Best Read – Page 10 – On The 8 Spot

March 3, 2009

-rePost-Best Read-Believing in the impossible – Part 1 at Paulo Coelho’s Blog

: Image by Getty Images via Daylife

– Can’t believe it? – the Queen repeats with a sad look on her face. – Try again: take a deep breath, close your eyes, and believe.
Alice laughs:
– It’s no good trying. Only fools believe that impossible things can happen.
– I think what you need is a little training – answers the Queen. – When I was your age I would practice at least half an hour a day, right after breakfast, I tried very hard to imagine five or six unbelievable things that could cross my path, and today I see that most of the things I imagined have turned real, I even became a Queen because of that.

March 3, 2009

Easy Way To Find Things To Do Great Work On (Advice from Paul Krugman)!

PRINCETON, NJ - OCTOBER 13: Princeton Profess... — Image by Getty Images via Daylife

I was, of course, only saying something that critics of conventional theory had been saying for decades. Yet my point was not part of the mainstream of international economics. Why? Because it had never been expressed in nice models. The new monopolistic competition models gave me a tool to open cleanly what had previously been regarded as a can of worms. More important, however, I suddenly realized the remarkable extent to which the methodology of economics creates blind spots. We just don’t see what we can’t formalize. And the biggest blind spot of all has involved increasing returns. So there, right at hand, was my mission: to look at things from a slightly different angle, and in so doing to reveal the obvious, things that had been right under our noses all the time.

From How I Work–Paul Krugman

March 2, 2009

Best Read-Resume Cover Of a Startup, Employee??–Dashnine Media » I (may) need a new job because my boss is a jerk

: Image by Emma Swann via Flickr

Read the whole thing . I’d have to say after a 12 hour work day, with only a 30 minute lunch and a couple of breaks I felt a surge while reading this. Although I am not working for a startup.

Dear _________,
I’m writing to express an interest to interview with your company. I may need to leave my current situation. I know its against convention to trash my last employer when applying for a job. If you read this, I think you’ll understand and excuse my behavior.
For six months I’ve worked under the promise of an eventual pay off. To date, I’ve received minimal compensation for my efforts. The past three months, I’ve worked 12-14 hour days six days a week and my boss expects me to “stick it out” for success that may or may not come. I know the hours for a fact. When I had trouble getting things done he made me account in writing
Dashnine Media » I (may) need a new job because my boss is a jerk.

February 23, 2009

Best Read: Seth's Blog: Do you deserve it?

Do you deserve it?
Do you deserve the luck you’ve been handed? The place you were born, the education you were given, the job you’ve got? Do you deserve your tribe, your customer base, your brand?
Not at all. “Deserve” is such a loaded word. Most of us don’t deserve the great opportunities we have, or the lucky breaks that got us here.
The question shouldn’t be, “do you deserve it.” I think it should be, “what are you going to do with it now that you’ve got it?”
Seth’s Blog: Do you deserve it?.

February 18, 2009

rePost:Belief In A Loving God/ A Loving Life:Who wants to go to heaven? at Paulo Coelho’s Blog

For those who believe in God or even who just believes in life, I’ve come to the belief(too many belief in this sentence) God/the Universe is not conspiring against me at worst it does not care for me/us, thus I try to live life in a manner that if not optimistic at least neutral. I still don’t knwo/understand life but I feel that If I am to continue living here I believe in Love!

Who wants to go to heaven?
Published by Paulo Coelho on February 16, 2009 in Stories
A priest – who saw the devil in the pleasures of life – went to the town tavern and asked everyone there to attend church that evening. Everyone obeyed. With the church filled to the last pew, the priest roared out:
– Stop all this drinking! All those who want to go to heaven, raise their right hand!
The entire congregation raised their hand – everyone but Manoel, who was held by all to be a dignified man who fulfilled all his duties.
Surprised, the priest asked:
– And you, Manoel, don’t you want to go to heaven when you die?
– Of course I do. But I still haven’t experienced the life that God has given me, and you want to take it away from me already!
Welcome to Share with Friends – Free Texts for a Free Internet
Who wants to go to heaven? at Paulo Coelho’s Blog.

February 18, 2009

INQUIRER.net Breaking News » Lump sum only for living WWII vets

: Image by CaDeltaFoto via Flickr

This is great news for those still living and probably scornful for those who have already left but still has surviving spouses. Something is better than nothing. On a personal note, my grandfather never accepted anything pensions etc, he was a WW2 veteran, He used to tell me he did it because of his duty to the country and not for anything else, that may sentimentality is impractical but I confess being an impractical man (sometimes)

Lump sum only for living WWII vets
February 17, 2009 1:26 PM
Posted under global nation
Veronica Uy
INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — Only living Filipino World War II veterans will receive the lump sum payments from the United States, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs section of the American embassy said Tuesday.
“The bill has not yet been signed into law. All we know is that only live Filipino veterans who served in World War II or who have military service are entitled to [the payments], not their surviving spouse. That is our instruction from the central office,” veterans’ representative Kristine Parayno said in a phone interview with INQUIRER.net.
Parayno said their office has not yet received the list of those who can avail of the payments of the procedures for filing claims.
The US Congress passed on Friday President Barack Obama’s $787-billion stimulus package, which included a $198-million allocation for the Filipino veterans.
The bill, which is scheduled to be signed Tuesday in Denver, would grant $9,000 to Filipino veterans living outside the US and $15,000 to those living there.
INQUIRER.net Breaking News » Lump sum only for living WWII vets.

February 14, 2009

Grasping Reality with Both Hands: Evil Republican Senators Watch

And I can’t believe there would be any electoral fall out that would follow what would be clearly understood by all as a classy gesture. McConnell — or Gregg, or any of a number of Republicans of impeccable (sic) right wing ideological pedigree — would be able to demonstrate a kind of reasonableness that the rest of their recent actions hide pretty well.
Even better: they would be praised for the kind of gesture that the GOP has found it impossible to make in response to what polls show is a pretty effective campaign to suggest that they are refusing the proffered hand of a very popular president.
Plus, of course, its just the right thing to do, the sort of care you take for those with whom you work — even the ones with whom you disagree, who you may in fact dislike — just because it makes the world a slightly better place in a way that costs nothing. Your mama told you to do such things; I and my wife work on my eight year old all the time to get him to internalize the notion that kindness is the default option in his dealings with the world.
Is this so hard to get? To do? If you are a Senate Republican, I guess so.
I can’t even get angry about this one. It’s just sad. These are damaged people.
Grasping Reality with Both Hands: Evil Republican Senators Watch.

February 10, 2009

-rePost Failing to Learn-Knowing and Doing: Embracing Failure

Excellent post bout how failing to learn! Read the whole thing!

Embracing Failure

A while back, I clipped this quote from a university publication, figuring it would decorate a blog entry some day:

The thing about a liberal arts education … is it prepares you to fail successfully and learn from that failure. … You will all fail. That’s OK.

— Jim Linahon

Linahon is an alumnus of our school who works in the music industry. He gave a talk on campus for students aspiring to careers in the industry, the theme of which was, “Learn to fail. It happens”

More recently, I ran across this as the solution to a word puzzle in our local paper:

You’ve got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down.

— Ray Bradbury

Bradbury was one of my favorite authors when I was growing up (The Martian Chronicles mesmerized me!) This quote goes farther than Linahon’s: what other people call failure is learning to fly. Do not fear.

Knowing and Doing: February 2009 Archives.

February 9, 2009

-rePost-Marginal Revolution: "Small steps toward a much better world"

Excellent Dissection of the Motto: “Small steps toward a much better world”, please read the whole thing,I especially like the last comment of tyler.

James Hudson, a philosopher and a loyal MR reader (it turns out I already know and admire his work), emails me the following observations:
Does anyone share my feeling that your slogan, “Small steps toward a much better world,” is odd?
But now it is long and so it goes under the fold…
First, better than what? I suppose it’s better than the world we have now; but then the “world” of the slogan is not a whole possible world, which would persist throughout time, but rather a temporal segment or slice of a possible world. We don’t now “have” a whole world; what we have is the present time-slice of the world. Or you might say that what we have is the whole past-and-present–the temporal segment of the world from the Beginning to Now; but this would be less suitable for comparison with what you are striving toward, so I will assume that the present time-slice or “state-of-affairs” is the intended standard of comparison.
Marginal Revolution: “Small steps toward a much better world”.

February 5, 2009

-rePost-Principles of the American Cargo Cult

Principles of the American Cargo Cult
I wrote these principles after reflecting on the content of contemporary newspapers and broadcast media and why that content disquieted me. I saw that I was not disturbed so much by what was written or said as I was by what is not. The tacit assumptions underlying most popular content reflect a worldview that is orthogonal to reality in many ways. By reflecting this skewed weltanschauung, the media reinforces and propagates it.
I call this worldview the American Cargo Cult, after the real New Guinea cargo cults that arose after the second world war. There are four main points, each of which has several elaborating assumptions. I really do think that most Americans believe these things at a deep level, and that these misbeliefs constantly underlie bad arguments in public debate.
I. Ignorance is innocence
Complicated explanations are suspect
The world is simple, and there must be a simple explanation for everything.
Certainty is strength, doubt is weakness
Admitting alternatives is undermining one’s own belief.
Changing one’s mind means one has wasted the time spent holding the prior opinion.
Your opinion matters as much as anyone else’s
When a person has studied a topic, he has no more real knowledge than you do, just a hidden agenda.
The herd should be followed
The contemplative lemming gets trampled
Popular beliefs must be true.
No bad idea can survive.
People are generally smart.
Even if a popular belief doesn’t pan out, at least you’ll be in the same boat as everyone else.
II. Causality is selectable
All interconnection is apparent
Otherwise, complicated explanations would be necessary.
The end supports the explanation of the means
A successful person’s explanation of the means of his success is highly credible by the very fact of his success.
You can succeed by emulating the purported behavior of successful people
This is the key to the cargo cult. To enjoy the success of another, just mimic the rituals he claims to follow.
Your idol gets the blame if things don’t work out, not you.
You have a right to your share
You get to define your share.
Your share is the least you will accept without crying injustice.
Celebrate getting more than your share.
III. It’s not your fault
If it’s good for you, it’s good
Society is everyone else.
Good intentions suffice
You can always apologize.
There is no long term
Don’t miss an opportunity.
Consequences are things that happen to others
Only you can hold yourself accountable. Don’t let others make you do that.
If somebody starts the blame game, you can still win it.
There are evil people and institutions, and surely one of them is more responsible than you are.
You are not the problem
An ugly image means a bad mirror.
IV. Death is unnatural
You’re special
Bad things shouldn’t happen to you.
Pain is wrong
Life should not hurt.
It’s a Whiffle World.
Tragedy is a synonym for calamity
Bad things are never consequences of one’s own action or inaction.
There will be justice
Bad people get punished.
You, however, will be forgiven.
Principles of the American Cargo Cult.

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