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!!

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.

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.

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

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?

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 :

• 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

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 :

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..

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

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"