Yak Shaving -- [MIT AI Lab, after 2000: orig. probably from a Ren & Stimpy episode.] Any seemingly pointless activity which is actually necessary to solve a problem which solves a problem which, several levels of recursion later, solves the real problem you're working on.#530 Pen Hack -- Want a pen that writes like a Mont Blanc but don't want to spend $200? Instructables has step-by-step instructions explaining how, using only a $3 pen and a $15 refill catridge, you can make one of the world's finest writing instruments.
#531 Firefox Extension -- AutoCopy is one of the "must have" extensions for Firefox. Simply highlight text and it's automaticaly copied to the clipboard, saving you the trouble of having to use the Ctrl-C command.
#532 Router Hack -- Lifehacker has instructions on how to convert a regular old $60 router into a powerful, highly configurable $600 router. (And if you already have a router, the rest is free.) If you use a wireless router at home this is an extremely useful, rather simple DIY project.
#533 Know Your Fallacies -- Statistical special pleading -- (a particular type of special pleading) is a logical fallacy which occurs when the interpretation of the relevant statistic is "massaged" by looking for ways to reclassify or requantify data from one portion of results, but not applying the same scrutiny to other categories. (Example: "A study of teenage gang members has shown that 40% of those who are atheists have been convicted of a violent offence. This is hundreds of times the number of people in the general population who are convicted of such offences. This clearly shows that atheism leads to violence." (In fact 40% of teenage gang members may be convicted of violence, whether or not they are athiests.))
#534 Google School -- Google calculator (just use the basic searchbox) can help you convert bits in kilobytes (155473 bytes in kilobytes) and numbers in hex or binary (19 in binary). You can also do these calculations via text message, just SMS the query text to GOOGL (46645). (HT: LifeHacker)
#535 HowTo -- Encrypt your data.
#536 Cell Phone Hack -- Want to save 30 seconds? Next time you get someone’s voicemail, just push 7 on your cell phone and it will skip straight to the "beep", allowing you to leave a message without having to sit through the intro message. (Note: Some cell phones may use a different number than 7. But almost all have this feature in some form.) (HT: College V.2)
#537 SoYouWanna -- Register a trademark.
#538 Useful Site of the Day -- Need a place to host for Ebay, a blog, or your MySpace account? AllYouCanUpload.com offers free image hosting.
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comments
Inquiring Minds writes:
1
Dude,
I'm pretty sure you repeated #520-529; this week should be #530-9
Terry writes:
3
#532 looks like a fun experiment but I wouldn't use it for a router/switch you use as a workhorse. You might push your router output power beyond design constraints. The FCC puts limits on these things for a reason. Also there is more difference between a $60 router & a $600 router than the firmware.
posted on 06.07.2006 7:13 PM
Bonnie writes:
4
Thanks so much for #539. It should be on every "Blogging 101" list.
Also appreciate #538 (sheesh, why can't other photo hosting sites be so eeeeeeeasy to use?!)
posted on 06.07.2006 10:15 PM