Blackstump Australia Issue 13 - April 25, 2009

The latest issue of new family friendly sites listed on The Black Stump.
Blackstump Australia Issue 13 - April 25, 2009

How to Build Your Google Profile

On April 21, 2009 Google introduced a tool, called Google Profile, that allows you to take a little control over what comes up when people search your name. Google Profiles will place your profile at the bottom of the search results for your name if you are one of the top matches. Read on to learn how to take advantage of this new feature.
How to Build Your Google Profile

The Mother’s Day Debate - And Eight Sensible Ways to Solve It

Whenever Mother’s Day rolls around (and it’s just about here), people seem to congregate into two camps on the issue.

First, there’s the celebrate your mother camp - the people who feel that Mother’s Day is a perfect opportunity to show your mother that you care for her, either through action or through a gift. On the other side of that coin is the Mother’s Day is a day invented by the greeting card industry group, those who feel that the entire concept of a “mother’s day” is just an excuse for consumerism.
The Mother’s Day Debate - And Eight Sensible Ways to Solve It

6 Twitter Search Services Compared

With developers rushing like wild dogs to build and launch applications to make your TwitterTwitter reviewsTwitter reviews experience more productive, how can you choose which is the best tool to use if you’re running queries on your company name and competitor’s product line, or references on small-town bakeries or Red Sox pitchers?

Thankfully, there is no shortage of search applications. But how different are their interfaces, how similar are their results, and what options do they offer? Let’s see.
6 Twitter Search Services Compared

How to Solve Word Puzzles: 10 steps

Many puzzles depend on clever wording of the question so that the would-be puzzle-solver is led to assume something that is not true. Here are several examples of such "word puzzles", and how to solve them. The answer to the first of each pair of puzzles is in the "Tips" below, however, you look smart enough to me to solve them,without any help, so try them yourself first.
How to Solve Word Puzzles: 10 steps

Antarctic ice growth linked to ozone hole

An expansion of sea ice around Antarctica is linked to a hole in the ozone layer high in the atmosphere, according to a study that helps clear up a mystery about global warming.
Antarctic ice growth linked to ozone hole

ID an ATM Skimmer

Here's a 24-page PDF of a powerpoint on ATM skimmers that's making the rounds in Australia. If you've been reading every ATM skimming post, most of this is review, but it contains several more examples of what skimmers can look like and what to watch out for.
ID an ATM Skimmer

Software Updates Checker

One of the main disadvantages of the Windows operating system is the lack of an internal application handling third party software updates on the computer system. An automatic update system like that offered in the Linux operating system would be increasing system security and stability of the Windows operating system.
Software Updates Checker

How hackers are scheming to get your bank PIN

Last year the New York Times ran a story about man arrested in Grand Central Terminal for emptying the bank accounts of unsuspecting ATM customers. How? Eagle-eyed and patient, the perp would linger by the station’s bank of ATMs and casually spy on the commuters entering their PINs. If the thief was lucky, the withdrawer, in a rush (as they often are), would take his money and leave, forgetting to answer the ATM’s final question: “Would you like another transaction?” So the crook sauntered up, pressed “Yes,” re-entered the PIN, and cleaned house.
How hackers are scheming to get your bank PIN

How to Unclog a Toilet

There's never a good time to plunge a toilet, but clogs seem to happen at the most inopportune moments. Fortunately, you can clear most clogs yourself without having to pay a plumber. Follow these steps, and you should have the problem cleared up before the in-laws come over for dinner.
How to Unclog a Toilet

The 7 Ways to Approach Twitter

There are plenty of strategies for approaching Twitter. It’s getting more complex each day, but in the end it can be boiled down to a few simple approaches.
The 7 Ways to Approach Twitter

The Economics of Marriage and Health - Til Death Do Us Part

A recent study has found that marital strife can be detrimental to your heart, more so for women than in men. And heart disease, as you may or may not know, is the number one killer of both sexes.
The Economics of Marriage and Health - Til Death Do Us Part

40 Tips to Go Green at Home for Earth Day

There are many little things we can do in our homes to play a small part in reducing landfill waste, cleaning the air, and preserving the natural landscape. But we double our efforts when we get our kids involved, helping them understand the why to our what. When they get it, it’ll be second nature to them when they’re adults - and that much easier to pass it down to their children.
40 Tips to Go Green at Home for Earth Day

Facebook Manners

A 1960's style PSA about Facebook manners.
Facebook Manners

Top 13 Twitter Don'ts

Want to keep your Twitter followers happy? Avoid these microblogging faux pas.
Top 13 Twitter Don'ts

ALA's 2008 Top Ten list of most frequently challenged books

For a third consecutive year, Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell's award-winning "And Tango Makes Three," a children's book about two male penguins caring for an orphaned egg, tops the American Library Association's (ALA) Top Ten list of the Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2008.
ALA's 2008 Top Ten list of most frequently challenged books

7 Myths about Pregnancy

Carrying low? It must be a boy. Do you have heartburn? Then the baby has a full head of hair. Perhaps you have heard some of this prenatal folklore, much of which has no scientific basis.
Slide Show: 7 Myths about Pregnancy

Vegetable Gardening: Four Cheap Hacks

Vegetable gardening has always been popular with a certain crowd. With this economy however, even more folks are considering the home grown option. Here are four cheap tricks to keep your start up costs under control.
Vegetable Gardening: Four Cheap Hacks

40 Captivating Photos That Depict Human Emotion

Though we differ in the way we look and things we believe in, there’s something we all share: emotion. Human emotion is innate in all of us; it’s something we’re born with and something we die with. Happiness, sadness, love, hatred, worries, and indifference - these are things that constantly occur in our daily lives.
40 Captivating Photos That Depict Human Emotion

I’m InTouch With My Desktop From Anywhere

You can work from anywhere, but sometimes you need to access apps or files living on your desktop machine. And not all web workers likes the idea of their information floating around in the cloud. I’m InTouch offers an easy-to-use solution that allows you to connect with your own desktop machine through another computer, notebook or mobile device.
I’m InTouch With My Desktop From Anywhere