email watchdog

i recently blogged about how safe is your password, and mentioned the shouldichangemypassword.com website. in the past, you could have placed yourself on their mailing list to be notified each time they find out about new compromises in general. the evolution of this passive monitoring to a new active monitoring service is called email watchdog, which

keeps an eye out for your email address and password, and will immediately notify you if they are compromised in any future breaches that [they] identify.

you can sign up to watch up to 10 email addresses for free.

migrating your whatsapp message history

i've had to change/use a different phone a few times since becoming rather dependent on whatsapp, "a cross-platform mobile messaging app which allows you to exchange messages without having to pay for SMS." in the past, i've considered it "too hard" to move the message history with a new installation. this time round, in preparing to send my currently primary phone in for repairs, i tried to figure it out on my own. it didn't work... the correct solution is actually pretty easy but dependent on a specific order of steps. nobody will keep using the same phone forever, so this will come in handy sooner or later.

household hazardous waste disposal

when it comes to household hazardous waste, there's some handy information on brisbane city council's website about what sorts of things you can and can't dispose of via the normal rubbish bin collection. according to this page, it's important to know how to dispose of such waste properly, because:

1. disposing of them improperly (eg. via the rubbish bin) creates a hazard for waste collectors, sorters, and the environment.
2. not disposing of them at all (ie. keeping them in your home) creates a hazard for yourself or others who may come into contact with them.

some tips i was able to make use of recently in relation to this topic:

• small amounts of paint can be disposed by pouring the paint over newspaper and left to dry, then the newspaper thrown into the bin (as per pics below)
• the now empty paint tin (with minimal residual paint) can be recycled / thrown in the recycling bin
• CFLs and flourescent tubes can be thrown into the rubbish bin if wrapped in newspaper or put in the original box (or the box your replacement bulb/tube came in).

Initial pouring of paint

Paint spread out to dry