The term productivity app needs to be taken with a grain of salt.

Consider the productivity king of the Microsoft Office suite, Excel. Seldom does an application come along that permits you to do more than this program. Problem is, once you get sucked in to perfecting an Excel spreadsheet, you can spend the better part of an hour or two noodling with formulas, fields, and formatting. Now, is that productive? Many times, no, because sometimes the more variables you have at your disposal, the more tempting it is to change them for fun.

Next, consider solitaire. Not a productivity app per se, but if the guy down the hall who’s always immersed in a hand is the one coming up with the great ideas, maybe he’s on the something.

Sort of splitting the difference between a spreadsheet app and a flat-out game, Internet Anagram Server takes any word or phrase you enter and rearranges the letters to form new words. How is that productive? Say you’re trying to come up with a meaningful name for your new company, and you want it to incorporate the names of your darling children, Lisa and Hector.  Enter those names, and instantly 230 alternatives appear. Scanning the list, you see options like “Its Cholera” and “Roach Tiles.” Probably not viable picks. But then you scan the list further and the choices get better: “Toil Search,” “Oracle Hits,” and “Last Heroic.”Let’s say you pick one of those three. You can decide to let the derivation of the name be your little secret. Or, you can market it for all it’s worth by telling your investors and customers that your company name is an amalgam of your kids’ names. It may not get you all your funding, but it’s a great story that will become part of your brand.

By the way, one possible anagram of with beans = new habits.  We’re just saying.

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

The short answer, unfortunately, is no. And we all know this. So why do scientists keep pointing out all the ways in which an invisibility cloak wouldn’t work? Can’t they let us dreamers have our fun? Well, no, frankly, and here’s the latest of reasons why not. First, an invisibility cloak would only be able to block out specific wavelengths – and those wavelengths are far from the full spectrum of visible and non-visible light. But for those of you looking for a lower-tech way to kill the invisibility joy, the same scientists have noted that you could “throw a stone at” an invisibility cloak in order to detect it. Which is still nicer than their other detection method…

Original URL: http://gizmodo.com/5419819/scientists-thwart-the-invisibility-cloak-again

Everybody knows a friend or family member with a bedtime snore that seems louder than a lion’s roar.  The snore is so loud that you have to fall asleep before they do; otherwise you aren’t getting to bed anytime soon.  Have you ever noticed that the loud snorers never wake up in the middle of the night?  They just keep sawing logs like they are cutting down a forest.  There are a couple of reasons why the snoring giant will sleep through his own noises.  Neil Kline of the American Sleep Association explains that “our ability to sleep through loud noises changes during the night as our body transitions between the different stages of the sleep cycle”.  Did you know that even snores louder than the volume of a fire alarm may fail to wake the sleeping beauty from deep sleep?  On average people are in deep sleep 20% of the night.  In deep sleep, you don’t wake up.  During the other 80% of the time, their snores can wake them up numerous times without him or her realizing it.  Even though a loud snort can wake you for a few seconds, it is simply not long enough for you to completely awaken.   You might be oblivious to your brief sleep interruptions at the time they occur, but it comes at a price.  If you have increased sleepiness during the day, it might be a result of the fragmented sleep you had last night.  I guess there is really nothing better than a good nights rest.

Original Article: http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2009-11/why-don%E2%80%99t-loud-snorers-wake-themselves

When someone writes the history of the Internet, Google is going to be the company to remember.  It seems like every year Google is coming out with the next big thing.  In 2000, it was the Google Toolbar.  In 2002, it was Google Labs, and in 2007 it was Google Docs.  Their focus on innovation is simply unmatched.  The newest invention is Google Place Pages, and it will certainly enhance your trip-planning experience.  Rather than having an old-fashioned map that only tells you where a landmark or address is, Google Place Pages provides you with extra pieces of information about that site.  For example, it shows you a street view photo of the address, nearby metro or rail locations, neighborhood dining options, and related web sites or helpful links.  By collecting detailed information about a place, Google Place Pages turns your map into an all-encompassing and easy-to-use travel guide.  Everything you need is in one easy to find and use location:  just click the “view more information” link at the bottom of the summary.  It is that easy!

Do you like Google Earth?  Well, now you can access the same detailed information about a location from Google Place Pages within Google Earth.  This seems like the perfect transition for users to browse the globe in 3D.  I am a huge fan of Google Earth, and this feature just improved the experience tenfold.  I encourage you to check it out for your next vacation.  Trust me; it will make planning your next trip a lot easier.  For a little extra fun with Google Earth, try browsing around and learning about a foreign country, unfamiliar city, or memorizing landmark.  The detail provided from Google, especially the photos, makes you feel like you are actually there.  You can tour the world without ever leaving your computer chair.   You might discover your next dreamy vacation hot spot.  Last night, my browsing took me everywhere from the rain forests of South America and the sub-alpine forests in Yellow Stone National Park to the marvelous canals of Venice and the architectural splendor of the Dubai skyline.  Honestly, you never know what you’ll find.

Original Article: http://mashable.com/2009/12/08/place-pages-google-earth/