Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 12/2012

The latest issue of new Family Friendly sites listed on The Black Stump.
Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 12/2012

Facts at your Fingertips: Health, 2011

The average Australian is a little heavier and taller than a decade ago, according to health reports released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

On average, men and women aged 18 and over were both around 3 kilograms heavier in 2007–08 than they were in the mid-nineties. However the height increase of men was almost twice that of women, at 1.2 cm for men and 0.7 cm for women.
Facts at your Fingertips: Health, 2011:

Google Maps Adds Sydney Public Transport Directions (At Last!)

Sydneysiders rejoice! Google Maps has finally added public transport directions for buses, trains and ferries.
Google Maps Adds Sydney Public Transport Directions (At Last!)

Sharing Works: 100,000 concert recordings for free

We just hit a milestone: 100,000 free concert recordings from over 5,200 bands!
Sharing Works: 100,000 concert recordings for free

What You Probably Didn't Know About London [VIDEO]

The Olympic Games direct the attention of the world to London this summer, but how much do you really know about the UK capital? YouTube’s resident knowledge bestower C.G.P. Grey shares a fascinating lesson on London and the City of London — yes, they’re two different places.
What You Probably Didn't Know About London [VIDEO]

The Cloud: questions you should ask yourself before storing data in it

Hosting data in the cloud has consequences though, and it is highly recommended to understand what those consequences will be before making any data available in the cloud. The following questions can help you significantly in making that decision.
The Cloud: questions you should ask yourself before storing data in it

ExpenseMagic Turns Receipts Into Reports By Photographing Them

iOS: Got a wallet or drawer full of receipts you need to track? ExpenseMagic is a service that lets you photograph them on your iPhone and then has the data from them typed into a monthly expense report for you
ExpenseMagic Turns Receipts Into Reports By Photographing Them

Heroic Bus Driver Catches Girl in Three-Story Fall [VIDEO]

Stephen St. Bernard braced himself for impact and in a flash, the weight of a 7-year-old child plummeting three-stories crashed into his arms.
Heroic Bus Driver Catches Girl in Three-Story Fall [VIDEO]

Bleeding Virgin Mary statue attracts crowds in Baton Rouge

Believers are flocking to this Baton Rouge neighborhood to see a statue of Mother Mary with their own eyes. You see, everyone here believes the statue is bleeding.
Bleeding Virgin Mary statue attracts crowds in Baton Rouge

Become an Antarctic explorer with panoramic imagery

Today we’re bringing you additional panoramic imagery of historic Antarctic locations that you can view from the comfort of your homes.
Become an Antarctic explorer with panoramic imagery

NASA Releases Awesome Images of Massive Solar Flare Heading Toward Earth [VIDEO]

NASA is keeping a close eye on that solar flare that started on Thursday, July 12, and now it’s released dramatic time-lapse video and photos of the flare that’s found its way to Earth.
NASA Releases Awesome Images of Massive Solar Flare Heading Toward Earth [VIDEO]

Billabong website hacked; reveals passwords of 21,000 users

In order to make life easy for all concerned, Billabong chose to store details for their web site subscribers in plain text. How very thoughtful.
Billabong website hacked; reveals passwords of 21,000 users

Microsoft Malware Prevention troubleshooter

The Microsoft Malware Prevention trouble shooter is designed to scan your computer and make recommended changes based on your current settings to provide you with the most up to date security for your Windows operating system. Building up your computer’s defenses helps secure your computer against viruses and other malicious software.
Microsoft Malware Prevention troubleshooter

Watch How Snake Venom Destroys Your Blood [VIDEO]

It’s bad to get bitten by a poisonous snake. That’s obvious. But just what does snake venom do once it’s released from the fangs that have pierced your flesh? This video provides a terrifying illustration.
Watch How Snake Venom Destroys Your Blood [VIDEO]

Why is 98.6 just right for your body but too hot for the weather?

Slate has a nice explainer covering heat wave health problems. The central question: If my body temperature is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, why am I uncomfortable when it's 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit outdoors?
Why is 98.6 just right for your body but too hot for the weather?

Windows 8 RTM Coming in First Week of August, General Availability in October

Today at Microsoft’s annual Partner Conference, Tami Reller, Windows Chief Marketing Officer, revealed some big news about Windows 8. She announced that Windows 8 RTM will be released in the first week of August, and Windows 8 will reach general availability by the end of October.
Windows 8 RTM Coming in First Week of August, General Availability in October

These Pool Trick Shots Defy The Laws Of Physics

This video is amazing, but it serves as more of a public service announcement than a trick shot video. The announcement? Never make a bet involving with these guys. You will lose all of your money, all of your dignity and maybe even your significant other to these gravity-defying masters of felt.
These Pool Trick Shots Defy The Laws Of Physics

DNSChanger - what should you do?

Midnight tomorrow, Eastern US Daylight time, the FBI's DNSChanger redirector will be turned off. If you're affected by the DNSChanger malware, you will lose your ability to navigate the Internet. Here's what you should do.
DNSChanger - what should you do?

Here's the Most Stunning Photo of Mars the World Has Ever Seen

NASA has released a new panorama from its Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, showing the terrain where the robot spent the four-month Martian winter. The full-circle scene combines 817 images shot by the panoramic camera (Pancam). You can download the complete image and learn more about the expedition on NASA’s website.
Here's the Most Stunning Photo of Mars the World Has Ever Seen

Common Questions When Buying an HDTV Set

With the Summer Olympics about to start and lots of great things to view on a big screen TV like games, streaming movies, Blu-ray movies and more, here's a set of questions we are commonly asked about buying a new HDTV set.
Common Questions When Buying an HDTV Set

Stay Smart Online unsmartly loses user data offline

Stay Smart Online, the Federal Government website designed to educate Australians about cyber security risks, has managed to lose details of a large number of its subscribers.
Stay Smart Online unsmartly loses user data offline

Are You Comfortable With Airlines Researching You On Google?

According to the London Evening Standard, British Airways is beginning a program in which employees google the faces of passengers for upcoming flights so that they may immediately greet them upon entry to the airport gate/aeroplane.
Are You Comfortable With Airlines Researching You On Google?

Man Interviews His 12-Year Old Self [VIDEO]

What would it be like if you could go back in time and talk to a younger version of yourself? Filmmaker and actor Jeremiah McDonald got to experience that process — in a way — thanks to a video tape he made for his future self back in 1992.
Man Interviews His 12-Year Old Self [VIDEO]

Wimbledon Fan Advises Backhand; Player Agrees, Wins Point [VIDEO]

Can crowdsourcing work at a tennis match? If one piece of shouted advice at Wimbledon is any clue, the answer is yes.
Wimbledon Fan Advises Backhand; Player Agrees, Wins Point [VIDEO]

My stupidest moment as a customer, ever

Reddit thread on stupid customer stories.
My stupidest moment as a customer, ever

Infographics from 1917 on the exciting future of aviation

A page of charts and graphs from the July 7, 1917 issue of The Graphic displays, among other things, Lord Montagu's ideas for how to divvy up airspace, the estimated annual cost of running a London-Paris air route, and the distances covered in one hour by different methods of transportation of the day. Perhaps the most entertaining part is its warning that with the coming age of non-military aviation, 'there may be a revival of smuggling.
Infographics from 1917 on the exciting future of aviation

Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 11/2012

The latest issue of new Family Friendly sites listed on The Black Stump.
Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 11/2012

When Will You Get Your Tax Refund?

From today, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) begins processing 2011-2012 tax returns. If you have submitted using e-tax, you should get a refund within 12 business days. That’s slower than the ATO promised last year, and there are some caveats.
When Will You Get Your Tax Refund?

Know The Effects Of Dehydration To Stop Them Before They Start

In most cases, knowing you’re dehydrated is as simple as feeling thirsty. However, sometimes you might miss that feeling or your body will tell you in other ways. Health blog Greatist breaks down the common signs of dehydration so you can fend it off before it starts.
Know The Effects Of Dehydration To Stop Them Before They Start

Telstra: Oh what a tangled web we weave

It all started with a simple query on Whirlpool from a somewhat perplexed new contributor. We now see Telstra in a world of trouble from the Privacy Commissioner and Telecommunications authorities.
Telstra: Oh what a tangled web we weave

'Leap Second Bug' Causes Glitches for LinkedIn, Reddit, More

After an extra second was added to the clock on Saturday to better align it with the Earth’s rotation schedule, a whole slew of websites from LinkedIn, Foursquare and Reddit to Mozlila, Yelp and Gawker sites experienced technical issues.
'Leap Second Bug' Causes Glitches for LinkedIn, Reddit, More

This World Map Of Earthquakes Is As Terrifying As It Is Beautiful

Compared to the rest of the world, Australia is quite fortunate when it comes to earthquakes. The worst we’ve had recently was Melbourne’s rumble a few weeks back — a joke really, when you consider the suffering countries like Japan and New Zealand experienced in 2011. The image above, which plots earthquakes of magnitudes 4.0 or greater from 1898 onwards, shows just how active our planet is, especially near the aforementioned hot spots.
This World Map Of Earthquakes Is As Terrifying As It Is Beautiful

Texting and Driving: A Crash Course [INFOGRAPHIC]

Texting and driving a car at the same time is a dangerous and irresponsible combination — but people do it anyway. A series of sparse, haunting public service ads from AT&T provides a spooky reminder that even sending or receiving short messages can lead to death or lifelong crippling injury.
Texting and Driving: A Crash Course [INFOGRAPHIC]

This Is The Oldest Vinyl Album In The History Of The World

Sometime in 1890, Emile Berliner recorded the first album in the history of the world. Then, that record by the father of the gramophone was destroyed. Today, Patrick Feaster, a sound historian at Indiana University, recreated the album using just a printed photograph of the album. His technique defies belief.
This Is The Oldest Vinyl Album In The History Of The World

Data after a death?

Open question: when a friend dies, what should her loved ones do with the data on her hard-drives?
Data after a death?

Causes of death: 1900 and 2010

An editorial in the 200th anniversary issue of the New England Journal of Medicine looks at mortality and health through the centuries, and includes this chart of causes of death from the turn of the last century, which makes for quite a comparison. We're doing great on kidneys, but hearts not so much.
Causes of death: 1900 and 2010

How to Banish Duplicate Photos with VisiPic

You meant well, you intended to be a good file custodian, but somewhere along the way things got out of hand and you’ve got duplicate photos galore. Don’t be afraid to delete them and lose important photos, read on as we show you how to clean safely.
How to Banish Duplicate Photos with VisiPic

Facebook Switched Your Email to One You've Probably Never Used

Whether you’ve noticed or not, you have a new primary email address listed as your Facebook contact and most likely, it’s an address you’ve never used.
Facebook Switched Your Email to One You've Probably Never Used

Facebook’s Six Sneakiest Settings (And How To Fix Them)

Facebook’s sneaky change to email settings reminds us that the social networking giant rarely has the interests of its users front and centre. Here are seven sneaky Facebook settings you might have forgotten about.
Facebook’s Six Sneakiest Settings (And How To Fix Them)

Do You Live Near A High Containment Biohazard Laboratory?

The Federation of American Scientists has a very interesting map for all the hypochondriacs and people living in permanent fear of a deadly virus epidemic. Or a zombie outbreak. These are all the (known) Biosafety Level 3 and 4 facilities in the world — high containment laboratories that work with “dangerous and emerging pathogens.” Zoom in the image to see if there’s any near you.
Do You Live Near A High Containment Biohazard Laboratory?

How to Find Your Computer’s Private & Public IP Addresses

An IP address (or Internet Protocol address) identifies each networked computer and device on a network. When computers communicate with each other on the Internet or a local network, they send information to each other’s IP addresses. Your computer likely has public and private IP addresses. You’ll need the IP address if you’re hosting server software – the client computers will need your computer’s IP address to connect to it.
How to Find Your Computer’s Private & Public IP Addresses

Live Capture is a versatile screen capturing program

Taking full screen screenshots has always been an easy process in the Windows operating system. Just hit the print key and the current screen is saved to the Clipboard, from where you can be paste into an image editor to edit and finally save it. Screenshot software for Windows usually optimizes the process in two ways: most programs allow you to save screenshots automatically once you tap on the print screen, and also offer to capture only part of the screen, or even elements that are not visible. The latter may include a window, a scrolling web page, a rectangular block, or even a freehand option.
Live Capture is a versatile screen capturing program

Growing Plants that have been Exposed to Lunar Soil [Video]

Lunar soil was brought back to Earth during the days of NASA’s Apollo program and scientists eagerly started conducting experiments with it. This short video discusses some of the research and results when plants from Earth were exposed to soil from the Moon.
Growing Plants that have been Exposed to Lunar Soil [Video]

Microsoft Surface: Everything You Need to Know

Microsoft made waves in the tech world on Monday night with the announcement of Surface, its new Windows tablet. Everything about Surface—from the shroud of mystery around the Los Angeles launch event to the presentation’s focus on hardware and design—is out of character for Microsoft.
Microsoft Surface: Everything You Need to Know

Australian Demographic Statistics, Dec 2011

Australia's annual population growth rate was 1.4% for the year ending 31 December 2011, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Over the same period, Australia's population increased by 302,600 people to 22.5 million (22,485,300) people. Net overseas migration accounted for 55% of the growth for the year ending December 2011, with the remaining 45% due to natural increase (births minus deaths).
Australian Demographic Statistics, Dec 2011

Switzerland is one gigantic booby-trap

Geoff Manaugh at BLDGBLOG has been exploring the bizarre world of Swiss self-destructing infrastructure, documented in La Place de la Concorde Suisse, John McPhee's "rich, journalistic study of the Swiss Army's role in Swiss society." It turns out that the Swiss Army specifies that bridges, hillsides, and tunnels need to be designed so that they can be remotely destroyed in the event of societal collapse, pan-European war, or invasion. Meanwhile, underground parking garages (and some tunnels) are designed to be sealed off as airtight nuclear bunkers.
Switzerland is one gigantic booby-trap

Why Sitting Too Much Is Dangerous

Sitting is one of the worst positions for the body to maintain. After just 20 minutes hunched over in a chair, blood pools in the legs and immense pressure builds on the spine. Now, imagine the effects of sedentary workdays long term.
Why Sitting Too Much Is Dangerous

10 Best Yo-Yo Tricks on YouTube

Not a lot about the yo-yo itself has changed over the decades, but its tricks have become a thousand times more complicated. Ever heard of Buddha’s Revenge? The Brain Buster? What about the Mach 5, the Spaghetti, the Zipper, the World Tour, the 3-Leaf Clover or the Double Gerbil?
10 Best Yo-Yo Tricks on YouTube

Australian Government Agencies Asking Google To Remove Even More Content

Someone in a Canberra office has been busy with their browser. Between July and December last year, Australian government agencies asked Google to remove 646 items online.
Australian Government Agencies Asking Google To Remove Even More Content

Turn the Internet connection on or off

Sometimes you may want to turn off your Internet connection in an instant, for instance if you have noticed that malware is running on a system to avoid it leaking information or data. A switch to turn off the Internet can be useful in other situations as well, like during software installations to block applications from phoning home, or cutting off all network traffic to have those resources available for other more important tasks on the system. Lastly, you could also use it to avoid distractions during work by turning of the connection.
Turn the Internet connection on or off

Rare photo of honeybee leaving its stinger behind

Kathy Keatley Garvey has won the Association for Communication Excellence gold medal for her rare photo of a honeybee leaving behind its stinger in an unfortunate (but now immortalized) human. Ms Garvey comes from a line of California dairy farmers who have kept bees since the mid 19th century.
Rare photo of honeybee leaving its stinger behind

Carat Tells You Which Apps Drain Your Battery

Battery power on an iPhone or Android phone is always a bit of a crapshoot. However, Carat is an app that shows you which apps suck up power so you can shut them down and improve battery life.
Carat Tells You Which Apps Drain Your Battery

Montage of car dashboard camera incidents

Miss Cellania of Neatorama says: "Many Russian drivers use a constantly-recording dashboard camera for legal defense in case of trouble, which leads to some awesome clips for the internet audience."
Montage of car dashboard camera incidents

The Black Stump on Facebook

You can follow the Black Stump on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/BlackStump.com.au
The Black Stump on Facebook

How to burn a Video_TS folder with ImgBurn

ImgBurn is my burning software of choice. This has a number of reasons, from the fact that it supports every writing operation that I ever need access to – and dozen others – to the fact that it is available free of charge and not bloated.
How to burn a Video_TS folder with ImgBurn

Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 10/2012

The latest issue of new Family Friendly sites listed on The Black Stump.
Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 10/2012

Movies.io Is A Visual Movie Search Tool

If you don’t need the full power of IMDB, Movies.io is a great way to look up basic information about any film. It provides a short synopsis, basic statistics, and it has a great interface that includes posters and trailers. It’ll also autocomplete as you type if you’re not sure of the movie’s name.
Movies.io Is A Visual Movie Search Tool

120 Hilarious Seconds of Models Falling on Runways [VIDEO]

We all know Weebles wobble, but they don’t fall down. Runway models sure do, though. Comedy engine Worldwide Interweb rounded up the most epic tumbles in the above video and used Joe Crocker’s “You Are So Beautiful” to set the mood.
120 Hilarious Seconds of Models Falling on Runways [VIDEO]

Follow Your World Notifies You When Satellite Images Update

Satellite images update infrequently enough to make manually checking for new photos of interesting locations impractical; automate the process with notifications from Follow Your World.
Follow Your World Notifies You When Satellite Images Update

Draw A Perfect Circle Without Any Extra Tools

If your circles always end up looking like a deformed eggplant and you don’t have a compass nearby, here’s a simple trick to drawing a perfect circle with just a pencil and your finger.
Draw A Perfect Circle Without Any Extra Tools

Windows 8: Enable the hidden Administrator Account

Windows 8 just like its predecessor Windows 7 ships with an administrator account that is disabled by default. While it is not suggested to enable and use the administrators on a day to day basis, it can be used for a variety of purposes. One of the reasons is to use it as a fallback account in case you can’t log in to a regular user account, or for tasks that require administrative privileges.
Windows 8: Enable the hidden Administrator Account

The 30 Most Popular Passwords Stolen From LinkedIn [INFOGRAPHIC]

Think your password is unique and clever? A new inforgraphic from security firm Rapid7 has revealed the top passwords stolen from this week’s LinkedIn security breach. There are hundreds of duplicates and patterns associated with the compromised log-in information.
The 30 Most Popular Passwords Stolen From LinkedIn [INFOGRAPHIC]

A World Map of the Most Visited Websites

This world map represents the most popular websites by country. No big surprises here as Google reigns supreme in most parts of the world followed by Facebook. Yahoo is still the most visited website in Japan and Congo while Baidu is the Google of China in every sense.
A World Map of the Most Visited Websites

LinkedIn Hacked, Are You Affected?

LinkedIn yesterday confirmed that there was a breach of security, and that member passwords were dumped by the attackers. The password hashes have been posted on the Internet in a 250 Megabyte text file, and it is generally assumed that people have started to break the hashes to reveal the underlying passwords. All in all, about 6.5 million LinkedIn user accounts are affected by this.
LinkedIn Hacked, Are You Affected?

Apps to Lock and Hide Files on iPhone

To protect your files from the peeking eyes of others. Many of us have sensible information on our smartphones, and we wouldn’t want to that information to be at anyone’s disposal, so these apps help us keep those folders private.
Apps to Lock and Hide Files on iPhone

Australian 4G Frequencies Explained

1800MHz? 2100MHz? 700MHz? What frequencies are Australian 4G networks on right now, and what does the future hold? Here’s what you need to know.
Australian 4G Frequencies Explained

Solar Impuse: How to Watch Online

Aviation history is being made right this very second, and your Internet browser can give you a front-row seat. The Solar Impulse, an aircraft powered entirely by solar power, began an epic transatlantic crossing attempt late last month. On Tuesday morning, Solar Impulse and one of her pilots, former balloonist Bertrand Piccard, was completing the second leg of the journey: an airborne hop from Spain to the Moroccan capital of Rabat.
Solar Impuse: How to Watch Online

The Beginner's Guide to Twitter

Do you have a parent, friend or colleague ready to ditch his or her digital training wheels and head into Twitter’s open wilderness? These pointers should get them started. And even Twitter experts might benefit from a quick refresher on the platform’s valuable tools.
The Beginner's Guide to Twitter

China Bans Tiananmen Searches on Anniversary of Protests

Chinese web users trying to discuss the 1989 Tiananmen Square uprising on its 23rd anniversary Monday are incurring the wrath of China’s web censors.
China Bans Tiananmen Searches on Anniversary of Protests

Radical Skateboarding Tricks Dazzle in Super Slow-Motion [VIDEO]

You’ll have a newfound respect for skateboarders’ skills after watching these two minutes of tricks in super slow-motion. Adam Shomsky shot 13 uncommon flips and twists at 1,000 frames per second with a Redlake N3 high-speed camera and turned it into this rad mix.
Radical Skateboarding Tricks Dazzle in Super Slow-Motion [VIDEO]

HTG Explains: Why You Only Have to Wipe a Disk Once to Erase It

You’ve probably heard that you need to overwrite a drive multiple times to make the data unrecoverable. Many disk-wiping utilities offer multiple-pass wipes. This is an urban legend – you only need to wipe a drive once. Wiping refers to overwriting a drive with all 0’s, all 1’s, or random data. It’s important to wipe a drive once before disposing of it to make your data unrecoverable, but additional wipes offer a false sense of security.
HTG Explains: Why You Only Have to Wipe a Disk Once to Erase It

This Is How You Should Secure Your iPhone

Your iPhone features a simple passcode functionality that secures the device by requiring a four-digit PIN (by default) to unlock your phone. But a four-digit PIN isn’t the most secure. To address this, Apple allows you to enter a longer, more secure alphanumeric password, but compared to the considerably easier-to-tap numeric keyboard, the alphanumeric keyboard is a pain to type into every time you unlock. Fortunately, Apple built in a simple compromise.
This Is How You Should Secure Your iPhone

Income inequality can be seen from space

How? It's surprisingly simple. Turns out, demand for trees in neighborhoods behaves a lot like a luxury item, as opposed to a basic necessity.
Income inequality can be seen from space

HitmanPro Alert Mitigates Trojan-based Browser Attacks

HitmanPro Alert is a new free security program by the makers of HitmanPro that attempts to mitigate browser-based attacks by known and new trojans. According to the makers of the products, it is able to “instantly detect over 99% of all known and new banking trojans”.
HitmanPro Alert Mitigates Trojan-based Browser Attacks

The Black Stump on Facebook

The Black Stump on Facebook....
The Black Stump - blackstump.com.au

Webby Nominees

Webby Honorees, Nominees and Winners truly represent the best of the Web. They are but a small percentage of total entries and chosen by members of the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. See them all here.
Webby Nominees

Test if your system is infected with Flamer, The latest threat on the Internet

You have probably already heard about Flamer, Flame or Flamy, as some antivirus companies call the malware. Flamer was only recently discovered, despite indicators that it has been spread on targeted systems at least since 2010.
Test if your system is infected with Flamer, The latest threat on the Internet

Japan’s hidden tropical island: Aogashima

Aogashima (“blue island”) is a tropical, volcanic island in the Phillipine Sea. Despite being over 200 miles away from the country’s capital, Aogashima is governed by Tokyo. In fact, a whole stretch of tropical and sometimes uninhabited islands called the Izu Islands are technically part of Tokyo. Volcanic islands? Not typically what comes to mind when you think of Tokyo.
Japan’s hidden tropical island: Aogashima

WOOPSIE: Grandma Slips Out Of Skydiving Harness

Almost Dying, GeroniNOOOOOOOOOOOO!, Good Job, Houston We Have A Clinger.
WOOPSIE: Grandma Slips Out Of Skydiving Harness

Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 9/2012

The latest issue of new Family Friendly sites listed on The Black Stump.
Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 9/2012

Year Book Australia, 2012

Year Book Australia provides a comprehensive and detailed statistical overview of Australia's environment, society, industry and economy. As well as providing a statistical picture of contemporary Australia the 2012 Year Book includes feature articles that recognise and celebrate the National Year of Reading, the Australian Year of the Farmer and the International Year of Co-operatives.
1301.0 - Year Book Australia, 2012

Double Take « Bits and Pieces

Some interesting photos!
Double Take « Bits and Pieces

‘If You Don’t Know It’s Impossible, It’s Easier To Do’

You have no idea what you’re doing. This is great, says author Neil Gaiman in a commencement speech at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Being unfamiliar with established rules and limits is a plus when you’re trying to be creative and make things: “If you don’t know it’s impossible, it’s easier to do.”
‘If You Don’t Know It’s Impossible, It’s Easier To Do’

Classes of annoying customers

Joel Anaya, a Hospitality Business Management student from Washington State University, studied entries from Web sites like dinnersfromhell.com, flightsfromhell.com, and notalwaysright.com to identify seven classes of annoying customers. Now, Anaya's data set was certainly limited, but his breakdown seems pretty good to me. I'm not sure though if "loud talkers/laughers" would fit under "Service rule breakers."
Classes of annoying customers

Easiest way to show windows side by side in Windows

When I’m working on a computer that is connected to a single monitor, I often like to display two windows side by side, especially when writing a new blog post. I usually display the WordPress admin interface where I write the post in one window, and the developer web page or another source in the second window. This allows me to access information directly and without having to juggle around with open windows or tabs in a single browser window.
Easiest way to show windows side by side in Windows

The Lifehacker Total Security Guide

Security is one of our perennial Lifehacker topics: as fast as technology advances, criminals find new ways to exploit it. Here are our 10 most popular guides to security, covering every aspect of your online life.
The Lifehacker Total Security Guide

Find The Address Of Any Location With Google Maps

Most of the time you head to Google Maps with an address in your head (or clipboard) with the goal of seeing it on a map. For those times when you’re looking at a map and thinking “I wonder what the address is here,” Google Maps has a handy shortcut for you.
Find The Address Of Any Location With Google Maps

Planhacker: Complete NBN Plan Guide May 2012

The range of National Broadband Network (NBN) plans continues to expand, and there are many more to come. Planhacker covers all the plans on offer in Australia right now in a custom spreadsheet you can use to find the best option for you.
Planhacker: Complete NBN Plan Guide May 2012

‘I Don’t Know’ Is One Of The Smartest Things You Can Say

When it comes to our brains, black is white and up is down. Any time we try to achieve a desired result, we end up doing the opposite. Such is the case with trying to be smart. We like to come off as intelligent, and so we often act like we know more than we do to achieve that effect. In reality, however, saying “I don’t know” can be a whole lot smarter.
‘I Don’t Know’ Is One Of The Smartest Things You Can Say

Facebook for Beginners

Against all odds, you likely know someone who still hasn’t succumbed to the lure of Facebook. Maybe you’re a beginner yourself. Or perhaps you just haven’t had the gosh darn time to explore every last corner of the world’s most expansive social network.
Facebook for Beginners

Apollo 10 space-a-versary: Space Meal, 1969

To commemorate the May 18, 1969 launch of Apollo 10, our friends at the Smithsonian are celebrating the launch by sharing this photo of a meal package from the Apollo 10 mission.
Apollo 10 space-a-versary: Space Meal, 1969

The Ten Habits of Passionate People

Habits are what differentiate successful people from others.
The habits that you’ve developed in the LOST phase – where you used to wander aimlessly without a clear passion or purpose – won’t help you build a life of passion.
That’s why you need to develop a new set of habits to serve you in your newly passionate pursuit.
These are 10 habits of passionate people that you can start cultivating today.
The Ten Habits of Passionate People

Footy Stats

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in partnership with the Australian Football League (AFL) have developed a program that uses football to improve the statistical literacy of young Australians. The ABS Footy Stats program provides a fun and interactive introduction to the world of statistics. The program involves kids participating in a range of footy activities and learning how to collect, analyse, interpret and communicate basic statistical concepts with the guidance of a facilitator.
Footy Stats

Cascade of 60,000 dominoes

FlippyCat assembled 60 walls, each consisting of 990 dominoes, and an additional field of 600 dominoes. The project took 65 hours over 8 days and some painful failures along the way. But when he finally pushed it over at 0:55, he made a beautiful cascade of color and sound.
Cascade of 60,000 dominoes

10 Things You Should Do Immediately After Losing Your Wallet

We all know that sense of panic when we realize that our wallet or purse is missing. If you’re like me, half of your life is in your wallet. Credit cards, debit cards, ID, insurance cards, money — you name it, it’s in there. And if it falls into the wrong hands, it could be devastating. The least that can happen is you lose a little money. But you could be the victim of identity theft and fraud that could have repercussions for years.
10 Things You Should Do Immediately After Losing Your Wallet

Learn To Quickly Memorise Lists

The key to remembering things is to make them memorable. Turn names, numbers, and abstract words into images that are gross, funny, or absurd. In this video, Nelson Dellis, USA Memory Champion, demonstrates how to do this — using an example list of random words. Memory champions use this technique of creating pictures out of words and weaving them into a story.
Learn To Quickly Memorise Lists

If you put all the water on Earth in one place

Put all the water on this planet into a single sphere and it would have a diameter of about 860 miles, says the United States Geological Survey.
If you put all the water on Earth in one place

How to Find the Location where a Picture was taken?

Say you are exploring interesting places on the Internet and come across a gorgeous destination that you would like to visit sometime in future. The only problem is that the web photograph carries no text caption and you therefore have no clue of the location where that picture was possible taken.
How to Find the Location where a Picture was taken?

10 Biggest Computer Security Myths Busted

Keeping your computer secure can be confusing, so it’s not surprising that mistaken beliefs often end up taking root. Here are the ten biggest myths about computer security, busted once and for all.
10 Biggest Computer Security Myths Busted

Excellent vintage film about the first accurate atomic clock

This short film was produced by the film unit of the UK's National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in the 1950s, and explains the principles behind the first accurate atomic clock, which was designed by Louis Essen and built at the National Physical Laboratory in 1955. The NPL's YouTube channel has other videos of interest to science geeks.
Excellent vintage film about the first accurate atomic clock