Winning the OpenDocument vs. OpenXML war

"... Ask companies to make documents available in OpenDocument format. Bank forms, mortgage application forms, templates, etc.: write to every company you use, and ask them to provide ODF files as well as DOC/PDF ones. ... "

http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/articles/editorial_019

Cleverest crows opt for two tools

"A University of Auckland study has revealed that New Caledonian crows can use separate tools in quick succession to retrieve an out-of-reach snack."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6948446.stm

Portable Applications

"Now you can carry your favorite computer programs along with all of your bookmarks, settings, email and more with you. Use them on any Windows computer. All without leaving any personal data behind."

Learn a foreign language on the cheap

"The No Thick Manuals wiki details how to learn a language efficiently using two free, open source applications. The first is jVLT (java Vocabulary Learning Tool), a completely cross platform flash card application. The second is StarDict, a Windows/Linux-only dictionary that provides an impressive array of features and dictionaries."

http://lifehacker.com/software/education/learn-a-foreign-language-on-the-cheap-290304.php

Tibetan Endangered Music Project

"Threatened by modernization and Chinese imperialism, Tibetan folk music is sadly vanishing into the dustbin of global culture."

http://www.boingboing.net/2007/08/13/tibetan_endangered_m.html

Beijing Wide Open - A Tibetan Activist Speaks Out One Year Before the Olympics

"China has invited the world to visit in August 2008. Exactly one year out, I've traveled to the heart of the nation that has brutally occupied my homeland for over 50 years. Follow this blog, as I share what I see, feel, and experience... leaving Beijing wide open."

http://beijingwideopen.com/

Peter Walsh’s clever hanger trick

"After you’ve done a major purge of your closet, remove all the remaining clothes that live on hangers, and put them back in backwards, such that the open end of each hanger now faces you."

...

"When your n months have passed, and your calendar reminds you that it’s time, open your closet and remove every piece of clothing on a backward hanger; the chances are good you can give it away without the slightest pain, because you just clearly demonstrated that you don’t wear it."

http://www.43folders.com/2007/08/13/hanger-trick/

Mira - A star with a tail

"...a star flying through our galaxy at supersonic speeds, leaving a 13-light-year-long trail of glowing material in its wake."

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/galex/20070815/

36 calories/km commute

A recent study found out that a bike takes 36 cal/km as opposed to 1800 cal/km for a car , walking takes about 90cal/km making biking the most efficient mode of transport .

http://arvmehta.blogspot.com/