WOW

WOWOW: Motivation Redux

2008-12-03T05:55:00.003+01:00

Motivation? Shortcuts?. Enter George Carlin --

Why do all these people need help? Life is not that complicated. You get up, you go to work, you eat three meals, you take one good [vulgar term for bowel movement], you go back to bed. What's the ***** mystery? ... Why would anyone need to be motivated by someone else? If you lack motivation, a seminar isn't going to help you. What you really need is to get smashed in the head thirty or forty times with a golf club. That will ***** motivate you. Or else it will at least get you moving around the room, locate your socks, get the day rolling.

There is not much more to it. The rest and the remainder is crutches and rationalizations.

Intensity and Excess, Forever?
A series of nows instead of a extended then.
Why Chutzpah?
Because it makes you think different.
What is your Default Mode?
You're idle, in between projects or right after a show. You've just completed the big project. That is exactly where the potential to do something really stupid is the greatest.
The Best In The World: What's the Point?
Immortality is a collateral of best-in-the-world. You are not going to care, though.
Reload Your (Abandoned) Resolutions
By now, most resolutions have been abandoned and life goes on. Let's see if we can reanimate one of them. One goal, three to-dos, and a trick, each day. Or... 1000 tasks and a gun to your head.
Happy New Year 2008
Two insights from 2007.
Tales of Virtuosity: Excellence at its Best
It is obvious then that what may look like audacity to some is just the way it works. That, in fact, is humility.
Opinionated? Hell Yeah!
It is not for everybody. While everybody is invited to try, some are here to stay. That is my opinion.

Get Anything You Want by Allowing Mutual Blackmailability
Get to know your business partners beyond business and corporate structures, boundaries, and limitations. Share your weaknesses and you are going to share and enjoy your mutual sucesses even more.
The Dilettante Way
Just do it and start to practice and gather invaluable experience instantly.
Knowledge is King: How to Spot The Fake
Whenever someone appears or pretends to be in the know, think twice before giving him or her expert credit and credentials.
Common Sense: Friend or Foe?
Don't let common sense replace education, instead replace common sense with original experience.
Why Don't You?
The difference between excellence and mediocrity.
Inside or Out?
The real magic happens inside, only inside.
Spreading vs. Selling Ideas
Spread your idea, whatever it takes, and make money, no matter how, but do not confuse the two.
Hesitation: Do Anyway or Do Not?
There are two possible causes for hesitation.
Play It Where It Lies
Do you think he plans it all out or just makes it up as he goes along?

Now, Seriously
Hack your life when the spirits are low and when the stakes are high.
Developing Your Style
What does style have to do with insanity?
Are Your Goals Mutually Exclusive?
By trying to achieve all goals simultaneously, you will end up achieving nothing more than average, lowest common demoninator results.
There Are No Misunderstandings
Something has changed and isn't -- yet -- communicated to everybody involved.
Why Rituals Equal Success
As a social outcast you're not going to be successful in business either.

The Consulting Principle
It is the consulting principle which makes outside brains so effective and part-time lovers so irresistible.
Need Help? The Case Against Unsolicited Advice
The one rule to respect in order to successfully offer free help.
Compulsories vs. Freestyle
At least acknowledge the rules...
Subversion through Over-Compliance
Comply when complying is not an option.
Perception without Judgement
Judgement evokes judgement and builds a reality on top of reality.
Focus Your Focus
Focus without persistence is useless.
Subjective Reality: Create an Atmosphere
Your creations develop a life of their own.
In Hindsight: The Perfect Time to Quit
When quitting is not just an option.
Benefit from the Magic of the Beautiful Morning
There is no time like dawn.
The Pareto Principle vs. the Necessity of the Unnecessary
Comparison determines quality.
Overcoming the Fear of Irregular Habits
Exceed your own demands.

Your Success is Guaranteed
With determination, discipline, and persistance.
Divide and Rule: Make Compound Interest Work For You
Creating wealth.
How to Avoid Misunderstandings
Decrease the level of detail.
How to Double Your Productivity with the Escalation Principle
Work in increments and never stop.
Deliberate Change: Whatever it Takes
The turmoil which precedes creation.

The Secret Connection between Losing Fat and Eating Healthily
Resolve to become more healthy and drop the fat automatically.
Subjective Reality: The Difference between Experience and Adventure
There is only one experience. Yours.
Leap Forward and Benefit from Nonlinear Growth
Always expect more than others think is possible.
Why Do You Hide?
Choose your universe and tell everybody about it.
Acceptance vs. Resistance?
What are you really fighting against?
Look Good and Fulfill the Expectations: It's What's Upfront that Counts
Are your looks congruent with your performance?
Instant Exercise: Reinvigorate Yourself
Design your personal stress-busting technique.
Mentors and Modeling: Learn Everything from Anyone
Use negative idols and avoid their mistakes.
Zero-Based Thinking: Reconsider Negative Decisions
Apply zero-based thinking to the quitting itself.
They Call You Crazy? You're on the Right Track
Remove yourself from everything average.
Free Your Mind: Improvisation and Method Acting
Act and react spontaneously. You are no robot.
How to Deal with Principles vs. Results
Stick to principles or focus on results?
Excellence Beyond Competition
Being the best vs. being your best.
Why You Should Assume Complete Responsibility for Your Goals
True fulfillment is your original vision manifested without alteration.
Do You Fight Substitute Wars?
You procrastinate on your primary goal because the secondary one promises pleasure?
Quick Motivation: You Live in Paradise
How many paradises do you think exist?

Learn to Trust Your Inner Voice
Do not suppress your instincts even when they suggest taking a day off.
Make Exclusive Decisions
To decide means to choose one in favor of the other.
Positive Peer Pressure
Everybody is a role-model for everyone else.
Why You Should Seek Inspiration Instead of Motivation
Inspiration is self-sustaining and specific while motivation is not.
Willpower: Let Go of Everything
Control freaks, take note... you do not control anything.
Succeed through Synchronizing Your Behavior
Optimize your performance in any area of life through simply being yourself, always.
How to Motivate Yourself with One Word
Give your word to yourself and let your integrity take over the motivating part.
Resolve to Improve
Absolutely everything accumulates over time: why not focus on the positive stuff and start with the most simple thing.

... or else it will at least get you moving around the room, locate your socks, get the day rolling.

WOWOW: The State of Diet and Nutrition

2008-10-15T04:46:00.005+02:00

Two years of hunting and gathering: From theory to tracking, going Vegan, fasting, going Warrior, considering eggs and dairy, cravings, supplements, lean and leaner.

Here is the journey, if you'd like --

Cascading Diet Recommendations

Improving your health through your diet isn't an all-or-nothing game.
Multiply Exercise and Nutrition to Look Even Better in 2008

It's not rocket science. You know what to do. You know what you should be doing.
The Top 5 Reasons to Get Even Leaner

Why it is beneficial to get even leaner. Not lean instead of fat. Leaner instead of lean. Leaner than lean. This is about and for the already lean. Get more perfect.
The Case for Supplements

Don't worry -- you already take nutrition supplements.
Want to Lose Fat? Eat More and Get Lean

Dollars to doughnuts... you don't eat enough.
Tagged: 5 Things You Didn't Know About Me

Alexander Becker is it...
Cravings: Satisfy or Resist?

Indulging vs. replenishing, appetite vs. hunger.
Veganism and Subjective Reality

Can a predator feel bliss?
Ramadan: Evaluating One Month of Daytime Fasting

A unique opportunity for a spiritual as well as a nutritional experience.
Meta-Commentary: Low-Carb Cravings and the Ancient Warrior

The best from both worlds.
Reference: Dairy Products as Part of a Healthy Diet?

The implicit case.
The Hunter-Gatherer Diet: Overview and Spiritual Implications

The eagle vs. the dove.
Introducing Eggs

Optimizing diets.
The Ramadan Fasting Diary

Daily accounts of my fasting experience.
Fasting: Restraint Instead of Deprivation

Ramadan and the various aspects of fasting.
The Secret Connection between Losing Fat and Eating Healthily

Resolve to become more healthy and drop the fat automatically.
10 Diet Tips for Successful, Sustainable Fatloss and Long-Term Health Benefits

General dieting principles based on common -- yet often ignored -- sense.
The WOW Diet: Going Vegan on the Warrior Diet

Vegan cooking and eating in cycles, includes a sample day.
The Aficionado's Guide to Appreciation

The benefits of deliberate deprivation.
Eat as Much as You Want: Experiences with the Warrior Diet

Fasting and eating for mind and body.
Review: The Warrior Diet by Ori Hofmekler

About the warrior diet which is based on semi-fasting during the day and eating at night, as much as you want to eat. Interesting historical point made about hunters and warriors. Claim your predator instincts!
Resolve to Improve

Absolutely everything accumulates over time: why not focus on the positive stuff and start with the most simple thing.
The Transition from Eating Mindlessly to Eating Consciously

People who eat junk telling others about food.
Tracking and Evaluating Progress

Everything that can be measured can be improved.
Diets and Exceptions: One Day Off?

How come that cheating is part of the plan?

Currently, and ever since 2006, I'm following the (paleolithic) hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Apparently, I'm a predator.

Ultimately, your optimal lifestyle; what you thrive on and what you ought to avoid, is genetically determined. Trial and error is the key, there is no one-size-fits-all.

WOWOW: Embrace Novelty and Resubscribe

2008-10-04T10:42:00.015+02:00

Please resubscribe; no meat in the 21th century? Maths, again and again, more maths, novelty, creativity, and no reason to hide.

What the 21st Century Will Taste Like --

So it really chilled me when he said, "America better prepare for some uncomfortable changes. Things might get really ugly."
9 Mental Math Tricks --

Math can be terrifying for many people. This list will hopefully improve your general knowledge of mathematical tricks and your speed when you need to do math in your head.
Project 10 to the 100 --

May Those Who Help The Most Win
Novelty Makes Brains Creative --

Discoveries by neuroscientists studying the brain say that novel experiences are key in increasing brain power and creativity. When the brain experiences, or imagines a familiar situation, it already has a shortcut to understanding -- it's got that categorized in a neat little mental box. Novelty, new experiences and stretches of the imagination keep the mind limber, and more creative.
Looking for a reason to hide --

Inc. magazine reports that a huge percentage of companies in this year's Inc. 500 were founded within months of 9/11. Talk about uncertain times.

But uncertain times, frozen liquidity, political change and poor astrological forecasts (not to mention chicken entrails) all lead to less competition, more available talent and a do-or-die attitude that causes real change to happen.

If I wasn't already running my own business, today is the day I'd start one.

OK. LETS DO THIS, THEN............

Now, please resubscribe for a continuous stream of links to interesting and diverse material, under the working title --

Are you a scientist, an artist, an athlete, or a businessman? All of these? Me too.

Thanks for reading so far.

Fair Division: Game Theory and The Batman

2008-09-24T00:03:00.001+02:00

In game theory you do not trust someone because they are your friend. You trust them because it is in their self-interest to help you.

Now, that you have all seen The Dark Knight, please take a closer look at the games of the Joker.

The Dark Knight and Game Theory --

The Joker's final act as criminal mastermind and agent of nihilism (or, seemingly, to show Gotham city that we are all Homo Economicus when the structure of the game forces us to be) involves two ferries filled with people. The first ferry is filled with normal, law abiding citizens while the second ferry is filled with the population of Gotham Prison. The Joker, doing so without prior knowledge of the passengers and city officials, wired the ships with powerful explosives such that their explosion would destroy the entire ship and everyone aboard. No single individual is allowed to escape. Each ship is given a detonator for the other ferry. The use of the detonator saves the ship while killing everyone aboard the opposing ship.
Game Theory in The Dark Knight: A Critical Review of the Opening Scene (Spoilers) --

Fair division is about understanding incentives and strategic thought. How can you trust self-interested people? How can you achieve cooperative outcomes with diametrically opposed motives? Such ideas have been applied to important areas such as nuclear disarmament and labor negotiations. But they are even applicable to mundane situations, like dividing up restaurant bills fairly.

More Game Theory:

WOWOW: Intellectual Work and Calorie Intake

2008-09-20T10:12:00.003+02:00

Intellectual work, Mavens, Connectors and Salesmen; no more productivity, statistics neither, finally, the impact of the highly improbable.

Thinking People Eat Too Much: Intellectual Work Found To Induce Excessive Calorie Intake (Polymeme) --

Blood samples taken before, during, and after each session revealed that intellectual work causes much bigger fluctuations in glucose and insulin levels than rest periods. "These fluctuations may be caused by the stress of intellectual work, or also reflect a biological adaptation during glucose combustion," hypothesized Jean-Philippe Chaput, the study's main author. The body could be reacting to these fluctuations by spurring food intake in order to restore its glucose balance, the only fuel used by the brain.
Know Your Strength for More Success: Are you a Connector, a Maven, or a Salesman? --

They are the ones who tell Connectors about what's hot. They always have the newest inside scoops on gadgets and specials. The upside of Mavens is that they amass a vast store of knowledge and are eager to share it with others. The downside is that Mavens can sometimes be a bit geeky and awkward around people.
43 Folders: Time, Attention, and Creative Work --

Friends, I'm done with "productivity" as a personal fetish or hobby. There are countless sites that are all too happy to vend stroke material for your joyless addiction to puns about procrastination and systems for generating more taxonomically satisfying meta-work. But, presently, you won't find so much of that here.
The Fourth Quadrant: A Map of The Limits of Statistics --

Statistics can fool you. In fact it is fooling your government right now. It can even bankrupt the system (let's face it: use of probabilistic methods for the estimation of risks did just blow up the banking system).
Also by Nassim Nicholas Taleb: Low Probability, High Impact: The Black Swan, The Impact of the Highly Improbable --

Some scenarios are rather improbable, but when they do materialize, their effects are devastating or overwhelming, depending on the matter changed.

Extremistan vs. Mediocristan.

WOWOW: Anamorphosis

2008-09-06T11:32:00.005+02:00

What is Anamorphosis?

A distorted or monstrous projection or representation of an image on a plane or curved surface, which, when viewed from a certain point, or as reflected from a curved mirror or through a polyhedron, appears regular and in proportion; a deformation of an image.

Again, nothing is the way it seems to be.

WOWOW: Freefall

2008-08-29T14:10:00.001+02:00

Let's play this fast, real fast.

Because that's what it's all about --

Lists anyone?

Excellence and something new --

Me-to-We Opening Ceremonies

It was both deeply alien and comforting at the same time. Both old and new. The message was successful -- of presenting China's pride of its history and its rising modern power. Not only will this be a landmark in contemporary China's cultural psyche, but I think it will also resonate in the memory of the rest of the world. Something happened that night.
The Opening Ceremonies

World-building --

How To Build a World: The Basics
How To Build a World: Questions to Ask

Before you draw a map, before you write up a mythology, before you start naming plants and mountains and seas, you need to think about what questions to ask.

This time, it's personal...

WOWOW: Then

2008-08-17T11:48:00.003+02:00

Loser? Suicide? Or Polymath?.

10 Traits of Losers: Are you One? --

If you have no integrity and nothing but your own interests in mind, you, according to me, are a loser. Despite the large bank accounts, luxury sedans, and 5-car garage, you also may be a loser as assets don't define us.
10 Simple Ways To Commit Suicide --

If you've come here with the intention of ending your life you've come to the right place. However, instead of the usual "how to end your life" guides I'm going to list some of the ways in which you’ve already been killing yourself.
Polymeme: A Polymath's Guide to News --

Polymeme helps you discover intelligent content that lies beyond the usual echo chambers of tech news, celebrity gossip or American politics.

Almost nothing is the way it seems. Stuff to consider.

WOWOW: This!

2008-08-10T05:00:00.013+02:00

How to dominate the world and hack any conversation with hand-drawn maps and Batman-skills -- all from the rooftops in New York.

Hand Drawn Map Association --

The maps range from quick scribbles of neighborhoods to detailed drawings of cities, sometimes accompanied by a story explaining how and why the map was made.

[via] also, check out this one.
A Brief Guide to World Domination --
1. The Two Most Important Questions in the Universe
2. Why Ruling and Changing the World are Interrelated
3. The Clear Alternative to Being Unremarkably Average
[pdf]
Dark Knight Shift: Why Batman Could Exist -- But Not for Long

To be Batman properly, what you really need to do is be exceptionally good at many different things. It's when you take all the pieces and put them together that you get the Batman.
Pictures of Rooftops in NYC
Top 10 Conversation Hacks --

A whole lot more than just words passes between people who are talking, so a few simple conversational skills can help you recognize what's really being said and help you lead the discussion your way. Learn how to read body language and facial expressions, de-code euphemisms, ask sensitive questions, criticize constructively, get what you want in negotiations, cut off chatterboxes, ...

Have a nice week. And remember: No attachment whatsoever. It helps

WOWOW: There!

2008-08-03T13:36:00.013+02:00

Philippe Petit, Lego, Fructose, Third-World-Workouts, Chernobyl, and the 10 Skills you don't want to miss teaching your kids.

Inspiration: Philippe Petit, Man on Wire --

In 1968 I was 18 years old and I saw an article about those towers. There was a photo of a model, and the article said that they would be built one day, and they would be the finest in the world. And here I was, a completely new self-taught wire walker, and I thought, "What a fabulous thing to transform the top of those towers to a theater for one morning." And that's how the idea came.
Toys: LEGO Mini Sport City 2008 --

... currently one of the most amazing LEGO productions ever in China. The theme of this city is the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Swimming Cube, Nest Sports Ground and Sport Village were built as a landmark of this LEGO city. 300,000 bricks and 4,500 mini-figures are used to construct a 3m x 8m artistic show.
HFCS: How High Fructose Corn Syrup Makes you Gain Weight --

"The message from this study is powerful because body fat synthesis was measured immediately after the sweet drinks were consumed," Dr. Parks said. "The carbohydrates came into the body as sugars, the liver took the molecules apart like tinker toys, and put them back together to build fats. All this happened within four hours after the fructose drink. As a result, when the next meal was eaten, the lunch fat was more likely to be stored than burned."
Testosterone: The Evils of Fructose --

Unlike glucose, fructose can only be metabolized in the liver, whereas glucose can be passed to other body tissues, like your muscles.
By any means necessary: Third World Workouts --

In my world, the equipment is always there. You just have to teach yourself to recognize it. If you see something you can lift, push, pull, or throw, you can build a workout around it.
Foundations: 10 Skills You Need to Succeed at Almost Anything --

Success, however it's defined, takes action, and taking good and appropriate action takes skills. Some of these skills (not enough, though) are taught in school (not well enough, either), others are taught on the job, and still others we learn from general life experience.

Public Speaking, Writing, Self-Management, Networking, Critical Thinking, Decision-Making, Math, Research, Relaxation, Basic Accounting.
Fungi: Deep in the radioactive bowels of the smashed Chernobyl reactor, a strange new lifeform is blooming --

The exclusion zone is teeming with wildlife of all shapes and sizes, flourishing unhindered by human interference and seemingly unfazed by the ever-present radiation. Most remarkable, however, is not the life buzzing around the site, but what's blooming inside the perilous depths of the reactor.

Let go.

WOWOW: Cognition Nutrition

2008-07-27T11:57:00.017+02:00

Food for thought, very elaborate, circular visualizations, cable ties and ghost towns, Knol and as always, ... things to do before you die.

Cognition Nutrition --

Children have a lot to contend with these days, not least a tendency for their pushy parents to force-feed them omega-3 oils at every opportunity. These are supposed to make children brainier, so they are being added to everything from bread, milk and pasta to baby formula and vitamin tablets. But omega-3 is just the tip of the nutritional iceberg; many nutrients have proven cognitive effects, and do so throughout a person's life, not merely when he is a child.
Circos: Visualizing the genome, among other things --

Circos uses a circular composition of ideograms to mitigate the fact that some data, like combinations of intra- and inter-chromosomal relationships (alignments, duplications, assembly paired-ends, etc) are very difficult to organize when the underlying ideograms (or contigs) are arranged as lines. In many cases, it is impossible to keep the relationship lines from crossing other structures and this deteriorates the effectiveness of the graphic.
Art Students Build Massive Environment Using Only Cable Ties --

Students at the Academy of Arts in Munich spent over 16,000 hours weaving together an impressive environmental installation made entirely out of cable ties. The space was made using 1.3 million ties and has the look of a highly advanced plastic spider web.
Knol is open to everyone --

Knols are authoritative articles about specific topics, written by people who know about those subjects. Today, we're making Knol available to everyone.
10 Most Amazing Ghost Towns --

The Kowloon Walled City was located just outside Hong Kong, China during British rule. A former watchpost to protect the area against pirates, it was occupied by Japan during World War II and subsequently taken over by squatters after Japan's surrender. Neither Britain nor China wanted responsibility for it, so it became its own lawless city.

Its population flourished for decades, with residents building labyrinthine corridors above the street level, which was clogged with trash. The buildings grew so tall that sunlight couldn't reach the bottom levels and the entire city had to be illuminated with fluorescent lights.
Things to Do Before You Die ... Yes, I know, but you too know what and why --

At least once in his life, a man should...

There is no checklist. Nothing on this list is that automatic. Every element here is a matter of the choices you make, the chances you take, the courage you are willing to show. You can trick yourself into thinking bungee jumping somehow satisfies those criteria, but willfully falling off a crane in a mall parking lot is more or less a rite of passage by now, isn't it? Maybe you call that a big moment. The trick is choosing to experience them all that way.

Once you participate in life, it really works. I'll see ya.

WOWOW: Dangerously Cosmopolitan

2008-07-20T01:56:00.002+02:00

Writing better, whining and learning, and reinventing those corporations.

Kurt Vonnegut on Writing Better --
1. Find a subject you care about
2. Do not ramble, though
3. Keep it simple
4. Have guts to cut
5. Sound like yourself
6. Say what you mean
7. Pity the readers
Should small businesses whine? --

Thank you for your inquiry. To answer your question we are NOT an big company like Amazon we are actually a small company, That is why it does take us a little longer than others.
Anti-Hero of the Day: The Constantly Whining Business Man --

In the end, the always whining business man is probably ignorant and incompetent. It's a matter of honor to stop complaining, otherwise quitting is an option to consider -- for vendors, employees, and ultimately, for the poor man himself.
Our Googley advice to students: Major in learning --
Management guru Peter Drucker noted that companies attracting the best knowledge workers will "secure the single biggest factor for competitive advantage." We and other forward-looking companies put a lot of effort into hiring such people. What are we looking for?
- ... analytical reasoning.
- ... communication skills.
- ... a willingness to experiment.
- ... team players.
- ... passion and leadership.
Learning? Try Polyhedral Maps --

Intuitively, distortion in polyhedral maps is greater near vertices and edges, where the polyhedron is farther from the inscribed sphere; also, increasing the number of faces is likely to reduce distortion (after all, a sphere is equivalent to a polyhedron with infinitely many faces).
Corporate re-invention --

How do large tech companies like Dell have to re-invent themselves in order to make the grade? To keep their ever-growing army of customers and shareholders relatively content?

Cosmopolitan cosmopolites. Dangerous freedom. Play it where it lies is just that.

WOWOW: Kinetic Trashbags & Names

2008-07-17T07:25:00.000+02:00

Kinetic, trashbags, and names that is. Enjoy and galvanize.

The BMW Museum's kinetic sculpture takes your brain to another dimension --

A kinetic sculpture comprising 714 metallic balls suspended in air will soothe your weary mind. It's one of those things that's better seen than described, but if you can imagine a wave of undulating orbs that appear to weightlessly float, you'll start to get the idea.
Shapeshifters and the Art of Seamless Tailoring --

Instead of steel, aluminum or even carbon fiber, the GINA Light Visionary Model has a body of seamless fabric stretched over a movable metal frame that allows the driver to change its shape at will.
Inflatable Street Sculptures --

Joshua Allen Harris has created some fantastic New York street art in the form animals made out of shopping bags positioned on subway street grates that cause them to periodically inflate and animate.
GoogleUnique Names --

Recently I've noticed two new strategies in naming children. One I call the global brand naming strategy. The object is to devise names that work in as many languages and regions of the world as possible. The other recent strategy is to find GoogleUnique names.

There you have it. Dangerously cosmopolitan.

WOWOW: Profit, Independence, & the Kill Switch

2008-07-04T13:41:00.012+02:00

Independence day, profit margins, security -- this is important, don't skip it, pictures from the sky, 3D art, and cultural immersion in Europe. In random order.

The Margin Manifesto: 11 Tenets for Reaching (or Doubling) Profitability in 3 Months --

Remember, more customers isn't the goal; more profit is.

Perfect products delivered past deadline kill companies faster than decent products delivered on-time. Test someone's ability to deliver on a specific and tight deadline before hiring them based on a dazzling portfolio.
I've Seen the Future, and It Has a Kill Switch
Digital Manners Policies
Designing devices to be remotely overridden is a bad idea
10 of the World's Most Amazing 3D Street Artists: From Sidewalk Sketches to Awesome Wall Murals --

3D graffiti, whether it's in chalk or paint, on walls or the street, represents a new way of combining the mastery of Renaissance art techniques with the gritty, ephemeral qualities of amazing street art.
Pictures From the Skys!
10 Things To Do In Europe That Will Make You Smarter --

Combining academia with cultural immersion: surely this is the ultimate education? We strained our brains and came up with a list that balances lessons and leisure to turn you into a European scholar du jour.

Happy Independence Day -- independent from anything, that is.

WOWOW: Believing in the Improbable

2008-06-27T16:02:00.011+02:00

Bugs and books, naming names, and the improbable improbable from Kevin Kelly and Brian Eno.

Scientists find bugs that eat waste and excrete petrol --

Silicon Valley is experimenting with bacteria that have been genetically altered to provide 'renewable petroleum'.
Books that changed my life --

I don't mean merely great books, or memorable ones, or favorite ones. I mean books that altered your behavior, changed your mind, redirected the course of your life. Books as levers.
Unthinkable futures --
Improbability is still a strong bias to overcome. Much that is happening today would have been dismissed as unbelievably bad science fiction only 15 years ago. The US with secret prisons torturing Muslims? Street sweepers in India with their own cell phones? Obesity a contagious disease? A trusted encyclopedia written by anyone? Yeah, right, give me a break.

[...]

This list of unthinkable futures -- probabilities we tend to dismiss without thinking -- was published 15 years ago in the Summer, 1993 issue of Whole Earth Review. Our intent was less to correctly predict the future (thus the silliness) and more to predict how unpredictable the actual future would be.

Believing in the improbable is quickly becoming a survival skill.
- A new profession -- cosmetic psychiatry -- is born. People visit "plastic psychiatrists" to get interesting neuroses and obsessions added into their makeup.
- A new kind of holiday becomes popular: you are dropped by helicopter in an unknown place, with two weeks' supply of food and water. You are assured that you will not see anyone else in this time. There is a panic button just in case.
- Seed companies start selling packets of unpredictable mutants produced by random genetic engineering programmes: "JUST PLANT 'EM AND SEE WHAT COMES UP!" Suburbia is covered with exotic new blooms and giant cucumbers.
- The first Bio-Olympics, where athletes can have anything added to or subtracted from their bodies, take place in 2004.
- A microbe engineered to eat oil slicks evolves a taste for rubber. [Ed.--See above.]
- Traveling as a process enjoys a revival. People abandon the idea of "getting from A to B" and begin to develop (or re-discover) a culture of traveling: semi-nomadism. Lots of people acquire super new faxed-and-modemed versions of the mobile home. It becomes distinctly "lower-class" to live in a fixed location.
A two-part rule for naming your Startup --

Our minds are built to make connections, mostly at a subconscious level. When a metaphor is detected, it triggers a process in our brains that associates the metaphor with the next object or reference. This naming system forces the mind to take the cognitive step of associating the metaphor to the product it represents, thus forming a positive association to the brand. And once your brain has woven the connection, it sticks, so there’s a great chance your company name won’t be forgotten.

Where nothing is improbable, nothing is impossible either.

WOWOW: Education × Curiosity

2008-06-16T09:24:00.000+02:00

Education × curiosity. Continuous education × insatiable curiosity. Learning is important, it is hard and you need it to maintain excellence. In this spirit, travel, language, and quantum physics, again.

7 Websites You MUST Check Before You Go On A Vacation --

Since there are different needs for everyone planning to go on a vacation, there are huge number of websites on the internet offering different solutions to those needs.
I wanna go there --

... where independent travellers can share up-to-date information and recommendations with other independent travellers – organised in a practical way to help us planning our trips and discovering new destinations.
100 Helpful Web Tools for Every Kind of Learner --

Many people understand material much better when it is presented in one format, for example a lab experiment, than when it is presented in another, like an audio presentation. Determining how you best learn and using materials that cater to this style can be a great way to make school and the entire process of acquiring new information easier and much more intuitive.
Best Online Language Tools for Word Nerds --

Beside the standard-issue dictionary and spellchecker offered by most word processors and operating systems, there are several web-based language tools at your disposal that can get you just the information you need.
Visuwords --

Look up words to find their meanings and associations with other words and concepts. Produce diagrams reminiscent of a neural net. Learn how words associate.
Quantum Physics Revealed As Non-Mysterious --

Quantum physics shows that reality doesn't exist apart from our observation of it, or Science has disproved the idea of an objective reality, or even just Quantum physics is one of the great mysteries of modern science; no one understands how it works.

There was a time, roughly the first half-century after quantum physics was invented, when this was more or less true. Certainly, when quantum physics was just being discovered, scientists were very confused indeed! But time passed, and science moved on. If you're confused about a phenomenon, that's a fact about your own state of mind, not a fact about the phenomenon itself -- there are mysterious questions, but not mysterious answers. Science eventually figured out what was going on, and why things looked so strange at first.

There. More education to come. Much more. Be well, know where you are, know where you want to go, and enjoy everything in between. Everything.

WOWOW: Optical Illusions, Math and the Singularity

2008-06-08T14:43:00.000+02:00

The power of optical illusions, magnetic fields, the singularity, maths, and food portion sizes.

Key to all optical illusions discovered --

Humans can see into the future, says a cognitive scientist. It's nothing like the alleged predictive powers of Nostradamus, but we do get a glimpse of events one-tenth of a second before they occur. And the mechanism behind that can also explain why we are tricked by optical illusions.
NASA scientists make magnetic fields visible, beautiful --

Magnetic fields are invisible, at least usually. But Scientists from NASA's Space Sciences Laboratory have made them visible as "animated photographs," using sound-controlled CGI and 3D compositing. It makes the fields, as explained by the scientists, dance in an absolutely gorgeous movie called Magnetic Movie.
The singularity
Math for the layman
300 calorie food picture gallery

Take a look at the above, have a nice week and play it where it lies.

WOWOW: Fibonacci, Plants and Rules

2008-06-02T15:42:00.001+02:00

Some pure gold this week: the Fibonacci sequence; if you never heard about it, study it now, this is required knowledge. Herbs help, also, that quote, enjoy.

The Fibonacci Sequence in Nature --

In mathematics, the limit of Fibonacci series is called as Golden Ratio. This ratio is approximately equal to 1,618. In nature, one can come across this ratio in many areas of art and science.
20 Common Cooking Ingredients that Act Like Medicines --

The use of herbal treatments for everything from sore throats to cancer has become more and more common with every passing year. We all know about the herbal supplements like St. John's Wort that can help you with chronic health problems, but did you know that many common edible herbs, spices and vegetables can provide impressive health benefits?

While you probably already use these ingredients in your home, you may not realize that they can do much more than just making your meals tasty and interesting. Here are some common foods that do double duty as effective herbal treatments.
How to Break All the Rules --

Tell me, Rabo- said Slazinger, if I put on that same paint with the same roller, would the picture still be a Karabekian?

Absolutely, I said, provided you have in reserve what Karabekian has in reserve.
Like what? he said.

Like this, I said. There was dust in a pothole in the floor, and I picked up some of it on the balls of both my thumbs. Working both thumbs simultaneously, I sketched a caricature of Slazinger's face on the canvas in thirty seconds.
Jesus! he said. I had no idea you could draw like that!

You're looking at a man who has options, I said.
Compulsories vs. Freestyle
How to Legally Apply The Rules of Con: Guy Ritchie's Revolver
Two Ways of Owning a Law

Have options. Always.

WOWOW: The Comfort Paradox

2008-05-26T11:33:00.000+02:00

Your too comfortable discomfort, your (Google) health, your habits and your finances.

Get uncomfortable, finally --

You may be unhappy. You might be miserable. But are you unhappy enough, miserable enough to get you moving, finally?
Are you a comfort junkie?

Yep, being addicted to comfort can be somewhat problematic, if not catastrophic, for the wanna-be, modern-day success story. The truth is, if you’re not experiencing and dealing with pain, discomfort and fear on at least a semi-regular basis, you’re probably not learning, growing, changing, adapting and exploring your potential as you should be.
Google Health: A quick hands-on look --

Google has also created specific in-depth pages for hundreds of health topics. When you enter a condition into your profile, there is a reference link to one of these pages where you can do more research. These are really helpful. They give a summary of the symptoms, treatment, causes, and prevention of different conditions; illustrations where appropriate, as well as links to related news, Google Groups, and search trends.
Can you become a creature of new habits?

HABITS are a funny thing. We reach for them mindlessly, setting our brains on auto-pilot and relaxing into the unconscious comfort of familiar routine. “Not choice, but habit rules the unreflecting herd,” William Wordsworth said in the 19th century. In the ever-changing 21st century, even the word “habit” carries a negative connotation.
Five basics for building a solid financial future --

The stark truth about managing our money these days is that we are mostly on our own.

Once you solve the comfort paradox, everything changes. Have an uncomfortable enough week.

Get Uncomfortable, Finally

2008-05-22T12:21:00.019+02:00

The situation: Complacency. Complacency on even the lowest level: A feeling of quiet pleasure or security, often while unaware of some potential danger, defect, or the like; self-satisfaction or smug satisfaction with an existing situation, condition, etc.

Homeostasis. The human body and the human mind resist change as hard as they can.

Unhappy Enough

You may be unhappy. You might be miserable. But are you unhappy enough, miserable enough to get you moving, finally?

As long as it isn't that bad, there is no real reason for a change. After all, the change is endangering the status quo.

The resolution: Get uncomfortable with the status quo. Escalate the status quo to the point where it gets really uncomfortable and you are ultimately required to get up and finally move.

Your Mind is Playing Tricks on You

Please note that you are already unhappy with your situation. Do you really think that an eventual change will make things worse? Could it be remotely possible that your mind is playing tricks on you, tricks to prevent change? Any change? Even the change to something better?

Something better. That's what is almost guaranteed. What do you think is going to happen after a long stretch of discomfort? The mere change, change itself, will make you feel better, once you overcome the inertia that your mind builds up to save itself.

Make it Worse

How? Do something stupid. Something stupid that will turn out to be ultimately intelligent. Break that situation by doing something against your values that will literally make you want to run away. Of course, stay somewhat sensible but -- you have to break that situation by going just far enough for yourself. You don't want to destruct other people's life and lives when all you need to do is to break your own mindset. The usual disclaimer applies here.

Drive that car into the ground, quit that job, and leave that relationship. Do you really think that anything will be worse that it is now? Make it worse now and expect nothing but the best in return.

Again, the plan is not to blow up the situation in a negative way. I do not suggest to provoke getting fired for bad performance; instead, get fired for excellent work; get too big for your current situation.

The decision is made. Right? That's the part where thinking can pause and step back for doing. Think up the plan to quit, to change the situation and then do without further thinking. Let go. Avoid rationalizations like the plague.

Avoid Rationalizations

I can't stress this enough: Fight rationalizations. Dismiss them once the decision is made. The beauty is that you don't know yet what is to come. The trick is to move on anyway. How? It doesn't matter. One thing is for sure, though: It will be better, especially since you don't know what it is. Don't you love surprises? I know that you don't, by the way, but you will love this one.

Enjoy and embrace your discomfort and move now, finally.

Set a Deadline

Set up a deadline, a really outrageously tight, deadline. One that is so tight, it isn't possible to linearly achieve. Set a goal of quitting in 4 weeks, whatever it is. That said, what about tomorrow? Today?

The Process

To sum it up, the steps are roughly as follows --

You are comfortable and complacent.
You set a ridicoulously tight deadline to end complacency.
You get really uncomfortable with the little you have.
You realize that it will be better.
You fight rationalizations.
Your mind is playing dirty tricks on you.
You have your mind in check and your actions are pursuing the deadline.
Quantum leaps happen.

Are you uncomfortable enough?

WOWOW: Jazz and Entrepreneurship

2008-05-18T19:58:00.001+02:00

The right mix between laid-back and fighter-pilot focused; Jazz and the art of continually starting up.

100 essential Jazz albums --

These hundred titles are meant to provide a broad sampling of jazz classics and wonders across the music's century-long history. Early New Orleans jazz, swing, bebop, cool jazz, modal jazz, hard bop, free jazz, third stream, and fusion are all represented, though not equally.
100 ways to be a better entrepreneur --

Need help reenergizing your business? Out of creative ideas for reaching your business goals? We've compiled a list of the top 100 tips to improve your business. Consider it your checklist for maintaining a successful business.
How to start a startup --

You need three things to create a successful startup: to start with good people, to make something customers actually want, and to spend as little money as possible. Most startups that fail do it because they fail at one of these. A startup that does all three will probably succeed.
Brand Tags --

The basic idea of this site is that a brand exists entirely in people's heads. Therefore, whatever it is they say a brand is, is what it is.
Are You in Personal Branding Prison? --

Too much personal branding can be damaging to a professional. If you brand yourself too strongly, you can’t take a break, because there’s no one else to fill your shoes. Without you, your business has no value.

That said, mix right and mix wise, and have a successful week.

WOWOW: Innovation and Skills

2008-05-12T17:29:00.005+02:00

Changing the world with Larry Page, innovation with Brad Bird, intelligence analysis with the CIA, and the 75 skills for every man to master, all without any limits.

Larry Page on how to change the world --

Breakthrough ideas are around the corner, says the Google co-founder. But most of us are failing to take a chance on them.
Pixar's Brad Bird on fostering innovation --

This week The McKinsey Quarterly asks: what does stimulating the creativity of animators have in common with developing new product ideas or technology breakthroughs? Apparently, a lot.
Never have a limit on your income --

If you sell pens for a living and someone orders a million pens, no problem! You just place an order with your manufacturer for a million pens, get them to the customer, and celebrate.
Psychology of Intelligence Analysis --

A classic in my library, examining the influence of bias on accurate analysis, among other things. Must read.
The 75 Skills Every Man Should Master --

A man can be expert in nothing, but he must be practiced in many things. Skills. You don't have to master them all at once. You simply have to collect and develop a certain number of skills as the years tick by. People count on you to come through. That's why you need these, to start.

Have a successful week and make sure to measure your progress.

WOWOW: A Higher IQ and Less Fat

2008-05-04T12:03:00.006+02:00

Brain exercises and fat loss, nothing more.

Simple brain exercise can boost IQ --

The exercise involves tracking small squares on a screen that pop into a new location every three seconds. Volunteers have to press a button when the current location is a duplicate of two views earlier.

At the same time, consonants are played through headphones and a button is pressed if the letter is the same as that heard two "plays" earlier.

If participants perform well, the interval to be tracked (n) increases to three or more stages earlier.
Fat burning 101 --

How do we actually lose fat? What do we mean by fat "burning"? Here's a very simple, (dumbed down) explanation of what actually goes on to create a fat loss effect.

High levels of fat mobilization + High levels of fat oxidation = Accelerated fat loss.
The Top 5 Reasons to Get Even Leaner --

A leaner organism is a more effective organism. Come with minimal luggage. Don't bring more than you really need. Lean determines the ratio between work and rest, between production and administration, between muscle and fat. The more muscle that is at work against less and less superfluous weight -- as opposed to specific workload -- the more effective is the whole system. Think bureaucracy. Think governments.

So, exercise that mind and that body and let the summer come. Now.

WOWOW: Survive a Plane Crash while Refining Your Learning Skills

2008-04-26T13:06:00.001+02:00

Now that pseudo-productivity is declared dead, let's go back to the drawing board. Start with art, disaster prevention and recoevery, some interesting research projects, and the latest news on how your memory works.

The impossible art of Li Wei --

Li Wei states that these images are not computer montages and works with the help of props such as mirror, metal wires, scaffolding and acrobatics.
How to survive an airplane crash --

According to the statistics, two-thirds of the people involved in air crashes survive. Approximately one-third of the third who do die could have survived if they had known what to do and almost all of these died from smoke or fire. If it seems certain the plane is going to crash, here's what to do while the plane is going down.
25 leading-edge IT research projects --

While universities don't tend to shout as loudly about their latest tech innovations as do Google, Cisco and other big vendors, their results are no less impressive in what they could mean for faster, more secure and more useful networking. Here's a roundup, in no particular order, of some of the most amazing and colorful projects in the works.
The world in 2058 --

The consensus view is that we'll muddle through many of the issues that vex us today -- including climate change and terror threats. And we'll hit upon so many medical and technological wonders that today's 50-year-olds will have a fair chance of finding out firsthand how the world will look in 2058.
Want to remember everything you'll ever learn? Surrender to this algorithm --

... there is an ideal moment to practice what you've learned. Practice too soon and you waste your time. Practice too late and you've forgotten the material and have to relearn it. The right time to practice is just at the moment you're about to forget. Unfortunately, this moment is different for every person and each bit of information. Imagine a pile of thousands of flash cards. Somewhere in this pile are the ones you should be practicing right now. Which are they?

Make this week yours. Even art is not impossible.

WOWOW: Productivity Killed by its Own Worshippers

2008-04-21T19:00:00.004+02:00

The perversion of productivity, intuition, and 27 thoughts on blogging for the artist, don't miss this one.

None of this is brain-surgery. In fact, nothing is brain-surgery except -- brain-surgery.

Intuition. The problem with infinitely optimized and worshipped productivity is that it's all too easy to cover up coincidences, synchronicity, and serendipity out of fear of becoming less than serious.

In the same spirit of bringing things back in perspective, consider these 27 thoughts on blogging for the artist --

If you're the real thing, you'll be around in 30 years, still working. Most of these services and sites you now admire will not.

You do not need a signed letter from The American Academy of Arts and Letters to begin.

Blogging is easy. Art is not.

Exactly. Each and every one of them. Read them all.

Now, go out and please don't let things happen to you but instead, make sure that you happen to things.

WOW

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