Miscellaneous Ramblings

“All big things in this world are done by people who are naïve and have an idea that is obviously impossible.” Dr. Frank Richards (1875-1961)

Each year, TED hosts some of the world’s most fascinating people: Trusted voices and convention-breaking mavericks, icons and geniuses.

Knowing how to use the technology that surrounds you is good, but a little creative hacking is even better. This special section is your instruction book on how to do, well, anything. From Wired magazine.

"We regret the insinuation that Mr. Alex Trebek is a robot, and has been since 2004. Mr. Trebek’s robotic frame does still contain some organic parts, many harvested from patriotic Canadian schoolchildren, so this technically makes him a ‘cyborg,’ not a ‘robot.’"

Vanuatu is the happiest country on Earth, Marke Lowen of Vanuatu Online said, "People are generally happy here because they are very satisfied with very little. This is not a consumer-driven society. Life here is about community and family and goodwill to other people. It’s a place where you don’t worry too much."

Want to learn how to replace a flat tire on your car? Or how to play jazz on the piano?

"The Internet is not something you just dump something on. It’s not a truck. It’s a series of tubes,"

After one year of bartering everything from a snow globe to free rent for a year, Kyle MacDonald has acquired a home in Canada.

Maybe schools need some of those jamming devices the good guys are always using in spy movies.

Someone making $16,000 a year or less takes 28 minutes longer to fall asleep, on average, than someone who earns over $100,000. The poorer person also gets 15 minutes less sleep.