Ortiz.flp

This past July, Universal Studios opened an expansion to its Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park with a new attraction called Diagon Alley.

We recently visited the park and unless you know where it's located (or have a park map), it could be slightly difficult to find. Universal must think so too, because an employee stands outside of the area at all times shouting and pointing to the attraction's entrance.

At least that was our experience during our 3-day stay at the parks.

Here's where the entrance to Diagon Alley is. Can you spot it?

It's right in there. 

This may sound like a problem, but it's not. The park entrance does a great way of staying true to the books, making fans very happy.

In the novels, one way into Diagon Alley is by tapping a specific brick in order to unveil a hidden alleyway.  

In the same vein, Universal’s Diagon Alley is hidden behind a giant brick wall in its London section of the park.

If you're a fan of the series you're blown away by the immense detail that went into recreating the scene. If you're a mere muggle (non-magical folk) who isn’t familiar with the world of Potter then you’ll probably wonder why Universal went to the trouble of hiding its biggest money maker in the park. 

Here's what it feels like walking into the new park area:

Here's a quick GIF of what it's like to walk into Diagon Alley.

According to NPR, the first Harry Potter park, Hogsmeade, helped increase attendance by 30% and more than doubled visitors after it was added in 2010. 

NPR reports Diagon Alley cost Universal around $400 million, according to analyst estimates. 

It appears well worth the investment. The area is the most popular attraction (other than a new Simpsons' ride close by) in the parks. Both are so crowded it's often difficult to walk down the streets.

SEE ALSO: I bought a $47 interactive Harry Potter wand and it was totally worth it

Join the conversation about this story »

The tech industry is a sleep-deprived bunch that seems to worship insomnia.

There's Marissa Mayer admitting to 130-hour work weeks at Google, pulling at least one-all nighter a week and sleeping under her desk when she had to.

There's Twitter and Square co-founder Jack Dorsey who worked 16-20-hour days in 2009, 8-10 hours a day at each company, shrugging it off with a "I don’t sleep much, but it’s enough."

The "nap room" and the "nap pod" have become normal features in a tech company's office space.

And it's not just tech executives. A 2013 Gallup poll found that Americans sleep on average about 6.8 hours a night, not 8. We're using those extra hours we spend awake to work from home on our smartphones and tablets.

But sleep deprivation has consequences. After reading our article on how stressed out computers programmers are, pressured to work 24-7, and how they suffer from "imposter syndrome," Dr. Bob Albers of the New Mexico Center for Sleep Medicine emailed us.

That's when you're  sure that all the other coders you work with are smarter and more skilled than you are and you fear being found out as a fake.

Albers suggested that a lack of sleep might actually cause "imposter syndrome."

He told us,"Inadequate sleep impairs positive emotional memories, yet retains most of the negative emotional memories (we may view ourselves as imposter)."

He also said people need more sleep than they think they do.

"Sleep is primary for the restoration of the brain, yet many promote myths of needing little sleep. Inadequate sleep is rarely mentioned, when writing about the stress of work. Articles may suggest adequate sleep (which young people think means 5-6 hours per day), but never discusses research supporting 7-8 hours. I would suggest that a programmer would be more productive and accurate with 8-9 hours of sleep, daily, not just the catch-up on off days."

So how can you tell if you are getting enough sleep?

These two viral videos posted by YouTube channel In59Seconds can help. 

This first one is a sleep deprivation test.

 The second is a trick to help you wake up feeling refreshed called "the 90-minute rule."

By the way, there is an app for that, the Sleep Cycle alarm clock. Put it on your bed while you sleep and it determines when you are in the light sleep cycle, the best time to wake you.

It has an 4.5-star rating out of 5, from 67,000+ reviewers.

That's the kind of happiness that only a good night's sleep can bring.

SEE ALSO: The Stress Of Being A Computer Programmer Is Literally Driving Many Of Them Crazy

SEE ALSO: Marc Andreessen Gets All The Credit For Inventing The Browser But This Is The Guy Who Did 'All The Hard Programming'

Join the conversation about this story »

I’ve long wanted a font based on my own hand. The easiest, cheapest and quickest way is MyScriptFont. To get my personal script, I wrote out an alphabet on their printed-out template (block letters only, no cursive), scanned the sheet and uploaded it, and then installed the scaleable font they handed back. It’s free. Takes only minutes.

Once I had my handprinting font, I figured I could quickly make other homemade fonts. It’s a quick cheap way to make any kind of unique hand-drawn font you want.

-- KK

MyScriptFont
Free, donations accepted

Sample Excerpts:

Es sabido que los sonidos de la naturaleza son relajantes, sobre todo los de la lluvia o el mar, y en internet existen muchas opciones que nos permiten escuchar sonidos de relajación online y los hemos comentado por aquí.

Rainfor.me es un sitio que nos permite escuchar sonido de lluvia desde el navegador, solo hay que entrar en la web y automáticamente comenzará a reproducirse el sonido sin que tengamos que hacer nada más.

Es una muy buena de relajarse en un día agitado o cuando no podemos dormir por las noches.

Rainfor.me

Este artículo Rainfor.me: Sonido de lluvia online para relajarse fue publicado originalmente en Punto Geek.

Largamente esperado por los fanáticos, el nuevo álbum del duo francés Daft Punk viene a renovar un portafolio donde los discos Human After All (2005) y la banda sonora de la película Tron: Legacy (2010) fueron los últimos trabajos de estudio publicados, sin contar la presentación en vivo Alive 2007 y otros trabajos compilatorios menores.

Así, Random Access Memories (2013) había sido anunciado con gran fanfarrea para el venidero día 21 de mayo, sin embargo, ya andan dando vueltas por los sitios “de siempre” en Internet copias del disco completo, días antes de su estreno oficial. Mejor aún; la tienda de música iTunes ya dispone de una “vista previa” de todas las canciones, lo que finalmente resulta en la posibilidad de escuchar todo el álbum de forma contínua y sin costo para el bolsillo, pues no es necesario comprar nada de antemano.

Así, entrar a la página de Random Access Memories en iTunes provee del audio completo, gratis y en forma legal, aunque debes tener instalado el reproductor iTunes en tu computadora. Según reportan algunos usuarios, fallas en el sistema hacen que el vínculo “Escúchalo ahora” justo en la foto de la carátula del disco no aparezca siempre, sin embargo, refrescar la página puede solucionar el problema después de varios intentos.

Hasta ahora, no se han sabido las razones de por qué Daft Punk decidió soltar el disco antes de su puesta en venta, movida inusual para una industria discográfica que no ve con buenos ojos la transmisión de material en forma gratuita vía Internet, mucho menos antes de la fecha de lanzamiento oficial.

Link: Daft Punk – Random Access Memories (iTunes)

Tumblr blogger zohbugg recently bought a super awesome Uruk-Hai scimitar and uses it as a multi-purpose tool to help with her daily routine. Behold:

Fetching Toilet Paper

Cutting Bread

Making Coffee

Reaching for the Remote

Making the Bed

Reaching that hard to get jar of peanut butter

Simply Looking Badass

And somehow, it seems she became quite emotionally attached to it.

[Zohbugg Tumblr Blog | Via Buzzfeed]