Worst album covers ever
Here's one of those lists of dodgy album covers. Some of these look dumb now but were pretty typical of fashions and so on in the 70's and 80's. Some are trying to be funny and plenty fail
I like this one:
Check the rest of them out here
A Letter to My Son, on Starting Out In Life
This letter/article is from a site called Zen Habits.
As a father of 2 young boys I thought it was pretty cool
Dear Son,
You’re only three years old, and at this point in your life you can’t read, much less understand what I’m going to try to tell you in this letter. But I’ve been thinking a lot about the life that you have ahead of you, about my life so far as I reflect on what I’ve learned, and about my role as a dad in trying to prepare you for the trials that you will face in the coming years.
You won’t be able to understand this letter today, but someday, when you’re ready, I hope you will find some wisdom and value in what I share with you.
You are young, and life has yet to take its toll on you, to throw disappointments and heartaches and loneliness and struggles and pain into your path. You have not been worn down yet by long hours of thankless work, by the slings and arrows of everyday life.
For this, be thankful. You are at a wonderful stage of life. You have many wonderful stages of life still to come, but they are not without their costs and perils.
I hope to help you along your path by sharing some of the best of what I’ve learned. As with any advice, take it with a grain of salt. What works for me might not work for you.
Life Can Be Cruel
There will be people in your life who won’t be very nice. They’ll tease you because you’re different, or for no good reason. They might try to bully you or hurt you.
There’s not much you can do about these people except to learn to deal with them, and learn to choose friends who are kind to you, who actually care about you, who make you feel good about yourself. When you find friends like this, hold on to them, treasure them, spend time with them, be kind to them, love them.
There will be times when you are met with disappointment instead of success. Life won’t always turn out the way you want. This is just another thing you’ll have to learn to deal with. But instead of letting these things get you down, push on. Accept disappointment and learn to persevere, to pursue your dreams despite pitfalls. Learn to turn negatives into positives, and you’ll do much better in life.
You will also face heartbreak and abandonment by those you love. I hope you don’t have to face this too much, but it happens. Again, not much you can do but to heal, and to move on with your life. Let these pains become stepping stones to better things in life, and learn to use them to make you stronger.
But Be Open to Life Anyway
Yes, you’ll find cruelty and suffering in your journey through life … but don’t let that close you to new things. Don’t retreat from life, don’t hide or wall yourself off. Be open to new things, new experiences, new people.
You might get your heart broken 10 times, but find the most wonderful woman the 11th time. If you shut yourself off from love, you’ll miss out on that woman, and the happiest times of your life.
You might get teased and bullied and hurt by people you meet … and then after meeting dozens of jerks, find a true friend. If you close yourself off to new people, and don’t open your heart to them, you’ll avoid pain … but also lose out on meeting some incredible people, who will be there during the toughest times of your life and create some of the best times of your life.
You will fail many times but if you allow that to stop you from trying, you will miss out on the amazing feeling of success once you reach new heights with your accomplishments. Failure is a stepping stone to success.
Life Isn’t a Competition
You will meet many people who will try to outdo you, in school, in college, at work. They’ll try to have nicer cars, bigger houses, nicer clothes, cooler gadgets. To them, life is a competition — they have to do better than their peers to be happy.
Here’s a secret: life isn’t a competition. It’s a journey. If you spend that journey always trying to impress others, to outdo others, you’re wasting your journey. Instead, learn to enjoy the journey. Make it a journey of happiness, of constant learning, of continual improvement, of love.
Don’t worry about having a nicer car or house or anything material, or even a better-paying job. None of that matters a whit, and none of it will make you happier. You’ll acquire these things and then only want more. Instead, learn to be satisfied with having enough — and then use the time you would have wasted trying to earn money to buy those things … use that time doing things you love.
Find your passion, and pursue it doggedly. Don’t settle for a job that pays the bills. Life is too short to waste on a job you hate.
Love Should Be Your Rule
If there’s a single word you should live your life by, it should be this: Love. It might sound corny, I know … but trust me, there’s no better rule in life.
Some would live by the rule of success. Their lives will be stressful, unhappy and shallow.
Others would live by the rule of selfishness — putting their needs above those of others. They will live lonely lives, and will also be unhappy.
Still others will live by the rule of righteousness — trying to show the right path, and admonishing anyone who doesn’t live by that path. They are concerned with others, but in a negative way, and in the end will only have their own righteousness to live with, and that’s a horrible companion.
Live your life by the rule of love. Love your spouse, your children, your parents, your friends, with all of your heart. Give to them what they need, and show them not cruelty nor disapproval nor coldness nor disappointment, but only love. Open your soul to them.
Love not only your loved ones, but your neighbours … your coworkers … strangers … your brothers and sisters in humanity. Offer anyone you meet a smile, a kind word, a kind gesture, a helping hand.
Love not only neighbours and strangers … but your enemy. The person who is cruellest to you, who has been unkind to you … love him. He is a tortured soul, and most in need of your love.
And most of all, love yourself. While others may criticize you, learn not to be so hard on yourself, to think that you’re ugly or dumb or unworthy of love … but to think instead that you are a wonderful human being, worthy of happiness and love … and learn to love yourself for who you are.
Finally, know that I love you and always will. You are starting out on a weird, scary, daunting, but ultimately incredibly wonderful journey, and I will be there for you when I can. Godspeed.
Love,
Your Dad
Anti-Piracy Video
Thought this was funny - particularly the use of the policeman's hat
Vine Ripened Tomatoes
I made Tracy & I an omelette sort of thing for breakfast this morning. I have changed my diet a little so am avoiding the toast/cereal trap so some eggs are good first thing.
Anyway - I ate a tomato with the omelette too. They are big red and juicy and quite flavoursome.
Here's the kicker - How long do they last!
Tracy bought 4 vine ripened tomatoes weeks ago - at least 3 weeks. They have just been in the fridge since and they are still great. Your typical supermarket gas ripened rubbish taste like water and don't last a week before going south.
No more crap tomatoes for me - vine ripened or nothing. They are worth the extra $$
Get happy!
Some of this is a bit 'New Age' but I thought some of this advice was interesting. I find sometimes when I am zoned out and vague I am actually breathing very shallow. A few deep breaths and I perk up a bit. I would also like to be more alert to my posture as this can save you from the slumped shoulders and aches and pains of sitting too long.
What do we need to become more alert, calm and happy? The practice of happiness is a continual one, so get smiling with these ten top steps.
#1 Get your mind in gear to go
Enjoy a relaxing stretch in bed, filling your lungs with fresh air, breathing out any heaviness from the
night. Read an excerpt from something that uplifts your spirit and reminds you of the purpose of your own existence. This will help set your intention for the day before the busyness begins. Your intention might be to practice kindness, compassion or respect for all people – including yourself.# 2 Come to your senses
Wherever you are, be there! Your body is always in the present yet your mind is forever projecting into the future or rehashing the past. Practice awareness of the present moment by coming to your senses. Be aware of your posture, the shape of your body and the touch of your clothing; notice its texture, the temperature that your clothing helps create. Feel the air moving against the skin of your hands and face. Listen to all of the sounds around you. Let your listening run right out until you hear the clouds passing. Then focus on your breath as it flows in and out of your body. Let any thoughts or feelings come to pass without holding onto any of them.
# 3 Stress detector
Practice increasing your awareness of what happens in your body when you encounter stressful situations. Does your pulse increase, do you feel tight in your chest or your throat. Do you sweat or get butterflies in your stomach? Does your jaw tighten or does your head feel like it’s going to burst? It is better not to speak or act from a state of reaction.# 4 Be present to the breath
Awareness of the breath allows you to more easily respond rather than react to life’s challenges. We can't always control what happens to us in life but we can control how we respond to the things that happen. We may not be able to avoid becoming emotionally upset, but we can control the intensity and duration of that upset and how we express it.
# 5 Don’t take your life so personally
Learn to not take yourself quite so seriously. If you can laugh at yourself you will be endlessly amused. Your body secretes endorphins when you laugh. These natural hormones give you a natural high and empower your immune system. Where possible, escalate a smile into a chuckle, a chuckle into a laugh and a laugh into a belly-shaking one. A light-hearted approach to life allows us to be spontaneous and available to people in the present moment.
# 6 Know yourself
Become aware of your attitudes, beliefs and reactions. Be willing to be a work in progress. This gives you the chance to change your judgments of yourself and others. Know what replenishes you and make sure that those things happen in your life. If music, nature, singing, dancing, reading, gardening or other activities replenish you, then make sure those things are present in your life on a regular basis.
# 7 Lace them up
Exercising for 40 minutes can reduce stress levels for up to three hours. Find regular and enjoyable
exercise which can be realistically incorporated into your life. Walking and swimming are two of the most beneficial forms of exercise and improve your circulation, breathing and the functioning of all your internal organs.# 8 Letting go of the past
The past cannot be undone. Forgiving is not the same as condoning. True forgiveness is an internal act and doesn’t need the involvement of the person or situation in which we felt wounded. The essence of forgiveness is that we liberate ourselves from reacting from feelings of being hurt or wounded.
# 9 Learn relaxation techniques
Familiarity with progressive relaxation techniques helps us to recognise when we are becoming stressed. Having the ability to physically unwind is the first step to letting go of mental tension. Regular use of a good relaxation practice will take the stress out of learning the technique!
# 10 Learn to meditate
Learning to meditate can be the next simple step in relaxing the mind so that it becomes quieter. With a quiet and focused mind our intuition, inspiration and imagination become more readily accessible. Meditation is one of the greatest tools for improving clarity, concentration and memory.
Petrea King is the author of Your Life Matters – The Power of Living Now and directs the Quest for Life Centre, Bundanoon, NSW www.questforlife.com.au
Time Management - Dilbert Style
I love the Dilbert comic strip. It makes me laugh nearly every day.
This is a great way to increase your productivity :)
6 Simple Strategies to Stay Happy
I thought this was pretty interesting. Be satisfied and grateful for what you have will make you appreciate it more. Any other boon that comes along will be a bonus and make you even happier but you won't be sad without it. Cheers MATT
It is a fact that if you want something too badly, it is likely to evade you. And this is truer for happiness than anything else. The reason why happiness seems to evade the millions of people searching for it is because they are looking in the wrong place.Most people look for happiness "outside" themselves and not "inside". Some feel that they would be happy if they could afford a house of their own. Others feel that they just have to own all the latest gizmos to finally find happiness.
There are some who may not seek happiness in material things but they are still not looking in the right place. They feel that they would be happy if they found the right life partner or if their children loved them more. Even in such cases, these people are searching for happiness "outside" themselves.
Have you ever wondered how most infants are extremely happy almost all the time? Physical discomfort can make them cry for a while but such aspects are transient and last for only a few minutes. The reason why infants are almost always in a state of natural happiness is because they are in constant awe of nature and the world around them. Unfortunately, it is the society, parents, friends, teachers and relatives that influence them with regards to what happiness should mean.
It may be difficult to undo all the layers of perception that have formed on the mind over time. However, it is never too late to try and address the issue and train your mind to be happy. There are some tips that can help you in shedding your inhibitions and breaking away from the shackles of predefined definitions of happiness.
- Accept yourself – One of the key reasons why people are unhappy is that they do not really like or love themselves enough. It is essential that you accept yourself as what you are without any caveats and conditions to attain happiness. Don't get too critical about yourself – your looks, your brains, your capabilities or your financial condition. Just learn how to love yourself as you are. You will realize that once you are comfortable with what you are, others will accept you more willingly.
- Happiness is a state of mind – It is important that you understand and appreciate that your happiness lies within. Consider this – no one can make you unhappy if you have decided for sure that you will be happy in every situation. If you have made up your mind to be happy, you can always seek out the positive aspects of a situation and remain happy. Life may throw challenges at you but solutions will come faster and to you if you face them with a smile on your face.
- Prioritise your life – As we grow older, the demands that various people and circumstances they lay on us increase. While on the one hand your job pressures increase, you may also feel the need to spend time with your family and children. At the same time, you may also want to enjoy life personally by doing the things that you have always wanted like going to the gym or taking off on a mountaineering trek.
It is important that you learn how to balance the various responsibilities that you may have. If any one of these tasks becomes paramount, you are likely to ignore the others. For example, if you get extremely preoccupied with your work, you family life are likely to miss you. On the other hand, if you are too consumed with your plans for your various hobbies, your job and family are likely to suffer. You may achieve momentary happiness but neither of these situations can result in happiness in the long run.- Take care of your health – an unhealthy body cannot be the home of a happy mind. It is important that you understand the strong link between physical health and mental happiness. If you are fit and healthy, you are likely to exude positive energy.
- Stay in the company of happy people – Ensure that you seek out people who are happy and cheerful all the time. Being in the company of people who have a habit of cribbing and criticizing is likely to divert your mind towards negative thoughts. Avoid getting into the sulk mode by choosing the company of happy people.
- Be grateful – Saying a small "thank you" for what you have can make a lot of difference. When you make it a habit to be grateful, you seek out the things that you do have. This helps you divert your mind from negative thoughts of what you do not have. This does not mean that you give up trying. On the other hand it encourages you to think of future goals and achievements in a positive manner.
Take time off to enjoy nature, life and the small things that we take for granted on a daily basis. A beautiful sunset can bring you joy, if only you would take a few minutes out of your daily schedule and look at it.
FROM: 6 Simple Strategies to Stay Happy - Dumb Little Man
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Aussie boffins build intelligent bra
....and so my friends said "Don't study science. You'll be a nerd and never meet any chicks". I hereby tender this very late response to this argument with the following 2 statements:
1. 36D 2. vertical movement
Life is cruel sometimes
Australian scientists have created an 'intelligent' bra that monitors the user's activity to determine the most comfortable fit for future underwear.
The bras are being used to look at the nerve damage caused by bad bra fitment and to allow women to exercise in more comfort. They come with sensors woven into the fabric and measure the position of the bra relative to the body, as well as other load factors.
"A consequence of current brassiere design is that the brassiere straps bear much of the load generated by breast momentum during physical activity," say the researchers from the University of Wollongong in the Journal of Biomechanics this week.
"As breast mass increases, breast bounce momentum also increases, placing large loads on the straps and, in turn, excessive pressure on the wearer's shoulders. Apart from strap-related pain, many females, particularly large-breasted women, are restricted from participating in physical activity due to exercise-induced breast pain associated with excessive vertical breast displacement."
The team got two women with a 36D and a 38DD cup size to walk and run on a treadmill. During running vertical movement was measured and ranged from 11 to 68mm.
On analysing the evidence the team found the shoulder straps bear most of the brunt of this movement and narrow straps cut into important nerves on the shoulders, causing tingling fingers and potentially long term nerve damage.
The researchers say that this kind of study would not have been possible using earlier sensor technology, since it would distort the findings.
PCAuthority News: Aussie boffins build intelligent bra
Five Things You Need to Know About Effective Habit Change
This sounds very interesting. I know I have a few bad habits that distract from my work day productivity. Let's see how I go about improving a few things. :)
Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Ian Newby-Clark, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada who studies habit change.
As a psychology professor who has studied habit change for several years, I have some advice about effective habit change. My advice is general. It applies to any habit that you would like to change. My advice is based on my research and that of my colleagues.
1. Work on One Habit at a Time. If you work on changing more than one habit at a time you run a serious risk of overwhelming yourself and changing no habits at all. Consider Jim: Jim has resolved to exercise more and he has resolved to accomplish more at work. What could Jim be thinking? He’s going to fill his already busy schedule with regular exercise. Fine. But, he somehow thinks that he will also get more done at work? I hope he’s also decided to cut down on his sleep …
2. Create a Plan and Write it Down. It is not enough to say to yourself, “I am going to get more done at work.” Think about it this way: What if you asked a randomly selected working-person, “Are you trying to get more done at work?” Almost everybody would say, “Yes, of course.” And the response would be the same if you asked about exercising more often, eating better, or paying more attention to international affairs. It’s in our nature to want to do better. We almost always want to do better. But wanting isn’t enough. You must make a plan. Write it down. Be as specific as possible. Does Jim plan to go into work early or stay late? Will he eat at his desk? Will he exercise good email and phone discipline? Jim needs to create a plan and write it down.
Five Things You Need to Know About Effective Habit Change | Zen Habits
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Jan von holleben - dreams of flying
Some cool photos taken by this photographer - click the pic to go to the website and use the arrows at the bottom of the page to see all the 12 pictures - the last 2 are really good
Jan von holleben - dreams of flying
