with the recent release of REWORK by the guys at 37Signals which I would really like to read but no one has bought it for me yet. If you have never heard of Jason Fried or 37Signals, this should give you a taste of their perspective on things.
Employees come to the office if and when they feel like it, or else they work from home. I don’t believe in the 40-hour workweek, so we cut all that BS about being somewhere for a certain number of hours. I have no idea how many hours my employees work — I just know they get the work done.
We rarely have meetings. I hate them. They’re a huge waste of time, and they’re costly. It’s not one hour; it’s 10, because you pulled 10 people away from their real work. Plus, they chop your day into small bits, so you have only 20 minutes of free time here or 45 minutes there. Creative people need unstructured time to get in the zone. You can’t do that in 20 minutes.
“There’s a real perceptual problem,” he says. “People think we’re putting electricity in the air, and that’s called lightning, and they know to stay away from that.”
So I had a new encounter with a virus at work yesterday and I thought that I would share the resources I used that led to the solution in case anyone else ever experiences the same “It won’t let me log on” dilemma …Read Full Post >>
This is part 2 of a series I’ve named “The Demise Of Thinking By Design.” If you haven’t read part one and want a little background you can see the first post here: The Demise Of Thinking By Design Pt. 1. If not you can dive right into part two by clicking read more …Read Full Post >>
?One of my friends recently asked me a few questions about backpacking for a class at TN Tech. I figured I would post my answers here in case anyone else was wondering.
1. Why did you start backpacking?
I started backpacking when I came up to Tn Tech for school. I am originally from West Tennessee where it is pretty flat and there aren’t many good places to backpack and hike unless you come to East Tenn. When I came to school in Cookeville, it seemed like there was this whole “outdoor lifestyle” that I had never been around. I have always enjoyed being outside and I like trying new hobbies, so when I was invited to go with some friends I jumped on the opportunity. I’ve been going and enjoying it ever since.
2. What do you love about backpacking?
My love for backpacking is definitely multifaceted. Things are just more simple when you are outside away from civilization. This frees me up to do things and think about things that it is easy to look over when you are in the ritual of every day life. Whether you backpack or not, I think that everyone should have some hobby that is some sort of a release for them. With technology and mass media it is easy to get stimulated to death. Here are my favorite things about backpacking:
Being outside away from the “noise/information” of life to reflect and think about life
Getting to know people on more than just a surface level. Being alone in the woods with someone eliminates the “too busy” excuses.
Enjoying the beauty of nature and experiencing the earth that God created in it’s purest form
Having to go without things that I think I need
Feeling like I am actively surviving in the wild rather than passively existing in civilization(I think it’s a guy thing)
3. How much do you carry when backpacking?
I try to take as little as possible, but this was a process. I used to live by the “I might need it” and “what if” rules. That mentality dies quick when you have to carry 50 pounds of stuff. I usually carry the following depending on the weather and duration:
Backpack (currently a Baltoro™ 70 and an older Go-Lite pack that weighs about a pound)
REI halfdome 2hc Tent or eagles nest hammock
sleeping bag, compression sac and thermarest sleeping pad
Jetboil PCS stove and food
MSR Sweetwater water purifier
Boots / shoes and 1 change of clothes, socks, underwear, jacket, etc..
knife, lighter, carabiner or two and some thin rope or cord of some kind.
Often I find myself wondering “why don’t people think?” This is a broad question I know and probably in-concise, but a relevant one nonetheless. First I should take a minute to clarify what I mean by “think”, since words can mean anything or better yet…words mean nothing apart from their definition. When I use the word think in this way I am speaking of “reflection leading to action.” I am not talking about information passing in and out our consciousness. Everyone blessed with a fully (I use this word loosely) functioning brain takes in information and acts based on that information, even the guy I saw at the tattoo parlor with a dotted line tattooed on his neck with a caption(including arrows) that read “cut here” thought it was a good idea on some level. I am just questioning the amount of data that is taken into account and the amount of, if any, reflection that occurs when most people make decisions. Personally, I was fortunate enough to have become involved with a ministry named Campus Outreach when I was in college and it wasn’t so much the ministry itself, but the people that I encountered in Campus Outreach and more importantly the God they introduced me to that has really turned me into more of a thinker. This is not my sales pitch for Jesus, although it is an easy sell, and I would never want you to buy into something that you hadn’t first thought about and decided on. The relevance this theological aside has to this article is two-fold:
1. Drastic changes in environment or exposure to new paradigms often causes an evaluation of the “old way”
This is one reason why I think frequent change and questioning assumptions are vital to all areas of growth as a person. For example: I was thrown into a new environment(college) with new people (in my case Christians), who most importantly adhered to a different set of standards and held a different worldview than I held at the time.
2. Contemplating eternal truths as found in the Bible will eventually cause a conflict if not a breakdown of your current worldview in some form or fashion.
Both of these put you into thinking mode, or at least that was the case with me and I hope it is the case with you. With that being said, I had always considered this baptism into actually thinking a product of the new environment I had entered into. I am, however, beginning to view it differently. What if this “non-thinking” was NOT poorly designed education and development, but rather a well designed education process to teach me and others NOT to think. Go ahead, read that again if you need to. Let me tell you, it’s not as crazy as it might sound. This post has been more introductory in nature. The next post will pick up where this one left off and discuss more of the meat behind this hypothesis so be sure to check back or subscribe via email.
a cool coworking space in Philly. I would like to be a part of something like this. Read some of the member profiles in the Blog section if you get a chance.
This is the coolest iphone app I have seen since “I am T-Pain” although it is in a different genre. This App could potentially save you money on your cell phone bill and offer cool functionality for start up entrepreneurs. This is a link to a more comprehensive article.
There is always something that we want to change about ourselves, some skill we want to learn, or a bad habit that we want to get rid of. We have all had the best intentions of accomplishing that one thing and have even taken the first few steps toward our goal, but somewhere along the way we “lose the fire” so to speak and our once ambitious goals and the victory or success we could almost taste has become nothing more than a glimmer of hope and a half optimistic sigh as we reassure ourselves with the words “some day.” We have all been there even if we are the poster boy(or girl) of discipline magazine , which doesn’t exist, but you get my point. There are always those “someday” dreams that we never quite accomplish but always seem to hold on to in hopes of another day. Well today is the day to “Seize the Carp.” …Read Full Post >>
I first saw this video at least 8 or 9 months ago, but it has been the way that I make my scrambled eggs ever since and they are awesome. I have modified it ever so slightly to my taste. My modifications include:
using a non-stick skillet with a little non-stick spray
quite a bit less butter than he uses in the video, but a small amount of butter for flavor
no creme fraiche or heavy cream. I’m sure it wouldn’t taste bad, but I don’t think it is necessary
I have found, just as he states in the video, that constant movement and not over cooking are the biggest variables in making “the perfect scrambled eggs.” Enjoy
As a Blogger your main focus is the content of your blog, but it doesn’t matter how good your content is if it is difficult for people to read and hard for them to find. Enter website design. The main focus of website design is to showcase the content in the best way possible. It was the content which created the need for a design. If you start out to design a snazzy website without first considering the content that will live there you get one thing, a bad website. Today I want to share with you my most helpful resource as it pertains to my blogging platform. …Read Full Post >>
No introduction needed….the title tells the story. This post has been brought to you by and old Apple powerbook g4, lay-z-boy and the neighbors internet connection, I couldn’t have done it without them. …Read Full Post >>
