Business {on Significant}

There is a myth of multitasking, which many have bought into, but which reduces their effectiveness and productivity. I still remember when I was struggling with this in my job and an article in   Time magazine  from 2006 struck a cord with me as I read it: There’s substantial literature on how the brain handles multitasking. And basically, it doesn’t. The Time magazine article focuses on what a 2005 Kaiser Family Foundation study dubbed "Generation M," a group of young people (ages 8 to 18) who were increasingly engaging in "media multitasking." The article found that while the total time spent with electronic media hadn't increased significantly, the amount of media consumed within that time had, thanks to activities like instant messaging while watching TV or doing homework. The key scientific finding highlighted in the article is that the human brain does not truly multitask. Instead, it performs a rapid toggling between tasks . When an individual attempts ...

Is Sugar Toxic? - NYTimes.com The hour and a half long video lecture from UC :  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM Small Excerpt      The viral success of his lecture, though, has little to do with Lustig’s impressive credentials and far more with the persuasive case he makes that sugar is a “toxin” or a “poison,” terms he uses together 13 times through the course of the lecture, in addition to the five references to sugar as merely “evil.” And by “sugar,” Lustig means not only the white granulated stuff that we put in coffee and sprinkle on cereal — technically known as sucrose — but also high-fructose corn syrup, which has already become without Lustig’s help what he calls “the most demonized additive known to man.”      It doesn’t hurt Lustig’s cause that he is a compelling public speaker. His critics argue that what makes him compelling is his practice of taking suggestive evidence and insisting that it’s incontrovertible. Lustig ce...

Excerpt (2011) Wikipedia Entry The Damocles of the anecdote (of Greek Legend) was an obsequious courtier in the court of Dionysius II of Syracuse , a fourth century BCE tyrant of Syracuse, Italy. Pandering to his king, Damocles exclaimed that, as a great man of power and authority surrounded by magnificence, Dionysius was truly fortunate. Realizing the folly of this courtier, Dionysius offered to switch places with him, so he could taste first hand that fortune. Damocles could think of no other place he would rather be and quickly accepted the King's proposal. Damocles sat down in the king's throne surrounded by every luxury, but Dionysius arranged that a huge sword should hang above the throne, held at the pommel only by a single hair of a horse's tail. Damocles finally begged the tyrant that he be allowed to depart, because he no longer wanted to be so fortunate. Dionysius had successfully conveyed a sense of the constant fear in which the great man lives. Cicero uses t...

YouTube - TEDxConcordia - Yan Ohayon - The Impact of Algorithmic Trading This presenter is actually pretty dry and boring, but his points are sound. The world economy is headed for some rough times ahead because of the machines we've built and the greed that drives men. Wall Street is a cybernetic Las Vegas. Caveat Emptor.

Article Link   Peter Thiel: We’re in a Bubble and It’s Not the Internet. It’s Higher Education. "Instead, for Thiel, the bubble that has taken the place of housing is the higher education bubble. “A true bubble is when something is overvalued and intensely believed,” he says. “ Education may be the only thing people still believe in in the United States. To question education is really dangerous. It is the absolute taboo. It’s like telling the world there’s no Santa Claus.” Like the housing bubble, the education bubble is about security and insurance against the future. Both whisper a seductive promise into the ears of worried Americans: Do this and you will be safe. The excesses of both were always excused by a core national belief that no matter what happens in the world, these were the best investments you could make. Housing prices would always go up, and you will always make more money if you are college educated."

HHjH ~Yellowberri Unprofessional

Paul MacCready , considered to be one of the best mechanical engineers of the 20th century, said it best:  The problem is we don’t understand the problem. "You Are Solving The Wrong Problem"  outlines the fundamental steps, mental processes, strategies, and common hurdles involved in effective problem-solving. Summary Problem-Solving Steps: It details a structured, multi-step approach: identifying the issue by gathering and analyzing information, deciding to address the problem by weighing the pros and cons of taking action, understanding the issue to avoid making it worse, investigating various options to make an informed decision, and finally, taking steps to achieve your objectives based on a clear understanding of the root cause. Mental Processes: The article explains the cognitive aspects of problem-solving, such as identifying a problem cognitively (recognizing and correcting biased thinking), making a mental representation of the situation (visualizing the problem to ...

This song is strangely enchanting...I was fixated. YouTube - Rainbow Quest: Jean Ritchie - Shady Grove

Full Article is here: A Legal Manual for an Apocalyptic New York - NYTimes.com : Excerpt: "Quarantines. The closing of businesses. Mass evacuations. Warrantless searches of homes. The slaughter of infected animals and the seizing of property. When laws can be suspended and whether infectious people can be isolated against their will or subjected to mandatory treatment. It is all there, in dry legalese, in the manual, published by the state court system and the state bar association. The most startling legal realities are handled with lawyerly understatement. It notes that the government has broad power to declare a state of emergency. “Once having done so,” it continues, “local authorities may establish curfews, quarantine wide areas, close businesses, restrict public assemblies and, under certain circumstances, suspend local ordinances.”" The full manual is available here .

LINK: Living Life is better than Dying in College Altucher Confidential : An essay on why kids should not go to college at 18...I share many of his sentiments. Excerpt: "Colleges have made use of the myth that you can’t get a job unless you have a college education. So young people feel a rush to get that college out of the way so they can get a job and “begin” their adult lives. I think kids should begin their adult lives at 18 by experiencing what else the world has to offer other (see my eight alternatives to college) than a classroom (which they’ve all just been locked in for the prior 18 years). A rose needs space to bloom." "To summarize: A) you learn very little that you use in real life B) you are so burdened by debt that you can’t use your new-found knowledge to create real freedom and joy for yourself C) a young person can use their energy in many other ways than just college"

LINK: R osenhan experiment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia : Excerpt: "The Rosenhan experiment was a famous experiment into the validity of psychiatric diagnosis conducted by psychologist David Rosenhan in 1973. It was published in the journal Science under the title "On being sane in insane places." The study is considered an important and influential criticism of psychiatric diagnosis. "Rosenhan's study was done in two parts. The first part involved the use of healthy associates or "pseudopatients" who briefly simulated auditory hallucinations in an attempt to gain admission to 12 different psychiatric hospitals in five different states in various locations in the United States. All were admitted and diagnosed with psychiatric disorders. After admission, the pseudopatients acted normally and told staff that they felt fine and had not experienced any more hallucinations. Hospital staff failed to detect a single pseudopatient, and instead believed...

YouTube - Mree Covers: You and I (Ingrid Michaelson) : "

YouTube - WORST ICE SKATER EVER? : " "

This vaguely reminds me of playing the Oregon Trail as a kid. What's crazy is the buses seem to line up for this...WHO NEEDS A BRIDGE!?

"Certain facets of Jehovah’s personality are revealed by his creative works even prior to his creation of man. ( Ro 1:20 ) The very act of creation reveals his love. This is because Jehovah is self-contained, lacking nothing. Hence, although he created hundreds of millions of spirit sons, not one could add anything to his knowledge or contribute some desirable quality of emotion or personality that He did not already possess in superior degree.— Da 7:9, 10 ; Heb 12:22 ; Isa 40:13, 14 ; Ro 11:33, 34 ." ... " As revealed to man in Eden .  As what kind of person did Jehovah reveal himself to his first human children? Certainly Adam in his perfection would have had to concur with the later words of the psalmist: “I shall laud you because in a fear-inspiring way I am wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, as my soul is very well aware.” ( Ps 139:14 ) From his own body—outstandingly versatile among earthly creatures—on outward to the things he found around him, the ma...

I have no idea what this song is about, but the video, the sound, and some of the poetry that I can make out is pretty cool...only the creatives need watch. CocoRoise - Lemonade from Sub Pop Records on Vimeo .

The German Texans Interesting History of the Immigration of Germans in Texas. Althtough Texas as a whole has strong German undercurrents, the strong outward culture was hidden and lost after the USA's war with Germany in WWI and II. "Emphasis always lay on the preservation of German identity. In schools, students learned both English and German. German settlements usually offered free schools. New Braunfels eventually offered all of its young students a completely free primary education. In 1853, the singing society Sangerbund held its first German music festival. It has grown in popularity among not only German Texans, but also out-of-state participants of different ethnicities. While many German activities dissipated during World War I and II due to discrimination, the Boerne Village Band maintained an important presence. It has been applauded by Germany and the Texas Legislature for its preservation of German music. Ludwig von Roemer and Louis and Robert Kleberg, who ...

I'm still trying to figure out how this would work... Goal: Get 10 points...or get thrown out of parties :) Source

"Last week, a series of flash floods and mudslides struck the Serrana mountain region near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, destroying buildings roads and more. Nearly 14,000 people are now homeless, 759 are reported to have been killed and another 400 remain missing in this, Brazil's worst-ever natural disaster. As soldiers make their way to remote towns with aid and transportation, Brazil's government has said it would accelerate efforts to build up a nationwide disaster-prevention and early-warning system. Collected here are photos from the mountainous regions near Rio that were so hard-hit by these landslides." Here's a series of a few dozen photographs with a sample below:  Landslides in Brazil - The Big Picture - Boston.com

PSFK » Reading Patterns Of Mobile Device Users : "The graph of when users are reading on the iPad shows the biggest time for reading: personal prime time. This is generally the most relaxing time of day. After a long day, work is done, dinner is resting in your belly and there is nothing left to do but put your feet up and relax. This time slot is the same one coveted by television. When the majority of people are consuming content it seems perfectly natural that people would use this time to do their reading as well. Not surprising, if you look back at the graphs for computer and iPhone reading, you’ll see spikes during this same time (8 – 10 PM) appear on all graphs."

FP Explainer: Who Are the Knights of Malta -- and What Do They Want? - By Joshua E. Keating | Foreign Policy : "Despite having no fixed territory besides its headquarters building in Rome, the order is considered a sovereign entity under international law. It prints its own postage stamps and coins -- though these are mostly for novelty value -- and enjoys observer status at the United Nations, which classifies it as a nonstate entity like the Red Cross. The Knights maintain diplomatic relations with 104 countries. The order does not have official relations with the United States, though it has offices in New York, for the United Nations delegation, and Washington, for its representation at the Inter-American Development Bank."

Dictionary - Definition of henchman : Excerpt: "The word henchman (Germanic irregular plural: henchmen) referred originally to one who attended on a horse, that is, a horse groom. Hence, like constable and marshal, also originally stable staff, henchman became the title of a (subordinate) official in a royal court or noble household. It is now used primarily to describe a stock character in many adventure stories: the villain's Publish Post lackey."

"Eminence grise"   "An éminence grise (French for "grey eminence") is a powerful advisor or decision-maker who operates secretly or unofficially. This phrase originally referred to François Leclerc du Tremblay , the right-hand man of Cardinal Richelieu. Leclerc was a Capuchin friar who wore grey, or rather brown, robes. Brown or light brown (now called "beige") was called grey in that era...Although Leclerc du Tremblay never achieved that rank, it is probable that those around him may have addressed him thus in reference to the considerable influence this "grey friar" held over "his Eminence the Cardinal".   "A grey eminence may alternatively mean an elderly (grey-haired) individual who is eminent for accomplishments in the past, but today acts as an advisor rather than a principal actor, and may be politically influential as a consequence of his honored status. For example a distinguished retired physics professor; a po...

Rise of the Hans - By Joel Kotkin | Foreign Policy Just a sample of what he's reasoning on: " With China's new prominence in global affairs, the Han race, which constitutes 90 percent of the Chinese population, is suddenly the most dominant cohesive ethnic group in the world -- and it is seeking to remain that way through strategic alliances, aggressive trade policy, and attacks on racial minorities within the country's boundaries. The less tribally cohesive, more fragmented West is, meanwhile, losing out. Almost 20 years ago, I wrote a book called Tribes that sought to trace the role of ethnicity, race, and religion in economic and geopolitical affairs. At the time, there was some skepticism about the continuing influence of ethnicity; some considered the work, frankly, regressive and racist. Now, however, my thesis from 1992 has really come to fruition. We are living in the age of tribes -- and China is just the start. Such primitive racial instincts were supposed t...

Maybe the American government should spend MORE...like a misfit teenager. Wah wah waaaah... Why America's credit rating might be cut, and why it matters - The Week

Mumford and Sons...nice sound, better words.

Much more information on this subject can be found in Michael Behe's book, " Darwin's Black Box ".  I've read Behe's book and it is staggering. Magazine with the article: PDF: http://download.jw.org/files/media_magazines/g_E_201102.pdf MP3: http://download.jw.org/files/media_magazines/g_E_201102_11.mp3

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