Calculate Exactly How Long You'll Be in Debt
"The Federal Reserve can offer you more than just (theoretically) keep your bank in line. The Fed's Credit Card Repayment Calculator can give you the cold, hard facts on exactly how long you'll be trapped in your credit card's clutches."
bedsistentialism
Bedsistentialism: "solving" a problem by ignoring it/avoiding it/staying in bed and hiding from it. Works often enough to be a valid option.
Why your marriage sucks
Good article, and lots (and lots and lots) of interesting comments (although here they're not called Comments, but rather Letters -- look for the "Read All Letters" link at the bottom).
Flash Toy : Cloud Drawer
Click on the image to create clouds; click and hold and move the cursor to create cloud streams.
The Baloney Detection Kit
"With a sea of information coming at us from all directions, how do we sift out the misinformation and bogus claims, and get to the truth? Michael Shermer of Skeptic Magazine lays out a "Baloney Detection Kit," ten questions we should ask when encountering a claim."
New PayPal Survey Reveals Why Canadians Abandon Purchases When Shopping Online -- Shipping Charges!
"'To reduce cart abandonment, merchants should provide this information sooner in the checkout process.'"
YouTube - Hey!
You know how sometimes you are watching the Jurassic Park movies, and you start wondering if the movies would as scary if the dinosaurs yelled "hey!" instead of making their supposed dinosaur noises? Wonder no more.
Why old dogs are the best dogs
"They can be eccentric, slow afoot, even grouchy. But dogs live out their final days, says The Washington Post’s Gene Weingarten, with a humility and grace we all could learn from."
The Bureau of Communication - Fill-in-the-blank Correspondence
"To promote better understanding between the peoples of the world, the Bureau of Communication is pleased to present a selection of fill-in-the-blank stationery for everyday correspondence."
Car Accident Checklist
Car accidents can be confusing, and making sure everyone is safe, and that all necessary information is gathered, can be difficult without guidance. The above web page contains an accident checklist that you might wish to print out and keep in your car. I adapted it from several sources. I think I'll buy a disposable camera to keep in my glove box, since I don't have a camera phone.
Warning labels (funny@work)
Some time ago at work someone pasted a bright yellow warning label on a large printer that says:
Warning: use caution when lifting
This made me sigh inside, because our safety culture is, some say, a bit out of hand at my workplace... and who lifts printers anyway? Especially ones the size of some smart cars? Do we *really* need to clutter the grey matter with such obvious warnings?
Anyway, being possessed of a label printer and some free time, I made the following stickers, which were placed around the original:
Warning: use caution when lifting
This made me sigh inside, because our safety culture is, some say, a bit out of hand at my workplace... and who lifts printers anyway? Especially ones the size of some smart cars? Do we *really* need to clutter the grey matter with such obvious warnings?
Anyway, being possessed of a label printer and some free time, I made the following stickers, which were placed around the original:
- Caution: paper cut risk
- Do not divide this device by zero
- If this printer falls into molten lava, just let it go, man
- Do not pour water on this device and then hug it
- This object contains matter, and may be dangerous if converted to its equivalent of energy
- Caution: do not eat printer
- Alert: may contain rabid chipmunks
- Warning: if gravity fails, this device will have no weight, but will still have the same mass
The Case for Working With Your Hands
"The trades suffer from low prestige, and I believe this is based on a simple mistake. Because the work is dirty, many people assume it is also stupid. "
MovieStinger | Post-Credits Scene Database
This site lets you know if there's anything during/after the credits in the movie you're watching, so you know if you should stick around.
IgnoramusMaximus makes a lot of sense
In a Slashdot discussion, IgnoramusMaximus put it nicely: click the link above to read the full comment, the replies; and other discussions.
You see, the whole idea of "law" was supposed to be for a code to bind a society together by making every member capable of some action affecting others to follow a simple set of clear rules, which, again by definition, were to be simple enough to be memorized in entirety by everyone. That is why Hammurabi had the thing carved in stone and placed at public squares, so that "ignorance of the law" was not an excuse for breaking it.
The moment however when the "law" becomes so complicated and ambiguous that it requires someone to "interpret it" (i.e. twist it to whatever whim of the moment is fanciful) the whole concept breaks. In short a society which needs lawyers, is by definition lawless, as "law" has morphed from the universal code of conduct to a byzantine, convoluted, religious scripture which requires a career priesthood to worship, massage, "interpret" and twist to the needs of whatever power caste is running the place at the time. The average denizen then simply becomes hapless prey for this caste of parasites with no recourse but to prostate himself/herself before the high-priests of "law" who hold the strings of the citizen's life or death in their hands.
Ultimately, in a country of lawyers, by lawyers and for lawyers, the laws become such a sick caricature of the original idea that no one knows the "law" to its full extent, including all of its priests. One can test this simple supposition by simply asking any one of them to recite the "law" of the land from memory. In the USA, not only no lawyer, judge or politician could do it (even though the "law" is supposedly binding everyone and its ignorance is "no excuse") but they would not be able to tell you what the current definitive law is at all, even when given the ability to use books and databases to do it, as the code has become so byzantine that its successive layers upon layers of modifications and arcane religious language are so completely unmanageable that pretty much any "legal" decision needs an arbitrary "interpretation" by a cabal of priests.
And this is why the majority of people instinctively hates lawyers, as even if most people cannot vocalize it, an average person's intrinsic moral compass is able to detect that something is profoundly wrong with the very idea of a lawyer.
You see, the whole idea of "law" was supposed to be for a code to bind a society together by making every member capable of some action affecting others to follow a simple set of clear rules, which, again by definition, were to be simple enough to be memorized in entirety by everyone. That is why Hammurabi had the thing carved in stone and placed at public squares, so that "ignorance of the law" was not an excuse for breaking it.
The moment however when the "law" becomes so complicated and ambiguous that it requires someone to "interpret it" (i.e. twist it to whatever whim of the moment is fanciful) the whole concept breaks. In short a society which needs lawyers, is by definition lawless, as "law" has morphed from the universal code of conduct to a byzantine, convoluted, religious scripture which requires a career priesthood to worship, massage, "interpret" and twist to the needs of whatever power caste is running the place at the time. The average denizen then simply becomes hapless prey for this caste of parasites with no recourse but to prostate himself/herself before the high-priests of "law" who hold the strings of the citizen's life or death in their hands.
Ultimately, in a country of lawyers, by lawyers and for lawyers, the laws become such a sick caricature of the original idea that no one knows the "law" to its full extent, including all of its priests. One can test this simple supposition by simply asking any one of them to recite the "law" of the land from memory. In the USA, not only no lawyer, judge or politician could do it (even though the "law" is supposedly binding everyone and its ignorance is "no excuse") but they would not be able to tell you what the current definitive law is at all, even when given the ability to use books and databases to do it, as the code has become so byzantine that its successive layers upon layers of modifications and arcane religious language are so completely unmanageable that pretty much any "legal" decision needs an arbitrary "interpretation" by a cabal of priests.
And this is why the majority of people instinctively hates lawyers, as even if most people cannot vocalize it, an average person's intrinsic moral compass is able to detect that something is profoundly wrong with the very idea of a lawyer.
How to Calculate Dog Years
"The old canard about one "dog year" equaling seven "human years" received a trouncing in yesterday's Explainer column on Slate.com. "
Common Sense Media
Reviews for parents who want to know about the media their kids are consuming.
Review of movies, games, web sites, tv shows, books, and music.
Review of movies, games, web sites, tv shows, books, and music.
Apocalypse Then: Our Favorite World Expiration Dates
"It's the biggest unsolved mystery: how the world will end. Here, we present our favorite expiration dates."
Excellent video (time lapse of a city)
Check this video out. The music is great. Be sure and full-screen it (the icon in the lower right with the 4 arrows pointing outward).
dolphin bubble rings
"The video, which was released March 11, shows SeaWorld dolphins issuing huge bubbles from their blowholes. The animals then use their heads and noses to break the bubble into smaller circles. Some even spin them into more complex shapes, like figure eights. "
Laptop Skins: Fugly Sweaters for Your Laptop
The comment I posted: "Unless those sweaters have a rubber backing, no thanks. I don't need anything that makes me *more* likely to drop it. And the cat will be all over it as well, according to the Principle of Feline Inversity (the more someone doesn't like cats, or is wearing something that doesn't match the cat, the more the cat will be attracted to them). My wife's laptop has a cracked case because it was on a TV stand and the cat was lazing around on it, and when someone came in the room he decided he was in trouble, so he did that cartoon thing where he jumped up and ran in place (wiggedy wiggedy wiggedy!) while the laptop shot out from underneath of him and gravity took its toll. Stupid cat."
Bad Things
This list is from a Good and Bad Things page I used to maintain; and in the interest of keeping the data alive, I post it here (some things were posted many years ago). The Bad List:
Genetic engineering -- hey, let's put flounder genes in a potato to protect it against freezing! Let's make a bunny with enough jellyfish genes that it glows! What the heck are we doing? Our history is paved with "oops, didn't think that would be harmful" statements and dead citizens. Do we have to wipe ourselves out before we wise up and take the long view on these things? I fear for the future. The near future.
Price gouging -- gas prices going up just before the weekend. Lumber prices increasing just before Memorial Day weekend when lots of people are working on projects. Theaters not allowing you to bring beverages in, then charging a week's wages for a small soda. But what can we do? Corporations have more legal protection than individual citizens now, and are unstoppable juggernauts of greed and avarice.
Cable monopolies -- a business without competition isn't a good thing for the consumer. Our local cable company provides terrible service, and gives us ever-rising prices. They're also trying to switch everyone to digital cable, which has several flaws: 1) can't watch one thing and tape another (or else TV and VCR would need separate cable boxes), and each TV needs a separate box, and this system is *not* free; 2) "surfing" between channels takes 2-3 seconds per channel, with an initial blank screen followed by a screen that pixelates in from top to bottom; 3) it's a two-way system: now the cable company can track your usage, and sell the information, or use it for their own nefarious purposes. Why is that bad? Why would anyone care what you watch? It's the information age, baby, and every bit of info about you that you let slip out of your grasp will earn someone esle money, and come back to irritate you (imagine being denied insurance because you watch too much TV and are a health risk... hasn't happened yet, but it will).
Product feature enumerators -- "Off" is not speed. If a fan has Hi, Lo, and Off, it's not a 3-speed fan.
HMO postcards -- a woman I know is expecting, and received the following postcard from Blue Care Network, her HMO. "Birth is a normal process for healthy mothers and babies. Once your baby arrives, you and your baby's length of hospital stay will be determined by your physician. Our case management nurses will be available to assist with post-hospitalization arrangements and may be reached at one of the telephone numbers listed below. Remember that the best place to recuperate and get to know your baby is at home. Again, congratulations to you and your baby." [emphasis mine] Could this money-grubbing HMO figure out how to present it's true intentions in a more obvious way?
Movie Multiplexes -- I've been to "movies" presented in theaters with only 6 seats across, on a screen not much bigger than a projection TV. With the audio from neighboring theaters filtering through the walls. And my biggest pet peeve of all: movies shown with a portion of the screen not viewable. For example, I saw Aliens II at a theater with a screen size that didn't match the movie, such that it starred "gourney Weav". Nice to know you're missing 20% of the movie. I now go out of my way as often as possible to see movies at big old-fashioned giant-screened theaters, or wait and see them on video. Once again greed triumphs over all.
VH1's Pop-Up Video -- excellent concept, and some great trivia. But that pop-up noise just drives me crazy. All it does is walk all over the music, and serves no real purpose. You're already watching the video, so you don't need an audio clue that something is popping up on the screen. I actually e-mailed the creators on this one, and they sent back some smarty reply of "you will soon come to crave the noise like everyone else". Wrong, dudes, it just made me stop watching.
Riders on the bill -- American politics have gotten really goofy, and a lot of it is due to the "riders" pasted on to bills pasing through Congress. Bills start out with simple clarity, and end up laden with outrageous amendments that have nothing whatsoever to do withthe bill. What can be the purpose of these riders? To sneak through legislation that otherwise wouldn't have made it by itself? To sabotage the bill so that certain people can't vote for it? Whatever the reason, it needs to stop.
Credit Cards -- the quickest route to financial ruin ever. Most people have no concept of compound interest, where you buy something on credit, make minimum payments, and end up paying onthe same item for many years, for many times the purchase price. If you must use a credit card, pay it off as fast as possible (the same month if possible), or get a debit card, which is a Visa or Mastercard with all it's convenient benefits, but it immediately takes the moeny from a checking account (no interest charged).
Cig flickers -- Smokers! Your cigarette butts are litter. Don't throw them out your car window or onto the ground, you are responsible for the proper disposal of them. As someone smart once said: "why would you put something in your mouth that you wouldn't keepin your car?" And people who dump their entire ashtrays on the ground should have to clean it up... using only their mouths.
Sony Trinitron monitors -- several years back I noticed this problem with Trinitron monitors, and figured "there's no way the public will stand for this... this product line is doomed". But it prevails. I recently purchased, for my employer, a new Dell unit, which came with a 17" monitor utilizing Sony Trinitron technology. Right there on the front of the monitor was a sticker that said (among other things): "You may see two thin horizontal lines on the monitor during operation. These are damper wires. They are an essential part of Trinitron(R) technology." That's like saying "Your new office chair has a large spike sticking up from the center of the seating area. This is the NoSlide spike. It is an essential part of your new chair". What good is monitor technology that puts two irritating lines across the screen at all times? No thanks, Sony.
Genetic engineering -- hey, let's put flounder genes in a potato to protect it against freezing! Let's make a bunny with enough jellyfish genes that it glows! What the heck are we doing? Our history is paved with "oops, didn't think that would be harmful" statements and dead citizens. Do we have to wipe ourselves out before we wise up and take the long view on these things? I fear for the future. The near future.
Price gouging -- gas prices going up just before the weekend. Lumber prices increasing just before Memorial Day weekend when lots of people are working on projects. Theaters not allowing you to bring beverages in, then charging a week's wages for a small soda. But what can we do? Corporations have more legal protection than individual citizens now, and are unstoppable juggernauts of greed and avarice.
Cable monopolies -- a business without competition isn't a good thing for the consumer. Our local cable company provides terrible service, and gives us ever-rising prices. They're also trying to switch everyone to digital cable, which has several flaws: 1) can't watch one thing and tape another (or else TV and VCR would need separate cable boxes), and each TV needs a separate box, and this system is *not* free; 2) "surfing" between channels takes 2-3 seconds per channel, with an initial blank screen followed by a screen that pixelates in from top to bottom; 3) it's a two-way system: now the cable company can track your usage, and sell the information, or use it for their own nefarious purposes. Why is that bad? Why would anyone care what you watch? It's the information age, baby, and every bit of info about you that you let slip out of your grasp will earn someone esle money, and come back to irritate you (imagine being denied insurance because you watch too much TV and are a health risk... hasn't happened yet, but it will).
Product feature enumerators -- "Off" is not speed. If a fan has Hi, Lo, and Off, it's not a 3-speed fan.
HMO postcards -- a woman I know is expecting, and received the following postcard from Blue Care Network, her HMO. "Birth is a normal process for healthy mothers and babies. Once your baby arrives, you and your baby's length of hospital stay will be determined by your physician. Our case management nurses will be available to assist with post-hospitalization arrangements and may be reached at one of the telephone numbers listed below. Remember that the best place to recuperate and get to know your baby is at home. Again, congratulations to you and your baby." [emphasis mine] Could this money-grubbing HMO figure out how to present it's true intentions in a more obvious way?
Movie Multiplexes -- I've been to "movies" presented in theaters with only 6 seats across, on a screen not much bigger than a projection TV. With the audio from neighboring theaters filtering through the walls. And my biggest pet peeve of all: movies shown with a portion of the screen not viewable. For example, I saw Aliens II at a theater with a screen size that didn't match the movie, such that it starred "gourney Weav". Nice to know you're missing 20% of the movie. I now go out of my way as often as possible to see movies at big old-fashioned giant-screened theaters, or wait and see them on video. Once again greed triumphs over all.
VH1's Pop-Up Video -- excellent concept, and some great trivia. But that pop-up noise just drives me crazy. All it does is walk all over the music, and serves no real purpose. You're already watching the video, so you don't need an audio clue that something is popping up on the screen. I actually e-mailed the creators on this one, and they sent back some smarty reply of "you will soon come to crave the noise like everyone else". Wrong, dudes, it just made me stop watching.
Riders on the bill -- American politics have gotten really goofy, and a lot of it is due to the "riders" pasted on to bills pasing through Congress. Bills start out with simple clarity, and end up laden with outrageous amendments that have nothing whatsoever to do withthe bill. What can be the purpose of these riders? To sneak through legislation that otherwise wouldn't have made it by itself? To sabotage the bill so that certain people can't vote for it? Whatever the reason, it needs to stop.
Credit Cards -- the quickest route to financial ruin ever. Most people have no concept of compound interest, where you buy something on credit, make minimum payments, and end up paying onthe same item for many years, for many times the purchase price. If you must use a credit card, pay it off as fast as possible (the same month if possible), or get a debit card, which is a Visa or Mastercard with all it's convenient benefits, but it immediately takes the moeny from a checking account (no interest charged).
Cig flickers -- Smokers! Your cigarette butts are litter. Don't throw them out your car window or onto the ground, you are responsible for the proper disposal of them. As someone smart once said: "why would you put something in your mouth that you wouldn't keepin your car?" And people who dump their entire ashtrays on the ground should have to clean it up... using only their mouths.
Sony Trinitron monitors -- several years back I noticed this problem with Trinitron monitors, and figured "there's no way the public will stand for this... this product line is doomed". But it prevails. I recently purchased, for my employer, a new Dell unit, which came with a 17" monitor utilizing Sony Trinitron technology. Right there on the front of the monitor was a sticker that said (among other things): "You may see two thin horizontal lines on the monitor during operation. These are damper wires. They are an essential part of Trinitron(R) technology." That's like saying "Your new office chair has a large spike sticking up from the center of the seating area. This is the NoSlide spike. It is an essential part of your new chair". What good is monitor technology that puts two irritating lines across the screen at all times? No thanks, Sony.
Good Things
This list is from a Good and Bad Things page I used to maintain; and in the interest of keeping the data alive, I post it here (some things were posted many years ago). The Good List:
Windless windchimes -- windchimes on a stand that use a clever set of microchips and electronmagnets to simulate wind action. windlesswindchimes.com
Recoil albums -- Alan Wilder (of Depeche Mode fame) puts together some excellent music, heavily synth-based, with many fine guest vocalists.
The Altec-Lansing ACS45 speaker system -- for $100 you get a subwoofer and two satellite speakers with very good sound (good upper-end clarity, great low end). The big beef: the volume controls are two membrane switches on one of the satellite speakers. You can't change the volume quickly, nor can you know the state of the volume circuit until a sound plays. Sometimes a good ol' volume knob is the way to go (and I see in the new models they've incorporated a front-mounted volume knob).
Morninglory Music (http://Cashforcds.com) -- Will give you on-line instantaneous quotes for any CDs you wish to sell, and will then send you a prepaid mailer for them. I got a fair quote on several CDs, received the mailer a few days later, sent in the CDs, and got my check within a week. Bonus: you only send back the CD and the paper from the jewel cases, you get to retain the cases.
Windless windchimes -- windchimes on a stand that use a clever set of microchips and electronmagnets to simulate wind action. windlesswindchimes.com
Recoil albums -- Alan Wilder (of Depeche Mode fame) puts together some excellent music, heavily synth-based, with many fine guest vocalists.
The Altec-Lansing ACS45 speaker system -- for $100 you get a subwoofer and two satellite speakers with very good sound (good upper-end clarity, great low end). The big beef: the volume controls are two membrane switches on one of the satellite speakers. You can't change the volume quickly, nor can you know the state of the volume circuit until a sound plays. Sometimes a good ol' volume knob is the way to go (and I see in the new models they've incorporated a front-mounted volume knob).
Morninglory Music (http://Cashforcds.com) -- Will give you on-line instantaneous quotes for any CDs you wish to sell, and will then send you a prepaid mailer for them. I got a fair quote on several CDs, received the mailer a few days later, sent in the CDs, and got my check within a week. Bonus: you only send back the CD and the paper from the jewel cases, you get to retain the cases.
Correlation
XKCD comic about one of my favorite subjects. Check it out, everyone involved in the news media of planet Earth!
Quote of the Day
“I want to remind you that financial success is not the only goal or the only measure of success. It’s easy to get caught up in the heady buzz of making money. You should regard money as fuel for what you really want to do, not as a goal in and of itself. Money is like gas in the car — you need to pay attention or you’ll end up on the side of the road — but a well-lived life is not a tour of gas stations!”
- Tim O’Reilly
- Tim O’Reilly
Protips
Avoid cutting yourself when slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold the vegetables while you chop.
Avoid arguments with the females about lifting the toilet seat by using the sink.
For high blood pressure sufferers ~ simply cut yourself and bleed for a few minutes, thus reducing the pressure on your veins. Remember to use a timer.
A mouse trap placed on top of your alarm clock will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button.
You only need two tools in life - wd-40 and duct tape. If it doesn't move and should, use the wd-40. if it shouldn't move and does, use the duct tape.
If you can't fix it with a hammer, you've got an electrical problem.
[sent by my dad]
Avoid arguments with the females about lifting the toilet seat by using the sink.
For high blood pressure sufferers ~ simply cut yourself and bleed for a few minutes, thus reducing the pressure on your veins. Remember to use a timer.
A mouse trap placed on top of your alarm clock will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button.
You only need two tools in life - wd-40 and duct tape. If it doesn't move and should, use the wd-40. if it shouldn't move and does, use the duct tape.
If you can't fix it with a hammer, you've got an electrical problem.
[sent by my dad]
Embarrassing Teenage Bodies
"Embarrassing Teenage Bodies helps answer the common questions and health concerns of teenagers. The videos, condition guides and interactive applications provide clear, honest information about the changes going on in teenage bodies.This site features very frank discussion and occasionally explicit images of medical conditions. Parental guidance is recommended."
Fix the top 6 causes of clutter
"Experts share the six main reasons why people can't seem to let go of their stuff and their smartest tricks for outwitting that primal hoarding instinct."
Every Man an Island, Pt. 1
"Think about it: only one out of ten cells in our bodies contain the DNA inherited from our parents. The other nine cells are not human."
Fat Factors
"In the 30-plus years that Richard Atkinson has been studying obesity, he has always maintained that overeating doesn’t really explain it all. "
Good lunch: Michael Angelo's frozen meals
Lunch at work is a chore: not enough time (or energy) to go out; boring to brown bag it. I've been trying to introduce more variety into lunch with some different frozen choices, and I've found a new favorite: Michael Angelo's Frozen Dinners. So far I've had the vegetable and regular lasagna, and both have been outstanding. And I really like the nice simple ingredients list, as well as the company's philosophy. Read more about them here. The only thing I don't know about the meals is how much they cost... but my SO, who I must thank for finding these, claims to only buy what is on sale. I'll attempt to remain blissfully ignorant. :-)
Quote of the Day
"Part of the debtor mentality is a constant, frantically suppressed undercurrent of terror. We have one of the highest debt-to-income ratios in the world, and apparently most of us are two paychecks from the street. Those in power - governments, employers - exploit this, to great effect. Frightened people are obedient - not just physically, but intellectually and emotionally. If your employer tells you to work overtime, and you know that refusing could jeopardize everything you have, then not only do you work the overtime, but you convince yourself that you're doing it voluntarily, out of loyalty to the company; because the alternative is to acknowledge that you are living in terror. Before you know it, you've persuaded yourself that you have a profound emotional attachment to some vast multinational corporation: you've indentured not just your working hours, but your entire thought process. The only people who are capable of either unfettered action or unfettered thought are those who - either because they're heroically brave, or because they're insane, or because they know themselves to be safe - are free from fear."
- Tana French, The Likeness, a novel set in Ireland.
- Tana French, The Likeness, a novel set in Ireland.
Nice alarm clock!
"Every morning, Jeeves awakens Sir with a most smooth and comforting way, His dulcet voice soothes Sir into gentle wakefulness without the unpleasant slap in the face that is normal alarm-clock operation."
Open-plan offices are making workers sick, say Australian scientists
"In 90 per cent of the research, the outcome of working in an open-plan office was seen as negative, with open-plan offices causing high levels of stress, conflict, high blood pressure, and a high staff turnover. "
Down with cubicles!
Down with cubicles!
The Cost of Fearing Strangers
"... most people are pretty terrible at risk assessment. They tend to overstate the risk of dramatic and unlikely events at the expense of more common and boring (if equally devastating) events."
"Food Matters," by Mark Bittman
"... both a cookbook and a manifesto that shows us how to eat better -- and save the planet."
Quotation of the day
"Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them--work, family, health, friends, and spirit--and you're keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls--family, health, friends, and spirit--are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged, or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life."
- Brian G. Dyson, speaking at Georgia Tech's 172nd commencement address in September 1996. Dyson was then Coca-Cola Enterprises president and CEO.
WPClipart offers 23,000+ royalty free images
"... currently boasts 23,872 public domain images covering just about every subject imaginable. Most are offered as lossless PNG files."
Unhappy Meals - Michael Pollan
"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. That, more or less, is the short answer to the supposedly incredibly complicated and confusing question of what we humans should eat in order to be maximally healthy. "
Another sinus treatment recommendation
I've written before about dealing with sinus issues, and while that product is good, I'm now a fan of the NeilMed Sinus Rinse. It's helped me avoid, or quickly resolve, lots of sinus infections, which used to trouble me often in the winter for long time spans. Their mixture packets are good, but to save money I make my own, as follows: 8 ounces warm water, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda. (you may need to adjust that slightly to whatever is most comfortable for you, varying the amounts and rations of salt and baking soda).
DavidPye.com - where everything is free
Very nice website with interesting stories, lots of fonts, images, avatars, desktops, and much more.
10 Facts Every Westerner Should Know About the Middle East
"Most Westerners know very little about the Middle East and the people that live there. This lack of knowledge hurts our ability to understand, and engage in intelligent discussion about, current events."
Twelve Hours Sleep by Twelve Weeks Old: the best parenting book I've read
"a very short book that does exactly what it says on the cover: it's a simple prescription for teaching your baby to sleep through the whole night by 12 weeks."
20 facts about bungee jumping. 20 facts about bungee. 20 facts about. 20 facts. 20
Most awesome headline ever.
Kongar-ol Ondar the Tuvan Singer
And there's someone you all know who can also do a bit of overtone singing.
Quote of the Day
"I have spent my days stringing and unstringing my instrument while the song I came to sing remains unsung."
- Rabindranath Tagore
- Rabindranath Tagore
Quote of the day
"One of the major weaknesses of observational data is the possibility of bias, including selection bias and reporting bias, which can be obviated largely by using randomised controlled trials. The relevance to parachute use is that individuals jumping from aircraft without the help of a parachute are likely to have a high prevalence of pre-existing psychiatric morbidity. Individuals who use parachutes are likely to have less psychiatric morbidity and may also differ in key demographic factors, such as income and cigarette use. It follows, therefore, that the apparent protective effect of parachutes may be merely an example of the "healthy cohort" effect."
- Gordon Smith and Jill Pell, in "Parachute use to prevent death and major trauma related to gravitational challenge: systematic review of randomised controlled trials".
- Gordon Smith and Jill Pell, in "Parachute use to prevent death and major trauma related to gravitational challenge: systematic review of randomised controlled trials".
The Five Big Mistakes That Changed My Life and How I Moved Past Them
"I never got back to myself. I became better than I was."
Findings - 10 Things to Scratch From Your Worry List
Registration required, but use one from http://www.bugmenot.com/view/nytimes.com
The Chap Olympics
"Described for 'the perfectly dressed, under-achieving dandies with no interest in sport', the event is organised by The Chap Magazine."
Your brain lies to you
"The brain does not simply gather and stockpile information as a computer's hard drive does."
How To Write an Effective Thank You Note for Any Occasion
"Why Send Thank You Notes At All? A thank you note has two big things going for it."
PocketMod: The Free Recyclable Personal Organizer
"With the PocketMod, you can carry around the days notes, keep them organized in any way you wish, then easily transfer the notes to your PDA, spreadsheet, or planner"
Unplanned Freefall? Some Survival Tips
"First of all, you're starting off a full mile higher than Everest, so after a few gulps of disappointing air you're going to black out. This is not a bad thing. If you have ever tried to keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, you know what I mean. "
6 ways you're wasting gas
"It's not easy to break bad driving habits, but if you don't, the money you lose on gas could wind up breaking your bank."
Quote of the Day
"Television is the device that has changed a generation of youngsters from an irresistible force into immovable objects."
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
20 Ways to Eliminate Stress From Your Life
"By careful editing of your life, and changing certain habits, you can eliminate most (not all) sources of stress in your life."
Free Range Kids: Giving Kids Freedom to be Kids
"At Free Range, we believe in safe kids. We believe in helmets, car seats and safety belts. We do NOT believe that every time school age children go outside, they need a security detail."
Fighting with spouse can be good for your health
"But new research at the University of Michigan shows that hashing out marital disagreements is actually good for your health. It's squelching anger, especially when you feel you've been wronged, that's dangerous."
Journalist bites reality
"How broadcast journalism is flawed in such a fundamental way that its utility as a tool for informing viewers is almost nil."
The Chili Cheese Burrito and You
"Enter ChiliCheese.org. They have compiled a list of Taco Bells that still carry the Chili Cheese Burrito. So, you can experience the wonders of the CCB once again. "
Avoid pesky shipping costs with Free Shipping On
"Free Shipping On is a new service that makes it easier to find free shipping deals. First, the site has a huge database of deals and coupon codes you can use to get free shipping from stores like Newegg, Circuit City, Staples, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, and Apple."
10 Ways We Get the Odds Wrong
"Our emotions push us to make snap judgments that once were sensible—but may not be anymore."
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