Pages Menu
TwitterRssFacebook
Categories Menu

Posted by on 18th October, 2007

How airplanes really fly

How airplanes really fly

“So we all know how planes fly, right? The top of the wing is rounded and the bottom of the wing is straighter. Air takes longer to travel over the top of the wing, which means there’s less air pressure there relative to the bottom of the wing. That means there’s more air pressure on the bottom — hence the lift. Right? Right?” Nope… apparently not. [button link=”http://dmiessler.com/blogarchive/why-planes-fly-what-they-taught-you-in-school-was-wrong”” color=”#FFFFCC” size=”1″ style=”4″ dark=”1″]read...

Read More

Posted by on 24th September, 2007

Learn a new language II.

Learn a new language II.

I just posted about this yesterday but found a new site that has a concept I think is worth mentioning. I have just registered and have yet to play with it some more but it seems it has quite a bit of content. There are hours of free courseware for several languages as well, but mainly it focuses on allowing you to social network with people who speak the native language that you are trying to learn and vice versa. [button link=”http://www.livemocha.com” color=”#FFFFCC” size=”1″ style=”4″ dark=”1″]read...

Read More

Posted by on 21st September, 2007

Learn a new language..

Learn a new language..

I think I have posted about learning a new language before and it not easy to find an application or software that is easy to use and free. Well, I came across this web based language application that, so far, is free and easy to use….really. They have several languages and it starts out really easy, assuming you have absolutely no experience whatsoever. [button link=”http://www.trymango.com/” color=”#FFFFCC” size=”1″ style=”4″ dark=”1″]read...

Read More

Posted by on 30th August, 2007

What Are You So Depressed About?

What Are You So Depressed About?

I know a few people very close and very dear to me who suffer from depression and it is so difficult to communicate and understand what exactly it is that they are going through. From time to time, I can feel a little down myself, without a specific reason to explain my careless mood. However, for people who are depressed more than occasionally and often require medication, it has simply become part of their lives…so much that it seems that mood simply takes control. I don’t understand how someone can not be in control of them self…and I have learned not to try to understand either…I don’t think I would be able to understand anyways, even it were to happen to me. Here is a very brief article that attempts to explain in a few paragraphs how people feel when they are depressed, why it happens and how you should react. [button link=”http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2007/08/23/what-are-you-so-depressed-about” color=”#FFFFCC” size=”1″ style=”4″ dark=”1″]read...

Read More

Posted by on 25th August, 2007

Coffee types illustrated

Coffee types illustrated

A cup of coffee is just a cup of coffee, like anywhere else, right? I will have to disagree with that statement… I don’t know whether  it is just the differences in culture, but the coffee selection in Europe is just not that extensive as it is here in the US.  I live in Seattle, where there is literally a Starbucks on every corner and one can simply not avoid the sometimes ridiculous combinations that people come up with when ordering a cup of coffee. If you were ever wondering what all these Italian names for different types of coffee really mean when put together in a cup, here is a handy illustration that simplifies the mixtures and their exotic European names. [button link=”http://www.lokeshdhakar.com/2007/08/20/an-illustrated-coffee-guide/” color=”#FFFFCC” size=”1″ style=”4″ dark=”1″]read...

Read More

Posted by on 18th August, 2007

Quick(er) PC reboot

Quick(er) PC reboot

Rebooting a Windows computer is a pain in the neck and depending on the OS, hardware or software installed, it can take quite a while for the machine to boot up and be fully responsive. Averages run around one and a half minute. first the BIOS loads, and then eventually Windows. So, what if you could just restart Windows, without restarting the BIOS? “Sometimes, you need to reboot Windows (e.g. when installing new software), but there is no need to restart BIOS, too. However, the default is to reboot both. (That’s called doing a “cold boot,” rather than a “warm boot.”) There’s a trick that works on both XP and Vista to get it to do a warm boot instead, thus saving you 30 seconds per cycle” [button link=”http://www.codejacked.com/restarting-windows-without-restarting-your-pc-vista-or-xp/” color=”#FFFFCC” size=”1″ style=”4″ dark=”1″]read more[/button] Update: Apparently this trick only worked in older Windows 95/98...

Read More

Posted by on 14th August, 2007

Advice Every Teacher Should Give

Advice Every Teacher Should Give

I read this brief post and was brought back in time when I actually would have thought certain things about the relevance of the class material in front of me with real life. How can this possibly be useful for any career or for life in general? This is just another hypothesis or algorithm exercise that has absolutely no purpose other than that it is needed to pass this course. I wish I had received the following answer and hopefully I would have paid more attention to all the following “useless” exercises…. [button link=”http://www.marcandangel.com/2007/08/15/the-advice-every-teacher-should-give-their-students/” color=”#FFFFCC” size=”1″ style=”4″ dark=”1″]read...

Read More

Posted by on 11th August, 2007

5 Minutes to learn anything.

5 Minutes to learn anything.

So, you have  a few minutes left to just surf the web… maybe check reddit.com and you know you’ll get stuck there for way longer than that. Why not take the time and learn something the easy way by just watching a 5 minute video on the subject? “5min is a place to find short video solutions for practical questions and a place for people to share their knowledge. The idea behind 5min is very simple: any solution can be visually explained in no more than 5 minutes.” [button link=”http://www.5min.com/” color=”#FFFFCC” size=”1″ style=”4″ dark=”1″]read...

Read More

Posted by on 28th July, 2007

Bicycles in Amsterdam

Having lived in Amsterdam and Rotterdam for over a decade, this list of 82 pictures brought many memories back. Unlike in the USA, where everyone drives their SUV to the shops less than 1 km away, in Holland, they do it differently. The preferred method of transportation is the bicycle or “fiets”. Of course, for longer trips there is excellent public transportation and yes, people do own cars as well, albeit smaller ones. Soon after I learned to walk, the bike was the next logical method of going places…everywhere: to school, the grocery store, library, football games, etc and this in the almost constant rain or freezing, windy, bitter winters of Holland. “[in Holland] there are many cyclepaths and other segregated cycle facilities. The network stretches to all provinces, and the bordering nations Belgium and Germany. The country values its cycleways as much as any other method of transportation – like a network of roads, these cycleways can take you from any city to a destination of your choice...

Read More

Posted by on 25th July, 2007

Disagree without offending

Disagree without offending

Whether you acquire this valuable skill or it is natural in you, it is one that one simply must have to be able to interact, socialize and simply succeed in your relationships with anyone you know or encounter in the future. Everyone is unique and so are their thoughts. The true art lies in being able to listen properly, communicate accordingly and whether you get your point across or not, whether you convince the other person or not, maintain the relationship intact or stronger than it was, even if no mutual agreement was reached. Here is an excellent article that highlights some of these points that one should keep in mind in any discussion. [button link=”http://johnplaceonline.com/achieve-balance/how-to-disagree-and-persuade-without-offending/” color=”#FFFFCC” size=”1″ style=”4″ dark=”1″]read...

Read More