Google Releases Chart Image Generator

Google released a chart generator service they are calling the Google Chart API. Usage is quite straightforward: you link to an image in the form of a parameterized URL.
Google Releases Chart Image Generator

Partial Recall: Why Memory Fades with Age

As we age, it becomes harder and harder to recall names, dates—even where we put down our keys. Although we may fear the onset of Alzheimer's, chances are, our recollective powers have dulled simply because we're getting older—and our brains, like our bodies, are no longer in tip-top shape.
Partial Recall: Why Memory Fades with Age

Environmental Issues: People's Views and Practices, Mar 2007

Grey water was being used by more than half (55%) of all Australian households in 2007, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today.
Grey water was the second most common source of water after mains/town water. Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory had the highest proportion of households using grey water, at 72% and 63% respectively.
Environmental Issues: People's Views and Practices, Mar 2007

Try Honey for Children's Coughs

A teaspoon of honey before bed seems to calm children's coughs and help them sleep better, according to a new study that relied on parents' reports of their children's symptoms.
Try Honey for Children's Coughs

Feature: The 20 Best iPod Utilities

With a new generation of iPods on the market this holiday season, your reliable old iPod may not seem as shiny as it once did. But with the help of third party applications and utilities, you can unlock tons of useful functionality you never knew was there and revive that aging iPod so it doesn't look quite so bad next to its successors. Whether new or old, the following 20 iPod utilities can help you get the most from your iPod.
Feature: The 20 Best iPod Utilities

Google Reveals Fast-Growing Search Terms of 2007

Not to be confused with Google Zeitgeist’s year-end top searches, which has yet to be released, Google revealed today a list of the “fast rising U.S. search terms” for 2007. Marissa Mayer, VP of Search & User Experience at Google, made an appearance Tuesday morning at NBC’s “Today Show”, where she revealed, not surprisingly, that the “iPhone” was number one on the list. Within the past 24 hours, Google has also released year-end search trends for various countries throughout the world, including Australia.
Google Reveals Fast-Growing Search Terms of 2007

To My Great-Great-Grandchildren: Hows Your Climate?

Simon Donner, a climate scientist at the University of British Columbia, contributed one of the “100-Year Letters” over at DeSmogBlog.com that I mentioned in Science Times this week.
That project is one of various efforts to find more engaging ways to tell the climate story, which sprawls across time and geography and relates to every life decision, from turning off the lights to pulling a lever in a voting booth to choosing a vocation.
To My Great-Great-Grandchildren: Hows Your Climate?

Lose that belly boys, eat red meat

A new study conducted by Australia's Commonwealth Science and Inductrial Research Organization has found that overweight and obese men can strip inches off their waist-line and lose weight effectively and safely on a high protein red meat diet. In fact, a balanced red meat diet was found to be better for tightening the belt buckle than a balanced carb diet.
Lose that belly boys, eat red meat

How to Block Facebook Beacon

On November 6th, 2007 Facebook launched a new feature called Beacon which collects data on the behavior of Facebook users on several commercial websites such as eBay, Fandango, Zappos and Overstock.com. When a Facebook user purchases an item at one of these websites, Facebook provides a way for the user to advertise their purchase on their Facebook News Feed. While users can decline sending out the advertising, Facebook does not allow users to opt out of the data collection and behavior monitoring. Even if you opt out, click "no thanks", and log out of Facebook, Beacon will still be surreptitiously collecting your web browsing behavior data and sending it to Facebook.
How to Block Facebook Beacon

Bring Your ABC to the Desktop with ABC Now

Our national broadcaster has added another string to its multimedia bow with the release of desktop gadget ABC Now, which is essentially a media player which lets you get ABC news headlines, radio streams, podcasts and TV highlights on your PC. You can also get weather updates.
Bring Your ABC to the Desktop with ABC Now

The Ask.com Blog: Our Search Top 10's for 2007

"If you want to see how a society thinks, look at what it searches for."
--George Bernard Shaw

Okay, George Bernard Shaw didn't say that. I made it up. BUT, if you want to take a look at what fascinated people this year, our big list of 2007 Most Popular searches is a great place to look.
The Ask.com Blog: Our Search Top 10's for 2007

How to Track Down Anyone Online

When you're trying to find someone online, Google's not the only game in town. In the last two years, a handful of new people search engines have come onto the scene that offer better ways to pinpoint people info by name, handle, location, or place of employment. While there's still no killer, one-stop people search, there are more ways than ever to track down a long-lost friend, stalk an ex, or screen a potential date or employee. The next time you wonder, "What ever happened to so-and-so?" you've got a few power people search tools to turn to.
How to Track Down Anyone Online

7 Myths about the Internet

Apparently the Italians share some misconceptions about Internet usage with their U.S. counterparts. Here’s a video of a speech by Italian TV host and blogger Marco Montemagno describing myths Italians hold about the Internet and identifying Web 2.0 opportunities for businesses.
7 Myths about the Internet

Microsoft exec kicks off new browser security war

Internet Explorer is more secure than Firefox, according to a senior Microsoft executive, who compared how many vulnerabilities were found in the two browsers -- but critics say his study is flawed.
Microsoft exec kicks off new browser security war

How Australians are accidentally breaking their phones

Australia’s largest telecommunications company, Telstra, has released a report on the top five ways Australians are accidentally damaging their mobile phones, in what must be putting a smile on the dial of phone manufacturers who end up selling more phones.
How Australians are accidentally breaking their phones

Australia's population passes 21 million

Australia's population reached a milestone 21 million during the June quarter 2007 fuelled by the highest population growth rate since 1989, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today.
Australia's population passes 21 million

Top 8 most Dangerous roads in the World

Photos follow.
Top 8 most Dangerous roads in the World

Australia ratifies Kyoto Protocol

Australia has ratified the Kyoto Protocol.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd signed the instrument of ratification of the Kyoto Protocol in his first act after being sworn in this morning.
Australia ratifies Kyoto Protocol

The Art of Portrait Photography

So you're interested in portrait photography, and you want to know what separates snapshots from art? Here are the things I consider vitally important.
The Art of Portrait Photography

Beacon: The Eye of Facebook

Facebook first took a beating when its Beacon service was ruining Christmas by broadcasting information about gifts Facebook users had just purchased to all of their Facebook friends. But this was just scratching the surface of larger invasion of privacy issues with Beacon.
Beacon: The Eye of Facebook

Most popular Aussie web searches of ’07 from Yahoo!7

Yahoo!7 have announced the annuals rankings of the most popular Australian searches of 2007 were celebrities, scandals, wild weather and home ownership, with Britney Spears topping three of the lists and Apple’s iPod Nano topping the tech section.
Most popular Aussie web searches of ’07 from Yahoo!7

Oxford Place Of The Year: Warming Island

I’ve been blogging about the Place of the Week for nearly two years now, choosing a new location every seven days that I knew little about but had caught my attention or that appeared in the news. In the last year global warming has become much more than another subject debated within academia; in fact its found its way into our language, popular culture, and even our shopping habits. As I thought about this while I tried to pick my first Place of the Year, I kept coming back to the very visible ways the Earth’s landscape has been altered by the phenomena.
Oxford Place Of The Year: Warming Island

14 Foods that Lower Cholesterol

After reviewing my research on healthy foods and cholesterol from this year I came up with the top 14 Foods that Lower Cholesterol.
1. Whole grains and oats - a five-year Insulin Resistance Athersclerosis Study showed that people whose diets contain the most whole grains “had the thinnest carotid artery walls and showed the slowest progression in artery wall thickness.”
14 Foods that Lower Cholesterol

The Coolest 35 Facts You’ve Never Heard

Like...#35. “Stewardesses” is the longest word that is typed with only the left hand.
The Coolest 35 Facts You’ve Never Heard

Print to Any Computer Over the Internet with PrinterAnywhere

Send print jobs to any computer from any computer over the internet--like to your home printer from work--with freeware application PrinterAnywhere. Just install the software and register for a free PrinterAnywhere account (requires a username and email address) to get started. PrinterAnywhere is freeware, Windows only.
Print to Any Computer Over the Internet with PrinterAnywhere

Obsessive- Compulsive’s Guide: Top 12 Organizing Tips

Is your life in disarray? Do you have trouble finding things? Do you constantly forget stuff? If so, don’t worry — you’re like most of the human population.
Obsessive- Compulsive’s Guide: Top 12 Organizing Tips

Buy a Car Without Getting Screwed

Car guy Rob Gruhl gives some great, practical advice on how to find, finance and negotiate buying a new car.
Buy a Car Without Getting Screwed

5 Signs You Are On Autopilot

I was on autopilot for many years. Sure, I was traveling through life with my eyes open and my hands on the wheel. But it seemed as if I was heading toward some pre-determined destination that had been chosen for me by others. Are you on autopilot?
5 Signs You Are On Autopilot

Free Answers to Your Tech Questions–Fast

Sometimes when you have a question, you don’t just need an answer, you need a consensus. If you can relate to that, definitely give Ask500People a try. Unlike Yahoo! Answers and some of the more specialized question answering sites on the web, Ask500People seeks group approval of interesting questions before they are asked, through online voting that causes the most intriguing questions to rise to the top.
Free Answers to Your Tech Questions–Fast

Social Site Rankings (October, 2007)

Some numbers on traffic to social sites (comScore calls them social networking sites, but they are not all social networks. Below are the results, which show both absolute traffic in the U.S. and percentage change where comparable data from October, 2006 is available.
Social Site Rankings (October, 2007)

What causes hiccups?

If a person gets hiccups and wants to know what has set them off, there is a long list of medical or physiological disorders that are associated with hiccups and seem to cause them.
What causes hiccups

The Ten Videos to Change How You View the World

I believe that a sign of good information is that it makes you think. If reading a book, listening to a lecture or watching a video doesn’t change how you think, it probably isn’t that important. But if you encounter something that forces you to change your views, even if you don’t completely agree with it, you’ve found something valuable.
The Ten Videos to Change How You View the World

SMS for the nearest toilet

The UK's first SMS service for finding the nearest toilet launched in London today. Just text the word "toilet" and SatLav, run by the Westminster City Council, points you the nearest public toilet.
SMS for the nearest toilet

Patterns of internet access in Australia, 2006

There has been significant growth in Australia's access to/use of the Internet between 2001 and 2006. In 2001, 35% of Australian dwellings had access to the Internet in the week prior to the Census date. In 2006, 63% of Dwellings had access to the Internet.
Patterns of internet access in Australia, 2006

Corrective Services, Australia, Sep 2007

This publication presents information on persons in custody and community-based corrections. The statistics are derived from information provided to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) from administrative records held by corrective services agencies in each state and territory, and from the Australian Government Attorney-General's Department for details on federal prisoners.
Corrective Services, Australia, Sep 2007

The Top 25 Entertainers of the Year

Meet the extraordinary talents who shined brightest in 2007, from George Clooney to Johnny Depp to Carrie Underwood to...EW's pick for Entertainer of the Year!
The Top 25 Entertainers of the Year

Best 101 Lists by Interesting Observations

Coming up with 101 lists has been a trend these days! So, here is a Master List of the best ‘101′ lists out there!
Best 101 Lists by Interesting Observations

How to Doggedly Pursue Your Dreams in the Face of Naysayers

What do you do if you have a dream, but everyone around you keeps telling you to be more realistic and to give up the dream? What if they want you to pursue a more “sensible” and traditional career route?
You ignore them. You shut out the naysayers, and you stay focused on your dream.
How to Doggedly Pursue Your Dreams in the Face of Naysayers

Memorize Anything

Perhaps the first thing you should start doing before tackling extraordinary tasks of memorization is:
a. Get some sleep
b. Get a light snack (emphasis on light).
c. Amp Up Your Brain
Memorize Anything

Disable Facebook Beacon

Privacy and social networking may be mutually exclusive but there are measures you can take to protect your personal information. Lately Facebook's been under the spotlight for the privacy implications of its Beacon tool which can link up advertisers and third parties to report things on Facebook, like your purchasing habits.
Disable Facebook Beacon

Six Techniques to Get More from the Web than Google Will Tell You

The Internet has changed research dramatically. Now, it’s hard to resist defaulting to search engines, especially Google, as its capabilities grow. But you miss opportunities to get valuable insights into IT topics if you rely only on search engines.
Six Techniques to Get More from the Web than Google Will Tell You

The top 10 IT disasters of all time

From faulty satellites nearly causing World War III to the Millennium Bug, poorly executed IT has had a lot to answer for over the years.
The top 10 IT disasters of all time

12 Cold-Weather Remedies

The 12 cold-weather herbal remedies recommended here should help you stay well, or at least help cut the duration of most winter health challenges. There are remedies for sore throats, chapped lips and even chest congestion in this list.
12 Cold-Weather Remedies

Windows XP Speed Boost Coming with SP3

After pronouncing Windows Vista SP1 a "performance dud" two weeks ago, Devil Mountain Software, a Florida-based software development firm, reported that an upcoming update for Windows XP will offer substantial performance gains.
Windows XP Speed Boost Coming with SP3

Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey, Summary Results, Australia, 2006

Information from the 2006 Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey. The results will assist in answering questions of whether Australians' literacy skills are adequate for the challenges they face in work and daily life.
Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey, Summary Results, Australia, 2006

Self Improvement Advice from the Devil

The Internet is full of self improvement advice. You can’t browse a blog these days without someone telling you how you should be living your life.
Well it is about time we shook things up a little…
Self Improvement Advice from the Devil

Computer Randomly Plays Classical Music

During normal operation or in Safe mode, your computer may play "Fur Elise" or "It's a Small, Small World" seemingly at random. This is an indication sent to the PC speaker from the computer's BIOS that the CPU fan is failing or has failed, or that the power supply voltages have drifted out of tolerance. This is a design feature.
Computer Randomly Plays Classical Music

The 10 Most Ridiculous Inventions Ever Patented

The wheel. The light bulb. Big Mouth Billy Bass. Great inventions inspire awe, while providing comfort and convenience to the masses. Other inventions inspire second-hand embarrassment and provide a window into the dark souls of the men who created them.
The 10 Most Ridiculous Inventions Ever Patented

Outlook: How To Delete Duplicated Contacts

Sometimes syncing Outlook with another application or device can result in the addition of a duplicated list of contacts. Removing this list can be quite cumbersome if you take the time to delete each one, especially if you have collected a large number of addresses and such.
Outlook: How To Delete Duplicated Contacts

Ensure a Fast Internet Connection When You Need It

Your internet connection is an indispensable part of your life, but between BitTorrent, Xbox Live, web browsing, and VoIP, sometimes there's not enough bandwidth to go around. But rather than running around the house shutting down all of your computers next time you're experiencing a little lag on Xbox Live or Skype is breaking up on you, you can set up Quality of Service (QoS) rules on your router to distribute bandwidth to your different gadgets and applications based on your priorities.
Ensure a Fast Internet Connection When You Need It