The Perennial Plate Episode 84: Dumpster Diver from Daniel Klein on Vimeo.
so much waste. fail.
Showing posts with label interesting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label interesting. Show all posts
1.19.2012
12.27.2011
9.29.2011
fascinating graphic of job gains and losses
Brent sent me this link. What a great visualization. Worth a click:
Job Gains and Losses in the US over since 2000.
Job Gains and Losses in the US over since 2000.
8.31.2011
wow
Boingboing posted about this new website, Atavist, where people make visual stories. I guess some people call these movies. This is an excerpt from a new one. Fascinating.
Here is a link to the whole story shown above, if you are interested. Via The Atlantic.
2.28.2011
dooce?
Anyone every heard of www.dooce.com? I had never heard of the "queen of mommy blogs" until Brent mentioned the New York Time magazine article...
Here's the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/27/magazine/27armstrong-t.html?pagewanted=all
Former Mormon, almost killed her self because of post-partum depression...great story.
Thoughts?
Here's the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/27/magazine/27armstrong-t.html?pagewanted=all
Former Mormon, almost killed her self because of post-partum depression...great story.
Thoughts?
2.24.2011
a long time
This is the longest I have gone without posting since starting the blog...did anyone notice?
Read this new GAO report hot off the presses: Defined Contribution Plans: Key Information on Target Date Funds as Default Investments Should Be Provided to Plan Sponsors and Participants, GAO-11-118, January 31, 2011.
Good times.
Read this new GAO report hot off the presses: Defined Contribution Plans: Key Information on Target Date Funds as Default Investments Should Be Provided to Plan Sponsors and Participants, GAO-11-118, January 31, 2011.
Good times.
12.14.2010
how Japanese people multiply
This is simply amazing. Love it.
Ok, it is apparently not Japanese but Vedic...Read more by clicking here.
12.09.2010
subculture
There is an emerging (maybe) subculture of people who are more interested in living a minimalist lifestyle on their own terms rather than working in a cube. I find this interesting...
Here is a link to one such blog: http://rowdykittens.com/about/our-downsizing-story/
They live in a small apartment in Portland.
Here is another one: http://manvsdebt.com/.
He and his wife sold everything they owned, moved to Australia and New Zealand with their baby....amazing.
This is the blog post that brought this subculture into my brain today:
The Minimalist Guide to Leaving Your Soul-Crushing Day Job.
"The first step to leaving anything is preparation (but not too much of it.)
Written by Everett Bogue
This is the first of a three part series on using minimalism to leave your day job in order to live and work anywhere.
Don’t miss out! Sign up for free updates via email or RSS.
If you’ve been following this blog long, or read The Art of Being Minimalist, you know that I left my job last August in order to launch my minimalist business and live and work from anywhere.
If you’re in a situation like I was a year ago, –the monotonous repetitive days, the future of my creativity rapidly dying,– I imagine you want to do this too.
You want to be like Colin Wright, and country hop every four months. Or like Karol Gajda, making a reasonable living online while crafting a hand-made guitar in India. Maybe you want to be like Tammy Strobel and start a very small writing business to support your car-free lifestyle.
Maybe you want to be like you! That’s even better.
It doesn’t matter what ideal life you imagine, you just need to know that it’s possible.
Before I get started: whenever I write these types of things, I always get comments from two kinds of people who think I’m nuts.
The first is the people with kids, “oh it’s so hard, I could never do that” crowd.
I know, it’s so much easier to quit your job when you’re single and in your twenties, but it’s not impossible to change your life just because you decided to procreate. Leo Babauta started his own business and quit his job through minimalism, and he has six kids! You can too, no excuses!
The other group of people who comment are the ones who claim to love their job.
Great! I’m so happy for you, don’t change anything.
But, if you really love your job, why are you reading a blog post about leaving your job? Go read and comment on something else! …unless you actually secretly hate your job, in which case you need to ask yourself some hard questions. Don’t just deny everything until you wake up one day 15 years down the road and wonder where your life went.
Now then, let’s get to business…
The obstacles of leaving your job.
Quitting your job is never easy. There are a number of obstacles to overcome in order to even think of going out on your own...'
Read more by clicking through.
Here is a link to one such blog: http://rowdykittens.com/about/our-downsizing-story/
They live in a small apartment in Portland.
Here is another one: http://manvsdebt.com/.
He and his wife sold everything they owned, moved to Australia and New Zealand with their baby....amazing.
This is the blog post that brought this subculture into my brain today:
The Minimalist Guide to Leaving Your Soul-Crushing Day Job.
"The first step to leaving anything is preparation (but not too much of it.)
Written by Everett Bogue
This is the first of a three part series on using minimalism to leave your day job in order to live and work anywhere.
Don’t miss out! Sign up for free updates via email or RSS.
If you’ve been following this blog long, or read The Art of Being Minimalist, you know that I left my job last August in order to launch my minimalist business and live and work from anywhere.
If you’re in a situation like I was a year ago, –the monotonous repetitive days, the future of my creativity rapidly dying,– I imagine you want to do this too.
You want to be like Colin Wright, and country hop every four months. Or like Karol Gajda, making a reasonable living online while crafting a hand-made guitar in India. Maybe you want to be like Tammy Strobel and start a very small writing business to support your car-free lifestyle.
Maybe you want to be like you! That’s even better.
It doesn’t matter what ideal life you imagine, you just need to know that it’s possible.
Before I get started: whenever I write these types of things, I always get comments from two kinds of people who think I’m nuts.
The first is the people with kids, “oh it’s so hard, I could never do that” crowd.
I know, it’s so much easier to quit your job when you’re single and in your twenties, but it’s not impossible to change your life just because you decided to procreate. Leo Babauta started his own business and quit his job through minimalism, and he has six kids! You can too, no excuses!
The other group of people who comment are the ones who claim to love their job.
Great! I’m so happy for you, don’t change anything.
But, if you really love your job, why are you reading a blog post about leaving your job? Go read and comment on something else! …unless you actually secretly hate your job, in which case you need to ask yourself some hard questions. Don’t just deny everything until you wake up one day 15 years down the road and wonder where your life went.
Now then, let’s get to business…
The obstacles of leaving your job.
Quitting your job is never easy. There are a number of obstacles to overcome in order to even think of going out on your own...'
Read more by clicking through.
11.23.2010
bodymedia part deux
So, I have been wearing my BodyMedia fit for a month now. And I have the data to prove it!
Here's a summary:
I am only sleeping on average 6 hours and 53 minutes a night. I thought I slept 8 hours a night. I am lying down for an average of 8 hours and 35 minutes.
I eat on average 1400 calories a day. This seems low to me. I bet I eat closer to 1600, but even still I have burned on average 2785 calories. How can this be? I eat on average 16% protein, 46% carbs, and 36% fat...oh and 3% alcohol.
I have only lost 2 pounds...maybe.
I average 9812 steps a day. Not bad.
Interesting....
This just reenforces my feeling that calories in do not equal calories out.
And I need to sleep more.
Here's a summary:
I am only sleeping on average 6 hours and 53 minutes a night. I thought I slept 8 hours a night. I am lying down for an average of 8 hours and 35 minutes.
I eat on average 1400 calories a day. This seems low to me. I bet I eat closer to 1600, but even still I have burned on average 2785 calories. How can this be? I eat on average 16% protein, 46% carbs, and 36% fat...oh and 3% alcohol.
I have only lost 2 pounds...maybe.
I average 9812 steps a day. Not bad.
Interesting....
This just reenforces my feeling that calories in do not equal calories out.
And I need to sleep more.
10.30.2010
how big is Africa?
Montana is big. People don't really get how big it is. Well Africa is much much bigger. Bigger than most of the rest of the land mass in the world. That big.Click here to see some other interesting views on land mass.
10.25.2010
lovers and friends
"A scientific study reveals that having a new romantic partner comes at the cost of losing two close friends."
Brent sent me this article a few weeks ago. (Read the article here.) I have been thinking about this idea since then. And I think I did in fact lose two close friends when I gained Brent.
The article does not really satisfactorily discuss the "why"...Why does this happen? They think it just has to do with time management.
Interesting.
Brent sent me this article a few weeks ago. (Read the article here.) I have been thinking about this idea since then. And I think I did in fact lose two close friends when I gained Brent.
The article does not really satisfactorily discuss the "why"...Why does this happen? They think it just has to do with time management.
Interesting.
10.23.2010
relative direction
We have spent a lot of time on faceblindness lately. I know. I know. It still blows my mind. There are other problems people have. One is a problem knowing right from left consistently. I have this. If someone says turn right, I have to physically lift up my hands and say, "right, left." Then I remember.
The other relative directions are: up, down, forward, and backwards.
Some cultures use relative directions, and some use cardinal (absolute) directions, like north, south, east, and west. (I wonder where that leaves up and down?)
The Economist has covered this topic in a few articles, one of which can be found here: Article 1.
I have also read, and I don't remember where, that women and men tell directions differently. Women tend to use landmarks more while men use streets more.
"Go down to the Stop and Shop, then turn there towards the McDonalds. Drive until you go past the blue house and our house is the next green house with a walnut tree in front."
"Go down to the next light, go right. Then drive to the address 6377. That's our house."
These directions could essentially get you to the same place, but sound completely different. I feel this demonstrates one of the difficulties in communication in heterosexual relationships: we conceive of the world differently. (Query whether homosexual relationships have the same issues. I don't know.)
The New York Times magazine ran a long magazine article about whether language shapes how people think. (click here to read it)
I believe language does shape how we think. We just listened to another mindblowing Radiolab about language. In that article, one theorist posits that until we acquire language, we can't think. We can't think. Think about that. The show also has a story about a man who does not have language at age 27. (I told this to someone and they brought up the "your ability to acquire language ends at a certain age." I have heard that but that was not the case here. I don't know why. Maybe Claudia could weigh in on this?)
Speaking of Claudia, in German I am a whole different person. I am cuter. I am less direct. I swear a lot less. Isn't that strange? Does anyone else have a different personality in a different language? Katerina? I bet you are different in Greek v. German v. English v. French, but I don't know for sure. Marika? Hai? Laura?
Listen to the radio lab below:
The other relative directions are: up, down, forward, and backwards.
Some cultures use relative directions, and some use cardinal (absolute) directions, like north, south, east, and west. (I wonder where that leaves up and down?)
The Economist has covered this topic in a few articles, one of which can be found here: Article 1.
I have also read, and I don't remember where, that women and men tell directions differently. Women tend to use landmarks more while men use streets more.
"Go down to the Stop and Shop, then turn there towards the McDonalds. Drive until you go past the blue house and our house is the next green house with a walnut tree in front."
"Go down to the next light, go right. Then drive to the address 6377. That's our house."
These directions could essentially get you to the same place, but sound completely different. I feel this demonstrates one of the difficulties in communication in heterosexual relationships: we conceive of the world differently. (Query whether homosexual relationships have the same issues. I don't know.)
The New York Times magazine ran a long magazine article about whether language shapes how people think. (click here to read it)
I believe language does shape how we think. We just listened to another mindblowing Radiolab about language. In that article, one theorist posits that until we acquire language, we can't think. We can't think. Think about that. The show also has a story about a man who does not have language at age 27. (I told this to someone and they brought up the "your ability to acquire language ends at a certain age." I have heard that but that was not the case here. I don't know why. Maybe Claudia could weigh in on this?)
Speaking of Claudia, in German I am a whole different person. I am cuter. I am less direct. I swear a lot less. Isn't that strange? Does anyone else have a different personality in a different language? Katerina? I bet you are different in Greek v. German v. English v. French, but I don't know for sure. Marika? Hai? Laura?
Listen to the radio lab below:
10.22.2010
ebay: experiment failure
So the last two weeks I have tried selling some things on ebay. I just wanted to see how it worked and if I could make any money doing it. I have sold:
2 pairs of shoes
1 raincoat
1 bag
One pair of shoes went for way more than I expected. The purse was sold for a lot less than I wanted. The raincoat was a wash. And one pair of shoes went for a steal.
It took a lot of actual time to sell this stuff and a lot of mental time. I kept checking the things to see if they were selling. Yes, I made a few bucks, but I think in the future we will just give things to friends or goodwill. That makes me feel better...giving away the stuff.
2 pairs of shoes
1 raincoat
1 bag
One pair of shoes went for way more than I expected. The purse was sold for a lot less than I wanted. The raincoat was a wash. And one pair of shoes went for a steal.
It took a lot of actual time to sell this stuff and a lot of mental time. I kept checking the things to see if they were selling. Yes, I made a few bucks, but I think in the future we will just give things to friends or goodwill. That makes me feel better...giving away the stuff.
10.15.2010
keys to happiness
Sometimes when I find something really neat I will take notes about that thing. I just stumbled across some notes I took from an Atlantic Monthly article from last year or so. The article was about factors that help people live longer. The study profiled followed college age men from just after WWII to today.
Factors that help you Live Longer:
1. Mature psychological adaptations
2. Stable Marriage
3. Education
4. Not Smoking
5. Not Abusing Alcohol
6. Some Exercise
7. Healthy Weight
Factors that don’t matter:
1. Your cholesterol at age 50.
2. The Importance of Social Ease Decreases with Age
3. The importance of your childhood temperament goes down with age.
Exercise in college equates to better late in life mental health.
People who are depressed die earlier. Pessimists suffer physically more than optimists.
The bottom line of the study was:
The only things that really matter in life are your relationships to other people.
If these are the factors that lead to a long life, how are you doing? Can you change something in your life to increase your odds?
Factors that help you Live Longer:
1. Mature psychological adaptations
2. Stable Marriage
3. Education
4. Not Smoking
5. Not Abusing Alcohol
6. Some Exercise
7. Healthy Weight
Factors that don’t matter:
1. Your cholesterol at age 50.
2. The Importance of Social Ease Decreases with Age
3. The importance of your childhood temperament goes down with age.
Exercise in college equates to better late in life mental health.
People who are depressed die earlier. Pessimists suffer physically more than optimists.
The bottom line of the study was:
The only things that really matter in life are your relationships to other people.
If these are the factors that lead to a long life, how are you doing? Can you change something in your life to increase your odds?
10.12.2010
your desk
Do you have a desk? Not everyone does. I love my desk. The image on the banner is of my desk. We found it at a store randomly, and bought it on the spot. I am not even sure I was looking for a desk then. Anyway, this is a movie about desks and what they mean. Only 6 minutes...worth the watch.
Desk - Music and Sound Design from Aaron Trinder Film:Motion:Music on Vimeo.
10.08.2010
10.02.2010
and now we explain why we can't get the New Yorker
We get New York magazine in this house. We love it. We do not get The New Yorker. And let me show you, rather than tell you why:
...
Ok, this is annoying, but since I only really have five regular readers and one of them is my husband, I will just email you the article, since it is now behind the New Yorker pay wall. How annoying. (If you want to read the article and I don't email it to you, email me. h a r k i n n a @ h o t m a i l . c o m...without the spaces.)
The bottom line though, is the story is easily 20 pages long and is FRICKEN amazing. I mean, once I started reading it, I could not put it down. I loved it. And here lies the danger: what if stories and articles arrived in my mail box EVERY WEEK that were this good? I would never do anything else. I would have to call off work. I could never keep up. The New Yorker would take over my life.
So, now you know why Brent and I will never be card carrying literati: we just can't handle it.
...
Ok, this is annoying, but since I only really have five regular readers and one of them is my husband, I will just email you the article, since it is now behind the New Yorker pay wall. How annoying. (If you want to read the article and I don't email it to you, email me. h a r k i n n a @ h o t m a i l . c o m...without the spaces.)
The bottom line though, is the story is easily 20 pages long and is FRICKEN amazing. I mean, once I started reading it, I could not put it down. I loved it. And here lies the danger: what if stories and articles arrived in my mail box EVERY WEEK that were this good? I would never do anything else. I would have to call off work. I could never keep up. The New Yorker would take over my life.
So, now you know why Brent and I will never be card carrying literati: we just can't handle it.
9.22.2010
the color of our cities
The Color of Our Cities
This guy's work keeps blowing my mind.
Eric Fischer said about his work: "I was astounded by Bill Rankin's map of Chicago's racial and ethnic divides and wanted to see what other cities looked like mapped the same way. To match his map, Red is White, Blue is Black, Green is Asian, Orange is Hispanic, Gray is Other, and each dot is 25 people. Data from Census 2000."
Click the link above to see more pictures.
Washington, D.C.
This guy's work keeps blowing my mind.
Eric Fischer said about his work: "I was astounded by Bill Rankin's map of Chicago's racial and ethnic divides and wanted to see what other cities looked like mapped the same way. To match his map, Red is White, Blue is Black, Green is Asian, Orange is Hispanic, Gray is Other, and each dot is 25 people. Data from Census 2000."
Click the link above to see more pictures.
Washington, D.C.
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