Image from Fanpop I think a lot about creativity and how to maximize it, and one of my latest ideas has been to clearly define time you’re taking in ideas versus time you’re creating and exploring them. Consuming news sources like Reddit, Hacker News, etc. is the worst kind of input, as it’s not deep exploration of a…
Archives for April 2013
The Reason Google is Terrified of Facebook
Image from achievedstrategies.com Most who follow the tech industry know that Google and Facebook are in the throes of mutual combat, but few seem to see the strategic reason that Google is so deathly afraid of Facebook. Google is Google, right? They’re invincible! Who could possibly threaten them in search, right? Well, that’s missing the point. Google’s problem…
So Happy I Could Die
I’ve always been about “becoming”, striving, trying to shed what I didn’t like about myself in order to become that better person and experience the good life. Well, It occurred to me the other day that I’ve lived a great life already, and I can officially change modes. I can officially change from not being happy with myself…
Boston: Authorities Missed Intelligence Opportunities
The senior law enforcement official said the Russians feared he could be a risk, and “they had something on him and were concerned about him, and him traveling to their region.” Chechen extremists pose a greater threat to Russia than they do to the United States, counterterrorism specialists say, though some of the groups have had ties to…
If You’re Blogging on Facebook, Stop It
I have a number of friends who actually post insightful ideas and comments on Facebook, and they do so semi-regularly. It’s an absolute waste of time and creative energy. If you’re actually writing anything you value, to any degree, and doing so consistently, you should be doing it on an actual blog–not on Facebook. Here are a few…
Neil deGrasse Tyson Harms Science Education by Rejecting Atheism
Neil deGrasse Tyson (our generation’s Carl Sagan) takes what appears to be intellectual high ground by denying that the term “atheism” has any use in our society. Would that this were true. What he fails to acknowledge in his argument is the active anti-intellectualism that’s so rampant in our country. This is not merely a lack of intellectualism.…
Does News Consumption Destroy Creativity?
I don’t know a single truly creative mind who is a news junkie – not a writer, not a composer, mathematician, physician, scientist, musician, designer, architect or painter. On the other hand, I know a bunch of viciously uncreative minds who consume news like drugs. via News is bad for you – and giving up reading it will make…
Insurance Companies Make U.S. Healthcare Expensive
Because insurers are paid a fixed percentage of the claims they administer, they have no incentive to hold down costs. Worse than that, they have no incentives to do their jobs with even a modicum of competence. To take one small personal example, I have reached the age of Medicare eligibility but, because I continue to work full…
What This Site is About
And when I say “this site”, I’m really saying “me”. Existentialism: How to create our own meaning and our own happiness, since it doesn’t exist intrinsically in our universe Happiness: How to become more fulfilled in life Productivity: How to be more effective in everything you do, leading to #2 Beauty and Wonder: Finding and sharing interesting and…
Children Are Not a Rescue from a Lack of Meaning in Your Life
I often challenge people to describe why their lives have meaning. In most cases, the answers are deeply unsatisfying, both to me and to the person answering. Most people describe going to work at a job that could potentially suck more (an indication of victory), and ambling towards some sort of nebulous progression that is depressingly impossible to…
How Google Uses Reputation Data to Improve Security Across Its Properties
Google researchers have combined a number of reputation techniques to create a system that is 99 percent successful in detecting and blocking malicious executables downloaded by users of its Chrome browser.The system, known as Content-Agnostic Malware Protection (CAMP), triages up to 70 percent of executable files on a user’s system, sending attributes of the remaining files that are…
How to Keep Your iMessages Synced Across All Devices
If you’re an Apple acolyte like me you probably have at least one Mac, at least one iPad, and an iPhone. Using Messages across all of them is supposed to be seamless, and it is, but only if you do it right. Here’s how to do that. Unify on AppleID Email You can send Messages to other Apple…