Peaks and Valleys—of Sleeping and Biking
I’m trying to be better about my sleep and exercise. Gadgets—or in this case, apps—help.
A hat-wearing trout
Forecast: Announcing Forecast
This is amazing:
We’re extremely excited to announce the launch of Forecast, a new global weather service.
About a year ago, we released a little app for the iPhone and iPad called Dark Sky, attempting to do something new and interesting for weather forecasting, a field we think had become pretty stagnant….
(Source: forecastio)
“These 99 Words are the Key to Success in Education”
- Starting at birth, read to your child 15 minutes every day.
- Language and curiosity are the building blocks of learning.
- The first three years of life are the foundation for a child’s intellectual development.
- Every child needs a caring, responsible adult in his or her life.
- Every child needs a sense of community.
- Be a good role model for children. Let them learn from you.
- Keep in touch with your child’s teacher.
- We learn what matters to us.
- What gets rewarded gets repeated; what gets measured gets done.
- Be a lifetime learner. Read, write, travel.
—Dennis D. Dunn www.growingchild.com
Cat in a Tree
My Numerical Dates are International Standards Compliant
It’s always fun to find out the various standards the ISO has set over the decades.
The Recline and Fall of Western Civilization - Slate.com
Ding! Instantly the jerk in 11C reclines his seat all the way back. The guy in 12C, his book shoved into his face, reclines as well. 13C goes next. And soon the reclining has cascaded like rows of dominos to the back of the plane, where the poor bastards in the last row see their personal space reduced to about a cubic foot.
I never recline my airplane seat, maybe slightly on long intercontinental flights.
(Source: Slate)
Happy Valentine’s Day!
A Manifesto for Atheists — Ten Virtues for the Modern Age
Resilience. Keeping going even when things are looking dark; accepting that reversals are normal; remembering that human nature is, in the end, tough. Not frightening others with your fears.
Empathy. The capacity to connect imaginatively with the sufferings and unique experiences of another person. The courage to become someone else and look back at yourself with honesty.
Patience. We lose our temper because we believe that things should be perfect. We’ve grown so good in some areas (putting men on the moon etc.), we’re ever less able to deal with things that still insist on going wrong; like traffic, government, other people… We should grow calmer and more forgiving by getting more realistic about how things actually tend to go.
Sacrifice. We’re hardwired to seek our own advantage but also have a miraculous ability, very occasionally, to forego our own satisfactions in the name of someone or something else. We won’t ever manage to raise a family, love someone else or save the planet if we don’t keep up with the art of sacrifice.
Politeness. Politeness has a bad name. We often assume it’s about being ‘fake’ (which is meant to be bad) as opposed to ‘really ourselves’ (which is meant to be good). However, given what we’re really like deep down, we should spare others too much exposure to our deeper selves. We need to learn manners, which aren’t evil - they are the necessary internal rules of civilisation. Politeness is very linked to tolerance, the capacity to live alongside people whom one will never agree with, but at the same time, can’t avoid.
Humour. Seeing the funny sides of situations and of oneself doesn’t sound very serious, but it is integral to wisdom, because it’s a sign that one is able to put a benevolent finger on the gap between what we want to happen and what life can actually provide; what we dream of being and what we actually are, what we hope other people will be like and what they are actually like. Like anger, humour springs from disappointment, but it’s disappointment optimally channelled. It’s one of the best things we can do with our sadness.
Self-awareness. To know oneself is to try not to blame others for one’s troubles and moods; to have a sense of what’s going on inside oneself, and what actually belongs to the world.
Forgiveness. Forgiveness means a long memory of all the times when we wouldn’t have got through life without someone cutting us some slack. It’s recognising that living with others isn’t possible without excusing errors.
Hope. The way the world is now is only a pale shadow of what it could one day be. We’re still only at the beginning of history. As you get older, despair becomes far easier, almost reflex (whereas in adolescence, it was still cool and adventurous). Pessimism isn’t necessarily deep, nor optimism shallow.
Confidence. The greatest projects and schemes die for no grander reasons than that we don’t dare. Confidence isn’t arrogance, it’s based on a constant awareness of how short life is and how little we ultimately lose from risking everything.
Alain de Botton releases Ten Virtues for the Modern Age.
Via explore-blog.
On the heels of a 15-year-old girl’s brave and brilliant choice to come out to her parents via cake, a new study shows people who come out are happier and healthier
