Today's Tidbit: Stay Off the Twinkies and Become a Better Person
Remember Dan White's "Twinkie defense" in 1979? Well it turns out that the the ability to convert food into glucose is correlated with the ability to control oneself.
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H.G. Wells: World's First Game Master?
According to this article on Kotaku, H.G. Wells invented modern tabletop wargames. War games had been going on for a long time, but Wells was the first person to make them accessible for a casual, non-military audience with his game Little Wars.
News: World War 1 Body Armor Was Steampunk?
I came across a really cool article about armor that the Americans wanted to use in World War I. Since it was before kevlar and modern body armor but still needed to stop bullets, they designed it to be similar to medieval armor. It looks terribly uncomfortable and ineffective. Just look at this helmet design: The flaps could be opened when not in combat.
News: The Past Was So Much Cooler Than the Present
I came across this article on Cracked, and everything used to look so much better than it does now. They used to know how to make people look good no matter what they were doing.
How To: Copy and Paste Text from Images and PDFs with This Free, Easy-to-Use Tool
We've all needed to copy text from an image at some point or another. If it's only a few words, it's no big deal to just type it out, but if you need to capture a whole block of text, that could take a while. Luckily, there's a free app you can download to do all the hard work for you.
News: News Clips - August 10
U.S. slaps new sanctions on Syria, extends those against Hezbollah - CNN.com. The United States announced new sanctions against Syria and those supporting its embattled government Friday, focusing on Hezbollah and a Syrian oil company. » James Holmes’ Psychiatrist Lawyers Up Alex Jones' Infowars: There's a war on for your mind!.
How To: 14 Weirdly Useful (And Non-Drinkable) Uses for Soda Pop
If you just gave up drinking soda and you don't know what to do with the six-pack of Coke gathering dust in your garage, then this article is perfect for you. The acidity, sugar content and carbonated nature of most soda drinks are perfect for a number of surprisingly practical uses for DIY home projects, garden work, kitchen cleanup, car maintenance, cooking and more.
News: How to Turn an Old TV into a Sweet Fish Tank!
Check out this how to article that shows you how to turn that old TV sitting in your basement into an awesome custom fish tank! How to Convert an Old TV Into a Fish Tank: 13 steps.
News: Interesting Read
Hey guys just found an Interesting article, thought I'd share it. See yourself as the next Assange? Good luck - CNN.com.
News: Smoke Bombs Make Beautiful Art
What is it about the infamous colored smoke bomb that is so deeply satisfying, so beautiful? Well, first there's an explosion (always fun), which then yields beautiful billowing clouds of saturated color. Check out artist Olaf Breuning's Smoke Bombs, 2008.
How To: Setup an Asterisk Server
Over the years, I have enjoyed playing with Asterisk. I have found Asterisk to be extremely powerful and fun to play with. There are several books and many scattered how to articles out there, but most are outdated and the information required to build Asterisk from beginning to end can be a bit daunting. I wanted to combine all the steps into a single article and share my experience with everyone. If I have left out any steps please let me know.
How To: Delete / Remove Unwanted Facebook Applications
Log In First, log in to your Facebook account.
How To: Write a Basic Encryption Program Using Java!
Today, we are going to combine what we learned from the Introduction to Cryptography article with our Java programming skills. If you are new to Java, check out Matthew's Learn Java: Part One for a quick beginner's lesson, or check out some of the Java tutorials directly on Oracle.
News: Instead of Images, This Digital Camera Spits Out Descriptions!
Today's digital cameras record not only the images themselves, but also the metadata behind the scenes, like camera settings, location, date, time, etc. But there's a lot more to say about a photograph. What's the subject? Is it night or day? Outside or inside? Person, place or thing?
News: A New Ink & Paint!
Ink & Paint was originally intended to provide a place for the sharing of graffiti and street art related news and the spreading of the street art culture. However in recent months I have noticed a distinct lack of "lowbrow" art in the WHT community. Don't get me wrong though, I'm a HUGE nerd. I love null byte, I love the Minecraft world, and all the tech posts that are becoming increasingly more common. It's awesome. However the nerd in me and the artist in me both want to see more comics, s...
News: Social Hacking and Protecting Yourself from Prying Eyes
Industrial espionage, social engineering and no-tech hacking are all very real and there are simple precautions that you can take to protect yourself, which this article will discuss. Whether you are a high-profile businessman or a housewife (or husband), keeping information you want to keep private, private, should be important to you.
Tor vs. I2P: The Great Onion Debate
In my recent Darknet series, I attempted to connect the dots on the Deep Web. I covered the two largest anonymity networks on the Internet today, Tor and I2P. While my initial four articles were meant as an introduction, I ended up receiving a lot of interesting comments and messages asking the technical differences between the two. I'd like to thank all of you for letting me know what was on your minds, as you should always!
News: The Basics Of SEO
Since the internet is becoming more and more important all the time in regards to overall marketing plans for many companies, it’s imperative that the company website be up to the task of attracting visitors and converting them into customers. There are many methods and techniques to do this and for that reason it’s usually preferable to hire a company that focuses on online marketing or search engine optimization (SEO) to do this work.
How To: Assign a Static IP Address in Windows 7
This article will be about setting up a static IP (Internet Protocol) address in Windows Seven. To see whether you should set one up, ask yourself the following: Do I have many computers in the house hold? Do I get connection issues often? Did you answer yes to both? Then you should set one up.
How To: Things to Do on WonderHowTo (02/22 - 02/28)
WonderHowTo is made up of niche communities called Worlds. If you've yet to join one (or create your own), get a taste below of what's going on in the community. Check in every Wednesday for a roundup of new activities and projects.
News: Fallout Inspired underground bunker
As my in game name (TehGeekFather) would suggest I tend to like things on the Geekier side of things. Games being one of them. (duh I'm on a Forum dedicated to Minecraft) That being said I am a huge Fallout fan. (NO! not the band. <Sigh>) I'm referring to the post apocalyptic series first developed by Black Isle Studios, the roll playing game division of Interplay, back in 1997. Fallout 1 and 2 were pretty big back then open game play, being able to complete tasks in different ways depending ...
Master the Power: How to Shock People with Your Fingertips
In this article, I'll be showing you how to make a simple yet effective static electricity generator. Basically, this device allows you to carry a constant static charge on your body and discharge it on anything grounded or of opposite polarity. The electricity generated is around 8-10 kV, at a very low current. The shock is enough to startle your friends, just like a static shock from a trampoline or carpeted room. You'll need a little experience in soldering and circuit design to build the ...
How To: Send SMS Messages with Python
In this article, I'll show you how to send SMS messages with Python. You'll need Python 2.7 or later, urllib and urllib2. The code basically uses an online text messaging service to "POST" html data, as if a person was entering the data themselves. The uses for something like this are unlimited. For example, I modified the basic code so I would receive a text message letting me know every time someone rang my doorbell. The program could interface with Arduino through a serial port, and send d...
Goodnight Byte: HackThisSite, Realistic 1 - Real Hacking Simulations
Last Friday's mission was to accomplish solving HackThisSite, realistic 1. This is the first in a series of realistic simulation missions designed to be exactly like situations you may encounter in the real world. This first mission, we are asked to help a friend manipulate the website voting system for a Battle of the Bands vote count in his favor.
How To: Generate Electricity From Kinetic Energy
Piezoelectric Energy In this article, I'll show you how to make a small, wallet-sized device that generates electricity from kinetic energy. The concept is simple: Piezoelectricity is the charge that is produced when certain solid materials (commonly ceramic and crystal) in response to mechanical stress. Piezoelectrics have many applications; in speakers, actuators, sensors, even fuses. For more information, click here.
How To: Things to Do on WonderHowTo (01/11 - 01/17)
WonderHowTo is made up of niche communities called Worlds. If you've yet to join one (or create your own), get a taste below of what's going on in the community. Check in every Wednesday for a roundup of new activities and projects.
How To: Create an Automatic Animal Harvester in Minecraft
Welcome to Minecraft World! Check out our advanced tutorials and come play on our free server. Harvesting items from animals no longer requires wasting precious time chasing after them. During last Saturday's Weekly Workshop, we built a few different kinds of animal harvesters that worked in different ways, but for this guide we will be building the most compact and easy to use harvesters we made over the weekend.
Goodnight Byte: HackThisSite Walkthrough, Part 7 - Legal Hacker
Last Friday's mission was to accomplish solving HackThisSite, basic mission 8. This meant that we had to learn some more basic Unix commands.
News: Astronomical Observing News (12/13 to 12/19)
This week's AON is pretty short, but there are also lots of clouds because it is winter. However, that just makes the few days of open sky way more valuable!
News: Math Craft Inspiration of the Week: Christmas Chaos
If you take two flat mirrors and place them front to back and look at them, you can see an infinite number of reflections. While this is a self-replicating pattern and can be somewhat mesmerizing, it isn't anywhere as interesting as looking at the chaotic scattering of light that can occur between 3 or 4 spheres.
SUBMIT: Your Best Horror Shot by October 31st. WIN: Spooky Smoke EFX Drops [Closed]
Giveaway Tuesdays has officially ended! But don't sweat it, WonderHowTo has another World that's taken its place. Every Tuesday, Phone Snap! invites you to show off your cell phone photography skills.
News: Indie Games Hit the Red Carpet at the IndieCade Awards
Last Thursday, on October 7th, indie game developers from around the world walked down a red carpet in Santa Monica, California in the hopes of winning an IndieCade award. We previously discussed the IndieCade festival and conference, but the award show is a smaller, more inclusive event that provides finalists the opportunity to see their project on stage with rewards by sponsors such as LG, who presented this year’s ceremony.
BladeCraft: Bladerunner Recreated in Minecraft
Two wonderful, wonderful things converge! Minecraft Forum's rushone2009 introduces the Bladecraft Project, a melding of Blade Runner and Minecraft. The current texture pack and map downloads contain no adventure or goal, just exploring and discovering movie references. Download here.
News: 20 Nitty Gritty Secret Ingredients for Mastering Food Photography
Giveaway Tuesdays has officially ended! But don't sweat it, WonderHowTo has another World that's taken its place. Every Tuesday, Phone Snap! invites you to show off your cell phone photography skills.
News: PixelProspector Returns in Style with 75 Free Indie Games in 5 Minutes
After a decent amount of downtime, one of the best indie game sites on the internet has finally relaunched! PixelProspector is a one-man gaming blog and YouTube channel devoted to the weird and beautiful world of indie games. In the first half of 2010, it received a huge boost in popularity from its video 235 Free Indie Games in 10 Minutes, a hypnotic montage of the best indie games the site had to offer at that point. And to celebrate the relaunch of the blog, which now has an improved desig...
News: Bandito iPhone App Delivers Music News Based on Your iTunes Library
Public Radio Exchange (PRX) has teamed up with music intelligence company The Echo Nest to bring us music lovers Bandito, an easy way to find out what's going on with our favorite artists. Their new mobile app uses the existing iTunes library on your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch to find your most-played bands and singers, serving up the latest news from around the web on them.
News: Alfred Knows Where You Want to Eat (iPhone App for Instant Restaurant Recommendations)
Exploring a new city is tough if you're all by your lonesome. But if you have your iPhone on you, you're not alone at all... there's tons of great apps available for discovering the city around you. We've previously featured an app that helps you decide on what bar or club to attend, as well as one that shows you the hidden world unbeknown to most tourists (sometimes even the local population). When it comes to dining out, Yelp helps considerably, but it doesn't provide you with personalized ...
Project Mimicry: Kinect Transforms Real Sandbox into Virtual Game
In the world of developers, a "sandbox game" is video game where players are free to "roam a virtual world and change any factor at will"; these types of games demand creativity on the player's part, with no linear/"correct" way to play.
News: Amazing Solar-Powered Printer Uses Sunlight to Sculpt 3D Objects Out of Sand
No matter if you've used one or not, you've got to admit that 3D printers are pretty darn awesome, especially the self-replicating ones that extrude molten plastic and the shoebox-sized versions that use mesmerizing stereolithography to build tiny objects layer by layer. But what's even cooler? A solar-powered printer that uses the sun's energy to melt sand and make 3D objects out of glass.
News: Minecraft, Meet Terraria
Minecraft was first released just a few years ago, but when a paradigm-shifting piece of media comes along the rest of the world is quick to take inspiration from it. The absolutely terrible XBLA knock-off FortressCraft was the first, and last month a much more interesting game called Terraria came out on Steam for $9.99. It is clearly inspired by Minecraft, and there is a long checklist of identical features. It is, nonetheless, a very different product, and just might be called the first in...