Saturday, January 29, 2011

Amazing Art Made of Salt

Wow. I'll bet these are just as meditative to create as they are to look at.

Source: http://www.motoi.biz/english/e_top/e_top.html

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Powerful Post on the Disease Called Perfection

This is really powerful stuff. As of now, there are over 3400 replies. Think he struck a nerve.

Source: http://www.danoah.com/2010/09/disease-called-perfection.html

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Rumors of Monogamy's Demise Are Grossly Exaggerated

Wow. A bad press release led to an article in a national newspaper spouting bad information.

Source: http://bigthink.com/ideas/26630

Brene Brown Interview: Imperfection, Vulnerability, and Innovation at Work

Right before the 30-minute break, she hits on some really important issues. Every manager should listen to this.

"Creativity and innovation will never happen as long as shame is a management style."

"For the recipients of shame and fear, intent is not relevant." Smashing someone with the "good" intention of motivating them doesn't motivate them and is just a slam.

Source: http://www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=51518

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Whimsical Art: Sandrine Estrade-Boulet

Love her sense of humor!

Source: http://www.sandrine-estrade-boulet.com/sandrine_boulet/Home_Sandrine_Estrade_Boulet_en.html

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Guys, Don't Have High-Pressure Meetings at Starbucks

Interesting that this study showing that caffeine has bad effects on men under stress got wide publicity right before Starbucks announced their new larger-than-the-average-stomachs Trenta size beverages.

Source: http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.com/2011/01/coffee-helps-women-cope-with-stressful.html

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

The Trusting Are Healthier

Not only are trusting people better lie detectors, they're also healthier.

Source: http://www.bakadesuyo.com/are-more-trusting-people-healthier

Book Origami

Love altered books. Can't bring myself to actually cut or deface a book, but I love it when other people do. These are amazing.

Source: http://www.dudecraft.com/2011/01/isaac-salazars-book-origami.html

Monday, January 17, 2011

Photo Like a Charcoal Drawing: 1950 Golden Globes

Nice photo. Looks like pencil or charcoal, doesn't it?

Source: http://thegloss.com/beauty/retro-snap-golden-globes/

Screen Time Leads to Health Problems (Even If You Exercise)

Wow. This is interesting. Seems like the prevailing wisdom has been that the problem with screen-based entertainment was that people sat and ate, sort of the anti-weight-loss plan. This study shows that the screen time is bad for you even if you're good about getting exercise.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110110164736.htm

Attitude Determines Salary Altitude

I'm sure Bob Sutton (author of "The No Asshole Rule") is loving this research. Workers with better attitudes get paid better.

"any attempt to raise workers’ earnings potentials should focus not only on the development of their human capital endowments, but also on improvement of their attitudes."

Source: http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-kind-of-attitude-will-improve-your-salar

Positive Thinking Not For Everyone

This study shines some light on something I've wondered about for a while. Have you ever known someone who is really into believing that everything happens for a reason and reframing events to emphasize the good, yet is still a bundle of unhappiness and anxiety? Clearly all that cognitive effort is not paying off for them. Turns out they're not alone.

Source: http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-positive-thinking-a-method-that-can-help-e

Dim All the Lights Sweet Darlin... 'Cuz Your Body Needs the Dim

Sorry for the `70s flashback. It just popped into my head.

Yet another study has found that exposure to artificial light in the evening hours messes with our proper functioning.

"Results showed exposure to room light before bedtime shortened melatonin duration by about 90 minutes when compared to dim light exposure. Furthermore, exposure to room light during the usual hours of sleep suppressed melatonin by greater than 50 percent."

Given that most of us don't have different lamps for different times of day, is it any wonder we don't get good sleep?

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110113082716.htm

Friday, January 14, 2011

Left Turn Haters Unite

I can't actually say I *hate* left turns, but I certainly don't like them much. Especially the unprotected kind. Turns out there may be good reasons to engineer traffic flows without them.

Source: http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/science/2011/01/life-without-left-turns/

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Shoot-Em-Up Typing Game

I remember playing a game like this in the early 90s as part of one of those learn-to-type programs. My mother never let me take typing in school 'cuz, "If you can type, some man will decide it's your job." And she was right. I can't count the number of times the lack of typing skills prevented people from demoting me back when I was an editor. One guy even brought me a printout of a paragraph he wanted added to his manuscript. Ummm... I'm working on the paper in TeX on a computer. You typed the paragraph on a computer. Why don't you just email it to me or send me a file? Nope. This was his moment of power. Get revenge on the person who pointed out all of the grammar mistakes by wasting her time. Sigh.

Once I was free of that workplace full of... Well, let's just say the guy mentioned above was typical, and there were hundreds of them there... And it was clear that the computer was going to be key to my career, I found some floppy disks with fun games like this.

Source: http://www.phoboslab.org/ztype/

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

The Oven Loungechair

This thing is marvelously awful. And very clever. Man, I hated harvest gold and avocado green. Barf!

Source: http://www.dudecraft.com/2011/01/oven-lounge.html

Rex the Dog Stop Motion Video

I'm a big fan of animation. This is a very cute stop motion piece.

Source: http://www.dudecraft.com/2011/01/rex-dog-bubblicious.html

Monday, January 10, 2011

Clever Design: Milk Bottle

Not sure what I'd do with the contents, but I really want the jar. :)

Source: http://www.likecool.com/Milk_packaging_concept_by_Kian--Pic--Gear.html

Pretty Painted Guitars

Lots of color!

Source: http://ifitshipitshere.blogspot.com/2011/01/colorful-hand-painted-telecaster.html

Sculptures From Car Parts

This guy's work is amazing! Love the Wall Frog.

Source: http://www.jamescorbettart.com/othersubjects.html

Messing With the Circadian Clock Messes With the Mind (and Body)

This is really interesting. Mess with the schedule of the mice, and they get unhealthy. I'd like to know if there are correlations between being functional in our world (which is mostly lark friendly) and being a morning person. (You want me to be in the office by when?!?!) Similarly, what are the stats on obesity on owls forced to work in a daytime world? Oh so many questions...

Source: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/01/circadian-disruption/

Dog Breed Infographic From Wired

This would make an awesome poster.

Source: http://datavis.tumblr.com/post/1131078306/where-dogs-come-from

Intelligence and Thinking Speed

Hmmm... This study shows that people who do well on IQ tests (They call those "smart people." Since IQ tests only test certain kinds of intelligence, I'm not so comfortable with making test scores equivalent to smarts. But anyway...).

Source: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102169531

Dealing With Fear Through Nonjudgmental Acceptance

I can do the acceptance part of what they recommend, i.e., "I have a fear of x." It's the nonjudgmental part that gets me. "I have a fear of x" is usually followed by "and it's stupid and I should just suck it up and get over it." Oh, well. Something else to practice.

Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704111504576059823679423598.html

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Sure, I Can Find Central America on the Map

This is hysterical. Wonder how many people think this is accurate...

Source: http://www.likecool.com/Central_America--TShirt--Style.html

Thursday, January 6, 2011

We Have Nothing to Fear But Fear Itself

This wonderful infographic shows the world's greatest fears over time. Isn't it interesting how many of them were tempests in teapots?

Source: http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/play/mountains-out-of-molehills/

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

The Scream: Blocking Out the Scream, Not Screaming

I had no interest in Western history or art when I was in school, so this may be old news to most. "This dehumanised figure, into which viewers project their own neuroses, is not screaming but blocking out the scream of its existence."

Source: http://mindhacks.com/2011/01/04/words-about-the-scream/

PacMan On Overhead Wires

This is so clever. I love the PacMan folk on the wires.

Source: http://www.likecool.com/Pacman_on_the_street--Pic--Gear.html

Yet Another Reason to Ratchet Back the ME Culture: Rudeness Causes Brain Damage

Seems like every day I stumble across one more fascinating fact about creatures whose brains develop After birth, also known as human beings. In this article, a neuroscientist talks about how the level of hostility in American society is literally toxic to developing brains.

Random musing... Is there a correlation, and if so how strong is it, between increasing rudeness and increasing waistlines?

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-douglas-fields/rudeness-is-a-neurotoxin_b_765908.html

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Paint a Song

This thing is so cool! I've wasted tons of time with it. LOL!

Source: http://www.onecoolthingaday.com/today/2011/1/4/make-music-right-here-and-right-now-its-easy-to-sound-good-w.html

Monday, January 3, 2011

The Stewie Burger

Play with your food! Check out this Stewie burger.

Source: http://www.geekologie.com/2011/01/i_swear_i_ordered_a_side_of_wo.php

Make a Shrimp Out of a Bendy Straw

This is a skill everyone needs. :)

Source: http://www.creativeblythe.com/shrimp.htm

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Half-Real Car: Another Awesome Pencil Vs. Camera

I'm a huge fan of Ben Heine's work, and this one is a favorite. I like cars, I like screaming hot nail-polish pink, and I love the surreal take on the subject.

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/benheine/5310241974/

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Trash Bag Trash Can

These are very cool.

Source: http://www.dudecraft.com/2010/12/wastepaper-baskets-from-waste.html