20-30 minutes a day of simple meditation can be helpful to develop an awareness of un-useful thinking patterns and exercise letting them go without acting on them. All you need to do is sit comfortably in a quiet place and pay attention to something simple like your breath. Every time you notice your mind has wandered…

Just installed Google Chrome ver 5.0.375.55. Still no master password. This is important to many and a major deficit for security aware users.

Use syncback to sync the collections between computers. This provides better performance on each computer, they need not all be powered on, and you have backups on mulitple systems. #downloads

Windows Explorer? WTF happened there? The new dumbed down file explorer format is simply not as fast and efficient as the the traditional explorer. Unable to tweak it into submission I found xplorer2 lite to be a 90% similar replacement. After I get used to it, it might prove even better. [www.zabkat.com] #windows7

Been a system admin for 15+ years. If someone does NOT yet have a computer, then the ONLY one to recommend is a Mac. I don't have one, but I am a geek. Grandma is not.

IKEA has a pretty decent CAD program you can get here free: [www.ikea.com]

I am amazed at the omission of MediaMonkey. It is a straight-forward application of elegant, functional simplicity worthy of the respect of any geek. Or anyone else...

My mechanic says he gets a lot of business from folks who wash their own engines at the self service carwash across the street from his shop. He says there are way too many things that can be ruined by the moisture injected by the washer spray even if used very carefully. He says it is far cheaper to live with the…

I don't get it. I was a UNIX system admin for 15 years. Windows is Windows. UNIX is UNIX. Different OS for different needs. Windows works fine in and of itself. Perhaps this is good for newbies to learn more UNIX? About the only thing I can think that I would like is for ls to work like dir. A few other things, too,…

Waterless hand cleaner, without grit, makes an amazing greasy stain remover for clothing and surfaces. Rub it into fabric stains then wash. It often works better than anything else.

Emergency exit row seats have more leg room, but the seats in front of them cannot recline. Watch out for those.

@EchoD:

Killer tips:

An annoying and frequent lucid dream component is I still smoke cigarettes. I have not done that awake for 30 years! I guess that shows how wired in the addiction can be.

Robert Louis Stevenson met people in his dreams that told him stories. He learned that he could "train" his dream people to invent stories that were readable to awake people. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was one such story that he successfully "co-wrote" with the help of his dream people.

3 mg of melatonin before bed is a good lucid dream stimulator. Best is sublingual because it gets into the blood fast and bypasses the liver.

How about a new related topic?

A mild solution of detergent and water, or window cleaner, in a bottle that can squirt a stream, will provide hours of entertainment if you have a pantry moth infestation. Go after the buggers in flight. This can be fun for a whole summer of hot evenings. When you tire of it, get pantry moth pheromone traps, clean out…