random stuff
Reboot Your Brain with a Caffeine Nap
12:00AM Gina Trapani | Didn’t get enough sleep last night? Grab a quick midday nap just after a cup of coffee. From Wired’s How To wiki: Scientists say that a successful midday nap depends on two things: timing and (no kidding) caffeine consumption. Experiments performed at Loughborough University in the UK showed that the sleep-deprived need only a cup of coffee and 15 minutes of shut-eye to feel amazingly refreshed. More »
Overclocking guide
10:19AM Sarah Stokely | ExtremeTech has published an overclocking guide for those who want to get every last drop of speed out of their computer. I liked the fact that the article talks you through how to work out which components in your PC are overclockable, and then goes on to explain how to do an ‘overall overclocking’ of all those components.
But I do have to giggle at an article which starts off saying: “Once upon a time, overclocking was considered a risky and dangerous thing to do… Now, it’s almost insane not to.” and then goes on to issue warnings like:
“When you overclock a PC, it’s never truly stable. The PC was not designed to run with different things at different clock rates that aren’t necessarily compatible with each other. What you gain in performance you lose in piece of mind: This thing could crash at any moment.”
I guess it’s horses for courses. I don’t want an Top Gear car which might get insane speeds for a whole 60 seconds before turning into a cartwheeling fireball o’death.. nor does overclocking really appeal to me. I don’t have high performance needs, and I don’t want to sacrifice reliability. Your mileage may vary, of course. If you overclock I’d be interested to hear why, and how much it affects your system reliability.
ExtremeTech Overclocking Guide More » 
Crack a Master Combination Padlock
5:00AM Adam Pash | Next time you forget the combination to your Master padlock (you know, the one you bought because it’s bulletproof), follow DIY web site wikiHow’s step-by-step instructions for cracking a Master-brand combination lock. …there are 64,000 possible combinations on a standard 40-number Master Lock. With this method, however, you can quickly narrow that down to 100 combinations, a workable number to try if you’ve got the time and the inclination to give it a shot. That makes this a workable solution for anyone with plenty of time on their hands for cracking the lock combo, but not necessarily the most efficient choice for the casual burglar. If you’ve given this method a try, let’s hear how it worked for you in the comments. If you need to pick a traditional lock, we’ve got you covered there, too. How to Crack a “Master Lock” Combination Lock [wikiHow] More »
Become More Efficient with Structure
2:00AM Wendy Boswell | Wired magazine’s How To Wiki has a short and sweet article on how to make your emails more efficient with a defined structure. Here’s what the perfect email consists of: brevity, a set context, clear requests, and a deadline if necessary. How do you make your emails more efficient – what’s your secret sauce? Thoughts in the comments. Write a perfect email [Wired How To's] More »
