2010

Stressed out? Under pressure? Laughter truly is the best medicine, and Patrick Murphy Welage is among the top practitioners of laughter yoga in the world.

Designed for the new command line user, this 522 page volume covers the same material as LinuxCommand.org but in much greater detail. In addition to the basics of command line use and shell scripting, The Linux Command Line includes chapters on many common programs used on the command line, as well as more advanced topics.

Available both as a free PDF version and hardcopy.

HTMLInstant is an online HTML editor that displays the result of HTML code you enter as you enter it.

(via The Great Geek Manual)

There are things you can do in email that will earn you the undying hatred of all decent, upstanding netizens. This is one…

And there are many many more.

You have been warned.

Jason Lee loves to take photographs, and he loves his two young daughters. Put all that together, and you get the world record for cuteness…

More at Jason's flickr page.

(via BoingBoing)

Science fiction geeks in the USA generally work on perfecting their Klingon or Browncoat costumes. British fans are a bit more ambitious — they toil at building their own Daleks.

(via The Great Geek Manual)

Is it possible to live with more digital possessions than physical ones? Those who have joined the 'cult of less' are trying to find out.

Planning to visit Ringworld? You'll need a map.

(via Metafilter)

Need to memorize some important facts? Lucky you, you have all kinds of tools that can improve on plain old boring flash cards.

• Popling runs as an application under Windows and Mac OS X, and can also be used as a Firefox add-in. It pops up a fact every few minutes for you to review.
• Anki runs as an application under Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux, and an online version is also available. It boasts an extensive library of flash card decks created by other Anki users, and can synchronize decks between computers.
• Headmagnet is an online-only application that watches you learn and tweaks the frequency of cards to maximize the retention of facts.

Sometimes it's just hard getting the day started…

(via The Presurfer)

The Honest Person's Guide to the Orchestra will tell you everything you ever wanted to know (and then some) about the members of your local symphony orchestra…

The members of the orchestra are divided into four sections. These are: the strings, the woodwinds, the brass, and the percussion.

There is also someone standing in front of all these other folks playing no instrument at all. This person with the ego that is bigger than some of the musicians is called the conductor. It is generally believed that the conductor is required to make musical decisions and to hold all of the instruments together in a cohesive interpretation of any given work. Not so. But never tell a conductor this, because they are easily offended. The conductor is necessary because the four groups would rather eat Velveeta than have anything to do with someone from another section. And as we know, musicians are quite serious about their food. Why all the animosity? Before I begin my explanation, let me set the record straight in plain English about some of the characteristics which typify the four groups.

(via a very special lady…)

 
We miss you.

from Prairie Home Companion…

Doctor Jokes from PHC

Ray Bradbury in The Martian Chronicles (1950):

Life is a miracle. Art is an expression of that miracle. Science is an investigation of that miracle.

(via Great Geek Manual)