Build a better Grocery store

CNN posted an article about a great new idea being tested for grocery stores using mobile checkout scanners.

Information Security video games

A GCN article posted today is reports on an information security game called Cyberciege created by the Naval Postgraduate school and a video game developer. Non-traditional training and education continues to march on.

Programming language for beginners and kids

MIT has developed a programming language for beginners to mix and mash up all types of media including pictures, video, and audio to help people understand basic programming constructs.

4 hour work week

Great advice for any business to follow on CNNMoney.com. The article, titled "The Four Hour Work Week" shows how to use simple principles to simplify the deluge of information that can choke and even sometimes kill a business in our modern communication-driven society.

Take your time

In the "rush" that we tend to place upon ourselves and our families, it's real easy to justify not taking our time with our children. This short story from SimpleTruths.com is a great reminder that just getting "things" done isn't always what is the most important part of our lives.

Real Estate

Zillow has a great resource for explaining the intracacies of modern real estate buying called the Real Estate Wiki. As with most wikis it is a great jumping off point to start understanding a complex topic, but like just about everything else be careful not to believe every word you read since wikis are often subject to bias.

Insecurity in Numbers

Dan Kaplan of Federal Computer Week provides a discussion on the impacts of major sporting events on the information security front using examples from the current March Madness and the recent Super Bowl. The old addage of security in numbers doesn't really hold true on the world wide web. The Internet society seems to better reflect what happens downtown in a big city or at major events in the physical world where pick-pockets and panderers have always gone to select easy targets.

How smart are the "experts"?

I've always wanted to track how well the "experts" are at predicting the Final Four. Sports Illustrated and ESPN both have handy lists of their expert picks. Let's compare them with a mid-season video game simulation and see who is the most right.

Critical who?

CNN is reporting an attempted attack on an "internet nerve center" in the United Kingdom. If you want an easy and interesting way to learn why this attempted attack is significant to your life try reading Richard A. Clarke's new book "Breakpoint" published in January 2007. It's a "fictional" novel written by a man who has been an advisor to the President of the United States on Intelligence and Cyber Security since Reagan.

Career Networking Made Easy

LinkedIn is a fairly new service to help manage your business and career contacts. The interface reminds me of an Amazon.com page only the product is you as a valuable human capital tool instead of a book or a movie.

No more pills

Researchers are developing a new way to deliver medicine from an artificial tooth. Just another way for your dentist to become your best friend.

Reinstall, Reinstall, Reinstall

It never hurts to have a backup plan. Maximum PC has posted a way to make a streamlined backup of Windows XP (called a slipstream copy) complete with all the necessary drivers to have you back up and running ASAP in the event of big problems.

Noooooooo! Not Peanut Butter

CNN reports that Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter has been linked to several cases of salmonella recently. As luck would have it we even have a can beginning with the dreaded product code "2111" that we can return according to Yahoo! News.

The truth behind your Credit Score

A credit counselor at Credit Pro has posted the Top 7 Credit Score Secrets. Hey, knowing is half the battle...

Final Four Simulation

ESPN ran a mid-season simulation of the Final Four for 2007. I like the results, but I'll wait to see the real outcome. I'll be shocked if their Final Four teams really pan out.

Super Bowl Simulation

ESPN ran a simulation of the Super Bowl on Friday, February 2nd. You can read the results in an article and even see video highlights (the video link was down as of Monday February 5th).

iPod not just for music

Several podcasts are now running to help teach a foreign language. The Open Culture blog recently posted a list of podcasts to teach Arabic, Cantonese, Russian, Spanish, and more. Several of these sites use some mechanism such as daily news broacasts in simplified and slow format along with a transcript to follow along with what you hear allowing listeners to keep up with the news while learning a new language (see Le Journal en français facile for French).

MLS on your PDA

RULDS2? Shiblon Software has put together a great utility called MyWard to convert data from MLS onto a PDA. If these acronyms mean anything to you, you'll probably want to check it out.

Great short story

The Last Question is a great science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov. In his own words:

"This is by far my favorite story of all those I have written.
After all, I undertook to tell several trillion years of human history in the space of a short story and I leave it to you as to how well I succeeded. I also undertook another task, but I won't tell you what that was lest l spoil the story for you.
It is a curious fact that innumerable readers have asked me if I wrote this story. They seem never to remember the title of the story or (for sure) the author, except for the vague thought it might be me. But, of course, they never forget the story itself especially the ending. The idea seems to drown out everything -- and I'm satisfied that it should. "

Free LDS Music

If you like uplifting music and free stuff, check out Liahona.net. Most songs are either hymns or created by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The music (mp3 format) is provided free of charge for non-commercial use.

Great picture

CNET News posted a photo archive titled "In the Shadow of Star Wars" of various Star Wars related memorabilia found at the Industrial Light and Magic company headquarters. The Jar-Jar Binks in carbonite is one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time.

Looking for a Digital Camera?

With all the options available on digital cameras these days, you need to consult an expert before you buy. DigitalCameraInfo.com has thorough reviews and testing along with useful guides to help weed through all the features.

2nd Job? Or 1st Job?

It seems like the virtual economy just won't go away. CNNMoney is reporting that job opportunities and interviews are growing rapidly within 2nd Life. As more and more money is changing hands within the game, jobs are becoming more numerous and people are investing more and more time into developing their virtual businesses.

Potential

This autistic man shows the human brain's potential for memorization. I think it would take a couple millenia of brain exercises just to help me remember where I put my keys... wait, what was I saying?

Pandora Quick Mix

I've decided that I really like Pandora to discover new music. I built a little Quick Mix based on Jim Brickman, Jim Schmidt, and Lorie Line as my favorite artists. If you like new age piano music this is a great mix to start exploring new artists and songs.

National Archives Online

According to a recent USAToday article, the National Archives are steadily offering more and more public records in a digital format. The website is still a bit difficult to navigate, but a great place to start is the America's Historical Documents page.

MLK day trip

We took advantage of the holiday to see some sites in downtown DC. On top is the room where Lincoln passed away after being shot. The one on bottom is Ford's Theatre, the site of the assassination attempt by John Wilkes Booth. I never realized before that the surrender of General Lee (April 9, 1865) and the assassination (April 14, 1865) came so close together.

The case for Wii fitness

A blogger recently performed an experiment to see if the Nintendo Wii could really deliver on the claim of better fitness by playing video games. Bottom line results seem to indicate that his 30-minutes a day made a difference as he lost 9 lbs. and 2.5" from his waist in 6 weeks.

This looks like a fun way to exercise. Of course, any decent diet and exercise program must include the disclaimer "actual results may vary".

Home computer protection

If you have little ones, Toddler Keys is a great way to both entertain your child and protect your home computer from curious fingers. It has a fairly intuititve interface and some fun options.

The five dollar lawn

There is a wonderful story about a boy learning the intangible benefits of working hard and doing a job well titled "The Countess and the Impossible" by Richard Thurman. The story appeared in the Reader's Digest in 1958. Apparently, many people have had trouble locating it online. I found it by searching for the term "five dollar lawn" in the Search only Conference Talks box on the search page of lds.org. The result is an address by Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone titled "The Gospel of Jesus Christ Is the Golden Door" in which the story appears to be quoted in full.

You can also view the story quoted in full by clicking on the comments for this post.

Signs in the heavens?

Offbeat news on CNN this morning about the falling sky, but then again we've been promised "great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. " (Luke 21:11)

Think your information is safe?

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse has posted a chronology of data breaches since 2005. Just another way to help us all realize how insecure our information really is.