Hardware:
- Shut down your PC when you aren't using it. I still leave mine on, but this story might finally kick me into being better about power management.
Astronomy:
- A group of Dutch geophysicists have proposed that the Moon arose by a massive nuclear explosion 4.5 billion years ago. I don't think they'll supplant the impact theory (that the Moon formed when a very large object smacked into the early Earth, leaving its heavy bits behind and ejecting a bunch of the Earth's crust, which then coalesced into the Moon), but it's an interesting idea.
Politics:
- Obama is looking into changing the War Power Act, or, as I like to call it, the "Nanana I can't hear you the President can do what he wants nanana" Act. Er, well, one of such acts.
- Do not, as the New York Times did in their summary of this article, buy into the myth that the overpaid UAW is killing the auto industry bailout. UAW line workers, on average, make less than or equal to their equivalents at non-union, foreign plants in states like Kentucky or Alabama (according to Olbermann last night, at least). It just so happens that senators from those states are spreading this myth of the overpaid, obstructionist UAW worker. Funny how that works.
- Looks like I'm probably wrong about who Obama will choose for Secretary of Transportation. I haven't looked into it enough yet to know whether I'd prefer the Texas guy or the California guy.
Science:
- Japanese scientists have reconstructed images by scanning a human brain while it viewed those images. In other words, they, in part, read people's minds. That is fraking unbelievably awesome.
Zombies:
- Holy crap, it's Zombie Friday again already! The third one is hilarious. The first is pretty funny, but just wrong. The second is awesome but I didn't re-watch 'cuz I'd already seen, and the fourth is way too long.
Software and the Internets:
- Lifehacker had a feature on Open++, a program that lets you add anything to Windows right-click menus. I like.
- Lifehacker found an online Photoshop replacement that's even cooler than the Phoenix I linked to before.
- The Austin teacher who insisted there's no such thing as free software is calming down, as is the guy who started the story. It sounds like both sides were overreactive morons, but the teacher is the one who threatened legal action while being the opposite of right, so I still side with the Linux guy.
- NiceTranslator is badass. Set your target language, type a phrase, and it uses Google Translate to figure out what language you're typing in and give you a translation. Neat. Hey, wait. That's kinda sci-fi, even if it can only work with known languages. Neat.
- I recommend against the auction site called Swoopo, based on this write-up. Jeebus that can't be legal.
As always, comment on these or any other shared items (or items you'd like to share with the rest of us) below.
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