• How to Stay Stressed http://goo.gl/RW1D #

• C. L. Max Nikias Named 11th President of USC: http://bit.ly/9qgs5c #

Already with thee! tender is the night . . .
. . . But here there is no light,
Save what from heaven is with the breezes blown
Through verdurous glooms and winding mossy ways.

— John Keats, “Ode to a Nightingale’”

Under no circumstances will hockey practice ever be cancelled. Ever. Even on days when school is cancelled, practice is still on. A game may be cancelled due to inclement weather because of travel concerns for the visiting team, but it would have to rain razor blades and bocce balls to cancel hockey practice at your local rink. It’s good karma to respect the game.

— John Buccigross, ESPN.com

Pig-in-a-poke is an idiom that refers to a confidence trick originating in the Late Middle Ages, when meat was scarce but cats were not.

The scheme entailed the sale of a suckling pig in a poke (bag). The wriggling bag would actually contain a cat (not particularly prized as a source of meat) that was sold to the victim in an unopened bag.

A common colloquial expression in the English language, to buy a pig in a poke is to make a risky purchase without inspecting the item beforehand. The phrase can also be applied to accepting an idea or plan without a full understanding of its basis.

If you’re not seeing the video here, you can go to YouTube and hear Nancy Pelosi say, “But we have to pass the [health care] bill so that you can find out what is in it.”

• RT @eddiepepitone: Zagat's guide: best mental institution is Creedmore. Their chicken a la king will drive you nuts-great game room as well. #

• RT @Aimee_B_Loved: Katherine Bigelow really needs to end her speech with "SUCK IT, JAMES CAMERON!" #
• RT @letwits: CBSNews
  "Hollywood Sees a Bright Future in 3D"
  Sure they do. They can remake everything all over again. #

You’re my worst case scenario for my career in 12 yrs: a pious, unlikable blowhard who lives alone.

There are two kinds of people in the world — those with loaded guns and those who dig.

Let others spend the weekend catching up on Oscar nominees. We (re-)watched Sergio Leone fill the screen with boots, eyes and fingers in this classic Western.

Although Netflix listed it as the 161-min version, the DVD they sent was actually the full-length (175-min) Italian version, so that makes 14 minutes of action I was seeing for the first time!

By the way, did you know that Eli Wallach is still alive at age 94?!

(well, it might be that people see so many movies
that when they finally see one not
so bad as the others, they think it’s
great. an Academy Award means that you don’t stink
quite as much as your cousin.)

— Charles Bukowski, “in and out of the dark”

There are 10 nominees now for Best Picture?! I had no idea.

The best movie of the year was Up. The other nine I didn’t see. If any of them were better than Up, then why didn’t I see them? Answer that one for me.

If you’re not seeing the video here, you can go to YouTube and hear Harry Reid say, “Today is a big day in America. Only 36,000 people lost their jobs today, which is really good.”

If you’re not seeing the video here, you can watch it on Atom.com.

Because I’m pressed for time, I take the dog for a short walk this evening, just long enough to take care of the essentials.

My wife is concerned that five minutes isn’t enough exercise for the little guy, but isn’t a five-minute walk equivalent to a 35-minute walk for dogs?

“I’d start out with a minute,” I say.

“A minute?!”

“Yeah. Is that too much?”

“It’s too little.”

“Well, I’d rather start out by undercooking the food a little bit because I can always cook it some more, whereas once I’ve fried it into a flaming gob, I don’t have any recourse.”

“You’re weak,” he says.

“Okay, do it your way, Volcano Joe.”

• RT @letwits: "Exotic animals, kept in captivity, trained to perform". CNN anchors talking about….CNN anchors? #
• RT @SarahKSilverman: Spotted a homeless man w/a coat ovr his shoulders & full-on James Brown hair. He's the hardest wrkn man in no-business. #

My son has a math test today. He was up till 3 a.m. studying for it.

In my experience, a positive mindset is essential to successful test-taking, so on the drive to school, I give him a piece of advice.

“Walk into the classroom,” I say, “look at the teacher and lay down a challenge, like ‘Let’s do it.’”

“It’s not her test,” the boy says.

“What does that mean?”

“It means every class takes the same test — Schneider, D’Antonio . . .”

“THAT DOESN’T MATTER,” I say. “The important thing is to lay down the challenge. ‘Stop bitin’ on my styles.’ Granted, that one doesn’t make any sense, but it gives you the positive mental framework that you need for mathematical success.”

It has to be about your readers, who will, it’s hoped, become your customers. It has to be about making them awesome.

So, for example, if you’re selling a clever attachment to a camera that diffuses harsh flash light, don’t talk about the technical features or about your holiday sale (10 percent off!). Make a list of 10 tips for being a better photographer.

If you’re opening a restaurant, don’t blog about your menu. Blog about great food. You’ll attract foodies who don’t care about your restaurant yet.

If you make superior, single-source chocolate, don’t write about that great trip you took to the Dominican Republic to source cocoa beans. That’s all about you. Instead, write the definitive article about making chocolate-covered strawberries. For the next 10 years, whenever a gourmand or a baker searches Google for a recipe on how to make chocolate-covered strawberries, he or she will find your post. Helping your users make awesome chocolate-based confections is likely to attract readers who might buy fancy chocolate . . .

— Joel Spolsky

Authorities say a motorist has driven off a cliff, plunging about 200 feet down a steep canyon near Calabasas, after swerving to avoid an animal on the road.

— Driver Avoids Animal, Careens Off Calabasas Cliff – cbs2.com

Ouch — was he a PETA member?

I like animals. I ran over a squirrel once and I felt terrible about it but it did run right out in front of my car.

However — in the event of having to make a split-second decision between clobbering an animal and driving off a cliff, well, the animal is going to get it.

On a side note, kudos to the headline writer for the alliteration: “Careens Off Calabasas Cliff.” Who says a liberal arts education isn’t good for anything?

1. You watch Saw 1-8 for 36 hours straight.
2. You think you are in the Saw movies.
3. You buy a saw.

— Eddie Pepitone

The well-known law of cybernetics — “Only variety can absorb variety” — states that a system cannot meet increasing variety in its environment unless it increases the range of its response repertoire (Ashby’s law of requisite variety, 1956). In lay terms it means one has to be just as messy as the surrounding situation.

— Ninety-Nine Rules for Managing “Faster, Better, Cheaper” Projects

Experts say the belief that sexual activities can lead to a second heart attack consists of a little bit of truth, but research suggests that it is largely exaggerated. People can have sex after their heart attacks. In fact, the more you exercise — including having sex — the better your odds.

As a safety precaution, “You sort of have to test yourself on the sidewalk before you test yourself in the bedroom,” says Dr. Gerald W. Neuberg, cardiologist and director of the intensive care unit at New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

— “Is Sex Safe After Heart Attack?”

Imagine and identify the few properties of your product or service that will gratify the customer’s need. Visualize the properties, desire them yourself, and everywhere ensure and intensify their presence.

— Jim McCarthy

The goal on a project is not to have the correct plan in advance but to make the right decisions every day as things that were unknown become known.

— Jim McCarthy

I’ve heard that dogs can count up to 4 or 5. I’ve never tried to go that high but I know I can count up to 2 because every morning my owner gives me 2 vitamin tablets and when he gives me the first one I wait for the second one and when he gives me the second one I run off and do something else.

Oh this is unexpected! He just dropped a vitamin tablet on the floor so I ate it!

Now he’s giving me the first vitamin tablet . . .

(Waiting . . . waiting . . .)

I’m getting a bad feeling about this. DON’T TELL ME THE DROPPED ONE COUNTS AGAINST MY DAILY ALLOTMENT!

— Lightning

of one hundred movies there’s one that’s fair, one that’s good
and ninety-eight that are very bad. . . .

. . . millions of dollars spent to create
something more terrible than the actual lives of
most living things; one should never have to pay an
admission to hell.

— Charles Bukowski, “in and out of the dark”

He is a bad dog . . . a pit bull mix. Last night he attacked Kumba the Shih Tzu, who is my neighbor across the street, and Kumba’s owner.

My owner heard screaming and ran outside. The pit bull owner was holding his dog back and Kumba’s owner was down on the sidewalk bleeding and screaming. She was very scared. She held her hand up to my owner like a drowning person.

Kumba was hiding in some bushes behind a tree so my owner went in and carried him out. Then the police came and the firemen came.

Kumba had a bite on his back and one of his back legs was hurt but he’s going to be okay and his owner is going to be okay.

I told Kumba he was very brave, even though he wasn’t. But it made him feel better and there was no harm in it.

Shih Tzus aren’t fighting dogs like pit bulls and pugs . . .

— Lightning

Looking over my notes from an Edward Tufte course . . .

• Details lead to credibility.
• Every paragraph, chart, etc., should lend credibility to your argument and give your audience a reason to believe.
• Great design disappears; it gives itself up to the content.
• There’s no “right way” to display data. Try a few different approaches.
• Tables are often better than graphics.
• Don’t get it original, get it right.
• Don’t underestimate your audience. Don’t pander or patronize.

Looking over my notes from an Edward Tufte course . . .

1. Show comparisons, contrasts, differences.
2. Show causality, mechanism, explanation, systematic structure.
3. Show multivariate data; that is, show more than 1 or 2 variables.
4. Completely integrate words, numbers, images, diagrams.
5. Thoroughly describe the evidence. Provide a detailed title, indicate the authors and sponsors, document the data sources, show complete measurement scales, point out relevant issues.
6. Analytical presentations ultimately stand or fall depending on the quality, relevance, and integrity of their content.

[Photos via Deadspin.]

• RT @capricecrane: So is this the Tiger Woods press conference where he decides who gets the final rose? #
• Four Ways of Looking at Twitter – Harvard Business Review: http://bit.ly/9TTYFi #

The Bay Area just had its foggiest May in 50 years. And thanks to global warming, it’s about to get even foggier.

— “Get ready for even foggier summers,” July 6, 2009

The sight of Golden Gate Bridge towering above the fog will become increasing rare as climate change warms San Francisco bay, scientists have found.

— “Fog over San Francisco thins by a third due to climate change,” Feb. 15, 2010

I got an email today from a young man who included this priceless bit of information: “When you got your master’s degree, I was one year old.”

Really?! It seems like just last week but thanks for reminding me that 20 years have gone by.

Look kids — if you want to do a computation like that, go ahead, but keep the results to yourself . . .

Behavioral economist Daniel Kahneman suggests that we have two selves: an experiencing self and a remembering self. . . . Your experiencing self lives in the present and is happiest spending time around people you like. . . .

The remembering self cares about story, and about appearances. . . .

Your remembering self cares about money and mobility deeply. Why? No one wants to be remembered as the person who “didn’t do anything with their life.” Getting rich and moving around a lot adds dramatic, tangible plot-points to your story, which comforts your remembering self greatly. But your experiencing self can easily be less happy. What if you are unable to turn your money into people you enjoy spending time with? What if you move away from the people and places that bring you joy?

— Dave Troy

My son’s half-Asian — his mom is Thai — and he feels like he’s missing out on an important Asian tradition.

“On Chinese New Year,” he says, “Chinese kids get wads of cash. Koreans have a holiday where kids go to relatives’ houses, bow to people and get wads of cash.”

He mentions a Korean friend of his who raked in 180 bucks the last time this holiday rolled around.

“Why isn’t there a Thai holiday where kids bow to people and get wads of cash?” he asks.

“Isn’t that how pretty much every day goes for you?” I ask. “Without the bowing, I mean. Handing you wads of cash though — that part is in full effect.”

I know I shouldn’t say this about one of my own speakers, but I thought Sarah Silverman was god-awful.

— Chris Anderson

Kudos to @TEDChris for making TED an unsafe haven for all! You’re a barnacle of mediocrity on Bill Gates’ asshole.

— Sarah Silverman

How can I help you succeed? How can I help you ask strong questions, take wise risks and deliver great content? How can I help you prosper? Most importantly, how can I help you learn and make new connections? How can I help you serve the larger group, of which we are both a part?

— Marcia Conner

• "I thought the more money I had the happier I would become, but it was not the case." http://bit.ly/d8yDMt #

‘Deadliest Catch’ captain Phil Harris dies at age 53

— USATODAY.com

Never saw his TV show but he was great as the voice of Baloo in The Jungle Book!

♫ Look for the (clap) Bare Ne-cess-ities . . . ♫

Say hi to Bing Crosby in hell!

Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, a longtime fixture on the House subcommittee that oversees Pentagon spending, died after complications from gallbladder surgery, according to his office. He was 77.

The Democratic congressman recently underwent scheduled laparoscopic surgery at National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, to remove his gallbladder. The procedure was “routine minimally invasive surgery,” but doctors “hit his intestines,” a source close to the late congressman told CNN.

— CNN.com

OMG I HAD THAT SAME OPERATION I COULD HAVE DIED!!!

On a lighter note, how ironic is it that the president loses a pro-ObamaCare vote due to medical error in a government-run hospital?

[Chris] Berman could go all the way to DirectTV or the NFL Network when his ESPN contract expires? Its probably just a negotiating ploy, but it sure would be neat to see him exclusively on channels my TV doesn’t have.

— Deadspin

Looking over my notes from an Edward Tufte course . . .

There is no such thing as information overload, just bad design.

• Example: Google News presents hundreds of links on a single page and no one complains about information overload.
• Example: The financial section of the newspaper presents thousands of numbers and no one complains about information overload.