penn

Remaindered Links Roundup

Some stuff I've been reading recently:

hipster PDA templates

Become a camcorder pro

What Shamu taught me about a happy marriage (training spouses to do behavior that we like -- not as horrible or cynical as it really sounds)

iLife Multimedia tutorials I just got my new macbook, so these will surely come in handy

50 weight loss tips (the most important one? Take in less calories than you expend. Seriously, it's that simple even though the action itself is difficult)

How to become a runner

most of my links these days come via Lifehacker

How NOT to get arrested

Flex Your Rights has put out an excellent video on how not to get arrested. Below the cut, I've written several notes on how not to get arrested during a traffic stop (gleaned from the video). The 45 minute long video also covers how not to get arrested while on a city street and when police are allowed to search your home. Basically, it comes down to knowing a few amendments in your Bill of Rights:

4 - Unreasonable search and seizure: you have the right to deny a request to search your belongings, person, and property when no warrant is presented.

5 - Self-incrimination: you have the right to not self-incriminate yourself. In other words, never confess to committing a crime.

6 - Lawyer: you have the right to a speedy trial and the right to have a counsel (lawyer) for defense.

The video, while long, is definitely worth viewing. Even if you have nothing to hide, these are important rights that you should not give up. I say this below, but I will state it here too: people died for these rights. No matter what your stance on war, you must surely know that people have gone to war to protect these rights for our populace. Do not throw these rights away at the request of a police officer. To do so would be a grave disservice to you and would waste the efforts that people, both military and civilian, have poured into protecting our rights.

via Lifehacker

The Blog as an Organizational Tool

I love my blog, and it keeps me quite organized. It's like a web-accessible look at major things I've done.

One of the neatest tips is to google a search term at "site:penn.typepad.com" (or whatever site you want). Example: Google "SCA site:penn.typepad.com" and you'll see every time I mentioned the SCA.

My latest reason for loving my blog is having the date of my general GRE. The score report just gives the month and the year, and Yale wants the day. I was fairly sure when I took it, but I couldn't remember perfectly. So, I went to my archives for Aug 2004 and found this post.

Huzzah for the blog!

Google Hack

If you have Firefox (you do have firefox, right?), you can just type google and your search term into the address bar. It will bring up a google search just the same as using the google toolbar or going to google.com and typing in the search. Seriously. Just try it!

I will definitely be working this little happiness that I found quite by accident.

Rules of Thumb

43 folders has a great profile on a book I'd really like along with some good little tips gleaned from that book. My favorite is about how to know you're safe to cut back in front of the car you just passed; some people around here could stand to learn that (especially when I was going right at the speed limit like the law-abiding driver I'm now forced to be, thankyouverymuch).

Lifehacks

While I enjoy the official Lifehacker site, I find 43 folders to be even more informative and interesting, since it addresses all sorts of random little things. I'm currently enjoying the 43 folders wiki random unsorted hacks. My favorites?

The Forehead Ticket Trick: don't leave the driveway until everyone in the car puts her ticket on her forehead.

Buying a Diamond: if you can read printed material through the "diamond," it's not real

From the unsorted lifehacks (might not find again):

The Coin flip -- "If I can't make a quick decision about something that can be simplified into two outcomes, I designate them as head and tails, flip a coin, call it in the air, and then (here's the important part!) completely disregard the result -- I nearly always feel a quick flash of "c'mon, come up tails" as it lands, so I just go with that. The distraction of flipping a coin pierces the indecision. --sckot Vokes"

Dummy Cord -- "Something I used to do in the Army to ensure that I'd hold onto small and easily-lost items (flashlight, utility tool, etc.) when I was in the field was to literally tie them to my belt with nylon para cord. This obviously isn't going to be appropriate much of the time, but you'd be surprised how useful, and how reassuring, it can be. -- User: AdamGreenfield" [note: I use a carabiner for the same thing . . . keys always go on there, and I never lose them.]

Photocopies -- Blue highlighter doesn't show up on photocopies. -- GH 21 Mar 05

Easy shopping -- The least crowded time to shop at the cheap warehouse supermarkets during daylight hours is on Sunday, when church is in session. -- GH 21 Mar 05