These are my new screensavers whenever my Kindle goes into rest mode.

I followed the directions from this site and downloaded images from this Kindle screensaver gallery.

The excerpt below is from the Navy Seal Team Ethos. Read the full version here.

I’ve only read these words and been inspired. Can you imagine how different I’d be if I actually had that kind of conviction? I want to be that kind of man.

I serve with honor on and off the battlefield. The ability to control my emotions and my actions, regardless of circumstance, sets me apart from other men. Uncompromising integrity is my standard. My character and honor are steadfast. My word is my bond.

We expect to lead and be led. In the absence of orders I will take charge, lead my teammates and accomplish the mission. I lead by example in all situations.

I will never quit. I persevere and thrive on adversity. My Nation expects me to be physically harder and mentally stronger than my enemies. If knocked down, I will get back up, every time.  I will draw on every remaining ounce of strength to protect my teammates and to accomplish our mission. I am never out of the fight.

We demand discipline. We expect innovation. The lives of my teammates and the success of our mission depend on me – my technical skill, tactical proficiency, and attention to detail. My training is never complete.

We train for war and fight to win. I stand ready to bring the full spectrum of combat power to bear in order to achieve my mission and the goals established by my country. The execution of my duties will be swift and violent when required yet guided by the very principles that I serve to defend.

Brave men have fought and died building the proud tradition and feared reputation that I am bound to uphold. In the worst of conditions, the legacy of my teammates steadies my resolve and silently guides my every deed. I will not fail.

Today’s “knowledge workers” are paid according to their effectiveness; not based on time. Defense trial attorneys work as a function of time (paid high hourly rates). Plantiff’s trial attorneys are paid a contingency fee, generally 33% of whatever the jury awards for damages (e.g. $33k of a $100k lawsuit).

Because plaintiff’s attorneys aren’t compensated as a function of time, they can work more effectively and focus only on high order bits.

Do you know what you gotta get?

Can your work boil down to a singular metric? Maybe.

As I watched this, I was encouraged to re-think my daily routine. How much time do I waste on meaningless inputs, when all that matters is what I gotta get.

The man speaking is Mark Lanier, a trial lawyer based out of Houston, TX. The video was filmed at Harvard Law School and he’s got some great war stories.

Jonathan Mak, a designer in Hong Kong, created this logo after Steve Jobs passed.

I’ve taken his logo and created wallpaper for Macs, iPads, and iPhones.

Download here:

1280 x 800
1440 x 900
1920 x 1200
320 x 480 - iPhone
640 x 960 - iPhone 4
768 x 1024 - iPad

The Tour de France started in 1903; but it wasn’t until 1910, seven years later, until race organizers included the Pyrenees in a stage.

Stage 10 of the 1910 TdF was a beast: 326km (203 miles) that started at 3:30am and finished (in a sprint) 14 hours later.

I can’t imagine what riding the Tour de France course would be like today, much less in 1910. Back then, the bikes were heavier and didn’t have proper gearing, the roads were terrible, riders wore wool clothing (no Dri-fit), and they weren’t assisted by cars or other support vehicles.

The Tour de France is the pinnacle of competitive sports. No other race or feat is more demanding. Watching this video gave me a true appreciation for the old cyclists long forgotten.

It seems as if all my bridges have been burned,
You say that’s exactly how this grace thing works
It’s not the long walk home that will change this heart,
But the welcome I receive at the restart

I use Delicious pretty religiously to bookmark all the interesting things I read/see on the web. Besides Amazon, it’s probably my favorite site on the Internet. So when the Delicious plugin broke when Firefox 4 dropped last week, I was devastated.

Luckily, there is a fix:

1. Open the following file in TextEdit: “~/Library/Application Support/ Firefox/Profiles/xxxx.default/extensions/{2fa4ed95-0317-…-5f3e3912c1f9}/install.rdf”
3. Change the following statement: ‘em:maxVersion=”4.0b3pre”‘ in to ‘em:maxVersion=”4.0″‘ and save the file.

These two clips are killer. Gary V is right on the money.