Over at the Magic Cafe, which, by the way, is celebrating its 4th year in operation this month, there are quite a few interesting items of note:

* There's a new thread about memorizing Pi.

* Another memory thread I mentioned earlier has some new updates. Dr. Wilson describes an excellent routine he recently performed, in which he remembers the phone numbers, birthdays and names of people attending the function. If you have to ask why it got the great reactions he describes, then a quick review of Dale Carnegie's principles should be in order.

Update (9/9/05): Richard Osterlind just added a great story about how memory technique got him out of an awkward situation.

* Cafe member Jean-Denis, in this Cafe post, announces his new mnemonics program (currently PC only), which helps increase the speed with which you memorize numbers. Jean-Denis mentions that he was able to increase his speed 50% in one week!

* For those who work with memorized stacks, Cafe member Nick Pudar offers his "StackView" program (also currently PC only), which allows you to see the effects of almost any manipulation of a standard deck, without having to test and re-set a real deck. For those who have Mnemonica, this is a wonderful tool for exploring "The Eight Mnemonicas".