February 2010
16 posts
merlin:
Hodgman kicking a persimmon off of...
January 2010
41 posts
The Steven Wright Guide to Content Marketing |... →
Steven Wright as writing coach? Maybe so.
Ha!
merlin:
My Initial Thoughts on Apple’s Announcement Regarding the Release of the iPad, Viz. the High Likelihood of Its Impact As a Paradigm-Shifting, Next-Generation Appliance Poised to Upend the Traditional Notion of Computers As Per Se Computers; Plus, Educated Commentary on the Complex and Sometimes Adversarial Relationships Between Humans and the Machines That They Build to Use and to —...
merlin:
frakintosh:
I’m pretty sure that my stepdad is just half a Scott Bourne.
Take that however you want.
I have no idea what this means, but pretty much any way you interpret it, it’s pretty funny.
Also: Yes. Scott is a friend, and we shouldn’t be mean to him.
Also: Did I tell you about my new custom Hasselblad? It’s made out of weaponized virgin platinum, unicorn’s breath, and the...
The 6 Most Statistically Full of Shit Professions... →
Bruce Schneier Remains Unafraid →
fraidycats:
Bruce Schneirer:
Despite fearful rhetoric to the contrary, terrorism is not a transcendent threat. A terrorist attack cannot possibly destroy a country’s way of life; it’s only our reaction to that attack that can do that kind of damage. The more we undermine our own laws, the more we convert our buildings into fortresses, the more we reduce the freedoms and liberties at the...
Tino Sehgal →
Seriously strange and facinating.
Please leave.
mmnml:
if you’re feeling that distracted, the last thing you need is a web site about minimalism.
please really think about this for at least 20 seconds.
then, close this window, and go disappear into your real work.
instead of repeatedly visiting a web site about how to avoid distractions.
good work.
merlin:
Appreciating Donald Murray
(a/k/a, “Quit trying to make pigs out of sausage.”)
This used copy of Writing for Your Readers cost me US$2.97 used on Amazon Marketplace. So, imagine my surprise yesterday, when it arrived and I opened it to discover it’s autographed by Don Murray. With a funny little self-portrait doodle and all!
Made my day. Plus, it seems like a good omen, right?
...
Doing Your Work Like an Adult
merlin:
Autofocus System - Get Everything Done
The system consists of one long list of everything that you have to do, written in a ruled notebook (25-35 lines to a page ideal). As you think of new items, add them to the end of the list. You work through the list one page at a time in the following manner:
Read quickly through all the items on the page without taking action on any of them.
...
Stephen Jay Gould: scientist, writer →
merlin:
“The human mind delights in finding pattern—so much so that we often mistake coincidence or forced analogy for profound meaning. No other habit of thought lies so deeply within the soul of a small creature trying to make sense of a complex world not constructed for it.”
— Stephen Jay Gould (via butdoesitfloat) (via jeremyturner)
Stephen Jay Gould: amazing scientist, but even more,...
On not knowing →
merlin:
“My ignorance is essential. I do not write what I know but what I need to know.”
The late, great [Don Murray], on how the topics for his column would choose him.
A bit tangential, but this reminded me of one of my favorite Feynman quotes: But I don’t have to know an answer. I don’t feel frightened by not knowing things, by being lost in the mysterious universe without having any...
Jane McGonigal on the merits of doing via @zefrank →
I didn’t accomplish what I set out to do, but I realized I had set out to do the wrong things.
Tumblr.Quisby - Self-Proclaimed Social Media Gurus... →
The Science Behind Failed Resolutions - WSJ.com →
