Things I learned this week 26 Nov

• You can't get farther from land than a point in the Pacific Ocean known as 'Point Nemo'. It's 2,688 kilometres from the nearest land. Ducie Island, to the north; Motu Nui to the northeast; and Maher Island to the south.
• One of the reasons Google is positioned to weather the shift in online user changes is that it has a financial stake in both search (web based) and mobile apps. There is a documented shift in the search for information from the web, using sites like Yahoo and Google, to app-based information gathering a-la Yelp and other mobile apps. This is not good news for companies like Yahoo or Microsoft. But it rocks for companies like Apple, Amazon and any great app company.
• Scientifically proven ways to happiness: Smile more. Be in a romantic relationship. Have at least 10 good friends. Commute less than 20 minutes each way. Sleep 6+ hours per night. Go to church or some other spiritual activity. Stop defending / pushing your views. Try new things. Spend money on others.
• Lenovo (China) is now the leading PC maker, ousting HP from the top spot.
• On a Mac, which uses OS X, when you enter dictation mode, the computer's fans turn off.
• The first country that will be lost (entirely) to rising sea levels, Kiribati, is already planning the complete, permanent evacuation of its people.
• Doritos are good for kindling if you can't find anything else.
• 2010 is the first year that Christopher Walken wasn't in a movie since 1974.
• Slimer, the green ghost was never mentioned by a name in the movie Ghostbusters. The green goblin only got named once the animated cartoon came out.
• One tire for a dump truck like those used in the Alberta oil sands is worth $45,000 each. They're 13 feet in diameter and weigh 12,000 pounds.
• Joacquin Phoenix thinks the Oscars are B.S. and doesn't want to be a part of something that pits people against each other. Anthony Hopkins feels the same way.