I know a few that’ll want to buy those again . check them out at Arabic Cartoons.
Friday, December 09, 2005
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Setting up the table.
This might help me earn some points with my wife. Apparently etiquette does not take into account that tables actually need to have space for food.
from J-walk.
the Alibi Network
Do you need a RESCUE call to be made at any time from any number?
Do you need us to make a phone call, but want the phone call to appear from Paris? With the Paris number showing up on the caller id of the intended party?
Are you in Dubai, but telling your partner you are in Tokyo? Would you like to have us assign a Tokyo number to you, receive the phone call on your behalf and forward it to your number in Dubai?
Do you want to create an impression that you are staying in a certain hotel anywhere in the world? Complete with the 24 hr hotel receptionist confirming your stay.
check it out at : http://alibinetwork.com/index.jsp
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
How Fast Can You Type The Aplphabet ?
you think you’re fast until you see a high-score of 1 second ! I got 3.8.
try it out at http://frenzy.morpheme.co.uk/frenzy/
Saturday, November 12, 2005
Interactive U.S. was timeline
An interactive U.S. war timeline.
This is an archive of 163 US interventions, a multi-faceted catalogue of coups, humanitarian incursions, covert actions, proxy armies, freedom fighters/terrorists and multilateral offensives. Out of this legacy, a complex picture emerges.
via J-walk
Friday, November 04, 2005
Ad - Laundry Wheels !
“There are laundrettes in the wheels of a taxi, complete with laundry and soap. It's a really nice way to get attention to the product, by using outdoor opportunities. “
Noah Arc Questions
I got three wrong on Noah’s quiz. enlightening on the number of animals on the arc !
via j-walkblog.com
Face Memory Test
I didn’t wait through the parts. scored 95% on recognition and 78% on temporal.
via J-walkblog
Monday, October 31, 2005
Finding Free Photos
a list of great resources for free photographs, for example a Hungarian site called Stock Exchange …
Pumpkin Gang
More pumpkins: Pumpkin Way. This is another one of those cutting-edge horizontal scroll sites.
Saturday, October 29, 2005
3D Steregrams.
Some people hate these things. I don't. Single Image Stereograms Gallery.
This is the first time I've seen Stereogram Movies.
via j-walkblogEthnic Slurs. insults a-la-carte.
Courtesy of Wikipedia: a handy list of ethnic slurs.
The following is a list of ethnic slurs that are, or have been, used to refer to members of a given ethnicity (or in some cases, nationality, region or religion) in a derogatory or pejorative manner. The term is listed, followed by its primary user(s) and a definition.
Warning: Some of these are really offensive.
A few examples that are new to me:
- Babaloo - (North America) a Cuban American - after the nightclub and phrase associated with Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz)
- Hamburger Heifer - (U.S.) term for an obese young woman from the Midwest - pun on the budget food product Hamburger Helper and Heifer (a young cow)
- Mackerel snapper - (Protestant North American) a Roman Catholic (reference to fish on Fridays)
- Porch Honky - (U.S.) lazy white person
- Urkel - (U.S.) a black man that acts like a geek, from Steve Urkel, a major character on the TV show Family Matters
via j-walkblog
Soda Eruption. Your mom will love it.
Sunday, June 12, 2005
Be Prepared... Baden-Powell quotes.
”No one can pass through life, any more than he can pass through a bit of country, without leaving tracks behind, and those tracks may often be helpful to those coming after him in finding their way.” Sir Robert Baden-Powell.
if you’ve walked the path and know what a cabestan is, you’ll like more of his quotes on wikiquote.
X-rays of kids who swallowed toys.
Mark Frauenfelder:
Pat York says: "Here is a series of X-rays showing stuff kids have swallowed including ni-cad batteries, open safety pins, coins. My favorite? X-ray of a kid's stomach with all the pieces of a magnetic toy re-aligned after he's swallowed them one by one." <via Boing Boing> X-rays of kids who swallowed toys and coins
… Link
Tetris shaped filing system
Mark Frauenfelder: 
Inhabitat writes about a shelving system made from modular Tetris shaped boxes. They look really nice. Tetris Shelving <via Boing Boing> … (Thanks, Dan!) via
Inhabitat writes about a shelving system made from modular Tetris shaped boxes. They look really nice. Tetris Shelving <via Boing Boing> … (Thanks, Dan!) via
Sunday, May 08, 2005
Satellite image of Dubai's Projects. Spectacular !
 | "Never before have projects of this magnitude been imagined, let alone undertaken." |
Dubai : The Corporate Office, Dubai Government, and property developer Nakheel have won global recognition for The Palm and The World.
via Gulf News
Seven sins.... Potatoed.
 | Here's another version of the seven sins but now in Mr. Potatohead words. |
via Boing Boing.
USBarbie... girly geeky.
that’s one way to introduce kids to technology. Lipstick USB anyone ?
 | Cory Doctorow: This is the bestest Barbie doll mod ever: a doll with a USB keychain drive in her chest, with a pop-off head that reveals the USB prongs sticking out of her neck. Link (via Boing Boing via Gizmodo) |
Friday, May 06, 2005
Skyline Ranking.
Emporis has a list of the top 100 skylines in the world: Skyline Ranking. Guess what ? Dubai ranks 36.
This listing ranks cities by the visual impact of their skylines. It is drawn entirely from statistics in this website's database, and reflects only completed high-rise buildings as defined by the Emporis Data Committee (EDC). This calculation does not include TV towers, masts, bridges, or other structures.
About the formula: Each building is assigned points based on its floor count (see the table to the right). The point total for each city is calculated automatically and displayed.
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
Fly to Vote.... Group prices.
For those of you who wanted to travel to Beirut (to vote or not to vote)...
Born in Lebanon in the 40ies, 50ies, 60ies, 70ies, 80ies, you lived abroad, were brought up abroad, and you visit home every now and then since the booming 90ies? On Monday March, 14th 2005 you felt frustrated of not being part of those millions citizens claiming for FREEDOM? And for 2 months now, you keep wondering and looking all over the place for something to do for your country?
Be an active actor for a future independent and sovereign Lebanon: go there and vote for next elections!
As we can't have the elections done in our embassies, and as it might take time to get that Right one day, let's go and take part of the elections in Lebanon!
He's the Man.
mail received from a friend. Well done E.
Because I'm a ManBecause I'm a man, when the car isn't running very well, I will pop the hood and stare at the engine as if I know what I'm looking at. If another man shows up, one of us will say to the other, "I used to be able to fix these things, but now with all these computers and everything, I wouldn't know where to start." We will then drink beer and break wind as a form of Holy Communion.
Because I'm a man, when I catch a cold, I need someone to bring me soup and take care of me while I lie in bed and moan. You're a woman. You never get as sick as I do, so for you this isn't a problem.
Because I'm a man, I can be relied upon to purchase basic groceries at the store, like milk or bread. I cannot be expected to find exotic items like "cumin" or "tofu." For all I know, these are the same thing. And never, under any circumstances, expect me to pick up anything for which "feminine hygiene product" is a euphemism. (F.Y.I. guys cumin is a spice and not a bodily function)
Because I'm a man, when one of our appliances stops working, I will insist on taking it apart, despite evidence that this will just cost me twice as much, once the repair person gets here and has to put it back together.
Because I'm a man, I must hold the television remote control in my hand while I watch TV. If the thing has been misplaced, I may miss a whole show looking for it (though one time I was able to survive by holding a calculator)...applies to engineers mainly.
Because I'm a man, there is no need to ask me what I'm thinking about. The answer is always either sex, cars or football. I have to make up something else when you ask, so don't ask.
Because I'm a man, I do not want to visit your mother, or have your mother come visit us, or talk to her when she calls, or think about her any more than I have to. Whatever you got her for Mother's Day is okay; I don't need to see it. And don't forget to pick up something for my mother too.
Because I'm a man, you don't have to ask me if I liked the movie. Chances are, if you're crying at the end of it, I didn't.... and if you are feeling amorous afterwards...then I will certainly at least remember the name and recommend it to others.
Because I'm a man, I think what you're wearing is fine. I thought what you were wearing five minutes ago was fine, too. Either pair of shoes is fine. With the belt or without it, looks fine. Your hair is fine. You look fine. Can we just go now?
Because I'm a man, and this is, after all, the year 2005, I will share equally in the housework. You just do the laundry, the cooking, the cleaning, the vacuuming, and the dishes, and I'll do the rest... like looking for my socks, or like wandering around in the garden with a beer wondering what to do.
Restez Au Liban.
- Pour les premières amandes vertes que l'on croque, trempées de sel, et qui sonnent le glas de l'hiver,
- Pour l'arbuste du balcon que l'on croyait mort et qui refleurit inexplicablement en décembre,
- Pour le grincement familier de la balançoire sur laquelle on s'assoupit, enivrés de soleil, dans le chant des cigales,
- Pour les klaxons « sauvages » d'un mariage d'été qui nous précipite pourtant tous au balcon pour voir si la mariée est belle,
- Pour ces tribus de parents qui attendent à l'aéroport le retour au pays de l'enfant prodigue, et qui arrivent toujours beaucoup trop tôt,
- Pour cette vieille mémé qu'on a refusé de mettre à l'asile malgré l'appartement de Beyrouth trop étroit, et que son fils continue d'embrasser chaque soir,
- Pour cette femme voilée qui fait, au mois de mai, le pèlerinage de notre dame du Liban « Harissa »,
- Pour le jeune policier du carrefour qui fait semblant de rêver quand on traverse un feu orange,
- Pour le « Ya hala » claironnant du steward qui nous accueille sur l'avion de Beyrouth,
- Pour cet automobiliste souriant en trois pièces cravate qui, un soir de Nouvel An très pluvieux, vous change votre pneu, sans rien vous demander,
- Pour ce soleil lumineux de janvier qui nous fait douter que la tempête terrifiante de tout à l'heure ait vraiment eu lieu,
- Pour la voix si triste de Feyrouz qui réveille en nous une âme enfouie de villageoise d'opérette,
- Pour l'odeur de la « mankouché » du matin qui est bien plus qu'une galette au thym, comme la traduit bêtement le dictionnaire,
- Pour ces cerises de juin si noires qu'elles colorent de violet les langues des enfants,
- Pour la maison d'en haut qu'on fait plus belle que l'autre, parce que c'est là qu'au soir de notre mort, on accueillera les gens du village,
- Pour les soirs de juin sur la terrasse, pour la vigne de septembre qui finit par nous offrir une grappe, pour les gardénias de mai,
- Pour l'odeur mouillée de la terre après la première pluie,
- Pour ne pas avoir froid, pour ne pas avoir peur, pour ne pas vivre seul, pour...
Pour tout cela ..... Restez au Liban
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
The world's first undersea restaurant
From Best Stuff: The World's First Undersea Restaurant Opens.
The first-ever undersea restaurant in the world has been introduced at the Hilton Maldives Resort & Spa. Ithaa sits five meters below the waves of the Indian Ocean, surrounded by a vibrant coral reef and encased in clear acrylic, offering diners 270 degrees of panoramic underwater views.
I wonder if they serve sushi?
via J-walk
Waistbank Stretcher
Waistband Stretcher
This product is a Great Idea Award Winner: Trouser Waistband Stretcher.
Don't forsake comfort when your waistline fluctuates. This waistband stretcher lets you add from one to five inches (dependent upon size of garment) to the waist of cotton pants and skirts. Just moisten the garments waistband, insert the waistband stretcher, extend the garment to the desired size and let dry. Stretcher is constructed of durable plastic, and can be adjusted to fit waistbands from 21 to 45 inches.
View other Great Idea Award Winners. via J-walk.
Quote of the Day
Sir Arthur Eddington
"We are bits of stellar matter that got cold by accident, bits of a star gone wrong."
"We are bits of stellar matter that got cold by accident, bits of a star gone wrong."
Taiwan's toilet bowl themed restaurant
Taiwan's toilet bowl themed restaurant
Mark Frauenfelder:
There's a restaurant in Taiwan called Toilet Bowl, and the decor uses lots of toilets everywhere.
Link (Thanks, Dennis!)
Mark Frauenfelder:
There's a restaurant in Taiwan called Toilet Bowl, and the decor uses lots of toilets everywhere. Link (Thanks, Dennis!)
Googlism ... a different Google ...
Googlism.com will find out what Google.com thinks of you, your friends or anything! Search for your name here or for a good laugh check out some of the popular Googlisms below. link. via J-walk.
If you've ever wanted to watch how a website gets created.
I have often wondered what it would be like to see a web site design progress from start to finish, with each tweak and change being shown as it progresses—a design timeline, if you will.
Sunday, May 01, 2005
Saturday, April 30, 2005
A Welsh View: How Long Do You Spend Blogging?
A Welsh View: How Long Do You Spend Blogging?
A question to the bloggers who read my site? On average, how long do you devote to blogging each day? That includes finding/thinking of material to blog about and actually composing posts.
I spend far too much time blogging - probably around 3 hours plus a day - and it starts to become difficult when you have programming assignments to do and lectures to attend (who knows what things will be like when I start working again). I'm always looking for ways to streamline things but I guess it just takes a long time to read a load of different blogs/sites.
New Pope's old car on eBay
Cory Doctorow: Pope Ratzinger's Cardinalmobile -- the VW Golf he drove when he was a mere Cardinal -- is up for sale on eBay. Link (via Monochrom)
Cory Doctorow: Pope Ratzinger's Cardinalmobile -- the VW Golf he drove when he was a mere Cardinal -- is up for sale on eBay. Link (via Monochrom)
7m-high electrical garbage statue made from one Briton's lifetime's waste
Cory Doctorow:
The Weee Man is a 7m-high, 3.3-tonne sculptural humaniod gracing London's South Bank, made entirely from waste electrical and electronic products (hence "weee"). The 3.3 tonne weight represents the total mass of WEEE that the average Briton junks in her or his lifetime, so it's not just pretty and awesome: it's also thought-provoking. Link wanna look like a doll ? or have a doll's look ? the eyes .
Tokyo teens have come to admire the outsize peepers on hand-drawn heroines. "The bigger the character's eyes, the cuter they look," says 15-year-old Yumi Koba. And now, thanks to Share Generate's Nadesicco Black, emulating Sailor Moon is no longer a dream. Because the lenses are nonprescription, schoolgirls can even order them - like everything else - via cell phone. Link via Boing Boing.
Car Smashes into second floor of house.
David Pescovitz: Last night, a car flew from the street into the top floor of a house in Basingstoke, Hants, England and dropped back to the ground. The driver and passenger were seriously injured but are in stable condition. Police say the car hit a curb and "launched through the air."
Link . via Boing BoingJoyce Harman told BBC News how she and her husband Joe were woken by the crash.
"It was just horrendous," she said.
"My husband thought the dog had knocked something over downstairs but as he got to the bedroom door he could see the hole in the wall and all the furniture moved.
"That's when we came downstairs and saw the car there."
Seven... the sins.
The thoughts that creep in the back of your head. you’ve heard yourself a million times. well, you’re not alone. some people even posted them. Not Proud.
JAS: Arabic Star Names
JAS: Arabic Star Names : Many star names are of Arabic origin, most of which were used by other nations in the past following almost the same Arabic nomenclature, and many of which have survived in modern scientific astronomical atlases. Link.
Friday, April 29, 2005
Quote of the Day :
Quote of the Day : "Sometimes when you look in his eyes you get the feeling that someone else is driving." David Letterman
Thursday, April 28, 2005
Wealth-Lab Technical Analysis, Charting and Trading Systems : the first interactive trading system development laboratory on the web. Develop and back test your own stock market trading systems, and explore the systems contributed by other members. We rank all submitted trading systems monthly, so you see which strategies are working best in the current market conditions. Link
The Code Project - Stepper Motor Control through Parallel Port - VB / VBScript : The article is on stepper motor, reaching ports, and controlling it. The article allows you to control speed, direction, and step size of a stepper motor. If you are interested in robotics, motion control, or just want to learn about this widely used motor in almost every electronic gadget like floppy drives, printer, scanner, robots, every device; then you should try building this versatile stepper motor control. Link
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
The Pricelessware list is a compilation of software collected through a yearly vote by the participants of the "alt.comp.freeware" newsgroup. It is a list of what people have voted as "the best of the best in Freeware". Link
Grant Robinson : Guess-the-google launcher : After creating Montage-a-google, several people wrote to me suggesting I make a game based on the same technology. Montage-a-google is a simple web app that uses Google's image search to generate a large gridded montage of images based on keywords (search terms) entered by the user. Guess-the-google reverses this process by picking the keywords for you, the player must then guess what keyword made up the image - it's surprisingly addictive…. Link
Just how upfront with you is the banking representative who helps you open an account? Chances are he or she tells you about the various products and services the bank offers. You may even receive a list of fees or be directed to the bank's Web site to see the list. We thought we'd fill you in on things you won't be told, but you might find out over time.
Monday, April 25, 2005
Perfectionist, huh ?
The 80% solution
I'm always interested (since I want to be a Slacker Manager too) in what constitutes a "complete" job or project. What I mean is - when is "done" done enough?
The best example I can give of this is an old sales mantra which instructs sales people to do just enough to win and no more. Any more work or effort beyond what it takes to win is lost and cannot be recovered. I look at this as a corollary to Pareto's rule. His rule of course has usually been stated that 20% of the people do 80% of the work. What I want to know is - how often does 80% of the work constitute enough of a solution to declare a project or effort complete?
This should be of great interest to people who have a passion for productivity, and for those who want to extend the minimum amount of effort to be successful in any endeavor. I have a collaborator who can quite honestly take over an hour to write a 20 line email. Now, that email is a humdinger of an email, but it leaves me wondering if that email couldn't have been written in 10 minutes, and my colleague have moved on to other work. Was the additional 50 minutes of editing and re-arranging words really that valuable?
Don't get me wrong - I am not advocating cutting corners or doing less than a complete job on any piece of work - from an email to a major project. But I am suggesting that we often lard up an effort with unnecessary and extraneous steps and meetings and documents that don't add much to the final product. Part of this, I am sure, comes from the fact that too often we can't define with much certainty what the end goal or the deliverable should look like, so we are forced to toss in some other stuff just in case. Additionally, I think many people believe they should be rewarded for giving 110% percent and demonstrating that by additional frills in a project. Finally, there's a real difference of opinion between the 80 percenters (like me) and the 110 percenters about what constitutes a completed assignment.
When people work for me, I encourage them to do the absolute minimum to achieve the best deliverable they can as quickly as possible, and no more. I'd much rather have a good, quick, clean deliverable in a short time frame than a perfect one that never gets delivered.
What do you think? I'd like to hear from the perfectionists who may disagree with this assessment. Working with people who have a different take on this issue is probably one of the most challenging interpersonal issues in my workplace. When can we declare a project "complete enough"? What is gained by going further than necessary? What's the best way to work with and manage a perfectionist?
One Throat to Choke
One Throat to Choke
I climb up on my soapbox today with a slightly different outlook and thoughts about productivity. Coming into work today I was locked out of my building. Not because I forgot my keys or my card key, but because it's Daylight Savings Time and the folks who manage our building did not program the card reader for Daylight Savings Time. Now, this is not the first problem we've had with our building management firm, but it led me to think about working productively with others.
The biggest challenge to working with our building management firm, and with many other firms, is that there is not "One throat to choke". This is another colorful phrase I picked up from my time in sales. What it means is that the customer doesn't really care if there are several groups or business functions involved in providing a solution, as long as the customer gets to interact and beat up on one person who owns the problem of making the customer happy.
Our building management firm has one person responsible for security and grounds, one for janitorial, one for HVAC and so forth. There is no multi-disciplinary account manager we can work with. While this organization may be great for the building management firm, it stinks when we work with it, since there is no one overriding person worried about making us happy.
I don't think these guys are an isolated case. Many businesses I work with are not organized to work successfully and productively with customers. A good case in point is my bank. There's a person responsible for checking, a person responsible for savings, a person responsible for investments and a different person responsible to work with me if I want loans. No one person in that bank understands my value as a customer and the way they are organized gets in the way of doing business with them. In fact, sometimes their organization gets in the way of working with me, since the folks who managed my established accounts (like checking or investments) are worried that the folks who are trying to sell me new services (like an equity loan) will screw up the relationship.
What I want from organizations that I work with is one throat to choke. I want them to organize in a way that treats my needs and requirements as a customer as paramount. I frankly don't care how they are organized internally or what the bureaucracy or politics looks like. What I want is one face to the customer and one person who owns my problems. The challenge is that many firms look at an account management position such as this as "overhead". What it provides to the customer is faster response, and the security in the knowledge that someone is working to represent your needs and interests. This helps me work more quickly and efficiently, and hopefully get answers faster.
I've asked you to staple yourself to an order to see how your internal processes work. How about the choke-ability of your firm? What would your external customers say its like working with your firm? How about internally? Is it easy to find and share information across business units or functions? Do people understand that "that's not my area or not my job" is not an acceptable answer?
Leadership is situational
Leadership is situational
I realized after my post yesterday that I had more to write about leaders and managers. My point in all of this is the press and the American public tend to praise "leaders" and ignore or put down managers. Both are crucial, yet almost all we read about are the Enron types or the Jack Welch types. Do we really need another Jack Welch book?
Anyway, I thought I would add to my differences list from yesterday.
1. Leaders worry about WHAT should be done, managers worry about HOW it should be done. Leaders often don't understand what it takes to actually accomplish something. In many cases this is good, since they overcome what had been perceived to be roadblocks. Managers are usually the people who figure out how to accomplish something once the direction is set. A leader without effective managers is constantly pointing to the future but never getting anywhere.
2. Leadership is situational while management is a core discipline. There is no one effective leadership "style" but all good managers work to some common core principles. It's been suggested that leadership is innate, something we are born with, yet there are many successful leaders with very different styles. Compare George Bush and Bill Clinton, or Eisenhower or Patton. Many different styles of leadership can be successful given the circumstances. Look to Krispy Kreme. The new CEO there is a "turn around specialist". I think leadership is demonstrated differently in different situations and contexts. Managers, however, have common tools and goals. A good manager defines the work for his team, ensures everyone is aware of the goals and expectations, builds project plans to help people manage the work, and constantly seeks to provide the help and support the team needs to be successful.
3. Leaders are the bull horns but managers are the translators. Leaders talk a lot, to customers, to shareholders, to partners and to the financial community. Most leaders of businesses today have defined their roles as Mr or Mrs Outside - talking to the press and building the visibility of the business. Managers hear and understand what the leaders are saying and try to translate that into actions for their teams. Managers attempt to parse the instructions and goals, breaking down the larger vision into actions that people can actually begin to do.
In my mind, leaders and managers in an organization are important, but I can run a business with three or four competent managers and no real "leader", but I certainly can't run a business with several "leaders" and no managers. After the downsizing of the eighties and nineties, we've eliminated a significant portion of mid-management. The attention we pay to the CEO has escalated while the pay scale has gone through the roof. Yet quietly and efficiently, the folks who get stuff done everyday are still not given the credit or attention they deserve, and the pay has not increased much at the manager level - at least not anywhere near the way we compensate CEOs or other well-publicized leaders.
OK - off my soapbox and back to more productivity and innovation focused posts in the near future. Just had to get that off my chest.
When is a team not a team
When is a team not a team?
Here's a quick joke for context - When is a door not a door? When it's ajar.
When is a team not a team? When the goals, objectives and expectations of the members of the team aren't the same. Then, the "team" is merely a collection of people who have different agendas.
We are working with one such "team" right now. The dynamics are very interesting.
This team was nominally brought together to investigate some shortcomings in their current systems and to recommend new applications and systems to improve productivity. However, rather than adopt a common goal and set of expectations, each person has brought their own ideas and biases to the table.
One person is convinced that there is no problem with the current way of doing things. One person is convinced that all the team needs is to do what he suggests and that all other discussion is useless. One person has locked on to a large and expensive software application because the vendor told him it would meet his needs, which aren't the needs of the group. Another person in the team wants to implement several applications or custom solutions to solve several point problems and is not worried about integration. None of these folks has the vision to define the goals beyond their own special interests or needs.
Now, this may be a team in name, but it's not a team in spirit or outcome. Everyone is out to defend turf, to take on as few new responsibilities as possible and to get only what they want out of any new system with as few compromises as possible. No, this is not a kindergarten class but an actual example of a set of professionals who were supposed to be a team, but have not decided to work together yet for the common good.
Before you laugh or point fingers, ask yourself - are teams in our organization really that different? What common visions and goals do teams in our organization share? Are teams united for success across all members and functions of the team?
Successful teamwork is about getting everyone on the team, as much as possible, to work for the common good of the team and the organization, leaving aside as much as possible their personal or functional biases and "wins" to get what's best for the team and organization as a whole. Teams function very well when they have common goals and ideals, and not at all when they don't.
What we have in the team we are working with right now is simply a collection of individuals who are seeking to optimize their own personal agendas and goals rather than improve the working environment for the organization as a whole. The leadership of this organization is going to have to step in soon to force some goodwill and corporate goals on this group, or this will become a circular firing squad.
When is a team not a team? When it has no common objectives or goals.
Wealth-Lab Technical Analysis, Charting and Trading Systems
Wealth-Lab Technical Analysis, Charting and Trading Systems
Wealth-Lab.comTM, the first interactive trading system development laboratory on the web. Develop and back test your own stock market trading systems, and explore the systems contributed by other members. We rank all submitted trading systems monthly, so you see which strategies are working best in the current market conditions
Head in the Clouds
The Cloud Appreciation Society
At The Cloud Appreciation Society we love clouds, we're not ashamed to say it and we've had enough of people moaning about them
Death by Internet
Death By Internet
From MediaDaily News: I Link, Therefore I am.
A WEST NYACK, N.Y. MAN was found dead at his computer apparently the victim of trying to keep up with too many professional forums. Childress H. Wanamaker, 54, an account executive at a New York-based new media company, died of starvation according to the West Nyack coroner's office. Wanamaker's emaciated body was found by Loraine, his wife of 26 years, who told MediaPost she had been bringing her husband meals on plastic trays for weeks, but that he never took the time to eat them.
"He was glued to his computer 24/7," she said tearfully. "He was so afraid he was going to miss an opportunity to contribute a comment or start a discussion, that he just stopped eating."
This part sounds familiar:
Computer forensic specialists reported that there was no order or continuity to Wanamaker's forum postings. "It looks like he just sort of randomly commented on whatever was in the discussion string at the time," said Stephen Hall, CUNY-Cortland adjunct professor of intemperate and impulsive behavior.
Sunday, April 24, 2005
al moutafawwikoun equivalent.
Mentat: Wiki on becoming a better thinker
This wiki is a collaborative environment for exploring ways to become a better thinker. Topics that can be explored here include MemoryTechniques, MentalMath, CriticalThinking, BrainStorming, ShorthandSystems, NotebookSystems, and SmartDrugs. Other relevant topics are also welcome. How have you made yourself smarter?
Since I’m under a bit of a deadline today, I’m going to just link to this site and reluctantly walk away, for now; so many fascinating tricks, heuristics, and mental parlor tricks. I’ll definitely be coming back to learn the calendar feat and the Dominic system.
(In other news, I really wish I were just being schticky when I say that I remember virtually nothing from the 7-week Mnemonics class I had in college. Seriously. Nada.)
Friday, April 22, 2005
Thursday, April 21, 2005
Sushi with an attitude
04/20/05 - Fuku Sushi
Last Sunday in Japantown, San Francisco, CA.
I dined there once before. A very decent restaurant, well, with aindecent catchy name.
Last Sunday in Japantown, San Francisco, CA.
I dined there once before. A very decent restaurant, well, with a
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Nerd scale : I ranked 64. where are you ?
NerdTests.com Fun Tests - Nerd Quiz
definitely a nerd but low on the totem pole of nerds
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Monday, April 18, 2005
Running Schedule. for everybody. other than me.
http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml
Too many people have been turned off of running simply by trying to start off too fast. Their bodies rebel, and they wind up miserable, wondering why anyone would possibly want to do this to themselves.You should ease into your running program gradually. In fact, the beginners' program we outline here is less of a running regimen than a walking and jogging program. The idea is to transform you from couch potato to runner, getting you running three miles (or 5K) on a regular basis in just two months
Sunday, April 17, 2005
Friday, April 15, 2005
blork blog: How to freeze cilantro (Kizebra)
blork blog: How to freeze cilantro
You buy a bundle at the market and it wilts within a few days. It's not like Italian parsley, which will stay green and alert for a week or more in a pot of water placed in a sunny window. So what do you do when your $1.29 buys you more cilantro than you'll normally use in two months — but you have only two or three days in which to use it?
Concrete Light Bulbs
Concrete lightbulb
I don't know art, but I know what I like. Recently, I found myself taking a shine to lightbulbs. I don't remember exactly what started the whole lightbulb thing, but when it was all over
I don't know art, but I know what I like. Recently, I found myself taking a shine to lightbulbs. I don't remember exactly what started the whole lightbulb thing, but when it was all over
The Onion | Cost Of Living Now Outweighs Benefits
The Onion | Cost Of Living Now Outweighs Benefits
http://www.finkbuilt.com/blog
Monday, April 11, 2005
Lorem Ipsum - All the facts - Lipsum generator
Lorem Ipsum - All the facts - Lipsum generator
The template text demystified.
Your personal assistant. You.
Keeping It Personal
How do you make a “trusted system”, the term David Allen uses to denote a planning and organisational system which can be relied upon to contain your events, tasks, projects and thoughts? It’s easy to get carried away in tweaking productivity methodologies, but mind like water is only achieved when such a system is fully implemented and consulted on a day-to-day basis. One of the biggest obstacles for many people, myself included, is how to create a system that is always there, at the ready, and worthy of your trust.
When I was in high school and university, I used to keep journals. Not only did I write rather copiously about all my daily happenings, my far-fetched ideas and my roller-coaster relationships, but I’d also sketch, write lists, insert my favourite new photographs, tape in interesting clippings from newspapers, practise other languages, and so on. For years, I was never without my journal.
After university, I joined the regular work force and started lugging around a day planner instead of a journal. I had every intention of doing everything “by the book” and figuring out how to use all the fancy forms to organise my life and job. I started by entering all my personal and work information into the planner, buying special inserts and folders, and stuffing it with every conceivable type of professional form.
Gradually, though, my enthusiasm began to slip away into apathy. Soon, I rarely carried around the planner. I wrote people’s addresses on stickies and stuck them to the monitor, with the intention of later entering them into my contact sheets. Things to be done, I tried to memorise, believing I could remember them when the time came. Project details degenerated into loose notes jotted on the back of meeting agendas. And my calendar was scattered thoughout my planner, digital PIMs, various stickies, a “motivational” wall calendar, and random scraps of paper (usually crumpled in pockets or lost in manuals).
Obviously, it didn’t take long before I recognised a problem. As Mr. Allen points out, I had no system I could trust. And I had no system I could trust, because I didn’t have a convenient system at hand that felt like an extension of myself and my work habits.
The past dozen years have been a learning experience, trying dozens of different systems in an effort to find one suitable for me. Being a web professional, most of the systems have been web-based or at least digital in some way. But none of them were particularly streamlined for my usage habits, nor were they where I needed, when I needed them. Even lightning-fast Graffiti skills on the Palm tended to seriously cramp my hands after a half-page.
Lately, I’ve finally decided to settle upon a paper-based system, which is what we techies refer to as analog. (This is obviously no surprise to anyone who has poked around this site, as this was the main motivator behind the whole D*I*Y Planner.) Between the Getting Things Done methodology, the forms I designed and the processes I tweaked, my productivity and project planning skills have never been better.
But there was still one missing piece to the puzzle. What would make me carry around the planner, and use it as my “trusted system”? Mind you, once a planner hits critical mass and contains all your pertinent information, you tend to carry it anyway because it becomes essential to your life. The problem is, how can you keep it handy and employ it as a trusted system long enough to get to this stage?
For this, I decided to… uh… “borrow a page” from my journal days: when a planner becomes a personal extension of my life, rather than a simple collection of work-related information, I feel better about carrying it with me wherever I go. It literally becomes a piece of me that I feel somewhat empty without.
Getting to this stage is not very difficult, but it means using a planner in ways that often don’t seem obvious to those people using a daily planner for business reasons. Each night, I curl up with my Day Runner and a smooth-writing Pilot G-2 pen and open it up to the Notes (or “Inbox”) section. I use simple plain or unlined paper, because I don’t want a tightly structured form to restrict my free thinking. And I write. I doodle. I make lists of ideas. I play around with concepts. I note interesting news items that might make good stories some day. I make anagrams. I brainstorm design ideas. I note events that, in several years time, will serve up memories of moments potentially forgotten. I write things that are important to me. I write frivolous things. In short, I make the planner personal. I make it mine.
Going to a cafe? Bring it with you and doodle the likeness of the person behind the counter. Going to be caught in traffic? Scribble down a few ideas about what albums you want to get. Grabbing a bite in a restaurant? Jot down the twenty things you want to do before you die. Watching a little TV? During the commercials, write down the list of places you’d like to go for a vacation. Waiting at the doctor’s office? Note ten things you could do on a daily basis to live a healthier life. And so on.
Some of these items will no doubt become projects and objectives someday, but don’t think about that now. Download your brain, express yourself, and worry about structure later. Not only does this jive with GTD, it forges a strong personal connection with your planner. And that’s a vital part of building trust.
For all those people who haven’t yet got into the spirit of toting a planner, I invite you to do one or more of the following:
- Every night, write down a list of ten things. Use the following to get you started:
- 10 things I want people to say about me at my funeral
- 10 books I’ve always wanted to read, but didn’t
- 10 things to do every day to be healthier
- 10 best films I’ve ever seen
- 10 things I can do to help my career
- 10 ideas for a time travel story
- 10 happiest moments of my life
- 10 worst moments of my life
- 10 of my greatest strengths
- 10 of my greatest weaknesses
- 10 things I find exciting/sexy/sensual
- 10 other lists I can write
- Draw one picture a day. (If you’re not an artist, don’t worry: after all, you can only get better.)
- Keep your planner near the bed. Write down any dream you remember as soon as you wake up. (If you are in a rush, put down some keywords and elaborate when you can.) Analyse it, if you can.
- Carry around at least one photograph in your planner that is meaningful to you, and you can show people.
- Carry around at least one photograph in your planner that is meaningful to you, and you cannot show other people. (Nothing too incriminating!)
- Keep a receipt envelope or folder in your planner, and keep clippings of news or magazine articles that speak to you in some way. Each month, read them and transfer to your filing cabinet.
- Keep a tab called Journal in your planner, and keep your personal writings, sketches and ideas there. Clean out every couple of weeks (or 20 pages, whichever comes first) and store the pages in a safe place.
- Make personal writing a daily habit. Put aside fifteen distraction-free minutes a day to write in your planner.
If you’ve never felt a bond with your planner before, I suggest building one. Not only will it become your trusted system, a safekeeper of schedules and tasks, but an omnipresent companion which transcends mere productivity and serves as the caretaker of your thoughts, desires and aspirations. You more effort you put into it, the more important a role it plays in your life.
Keep it handy, keep it personal.
gapingvoid: the hughtrain - the new you.
http://www.gapingvoid.com/Moveable_Type/archives/000823.html
Quote of the Day
James Branch Cabell
"The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears this is true."
"The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears this is true."
Quote of the Day
Sidney J. Harris
"A cynic is not merely one who reads bitter lessons from the past, he is one who is prematurely disappointed in the future."
"A cynic is not merely one who reads bitter lessons from the past, he is one who is prematurely disappointed in the future."
Quote of the Day
Alec Bourne
"It is possible to store the mind with a million facts and still be entirely uneducated."
"It is possible to store the mind with a million facts and still be entirely uneducated."
Sunday, April 10, 2005
Dynamism.com - Sushi Disk
http://www.army.mil/cmh/books/wac/appendix-d.htm
For the nerdy gourmets like moi, wasabi not included.
Active Papers
http://www.army.mil/cmh/books/wac/appendix-d.htm
Wish I had those when I was still in school…
PookMail.com - disposable email account
Step 1 : When someone ask you for your email address, just pick one from @pookmail.com.
Example: dontbotherme@pookmail.com
Step 2 : Wait while the email is coming in.
Step 3 : Login to PookMail.com typing dontbotherme a the the login form, and click GO
Step 4 : After 24 hours, your received emails will be deleted from the system.
http://www.dynamism.com/sushidisk/
Friday, February 04, 2005
Quote
Quote of the day
"In nature, there are neither punishments nor rewards - there are consequences."
Chinese Proverb
Thursday, February 03, 2005
Quote of the day
"Don't worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you."
Robert Fulghum
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
