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Archive for the 'Human Factors/Ergonomics' Category
Bossy: A Desktop Assistant
Posted by: adonis49 on: December 3, 2017
Meet Bossy,
A Cute Desktop Assistant That Wants You To Be A Better Worker
The device is concept designed to show a future where our electronics can help us organize our work lives beyond just installing more and more productivity apps.
It might seem like working long hours would make you better at your job, but the opposite is actually true: It can make you less productive and lower the quality of your work.
(Even worse, it also makes you more likely to die early).
A new product concept from U.K. that design student Lucas Neumann aims to help by telling you exactly what to do so you can finish work early–like a friendly version of a robot boss.
Neumann designed the product for freelance workers with flexible hours, who might be more likely to procrastinate and get distracted by an avalanche of information online.
But it probably could be helpful for anyone who's stuck in front of a computer all day and has trouble concentrating.
The tool, called Bossy, is a physical device that sits on a desktop, rather than yet another app. "When I was doing research, I started installing all of these organization apps in my phone and on my Mac," says Neumann. "But I realized that after time we stop engaging with particular apps because we're dealing with too much stuff."
Bossy is a constant reminder of whatever's next on your to-do list, so you never have to open an app or check in.
"I realized that if you have something that sits there with you all the time, off your phone and computer–while at the same time connected with everything–it might be easier to create a relationship with it and a long-lasting kind of engagement," Neumann explains.
The simple white device connects to your calendars, to-do lists, apps, and wearable tech, and then displays your top three priorities.
Once you finish something, you push a button–made squishy so it's more satisfying–and the device records your progress on a separate desktop and mobile app, offering badges and other rewards as you improve.
Over time, Bossy learns how you work in order to be more helpful.
It can also remind you to stand up, stretch, drink water, or take breaks, and if you're feeling overwhelmed by various feeds online, a swipe of a button on the device will shut down the noise.
Neumann created the design for an RSA student challenge that asked for solutions for the way we'll work in the future. "It's looking 15 or 20 years ahead," he says. Still, the technology and predictive analysis used in the design are already available, so in theory, the product could be built now.
For the moment, Neumann wants to tweak some details of the hardware–a special white screen that he wants to use, for example, isn't available yet on the market.
But as he researches the concept with freelancers at coworking spaces and elsewhere, he's already getting requests to make it right away.
ADELE PETERS is a writer who focuses on sustainability and design and lives in Oakland, California. She's worked with GOOD, BioLite, and the Sustainable Products and Solutions program at UC Berkeley. Continued
What a 40 min-day longer on Mars do to managing team on Earth?
Posted by: adonis49 on: March 19, 2017
What a 40 min-day longer on Mars do to managing team on Earth?
We didn't think that we are going to have Mars watches and the logistics of the time
Nagin Cox is a first-generation Martian. As a spacecraft engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Cox works on the team that manages the United States' rovers on Mars.
But working a 9-to-5 on another planet — whose day is 40 minutes longer than Earth's — has particular, often comical challenges
Nagin Cox. Spacecraft operations engineer
So many of you have probably seen the movie "The Martian." But for those of you who did not, it's a movie about an astronaut who is stranded on Mars, and his efforts to stay alive until the Earth can send a rescue mission to bring him back to Earth.
Gladly, they do re-establish communication with the character, astronaut Watney, at some point so that he's not as alone on Mars until he can be rescued. So while you're watching the movie, or even if you haven't, when you think about Mars, you're probably thinking about how far away it is and how distant.
0:50 And, what might not have occurred to you is, what are the logistics really like of working on another planet — of living on two planets when there are people on the Earth and there are rovers or people on Mars?
So think about when you have friends, families and co-workers in California, on the West Coast or in other parts of the world. When you're trying to communicate with them, one of the things you probably first think about is: wait, what time is it in California? Will I wake them up? Is it OK to call?
even if you're interacting with colleagues who are in Europe, you're immediately thinking about: What does it take to coordinate communication when people are far away?
we don't have people on Mars right now, but we do have rovers. And actually right now, on Curiosity, it is 6:10 in the morning. So, 6:10 in the morning on Mars. We have four rovers on Mars. The United States has put four rovers on Mars since the mid-1990s, and I have been privileged enough to work on three of them.
I am a spacecraft engineer, a spacecraft operations engineer, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Los Angeles, California. And these rovers are our robotic emissaries they are our eyes and our ears, and they see the planet for us until we can send people. So we learn how to operate on other planets through these rovers.
before we send people, we send robots. So the reason there's a time difference on Mars right now, from the time that we're at is because the Martian day is longer than the Earth day. Our Earth day is 24 hours, because that's how long it takes the Earth to rotate, how long it takes to go around once. So our day is 24 hours. It takes Mars 24 hours and approximately 40 minutes to rotate once.
that means that the Martian day is 40 minutes longer than the Earth day. So teams of people who are operating the rovers on Mars, like this one, what we are doing is we are living on Earth, but working on Mars. So we have to think as if we are actually on Mars with the rover.
Our job, the job of this team, of which I'm a part of, is to send commands to the rover to tell it what to do the next day. To tell it to drive or drill or tell her whatever she's supposed to do. So while she's sleeping — and the rover does sleep at night because she needs to recharge her batteries and she needs to weather the cold Martian night.
And so the rover sleeps. So while she sleeps, we work on her program for the next day. So I work the Martian night shift. (Laughter)
in order to come to work on the Earth at the same time every day on Mars — like, let's say I need to be at work at 5:00 p.m., this team needs to be at work at 5:00 p.m. Mars time every day, then we have to come to work on the Earth 40 minutes later every day, in order to stay in sync with Mars. That's like moving a time zone every day.
one day you come in at 8:00, the next day 40 minutes later at 8:40, the next day 40 minutes later at 9:20, the next day at 10:00. So you keep moving 40 minutes every day, until soon you're coming to work in the middle of the night — the middle of the Earth night. Right? So you can imagine how confusing that is.
Hence, the Mars watch. (Laughter) This weights in this watch have been mechanically adjusted so that it runs more slowly. Right? And we didn't start out — I got this watch in 2004 when Spirit and Opportunity, the rovers back then. We didn't start out thinking that we were going to need Mars watches.
Right? We thought, OK, we'll just have the time on our computers and on the mission control screens, and that would be enough. Yeah, not so much. Because we weren't just working on Mars time, we were actually living on Mars time. And we got just instantaneously confused about what time it was.
you really needed something on your wrist to tell you: What time is it on the Earth? What time is it on Mars? And it wasn't just the time on Mars that was confusing; we also needed to be able to talk to each other about it. So a "sol" is a Martian day — again, 24 hours and 40 minutes. So when we're talking about something that's happening on the Earth, we will say, today.
for Mars, we say, "tosol." (Laughter) Yesterday became "yestersol" for Mars. Again, we didn't start out thinking, "Oh, let's invent a language." It was just very confusing.
I remember somebody walked up to me and said, "I would like to do this activity on the vehicle tomorrow, on the rover." And I said, "Tomorrow, tomorrow, or Mars, tomorrow?" We started this terminology because we needed a way to talk to each other. (Laughter)
Tomorrow became "nextersol" or "solorrow." Because people have different preferences for the words they use. Some of you might say "soda" and some of you might say "pop." So we have people who say "nextersol" or "solorrow." And then something that I noticed after a few years of working on these missions, was that the people who work on the rovers, we say "tosol."
The people who work on the landed missions that don't rove around, they say "tosoul." So I could actually tell what mission you worked on from your Martian accent. (Laughter)
we have the watches and the language, and you're detecting a theme here, right? So that we don't get confused. But even the Earth daylight could confuse us. If you think that right now, you've come to work and it's the middle of the Martian night and there's light streaming in from the windows that's going to be confusing as well.
you can see from this image of the control room that all of the blinds are down. So that there's no light to distract us. The blinds went down all over the building about a week before landing, and they didn't go up until we went off Mars time.
this also works for the house, for at home. I've been on Mars time three times, and my husband is like, OK, we're getting ready for Mars time. And so he'll put foil all over the windows and dark curtains and shades because it also affects your families.
And so here I was living in kind of this darkened environment, but so was he. And he'd gotten used to it. But then I would get these plaintive emails from him when he was at work. Should I come home? Are you awake? What time is it on Mars? And I decided, OK, so he needs a Mars watch. (Laughter)
But of course, it's 2016, so there's an app for that. (Laughter) So now instead of the watches, we can also use our phones. But the impact on families was just across the board; it wasn't just those of us who were working on the rovers but our families as well.
This is David Oh, one of our flight directors, and he's at the beach in Los Angeles with his family at 1:00 in the morning. (Laughter) So because we landed in August and his kids didn't have to go back to school until September, they actually went on to Mars time with him for one month.
They got up 40 minutes later every day. And they were on dad's work schedule. So they lived on Mars time for a month and had these great adventures, like going bowling in the middle of the night or going to the beach. And one of the things that we all discovered is you can get anywhere in Los Angeles at 3:00 in the morning when there's no traffic.
we would get off work, and we didn't want to go home and bother our families, and we were hungry, so instead of going locally to eat something, we'd go, "Wait, there's this great all-night deli in Long Beach, and we can get there in 10 minutes!" So we would drive down — it was like the 60s, no traffic.
We would drive down there, and the restaurant owners would go, "Who are you people? And why are you at my restaurant at 3:00 in the morning?" So they came to realize that there were these packs of Martians, roaming the LA freeways, in the middle of the night — in the middle of the Earth night. And we did actually start calling ourselves Martians. So those of us who were on Mars time would refer to ourselves as Martians, and everyone else as Earthlings.
And that's because when you're moving a time-zone every day, you start to really feel separated from everyone else. You're literally in your own world. So I have this button on that says, "I survived Mars time. Sol 0-90." And there's a picture of it up on the screen.
the reason we got these buttons is because we work on Mars time in order to be as efficient as possible with the rover on Mars, to make the best use of our time. But we don't stay on Mars time for more than three to four months.
Eventually, we'll move to a modified Mars time, which is what we're working now. And that's because it's hard on your bodies, it's hard on your families. In fact, there were sleep researchers who actually were studying us because it was so unusual for humans to try to extend their day. And they had about 30 of us that they would do sleep deprivation experiments on.
I would come in and take the test and I fell asleep in each one. And that was because, again, this eventually becomes hard on your body. Even though it was a blast. It was a huge bonding experience with the other members on the team, but it is difficult to sustain.
these rover missions are our first steps out into the solar system. We are learning how to live on more than one planet. We are changing our perspective to become multi-planetary. So the next time you see a Star Wars movie, and there are people going from the Dagobah system to Tatooine, think about what it really means to have people spread out so far.
What it means in terms of the distances between them, how they will start to feel separate from each other and just the logistics of the time. We have not sent people to Mars yet, but we hope to. And between companies like SpaceX and NASA and all of the international space agencies of the world, we hope to do that in the next few decades.
So soon we will have people on Mars, and we truly will be multi-planetary. And the young boy or the young girl who will be going to Mars could be in this audience or listening today.
I have wanted to work at JPL on these missions since I was 14 years old and I am privileged to be a part of it. And this is a remarkable time in the space program, and we are all in this journey together.
the next time you think you don't have enough time in your day, just remember, it's all a matter of your Earthly perspective.
Patsy Z and TEDxSKE shared a link.
"I hate my epoque with all my forces. Man is dying of thirst" Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Posted by: adonis49 on: March 18, 2017
"I hate my époque with all my forces. Man is dying of thirst"
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry of Petit-Prince and other books that were made into movies
The last letter from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry to General X on July 30, 1944. He disappeared with airplane the next day on July 31, 1944
Lettre d'Antoine de Saint-Exupéry au général X : « Je hais mon époque de toutes mes forces. L'homme y meurt de soif. »
Antoine de Saint Exupéry : mythe absolu de l'aviateur et de l'écrivain, auteur du Petit-Prince et de nombreux romans, est mort au combat le 31 juillet 1944.
La veille, il écrit au général X et s'exprime avec une lucidité exceptionnelle sur la condition de l'homme moderne. Testament avant l'heure, cette lettre, déchirante à la lumière de son destin, parle étrangement et profondément de notre temps.
30 juillet 1944
Je viens de faire quelques vols sur P. 38. C'est une belle machine. J'aurais été heureux de disposer de ce cadeau-là pour mes vingt ans.
Je constate avec mélancolie qu'aujourd'hui, à 43 ans, après quelques 6,500 heures de vol sous tous les ciels du monde, je ne puis plus trouver grand plaisir à ce jeu-là. Ce n'est plus qu'un instrument de déplacement – ici de guerre.
Si je me soumets à la vitesse et à l'altitude à mon âge patriarcal pour ce métier, c'est bien plus pour ne rien refuser des emmerdements de ma génération que dans l'espoir de retrouver les satisfactions d'autrefois.
Ceci est peut-être mélancolique, mais peut-être bien ne l'est-ce pas. C'est sans doute quand j'avais vingt ans que je me trompais.
En Octobre 1940, de retour d'Afrique du Nord où le groupe 2 – 33 avait émigré, ma voiture étant remisée exsangue dans quelque garage poussiéreux, j'ai découvert la carriole et le cheval. Par elle l'herbe des chemins. Les moutons et les oliviers.
Ces oliviers avaient un autre rôle que celui de battre la mesure derrière les vitres à 130 kms à l'heure. Ils se montraient dans leur rythme vrai qui est de lentement fabriquer des olives.
Les moutons n'avaient pas pour fin exclusive de faire tomber la moyenne. Ils redevenaient vivants. Ils faisaient de vraies crottes et fabriquaient de la vraie laine. Et l'herbe aussi avait un sens puisqu'ils la broutaient.
Et je me suis senti revivre dans ce seul coin du monde où la poussière soit parfumée (je suis injuste, elle l'est en Grèce aussi comme en Provence). Et il m'a semblé que, toute ma vie, j'avais été un imbécile…
Tout cela pour vous expliquer que cette existence grégaire au coeur d'une base américaine, ces repas expédiés debout en dix minutes, ce va-et-vient entre les monoplaces de 2600 chevaux dans une bâtisse abstraite où nous sommes entassé à trois par chambre, ce terrible désert humain, en un mot, n'a rien qui me caresse le coeur.
Ca aussi, comme les missions sans profit ou espoir de retour de Juin 1940, c'est une maladie à passer. Je suis "malade" pour un temps inconnu. Mais je ne me reconnais pas le droit de ne pas subir cette maladie. Voilà tout.
Aujourd'hui, je suis profondément triste. Je suis triste pour ma génération qui est vide de toute substance humaine. Qui n'ayant connu que les bars, les mathématiques et les Bugatti comme forme de vie spirituelle, se trouve aujourd'hui plongé dans une action strictement grégaire qui n'a plus aucune couleur.
On ne sait pas le remarquer.
Prenez le phénomène militaire d'il y a cent ans. Considérez combien il intégrait d'efforts pour qu'il fut répondu à la vie spirituelle, poétique ou simplement humaine de l'homme.
Aujourd'hui nous sommes plus desséchés que des briques, nous sourions de ces niaiseries. Les costumes, les drapeaux, les chants, la musique, les victoires (il n'est pas de victoire aujourd'hui, il n'est que des phénomènes de digestion lente ou rapide) tout lyrisme sonne ridicule et les hommes refusent d'être réveillés à une vie spirituelle quelconque.
Ils font honnêtement une sorte de travail à la chaîne. Comme dit la jeunesse américaine, "nous acceptons honnêtement ce job ingrat" et la propagande, dans le monde entier, se bat les flancs avec désespoir.
De la tragédie grecque, l'humanité, dans sa décadence, est tombée jusqu'au théâtre de Mr Louis Verneuil (on ne peut guère aller plus loin). Siècle de publicité, du système Bedeau, des régimes totalitaires et des armées sans clairons ni drapeaux, ni messes pour les morts. Je hais mon époque de toutes mes forces. L'homme y meurt de soif.
Ah ! Général, il n'y a qu'un problème, un seul de par le monde.
Rendre aux hommes une signification spirituelle, des inquiétudes spirituelles, faire pleuvoir sur eux quelque chose qui ressemble à un chant grégorien. On ne peut vivre de frigidaires, de politique, de bilans et de mots croisés, voyez-vous !
On ne peut plus vivre sans poésie, couleur ni amour. Rien qu'à entendre un chant villageois du 15 ème siècle, on mesure la pente descendue. Il ne reste rien que la voix du robot de la propagande (pardonnez-moi). Deux milliards d'hommes n'entendent plus que le robot, ne comprennent plus que le robot, se font robots.
Tous les craquements des trente dernières années n'ont que deux sources : les impasses du système économique du XIX ème siècle et le désespoir spirituel.
Pourquoi Mermoz a-t-il suivi son grand dadais de colonel sinon par soif ? Pourquoi la Russie ? Pourquoi l'Espagne ?
Les hommes ont fait l'essai des valeurs cartésiennes : hors des sciences de la nature, cela ne leur a guère réussi.
Il n'y a qu'un problème, un seul : redécouvrir qu'il est une vie de l'esprit plus haute encore que la vie de l'intelligence, la seule qui satisfasse l'homme.
Ca déborde le problème de la vie religieuse qui n'en est qu'une forme (bien que peut-être la vie de l'esprit conduise à l'autre nécessairement). Et la vie de l'esprit commence là où un être est conçu au-dessus des matériaux qui le composent.
L'amour de la maison -cet amour inconnaissable aux Etats-Unis – est déjà de la vie de l'esprit.
Et la fête villageoise, et le culte des morts (je cite cela car il s'est tué depuis mon arrivée ici deux ou trois parachutistes, mais on les a escamotés : ils avaient fini de servir) . Cela c'est de l'époque, non de l'Amérique : l'homme n'a plus de sens.
Il faut absolument parler aux hommes.
A quoi servira de gagner la guerre si nous en avons pour cent ans de crise d'épilepsie révolutionnaire ?
Quand la question allemande sera enfin réglée tous les problèmes véritables commenceront à se poser. Il est peu probable que la spéculation sur les stocks américains suffise au sortir de cette guerre à distraire, comme en 1919, l'humanité de ses soucis véritables.
Faute d'un courant spirituel fort, il poussera, comme champignons, trente-six sectes qui se diviseront les unes les autres.
Le marxisme lui-même, trop vieilli, se décomposera en une multitude de néo-marxismes contradictoires.
On l'a bien observé en Espagne. A moins qu'un César français ne nous installe dans un camp de concentration pour l'éternité.
Ah ! quel étrange soir, ce soir, quel étrange climat. Je vois de ma chambre s'allumer les fenêtres de ces bâtisses sans visages. J'entends les postes de radio divers débiter leur musique de mirliton à ces foules désoeuvrées venues d'au-delà des mers et qui ne connaissent même pas la nostalgie.
On peut confondre cette acceptation résignée avec l'esprit de sacrifice ou la grandeur morale. Ce serait là une belle erreur.
Les liens d'amour qui nouent l'homme d'aujourd'hui aux êtres comme aux choses sont si peu tendus, si peu denses, que l'homme ne sent plus l'absence comme autrefois.
C'est le mot terrible de cette histoire juive : "tu vas donc là-bas ? Comme tu seras loin " – Loin d'où ? Le "où" qu'ils ont quitté n'était plus guère qu'un vaste faisceau d'habitudes.
Dans cette époque de divorce, on divorce avec la même facilité d'avec les choses. Les frigidaires sont interchangeables. Et la maison aussi si elle n'est qu'un assemblage.
Et la femme. Et la religion. Et le parti. On ne peut même pas être infidèle : à quoi serait-on infidèle ? Loin d'où et infidèle à quoi ? Désert de l'homme.
Qu'ils sont donc sages et paisibles ces hommes en groupe.
Moi je songe aux marins bretons d'autrefois, qui débarquaient, lâchés sur une ville, à ces noeuds complexes d'appétits violents et de nostalgie intolérable qu'ont toujours constitués les mâles un peu trop sévèrement parqués. Il fallait toujours, pour les tenir, des gendarmes forts ou des principes forts ou des fois fortes.
Mais aucun de ceux-là ne manquerait de respect à une gardeuse d'oies. L'homme d'aujourd'hui on le fait tenir tranquille, selon le milieu, avec la belote ou le bridge. Nous sommes étonnamment bien châtrés.
Ainsi sommes-nous enfin libres .
On nous a coupé les bras et les jambes, puis on nous a laissé libres de marcher.
Mais je hais cette époque où l'homme devient, sous un totalitarisme universel, bétail doux, poli et tranquille. On nous fait prendre ça pour un progrès moral !
Ce que je hais dans le marxisme, c'est le totalitarisme à quoi il conduit. L'homme y est défini comme producteur et consommateur, le problème essentiel étant celui de la distribution.
Ce que je hais dans le nazisme, c'est le totalitarisme à quoi il prétend par son essence même. On fait défiler les ouvriers de la Ruhr devant un Van Gogh, un Cézanne et un chromo. Ils votent naturellement pour le chromo. Voilà la vérité du peuple !
On boucle solidement dans un camp de concentration les candidats Cézanne, les candidats Van Gogh, tous les grands non-conformistes, et l'on alimente en chromos un bétail soumis.
Mais où vont les Etats-Unis et où allons-nous, nous aussi, à cette époque de fonctionnariat universel ? L'homme robot, l'homme termite, l'homme oscillant du travail à la chaîne système Bedeau à la belote.
L'homme châtré de tout son pouvoir créateur, et qui ne sait même plus, du fond de son village, créer une danse ni une chanson.
L'homme que l'on alimente en culture de confection, en culture standard comme on alimente les boeufs en foin.
C'est cela l'homme d'aujourd'hui.
Et moi je pense que, il n'y a pas trois cents ans, on pouvait écrire " La Princesse de Clèves" ou s'enfermer dans un couvent pour la vie à cause d'un amour perdu, tant était brûlant l'amour.
Aujourd'hui bien sûr les gens se suicident, mais la souffrance de ceux-là est de l'ordre d'une rage de dents intolérable. Ce n'a point à faire avec l'amour.
Certes, il est une première étape.
Je ne puis supporter l'idée de verser des générations d'enfants français dans le ventre du moloch allemand. La substance même est menacée, mais, quand elle sera sauvée, alors se posera le problème fondamental qui est celui de notre temps. Qui est celui du sens de l'homme et auquel il n'est point proposé de réponse, et j'ai l'impression de marcher vers les temps les plus noirs du monde.
Ca m'est égal d'être tué en guerre.
De ce que j'ai aimé, que restera-t-il ? Autant que les êtres, je parle des coutumes, des intonations irremplaçables, d'une certaine lumière spirituelle. Du déjeuner dans la ferme provençale sous les oliviers, mais aussi de Haendel.
Les choses. je m'en fous, qui subsisteront. Ce qui vaut, c'est certain arrangement des choses. La civilisation est un bien invisible puisqu'elle porte non sur les choses, mais sur les invisibles liens qui les nouent l'une à l'autre, ainsi et non autrement.
Nous aurons de parfaits instruments de musique, distribués en grande série, mais où sera le musicien ?
Si je suis tué en guerre, je m'en moque bien. Ou si je subis une crise de rage de ces sortes de torpilles volantes qui n'ont plus rien à voir avec le vol et font du pilote parmi ses boutons et ses cadrans une sorte de chef comptable (le vol aussi c'est un certain ordre de liens).
Mais si je rentre vivant de ce "job nécessaire et ingrat", il ne se posera pour moi qu'un problème : que peut-on, que faut-il dire aux hommes ?
Are we sure we are Not seeing an inverted world? The law of physics will Not change after all
Posted by: adonis49 on: January 13, 2017
Are we sure we are Not seeing an inverted world? The law of physics will Not change after all
I am told that the newborn needs an entire month to see a re-inverted world and adjust to it. Isn't that an assumption that we like to believe in that we are looking at the real world?
Has any experiment been done to prove the contrary? That we are actually Not seeing an inverted world?
The law of physics will Not change after all. Gravity is still at work. Same for the other forces, and the cosmos will not change.
Suppose we adjusted to the inverted the world, how much visual mass brain was required for this job?
Suppose another species with the same visual characteristics as us (acuity and color vision and all) but with a lower brain mass, do you think we have to work with proportions of visual mass to total brain mass? I think Not. The visual brain mass would be the same at the expense of other faculties and sensory brains.
For example, if we select chimpanzees with the same visual characteristics as us, and we insert a lens when born that inverts the world, and thus don't need to re-adjust, how much visual brain mass is saved and diverted to other faculties?
If blind born people have far better hearing and touch acuities, better senses of people movement, and better verbal communication, isn't that the cause that the saved visual brain mass was allocated to those sensorial faculties?
There are always trade-off for visual capacities. For the same visual brain mass, higher visual acuity would give way to deteriorated peripheral vision, less color perception and contrasts…
Since most products rely on vision in their design, if we need any more development in our brain, we better start designing for the other senses.
This is my theory and hypothesis.
A human company in the age of machines? Repeat por favor
In the face of artificial intelligence and machine learning, we need a new radical humanism, says Tim Leberecht.
For the self-described "business romantic," this means designing organizations and workplaces that celebrate authenticity instead of efficiency and questions instead of answers.
1- Do the UNNECESSARY
2- Create INTIMACY
3- Be UGLY
4- Remain INCOMPLETE
Half of the human workforce is expected to be replaced by software and robots in the next 20 years. And many corporate leaders welcome that as a chance to increase profits. Machines are more efficient; humans are complicated and difficult to manage.
0:30 I want our organizations to remain human. In fact, I want them to become beautiful. Because as machines take our jobs and do them more efficiently, soon the only work left for us humans will be the kind of work that must be done beautifully rather than efficiently.
To maintain our humanity in the this second Machine Age, we may have no other choice than to create beauty. Beauty is an elusive concept. For the writer Stendhal it was the promise of happiness. For me it's a goal by Lionel Messi.
bear with me as I am proposing four admittedly very subjective principles that you can use to build a beautiful organization.
First: do the unnecessary.
Patsy Z and TEDxSKE shared a link.
A few months ago, Hamdi Ulukaya, the CEO and founder of the yogurt company Chobani, made headlines when he decided to grant stock to all of his 2,000 employees. Some called it a PR stunt, others — a genuine act of giving back. But there is something else that was remarkable about it. It came completely out of the blue.
There had been no market or stakeholder pressure, and employees were so surprised that they burst into tears when they heard the news. Actions like Ulukaya's are beautiful because they catch us off guard. They create something out of nothing because they're completely unnecessary.
2:03 I once worked at a company that was the result of a merger of a large IT outsourcing firm and a small design firm. We were merging 9,000 software engineers with 1,000 creative types. And to unify these immensely different cultures, we were going to launch a third, new brand. And the new brand color was going to be orange.
And as we were going through the budget for the rollouts, we decided last minute to cut the purchase of 10,000 orange balloons, which we had meant to distribute to all staff worldwide. They just seemed unnecessary and cute in the end.
I didn't know back then that our decision marked the beginning of the end — that these two organizations would never become one.
And sure enough, the merger eventually failed. Now, was it because there weren't any orange balloons? No, of course not. But the kill-the-orange-balloons mentality permeated everything else.
You might not always realize it, but when you cut the unnecessary, you cut everything. Leading with beauty means rising above what is merely necessary. So do not kill your orange balloons.
The second principle: create intimacy.
3:21 [Create Intimacy]
Studies show that how we feel about our workplace very much depends on the relationships with our coworkers.
And what are relationships other than a string of micro interactions? There are hundreds of these every day in our organizations that have the potential to distinguish a good life from a beautiful one.
The marriage researcher John Gottman says that the secret of a healthy relationship is not the great gesture or the lofty promise, it's small moments of attachment. In other words, intimacy.
In our networked organizations, we tout the strength of weak ties but we underestimate the strength of strong ones. We forget the words of the writer Richard Bach who once said, "Intimacy — not connectedness — intimacy is the opposite of loneliness."
how do we design for organizational intimacy? The humanitarian organization CARE wanted to launch a campaign on gender equality in villages in northern India. But it realized quickly that it had to have this conversation first with its own staff.
So it invited all 36 team members and their partners to one of the Khajuraho Temples, known for their famous erotic sculptures. And there they openly discussed their personal relationships — their own experiences of gender equality with the coworkers and the partners.
It was eye-opening for the participants. Not only did it allow them to relate to the communities they serve, it also broke down invisible barriers and created a lasting bond amongst themselves. Not a single team member quit in the next four years. So this is how you create intimacy. No masks … or lots of masks.
When Danone, the food company, wanted to translate its new company manifesto into product initiatives, it gathered the management team and 100 employees from across different departments, seniority levels and regions for a three-day strategy retreat. And it asked everybody to wear costumes for the entire meeting: wigs, crazy hats, feather boas, huge glasses and so on.
And they left with concrete outcomes and full of enthusiasm. And when I asked the woman who had designed this experience why it worked, she simply said, "Never underestimate the power of a ridiculous wig."
Because wigs erase hierarchy, and hierarchy kills intimacy — both ways, for the CEO and the intern. Wigs allow us to use the disguise of the false to show something true about ourselves. And that's not easy in our everyday work lives, because the relationship with our organizations is often like that of a married couple that has grown apart, suffered betrayals and disappointments, and is now desperate to be beautiful for one another once again. And for either of us the first step towards beauty involves a huge risk. The risk to be ugly.
[Be Ugly]
many organizations these days are keen on designing beautiful workplaces that look like anything but work: vacation resorts, coffee shops, playgrounds or college campuses —
Based on the promises of positive psychology, we speak of play and gamification, and one start-up even says that when someone gets fired, they have graduated.
That kind of beautiful language only goes "skin deep, but ugly cuts clean to the bone," as the writer Dorothy Parker once put it.
To be authentic is to be ugly. It doesn't mean that you can't have fun or must give in to the vulgar or cynical, but it does mean that you speak the actual ugly truth. Like this manufacturer that wanted to transform one of its struggling business units. It identified, named and pinned on large boards all the issues — and there were hundreds of them — that had become obstacles to better performance.
They put them on boards, moved them all into one room, which they called "the ugly room." The ugly became visible for everyone to see — it was celebrated. And the ugly room served as a mix of mirror exhibition and operating room — a biopsy on the living flesh to cut out all the bureaucracy.
The ugliest part of our body is our brain. Literally and neurologically. Our brain renders ugly what is unfamiliar … modern art, atonal music, jazz, maybe — VR goggles for that matter — strange objects, sounds and people.
But we've all been ugly once. We were a weird-looking baby, a new kid on the block, a foreigner. And we will be ugly again when we don't belong.
The Center for Political Beauty, an activist collective in Berlin, recently staged an extreme artistic intervention. With the permission of relatives, it exhumed the corpses of refugees who had drowned at Europe's borders, transported them all the way to Berlin, and then reburied them at the heart of the German capital.
The idea was to allow them to reach their desired destination, if only after their death. Such acts of beautification may not be pretty, but they are much needed. Because things tend to get ugly when there's only one meaning, one truth, only answers and no questions. Beautiful organizations keep asking questions. They remain incomplete, which is the fourth and the last of the principles.
[Remain Incomplete]
9:08 Recently I was in Paris, and a friend of mine took me to Nuit Debout, which stands for "up all night," the self-organized protest movement that had formed in response to the proposed labor laws in France.
Every night, hundreds gathered at the Place de la République. Every night they set up a small, temporary village to deliberate their own vision of the French Republic. And at the core of this adhocracy was a general assembly where anybody could speak using a specially designed sign language.
Like Occupy Wall Street and other protest movements, Nuit Debout was born in the face of crisis. It was messy — full of controversies and contradictions. But whether you agreed with the movement's goals or not, every gathering was a beautiful lesson in raw humanity.
And how fitting that Paris — the city of ideals, the city of beauty — was it's stage. It reminds us that like great cities, the most beautiful organizations are ideas worth fighting for — even and especially when their outcome is uncertain.
They are movements; they are always imperfect, never fully organized, so they avoid ever becoming banal. They have something but we don't know what it is. They remain mysterious; we can't take our eyes off them. We find them beautiful. (Arab Spring in Egypt and Tunisia)
to do the unnecessary, to create intimacy, to be ugly, to remain incomplete — these are not only the qualities of beautiful organizations, these are inherently human characteristics. And these are also the qualities of what we call home.
And as we disrupt, and are disrupted, the least we can do is to ensure that we still feel at home in our organizations, and that we use our organizations to create that feeling for others.
11:01 Beauty can save the world when we embrace these principles and design for them. In the face of artificial intelligence and machine learning, we need a new radical humanism.
We must acquire and promote a new aesthetic and sentimental education. Because if we don't, we might end up feeling like aliens in organizations and societies that are full of smart machines that have no appreciation whatsoever for the unnecessary, the intimate, the incomplete and definitely not for the ugly.
Can we Not lose control over Artificial Intelligence?
Scared of super-intelligent AI? You should be, says neuroscientist and philosopher Sam Harris — and not just in some theoretical way.
We're going to build superhuman machines, says Harris, but we haven't yet grappled with the problems associated with creating something that may treat us the way we treat ants
Sam Harris. Neuroscientist, philosopher. Full bio
I'm going to talk about a failure of intuition that many of us suffer from. It's really a failure to detect a certain kind of danger.
I'm going to describe a scenario that I think is both terrifying and likely to occur, and that's not a good combination, as it turns out. And yet rather than be scared, most of you will feel that what I'm talking about is kind of cool.
0:36 I'm going to describe how the gains we make in artificial intelligence could ultimately destroy us. And in fact, I think it's very difficult to see how they won't destroy us or inspire us to destroy ourselves.
And yet if you're anything like me, you'll find that it's fun to think about these things. That response is part of the problem. OK?
That response should worry you. And if I were to convince you in this talk that we were likely to suffer a global famine, either because of climate change or some other catastrophe, and that your grandchildren, or their grandchildren, are very likely to live like this, you wouldn't think, "Interesting. I like this TED Talk."
Famine isn't fun. Death by science fiction, on the other hand, is fun, and one of the things that worries me most about the development of AI at this point is that we seem unable to marshal an appropriate emotional response to the dangers that lie ahead.
I am unable to marshal this response, and I'm giving this talk.
Patsy Z and TEDxSKE shared a link.
The point is, something would have to destroy civilization as we know it. You have to imagine how bad it would have to be to prevent us from making improvements in our technology permanently, generation after generation.
Almost by definition, this is the worst thing that's ever happened in human history.
the only alternative, and this is what lies behind door number two, is that we continue to improve our intelligent machines year after year after year. At a certain point, we will build machines that are smarter than we are, and once we have machines that are smarter than we are, they will begin to improve themselves.
And we risk what the mathematician IJ Good called an "intelligence explosion," that the process could get away from us.
this is often caricatured, as I have here, as a fear that armies of malicious robots will attack us. But that isn't the most likely scenario.
It's not that our machines will become spontaneously malevolent. The concern is really that we will build machines that are so much more competent than we are that the slightest divergence between their goals and our own could destroy us.
Just think about how we relate to ants. We don't hate them. We don't go out of our way to harm them. In fact, sometimes we take pains not to harm them. We step over them on the sidewalk.
But whenever their presence seriously conflicts with one of our goals, let's say when constructing a building like this one, we annihilate them without a qualm. The concern is that we will one day build machines that, whether they're conscious or not, could treat us with similar disregard.
I suspect this seems far-fetched to many of you. I bet there are those of you who doubt that superintelligent AI is possible, much less inevitable. But then you must find something wrong with one of the following assumptions. And there are only three of them.
Intelligence is a matter of information processing in physical systems. Actually, this is a little bit more than an assumption. We have already built narrow intelligence into our machines, and many of these machines perform at a level of superhuman intelligence already.
And we know that mere matter can give rise to what is called "general intelligence," an ability to think flexibly across multiple domains, because our brains have managed it. Right?
I mean, there's just atoms in here, and as long as we continue to build systems of atoms that display more and more intelligent behavior, we will eventually, unless we are interrupted, we will eventually build general intelligence into our machines.
It's crucial to realize that the rate of progress doesn't matter, because any progress is enough to get us into the end zone. We don't need Moore's law to continue. We don't need exponential progress. We just need to keep going.
The second assumption is that we will keep going. We will continue to improve our intelligent machines. And given the value of intelligence — I mean, intelligence is either the source of everything we value or we need it to safeguard everything we value.
It is our most valuable resource. So we want to do this. We have problems that we desperately need to solve. We want to cure diseases like Alzheimer's and cancer.
We want to understand economic systems. We want to improve our climate science.
So we will do this, if we can. The train is already out of the station, and there's no brake to pull.
Finally, we don't stand on a peak of intelligence, or anywhere near it, likely. And this really is the crucial insight. This is what makes our situation so precarious, and this is what makes our intuitions about risk so unreliable.
just consider the smartest person who has ever lived. On almost everyone's shortlist here is John von Neumann.
I mean, the impression that von Neumann made on the people around him, and this included the greatest mathematicians and physicists of his time, is fairly well-documented. If only half the stories about him are half true, there's no question he's one of the smartest people who has ever lived.
So consider the spectrum of intelligence. Here we have John von Neumann. And then we have you and me. And then we have a chicken.
There's no reason for me to make this talk more depressing than it needs to be.
It seems overwhelmingly likely, however, that the spectrum of intelligence extends much further than we currently conceive, and if we build machines that are more intelligent than we are, they will very likely explore this spectrum in ways that we can't imagine, and exceed us in ways that we can't imagine.
And it's important to recognize that this is true by virtue of speed alone. Right?
So imagine if we just built a superintelligent AI that was no smarter than your average team of researchers at Stanford or MIT.
Well, electronic circuits function about a million times faster than biochemical ones, so this machine should think about a million times faster than the minds that built it.
you set it running for a week, and it will perform 20,000 years of human-level intellectual work, week after week after week. How could we even understand, much less constrain, a mind making this sort of progress?
The other thing that's worrying, frankly, is that, imagine the best case scenario. So imagine we hit upon a design of superintelligent AI that has no safety concerns. We have the perfect design the first time around.
It's as though we've been handed an oracle that behaves exactly as intended. Well, this machine would be the perfect labor-saving device. It can design the machine that can build the machine that can do any physical work, powered by sunlight, more or less for the cost of raw materials. So we're talking about the end of human drudgery. We're also talking about the end of most intellectual work.
what would apes like ourselves do in this circumstance? Well, we'd be free to play Frisbee and give each other massages. Add some LSD and some questionable wardrobe choices, and the whole world could be like Burning Man.
that might sound pretty good, but ask yourself what would happen under our current economic and political order?
It seems likely that we would witness a level of wealth inequality and unemployment that we have never seen before. Absent a willingness to immediately put this new wealth to the service of all humanity, a few trillionaires could grace the covers of our business magazines while the rest of the world would be free to starve.
And what would the Russians or the Chinese do if they heard that some company in Silicon Valley was about to deploy a superintelligent AI? This machine would be capable of waging war, whether terrestrial or cyber, with unprecedented power.
This is a winner-take-all scenario. To be six months ahead of the competition here is to be 500,000 years ahead, at a minimum. So it seems that even mere rumors of this kind of breakthrough could cause our species to go berserk.
one of the most frightening things, in my view, at this moment, are the kinds of things that AI researchers say when they want to be reassuring. And the most common reason we're told not to worry is time.
This is all a long way off, don't you know. This is probably 50 or 100 years away. One researcher has said, "Worrying about AI safety is like worrying about overpopulation on Mars." This is the Silicon Valley version of "don't worry your pretty little head about it."
No one seems to notice that referencing the time horizon is a total non sequitur. If intelligence is just a matter of information processing, and we continue to improve our machines, we will produce some form of superintelligence.
And we have no idea how long it will take us to create the conditions to do that safely. Let me say that again. We have no idea how long it will take us to create the conditions to do that safely.
if you haven't noticed, 50 years is not what it used to be. This is 50 years in months. This is how long we've had the iPhone. This is how long "The Simpsons" has been on television. Fifty years is not that much time to meet one of the greatest challenges our species will ever face.
Once again, we seem to be failing to have an appropriate emotional response to what we have every reason to believe is coming.
The computer scientist Stuart Russell has a nice analogy here. He said, imagine that we received a message from an alien civilization, which read: "People of Earth, we will arrive on your planet in 50 years. Get ready." And now we're just counting down the months until the mothership lands? We would feel a little more urgency than we do.
Another reason we're told not to worry is that these machines can't help but share our values because they will be literally extensions of ourselves.
They'll be grafted onto our brains, and we'll essentially become their limbic systems. Now take a moment to consider that the safest and only prudent path forward, recommended, is to implant this technology directly into our brains.
this may in fact be the safest and only prudent path forward, but usually one's safety concerns about a technology have to be pretty much worked out before you stick it inside your head.
The deeper problem is that building superintelligent AI on its own seems likely to be easier than building superintelligent AI and having the completed neuroscience that allows us to seamlessly integrate our minds with it.
And given that the companies and governments doing this work are likely to perceive themselves as being in a race against all others, given that to win this race is to win the world, provided you don't destroy it in the next moment, then it seems likely that whatever is easier to do will get done first.
I don't have a solution to this problem, apart from recommending that more of us think about it. I think we need something like a Manhattan Project on the topic of artificial intelligence.
Not to build it, because I think we'll inevitably do that, but to understand how to avoid an arms race and to build it in a way that is aligned with our interests. When you're talking about superintelligent AI that can make changes to itself, it seems that we only have one chance to get the initial conditions right, and even then we will need to absorb the economic and political consequences of getting them right.
13:44 But the moment we admit that information processing is the source of intelligence, that some appropriate computational system is what the basis of intelligence is, and we admit that we will improve these systems continuously, and we admit that the horizon of cognition very likely far exceeds what we currently know, then we have to admit that we are in the process of building some sort of a God. Now would be a good time to make sure it's a god we can live with.
Design Guideline for all 5 senses. For max pleasure: like sex?
Posted by: adonis49 on: October 6, 2015
Guideline: Design for all 5 senses. For max pleasure: like sex
Do you know that about 90% of designs target the eyes and the ears?
And what about the other 3 senses that are the most potent for generating emotional memories and best recollection?
There is this idea that sex gives the best pleasure because it engages the 5 senses.
The assumption is that all senses feel satisfactory reactions with both partner. This assumption is hardly tenable.
If a single one of the senses is contradicted then the entire experience is a failure.
For example, what can remedy for a bad smelling partner? All the perfume cannot cover up for this deficiency. Particularly if you tend to fart inadvertently. Perfumes are expensive items because the rich people used it in abundance and wealthy people used Not to take bathes. What could remedy for bad breath?
What could be your reaction if the skin feels dry and as hard and rough as leather?
The eyes are essentials for first time attraction. Afterwards, seeing is almost irrelevant since the main senses will take over. You can make love wearing many layers of external cloths. Or cover the face. Or wear socks for ugly feet.
You can have sex not listening to music.
In an age of global strife and climate change, I'm here to answer the all important question: Why is sex so damn good? If you're laughing, you know what I mean.
Jinsop Lee
Design for all 5 senses. Posted Aug 2013
0:22 Now, before we get to that answer, let me tell you about Chris Hosmer.
Chris is a great friend of mine from my university days, but secretly, I hate him. Here's why.
Back in university, we had a quick project to design some solar-powered clocks. Here's my clock. It uses something called the dwarf sunflower, which grows to about 12 inches in height.
Now, as you know, sunflowers track the sun during the course of the day. So in the morning, you see which direction the sunflower is facing, and you mark it on the blank area in the base. At noon, you mark the changed position of the sunflower, and in the evening again, and that's your clock. Now, I know my clock doesn't tell you the exact time, but it does give you a general idea using a flower. So, in my completely unbiased, subjective opinion, it's brilliant.
However, here's Chris' clock. It's five magnifying glasses with a shot glass under each one. In each shot glass is a different scented oil.
In the morning, the sunlight will shine down on the first magnifying glass, focusing a beam of light on the shot glass underneath. This will warm up the scented oil inside, and a particular smell will be emitted. A couple of hours later, the sun will shine on the next magnifying glass, and a different smell will be emitted. So during the course of the day, five different smells are dispersed throughout that environment.
Anyone living in that house can tell the time just by the smell. (Bonus: You may rotate a nasty smelly scent as an Alarm clock and not wake up with total nerve breakdown)
You can see why I hate Chris. I thought my idea was pretty good, but his idea is genius, and at the time, I knew his idea was better than mine, but I just couldn't explain why. One thing you have to know about me is I hate to lose. This problem's been bugging me for well over a decade.
Let's get back to the question of why sex is so good.
Many years after the solar powered clocks project, a young lady I knew suggested maybe sex is so good because of the five senses. And when she said this, I had an epiphany. So I decided to evaluate different experiences I had in my life from the point of view of the five senses.
To do this, I devised something called the five senses graph. Along the y-axis, you have a scale from zero to 10, and along the x-axis, you have, of course, the five senses. Anytime I had a memorable experience in my life, I would record it on this graph like a five senses diary.
2:44 Here's a quick video to show you how it works.
(Video) Jinsop Lee: Hey, my name's Jinsop, and today, I'm going to show you what riding motorbikes is like from the point of view of the five senses. Hey!
Bike designer: This is [unclear], custom bike designer.
(Motorcyle revving) [Sound] [Touch] [Sight] [Smell] [Taste]
JL: And that's how the five senses graph works.
For a period of 3 years, I gathered data, not just me but also some of my friends, and I used to teach in university, so I forced my — I mean, I asked my students to do this as well. So here are some other results.
The first is for instant noodles. Now obviously, taste and smell are quite high, but notice sound is at three. Many people told me a big part of the noodle-eating experience is the slurping noise. (Slurps) Needless to say, I no longer dine with these people.
Next, clubbing. Okay, here what I found interesting was that taste is at four, and many respondents told me it's because of the taste of drinks, but also, in some cases, kissing is a big part of the clubbing experience. These people I still do hang out with.
And smoking. Here I found touch is at [six], and one of the reasons is that smokers told me the sensation of holding a cigarette and bringing it up to your lips is a big part of the smoking experience, which shows, it's kind of scary to think how well cigarettes are designed by the manufacturers.
What would the perfect experience look like on the five senses graph? It would, of course, be a horizontal line along the top. Now you can see, not even as intense an experience as riding a motorbike comes close.
In fact, in the years that I gathered data, only one experience came close to being the perfect one. That is, of course, sex. Great sex. Respondents said that great sex hits all of the five senses at an extreme level. Here I'll quote one of my students who said, "Sex is so good, it's good even when it's bad." So the five senses theory does help explain why sex is so good.
In the middle of all this five senses work, I suddenly remembered the solar-powered clocks project from my youth. And I realized this theory also explains why Chris' clock is so much better than mine. You see, my clock only focuses on sight, and a little bit of touch. Here's Chris' clock. It's the first clock ever that uses smell to tell the time. In fact, in terms of the five senses, Chris' clock is a revolution.
6:25 And that's what this theory taught me about my field.
You see, up till now, us designers, we've mainly focused on making things look very pretty, and a little bit of touch, which means we've ignored the other three senses. Chris' clock shows us that even raising just one of those other senses can make for a brilliant product.
So what if we started using the five senses theory in all of our designs? Here's three quick ideas I came up with.
This is an iron for your clothes, to which I added a spraying mechanism, so you fill up the vial with your favorite scent, and your clothes will smell nicer, but hopefully it should also make the ironing experience more enjoyable. We could call this "the perfumator."
So I brush my teeth twice a day, and what if we had a toothbrush that tastes like candy, and when the taste of candy ran out, you'd know it's time to change your toothbrush?
Finally, I have a thing for the keys on a flute or a clarinet.
It's not just the way they look, but I love the way they feel when you press down on them. Now, I don't play the flute or the clarinet, so I decided to combine these keys with an instrument I do play: the television remote control. Now, when we look at these three ideas together, you'll notice that the five senses theory doesn't only change the way we use these products but also the way they look.
In conclusion, I've found the five senses theory to be a very useful tool in evaluating different experiences in my life, and then taking those best experiences and hopefully incorporating them into my designs.
Now, I realize the five senses isn't the only thing that makes life interesting.
There's also the six emotions and that elusive x-factor. Maybe that could be the topic of my next talk. Until then, please have fun using the five senses in your own lives and your own designs.
Oh, one last thing before I leave. Here's the experience you all had while listening to the TED Talks.
However, it would be better if we could boost up a couple of the other senses like smell and taste. And the best way to do that is with free candy.


text:
Bow Down, Witches
If you couldn't tell from the abundance of PSLs, Ugg boots, and "I'm so glad I live in a world with Octobers" Instagram posts, it's fall in New England. Yay! (No, I don't care for pumpkin spice, despite the fact that I am a semi-basic white girl after all.)
It's a little challenging to get into the autumn spirit when you live in a.) a place where fall temperatures keep fluctuating between balmy and frigid, and b.) a studio apartment with very few areas to fill with tiny gourds.
But that didn't stop us from trying! This weekend, we ventured to Bartlett's Farm in search of some fall fun, because pumpkins and pumpkin adjacent vegetables were 50% off, and you know girlfriend can't resist a sale.
Okay, I may have gone a little gourd-crazy, but I kept finding so many cute ones of all sorts of shapes and sizes, and I couldn't resist. But like I said, CLEARANCE! Also they were running this promotion and Steve and I each got one of ours free for correctly guessing the weight of our pumpkins. It legitimately felt like I had won on the slot machines at Foxwoods. There was shouting, high fives – I think I speak for the three people that were shopping there at that time that it was quite the experience to be a part of.
I ended up with about fifteen pumpkins total, partially because they were so darn cute but also because I have a legit but undiagnosed shopping problem. Again these are to be displayed in one room.
A few of my friends and I were talking about how much money we've spent lately traveling, going out, you know, all of the things Nantucketers suddenly have time for now that our schedules have plateaued a bit. Plus Saturday's weather was a downright nasty woman and it seemed a wise decision to stay inside. We decided to do a little dinner and decorating to entertain ourselves, free of charge (minus you know, the hords of gourds).
Molly made these gorgeous apple florets and brought over some of Nantucket Vineyards hard apple cider. #applesonapplesonapples
Unfortunately, none of us gave these plans more than one hour of thought, and we quickly realized we had no supplies. I'm talking no paint, brushes, glitter – nothing. And Nantucket's not exactly one of those places you can run out to a craft store at 6 PM on a Saturday night. I mean, I had scoured Pinterest and found the most amazing pumpkin decorating ideas, only to find we had nothing to execute any of them (my particular favorites are these ones, this, and also this… you know, you might as well check out the whole board here). Once again, Steve to the rescue. He cut up sponges and DIYd brushes out of skewers, and found all of our paint samples from however many accent walls we've experimented with in our various apartments. We were in business!
Did I mention that all of this effort was just to satisfy my personal pumpkin decorating thirst? Everyone else wanted to carve… even Steve, with his oddly shaped gourd. Me? I hate any activity that requires me to get gunk under my fingernails. I'll stick with my intensely thick latex wall paint, thank you very much.
Um, Steve also made us dinner. He's a keeper, I KNOW. You don't have to keep telling me so on Snapchat, I am very much aware of his talents.
I clearly didn't have any letters or stencils to work with, but I had found these awesome "pun-kins" from Studio DIY last year, and I encouraged the other girls that weren't obsessed with painting the perfect pumpkin as I was to utilize some of these witty Halloween sayings.
Sometimes, all a girl needs is some red wine and a Sharpie.
I had no part in these. But aren't they awesome? I think my favorite is Molly's "sassy" cat on the left. She's really serving up some Beyonce style realness with that pose over there.
I still haven't photographed my pumpkins yet, due to my ambitious double coats of paint that required a full twenty-four hours for them to not smudge, because you know, it's meant to go on drywall. Also my home isn't exactly Pinterest-ready right now for me to artfully arrange my gourds.
Overall, I'm super happy with my final designs, although I would love to know my true pumpkin painting capabilities when equipped with the appropriate tools. Like GLITTER.
Anyone else do anything crafty this year? Personally I'm loving all the different shades of pumpkins that seem to be everywhere now. Orange never really was my color.
Stay scary friends,

subset: commoncrawl


text:
On Thanksgiving
The American nation, according to G.K. Chesterton, has the "soul of a church." When George Washington proclaimed Thanksgiving Day on November 26, 1786, he dedicated it to "the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be." The Thanksgiving holiday is a fine example of how the sacred is woven into our civic culture. It has its origin in the religious observances of the Pilgrims and Puritans — fasting and prayer in times of crisis, and thanksgiving festivals in times of plenty; one particular harvest festival, at Plymouth Plantation in 1621, is believed to be the exact origin of our Thanksgiving.
Whether fasting or feasting, the Pilgrims' lives were rooted in faith and hope in God. Some of them thought of their escape from religious persecution into the New World as an echo of the ancient Israelites' exodus from Egypt into the Promised Land. We recall that it was God's intervention to rescue the Israelites that gave birth to the Passover meal; and it was this thanksgiving meal which Jesus was celebrating with His disciples when He instituted the new thanksgiving meal of the Eucharist (for Eucharist means "thanksgiving") which we Catholics celebrate every Sunday at Holy Mass. "And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me'" (Luke 22:19). According to one contemporary theologian, Jesus was doing more than simply thanking His Father for the food; he was actually thanking God that He was able to offer Himself for our salvation. In participating in Holy Mass, we in turn thank God for this wondrous work of salvation.
Of course, giving thanks is not just for Holy Mass and Thanksgiving Day, but for all days, all seasons, all moments. Chesterton speaks of gratitude as "the very rock of reality," a mystical insight that allows us to see this contingent created world as it truly is, "hanging on a hair of the mercy of God." For Chesterton, gratitude is not merely a temporary feeling but an entire habit of being. We should be thankful to God at every minute for all His gifts—for the natural world, for beauty, for our talents, our health, the people that surround us — for our very existence and the act of being itself. In other words, we should live gratitude, live thanksgiving.
This is a very difficult thing to do in our increasingly sophisticated, busy, and denatured world. Today we are ever more absorbed in fictive digital worlds of our creation and ever less in touch with the real world God made. How can we get back to the pristine sense of gratitude that the Pilgrims had? I feel that turning to the Holy Eucharist and especially to Eucharistic Adoration will help. A lack of gratitude, it seems to me, is partly rooted in excessive subjectivity: becoming weighed down by the tangled mess of one's needs and desires. Eucharistic Adoration brings a welcome dose of objectivity: for a short period of time — fifteen minutes, say, or an hour — one makes the reality of Christ's sacrifice and His enduring Presence the fixed central point of one's life. The only possible reaction to His world-changing gifts is gratitude, the gratitude of a little child.
And there's still Thanksgiving, our beloved sacred/secular feast day. Just as many of our culture warriors seek to "put Christ back into Christmas," why don't we strive to put God back into Thanksgiving? The day loses its meaning apart from God, after all; you have to give thanks to someone. Or to quote Chesterton once more, "the worst moment for an atheist is when he is really thankful and has nobody to thank." And after we have seated Him at the head of our table, let's be sure to eat and drink freely, to enjoy the fruits of the harvest and the warmth of our family. For Catholicism is — thank God — a festive religion.Tags » adoration, eucharist, thanksgiving


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The 2017 Rugby Championship is returning to Mendoza. Argentina's home fixture against Australia will take place at the Estadio Malvinas Argentinas on October 07.
It is to be the fourth Rugby Championship match in the city. Los Pumas previously played host to South Africa at the Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in 2012 and 2013 and against Australia in 2014.
Of the three Rugby Championship tests in Mendoza Los Pumas have a 1-1-1 record. In 2012 they competed to a draw against South Africa. The following year the Springboks were too strong while in 2014 Argentina made history, winning a Rugby Championship match for the first time.
In confirming the 2017 fixture Mendoza's provincial government's Sub-secretary of Sport, Federico Chiappetta commented: "the truth is that it is a pleasure to be able to host this fixture. It is going to be a beautiful party. For Mendoza it is a sensational opportunity to promote the region. It is a sporting extravaganza which attracts tourism. The high public demand that this match will bring is such that the effort justifies the involvement of the provincial government."
UAR President Carlos Araujo noted that "we feel great. The UAR is very pleased to be returning to Mendoza. Us, the players… Last year the game we played in England and we received criticisms, but well, the Mendoza government at the time was unable to fulfill the requirements but now, after conversations, Mendoza is ready to host again."
Venues are yet to be allocated for Argentina's home matches against South Africa and New Zealand. These fixtures are to take place on August 26 and September 30 respectively. The All Blacks are expected to be returning to Buenos Aires while the Springboks test is speculated as being played in Córdoba.
Before the Rugby Championship Argentina will play host to England in San Juan and Santa Fé and then face Georgia in Jujuy.


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our December and January
This is for the family to look back on in later years. It'll probably put most of you to sleep. 🙂
We literally had 2 days of pond use this year. 2 days. We usually get about 5 weeks out of it before we succumb to the snow. This year, they had 2 magical days of grass and ice, and then the snow came roaring in and just never quit. We broke the all time record for snowfall in December, and January was no different until 3 days ago.
Eddie was more than happy to be the ice tester that day. The date was November 21st.
Patrick really enjoyed the pond the next day when everyone was in school.
And James.
We had all of our children over for a nice Thanksgiving dinner, along with my parents and some brothers. <3
Our tree went up early in the month of December, and we had our annual Christmas Coke and candy kiss cookie party.
I had the kids involved in taking these pictures. We had fun.
Sophia's shot
This is Nick. Nick and Rose have become a huge part of our December. I enjoy the whole thing a lot, maybe as much as the kids.
Nathan's gingerbread man, Sophia's red and green mitten, my red, green and white mitten
Steve and Andrea's Duke and Fynn came over for a quick photo shoot.
It was nice to have them home from Texas for the holidays.
We finally got a chance to see Santa on Christmas Eve. James asked for a red fire truck.
Patrick explained his wish of a side by side. Santa didn't have time to deliver one on such a short notice, but that was ok.
Gemma was outta there before she began.
the Sunday School kids before our program
And a few pictures from our Eskola Christmas Party on Christmas Eve.
Claire took most of these pictures.
We enjoyed a slide show of some earlier Christmases.
This was literally on the eve of Christmas morning, right before she went to bed.
When James opened his fire truck, he said, "It's red AND white!"
We headed to Michael and Jill's in Duluth the day after Christmas.
Pretty much everyone in Hans' family showed up. (we missed you, Janelle and Keith!)
They had 55 overnight guests. It was a riot.
Little Levi didn't appreciate being in the picture. 🙂
The littles really wanted to pose with their presents before we took the tree down.
Hans and I took Eddie to the Hut on his 11th birthday.
And some January/snow pictures.
I've already been outside more this winter than I was for the whole winter season combined last year. The difference is that Gemma loves it outside. She loved rocking and nursing last winter, so I did that all year. It was nice, but this is better. It feels so good to be up and at it.


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Happy Monday! Today we are so excited to share the next Princess from the Princess Project Bridal Shoots, Jasmine! We are obsessed with the stunning and sophisticated short dress with the beaded neckline! The bright and bold colors mixed with geometric patterns is right on trend this year and we can't to see more brides incorporating this look into their wedding. We hope this stunning shoot by Lindsey Orton Photography and Lindsey Shaun Photography will inspire you during these major planning months! In case you missed the last two princesses you can check them out here: Snow White, Pocahontas
Photography: Lindsey Orton Photography, Lindsey Shaun Photography
Dress: Modest Couture by Elizabeth
Videography: Kale Fitch Films
Hair and Make-up: Hair and Make-up by Steph
Invitations: Polka Dots & Daisies
Flowers: Urban Chateau


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Faster than WP Super Cache
When configured correctly, w3 total cache can make your website faster than WP Super Cache can. I have switched, and the results are worth the extra effort. Even on shared hosting, I have reduced my average load time significangly from 2,5 sec to 1 sec (according to Google Webmaster tools). Social interaction and page requests have jumped considerably. I recommend it heavily, although configuration is more complex. But there is good documentation available. Just Google around.
With the release of version 0.9.2.9 preloading cache seems to work, unlike in the versions before.
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Events @ Inn on the Park
We're supporting Verulamium At Play
A new charity initiative to rejuvenate the play area in St Albans flagship park
Verulamium at Play is a local charity co-founded by Jessica Chivers – a local resident and councillor (charity no. 1170476)
If you would to learn more please read the full press release by clicking HERE.
Alternatively you can learn more at the local council website HERE.
Also follow them on twitter @Verulamium_Play or https://www.facebook.com/Verulamiumatplay/
Venue Hire
For your little ones all wrapped-up
Make your child's birthday wishes come true with everything you need for the perfect party in St Albans' beautiful Verulamium park.. Delicious food and drink, entertainers, birthday cakes, balloons and banners, table decorations and party advice & much, much more.
To find out more click: HERE
At our exclusive & unique venue!
Hire our distinctive café in the beautiful surroundings of Verulamium Park. For anniversaries, birthdays, evening wedding receptions, corprate events or just that special occasion. Fully licensed bar, delicious range of menus including canapés, buffets and bbqs, live bands, background music & disco options, friendly professional and experienced staff, good parking and access.
To find out more click: HERE
For hire whatever your occasion
Hire our relaxed and intimate function room – easily located inside the cafe. Ideal for daytime meetings, fun and educational children's classes, family gatherings or funeral receptions. In-house catering, wide range of beverages, fully stocked bar, nearby car park, good access.
To find out more or to book click: HERE
Where to find us:
Verulamium Park, Off St. Michaels Street, St Albans, Hertfordshire AL3 4SN, UK
Email Address:
01727 838 246
Opening Hours:
Open all week: 9am – 5pm
Subscribe To Our Newsletter
Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.


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From the majestic snow-capped peaks of Rocky Mountain National Park to the dynamic cultural environment of Denver, the Mile High City, Colorado has endless options to delight outdoor enthusiasts and urban dwellers alike. With world-class ski resorts for winter activities, miles of hiking and biking trails for summer fun, plus Denver's award-winning dining and seven professionals sports teams, residents enjoy a multitude of opportunities for leisure and recreation in naturally breathtaking surroundings.
5511 Lulu City Drive, Timnath, CO 80547
Northern Colorado
The Garnett features gorgeous finishes throughout, 4 bedrooms, 3 ½ bathrooms, stately study, dramatic great room with gas fireplace, spacious dining area, pocket office, gourmet kitchen with stainless steel appliance package and huge pantry, storage closet, master bedroom with 5-piece master bathroom and walk-in closet, upstairs laundry room, 9' full unfinished basement with capped drains, 3-car garage with owner's entry and air conditioning.


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NEW YORK--March 17, 2004-- National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, Pa.(R) (National Union), a member company of American International Group, Inc. (AIG), today announced the launch of Risk Capital Protector(SM), a program designed to respond to the organizational and managerial liability exposures of venture capital and private equity firms and their managers.
Risk Capital Protector insures venture capital and private equity firms in their capacity as investment advisors and general partners to investment funds, and provides coverage for lawsuits brought against fund managers by limited partners and portfolio companies. Broad organizational liability coverages--including professional services liability, general partner liability, investment advisor liability and directors and officers liability--are provided for both the organization and individual managers.
Key features of the program include broad coverage for investment advisory and management and other related services provided to portfolio entities, "run-off" coverage for outside entity executives, coverage for advisory board members, and blanket coverage for all existing funds.
"With interest mounting in the venture capital and private equity sectors, awareness of the management and organizational liability exposures unique to these firms and fund managers has also increased," stated John Keogh, President and Chief Executive Officer of National Union. "The new Risk Capital Protector form was designed to be easy to read and comprehensive; it responds directly to the distinct and evolving insurance needs of venture capitalists and private equity investors."
For more information on Risk Capital Protector, please contact your local insurance broker or e-mail firstname.lastname@example.com.
American International Group, Inc. (AIG) is the world's leading international insurance and financial services organization, with operations in approximately 130 countries and jurisdictions. AIG member companies serve commercial, institutional and individual customers through the most extensive worldwide property-casualty and life insurance networks of any insurer. In the United States, AIG companies are the largest underwriters of commercial and industrial insurance and AIG American General is a top-ranked life insurer. AIG's global businesses also include financial services, retirement services and asset management. AIG's financial services businesses include aircraft leasing, financial products, trading and market making. AIG's growing global consumer finance business is led in the United States by American General Finance. AIG also has one of the largest U.S. retirement services businesses through AIG SunAmerica and AIG VALIC, and is a leader in asset management for the individual and institutional markets, with specialized investment management capabilities in equities, fixed income, alternative investments and real estate. AIG's common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, as well as the stock exchanges in London, Paris, Switzerland and Tokyo.
Insurance is underwritten by member companies of American International Group, Inc., and is subject to underwriting review and approval. The description herein is a summary only. It does not include all terms, conditions and exclusions of the policies described. Please refer to the actual policies for complete details of coverage and exclusions. Coverage may not be available in all states. Non-insurance products may be provided through independent third parties.
CONTACT: American International Group, Inc. (AIG) Andrew Silver, 212-770-3141 SOURCE: American International Group, Inc. (AIG)


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Sunday, June 19, 2011
Sharing Thoughts On Living a Greener Life
One of the things that I am most passionate about in my life is finding ways to live 'greener'; to adopt practices and make lifestyle adjustments that are kind to our planet and to the people living on it.
I learned early in my journey toward the greener life that it is easy to become overwhelmed by all of the information available, and that the process can become daunting to the point of being off-putting. To avoid the very real possibility of giving up the whole thing, I decided to adopt the KISS {{Keep It Simple, Stupid!}} method and take it one small step at a time.
One of my favorite ways to do this is to support independent and local businesses whenever I can. This is actually pretty easy to accomplish, with just a bit of commitment to the process. For example, I like to shop at a farm stand or a local farmers market first, before I hit a 'chain' store. The farmers market concept has developed far beyond just produce in recent years. Many are operated indoors and year round. I can get locally produced dairy products, baked goods, meats, poultry and fish at mine as well. And it is such a nice feeling to be supporting my neighbors and their livelihoods!
I have also discovered that several grocery store chains maintain a practice of buying goods from local producers. The companies that do this generally advertise the practice on their websites and in the stores themselves, so it is simple to find out if your favorite store or one near to you is in the practice of supporting it's neighbors. Check it out!
I hope that everyone is having a wonderful Father's Day Sunday! I am off to have a glass of {Locally Produced!} wine with my mister to toast his day.
Love to you all!
xoxo, a.
4 comments:
Great post! I have been trying to do the same thing, and I found that it was quite easy to get overwhelmed. A book that I found which helped me out a lot was Gorgeously Green. It's written in a conversational tone and was really motivating in terms of going green. I got it from my local library - you might want to check it out! Good luck!ReplyDelete
love your visionReplyDelete
and your heart:)
Glad to find you!
Your blog is really pretty!ReplyDelete
I don't sew in the traditional sense of the word, but I do make fabric collages. Making a garment makes me a bit nervous and my mom always ends up doing all the work while I "help."
I too am trying to reduce my impact on the earth. I am finding we can get along with only one car--at least at the moment.
What an unusual table--is it in your house? Love the red ducks.
Thanks, Sandra!ReplyDelete
I do sew and make garments, but I use the word 'sew' in my blog title to encompass things that I make with a needle and thread, things that I make in general, and the handmade community as a whole. So it applies to you, too!
And yes, that table is in my house. It is part of the collection of golf related items that fill the room that flows into our kitchen; the centerpiece being a putting green! The ducks are hand carved and from a line called 'dcuk' made by woodstock environments in Shokan, NY. I just love them; they make me smile every summer when I pull them out.
xo, a.
Dear friends,
Thank you for taking the time to comment! ! I want this to be a space of free and open dialog, within the boundaries of respect and basic human kindness. Whether we are in agreement or not, all comments will be published so long as they meet that requirement.


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What better way to spend those long summer days than ripping and shredding at America's Bike Park!? Learn to shred the mountain from Highland's expertly trained coaches during our four one-week sessions this summer.
Summer Ride is a multi-day camp for 8 to 12 year olds interested in mountain biking and offered as either a day or sleepover option. Campers of all abilities will learn new skills, develop more confidence, make new friendships and take their riding to the next level. Riders have the opportunity to focus on specific freeride and downhill skills with an emphasis on safety and rider etiquette.
- Premiere Lift-Access Trails
- Multiple Skill Building Areas
- Multiple Jump Parks
- 50X50 ft Ayr Bag
- Highland Training Center (9,100 sq ft indoor facility)
|* Overnight campers only
- Overnight campers return to Highland Tuesday nights for games and riding.
- There will always be a group participating in non-riding games or down time for campers too tired to ride.
- Schedule subject to change based on weather and participants.
Safety is our first priority. From the moment campers arrive, our staff of experienced coaches and camp counselors ensure they are having a fun and safe experience. We do this by maintaining the strictest of protocol along with:
- Low camper to coach ratio
- 24/7 adult supervision
- Highly trained Patrol staff
- Full service First Aid Base
Campers are expected to follow the Tilton School and Highland Mountain Bike Park rules and treat everyone at camp with courtesy and respect. Rules are strictly enforced, and violations will result in parent notifications and potential camper expulsion.
- NO drugs or alcohol
- NO weapons, violence or abusive language
- NO theft or vandalism
- Campers are not allowed to leave camp boundaries
The Highland coaching staff come from varied backgrounds – including everything from classically trained musicians to childhood development majors. They are all amazingly talented riders and passionate about sharing their knowledge of the sport with new riders.
Every Monday camp begins with a skills assessment and goal evaluation. Campers are then broken up into groups based upon their skill set and riding goals. A low 6:1 camper to coach ratio helps maximize safety and ensure a great camp experience.
* Overnight Registration closes 3 weeks prior to camp start
|Session 1: July 2nd – 8th
Session 2: July 9th – 15th
Session 3: July 16th – 22nd
Session 4: July 23rd – 29th
Session 5: July 30th – Aug 5th
Camp only………….$450
Camp only………….$650
* Overnight campers are dropped off the Sunday evening prior to camp and picked up either Wednesday evening (3 Day) or Saturday morning (5 Day). A more detailed schedule will be provided in the camp welcome letter.
* Full-face helmet, gloves, knee and elbow pads are required. Full suspension bikes are recommended but hard tails are acceptable. Protective gear and bikes are available for rental in the Highland Bike Shop
|Kid's Bike (riders under 5ft)
3 Day…………….. $145
5 Day…………….. $240
|Adult Bike (riders over 5ft)
3 Day…………….. $270
5 Day…………….. $450
Summer Ride Overnight is partnered with the Tilton School, a private academy with an expansive campus located in town a mere seven minutes from Highland Mountain. Campers will live in the Summer Ride dormitory, and have access to top notch Tilton School facilities including the gym, dining hall, b-ball court, lounges, and more.
With the combined amenities of Highland Mountain Bike Park and the Tilton School, Summer Ride Overnight boasts a world class venue both on and off mountain.
The Summer Ride Overnight price includes three meals a day, beverages and snacks. Breakfast and dinner will be served in the Tilton School's dining facility, courtesy of Sage Dining, while lunch served slope-side at the Highland Mountain Cafe.
***Parents interested in a tour of the facilities should contact firstname.lastname@example.com


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GraphicRiver Corporate Business Card Template 6503482
Category: Print Template | Comment: ( 0 )
GraphicRiver Corporate Business Card Template 6503482
Print Template \ Business Cards
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- Please select a date to see the proper prices!
Description of the accommodation:
Rooms, services When taking a trip to Lloydminster, booking a room at BEST WESTERN PLUS MERIDIAN HTL Lloydminster may be a great decision. The hotel is welcoming all guests in Lloydminster with 128 comfortable rooms to stay in. If you wish to learn more about the exact scope of services provided by BEST WESTERN PLUS MERIDIAN HTL Lloydminster (including any available for an extra fee), you will find them on the information sheet below.
Payment Depeding on the selected room, date and price, you may be asked to provide credit card guarantee or to pay by credit card in advance.
Arrival, opening hours The earliest time to check in at the hotel is 16:00, the latest time to check out is 11:00. The personnel is at your service in English.
BEST WESTERN PLUS MERIDIAN HTL Lloydminster rooms Rooms
- Please select a date to see the proper prices!
Accommodation services
- Jacuzzi
- Pool (Outdoor - seasonally open)


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- "Against the knights of the Covenant, and you, Angof doesn't stand a chance."
- ―Dame Jo of the Dragon[src]
Dame Jo of the Dragon is a Breton member of the Knights of the Dragon found in the Lion Guard Redoubt. She only appears in this location once Gabrielle Benele has been rescued from Merovec's Folly.


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Get Educated About Public Speaking With These Simple To Follow Tips
Are you fearful of public speaking? If you have dreamed about moving audiences through your powerful speeches, then you are not alone. This article will help you become the effective public speaker you've always wanted to be.
Use This Advice To Ease Your Public Speaking Fears
Terrific Tips For Making Public Speaking Easier Utilize a timer so that you know the true length of the speech. This will help you make any edits and time your speech appropriately. If you find your speech is not long enough, research to find more information. Also, never rush through your speech.
Public Speaking 101: Everything You Need To Know Utilize a timer to determine the length of your speech. This will help you edit the speech to stay within the allotted time. Add more to your speech if you have the time. Also remember, you never want to rush through your speech; remember to pace yourself.
Practice makes perfect. Work on issues where you lose your flow. Make sure you master proper pace and breathing. Be sure to allow time in your speaking for pauses or interruptions, which you hope to be audience applause. When you can, try out your speech using the exact equipment used in the public event.
Familiarize yourself with the room you are using to give your speech. See if you can tell how sound travels without a microphone. Check out the microphone and other equipment so that you feel at ease with it. See how you can use visual aids to your advantage. Figure out how much eye contact you must make.
Avoid alcohol before you deliver your speech. You may think that you will be more relaxed. You don't want to start speaking and suddenly forget your lines or say them in a way that others don't understand thanks to the alcohol.
You should know your speech to become comfortable with it. Choose a subject that interests you. Do not focus on fancy wording or technical language, instead speak in a way that you connect with your audience.
Stay away from alcoholic beverages before making your speech. While it can seem like a great confidence booster, it's not. There is little worse than getting ready to give a speech and forgetting everything due to the alcohol you drank before the speech.
Make the audience like you before you give your speech. As they come into the room, flash them a smile. If possible, try to shake the hand of some of the attendees. When you show this positive attitude, the audience will show more interest in what you will be talking about.
If you are like millions of other people who experience anxiety before giving a public speech, brush-up on your deep breathing abilities. Controlling your breathing will reduce your level of stress. Breath using four-count nasal inhales and five-count mouth exhales. Do this six times to calm yourself down.
Never let your audience know you are nervous. You feel as though you're a fool, but the audience might not notice. Correct any mistakes and move on.
Now you can be that great public speaker you always wanted to. Not everyone is a skilled orator, but having great tips and techniques to go on, you should be able to hone your skills in this area. The more you review these techniques, the more confident you will become.


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What To Expect When You're Expecting To Get a Divorce
Most divorce cases involve one person who has thought about it for months and is prepared mentally and financially to proceed and the other person who is completely unprepared and feels blind-sided by the "sudden" decision to separate. There are certain actions that can be undertaken if you want to be prepared.
- Open a separate bank account. Do not put your money into a joint account with your spouse. Stop all direct deposits into joint accounts.
- Open your own credit card accounts. Talk to credit card companies and check into removing your liability on any joint credit cards.
- If needed for yourself and/or your children, consult with a therapist. This is a difficult time emotionally for all involved.
- Be certain that you have the financial information that you will need. Know where the bank accounts are, together with the account numbers. Know where the investment accounts are. Know who holds the mortgage on the house and what the monthly payment is. Know what your spouse's income is. Get a copy of the pay stub if you are able. Most of this information can be gathered by paying attention to the mail for a month or so.
- Depending on the assets, you may want to contact a financial planner. Many of these are certified as divorce financial specialists.
- Have the health insurance information and the insurance card itself.
- Have a vehicle titled in your name or leased to you to avoid your spouse "repossessing" your car if it is in his/her name.
- Find out from an experienced family law attorney what your rights are.
Child Custody/ Support/ Visitation:
- Whether in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations or the Circuit Court; whether representing the mother, father, grandparents, or other interested party; whether the parties are litigating or mediating this firm, can meet your needs.
- We also handle child support collection and arrearage cases in court and in proceedings with the Division of Child Support Enforcement (DCSE), as well as findings of abuse or neglect by Child Protective Services (CPS).
Serving Hampton Roads, including Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Isle of Wight, Hampton, Newport News, & York County.


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Samsung Galaxy S3 Neo with Dual-SIM capabilities launched in India
Samsung Galaxy S3 Neo (GT-I9300I) with Dual-SIM support has appeared on the Samsung Website. Samsung Galaxy S3 Neo listing is not associated with any pricing details yet on the website.
Looks wise, it is similar to Galaxy S3 and has 1.2GHz Quad-Core processor. It comes with 4.8″ Super AMOLED display, 1.5GB RAM and comes loaded with Android 4.3 OS.
- 12.19cm (4.8) HD Super AMOLED with 720 x 1280 resolution.
- 1.2 GHz Quad-Core processor
- Android 4.3 OS
- Dual-SIM support.
- 8MP AF with Flash (Rear) and 1.9 MP (Front Facing) Camera.
- 16GB Internal Memory with 64GB Micro SD card support
The phone is expected to be priced around INR25000.


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Colors of Mindanao
During the days leading up to Christmas and Christmas Day itself, I just spent my time relaxing along the countryside and taking in as much of the surroundings as I could. The beauty, the serenity...everything--I was eating, breathing...absorbing Mindanao.
Below are only a handful of the flora, fauna, and food I encountered during my stay. Some of the flowers I had seen before throughout Luzon, but a few of them I had not. The interesting looking food in one of the pictures is called "luyang," which is mashed saba banana and coconut shredding or sapal mixed with brown sugar--something I had never seen or tasted before. It makes for a tasty but not-so-rich snack that really fills you up.
But these photos are of course only the tip of the iceberg. There was so much more to see, yet so little time.