Faster, Better, Healthier.
Fast 50 - Report From the Future:: One of my goals is to be on this or a similar list in ten years. A list of 50 "portraits from the future", people who are making a big impact on changing our world. by Fast Company
Fortune has a feature called Secrets of Greatness. This is a series of short interviews with a dozen "accomplished" people, from A.G. Lafley to Wynton Marsalis, on their keys to achieving flow in everyday living. The recurring theme: be an early riser. I've never really been a morning person, but I'm finding that once you start waking up early, it becomes a habit. I'm even waking up five minutes or so before my alarm goes off now - it's so much nicer than being jolted awake. One of the recommendations given in the early riser article is to cut caffeine out completely - I'll only give up my java when they pry it from my cold dead hands.
Don't make Dave's mistake. You are only as good as the fuel you put into your body. Maybe you may function fine on Wendy's #2 Combo, Biggie-sized with a Diet Coke. I understand. Sometimes, you just crave those 60g of fat and 1140 calories. I do too. Just promise yourself it's a once a month treat. Since January 1 I've been trying to eat healthier and organically. I've found it to be a challenge to change some of my neandrethal eating habits. I am definitely noticing a difference in my energy levels and I feel healthier in general. I eat a lot - I have been taking in about 3,800 to 4,000 calories a day. I keep track of this with a great, free site called Nutrax. You can keep fitness and food logs there - just snap a picture with your camera phone before every meal, then go back and input the nutritional information. There are menus that list virtually everything edible with the info already there for you, and it's pretty easy to use. The hard thing for me is still making a habit of tracking every single thing I eat. This is a great tool for athletes, anyone with diabetes, or people trying to lose weight.
So I'm trying to get to the point that eating organic is better for you and better tasting than processed foods. I guess we all know this, but who has the money to shop at Whole Foods every week? You don't have to. A few weeks ago my favorite person turned me on to Sunflower Markets here in Denver. All organic, they have the best produce and great quality, inexpensive meats. When my friend got out of the car with her own grocery bags, I was a bit perplexed - then I saw when we got the receipt, they took $.25 per bag off of the bill. I was really impressed by their helpful staff and great food - and it marked the last time I will go to the unSafeway in 5 Points for any reason. Now, if they could just figure out how to make a decent tasting organic peanut butter...
randomosity
InBubbleWrap - daily contests for free business books. I won How Dell Does It, by Steven Holzner. They send me a free book, I send them a link - also check 800-CEO-READ, an excellent business blog.
Psychologist Steven Hayes says the American obsession with feeling good is preventing us from living good -- and that living life to the fullest means a lot of pain. from salon.com
Tonight I am motivated by: fresh starts, and my first $4 adsense payment. Now I'm going to sleep, maybe have a crazy lucid dream or two. Sleep is important.
homeland security?
I was reading slashdot this afternoon and came across this interesting thread. A retired schoolteacher from Texas paid off his credit card debt in a lump sum, and it got flagged by Homeland Security. This isn't really new news - large financial transactions have been flagged and subject to scrutiny by government agencies for years. Since 9/11 however, the threshold for "suspicious" dollar amounts has been lowered, and the number of investigations (pdf) have increased considerably.A few of my friends who play poker for a living have had some increasing difficulty with taxes and even simple banking due to the large amounts of cash they use for their chosen career. I know 2 people that were audited in 2005, and even with all of their paperwork fully documenting their profits, they were subject to harassment and undue scrutiny by the IRS. If this kind of Orwellian monitoring is already commonplace, how will citizens ever regain some semblance of privacy from the government?Like it or not, our society is far past the point of no return. Everywhere you go, you leave a data trail. Living off the grid is almost impossible at this stage. I wouldn't want to - I am a (mostly) law abiding citizen, and in some aspects the benefits of a truly open society improve the quality of life for everyone. As Americans, however, we did not enter into any contract granting the government full access to our lives, and the government is clearly overstepping their defined legal boundaries lately. This is just the most recent example of the violation of privacy in America. Unconstitutional laws that have been passed radically overstep personal rights in the name of "security" and "fighting terrorism". But are we really safer today than five years ago? Does the U.S. have some secret force field that I don't know about? Or did we simply squander the world's admiration and respect for our supposedly reasonable actions in Afghanistan by invading Iraq in violation of international law...?
stewie griffin, on 50 cent
I have been a Family Guy fan for a long time - the show is brilliant and I can't watch an episode without nearly dying from laughter. I missed this episode, where Stewie goes off on 50 Cent. Priceless (free video).
Here is a GREAT guitar solo - Stanley Jordan, playing Eleanor Rigby - wow. If you thinks it's slow, just wait about 40 seconds. I wish I could play like this...Finally on this beautiful Sunday (67f today in Denver), I leave you with this.I hope your French is better than mine to translate - or you can go to Babelfish. Unique ebay auctions, including my forehead. Here is the original listing. Yes, that's me and my big ass forehead, which I auctioned for adspace after a bad week in Las Vegas. I saw an article in the Denver Post about someone who made $34k auctioning a temporary tattoo on his head, and I'm way more handsome than that guy. Alas, no bidders - just $60 in listing fees. Damn you ebay!
