Saturday, June 26, 2010

Great picture sites!

I have two picture sites that will help you waste lots of time. The first is ImgFave, which is a site of pictures that lots and lots of people have uploaded to share with each other. I've picked one at random that makes me feel happy, but there's anything you can think of (and lots of things you probably can't think of) to be found there. 


The second site is a LiveJournal blog, RiotClitShave. It's photos collected by one user, thousands and thousands of them. They're unusual and frequently a bit dark, but most of them are thought-provoking and worth seeing. One funny one that I've saved is this one, which is living proof that you shouldn't piss off the anteater.


Share/Bookmark

The 50th Anniversary of "Psycho"

The original Psycho (and not the crappy 1998 remake) is one of the greatest films ever. It ranks #22 for the best films of all time on IMDB.

There's a fascinating piece of history about the shower scene revealed in this article from Salon. 

Share/Bookmark

Steve Martin's tour demands

Steve Martin's tour demands have been "leaked."  This is not real--in case the first link expires, here's a link to the demands from Steve Martin's website--but it is funny. It my be a parody of a similar set of demands for real from someone else.

Share/Bookmark

Joke du jour

Thanks to Candy Hogan for another delightfully tasteless nugget: 

Q. How many perverts does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A. Just one, but it takes the entire emergency room to get it out!

Share/Bookmark

Friday, June 25, 2010

Quote du jour

"It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do little."
--Sydney Smith, English clergyman, 1771-1845

Share/Bookmark

Lessons in leadership from the Death Star

This morning, several people were tweeting about Lessons in leadership from Design Star at the Leadership With Style site. (For those of you who don't know, Design Star is kind of a cross between Trading Spaces and The Apprentice, but there's no Donald Trump. Teams of interior designers go at it to compete for the best design.)

What prompted this post was that when I read the tweet about "Lessons in leadership from Design Star," I misread it as ""Lessons in leadership from the Death Star." This is arguably a much better show idea, so I wanted to put some ideas down in case there's the potential for a Hollywood contract.
  1. There are no mistakes. Ever. If your employees know that they'd better not screw up about anything makes them that much sharper. "Apology accepted, Captain Needa!"
  2. There is no room for anything but complete and total loyalty. Expressing the slightest doubt about something you've said or done is completely unacceptable. "I find this lack of faith disturbing."
  3. Once you've honed a fine edge of fear on your team, strop it to a high gloss by threatening them with even greater retribution from higher up the chain. "I hope so, for your sake. The Emperor is not as forgiving as I am."
  4. If people haven't completely dropped the ball, it may be worth your effort just to kick butt and take names. They'll get the message and will serve as a further example of the value of meeting your expectations to the other employees. "You may dispense with the pleasantries, Commander. I am here to put you back on schedule."
  5. Package yourself as a personality, not a person. Go for the mystique. "You don't know the power of the dark side!"
  6. Don't delegate. If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. "No. Leave them to me. I will deal with them myself."
  7. Only negotiate from strength: it's your way or the highway. "He will join us or die, my master."
  8. Keep your word only to the extent that it suits you. "I am altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further."
  9. Always be ready to submit to the greater power of superiors you cannot directly buck. "What is thy bidding, my master?"
  10. On the other hand, never miss an opportunity to subvert and overthrow them to advance your own career. "Join me, and together we can rule the galaxy as father and son."
  11. Cultivate powerful minions who will be useful to you as you plot to move up the ladder. "Luke, you do not yet realize your importance. You have only begun to discover your power. Join me, and I will complete your training. With our combined strength, we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy."
  12. Mark your territory. "You should not have come back!"
  13. Gloating when you have the upper hand is acceptable (and very satisfying). "I have you now!"
  14. Remember that, at the end of the day, it's all about you and you alone. "The circle is now complete. When I left you I was but the learner. Now I am the master."

(Thanks to Larry Kunz for management tip #5.)

Share/Bookmark

"30 days hath September, April, June, and the speed offender...."

For some reason, I couldn't remember the standard mnemonic poem for which months are long and which are short until I was nearly 12. Fortunately, I learned an equally effective--dare I say "handy?"--way of figuring out which months were short and which were long: knuckle-tapping.

Start by tapping the knuckle of your index finger. That's for January (a long month), then the tap the valley between the first and second knuckles, which is for February (a short month), then the middle-finger's knuckle for March (long month), and so it goes until you get to the knuckle for the little finger for July (long month). Then, you move back up and start again with the index finger's knuckle for August (long month), and repeat the process, ending up on the knuckle for the ring finger (a second time) for December.

I learned that watching the Mickey Mouse Club. It was one of the little pieces of advice that Jimmy gave right at the end of the show. I thought it was really cool and I still do.

Share/Bookmark

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Blind as a bat

My eyes are dilated and I can't see much. It's a pest. I've got wraparound sunglasses on under the computer glasses so I can see what I can. 

But my new glasses will be ready in a week or so. Hurrah!

Share/Bookmark

Silly question du jour

At Binyon's ordering new glasses: 

Binyon's person: "What's your date of birth?" 

Me: "March 21." 

Binyon's person: (scribble, pause) "March is '3', right?"

Share/Bookmark

Curing a headache, the really old-fashioned way

Decades ago, my karate instructor, Mike Bragg, shared with us a shiatsu (acupressure) technique for curing a headache. It works very well and I realized that it isn't written up anywhere here, so I'll add it to the blog, then I have to run off and get my pupils dilated at the ophthalmologist.  

The overall procedure is that you're going to find a particular pressure point on your hand and then press it firmly. The hand you press generally depends on where the headache is. I've found that this usually works best with the opposite hand if the headache is more on side than the other, but doing this technique to both hands in alternation is a good idea for making sure you get all of it. 

To find the pressure point, lay your hand flat on the desk, then stick your thumb out to the side and lift it up while keeping your palm flat. You'll see a slight pocket in front of the point where the tendons from the thumb and the index approach each other.  That's called the "snuffbox." This is the pressure point you're going to work on.  

Hold the hand you're going to massage up. With your other hand, make an "OK" gesture with your thumb and middle finger. Put the tip of the thumb of your other hand in the snuffbox and the tip of the middle finger on the palm side opposite the thumb.  You're pinching the one hand with the other right at the snuffbox. Squeeze gently and move the thumb and middle finger around for a moment until you find the point of maximum sensitivity. (You'll know it, trust me.) That's where you're going to squeeze.  

Now that you've found the pressure point, pinch the pressure point with your thumb and middle finger. (This is a pinch, not a squeeze: you want to use just the fingertips. It should hurt some.) Hard.  What you're going to feel at first is a slight relaxation of your hand and arm. Then, in about 10-15 seconds, you'll feel a funny "rushing," almost bubbly feeling where the headache is. The rushing water sensation will grow for another 15 seconds or so--keep pinching!--and then you'll start to feel like the headache pain is breaking up and washing away as the rushing diminishes. You may also feel like a little cloud has been lifted from your eyes and you're seeing things slightly clearer. I always think it's like the world is a little less "gray," but you'll see what I mean. When the headache feels like it's pretty much "washed away," usually in a minute or less, stop squeezing. 

Do this procedure to the other hand and most if not all of the headache is likely to be gone. It may rebound some, particularly if it's a muscle tension headache, but it's going to be much less severe. 

The spot you're pinching may move around a bit as you do this and you'll want to move your thumb and middle finger slightly to chase it if need be. You'll know where it is: it's going to be the tenderest spot to pinch.


Share/Bookmark

The original drawings for Pac-Man!

In what may be the start of a trend, I'm posting a link to yet another blog's post. This one shows the original drawings for Pac-Man by Toru Iwatani.


Share/Bookmark

Creationists suffer another legal defeat

This is good news, certainly, but a bit surprising given that it's Texas smacking 'em around.
Some good news from Texas! Yeehaw!

The Institute for Creation Research — one of the biggest nonsense-peddlers in the 6000 year history of the world — was handed a nice defeat this week. That link to the National Center for Science Education (the good guys) has all the info you need, but to summarize: the ICR moved from California to Texas. In the previous state, for reasons beyond understanding, they were able to grant Master’s degrees in their graduate school. But Texas didn’t recognize their accreditation, so they filed to get it approved.

Share/Bookmark

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Things I learned from Chuck Jones

I want to draw your attention to a post from the Desonesto Doctrine about things the author learned from Chuck Jones.  I share these lessons, particularly #11, 20, 22, and 24, but most of all, lesson #25: “That’s all folks,” is a much nicer way to say “The End.”

Share/Bookmark

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Unhappy Hipsters

I stumbled across Unhappy Hipsters today, a site that combines pictures of ultra-modern houses (some of which look really good and some of which look absolutely sterile) with captions, such as these:

In 90 degree heat the climbing wall quickly turned to flypaper.

 Smug doesn't even begin to cover it. 

I ended up going through all of these. They're really funny. 

Share/Bookmark

Quote du jour

"I have no taste for either poverty or honest labor, so writing is the only recourse left for me." --Hunter S. Thompson

Share/Bookmark