…where you feel guilty for what you did on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
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Transgression Tuesday →
Prioritize practical movement →
Natural human movement comprises locomotive skills such as walking, running, balancing, jumping, crawling, climbing, or swimming; manipulative skills such as lifting, carrying, throwing, and catching; and combative skills such as striking and grappling. In today’s comfortable world we are losing sight of the practicality of these skills, yet their value cannot be ignored whenever a life-threatening situation arises. You might have to run for your life, or climb, swim, fight, lift, etc. These abilities can save not only your own life, but that of strangers and loved ones as well. George Hebert said, “Be strong to be useful.” Do you want to be strong and useful? Then prioritize practical ways to move.
~ Brett McKay from, Get Fit Like a Wild Man
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New knee ligament discovered. Again. →
Orthopedic surgeons in Belgium have hunted down the enigmatic structure in cadavers. And what do you know — the good Parisian doctor [who discovered it 150 years ago] was right.
There is an overlooked ligament in the knee. And it might be important for keeping your knee from twisting and turning, especially after an injury to the anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL.
~ Michaeleen Doucleff from, Surgeons Discover Quirky Knee Ligament All Over Again
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5 million tons of rubbish →
Five millions tons of rubbish made up of devastated homes, boats, cars and businesses is making its way across the Pacific Ocean following the 2011 tsunami in Japan.
~ Christopher Bucktin from, Floating island of rubbish three times size of BRITAIN floating towards California
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The article’s characterization of the debris as a “floating island” is certainly hyperbole. But still, this is a HUGE amount of floating debris.
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You might try mowing the lawn →
Researchers in Sweden measured the health of almost 4,000 60-year-olds in the late 1990s. A dozen years later, they checked back in. The people who had been active but not “exercising” at age 60 had a 27 percent lower risk of heart attack and stroke over that time, and a 30 percent lower risk of death.
…
What kind of activity does it take to get those kind of numbers? Things like mowing the lawn, housework, fix-it projects, gardening, bicycling, and, for a nice Scandinavian touch, “gathering mushrooms or berries.”
~ Nancy Shute from, For A Longer Life, You Might Try Mowing The Lawn
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Repercussions →
If I were in government right now, I would be leery of starting another big software project. I’d also know that big software projects are going to be necessary as our civilization gets more and more complex. So, if I were in government right now, I’d be thinking about laws to regulate the Software Industry. I’d be thinking about what languages and processes we should force them to use, what auditing should be done, what schooling is necessary, etc. etc. I’d be thinking about passing laws to get this unruly and chaotic industry under some kind of control.
If I were the President right now, I might even be thinking about creating a new Czar or Cabinet position: The Secretary of Software Quality. Someone who could regulate this misbehaving industry upon which so much of our future depends.
Maybe that thought hasn’t occurred to them yet. Maybe. But how many more healthcare.gov debacles will it take before it does?
~ Bob Martin from, «http://blog.8thlight.com/uncle-bob/2013/11/12/Healthcare-gov.html»
Most people I’ve talked to, (who write software or do systems and network administration,) are in the “I have work to do” camp. They’ve no time to think about professionalization, or standardization, of their field. To which I say:
That’s cool; I understand. No worries! The government will eventually get around to ramming standardization and licensing down your throat. I’m sure that will work out well for us.
If you work in these fields, you should be paying attention. If you wok in network and systems administration, you should be paying attention to LOPSA and Usenix/LISA.
Update:
Feb 2014: Senate Steps Into the Data Breach Controversy
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You are probably wrong most of the time →
Q. Can you prove that I’m wrong?
Yes, but, you’ll have to agree in advance what proof looks like, otherwise you could just move the goalposts after the game.
Q. How come I have so much evidence that I’m right?
That’s confirmation bias. Your brain carefully files away all the reasons you might be right, and disregards all the reasons you might be wrong.
~ “Proper discord” from, You’re Wrong: an F.A.Q. | Proper Discord
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Do not go gently into that good night →
We may not all achieve a high level of technical mastery enabling us to ward off the attacks of a skilled and aggressive opponent, even after many years of training. But, at the very least, we should be able to maintain a healthy life-style and keep our bodies flexible and well-conditioned even into advanced age. This is within the capacity of everyone and does not require any special genetic predisposition or extraordinary athletic skills. When many of us reach instructor level after a certain period of training, we gradually turn into passive supervisors rather than vigorous participants.
~ Stan Pranin from, «http://members.aikidojournal.com/public/the-body-is-the-temple-of-the-spirit/»
That link takes you into the “members only” area of the Aikido Journal web site. If you are an Aikido student, you should immediately join — the fee is minimal and supports Stan’s great work. If you are not an Aikido student, but really want to read this, let me know… I can make you a copy from the Aikido Journal issue.
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Mercy →
Mercy is refraining from ridiculing or abusing the young men who lost 91-0. Mercy is complimenting them for their effort. Mercy is treating them like athletes and competitors after such a loss. Mercy is applauding when they return to the line time after time against hopeless odds, and when they return to practice again the next day. Mercy might be sitting down with them and telling them about times you lost badly and how you felt and how you got up again. Mercy is pointing out to other kids the character it takes to keep trying under such circumstances, and challenging them to have character like that. Mercy is teaching kids how to deal with the adversity they will certainly face in their life.
It is not merciful to teach them they have a right not to lose badly.
~ Ken White from, «http://www.popehat.com/2013/10/23/what-does-mercy-look-like/»
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Golden Arches ( in your feet! ) →
The notion that sport shoes and inserts should keep the human arch stiffly supported is a decades-old assumption that could use some rethinking, according to a British gait analyst who has closely studied more than 25,000 footsteps of healthy people.
~ Deborah Franklin from, Golden Arches: Human Feet More Flexible Than We Thought : Shots – Health News : NPR
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