Everyday Experiments

...and to think that this was published decades ago. (click on the image for a larger view)

I'm working on a 52-page document with hyperlinks, then my boss says I should remove all links in-text. Instead of spending hours removing each and every link manually, a simple Google search renders a very easy solution:

From Microsoft Support:

How do I remove a hyperlink without losing the display text or image?

To remove a single hyperlink without losing the display text or image, right-click the hyperlink, and then click Remove Hyperlink. 

To remove all hyperlinks in a document, press CTRL+A to select the entire document and then press CTRL+SHIFT+F9. 

Note Performing this operation converts all fields, not just hyperlinks, to plain text.

I was looking for a ground beef recipe that would be great with a bottle of red wine a friend just gave me, and stumbled upon an easy yet delectable Ground Beef Stroganoff dish. I made tweaks here and there to account for ingredients I have at hand. Here's an adaptation of the recipe from the Emeril Live show:

Just found a very simple way to update the BIOS of the EEE PC model 1005P:

Here's a nice cartoon to start the new year:

With economic recession (and depression, conversely) still in full swing (not to mention crime rates, mortality, and stress) I find it quite hard to adopt a more upbeat attitude about the year. Pragmatically speaking, it is indeed very hard to stay happy and perky the whole year long.

Here's a less depressing take on the same theme:

I've written zilch in the last 3 months. 3 months of sleepless nights, drowning in report after report, spewing out graph after figure after paper. I guess this is how my brain should feel like right now:



I think I'm going on a loooong needed (and deserved!) vacation right now. Preferably in a cold, dark cave where I can sleep undisturbed until Christmas :-p

Just in from Discovery blogs: a fully operational high-intensity lightsaber - er, portable laser - is up for sale by consumer laser manufacturer Wicked Lasers. This baby boasts of being the first ever 445-nm direct blue diode portable laser in existence. For $200, you get your own Li-ion battery powered version of Luke Skywalker's bright blue lightsaber.



It cannot cut through flesh like it was butter, but the S3 Arctic Spyder III can cause instant retinal damage, permanent blindness, and skin cancer, among other things. Yes fellas, this lightsaber - sorry, Class 4 portable laser - is not a toy and should not be used for puerile entertainment.


So what's exactly the point in making a portable lightsaber with a hilt that looks exactly like the one from the popular George Lucas franchise? It seems that Lucas is taking the hint. Lucasfilms is now planning to sue Hongkong-based Wicked Laser if they do not change the design of the laser. (More on that story here.)