Omakase

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Space photography


Space is cool and photography is fun. Most other combinations of two things that you like in life are brutally bad (chocolate + steak, anyone?), but space photography is better than each separately.


Check out the fantastic imagery recorded on the "Top 10 Spacewalks" page, and the "Gateway to Astronaut Photography" page.

One great time waster found on the Astronaut Photography page is the "Weekly Top 10," off of the 'Find Photos' menu, where I found this view of the Pacific, and a view of London at night (top).

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Round-up of self help articles

6 Workout Hacks, Plus 8 Tips for Beginners

How to give yourself the best chance of a good life (Part 1)

Pearl of wisdom: "Most people get the essentials of life in the wrong order. They expect to feel good (or happy, or motivated) first; then, and only then, begin to tackle what they need to do."

50 Ways To Increase Your Productivity

60+ Improvements to Make To Your Life

39 Ways to Live, and Not Merely Exist

Pearls of wisdom:
"The proper function of man is to live - not to exist." -- Jack London
#33. Stop watching the news. It's depressing and useless.

Are You an American Zombie?

Have you become a zombie in your day-to-day life? If you’re not sure, ask yourself these questions:

1. Does your job fulfill you?
2. Do you understand and approve of the reasons you live your life the way you do?
3. Do you find yourself on a quest for more material things even after achieving a comfortable lifestyle?

Read the linked article for more.

Great advice from Charlie Munger

Warren Buffet's partner Charlie Munger drops just as much wisdom as Buffet. Joe Koster has accumulated many of Munger's pearls on his Value Investing blog (link above), but here's some of the best bits:

"You are not going to get very far in life based on what you already know. You’re going to advance in life by what you learn after you leave here."

"I have what I call an iron prescription that helps me keep sane when I naturally drift toward preferring one ideology over another and that is: I say that I’m not entitled to have an opinion on this subject unless I can state the arguments against my position better than the people who support it. I think only when I’ve reached that state am I qualified to speak."

The article is also worthwhile for the Max Planck chauffeur story, which I won't reproduce here, but is in the linked article.

With my new friends on the Great Wall of China

With my new friends on the Great Wall of China
Click to go to my online photography

World sun clock

Uncommon Man's Creed

"I do not choose to be a common man. It is my right to be uncommon -- if I can. I seek opportunity -- not security. I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled and dulled by having the state look after me. I wish to take the calculated risk; to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed. I refuse to barter incentive for a dole, I prefer the challenges of life to the guaranteed existence; the thrill of fulfillment to the stale calm of utopia. I will not trade freedom for beneficence, nor my dignity for a handout. I will never cower before any master, nor bend to any threat. It is my heritage to stand erect, proud, and unafraid, to think and act for myself, to enjoy the benefit of my creations, and to face the world boldly and say, "this I have done." All this is what it means to be an American." -- Anonymous