5 Odd Phobias You Never Knew Existed

Everybody's afraid of something. Whether it be flying, public speaking, spiders or the dreaded dentist, we all have things that make us squirm. When that fear becomes strong enough and irrational enough though, it develops into a full-blown phobia. Of course, not all phobias are created equal; some are just more irrational than others. It's pretty easy to understand how the fear of heights (acrophobia) or dying (thanatophobia) can fill somebody with paralyzing dread, but what about the fear of chickens (alektorophobia) or chopsticks (consecotaleophobia)? Guess somebody isn't ordering the...

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Circumvent Blocked Websites Easily

Access UK and US websites from anywhere in the world. One of the great ironies of the Internet is that it is meant to connect everyone together and break down barriers, but at the same time media companies erect location-based barriers around their properties. This practice is known as geo-blocking. For example, web services like Hulu, Pandora, Google Voice, and Google Music are not available outside of the United States, while BBC iPlayer and Grooveshark are blocked to anyone outside of the UK. Then there's all the music uploaded to YouTube, which is blocked in various parts of Europe, depending...

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Free - Advanced Open-Source 3D Computer Graphics Software

Blender is a free and open-source 3D computer graphics software product used for creating animated films, visual effects, art, 3D printed models, interactive 3D applications and video games. Blender's features include 3D modeling, UV unwrapping, texturing, rigging and skinning, fluid and smoke simulation, particle simulation, soft body simulation, sculpting, animating, match moving, camera tracking, rendering, video editing and compositing. It also features a built-in game engine. Below is a sample video tutorial: Features: Interface The Interface allows you to change, adapt and re-distribute the layout of all UI components and tools to suit the task at hand. From the smallest adjustment in size to a full custom interface, all this...

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Blueberry Pierogi

(Originally published by Michael Ruhman) Emilia Juocys has been my assistant for several years, first from Chicago now from her home town in Michigan. She has recently, at the age of 35, made a major transition in her life. Major transitions require reflection, reevaluation; curiosity and fear about the future are also inevitable consequences. When you are a cook you turn to food for some of the understanding and grace you need. – R By Emilia Juocys Summer is nearly over, and the fall is closing in, and the bounty of the summer is entering our kitchen in droves. I devour the sweet summer...

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The Case For and Against Buying a Diesel Car

Pros and Cons of Diesel Cars Like soccer, diesel cars are a worldwide phenomenon that Americans just don't get. In Europe, more than 50% of new cars sold have diesel engines, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. Meanwhile, the U.S. auto market share for diesels hovers around 3%, says Jessica Caldwell, a senior analyst at the website Edmunds.com. But there are signs diesel cars are becoming more mainstream, she says. Improving technology has largely eliminated the noise and black smoke that used to follow diesels. These days, diesels are designed to run on a new,...

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Stop Taking Jeremiah 29:11 Out of Context

It's one of our favorite verses—but we've gotten it all wrong. It’s written on graduation cards, quoted to encourage a person who can’t seem to find God’s well and doled out like a doctor explaining a prescription: Take Jeremiah 29:11 a few times, with a full glass of water, and call me in the morning. I think you’ll feel better. “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” Jeremiah 29:11 tells us—possibly one of our most beloved, yet most misunderstood, verses in the entire Bible. Sure, it...

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Is Apple's iPhone 5C a Flop?

When Apple unveiled not one but two new iPhones last month, it was the dawning of a new strategy for the company, which for six years had championed its single iconic smartphone even as competitors rolled out an array of shapes, sizes and features. But a month later, there are questions about how effective this strategy has been, particularly in regards to the iPhone 5C, the cheaper, colorful plastic counterpart to Apple's higher-end iPhone 5S Though some observers see a long game in which the "fun" version of the iPhone will still prove popular, others are skeptical, based on some early signs Apple...

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Uploading A WordPress Website From A Local To A Remote Installation

If you’re working on a local website for development and need to upload it either to go live or because you need to show a client or other team members your work, you’re going to need to upload your WordPress website. This is more complicated than moving from a sub-directory to the root directory, and involves moving three things: WordPress itself — you’ll need to install this in the new location; The database — which you can move using phpMyAdmin; Your theme files, uploads and plugins. 1. Turn Off Permalinks Turn off pretty permalinks in the “Permalinks” screen, which you’ll find in the...

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Free, Cool Graphics Editor

GIMP is an acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is a freely distributed program for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring. It has many capabilities. It can be used as a simple paint program, an expert quality photo retouching program, an online batch processing system, a mass production image renderer, an image format converter, etc. GIMP is expandable and extensible. It is designed to be augmented with plug-ins and extensions to do just about anything. The advanced scripting interface allows everything from the simplest task to the most complex image...

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How to make a unique tile picture for less than $3!

Want to make a unique piece of art to decorate your empty walls? Or to make the perfect gift for the grandparents or in-laws? Here is a simple way to make this modern and minimalistic design using just tiles, tissue paper and a laser printer. It is time to amaze your friends... Step 1: Getting started You will need: 1. Nice photo 2. Computer 3. Nine pieces of 10x10cm tiles 4. Five sheets of printer paper 5. Five strips of 10x20cm tissue paper 6. Double sided adhesive 7. Printer 8. Exacto knife 9. Decoupage glue 10. Paintbrush Step 2: Picking and editing you photo First...

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Job Market Embraces Massive Online Courses (MOOCS)

"Seeking Better-Trained Workers, AT&T, Google and Other Firms Help Design and Even Fund Web-Based College Classes" Big employers such as AT&T Inc. and Google Inc. are helping to design and fund the latest round of low-cost online courses, a development that providers say will open the door for students to earn inexpensive credentials with real value in the job market. New niche certifications being offered by providers of massive open online courses, or MOOCs, are aimed at satisfying employers' specific needs. Available at a fraction of the cost of a four-year degree, they represent...

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