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In the world, what counts more than talent, what counts more than energy, concentration, commitment, or anything else is kindness....And all the big words--virtue, justice, truth--are dwarfed by the greatness of kindness.
~ Stephen Fry
Nassim Nicholas Taleb - Interview by Russ Roberts
My notes from interview Russ Roberts had with Nassim Nicholas Taleb.
Nassim Nicholas Taleb & Russ Roberts - Listened to a fascinating interview on EconTalk between Nassim Nicholas Taleb and Russ Roberts. Roberts (the interviewer) does a terrific job drawing out Taleb and clarifying the randomness expert's unconventional ideas and arguments.
Listening to Taleb is like watching a magician. His thought experiments and arguments seem like a slight of hand, and I'm often surprised by their conclusions. Makes for a wonderfully satisfying discussion. Roberts, again, doesn't let anything pass without getting clarity from Taleb.
What Men Want on a Remote Control
Remote Control for Men
I wonder what women want on a remote control. And notice the apple logo...Is this a reference to the apple in Adam and Eve?
Get Rid of Ants - Without Pesticides or Poison
Get Rid of Ants - Superb article on Associated Content describes How to Get Rid of Ants Without Using a Pesticide. Below is a summary.
Predicting the Stars - Sasha Pieterse
Sasha Pieterse
Mark my words, Sasha Pieterse is gonna be a star.
Saw her in a second season episode of Fox's medical drama series House. In the episode, simply called Autopsy, the (then) nine year-old actress played a nine year-old terminal cancer patient, and gave a performance well beyond her years. Second time I've seen it, and again was choked up by her portrayal. Powerful stuff.
South African born Sasha Pieterse's talent totally reminds me of the Sixth Sense phenom, Haley Joel Osment. I wonder if she'll be picked up for any heavy roles as Osment was. Doubt there's much to pick from, but if I were a screenwriter, watching her performance would have inspired me to write something just for her. What a talent.
Sasha Pieterse will be a star.
Low-Carb Diet Plan - Gary Taubes
Low-Carb Diet Plan - Found this list in Gary Taubes' book Good Calories, Bad Calories to be about right. He culled it from Herman Taller and and Robert Atkins. More-or-less how I am eating. I'm basically avoiding any processed foods and oils, though I do eat Leo Galland's Omega Blast Granola in the morning. In fact, I really love many of the recipes from Leo Galland's Fat Resistance Diet.
Heaven is Where the Police are British...
Heaven is where the police are British,
the chefs Italian,
the mechanics German,
the lovers French,
and it's all organized by the Swiss.
Hell is where the police are German,
the chefs are British,
the mechanics French,
the lovers Swiss,
and it is all organized by the Italians.
Soccer Kid Video
Soccer Kid - Totally cute video I found on YouTube titled Soccer Kid. Works in any language. No translation required...
(:youtube bggFBWn7YoI:)
Missing Beauty
I received this from a dear friend by email...Enjoy!
Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning. A man with a violin plays six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. 2 thousand people passed through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle-aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule....
4 minutes later:
The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.
6 minutes:
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again...
Gregory Bateson - Favorite Quotes & Ideas
Gregory Bateson (9 May 1904 – 4 July 1980) was a British anthropologist, social scientist, linguist, semiotician and cyberneticist whose work intersected that of many other fields. Some of his most noted writings are to be found in his books, Steps to an Ecology of Mind (1972) and Mind and Nature (1979). Angels Fear (published posthumously in 1987) was co-authored by his daughter Mary Catherine Bateson.
Gregory Bateson - Wikipedia
Pastor Jeremiah Wright - In Context
Barack Obama and Jeremiah Wright
Pastor Jeremiah Wright - In Context - With all the controversy about Pastor Jeremiah Wright's words, I wanted to get a bit closer to the context. I concluded that the news hysteria is misguided. In context, the sound-bites make perfect sense and don't justify the inflammatory response generated by the out-of-context sound-bites repeated ad-nauseum by our shameful media.
When we adopt the opinions of the media, accepting as proof a sound-bite, we risk being mislead. We risk public opinion being corralled by a minority with an agenda. Again, we've been fooled.
Secrets of Stress Management
Photo by Adrian Sampson Received via email. Dunno who to credit.
Stress Management - When explaining stress management to an audience, the lecturer raised a glass of water and asked:
"How heavy is this glass of water?"
Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.
The lecturer replied:
"The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it.
"If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance.
In each case, it's the same weight:
The longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.
21 Funny Airline Announcements
Rec'd from co-worker this list of 21 funny statements made by pilots or attendents in the cabin of commercial airliners. Here are the top three...
1. On a Southwest flight 245 (SW has no assigned seating, you just sit where you want) passengers were apparently having a hard time choosing, when a flight attendant announced, "People, people we're not picking out furniture here, find a seat and get in it!"
2. On a Continental Flight with a very "senior" flight attendant crew, the pilot said, "Ladies and gentlemen, we've reached cruising altitude and will be turning down the cabin lights. This is for your comfort and to enhance the appearance of your flight attendants."
3. On landing, the stewardess said, "Please be sure to take all of your belongings. If you're going to leave anything, please make sure it's something we'd like to have.
Wade Davis TED Talk - Worldwide Web of Belief & Ritual - Video
Wade Davis TED Talk - Riveting talk by anthropologist Wade Davis about the "worldwide web of belief and ritual." Davis is such passionate advocate for all cultures, maintaining that no culture is a "failed attempt at modern life." Instead, each is a unique, creative expression that strives to answer life's questions of why? and how? If anything, Davis considers these ancient and ongoing cultures (Mayan, Inuit, etc.) as much richer and complex than the culture(s) of our modern industrial age. After hearing Davis' talk, he certainly has good reason to feel that way.
Suze Orman Will and Trust Kit
Suze Orman Will and Trust Kit - Here's a good intro to will, estate and trust law. Still should have a lawyer review your documents to be safe. I found it very easy to go through and understand. She has a lawyer narrate much of the text and provides excellent summaries of the main points to consider when putting together a will and living trust.
Includes all necessary forms, and seems to perform online updates. For a relatively simple estate, I think the Suze Orman Will and Trust Kit is a winner.
 | Suze Orman Will & Trust Kit (CD-ROM) |
 | *NEW Suze Orman Will & Trust Kit Online Version (CD-ROM) |
33 Funny Musings of Steven Wright
Steven Wright
Steven Wright - Here's another emailed bit of humor. It's by Steven Wright, whose biography consists of the following:
Below is a brief description included with the email. I'm not sure who wrote that part or about the "scientist" part, but Wright sure has a unique way of viewing the world. Enjoy!
Is Cheap Gas Bad for Your Car
Cheap Gas and Your Car - It's a question I always ask myself when gas prices go up:
Is cheap gas bad for my car?
As I fill up the tank at Peter's Petrol, I promise my car I'll make up for this abuse and feed it better gas next time. But is there anything wrong with cheap gas?
Here's what I found.
If Drivers Ed. Were Taught Like Sex Ed. - Comic
Firefox Extensions / Add-ons I Like
Firefox Browser
- NoScript :: Firefox Add-ons
- NoScript's unique whitelist based pre-emptive script blocking approach prevents exploitation of security vulnerabilities (known and even not known yet!) with no loss of functionality...
- SearchWith :: Firefox Add-ons
- SearchWith extension allows you to search selected with various search services. It adds a "Search With" sub menu on the context menu (right-click menu) with a configurable list of search services that can be used to search the highlighted text. Also enables you to view the html source of selected text.
- Picnik :: Firefox Add-ons
- Very cool integration with picnik.com online photo editor. May take the place of picasa for editing some blog images.
- View Source Chart :: Firefox Add-ons
- Draws A Color-Coded Chart of a Web Page's Source Code.
- Update Notifier :: Firefox Add-ons
- Notifies you when updates are available for your extensions and themes. Allows quick access to your extensions and themes and the ability to check both types for any updates. Easily configurable for automatically installing updates when available...
Amazon Kindle Wireless Reading Device - Honest Review
Amazon Kindle Wireless Reading Device - I thought this Amazon Kindle user review on the Amazon site said it all...and very succinctly:
2.0 out of 5 stars
The Good, Bad, and Ugly
By Alex P Keaton "AlexP" (PA, USA)
The Good:
The screen is actually pretty nice on this device. This is one of those new style of paper screens that make it much easier to read on than an on your PC, iPhone, or PDA. +1 points.
8 Bad Words
8 Bad Words - Found this video by Trevor Crook kinda informative and funny--not George Carlin funny by any means, however...
(:youtube I-09D7Vi4XA:)
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