SPONTAN Laptop Rack | IKEA Hackers

October 27, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

This is a modified Spontan magazine rack. We attached them to the walls outside the bathrooms at work so that you have somewhere safe to leave your laptop (rather than on the basin inside!).

The Spontan is made of metal (with an enamel coating). While it is designed for magazines and newspapers, it is quite strong, and can hold a laptop fairly easily. One of the problems though is that the metal surfaces may scratch the body of our precious laptops. We needed a padding solution.

For the “inside” of the rack, the part that you can’t see, we cut pieces of high density foam to size. It has self adhesive on one side. We stuck it on the “inside” surfaces of the rack. This must extend down to where the bottom edge of the laptop will rest.

31 Days to Financial Independence (Day 11): Trimming Your Spending – Food | The Simple Dollar

October 27, 2016October 27, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

“31 Days to Financial Independence” is an ongoing series that appears every Thursday on The Simple Dollar. You might want to start this series from the beginning!”

Last time, we started looking at the average American family budget, going through each category and examining how one could trim the cost of typical expenses in that category.

Today, we’re going to take a look at food spending. As you can see from the budget above, the average American family spends $6,602 per year on food. That averages out to $550 per month. Remember, however, that this “average American family” includes single adults, married couples without children, and families with children, too. In other words, a single person is probably coming in below that, whereas a large family (like ours) is probably coming in above that.

14 Online Tools That Help Your Team Stay Connected, Productive, and Happy | Life Hack

October 26, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Being able to work remotely, or even build a company that’s remote, is not easy, but it’s possible today. Some of today’s most notable companies, including Basecamp, Buffer, Virgin, and WordPress are building companies with over 100+ employees all around the world. How did they do it?

They found the right ‘tools’. When your team members are living on opposite sides of the continent and in different time-zones, effective tools are vital to your team culture, productivity, and success. We’ve tested hundreds of online tools to maximize how we stay connected, productive, and happy. Here is a list of top 14 online tools that you will find useful for yourself and your team. The first four deal with connectivity while the last four help to make your team happier. The remaining six tolls help to increase your team’s productivity.

Study Shows That Artificial Intelligence Is Very Accurate in Predicting Trial Outcomes | Inc.com

October 26, 2016October 26, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Artificial intelligence robots have already acted like lawyers, helping 160,000 people escape fines from parking tickets. So it was only a matter of time before robots would also step into the role of judge.

As revealed in a study published Monday in the journal PeerJ Computer Science, a team of British and American researchers used an A.I. system to predict the outcomes of human rights trials. Of the 584 cases the system studied, it came to the same conclusion as the judges 79 percent of the time.

The cases dealt with Articles 3, 6, and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which entail torture, right to a fair trial, and right to privacy, respectively. The texts of judgments from the European Court of Human Rights are neatly broken down into several sections, with one containing the facts of the case, another containing summaries of the parties’ arguments, etc., which makes them great candidates to be studied by machines.

How to Pick a Safe and Secure Money Transfer Service | CoolBusinessIdeas.com

October 26, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

It is now possible to send money to the Philippines in minutes,or to transfer money to other far off locales while sipping coffee in your pajamas. But staying safe and secure while doing so has become an increasing concern. Increasingly, the number of total losses from financial fraud continues to grow. Money transfers are an area where one can easily fall prey to scammers. Therefore, it is vital to choose a money transfer servicewith many safety measures in place.

Here are 5 security elements to look for in a money transfer service:

Can Science Save the Banana? | Live Science

October 25, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The banana is the world’s most popular fruit crop, with over 100 million metric tons produced annually in over 130 tropical and subtropical countries. Edible bananas are the result of a genetic accident in nature that created the seedless fruit we enjoy today. Virtually all the bananas sold across the Western world belong to the so-called Cavendish subgroup of the species and are genetically nearly identical. These bananas are sterile and dependent on propagation via cloning, either by using suckers and cuttings taken from the underground stem or through modern tissue culture.

Happy, Loyal Employees Need to Feel Trusted at Work | Business News Daily

October 24, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

What’s the secret to employee happiness and retention? According to new research, it’s as simple as trusting your team members.

A study from PayScale revealed that the more employees feel like their bosses trust them, the happier they are and the less likely they are to look for a new job.

The research found that 72 percent of workers who are able to act and make decisions on their own said they are satisfied in their jobs. Just 26 percent of employees who aren’t able to anything without being told first said they are similarly happy

IT Training Today: Top Tips for Finding the Right Computer Certification for You | Getentrepreneurial.com

October 20, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

If you are looking for an exciting career and a job you want to get up for every morning, IT is one area where you can enjoy all of that and more.

To get a good job in the IT sector, you can’t just jump into it. You will need the right set of skills, and that means you will have to look into training opportunities.

The type of certification you require will depend on the skills you already possess, along with your specific career goals.

Here are a few tips for finding the most suitable certification for you, starting with some entry-level certifications and moving onto some more specific areas where you can become certified.

What is a Hashtag? And What Do You Do With Hashtags? | Small Biz Trends

October 20, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

A little while back, someone named Dr. C commented here at Small Business Trends saying: “I’m still not sure how hashtags are being used, or how to use them, or when to use them, or what the significance is in using them… totally confused ….” We hear you, Dr. C — hashtags are baffling to those who do not spend a lot of time online or who are new at social media.

So today we’re going to tackle the question “What is a hashtag?” in plain language. We will also address the business significance of hashtags, and how hashtags can help you in marketing.

What is a Hashtag?

A hashtag is a label for content. It helps others who are interested in a certain topic, quickly find content on that same topic.

A hashtag looks something like this: #MarathonBombings or #SmallBizQuote.

Hashtags are used mostly on social media sites. They rocketed to fame on Twitter. But now you can use hashtags on other social platforms, such as Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Google+.