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Funny, Weird, Dumb, Stupid, Interesting Laws Part 2!  

We shall continue from Funny, Weird, Dumb, Stupid, Interesing Laws Part 1! Here are a few other unnusual laws that will make you roll over the floor laughing your brains out till they turn to mush and insects start feeding on them. Ahem:


11. United Kingdom - A person wishing to watch TV in their home must have a license to do so.

12. United Kingdom - A person may not hang a bed out of a window.

13. Canada - Climbing trees is illegal.

14. Denmark - No one may drive on a car when someone is underneath the vehicle.

15. Denmark - It is illegal for restaurants to charge for water unless it is accompanies with something else such as ice or a slice of lemon.

16. Israel - It is illegal to pick one's nose on the Sabbath.

17. Israel - Bringing bears to the beach is against the law.

18. Israel - When someone maintains an illegal radio station for more than 5 years, it becomes legal.

19. China - You can only have one child or pay a huge fine.

20. Singapore - Selling chewing gum is illegal.

Stay tuned for part 3...

WisePenguin,



How To Make The Best Buttons In Adobe Photoshop Tutorial!  

Difficulty rating: 3/10
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Here is a Photoshop tutorial which I splashed together and I hope it will teach you how to make the best looking buttons for web design, which can then be transferred to software such as Dreamweaver.  I used Photoshop CS4 for this tutorial but I believe it should work with all versions of Photoshop.

THE END RESULT:
















Let’s begin!  Open a new document approximately 500x500 in size. Select the Paint Bucket Tool (), or simply press G on your keyboard, and click on the background to fill it with colour. I used black but you may choose a colour of your preference. Next click on the Rounded Rectangle Tool (), or simply press U on your keyboard, and make a rectangular shape as shown below.



















Go to Layer > Layer Style > Blending Options. We need to edit two sections;  Inner Glow and Gradient Overlay.  Use the following settings:

Inner glow:





















(Light Blue Colour Code: #00eaff)
Gradient Overlay:




















(Dark Blue Colour Code: #115986)
(Light Blue Colour Code: #00d2ff)

If you used my settings, you should end up with something like this:






Go to Layer > Rasterize > Shape. If you don't do this then you cannot edit the shape of the shape… If that makes sense then. It has to be done if u want your button to look somewhat different and not just a blob.

 

Next, select the Elliptical Marquee Tool () and zoom into the left side of the button and create a small circle. About this size:

























When you take your hand of the click, it should look a little less like a circle and more like a cross of about 5 pixels, depending on the size of the circle.. If your button is larger, then your circle will be larger too. Like this:
















Press Delete on your keyboard. Now move the selected area down slowly with your mouse or by pressing the down arrow on your keyboard and keep pressing the Delete button when you want to create another hole. I created five holes in the shape and it looks like this:





Create a new layer. Click on Layer > New > Layer and press OK. Now, with the Elliptical Marque Tool still selected, create a circle that looks somewhat like this:




Select the Gradient Tool and make sure to set the style as Foreground to Transparent.
 
 










Now click on the left of the button and hold. Drag the mouse to the other side of the button (not all the way) and let go.








You should end up with this:





 
Deselect by click CTRL+D and adjust the layer opacity to your preference.















We are nearly done. All you need to do now is add your text!






















Copy the button and add tex to each button and it should look a little something like this:















DONE. It was THAT simple! I hope you enjoyed my first Photoshop tutorial, I will soon post an article teaching you how to use these buttons in Dreamweaver and your own website! Watch out for more Adobe Photoshop tutorials, Tips and Tricks from The Wise Penguin!

WisePenguin,



Exploding Star To Be Visible From Earth Within 2 Weeks!  

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According to Oxford University Students, there will be an exploding start visible with a pair of binoculars in the skies above the United Kingdom. The Supernova, named PTF11kly, will be visibile within a fortnight and has been triggered by the break up of a star 21 million light years away.

(source: universetoday.com)

What has actually happened is known as a rare "type 1a" supernova. This is where a star explodes and then sucks up the energy from other closeby star/s and is then reborn. The event occurred in the Pinwheel Galaxy which is located in the Great Bear constellation. Scientists are particularly interested in these events since type 1a supernovae can be used to measure the age and size of the universe (although, exTREMEly difficult to calculate).


The last time a supernova of this type occurred so close was in 1972. Before that you have to go back and look at 1937, 1898 and 1572. As you can see, this is a once in a lifetime event! If you are lucky enough to spot it within about 10 days or so, you can tell people you saw something that was 21 million light years away. They'd probably think you've gone crazy. But hey, me and you know its true. Show them the evidence! What you could do is maybe record it if you can get your hands on a good camera that has a good zoom funtion.

Right, after the explosion, the supernova is expected to burn with the brightness of more than a billion of our Suns for the first three weeks. However, experts state that despite the immense brightness of the star it would still be difficult for the general public to view it in the night sky. Especially those who have ne experience in this field because they will probably not even know where to look since they don't know where the Pinwheel Galaxy is! If you have a telescope, though, and you know where to look.. Don't miss this once in a lifetime opportunity of seeing a star being born!


WisePenguin,



Funny, Weird, Dumb, Stupid, Interesting Laws Part 1!  

(credit: mastersoftrivia.com)
Part 1 of Funny, Weird, Dumb, Stupid, Interesting Laws. This article shouldn't need an introduction. Just sit back and enjoy the stupidity of the human race :)

America:
1. In the state of Ohio it is illegal to get a fish drunk.

2. In the state of Texas it is illegal to take more than three sips of beer when one is standing.

3. In the state of California a vehicle without a driver may not exceed the speed of 60 mph.

4. In the state of Alabama it is against the law for a person to wear a fake moustache that will make people laugh in church.

5. In Hawaii it is illegal to put pennies into your ear... yes.

6. In the state of New Jersey people can be arrested for slurping soup in public.

7. In a Californian city it is illegal for a person to drive a bycicle in a swimming pool.

8. In the state of Kentucky it is illegal to hunt for fish using a bow and arrow.

9. In Texas it is illegal for a person to sell their eye.

10. In Texas it is illegal for a person to shoot a buffalo from the second story of a hotel.


Funny, Weird, Dumb, Stupid,Interesting Laws Part 2 will be up soon!





How To Make iPad Battery Last Longer Part 1  

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(credit: apple.com)
Just like any other electrical device such as a cell phone, iPhone, or iPod, the battery of an iPad will last a shorter time during heavy use. This article is here to help you make most of your iPad by increasing its battery life.

1. Reduce the brightness of the iPad screen. Obviously, the brighter your screen is the more battery it consumes! Reduce the brightness to a level that isn't too bright or too dark - just about right. This can be done by going to "Settings" and then "Brightness & Wallpaper". Now, drag the slider to the left in order to lower the screen brighness. I suggest 20-35 percent brightness should be sufficient for daytime use.

2. Turn the Wi-Fi and cellular data settings OFF. Your iPad battery drains quite drastically when the Wi-Fi is switched on. Therefore, if you are not planning on using Safari/internet or apps that require an internet connection then turn them off.

3. Turn off the sound effects. Sounds can cause your iPad battery to drain quickly if they are used frequently. Because they are activated by default, they sound whenever notifcations are received or when pressing buttons for the on-screen keyboard. What you need to do to turn off the sound effects in order to make your iPad bettery last longer is to go to "Settings" > "General" > "Sounds". The equalizer has five different options to "Increase/Decrease". You may also switch to "On/Off" if that is what you prefer. By disabling the lot, obviously, you will decrease battery usage by sounds.

4. Use it less often! This may sound a bit obvious, but, it is a valid point to make. Some of you out there are on your iPad 24/7 listening to music and watching videos... This will not help your battery. The more you use it, the more battery will be consumed. Therefore, if you try to cut the time you spend on your iPad by, maybe, 15-20 percent then your iPad battery will last longer.


More to come... How To Make iPad Battery Last Longer Part 2 will be up ASAP!


WisePenguin,



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