Archive | October, 2007

Will Work For Sleep

31 Oct

I am in sleep hell—experiencing sleep deprivation to the point of body-shaking madness. Turns out being a “shift worker” and doing what I love (paramedicine) could be the culprit. So all that boasting I’ve been doing about working weird hours, napping at work, and goofing off just might be screwing up my life. I think I’m depressed.

  • Jennifer Ackerman: Find out what the human body does all day long, and see if you’re a lark or an owl when it comes to sleep. I’m “moderate evening”—Go figure.
  • Daily Rhythm Test: See what your body’s natural sleep cycle is supposed to look like. Apparently, I should be asleep now.
  • Baby Medic: For some, being a paramedic is the starting point to becoming a doctor. But rarely do doctors write so well and tell such great stories.

    • Groping, laptops and bras

    30 Oct

  • Groper Warnings: Tired of getting groped? Nearly 1,900 people were arrested in Tokyo in 2005 for doing just that. And people on the train have had enough. Use your cell phone to flash warnings at the eager beaver with friendly hands.
  • The $200 Laptop: One man developed a computer for $100 so children in developing countries could learn. Then the cost of things went up, and so did the computer’s price tag—now it’s $200. No matter the cost, this man is a genius.
  • The Smart Bra: Finally, a bra that’s focused on something more than style, wire or padding. This one might detect cancerous cells in the breast because of microwave radiometry. And men’s boxers are on the horizon.
  • Last Supper Online: Your monitor likely can’t handle such a high-resolution, but who cares? This is your chance to see the “The Last Supper” in 16 billion beautiful pixels from its home in Milan’s Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie.
  • Internet Taxes: Americans still don’t want to pay taxes when shopping online, and the House of Representatives agrees with them. You won’t have to think about this again until 2011.

    • Triple Click: Oct 29

    29 Oct

  • lowercase l: Once you see how the uppercase L gets abused, you will see why I’m obsessed—always looking for the lowercase l.
  • Ikea Hacker: Take some chairs, add a surfboard and voila! You’ve got an ironing board. It’s basically MacGyver in the furniture world.
  • The Moleskin Project: A wicked cool notebook made back in the day is being used by modern artists to create delicious art.

    • The Exciting Life

    28 Oct

    Lately, my work ethic has been dwindling. It’s possible that my attitude is getting lethargic because I am not living the life I signed up for: The Exciting One. Instead, I am living a different life: The Marginal One. And before all this I had another life: The Unfulfilled One. I’m lucky, in the sense that I figured out what I wanted to do with my life—shouldn’t that make me The Happy One?

  • Leaving Corporate: Leave your high-paying job, pursue what you think is your dream, find out later it’s not what you wanted—ouch!
  • Escape from Cubicle Nation: See what happens when you leave your cubicle behind, go to work for yourself, make your own hours, and actually feel good about your life.
  • What Should I Do With My Life: This article motivated me to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. Read it. Be inspired. Take a chance.

    • The Company Pier

    26 Oct

    Dating people in your field is not necessarily good. You will see them down hallways, in cafes, at conferences. For some, this is awkward, inconvenient, and extremely unhealthy. I have nothing to say because I’ve been there and felt your pain. I do not fish off the company pier anymore. Instead, I get my company friends to set me up with their company friends.

  • Simply Fired: A Microsoft employee fishes off the company pier and takes women (not his wife) on business trips—you’re fired!
  • 30 Dates in 30 Days: Another day, another reality show. This time it’s five single women in New York City who go on blind dates.
  • A Long Way To Go For A Date: A book about women, gender issues and how one man left his country to find a suitable spouse.

    • Books on Wheels

    24 Oct

    books_wheels_photoI am addicted to bookstores. Over the weekend, I was in Portland, where you will find Powell’s, which is like crack to me. So there I was filling my basket with books, all the while increasing the weight of my backpack. The weight on my back from hotel to train station was too much. Next time I take the suitcase on wheels no matter how silly I look.

  • Powell’s: Here, you will find more than a city block full of books. Do not fail to be impressed. Powell’s is the be-all-end-all of book stores.
  • Books for Burma: Sure, you could add to the books you already have, but why not help buy books for the people in Burma fighting for freedom?
  • Naked in the Library: Libraries, next to grocery stores, are the most needed place on earth. Take a look at one librarian in a big city with a lot to say.

    • Trash: In and Out

    22 Oct

    My computerized lifestyle is starting to go belly up. I wasn’t born into the life of gadgets, I grew into them and as a result I love them. In fact, living without them sucks. But throwing cheaply made pieces of junk into the trash merely contributes to the overall destruction of the planet. Clearly, I need to win the lotto so I can buy more expensive junk that will last.

  • Grist: This is one of the best environmental news magazines ever. Honest. Read about how the man who should have been president is off doing way cooler things.
  • Student Housing: Forget about mud huts and design: grab a shipping container and turn it into your home. Amsterdam is so progressive—and cool.
  • PicoCool: I cannot describe this site adequately. I can say only say it talks about the environment, politics, arts, humanity. It is brilliant.

    • Sex, smoking and musicals

    21 Oct

  • Stop Smoking: The problem with addictions is that you need support. And sometimes you need that support to be at your side all day long. I, with bed head, am not available during some important hours. So turn to your cell phone–with all its wonderfully geeky functions—and stay clean and serene with technological simplicity.
  • Robot Vows: The jokes are clearly obvious—and endless. According to some scientists, we might be able to marry and consummate with robots in 2050. Sure, I’ll be 80-something by then and none of that will matter. For the younger generation, it might be progress. Or not. It sounds freaky no matter how you look at it.
  • Tyrannosaurus Footprint: Looks like a tiny tyrant may have left its mark some 65 million years ago. Scientists found a 2.5-foot print in Montana’s Hell Creek Formation, which is merely adding fodder for Darwinian debates. Nonetheless, we wonder what made Montana so hip back in the day that dinosaurs decided to rest there.
  • Print Me A Liver: For years, the inkjet printer has been gaining fame: more compact, more bang for your buck, more than just black and white. Then consumers started to compare the number of prints to the cost of cartridge and the numbers didn’t add up. But who cares when you can print a new organ with one?
  • Buffy the Musical: Once, on a resume that garnered me a high-tech dot.com job, I said they could call my references to find out about my quirks and idiosyncrasies, especially how I wouldn’t work Tuesday nights because that was Buffy night. I am still a huge fan. So are others. Sadly, they are being sued for putting on a musical.
  • Mona Lisa: It appears I’m not very artistic, nor can I appreciate things like the Mona Lisa. But as it turns out, I can appreciate the history and science behind such a popular work of art. And, as it turns out, there are some 25 secrets to the painting I had never thought about. I am shocked!

    • Sleep Will Come

    20 Oct

    I dream of sleeping. I am not, currently, doing so well at sleeping. I have dark rings under my eyes getting darker by the day, and wrinkles appearing where wrinkles never existed. Sure, I’m getting older, had parts taken out, and still have to work to pay the bills. But I need sleep. I need to dream. I need the ability to fall asleep in meetings again.

  • Disinformation: Call it conspiracy, or just plain fact, but you will become a better person by reading this site. And there is enough to wile away the time all night.
  • Look at Me: Sometimes I’m afraid I’ll find my picture here. Explore more than 600 photos of random people, places and time. It will take hours, and you will laugh.
  • Colors Magazine: There are few companies that take a stand like United Colors of Benetton. This magazine is all that and a bag of chips. Read all night long.

    • Edible Comfort

    18 Oct

    For awhile there I was eating healthy, working out, and upping my intake of fiber. My heart was happy, my cholesterol was perfect, and my body felt good. But then insomnia kicked in, I hit a recent film festival, and parts of my life fell out of its tidy order—all of which lead to comfort food. So I upped my intake of artery-clogging deliciousness—and damn they taste good. So terribly good.

  • CookThink: I’m craving lamb, in an Indian dish, that’s autumnal; CookThink spits out a recipe for grilled yogurt-mint lamb kebabs. Why didn’t I think of that?
  • Accidental Scientist: Pick some ingredients: PhD, biology, food. Swirl them around a bit, and you’ll get something of a food super genius. I’m jealous.
  • Wasted Food: America is wasting food. Shocking! From dives to upscale restaurants, tons of food is getting thrown away. Learn more, stop wasting, take action.
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