W.W.B.G./L.S.D. - What would Bear Grylls/Les Stroud do?

A simple method for finding south using nothing but an analog wristwatch and the sun:

Hold a watch with 12 o'clock at left. Move your arm so the hour hand points at the sun. The spot halfway between the hour hand and the 12 is south.

A few important caveats. First, if you're in the southern hemisphere, you would point 12 o'clock at the sun but still split the difference between 12 and the hour hand for north. Also, if you practice daylight saving time, you should subtract one hour from the hour hand.

Use your wristwatch as a compass. [Lifehacker]

Paul Schaefer is being brought on as a consultant for any future 'Top 10' lists.

The PDF file format is one of the best ways to publish, save and exchange well-formatted documents that will look exactly the same regardless of the device or computer you open them on. Whether it's your resumé, a tax form, e-book, user guide or a web page, you can't go wrong using a PDF. Chances are you've already got a free PDF reader installed on your computer, but you can do a lot more with your PDF files than you might think. Hit the jump for our top 10 list of techniques for converting, exchanging, sharing, managing and editing PDF documents.



Top 10 PDF tricks. [Lifehacker]

Apparently the apple fell 250 years and two contents away from the tree.

A little known school of scholars in southwest India discovered one of the founding principles of modern mathematics hundreds of years before Newton according to new research. Dr George Gheverghese Joseph from The University of Manchester says the 'Kerala School' identified the 'infinite series'- one of the basic components of calculus - in about 1350. The discovery is currently - and wrongly - attributed in books to Sir Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibnitz at the end of the seventeenth centuries.

The team from the Universities of Manchester and Exeter reveal the Kerala School also discovered what amounted to the Pi series and used it to calculate Pi correct to 9, 10 and later 17 decimal places. And there is strong circumstantial evidence that the Indians passed on their discoveries to mathematically knowledgeable Jesuit missionaries who visited India during the fifteenth century.



Indians predate Newton 'discovery' by 250 years. [Physorg]

It's just that, well frankly, they're offensive...smelling. I mean they smell bad.

Deodorize...

• Your kitchen sink
• Your freezer
• Your car
• Food storage containers
• Your clothes
• Your carpet
• Your pet's bedding
• Your basement

Eight surprising household deodorizers. [Real Simple]

I'm betting Atlas could use one of those 'cold to dull the pain and hot to relax it away' back wraps about now.

Atlas of World Faiths. [spiegel.de]

I never came upon any of my discoveries through the process of rational thinking. - Einstein

Of all the objects in the universe, the human brain is the most complex: There are as many neurons in the brain as there are stars in the Milky Way galaxy. So it is no surprise that, ­despite the glow from recent advances in the science of the brain and mind, we still find ourselves squinting in the dark somewhat. But we are at least beginning to grasp the crucial mysteries of neuroscience and starting to make headway in addressing them. Even partial answers to these 10 questions could restructure our understanding of the roughly three-pound mass of gray and white matter that defines who we are.

Ten Unsolved Mysteries of the Brain. [Discover Magazine]

Bite my shinny, metal microbrewery.

Good news, everyone! Here is a story about building my very own Bender. This, as everyone should know, is the foul mouthed, cigar smoking, booze drinking, shiny metal arsed, bending robot from the program Futurama. More information can be found in the Wikipedia Futurama entry.

Of course just having a Bender that doesn't do anything would be a waste of time so mine shall be used for a practical purpose. One Bender himself would be proud of. I'll use him to make beer! This was actually done in the show in the episode "The Route of all Evil". The idea was suggested to me by my drinking buddy Dave. I didn't remember this until he provided the proof (typos and all):

[3/30/2007 9:21:20 AM] Simon Jansen says: Everytime I watch Futurama I want to build a bender.
[3/30/2007 9:24:14 AM] David Moore says: do you remember the episode where they brew beer inside Bender?
[3/30/2007 9:24:26 AM] David Moore says: you should build that.... a Bender brewer
[3/30/2007 9:24:28 AM] Simon Jansen says: Vaguely.\
[3/30/2007 9:24:37 AM] David Moore says: he gets all maternal
[3/30/2007 9:24:42 AM] Simon Jansen says: I could buil done out of real steel.
[3/30/2007 9:26:49 AM] David Moore says: season3 episode12: The Route of All Evil
[3/30/2007 9:26:56 AM] David Moore says: title refers to money, not beer
[3/30/2007 9:27:27 AM] Simon Jansen says: How about a Bender beer fridge? Get one of those mini fridges and build that into him?
[3/30/2007 9:28:00 AM] David Moore says: no a brewer

So, credit where credit is due!

The latest entry is from August 5, 2007 - Check back for progress reports.

Building Beer, Brewing Bender. [asciimation.co.nz]

*Yikes*

Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) was the greatest scientist that ever lived. More than any other person, Newton was single-handedly responsible for laying the the groundwork in classical mechanics, optics, and even mathematics. Landing man on the moon? Don’t look at Einstein - it was all done with Newtonian physics.

Even though every high school student that has ever taken physics (should) remember Newton’s contributions, not many know about the man behind the science. For example, did you know that Sir Isaac was an alchemist? Or that, like Einstein, he didn’t have a very promising start? Or that he was obsessed with the Bible and tried to predict Armageddon?

Read on for more obscure facts about the life of Isaac Newton, the world’s greatest scientist...

Ten Strange Facts About Newton. [Neatorama]

Go ninja, go ninja, go! Ninja, ninja, wrap!

Apparently there is a government approved method for wrapping stuff in Japan. As amusing as that fact might be, it actually proves to be a relatively interesting concept. That said, this will do nothing to dissuade every guy from continuing to ask the girl at the register if she could box and wrap that Christmas gift for him.

Furoshiki are a type of traditional Japanese wrapping cloth that were frequently used to transport clothes, gifts, or other goods. Although possibly dating back as far as the Nara period, the name, meaning "bath spread", derives from the Edo period practice of using them to bundle clothes while at the sento (public baths). Before becoming associated with public baths, furoshiki was known as hiradzutsumi, or flat folded bundle. Eventually, the furoshiki's usage extended to serve as a means for merchants to transport their wares or to protect and decorate a gift. (Wikipedia)

How to use Furoshiki (pdf). [Japan's Ministry of the Environment]

This album begs the question "What day did the Lord create Spinal Tap, and couldn't head have rested on that day too?"

Some of the longstanding "who's the best musician" arguments are so old they've grown tiresome. Who’s the best guitarist that ever lived? Who’s the best singer that ever walked the planet? Best band ever to ever play live? Despite copious lists and countdowns, no definitive answers have ever been reached. To this day, we have no conclusive proof as to whether The Beatles were better than The Rolling Stones . . . or The Who . . . or U2. This list makes no attempt to resolve any argument over the best musicians who ever lived. Rather, it resolves the question of ranking the best bands that never really existed.

Some of the bands on this list never produced one note of audible music, others needed real musicians to give them voice, a couple served as alter egos and one band is made up of puppets. Regardless of their corporeal status, in one form or another, these bands embodied the ethos of rock and roll, either by capturing the essence of a certain genre, leaving a lasting influence on real-life musicians or, despite their manifestation as a fictional entity, by creating some rockin' tunes.

The Ten Best Bands That Never Existed. [Earvolution]

Shit. What? Rollers. No. Yeah. Shit.

It's smart. It's convenient. It's fair. And it's designed to eliminate parking tickets. So basically it runs contradictory to everything city governments were built on.

I understand that parking meters are necessary. What I don't understand is why cities insist on using antiquated systems. Or why the whole thing has to be so damn adversarial. (If you've ever stood, quarters in hand, pleading with a smirking meter maid writing a $30 ticket, your meter expired for just 2 minutes, while she shakes her head and tells you it's too late, gimme an Amen.)

Photo Violation Technologies, a company out of Vancouver, BC has developed a new, technologically advanced meter called the PhotoViolationMeter, that not only makes paying for parking easier, it makes getting a ticket as outdated as David Hasselhoff's hair. A thanks-for-joining-us-in-the-21st-century feature included in the PVM allows you to feed the meter with your credit or debit card, or your cell phone. Finally. No more searching for change. Or asking a pan handler if he can break a twenty.

But that's not why I'm spending all this time rhapsodizing about a parking meter. The real reasons to storm the Mayor's office are the options PVM gives you to make sure you never get a parking ticket again. Yup. Never again.

The greatest parking meter your city will never install. [The Bachelor Guy]

I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.

World Clock. [poodwaddle.com] (submitted by Salvy)

Self-realization. I was thinking of the immortal words of Socrates, who said, "I drank what?"

I think at some point in the past we've covered the concept that the average person out there in the world could sooner find their ass with a map than type something resembling a grammatically correct sentence. Beyond the written word, there is the written number - and trust us when we say that a map, a compass, a GPS unit and a big, flashing neon sign isn't likely to help some people when it comes to correctly writing numbers. You'd think it wouldn't be that hard, but then again, we were able to find our own asses without a map at a very young age. "Prodigy" was a word that was regularly thrown about when referring to us...among a few others that we're pretty sure we weren't supposed to hear and therefor won't repeat.

For those of you, we mean us...er...them! Yea, for all those other guys that aren't exactly real geniuses and are capable of realizing this and willing to admit as much and could use something of a refresher course, enjoy...and learn something for god's sake.


10 Rules for Writing Numbers and Numerals. [dailywritingtips.com]

Scrawled on the bathroom stalls of history.

"He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire." [Winston Churchill]

"He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know." [Abraham Lincoln]

"I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it." [Groucho Marx]

"I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it." [Mark Twain]

"I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play, bring a friend... if you have one." [George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill]

"Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second... if there is one." [Winston Churchill, in response]

"I've just learned about his illness. Let's hope it's nothing trivial." [Irvin S. Cobb]
"He had delusions of adequacy." [Walter Kerr]

"There's nothing wrong with you that reincarnation won't cure." [Jack E. Leonard]

"In order to avoid being called a flirt, she always yielded easily." [Charles, Count Talleyrand]

When insults had class. [Boreme.com]

Spinach will keep you healthy and get you the goils, but the huge forearms are entirely up to you.

Simplify your life and boost your health with these basic foods that really work. You can nibble on goji berries, whip up noni juice smoothies and stock your shelves with antioxidants. But if you're looking for what really works for optimal health and disease prevention, the best approach is to focus on foods that are rich in disease-fighting phytochemicals.

"Basic foods that have proven health benefits are what we want to emphasize." says Steven Pratt, MD, author of SuperFoods Healthstyle. "For example, blueberries, broccoli and tomatoes have a large number of peer-reviewed published studies substantiating their health benifits. These foods are readily available, inexpensive and have other benefits, such as high fiber content. And they've been used for years, with m no drawbacks, side effects or toxicity; you're never going to see a headline that blueberries are bad for you."

• Broccoli
• Pumpkin
• Blueberries
• Fish
• Spinach
• Tomatos

Six Superfoods that Prevent Disease. [Red Orbit]