
Telework is Good For You

Pigeon Point Lighthouse

Once per year at the Pigeon Point Lighthouse they shut down the weak insipid modern (presumably electric) light and switch over the the 5 kerosene lamps and fresnel lens of the original, as it was 135 years ago.
Pigeon Point Lighthouse

Interesting Web Browsers You Have Never Heard Of

There are more browsers than you are aware of. Besides Firefox, Opera and Internet Explorer there is a number of promising alternatives which can improve your flexibility, increase your productivity and enrich your browsing experience.
Interesting Web Browsers You Have Never Heard Of

Global Personal Taxation Comparison

Mercer's Worldwide Individual Tax Comparator Report analysed the tax and benefits systems across 32 markets focusing on personal tax structures, average salaries and marital status.
Global personal taxation comparison survey

Constitution Day - National Archives of Australia

The National Archives is embarking on a new Constitution Day initiative and is seeking partners to support its move to create an annual event program on a national scale, culminating in a new national celebration.
Constitution Day - National Archives of Australia

7 Bad E-Mail Habits that Make People Want to Kill You

E-mail is a shallow way to communicate. It’s easy, fast and lacks the depth of understanding most people have face-to-face. Unfortunately, many people don’t realize just how much of this understanding is lost. As a result, they pick up bad habits and start driving coworkers, bosses and friends crazy.
7 Bad E-Mail Habits that Make People Want to Kill You

How to Cut Crutch Words When Giving a Speech

You’ve all seen it before. What would otherwise be a great presentation becomes one interrupted jumble of syllables. Instead of taking those key pauses to let the audience digest, every moment of hesitation is filled with a crutch word. Maybe it happens to you.
How to Cut Crutch Words When Giving a Speech

How to Shave Ten Hours Off Your Work Week

Almost everyone I know is working more time than they would like. That’s why a book like The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss has been such a big bestseller. This is a great book, but the promise is a little over the top. I don’t know of anyone, including Tim Ferriss, who really only works four hours.
How to Shave Ten Hours Off Your Work Week

7 Incredible Natural Phenomena you've never seen

7 Incredible Natural Phenomena you've probably never seen!
Natural Phenomena

Quitting the Day Job: Finding the Guts to Pursue Your Dreams

Something amazing has happened in the past eighteen months. While I’ve been learning about personal finance — and sharing my knowledge with you — Get Rich Slowly has grown from a small site with a couple hundred readers into a real-life business. GRS currently has 35,000 subscribers and generates $5,000 in monthly revenue. It also takes most of my time. This is a blessing and a curse.
Quitting the Day Job: Finding the Guts to Pursue Your Dreams

Eight Essential Tips to Overcoming Shyness and Making a Good Impression

Many of us wish we were one of those people who walked into a room and had friends-to-be flock to them. Anyone would agree that those of us who make friends easily and are innately likable will probably have an easier and more pleasant time of things than those who are incredibly shy or find it very hard to make friends.
Eight Essential Tips to Overcoming Shyness and Making a Good Impression

The Vista Death Watch

Microsoft has extended the life of Windows XP because Vista has simply not shown any life in the market. We have to begin to ask ourselves if we are really looking at Windows Me/2007, destined to be a disdained flop.
The Vista Death Watch

JAXA | KAGUYA (SELENE) Image Taking of Earth-Rise by HDTV

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) have successfully performed the world's first high-definition image taking of an Earth-rise* by the lunar explorer "KAGUYA" (SELENE,) which was injected into a lunar orbit at an altitude of about 100 km on October 18, 2007.
JAXA | KAGUYA (SELENE) Image Taking of Earth-Rise by HDTV

The Art of Punctuation: What your use of quotation marks says about you

Today I’m bringing you an excerpt from our book The Art of Punctuation by Noah Lukeman. Here Lukeman talks about how a feast or famine of quotation marks can say a lot about the kind of writer (and even the kind of person you are). Who knew that a writer’s use of quotations marks could be so revealing?
In many cases a publishing professional need only flip through a manuscript to get an immediate idea of its worth: quotation marks tell the story.
The Art of Punctuation: What your use of quotation marks says about you

Average Weekly Earnings, Australia, Aug 2007

Full-time adult ordinary time earnings rose by 5.2% for males and 4.8% for females in the twelve months to August 2007.
Average Weekly Earnings, Australia, Aug 2007

Australia's election map redrawn

Australia's federal election is on 24 November 2007, and the campaign is well and truly in its final stages. Prime Minister Howard and Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd are adding final details to their policies and making their final appeal for votes.
Australia's election map redrawn

The truth about recycling

As the importance of recycling becomes more apparent, questions about it linger. Is it worth the effort? How does it work? Is recycling waste just going into a landfill in China? Here are some answers.
The truth about recycling

Oddly, Hypocrisy Rooted in High Morals

Morally upstanding people are the do-gooders of society, right? Actually, a new study finds that a sense of moral superiority can lead to unethical acts, such as cheating. In fact, some of the best do-gooders can become the worst cheats.
Stop us if this sounds familiar.
Oddly, Hypocrisy Rooted in High Morals

17 Tips to Be Productive with Instant Messaging

The best way to be productive with instant messaging (or chat)? Don’t do it.
Seriously, IM can take up your entire day if you let it. Those who stay away from it can get a lot more done.
17 Tips to Be Productive with Instant Messaging

Be aware of the threat of hidden keystroke-logging devices

Keystroke loggers are a particularly dangerous security threat because users typically don't realise they're even there.
Be aware of the threat of hidden keystroke-logging devices

How many things can you plug into an electrical outlet before it catches fire?

It seems to happen most around the holidays -- the electrical outlet begins putting on extra weight. There are nine strings of lights for the tree, electric candles, a CD player with holiday music and -- for some reason -- a George Foreman Grill. It seems like just staring at this mess of electrical cords for too long will give it just the extra boost it needs to catch fire.
"How many things can you plug into an electrical outlet before it catches fire?"

Conquering your fear of public speaking

People fear public speaking more than anything else. Anxiety over a simple presentation can be debilitating. Moreover, sufferers are typically embarrassed and reluctant to admit they have a problem. They hide a deep concern about the phobia's affect on their careers in an industry that values presentation skills so highly.
Conquering your fear of public speaking

How to Survive Creative Burnout

The longer you work at creating things, whether it’s software, websites, essays or paintings, the greater the odds you’ll hit a day where you don’t feel like doing it anymore. Up until then, you may have heard others describe burnout, but you just shrugged it off as superstition, or perhaps believed yourself immune.
How to survive creative burnout

Top 25 Craziest Deaths

This is a list of crazy, weird and even funny deaths of prominent people in the last 100 years.
Top 25 Craziest Deaths

Cool Tool: Vinegar

I recently became a vinegar convert after acquiring this book whose intriguing subtitle says it all: Over 400 Various, Versatile, and Very Good Uses You've Probably Never Thought Of.
Cool Tool: Vinegar

Oxford Word Of The Year: Locavore

It’s that time of the year again. The New Oxford American Dictionary is preparing for the holidays by making its biggest announcement of the year. The 2007 Word of the Year is (drum-roll please) locavore.
Oxford Word Of The Year: Locavore

The Downside of Optimism

Optimism, it turns out, is best in moderation.
The Downside of Optimism

Melbourne 'on track to be Australia's biggest city'

New population growth figures show Melbourne is closing the gap on Sydney as Australia's largest city.
Consultancy firm KPMG has found 62,000 people moved to Melbourne last financial year, nearly twice the increase in the population of Sydney.
Melbourne 'on track to be Australia's biggest city'

Hear This: 10 Ways to Become a Better Listener and Change Your Life Forever

Learning to listen — I mean really listen — is the single-most important thing you can do to improve communication in your life. It’s unreal how many varied aspects of our lives are directly and indirectly controlled by our ability (or, most often, inability) to listen.
Our romantic relationships run into communication problems everyday. Friendships can get too one-sided and devolve into arguments about taking too much. Even consumerism is dependent upon listening — advertising and referrals help us determine what to buy and where to buy it.
Hear This: 10 Ways to Become a Better Listener and Change Your Life Forever

World Records day sees snakes, swords and strong ears

The daring, the ditzy and the downright deluded were out in force across the globe on a day of mass attempts to break world records.
A wealth of weird and wacky attempts were scheduled which involved kissing cobras, pulling buses with ears, firewalking, bathing with rattlesnakes, tying bras together and samurai sword assaults on apples.
World Records day sees snakes, swords and strong ears

10 Simple, Sure-fire Ways to Make Today Your Best Day Ever

This morning as I took my kids to school, I was feeling rushed and harried. Stress levels high, my face wore a permanent frown, my mind was in a million different places, and my two youngest kids (3 year old, and 20 months) were quiet in their car seats.
Then I realized: while my mind is elsewhere, I’m missing some prime moments with my kids. And not really enjoying my day.
And so I changed the moment, and in doing so changed my day.
10 Simple, Sure-fire Ways to Make Today Your Best Day Ever

The 7 deadly sins of instant messaging

I heart instant messaging, but I heart it too much. If you’re a chat addict like me, you understand the lure. It’s convenient, connecting you to faraway buddies with little cost. It’s safe, releasing you from the worry of looking pretty or sounding sexy. And its deliciously fun. How can you not love video effects, screensharing, and presentation-hosting in Leopard’s iChat?
Despite the benefits, instant messaging can turn you into a mindless chat drone. Too much chatting replaces real interactions and, soon, people turn into pixels.
The 7 deadly sins of instant messaging

Deaths, Australia, 2006

This publication brings together statistics on deaths and mortality in Australia. In the main, statistics refer to deaths registered during the calendar year shown, unless stated otherwise. Populations used in the calculation of rates for 2006 are preliminary estimated resident population by age and sex at 30 June 2006. State/territory relates to the state/territory of usual residence of the deceased at the time of death, unless stated otherwise.
Deaths, Australia, 2006

Household Wealth and Wealth Distribution, Australia, 2005-06

This publication presents a summary of findings about household wealth and wealth distribution in Australia compiled from the 2005-06 Survey of Income and Housing (SIH). The survey collected detailed information about the income, assets, liabilities and household characteristics of persons aged 15 years and over resident in private dwellings throughout Australia. In this publication, net worth is the main measure used to describe wealth.
Household Wealth and Wealth Distribution, Australia, 2005-06

How to Construct a Killer Resume, From Start to Finish

Go through the entire process of creating a strong resume, step by step.
How to Construct a Killer Resume, From Start to Finish

25 Moving Movie Moments for Men

Real men don't cry, right? Heck, they don't show any emotion at all. The average guy is a rock steady super-human, who, in the infamous words of Dennis Leary, is a "suburbanized slob" who likes "football and porno and books about war." Indeed.
25 Moving Movie Moments for Men

Looking for a way to be happier AND smarter? Try idle chit-chat.

One of the key points about happiness is that having strong social bonds is a critical – probably THE critical – element of a happy life.
Over and over, studies show that relationships with other people make us happy. The more friends we have, the more likely we are to be happy. Even short interactions with other people boost mood—and this is true, surprisingly, even for introverts. It's really important to work on your connections with other people.
The Happiness Project: Looking for a way to be happier AND smarter? Try idle chit-chat

Track New Albums by RSS with Music-Alerts

Find yourself constantly sifting through "new music" and "artist alert" emails from certain unnamed online music retailers? New website Music-Alerts helps you keep tabs just on your favorite artists' new releases through a custom RSS feed.
Track New Albums by RSS with Music-Alerts

40+ Excellent Freefonts For Professional Design

The importance of typography in design can’t be overestimated. The accuracy, precision and balance of geometric forms can give letters the elegance and sharpness they deserve. Besides, elegant fonts can help to convey the message in a more convenient way.
40+ Excellent Freefonts For Professional Design

How Do "Miss Steaks" Go Unnoticed? It's Along Story

Last week’s column focused on the havoc that automated spellcheckers can wreak when a suggested “correction” turns out to be utterly wrong. More often, though, people who over-rely on spellcheckers can run into trouble when a misspelling is actually a legitimate word and therefore isn’t flagged as an error. There’s a well-circulated bit of verse (with variations going back to 1992) poking fun at people’s tendency to ignore mistakes that spellcheckers miss:
How Do "Miss Steaks" Go Unnoticed? It's Along Story

Causes of Death Are Linked to a Person’s Weight

About two years ago, a group of federal researchers reported that overweight people have a lower death rate than people who are normal weight, underweight or obese. Now, investigating further, they found out which diseases are more likely to lead to death in each weight group.
Causes of Death Are Linked to a Person’s Weight

A Troubled Marriage Between A Skeptic and an Ascetic, or, The Oddest English Spellings

Confusing as English spelling may be, it has one well-publicized, even if questionable, merit: it tells us something about the history of the language. For example, sea and see were indeed pronounced differently in the past. This fact is of no importance to a modern speaker of English but can be put to use in a course “Spelling as Archeology.” In other cases, modern spelling only puzzles and irritates.
A Troubled Marriage Between A Skeptic and an Ascetic, or, The Oddest English Spellings

Meditation for Beginners: 20 Practical Tips for Quieting the Mind

Meditation is the art of focusing 100% of your attention in one area. The practice comes with a myriad of well-publicized health benefits including increased concentration, decreased anxiety, and a general feeling of happiness.
Meditation for Beginners: 20 Practical Tips for Quieting the Mind

House Price Indexes: Eight Capital Cities, Sep 2007

House prices rose this quarter in Melbourne (+6.7%), Adelaide (+5.1%), Darwin (+5.1%), Brisbane (+4.0%), Hobart (+3.9%), Canberra (+3.9%), Sydney (+1.5%) and Perth (+1.1%).
House Price Indexes: Eight Capital Cities, Sep 2007

How To: Back Up A Trailer

If you've ever tried to back up a trailer, you know how insanely difficult it can be. Popular Mechanics has a quick how-to that should make this process less crazymaking.
How To: Back Up A Trailer

Curing Insomnia Without the Pills

Better sleep doesn’t have to come in a pill.
For people with chronic insomnia, studies show that simple behavioral and psychological treatments work just as well, and sometimes better, than popular medications, according to a report in The Journal of Family Practice.
Curing Insomnia Without the Pills

How to Really Maximize Your Credit Card Rewards

Credit card reward cards are extremely popular but odds are you aren't getting the most out of yours. In fact, poor execution or poor planning can actually result in your credit or account balance being negatively impacted by the use of these cards.
How to Really Maximize Your Credit Card Rewards

Why it can be selfless to be selfish, or, how you can be generous by TAKING.

The pleasure of giving—giving help, giving advice, giving a recommendation, satisfying a desire—is one of the most exquisite pleasures imaginable. But to experience this pleasure, someone must accept your gift. Or, perhaps, even ask for it. And so sometimes, you must be the selfish one, asking and accepting.
Why it can be selfless to be selfish, or, how you can be generous by TAKING.

Die and you're under arrest!

Queen Elizabeth II's speech in the British Parliament overnight may have been routine, but at least nobody got bored to death. That would have been against the law.
Dying in Parliament is an offence and is also by far the most absurd law in Britain, according to a survey of nearly 4,000 people by a television channel showing a legal drama series.
Die and you're under arrest! Britain's stupidest laws revealed

80+ File Conversion Services And Tools

Converting files from one to another format can be a complex task, especially because not many users have the necessary tools handy. Here’s our collection of online conversion services as well as offline desktop tools which provide an easy way to convert files of various types and formats ranging from images, video to audio.
80+ File Conversion Services And Tools

Car Maintenance Schedules

Car maintenance schedules, car recalls, and car dealership marketing and appointment scheduling software.
ServiceBeacon.com

Secrets of Long Life

Newsflash! Scientists have discovered the secret to living literally hundreds of years. The key ingredients? A sedentary lifestyle, slightly chilly climate, friendly neighbors, close proximity to the sea...
Secrets of Long Life

Weird and wonderful Foreign Phrases

English is a rich and wonderful language - but sometimes it's just not good enough.
For example, have you ever searched around in vain for a word to describe someone who gets excited by eating garlic?
Or wondered why there isn't a nice pithy term for a person who is only attractive if they're standing quite far away?
Weird and wondrful foreign phrases

Resolve Conflict Quickly with The Four Agreements

I dread conflict. In fact, when I know a confrontation is imminent, it’s all I can think about. I mull it over when I could be labeling file folders, I ponder it while my inbox burgeons, while my 3x5 cards gather dust. Conflict is my productivity disaster.
Resolve Conflict Quickly with The Four Agreements

1960's Polaroid Pictures of Signs

1960's Polaroid Pictures of Signs

Productive Arguing

These tips from Relationship psychotherapist Paula Hall can help stop your arguments becoming destructive and painful.
BBC - Relationships - Couples - Productive Arguing

Disable Windows Defender in Vista

Even if Windows Defender is offered for free and it has decent protection features, some people might prefer other applications to secure their system from spyware and other threats. In this case there is no point in having two similar applications running at the same time, both of them consuming system resources. This is why disabling Windows Defender can be a good idea.
Disable Windows Defender in Vista

25 Photographs Taken at the Exact Right Time

Timing is everything, particularly in the case of amazing photography. Sometimes that means waiting through a whole sports game and getting lucky to catch just the right shot. Other times than means trudging through nature for weeks to get the perfect environmental photograph. Here are 25 examples of perfectly timed images from around the world and in various genres.
25 Photographs Taken at the Exact Right Time

11 Phenomenal Images of Earth

11 incredible photos taken from space which illustrate just a few of earth’s fascinating geographical features and nature’s frightening unpredictability.
11 phenomenal images of earth

How to convert your vinyl into mp3s

Playing vinyl may be a long-dead activity in most homes, but we’re willing to bet that you’ve at least a few classic records tucked away in the loft.
Whether you’ve got a working turntable or not, in this brave new world of digital music collections and wireless streamers it’s just too much hassle to get everything out of storage and slide those unwieldy records from their paper sleeves.
How to convert your vinyl into mp3s

When Spellcheckers Attack: Perils of the Cupertino Effect

Dictionaries, for all their virtues, can sometimes be troublemakers. Ever since the dawn of word processing, dictionaries have been mined to create wordlists for automated spellcheckers.
When Spellcheckers Attack: Perils of the Cupertino Effect

Ways to Minimize The Effects of a Hangover

Why Do You Have A Hangover?
Headaches, Irritability, Stomach pains, Nausea, Vomit are well known symptoms of those who are accustomed to alcohol. The following hypotheses have been given to explain the symptoms of a hangover...
Ways to Minimize The Effects of a Hangover

Extremely Flexible Woman

Yup, seeing is believing!
Extremely Flexible Woman

Five Simple Hacks to Get Your Email Inbox to Empty

You’ve probably read a few articles on how to get your email inbox to empty (if not, read David Allen, Merlin Mann, or even a couple articles by me). Clearing your inbox and keeping it clear is just a tremendous boost to your psyche and sanity, if not your productivity.
Five Simple Hacks to Get Your Email Inbox to Empty

Top 10 Free Video Rippers, Encoders, and Converters

So many video file formats, so many handheld video players, so many online video sites, and so little time. To have your favorite clips how you want them—whether that's on your DVR, iPod, PSP or desktop—you need the right utility to convert 'em into the format that works for you. Commercial video converter software's aplenty, but there are several solid free utilities that can convert your video files on every operating system, or if you've just got a web browser and a quick clip. Put DVDs on your iPod, YouTube videos on DVD, or convert any video file with today's top 10 free video rippers, encoders and converters.
Top 10 Free Video Rippers, Encoders, and Converters

Monthly Gleanings : OUPblog

The death of the adverb. One of our correspondents notes that students in creative writing tend to put adverbs at the beginning of the sentence, as in “Happily, she met her boyfriend at the mall.” The adverb, nearly wiped out by morphology in American English, is doing “just fine” in syntax. For instance, the authors of scholarly publications love the word undoubtedly; they use it when arguments are weak and doubt exists. Obviously, certainly, and definitely serve the same purpose. Actually has become the bane of our life.
Monthly Gleanings : OUPblog

How to fix a dented ping pong ball

This is a quick and easy fix for dented ping pong balls. For any school or club that has ping pong tables this will help cut down on the number of balls you have to buy. This is great, now I can slam the ball without having to worry about denting it!
How to fix a dented ping pong ball

Steve Riley on Security : More on Autorun

Last month, in my post "Autorun: good for you?" I described why I believe you should disable Autorun on all computers in your organization. I also explained how you can do this for XP and Vista computers.
Steve Riley on Security : More on Autorun

10 Free Microsoft Apps That Don’t Suck

Microsoft as a company is not usually associated with cool and free products. In that sense, Google is way ahead, it has Gmail, Google Reader, Calendar, Google Docs and dozens of other useful services. Nonetheless, there are a bunch of FREE Microsoft tools that are definitely worth a look. While some of them are yet to be released, others have been around for a a while.
10 Free Microsoft Apps That Don’t Suck

The Most Curious Comestibles Found Online

Mmm, mmm … gross? In celebration of strange sustenance chowed 'round the world, we've put together a list of freaky foodstuffs for the audacious, fearless gluttons for gourmet punishment.
The Most Curious Comestibles Found Online

The Art of sharpening Pencils

Welcome to the world of pencil sharpening - this may sound like a dull topic but there is actually a lot more to it than you think. There are a number of different sharpening styles and methods; all good artists should know them. The trick is using the right one at the right time.
The art of sharpening pencils

The Ultimate Consumerist Guide To Fighting Back (Revised Edition)

We've posted recently about how to fight back when a business screws you over, and we've posted a lot of executive contact info over the years. Now we're packaging the two together into one big mega-post of usefulness: a one-stop-stop for figuring out what you need to do to start a customer complaint, or how to escalate a stalled one so that it can be resolved.
The Ultimate Consumerist Guide To Fighting Back (Revised Edition)

How To Set Up a Network Router

This guide explains how to set up a router for home computer networks. The exact names of configuration settings on a network router vary depending on the model and whether it is wired or wireless. However, this general procedure will guide you through the process for the common kinds of home network equipment.
Router Setup and Configuration Guide - Setup a Router

Births, Australia, 2006

Australia's total fertility rate (TFR) in 2006 was 1.81 babies per woman, the highest since 1995 (1.82).
The increase in the TFR between 2005 and 2006 was largely due to births to women aged 30 to 39 years.
Women aged 30-34 years experienced the highest fertility of all age groups in 2006, with 120.1 babies per 1,000 women. This was the highest rate recorded for women aged 30-34 years since 1963.
Fertility of women aged 35-39 years increased to 63.3 babies per 1,000 women, the highest rate since 1961.
Fertility of women aged 25-29 years decreased slightly from 2005, to 100.8 babies per 1,000 women in 2006. Women aged 25-29 years continued to record the second highest fertility of all age groups.
Fertility of women aged 40-44 years in 2006 was the highest since 1971.
At the national level, teenage fertility continued to decline.
Births, Australia, 2006

Birthrate hits 35-year high

Australia is experiencing its biggest baby boom in more than three decades, as more couples are choosing to start a family later in life.
Birthrate hits 35-year high

Airbus A380 - the complete guide

For Stephen Bleach, being a part of the inaugural A380 flight on Thursday was revolutionary... but not for all the right reasons.
Airbus A380 - the complete guide

10 Useful Secrets the Major Airlines Don’t Want You to Know

Ironically, traveling by air is getting more and more inconvenient as overbooked flights, lost luggage, and pricey ticket sales become more common. Unfortunately, booking a flight is sometimes just plain necessary, a fact that airlines know all too well, allowing them to continue maximizing profits while we passengers often get stuck on the ground.
10 Useful Secrets the Major Airlines Don’t Want You to Know

27 Very Strange & Funny Signs

27 Very Strange & Funny Signs

Extending the History of Words: The Case of "Ms."

Ms. is “used as a title preceding the surname of any woman regardless of her marital status, sometimes with her forename(s) intervening.” This is obviously a rather recent invention, compared to the title Mrs. for a married woman (from the late 15th century) and Miss for an unmarried woman (from the mid-17th century). But just how recent is it?
Extending the History of Words: The Case of "Ms."

Top 87 Bad Predictions about the Future

Here's a fine collection of 87 bad futuristic predictions from years gone by -- many of them are risible because of their skepticism.
Top 87 Bad Predictions about the Future

New UN environmental report paints a very bleak future for Humanity

Everywhere you turn there's more bad news on the environment. According to a new report released by the UN, it's not just other species that are in danger, humans are too. The United Nations Environment Program has released the Global Environment Outlook: environment for development (GEO-4) report, and it doesn't make for happy reading.
New UN environmental report paints a very bleak future for humanity

Seven topics to avoid if you don't want to risk being a bore

I hesitate to disagree with the immortal La Rochefoucauld, but I think he was wrong when he wrote, "We are always bored by those whom we bore.”
Not always (though I often remind myself of this observation when I'm feeling bored by someone else). I think that sometimes we find a topic so interesting that it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that it might not be interesting to someone else. And most of us want to make a good impression and avoid boring other people.
Seven topics to avoid if you don't want to risk being a bore

What is your Word of the Century so far?

Susie Dent, author of OUP’s annual Language Report, has told us that the word of the year for 2007 is “footprint”, but can any one word sum up the 21st century so far?
They are conducting a poll over at the AskOxford website, and would love you to take part. You can either choose from one of the selection that Susie has put together from her five years of monitoring the language for her books, or if you don’t agree with any of them, you can nominate your own.
What is your Word of the Century so far?

Password-cracking chip causes security concerns

A technique for cracking computer passwords using inexpensive off-the-shelf computer graphics hardware is causing a stir in the computer security community.
Password-cracking chip causes security concerns

Full Moon is really BIG and BRIGHT in October

On Thursday night, October 25, and into Friday morning, October 26, 2007, the Moon will be visually much larger and brighter than usual.
Full Moon is really BIG and BRIGHT in October