July 2009
39 posts
TED Speaking Guide →
Now that TEDGlobal 2009 has drawn to a close and the videos are slowly making their way online, the latest Nature has an editorial on the TED phenomenon, suggesting that “those wishing to…
Goal Setting and Affluence →
You’ve heard of the Yale Goal-Setting Study, right? The one that goes like this:
In 1953 a team of researchers interviewed Yale’s graduating seniors, asking them whether they had written down the…
Reporting and the Internet →
It seems you can’t spend five minutes on the Internet without coming across an opinion piece on the end of traditional media or an article riffing on the age of the blog. I’ve so far refrained…
The Tao of War Photography →
Laying dormant at the bottom of my bookmarks was this article Jason pointed out over four months ago: photographer Bruce Haley’s Tao of War Photography.
1. To begin with, practice this…
I, Toaster and The Economies of Production →
Doing away with the division of labour and most other economies of production, Thomas Thwaites’ Toaster Project is an experiment to “build a toaster, from scratch—beginning by mining the raw…
“The most important thing we ever learn in school is the fact that the most...”
– Haruki Murakami, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
“I had to give it everything I had. If I failed, I could accept that. But I knew...”
– Haruki Murakami, What I Think About When I Think About Running
“Commonplace they might be, but the accumulation of these [unpretentious,...”
– Haruki Murakami, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
Cards Against Humanity (Party Game) →
via @zambonini
40+ Invaluable PHP Tutorials and Resources →
Exporting Poor Work Environments →
After a long time of successfully managing to avoid the blog, I eventually clicked this past week when I was sent Fake Steve Jobs’ reaction to the news that an employee of Foxconn, one of…
“I work extremely hard doing what I love, mainly to ensure that I don’t...”
– Hugh MacLeod (@gapingvoid)
“My mother in law believed lol meant lots of love, which has led to her [sending]...”
– @MariBiscuits
The Ideal Creative Workspace →
Jonah Lehrer suggests that the ideal creative workplace is “a room with blue walls that feels very far away and is filled with references to foreign countries”. Why would these three conditions…
The 12 Core Human Skills →
Elaborating on a concept from one of my favourite posts written by Dilbert creator Scott Adams (career advice: either “become the best at one specific thing” or “become very good (top 25%) at…
“Success does not necessarily come to those with the best skills, talents, or...”
– Cynthia Shapiro
The Principles of Edward Tufte →
The problem: “presenting large amounts of information in a way that is compact, accurate, adequate for the purpose, and easy to understand”.
The solution: Edward Tufte (actually, the solution is…
Making Graphs That Work →
Seth Godin offers some advice on creating quality, legible, graphs. Short and sweet.
Don’t let popular spreadsheets be in charge of the way you look.
Tell a story. The only 4 stories…
The Negative Effect of Positive Thinking →
An entire industry has been created and thrives based solely on the theories of positive psychology: self affirmations help to motivate, we are told, and they may even help those with low…
“Living disproportionately high on the food chain, at levels at which toxic...”
– Jared Diamond, Collapse
Developing a Web App on a Shoestring Budget →
As the title suggests—and the tips prove—this brief guide to getting a web app up-and-running on a small budget requires, well, a budget (as opposed to no budget and doing it all yourself)….
Alcohol in Moderation: Not So Good, Maybe →
Moderate alcohol intake has long been lauded as an ingredient of the healthy lifestyle; being good for your heart and your longevity.
According to a growing number of vocal psychologists, however,
Books to Ignore →
Like timesink productivity websites, books written purely to instruct us what books to read are inherently counterproductive. The Second Pass does the opposite, producing a list of ten…
“The value of “one statistical life” in the U.S.—i.e., the cost to...”
– Jared Diamond, Collapse
The Smell of Rain →
Petrichor (pronounced /ˈpɛtrɨkər/; from Greek petros “stone” + ichor “the fluid that is supposed to flow in the veins of the gods in Greek mythology”) is the name of the scent of rain on dry earth.
“Power Corrupts.
PowerPoint Corrupts Absolutely.”
– Edward Tufte, http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/ppt2.html
“On my gravestone, please print: “Fatal Exception Has Occurred”.”
– @chrispirillo
