techniques

Passwords are a way of life for nearly everybody who uses any kind of software. No viable alternative is imminent: fingerprint readers, retina scanners, voice identification, and USB tokens all have limitations. Nothing is as simple and inexpensive as an old-fashioned string of keystrokes.

Web services and network managers nearly always require a minimum degree of password difficulty to prevent standard password-cracking techniques from guessing them quickly. We're also cautioned not to reuse the same passphrases on different sites and are routinely blocked from recycling the passwords we've used previously.

Considering the number of times PC users sign … Read more

I've met a lot of audio designers in my time, and all of the best ones have one thing in common, they have great "ears." They know what good sound sounds like. The opposite camp is populated with engineers that rely exclusively on measurements to "prove" their designs are better. To my way of thinking, the second group rarely makes great sounding products. Audio is too complex to be analyzed with just numbers alone.

Nowadays I'm meeting more digital audio engineers specializing in designing room and speaker correction software. They are usually very nice … Read more

Technology is distracting, there's no doubt about it. Instead of allowing electronic gadgets to draw your attention away from more important activities in your workday, use them to sharpen your focus.

Many time management methods require a multiday symposium to master. A simple alternative is Francesco Cirillo's Pomodoro Technique, which is named after the 25-minute kitchen timer in the shape of a tomato Cirillo used to maintain his focus while studying in college in Rome.

In 25 minutes, you can learn most of what there is to know about the straightforward Pomodoro approach to time management. The free … Read more

In yesterday's video blog, we all got a brief glimpse into the impact good winter-specific tires can make when driving on snow and ice. Today's video from Michelin goes into deeper detail on how good winter tires and proper braking techniques can keep you safer when driving on winter weathered roads.

This demonstration video covers comparisons of braking distance between different tire types, emergency or threshold braking techniques, the difference in braking with ABS, cornering, and everything in between. Once again, even if you think you know everything about how to drive your car in the snow, there … Read more

I was on the phone with my parents who live in Ohio earlier today and they commented on how they've accumulated roughly two feet of snowfall in February alone--and the month isn't even over yet! Based on what I've heard, the snow is just going keep on coming, and all of my east coast buddies are ready for a break already. With the snow being a fact of life in the immediate future for many Americans, I thought it timely to present some video about how to deal with driving your car in snowy and icy conditions. … Read more

Meditation Techniques Guide provides a basic set of instructions and information for studying or practicing the art of meditation. Written for the novice, these easy-to-follow directions will help anyone interested in these simple and relaxing practices.

The program's interface is simple to navigate since it's in the form of a 60-page e-book in PDF format. The text is written in a plain, understandable language, though there were a few typographical errors. We love that the book's introductory chapters address skeptics of meditation. The book's arguments were sound and convincing and acted as a great segue into … Read more

Sex: Classic Tips & Techniques from Ancient Times is an ebook version of Anne Hooper's book, "Kama Sutra: Classic Lovemaking Techniques Reinterpreted for Today's Lovers," published by DK. The ebook is richly illustrated and full of interesting information about ancient Eastern sexual practices and how to try them yourself.

The ebook's chapters cover topics such as "Preparing for Love," "Touching and Caressing," "Kama Sutra Positions," "Perfumed Garden Positions," and "Positions of the Tao." The ebook's introduction covers a little bit about the history of … Read more

While I love going to large events like Giants games or the circus, I hate dealing with the traffic afterward. Finally though, some good has now come out of the frustration of after-event traffic.

Engineering students at Purdue University have come up with a new method to track traffic: Bluetooth. The students tracked Bluetooth signals from cell phones and other devices carried by football fans as they drove home from a recent Penn State game.

The method uses each signal to constantly update how long it takes vehicles and pedestrians to travel from one point to another. Darcy Bullock, professor … Read more

Last night, my audio production class took a field trip to local studio Glenn Sound for a brief introduction to miking technique: which microhpones to use for a particular sound, where and how to place them, and so on. It wasn't completely foreign to me--I've recorded in probably a dozen studios, but always on the clock and paying by the hour, and audio engineers tend to shrug off poorly-phrased technical questions in favor of showing you the end result.

One of the demonstrations showed us how different distances between microphone and source can give you different sounds. Most … Read more