12 Ways to Find More Time

Here are twelve ways to claw some if it back.
12 Ways to Find More Time

Google, Yahoo and Others Criticize Aussie Government Internet Filtering Plan

Google, Yahoo and Others Criticize Aussie Government Internet Filtering Plan.
Google, Yahoo and Others Criticize Aussie Government Internet Filtering Plan

Windows Product Key Finder

There may come a time where a user needs to retrieve the product key from an installed operating system. A possible scenario is for instance the desire to install the operating system on a new computer system. The only way to retrieve the Windows product key is to use a software program
that can display the product key if the product box that listed the key is no longer available.
Windows Product Key Finder

Snake Oil Chart Highlights The Worth (Or Lack Thereof) Of Supplements

We’ve all got that friend or family member that swears by a supplement promising to stave off colds, cure headaches or fix some other malady, but often they’re little more than snake oil. This Snake Oil chart matches supplements to scientific support.
Snake Oil Chart Highlights The Worth (Or Lack Thereof) Of Supplements

China to Google: Nyah Nyah Nyah!

Google killed Google China Search Engine today. The answer from China is here.
China to Google: Nyah Nyah Nyah!

Zosh Fills Out and Signs Docs from Your iPhone, Makes Fax That Much More Useless

Zosh Fills Out and Signs Docs from Your iPhone, Makes Fax That Much More UselessiPhone: Hate the outmoded world of faxing but still occasionally need to fill out and sign forms? iPhone application Zosh offers an interesting solution: Using Zosh, you can fill out, sign, and send forms from your iPhone, no printing or fax required.
Zosh Fills Out and Signs Docs from Your iPhone, Makes Fax That Much More Useless

Breakthrough in sewing needles

Minnesotan mom Pam Turner took it upon herself to design and produce the world’s first dead-simple sewing needle.
Breakthrough in sewing needles

A new approach to China

Earlier today Google stopped censoring search services—Google Search, Google News, and Google Images—on Google.cn. Users visiting Google.cn are now being redirected to Google.com.hk, where we are offering uncensored search in simplified Chinese, specifically designed for users in mainland China and delivered via Google servers in Hong Kong.
Official Google Blog: A new approach to China

Five Best Offline Backup Tools

Online backup has many benefits—safety from local catastrophe, storage on professionally maintained servers, etc.—but economy, control, and 100% guaranteed privacy aren't among them. Check out these five popular tools for making safe and sound local backups.
Five Best Offline Backup Tools

Mute The Computer On Startup

Have you ever started your laptop in a crowded area and felt embarrassed because of the loud startup sound that it played once it loaded the operating system? Some PC users turn off all system sounds to avoid this problem while others do not want to work without those sounds and have to rely on other methods to mute the computer on system startup.
Mute The Computer On Startup

Top 10 Twitter Trends This Week [CHART]

Justin Bieber remains an immutable force of Twitter trend power, taking the top slot again for the third week in a row. Tweeters also showed their love (and/or disdain) for a number of other pop singers, and celebrated a few holidays this past week.
Top 10 Twitter Trends This Week [CHART]

SpyDLL – A Free Spyware Removal Tool

When we look at the background processes running in our Windows PCs, it is very tough to make sense of each of the processes, especially since there are so many of them running at a time. There are some tools like SVCHost Viewer which lets you know and understand about each of the SVChost.exe running on the system, but what about hundreds of DLLs which get loaded and run all the time?
SpyDLL – A Free Spyware Removal Tool

Facebook Warns of New E-mail Scam [ALERT]

Facebook has warned users to “delete e-mails asking you to open an attachment to get a new Facebook password,” in the wake of a new scam making its way around the web.
Facebook Warns of New E-mail Scam [ALERT]

How to Hang a Picture

Have you always had much difficulty getting that picture to hang straight? Follow these steps to get it just right, every time.
How to Hang a Picture

How to Help a Dog Who Has Canine Epilepsy

Canine epilepsy is hard on your dog, and almost as hard on you - it hurts to see your beloved pet agitated and anxious in the wake of a seizure or episode. Learn the best ways to treat your pet and give it the best life possible despite this condition.
How to Help a Dog Who Has Canine Epilepsy

Aussies line up for world's largest toilet queue

Around 300 Melburnians have lined up to become part of the world's largest toilet queue. They are hoping to break a world record, along with people from around the world, to raise awareness about the lack of clean toilets and water in developing countries.
Aussies line up for world's largest toilet queue

Australian Recorded Crime - Offenders, 2008-09

This publication presents statistics about the characteristics of alleged offenders who were proceeded against by police during the period 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009, for all states and territories.
Australian Recorded Crime - Offenders, 2008-09

Speed Up Windows 7 Taskbar Navigation With A Registry Hack

Windows 7’s taskbar is undoubtedly a great addition to Windows, but if you’ve got more than one application window open, you’ve got to either click twice or patiently hover to navigate to an open window.
Speed Up Windows 7 Taskbar Navigation With A Registry Hack

Warren Buffett's Investment Advice: Why It's So Hard to Follow

From WiseBerad: A year ago, I wrote a piece called Cash is King: Now What Should I do With It? After going through all the responsible options of what I could do with our pile of cash, I added one last one: what if I just threw it in the stock market and tried to double it?
Warren Buffett's Investment Advice: Why It's So Hard to Follow

Seven Foods That Will Prevent You from Overeating - DivineCaroline

David A. Kessler, the author of The End of Overeating, explains very well how people become addicted to foods that are high in sugar, fat, and salt. Like addiction does, this causes people to crave so they eat more and more foods that are loaded with unhealthy ingredients and many times, completely devoid of any nutrients.
Seven Foods That Will Prevent You from Overeating - DivineCaroline

Transfer Your iTunes Music Library

So, for whatever reason, you need to move that iTunes library that you’ve spent so much time and money on to a new location. Follow the questions in this wizard to find the solution that works best for you.
Transfer Your iTunes Music Library

Image Sharing

With the advent of the digital age and the seemingly ever-lowering cost of purchasing computers, cameras, cell phones, and mp3 players that double as image capturing devices, it is no wonder that there has been an explosion in the use of online image and photo sites, to not only store, organize, and share images, but also to tag, mashup, and create new and unique applications for digital image content.
Image Sharing

Download Internet Explorer 9 Preview

Microsoft has released many new information about their upcoming Internet Explorer 9 web browser. Even better than the information that they have showcased at the Mix10 conference is the release of a Internet Explorer 9 preview release which they call Internet Explorer Platform Preview.
Download Internet Explorer 9 Preview

Beware, the Antarctic Methane Fart of Doom!

Scientists from the University of Bristol in England believe that microbes living under ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland could be emitting large quantities of the greenhouse gas methane. "It could mean that as ice sheets melt under warmer temperatures, they would release large amounts of heat-trapping methane gas." Oh no! Not the dreaded giant Antarcti-fart!
Beware, the Antarctic Methane Fart of Doom!

Australian Social Trends, March 2010

Since 1994 Australian Social Trends has presented articles and key statistics across all areas of social concern. Is life in Australia getting better?
Australian Social Trends

The 7 Laws of Negotiation

Sometimes, it takes an economic downturn for folks to rediscover a lost art. I've heard all the buzz lately about people beginning to negotiate the price of everything from new shoes to cell phone plans. When we see companies slashing prices and luring us in with incentives and other goodies, we rightly begin to wonder just how firm the price was in the first place. Finally, America is taking the haggle out of the used car lot and applying it a bit more liberally.
The 7 Laws of Negotiation

State of the Climate

This snapshot provides observations and analysis of Australia’s climate and the factors
that influence it. Two organisations, CSIRO and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology
have combined to present this current picture of Australia’s climate. (pdf)
State of the Climate

How to Check who has visited my Facebook Profile? [Scam]

Of late I am being bombarded with loads of notifications on my Facebook profile and most of them are about me being tagged in a photo and a comment following that. They are about my friends checking ‘Who is glancing through my profile?’ or ‘Who has seen my profile?’
How to Check who has visited my Facebook Profile? [Scam]

Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 6/2010 - March 15, 2010

The latest issue of new Family Friendly sites listed on The Black Stump.
Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 6/2010 - March 15, 2010

5 Must-See Google Easter Eggs

There’s no doubt Google has a sense of humor — its excellent April Fools jokes are a testament to that. But there’s a wealth of funnies that can found any time of the year too. Here we pull together a handy list of Google “Easter eggs” that you can uncover right now.
5 Must-See Google Easter Eggs

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."