5 tips to avoid annoying other people

Most of us would like to get along well with others -- whether friends or strangers. One thing to keep in mind is that certain habits tend to get on other people’s nerves. Now you might say, “If someone’s annoyed when I talk on the phone in the grocery store, I don’t care, because that’s ridiculous!” The fact is, whether or not you think it’s ridiculous, some people will be very annoyed. Just know that. Here are some common aggravations to keep in mind.
5 tips to avoid annoying other people

Phishing Scams in Plain English

You’ve probably seen it. You receive an e-mail from your bank or trusted company, and it’s asking you for information. It looks real, but it’s designed to fool you into handing over important information. This is a scam called phishing, and you need to avoid it. This is Phishing Scams in Plain English. This video suggests several ways to minimize the risk of being scammed.
Phishing Scams in Plain English

Vestigial Facts

LiveScience's "Top 10 Useless Limbs (and Other Vestigial Organs)" slideshow.
Vestigial Facts

Things It’s Cheaper to Do Yourself

You can make a good argument for hiring out certain tasks because it frees your time or because the person you hire will do a better job. In fact, people have. Author Timothy Ferriss turned the idea of outsourcing your life into a best-selling book, The 4-Hour Workweek. But when money is tight and you’re looking for places to cut, some of the places you’re outsourcing now should get a second look.
Things It’s Cheaper to Do Yourself

Oxford’s Place of the Year 2008: Kosovo

Welcome to Geography Awareness week, the perfect time to announce another Place of the Year.
Oxford’s Place of the Year 2008: Kosovo

LIFE Photo Archive available on Google Image Search

The Zapruder film of the Kennedy assassination; The Mansell Collection from London; Dahlstrom glass plates of New York and environs from the 1880s; and the entire works left to the collection from LIFE photographers Alfred Eisenstaedt, Gjon Mili, and Nina Leen. These are just some of the things you'll see in Google Image Search today.
LIFE Photo Archive available on Google Image Search

20 of your most hated cliches

According to an online survey, cliches like "at the end of the day", "24/7" and "literally" are among the most reviled. Here are 20 more that particularly irk Magazine readers.
20 of your most hated cliches

Beatles hard days night mystery chord Solved with Fourier analysis

his first chord that starts A Hard Day’s Night is one of the most recognizable and famous opening chords in rock & roll. It’s played by George Harrison on his 12 string Rickenbacker.
Beatles hard days night mystery chord Solved with Fourier analysis

How to Open a Difficult Jar

Following these steps, even arthritic or small hands can open a jar with ease. Jars are under a vacuum; if you break the vacuum and let air in, then they are much easier to open.
How to Open a Difficult Jar

2008 Gadget Guide

Looking for the perfect present for that techno geek in your life? This year's guide has plenty to choose from, including a bunch for the socially conscious in search of green tech that helps curb energy usage, cut down on paper pollution and clean up—sans toxic chemicals. The guide also features innovative uses of technology to provide basic services such as water, sanitation and light to areas that lack them.
2008 Gadget Guide

How to Understand Your Digital SLR: 12 steps (with video)

When they were first introduced, digital SLR cameras were enormously expensive and a tool for professionals only. Since then, they have come down in price into the consumer price range. Because of this, many people buy digital SLRs without understanding how they work -- and, consequently, not making the most of them. This article will guide you through the most common functions they have, and to show you how to learn to use one by experiment. The principles herein are the same for any camera; but you will probably not be able to set your shutter and aperture manually on most non-SLR cameras. Read on nonetheless.
How to Understand Your Digital SLR: 12 steps (with video)

A Beginners Guide to Capturing Motion in Your Photography

Photographs, by definition, capture and immortalize a small slice of life. There is little for the viewer to infer what happens before or after that moment. However, there are images that need to communicate motion. For example, you may want to capture a dog running, a train barreling down the tracks, or trees that are blowing in the wind. Each of these scenes can come alive within your photographs if you learn how to convey motion properly.
A Beginners Guide to Capturing Motion in Your Photography

How to Permanently Delete Data from Your Hard Drive

According to the New York Times, a basic privacy measure that is often overlooked is the proper destruction of data on hard drives. An ongoing study by British Telecom says that most people don't realize that deleting a file doesn't actually remove the data from a computer.
How to Permanently Delete Data from Your Hard Drive

ZoneAlarm 2009 Pro Free Tomorrow Only

The popular Windows firewall application ZoneAlarm Free has a big brother called ZoneAlarm Pro, which boasts a handful of features not available in the free version—including integrated antivirus. Normally $US40, ZoneAlarm Pro will be available tomorrow (November 19 Australian) for the low, low price of free.
ZoneAlarm 2009 Pro Free Tomorrow Only

Dery on decapitation

The evidence for the survival of awareness (as opposed to brain activity) after decapitation remains inconclusive. According to Dr. Ron Wright, a forensic pathologist and former chief medical examiner of Broward County Florida, "After your head is cut off by a guillotine, you have 13 seconds of consciousness (+/- 1 or 2).
Dery on decapitation

HOLIDAY SURVIVAL GUIDE: 20+ Tools for Family Travel

From travel planning sites to navigation apps and services to help you keep track of your spending, here are over 20 resources to help you survive the holiday travel season.
HOLIDAY SURVIVAL GUIDE: 20+ Tools for Family Travel

How to Stop a So Called Friend from Putting You Down

You have a "friend" who can be funny and fun to be with sometimes, but in front of others, puts you down or uses you as the butt of jokes or pranks. How do you handle this unusual relationship? Is there any chance you can change things?
How to Stop a So Called Friend from Putting You Down

How to Run a Con

If we humans have such big brains, how can we get conned?
How to Run a Con

Wrapping cords and hoses

Despite all the cordless tools that keep showing up on job sites, air hoses and extension cords still need to be rolled out every morning and wrapped up at the end of the day. Coiling them tightly for storage introduces twists and kinks that can cause damage and make them harder to manage around the work zone.
Wrapping cords and hoses

Maps Of Fires In Southern California: November 2008 Edition

Fires are burning in Southern California once again. Here’s an update on how to find maps of where the blazes are at.
Maps Of Fires In Southern California: November 2008 Edition

The Complete Guide to Speeding Up Your PC's Startup

You just hit the power button your PC, and now you've got enough time to brew a fresh pot of coffee for the entire office—because that's how long it takes for your computer to go from "on" to "ready to work." If your PC's bogged down by a bunch of programs that automatically start up when it does, it can take forever to get started every morning. Without a major hardware upgrade, there's not much you can do to cut the time it takes for Windows to actually boot—but you can trim and tweak the amount of time it takes for your desktop to get to a working state.
The Complete Guide to Speeding Up Your PC's Startup

20 Essential Sources for Free HD Videos

HD Video isn’t just coming to every television screen, it’s making its way online as well. From well known video sites like YouTube to unknown upstarts like Vuze, many online video services are embracing the new standard.
20 Essential Sources for Free HD Videos

Find Hidden House Prices On Real Estate Sites

The blog at house pricing social network Home Price History offers up a trick for finding prices for houses that are listed online without a dollar figure (a pretty common scenario with auctions). Turns out that both realestateview.com.au and realestate.com.au store background information using Google Base, and if you go hunting through the real estate category on Base, you can often find the asking price in the listing for a particular property.
Find Hidden House Prices On Real Estate Sites

The Lazy Man’s Guide to Getting Things Done

What if I told you that you could be totally lazy and irresponsible, and still accomplish just as much? What if you could slack off, loiter, and essentially do nothing and get more done than the average person. It’s a bit of an art, but you can master this skill with some practice.
The Lazy Man’s Guide to Getting Things Done

Software Updates 46 2008

Most notable updates have been released for VLC Player, the Software Update Monitor SUMo or the new version of Soundbase.
Software Updates 46 2008

Living with and Learning from Layoffs

Earlier today, I shared several lists of recession-proof jobs. The experts who created these lists don’t agree on much, but they do seem to think that both jobs in IT and the health-care industry are fairly safe. That doesn’t mean that all of these jobs are safe, of course.
Living with and Learning from Layoffs

Setting Goals

When you set goals for yourself, do you picture the benefits you’ll receive in a year, five years, ten years? Do you struggle on day by day in activities you don’t particularly enjoy – or actively dislike – because you want to reach a target some day in the distant future?
Setting Goals

Brute Force Calculator

Have you ever wondered how long it would take for a typical computer bought in 2008 to brute force your passwords? Now you can find out with the Brute Force Calculator. While it does not provide scientific results it could be interesting to see how long it could take to brute force your passwords to make sure they are hard enough to crack.
Brute Force Calculator

How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci was the ultimate multi-tasker: an accomplished scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, painter, sculptor, architect, botanist, musician and writer. If you want to be a Renaissance Man (or Renaissance Woman), you can learn a lot from how Leonardo da Vinci lived and thought. Based on studying the life and work of this famous polymath[1] anyone can emulate da Vinci with the following steps.
How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci

Breast-feed and boost your child's immunity

Need help strengthening your child's developing immune system? There is strong evidence that nursing decreases the incidence and severity of ear and respiratory-tract infections, diarrhea, meningitis, and urinary-tract infections.
Breast-feed and boost your child's immunity

New Laptop Batteries to Last 8 Times Longer Than Current Crop

Researchers at Hanyang University in South Korea have developed new Lithium batteries that can last a whopping eight times longer than today's models.
New Laptop Batteries to Last 8 Times Longer Than Current Crop

Easy Way to Defrost Your Freezer

Anytime you have to remove the contents of your freezer it’s a hassle—though it does help you remove items that have past their shelf life! Next time you need to defrost, do it quickly and easily using this great idea from Tips for Girls. (Yes men, you can read, too.)
Easy Way to Defrost Your Freezer

Medicine cabinet dos and don'ts

There are 39 types of Tylenol, 18 versions of Alka-Seltzer, six of Excedrin, and 18 of Sudafed. With so many options at the drugstore, how can you make the best choices? We listed our top picks of everything you need for a well-stocked medicine cabinet. Also, see our "Drug Don'ts." It turns out that over-the-counter medications can be just as risky as prescription drugs.
Medicine cabinet dos and don'ts

Coping with Holiday Stress

The thought of holidays may warm our hearts and have the kids excitingly anticipating all the fun. However, the holidays can also be a stressful time, making you dread what may lie ahead …
Coping with Holiday Stress

AVG 8 Update Marked User32.dll As Virus Infected

An update of the popular anti-virus software program AVG let a false positive slip through quality control which caused widespread panic on the Internet by desperate AVG users looking for help. The update detected a virus, more precisely Trojan Horse PSW.BANKER4.APSA, in the important system file user32.dll in Windows XP. User32.dll allows programs to implement a graphical user interface and is considered a core component of the Windows XP operating system.
AVG 8 Update Marked User32.dll As Virus Infected

Could You Eat Healthfully on One Dollar a Day?

“How much does it really cost to eat a healthy diet?”
Could You Eat Healthfully on One Dollar a Day?

Internet filtering? Just say no

There's lots of heat and little light in the debate surrounding the Australian government's Internet censorship plan - and the minister responsible isn't helping.
Internet filtering? Just say no

Oxford compiles list of top ten irritating phrases

Heading the list was the expression 'at the end of the day', which was followed in second place by the phrase 'fairly unique'.
Oxford compiles list of top ten irritating phrases

Let The Computer Make Decisions For You

Are you one of those people that are hard pressed whenever they have to make a decision? It can be about basic things like asking a girl out, eating or buying some new household items. It could also be about life changing things like jobs, moving or buying larger items like cars or apartments.
Let The Computer Make Decisions For You

Six Simple Housework Hacks

Need things to be easier? No available budget monies for a cleaning service? Boy, do I hear you! Here are six simple things I've started doing to maintain housework sanity on the home front.
Six Simple Housework Hacks

Can Men Be Trained To Understand Women?

According to Michael Gurian, co-author of Leadership and the Sexes: Using Gender Science to Create Success in Business with Barbara Annis, not only can men be trained to understand and value the sometimes nurturing and collaborative leadership styles of some women, but women can learn to respect what they might perceive as the hyper-competitiveness and abruptness of some men. These traits, they argue, are hard-wired rather than created purely through cultural and societal influences.
Can Men Be Trained To Understand Women?

A cure for itchy shirt labels

Why did I never think of this before hacking off a bunch of my daughter's shirt tags? (I inevitably break the thread of the neck and a hole is born.)
A cure for itchy shirt labels

Blackstump Australia Issue 42 - November 9, 2008

This weeks latest sites ftom The Black Stump...
Blackstump Australia Issue 42 - November 9, 2008

The complete book on pee and poo

The Big Necessity is a new book written by British author Rose George that delves into the “now-mentionable” world of human waste. The author states that the toilet adds twenty years to the life of an average human but that about one in three persons in the world do not have access to one.
The complete book on pee and poo

Australia's water supplies under pressure

Australia's second largest city, Melbourne, has uncomfortably low water storage levels, as most of the country faces a hot and dry summer, experts say.
Australia's water supplies under pressure

Surviving a Layoff

People are usually laid off for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Don't expect logic in who gets laid off and who doesn't, which departments survive and which don't, etc. There is often no discernable logic involved. It's just the luck of the draw, and it is not a personal failure, so don't let it destroy your confidence.
Surviving a Layoff

17 Interesting Facts About Doctors & Patients

1. How frequently do doctors misdiagnose patients?
etc
17 Interesting Facts About Doctors & Patients

Fifty Things I Learned About Life

Reflections...
Fifty Things I Learned About Life

How to Get Closure

There may be times in our lives when relationships - whether they are romances, friendships, or family ties - hit a bump in the road and seem to fade away, leaving us wondering what happened and why? If it's been a long time and it's clear to you that the relationship is over, but there was no final talk or last goodbye, you might be in need of some closure so that you can move on, and put that relationship behind you.
How to Get Closure

Surprise migraine, breast cancer link

In a puzzling twist, women who have a history of migraine headaches are less likely to develop breast cancer than other women, say US researchers.
Surprise migraine, breast cancer link

Your Single Best Action For Saving Money

What single action was the most effective in your life for saving money? What one thing have you actually done or specific change have you actually made, in an effort to save money, that has been the most effective in your life? After all, psychological tips like “stop spending to impress other people” are powerful, but when they’re coupled with direct action, they become transformative.
Your Single Best Action For Saving Money

Funny old warning sign for light bulbs

19th century people needed some explanation to understand the difference between the regular candlelight and the electrically simulated candlelight.
Funny old warning sign for light bulbs

Google Street View Easter Egg

Google recently hinted at a new Easter Egg part of Google Maps Street View. And it has surfaced now – it’s called Street With a View.
Google Street View Easter Egg

Women and Migraine Headaches

Women have good historical cause to lament that they, not men, must endure the labor pains of childbirth. On top of that, now we must consider migraine headaches.
Women and Migraine Headaches

Five Job Hunting Mistakes That Scream “I’m Unprofessional”

In most job-filling situations, the employer has the luxury of choosing from several well-qualified applicants, all of whom could probably do the job. That’s when the little things, like the common but often unrecognized mistakes described here, almost always come into play. Make sure you avoid them so they don’t cost you a shot at the job.
Five Job Hunting Mistakes That Scream “I’m Unprofessional”

How to Live in the Moment

Living in the moment is all about living like there's no tomorrow. It takes practice but in the end, you'll lead a fuller life. To do this you must realize beauty in every moment, and in everyday activities. This is your life, now live!
How to Live in the Moment

Use a Teabag to Fix a Broken Nail

Using a tea bag to repair a broken nail. Here’s what you need to do.
Use a Teabag to Fix a Broken Nail

Can You Save $1,000 in 30 Days?

Ramit at I Will Teach You to Be Rich has announced his Save $1,000 in 30 Days Challenge. During the month of November, he’s urging people to get off the couch and actually take steps to reduce their spending.
Can You Save $1,000 in 30 Days?

The Eerie Amusement Parks of North Korea

I’m hooked on virtual tourism and one of my favorite stops in Google Earth includes Pyongyang, North Korea. While traveling along the Taedong River, I noticed something that looked like an amusement park, an intriguing find in such a pragmatic and tedious city.
The Eerie Amusement Parks of North Korea

Why Do We Forget Things?

The brain can store a vast number of memories, so why can't we find these memories when we need to? A new study provides insights into this question.
Why Do We Forget Things?

You know! It's a thingummy... Whatjermercallit...

Our lives are full of 'thingummys', 'thingamajigs' and 'whatjermecallits' - those everyday items we should know the word for, or were once told but have since forgotten.
You know! It's a thingummy... Whatjermercallit...

Free Photo Editing Tool

Photoscape is a versatile free photo editing tool that can be downloaded as a portable software or an installer. The photo editing tool combines many of the most popular functions that are needed when editing photos. Many of the functions are available by clicking on tabs in the main interface.
Free Photo Editing Tool

Celebration Of High-Speed Photography

A digital camera, some fast-moving subject, and a bit of knowledge about how to take the best pictures of moving subjects will launch you on the road to some of the most interesting photographs you’ve ever taken. Although some blurring can be effective in communicating a sense of high-speed motion, some photographers want the subject to be frozen in time to get some pretty special photographic effects.
Below we present over 35 beautiful examples of high-speed photography, which are supposed to provide you with some inspiration of what can be done with high-speed photography. We also showcase some truly stunning slow-motion videos. All the examples are linked to their sources. You can also explore further works of the photographers we’ve featured below.
Celebration Of High-Speed Photography

Wheelchair athlete's back flip lands him in record book

With the top of his head mere inches above the lip of a jump, Aaron Fotheringham soars into the Guinness World Book of Records by performing a back flip in his wheelchair at Doc Romeo skate park on Saturday.
Wheelchair athlete's back flip lands him in record book

Are We Hardwired with a Sense of Irony?

Well, that’s just great.” Quick, what does that sentence mean? Is the speaker acknowledging some good news, celebrating a joyful event that just took place? Do we take the statement at face value? Or could the person who said it mean something quite different, maybe even the opposite? Perhaps his pleasure is not genuine.
Are We Hardwired with a Sense of Irony?

Why Waistlines Matter More Than Weight

It goes by many cute nicknames: beer belly, spare tire, bowlful of jelly. It can make bending over difficult and buying bathing suits excruciating. Sometimes, it can cause confusion, such as the “how many months along are you?” transgression. But no matter what we call it, carrying a few, or many, extra pounds around the abdominal section is not just a cosmetic issue; it’s a threat to health.
Why Waistlines Matter More Than Weight

No Clean Feed - Stop Internet Censorship in Australia

The Australian Federal Government is pushing forward with a plan to force Internet Service Providers [ISPs] to censor the Internet for all Australians. This plan will waste tens of millions of taxpayer dollars and slow down Internet access.
No Clean Feed - Stop Internet Censorship in Australia

50 websites you'll wonder how you lived without

When it comes to the Internet, we're creatures of habit – Google for search, Hotmail for email, Twitter to stay in touch and maybe the BBC's website for news. This means that we use only a handful of favourite sites, leaving the rest of the Internet unvisited. Let's put that right. By the time you've finished reading, we promise that your list of bookmarked sites will have ballooned and you'll be getting more from your surfing.
50 websites you'll wonder how you lived without

Online Virus Scan

No Virus Thanks is another web service that provides options to scan files with multiple anti-virus detection engines. It pretty much works like other web services of its kind like Virus Total by providing an upload form on the website which can be used by the user to upload a file to the service.
Online Virus Scan

E-mail error ends up on road sign

When officials asked for the Welsh translation of a road sign, they thought the reply was what they needed. Unfortunately, the e-mail response to Swansea council said in Welsh: "I am not in the office at the moment. Please send any work to be translated".
E-mail error ends up on road sign

Beat a Migraine Before It Beats You (Naturally)

If you’ve never had a migraine, then you can’t possibly understand the unbearable pain that someone goes through when they experience this special type of headache.
Beat a Migraine Before It Beats You (Naturally)

Eight Ways to Age Gracefully and Improve Health Now

If I never read another article on how to pass for a twenty-year-old for the rest of my life, I’ll still have read too many. It seems like most articles about aging are written with a pretty anti-aging bias.
Eight Ways to Age Gracefully and Improve Health Now

Never Lose Your Keys Again! FREE 2 x Key Finders, Just Pay postage!

FREE 2 x Key Finders from OZstock. Just pay postage ($3.90 aus-wide).
Never Lose Your Keys Again! FREE 2 x Key Finders, Just Pay postage!

Freshen a Room with a Light bulb

Here’s a great money-saving tip to fill your room with your favourite scent: spray perfume or aromatic oil on a rag than wipe it on a cold incandescent light bulb.
Freshen a Room with a Light bulb

Blackstump Australia Issue 41 - November 2, 2008

This weeks latest sites ftom The Black Stump...
Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 41 - November 2, 2008

Use Toothpicks to Cook Food Faster in the Microwave

I swear I’ve read entire novels while waiting for potatoes to cook in the microwave. OK, that’s an exaggeration.
Use Toothpicks to Cook Food Faster in the Microwave

Make Your Mobile Phone Battery Last Longer

Doesn’t it always seem like your battery conks out right when you need it most? Your car breaks down, battery dies. Your sister calls crying, your battery dies. You can squeeze the most life out of it by following these suggestions.
Make Your Mobile Phone Battery Last Longer

Simple ways to save energy and money at home

There are plenty of lower-cost ways to slash your energy bills at home without becoming an energy anorexic, including these and those that follow.
Simple ways to save energy and money at home

HDTV: See which display type suits your needs

If you're thinking about buying a flat panel HDTV for the holidays, you're probably asking yourself whether it should be a plasma or LCD.
Our Buying Advice on televisions gives you a complete rundown on the distinctions between the two display technologies, plus all the information you need on how to choose an HDTV that's right for your needs. We also looked specifically at the LCD vs. plasma debate in our recent report, "LCD or Plasma TVs?"
HDTV: See which display type suits your needs

$100 Optus Pre-Paid Recharge Card for $30 @ Always on Sale

For only $30, you get a cool $100 worth of Optus mobile call time with a $100 Optus PrePaid Recharge card from AlwaysonSale.com.au
$100 Optus Pre-Paid Recharge Card for $30 @ Always on Sale

How to Avoid Printing Web Page Backgrounds

A colorful webpage background might look lovely on the page but that doesn’t mean you need to print it—it’ll eat up all your ink! Here’s how to avoid this in Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Netscape.
How to Avoid Printing Web Page Backgrounds

Hold on to that clunker!

Let’s be honest. We’d all rather cruise around town in a brand new car instead of a 10-year-old clunker. But with money and credit as tight as they are, there’s plenty of incentive to keep our old wheels running a little longer.
Hold on to that clunker

Software Updates Week 41 2008

Wednesday is the day that software updates get published here at Ghacks. The article will contain software updates of the last seven days. Only software applications that have been reviewed at Ghacks previously will make it in the list.
Software Updates Week 41 2008

Green Alternatives to Dry Cleaning

Have you ever noticed your dry cleaning carries strong fumes? They come from perc (Perchloroethylene)—the solvent used in traditional dry cleaning—which the EPA has classified as a groundwater contaminate and potential human health hazard. It causes headaches, nausea, dizziness, and even reproductive problems.
Green Alternatives to Dry Cleaning

9 Sites That Help With Everyday Budgeting

Most consumers could use a little financial handholding these days. Nearly half of the workers recently surveyed by CareerBuilder.com said they live paycheck to paycheck. Even those who do have cash left after paying the bills are struggling -- 52% reported they have less than $100 per month to put into savings.
9 Sites That Help With Everyday Budgeting

The Web Explodes With Windows 7 News

The day began with screenshot posts by Paul Thurrott and Tom Warren who both posted lots of screenshots that Microsoft supplied. They managed to create their own as well and their posts show both the official and custom screenshots of Windows 7 M3 builds.
The Web Explodes With Windows 7 News

How to Locate a Wall Stud

Locating a wall stud does not have to be rocket science, however this is a very important step people sometimes overlook when trying to hang heavy items on the wall. Finding a wall stud to nail into will insure that what you are hanging will stay there forever.
How to Locate a Wall Stud

Tips for Eating Healthy in Flight

I travel a lot for business and, well, it can take a real toll on your wellbeing. Nutrition, especially, can be a real challenge. I find that flying is the worst, because if you are anything like me, and you take several hour flights, you have to eat.
Tips for Eating Healthy in Flight

Internet Security Cameras

"I have someone in my home during the day to clean and do childcare. Can I install a wireless security camera that can be monitored over the internet? I'd like to be able to look in during the day from my office computer. If so, how expensive are internet security cameras, and what features do you recommend?"
Internet Security Cameras

Blackstump Australia Issue 40 - October 26, 2008

This weeks latest sites ftom The Black Stump...
Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 40 - October 26, 2008

Births, Australia, 2007

This publication contains statistics for births and fertility in Australia.
Births, Australia, 2007

How Long Meat Stays Fresh in the Freezer

I don’t know about you, but I tend to toss things in the freezer and assume they're good forever. Turns out that’s not the case when it comes to meat—and some of their shelf lives may surprise you.
How Long Meat Stays Fresh in the Freezer

How to Deal With a Mooching Friend

We've all experienced a moocher-- someone who conveniently "forgets" their wallet at home every time you go out to dinner, "loses" anything you loan them, and always manages to get out of their share of a chore. If you want to maintain both the friendship and your sanity, you will have to set firm but clear boundaries to stop the mooching behavior. The key is to anticipate potential situations where the mooching will occur, and address the issue with increasing degrees of confrontation.
How to Deal With a Mooching Friend

Man's arm trapped in train toilet

A passenger on a French train had to be rescued by firemen after having his arm sucked down the on-board toilet. The 26-year-old victim was trapped when he tried to fish out his mobile phone, which had fallen into the toilet bowl, and fell foul of the suction system.
Man's arm trapped in train toilet

Seven of the greatest scientific hoaxes

For this week's issue of New Scientist I edited a review of The Sun and the Moon by Matthew Goodman, which tells the story of the great moon hoax of 1835. This got me thinking about other great scientific hoaxes in the past. After doing a bit of digging, I was amazed by how many there were – and at the variety and creativity of the hoaxes. Here are a few of the best
Seven of the greatest scientific hoaxes

Public Speaking: How to Present Yourself Powerfully, Part 1

You may have a great idea bouncing around in your head. It may be something that could revolutionize the company that you work for, or even change your own career. But if you can't find a way to get that idea out and in front of others, you and it will be forever stuck. The key is to have the ability and the courage to get up in front of a room—full of your friends, your peers or your bosses—and tell them what you know.
Public Speaking: How to Present Yourself Powerfully, Part 1

How to Clean a Window

Nobody really likes to clean windows. But if you are going to do it, you might as well have them looking their best. Here are a few tips to get your windows sparkling clean.
How to Clean a Window

How to keep your bathroom mirror from steaming up

Tired of your bathroom mirrors steaming up after your shower???
How to keep your bathroom mirror from steaming up

Start Em Young - Three Web Apps for Families

Since launching Dad-o-Matic, a blog where dads give views, reviews, news, and ideas about parenting, I’ve been thinking a lot about how families interact with the Web. I look for applications and ideas that give parents some “first steps” into sharing experiences using online tools. Here are three Web applications I’ve found recently that I find provide a fun way to build projects with kids.
Start Em Young - Three Web Apps for Families

Clean and Maintain Plasma TVs

When you spend a great deal of money on a new Plasma TV in order to have the best quality viewing experience possible, you want to do everything you can to make sure that your TV is properly maintained. Correctly cleaning and maintaining your new Plasma TV will help to ensure that you get years of enjoyment from it.
Clean and Maintain Plasma TVs