Live forever or die trying
Via
The Real Gandhi
I cannot honestly say I had any reasonable expectation that the film would show
scenes of Gandhi's pretty teenage girl followers fighting “hysterically” (the
word was used) for the honor of sleeping naked with the Mahatma and cuddling the
nude septuagenarian in their arms. (Gandhi was “testing” his vow of chastity in
order to gain moral strength for his mighty struggle with Jinnah.)
Any of you ladies wanna test my chastity? I can take ya.
Via Marginal Revolution
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/29/opinion/29twilson.html?ex=1293512400&en=567fc7e302d74614&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss
Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
By TIMOTHY D. WILSON
Published: December 29, 2005
Charlottesville, Va.
Jon Krause
IT'S navel gazing time again, that stretch of the year when many of us turn our attention inward and think about how we can improve the way we live our lives. But as we embark on this annual ritual of introspection, we would do well to ask ourselves a simple question: Does it really do any good?
The poet Theodore Roethke had some insight into the matter: “Self-contemplation is a curse / That makes an old confusion worse.” As a psychologist who conducts research on self-knowledge and happiness, I think Roethke had a point, one that's supported by a growing body of controlled psychological studies.
Not sure how you feel about a special person in your life? Analyzing the pluses and minuses of the relationship might not be the answer.
In a study I conducted with Dolores Kraft, a clinical psychologist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and Dana Dunn, a social psychologist at Moravian College in Pennsylvania, people in one group were asked to list the reasons their relationship with a romantic partner was going the way it was, and then rate how satisfied they were with the relationship. People in another group were asked to rate their satisfaction without any analysis; they just gave their gut reactions.
It might seem that the people who thought about the specifics would be best at figuring out how they really felt, and that their satisfaction ratings would thus do the best job of predicting the outcome of their relationships.
In fact, we found the reverse. It was the people in the “gut feeling” group whose ratings predicted whether they were still dating their partner several months later. As for the navel gazers, their satisfaction ratings did not predict the outcome of their relationships at all. Our conclusion? Too much analysis can confuse people about how they really feel. There are severe limits to what we can discover through self-reflection, and trying to explain the unexplainable does not lead to a sudden parting of the seas with our hidden thoughts and feelings revealed like flopping fish.
Self-reflection is especially problematic when we are feeling down. Research by Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, a clinical psychologist at Yale University, shows that when people are depressed, ruminating on their problems makes things worse.
In one study, mildly depressed college students were asked to spend eight minutes thinking about themselves or to spend the same amount of time thinking about mundane topics like “clouds forming in the sky.”
People in the first group focused on the negative things in their lives and sunk into a worse mood. People in the other group actually felt better afterward, possibly because their negative self-focus was “turned off” by the distraction task.
What about people like police officers and firefighters who witness terrible events? Is it helpful for them to reflect on their experiences?
For years it was believed that emergency workers should undergo a debriefing process to focus on and relive their experiences; the idea was that this would make them feel better and prevent mental health problems down the road. After 9/11, for example, well-meaning counselors flocked to New York to help police officers, firefighters and rescue workers deal with the trauma of what they had seen.
But did it do any good? In an extensive review of the research, a team led by Richard McNally, a clinical psychologist at Harvard, concluded that debriefing procedures have little benefit and might even hurt by interrupting the normal healing process. People often distract themselves from thinking about painful events right after they occur, and this may be better than mentally reliving the events.
What can we do to improve ourselves and feel happier? Numerous social psychological studies have confirmed Aristotle's observation that “We become just by the practice of just actions, self-controlled by exercising self-control, and courageous by performing acts of courage.” If we are dissatisfied with some aspect of our lives, one of the best approaches is to act more like the person we want to be, rather than sitting around analyzing ourselves.
Social psychologist Daniel Batson and colleagues at the University of Kansas found that participants who were given an opportunity to do a favor for another person ended up viewing themselves as kind, considerate people – unless, that is, they were asked to reflect on why they had done the favor. People in that group tended in the end to not view themselves as being especially kind.
The trick is to go out of our way to be kind to others without thinking too much about why we're doing it. As a bonus, our kindnesses will make us happier.
A study by University of California, Riverside, social psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky and colleagues found that college students instructed to do a few acts of kindness one day a week ended up being happier than a control group of students who received no special instructions.
As the new year begins, then, reach out and help others. If that sounds suspiciously like an old Motown song or like simplistic advice from one of those do-gooder college professors, well, it is. But the fact is that being good to others will ultimately make us kinder, happier people – just so long as we don't think too much about it.
Timothy D. Wilson, a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, is the author of “Strangers to Ourselves: Discovering the Adaptive Unconscious.”
http://opal.cabochon.com/~stevey/blog-rants/google-secret-weapon.html
“….The problem is: Google's not doing it a little at a time. They're using marketing tactics that make our approach look nickel-and-dime by comparison.
That might sound harsh, but when's the last time you took a serious look at everything you know about Google's recruiting tactics, without even doing any research on it? Just off the top of my head, let's look at some of the things they're doing.
Some people may take a dim view of my posting this information here, but it's all publicly available info; Google's practically forcing it down our throats. I'm not telling people anything they don't already know; I'm just saying it all at once, in the hopes that folks wake up and realize the dire seriousness of the threat Google poses.
I'll stick with stuff we're not doing:
Programming Competitions — every year for at last the past 3 years, they've held a TopCoder coding competition that's attracted thousands of contestants. Not only does this make them seem cool, it gets them lots of resumes, and the applicants are already nicely stack-ranked.
Billboards — everyone knows about the famous billboard that had a puzzle on it. Didn't have Google's name on it, just a URL with a math puzzle. If you happened to drive by, realize what it was, solve the puzzle, and visit the website, you were awarded with… another puzzle. Solve that one and you got an interview with Google. Again: lots of hype, and also some pretty good candidates came directly to you, without any recruiting on your part.
Poaching — you've all heard of the design center they're opening up in Kirkland. Rumors abound; they're hiring 300 engineers, they're hiring 2000 engineers; no, it's 600; I heard it's 1200. One thing is clear: their motive. They announced they're going to be hiring primarily from the University of Washington, from Microsoft, and from Amazon.
Job Marketing — have you ever visited Google's job site? I have. They have the “Top 10 Reasons to Work at Google”, or something like that. While we can match several of the 10, some of them we simply don't compete with. We don't have on-site doctors and yoga and free day care. We don't have free lunches; heck, we don't even have free parking. Maybe perks are expensive, but to candidates who are doing an honest appraisal, the perks add up, and can make the difference in their final decision.
Gimmicks — see the GLAT yet? It's the Google Aptitude Test; something they circulated recently (was it in the IEEE? I'm forcing myself to generate this list off the top of my head, so I can't go look) that looks like a tough version of the GRE or GMAT for computer scientists. It's non-trivial. I don't know whether it's real, and you have to take it to get an interview there, or if it's just a gimmick. Either way, it's getting them a lot of press, and it's one more thing that's elevating their status as “company that only hires smart people”. Another example is the rumor that circulated about a supposed announcement that their IT staff is 1/4 Ph.Ds. I don't know if it's true, but does it really matter? PR is all about buzz.
Compensation — Google's got a reputation for paying well. Their pre-IPO stock, of course, has been a big draw, but they also reputedly have unusually high salary and great benefits. Now that their market cap is soaring, it's hard to say whether the stock will still be the huge draw. And now that they've got an office in Kirkland opening, we may be able to get better information on whether their compensation packages have really just been cost-of-living adjusted for Mountain View. Regardless, it doesn't hurt to have a reputation as a company that pays well.
Free Targeted Advertising — have you ever visited a Google search-results page and found an ad for… Google? That's right, they do targeted job ads on their own pages. Everyone uses Google, including smart, qualified candidates, and Google's been using this fact to recruit selectively with their own site.
When I say “selectively”, I mean it. You won't see a Google job ad if you type in “C++”. Try typing in some of the fanciest stuff you know and see if you can get a hit for a Google job ad. No? Guess you'd better hit the books!Technology — as I mentioned before, people naturally think of Google as a technology company. And not just any technology, either. Search is central to computing and computer science; it's in some sense the foundation of artificial intelligence, and has applications in a wide variety of problem domains that have nothing to do with “web search” per se.
If you were a candidate assessing the long-term potential of Amazon, Microsoft and Google, and you were speculating as to which company would first create practical artifical intelligence, or find cures for cancer, aids, and aging? The retailer isn't going to leap to mind, nor is the operating-systems company. Google's technology is going to make a huge difference. So is Amazon's, but it's not as clear to people how, and this puts us at a natural disadvantage when we're selling people.Culture — when people make the decision to accept a job offer, they're accepting a culture. They'll spend more time with the people at work than with any other group, including their spouses. Culture matters.
Google has a fabulous reputation for being a great culture. Their website marketing is top-notch, and stories abound of soccer games on building rooftops and other crazy fun stuff. But what really gets people is the “work on whatever you want for one day a week”. As long as it's an approved project, you can spend a day a week working on anything you want. It's your own little R&D laboratory. You can't fake a culture like that. Google knows how to treat engineers.Training — Google's got a huge reputation for training, because it's one of their selling points in their interview process. Candidates tell me Google gives people a ton of training: weeks of it (at least). I'm not clear on the exact amount, but it's more in line with Microsoft's ongoing career and technical training than it is with our 2 days of developer boot camp. This is a huge cultural difference; Amazon has traditionally said “learn stuff on your own time” (as if we have any time.) This year is the first year we've had an actual training budget or any formal training at all. Again, this is something candidates care a lot about, and it's something you can't fake — you either have it or you don't. And they have a lot more than we do.
Focus — Google's corporate motto is “Do No Evil”. Microsoft's is only slightly different: “Do Evil”. At least they're honest about it. The bad guy really does sometimes win. When Microsoft combats Google's recruiting network-effect by simply buying a great engineer, everyone including the engineer knows what's going on. But Evil has a lot of money, and that's kind of hard to ignore. So Microsoft has managed to staff up a lot of great minds in their .NET and CLR groups, and plenty of other groups as well.
Amazon's motto along these lines is somewhere in the middle, something like: “Do Stuff.” It might have been “Just Do It” if that weren't already taken. We don't think much about good or evil; we focus on revenue and customer experience, which pulls us in both directions a bit. Certainly we've realized that “Get it Done” (at all costs) has gotten us into a bit of code-base trouble.”
 |
You scored as Jayne Cobb. The Mercenary. You are in this for the money, plain as that. You like things simple that way, but mainly as anything else confuses you. You get the job done, and don't care what people think. Not as long as you get paid anyway.
|
Which Serenity character are you?
created with QuizFarm.com
One for the guys…and one for the ladies. Possibly NSFW.
asked for suggestions of charities worthy of donation. Never one to pass up an opportunity to tell others how to spend their money, here's what I suggested.
Every day, 150,000 die from aging. In other words, more people die from aging every two days than all the people who died in the Asian tsunami, the worst natural disaster in modern history. And unless we do something about it, most likely, you and everyone you love will also die from aging.
Historically, there was not much we could do about aging. As a result, most people have become complacent, or even glamorize death.
But resigned fatalism is no longer warranted.
There are two charities that I think are doing great work in this area: Alcor and the Methusaleh Foundation.
First, the case for Alcor. As medicine advances, we can expect cures for aging, cancer, heart disease, and most other major causes of death. Unfortunately, most of us were probably born too early to take advantage of those technologies.
But suppose that you could somehow halt the process of dying, that you could go into suspended animation. Then you could wait as long as was necessary for science to come up with a cure for whatever was killing you, plus repair the damage caused by the cryopreservation process itself.
Suspended animation, aka cryonics, the cryopreserving of human beings in the hopes of their future reanimation, exists today. However, it is a field still in its infancy. The dollars devoted to research in this field have been minuscule, despite the enormous potential payoff.
Yet, despite extremely poor funding, some advances have been made. One of those advances is vitrification, which has proven promising in the rabbit kidney model. By introducing a high enough concentration of antifreeze, instead of forming ice crystals, the fluid within an organ will vitrify (form a glass). According to rabbit kidney studies, this is much less damaging than ice crystallization.
Alcor is currently raising money for their whole body vitrification research. The whole body vitrification research intends to translate the research that has been done in the rabbit kidney model to whole human cryopreservation. If they're successful, it will mean much less damage for current patients, and a big step forward in the long slog toward demonstrating working suspended animation. Any donations to this research will be matched up to $100 K by Bina and Martine Rothblatt if you pledge before January 31, 2006.
You can read about the scientific case for cryonics here:
http://www.alcor.org/Library/html/casef
Alternatively, you could donate to Methusaleh Foundation's Methusaleh Mouse Prize:
The Methuselah Mouse Prize (MPrize), is the premiere effort of the Methuselah Foundation and is being offered to the scientific research team who develops the longest living Mus musculus, the breed of mouse most commonly used in scientific research. Developing interventions which work in mice are a critical precursor to the development of human anti-aging techniques, for once it is demonstrated that aging in mice can be effectively delayed or reversed, popular attitudes towards aging as 'inevitable' will no longer be possible. When aging in mice is shown to be 'treatable' the funding necessary for a full-line assault on the aging process will be made available. This is the true power of the Methuselah Mouse Prize, to demonstrate a proof of principle, and give hope to the world that decline in function and age-related disease are no longer guarantees, for us, or for future generations, if we work together now.
The nice thing about the Methusaleh Mouse Prize is that it only pays for results — if no one increases the mouses lifespan, the prize isn't paid.
If you want to leverage your charitable dollars, I can't think of any better charities. If either is successful, it will mean vastly increased lifespans for millions and eventually billions of people.
Including, perhaps, your own.
Like photos of abandoned buildings, men dressed in sheets, and monkeys? Then check out 's photos of her dirt bike trip through Cambodia.
http://www.livejournal.com/users/girl_on_a_stick/640516.html
Simply astounding.
At the Life Extension Extension Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, on Nov. 5, the Immortality Institute unveiled an Open Letter signed by 56 scientists, physicians, and ethicists endorsing the scientific basis of cryonics. The letter is online at:
http://www.cryoletter.org
Anyone with a PhD, especially in biology, or MD degree with a background in research, who would like to support this letter is asked to contact [email protected].
[Useful equipment for vandwelling and/or bugout vehicle]
http://www.sportsmobile.com/ultimate.html
The Ultimate Adventure Vehicle
Sportsmobile builds an extraordinarily capable new home-away-from-
home
perfect for a wide variety of outdoor pursuits
For everyone who loves the outdoors but would still like to enjoy all
the comforts of home on their adventures, we bring you Sportsmobile's
Ultimate Adventure Vehicle.
The Ultimate Adventure Vehicle project was designed to create a well-
rounded vehicle capable of meeting a wide variety of transportation
needs, from running everyday errands to serving as a rolling base
camp for multi-week outdoor adventures. This rugged four-wheel drive
van includes all the amenities you'd expect to find in a much larger
motorhome, and yet achieves unprecedented levels of around-town
maneuverability, open-road fuel-economy, serious off-road capability,
and back-country camping practicality no other vehicle can match.
Uniquely suited to a wide variety of outdoor activities from mountain
biking to sea kayaking, the Ultimate Adventure Vehicle is equally at
home dry-camping on a remote mesa in Canyonlands National Park or
pulling into the valet stand at a funky resort in the Florida Keys.
Based on a full-size Ford E350 one-ton cargo van equipped with Ford's
new 6-liter Power Stroke turbodiesel V-8, the project vehicle
features interior and exterior modifications and an innovative new
four wheel-drive system from Fresno-based camper van manufacturer
Sportsmobile West.
A List of Suppliers that contributed to the success of the Ultimate
Adventure Vehicle project
This is a list where you can find more information on the state-of-
the-art components from leading aftermarket suppliers that went into
building the Ultimate Adventure Vehicle.
FOUR WHEEL-DRIVE SYSTEM
Sportsmobile West
www.sportsmobile.com
800-827-3071
Details: Advance Adapter Atlas II gear-driven transfer case, Dynatrac
Pro Rock 60 front axle, Dana 60 rear axle, high-knuckle front end for
extra tie-rod clearance, true horizontal drag link, Spicer 1350 one-
ton rated driveline components, reverse shackle leaf spring design,
choice of open, limited-slip, or locking differentials, partial
military-wrap springs, front sway bar with quick disconnect system,
custom Old Man Emu shocks.
Dynatrac
www.dynatrac.com
714-596-4461
Advanced Adaptors
www.advanceadapters.com
800-350-2223
Old Man Emu
www.arbusa.com
425-264-1391
LOCKING DIFFERENTIAL/AIR COMPRESSOR
ARB USA
www.arbusa.com
206-264 1669
Details: Front and rear ARB air lockers, ARB 12-volt built-in air
compressor.
WHEELS
American Racing
www.americanracing.com
800-321-5489
Details: Mojave style; Teflon-coated, 16×8-inch, 8-lug.
TIRES
Tire Rack
www.tirerack.com
888-981-3953
Details: Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo, 285/75-R16.
LIGHTS
Hella USA
www.hellausa.com
877-224-3552
Details: Three 4000HID xenon off-road lights (two Euro-beams, one
pencil beam), two Model 500 clear fog lights (in front bumper
openings), two auxiliary back-up lights (in rear bumper openings),
one rear red fog light.
WINCH
Warn Industries
www.warn.com
800-543-9276
Details: Warn M12000 12,000-pound winch with roller fairlead,
fairlead cover, and heavy-duty winching accessory kit.
ROOF RACK/ACCESSORIES
Yakima
www.yakima.com
888-925-0703
Details: Blacktop Pro 21 cargo box, HullRaiser, Full Swing 4 hitch-
mount bike carrier, miscellaneous towers/crossbar components.
KAYAKS
Dagger/Perception
www.dagger.com
www.perceptionkayaks.com
888-925-4621
www.harmonygear.com
800-591-2282
Details: Dagger Specter 14.0 single touring kayak, Perception
Carolina II 17.5 tandem touring kayak, Harmony paddles/spray skirts.
AWNING
Fiamma
www.fiamma.com
407-672-0091
Details: F45 retractable awning with platinum-colored fabric.
JERRY CANS
Scepter Military Products
www.scepter.ca
800-387-6018
Details: Two 20-liter (5 gallon) diesel fuel cans (yellow), two 20-
liter water cans (blue).
GRAPHICS
Illustration/Design:
Tim Barker Studio
www.timbarkerstudio.com
714-850-1935
Production/Application:
Transport Graphics
Riverside, CA
951-689-7545
Right Away Fleet Graphics
Camarillo, CA
805-987-4780
SOUNDPROOFING
DynaMat
www.dynamat.com
513-860-5094
Details: DynaMat Extreme material applied to walls, floor, roof, and
other interior surfaces to provide a quieter passenger cabin.
SEAT HEATERS
Check Corporation
www.checkcorp.com
800-927-6787
Details: Three-position seat heaters on captains chairs.
AUDIO
Crutchfield
www.crutchfield.com
888-806-6858
Details: Kenwood DDX7015 In-Dash Receiver with 6.5″ Monitor, Kenwood
KTC-SR903 SIRIUS Satellite Tuner, Kenwood KDC-CX87 10-Disc CD
Changer, Kenwood KNA-DV4100 DVD Navigation System.
VIDEO
Rosen Entertainment
www.rosenentertainment.com
951-898-9808
Details: Car Show 15.4-inch 16:9 monitor, slot-loading DVD Player w/
TV tuner, wireless noise-canceling headphones.
SATELLITE DISH
KVH Industries
www.kvh.com
888-584-4163
DirecTV
www.directv.com
888-777-2454
Details: KVH TracVision A5 in-motion satellite antenna with DirecTV's
Total Choice Mobile programming package (135 channels).
VIDEO CAMERAS
Rearview Systems
www.rearviewsystems.com
800-496-1590
Details: STM5600 Color Rearview System with multiple cameras and 5.6-
inch monitor.
ALARM SYSTEM
Directed Electronics
www.directed.com
800-274-0200
Details: Viper Responder alarm with GPS tracking capability
RADAR DETECTOR
Beltronics
www.beltronics.com
800-737-9393
Details: Beltronics ProRX 75 Plus custom-installed radar detector
with laser blocker.
CB RADIO
Midland CB
www.midlandradio.com
816-241-8500
Details: CB radio Model # 77-120 ESP with weather band.
INVERTER
Xantrex Technology Inc.
www.xantrex.com
800.670-0707
Details: 2000-watt inverter/charger.
STEERING WHEEL COVER
Wheelskins
www.wheelskins.com
800-755-2128
Details: Two-tone (yellow/black) EuroPerf steering wheel cover.
CARBON FIBER DASH
Sherwood Dash
www.sherwooddash.com
800-286-1674
Details: Classic Series genuine carbon fiber dash overlay kit.
CUSTOM FLOOR MATS
GG Bailey
www.ggbailey.com
888-707-8604
Details: Custom front floor mats – gray pattern carpet with yellow
piping and embroidered UAV logo.
UPHOLSTERY FABRIC
Keyston Brothers/Fresno
www.keystonbros.com
877-800-8801
Details: Black leather, yellow/black hound's-tooth check fabric
inserts.
BUG DEFLECTOR
Auto VentShade
www.autoventshade.com
800-241-7219
Details: Full-width Bugflector II; smoke color.
WINDSHIELD TREATMENT
Diamon-Fusion International
www.diamonfusion.com
800 213-0793
Details: Patented nano-technology glass treatment that improves
impact resistance and water-shedding ability.
CELL PHONE SIGNAL ENHANCER
Richardson Electronics
www.callcaptureusa.com
877-822-7887
Details: Wireless cell phone signal enhancer, permanent mount.
COMPASS/OUTSIDE TEMPERATURE DISPLAY/ALTIMETER
CT Global Inc.
www.ctglobalinc.net
(502) 499-8868
Details: Wayfinder V7000 with compass, outside temperature display,
altimeter, and barometer/weather prediction functions.
RECOVERY EQUIPMENT
Expedition Exchange
www.ExpeditionExchange.com
310-618-1875
Details: Expeditionware winch line, heavy-duty tow strap, and tree
strap; Hi-Lift jack
[Lot's of references to interesting papers here]
A Critical Analysis of the ACSM Position Stand on Resistance Training: Insufficient Evidence to Support Recommended Training Protocols
Journal of Exercise Physiologyonline
Official Journal of The American
Society of Exercise Physiologists (ASEP)
ISSN 1097-9751
An International Electronic Journal
Volume 7 Number 3 June 2004
New Ideas: Sports Physiology
RALPH N. CARPINELLI1, ROBERT M. OTTO1, RICHARD A. WINETT2
1Human Performance Laboratory, Adelphi University, Garden City, New York 11530 USA
2Center for Research in Health Behavior, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061 USA
ABSTRACT
A Critical Analysis of the ACSM Position Stand on Resistance Training: Insufficient Evidence to Support Recommended Training Protocols. Ralph N. Carpinelli, Robert M. Otto, Richard A. Winett. JEPonline 2004;7(3):1-60. In February 2002, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) published a Position Stand entitled Progression Models in Resistance Training for Healthy Adults. The ACSM claims that the programmed manipulation of resistance-training protocols such as the training modality, repetition duration, range of repetitions, number of sets, and frequency of training will differentially affect specific physiological adaptations such as muscular strength, hypertrophy, power, and endurance. The ACSM also asserts that for progression in healthy adults, the programs for intermediate, advanced, and elite trainees must be different from those prescribed for novices. An objective evaluation of the resistance-training studies shows that these claims are primarily unsubstantiated. In fact, the preponderance of resistance-training studies suggest that simple, low-volume, time-efficient, resistance training is just as effective for increasing muscular strength, hypertrophy, power, and endurance—regardless of training experience—as are the complex, high-volume, time-consuming protocols that are recommended in the Position Stand. This document examines the basis for many of the claims in the Position Stand and provides an objective review of the resistance training literature.