Thursday, May 26, 2011

Mugprints - Bah ha ha ha!

This picture was shot on my kitchen counter after a long night of guzzling Decaf Sugar-Free Suisse Mocha.

Source: http://happythings.tumblr.com/post/5856336648

Monday, May 23, 2011

Toast is Funny

This reminds me of my favorite Mark Parisi cartoon.

Source: http://happythings.tumblr.com/post/5791456503

Sunday, May 22, 2011

GMail Was Right

In the offline world, I'm an organizer. I sort and file and generally arrange my stuff in ways that would make Sesame Street's "One of These Things is Not Like the Others" creators proud. Similarly, I had folders galore full of old emails I might need for reference. So GMail was a major mind shift for me. Turns out, letting the computer do the searching is much more efficient than making the human do it.

Source: http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-sorting-your-email-into-folders-worth-the

If only Outlook's search were as good as Google's, I'd stop foldering my work email too.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Convertible Pool Table

Love this. I'm sure a game of pool would be more productive than 90% of the meetings I've attended. Show up, put your laptop and phone on the floor, crank down the table top, and rack 'em up!

Source: http://www.likecool.com/Convertible_Pool_Table--Furniture--Home.html

Off-Road Segway

Why does this make me think of the James Bond movie where they case him with snowmobiles?

Source: http://ifitshipitshere.blogspot.com/2011/05/segways-are-for-sissies-check-out-dtv.html

Knife, Fork, and Chopsticks

These are awesome! I love the idea of a knife and fork that become chopsticks.

Source: http://www.likecool.com/Twin_One_Cutlery_Knife_Fork_=_Chopsticks--Design--Home.html

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Just Because It Was Published....

I've been reading a lot of research papers lately, and have noticed that lots of the results make me go Hmmm.... This article (and the articles to which it links) on why so much published research is wrong may explain some of that.

Source: http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2010/02/19/popular-research-areas-produce-more-false-results/

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

The Real You Has Your Best Foot Forward

This seems counter-intuitive to me...

"positive self-presentation facilitates more accurate impressions, indicating that putting one’s best self forward helps reveal one’s true self"

Source: http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-putting-your-best-self-forward-reveal-yo

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Take a Notebook, Not Your Laptop, to Class

Much as I'd much rather read notes I've typed than notes I've written, I've definitely noticed that I have a much deeper connection with words I've written than with words I've typed. This study agrees.

"When writing by hand, our brain receives feedback from our motor actions, together with the sensation of touching a pencil and paper. These kinds of feedback is significantly different from those we receive when touching and typing on a keyboard."

Source: http://www.bakadesuyo.com/whats-an-easy-way-to-increase-your-learning-a

Say It With Me... "One More Rep"

Turns out that talking to yourself can increase your sports performance. This particular study says it helps no matter what kinds of things you say, but assisted (I assume that's another person) positive self talk gave the best results.

Source: http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-talking-to-yourself-improve-performance

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Space Saver Rooms

I have a thing for small-space design, lofts, hidden storage, etc., so these room designs really strike my fancy.

Source: http://happythings.tumblr.com/post/5210259988

A Good Excuse For a Get Together

"The amount of time we invest in a relationship is proportionate to its quality. Face-to-face relationships are simply unmatched by online ones. “A touch is worth a 1000 words any day,” says Dunbar. But what online relationships are good for is to stall the decay of a relationship. If you don’t go to the pub sooner or later, it will die.” ~ Dunbar"

Robin Dunbar is the guy behind Dunbar's number, the number of friends one person can sustain.

Source: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/04/picking-robin-dunbars-brain-an-interview-about-friends/

Adjust Speed to Persuade

Interesting. When trying to convince someone of something they don't believe, talk fast. This must be where we got the fast-talking salesman. Whatever it is, you probably don't need it. :)

"When preaching to the converted, it was slow speech that emerged as the most persuasive."

Source: http://www.bakadesuyo.com/are-fast-talkers-more-persuasive

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Yet ANOTHER Reason to Get a Good Night's Sleep

Want to remember something you just learned? Sleep on it.

"These results support the notion that sleep immediately following acquisition, independent of time of day, promotes memory consolidation and that sleep deprivation may disrupt this process depending on the amount of sleep that is lost."

Source: http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-should-you-do-after-learning-something-t

Nike Air Force 1: Official Shoe of Criminals

I'm not sure if this means I should get a pair before knocking over the corner store on the theory that my footprints would match most other criminals in town, or if I should avoid the shoes cuz they'll Make me knock over the corner store...

"the Nike Air Force 1 sneaker is the most often encountered at U. S. crime scenes, turning up in about 17 percent of cases"

Source: http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-footwear-is-most-popular-among-criminals

The When and What of Background Music

None of this surprises me. "background music disturbs the reading process, has some small detrimental effects on memory, but has a positive impact on emotional reactions and improves achievements in sports."

I also find that background music is detrimental to navigating parking lots. I always have to turn off the music to keep from overloading as I deal with cars going every which way and looking out for a space.

Source: http://pom.sagepub.com/content/early/2010/11/04/0305735610376261.abstract?papetoc

Pain Relief... There's an App for That

This study shows that looking at pictures of a loved one decreases pain. Who would have thought that the photo gallery on your phone could be so useful?

Source: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2010/10/14/love-is-the-drug-staring-at-a-beloveds-face-lessens-pain/

To Extend Your Life, Be Conscientious

This is good news for those of us who aspire to live in accordance with our highest sense of right (assuming we want long lives...).

"Higher levels of conscientiousness were significantly and positively related to longevity"

Source: http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-conscientious-people-live-longer

Pendulum Waves

Really cool video. I can almost hear music along with the movement.

Source: http://youtu.be/yVkdfJ9PkRQ

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Stick Chair That Packs Flat

Wow. This chair is amazing.

Source: http://www.dudecraft.com/2011/05/flat-pack-stick-chair.html

Monday, May 2, 2011

Reading Creates Connection

I'm not the slightest bit surprised that readers feel connected to the characters about whom they read. What does surprise me is the statement that "...participants who were more group-oriented in life showed the largest assimilation effects." I would have thought that people who didn't like groups as much in real life would feel more attached to book characters.

Source: http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-reading-help-satisfy-our-need-for-belongi

Devil's Advocate - Not Really A Good Decision-Making Process

There is at least one study showing that giving people facts that contradict their views makes them hold more strongly to said views. Looks like presenting the opposing position works just as poorly for decision making.

"Devil's advocate was found to stimulate cognitive boistering of the initial position, thus raising concerns about the unintended consequences of techniques such as devil's advocate and the subtle task facing attempts to foster original thought and yet maintain cohesion."

Source: http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-devils-advocate-a-bad-way-to-improve-decis

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Grief Lessens, But Doesn't Go Away

I'm happy to see the professional thought fixers recognize that there are things that alter or lighten but don't actually "fix."

"...you never get over loss. As time passes, the intensity of feelings about the loss will lessen"

"...grief is an emotion that sends a vague alert to help you to remember, rather than to forget. Even so, what most people do with grief is attempt to forget--to get over it--which is quite contrary to the purpose of the emotion. Rather than try to forget, one must attempt to remember and cooperate with what your emotion is trying to convey."

I like this view of grief as an alert to remember and cooperate with your emotion.

Source: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/intense-emotions-and-strong-feelings/201105/grief-isnt-something-get-over

Stop-Motion Musical Painting - Amazing!

This is beautiful! I could watch it again and again.

Source: http://www.dudecraft.com/2011/04/musical-painting.html

Gut-Level Judgments of People

I found these results comforting. Of course, I still need to work on that whole overriding-the-gut thing...

Source: http://www.bakadesuyo.com/should-you-trust-your-gut-to-tell-you-who-is