File under Set the Bar Low
It snowed here yesterday for the better part of 3 hours and i had no idea it was even going to snow at all. A nice little surprise. Funny because my wife just told me this theory the other day:
I Have a Theory...
...that your excitement for snow is inversely proportional to your "young at heart" age.
The older at heart you are, the less excited you get about snow. Therefore you can't be young at heart and also hate snow. Impossible. However this theory breaks down over the winter, because unfortunately the superceding theory is that your excitement for snow is also inversely proportional to how many times you have seen it this season.
Enjoy it now. Winter just began.
Song of the Day
No reason why, just felt like playing this song. It's long but it's great. Definitely an over-the-ear headphones kind of song. The song of the day is Neil Young's "Cowgirl in the Sand".
Friday, December 30, 2011
Thursday, December 29, 2011
The Perfect Gift
File under Set the Bar Low
I probably should have posted this earlier this month because there was recently a study on gift-giving, detailed in the NY Times, that may have changed how you gave this holiday season.
Apparently spending lots of time or money on the perfect gift is most often lost on the recipient, and typically only satisfies the giver. "Spending extra time and money for the perfect gift may make them feel better, but it’s not doing much for the objects of their efforts" the study found.
When asked about memorable gifts, gift-givers typically recall expensive items, while gift-receivers tend to recall a gift they actually asked for, even if it was a T-shirt. The researchers also noted that, although not creative and somewhat boring, choosing a gift off of a registry is the best way to go.
It's kind of counter-intuitive to think that spending 5 minutes on a gift registry or asking for a wish list increases the recipients happiness more than spending hours on end thinking of and searching for the perfect gift. But i do agree that it's much less fun for the giver. At least just remember this when stressed out about finding the perfect gift - that the effort you put in is really mostly only satisfying yourself!
Find the NY times article here.
Song of the Day
In honor of giving, the song of the day is Public Enemy's "Give it Up". A bit of a stretch i know, but i love this song.
I probably should have posted this earlier this month because there was recently a study on gift-giving, detailed in the NY Times, that may have changed how you gave this holiday season.
Apparently spending lots of time or money on the perfect gift is most often lost on the recipient, and typically only satisfies the giver. "Spending extra time and money for the perfect gift may make them feel better, but it’s not doing much for the objects of their efforts" the study found.
When asked about memorable gifts, gift-givers typically recall expensive items, while gift-receivers tend to recall a gift they actually asked for, even if it was a T-shirt. The researchers also noted that, although not creative and somewhat boring, choosing a gift off of a registry is the best way to go.
It's kind of counter-intuitive to think that spending 5 minutes on a gift registry or asking for a wish list increases the recipients happiness more than spending hours on end thinking of and searching for the perfect gift. But i do agree that it's much less fun for the giver. At least just remember this when stressed out about finding the perfect gift - that the effort you put in is really mostly only satisfying yourself!
Find the NY times article here.
Song of the Day
In honor of giving, the song of the day is Public Enemy's "Give it Up". A bit of a stretch i know, but i love this song.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
The Quotable Antidote 12.28.2011
File under The Quotable Antidote
On the heels of the last post...
"Worrying is a lot like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but doesn't get you anywhere." - Van Wilder
Song of the Day
The past week or so has been great because i've been able to spend a lot of time with my wife. In honor of how awesome she is, the song of the day is G. Love's "Baby's Got Sauce".
On the heels of the last post...
"Worrying is a lot like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but doesn't get you anywhere." - Van Wilder
Song of the Day
The past week or so has been great because i've been able to spend a lot of time with my wife. In honor of how awesome she is, the song of the day is G. Love's "Baby's Got Sauce".
Monday, December 26, 2011
The Mind-Body (Dr. Robert Adair)
File under Cage the Rage
Although it seems intuitive now, even up to 16 years ago many researchers and doctors regarded the concept of one's mind affecting one's immune system as bunk, even 'folklore'.
But the work of Dr. Robert Adair, beginning in the mid-1970's, changed all of that. He defined the connections that linked the neurons of the central nervous system to the cells of the immune system. Today it's widely accepted "that meditation helps reduce arterial plaque; that social bonds improve cancer survival; that people under stress catch more colds." He definitively showed that not only does worrying not get you anywhere, but it is also deleterious to your health.
Dr. Adair passed away this week but the importance of his work remains. In honor of his discoveries, the perfect antidote encourages everyone to question what it is you are stressed about. Is it worth your health?
Here is a link to a memorial article for Dr. Adair.
Song of the Day
I've been wanting to feature this song for a while, but never really had a reason too. Not that i do now though. In honor of not getting any mail today the song of the day is The Postal Service's "Such Great Heights".
Although it seems intuitive now, even up to 16 years ago many researchers and doctors regarded the concept of one's mind affecting one's immune system as bunk, even 'folklore'.
But the work of Dr. Robert Adair, beginning in the mid-1970's, changed all of that. He defined the connections that linked the neurons of the central nervous system to the cells of the immune system. Today it's widely accepted "that meditation helps reduce arterial plaque; that social bonds improve cancer survival; that people under stress catch more colds." He definitively showed that not only does worrying not get you anywhere, but it is also deleterious to your health.
Dr. Adair passed away this week but the importance of his work remains. In honor of his discoveries, the perfect antidote encourages everyone to question what it is you are stressed about. Is it worth your health?
Here is a link to a memorial article for Dr. Adair.
Song of the Day
I've been wanting to feature this song for a while, but never really had a reason too. Not that i do now though. In honor of not getting any mail today the song of the day is The Postal Service's "Such Great Heights".
Sunday, December 25, 2011
The Bumpus Hounds
File under Useless Information
I had written a post a while ago about how i thought the name "Cytokine Storm" was a great name for a band. Well in honor of "A Christmas Story", i should add that i think the name The Bumpus Hounds would also be a great name for a band. And apparently i have good taste because i found out they actually are band names. Check them out:
The Bumpus Hounds
Cytokine Storm
Song of the Day
In honor of continuing the Christmas festivities the song of the day is my favorite SNL Christmas song.
I had written a post a while ago about how i thought the name "Cytokine Storm" was a great name for a band. Well in honor of "A Christmas Story", i should add that i think the name The Bumpus Hounds would also be a great name for a band. And apparently i have good taste because i found out they actually are band names. Check them out:
The Bumpus Hounds
Cytokine Storm
Song of the Day
In honor of continuing the Christmas festivities the song of the day is my favorite SNL Christmas song.
The Christmas Spirit
File under Joy
I love Christmas. I love Christmas eve. I love Christmas morning. I love how peaceful, how quiet, and how joyous it is. I love seeing my niece and nephew, and talking to friends and family. I love the desire to be selfless and put others first. They are all feelings i wish i felt all year long, but by January 2nd the world and it's demands slowly win back the day. Work, kids, school, parents, building a legacy, having an impact, changing the world. All of those things muddle the picture of what is important.
Advocating procrastination and the lowering of expectations isn't the most common advice. In fact you'll typically hear just the opposite. I've been asked about the 'perfect' antidote theory before - "You don't really believe that do you?" Well the truth is that i couldn't be more serious or passionate about this philosophy, and it's value is most inherently evident around the holiday time. Somehow we take a break, somehow we make time, somehow we figure out what is truly important to us. We share, we spend time with family and friends, we give of ourselves. We look forward with eager anticipation to the season and then lament that it went too quickly.
Did it go too quickly, or did we too easily just revert back to our busy lives of worrying and focusing on things that aren't important?
As the holiday passes and the spirit fades, i have but one wish for this next year. Instead of trying to do too much, to be too perfect, or to change the whole world...i'm just going to try to change someone's world.
I hope you have a very merry and blessed Christmas!
Song of the Day
In honor of not letting our lives pass by each other in absent indifference, the song of the day is 10,000 Maniacs' "Verdi Cries" performed by Natalie Merchant.
I love Christmas. I love Christmas eve. I love Christmas morning. I love how peaceful, how quiet, and how joyous it is. I love seeing my niece and nephew, and talking to friends and family. I love the desire to be selfless and put others first. They are all feelings i wish i felt all year long, but by January 2nd the world and it's demands slowly win back the day. Work, kids, school, parents, building a legacy, having an impact, changing the world. All of those things muddle the picture of what is important.
Advocating procrastination and the lowering of expectations isn't the most common advice. In fact you'll typically hear just the opposite. I've been asked about the 'perfect' antidote theory before - "You don't really believe that do you?" Well the truth is that i couldn't be more serious or passionate about this philosophy, and it's value is most inherently evident around the holiday time. Somehow we take a break, somehow we make time, somehow we figure out what is truly important to us. We share, we spend time with family and friends, we give of ourselves. We look forward with eager anticipation to the season and then lament that it went too quickly.
Did it go too quickly, or did we too easily just revert back to our busy lives of worrying and focusing on things that aren't important?
As the holiday passes and the spirit fades, i have but one wish for this next year. Instead of trying to do too much, to be too perfect, or to change the whole world...i'm just going to try to change someone's world.
I hope you have a very merry and blessed Christmas!
Song of the Day
In honor of not letting our lives pass by each other in absent indifference, the song of the day is 10,000 Maniacs' "Verdi Cries" performed by Natalie Merchant.
Friday, December 23, 2011
The Weekly Theory 12.23.2011
File under Useless Information
This week's theory comes from the late, great comedian Mitch Hedberg.
I Have a Theory...
...that a duck's opinion of me is highly dependent on whether or not i have bread.
In honor of Christmas and the holidays, don't be a duck.
Shameful Christmas thought of the Day
Every time i hear the very, very beginning of "Little Drummer Boy" i can't stop thinking about the "Imperial March" from Star Wars.
Song of the Day
Might as well:
This week's theory comes from the late, great comedian Mitch Hedberg.
I Have a Theory...
...that a duck's opinion of me is highly dependent on whether or not i have bread.
In honor of Christmas and the holidays, don't be a duck.
Shameful Christmas thought of the Day
Every time i hear the very, very beginning of "Little Drummer Boy" i can't stop thinking about the "Imperial March" from Star Wars.
Song of the Day
Might as well:
Thursday, December 22, 2011
The Solstice
File under Useless Information
The solstice has arrived. The moment when the sun has stopped it's downward turn and begun to head north again. Enjoy folks, it only gets better from here.
"I've only got the sunny hours, the brightest hours of day
i've never got the gloomy hours, i let them slip away."
Song of the Day
In honor of the slow return to long, sun-filled days the song of the day is Long Beach Dub All-Stars' "Sunny Hours" featuring Will.I.Am.
The solstice has arrived. The moment when the sun has stopped it's downward turn and begun to head north again. Enjoy folks, it only gets better from here.
"I've only got the sunny hours, the brightest hours of day
i've never got the gloomy hours, i let them slip away."
Song of the Day
In honor of the slow return to long, sun-filled days the song of the day is Long Beach Dub All-Stars' "Sunny Hours" featuring Will.I.Am.
The 10,000 hours
File under Meet Yourself
[Note: This is a re-post from a May 2011 post]
Last post I talked about the concept that opportunity and time are more important to success than any desire for greatness may be. I’ll build on that here by talking about how they are also more important than any inherent skill or talent is.
A renowned psychologist by the name of K. Anders Ericsson has spent his life studying “experts”. His life thesis, proven through many of his and others’ studies, is that an expert is created through deliberate practice and work for a very long time. How long? 10,000 hours. And this practice is infinitely more important of a factor than any talent, IQ, or God-given gift.
New York Times columnist Malcolm Gladwell talks of this phenomenon in his book Outliers. He argues that certain “great” individuals such as the Beatles and Bill Gates achieved their vaunted success, not through inherent intelligence or skill, but rather through having the opportunities to practice and master their crafts. The Beatles had opportunities to practice for 10,000 hours by playing together all night for several years at bars in Germany before hitting it big back home. Bill Gates had opportunities to do computer programming for 10,000 hours as a teenager by being granted access to university computer labs where he spent nights writing code.
10,000 hours. Imagine deliberately practicing at a skill 8 hours a weekday for 5 years. I’m not talking about the approach we typically have at work. I’m talking about focused, deliberate concentration for that long and that consistently. That is a daunting threshold to hit for anyone trying to master a skill or achieve a success. It’s like the Sisyphus myth I talked about previously. Unless we hit that threshold, everything else is just average. Which begs the question, is it worth the effort if we don’t have that opportunity?
Song of the Day
I was at a wedding last weekend of a friend of my wife’s. The bride, who incidentally is not quite the strong believer in the ‘Perfect’ antidote theory, made the joking comment that this blog was for lazy potheads. Ironically we had a brief conversation where she brought up the 10,000 hour threshold. So in honor of Nell and Derry’s wedding, lazy potheads, and hearing this song three times in one day yesterday, the song of the day is Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here”.
[Note: This is a re-post from a May 2011 post]
Last post I talked about the concept that opportunity and time are more important to success than any desire for greatness may be. I’ll build on that here by talking about how they are also more important than any inherent skill or talent is.
A renowned psychologist by the name of K. Anders Ericsson has spent his life studying “experts”. His life thesis, proven through many of his and others’ studies, is that an expert is created through deliberate practice and work for a very long time. How long? 10,000 hours. And this practice is infinitely more important of a factor than any talent, IQ, or God-given gift.
New York Times columnist Malcolm Gladwell talks of this phenomenon in his book Outliers. He argues that certain “great” individuals such as the Beatles and Bill Gates achieved their vaunted success, not through inherent intelligence or skill, but rather through having the opportunities to practice and master their crafts. The Beatles had opportunities to practice for 10,000 hours by playing together all night for several years at bars in Germany before hitting it big back home. Bill Gates had opportunities to do computer programming for 10,000 hours as a teenager by being granted access to university computer labs where he spent nights writing code.
10,000 hours. Imagine deliberately practicing at a skill 8 hours a weekday for 5 years. I’m not talking about the approach we typically have at work. I’m talking about focused, deliberate concentration for that long and that consistently. That is a daunting threshold to hit for anyone trying to master a skill or achieve a success. It’s like the Sisyphus myth I talked about previously. Unless we hit that threshold, everything else is just average. Which begs the question, is it worth the effort if we don’t have that opportunity?
Song of the Day
I was at a wedding last weekend of a friend of my wife’s. The bride, who incidentally is not quite the strong believer in the ‘Perfect’ antidote theory, made the joking comment that this blog was for lazy potheads. Ironically we had a brief conversation where she brought up the 10,000 hour threshold. So in honor of Nell and Derry’s wedding, lazy potheads, and hearing this song three times in one day yesterday, the song of the day is Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here”.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
The Velvet Revolution
File under Avoid the Machine
This past weekend, the former Czech playwright and president, Vaclav Havel, died. The leader of the velvet revolution and the man most recognizable for the demise of communism in Czechoslovakia was the antithesis of the odd, totalitarian, megalomaniac world leader who unfortunately shared the same day of passing as Havel.
Havel was by all accounts a sensitive social thinker and artist, a reluctant face of a movement, but a willing statesman nonetheless. He had many great contributions to society, but i'm drawn to his interpretation of language as a reflection of reality.
"I love logically constructed, totally convincing arguments which defend total nonsense. It interests me to explore the misuse of language, the special role language plays in our conditions, where language is peculiarly misused and at the same time elevated so that often the way we speak about something is more important than reality itself. And someone who has mastered a certain language can go a long way whatever the reality the situation. It is as if language became a motor of events, the creator of reality, more real than reality itself."
There is a great BBC profile of Havel here, from which the above came.
Havel's description of language and it's reflection (or lack there of) of reality reinforces the thought that a well-constructed argument doesn't necessarily need to be based in reality. Language is intended to persuade, to dissuade, or to influence. We use language to create our reality, and others use it to create their own, sometimes at our expense. The self-help machine is adept at telling us what our faults are, but a carefully crafted description of our shortcomings may have little to nothing to do with the truth, especially when it comes to others' benefit.
When does the language not represent your reality? When do totally convincing arguments only truly defend total nonsense?
Song of the Day
In honor of the millions who at the end of the 80s woke up to a new reality that Vaclav Havel helped create, the song of the day is Arcade Fire's "Wake Up".
This past weekend, the former Czech playwright and president, Vaclav Havel, died. The leader of the velvet revolution and the man most recognizable for the demise of communism in Czechoslovakia was the antithesis of the odd, totalitarian, megalomaniac world leader who unfortunately shared the same day of passing as Havel.
Havel was by all accounts a sensitive social thinker and artist, a reluctant face of a movement, but a willing statesman nonetheless. He had many great contributions to society, but i'm drawn to his interpretation of language as a reflection of reality.
"I love logically constructed, totally convincing arguments which defend total nonsense. It interests me to explore the misuse of language, the special role language plays in our conditions, where language is peculiarly misused and at the same time elevated so that often the way we speak about something is more important than reality itself. And someone who has mastered a certain language can go a long way whatever the reality the situation. It is as if language became a motor of events, the creator of reality, more real than reality itself."
There is a great BBC profile of Havel here, from which the above came.
Havel's description of language and it's reflection (or lack there of) of reality reinforces the thought that a well-constructed argument doesn't necessarily need to be based in reality. Language is intended to persuade, to dissuade, or to influence. We use language to create our reality, and others use it to create their own, sometimes at our expense. The self-help machine is adept at telling us what our faults are, but a carefully crafted description of our shortcomings may have little to nothing to do with the truth, especially when it comes to others' benefit.
When does the language not represent your reality? When do totally convincing arguments only truly defend total nonsense?
Song of the Day
In honor of the millions who at the end of the 80s woke up to a new reality that Vaclav Havel helped create, the song of the day is Arcade Fire's "Wake Up".
Monday, December 19, 2011
The Weekly Theory 12.19.2011
File under Useless Information
This week's theory comes from an avid reader in Raton, New Mexico:
I Have a Theory...
...that no matter how fast you are going you will always hit the brakes when you see a cop. Always.
Seriously, even if you are currently going 10 miles under the speed limit, and even if he currently has someone else pulled over.
Song of the Day
I heard this song today and it is just as ridiculous as that theory, yet i was reminded how much i love it. In honor of corporate rock and looking to the sea, the song of the day is Come Sail Away by Styx.
I think i'm going to bring back the neckerchief and open shirt look. Watch out. By the way, how is the lead singer not the same guy who played the neighbor Steve in the early episodes of Married with Children?
This week's theory comes from an avid reader in Raton, New Mexico:
I Have a Theory...
...that no matter how fast you are going you will always hit the brakes when you see a cop. Always.
Seriously, even if you are currently going 10 miles under the speed limit, and even if he currently has someone else pulled over.
Song of the Day
I heard this song today and it is just as ridiculous as that theory, yet i was reminded how much i love it. In honor of corporate rock and looking to the sea, the song of the day is Come Sail Away by Styx.
I think i'm going to bring back the neckerchief and open shirt look. Watch out. By the way, how is the lead singer not the same guy who played the neighbor Steve in the early episodes of Married with Children?
Sunday, December 18, 2011
The Holiday Party
File under Get a Smaller Plate
This past weekend was my work team's holiday party.
It was a typical holiday party: food, drinks, 30 Irish Car Bombs, a white elephant gift exchange, a Guy on a Buffalo, a birthday celebration, two guys trying to crash hotel rooms (you know who you are), making fun of each other in team member profiles, ridiculous bets, and debating crappy mid-90's music.
But most of all it was an opportunity to be with and talk to the people i may see everyday but never really get to know very well. It's those opportunities that i will remember 20 years down the road, and I left with the feeling that those opportunities shouldn't come only once a year.
Song of the Day
I've been a big fan of the band Muse for a while now, but i heard this song again at the team party and it reminded me just how much i like the band. This song was featured on my top ten running songs here, but i think it may be making it onto my greatest songs of all time list. In honor of spending time that matters with people because no one is getting out of here alive, the song of the day is Muse's Knights of Cydonia, live from Wembley Stadium. Oh, how I wish I was at this concert. The 3:38-5:00 mark is ridiculous especially around 4:30.
This past weekend was my work team's holiday party.
It was a typical holiday party: food, drinks, 30 Irish Car Bombs, a white elephant gift exchange, a Guy on a Buffalo, a birthday celebration, two guys trying to crash hotel rooms (you know who you are), making fun of each other in team member profiles, ridiculous bets, and debating crappy mid-90's music.
But most of all it was an opportunity to be with and talk to the people i may see everyday but never really get to know very well. It's those opportunities that i will remember 20 years down the road, and I left with the feeling that those opportunities shouldn't come only once a year.
Song of the Day
I've been a big fan of the band Muse for a while now, but i heard this song again at the team party and it reminded me just how much i like the band. This song was featured on my top ten running songs here, but i think it may be making it onto my greatest songs of all time list. In honor of spending time that matters with people because no one is getting out of here alive, the song of the day is Muse's Knights of Cydonia, live from Wembley Stadium. Oh, how I wish I was at this concert. The 3:38-5:00 mark is ridiculous especially around 4:30.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
The Decision
File under Meet Yourself
Today was a landmark day in our new 'old' house. We finally had the gas line run. So what? you ask. Well, the contractors would be turning our heat on by noon today. And more than just having heat for the first time this fall/winter, it was that little event that reminded me of our sometimes crazy decisions. Let me explain.
I have been fighting a cold for several days now and today was especially bad. I had work to do but wasn't going to go into work. I also told myself when I woke up that i didn't want to work in the cold house, so i decided to go to the local Starbucks to work in the warmth of public caffiene addiction. After working for a while I decided to head home knowing that the heat would be on. I won't even get into the joy of knowing that i can put the space heaters away and continue with the story. Despite everything working perfectly and the temperature slowly rising inside, within 10 minutes i decided to go back to Starbucks.
Why?
I went there to avoid the cold, right? Apparently not. Apparently my decision was based in some other reason, whether to avoid distractions, whether to avoid dog barking, or maybe just because i just like working there. In any case, i spent the rest of my day there.
The realization that my decision wasn't based on what i logically thought it was, reminds me of the core concept of the book "Why Choose This Book: How We Make Decisions" by Read Montague. A neuroscientist, Montague discusses not just the science, but the psychology of the decisions, showing that logic and reason often need not apply. Understanding our penchant for certain decisions and the basis of our decisions, both good and bad, is important to defining which ones support our desired endstate.
Song of the Day
In honor of decision making and the warmth of radiator heat, the song of the day is Black Sheep's "The Choice is Yours". Famously sampled by Fat Boy Slim on "Weapon of Choice".
Today was a landmark day in our new 'old' house. We finally had the gas line run. So what? you ask. Well, the contractors would be turning our heat on by noon today. And more than just having heat for the first time this fall/winter, it was that little event that reminded me of our sometimes crazy decisions. Let me explain.
I have been fighting a cold for several days now and today was especially bad. I had work to do but wasn't going to go into work. I also told myself when I woke up that i didn't want to work in the cold house, so i decided to go to the local Starbucks to work in the warmth of public caffiene addiction. After working for a while I decided to head home knowing that the heat would be on. I won't even get into the joy of knowing that i can put the space heaters away and continue with the story. Despite everything working perfectly and the temperature slowly rising inside, within 10 minutes i decided to go back to Starbucks.
Why?
I went there to avoid the cold, right? Apparently not. Apparently my decision was based in some other reason, whether to avoid distractions, whether to avoid dog barking, or maybe just because i just like working there. In any case, i spent the rest of my day there.
The realization that my decision wasn't based on what i logically thought it was, reminds me of the core concept of the book "Why Choose This Book: How We Make Decisions" by Read Montague. A neuroscientist, Montague discusses not just the science, but the psychology of the decisions, showing that logic and reason often need not apply. Understanding our penchant for certain decisions and the basis of our decisions, both good and bad, is important to defining which ones support our desired endstate.
Song of the Day
In honor of decision making and the warmth of radiator heat, the song of the day is Black Sheep's "The Choice is Yours". Famously sampled by Fat Boy Slim on "Weapon of Choice".
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
The Daily Awesomeness
File under Useless Information
I apologize for this next post, but...
I Think it's Awesome...
...when a dog poops and then tries, but fails, to cover it up.
It's always a half-ass effort, too. They do a little turn to kick up grass, but 9 times out of 10 they're not even aiming in the right direction anymore. And when they are aiming in the right direction, they only kick 2-3 times at which point only 4 or 5 blades of grass even come close to covering the poop. You may then see them sniff the butt just to make sure they've covered all their bases, but in any case they always trot away with a smug confidence that no one could possibly know they just pooped. Awesome.
Song of the Day
I also apologize for this admission, but this song is my favorite Christmas song. In honor of the holiday season, dogs, and cool light shows, the song of the day is The Waitresses' "Christmas Wrapping".
I apologize for this next post, but...
I Think it's Awesome...
...when a dog poops and then tries, but fails, to cover it up.
It's always a half-ass effort, too. They do a little turn to kick up grass, but 9 times out of 10 they're not even aiming in the right direction anymore. And when they are aiming in the right direction, they only kick 2-3 times at which point only 4 or 5 blades of grass even come close to covering the poop. You may then see them sniff the butt just to make sure they've covered all their bases, but in any case they always trot away with a smug confidence that no one could possibly know they just pooped. Awesome.
Song of the Day
I also apologize for this admission, but this song is my favorite Christmas song. In honor of the holiday season, dogs, and cool light shows, the song of the day is The Waitresses' "Christmas Wrapping".
Saturday, December 10, 2011
The Weekly Theory 12.10.2011
File under Useless Information
This week's theory comes to us from a friend and former colleague of mine.
I Have a Theory...
...that movies are never as enjoyable as they were when you were 16.
Apparently while watching Inception he was picking apart scenes and concepts as ridiculous, when a 16 year old would be content with it just being awesome.
It reminds me of a comment about Rocky from my favorite comedian, Gary Gulman:
Song of the Day
So speaking of looking at life through the eyes of a kid, the movie Elf was on today and it is just a fantastic Christmas movie. The song of the day was featured in the movie and i'm sure most of you have heard this song before, "Baby, it's Cold Outside." I want to feature it for two reasons. First of all, i'm not sure how it got to be a Christmas song. There's no mention of Christmas or the holidays in it at all. In fact it's just a dead-cold of winter song. How come you don't hear it in February? Second of all, isn't the song borderline sexual harassment/precursor to date-rape? Seriously, no means no, buddy! How is this a holiday song?!
Probably because it gives me that warm feeling inside every time i hear it.
In honor of feeling like a kid again during the holidays, the song of the day is "Baby, it's Cold Outside" sung by Zooey Deschanel and Will Ferrell in Elf.
Here is the original recorded version by Margaret Whiting and Johnny Mercer:
This week's theory comes to us from a friend and former colleague of mine.
I Have a Theory...
...that movies are never as enjoyable as they were when you were 16.
Apparently while watching Inception he was picking apart scenes and concepts as ridiculous, when a 16 year old would be content with it just being awesome.
It reminds me of a comment about Rocky from my favorite comedian, Gary Gulman:
Gary Gulman - Rocky
Song of the Day
So speaking of looking at life through the eyes of a kid, the movie Elf was on today and it is just a fantastic Christmas movie. The song of the day was featured in the movie and i'm sure most of you have heard this song before, "Baby, it's Cold Outside." I want to feature it for two reasons. First of all, i'm not sure how it got to be a Christmas song. There's no mention of Christmas or the holidays in it at all. In fact it's just a dead-cold of winter song. How come you don't hear it in February? Second of all, isn't the song borderline sexual harassment/precursor to date-rape? Seriously, no means no, buddy! How is this a holiday song?!
Probably because it gives me that warm feeling inside every time i hear it.
In honor of feeling like a kid again during the holidays, the song of the day is "Baby, it's Cold Outside" sung by Zooey Deschanel and Will Ferrell in Elf.
Here is the original recorded version by Margaret Whiting and Johnny Mercer:
Friday, December 2, 2011
The Fisherman and the Businessman
File under Get a Smaller Plate
Many months ago i read a parable in a book and since then i have been searching for it without luck. So i'm going to take the liberty of recounting what i remember of the story. My apologies to whomever wrote this.
A wealthy business consultant decides to take a vacation in a small fishing village in Mexico. At lunch one afternoon in a beachfront restaurant he has the most magnificent fish he has ever tasted. He compliments the waiter and asks where the fish comes from. The waiter explains that the daily catch comes from a fisherman who lives down the beach. The businessman comments that the fisherman's operations must be quite expansive and busy because the fish has to be in such high demand. Surprised, the waiter replies that no, the fisherman is a one-man operation. He wakes up in the morning and sets out early to fish, then returns for lunch and a siesta in his hammock. He then welcomes his children home from school and spends the afternoon playing with them, and the evening walking the beach with his wife. Amazed, the businessman's consulting skills begin to spin and he decides he must meet the fisherman.
The next day he approaches the fisherman after he comes in with the daily catch. "Excuse me Senor, I wanted to compliment you on your fish. Have you ever thought of expanding your business?"
"Not really, how would i do that?"
"Well, first i can help you develop a plan to sell your fish to restaurants in other villages nearby. Then we can travel to the villages to sell your services and set up exclusive supplier agreements. Then we can hire individuals to help fish and transport the catch to the new markets."
"And then what?"
"Well after we've saturated those markets, we can open your business to the entire country. We will work with the government for exclusive distributor rights and we can travel to the far reaching areas to bring your fish to new markets. We will have to buy new boats, and trucks, and hire many new staff."
"And then what?"
"Well then we can sign deals with the major distribution and wholesale houses on the west and east coasts of the U.S. We will make presentation at trade shows and conduct sales calls at the most prestigious and exclusive restaurants. To ensure freshness we will also need to purchase planes to transport your products."
"And then what?"
"Well then, after 20 or so years you can retire a wealthy man with the comfort of knowing you have worked hard and provided for your family."
"And then what?"
"Well then you can fish when you want to, spend time with your family, and take siestas in your hammock every afternoon."
What are you searching for, that in 20 years you'll realize you have right in front of you?
Song of the Day
It's almost been a whole year since i started this blog and this will be the first country song to make the Song of the Day cut. So there are two take-aways here: first, i'm not the biggest country fan, and second this song really resonates with me. In honor of knowing what you have, the song of the day is Trace Adkins' "You're Gonna Miss This."
Many months ago i read a parable in a book and since then i have been searching for it without luck. So i'm going to take the liberty of recounting what i remember of the story. My apologies to whomever wrote this.
A wealthy business consultant decides to take a vacation in a small fishing village in Mexico. At lunch one afternoon in a beachfront restaurant he has the most magnificent fish he has ever tasted. He compliments the waiter and asks where the fish comes from. The waiter explains that the daily catch comes from a fisherman who lives down the beach. The businessman comments that the fisherman's operations must be quite expansive and busy because the fish has to be in such high demand. Surprised, the waiter replies that no, the fisherman is a one-man operation. He wakes up in the morning and sets out early to fish, then returns for lunch and a siesta in his hammock. He then welcomes his children home from school and spends the afternoon playing with them, and the evening walking the beach with his wife. Amazed, the businessman's consulting skills begin to spin and he decides he must meet the fisherman.
The next day he approaches the fisherman after he comes in with the daily catch. "Excuse me Senor, I wanted to compliment you on your fish. Have you ever thought of expanding your business?"
"Not really, how would i do that?"
"Well, first i can help you develop a plan to sell your fish to restaurants in other villages nearby. Then we can travel to the villages to sell your services and set up exclusive supplier agreements. Then we can hire individuals to help fish and transport the catch to the new markets."
"And then what?"
"Well after we've saturated those markets, we can open your business to the entire country. We will work with the government for exclusive distributor rights and we can travel to the far reaching areas to bring your fish to new markets. We will have to buy new boats, and trucks, and hire many new staff."
"And then what?"
"Well then we can sign deals with the major distribution and wholesale houses on the west and east coasts of the U.S. We will make presentation at trade shows and conduct sales calls at the most prestigious and exclusive restaurants. To ensure freshness we will also need to purchase planes to transport your products."
"And then what?"
"Well then, after 20 or so years you can retire a wealthy man with the comfort of knowing you have worked hard and provided for your family."
"And then what?"
"Well then you can fish when you want to, spend time with your family, and take siestas in your hammock every afternoon."
What are you searching for, that in 20 years you'll realize you have right in front of you?
Song of the Day
It's almost been a whole year since i started this blog and this will be the first country song to make the Song of the Day cut. So there are two take-aways here: first, i'm not the biggest country fan, and second this song really resonates with me. In honor of knowing what you have, the song of the day is Trace Adkins' "You're Gonna Miss This."
Monday, November 28, 2011
The Daily Physics Problem 11.28.2011
File under Useless Information
If Sally buys a Chipotle burrito completely covered in foil wrapping, then proceeds to unwrap the foil and eat 50% of the burrito, how is it possible that the same amount of foil now only covers 75% of the remaining 50% of the whole burrito?
Seriously, we can put a man on the moon, yet i can't figure out how to fully cover my leftover burrito.
Song of the Day
In honor of having a great time with my sister and brother-in-law who just spent Thanksgiving with us, the song of the day is Rogue Wave's Lake Michigan.
If Sally buys a Chipotle burrito completely covered in foil wrapping, then proceeds to unwrap the foil and eat 50% of the burrito, how is it possible that the same amount of foil now only covers 75% of the remaining 50% of the whole burrito?
Seriously, we can put a man on the moon, yet i can't figure out how to fully cover my leftover burrito.
Song of the Day
In honor of having a great time with my sister and brother-in-law who just spent Thanksgiving with us, the song of the day is Rogue Wave's Lake Michigan.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
The Thanks G Movement
File under Get a Smaller Plate
For several years now i have been referring to Thanksgiving as Thanks G Day. It was originally in response to hearing people call it Turkey Day a lot. I wanted to put the "Thanks" back in Thanksgiving, plus i just thought it sounded cool too. Well today i'm going public with the Thanks G movement and encouraging everyone to jump on the bandwagon. It has something for everyone, the religious reference, the Fresh Prince of Bel Air reference, plus it puts 'Thanks' front and center.
So, when someone does something nice for you today, go ahead and respond with a "Thanks, G!"
Ok, so yesterday i talked about the post-vacation let down when you come back to your normal everyday life. The work, the responsibility, the challenges. No more sleeping in, no more drinks with umbrellas, or for that matter drinks before noon. That let down is because we're focused on what we don't have anymore and not on what we do have. We take for granted so much because it's not new or different.
There is a current web trend to list the things we are thankful for, but on this Thanks G day i'll take a twist on that:
Things i often take for granted, but shouldn't.
- a great job that i love
- a roof over my head (even if it leaks)
- the love of my amazing wife
- a wonderful family
- the freedom and opportunities we enjoy in this country
Happy Thanks G day everyone!!
Song of the Day
In honor of Thanks G day and spending the day with family, our only true home, the song of the day is Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros' "Home".
For several years now i have been referring to Thanksgiving as Thanks G Day. It was originally in response to hearing people call it Turkey Day a lot. I wanted to put the "Thanks" back in Thanksgiving, plus i just thought it sounded cool too. Well today i'm going public with the Thanks G movement and encouraging everyone to jump on the bandwagon. It has something for everyone, the religious reference, the Fresh Prince of Bel Air reference, plus it puts 'Thanks' front and center.
So, when someone does something nice for you today, go ahead and respond with a "Thanks, G!"
Ok, so yesterday i talked about the post-vacation let down when you come back to your normal everyday life. The work, the responsibility, the challenges. No more sleeping in, no more drinks with umbrellas, or for that matter drinks before noon. That let down is because we're focused on what we don't have anymore and not on what we do have. We take for granted so much because it's not new or different.
There is a current web trend to list the things we are thankful for, but on this Thanks G day i'll take a twist on that:
Things i often take for granted, but shouldn't.
- a great job that i love
- a roof over my head (even if it leaks)
- the love of my amazing wife
- a wonderful family
- the freedom and opportunities we enjoy in this country
Happy Thanks G day everyone!!
Song of the Day
In honor of Thanks G day and spending the day with family, our only true home, the song of the day is Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros' "Home".
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
The Let-Down
File under Set the Bar Low (then barely exceed the bar)
Last week was an incredibly fun week for us: 4 and a half days at Walt Disney World with our niece and nephew. It was fun to be a kid again and i think that was helped repeatedly by our low expectations. Certainly we were excited about the trip and spending time with the kids, but not having been there in over 18 years we didn't know what we didn't know, and every experience was new and exciting. This was most evident when we rode a ride for the first time. The first ride on the Expedition Everest coaster was unbelievable, the 7th time was flat-out boring. It was the same ride every time, yet our experience was totally different.
Although not surprising, what it does shows is that 'New' increases excitement and expectations exponentially. Unfortunately, just because it's new doesn't mean it will live up to those expectations. In fact, it got to a point that as we waited in line for a new ride we would purposely talk up how lame the ride would be just to be pleasantly surprised. Not living up to new expectations becomes a lot more frustrating when we're not just talking about a roller coaster.
But unlike the new and exciting unknown, i was unprepared for a melancholy feeling of a return to a work-a-day life in the cold, rainy mid-atlantic weather. Somehow the 'known' and the 'same' always manage to fall short of expectations. No matter how low. And that has something to do with what we take for granted, which i'll talk more about tomorrow in the Thanksgiving post.
Song of the Day
In honor of being able to break away from the whirring of day to day life and then be able to integrate back into it, the song of the day is the great new band The Joy Formidable's "Whirring".
Last week was an incredibly fun week for us: 4 and a half days at Walt Disney World with our niece and nephew. It was fun to be a kid again and i think that was helped repeatedly by our low expectations. Certainly we were excited about the trip and spending time with the kids, but not having been there in over 18 years we didn't know what we didn't know, and every experience was new and exciting. This was most evident when we rode a ride for the first time. The first ride on the Expedition Everest coaster was unbelievable, the 7th time was flat-out boring. It was the same ride every time, yet our experience was totally different.
Although not surprising, what it does shows is that 'New' increases excitement and expectations exponentially. Unfortunately, just because it's new doesn't mean it will live up to those expectations. In fact, it got to a point that as we waited in line for a new ride we would purposely talk up how lame the ride would be just to be pleasantly surprised. Not living up to new expectations becomes a lot more frustrating when we're not just talking about a roller coaster.
But unlike the new and exciting unknown, i was unprepared for a melancholy feeling of a return to a work-a-day life in the cold, rainy mid-atlantic weather. Somehow the 'known' and the 'same' always manage to fall short of expectations. No matter how low. And that has something to do with what we take for granted, which i'll talk more about tomorrow in the Thanksgiving post.
Song of the Day
In honor of being able to break away from the whirring of day to day life and then be able to integrate back into it, the song of the day is the great new band The Joy Formidable's "Whirring".
Saturday, November 19, 2011
The Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow
File under Avoid the Machine
This Disney, Inc. monster has me puzzled. One moment i think it's brilliant, one moment i think it's awful, and all the time i think it's an incredibly well run machine. Maybe too well run and i think that scares me. In the meantime, Page and I will just continue to have fun with our niece and nephew.
What are your favorite Disney memories/rides/must-see's?
Song of the Day
In honor of EPCOT, and being completely exhausted after two days, the song of the day is Cracker's "Been Around the World". Big fan of Cracker, which is a good example of a band whose commercial successes weren't nearly as good as the rest of their albums.
This Disney, Inc. monster has me puzzled. One moment i think it's brilliant, one moment i think it's awful, and all the time i think it's an incredibly well run machine. Maybe too well run and i think that scares me. In the meantime, Page and I will just continue to have fun with our niece and nephew.
 |
| Page and the kids at Animal Kingdom |
Song of the Day
In honor of EPCOT, and being completely exhausted after two days, the song of the day is Cracker's "Been Around the World". Big fan of Cracker, which is a good example of a band whose commercial successes weren't nearly as good as the rest of their albums.
Friday, November 18, 2011
The World Wide Net of Interwebs
File under Useless Information
I'm reading a really interesting book right now that i wanted to share. It's called "Is the Internet changing the way you think? - The net's impact on our minds and future" It is the result of this year's question posed via the project The Edge started in 1971. Each year a question is posed to thinkers, creators, doers from all areas of thought and innovation. This book is a compilation of the 100+ answers from people such as Steven Pinker, Nassim Taleb, Richard Dawkins, and Brian Eno.
It is a non-technical book that has made me think more about the past, the future, our place in it, and how we relate to each other, than anything else recently.
Just as the internet is a collection of information increasingly representing the whole of human knowledge and experience, this book provides THE answer to the question the title poses: Yes, No, Maybe, and I Don't Know. In any case, it's the spectrum of ideas and opinions in the book and on the web that give us a true picture or answer to unanswerable questions.
And that may be the true value of our collective thoughts we call the Web.
The Weekly Theory
On a lighter note, i'm here at Disney in Orlando with my wife and our neice and nephew having a blast and i noticed something interesting.
I Have a Theory...
...that people watching at Disney World is nothing more than people watching at Wal-Mart but on a scale two orders higher.
Song of the Day
In honor of the feeling i get when walking into a Wal-Mart, the song of the day is the Animals' "We gotta get out of this place." Side note, i have recently started to listen more to the Animals and find them a bridge band of the mid-sixties. I hear a lot of early Beatles' in them but also the Velvet Underground. Throw some feedback in this one and it could be a Lou Reed song.
I'm reading a really interesting book right now that i wanted to share. It's called "Is the Internet changing the way you think? - The net's impact on our minds and future" It is the result of this year's question posed via the project The Edge started in 1971. Each year a question is posed to thinkers, creators, doers from all areas of thought and innovation. This book is a compilation of the 100+ answers from people such as Steven Pinker, Nassim Taleb, Richard Dawkins, and Brian Eno.
It is a non-technical book that has made me think more about the past, the future, our place in it, and how we relate to each other, than anything else recently.
Just as the internet is a collection of information increasingly representing the whole of human knowledge and experience, this book provides THE answer to the question the title poses: Yes, No, Maybe, and I Don't Know. In any case, it's the spectrum of ideas and opinions in the book and on the web that give us a true picture or answer to unanswerable questions.
And that may be the true value of our collective thoughts we call the Web.
The Weekly Theory
On a lighter note, i'm here at Disney in Orlando with my wife and our neice and nephew having a blast and i noticed something interesting.
I Have a Theory...
...that people watching at Disney World is nothing more than people watching at Wal-Mart but on a scale two orders higher.
Song of the Day
In honor of the feeling i get when walking into a Wal-Mart, the song of the day is the Animals' "We gotta get out of this place." Side note, i have recently started to listen more to the Animals and find them a bridge band of the mid-sixties. I hear a lot of early Beatles' in them but also the Velvet Underground. Throw some feedback in this one and it could be a Lou Reed song.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
The Po-Po
File under Cage the Rage
I was driving home from DC the other day and it was rush hour so needless to say there was a lot of traffic. Well about halfway through the trip as i was moving no more than 10 miles an hour, a small, suped-up mazda with an over-exaggerated spoiler came up weaving in and out of the traffic behind me and making his way to the shoulder. Once clear of other cars on the shoulder he took off ahead and disappeared into the mass of taillights in front of me. "Where were the police when you needed them," i thought.
Well not 5 minutes later I saw flashing lights up ahead, and as i inched closer my hopes and dreams were confirmed. The little emasculated mazda had been pulled over by a Maryland State Trooper. I couldn't have been happier that karma paid him a visit.
It's a weird emotion though. He had no effect on whether i got home sooner, yet i couldn't help but slow down, look in his direction, and smile as i passed. As if to say, "that's what you get for breaking the rules." But it wasn't the rule breaking i was initially upset about. It was that he was gaining an advantage over me and that didn't sit well. It's that feeling that drives a lot of our resentment when we feel others are gaining an advantage, even if it has no effect on our endstate. Watch out for that being a destructive emotion. Regardless, and i'm not sure why, there's satisfaction in justice, which brings us to the song of the day.
Song of the Day
In honor of getting what you deserve, the song of the day is Radiohead's "Karma Police".
I was driving home from DC the other day and it was rush hour so needless to say there was a lot of traffic. Well about halfway through the trip as i was moving no more than 10 miles an hour, a small, suped-up mazda with an over-exaggerated spoiler came up weaving in and out of the traffic behind me and making his way to the shoulder. Once clear of other cars on the shoulder he took off ahead and disappeared into the mass of taillights in front of me. "Where were the police when you needed them," i thought.
Well not 5 minutes later I saw flashing lights up ahead, and as i inched closer my hopes and dreams were confirmed. The little emasculated mazda had been pulled over by a Maryland State Trooper. I couldn't have been happier that karma paid him a visit.
It's a weird emotion though. He had no effect on whether i got home sooner, yet i couldn't help but slow down, look in his direction, and smile as i passed. As if to say, "that's what you get for breaking the rules." But it wasn't the rule breaking i was initially upset about. It was that he was gaining an advantage over me and that didn't sit well. It's that feeling that drives a lot of our resentment when we feel others are gaining an advantage, even if it has no effect on our endstate. Watch out for that being a destructive emotion. Regardless, and i'm not sure why, there's satisfaction in justice, which brings us to the song of the day.
Song of the Day
In honor of getting what you deserve, the song of the day is Radiohead's "Karma Police".
Saturday, November 12, 2011
The Cloud
File under Useless Information
I'm going to start a new feature called the Daily Admission
I admit...
...that i don't really fully get what The Cloud is.
I mean i think i do, but not really. Just being honest.
Song of the Day
In honor of full disclosure, the song of the day is The Orb's "Little Fluffy Clouds".
I'm going to start a new feature called the Daily Admission
I admit...
...that i don't really fully get what The Cloud is.
I mean i think i do, but not really. Just being honest.
Song of the Day
In honor of full disclosure, the song of the day is The Orb's "Little Fluffy Clouds".
Friday, November 11, 2011
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
The Self-Help Section
File under Avoid the Machine
A couple of months ago I detailed my own self-help, infomercial failings (here), and now I want to talk about one of the reasons why we are so susceptible to the self-help promises.
It’s because they’re everywhere. But it’s not only reserved to the infomercials. The self-help section of the library or book store rivals any other section in size. Recently I took a longer look at the self-help section in the book store and here is a list of the titles that jumped off the shelves to me (my comments in brackets):
Release Your Brilliance [The title appeals to your sense of ownership – you own brilliance, you just need to release it]
365 Ways to Reduce Stress
The Brain Training Revolution
The Feeling Good Handbook [this is not from an adult bookstore by the way]
Managing Your Mind
Living Life as a Thank You [Living life as a Your Welcome is a lot more fun]
Riches within your Reach
7 Habits of Highly Effective People
The Success Principles
Four Word Self-Help
Loving Him Without Losing You
The Procrastinator’s Guide to Getting Things Done
This is Not the Life I Ordered [Um, yeah it probably is…]
How to Talk to Anyone
How to Succeed With Women
The De-Stress Diva’s Guide to Life [I’m guessing if you relate yourself as a diva, your life is inherently stressful]
Showing up for Life
The Power of Positive Thinking
Unlimited Power
Make up, Don’t Break Up
Stop Spoiling that Man
It’s Called a Break-Up Because it’s Broken
Overcoming Passive-Aggression
Wired for Joy
Stop Overacting
Don’t be that Girl
As I sat in the bookstore and looked at all of these I had three thoughts that did not surprise me at all:
1. There is a self-help book for every, possible insecurity we could have. You can find a book to be more active, a book to be more relaxed, a book to help you end your relationship, a book to stay in a relationship, a book to be demanding without being a bitch, and a book to handle others who are passive aggressive, and on and on ad nauseum. Your self-help cure is available, you just need to go to the book store to find it, even if you didn’t know it was a problem to begin with.
2. There is a spectrum between completely ridiculous books and those which probably actually help people. This is my caveat that not all self-help is bad, dangerous, or doesn’t work. Many people have been helped.
3. There are way too many celebrity self-help books. Yes Shannon Doherty, I’m talking to you.
But there was one thought I was completely surprised by (although hindsight says I shouldn’t have been).
4. Books in the self-help section are primarily directed to women. The content, the titles, even the colors and fonts of the books were more appealing to women. I was surprised at how prominently this stood out.
Where were the men’s books? Are men afraid to show their weaknesses and that’s why those books aren’t popular? I decided to go to the business section to find the book from Good to Great, and then I saw my answer.
The business section is the man’s self-help section.
Although, not overt, they are primarily (and shamelessly) directed towards men. Take a look at these titles:
Think Better
Adaptive Leadership
Fierce Leadership
A Manager’s Guide to Project Management [as opposed to an employee’s guide?]
Thrive on Pressure
How Full is Your Bucket?
Success Made Simple
What’s Stopping Me from Getting Ahead [Chances are it’s you.]
The Millionaire Next Door
The Power of Focus
Get Motivated! [Without the exclamation point this book fails.]
Master Your Workday Now!
The Power of Nice
How to be Useful
Instant Productivity Toolkit [Step 1: put this book down and get back to work]
It’s not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want to Be
The 1 hour Plan for Growth
The 4 Hour Workweek
Getting Things Done
Think and Grow Rich
Ignore Everybody
Failing Forward
The Now Habit at Work
Leadership for Dummies [Really?!]
And in looking at these titles I had the previous same thoughts.
What’s the point? The point is that the infomercial and self-help industry is not going away. You will always be inundated with the media. They will sell you items you don’t need and you will feel guilty afterwards with no appreciable improvement in your state. Resulting in you being even more unhappy than you began because not only is there something wrong with you, but now you’re a failure too. I don’t say this to get you to not attempt to improve yourself, but rather to base your decisions on true need and not manufactured need. The source of change is with you and in your susceptibility to promises of the ideal state. You have to be capable of that change, and you have to truly want to change. Advertising and the self-help machine muddies the water and makes your perception of that unclear.
Song of the Day
I heard this song the other day and it was the first time in a while. Reminds me of college and the Panther Pit on Sunday Reggae nights. In honor of the Carribean Students' Association at Florida Tech, the song of the day is Dawn Penn's reggae version of Willie Cobb's blues song "You don't love me".
A couple of months ago I detailed my own self-help, infomercial failings (here), and now I want to talk about one of the reasons why we are so susceptible to the self-help promises.
It’s because they’re everywhere. But it’s not only reserved to the infomercials. The self-help section of the library or book store rivals any other section in size. Recently I took a longer look at the self-help section in the book store and here is a list of the titles that jumped off the shelves to me (my comments in brackets):
Release Your Brilliance [The title appeals to your sense of ownership – you own brilliance, you just need to release it]
365 Ways to Reduce Stress
The Brain Training Revolution
The Feeling Good Handbook [this is not from an adult bookstore by the way]
Managing Your Mind
Living Life as a Thank You [Living life as a Your Welcome is a lot more fun]
Riches within your Reach
7 Habits of Highly Effective People
The Success Principles
Four Word Self-Help
Loving Him Without Losing You
The Procrastinator’s Guide to Getting Things Done
This is Not the Life I Ordered [Um, yeah it probably is…]
How to Talk to Anyone
How to Succeed With Women
The De-Stress Diva’s Guide to Life [I’m guessing if you relate yourself as a diva, your life is inherently stressful]
Showing up for Life
The Power of Positive Thinking
Unlimited Power
Make up, Don’t Break Up
Stop Spoiling that Man
It’s Called a Break-Up Because it’s Broken
Overcoming Passive-Aggression
Wired for Joy
Stop Overacting
Don’t be that Girl
As I sat in the bookstore and looked at all of these I had three thoughts that did not surprise me at all:
1. There is a self-help book for every, possible insecurity we could have. You can find a book to be more active, a book to be more relaxed, a book to help you end your relationship, a book to stay in a relationship, a book to be demanding without being a bitch, and a book to handle others who are passive aggressive, and on and on ad nauseum. Your self-help cure is available, you just need to go to the book store to find it, even if you didn’t know it was a problem to begin with.
2. There is a spectrum between completely ridiculous books and those which probably actually help people. This is my caveat that not all self-help is bad, dangerous, or doesn’t work. Many people have been helped.
3. There are way too many celebrity self-help books. Yes Shannon Doherty, I’m talking to you.
But there was one thought I was completely surprised by (although hindsight says I shouldn’t have been).
4. Books in the self-help section are primarily directed to women. The content, the titles, even the colors and fonts of the books were more appealing to women. I was surprised at how prominently this stood out.
Where were the men’s books? Are men afraid to show their weaknesses and that’s why those books aren’t popular? I decided to go to the business section to find the book from Good to Great, and then I saw my answer.
The business section is the man’s self-help section.
Although, not overt, they are primarily (and shamelessly) directed towards men. Take a look at these titles:
Think Better
Adaptive Leadership
Fierce Leadership
A Manager’s Guide to Project Management [as opposed to an employee’s guide?]
Thrive on Pressure
How Full is Your Bucket?
Success Made Simple
What’s Stopping Me from Getting Ahead [Chances are it’s you.]
The Millionaire Next Door
The Power of Focus
Get Motivated! [Without the exclamation point this book fails.]
Master Your Workday Now!
The Power of Nice
How to be Useful
Instant Productivity Toolkit [Step 1: put this book down and get back to work]
It’s not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want to Be
The 1 hour Plan for Growth
The 4 Hour Workweek
Getting Things Done
Think and Grow Rich
Ignore Everybody
Failing Forward
The Now Habit at Work
Leadership for Dummies [Really?!]
And in looking at these titles I had the previous same thoughts.
What’s the point? The point is that the infomercial and self-help industry is not going away. You will always be inundated with the media. They will sell you items you don’t need and you will feel guilty afterwards with no appreciable improvement in your state. Resulting in you being even more unhappy than you began because not only is there something wrong with you, but now you’re a failure too. I don’t say this to get you to not attempt to improve yourself, but rather to base your decisions on true need and not manufactured need. The source of change is with you and in your susceptibility to promises of the ideal state. You have to be capable of that change, and you have to truly want to change. Advertising and the self-help machine muddies the water and makes your perception of that unclear.
Song of the Day
I heard this song the other day and it was the first time in a while. Reminds me of college and the Panther Pit on Sunday Reggae nights. In honor of the Carribean Students' Association at Florida Tech, the song of the day is Dawn Penn's reggae version of Willie Cobb's blues song "You don't love me".
Saturday, November 5, 2011
The Weekly Theory 11.5.2011
(Editor's note: In the previous post i talked about Kelly Slater's 11th world championship title. Well, late last night i found out that the judges were a little premature and he needed to win one more heat this year. so although almost a certainty, it hasn't happened yet.)
File under Useless Information
I Have a Theory...
...that 68% of all cover bands have "Mustang Sally" in their playlist.
True story. 2/3 of the time you see a cover band, you're going to hear this awful song.
What i don't have a theory about is why. Seriously, it's a miserable, miserable song.
Song of the Day
One guess...that's right it's not "Mustang Sally". I'm going to close out this post-punk week with another offering. Earlier this week i posted an Echo and the Bunnymen song. Their lead singer is named Ian McCulloch and it got me thinking. How am I NOT the lead singer of a british band?
Ian Curtis - Joy Division
Ian Astbury - The Cult
Ian Anderson - Jethro Tull
Ian Broudie - The Lightning Seeds
Ian Brown - The Stone Roses
Ian Gillan - Deep Purple
Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister - Motorhead
Ian McCulloch - Echo and the Bunnymen
Ian MacKaye - Fugazi (Ok, i know they're not British, but they're awesome)
So in honor of Ians and the oxymoron music of Joy Division, the song of the day is "Love will tear us apart".
File under Useless Information
I Have a Theory...
...that 68% of all cover bands have "Mustang Sally" in their playlist.
True story. 2/3 of the time you see a cover band, you're going to hear this awful song.
What i don't have a theory about is why. Seriously, it's a miserable, miserable song.
Song of the Day
One guess...that's right it's not "Mustang Sally". I'm going to close out this post-punk week with another offering. Earlier this week i posted an Echo and the Bunnymen song. Their lead singer is named Ian McCulloch and it got me thinking. How am I NOT the lead singer of a british band?
Ian Curtis - Joy Division
Ian Astbury - The Cult
Ian Anderson - Jethro Tull
Ian Broudie - The Lightning Seeds
Ian Brown - The Stone Roses
Ian Gillan - Deep Purple
Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister - Motorhead
Ian McCulloch - Echo and the Bunnymen
Ian MacKaye - Fugazi (Ok, i know they're not British, but they're awesome)
So in honor of Ians and the oxymoron music of Joy Division, the song of the day is "Love will tear us apart".
Friday, November 4, 2011
The GOAT
File under Meet Yourself
So this blog is about accepting our inherent averageness and being the best we can be within our capabilities. And it’s that perspective that makes true greatness that much more amazing.
This week, professional surfer (and Baywatch alum) Kelly Slater won his 11th world championship. Slater, 39, won his first at the age of 20 in 1992. Now that’s just not winning 11 events. That’s being the best surfer in the world over multiple events in each of 11 of the last 20 years. Add to the fact that he took 2 years off during the span and didn’t even compete. Name a professional athlete who dominated his or her sport so completely for so long. It can’t be done. Not Sampras, not Tiger, not Lance. So “The Perfect Antidote” wishes Kelly Slater congratulations on his 11th world title and on being the Greatest Of All Time.
Song of the Day
In honor of taking a step back this weekend and taking time to appreciate loved ones and doing things you love, the song of the day is Jack Johnson’s “F Stop Blues”, and comes from a clip of Johnson’s surfing documentary “The September Sessions.”
So this blog is about accepting our inherent averageness and being the best we can be within our capabilities. And it’s that perspective that makes true greatness that much more amazing.
This week, professional surfer (and Baywatch alum) Kelly Slater won his 11th world championship. Slater, 39, won his first at the age of 20 in 1992. Now that’s just not winning 11 events. That’s being the best surfer in the world over multiple events in each of 11 of the last 20 years. Add to the fact that he took 2 years off during the span and didn’t even compete. Name a professional athlete who dominated his or her sport so completely for so long. It can’t be done. Not Sampras, not Tiger, not Lance. So “The Perfect Antidote” wishes Kelly Slater congratulations on his 11th world title and on being the Greatest Of All Time.
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In honor of taking a step back this weekend and taking time to appreciate loved ones and doing things you love, the song of the day is Jack Johnson’s “F Stop Blues”, and comes from a clip of Johnson’s surfing documentary “The September Sessions.”
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
The Halloween License
File under Set the Bar Low (then Barely Exceed the Bar)
Halloween is a weird, weird holiday. Maybe it’s weird to even call it a holiday. I’m not talking about it being weird because kids ask strangers for candy, or that many people have a strange, morbid fascination with the grotesque. It’s weird because for some reason, Halloween gives people a license to do normally borderline unacceptable things, more so than any other day. Don’t believe me? Let me tell you about my Halloween.
License #1: Humiliating your kids.
It began at Starbucks that morning where I was doing work. All of a sudden the Day Care in the same building brought about 15 costumed children in to the coffee shop to trick or treat, followed by equally as many parents. Innocent enough, but there were two things I noticed. First of all, these kids weren’t 6 or 7 year olds. They were maybe 2, but no more. Not a single one of these toddlers had any idea what was going on. The bewildered looks on their faces were compounded by the fact that they had no association or understanding of the costumes their parents dressed them in. Try explaining to a 20 month old who Thor is. The second thing was that they were all physically tethered together in one long rope/harness contraption so as not to leave a man behind. It was as if a long chain gang of miniature criminals were dressed in humiliating costumes and paraded through the streets to be laughed at by the morning Starbucks crowd. And to add insult to injury, they were hounded by photo snapping paparazzi parents. This was clearly one step up from putting a costume on your dog.
License #2: Going out in clothes you would be embarrassed to wear any other day.
A co-worker and I went to Panera for lunch and I would have thought we walked in to Hooter’s based on what the girls taking your order were wearing. I think there has to be a manual somewhere that has costume instructions for both men and women:
Women:
Step 1: find a profession with a uniform
Step 2: make that uniform slutty
Men: Wear a costume that could be construed as sexual harassment in at least 27 states
License #3: Befriending complete strangers
When meeting up with my co-worker at his house, his 7 year old daughter was there. She was shy and untalkative. Untalkative until I asked her what she was going as for Halloween. As if a tornado swept us up into “best friend land”, she proceeded to tell me about, and then show me, her Dorothy costume. Barriers be gone. We were new BFFs. For one day of the year, Halloween replaces the awkward stranger talk about the weather.
Now my wife and I have never been huge Halloween people. And this is primarily due to our door-knock barking-machine, better known as our dog. A night of him freaking out every time a trick or treater comes to the door is not fun for us. So we usually hide out or leave the house. But for some reason it goes deeper than that for me. I’m not sure why, but it’s been 12 years since I last dressed up for Halloween; since my friends and I each went as different Fletch characters (That’s me in the pretty bad aircraft repairman costume)
And this year, my Halloween experiences have led me to one conclusion:
I’m missing out.
Watch out Halloween, we’ll be back next year.
Song of the Day
To continue the post-punk theme this week I’ve chosen a non-halloween, yet still haunting song. This song is a cover of an Echo and the Bunnymen song, performed by Nouvelle Vague. The waif-like vocals and the devious tone make for an interesting combination. In honor of embracing Halloween, the song of the day is “The Killing Moon.”
For the original Echo and the Bunnymen version, click here.
Halloween is a weird, weird holiday. Maybe it’s weird to even call it a holiday. I’m not talking about it being weird because kids ask strangers for candy, or that many people have a strange, morbid fascination with the grotesque. It’s weird because for some reason, Halloween gives people a license to do normally borderline unacceptable things, more so than any other day. Don’t believe me? Let me tell you about my Halloween.
License #1: Humiliating your kids.
It began at Starbucks that morning where I was doing work. All of a sudden the Day Care in the same building brought about 15 costumed children in to the coffee shop to trick or treat, followed by equally as many parents. Innocent enough, but there were two things I noticed. First of all, these kids weren’t 6 or 7 year olds. They were maybe 2, but no more. Not a single one of these toddlers had any idea what was going on. The bewildered looks on their faces were compounded by the fact that they had no association or understanding of the costumes their parents dressed them in. Try explaining to a 20 month old who Thor is. The second thing was that they were all physically tethered together in one long rope/harness contraption so as not to leave a man behind. It was as if a long chain gang of miniature criminals were dressed in humiliating costumes and paraded through the streets to be laughed at by the morning Starbucks crowd. And to add insult to injury, they were hounded by photo snapping paparazzi parents. This was clearly one step up from putting a costume on your dog.
License #2: Going out in clothes you would be embarrassed to wear any other day.
A co-worker and I went to Panera for lunch and I would have thought we walked in to Hooter’s based on what the girls taking your order were wearing. I think there has to be a manual somewhere that has costume instructions for both men and women:
Women:
Step 1: find a profession with a uniform
Step 2: make that uniform slutty
Men: Wear a costume that could be construed as sexual harassment in at least 27 states
License #3: Befriending complete strangers
When meeting up with my co-worker at his house, his 7 year old daughter was there. She was shy and untalkative. Untalkative until I asked her what she was going as for Halloween. As if a tornado swept us up into “best friend land”, she proceeded to tell me about, and then show me, her Dorothy costume. Barriers be gone. We were new BFFs. For one day of the year, Halloween replaces the awkward stranger talk about the weather.
Now my wife and I have never been huge Halloween people. And this is primarily due to our door-knock barking-machine, better known as our dog. A night of him freaking out every time a trick or treater comes to the door is not fun for us. So we usually hide out or leave the house. But for some reason it goes deeper than that for me. I’m not sure why, but it’s been 12 years since I last dressed up for Halloween; since my friends and I each went as different Fletch characters (That’s me in the pretty bad aircraft repairman costume)
And this year, my Halloween experiences have led me to one conclusion:
I’m missing out.
Watch out Halloween, we’ll be back next year.
Song of the Day
To continue the post-punk theme this week I’ve chosen a non-halloween, yet still haunting song. This song is a cover of an Echo and the Bunnymen song, performed by Nouvelle Vague. The waif-like vocals and the devious tone make for an interesting combination. In honor of embracing Halloween, the song of the day is “The Killing Moon.”
For the original Echo and the Bunnymen version, click here.
Monday, October 31, 2011
The Long, Dark Winter
File under Set the Bar Low (and Barely Exceed the Bar)
After this “Snowtober” I’m a little worried about the rest of the fall and this winter, and it has to do with expectations. See I’m a Texas boy and even though I haven’t lived there in a looong time, Texas weather is still engrained in my soul. I still stare in wonder at the first snowfall, yet despise the prolonged winter in late February and March here in Maryland. It’s bad enough that following the holidays there are still 2+ months of miserable cold weather. I’m ok up through the holidays, I love it. But once the calendar turns, my enthusiasm wanes. I tend to refer to January and February as the Dark Ages. It’s all I can do to get through those 2 months. Unfortunately, with the first snow event here in October, my internal clock is all out of whack now. I’ll be expecting the spring to start in January, and when it doesn’t it’ll make those months even more miserable than before.
It’s a ridiculous complaint but we often have no control over that feeling. It has to do with our expectations. Every Fall I rush to put on sweatshirts and long pants when the temperature gets down to 60 degrees, but in the spring we’re strolling around in t-shirts and shorts when it finally gets up to 60 degrees. Why the difference? We’ve become accustomed to the commonplace and are thrilled when we experience something new, or even just anticipate a change. We’re in a constant struggle for ‘New’ in our lives. Recognize when that need for 'newness' is affecting your happiness.
For a more optimistic outlook on our recent Snowtober, click here.
Song of the Day
I think I’m on a new wave/post-punk kick this week. In high school I bought a CD by the band Modern English, most known for the song “I Melt with You.” A song made famous as my sister and brother-in-law’s wedding song (and I guess that Burger King commercial). But it was this song on the album that I grew to like the most, and it is definitely appropriate following our recent Nor’easter. In honor of having 4-wheel drive on snowy, hilly streets, the song of the day is “After the Snow” by Modern English.
After this “Snowtober” I’m a little worried about the rest of the fall and this winter, and it has to do with expectations. See I’m a Texas boy and even though I haven’t lived there in a looong time, Texas weather is still engrained in my soul. I still stare in wonder at the first snowfall, yet despise the prolonged winter in late February and March here in Maryland. It’s bad enough that following the holidays there are still 2+ months of miserable cold weather. I’m ok up through the holidays, I love it. But once the calendar turns, my enthusiasm wanes. I tend to refer to January and February as the Dark Ages. It’s all I can do to get through those 2 months. Unfortunately, with the first snow event here in October, my internal clock is all out of whack now. I’ll be expecting the spring to start in January, and when it doesn’t it’ll make those months even more miserable than before.
It’s a ridiculous complaint but we often have no control over that feeling. It has to do with our expectations. Every Fall I rush to put on sweatshirts and long pants when the temperature gets down to 60 degrees, but in the spring we’re strolling around in t-shirts and shorts when it finally gets up to 60 degrees. Why the difference? We’ve become accustomed to the commonplace and are thrilled when we experience something new, or even just anticipate a change. We’re in a constant struggle for ‘New’ in our lives. Recognize when that need for 'newness' is affecting your happiness.
For a more optimistic outlook on our recent Snowtober, click here.
Song of the Day
I think I’m on a new wave/post-punk kick this week. In high school I bought a CD by the band Modern English, most known for the song “I Melt with You.” A song made famous as my sister and brother-in-law’s wedding song (and I guess that Burger King commercial). But it was this song on the album that I grew to like the most, and it is definitely appropriate following our recent Nor’easter. In honor of having 4-wheel drive on snowy, hilly streets, the song of the day is “After the Snow” by Modern English.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
The Weekly Theory 10.28.2011
File under Useless Information
I'm pretty sure we've all had an awful song stuck in our head that we just can't stop singing or humming. whether it's Ace of Base's "The Sign", Starships' "We Built this City", or Aqua's "Barbie Girl". In any case, i think i have a cure.
I Have a Theory...
...that singing Tom's Diner by Suzanne Vega will get rid of any annoying song in your head. Guaranteed.
In addition to that, it won't get stuck in your head itself. It's a weird phenomenon, but it absolutely works. Try it the next time you can't get the theme song to The Big Bang Theory out of your head.
Song of the Day
Interestingly enough the Tom's Diner in the song is Tom's Restaurant in New York City that was later immortalized as the go-to diner in Seinfeld, but called Monk's. Also, the most popular version of the song is actually an unauthorized remix by producers calling themselves DNA who added a Soul II Soul beat to Vega's original a capella version. In honor of Cliff Claven and little known facts, the song of the day is Suzanne Vega's "Tom's Diner" as remixed by DNA featuring Soul II Soul.
I'm pretty sure we've all had an awful song stuck in our head that we just can't stop singing or humming. whether it's Ace of Base's "The Sign", Starships' "We Built this City", or Aqua's "Barbie Girl". In any case, i think i have a cure.
I Have a Theory...
...that singing Tom's Diner by Suzanne Vega will get rid of any annoying song in your head. Guaranteed.
In addition to that, it won't get stuck in your head itself. It's a weird phenomenon, but it absolutely works. Try it the next time you can't get the theme song to The Big Bang Theory out of your head.
Song of the Day
Interestingly enough the Tom's Diner in the song is Tom's Restaurant in New York City that was later immortalized as the go-to diner in Seinfeld, but called Monk's. Also, the most popular version of the song is actually an unauthorized remix by producers calling themselves DNA who added a Soul II Soul beat to Vega's original a capella version. In honor of Cliff Claven and little known facts, the song of the day is Suzanne Vega's "Tom's Diner" as remixed by DNA featuring Soul II Soul.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
The Puppy Monster
File under Useless Information
A friend recently posted a video of a dog caught red-handed getting into the trash here, and it reminded me of our own little monster about 8 years ago.
Seriously, if he wasn't cute...
My tears of frustration with that dog at that time have easily become tears of joy and love. Time changes everything.
Song of the Day
This picture of our dog Dignan was taken in my first house in Canton in Baltimore. It was a great house and a great time in my life. I met my wife while i lived there. I also reconnected with my Dad. And i acquired this little ball of fur and bark. When i think of that house I think of this song which was so new to my ears and which i played over and over again. In honor of Dignan and Canton the song of the day is Frontier Psychiatrist by The Avalanches.
A friend recently posted a video of a dog caught red-handed getting into the trash here, and it reminded me of our own little monster about 8 years ago.
Seriously, if he wasn't cute...
My tears of frustration with that dog at that time have easily become tears of joy and love. Time changes everything.
Song of the Day
This picture of our dog Dignan was taken in my first house in Canton in Baltimore. It was a great house and a great time in my life. I met my wife while i lived there. I also reconnected with my Dad. And i acquired this little ball of fur and bark. When i think of that house I think of this song which was so new to my ears and which i played over and over again. In honor of Dignan and Canton the song of the day is Frontier Psychiatrist by The Avalanches.
The Infomercial
File under Avoid the Machine
I caught a few minutes of an infomercial last weekend for the Ab Rocket. What hit me wasn’t how ridiculous the infomercial was, but rather the fact that they work. Not the Ab Rocket, but rather the infomercial itself. $150 Billion annual infomercial revenue proves it.
The great thing is that the infomercial strategy is pretty much the same from commercial to commercial. Here’s a deconstruction of the Ab Rocket infomercial that could be applied to any television advertisement. Think of it as shot-instructions to a first time director on how to make an infomercial:
1. Examples of people “like the consumer” who have an issue:
Images should show average-to-below average people and highlight their physical imperfections or inability to perform basic tasks.
2. People exhibiting the ideal state:
These images imply the outcome you will achieve should you buy this product. They are most often beautiful, healthy, strong, fit people with great smiles and clear skin. Consumer is meant to think these people have achieved these qualities as a result of using the product. (Do not overdo as this will lead to alienation in the consumer)
3. Before and after images of people just like the consumer
Images are meant to drive home the point that success is achievable by people just like the target audience, however broad that may be. Find 5-10 extreme examples of improvement and highlight repeatedly. Use stylist and makeup artist support for “after” images. Be sure to add a small disclaimer that results are not typical and may vary. Genuine testimonials from these extreme cases are ideal.
4. Demonstration of qualities that make using the product enjoyable and easy
Show a mix of average and above average individuals using product easily and happily. Smile, Smile, Smile. Intersperse quick images of use with ideal state images to imply short use leading to extraordinary results. Reduce perception of individual effort by highlighting how little time is needed.
5. Explanation of alternatives being more expensive
Highlight comparative cost of this product with alternatives. Creatively identify how not using this product is more expensive. Show images of alternative solutions being unpleasant. No smiling.
6. Trusted expert avowing of effectiveness of product
This may be a celebrity or an expert in the respective field. Testimonial should drive home that the product is safe, effective, and used by the expert. Consumer should walk away with feeling that someone who is smarter or more successful than them is using it, so then they should too.
7. Ordering information
Make ordering easy via multiple vehicles (i.e. phone, internet). Break total cost into multiple payments to reduce the understanding of the total cost. Add “if you order now” discounts to accelerate initial orders.
8. Repeat
The formula is so simple, yet they are so ridiculous. I mean to the point of absurdity, yet we’ve all felt compelled to buy at one time or another. I’ll talk about why later, and more importantly why they rarely help you achieve your goals. The real danger is succumbing to these ploys in normal everyday situations without even knowing you’re being marketed to.
Song of the Day
I spend a considerable amount of time each week on the DC and Baltimore beltways and have a seen some interesting things. The other day I saw a cool, old airstream trailer on the road and it made me think of this song. Anything to take my mind off of the monotony.
In honor of National Capital Region traffic and a desire to pack up and escape, the song of the day is Airstream Driver by Gomez.
I caught a few minutes of an infomercial last weekend for the Ab Rocket. What hit me wasn’t how ridiculous the infomercial was, but rather the fact that they work. Not the Ab Rocket, but rather the infomercial itself. $150 Billion annual infomercial revenue proves it.
The great thing is that the infomercial strategy is pretty much the same from commercial to commercial. Here’s a deconstruction of the Ab Rocket infomercial that could be applied to any television advertisement. Think of it as shot-instructions to a first time director on how to make an infomercial:
1. Examples of people “like the consumer” who have an issue:
Images should show average-to-below average people and highlight their physical imperfections or inability to perform basic tasks.
2. People exhibiting the ideal state:
These images imply the outcome you will achieve should you buy this product. They are most often beautiful, healthy, strong, fit people with great smiles and clear skin. Consumer is meant to think these people have achieved these qualities as a result of using the product. (Do not overdo as this will lead to alienation in the consumer)
3. Before and after images of people just like the consumer
Images are meant to drive home the point that success is achievable by people just like the target audience, however broad that may be. Find 5-10 extreme examples of improvement and highlight repeatedly. Use stylist and makeup artist support for “after” images. Be sure to add a small disclaimer that results are not typical and may vary. Genuine testimonials from these extreme cases are ideal.
4. Demonstration of qualities that make using the product enjoyable and easy
Show a mix of average and above average individuals using product easily and happily. Smile, Smile, Smile. Intersperse quick images of use with ideal state images to imply short use leading to extraordinary results. Reduce perception of individual effort by highlighting how little time is needed.
5. Explanation of alternatives being more expensive
Highlight comparative cost of this product with alternatives. Creatively identify how not using this product is more expensive. Show images of alternative solutions being unpleasant. No smiling.
6. Trusted expert avowing of effectiveness of product
This may be a celebrity or an expert in the respective field. Testimonial should drive home that the product is safe, effective, and used by the expert. Consumer should walk away with feeling that someone who is smarter or more successful than them is using it, so then they should too.
7. Ordering information
Make ordering easy via multiple vehicles (i.e. phone, internet). Break total cost into multiple payments to reduce the understanding of the total cost. Add “if you order now” discounts to accelerate initial orders.
8. Repeat
The formula is so simple, yet they are so ridiculous. I mean to the point of absurdity, yet we’ve all felt compelled to buy at one time or another. I’ll talk about why later, and more importantly why they rarely help you achieve your goals. The real danger is succumbing to these ploys in normal everyday situations without even knowing you’re being marketed to.
Song of the Day
I spend a considerable amount of time each week on the DC and Baltimore beltways and have a seen some interesting things. The other day I saw a cool, old airstream trailer on the road and it made me think of this song. Anything to take my mind off of the monotony.
In honor of National Capital Region traffic and a desire to pack up and escape, the song of the day is Airstream Driver by Gomez.
Friday, October 21, 2011
The Weekly Theory 10.21.2011
File under Useless Information
It's been so long I should probably start calling this the Monthly Theory...
So the other day I saw an ad for the Ellen Degeneres show in which Liza Minelli would be an upcoming guest. I immediately realized a theory.
I Have a Theory...
...that at any given time everyone has a celebrity in mind who they think already died, but didn't; and likewise have a celebrity in mind that they had no idea already died.
Well done Liza. At least Liz Taylor is still alive too.
Song of the Day
In honor of the beginning of fall, falling leaves, and the change of a season, the song of the day is the White Stripes' 'Dead Leaves and Dirty Ground'.
It's been so long I should probably start calling this the Monthly Theory...
So the other day I saw an ad for the Ellen Degeneres show in which Liza Minelli would be an upcoming guest. I immediately realized a theory.
I Have a Theory...
...that at any given time everyone has a celebrity in mind who they think already died, but didn't; and likewise have a celebrity in mind that they had no idea already died.
Well done Liza. At least Liz Taylor is still alive too.
Song of the Day
In honor of the beginning of fall, falling leaves, and the change of a season, the song of the day is the White Stripes' 'Dead Leaves and Dirty Ground'.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
The Quotable Antidote 9.22.2011
File Under Cage the Rage
The Quotable Antidote
If the definition of Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results, then the definition of Hubris is doing the same thing over and over again thinking that nothing will ever change.
Don't become an anachronism by linking your emotional ties to the past to your hopes for the future.
Song of the Day
In honor of recognizing when things are changing, the song of the day is Modest Mouse's 'Missed the Boat'.
"...looking for the future, we were begging for the past..."
The Quotable Antidote
If the definition of Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results, then the definition of Hubris is doing the same thing over and over again thinking that nothing will ever change.
Don't become an anachronism by linking your emotional ties to the past to your hopes for the future.
Song of the Day
In honor of recognizing when things are changing, the song of the day is Modest Mouse's 'Missed the Boat'.
"...looking for the future, we were begging for the past..."
Monday, September 12, 2011
The Flooded Basement
File under Cage the Rage
It’s been a rough week and a half for us. So much so that at one low point we commented that this was the worst week of our married lives. There was one “disaster” after another. We recently moved into a new house, but still haven’t sold our current home so that compounded things. As Hurricane Irene rolled through we discovered we had a leak in our basement. There already being a lot of things that need to be upgraded in this ‘new-to-us' old house, this was extremely frustrating. Waking up every few hours to shop-vac up water left our nerves on edge. Just as we thought we had things under control and the place cleaned up from Irene, Lee decided to pay a visit. But as the rains began, our water heater decided not to be left out of the fray and it rusted out. It leaked water into our recently cleaned up basement over Labor Day weekend, ensuring we would live up to the name of the holiday. Try finding a plumber over Labor Day following a hurricane, before another tropical system. So we lived without hot water for 5 days. Showering at others’ houses or braving the cold when we didn’t have the energy to drive anywhere.
And then Lee dumped on us. As we proactively managed the flooding in our new house, we discovered our sump pump went out in our old house. We worked to exchange a sump pump while under 3 inches of water. After an all-day affair we went back home with the minor victory of a working pump and a “dry” basement. But the rains continued and we got home only to find that Lee found new and innovative ways to find our basement.
It was a miserable ten days. We couldn’t catch a break, and we couldn’t make any progress on the things we had planned to do. But the truth is that our reaction to those events, and calling it the ‘worst week ever’ couldn’t have been more wrong.
It wasn’t until one trip back from checking on the house with the broken sump pump, that things were finally put in perspective. My wife and I both passed by a house in our neighborhood where a tree was knocked down during Irene. It destroyed the back of the house so badly the house was condemned. That family lost their home. We have no idea where they went, or how they were doing, but one thing we did know was that a few inches of water in our basement was not such a big deal.
So what was it in our self-sympathizing not five minutes earlier that led us to such ridiculous superlatives as “the worst week ever,” and honestly believing it? A frustration of not getting what we want? A feeling of “why me” victimization? A weird need to be more “affected” than others are? Well it’s probably all of those things, but most importantly, those exclamations are a result of a temporary lack of perspective - an inability to see the forest from the trees.
Perspective is an equalizer. It puts everything on an even level. You can compare apples to apples.
But perspective doesn’t just come from being exposed to those worse off than you. It’s not gained by saying “Wow, sucks for that guy” just to make yourself feel better. Sometimes it comes with age and experience. In fact, isn’t wisdom a reflection of perspective?
However perspective can also be manufactured through the simple act of asking yourself two questions:
- what is the true impact of this event?
- is my reaction appropriate to that impact?
We had flooded basements. We spent money on repairs. I had to take a day off of work. We lost a productive weekend. I couldn’t sit on the couch and watch all the football games I wanted.
Those were the true impacts, and yet my reaction was if a tree fell on my house. And that made things worse. That taxed our emotions. And that got us more frustrated.
Not that things aren’t hard, or frustrating, or maddening sometimes, because they are. But the true impact of bad things that happen are compounded when we exaggerate the effects.
As we sat this past weekend on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, watching the coverage, remembering where we were that day, and thinking of those families who lost loved ones, I’m reminded of perspective. I’m reminded of sacrifice. And I’m reminded what is really worth being emotionally affected by.
It’s not some water in the basement.
Song of the Day
In honor of the 2,976 people who are a reminder of perspective, the song of the day is ‘Taps’.
It’s been a rough week and a half for us. So much so that at one low point we commented that this was the worst week of our married lives. There was one “disaster” after another. We recently moved into a new house, but still haven’t sold our current home so that compounded things. As Hurricane Irene rolled through we discovered we had a leak in our basement. There already being a lot of things that need to be upgraded in this ‘new-to-us' old house, this was extremely frustrating. Waking up every few hours to shop-vac up water left our nerves on edge. Just as we thought we had things under control and the place cleaned up from Irene, Lee decided to pay a visit. But as the rains began, our water heater decided not to be left out of the fray and it rusted out. It leaked water into our recently cleaned up basement over Labor Day weekend, ensuring we would live up to the name of the holiday. Try finding a plumber over Labor Day following a hurricane, before another tropical system. So we lived without hot water for 5 days. Showering at others’ houses or braving the cold when we didn’t have the energy to drive anywhere.
And then Lee dumped on us. As we proactively managed the flooding in our new house, we discovered our sump pump went out in our old house. We worked to exchange a sump pump while under 3 inches of water. After an all-day affair we went back home with the minor victory of a working pump and a “dry” basement. But the rains continued and we got home only to find that Lee found new and innovative ways to find our basement.
It was a miserable ten days. We couldn’t catch a break, and we couldn’t make any progress on the things we had planned to do. But the truth is that our reaction to those events, and calling it the ‘worst week ever’ couldn’t have been more wrong.
It wasn’t until one trip back from checking on the house with the broken sump pump, that things were finally put in perspective. My wife and I both passed by a house in our neighborhood where a tree was knocked down during Irene. It destroyed the back of the house so badly the house was condemned. That family lost their home. We have no idea where they went, or how they were doing, but one thing we did know was that a few inches of water in our basement was not such a big deal.
So what was it in our self-sympathizing not five minutes earlier that led us to such ridiculous superlatives as “the worst week ever,” and honestly believing it? A frustration of not getting what we want? A feeling of “why me” victimization? A weird need to be more “affected” than others are? Well it’s probably all of those things, but most importantly, those exclamations are a result of a temporary lack of perspective - an inability to see the forest from the trees.
Perspective is an equalizer. It puts everything on an even level. You can compare apples to apples.
But perspective doesn’t just come from being exposed to those worse off than you. It’s not gained by saying “Wow, sucks for that guy” just to make yourself feel better. Sometimes it comes with age and experience. In fact, isn’t wisdom a reflection of perspective?
However perspective can also be manufactured through the simple act of asking yourself two questions:
- what is the true impact of this event?
- is my reaction appropriate to that impact?
We had flooded basements. We spent money on repairs. I had to take a day off of work. We lost a productive weekend. I couldn’t sit on the couch and watch all the football games I wanted.
Those were the true impacts, and yet my reaction was if a tree fell on my house. And that made things worse. That taxed our emotions. And that got us more frustrated.
Not that things aren’t hard, or frustrating, or maddening sometimes, because they are. But the true impact of bad things that happen are compounded when we exaggerate the effects.
As we sat this past weekend on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, watching the coverage, remembering where we were that day, and thinking of those families who lost loved ones, I’m reminded of perspective. I’m reminded of sacrifice. And I’m reminded what is really worth being emotionally affected by.
It’s not some water in the basement.
Song of the Day
In honor of the 2,976 people who are a reminder of perspective, the song of the day is ‘Taps’.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
The Weekly Theory 8.27.2011
File under Useless Information
As we sit here on a Hurricane weekend, prepping the house, and flipping channels trying to avoid hurricane coverage, i'm reminded of a weekly theory.
I Have a Theory...
...that everyone has a movie that is not your favorite movie, but whenever it comes on TV you have to stop and watch it. everytime.
no matter what time it comes on, no matter what else you are doing, no matter if you saw it yesterday.
Damn you, Shawshank!!
Song of the Day
The derivative of this weekly theory is called the Seinfeld Corollary. In one episode, Elaine's then-boyfriend Brett told her to stop talking every time the song 'Desperado' came on the radio so he could listen. The corollary is that everyone has their own 'Desperado'.
In honor of my 'Desperado', the song of the day is Mazzy Star's "Fade Into You".
What's your movie?
As we sit here on a Hurricane weekend, prepping the house, and flipping channels trying to avoid hurricane coverage, i'm reminded of a weekly theory.
I Have a Theory...
...that everyone has a movie that is not your favorite movie, but whenever it comes on TV you have to stop and watch it. everytime.
no matter what time it comes on, no matter what else you are doing, no matter if you saw it yesterday.
Damn you, Shawshank!!
Song of the Day
The derivative of this weekly theory is called the Seinfeld Corollary. In one episode, Elaine's then-boyfriend Brett told her to stop talking every time the song 'Desperado' came on the radio so he could listen. The corollary is that everyone has their own 'Desperado'.
In honor of my 'Desperado', the song of the day is Mazzy Star's "Fade Into You".
What's your movie?
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
The Harvard Education
File under Get a Smaller Plate
I really can’t believe it is mid-August already. This year, and especially this summer have flown by. The days are getting shorter and Labor Day fast approaches, bringing with it the start, and the pressures of the new school year. The other day I was talking to a co-worker who has a son about to enter 8th grade. He was frustrated about the fact that this summer his son was already participating in college preparatory activities. He was taking standardized tests, writing essays, and studying, all on his own time but at the direction of the schools.
He’s 12.
Now I’m not sure how or when the pressures of college entry migrated into Junior High but I can assure you that at 12 I was busy hanging out at the pool or collecting baseball cards. I understand that admissions are more competitive now and there is increased focus and pressure on students to fight for admission to ‘quality’ schools. But I have always felt the perceived ‘quality’ of the college is much less important than many other factors in a person’s future success.
One fact that reinforces this comes from the Bloomberg Business Report. In 2010 they listed the top ten CEO alma maters according to the schools with the most current CEOs as graduates. Here’s the list:
10. Purdue University
9. Indiana University
8. Princeton
7. Dartmouth College
6. University of Wisconsin
5. University of Texas
4. University of Missouri
3. Harvard College
2. School of Hard Knocks
1. University of California
Do you see it? There are two things that jump out to me. First, only 3 out of 10 are Ivy League, and second, 50% are state schools! (Not to mention that a full 10% never graduated college.)
Now clearly not everyone is striving to be a CEO, but this list shows that success is not necessarily strongly linked to the school you may go to. Which in itself is not shocking, yet we now have students worrying as early as 12 years old whether they will get into a good school. This survey shows that a quality, in-state education is just as likely to produce success than an Ivy League or more competitive school. Yet the effort to achieve entry to the respective schools is wildly disparate.
To all the Junior and High Schoolers out there, I offer…
The Daily Antidote
Focus on long-term self-education instead of short-term college preparatory goals. Success will follow.
The Song of the Day
In honor of a great band, the song of the day is Airborne Toxic Event's "All I ever wanted".
I really can’t believe it is mid-August already. This year, and especially this summer have flown by. The days are getting shorter and Labor Day fast approaches, bringing with it the start, and the pressures of the new school year. The other day I was talking to a co-worker who has a son about to enter 8th grade. He was frustrated about the fact that this summer his son was already participating in college preparatory activities. He was taking standardized tests, writing essays, and studying, all on his own time but at the direction of the schools.
He’s 12.
Now I’m not sure how or when the pressures of college entry migrated into Junior High but I can assure you that at 12 I was busy hanging out at the pool or collecting baseball cards. I understand that admissions are more competitive now and there is increased focus and pressure on students to fight for admission to ‘quality’ schools. But I have always felt the perceived ‘quality’ of the college is much less important than many other factors in a person’s future success.
One fact that reinforces this comes from the Bloomberg Business Report. In 2010 they listed the top ten CEO alma maters according to the schools with the most current CEOs as graduates. Here’s the list:
10. Purdue University
9. Indiana University
8. Princeton
7. Dartmouth College
6. University of Wisconsin
5. University of Texas
4. University of Missouri
3. Harvard College
2. School of Hard Knocks
1. University of California
Do you see it? There are two things that jump out to me. First, only 3 out of 10 are Ivy League, and second, 50% are state schools! (Not to mention that a full 10% never graduated college.)
Now clearly not everyone is striving to be a CEO, but this list shows that success is not necessarily strongly linked to the school you may go to. Which in itself is not shocking, yet we now have students worrying as early as 12 years old whether they will get into a good school. This survey shows that a quality, in-state education is just as likely to produce success than an Ivy League or more competitive school. Yet the effort to achieve entry to the respective schools is wildly disparate.
To all the Junior and High Schoolers out there, I offer…
The Daily Antidote
Focus on long-term self-education instead of short-term college preparatory goals. Success will follow.
The Song of the Day
In honor of a great band, the song of the day is Airborne Toxic Event's "All I ever wanted".
Thursday, August 4, 2011
The MTV
File under Cage the Rage
Thirty years ago this week a fledgling television network debuted on the relatively new ‘cable’ television. At 12:01 a.m. on August 1st, 1981, as the channel went live, the world heard, “Ladies and Gentlemen, Rock and Roll.”
And MTV was born.
Ok, when I say ‘the world’, I actually mean less than a million viewers in New Jersey, and that’s it. MTV began with less than auspicious viewership, but within a couple of years tens of millions of kids, including me, were saying to their parents “I want my MTV.”
Now certainly MTV had a big impact on society, whether good or bad (definitely a little of both). But that’s not what I find interesting. What I do find interesting is our reaction to the evolution of MTV over time and how that reaction is similar to other evolutions in our lives and work.
In those initial years MTV aired music videos, and served as a vehicle for this new art form, launching new stars like Madonna and Michael Jackson (sans the other 4 (good move by the way)). But somewhere in the mid to late 80’s the brass at the top of the network sensed a paradigm shift. They were no longer the window on the pop music scene, they were one of the drivers. They achieved any marketer’s dream – they became an ‘idea’ instead of just a product. With this realization MTV branched into new unchartered territories.
For those that grew up with the music videos, there was a slow but noticeable move away from the medium and into original programming. And for the Gen Xers who were there from the beginning, this was disturbing. This wasn’t their MTV anymore, it was some bastardized version, epitomized by my sister’s comment somewhere around 1994, “Remember when MTV actually played music?!” By that point there was Beavis and Butt-Head, MTV News, the game show Remote Control, and the coup-de-gras: The Real World. NOBODY realized just what that show would do to mass entertainment. It ushered in the death of the traditional sitcom and resulted in me caring about C-List celebrities’ ability to Tango, all in one fell swoop.
The transition did not go over well for many. We belly-ached about the awful programming and what MTV had ‘devolved’ into. As if the previous state of music video after music video, ad nauseum, was socially redeemable. If you look at the Millennials to follow us, they only knew what MTV had become. That was their reality and they owned it. As MTV continues to evolve they will long for the good old days when the network actually aired reality shows. Likewise the baby boomers before us dismissed the entire concept of the station because it didn’t fit their experiences.
That is a microcosm of what happens to us daily in work and our lives. Our reality changes and we no longer ‘own’ it. We long for the ways things used to be. And most destructively we label what’s new as ‘bad’. Change is not inherently good or bad. Change is change. Change is different. But most of all, change is inevitable. And to be emotionally tied to the previous state, to say that ‘then’ was ‘good’ and ‘now’ is ‘bad’ is wasteful, demoralizing to others around you, and a taxation on your emotional effort.
This isn’t a prompting to turn lemons into lemonade, or for you to go read “Who Moved My Cheese”, but it is a caution to not dismiss an idea, or a process, or The Jersey Shore, just because they’re different.
Because different does not equal bad.
Actually, you can dismiss The Jersey Shore.
Song of the Day
In honor of the first video ever played on MTV, the song of the day is The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star".
Thirty years ago this week a fledgling television network debuted on the relatively new ‘cable’ television. At 12:01 a.m. on August 1st, 1981, as the channel went live, the world heard, “Ladies and Gentlemen, Rock and Roll.”
And MTV was born.
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Now certainly MTV had a big impact on society, whether good or bad (definitely a little of both). But that’s not what I find interesting. What I do find interesting is our reaction to the evolution of MTV over time and how that reaction is similar to other evolutions in our lives and work.
In those initial years MTV aired music videos, and served as a vehicle for this new art form, launching new stars like Madonna and Michael Jackson (sans the other 4 (good move by the way)). But somewhere in the mid to late 80’s the brass at the top of the network sensed a paradigm shift. They were no longer the window on the pop music scene, they were one of the drivers. They achieved any marketer’s dream – they became an ‘idea’ instead of just a product. With this realization MTV branched into new unchartered territories.
For those that grew up with the music videos, there was a slow but noticeable move away from the medium and into original programming. And for the Gen Xers who were there from the beginning, this was disturbing. This wasn’t their MTV anymore, it was some bastardized version, epitomized by my sister’s comment somewhere around 1994, “Remember when MTV actually played music?!” By that point there was Beavis and Butt-Head, MTV News, the game show Remote Control, and the coup-de-gras: The Real World. NOBODY realized just what that show would do to mass entertainment. It ushered in the death of the traditional sitcom and resulted in me caring about C-List celebrities’ ability to Tango, all in one fell swoop.
The transition did not go over well for many. We belly-ached about the awful programming and what MTV had ‘devolved’ into. As if the previous state of music video after music video, ad nauseum, was socially redeemable. If you look at the Millennials to follow us, they only knew what MTV had become. That was their reality and they owned it. As MTV continues to evolve they will long for the good old days when the network actually aired reality shows. Likewise the baby boomers before us dismissed the entire concept of the station because it didn’t fit their experiences.
That is a microcosm of what happens to us daily in work and our lives. Our reality changes and we no longer ‘own’ it. We long for the ways things used to be. And most destructively we label what’s new as ‘bad’. Change is not inherently good or bad. Change is change. Change is different. But most of all, change is inevitable. And to be emotionally tied to the previous state, to say that ‘then’ was ‘good’ and ‘now’ is ‘bad’ is wasteful, demoralizing to others around you, and a taxation on your emotional effort.
This isn’t a prompting to turn lemons into lemonade, or for you to go read “Who Moved My Cheese”, but it is a caution to not dismiss an idea, or a process, or The Jersey Shore, just because they’re different.
Because different does not equal bad.
Actually, you can dismiss The Jersey Shore.
Song of the Day
In honor of the first video ever played on MTV, the song of the day is The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star".
Sunday, July 31, 2011
The Weekly Theory 7.31.2011
File under Useless Information
I need to kick off this week with a Weekly Theory based on an interesting observation this past weekend while watching a fun band.
I Have a Theory...
...that 78% of the time the first people on the dance floor should probably wait until there are more people out there.
just sayin'.
I need to kick off this week with a Weekly Theory based on an interesting observation this past weekend while watching a fun band.
I Have a Theory...
...that 78% of the time the first people on the dance floor should probably wait until there are more people out there.
just sayin'.
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If you're in the Philly area, check out Hot D. They're a good time.
Song of the Day
In honor of fun cover bands, the song of the day is The Starting Line's cover of J. Lo's "I'm real". By the way, Hot D, you should add this to the play list.Wednesday, July 27, 2011
The Quotable Antidote 7.27.2011
File under Useless Information
"My teacher told me that practice makes perfect. My mother told me that nobody's perfect. So I stopped practicing." - Comedian Steven Wright
It's funny, but how do you really know when to cut your losses? How can you tell when your efforts will never achieve your endstate? It has to do with our 'loss' aversion and i'll get into that later.
Song of the Day
In honor of not practing the trumpet enough in 6th grade, i'll let the master play it. The song of the day is Miles Davis' "So What".
"My teacher told me that practice makes perfect. My mother told me that nobody's perfect. So I stopped practicing." - Comedian Steven Wright
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Song of the Day
In honor of not practing the trumpet enough in 6th grade, i'll let the master play it. The song of the day is Miles Davis' "So What".
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
The Cartoon
File under Get a smaller plate
I'm a big fan or author/cartoonist/blogger Hugh MacLeod and this cartoon of his struck a chord as it relates to the Antidote. He provides commentary included below:
We like to kid ourselves that a grey, listless life of mediocrity is fine and dandy, so long as we're being paid well enough.
Of course, that's mistaken. And of course, we don't fully understand THE TRUE HORROR of believing that mistake till it's far too late; till most of our life (that could have striven for something better) is already used up.
I interpret his message not that we settle for mediocrity but that we wallow in mediocrity with the illusion we will ever achieve some intangible greatness. Instead, how can we find ways to identify successes we are capable of achieving, not how someone tells us we should be great.
Check out Hugh's site at http://www.gapingvoid.com/
Song of the Day
In honor of the dog days of summer and one of my wife's favorite songs, the song of the day is The Cars' "Magic".
I'm a big fan or author/cartoonist/blogger Hugh MacLeod and this cartoon of his struck a chord as it relates to the Antidote. He provides commentary included below:
We like to kid ourselves that a grey, listless life of mediocrity is fine and dandy, so long as we're being paid well enough.
Of course, that's mistaken. And of course, we don't fully understand THE TRUE HORROR of believing that mistake till it's far too late; till most of our life (that could have striven for something better) is already used up.
I interpret his message not that we settle for mediocrity but that we wallow in mediocrity with the illusion we will ever achieve some intangible greatness. Instead, how can we find ways to identify successes we are capable of achieving, not how someone tells us we should be great.
Check out Hugh's site at http://www.gapingvoid.com/
Song of the Day
In honor of the dog days of summer and one of my wife's favorite songs, the song of the day is The Cars' "Magic".
Saturday, July 23, 2011
The Sleeper Agent Baboon
File under Meet Yourself
“You interview really, really well for your pre-school, and as a result you get into a good school and a good high school and you study hard and you get a good GPA and you get into a good Grad School then you get a good job and eventually you get into the nursing home of your choice.” – Primatologist Robert Sapolsky
Has it been hot the past couple of days or is it just me?
OK, in all seriousness, it has been ridiculously hot. To quote the movie Biloxi Blues, “It’s hot. It’s like Africa hot.” I’m looking forward to Tuesday in the mid-Atlantic when the temp will plummet to 90 degrees.
But speaking of Africa (like that segue?), I recently read a report in Science magazine on the hierarchy of African Baboons that directly relates to the Antidote.
A report published this week by Lawrence Gesquiere of Princeton University, and others, details the stress levels among natural populations of savannah baboons. Not surprisingly, the Alpha baboons enjoy the highest level of testosterone, and the lowest baboons have high levels of stress, exhibited by glucocorticoid levels (in case you cared), but what is surprising is that the Alpha baboons had higher levels of stress than the beta, or second-ranking baboons. Apparently maintaining their position in the hierarchy and the activities associated with that create stress. Equally as stress-inducing is the struggle for limited resources that the lower level baboons deal with. However, the beta male baboons enjoy a sweet spot of lower-stress and ample resources. Gesquiere notes that “being at the top may be more costly than previously thought.”
Noted Primatologist/Neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky of Stanford University noted that the results “should not be construed as supporting the supposed existence of the ‘executive stress syndrome’”, but that the results are definitely interesting. In any case, the implications of the stress of being the best are directly relevant to human activities.
What are the stresses of being the best that you see?
On a side note, below is a talk by Robert Sapolsky on the uniqueness of humans. I first only wanted to show this because he is Zach Galafiankis and Weird Al Yankovic rolled into one; but this talk is actually really interesting. It’s long, but really well done.
http://www.ted.com/talks/robert_sapolsky_the_uniqueness_of_humans.html
Song of the Day
In honor of baboons, and a song having nothing to do with baboons, the song of the day is Sleeper Agent’s “Get it Daddy”.
“You interview really, really well for your pre-school, and as a result you get into a good school and a good high school and you study hard and you get a good GPA and you get into a good Grad School then you get a good job and eventually you get into the nursing home of your choice.” – Primatologist Robert Sapolsky
Has it been hot the past couple of days or is it just me?
OK, in all seriousness, it has been ridiculously hot. To quote the movie Biloxi Blues, “It’s hot. It’s like Africa hot.” I’m looking forward to Tuesday in the mid-Atlantic when the temp will plummet to 90 degrees.
But speaking of Africa (like that segue?), I recently read a report in Science magazine on the hierarchy of African Baboons that directly relates to the Antidote.
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Noted Primatologist/Neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky of Stanford University noted that the results “should not be construed as supporting the supposed existence of the ‘executive stress syndrome’”, but that the results are definitely interesting. In any case, the implications of the stress of being the best are directly relevant to human activities.
What are the stresses of being the best that you see?
On a side note, below is a talk by Robert Sapolsky on the uniqueness of humans. I first only wanted to show this because he is Zach Galafiankis and Weird Al Yankovic rolled into one; but this talk is actually really interesting. It’s long, but really well done.
http://www.ted.com/talks/robert_sapolsky_the_uniqueness_of_humans.html
Song of the Day
In honor of baboons, and a song having nothing to do with baboons, the song of the day is Sleeper Agent’s “Get it Daddy”.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
The Correction
File under Making things right
I was recently admonished for, in my last post, making a reference to the Karate Kid, yet failing to make the song of the day 'You're the Best' from the karate tournament at the end of the movie. I will rectify that here, but first...
The Daily Antidote
Don't be fooled. In the real world, every time, the Cobra Kai dojo beats the skinny kid from New Jersey.
Every time.
Song of the Day
In honor of admitting when you're wrong, the song of the day is Joe Esposito's "You're the Best'.
I was recently admonished for, in my last post, making a reference to the Karate Kid, yet failing to make the song of the day 'You're the Best' from the karate tournament at the end of the movie. I will rectify that here, but first...
The Daily Antidote
Don't be fooled. In the real world, every time, the Cobra Kai dojo beats the skinny kid from New Jersey.
Every time.
Song of the Day
In honor of admitting when you're wrong, the song of the day is Joe Esposito's "You're the Best'.
Monday, July 18, 2011
The Restlessness
File under Avoid the Machine
I wanted to go back to a few posts ago when I talked about purchasing, and subsequently giving up on, the Mega-Memory system.
Why would I give up so easily? Mr. Trudeau tapped into a hidden insecurity of mine that I was motivated to overcome, or at least so I thought. I “had” to have it, remember. “Why would I abandon it?” was the nagging question. There were two reasons that I slowly realized:
1. The effort to achieve my desired endstate was boring
2. I didn’t really care about the endstate after all
These reasons are actually part and parcel of each other. The second reason is the cause and the first the effect, but I’ll talk about both because the effect is what is most tangible to us.
Somewhere into the first tape the system lost its allure. It wasn’t magical anymore, it really just turned out to be common sense. Using memory association to remember things was not created by Trudeau, nor was it rocket science. And with that realization came the feeling that these exercises were silly and that I could have done this on my own. Strike 1. But I persisted. I continued on to the exercise of remembering things spatially and memorized the layout of furniture in the apartment as directed. It was during this task that I began to question how this would help me in solving the understanding of my issue. There was a disconnect. I was forgetful, but at no time had I ever forgotten where my couch was. I was now perceiving these activities as rote exercises that had no bearing on my endstate. I was having a Karate Kid moment where Daniel-san was painting some old dude’s fence and waxing his car with no concept of how that would help him beat up Johnny. I began to feel these exercises were a waste of my time and I didn’t have Miyagi to push me through. Strike 2. And then in Tape 3, carrying that baggage, I gave up. I realized that I was forgetful, but obviously I wasn’t that bad because I just graduated college and I had a job. I was comfortable with where I was and I just didn’t really care about the program anymore. The work to achieve it was not worth the effort for an endstate I was only marginally interested in in the first place.
Truly, deep down in our core, being content with our state, and thus being unwilling to change, is a major reason why we fail when sometimes we convince ourselves we are so determined to succeed. But it’s not the only reason, and there are two other reasons why we may have failed that we'll get into next.
Daily Antidote
Ask yourself: "What happens if you don't achieve your desired endstate?"
Song of the Day
I think we succumb to these self-help 'fixes' because of a restlesness we feel in our lives. In honor of overcoming that feeling, the song of the day is Langhorne Slim's 'Restless'.
I wanted to go back to a few posts ago when I talked about purchasing, and subsequently giving up on, the Mega-Memory system.
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1. The effort to achieve my desired endstate was boring
2. I didn’t really care about the endstate after all
These reasons are actually part and parcel of each other. The second reason is the cause and the first the effect, but I’ll talk about both because the effect is what is most tangible to us.
Somewhere into the first tape the system lost its allure. It wasn’t magical anymore, it really just turned out to be common sense. Using memory association to remember things was not created by Trudeau, nor was it rocket science. And with that realization came the feeling that these exercises were silly and that I could have done this on my own. Strike 1. But I persisted. I continued on to the exercise of remembering things spatially and memorized the layout of furniture in the apartment as directed. It was during this task that I began to question how this would help me in solving the understanding of my issue. There was a disconnect. I was forgetful, but at no time had I ever forgotten where my couch was. I was now perceiving these activities as rote exercises that had no bearing on my endstate. I was having a Karate Kid moment where Daniel-san was painting some old dude’s fence and waxing his car with no concept of how that would help him beat up Johnny. I began to feel these exercises were a waste of my time and I didn’t have Miyagi to push me through. Strike 2. And then in Tape 3, carrying that baggage, I gave up. I realized that I was forgetful, but obviously I wasn’t that bad because I just graduated college and I had a job. I was comfortable with where I was and I just didn’t really care about the program anymore. The work to achieve it was not worth the effort for an endstate I was only marginally interested in in the first place.
Truly, deep down in our core, being content with our state, and thus being unwilling to change, is a major reason why we fail when sometimes we convince ourselves we are so determined to succeed. But it’s not the only reason, and there are two other reasons why we may have failed that we'll get into next.
Daily Antidote
Ask yourself: "What happens if you don't achieve your desired endstate?"
Song of the Day
I think we succumb to these self-help 'fixes' because of a restlesness we feel in our lives. In honor of overcoming that feeling, the song of the day is Langhorne Slim's 'Restless'.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
The Birthday
File Under Get a Smaller Plate
Tuesday of this week was my older sister's birthday. I called her that night to wish her a happy birthday and she relayed a story to me that I will call the "Facebook Birthday Paradigm", which turns out to be an example of a re-definition of success.
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Being an avid social networker, she was linked in early on her birthday and started seeing her Facebook 'friends' post birthday wishes. And it continued throughout the day. Birthday message after birthday message popped up on her phone Facebook app. Remarkably (or not so remarkably) they weren't all from her closest family and friends. She later wrote about it on her profile:
"You know, as much as I mock Facebook and my "addiction" to it, I have to say it is a wonderful thing....where else can you receive birthday wishes from your sister, your next door neighbor, your 4th grade boyfriend, people you drank Rolling Rocks with at your first job out of College, someone you worked a jukebox with during lunch in middle school, your sister-in-law's best friend, aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws, close friends, far friends, high school friends, brothers of old boyfriends, teachers, and casual aquaintances? Pretty awesome. Pretty surreal. And basically, pretty cool. Thank you ALL for the birthday wishes yesterday! You made me smile, you made me remember, you made me laugh."
Nice thoughts, but nothing spectacular here. We all get those wishes and we have all given our wishes. I mean it only takes 5 seconds to write Happy Birthday, right?
Well, i would argue, and I think she would argue, that there is something spectacular here. It may only take 5 seconds to write happy birthday, but it takes zero seconds to ignore the birthday notification. It takes no time to go about our lives ignoring people. But that didn't happen here. People went out of their way. They left unsolicited notes to let her know they were thinking of her. Even if that was the first time they had in a year, 5 years, or 10 years. Why? Why do we do it?
We do it because they mean something to us. Even if it was because of a moment in time. A smile. A shared memory. She influenced their lives in some capacity and each of those people wanted to say thanks in a way.
What is a better definition of success? ignoring friends to work longer or to get a 4.0, or focusing on othes such that decades later they go out of their way to let you know you had an impact on their lives.
As weird and 'surreal' as it may be, the Facebook Birthday Paradigm is a true measure of success - your successful impact on other people's lives.
In honor of my sister's birthday and her musical infuence on me growing up, the song of the day is Sinead O'Connor's 'Troy'. Happy Birthday KBWM!!
Tuesday of this week was my older sister's birthday. I called her that night to wish her a happy birthday and she relayed a story to me that I will call the "Facebook Birthday Paradigm", which turns out to be an example of a re-definition of success.
Being an avid social networker, she was linked in early on her birthday and started seeing her Facebook 'friends' post birthday wishes. And it continued throughout the day. Birthday message after birthday message popped up on her phone Facebook app. Remarkably (or not so remarkably) they weren't all from her closest family and friends. She later wrote about it on her profile:
"You know, as much as I mock Facebook and my "addiction" to it, I have to say it is a wonderful thing....where else can you receive birthday wishes from your sister, your next door neighbor, your 4th grade boyfriend, people you drank Rolling Rocks with at your first job out of College, someone you worked a jukebox with during lunch in middle school, your sister-in-law's best friend, aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws, close friends, far friends, high school friends, brothers of old boyfriends, teachers, and casual aquaintances? Pretty awesome. Pretty surreal. And basically, pretty cool. Thank you ALL for the birthday wishes yesterday! You made me smile, you made me remember, you made me laugh."
Nice thoughts, but nothing spectacular here. We all get those wishes and we have all given our wishes. I mean it only takes 5 seconds to write Happy Birthday, right?
Well, i would argue, and I think she would argue, that there is something spectacular here. It may only take 5 seconds to write happy birthday, but it takes zero seconds to ignore the birthday notification. It takes no time to go about our lives ignoring people. But that didn't happen here. People went out of their way. They left unsolicited notes to let her know they were thinking of her. Even if that was the first time they had in a year, 5 years, or 10 years. Why? Why do we do it?
We do it because they mean something to us. Even if it was because of a moment in time. A smile. A shared memory. She influenced their lives in some capacity and each of those people wanted to say thanks in a way.
What is a better definition of success? ignoring friends to work longer or to get a 4.0, or focusing on othes such that decades later they go out of their way to let you know you had an impact on their lives.
As weird and 'surreal' as it may be, the Facebook Birthday Paradigm is a true measure of success - your successful impact on other people's lives.
In honor of my sister's birthday and her musical infuence on me growing up, the song of the day is Sinead O'Connor's 'Troy'. Happy Birthday KBWM!!
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