Scree – Page 304 – Craig Constantine

Mercy does not exists without more severe options →

Published January 21, 2014 · All posts on Jan 21

I certainly don’t doubt for a minute that O Sensei could have devastated his training partners. Their ukemi demonstrate their respect for that potential. But I’m told that Saito Sensei opined that without mercy, ukemi is impossible. Certainly that is not to imply that practicing severe forms and injuring people has a place in the dojo. Practicing the severe forms short of injury, however, may be fundamental. Without that, how can you personally claim to be merciful? You, whatever your mental state or intentions, would be constrained by your limited technical knowledge.
~ Charles Warren, from «http://blog.aikidojournal.com/2012/07/15/on-mercy-by-charles-warren/»

Cinnamon →

Published January 20, 2014 · All posts on Jan 20

Cinnamon comes from the bark of trees. It has long been considered a medicinal plant. There are several varieties, harvested from southern China to Southeast Asia. For years, there have been hints that adding cinnamon to your diet can help control blood sugar. And a recent spate of studies adds to the evidence that the effect is real.
~ Allison Aubrey, from Cinnamon Can Help Lower Blood Sugar, But One Variety May Be Best

Elsewhere, this is 4unobo3. — slipbox

Subtraction →

Published January 18, 2014 · All posts on Jan 18 · Motivation

Too many possessions is clutter, visual stress, cleaning, maintenance, debt, less happiness. Too many tasks makes it harder to focus on any one thing or get anything done. Too many things we want to learn means we never learn anything well.
~ Leo Babauta, from The Necessary Art of Subtraction

Elsewhere, this is 4uzemi1. — slipbox

The U.S. Federal Reserve →

Published January 16, 2014 · All posts on Jan 16

As we approach the 100 year anniversary of the creation of the Federal Reserve, it is absolutely imperative that we get the American people to understand that the Fed is at the very heart of our economic problems. It is a system of money that was created by the bankers and that operates for the benefit of the bankers. The American people like to think that we have a “democratic system”, but there is nothing “democratic” about the Federal Reserve.
~ Michael Snyder, from «http://www.redflagnews.com/headlines/25-fast-facts-about-the-federal-reserve-please-share-with-everyone-you-know»

OK plateau →

Published January 15, 2014 · All posts on Jan 15 · Wisdom

And so we get to the so-called “OK Plateau” — the point at which our autopilot of expertise confines us to a sort of comfort zone, where we perform the task in question in efficient enough a way that we cease caring for improvement. We reach this OK Plateau in pursuing just about every goal, from learning to drive to mastering a foreign language to dieting, where after an initial stage of rapid improvement, we find ourselves in that place at once comforting in its good-enoughness and demotivating in its sudden dip in positive reinforcement via palpable betterment.
~ Maria Popova, from The Psychology of Getting Unstuck

Elsewhere, this is 4ubaie5. — slipbox

Words Already Do That →

Published January 14, 2014 · All posts on Jan 14

Odds that a word I type will start with some weird symbol.
~ Randall Munroe, from Sigil Cycle

Elsewhere, this is 4uxoaa1. — slipbox

Being awake →

Published January 10, 2014 · All posts on Jan 10

It’s worth the effort, because being awake means we’re not missing life as we walk through it. Being awake means we’re conscious of what’s going on inside us, as it happens, and so can make more conscious choices rather than acting on our impulses all the time.
~ Leo Babauta from, 12 Indispensable Mindful Living Tools

Elsewhere, this is 4uzeto1. — slipbox

On Aikido grading →

Published January 9, 2014 · All posts on Jan 9

For several years, I’ve been on the verge of writing something about grading within Kinokawa. Stefan Stenudd has, hit all the high points, and saved me a lot of effort:

Therefore, though with some reluctance, I have kyu and dan gradings in our dojo, trying to make sure that everyone advances in grades in accordance with his or her advancement in aikido. That’s not rocket science, but it’s not a piece of cake either.
~ Stefan Stenudd from, The Gordian Knot of Grading

Elsewhere, this is 4uaifo1. — slipbox

If you’ve been studying with Sensei Wirth for some time, you’ll notice a few obvious differences – things like our having changed to colored belts for kyu ranks ~2001/2002, hakama for dan ranks, etc. He also dives deeper into the details of performing higher level dan gradings – which is something that I don’t have to worry about.

Stop data-mining me →

Published January 8, 2014 · All posts on Jan 8 · Internet Tech

Data brokers have pioneered advanced techniques to collect and collate information about consumers’ offline, online and mobile behavior. But they have been slow to develop innovative ways for consumers to gain access to the information that companies obtain, share and sell about them for marketing purposes. Now federal regulators are pressuring data brokers to operate more transparently.
In 2012, a report by the Federal Trade Commission recommended that the industry set up a public Web portal that would display the names and contact information of every data broker doing business in the United States, as well as describe consumers’ data access rights and other choices. But, for years the data brokers have been too busy to build a centralized Web portal for consumers. So, we decided to help them out and StopDataMining.me was born!
~ http://www.stopdatamining.me

Go there. Then, one by one, follow the links to the data mining companies “opt-out” forms. These companies ALREADY know who you are.

The Mighty Ducks →

Published January 6, 2014 · All posts on Jan 6

Let’s set aside the fact that a guy who gets convicted of a DUI is put in charge of a children’s hockey team, and instead focus on the fact that this bum of a coach managed to change the lives of the Mighty Ducks, and my life as well.
Today we’re going to learn from Coach Gordon Bombay (EMILIO!!) Charlie Conway (spazz!), Adam Banks (cake-eater!), Folton Reed, GOLDBERG!, and the rest of the Mighty Ducks about leveling up ourselves and our lives.
~ Steve Kamb from, How The Mighty Ducks Will Make You A Better Person

Elsewhere, this is 4unebo15. — slipbox