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33 Ways to Start your Day

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:25:40 -0800

32. Identify one item to be canceled:

I like this list. They take just five minutes and I like more than half of the suggestions.

1x.com - Photo: Autumn Composition by Deduar

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:08:03 -0800

"Carnival"

The sun's return is magical;
And once a year, finally
More than we can bear.
That is why, suddenly,
We break out into a sensual
Frenzy of light
And sound
And motion
And color
Plunging ourselves into chaos,
For we are nervous
But we say it is a celebration
As we realize our lives
Have been nothing more
Than a mischief of patterns
And organizations
Against our fear of the capricious-
Like the essence of the trees and caves,
Like the essence of the growing crops,
Like the essence
Of all the herds of animals,
Like the essence of the clan and tribe,
Even our passionate anger,
Even our violence,
Even our cold indifference,
Our clandestine cruelty,
Our gentle warmth,
Our nurturing abundance,
And our generosity
As we struggle with our volatile selves
Trying to become one with the gods.

-Primus St. John

Stanfords Entrepreneurship Corner: Chip Conley, Joie de Vivre Hospitality - Dealing With Complaints

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:44:55 -0800

Stanford Entrepreneurship Videos: Chip Conley on Dealing with Complaints

When receiving complaints, Conley recommends that managers drop everything and immediately contact the offended party. Even if you cannot solve the problem, immediate response can halt deepening resentment and the viral effects of negative word-of-mouth PR. Though Conley believes that employees are actually more important than customers, it is important for employees to understand the customer's point of view and not become defensive when a customer complains.

Official Google Blog: Transparency, choice and control - now complete with a Dashboard!

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:43:00 -0800

Google Dashboard

Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?

~~The Shadow~~ Google does.

All your personal information in one place. I am concerned about security issues: Helpful to you, helpful to hackers.

sent by ani

Oregon Literary Review

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:49:42 -0800

Yes, I went to the poetry reading with the nice man. We laughed a lot. We hit traffic, had wrong directions from google, arrived late, listened to an hour of mumble and clever metaphor spaghetti, then went for Pho. The company you're with makes or breaks a date, no? We've written a little poem together to re-review our first poetry date:

mumble, mumble, mumble -
stringing clever metaphors -
mumble, mumble, mumble
emerald leaves - azure skies -
mumble, mumble, mumble -
traffic on the corridor,
an hour of holding hands
fake birds glitter in the rafters
mumble, mumble, mumble
worse than bad sex.
Dreams of Pho and creme brulee.

Earlier....

Poetry is not a turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotion; it is not the expression of personality but an escape from personality. But, of course, only those who have personality and emotions know what it means to want to escape from these things.

~T.S. Eliot, "Tradition and the Individual Talent"

And yet....

I'm excited about going to a wine tasting | poetry reading with a nice man

Being in love rocks. Still.

Cat from OliviaB

First Chapter - How We Decide, by Jonah Lehrer - NYTimes.com

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:31:15 -0800

How we Decide

Pondering what to wear after her bath

What you think you know about thinking is wrong

Jonah Lehler addresses how we make decisions on a neuron level. Much more interesting than I'd expected. In the Sample first chapter, he relates decision making to the instant decisions required of a successful quarterback.

An interesting read.

From his personal blog, Jonah Lehler interviewing himself:

Q: Why did you want to write a book about decision-making?

A: It all began with Cheerios. I'm an incredibly indecisive person. There I was, aimlessly wandering the cereal aisle of the supermarket, trying to choose between the apple-cinnamon and honey-nut varieties. It was an embarrassing waste of time and yet it happened to me all the time. Eventually, I decided that enough was enough: I needed to understand what was happening inside my brain as I contemplated my breakfast options. I soon realized, of course, that this new science of decision-making had implications far grander than Cheerios.

Sample first chapter of How We Decide by Jonah Lehler

Jonah Lehler interviewing himself

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2505/4073985305_1934a47aa6.jpg

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:08:45 -0800

Double Trouble

This painting of my two Maine Coon cats was done by BeauBeauregard. It is one of three. This painting really captures their personalities. That's Trouble on the left, half-asleep but still plotting something. And Tiggy, the angelic one, on the right, wondering about the possibility of a snack or a new Eeek!

Thank you, Gwen!

1x.com - Photo: I'M WALKING by Thomas Holtkoetter

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:29:02 -0800

Evidently didn't like V4 and is threatening to leave.

BBC - Earth News - Polar bear plus grizzly equals?

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:58:58 -0800

Polar Bear Plus Grizzly Equals?

This is not as frivolous an article as you might think. Since polar bear habitat is shrinking (melting), there's speculation that more and more polar bears will migrate back to the mainland where they will meet and get to know (very well) brown, black, and grizzly bears.

Some polar bear crosses have been bread in captivity and one in the wild.

Find out more about the new wave bears

See an old wave bear

1x.com - Photo: Aero dance. by Mikesi

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:32:23 -0800

Aero Dance