rebecca's pocket

Using electronic equipment during a thunderstorm puts you at risk of injury

» It's not a myth: During an electrical storm, lightning can travel through your home's electrical system and fry your plasma television, computer—or you. Most surge protectors are no help. "When thunder roars, stay indoors—and read a book." Mark Earley, chief electrical engineer at the National Fire Protection Association.  [ 10/29/07 ]

50 Ways to Take Notes

» Have you seen this already? It's a list of note-taking software, arranged by type ("Quick Public Pages", "Basic Note Taking") with quick summaries of each. 50 Ways to Take Notes. / (1) Comments  / [ 05/23/07 ]

Daylight Savings Time 2007

» You may need to manually synch your computer (and other devices) to Daylight Savings Time, which comes early this year. Here is a list of resources to help you find more information specific to the operating systems and versions you are running. (via wl)  [ 03/08/07 ]

The Rise of Graphic Novels

» The image-soaked future: Graphic novels are the new literary superheroes, but what’s their secret?

So, why is this rebirth of the serious graphic novel different? Because this new wave arrives when the ascendancy of the image — presciently described by George Steiner, in 1971, in his book In Bluebeard's Castle — has begun to dwarf the power of the word. [...] Thanks to computers, even when we are obliged to read words, we expect them to be arranged in helpful modules, with plenty of graphics. The computer normalises the graphic novel as a form. The graphical user interface may one day be seen as the most important invention of our time.

(via wl)  [ 03/06/07 ]

Presidential Tag Clouds

» Chirag Mehta has a created a Presidential Speech tag cloud that allows you to see the frequency of word use in speeches, official documents, declarations, and letters written by the Presidents of the US from George Washington to George W. Bush. Move the slider to watch President Bush's language change from the start of his administration until now. The rise of the word "terrorism" dates - not from the time of the September 11 attacks - but to 2003, the year we invaded Iraq. In his 2002 State of the Union address, the largest word is "freedom" (followed by "afghanistan", "weapons", and "tax"). In 2003, "terrorists" is huge, followed by "weapons" in the second tier ( then "saddam", "hussein", "iraq", and "economy"). / (1) Comments  / [ 11/13/06 ]

TV might cause autism

»  New research from Cornell University shows a correlation between television viewing during early childhood and autism. Here's the paper. (thanks, jjg!) / (3) Comments  / [ 10/16/06 ]

Another stolen laptop, another privacy debacle

» Dear All Businesses and Government Agencies:

Let's make a rule: From now on, no personal information about any customer may be placed on a laptop computer.

Thanks!
rcb / (1) Comments  / [ 08/10/06 ]

Kama Sutra Worm

» If you use Windows, be sure to back your computer up today.  [ 02/01/06 ]