S Anand

Create Google calendar events via SMS. Just SMS 48368 (in the US) with a message like “dinner tomorrow 7pm”. 48368? GVENT?

How to tie a bandage without it falling off. It’s in Japanese, but the video is pretty clear.

Pirates still exist.

According to the International Maritime Organisation, 266 committed or attempted acts of piracy were reported last year. Although this was a lower figure than in 2004, in part because many small-time pirates died in that December’s tsunami, risk experts say that a more brazen, violent and organised strain has emerged. Pirates are said to have injured or assaulted 152 crew in 2005; they abducted 652, of whom 11 are still missing. They hijacked 16 ships; a tug and a barge are unaccounted for.

The virtues of a second screen.

So now, while I am editing this article on my main screen, the screen beside it shows the outline or earlier draft I am working from — and, sometimes, Web sites or other documents I keep referring to.

When I edit photos, the second screen lets me compare the copy I am working on with the original, or shows tool palettes and thumbnails of other images, and I can blow up panoramic shots for closer viewing (though with a bar down the middle, like the central pillar of an old car’s windshield).

When I am shopping on the Web, my two screens let me compare products.

When I work on tables or spreadsheets, I can see all the columns at once. When I expect important messages, I keep my e-mail program open on the side monitor while I work on something else.

Angry or negative people can be bad for your brain.

Determine a sex by name. If you don’t know if a name is male or female, just search for the name on Google images. (e.g. “Priti“)

The Economist takes a good look at retailing in India.

It’s worth starting a startup based on an idea even if it is easy to copy.

First of all, it will take competitors a long time to realize that your idea is even a good thing to do.

Even when competitors realize your idea is good, (a) it will take them a long time to implement and (b) they’ll probably screw up critical things.

And finally, working on your ideas will lead you on to new ideas. So you’ll be a moving target; by the time competitors copy what you’re doing now, you’ll be doing more.