How to Spot a Two-Way Mirror [Spot the Enemy]

January 10th, 2010 § 0 comments § permalink

Ever walked in to a room to wonder if behind that large mirror is a video camera, or worse, a team of people watching your every move? Want to find out how to check the mirror? Read on.

First off, don’t act suspicious. You don’t want to let on that you think it is a two way mirror because then you would lose your edge on the enemy. You can approach the mirror casually, as if checking yourself out. If you don’t mind looking a little silly to the would-be viewer, pretend as if you are alone and make some “sexy” faces, admiring your fine physic. Casually get closer to the mirror, as if staring into your own eyes, or checking you teeth for spinach. Then place your finger to the glass, the first test. If your nail touches the reflection, it is very likely to be a two way mirror. In a regular mirror, the fingernail does not touch the reflection.

Take a look at the mirror from a far. Is the mirror embedded in the wall or hung? Embedded in a wall is another good sign that the mirror is two ways. Another quick way is to inconspicuously shine a flashlight at the mirror, looking for light to appear on the other side.

Now, you should have a good idea what kind of mirror it is. Even if you think it is a one way mirror, always make sure to be careful about what you say and do. There might be hidden cameras and microphones in the room.

[Source]

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Top 10 Winter Survival Tools and Tactics [Survival]

January 10th, 2010 § 0 comments § permalink

Lifehacker recently had this article about winter survival. I found this part interesting:

Forget what you’ve heard about cold-weather exercise—it’s perfectly fine, if you take the right precautions. About.com offers up a few tips for keeping safe and warm on the roads, and Runner’s World offers a webapp designed to help you decide what you should wear. MetaFilter founder Matt Haughey has previously outlined the best gear for winter cycling. Some dreary days, though, it’s not the pants or gloves you need to get running, but motivation. One winter runner learned to trick her mind into running all winter, using a few tricks from psychology, chemistry, and plain old bragging rights. Photo by lululemon athletica. (Original post: myths, running, cycling, myths).

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Legal

January 9th, 2010 § 0 comments § permalink

Articles in Lone Iguana may feature illegal or unconstitutional actions. Lone Iguana does NOT endorse committing any illegal or unconstitutional actions. Our main purpose is to educate the reader for educational purposes and protection against illegal actions only.

How to Get Someone to Order A Dish [Screw With People's Minds]

January 3rd, 2010 § 1 comment § permalink

Book CoverAt one point in life, you realize that people are not doing what you want them to do. Let’s take, for example, a cook, who slaves over a hot stove for hours, creating dishes that would astound most. But every day, customers order the cheapest meal, perhaps the pasta. This is problem might be solved with a few changes to the menu. Don’t believe it? A recent article featuring William Poundstone discussed what goes into effective menus.

5. Columns Are Killers
According to Brandon O’Dell, one of the consultants Poundstone quotes in Priceless, it’s a big mistake to list prices in a straight column. “Customers will go down and choose from the cheapest items,” he says. At least the Balthazar menu doesn’t use leader dots to connect the dish to the price; that draws the diner’s gaze right to the numbers. Consultant Gregg Rapp tells clients to “omit dollar signs, decimal points, and cents … It’s not that customers can’t check prices, but most will follow whatever subtle cues are provided.”

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Read This: Predictably Irrational [Screw With People's Minds]

January 2nd, 2010 § 1 comment § permalink

Have you ever wanted to know how to sell more of something? Perhaps push a particular product? Well, look no further. Dan Ariely’s book, Predictably Irrational gives you an idea of why people do things. While I am sure the intention of the book was not to exploit people, you can use this knowledge to your advantage. Below is my review of Predictably Irrational for the upcoming blog, Cultureist.

You probably don’t realize it, but your mind is flawed. Very flawed. Here’s a simple example:

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In our minds, it seems to show three different sized lines. Now instead of doing a fancy animation on how the lines are all actually the same size, I am going to let you take a good old fashioned piece of paper, and measure each line only to discover- they are all the same length!

This is just one of the hundreds of flaws contained in your mind. But why on earth would you want to learn how your mind is flawed?

It is depressing and seems unhelpful. Wrong. While it can be sad to realize this fact, we can learn. We can learn about the flaws in our minds so we can realize how we make decisions and in the future, be aware of bad decision making. This rationality of thinking is talked about a great deal in Dan Ariely’s book, Predictably Irrational.

One of my favorite things about the book is that it does not ramble on about brain waves and years of careful study, as what you would expect from a psychological book. Instead, it talks about down to earth experiments with interesting conclusions and how it relates to you.

Still not sure if you want to get the book? Take a look at Dan Ariely’s TED talk:

Ready to buy? Get Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely here.

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Type This: whenshtf.com [Web Time]

January 1st, 2010 § 0 comments § permalink

I have talked previously about wtshtf, or when the sh*t hits the fan. Wtshtf can be described as when all hell brakes loose, when the sky falls or when, in milder terms- The END of the world as we know it. Now, while this seems pretty much like this, wtshtf is nothing to jeer at. While it may not be as dramatic as depicted above, it can be taken with just the right amount of seriousness. Which is prepare for the worst, hope for the best.

Whenshtf.com is a forum dedicated to discussing the issues of this phenomena, and if you seem to be looking for some help in this matter. Self described as a “Modern Day Survival Forum”, the forum is sure to be an interesting source of information.

WhenSHTF Forum

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