As if you didn’t already know, Wikipedia is host to a huge amount of information, sometimes worthless, sometimes not. This is one of the times where Wikipedia comes through and comes through bigtime! A group of fanatics (in the true sense of the term) are compiling a list of every problem ever solved by everyone’s favorite late-80s super-nerd, played by Richard Dean Anderson. Going episode by episode we’re treated to an outline of every problem Mac has had to face during his career, for instance, from the pilot episode:

- MacGyver destroys a laser array using binoculars and cigarettes. He lights three cigarettes from the lasers then puffs smoke (whilst coughing violently) to make the lasers visible. The episode states that the laser is a carbon dioxide laser. These operate at a wavelength of approximately 10 micrometers (far infrared) and are thus invisible no matter how much smoke is in the air. He then smashes the binoculars, removing a lens fragment to deflect a laser beam back to the emitter and destroy it. He also wipes his optics clean with bare fingers. Time index: 21:00.

- MacGyver plugs a sulfuric acid leak with chocolate. He states that chocolate contains lactose and sucrose (Chemically C12H22O11), which are disaccharides. The acid reacts with the sugars to form elemental carbon and a thick gummy residue.

- When MacGyver needs to move a large steel beam blocking his way, he cuts the end off a fire hose, ties a knot in the hose, and runs the hose under the beam. He then turns on the water, and the hydraulic pressure in the hose causes the beam to lift enough for him to shift it out of the way.

- MacGyver creates a bomb to open a door using a gelatin cold capsule containing sodium metal, which he then places in a glass container filled with water. When the gelatin dissolves in the water, the sodium reacts violently with the water and causes an explosion which opens the barred door.

[A list of problems solved by MacGyver | MacGyver for President 2008]

PETA has recently published their list of top-10 vegetarian US ballparks, letting all the veggie/vegan baseball fans know in which cities they can feel comfortable going out to the ballpark. This list actually surprises the hell out of me, though it has been way over 10 years since I’ve actually been to a live sporting event and I most certainly never thought major sports would be supporting vegetarian diets/lifestyles. What also surprises me is the info that Tony LaRusso is vegetarian! Will wonders never cease???!

Top-5 and link to PETA after the jump…

Read more of ”Top 10 vegetarian-friendly ballparks“

While I tried resisting writing a list post, I just couldn’t resist talking about my favorite apps for Mac OS X. I have several Macs, and I couldn’t stand working on them without having the following apps (and so many more) installed immediately. Naturally this isn’t the only apps I find to be necessary to my OS X workflow, only 10 of my favorites, I’d be happy to know some of yours ;)

10. Fetch Art
I have tens of thousands of MP3s, naturally ripped from my personal CD collection, and thus it’s always a nightmare to organize and move my MP3s around while still keeping the cover art images in-place. Enter Fetch Art, a nifty little script which scans the ID3 tages of your songs in iTunes and automatically downloads the appropriate track’s cover art directly from Amazon.com with pretty good accuracy. (License: Donationware)

9. UnRarX
UnRarX is a GUI application that uses the unix command line apps ‘unrar’ and ‘par2′ to let you expand rar archives, as well as restore corrupted and/or missing archives using par2. Handy for those who download binaries often from newsgroups, you know who you are. (License: GPL)

8. MacPAR Deluxe
Following number 9 comes another newsgroups favorite, MacPAR Deluxe. MacPar is a mighty powerful utility which is primarily for ensuring error-free transport of data from ‘par’ and ‘par2′ files. It’s features include full support of the ‘par 1′ and ‘par 2′ standards, verification, recovery and automatica unrar of parity files, including visual representation of the current status of all files contained with an archive. It’s also capable of launching an external unpacker in the rare case it’s unable to unpack the archive on it’s own (see #9). (License: Donationware)

7. Quicksilver
Quicksilver has appeared on just about every list associated with Mac OS X software, so naturally it had to appear here. Quicksilver is everyone’s favorite Finder-replacement and has become so integrated into my daily workflow, that I couldn’t imagine using a Mac without it being installed. (License: GNU GPL)

6. Text Wrangler
I was a huge fan of UltraEdit on the PC, but that was then, this is now. I needed a powerful, yet affordable text editor for coding, and in walked Text Wrangler. Text Wrangler is an extremely powerful text editor, suitable for Unix and server administrator’s, HTML-pushers, and scripters alike. Best of all, it’s from the creators of BBedit, THE text editor for hardcore text editing on a Mac AND it’s free! (License: Freeware)

5. Fugu
I don’t know anyone who prefers using FTP over a much more secure system, such as SCP or SFTP. I’ve personally shut down FTP completely on any servers I’ve administered and required all users to transfer files using SCP (WinSCP on XP or Fugu on OS X). Fugu is a GUI which eases access to OS X’s built-in Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP), which is similar to FTP, only the session is entirely encrypted and is much more secure than normal FTP. Fugu also allows SCP file transfers, as well as session saving and a Finder-like interface for interaction. (License: BSD-Style Freeware)

4. Firestarter FX
For those still burning their CDs you must get Firestart FX. A pure Cocoa burning application, it’s one of the few, if not the only, burning applications for the Mac which allows duplication of all kinds of CDs, as well as burning VCDs and SVCDs. Oh, Overburning! Who can forget, it’s the only burning app I’ve found which supports overburning, a staple of burning applications on the PC. (License: Donationware)

3. Little Snitch
Anyone who’s recently switched to Mac knows the problem that spyware and adware are for Windows users. I’m the type of person who likes to see how my software is using my internet connection. Whether calling home or reporting usage statistics, I want to know. Little Snitch enables the user to find this information out. Running natively within the operating system, Little Snitch informs the user when an application wants to connect to the internet and where it wants to send the information to, allowing the user to deny or approve this request. Very powerful, nice small footprint. (License: Commercial $24.95 USD)

2. Conto
Tracking bank accounts and finances isn’t a strength of mine, but Conto is a nifty little freeware application that eases that task for me. Providing a powerful finance tracking system, complete with graphing abilities, support for different currencies and strong encryption, Conto is an extremely powerful free application. (License: GPL)

1. MySync
Keeping Macs on a LAN in sync is not always a fun OR easy task. MySync makes this an easy task, allowing automatic detection of other MySync “nodes” running on your LAN (via Bonjour), automatic sync scheduling, SSL encryption, and syncing capabilities for Address Book, Safari bookmarks, and iCal. (License: Open beta – for now)