Interesting Quote on Talent

"To do easily what is difficult for others is the mark of talent. To do what is impossible for talent is the mark of genius."                                                                               - Henri-Frédéric Amiel                   
This quote suggests our talents lie in what is hard work for most and merely play for us. It goes into that sense of automated flow where your mind does complex thinking with serious accuracy - and yet feels no strain in the vast curiosity to continue.

Perhaps it even explains the phenomenon behind those who practice rare and extremely difficult tasks to eventually find them easier as they adapt.

People are certainly born with talents, but what spurs the extraordinary motivation to develop talents we aren't born with? Maybe these concepts are one of the same - and it's the high curiosity towards certain things that almost coerces us to develop these talents.

Then to go beyond talent - perhaps by surprise - can definitely leave the world with a genius new piece of information. Something that breaks the conventional pattern of talent.

Often the history behind genius ideas reveals them occurring in spontaneous eureka moments when everything falls into place. A bit of mental flow beyond the conventional train of thought when you least suspect it.

Laptop Manufacturers Still Overlook Cooling - Part 2

So the holidays are here and the weather has gotten pretty cold in Texas.  Laptop users rejoice with frosty outdoor computing - as long as they don't freeze.  For those inside - good laptop cooling is needed to compensate for the burning fireplace.

Alas, I return to my first post on laptop cooling issues. If you missed it, you can still read Part 1 here. Over the past few months I've come across some intriguing new innovations for laptop cooling.  Tech that can fight the heat issues further than ever.

Dust Removal Through Reverse Fan Spin. The title explains itself.  This is a recent fan innovation created by MSI for desktop graphics cards.  Basically, it removes accumulated fan dust by occasionally spinning blades the opposite direction at high speed.  The accumulated dust issue that plagues laptops with heat can now be relieved.  Just blow it out of there.

Msi.com - Say Goodbye to Graphics Card Overheating

So how do we implement this? Well, with two openings above and below fans in a laptop, this technology could run its dust removal maintenance.  At the moment, you still have to remove a laptop's fan to clean it properly.  Otherwise blowing it with compressed air only pushes the dust deeper into the device which becomes a fire hazard.

Sealed Liquid Coolers.  If you've heard about liquid cooling, then this is simply a more compact version of the technology.  They use a mini radiator to circulate sealed coolant across a copper heatsink.  For small laptops, this could definitely lower CPU & GPU temperatures much more efficiently than fans alone.

It's simply the advantages of chemistry enhancing the cooling power of fans.  I'm certain there's a way to make one small enough to fit.  It's well worth the engineering efforts for such a boost in cooling efficiency & heat resistance.  Problems like frame rate stuttering in powerful gaming laptops could potentially be resolved for good.

For more ideas on better laptop cooling, check out these 2 inspirational guides on desktop cooling from Toms Hardware:

How To: Properly Plan And Pick Parts For An Air-Cooled PC, Part 1
How To: Properly Plan And Pick Parts For An Air-Cooled PC, Part 2 

Also be sure to see my Part 1 of this article if you haven't already:
Laptop Manufacturers Still Overlook Cooling - Part 1

Interesting Quote on Goals

"What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals."
                        - Henry David Thoreau
                
This quote sounds simple, but is too easily forgotten.  There are certainly gains of materials in life, but we have to remember the long-term achievement is in the self.  Who we become in the months and years that pass.

Does this relate to exercise as well? It sure does and it also says a balance between mental and physical gains are needed to truly feel accomplished in our life.

BitLocker - Password Protect USB Drives

Do you often leave your USB drive lying around?  Worried about unauthorized access to the device?  The latest versions of Windows offer something called BitLocker to defend against this threat.

Not only does it password protect your USB drive, but it encrypts the data just in case someone hacks into it.  By password protection, you'll need to enter your password to unlock the drive each time you want to connect it to a computer. 

In Windows 7 or Vista, simply right click your drive and select BitLocker.  Then follow the steps to set up a password and be prepared to wait a bit for the installation to finish.  Take a break and let the process finish.

The only downsides however are the limitations.  BitLocker only allows recent Windows operating systems to access your drive - such as Windows 7 and Vista.  Macs, PS3s, Linux, and other systems won't recognize the drive.

Another flaw is the fact that people often leave USB drives connected to systems they walk away from.  It doesn't automatically disconnect your device after a certain idle time, leaving it 100% vulnerable to unauthorized access if left unlocked. 

Still, it's a step ahead when it comes to data security and you can be reassured if your BitLocker defended drive falls into the wrong hands.  It's safe to say a good 98% of the people who get ahold of your unplugged USB drive will not be able to break through BitLocker.

MusicBrainz Picard - Verify (or Identify) Audio File Info

 Do you have a lot of music files with disorganized names and info?   Perhaps unknown MP3s ripped from a CD?  If either of these sound familiar, you may benefit from MusicBrainz Picard.

It's a program that scans the audio-footprint of your music and matches it with a massive database of verified song information to apply.  For many, this program can save them so much time it's hilariously useful.  For more rare songs, it investigates for the closest footprint match and suggests highly probable song info.

It's also useful for filling in additional information for your audio files.  They will look nicer with more accurate information when imported or opened with your favorite music player.  A life-saver for those looking to go back and sort through a huge collection of messy files from the 90s and 2000s.

With that being said, music buffs can download MusicBrainz Picard here.  How much does it cost? A simple little price of ... well, free.

Clean & Organize Any Room Quickly

Ah, the science of cleaning. Everyone gets a little messy with a place every now and then; some more, some less. In the end, though, we all need to pick up the clutter and organize it away.  No? Then you'll eventually have to climb like you’re in the Rocky Mountains to find your way around the maze of mess.  I will show you a quick method to organize any room's heavy mix of junk, treasures, trash, and other items that have all piled up over the months.

To begin, all you have to do is to form 5 different piles in the room.
These five piles will be called: Donate, Keep, Trash, Move, and Sell

Also be sure to process the piles before they look like this

Donate Pile: These are things too valuable to toss, but too difficult to sell. You can't relocate them either.  Donate them! Be sure they are legal to donate.

Keep Pile: These are essential items for the room that have to stay.  Make sure you actually use or appreciate these every month or two. Else they might be taking up space.   If they've been idle and unappreciated for over a year, they might be better suited for storage elsewhere.



Trash Pile:  This is the obvious trash that doesn't fit in the trashcan.

Move Pile: These are items you certainly need to keep but relocate elsewhere. Reassess and make sure you really do need them. 

Job well done depending on your feng shui tastes

Sell Pile: These are things you don't need, that you can certainly sell.  Check around on eBay or Craigslist for general pricing options.  Don't let them sit around too long either unless their quite valuable.  For instance, a huge $10 item might not be worth waiting on for half a year to sell. 

Your goal is to free up as much space as possible.  If the mess is huge, pace the process in daily segments of time to work.



I hope this guide helps simplify the mess that takes away time from more important things!

Interesting Quote on Planning

“Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.”
                                                                                                      -John Lennon

 
Life really does occur consistently, plans or not.  This quote suggests our personal narratives in life - our history - is not driven through planning or achievement alone.  But the unpredictable spontaneity defines even more of who we truly are outside of the plans.

So between our desired plans and empirical outcomes of the planning - it's the experience that matters most.  Perhaps the sheer planning and execution of the plans is the most lively experience of all.  Especially in the last moments of achieving or surpassing a plan's goal.

Track Lost/Stolen Devices with Prey

image source: blogs.cio.com

We don't often worry about the potential theft of our devices but many of us do lose them.   Regardless of the case,  did you know you can track them down through the internet?

This special software Prey let's you do just that without the fuss.  You shouldn't have to lose things and why not take advantage of open WiFi and onboard GPS to get them back!

It features all kinds of ways to hone in on your device's locations through the internet. For mobile computers, it runs on Windows, Mac,or Linux.  For the smart phones, it supports both the Apple iOS and Android.

So how does it work?  First it tells your device's GPS & Wifi functions to privately broadcast the system's location to your Prey account online.  Second, it gives you backdoor access to lock it down before prying eyes get a hold of your personal info.  You can even turn the webcam into a security camera to take photos of thieves and unauthorized users.

So where do get this fine piece of software?  Download it at http://preyproject.com/. Again - Did I mention it's free? ha!

College Finals & Bruce Lee Quotes

bruceleedivinewind.com

Having 7 finals this semester (the hardest one yet) is no easy task - but I'm making progress and keeping calm.  Especially with the luck I've been having - getting 2 of them complete ahead of schedule.

Relaxing into solutions is often a key strategy to use your time wisely and constantly keep an eye on the study strategies.

Some of my favorite sources of inspiration are Bruce Lee quotes.  Here are some to share for everyone else facing tense deadlines before the holidays. 

      "It's not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential."                          

                                                                                                                          

        “Don't fear failure. — Not failure, but low aim, is the crime. In great attempts it is glorious even to fail.”                                                                                                                                                  - Bruce Lee 

                                                                                                                                                               

MyDefrag - Unlock Additional Speed in Hard Disks

If you don't already know what defrag means, then I suggest you learn before your system slows to a halt.  Unless you only use solid state drives (you'd know, because they're so expensive), then you need to learn the simple practice of defragging your tradition hard disks that use needles to access spinning magnetic platters.

So basically defragging is a simple practice that is a fully automated puzzle solver.  Think of your newly created data as jigsaw puzzles with the pieces just thrown into a box.  Defragging essentially consolidates these pieces (raw locations of data) into complete puzzles (solid chunks) to reduce the needle movement.  So if your still using hard disks with moving parts, then there are performance benefits to gain from defragging.

Does this move files in your operating system? No, those locations and file descriptions are all part of a constantly changing map (file table) to the raw data.  This map can get extremely complex when the raw data is fragmented.  Fragmented raw data creates extra unnecessary work for the map to access it (more needle movement).

It's not much to look at, but it sure speeds things up!

I've personally tested over a dozen of the top programs to take care of this task and none compare to MyDefrag.  In addition to consolidating raw data, it also pushes it to the beginning of the disk reducing needle movement even further.

The beginning part of the hard disk is proven to be the fastest. In addition to this double consolidation is an organization of raw data based on what it's used for.  For instance, the operating system's foundation is moved to the very beginning of the disc while massive video files are moved to the end.  Big files are slower to access regardless of where you put them, but small files definitely gain a boost from being at the beginning. 

This program features several modes for "System Disks" and "Data Disks."  Even a mode for "Flash Memory" - however I don't recommend ever defragging solid-state or flash since they access everything equally without movement.  This is also only for Windows users.  If your current Windows OS is installed on a hard disk (makes loading noises), then run the "System Disk Monthly" on it overnight and see how it performs in the morning.  If the disk showed up in MyDefrag as almost solid yellow (extremely fragmented), then your certain to see an improvement. Again, if you have a solid state drive - then you need not worry about ever defragging it for your ahead of the game. 

Download the latest version of MyDefrag here.  Did I mention it's free?