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.#620 -- The Inflation Calculator is a handy tool that adjusts any given amount of money for inflation, according to the Consumer Price Index, from 1800 to 2005.
#621 Firefox Extension -- The OpenBook extension lets you tweak the default Add Bookmark dialog, giving you more control over the specifics of your bookmarks.
#622 Word Keyboard Shortcut -- Ctrl+Y -- Redo - After an action has been undone, it can be reinstated in the document.
#623 Know Your Fallacies -- Hasty Generalization -- The size of the sample is too small to support the conclusion. (Ex. - I asked six of my friends what they thought of the new spending restraints and they agreed it is a good idea. The new restraints are therefore generally popular.)
#624 Google School -- Google Catalogs helps you browse and search merchant-provided catalogs. You can flip through any catalog to find what interests you, or simply type in what you're looking for, and you'll find every place that your search term appears in the catalog. If you're not sure what catalog to look in, you can search all of the catalogs in Google’s index.
#625 HowTo -- Improve cell phone reception.
#626 Anti-Spam Hack -- Lifehacker has an excellent method for avoiding the latest spammer tactic with uses an image attachment that contains text with a legit-looking subject and from address:
The folks at Ask MetaFilter along with lifehacker Matt Haughey offer a solution for ".gif" Gmail spam with a custom filter:
I tried this (filter):
Has the Words | multipart/related .gif
X Has attachmentAnd to forward everything to the trash (which will automatically clear after 30 days.)
#627 SoYouWanna -- Have a well-trained cat.
#628 Download of the Week -- Freeware program FlashMute lets you mute or lower the volume of any sounds originating from you browser. You can set FlashMute to tone down all browser-based sounds, or just those coming from embedded Flash.
#629 Writer's Tips -- Fear not the long sentence. -- Take the reader on a journey of language and meaning. PoynterOnline
See also: The Yak Shaving Razor Archives
Have a useful recommendation for making life more pleasant? Send them to me at jpcarter[at]evangelicaloutpost.com.