Something tells me this talk would take an American woman half the time to deliver... what could be the reason?
http://www.ted.com/talks/rose_george_inside_the_secret_shipping_industry.htmlhttp://www.ted.com/talks/rose_george_inside_the_secret_shipping_industry.html
Takeaways :
Habitat of the North Atlantic Whale has been reduced 90%. Why? These sea geniuses can communicate over an entire ocean (yes, you're talking a thousand or more miles!) and can be drowned out by a container ship.
The 15 largest ships in the world cause as much pollution as all the cars in the world put together! So much for peaceful well-behaved Scandinavians! They're the scum! Look at the list - no wonder Europeans are screaming about global warming - and pointing the finger at us. Coz they are the real culprits!
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Sunday, December 01, 2013
Wisdom from Ashley Merryman : Top Bitch - The Science of Competition
A fallacy about team performance : In order for the team to perform well, everyone must be friends. False! Research says it's the other way around. Relationship quality derives from team performance..
When teams are failing, the poor performance upsets their members and they vent their f on each other. When performance is good, no one cares about the friction. Members will even say their success was due to the cooperative style of the team, even when independent observers report that the team was quarreling most of the time. Some famous teams were known for their internal hostility : Abe Lincoln's "Team of Rivals", the Manhattan Project (really? evidence woman!), and the Mercury astronauts were "famously at one anothers' throats."
Constant harmony is actually cause for alarm (that's why Samsung gets screwed by AAPL every year - think Korean culture vs Steve Jobs' rodding). Conflict-free operation means no one is bringing anything to the table that might engender controversy. The team isn't focused on purpose - but rather on protecting relationships. In this case, the whole is less than the sum of the parts.
Hackman of Harvard : Research on 70+ US and EU orchestras - the better the orchestra sounded, the more likely there was rivalry and discord behind the scenes!
Teams are always seen as the panacea, and never as the problem.
Successful teams are always as small as possible to get the job done.
In a small team, people feel responsible for the project and have a sense of what everyone else is doing.
This becomes hard as the team size grows.
In great teams, teammates anticipate the others moods and needs. They don't need to be told what needs to be done.
Teams that struggle have meetings, lots of meetings. And in those meetings, they talk a lot.
Successful teams communicate in short, clear sentences and communication is reciprocal. Requests are made and then, there's a confirmation that a request has been received, understood and will be acted upon.
On struggling teams, communication is dominated by fewer people, making longer soliloquiys.
On great teams, teammates trust that each team member will do his best.
On struggling teams, team members worry about freeloaders, mates not working hard enough, or stealing credit for others' work - which leads them to work less harder themselves - think back to what Jobs said about keeping only A-players on your team..
What science has to offer - the important work in the building of the team happens before any teamwork happens at all..
Teams are always seen as the panacea, and never as the problem.
Successful teams are always as small as possible to get the job done.
In a small team, people feel responsible for the project and have a sense of what everyone else is doing.
This becomes hard as the team size grows.
In great teams, teammates anticipate the others moods and needs. They don't need to be told what needs to be done.
Teams that struggle have meetings, lots of meetings. And in those meetings, they talk a lot.
Successful teams communicate in short, clear sentences and communication is reciprocal. Requests are made and then, there's a confirmation that a request has been received, understood and will be acted upon.
On struggling teams, communication is dominated by fewer people, making longer soliloquiys.
On great teams, teammates trust that each team member will do his best.
On struggling teams, team members worry about freeloaders, mates not working hard enough, or stealing credit for others' work - which leads them to work less harder themselves - think back to what Jobs said about keeping only A-players on your team..
What science has to offer - the important work in the building of the team happens before any teamwork happens at all..
Forget Techion. Topcoder's Tutorials Take You All the Way
http://community.topcoder.com/tc?module=Static&d1=tutorials&d2=alg_index
 |
| Author | Title |
| lbackstrom | The Importance of Algorithms |
| antimatter | How To Dissect a TopCoder Problem Statement |
| Dumitru | How to Find a Solution |
| leadhyena_inran | Planning an Approach to a TopCoder Problem: - Section 1 - Section 2 |
| dimkadimon | Mathematics for TopCoders |
| lbackstrom | Geometry Concepts: - Section 1: Basic Concepts - Section 2: Line Intersection and its Applications - Section 3: Using Geometry in TopCoder Problems |
| gladius | Introduction to Graphs and Their Data Structures: - Section 1: Recognizing and Representing a Graph - Section 2: Searching a Graph - Section 3: Finding the Best Path through a Graph |
| supernova | Greedy is Good |
| Dumitru | Dynamic Programming: From novice to advanced |
Monday, November 18, 2013
Jacob Beningo : How to Hire a Good Programmer
Good programmers :
- Write structured, maintainable code
- Document their code in a clear manner
- Recognize and reuse design patterns
- Are passionate about writing code (find it fun)
- Never stop learning and honing skills
- Enjoy challenges
- Thoroughly test their work
- Are humble and adapt to change easily
- Strive for perfection but identify limits
Monday, November 11, 2013
Crappity : Punching Holes in Theory
The moving Gravity is founded on utter crap. Don't watch it - save your money. In fact, very few Hollywood movies are worth watching anymore.. Go for the old ones.
Here's the BS they're feeding us in Crappity :
Objects in the same orbit are traveling at different speeds - who can fall for such crap. "90 minutes - that's how much time we have" the idiot hoary Cloony croons. Really? First, if there's an explosion, and you're getting material coming at you, if it's at a faster pace than you're orbiting at, it's going to move into a different orbit!! Duh!! Then, what about the material that went the opposite way? If your theory is good, and a 50 year old woman can have legs like that without touching up the video, then the debris that went the other way should be coming at your in less than 90 minutes if you just took a hit from stuff that came at you 5 minutes after the collision.
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Boasting : Lumosity Word Bubbles
They said 1.6% of their users have made it to 15 tiles in Memory Matrix. How many have gotten 1800 in a word-bubbles prefix session?
Sunday, October 13, 2013
A Non-Crappy Gaussian Distribution Calculator
I'll save you grief and time. You want something accurate to 9 decimal places. That's my assumption.
If your range is symmetric, just do this : assume mean is 0, sigma is 1 (yes, normalize before you read further). Now, you want to know how many samples can be outside of -x,+x. How?
Go to to http://www.wolframalpha.com/ and enter erf( x / sqrt(2) )
Of course, having come here, you're smart enough to put your actual number instead of x.
If you want something that can't quite hack 10 digits, just go to
http://calculator.tutorvista.com/normal-distribution-calculator.html
Even the Solido genius Amit can't do better than this.
If your range is symmetric, just do this : assume mean is 0, sigma is 1 (yes, normalize before you read further). Now, you want to know how many samples can be outside of -x,+x. How?
Go to to http://www.wolframalpha.com/ and enter erf( x / sqrt(2) )
Of course, having come here, you're smart enough to put your actual number instead of x.
If you want something that can't quite hack 10 digits, just go to
http://calculator.tutorvista.com/normal-distribution-calculator.html
Even the Solido genius Amit can't do better than this.
Misao Okawa : Survivor of Japan's Feudal Age
After escaping a mounted-Samurai's sword-strike that almost sent her to the same place as O'ren Ishii, Misao-san lived to see it all - a vicious conquest of Japan's neighbours and an ignoble surrender to the Gaijin.
In the end, Japan is the victor - sort of. Someday I'll understand these people and what makes them tick.
Rumour has it she is concerned her kids won't last much longer since they're both over 90.
My link to a super centenarian : a close friend, now in her 60's told me (a couple years ago) that a lady-doctor her mother had taken her to, when she was a child, recently passed away at 111.
In the end, Japan is the victor - sort of. Someday I'll understand these people and what makes them tick.
Rumour has it she is concerned her kids won't last much longer since they're both over 90.
My link to a super centenarian : a close friend, now in her 60's told me (a couple years ago) that a lady-doctor her mother had taken her to, when she was a child, recently passed away at 111.
Sunday, October 06, 2013
Shame on You Thomas Sterner
It is not that the story can't be made short. It is that the making it short takes long. (Anon)
Shame on Thomas M. Sterner. Who the hell convinced this bum that he can write? What he can do is fill a page with words. Much better to be honest like John Maxwell "Think On These Things" - a lady once told he she loved that book because the chapters were so short. How did he get the idea to make the chapters so short? Lady, that was my first book. I didn't have anything more to write.
So, what should Thomas Sterner do? Apologize to humanity for wasting time. Life is so precious.
On his website, publish a page saying what the book contains :
Patience is needed to develop discipline. Discipline is needed to develop patience.
Work consciously on loving the process; detach yourself from the the outcome - the product.
When taking on a project, Simplify, chop into Small pieces, keep tasks Short, try to go Slow - deliberately.
Practise Do, Observe, Correct.
Learn from children, and set a good example for them.
Shame on Thomas M. Sterner. Who the hell convinced this bum that he can write? What he can do is fill a page with words. Much better to be honest like John Maxwell "Think On These Things" - a lady once told he she loved that book because the chapters were so short. How did he get the idea to make the chapters so short? Lady, that was my first book. I didn't have anything more to write.
So, what should Thomas Sterner do? Apologize to humanity for wasting time. Life is so precious.
On his website, publish a page saying what the book contains :
Patience is needed to develop discipline. Discipline is needed to develop patience.
Work consciously on loving the process; detach yourself from the the outcome - the product.
When taking on a project, Simplify, chop into Small pieces, keep tasks Short, try to go Slow - deliberately.
Practise Do, Observe, Correct.
Learn from children, and set a good example for them.
Saturday, October 05, 2013
Sleep-Painting
My first work of art created by my subconscious mind. While sleeping, I had this vision of a lonely flowering plant in a mountain landscape, in the early twilight hours. I repeated to myself carefully - gray, bright-green (the stem) and white flowers. Here, I hastily reproduce it in a couple minutes in M$ Paint. Doesn't do any justice to what I saw in my dream, but, goes to show that, if you can productively tap into your subconscious, there's a gold-mine waiting to be harvested..
On the 7000th Anniversary of an Extreme Culture
Quote from someone no longer living : "They can torture someone in boiling oil and then, 2 minutes later, sit for meditation. They have a cruel streak." This person got their info from reading Shogun by J. Clavell, so maybe it's partly unfair. The quote seems to apply to the aristocratic class. Fictionalized representations aside, we know from their behaviour in China and Korea and the islands during WWII that they needed (need?) work.
What made the Japs so cruel? In my simplistic view - it was evolutionary. Developing with unparalleled ethnic homogeneity on the islands gave them a clear understanding of the relationships between people and society and countries. The result was that people are the tools in building something great. If they see themselves as tools, what would they think of other people not related to them? No other culture had developed an intimacy with death as this one. The episode of the 37 ronin confirms it.
A paradox of life: The problem with patience and discipline is that developing each of them requires both of them.
What made the Japs so cruel? In my simplistic view - it was evolutionary. Developing with unparalleled ethnic homogeneity on the islands gave them a clear understanding of the relationships between people and society and countries. The result was that people are the tools in building something great. If they see themselves as tools, what would they think of other people not related to them? No other culture had developed an intimacy with death as this one. The episode of the 37 ronin confirms it.
A paradox of life: The problem with patience and discipline is that developing each of them requires both of them.
Lauren Starkey : Critical Thinking Skills
Good read - give it the prescribed 20 minutes a day and you're ready to go back 30 years in time and take the SAT again :)
Kidding - one thing I'm using from it in my daily life - webs - lists are useless - they don't help you organize the information easily in your mind. Graphic organizers are the key to success!
Kidding - one thing I'm using from it in my daily life - webs - lists are useless - they don't help you organize the information easily in your mind. Graphic organizers are the key to success!
Thomas Sterner - The Practising Mind : Developing Focus and Discipline in Your Life
The relentless self-improver finds :
Real peace and contentment in our lives come from realizing that life is a process to engage in, a journey down a path that we can choose to experience as magical.
The Practicing Mind is about remembering what you already know at some level and bringing that memory into the present, where it will both serve to place you on that path and empower you to partake in the journey. This book will reintroduce you to a process you followed to acquire a skill before you knew what process meant, and it will remind you that life itself is nothing more than one long practice session, an endless effort to refine the motions, both physical and mental, that compose our days.
_________ What would America be without its German component? :) ___________
A grand piano action (which is the entire keyboard mechanism) consists of 8,000 to 10,000 parts. There are 88 notes, with about 34 different adjustments per note. A piano has between 225 and 235 strings, each of which has a corresponding tuning pin that needs to be individually adjusted at least once during a single tuning. My point is obvious. Working on a piano is repetitious, tedious, and monotonous, to say the least. Everything you do to the instrument, you must do at least 88 times. This forces you to let go of everything but the most practical and efficient attitude toward the daily work that faces you in the shop and on the stage. If you do not possess at least a minimal level of discipline and patience, your anxiety and frustration will soar.
My purpose in detailing the repetitive nature and monotony of this work is to give you an appreciation of why, out of sheer survival, I began to develop an ability to get lost in the process of doing something. As difficult as the job was, its monotonous nature enabled me to spend my day alone with my thoughts. This afforded me the time to observe and evaluate what worked and what didn’t when coping with the nature of my trade.
Real peace and contentment in our lives come from realizing that life is a process to engage in, a journey down a path that we can choose to experience as magical.
The Practicing Mind is about remembering what you already know at some level and bringing that memory into the present, where it will both serve to place you on that path and empower you to partake in the journey. This book will reintroduce you to a process you followed to acquire a skill before you knew what process meant, and it will remind you that life itself is nothing more than one long practice session, an endless effort to refine the motions, both physical and mental, that compose our days.
_________ What would America be without its German component? :) ___________
A grand piano action (which is the entire keyboard mechanism) consists of 8,000 to 10,000 parts. There are 88 notes, with about 34 different adjustments per note. A piano has between 225 and 235 strings, each of which has a corresponding tuning pin that needs to be individually adjusted at least once during a single tuning. My point is obvious. Working on a piano is repetitious, tedious, and monotonous, to say the least. Everything you do to the instrument, you must do at least 88 times. This forces you to let go of everything but the most practical and efficient attitude toward the daily work that faces you in the shop and on the stage. If you do not possess at least a minimal level of discipline and patience, your anxiety and frustration will soar.
My purpose in detailing the repetitive nature and monotony of this work is to give you an appreciation of why, out of sheer survival, I began to develop an ability to get lost in the process of doing something. As difficult as the job was, its monotonous nature enabled me to spend my day alone with my thoughts. This afforded me the time to observe and evaluate what worked and what didn’t when coping with the nature of my trade.
Anna Vital Acknowledges My Favourites
I call this the ultimate graphic organizer. Lauren Starkey would weep with joy.
Heart : Early Warning Signs
http://www.caring.com/articles/surprising-signs-unhealthy-heart?utm_source=taboola
1. Trouble getting it and keeping it up - men
2. Snoring and sleep-breathing problems
3. Sore, swollen, bleeding gums
4. Puffy or swollen legs or feet
5. Shortness of breath, aching/itching shoulders, chest pains - duh!
1. Trouble getting it and keeping it up - men
2. Snoring and sleep-breathing problems
3. Sore, swollen, bleeding gums
4. Puffy or swollen legs or feet
5. Shortness of breath, aching/itching shoulders, chest pains - duh!
Hey! What happened to the crease on the earlobe thing?
To get to 2045 (According to Kurzie, if you live to 2045, you live forever) :
Eat :
1. Apples (Quercetin + anti-ox)
2. Chickpeas - garbanzo beans (soluble fibre - or, duh, just do what the Quakers do)
3. Almonds - magnesium + monounsaturated fat
4. Blueberries - antioxidants
5. Dark Chocolate - flavonoids
6. Grapes - anti-inflammtory + anti-ox
7. Figs - fibre
8. Walnuts - omega-3
To get to 2045 (According to Kurzie, if you live to 2045, you live forever) :
Eat :
1. Apples (Quercetin + anti-ox)
2. Chickpeas - garbanzo beans (soluble fibre - or, duh, just do what the Quakers do)
3. Almonds - magnesium + monounsaturated fat
4. Blueberries - antioxidants
5. Dark Chocolate - flavonoids
6. Grapes - anti-inflammtory + anti-ox
7. Figs - fibre
8. Walnuts - omega-3
Power to the People
Wow - this visit was worth skipping my weekend hike today (shame:( )
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/8-hidden-tools-windows-7/
Okay, M$, you CAN make a better magnifier - how about a freaking lens you can MOVE with the mouse instead of one that's always tied to the pointer? Idiots!
The big deal was the Problem Steps Recorder - super - when you need to prepare a how-to tutorial for your less-endowed co-workers, no need for Powerpoint anymore.. maybe - maybe you can use this guy to get the screen captures.. Either way, this is a powerful tool in your arsenal.
He mentions the Snipping Tool - doesn't urge M$ to upgrade it to provide users with different Highlight Options. Hear M$? Different Highlight Colour Options. DIFFERENT HIGHLIGHT COLOUR OPTIONS!!
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/8-hidden-tools-windows-7/
Okay, M$, you CAN make a better magnifier - how about a freaking lens you can MOVE with the mouse instead of one that's always tied to the pointer? Idiots!
The big deal was the Problem Steps Recorder - super - when you need to prepare a how-to tutorial for your less-endowed co-workers, no need for Powerpoint anymore.. maybe - maybe you can use this guy to get the screen captures.. Either way, this is a powerful tool in your arsenal.
He mentions the Snipping Tool - doesn't urge M$ to upgrade it to provide users with different Highlight Options. Hear M$? Different Highlight Colour Options. DIFFERENT HIGHLIGHT COLOUR OPTIONS!!
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Spread the Gas Station Virus
- Fill up only early in the morning : that's when the density of the gasoline in the underground (cold) tank is the highest - and you're paying by volume. You want to get the highest MASS for you $$! Get it?
- A good reason never to top-off - there's a return (pink) line back to the underground tank that gets opened if the pressure builds up because your tank is full.. So you're donating gas to the station.. don't!
- Always fill up at the LOW fill rate - you see there are 3 settings. If you fill at the FAST rate, some of the gasoline that gets converted to vapour returns to the station's tank. Really?
- Fill up when your tank is half full - or fuller to minimize the amount of air in your tank - or you make it easier for the gas to evaporate.
Monday, September 02, 2013
Flatiron Fuhrer : AZ's Easiest Difficult Hike
Overestimation is sometimes a benefit. This one was practically nothing after so many months of Camelback every Sat morning.
I felt cheated in the beginning - seeing a lofty peak in the Northwest, I thought that was going to be my destination. Google takes me to the Lost Dutchman Park and I think - this thing's a baby. Wrong - its true height is cleverly concealed if you drive in from the west.
Having read it was more than 2x Camelback, there was some queasiness. Having voided my bowel after getting out of bed at 5:15, guess what was the first thing I did after paying the ranger my $7 to get into the park.. Just goes to show how much mental toughness counts for.
Nature makes it easy for you - you won't appreciate the mile hike return in the sun around mid-day, but, at least, it's flat. But how many hikes can you do in the shade? You'll be grateful for that.
Five fifteen in the morning to 1 PM by the time I'm back - in all, a day's work! Thanks Superstition. I really felt like I communed with nature.
Got overtaken by 5 parties in all. The group of three Martial Arts cooks (including instructor) was fun. Sensei said, back in the day, Camelback up and down in 45 minutes was a test.
I felt cheated in the beginning - seeing a lofty peak in the Northwest, I thought that was going to be my destination. Google takes me to the Lost Dutchman Park and I think - this thing's a baby. Wrong - its true height is cleverly concealed if you drive in from the west.
Having read it was more than 2x Camelback, there was some queasiness. Having voided my bowel after getting out of bed at 5:15, guess what was the first thing I did after paying the ranger my $7 to get into the park.. Just goes to show how much mental toughness counts for.
Nature makes it easy for you - you won't appreciate the mile hike return in the sun around mid-day, but, at least, it's flat. But how many hikes can you do in the shade? You'll be grateful for that.
Five fifteen in the morning to 1 PM by the time I'm back - in all, a day's work! Thanks Superstition. I really felt like I communed with nature.
Got overtaken by 5 parties in all. The group of three Martial Arts cooks (including instructor) was fun. Sensei said, back in the day, Camelback up and down in 45 minutes was a test.
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Family Handyman : Add Instant Curb Appeal
This is what America is really about - always increasing home value. Not like Japan - where they want to endlessly upgrade business..
http://www.familyhandyman.com/landscaping/projects-for-instant-curb-appeal/view-all?pmcode=IDFEC160&_mid=2467152&_rid=2467152.1046228.51368
Paint, paint, paint
Install new house numbers
Upgrade your mailbox
Line a walkway with bricks or pavers
Replace a light fixture
Plant a tree
Add low-voltage lighting (driving the solar stakes into the ground along walkways)
Install shutters
Install a new storm door
Install flower boxes
http://www.familyhandyman.com/landscaping/projects-for-instant-curb-appeal/view-all?pmcode=IDFEC160&_mid=2467152&_rid=2467152.1046228.51368
Paint, paint, paint
Install new house numbers
Upgrade your mailbox
Line a walkway with bricks or pavers
Replace a light fixture
Plant a tree
Add low-voltage lighting (driving the solar stakes into the ground along walkways)
Install shutters
Install a new storm door
Install flower boxes
Der Wisdom of Trevor Blake
Three Simple Steps :
1) Master your mentality - be able to deploy your shield that bounces negativity off
2) Take quiet time at the start of every day alone, seated to allow brilliant insights into your mind; Connect with nature ("plug into the matrix")
3) Set intentions, not goals - these are in Past tense, Personal and Positive. Set higher intentions than your immediate desire.
Have a way to tune out of negativity if there's bad gossip, etc - you're treading a beautiful road through shallow blue waters, etc.
Practise these daily. Discipline is the key.
A sales trick he's used : Can you think of anyone else who could benefit from this?
1) Master your mentality - be able to deploy your shield that bounces negativity off
2) Take quiet time at the start of every day alone, seated to allow brilliant insights into your mind; Connect with nature ("plug into the matrix")
3) Set intentions, not goals - these are in Past tense, Personal and Positive. Set higher intentions than your immediate desire.
Have a way to tune out of negativity if there's bad gossip, etc - you're treading a beautiful road through shallow blue waters, etc.
Practise these daily. Discipline is the key.
A sales trick he's used : Can you think of anyone else who could benefit from this?
OpenCV on Raspberry Pi
Hack A Day seems to have enough resources to get you started :
http://hackaday.com/2013/03/04/using-opencv-with-the-raspberry-pi/
I was more drawn to Solutions Cubed - Sensors from $10 - they even have design services. Ask them for a quote and you're probably 10% of the way there.
How do you like that idea?
1) Come up with an idea - no clue about how to implement it
2) Ask SC for a quote. They tell you what they're going to do and for how much
3) Take the first part of that to someone else and say you want just that - they break it down some more and tell you how much..
4) You get the idea.. Naughty?
They're not kidding. Look at who's gone to them already :
http://hackaday.com/2013/03/04/using-opencv-with-the-raspberry-pi/
I was more drawn to Solutions Cubed - Sensors from $10 - they even have design services. Ask them for a quote and you're probably 10% of the way there.
How do you like that idea?
1) Come up with an idea - no clue about how to implement it
2) Ask SC for a quote. They tell you what they're going to do and for how much
3) Take the first part of that to someone else and say you want just that - they break it down some more and tell you how much..
4) You get the idea.. Naughty?
They're not kidding. Look at who's gone to them already :
- Agilent Technologies
- Bayer Health Care
- Citgo Petroleum Corp.
- GE Energy Management
- General Dynamics
- General Motors R&D
- Griffin Technology Inc.
- Harmon Consumer Group
- Hewlett Packard
- Kyocera Wireless Corp.
- Lockheed Martin Corp.
- NASA
- Microchip Semiconductor
- Northrup Grumman Corp.
- NXP Semiconductor
- Power Designers, LLC
- Sandia National Labs
- Schilling Robotics
- Segway Incorporated
- Siemens Energy and Automation
- Sunsweet Growers Incorporated
- United States Army
- United States Air Force
- United States Treasury
Friday, August 16, 2013
Where You Should Get Your News
Cording to Trevor Blake, you should only get your news from :
John Pilger (Ozzie) and Greg Palast (who also made Bush Family Fortunes)
Excerpt from Palast :
John Pilger (Ozzie) and Greg Palast (who also made Bush Family Fortunes)
Excerpt from Palast :
Dear Mr. Martin,
I have a 16-year old son. I cannot imagine losing him because some beast decided to play Lone Ranger.
And so, with cautious humility, I make this suggestion, this plea.
Sue the beast. You must.
I understand you are reluctant to launch another painful trial of uncertain outcome and cost, monetary and emotional. And I know a money judgment won't bring your son home.
But imagine this: George Zimmerman gets a half-million-dollar book deal and $25,000 a pop to appear at gun shows - plus a fee to put his name on a 9mm semi-automatic. The 'Zimmerman Protector.'
Good to see Brit humour is still alive and kicking..
Thursday, August 15, 2013
A Little Learning Every Day
http://www.ted.com/talks/russell_foster_why_do_we_sleep.html
- Brush your teeth at least 30 minutes before you head to bed - you don't want to be in a brightly lit bathroom cleaning your teeth just before bed.
- Reduce your light level 30 minutes before bedtime - get adjusted for dreamy land.
- If you're waking up because the alarm goes off, you're not getting enough sleep.
- My resolution - from now on, I'll be in Airplane mode while I sleep - I use my smartphone as an MP3 player in bed. Shame :)
In case you didn't know already, your phone charges much faster if it's in Airplane mode - so that's one more reason :) Things I can't do without - the blue blocking glasses and f.lux.
If Russel Foster doesn't teach you much, you can try Matt Walker on Masterclass
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
What's Lateral Thinking Good For?
So proud, did the whole book in one day. But, like he says, it's no good without practice. Let's see how that works out with everything else I've got going on..
It can be applied to three things :
Descriptions
Problem Solving
Design
So concise :)
Po Power
After a 3 hour stint with de Bono's classic (on headphones while I lay in to let my body recover from recent workouts)
Po suspends judgement
Po indicates forward thinking and suspends backward thinking
Po is protective - engenders cooperation between participants
Po is disruptive - how can the established pattern be recreated
Po is provocative - encourages rethinking
Use Po. Until you're used to it, use it in caps : PO at the start of your sentence
Another useful tool, get random words from the dictionary and apply them to your current problem and see a new way of looking at the problem and associated ideas.
There is no work that people shirk from more than that of sustained thought - I got that from "The Science of Wealth"
Po suspends judgement
Po indicates forward thinking and suspends backward thinking
Po is protective - engenders cooperation between participants
Po is disruptive - how can the established pattern be recreated
Po is provocative - encourages rethinking
Use Po. Until you're used to it, use it in caps : PO at the start of your sentence
Another useful tool, get random words from the dictionary and apply them to your current problem and see a new way of looking at the problem and associated ideas.
There is no work that people shirk from more than that of sustained thought - I got that from "The Science of Wealth"
Powell's Prescient Wisdom Echoes my Recent Troubles
Gosh, wish my recent boss had read this stuff..
Ironically, by procrastinating on the difficult choices, by trying not to get anyone mad, and by treating everyone equally "nicely" regardless of their contributions, you'll simply ensure that the only people you'll wind up angering are the most creative and productive people in the organization.
I know I'm being a bit self-glorifying by putting that there, but you get the lesson he's conveying. Question : did Powell figure this out the hard way? What was his Aha moment?
Here's another cool one. Echoes my recent troubles. I stopped asking for permission and started asking for forgiveness after taking action because my old boss loved to micromanage. A good idea or a good solution was one that originated from him. So sad to behave that way in your mid-fifties. When a person brings a problem to you, what he's really saying is, my priorities have changed and I need time for this, not "solve this". Duh! Sure, you might have experience that directly applies or know of someone who can tap the case in the right place..
The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership
One of Welchi's tidbits that Gail Denter violated : "Make the organization chart as flat as possible."
By contrast, what I observed was that people were being rewarded for a**-kissing and yes-manning with hierarchy in the org-chart. What a sad state of affairs. Powell says "A tip : Don't invest in such companies."
Ironically, by procrastinating on the difficult choices, by trying not to get anyone mad, and by treating everyone equally "nicely" regardless of their contributions, you'll simply ensure that the only people you'll wind up angering are the most creative and productive people in the organization.
I know I'm being a bit self-glorifying by putting that there, but you get the lesson he's conveying. Question : did Powell figure this out the hard way? What was his Aha moment?
Here's another cool one. Echoes my recent troubles. I stopped asking for permission and started asking for forgiveness after taking action because my old boss loved to micromanage. A good idea or a good solution was one that originated from him. So sad to behave that way in your mid-fifties. When a person brings a problem to you, what he's really saying is, my priorities have changed and I need time for this, not "solve this". Duh! Sure, you might have experience that directly applies or know of someone who can tap the case in the right place..
The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership
One of Welchi's tidbits that Gail Denter violated : "Make the organization chart as flat as possible."
By contrast, what I observed was that people were being rewarded for a**-kissing and yes-manning with hierarchy in the org-chart. What a sad state of affairs. Powell says "A tip : Don't invest in such companies."
Applying what I Learnt from Colin Powell
Not directly of course - a presentation I saw about 15 years ago (yes, I have a decent memory :)
something about "Seek out mentors, ..."
My latest interaction :
Hi X,
Welchi sums it up : Leaders have a knack for making unpopular decisions and gut calls.
something about "Seek out mentors, ..."
My latest interaction :
Hi X,
I visited once and met you. I'm between jobs now and have some time. Are you open to me spending a day with you looking at what you're working on and seeing what gaps I have in my skillset and discussing how to fill them?
I'm an IC designer, but my dream is to do computer vision stuff...
X :
I'm sorry to say I don't yet recall our meeting. My current work is in electronics and design for manufacture of wearables and gadgets.
I'm currently in NY and might be back Mid Sept some time ... though then I might be headed to china for a bit.
Why don't you email me again a week or two into sept to see where I'm at of that works for you
I'm currently in NY and might be back Mid Sept some time ... though then I might be headed to china for a bit.
Why don't you email me again a week or two into sept to see where I'm at of that works for you
Me : to me : so that's basically a no. But, not to worry. My subconscious mind will find a way.
The PPT of General Powell's leadership advice is here (thanks ) :
I remember this one and it makes me ashamed from time to time :
Trying to get everyone to like you is a sign of mediocrity: you'll avoid the tough decisions, you'll avoid confronting the people who need to be confronted, and you'll avoid
offering differential rewards based on differential performance because some
people might get upset.Welchi sums it up : Leaders have a knack for making unpopular decisions and gut calls.
Monday, August 12, 2013
A User's Guide to the Brain
(while reading Michael GW's book, Super Body, Super Brain)
John Ratey :
What makes us move is also what makes us think
Our physical movements can directly influence our ability to learn, think and remember.
Evidence is mounting that each person's capacity to master new and remember old information is improved by biological changes in the brain brought on by physical activity.
John Ratey :
What makes us move is also what makes us think
Our physical movements can directly influence our ability to learn, think and remember.
Evidence is mounting that each person's capacity to master new and remember old information is improved by biological changes in the brain brought on by physical activity.
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Synthesizing a Problem - Using the Wisdom of Dana Clarke
For the USB-PD transceiver I'm going to be working on, we can be sure we'll get at least one customer return from the field some day.
Is it possible to synthesize such a customer problem through a gedanken experiement it, think of what could possibly create a problem for the customer and have all the solutions available. A team that could do this will certainly be on track to 100% market share for the first year - sort of like FDTI.
Dana used to have a "Resources" section on his web. Gone now, but, I'm getting the TRIZ book for sure. Can't hurt to have that stuff down in my new job :)
http://www.innovationrainmakers.com
Yikes - he recommends a book - 40 Principles : TRIZ Keys to Innovation
Amazon used : $38. Half.com : $17!! WT*? I checked the ISBN numbers - the same *ing book!
Is it possible to synthesize such a customer problem through a gedanken experiement it, think of what could possibly create a problem for the customer and have all the solutions available. A team that could do this will certainly be on track to 100% market share for the first year - sort of like FDTI.
Dana used to have a "Resources" section on his web. Gone now, but, I'm getting the TRIZ book for sure. Can't hurt to have that stuff down in my new job :)
http://www.innovationrainmakers.com
Yikes - he recommends a book - 40 Principles : TRIZ Keys to Innovation
Amazon used : $38. Half.com : $17!! WT*? I checked the ISBN numbers - the same *ing book!
Friday, August 09, 2013
Rule 1 Investing
Okay, the website seems like a real time-waster, but the book is okay - I guess..
Shooting for 15% a year is a noble goal. Throwing $5m away on NEXT because Steve Jobs is the boss shows you in a poor light of course.
The mnemonic : Me-Mo Ma-Ma : Meaning-Moat Management-Margin
If you can answer yes, then buy and sell when it's fairly priced.
To Phil Town's credit, he might have some tangible stuff in the Rule #1 for 401K Investing... I downloaded it but haven't had time to look at it.. He mentions some small cap growth funds I think.
Shooting for 15% a year is a noble goal. Throwing $5m away on NEXT because Steve Jobs is the boss shows you in a poor light of course.
The mnemonic : Me-Mo Ma-Ma : Meaning-Moat Management-Margin
- Does the company have meaning for you - would you be passionate about owning it?
- Does the company have a moat to ward off invaders?
- Does the co have excellent management?
- Does the investment have enough safety margin - are you getting it for 50c per $?
If you can answer yes, then buy and sell when it's fairly priced.
To Phil Town's credit, he might have some tangible stuff in the Rule #1 for 401K Investing... I downloaded it but haven't had time to look at it.. He mentions some small cap growth funds I think.
After 10 Years, Knoppix Still Kills Dell + M$
Well, to be fair, I was using a 10 year old reinstall CD to get Win XP up and running. Knoppix has gotten me out of tight spots before - when I desperately needed to look something up online and Windows just couldn't hack it.
But, here's the kicker - M$ cannot get me internet access via Ethernet on a platform (D600) that swears by M$ and Knoppix can. Sure, the page renditions are not very pretty, but WTH? You can see why M$ and Dell are both going nowhere..
But, here's the kicker - M$ cannot get me internet access via Ethernet on a platform (D600) that swears by M$ and Knoppix can. Sure, the page renditions are not very pretty, but WTH? You can see why M$ and Dell are both going nowhere..
Thursday, August 08, 2013
What's Important to Know About Self-Control
aka Willpower :
- It's a mind-body response, not a virtue
- Is a limited resource - like muscle strength - use a lot of it at work during the day and you know why you need a shot or a smoke or a quickie when you get home
- Temptation and stress hijack the brain's systems of self-control, but the brain can be trained to withstand higher levels without giving in
- Guilt and shame over your setbacks lead to giving in again, but self-forgiveness and self-compassion boost self-control
- Giving up control is sometimes the only way to gain self-control
- Willpower failures are contagious - you can catch the desire to overspend or overeat from your friends - but you can also catch self-control from the right role-models
Don't believe me? Then read "The Willpower Instinct" by Kenny McGonigal (interesting combination of Scotch-Irish and Prussian there)
Wednesday, August 07, 2013
Never Guess About Your Finished PCB Again
Thanks to this maestro (Jerome really impressed me with huge abstraction and adaptation skills even in the stressful setting of a MMO development; he quickly became someone you can rely on, which is very rare for a first position!) you can (if you're unlucky enough to be on Windows V or higher, actually 7 isn't that hot a hell) drag your gerber file onto GBRV and see what it's going to look like - in 3D.
For the record, this is written in Lua.
Sunday, August 04, 2013
Sunday, July 07, 2013
So You Want to Be an Analog Designer
Where can you learn this stuff without wasting your time in a university? Note that, at a university, you usually get free access to Cadence. The EE world has not (unfortunately) benefited from open-source the way software has.
Dr. B. Razavi's slides (No guarantee they'll still be there). BTW, Behzad has a nice PPT on his site about what life is like as a professor - I highly recommend it.
Hans (late) Camenzind's book : Designing Analog Chips (inventor of the 555)
Dr. Phillip Allen's course slides (see, he's nice, not like Dr. Leach, who pulled his stuff off)
Dr. Phil Allen's short-course slides (NOTE, in general, I feel the slides are poor-quality from the point of view of presentation, but they're good for documentation - so, my all beans, go through them once then know where to look in future when you want some info. Don't expect to learn from them them easily, the way you can from Behzad. Sorry, Philly, I owe you a cheese bake)
Satish Kashyap's ripoff site - wonder how long this guy can run this. Never mind putting sir (lowercase) at the end of each prof's name to mollify.
Berkeley's EE 240 Adv Analog IC's course lectures. Let me know if they're any good.
Dr. B. Razavi's slides (No guarantee they'll still be there). BTW, Behzad has a nice PPT on his site about what life is like as a professor - I highly recommend it.
Hans (late) Camenzind's book : Designing Analog Chips (inventor of the 555)
Dr. Phillip Allen's course slides (see, he's nice, not like Dr. Leach, who pulled his stuff off)
Dr. Phil Allen's short-course slides (NOTE, in general, I feel the slides are poor-quality from the point of view of presentation, but they're good for documentation - so, my all beans, go through them once then know where to look in future when you want some info. Don't expect to learn from them them easily, the way you can from Behzad. Sorry, Philly, I owe you a cheese bake)
Satish Kashyap's ripoff site - wonder how long this guy can run this. Never mind putting sir (lowercase) at the end of each prof's name to mollify.
Berkeley's EE 240 Adv Analog IC's course lectures. Let me know if they're any good.
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Perl Resources - Potential Keepers
http://altreus.blogspot.com - the guy who QC'd Peteris Krumins' one-liners book.
Perl is "There's more than one way to do it" and "Make hard things easy without making easy things hard."
What are one-liners : "At your fingertips when you need it"
Friday, March 29, 2013
Finding Out What Hard Work Really Is
From Vile's autob :
People have often asked me what I did with all the money that came into my possession. A little impromptu party we gave offers a good example of how the cash melted away. We often entertained on a lavish scale.
(In that case, the 2 day long party blew up about $25k in the roaring twenties)
[ But, considering the meticulous planning that went into some of his schemes - you really wonder why he failed with the hotel business. At one point, Vile decided to put his savings into a legitimate business (to his wife's delight). ]
Perhaps I should have known then that my hotel venture was jinxed. I did change the name again, this time to the Hotel Martinique. One of my early projects was a landscaped roof garden. I had big plans, but perhaps I didn't know enough about the hotel business.
The hoodlums often staged parties and became noisy. The permanent guests, who paid their bills on time, eyed them distastefully and began to move out. As these people vacated rooms, more criminals moved in; thugs of various descriptions, safe-crackers, and robbers. Some I knew by sight and many I did not know at all.
Before I realized what was happening the underworld was regarding the Martinique as a hide-out. I soon learned I was expected to cover up for criminals whose only relation to me was that we had both operated outside the law.
( He even got victimized by simple bad-cheques. I can't help feeling for the man. But, considering his genius - as he puts it - his grasp of foreign affairs, domestic troubles and human nature - why couldn't he succeed at something so relatively simple? Here's my answer - which I first heard in "The Science of Wealth" - there is no task from which people shirk as much as sustained purposeful thought. You have to think things through in your mind. A thought - literally any thought - becomes an animal in your mind - it lives in a bunch of neurons and tries to gain your attention. But, in the course of your life, you have trained your mind with all the thoughts you have entertained thus far - so, this new thought - legitimate or otherwise, will have severe competition - unless it is a matter of life and death. So, you can see how it was with Vile - there was no hope from the beginning since his mind would tire easily from honest labour. Pity. The second or third time a man tries to go straight and fails. Atleast he lived to be a 100)
People have often asked me what I did with all the money that came into my possession. A little impromptu party we gave offers a good example of how the cash melted away. We often entertained on a lavish scale.
(In that case, the 2 day long party blew up about $25k in the roaring twenties)
[ But, considering the meticulous planning that went into some of his schemes - you really wonder why he failed with the hotel business. At one point, Vile decided to put his savings into a legitimate business (to his wife's delight). ]
Perhaps I should have known then that my hotel venture was jinxed. I did change the name again, this time to the Hotel Martinique. One of my early projects was a landscaped roof garden. I had big plans, but perhaps I didn't know enough about the hotel business.
The hoodlums often staged parties and became noisy. The permanent guests, who paid their bills on time, eyed them distastefully and began to move out. As these people vacated rooms, more criminals moved in; thugs of various descriptions, safe-crackers, and robbers. Some I knew by sight and many I did not know at all.
Before I realized what was happening the underworld was regarding the Martinique as a hide-out. I soon learned I was expected to cover up for criminals whose only relation to me was that we had both operated outside the law.
( He even got victimized by simple bad-cheques. I can't help feeling for the man. But, considering his genius - as he puts it - his grasp of foreign affairs, domestic troubles and human nature - why couldn't he succeed at something so relatively simple? Here's my answer - which I first heard in "The Science of Wealth" - there is no task from which people shirk as much as sustained purposeful thought. You have to think things through in your mind. A thought - literally any thought - becomes an animal in your mind - it lives in a bunch of neurons and tries to gain your attention. But, in the course of your life, you have trained your mind with all the thoughts you have entertained thus far - so, this new thought - legitimate or otherwise, will have severe competition - unless it is a matter of life and death. So, you can see how it was with Vile - there was no hope from the beginning since his mind would tire easily from honest labour. Pity. The second or third time a man tries to go straight and fails. Atleast he lived to be a 100)
Thursday, March 28, 2013
A Vile Understanding of Human Nature
Vile was acknowledged as a master study of human nature - he could size almost anyone up in a few minutes :
The same group was on hand, going through the same motions. McHenry, like Hotchkiss, was very much impressed. But there was a difference between the two men, Hotchkiss frankly admitted he didn't know his way around gaming circles. But McHenry was the type that would today be called a "wise guy." He looked upon everything with a knowing eye.
The same group was on hand, going through the same motions. McHenry, like Hotchkiss, was very much impressed. But there was a difference between the two men, Hotchkiss frankly admitted he didn't know his way around gaming circles. But McHenry was the type that would today be called a "wise guy." He looked upon everything with a knowing eye.
It Don't Make Sense Mr. Vile
How do you spend $1000 in a single evening? Here he only mentions half that figure, but at other places in the book, he does mention a k.
I RETURNED TO MY FAMILY IN CHICAGO. I HAD ACCUMULATED SOME money, but I got rid of it even faster than I got hold of it. When I spent an evening at one of the gay spots, it was not unusual for me to spend $500. This was in the days when the average worker considered $500 fairly good pay for six months' work.
I RETURNED TO MY FAMILY IN CHICAGO. I HAD ACCUMULATED SOME money, but I got rid of it even faster than I got hold of it. When I spent an evening at one of the gay spots, it was not unusual for me to spend $500. This was in the days when the average worker considered $500 fairly good pay for six months' work.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Another Name for Jail
You have to love Vile's style. One wonders, is it peer pressure, or are Jews raised to be perfectionists? :
For two months I carpeted Chicago with deeds to lots in the
Elysium Development Company. I even gave lots to two detectives
who later rose to prominence in the police department. Both men paid
the recording fee before they discovered that the land was practically
valueless. Both were furious and if there had been anything they
could have done about it, I would have found free lodging promptly.
But I had not taken money from them: they had not been compelled
to have the lots recorded. So far as the law was concerned, I was clean.
__
According to the Tribune, he told one judge: "The dastardly fabrications of the metropolitan newspapers, the reprehensible conduct of journalists to surround me with a nimbus — er — a numbus of guilt, is astonishing." Yet in his "Autobiography of a Master Swindler," he acknowledged his chosen profession, even as he bemoaned its decline. "There are no good confidence men anymore," he wrote, "because they do not have the necessary knowledge of foreign affairs, domestic problems, and human nature."
Weil was, in his own way, civic-minded. In 1928, doing time in the Leavenworth, Kan., federal prison, he sent letters to Chicagoans appealing for funds so fellow inmates might properly celebrate Passover. He signed the letter: "Joseph Weil, president Jewish congregation."
For two months I carpeted Chicago with deeds to lots in the
Elysium Development Company. I even gave lots to two detectives
who later rose to prominence in the police department. Both men paid
the recording fee before they discovered that the land was practically
valueless. Both were furious and if there had been anything they
could have done about it, I would have found free lodging promptly.
But I had not taken money from them: they had not been compelled
to have the lots recorded. So far as the law was concerned, I was clean.
__
According to the Tribune, he told one judge: "The dastardly fabrications of the metropolitan newspapers, the reprehensible conduct of journalists to surround me with a nimbus — er — a numbus of guilt, is astonishing." Yet in his "Autobiography of a Master Swindler," he acknowledged his chosen profession, even as he bemoaned its decline. "There are no good confidence men anymore," he wrote, "because they do not have the necessary knowledge of foreign affairs, domestic problems, and human nature."
Weil was, in his own way, civic-minded. In 1928, doing time in the Leavenworth, Kan., federal prison, he sent letters to Chicagoans appealing for funds so fellow inmates might properly celebrate Passover. He signed the letter: "Joseph Weil, president Jewish congregation."
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Before They Used Log Scales
Interesting read - Jos Vile's autobiography. I love the matter-of-fact style of writing from those days
http://archive.org/stream/yellowkidweilaut00weil/yellowkidweilaut00weil_djvu.txt
Obviously a scanned job - how fitting Vile should get ripped off in death after ripping off so many in life.
The part I find funny is the ridiculously large sums people bet on horses in those (?) days. He talks of the scams he ran in his early days when he went from farmhouse to farmhouse and conned folks out of about $3 a time. Then, at the races, he could make $10,000 in a day from an unwary stranger who walked in with his eyes open. Well, it wasn't every day obviously. But, think about it, even I don't bet that kind of money almost a hundred years later - maybe he hasn't done a good enough job of explaining how wealthy the people he swindled were - coz he does mention that some of them became his friends later after forgiving him and continuing to thrive in their legitimate businesses.
Then, all of a sudden :
With my chauffeur, I motored to Gray's Lake and attended the
picnic. During the height of the festivities there was a plea for con-
tributions to some charitable institution. The justice of the peace, a one-
armed man, made a strong exhortation for funds; then the hat was
passed. I contributed twenty-five dollars.
Of course, everybody wanted to see the man who had given twenty-
five dollars — a considerable sum in the rural areas.
That's the key word - rural.
http://archive.org/stream/yellowkidweilaut00weil/yellowkidweilaut00weil_djvu.txt
Obviously a scanned job - how fitting Vile should get ripped off in death after ripping off so many in life.
The part I find funny is the ridiculously large sums people bet on horses in those (?) days. He talks of the scams he ran in his early days when he went from farmhouse to farmhouse and conned folks out of about $3 a time. Then, at the races, he could make $10,000 in a day from an unwary stranger who walked in with his eyes open. Well, it wasn't every day obviously. But, think about it, even I don't bet that kind of money almost a hundred years later - maybe he hasn't done a good enough job of explaining how wealthy the people he swindled were - coz he does mention that some of them became his friends later after forgiving him and continuing to thrive in their legitimate businesses.
Then, all of a sudden :
With my chauffeur, I motored to Gray's Lake and attended the
picnic. During the height of the festivities there was a plea for con-
tributions to some charitable institution. The justice of the peace, a one-
armed man, made a strong exhortation for funds; then the hat was
passed. I contributed twenty-five dollars.
Of course, everybody wanted to see the man who had given twenty-
five dollars — a considerable sum in the rural areas.
That's the key word - rural.
Monday, March 25, 2013
Joseph Vile's Conversion
She and her mother were devout members of the Sacramento Congregational Church in Chicago. With them I attended services every Sunday. The minister had a forceful delivery, using a clever choice of
words to sway his audience.
This set me to thinking. I said to myself, "Joe, you are not capable of hard physical work. You're too fraiL Whatever you accomplish in life must be done through words. You have that ability. You can
make words beautiful and scenic. What marble is to sculpture, what canvas is to painting, words can be to you. You can use them to influence others. You can make them earn your living for you."
That minister must have been psychic. He must have realized that my heart had not been given over to God, but that I was seeking a career to further my own ends. However, he gave me a list of books to read.
First was the Bible. I read through it, then the other volumes he had recommended. I supplemented these with books of my own choice. I studied the lives of Moses, Buddha, and Mohammed. I secured a copy of the Catholic Encyclopedia and read that.
The net result was that I lost all desire to become a pulpiteer. There were so many inconsistencies I could not reconcile that I became an iconoclast. I arrived at these conclusions: Man has all the bestiality of the animal, but is cloaked with a thin veneer of civilization; he is inherently dishonest and selfish; the honest man is a rare specimen indeed.
And the best part : (Don't you love such an honest man?:)
However, my reading firmly convinced me of the power of words.
I felt that its proper use could lead me to fortune. In that I was to be
right. The use of words led me to many fortunes.
words to sway his audience.
This set me to thinking. I said to myself, "Joe, you are not capable of hard physical work. You're too fraiL Whatever you accomplish in life must be done through words. You have that ability. You can
make words beautiful and scenic. What marble is to sculpture, what canvas is to painting, words can be to you. You can use them to influence others. You can make them earn your living for you."
That minister must have been psychic. He must have realized that my heart had not been given over to God, but that I was seeking a career to further my own ends. However, he gave me a list of books to read.
First was the Bible. I read through it, then the other volumes he had recommended. I supplemented these with books of my own choice. I studied the lives of Moses, Buddha, and Mohammed. I secured a copy of the Catholic Encyclopedia and read that.
The net result was that I lost all desire to become a pulpiteer. There were so many inconsistencies I could not reconcile that I became an iconoclast. I arrived at these conclusions: Man has all the bestiality of the animal, but is cloaked with a thin veneer of civilization; he is inherently dishonest and selfish; the honest man is a rare specimen indeed.
And the best part : (Don't you love such an honest man?:)
However, my reading firmly convinced me of the power of words.
I felt that its proper use could lead me to fortune. In that I was to be
right. The use of words led me to many fortunes.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Nicht Jeden Dieben Sind Dumm
1. A friend of a friend left their car in the long-term parking at San Jose while away, and someone broke into the car. Using the information on the car's registration in the glove compartment, they drove the car to the people's home in Pebble Beach and robbed it. So I guess if we are going to leave the car in long-term parking, we should not leave the registration/insurance cards in it, nor your remote garage door opener. This gives us something to think about with all our new electronic technology.
2. GPS.
A couple of weeks ago a friend told me that someone she knew had their car broken into while they were at a football game. Their car was parked on the green which was adjacent to the football stadium and specially allotted to football fans. Things stolen from the car included a garage door remote control, some money and a GPS which had been prominently mounted on the dashboard. When the victims got home, they found that their house had been ransacked and just about everything worth anything had been stolen. The thieves had used the GPS to guide them to the house. They then used the garage remote control to open the garage door and gain entry to the house. The thieves knew the owners were at the football game, they knew what time the game was scheduled to finish and so they knew how much time they had to clean out the house. It would appear that they had brought a truck to empty the house of its contents.
Something to consider if you have a GPS - don't put your home address in it... Put a nearby address (like a store or gas station) so you can still find your way home if you need to, but no one else would know
where you live if your GPS were stolen.
3. MOBILE PHONES
I never thought of this.......
This lady has now changed her habit of how she lists her names on her mobile phone after her handbag was stolen. Her handbag, which contained her cell phone, credit card, wallet, etc., was stolen. 20 minutes later when she called her hubby, from a pay phone telling him what had happened, hubby says 'I received your text asking about our Pin number and I've replied a little while ago.' When they rushed down to the bank, the bank staff told them all the money was already withdrawn. The thief had actually used the stolen cell phone to text 'hubby' in the contact list and got hold of the pin number. Within 20 minutes he had withdrawn all the money from their bank account.
Moral of the lesson:
a. Do not disclose the relationship between you and the people in your contact list. Avoid using names like Home, Honey, Hubby, Sweetheart, Dad, Mom, etc....
b. And very importantly, when sensitive info is being asked through texts, CONFIRM by calling back.
c. Also, when you're being texted by friends or family to meet them somewhere, be sure to call back to confirm that the message came from them. If you don't reach them, be very careful about going places to meet 'family and friends' who text you.
What does this mean for the common man? Pretty soon, laws will be passed that turn low-income communities into open prisons - there'll be surveillance everywhere coz that's where the bums live. Too bad.
2. GPS.
A couple of weeks ago a friend told me that someone she knew had their car broken into while they were at a football game. Their car was parked on the green which was adjacent to the football stadium and specially allotted to football fans. Things stolen from the car included a garage door remote control, some money and a GPS which had been prominently mounted on the dashboard. When the victims got home, they found that their house had been ransacked and just about everything worth anything had been stolen. The thieves had used the GPS to guide them to the house. They then used the garage remote control to open the garage door and gain entry to the house. The thieves knew the owners were at the football game, they knew what time the game was scheduled to finish and so they knew how much time they had to clean out the house. It would appear that they had brought a truck to empty the house of its contents.
Something to consider if you have a GPS - don't put your home address in it... Put a nearby address (like a store or gas station) so you can still find your way home if you need to, but no one else would know
where you live if your GPS were stolen.
3. MOBILE PHONES
I never thought of this.......
This lady has now changed her habit of how she lists her names on her mobile phone after her handbag was stolen. Her handbag, which contained her cell phone, credit card, wallet, etc., was stolen. 20 minutes later when she called her hubby, from a pay phone telling him what had happened, hubby says 'I received your text asking about our Pin number and I've replied a little while ago.' When they rushed down to the bank, the bank staff told them all the money was already withdrawn. The thief had actually used the stolen cell phone to text 'hubby' in the contact list and got hold of the pin number. Within 20 minutes he had withdrawn all the money from their bank account.
Moral of the lesson:
a. Do not disclose the relationship between you and the people in your contact list. Avoid using names like Home, Honey, Hubby, Sweetheart, Dad, Mom, etc....
b. And very importantly, when sensitive info is being asked through texts, CONFIRM by calling back.
c. Also, when you're being texted by friends or family to meet them somewhere, be sure to call back to confirm that the message came from them. If you don't reach them, be very careful about going places to meet 'family and friends' who text you.
What does this mean for the common man? Pretty soon, laws will be passed that turn low-income communities into open prisons - there'll be surveillance everywhere coz that's where the bums live. Too bad.
The True Root of All Evil
From Joseph Weil's narrative :
During this time, I met a beautiful girl. I called on her regularly
and, before long, we were engaged to be married.
One day I took her to meet my folks. My mother looked her over
and approved. She called me to one side.
"Joe," Mother whispered, "she is a beautiful girl. But she is a
girl for a rich man. She should not be a poor man's wife."
"And I'm not going to be a poor man!" I replied. "I will give her
everything she wants."
Having seen my parents struggle for their existence — my mother
got up at five in the morning to open the store — I knew that such
a life was not for me. Further, I had seen how much more money
was being made by skulduggery than by honest toil.
During this time, I met a beautiful girl. I called on her regularly
and, before long, we were engaged to be married.
One day I took her to meet my folks. My mother looked her over
and approved. She called me to one side.
"Joe," Mother whispered, "she is a beautiful girl. But she is a
girl for a rich man. She should not be a poor man's wife."
"And I'm not going to be a poor man!" I replied. "I will give her
everything she wants."
Having seen my parents struggle for their existence — my mother
got up at five in the morning to open the store — I knew that such
a life was not for me. Further, I had seen how much more money
was being made by skulduggery than by honest toil.
Saturday, March 23, 2013
The Pressure to Succeed
He grew up in Borough Park, Brooklyn, where his father ran a fruit stand. He was educated in a yeshiva, where he spoke Yiddish, and received the equivalent of a high school education. He was born and raised Jewish. He did not learn English until he was in his late teens. He began doing construction work as a young man and established a plumbing supply company.
Sholam Weiss (also spelled Shalom Weiss; born April 1, 1954), is a former American businessman and convicted felon. In 2000, he was convicted of multiple fraud and money laundering counts and sentenced to 845 years in prison for looting the National Heritage Life Insurance. It was believed to be the largest insurance failure in history at the time, with over $450 million in losses. Weiss fled the country at the end of his trial and was a fugitive for one year. He was subsequently extradited from Austria.
Sholam Weiss (also spelled Shalom Weiss; born April 1, 1954), is a former American businessman and convicted felon. In 2000, he was convicted of multiple fraud and money laundering counts and sentenced to 845 years in prison for looting the National Heritage Life Insurance. It was believed to be the largest insurance failure in history at the time, with over $450 million in losses. Weiss fled the country at the end of his trial and was a fugitive for one year. He was subsequently extradited from Austria.
Sunday, March 17, 2013
The One Millenium Manager
What's the opposite of the One Minute Manager - a resource that gives you the basics of good leadership?
Ans : The idiot manager of course - Alec Ferguson - the goose. How stupid do you have to be to not see that the reason you're not winning is that your people don't want *you* to win? That's United's problem. And I should know. I've seen United transformed from a community to a corporation. Gone are the days when the heart and soul of their squad was recruited from their own youth training grounds. It's pathetic.
Ans : The idiot manager of course - Alec Ferguson - the goose. How stupid do you have to be to not see that the reason you're not winning is that your people don't want *you* to win? That's United's problem. And I should know. I've seen United transformed from a community to a corporation. Gone are the days when the heart and soul of their squad was recruited from their own youth training grounds. It's pathetic.
Cox Conley and Brown
Reading (listening to) "The Invisible Gorilla" right now. Talking and driving is a much more serious and widespread problem than we thought. No more of that for me. We look but see because we aren't looking for what we should see..
One I finished yesterday is "The Power of Slow" by Carl Honore. Try slowing down for better results. Do a gear-check; avoid multi-tasking - give each task 100% of your attention. Are you performing this task at the right pace? In the gym - take 20 seconds instead of 6 to lift the weight and your workouts can be shorter and your recovery faster and gains greater. His aha moment came when he saw an ad for 1 minute bedtime stories and thought how ridic that was. His 3 year old had caught him pruning bedtime stories before. Living in London, he cites examples of speed-yoga and even a drive-through-funeral to show what we've gotten to. In community and relationships, you can't speed things up - you have to take the time to get to know people.
One I finished yesterday is "The Power of Slow" by Carl Honore. Try slowing down for better results. Do a gear-check; avoid multi-tasking - give each task 100% of your attention. Are you performing this task at the right pace? In the gym - take 20 seconds instead of 6 to lift the weight and your workouts can be shorter and your recovery faster and gains greater. His aha moment came when he saw an ad for 1 minute bedtime stories and thought how ridic that was. His 3 year old had caught him pruning bedtime stories before. Living in London, he cites examples of speed-yoga and even a drive-through-funeral to show what we've gotten to. In community and relationships, you can't speed things up - you have to take the time to get to know people.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Belgian Idiocy and a Travesty of Justice
Finally, about 90% into the book, I hear the words that first crossed my mind - the Mossad - as in, why didn't Belgium just not hire the Mossad to bump off these Italian *ds!
Stole between $100m and $400m worth of people well-gotten-loot and?
The mastermind : 10 years and 1m Euro fine
the other three *ds : 5 years each and 5,000 Euro fine each
Really? That's how Belgian justice works? *ds! How is the ordinary person supposed to feel about this? To be fair, these laws were probably created when Belgium was ruled by a monarchy. You don't expect the population to be that dumb.
Stole between $100m and $400m worth of people well-gotten-loot and?
The mastermind : 10 years and 1m Euro fine
the other three *ds : 5 years each and 5,000 Euro fine each
Really? That's how Belgian justice works? *ds! How is the ordinary person supposed to feel about this? To be fair, these laws were probably created when Belgium was ruled by a monarchy. You don't expect the population to be that dumb.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Dr. Russel Blaylock 7 Things to Get Alzheimer's Dementia
Use MSG, Aspartame, Soy Milk, yeast extracts,
Prefer goat's milk over cow's milk.
You get Parkinson's from too much inflammation in the brain. Too much aerobic exercise is a risk factor! Really Dr. B!
Think about medicine from big Pharma's pt of view : cure is better than prevention - why give people a way to prevent disease when you can make billions from curing. Why cure disease when you can treat symptoms and keep harvesting off the diseased folk when they'll gladly pay to not feel pain, though they might be willing to cure the root cause of the pain, and in most cases, the root cause of the origin of the disease?
BTW, I think Dr. B is as insidious as big Pharma - he'll tell you what you need to know if you give him a few pennies a day by subscribing to his newsletter...
Bypass the ridiculous video by going straight here :
http://www.naturalnews.com/020550.html
Prefer goat's milk over cow's milk.
You get Parkinson's from too much inflammation in the brain. Too much aerobic exercise is a risk factor! Really Dr. B!
Think about medicine from big Pharma's pt of view : cure is better than prevention - why give people a way to prevent disease when you can make billions from curing. Why cure disease when you can treat symptoms and keep harvesting off the diseased folk when they'll gladly pay to not feel pain, though they might be willing to cure the root cause of the pain, and in most cases, the root cause of the origin of the disease?
BTW, I think Dr. B is as insidious as big Pharma - he'll tell you what you need to know if you give him a few pennies a day by subscribing to his newsletter...
Bypass the ridiculous video by going straight here :
http://www.naturalnews.com/020550.html
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