MythBusters: 'Using your head is a lot of fun'

Can a lead balloon fly? Can tooth fillings pick up radio stations? Each week millions watch Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, aka the MythBusters, test urban legends on their Discovery Channel TV show. Peter Aldhous joined them on set in San Francisco to find out how these special-effects wizards became standard-bearers for TV science.
MythBusters: 'Using your head is a lot of fun'

The big day for Beatles fans: A primer

Today’s the day the Beatles Rock Band music game, along with remastered versions of their albums, becomes available. Curious about these launches, but haven’t had time to get up to speed on them?
The big day for Beatles fans: A primer

Apple Announces iTunes 9

Today is Apple’s Rock and Roll keynote, where the company is expected to announce a range of new products and software upgrades. One of new products has leaked a little early though: iTunes 9.
Apple Announces iTunes 9

New look at Alzheimer's could revolutionise treatment

GENES that increase the risk of Alzheimer's and a blood protein that speeds up cognitive decline are radically changing our view of the devastating illness. Reported this week, both findings suggest new causes for Alzheimer's, boosting prospects for its treatment and prevention. "What we've found is absolutely fascinating, and will change the course of research into Alzheimer's".
New look at Alzheimer's could revolutionise treatment

Gone Phishing: How To Avoid Being Caught By Scammers

“Phishing” is the process by which a criminal disguises himself as a trusted entity in order to fraudulently obtain sensitive information. Although phishing can occur in many forms, the most common of these attacks involves the creation of an e-mail, one which prompts the recipient to enter specific personal information. This allows the criminal to “catch” the resulting data.
Gone Phishing: How To Avoid Being Caught By Scammers

"Up To" and Other Common Car Dealer Phrases to Watch For

Car dealerships have cultivated countless ways to take you for a ride (pun intended). Foremost among them: the use of industry-specific jargon. Consumer-focused automotive web site Edmunds takes a look at common linguistic lies.
"Up To" and Other Common Car Dealer Phrases to Watch For

How to Speed Up a Slow Windows Computer for Free: 11 steps

Windows PCs typically slow down as applications are installed and used. Each application increases the size of the Windows Registry file resulting in increasing the amount of time for the file to be processed and loaded. Whether using word processing, spreadsheets, internet, games or anything else, hard drives fill with temporary files that do not always get removed when no longer needed. Read on to learn of ways to help keep a PC running smoothly with little or no money.
How to Speed Up a Slow Windows Computer for Free: 11 steps

19 Free Web Services That Keep Saving You Money

Sifting through all of the free sites and services available on the Web, you've probably come up with some favorites, such as instant messaging tools or video streaming sites like Hulu. Those are great, but what about freebies that displace something for which you usually pay?
19 Free Web Services That Keep Saving You Money

New genetic associations for Alzheimer's disease

The long and winding journey to the roots of Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, has turned up three new genetic clues—the first major ones in 15 years.
New genetic associations for Alzheimer's disease

Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 27 - September 9, 2009

The latest issue of new family friendly sites listed on The Black Stump.
Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 27 - September 9, 2009

Monopoly City Streets: Google Launching Online Version of Monopoly

This could be very addictive: Google is teaming up with board game maker Hasbro to launch a Google Maps version of Monopoly. Monopoly City Streets, which launches Wednesday, allows users to compete in a live, worldwide version of the popular game, creating the biggest Monopoly tournament ever played.
Monopoly City Streets: Google Launching Online Version of Monopoly

What To Do With Kids’ Artwork

Every child is a prodigious Picasso. As parents, we have a difficult time knowing what to do with the plethora of masterpieces crafted by our children. If we toss them, we feel guilty, If we display them all, we might as well wallpaper our refrigerator.
What To Do With Kids’ Artwork

Eyes see trouble coming before brain notices

Not just a window to the soul, the eye has a few tricks of its own. Newly discovered eye cells can warn us that an object is coming nearer, and do so without the brain's help. This ability may have evolved to speed escape from predators.
Eyes see trouble coming before brain notices

Fold a World-Record-Setting Paper Airplane

A few years back we pointed you toward the world's "best" paper airplane, and while we couldn't entirely back up the "best" claim, this Sky King paper airplane is a legitimate world-record holder. This video shows us how to make it ourselves.
Fold a World-Record-Setting Paper Airplane

21 Ways to Reduce Your Spending Without Making Your Life Miserable

Given that everyone’s life is different, it’s hard to point to a list of things that’s guaranteed to not be boring for everyone. Simple Dollar have made a list of twenty one spending reducing suggestions that they felt either didn’t have any impact at all on quality of life (things you can do once and benefit from for a while) or, if they’re repeatable, are inherently fun.
21 Ways to Reduce Your Spending Without Making Your Life Miserable

Estimate Distances with Your Arm and This Rule of Thumb - measurements

Quick anatomy lesson: the distance between your eyes is one-tenth the length of your arm. This is important, because it helps you estimate the distance between yourself and any object of reasonably known size to a rather accurate degree.
Estimate Distances with Your Arm and This Rule of Thumb

8 Things an Airline Would Never Tell You

Half-dozen insiders expose little-known facts the airline industry would rather you didn't think about. They shared some pretty eye-opening stuff.
8 Things an Airline Would Never Tell You

The Journalist's Guide to YouTube

When you think of YouTube (YouTube), you probably think of viral videos such as choreographed wedding procession dances and sneezing pandas. But YouTube’s content load is massive — 20 hours of video are uploaded every minute — and it has a lot more to offer than just silly, viral videos. One area of YouTube that is currently growing like a weed is news.
The Journalist's Guide to YouTube

WhatTheInternetKnowsAboutYou: your browser is giving away your history

The app is an example of using browser history detection to determine personal preferences of Web browser users and is located at http://whattheinternetknowsaboutyou.com. The history detection hack has been known for quite a while; it works by using the CSS :visited pseudoclass to style visited links differently from unvisited ones, in order to figure out which ones are present in the browser's history and does not require JavaScript.
WhatTheInternetKnowsAboutYou: your browser is giving away your history

13 more things that don't make sense

Strive as we might to make sense of the world, there are mysteries that still confound us. Here are thirteen of the most perplexing. Cracking any one of them could yield profound truths.
13 more things that don't make sense

Mandatory filtering plan an ‘ultimate embarrassment’

The Rudd Government plan to introduce mandatory ISP-level filtering was dead in the water and Communications Minister Stephen Conroy should end the farce now, the Opposition’s leader in the Senate Nick Minchin said.
Mandatory filtering plan an ‘ultimate embarrassment’

Some Thoughts on Building a Successful Friendship

What do you do after you’ve met someone and you want to actually build a lasting friendship? Lasting friendships are often the backbone of our social lives and help us in countless ways throughout our professional and personal lives. They come through for us when we need help, plus they provide the constant support and companionship that a friendship can provide.
Some Thoughts on Building a Successful Friendship

Best Disk Defragmenter: Defraggler

At the top of the heap is Defraggler, followed by a neck-and-neck—less than a percentage point difference—race for second and third place for Auslogics Disk Defrag and MyDefrag, respectively.
Best Disk Defragmenter: Defraggler

What Is It Like to Be a Baby?

Alison Gopnik is a psychologist and philosopher at the University of California, Berkeley. She's also the author of the newly released book The Philosophical Baby, which explores the inner world of young children. Mind Matters editor Jonah Lehrer chats with Gopnik about why babies might be more conscious than adults, the benefits of having an imaginary friend and why play, not necessity, is the mother of invention.
What Is It Like to Be a Baby?

Best visions of the night sky

Star trails, horse heads and shadowy moons are some of the sights captured by stargazers across the world vying for the title of Astronomy Photographer of the Year.
Best visions of the night sky

How to Determine Your Blood Type

Want to know your blood type? If you ever need to know, medical staff can determine it on the spot, but maybe you're just curious. Maybe you want to know what your blood type says about your personality.[1] Either way, there are actually several ways to go about finding out.
How to Determine Your Blood Type

Computer Repair Flowcharts

Diagnosing computer problems can be a very time consuming process especially for computer users who have no or only basic computer repair process. These users only have a few options left if their computer system fails. One being to ask a proficient friend or colleague. The other option is to pay for professional computer repair which can be costly and time consuming depending where the computer system was bought and where it should be repaired.
Computer Repair Flowcharts

The Los Angeles fires

Video: Time Lapse Test: Station Fire, a haunting little piece put together by Eric Speigelman. The "Station Fire" has now spread to nearly 100,000 acres. Fires are a predictable, seasonal, and natural aspect of ecology and life in Southern California.
The Los Angeles fires

HOW TO: Find the Name of That Song

Ever had that tune you just couldn’t get out of your head, but you couldn’t remember the darn title or who the heck performed the track? Well there’s an app for that.
HOW TO: Find the Name of That Song

The Top 10 Essential Social Media Stories This Week

From an image editing disaster by Microsoft to Yelp’s augmented reality application to a rehab center for Internet addicts, it’s been a busy week in web news.
The Top 10 Essential Social Media Stories This Week

Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 26 - August 29, 2009

The latest issue of new family friendly sites listed on The Black Stump.
Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 26 - August 29, 2009

Avoid Bank Fees

I don't pay any bank fees, except rental on my safe deposit box. That leaves me of two minds about the fees. On the one hand, I feel bad because the fees tend to fall hardest on the people who can afford them the least--the poor, the ignorant, the stupid, the careless, the lazy, and the unlucky. On the other hand, the fees other people pay help cover the costs of the many free services that I get from the bank.
Avoid Bank Fees

How to Travel on a Very Limited Budge

Totally broke and dying to get out of town? Looking for some adventure without breaking the bank? This article will explore some ideas for how you can travel as cost-effectively as possible, perhaps even for free. The key is do some research and be flexible!
How to Travel on a Very Limited Budget

Doing Something Difficult

Increasing your personal abilities is just like increasing your strength. You have to exercise in order to get stronger. If you want to grow as an individual, you have to do things that are hard in order to make it easier for you to do difficult things in the future.
Doing Something Difficult

Tourist beware: Europe’s latest travel scams by Rick Steves

Gelato in hand, you’re strolling down a street in Italy, when suddenly, an attractive woman starts arguing with a street vendor. A crowd gathers as he accuses her of shoplifting. To prove her innocence, she starts to strip. Once she’s down to her underwear, the vendor apologizes, the woman leaves, and the onlookers disappear — and so have their wallets, thanks to a team of pickpockets working the show.
Tourist beware: Europe’s latest travel scams by Rick Steves

Magazines may mislead parents on SIDS and safe sleeping

I love thumbing through vintage magazines. It's not so much for the articles (although I do like reading them) but rather for the advertisements. Whether printed in brighter-than-life color or black and white, these adverts serve up a revealing and often amusing glimpse of the aspirations, ideals, and zeitgeist of their time. But, in truth, what I relish most is their shock value, as in "Wow, did they really do/think/buy/sell THAT back then?"
Magazines may mislead parents on SIDS and safe sleeping

State Law Fail

State Law Fail: "

Picture by: dunno source. Submitted by: dunno source via Fail Uploader

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Drinking may reduce dementia risk

Drinking moderate amounts of alcohol later in life may prevent the development of dementia, according to new research by the Australian National University.
Drinking may reduce dementia risk

3quarksdaily

Hopes to present interesting items from around the web on a daily basis, in the areas of science, design, literature, current affairs, art, and anything else they deem inherently fascinating.
3quarksdaily

Top 5 Worst Productivity Ideas

Here are some of the top five traps people fall into when they try to increase their productivity. Most of them aren’t bad things in and of themselves. However, if they become your focus, you can be sure you aren’t going to be getting the benefits you are striving for.
Top 5 Worst Productivity Ideas

Recorded Crime - Offenders, Selected states and territories, 2007-08

Recorded Crime - Offenders collection and how it fits within the criminal justice system. A summary view of offenders proceeded against by police for the seven available states and territories and selected data about offenders for each of the respective states.
Recorded Crime - Offenders, Selected states and territories, 2007-08

Keeping Up with the Smiths

The data Wolfram|Alpha uses to compute surname statistics is largely drawn from name results from the U.S. Census. The United States is sometimes referred to as a “melting pot” because of the number of people who move to it from all corners of the world, bringing and melding their native cultures. Because of this, surnames found in the U.S. have origins from all over the world.
Keeping Up with the Smiths

The Definitive Guide to Backing Up and Ditching Your Discs

Whether you're moving, short on cash, or running out of storage space, you've got plenty of reasons to ditch your physical media. Hard drives are cheap; here are Lifehacker's recommended methods of saving, selling, and trading your CDs, DVDs, and video games.
The Definitive Guide to Backing Up and Ditching Your Discs

Venezuela's "continuous" lightning storm

The folks in the video above aren't watching a fireworks show but rather the near-constant lightning strikes that occur over Vaenezuela's Catatumbo River almost half of the year.
Venezuela's "continuous" lightning storm

Why we walk in circles without directional cues

When people don't have signs or other external cues for direction, we will probably end up walking in circles. That's according to a new psychological study.
Why we walk in circles without directional cues

50 Best Websites 2009 - TIME

TIMES's 2009 selections of the best.
50 Best Websites 2009 - TIME

The 10 Essential Social Media Stories This Week

Here are the top 10 social media stories this week.
The 10 Essential Social Media Stories This Week

Top 10 YouTube Fail Videos

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times — but in the age of both wisdom and foolishness, somehow it always seems like the latter is what gets caught on video.
Top 10 YouTube Fail Videos

From The Tips Box

Lifehacker readers show us how to escape the limitations of university (and work) e-mail accounts, turn a dryer rack into a file holder and remind us that music is a great timer in a pinch.
From The Tips Box: Ditching Email Limitations, DIY File Holders

Bing - Genealogical Mapping with Bing Maps and Ancestry

Ancestry’s new Family Tree Maker 2010 released yesterday and it includes integration of Bing™ Maps right in the software. Software plus services? I think so… Bing™ Maps is a great new feature to help you map out significant events and people to the places they are respectively associated with.
Bing - Genealogical Mapping with Bing Maps and Ancestry

Use The Same Gmail Account for Multiple Online Accounts

If you've ever tried to sign up for more than one account somewhere but needed a second email address, the Digital Inspiration blog has the brilliant solution: taking advantage of Gmail ignoring periods in your email address.
Use The Same Gmail Account for Multiple Online Accounts

Top 7 Sites for Parenting How-To Videos

Learning how to parent is a skill that comes more naturally to some than to others. Regardless of how high the feelings of competency are, regardless of the differences in the ways in which we discipline and the methods we use for rearing our young, there is usually one constant among parents everywhere: we never really know what we are doing. Whereas previous generations had nothing to rely on but parenting books, family, friends, and pure instinct, ours is the first parenting generation to have the luxury of the Internet at our fingertips to answer any question, anytime, anywhere.
Top 7 Sites for Parenting How-To Videos

Why Skate but Scathe? Or, The Oddest English Spellings

Wherever one turns, one discovers that sc versus sk is not a safe guide for an amateur etymologist.
Why Skate but Scathe? Or, The Oddest English Spellings

How to Tell if Gold Is Real: 3 steps

A 2004 investigation revealed that more than half of 22 jewelry stores around the US were selling "fool's gold" and passing it off as real.[1] By American standards, fake gold is anything less than 10 karats. If you're wondering whether your gold is real, the most reliable way to know is to take it to a jeweler, who will charge a fee for the answer. If you're just curious, however, these tricks will expose some--not all--gold impostors.
How to Tell if Gold Is Real: 3 steps

Household Income and Income Distribution, Australia, 2007-08

The economic wellbeing of individuals is largely determined by their command over economic resources. People's income and reserves of wealth provide access to many of the goods and services consumed in daily life. This publication provides indicators of the level and distribution of after tax (disposable) household income, after adjusting for household size and composition.
Household Income and Income Distribution, Australia

California Wildfires: August 2009 Edition

Yes, parts of California are burning again — and the map makers are at work. Via Google’s Lat Long blog, there’s a new comprehensive map of the Lockheed Fire in the Santa Cruz Mountains. More on that below, along with other resources to monitor as fires inevitably appear elsewhere in the Golden State.
California Wildfires: August 2009 Edition

Fire Prevention Fail

Fire Prevention Fail

Picture by: dunno source. Submitted by: dunno source via Fail Uploader

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YouDown Batch Youtube Video Downloader

Many Internet users like to download videos from Google’s Youtube video portal. Download Youtube Videos was a popular article about a week ago and YouDown would have made it if it would have been released back then. YouDown is a software program for the Windows operating system that can be used to download videos that are hosted at Youtube.
YouDown Batch Youtube Video Downloader

20 Indoor Activities for Kids – besides TV

There’s plenty that children can do indoors on their own — without touching a remote. Here are a few ideas.
20 Indoor Activities for Kids – besides TV

PicTreat Provides One Stop Photo Retouching [Image Editing]

PicTreat Provides One Stop Photo Retouching [Image Editing]: "

Have a picture that almost works for a social network profile, but it needs a little pep? PicTreat is a one-stop, all-or-nothing photo-retouching service that can smooth over blemishes, red eye, and more.

If you're an accomplished Photoshop guru, you certainly won't need PicTreat. For everyone else who has ever needed a simple touchup on a photo and needed it fast, PicTreat is a speedy solution.

There are no variables to tweak or settings to refine in PicTreat. You upload a picture, it detects where the face and the prominent features of the face are, and it does its best to remove the red eye, smooth the skin tones, and, in the case of cellphone pictures, remove noise from the photo.

We hit Facebook and ran a bunch of profile pictures through it with a predominately positive effect. There are a couple notable cases where it doesn't work as expected. People with copious freckles will get nice even skin everywhere on their faces except their noses, which gives them a rather strange appearance. Also in cases where everything in the picture is already fairly good—no obvious blemishes, wrinkles, red eye, etc.—PicTreat will sometimes tweak the color oddly. Otherwise, PicTreat delivered as promised and smoothed away blemishes, evened skin tones, and color adjusted lighting.

PicTreat is free to use. You can sign in with MySpaceID, Facebook Connect, or sign up for a PicTreat account.

PicTreat [via DownloadSquad]

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The Death Of Elvis Presley - August 16, 1977

Elvis Presley died at Graceland on August 16, 1977. He was 42 years old. Through the early morning of the 16th Elvis took care of last minute tour details and relaxed with family and staff. He was to fly to Portland, Maine that night and do a show there on the 17th, then continue the scheduled tour.
The Death Of Elvis Presley - August 16, 1977

Top 10 Tricks For Creatively Hiding Your Stuff

Every kid has a creative stash for secret stuff, and that useful enthusiasm doesn’t have to die off just because we’ve traded treehouses for desks. See how you can hide money, files, workspaces and more in today’s Top 10.
Top 10 Tricks For Creatively Hiding Your Stuff

How much is left in that container?

Shake, rattle, and squeeze: How much is left in that container?
How much is left in that container?

Bing vs. Google: Comparing Them Side-by-side

Have you been using Microsoft’s (and now Yahoo’s) new Bing search engine in conjunction with Google for searches?
Bing vs. Google: Comparing Them Side-by-side

Learn to Cook in Your Hotel Room

If you thought a night in a hotel room meant either pizza delivery or overpriced room service, think again. In this video, British comedian George Egg demonstrates some hotel survival tips for cooking an impressive meal in your room.
Learn to Cook in Your Hotel Room

Another Report Finds Internet Explorer 8 To Be The Most Secure Web Browser

A web browsing security test that pitted Internet Explorer 8 against Firefox 3, Opera 10, Safari 4 and Google Chrome 4 came to the conclusion that Internet Explorer 8 is the most secure web browser, at least in the area that were tested by security research company NSS Labs. The report, which is available at the company’s website for download was sponsored by Microsoft’s online security engineering team and later send to marketing after the results have been published.
Another Report Finds Internet Explorer 8 To Be The Most Secure Web Browser

Household Cleaning Hacks that Save You Money

Here is an assortment of ways to get more bang for your cleaning buck and efforts. From making your own cleaning solutions, to ensuring your appliances are working optimally, most of these techniques below can be used with what you already have on hand. Why not give them a try?
Household Cleaning Hacks that Save You Money

Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 25 - August 15, 2009

he latest issue of new family friendly sites listed on The Black Stump.
Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 25 - August 15, 2009

Wolfram|Alpha for Stargazers

Whether you are an astronomy student or just interested in learning more about those points of light in our sky, Wolfram|Alpha contains star data that will help you get started and understand what you’re seeing up there. Wolfram|Alpha not only charts the stars from your location, but offers detailed information including their distance from Earth, color, size, and much more.
Wolfram|Alpha for Stargazers

Facial Expressions: East Doesn't Meet West

Westerners traveling to Asia may expect some language barriers. Perhaps enthusiastic facial expressions will help them be understood. Well, not so fast. According to research published August 13th in the journal Current Biology, Easterners and Westerners might not speak the same facial language.
Facial Expressions: East Doesn't Meet West

How to Buy a Digital Camera

At any price point, there are any number of camera options. Whether you're in the market for a DSLR or compact point-and-shoot, it's not about getting the best features (there are too many). Get a camera that best fits your lifestyle and preferences.
How to Buy a Digital Camera

Top 10 Funniest Google Suggest Results

Part illuminating, part entertaining and part terrifying, Suggest is a window into the collective search psyche of our fellow humans. And based on the contents of this list — be afraid. Be very afraid.
Top 10 Funniest Google Suggest Results

Remember Where You Parked Your Car and More: 35 Practical Uses of a Digital Camera

Creativity, frugality, and, on occasion, desperation can inspire innovative uses of the digital camera. For example, if you have trouble remembering where you parked your car, especially when you are traveling to unfamiliar places, take a photo of the car in its space and the location signs.
Remember Where You Parked Your Car and More: 35 Practical Uses of a Digital Camera

What's luck got to do with it? The maths of gambling - physics-math

FIVE years ago, Londoner Ashley Revell sold his house, all his possessions and cashed in his life savings. It raised £76,840. He flew to Las Vegas, headed to the roulette table and put it all on red. The wheel was spun. The crowd held its breath as the ball slowed, bounced four or five times, and finally settled on number seven. Red seven. Revell's bet was a straight gamble: double or nothing.
What's luck got to do with it? The maths of gambling

Population by Age and Sex, Regions of Australia, 2008

From the ABS this product contains estimates of the resident population by age (in five-year age groups up to 85 and over) and sex as at 30 June 2003 and 30 June 2008.
Population by Age and Sex, Regions of Australia, 2008

Debunking a dozen travel myths

Like urban legends, travel myths are pervasive and long-lasting. No, a piece of gum won’t stay in your stomach for seven years if you swallow it. And no, it’s not a guarantee that you’ll get food poisoning if you eat at a food cart on the street.
Debunking a dozen travel myths

Exercise Won’t Make You Thin, Just Healthy

We’re big fans of exercise due to the many health benefits it offers, but if you hit up the gym before work or plan on going after, don’t bother if your express goal is to lose weight. According to Time Magazine, exercise doesn’t make us thinner.
Exercise Won’t Make You Thin, Just Healthy

Download Youtube Videos

Many Internet users want to download Youtube videos. Downloading the videos can be beneficial in several ways including the option to play the video at any time without having to access the Youtube website on the Internet. It can also save bandwidth and be used to transfer the Youtube videos to devices like cell phones, media players or gaming systems that are usually not connected to the Internet or that do not offer the speed needed to enjoy the videos.
Download Youtube Videos

How to Stop a Dog from Digging

Dogs dig for many reasons including:

* Inherent behavior for hiding food and other reasons.
* Because they are bored.
* It feels physically good to them.
* To find moisture or a cooler area.
How to Stop a Dog from Digging

Beatles Fan? Abbey Road Webcam Lets You Visit Virtually

Today marks the 40th anniversary of one of the most celebrated album covers of all time: The Beatles’ Abbey Road cover, taken on August 8th 1969. Hundreds of Beatles fans descended on the pedestrian crossing outside the Abbey Road recording studios today, many attempting to recreate the iconic album cover.
Beatles Fan? Abbey Road Webcam Lets You Visit Virtually

Watch for In-Store Lighting Tricks When Purchasing Electronics

The next time you're in the market for an HDTV, be aware of the store's lighting levels. Why? According to tech web site HDGuru, store lighting levels are purposefully tweaked to confuse consumers.
Watch for In-Store Lighting Tricks When Purchasing Electronics

Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 24 - August 7, 2009

The latest issue of new family friendly sites listed on The Black Stump.
Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 24 - August 7, 2009

Opera Names: The Answers

Operas are always full of intrigue, suspense, drama, romance—and characters with really great names like Figaro, Egisto, and Gorislava. In Who Married Figaro? A Book of Opera Characters, Joyce Bourne, co-author of the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music, has written over 2,500 entries about the people behind all of those funny-sounding names.
Opera Names: The Answers

How to Watch Security Camera Streams on the Internet: 5 steps

Have you ever wanted to see what was going on on the other side of the world? With the following information, you can not only see through the eyes of Big Brother, but sometimes you can even zoom, pan, tilt, capture and save images. This is made possible by CCTV cameras that allow people to access cameras from anywhere in the world through the Internet.
How to Watch Security Camera Streams on the Internet: 5 steps

Understanding Medical Tests with Wolfram|Alpha

A trip to the doctor’s office can sometimes leave patients with more questions than answers, specifically if their doctor has requested they undergo medical tests. Wolfram|Alpha is a helpful reference for understanding what the tests measure and how to interpret the results. Wolfram|Alpha allows you to query information on a specific medical test or a panel of tests, compare tests and results for patients with specific characteristics, compute your estimated risk for heart disease, and find the diagnosis corresponding to an ICD-9 code.
Understanding Medical Tests with Wolfram|Alpha

Learning to Text: Don’t LOL at Death, and Other Tips

As text-messaging shorthand becomes increasingly widespread in emails, text messages and Tweets, people are scrambling to decode it. In many offices, a working knowledge of text-speak is becoming de rigueur. And at home, parents need to know the lingo in order to keep up with—and sometimes police—their children.
Learning to Text: Don’t LOL at Death, and Other Tips

Pet owners dogged by 'unnecessary' vaccinations

Australians could be saving big bucks on their annual pet bills and helping out their furry friends at the same time.
Pet owners dogged by 'unnecessary' vaccinations

Ten Mysteries of You

We belong to a remarkably quirky species. Despite our best efforts, some of our strangest foibles still defy explanation.
Ten mysteries of you

How to Stop Taking Things Personally

Does someone else's bullying personality make you feel like you're worthless? Do you mistake people's antics for subtle insults? This article will highlight some ways in which you can remain unaffected by others' opinion of you, whether it's a weird look, a teasing remark, or direct criticism.
How to Stop Taking Things Personally

Microsoft Launches Cool Picture Zoomer

Microsoft recently launched a new picture tool called Seadragon. Available at http://seadragon.com, you can point Seadragon to any image on the Web, and get a zoomable viewer.
Microsoft Launches Cool Picture Zoomer

"Try Something Eight Times Before You Give Up."

Eight times is a good number. Your child begs to try something, then wants to quit right away -- eight piano lessons, eight attempts on rollerblades, eight ballet classes is enough to permit a real judgment.
"Try Something Eight Times Before You Give Up."

A Burglar's Advice on Hiding Money

The following are some dos and don'ts of money storage courtesy of a former burglar.
A Burglar's Advice on Hiding Money

Exploring Our Solar System with Wolfram|Alpha

Wolfram|Alpha contains a wealth of astronomy data on many areas of our universe, such as objects within our solar system and in the deep sky, constellations, and computational astronomy, making it a handy resource for astronomers, students, and hobbyists.
Exploring Our Solar System with Wolfram|Alpha

Top 10 Computer Hardware Fixes and Upgrades

If your desktop or laptop parts have died or seen better days, you've got a friend. All of your Lifehacker editors—and many helpful net denizens—have upgraded or repaired faulty systems, and they've rounded some of their most helpful tutorials.
Top 10 Computer Hardware Fixes and Upgrades

Is Your Printer Stealing From You? Here's How to Tell

Don't let that blank, boxy look fool you: Printers can steal your money and your time if you're not careful. Printer manufacturers have come up with a few creative ways to drain your wallet through ink and toner cartridge costs. Other printer models just make you waste precious minutes fooling around with complicated menu systems or stupidly designed hardware.
Is Your Printer Stealing From You? Here's How to Tell

Never Use Hotmail, Inactive Webmail As Your Secondary Email Account

Registering for an account at any web site almost always requires an email address, and some people use a secondary address they don't care about instead of their real email address to avoid spam. If you do this, be very careful.
Never Use Hotmail, Inactive Webmail As Your Secondary Email Account

Top 15 Social Media Resources for Foodies

Ah, food… who doesn’t love food? It’s essential to our survival, of course, but more importantly, it acts as a universal language. Every culture has their own cuisine and we can communicate a lot about ourselves in how we assemble raw ingredients into delicious meals. But some of us like food more than others.
Top 15 Social Media Resources for Foodies

Grab A Copy Of Nero 9 Free Edition

The makers of Nero are now offering a stripped down version of Nero 9 for free on their website. Well, not totally free but if you give up an email address you can download and use the Nero 9 free edition. Nero 9 Free is only offering data disk burning and disk copying functionality.
Grab A Copy Of Nero 9 Free Edition

Imagine That Something Good Never Happened

Apparently, contemplating the fact that a key event might never have happened, at all, makes it more surprising and mysterious. Just think how close you came to having a different fate – your life could have gone in another direction, so easily!
Imagine That Something Good Never Happened

How to Naturally Reset Your Sleep Cycle In One Night

Not eating for 12-16 hours can help people quickly reset their sleep-wake cycle, according to a study from the Harvard Medical School. This discovery can drastically improve a person's ability to cope with jet lag or adjust to working late shifts.
How to Naturally Reset Your Sleep Cycle In One Night