18 Tricks to Teach Your Body

Click here to learn about 18 neat ways to "hack" your body in order to soothe a burn, cure a toothache, clear a stuffed nose or, my favorite, get rid of a stitch in your side:

If you're like most people, when you run, you exhale as your right foot hits the ground. This puts downward pressure on your liver (which lives on your right side), which then tugs at the diaphragm and creates a side stitch, according to The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Men. The fix: Exhale as your left foot strikes the ground.

An Insult or a Compliment

Annette and I just got an email from someone telling us they'd seen our photo online at an - ehem - unexpected website. I immediately clicked on over to the site to find out how our image was being used to promote Healthy Andropause: The Safe, Effective Alternative to Looking Old, Impotent and Pale (click here to see it - UPDATE: upon my request, they have taken down our image, but just imagine our photo being where that burly man with the moustache now is.)

Annette laughed a lot. But I'm not sure if I should take it as a compliment - "andropausal" men hope to look viral like the guy in the photo with the beautiful girl - or should I be insulted that they used the photo without asking permission and somehow "tanned" my lilly-white skin to make me look less - i dunno - testosterone deficent.

How To Avoid Being Robbed/Phished

"Phishing" is a form of online confidence scam. It can be very difficult to distinguish between legitimate emails from banks and other online commerce services and phishing scams.

According to data from e-mail security firm MailFrontier, only 4 percent of users can spot a phished e-mail 100 percent of the time. That’s a very sobering thought as the holiday season is upon us and Americans flock online for their shopping needs.

But don't fear, help is here=> Test your phishing IQ by clicking HERE and taking the quiz. At the end of the quiz the website gives tells you how to avoid having online thieves phish your information.
(note: I only answered 7 out of 10 correctly)

Confessions of a Car Salesman

Read the following article before walking into a car dealership: Confessions of a Car Salesman. This undercover reporter brings to light the intriguing and testosterone-filled world of car sales.

Calvin and Hobbes Snow Art Gallery

Would you like to be moved to smile or maybe even chuckle? If so - and this is 100% gauranteed or your money back - click the following link and enjoy the Calvin and Hobbes Snow Art Gallery. After you see the gallery, if you'd like to add my name to your will just have your lawyer get in touch with my lawyer.

So, What About Halloween?

Click here to read on of the best articles we've ever read on the Halloween dilemma that many parents struggle with. Margi McCombs, educator, mother, and friend of ours, provides a not-so-standard response to the issue. Here's a blurb:

Halloween, for many of us, holds fond memories of childhood fun—costumes, twinkling candles, crisp fall twilight, holding Daddy’s hand as we stroll the neighborhood, and mountains of candy by the end of the evening. So what’s the problem? [But] for others, Halloween represents all that we fear and hate the most....a relentless focus on death, dismemberment, evil spirits, satanic themes and fear itself.

Tough Learning

A meaty but very helpful presentation on Tough Learning. How to be be effective at learning and developing oneself over the long-haul. My favorite is the author's 3rd point (about 4/5 of the way down the page)... it's a great technique for transformational teaching/learning.

They ARE Smart, We Just Bore Them

Faculty nationwide are bewildered and frustrated with the students they see in their classrooms today (see this article, to feel their angst). Many believe there has been a fundamental change in the way contemporary students view knowledge and derive meaning... and it is vastly different from that of their instructors.

Annette and I think kids are as sharp as ever and probably more creative. It's not their problem that they are growing up in a world full of dynamic colors, sounds, video, and interactivity but when they go to school they are told to sit down, shut up, and listen. Sure, if you tell most kids to write a 500 word essay on a book and you'll probably be disapointed. But give a 5th-grader a camcorder or an iPod and they'll read parts of the book out loud and tell you why they like it, they'll make a short video to show you what they got out of the book, or they'll do interviews. Then you'll see the lights go on.

They're not dumb... they're bored.

See Jane sit and listen.
See Dick take notes in a book.
See Spot poop.

Um, let's try again... can Jane surf, take classes online and help save the coral reefs at the same time? Can Dick travel the world, maintaining a blog about the different cultures and the wild variety of ways they've adapted to media-based urbanization? Can Spot sit by Jane's beach towel and guard her laptop while she surfs?

All this was inspired by the following article at the Washington Post: The New Teacher's Pet.

Corruption Index 2005

.............(click map for more detail)

Like children anxiously waiting for Christmas morning, or like a cat waiting for that fat mouse to come out of it's hole... that's how Annette and I are waiting every year for Transparency International to publish the latest Corruption Perceptions Index.

Not Going to Hell in a Handbasket

So there!...for all of you who think the world is going to hell in a handbasket, read this article: BBC News: Wars Less Frequent, Less Deadly. Here's an excerpt:

[The study] found the number of armed conflicts had fallen by more than 40% in the past 13 years, while the number of very deadly wars had fallen by 80%.

Firefox: using it smart-like

Click this link=>The power user's guide to Firefox to learn some great tips for how to take advantage of FIREFOX (every savvy geek's favorite Internet browser).

Bono: Grace Over Karma

Great Q & A with Bono over at Christianity Today. Here's a taste:

There's nothing hippie about my picture of Christ. The Gospels paint a picture of a very demanding, sometimes divisive love, but love it is. I accept the Old Testament as more of an action movie: blood, car chases, evacuations, a lot of special effects, seas dividing, mass murder, adultery. The children of God are running amok, wayward. Maybe that's why they're so relatable. But the way we would see it, those of us who are trying to figure out our Christian conundrum, is that the God of the Old Testament is like the journey from stern father to friend. When you're a child, you need clear directions and some strict rules. But with Christ, we have access in a one-to-one relationship, for, as in the Old Testament, it was more one of worship and awe, a vertical relationship. The New Testament, on the other hand, we look across at a Jesus who looks familiar, horizontal. The combination is what makes the Cross.

Totally Absurd Inventions

The title says it all, this page has illustrations and fun comments about actual U.S. patented inventions like the cheese filtered cigarette or the gerbil shirt. Click on over to Totally Absurd Inventions & Patents and enjoy a few mind-boggling laughs.

Guide to Sleeping in Airports

If you travel a lot, chances are you’ve had a long layover or red-eye that has caused you to have to try and catch some shut eye while at the airport. Or maybe you just really want to save money on lodging? The Budget Traveller’s Guide to Sleeping in Airports aims to make that a bit easier.

Airports all over the world are ranked based on how “comfortable” they are for sleepers and their are tons of stories, tips and tricks on getting the best possible airport sleep in. Many of these are fairly entertaining as well.
(CLICK PHOTO: Annette, 3 am, Frankfurt airport en route to Ethiopia)

Create a New Habit or Break an Old One

click for full cartoon
Learning expert Dr. Stephanie Burns shares strategies on how to break a bad habit and train ourselves to create new habits. She defines a habit as an activity that you do without thought (like brushing your teeth, combing you hair, locking the door); and Burns says that habituating productive activities makes them less energy-consuming because you don’t have to spend time motivating yourself to do them. Read her tips here=> Make or Break a Habit.

10 Ways To Get An Upgrade

I like getting upgraded from cattle car class. However I think it has only happened once to Annette and me and, thus, my interest in this article: 10 ways to get an upgrade - Business Travel - MSNBC.com.

Coffee Hacks

At 43 Folders you'll find tons of great tips on how to improve, enjoy, extend or just drink you coffee better. Here's an example:

If coffee fresh from the coffee maker is too hot for you, but you don't want to dilute it with cold water or cream, freeze some coffee in an ice cube tray and add a coffee cube to your cup.

Click the following link to read more or even add you own: Coffee hacks at 43Folders

Leaving the toilet seat up?

If you're bored and reruns of the Love Boat or Friends just won't do it for you, I promise the following public debate about the "Toilet seat up or down" issue will have you rolling on the floor at least a few times: Leaving the toilet seat up? | Ask MetaFilter Saturday Night Live could get a full season of skits out of the witty repartee found here.

10 Digital Photography Tips

New York Times' David Pogue offers 10 of the best tips I've come across for better digital photography in his article: Less Cursing, Better Pictures: 10 Suggestions. Here's a taste:

* Extend the camera’s battery life by turning off the screen display and use the old-fashioned viewfinder.
* Pre-focus action shots by “half-pressing” the shutter to bring the camera into focus before your kid jumps in the pool.
* Turn off digital zoom. It only gets you grainy photos. You’re better off using optical zoom on a high-quality picture setting and cropping the photo in an image editor on the computer after the fact.

Verbal Conflict Resolution Tips

photo - PhotoSearch.com
Do you ever need help with conflict resolution or just want to understand more about how you communicate with people around you? If so, then take a look at Joshua Sebzda's website - Quick Verbal Tactics. It’s a information rich website all about how to keep your cool and help resolve differences. It’s done in a very straightforward manner, with lots of examples, an interactive temperment test and just enough humor. While I can’t vouch for how well the techniques work, not having tried them, I can say it’s an interesting read and is full of lots of information on conflict resolution.

Save Money, Know When You'll Die

The Web is learning new tricks every day. These surprising sites and services will help you be a better parent, travel for less, save you time (or waste it)--and one even counts down the days till your ultimate demise. Click the following link to read about the 30 Things You Didn't Know You Could Do on the Internet.

Everything You Thought You Knew About Grilling Is Wrong

For those of you in the Northern hemisphere, summer - and it's accompanying cookouts - is just just around the corner. Want to grill that steak or hamburger to perfection?...Click on the following link for 5 helpful tips: Everything You Thought You Knew About Grilling Is Wrong

Ten Ways to Communicate Gooder

image by gokoroko
Here is a practical list of ten ways to improve your communication skills. You'll learn to maintain eye contact, to use rite werds, to speak _s_l_o_w_l_y_ and E-NUN-CI-ATE.

Elephino

Question: What do you get when you cross
....................an elephant and a rhino?
Answer: Elephino

Annette's Fav Translation

About 5 minutes ago, Annette got very excited. She just found that the J.B. Phillips translation of the New Testament online and free to use. For those of you who aren't familiar with this translation, here's a bit of background:

The translator John B. Phillips (1906-1982), was an English clergyman who had studied classical Greek at Cambridge University. He worked directly from "the best available Greek text" and did not consult other modern translations until his own version has been finished.

In his acknowledgements he specifically thanks C.S. Lewis for encouraging him in the translation process and for providing a title for the epistles - Letters to Young Churches - and an introduction.

For his part Lewis said, "It would have saved me a great deal of labour if this book had come into my hands when I first seriously began to try to discover what Christianity was."

Annette loves it because 1) it is a translation and not a paraphrase, 2) it is fresh but not bogged down in clichés. Try out this excerpt:

With eyes wide open to the mercies of God, I beg you, my brothers, as an act of intelligent worship, to give him your bodies, as a living sacrifice, consecrated to him and acceptable by him. Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity. Romans 12:1-2

I hope you enjoy it (click here).

Web Broswer Security Test

Test your web browser for security holes with the Browser Security Test. The Browser Security Test checks for 37 known web browser vulnerabilities in Opera, Mozilla browsers (including Firefox) and Internet Explorer. click here for more information=> Detect web browser exploits

Mexican Musical No-No's

Here's a tip for any foreigner living in Mexico...never ever knock, honk, hum or tap out the "Shave and a Haircut, Two Bits" tune. In Mexico it is one of the rudest things you can do since - for Mexicans - it is the audio equivalent of giving someone the middle finger (but a little worse because it includes the person's mother).

For more specialized insider tips, check out Tricks of the Trade.

Ten Tips for Better Sleep

According to the 2nd annual Better Sleep Council Stress Survey 66% of Americans lose sleep due to stress, up from 51% last year. The number one source of stress that keeps Americans tossing and turning? Family matters, with 22% of survey respondents citing issues close to home as the reason they are kept awake at night. Job related concerns and financial matters came in second and third. Click the following link for Ten Tips for Better Sleep. (Zzzzzzz....mm mm good)

A Yogurt a Day Keeps the Dentist Away

Good news for yogurt lovers...bad news for lactose intolerant halitosis sufferers (click here to read this BBC article):

Sugarless yoghurt could help beat bad breath, tooth decay and gum disease, say scientists.

You've Got to Be Kidding!

"Two-thirds of humanity use the squatting position to answer the call of nature" and "Recommended by doctors and yoga teachers for more complete elimination."

And for $119 + shipping you too can confuse your houseguests and fall off your toilet and break a hip... too funny! Read about Nature's Platform and laugh.

Travel Tips for the Developing World

Tom Zoellner is writing a book on the diamond trade. This has afforded him the opportunity to travel the developing world, as well as to risk his life. To read his compiled a list of survival tips, click the following link: Really Lonely Planet: 16 Travel Tips for the Developing World. Here's one tip I could have used:

Try to haggle your bribe downward and don't do what I did in Mexico City. Sick of the mordida and on a tight schedule, I simply drove away from my arresting officers, zigzagged down a few side streets and then -- once I was sure I had lost them -- removed my license plate with a screwdriver. Interagency communications are pretty bad in Mexico so I made it back to Texas with no trouble, but in retrospect, this was a pretty stupid thing to do.

Is it Bad to Crack/Pop My Neck

Did you ever here the story about the guy who popped his neck and dropped dead because he'd severed his spinal cord? I was told that by a college mate who swore he new the necking cracking dead guy...he even said it happened in a mall in Indiana.

I sometimes crack or pop my neck and I've always wondered if it's somehow hurting me. Here's the lowdown - including a response from the President of the Amerian College of Rheumatalogy: Joint Popping - Bad for you or not.

How to Write a Better Blog

You are reading a blog. Would you like it to be better? Don't hold your breath (I'm really not that ambitious)...however, you might end up being the next J.K. Rowling or John Steinbeck of blogging if you apply yourself and read the following:

• How to Write a Better Weblog from A List Apart
• How to Blog

Free Web Site Software for Non-Experts

Maybe this free software will be just the ticket that enables you to design and publish you own web pages (and to quite asking me to do it for you - he he). It made for non-experts who just need an easy way to create a web page. It's based around a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) interface which allows you to drag 'n drop images onto your web page, set the color scheme and then type something out and publish the files. For a bit more information, read the following short article: Nvu HTML editor : Lifehacker.

Why don't Mexicans read books?

The title grabbed my attention: Chilling mystery: Why don't Mexicans read books?

For the past decade, The Pegaso bookstore, a cozy shrine to the printed word, has offered browsers free coffee, overstuffed leather sofas, and a wide-ranging literary selection. But now it's scaling back, ditching poetry and history, and keeping the few things that still sell - some novels and glossy art books.

The fact that Annette and I publish online books, and other text-based resources, made this Christian Science Monitor article a must-read.

How to Train Someone to Do Your Job

With 6 easy steps, 7 tips and 7 warnings, this article gives you a clear plan on How to Train Someone to Do Your Job.

First Apartment Tips

(this is about 1/3 of our house, click photo to see the BIG panoramic version)

We live in a 480 square foot house. Sure it small but after 8 years we love it. So if you're stuck in a small place, here are a few ways to maximize your minimum of space: First Apartment Tips: Helpful ideas about living in apartments.

Lifehacker's HowTo Roundup

Click here to check out the HOWTO Roundup @ Lifehacker. Lifehacker is one of my favorite Tips 'n Tricks sites and in this set or articles you'll learn how to:

• Make compost
• Edit photos like a pro
• Use your Gmail account as a personal file server
• Decorate your first apartment
• Record a podcast
• Crack a Master Lock combination
• Get rid of swimmer’s ear

20 Ways to Say No

Are you a people-pleaser? Over-committed because you can't say no when you're asked to do things? Well, have I got a link for you!

Saying no just got easier. From You know, I’d rather decline than not do a great job to I'm not taking on any new responsabilities, OnlineOrganizing.com privides a tip sheet with 20 practical, honest ways to say no that will keep you and your schedule sane. (Click here for the article)

One Photo Per Mile

From the Statue of Liberty to the Golden Gate bridge, one photo at each mile marker. That was the goal of matt Frondorf as he drove across America. Click here to view his collection of 3,304 photos as an interactive map or as a movie.

Your Personal Mission Statement

All you A-type, goal-oriented people probably already have your personal mission statement memorized, in your PDA or tatooed onto some part of your body... but for those of you who haven't taken the time to actually put on paper (or hard disk) your life mission, This FranklinCovey > Mission Builder might be just what you needed. It was for me.

Sure, it’s a bit odd that a web page with lots of inspirational quotes, elevator music and photos of cheerful people would purport to help you define your life mission with a few questions spit out by a web server somewhere...BUT, i found it an enlightening and helpful exercise that helped me define values and goals, some of which were rather surprising. (Click here to try it out. It's free and they email the results).

How to Write so that They'll Read

You can double the usability of your web site by following these guidelines in this article, Writing for the Web. For example:

• 79% of users scan the page instead of reading word-for-word
• Reading from computer screens is 25% slower than from paper
• Web content should have 50% of the words of its paper equivalent

I hope this article is helpful for those of your who write or want to write something for the Web.

Turn Off Your TV

I love this rant. I agree with this rant. Here's a taste:

The average American watches 4.5 hours of television every day. You sleep for eight hours. You get up and work for eight hours. Come home, eat some dinner and turn on the television. A few hours later you're getting sleepy. Time for bed.
.....................WHAT ARE YOU DOING??
We're not kidding. All those things you wanted to have in your life: passion, romance, love, childhood, parenthood, adventure? when are you going to do all that?

Click here to read the rest of this funny, straightforward diatribe against waisting you life in front of the television. If you want a little gadget that will turn off nearly every television anywhere, click here (for coverage in the news on this gadget, click here)

Sperling's Best Places (USA)

Who would have guessed that Florence, SC has the 5th highest crime rate in the U.S. among small cities and that Wichita, KS is the 2nd worst city for dating?

For those of you considering a move or just curious, Sperling's Best Places web site ranks locations in the U.S. by all sorts of criteria, like best and worst cities for dating, gas prices, sleep, stress, crime and cost of living. Click here: to see if your city ranks or is rank.

How to Eat in Mexico

We thought you might like this insightful book Eat Smart in Mexico: How to Decipher the Menu, Know the Market Foods & Embark on a Tasting Adventure.

For the adventuresome traveler, this book is a richly annotated road map that will steer you to the right markets and teach you where to find authentic Mexican food. It offers what is most important about Mexican food and culture wrapped in a nutshell.

From our experience, that can mean the difference between a fantastic, culture-filled, Mexican vacation or a bathroom-languishing, gastrointestinal misery tour.

Name Calling (or Fun with Names)

Try out this fun, interactive site for baby names (or any name):

The Name Wizard: NameVoyager
(then click "Launch NameVoyager")

Once you get to the right page, type in your own name (or that of your kids or friends, or family) and you'll see how it has ranked over the last century. It's fun, and we found ourselves laughing a lot at the results. I was amazed at how unoriginal we really are...for example, both my name (Tim) and Annette's peaked during the very year we were named.

Google Maps

Today's tip is about a new service launched by Google called Google Maps. They've done for maps what they did for the search engine. They offer nice clean maps that allow searches for more than just addresses. For example, type in mexican restaurants near Chattanooga, TN and the map zooms to the S.E. of the United States and a tasty list of restaurants shows up on the right partnered with little orange push-pin map markers. Click on one of the markers and get the exact address, telephone number, website (if one exists) and MapQuest-type directions from here to there.

Note: to navigate the map, just click and drag the image or use the arrows for navigating are in the upper left hand corner.

Thou shalt not click on emailed links

They've tricked me and they've tricked my parents, so save yourself the pain and suffering and just read this article Phishing for your personal information: Lifehacker. Here's an excerpt:

A great way for credit-card stealing monsters to get your personal information is to send you an email that looks like it’s from your bank with a link that says “click here to update your information.”

How to breathe deeply when you're nervous

Ever find it hard to get a good breath of air when your feeling anxious? I usually just shout profanities and lash out at strangers, but this short article offers a less anti-social for how to breathe deeply when you're nervous...or as the author (Ftrain.com) calls it: Vacuuming the Lungs.

So take a deep breathe and click here to read this tip on how to breathe easy in the most stressful of situations.

Google Cheat Sheet

This Google cheat sheet shows you the "how to's" for a surprising number of ways use Google to find what you want. Click here for the Google Help : Cheat Sheet.

Useful Household Tips

Click here to download a list of 24 tips like how to cure a throbbing headache with a lime and how to use Scotch tape to get that painful splinter out.