Pi Day in Wolfram|Alpha

The holiday in question is Pi Day. As with a large number of other holidays, simply typing its name (in this case, “pi day”) into Wolfram|Alpha gives you basic calendrical information about it.
Pi Day in Wolfram|Alpha

4 Deadly Mistakes You Must Avoid When Pursuing Your Dreams

The mistakes people make while going after their dreams. If you can identify with any of these mistakes, you might want to get it corrected as fast as possible. It will help you get back on track to moving towards making your dreams a reality instead of moving away from them.
4 Deadly Mistakes You Must Avoid When Pursuing Your Dreams

How To Whitelist Cookies And Delete The Rest Regularly

Cookies are needed on many Internet sites. They are however also used for tracking purposes to track the movement of Internet users and can pose a privacy risk as they might reveal websites that the user visited in the past. Most web browsers offer a basic cookie management module that can be used to delete some or all cookies and to configure how and when websites may store cookies on the computer system. But they usually do not offer more sophisticated means of working with cookies like whitelisting some cookies that are needed and deleting the rest.
How To Whitelist Cookies And Delete The Rest Regularly

Reporter Freaks Out on Air, Internet Laughs and Laughs

Live TV can be tough, especially if you’re in a cranky mood. Case in point: WVLT TV Volunteer News reporter Gordon Boyd, whose on-air freak-out has gone viral this week.
Reporter Freaks Out on Air, Internet Laughs and Laughs

Little Billy's Letters to famous and infamous people

In the 1990s Bill Geerhart was an unemployed, not-so aspiring screenwriter in his 30s. To pass the time, he channeled his inner child, 10-year-old Billy, and started writing letters to famous and infamous people and institutions. These letters, written in pencil on elementary school ruled paper, asked funny but relevant questions to politicians, serial killers, movie stars, lobbyists, CEOs, and celebrity lawyers.
Little Billy's Letters to famous and infamous people

Twitter Profiles of All Cricketers

"With IPL 2010 just around the corner, I thought of listing down the twitter profiles of all the cricketers (and those deeply associated with cricket). The idea was to make this an exhaustive and a complete list for easy reference. It was quite an overwhelming task when I set out, since I didn’t know from where to start. I decided to get some clues from Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman whom I have been following for a long time now".
Twitter Profiles of All Cricketers

Common painkillers might make you hard of hearing

Loud music or noise isn't the only thing that can damage your hearing. A new study in men hints that popping over-the-counter painkillers regularly can also lead to hearing loss, especially in younger men.
Common painkillers might make you hard of hearing

Top 10 Online Services to Encrypt Email and Text Messages for Free!

Online privacy has started to sound like an oxymoron! Every e-mail (confidential or not) you send is sent as a plain text and if intercepted, it will just be a sitting duck with no protection whatsoever.
Top 10 Online Services to Encrypt Email and Text Messages for Free!

Google’s Latest Tool to Search Public Data

Google has just launched their brand new tool called Google Public Data Explorer, which is an experimental visualization tool in Google Labs aimed at providing an array of data in visual form based upon the statistics gathered from World Bank and other firms.
Google’s Latest Tool to Search Public Data

How the venus flytrap eats a frog

It's electrical signals that allow the lobes of a venus flytrap to snap shut faster than a frog can flee. In animals, those sort of signals travel via the nervous system, which plants like the flytrap conspicuously lack. In a way, it's like the plants can send email without the Internet. How's it work? Science writer Ferris Jabr explains.
How the venus flytrap eats a frog

Awareness tools

Awareness tools provide you with a number of ways of finding useful, thought-provoking, humorous, or interesting content you may not normally find. Before the Internet came along, people mostly got their news from a handful of sources - newspapers, radio, television, friends and family, etc. But awareness tools allow you to find a wide variety of content on a scale like never before; you can still find traditional news articles from major newspapers, but now you can also find global news articles, local news articles, web-based games, movie reviews, blog posts, photos or photo collections, cartoons, and the list goes on and on. In fact, perhaps the biggest appeal of these types of tools is that they allow you to find and filter information from virtually anywhere on the web.
Awareness tools - IPL Wiki

The Ask-Our-Computer Service (from 1967)

This snippet is from Popular Science, May 1967.
The Ask-Our-Computer Service (from 1967)

How to Remove Stains from Tea Cups

Drinking tea and coffee in cups results in a residue build-up over time. There's no need to use harsh chemicals to remove it; follow this method for ease of removal and mere baking soda will do the trick.
How to Remove Stains from Tea Cups

Run a Total Background Check on Yourself with Free Online Tools

Consumer-advocate blog Consumerist is always looking to help you keep tabs on Big Brother and any of your personal information He's tracking. Toward that end, their comprehensive list of online background-checking tools is worth a look.
Run a Total Background Check on Yourself with Free Online Tools

Parking Strategies

I’m amazed at how much time people are willing to spend driving around a parking lot looking for a space to park. I’m not talking about places where it is snowing and there are only limited slots in covered parking. I’m talking about the people who will drive around the lot for 15 minutes trying to avoid a 2 minute walk from the empty spaces just beyond the spots everyone is fighting for.
Parking Strategies

What The Numbers On Your Credit Card Mean

The string of numbers on you credit card houses a batch of information. For instance, the first number tells you what kind of card it is — 4 for Visa, 5 for MasterCard, and so on. Visa cards are always 16 digits long and have other identifying characteristics.
What The Numbers On Your Credit Card Mean

What's the Registry, Should I Clean It, and What's the Point?

There's nothing more mysterious on a Windows PC than the Registry, and today we'll explain exactly what it is, how it works, and whether you should bother cleaning it. We'll also go about debunking a few widespread registry myths along the way.
What's the Registry, Should I Clean It, and What's the Point?

Women’s History Month Begins Today

Here are a few resources that might be value to you for Women’s History Month that begins today.
Collection of Web Resources: Women’s History Month Begins Today

Tsunami reaches Australia after Chile quake

Australian officials have recorded the first effects of a wide-ranging tsunami generated by the Chile earthquake, reporting a rise in sea levels but no major waves. Water levels surged by a few centimetres off Tasmania, with waves expected to increase in size over the next few hours.
Tsunami reaches Australia after Chile quake

Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 5/2010 - March 1, 2010

The latest issue of new Family Friendly sites listed on The Black Stump.
Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 5/2010 - March 1, 2010

Chile Earthquake/Pacific Tsunami Resources

Chile Earthquake/Pacific Tsunami Resources From Google & Others, Including Several Twitter Feeds.
Chile Earthquake/Pacific Tsunami Resources

Chile Earthquake Pictures: Twitter Photos Tell the Story [PHOTOS]

The magnitude-8.8 earthquake that rocked Chile early this morning was similar to many breaking-news events in that images from the disaster began spreading over social networks at lightning speed.
Chile Earthquake Pictures: Twitter Photos Tell the Story [PHOTOS]

Google Person Finder: Chile Earthquake

What is your situation?
- I'm looking for someone
- I have information about someone
Google Person Finder: Chile Earthquake

Tracking Tsunami Warnings Online

A major earthquake of magnitude-8.8 struck Chile early Saturday, causing extensive damage. As a result, a tsunami warning has been issued for Hawaii, Polynesia and Tonga, with waves expected to reach Hawaii at 11:19 a.m. local time (4:19 p.m. EST). A tsunami advisory has been issued for California, while tsunami warnings have been issued for 53 countries in total, including Australia and New Zealand
Tracking Tsunami Warnings Online

Australia's chief censor redacts official website to downplay his role in censorship

Australian Communications Minister Stephen Conroy -- who has been responsible for pushing through Australia's national Internet censorship program -- has been caught censoring his own website: the script that creates a tag cloud of topics covered on his site had been modified to ignore any references to his censorship initiatives. This means that visitors to his site would not have an easy means of reading the Minister's statements in support of censorship, and anyone who relied on the tag-cloud to understand the Minister's agenda would have no way of knowing he'd been involved in the censorship initiative.
Australia's chief censor redacts official website to downplay his role in censorship

Random Viral Whatsit of the Day: My Little Pony Musical [VIDEO]

Often, whilst trolling through the feeds, we come across viral sensations that don’t really fit anywhere — aside from lodged in the pleasure center of our fevered brains. Today, that odd puzzle piece something is this video, depicting live-action My Little Ponies singing show tunes.
Random Viral Whatsit of the Day: My Little Pony Musical [VIDEO]

This You????: Yet Another Phishing Attack Hits Twitter [WARNING]

In the last couple of weeks, Twitter users have been the target of several large-scale phishing attacks, and according to security experts over at Sophos, the latest one is no different.
This You????: Yet Another Phishing Attack Hits Twitter [WARNING]

A Celebration of Duct Tape: Our Favorite Duct Tape DIYs

If the DIY community had a universal symbol, it most certainly would be a roll of duct tape. Inexpensive, abundant, strong, and ready to stick to nearly anything, this versatile DIY companion is a must in your DIY toolkit.
A Celebration of Duct Tape: Our Favorite Duct Tape DIYs

8 Significant Developments in Social Media You Should Watch

While I don’t have a crystal ball, here are some developments that I think are worthy of our attention and will affect how we do things in the social mediasphere over the next few years. Many of the things on this list will not be news to the very well-informed social media consultant types who live and breathe this stuff. But for the rest of us, there are seeds of opportunity here that should not be missed.
8 Significant Developments in Social Media You Should Watch

From ocean to ozone: Earth's nine life-support systems

Up to now, the Earth has been very kind to us. Most of our achievements in the past 10,000 years - farming, culture, cities, industrialisation and the raising of our numbers from a million or so to almost 7 billion - happened during an unusually benign period when Earth's natural regulatory systems kept everything from the climate to the supply of fresh water inside narrow, comfortable boundaries.
From ocean to ozone: Earth's nine life-support systems

Sharing Large Files Via Email

When it comes to sharing files, old-fashioned email remains a popular alternative — but what happens when the files get bigger? Lifehacker 101 examines your options.
Sharing Large Files Via Email

Book Airline Flights Past Your Destination for Cheaper Fares

Searching for the best price for a plane ticket is a never-ending struggle, but reader jeff.niblett writes in with a potentially money-saving tip that even frequent fliers may not be aware of: Book longer trips with layovers in your actual destination city.
Book Airline Flights Past Your Destination for Cheaper Fares

Why We Return to Bad Habits

If you have ever lost weight on a diet only to gain it all back, you were probably as perplexed as you were disappointed. You felt certain that you had conquered bad eating habits—so what caused the backslide? New research suggests that you may have succumbed to a cognitive distortion called restraint bias. Bolstered by an inflated sense of impulse control, we overexpose ourselves to temptation and fall prey to impulsiveness.
Why We Return to Bad Habits

Common Power Point mistakes never change

Judging by the film quality and clothing, this video with comedian Don McMillan was probably filmed at least a decade ago. Having spent all last week watching Power Point-enhanced (or, in some cases "enhanced") presentations, I can tell you that every, single, point (ha!) he makes is still relevant today.
Common Power Point mistakes never change

Check Who is Accessing Your Wireless Network

Having a wifi router at home is very common these days. People prefer to stay connected to the internet via their desktop, laptop, mobile phone or even their multimedia gadget like iPod Touch. That is pretty cool, but the issue is when you forget (or ignore) to set a password for your wireless connection.
Check Who is Accessing Your Wireless Network

Use Windows System Restore To Recover Individual Files

Windows 7: Windows System Restore has long been a great way to recover your system after a bad software install or a critical driver goes missing, but you may not know you can also use it to recover individual files.
Use Windows System Restore To Recover Individual Files

Free Registry Cleaner

A Registry Cleaner scans the Registry for invalid and outdated entries with the option to remove those.
This can increase the stability and performance of the Windows operating system. Free Registry Cleaner

10 Ways to Open .Docx Word Files

It’s been more than 3 years since Microsoft introduced a new document format in their Office 2007 suite called Docx, but still many people seem to wonder what .docx file is and how to open, read and edit them!
10 Ways to Open .Docx Word Files

Wolfram|Alpha for Crossword Puzzle Enthusiasts

Crossword puzzle enthusiasts from all over will gather in Brooklyn, New York this weekend for the 33rd Annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (ACPT) hosted by New York Times Crossword Puzzle Editor Will Shortz.
Wolfram|Alpha for Crossword Puzzle Enthusiasts

Top 10 Free Online PDF Creators

There are quite a few free software available to create or convert a file to PDF. But what if you are away from home, or need more features, like the ability to edit PDF files or create them directly from other documents?
Top 10 Free Online PDF Creators

10 Things to Avoid In Social Media

We have a long way to go before everyone and their cousin uses social networks more than they email, or tweets more than they call, but nobody can deny the way we communicate has once again been changed forever.
10 Things to Avoid In Social Media

From the Director-General - National Archives of Australia

The question that I am most commonly asked by our visitors is ‘What could the National Archives possibly hold about me?’ Australian families are well represented in the National Archives’ collection. For example, if you have family members who migrated to Australia, served in the defence forces or worked for the Australian Government, the National Archives is likely to have something on your family.
From the Director-General - National Archives of Australia

What The Internet Knows About You

Most Internet users know that a website they visit can access various information about the computer system used to make the connection. This includes the screen resolution, operating system, IP address and web browser among other things. But those are not the only information that can be gathered when users visit a website.
What The Internet Knows About You

Please Rob Me Demonstrates The Dangers Of Location Based Services

Location based services can be helpful to the user, no question about that. They are most often implemented and used in mobile devices who are able to return the location of the owner to the network where these information can get utilized in several ways from locating the nearest post office, restaurant or atm to locating a friend or object.
Please Rob Me Demonstrates The Dangers Of Location Based Services

Librarians: Close the books on Internet filtering

The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), has joined with Google, Inspire Foundation and Yahoo to express opposition to the mandatory ISP filter.
Librarians: Close the books on Internet filtering

Top 10 Google Settings You Should Know About

As the outcry over Google Buzz's privacy has shown us, it's smart to explore settings in Gmail, along with other places you're sharing data with the search giant. Let's take a look at 10 privacy, convenience, and annoyance fixers you should know.
Top 10 Google Settings You Should Know About

Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 4/2010 - February 14, 2010

he latest issue of new Family Friendly sites listed on The Black Stump.
Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 4/2010 - February 14, 2010

Online Olympic Databases

Olympic Medalists & Database of National Olympics Committees.
Online Olympic Databases

50 Ways to Show You Care Without Spending a Dime

If you’re looking for a few meaningful gifts that don’t require a debit card, you may find these creative ideas helpful this season.
50 Ways to Show You Care Without Spending a Dime

HOW TO: Set up a free online monitoring system

The question I get asked most frequently, “How do you monitor what is happening online?” I’ve compiled a list of the tools I use when on a tight budget. These are FREE tools (in five relatively easy steps) available to help you get a handle of your online presence.
HOW TO: Set up a free online monitoring system

Shazam and Last.fm Team Up for More Music Magic on iPhone

One of the first big “wow” apps for the iPhone was Shazam — hold up your phone to the radio or TV and BAM, find out what song is playing. Likewise, the Last.fm iPhone app was one of the first apps in the App Store for music fans. Today Shazam and Last.fm are partnering to bring features from both services together.
Shazam and Last.fm Team Up for More Music Magic on iPhone

Bypass Heavy-Handed Web Filters with Your Own Proxy Server

If your workplace or school's extra-restrictive internet filter has you pulling your hair out during the occasional browsing break, there's hope! Here's a quick look at how to get around heavy-handed browser restrictions with the open-source PHProxy.
Bypass Heavy-Handed Web Filters with Your Own Proxy Server

Gas Pump Fails

Here we see a couple more reasons to go back to full service.
Gas Pump Fails

How to Oil and Break in a New Cricket Bat

This article will teach you how to get the best performance and life out of your new bat. If you follow these steps, you will have a great bat with a terrific centre that should last for years.
How to Oil and Break in a New Cricket Bat

A Butcher's Tips for Avoiding Cuts in the Kitchen

Having a very sharp knife goes a long way toward preventing disastrous knife slips, but there are oh-so-many ways of cutting yourself with any kind of knife. Tom Mylan, a Brooklyn butcher, shares his hard-earned tips on avoiding bad blade slips.
A Butcher's Tips for Avoiding Cuts in the Kitchen

The Dubious History of Pun (Pun Among Other Pungent Words)

A question about the origin of pun. Our correspondent noticed that pun and pundit appeared in English at nearly the same time, that a pun “heaps together” different meanings (so Skeat), while the root of pundit (Sanskrit for “learned man”) also means “to heap, pile up.” Moreover, bunk “berth” may likewise go back to a word for “heap.” Is it possible that pundit and bunk provide a clue to the origin of pun?
The Dubious History of Pun (Pun Among Other Pungent Words)

Google Buzz Introduction

It feels like there is not a day where Google is not updating or publishing a new service. Google Buzz is the latest service that is being rolled out from today on to all Gmail users.
Google Buzz Introduction

How to Lessen the Strong Taste of Brussels Sprouts

Brussels sprouts are healthy and delicious when not over-cooked. But for some, the taste is too strong and overwhelming. To get the nutritional benefits of these lovely veggies, as well as achieving a good flavor, here are some ideas.
How to Lessen the Strong Taste of Brussels Sprouts

World's Longest-Married Couple to Answer Your Romantic Queries Via Twitter

If Dear Abby and your therapist just aren’t cutting it this Valentine’s Day, you can tweet at the world’s longest-married (living) couple, Herbert and Zelmyra Fisher, for the scoop on how to score and sustain love.
World's Longest-Married Couple to Answer Your Romantic Queries Via Twitter

Explore A Website’s History With WaybackFox

Webmasters and researchers sometimes need to take a look at a website’s history. This is for instance essential when buying a website to make sure that the seller has been running the website for the time claimed and not snatched a dropped domain to make a quick buck. The Wayback Machine at archive.org is the preferred way of checking how a website looked in the past. Not every website is included obviously but the most popular and visited websites usually are.
Explore A Website’s History With WaybackFox

How to Stop Waiting for Permission

When you were a child, you often had to wait for permission to do something. Perhaps you needed to be a certain age before you were allowed to use the oven or cross the road by yourself. Once you’re eighteen, you’re free to do what you want (within the bounds of legality). So why do we get stuck waiting for permission?
How to Stop Waiting for Permission

FollowUpThen Automates Email Follow Ups

You're pinging somebody over email right now, but they'll probably need a reminder or follow-up in two days. CC twodays@followupthen.com, and if that person hasn't responded yet, they'll be automatically re-pinged 48 hours from now. It's a neat service, and it's free.
FollowUpThen Automates Email Follow Ups

FBI's Most Wanted: Your Browsing Activity

FBI Director Robert Mueller wants ISPs to track “origin and destination information” about their customers’ browsing habits and store them for authorities’ use for two years, according to a CNET report.
FBI's Most Wanted: Your Browsing Activity

Focus on 8-Minute Increments to Beat Back Chores

If you're tired of the boom-bust cycle of getting chores done, you might want to consider adopting the Eight-Minute Rule as the guiding force in taming your chores and tedious tasks.
Focus on 8-Minute Increments to Beat Back Chores

How to Open a Locked Interior Door When You've Lost the Key

If you have a lot of interior doorknobs with key locks on them, sooner or later you're bound to lose the key or lock them inside the room. Here's what to do to get back in.
How to Open a Locked Interior Door When You've Lost the Key

Scars run deep as Kinglake remembers

"It'll all be better after February 7. It'll be history then."
Scars run deep as Kinglake remembers

How To Deal With Unintended Acceleration

Lexus and Toyota models were stung recently by claims that faulty floor mats had jammed throttle pedals and were causing wide-open acceleration. Toyota has agreed to a largest-ever recall of 4.3 million vehicles (which could cost $250 million or more) to modify the gas pedals and remove unsecured or incompatible driver’s floor mats. Not since Audi was decimated by accusations of unintended acceleration in the late 1980s has the topic of runaway cars received so much media attention.
How To Deal With Unintended Acceleration

WWII historical imagery in Google Earth

Many of us have heard stories, read books and watched films which show the many impacts of WWII across the world. Today we're giving you another way to understand this period in time - by exploring a new set of historical aerial images, taken over European cities during World War II, via the historical imagery feature in Google Earth. They can now be compared directly to images from the present day.
WWII historical imagery in Google Earth

6 Traits that Separate Winners from Whiners

Have you ever been blind sided by an unexpected event that threatened to throw your dreams, hopes, and life plans off-course? If nothing that grandiose has happened (lucky you!), how about just being surprised by small obstacles that threaten to ruin your day?
6 Traits that Separate Winners from Whiners

"Marriage is About...Tea, Doctor's Appointments, Trivia, Quirks."

The relationships among love, marriage, and expectations are some of the most complex and important issues within the subject of happiness, so I was very interested to read Lori Gottlieb's book, Marry Him: The Case for Settling for Mr. Good Enough -- though she is quick to emphasize that the book is about finding true love by looking for the RIGHT Mr. Right, by focusing on what's important in love rather than on things that don't really matter.
"Marriage is About...Tea, Doctor's Appointments, Trivia, Quirks."

Forbes Releases Its 2010 Web Celeb 25 List

The Forbes Web Celeb 25 is a list of the biggest and brightest stars on the Web. From penniless bloggers to geek entrepreneurs, these are the folks who are capturing eyes, influencing opinion and creating the digital world from the bottom up.
Forbes Releases Its 2010 Web Celeb 25 List

Business Advice In Three Words

Don’t you hate it when people give you advice that’s confusing and complicated? I have found that the best advice is typically the simplest. So I decided to take a page out of Dharmesh Shah’s book and give you business advice in 3 words.
Business Advice In Three Words

Another Great Reminder Not To Use The Same Password Everywhere | Lifehacker Australia

Earlier today, several Twitter users received emails from Twitter prompting them to change their passwords because of suspicious activity that appeared to have resulted from phishing. Turns out it was something different from a traditional phishing scam altogether, and it involved BitTorrent.
Another Great Reminder Not To Use The Same Password Everywhere

Remove a Stripped Screw with a Rubber Band

The head of the screw you stripped while you were hanging that shelf may not have seemed like a big deal at the time—until you needed to unscrew it, that is. Next time you're having trouble, try a rubber band.
Remove a Stripped Screw with a Rubber Band

Can a Brain Scan Predict a Broken Promise?

Last time you told someone “I’ll call you,” did you mean it?
We all make promises in our daily interactions with others. On the one hand, promises such as “I’ll return your book next week” or “I won’t tell anyone” are not heavily binding, except maybe in a moral sense.
Can a Brain Scan Predict a Broken Promise?

ABC Rolls Out Local News Sites

If you live in regional Australia, your local news options are somewhat constrained (and often shrinking). The ABC has gone some way to addressing that problem with its new local sites, which provide news, weather and broadcasting information for a range of regional areas.
ABC Rolls Out Local News Sites

Cross-check and Change Facebook Privacy Settings Right Now!

Internet Privacy has started sound like an oxymoron! Be it the Web-Browser privacy or privacy to your personal data online or even cell phone privacy, it has always seemed like getting worse by the day. Latest addition to the bandwagon is Facebook!
Cross-check and Change Facebook Privacy Settings Right Now!

Startpage/Ixquick Offers Anonymous Browsing Web Proxy

Startpage.com, which you might know better under the name Ixquick (it changed its name last summer), last week launched a proxy service that allows you to browse pages in search results in privacy.
Startpage/Ixquick Offers Anonymous Browsing Web Proxy

The Truth About Browser Cookies

Browser cookies are one of those technical bits of web browsing that almost everyone has some awareness of. They're also probably one of the most misunderstood aspects of browsing.
The Truth About Browser Cookies

Keep your dishwasher in good working order

You can get cleaner dishes and extend the life of your dishwasher by maintaining the appliance's spray arm(s), filter, and gasket.
Keep your dishwasher in good working order

Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 3/2010 - January 30, 2010

The latest issue of new Family Friendly sites listed on The Black Stump.
Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 3/2010 - January 30, 2010

What To Do When Your Washing Machine Floods

By the time you realise your washing machine has sprung a leak, it’s probably already pumped out enough water to cause major damage. What should you do next?
What To Do When Your Washing Machine Floods

Australia's Environment: Issues and Trends, Jan 2010

Presents a broad selection of environmental statistics and information which illustrate topical environmental issues. The subject matter will vary in each issue, as new environmental issues emerge or more current data sources become available. While ABS data forms a core component of the statistical information, data from other government agencies, international organisations, industry, and individual researchers is also included. Value is added to these widely sourced datasets by bringing them together and analysing their import for selected environmental issues.
Australia's Environment: Issues and Trends, Jan 2010

Recover Corrupt Word Documents

The remaining option is a file recovery software to recover the text. Damaged docx2txt is one of those programs. The recovery application can be downloaded from the developer’s website. The website is offering an online recovery option as well but most users will probably prefer the offline recovery solution especially when privacy is an issue.
Recover Corrupt Word Documents

Better weather forecasting for Australia's east coast lows

Better weather forecasting computer programs are needed to improve on the specifics of each violent storm system occurring in the eastern coast region of Australia, especially as the world’s climate increases in temperature.
Better weather forecasting for Australia's east coast lows

Browser Speed Tests: Firefox 3.6, Chrome 4, Opera 10.5

Firefox 3.6 is out, Chrome’s stable version got a big upgrade, and Opera 10.5 is inching toward release. It’s a great time for us to break out the timer, process manager and code tracker for some up-to-date browser speed tests.
Browser Speed Tests: Firefox 3.6, Chrome 4, Opera 10.5

How to Permanently Erase Data Off a Hard Drive

So you want to make sure that someone can't get their hands on your private files on a hard drive. Here's a trick that will destroy the hard drive! You will need a set of Torx wrenches. the T-9 sized Torx wrench is the one that fits most hard drive screws.
How to Permanently Erase Data Off a Hard Drive

Human-powered ferris wheel in Nepal

At the Hindu Swasthani Mela festival held in Kathmandu earlier this month, there was a small ferris wheel that appeared to be non-functional. It consisted of four octagonal open-air cages and a simple metal frame. When two kids climbed into one of the octagons, though, a man got up on the other side and started jumping up and down, eventually getting the thing to turn like any other ferris wheel.
Human-powered ferris wheel in Nepal

Science Question from a Toddler: The color of light

Why does a glow-in-the-dark Frisbee glow green? Why does a spark from a light socket look blue? Two different questions, but one intertwined answer.
Science Question from a Toddler: The color of light

Google Reader Lets You Monitor Page Changes Without RSS

It’s not as nifty as a cell phone, or as amazing as street views of businesses all over the world, but to me it is big news — really big news. Google announced yesterday
that Google Reader can now be used to monitor pages for Web changes — whether they have RSS feeds or not.
Google Reader Lets You Monitor Page Changes Without RSS

50 Banned Books That Everyone Should Read

As long as there have been books, there have been people opposed to what is said in some of those books. Authors who challenge the accepted norms in their literature are often the target of angry people who do not understand or appreciate their literature. The following books are excellent examples of great literature that has become banned or challenged in an attempt to shield the public from what some see as inappropriate.
50 Banned Books That Everyone Should Read

Numbers Galore: The Internet 2009, A Collection of Stats You’ll Likely Keep All Year

Pingdom, a company that offers services to measure server uptime and performance monitoring along with letting the webmaster (in many cases that the server is down, has done one impressive job compiling a large amount of stats from a variety of sources (they’re provided at the bottom of the post) about the Internet in 2009.
Numbers Galore: The Internet 2009, A Collection of Stats You’ll Likely Keep All Year

Naked airport scanner catches cellphone, misses bomb components

Check out this German TV clip highlighting the failure of the new, privacy-violating full-nude scanners going in at an airport near you. As Bruce Schneier notes, "The scanner caught a subject's cell phone and Swiss Army knife -- and the microphone he was wearing -- but missed all the components to make a bomb that he hid on his body... Full-body scanners: they're not just a dumb idea, they don't actually work."
Naked airport scanner catches cellphone, misses bomb components

What is the most popular password?

Following the announcement of an attack at RockYou.com whereby a hacker managed to obtain all the account details of 32M users, the security companies have had fun analyzing the data. It appears that the hacker only shared the actual passwords, not the accompanying account information, but that was probably just to keep the useful stuff to themselves. There was a website featuring all the passwords, but this has now been taken off-line.
What is the most popular password?

New Online from Fortune: The 100 Best Companies to Work For, 2010

Fortune’s 2010 List is Now Available. Lists Back to 2006 are Also Online.
New Online from Fortune: The 100 Best Companies to Work For, 2010

Mastering Photoshop: Unknown Tricks and Time-Savers

We all have shortcuts that are essential to our daily workflow. A majority of them are staples such as Copy (Command + C) and Paste (Command + V), but occasionally we stumble upon a shortcut we wish we’d learned years ago. Suddenly, this simple shortcut has streamlined our process and shaved quite a bit of time off our day. Collected here are some lesser known but extremely useful shortcuts. Many of these are not documented in the “Keyboard Shortcuts” menu, and some of them don’t even have equivalent menu options.
Mastering Photoshop: Unknown Tricks and Time-Savers

Stay Under 7 Megapixels to Avoid Photo Noise and Diffraction

Ross at the Petravoxel blog gets precise, and provides proof, on why going over 7 megapixels in a point-and-shoot makes absolutely no sense.
Stay Under 7 Megapixels to Avoid Photo Noise and Diffraction

"Memorize Now" Helps You Commit Long Passages to Memory

If you find yourself in a position of needing or wanting to commit long passages of text to memory, webapp Memorize Now can help.
"Memorize Now" Helps You Commit Long Passages to Memory

Reminder Of Why You Should Never Put Foil In A Microwave

Here’s why your mother always said never to put aluminium foil in the microwave. Can someone buy this Swedish guy a new kitchen, please? And a box o’ wine, too?
Reminder Of Why You Should Never Put Foil In A Microwave

PDFmyURL Generates PDFs from Any Web Address

We've covered online file converters, browser extensions, and psuedo-printers that convert web pages into full PDFs. For a simple, no-software-required solution, PDFmyURL spits out PDF files when you plug in a web address. And, yeah, there's a bookmarklet.
PDFmyURL Generates PDFs from Any Web Address