Houseboat. Kentucky Lake. Family.
No computer access for over a week. Not at all sad about it.
Hopefully I see many of you in person in a little over a week for Mr. Swenson’s 21st Birthday?
Bon Voyage.
Archive for July, 2008
Recut Trailers
July 23, 2008What is your favorite recut trailer? There are about 1000 of ‘em on youtube these days…
One personal fav:
Oh, and this one…
Depleting the Brain
July 23, 2008This is interesting. A new line of research suggests that each day the brain gets drained quicker than we think.
Like a muscle, overusing our brain on one decision (what to eat for lunch) weakens our ability on other things that happen later (test questions in an afternoon chemistry test). Debating the lunch decision too much may mean missing more questions on the test.
From the article…
Indeed, University of Maryland psychologist Anastasiya Pocheptsova and colleagues found exactly this effect: individuals who had to regulate their attention—which requires executive control—made significantly different choices than people who did not. These different choices follow a very specific pattern: they become reliant on more a more simplistic, and often inferior, thought process, and can thus fall prey to perceptual decoys. For example, in one experiment participants who were asked to ignore interesting subtitles in an otherwise boring film clip were much more likely to choose an option that stood next to a clearly inferior “decoy”—an option that was similar to one of the good choices, but was obviously not quite as good—than participants who watched the same clip but were not asked to ignore anything. Presumably, trying to control one’s attention and to ignore an interesting cue exhausted the limited resource of the executive functions, making it significantly more difficult to ignore the existence of the otherwise irrelevant inferior decoy. Subjects with overtaxed brains made worse decisions.
Morning Music
July 23, 2008Danny Boy – The Muppets
I dare you to listen to this without giggling, even just a little.
What Should I Do With My Life
July 22, 2008From the book of the same name..
A conventional “success” story is one where, with each next, the protagonist has more money, more respect, and more possessions. I’d like to suggest an alternative “success” story–one where, with each next, the protagonist is closer to finding that spot where he’s no longer held back by his heart, and he explodes with talent, and his character blossoms, and the gift he has to offer the world is apparent.
Fluffy, yes. But I’m drawn to this. The book details 50 different real stories about choices people make as they figure out what to do with themselves. As I get older, slowly, I’m becoming more aware of being on a ‘track,’ where one decision naturally leads to another. College. Grad School. Law School. Firm job. Repay loans. Save money. Buy nice things. Buy a condo. Now I’m 35.
There are a hundred other things that matter more to me than anything on that track. But will I have the fortitude to jump the track when the time comes? Will I be able to ignore the typical success story and follow my passions onto the alternative one? I don’t know. I hope so. But I don’t know.
First Cup of Coffee Thought
July 21, 2008I consider myself a pretty optimistic fellow. I like to smile. Always look on the bright side. The power of positive thinking. That’s how I try to operate.
But, I’m learning that what works for me may not work for others. It actually has the potential to harm.
By trying to get others to shake off their worries, fears, or concerns, I run the risk of making them feel guilty for NOT being able to do it. The classic ‘blame the victim’ process.
I still very much believe in optimism and the power that thought has on action. However, when giving advice I need to be careful not to trivialize one’s worries, fears, and concerns to the point that I make it seem like they do not exist at all.
Morning Music
July 20, 2008Falling Slowly – Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova
This song won an Oscar this year…from the movie “Once.” They perfected most of the songs from the movie while playing in dive bars in Chicago.
This is a live version in the city.
