Shadow Footprints

1. Article/Post

Blonde wigs safer than helmets for cyclists

Drivers pass closer when overtaking cyclists wearing helmets than when overtaking bare-headed cyclists, increasing the risk of a collision, a British researcher has found.

Across the board, drivers passed an average of 8.5 cm closer when he was wearing the helmet than when he was riding without a helmet.

By leaving the cyclist less room, drivers reduce the safety margin that cyclists need to deal with obstacles in the road, such as drain covers and potholes, as well as the margin for error in their own judgements."

To test another theory, Walker donned a long-haired wig to see whether there was any difference in passing distance when drivers thought they were overtaking what appeared to be a female cyclist. Whilst wearing the wig, drivers gave him an average of 14 cm more space when passing.

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Morning Coffee Guys

3. Comment

For fucks sake California, they weren't going to make it compulsary by Henry Maddocks on twitter about the passing of California Proposition 8 (2008).

4. List

5 Ways Doctor Who Made a Difference

1. The Theme Song
2. Dalekmania
3. Such language!
4. Violence and Gore for Boys and Girls
5. Changing the Genre

5. Video

Corrida de Screensavers

1. Article/Post

How to Tap into the Hidden Potential of the People Who Surround You Every Day

Do you have a dream? Is there a business that you’re dying to launch, a story in your head demanding to be told, or an idea you’re frantic to see made a reality?

If you’re like most people, the answer is “yes.” Or, more likely, “yes, but…” Just about everyone has a crazy dream they’d love to pursue – but they just don’t know how.

What you need is a little expert advice, someone with brains and know-how to explain what you need to do and, more importantly, how to do it.

What kind of understanding might you find hidden in the strengths of your friends and loved ones? Consider:

• The natural storyteller: how to weave compelling, “sticky” narratives; how to grab and hold onto people’s attention; how to set people at east.
• The slacker: how to relax; how to roll with the punches; how to accept criticism without letting it define you.
• The social butterfly: how to connect with strangers; how to present yourself professionally; how to avoid being defined by your weaknesses; how to listen.
• The entrepreneur: how to face adversity; how to understand financial data; how to plan for the unknown.
• The organizer: how to rally people to your cause; how to balance contradictory demands; how to stay cool under pressure.

These are just a few examples of different types of people that almost everyone knows. Look around you at the people closest to you and try to identify their hidden strengths. Don’t dismiss people’s talents just because their accomplishments are small – even the simplest achievement might be the outcome of an encyclopedic knowledge of the task.

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Ghost Train

3. Comment

I suspect the crowd is way too hardcore for me and will leave me dangling by my underwear from the top of a server rack by spanishmanners on twitter about Thursday Night Curry.

4. List

10 reasons why newspapers won't reinvent news

1. Newspapers' core audience still doesn't want change
2. The culture of newspaper management is a dysfunctional relic of a low-bandwidth, monopoly era
3. The culture of newsroom leadership contains a fatal 20th century flaw: A fundamental belief that equates all new trends with dangerous "fads"
4. No budget for research, development or training means most newspapers can't see what's coming, don't have the necessary tools for survival and couldn't use those new tools effectively anyway
5. Newspapers don't "own" enough creative technological expertise
6. Inertia, uncertainty and toxic paralysis rule most newspaper companies
7. Individual ad-reps still make more money selling print ads than Web ads
8. Newspapers have already lost one of their key selling points: Social currency
9. The connection between quality and profitability has been broken irreparably
10. Newspaper companies hate modern journalism

5. Video

Clay Chess

1. Article/Post

Is the Earth Quarantined?

Why haven't we met aliens yet? And why aren't we sending rockets all over the solar system? There is only one plausible explanation. Earth is being quarantined! A combination of higher alien civilizations and our own Earth-based military forces are working together to keep the Earth contained and neutralized. The reasons why they would do this are obvious, but where is the evidence? Below, we've got enough truly true facts to get your conspiracy engines revved up to maximum.

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Three mullioned window - Trifora

3. Comment

Am I right in thinking that McCain is a million years old and his VP is a creationist, anti-abortion superficially reasonable nutjob? by Tom Coates on twitter

4. List

5 Photo Essay Tips

1. Find a topic
2. Do your research
3. Find the "real story"
4. Connect to the audience
5. Plan your shot

5. Video

Tiger Woods 09 - Walk on Water

1. Article/Post

Bob's Other Job at Where is Bob?

We agreed to meet at 9pm at a Starbucks just around the corner from the Apple Store. I had fun pretending that I was taking part of some covert spy operation (oh, like you don’t do that). Even Jason the intern showed up to see what the “crazy old folks” were up to. Some of us even brought our spouses and significant others, mostly because they never believed any of our outrageous stories about Bob. Since we rarely do things together outside of the office, this turned out to be a fantastic, albeit surreal, bonding experience for our team.

We were so caught up with giddiness about our venture that we completely overlooked a major flaw in our plan. “How are we going to explain the presence of our entire staff here,” Nick mused as we walked through the door. It was a bit too late to consider an alternative, because Bob spotted us right away.

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The Temples of Syrinx in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, by Michael Dehaan

3. Comment

We're Sorry - Google apologising for Gmail troubles.

We heard loud and clear today how much people care about their Gmail accounts. We followed all the emails to our support team and user group, we fielded phone calls from Google Apps customers and friends, and we saw the many Twitter posts. (We also heard from plenty of Googlers, who use Gmail for company email.) We never take for granted the commitment we've made to running an email service that you can count on.

4. List

10 Movies That Shouldn’t Have Been Made This [US] Summer

1. Disaster Movie
2. Postal
3. Meet Dave
4. The Love Guru
5. Swing Vote
6. Hancock
7. X-Files: I Want to Believe
8. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
9. The Happening
10. Star War: Clone Wars

5. Video

Google Maps

1. Article/Post

The Unusable Door at Simple and Lovable

For anyone that thinks usability is stupid, let this be a lesson to you. When you make something unintuitive, people don’t blame you, they blame themselves. They actually feel stupid. And since that is not a great feeling, the chances of them trying again are slim to none.

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Time by Yves Lorson

3. Comment

HELP. STUCK IN MEETING. SEND SUPPLIES! by Mike Forbes on Twitter.

4. List

10 Skills You Need to Succeed at Almost Anything at Lifehack

1. Public Speaking
2. Writing
3. Self-Management
4. Networking
5. Critical Thinking
6. Decision-Making
7. Math
8. Research
9. Relaxation
10. Basic Accounting

5. Video

Social Media in Plain English