distress, depress, duress, derail, digress ...

We all have a form of stress.

The usual workplace performance or timeline based anxieties aside, the pressures of obligations and commitments, family and friends, expectations and aspirations can all lead to levels of pressure that release the cortisol hormone and subject us to differing levels of mental and physical debilitation that we define as suffering from stress.

Of all the factors, though, I think financial based pressure is the one that is felt most acutely. True alleviation is oft found via lengthy periods of time, whilst short term solutions are often delaying tactics that can (and usually do) cause greater duress at a later stage. So, when the first semblance of financial distress is seen on the horizon, the leap to action is immediate and the tactics required to avert the disaster are deployed.

Under the usual circumstances, that would be the end of it and life returns to some form of normalcy soon thereafter. However, sometimes life throws you far more lemons than a normal lemonade stand can cope with, and try as you might, all you end up with is gallons of lemonade which you are now bathing in and that is stinging you eyes.

The GFC didn't really hit Australia ... no need for the economic lesson, suffice to say that Australians were generally cushioned and for most of corporate Australia, it was a convenient excuse to perform some margin fattening a la cost cutting. However, as mentioned, sometimes the cushion collapses and the effects from the affectation are delayed ... which is what has been occurring for the last ten months.

I mention this, for as I started juicing my own personally delivered batch of lifelemons(tm) the economic lemons started coming through and that meant a collapsing educational industry, a restructuring primary resource industry, a downsizing of the outsource and consulting aspects of the IT industry all as the corporation I work for discovers a black hole in the books and a billion dollar "challenge" to restructure and "save" the corporation. So the corporate lemons started flowing with reductions of benefits, changes in policies and, dare I even need to mention it, redundancies across the board.

So, what to do?

Whilst you consider the viability of looking for alternate work (and all the requirements of hunting, interviewing, securing and then re-proving your worth from scratch once again) the lemonade has no yet finished bubbling and at the same time you are trying not to react to the barbs from the wire canoe that is you've been body-hired out to a client, even though that very fact means you are spared the redundancy sniper scope ... So mixing it into a concentrate and make a cake, because you now have to place your new house project on hold, your farm plans are restricted, the tree planting project is now jeopardised and cut to a third of the original plan, your tenants are behind in payments and a mob of Roos have just destroyed two months of work and three fence lines.

The frosting comes in the form of your sibling declaring world war three on the family, a years worth of diploma homework still needing to be completed (in under a month now!), the need to redraw business plans and budgets for the farm, help out ageing parents and outlaws, all whilst trying not to drown in the lemonade or let it all just crush your spirit and drag you down into the dark and acidic depths of depression that you are all too familiar with. All of this, my dear friends, is to say that I have had a huge amount on my plate, and I simply have not had the time, let alone the energy, to do much more than squeezing lemons ... which is why I have been off the ether waves and unreachable by so many. Though the few that reached out, may I say, lit up my mood in indescribable ways, so even if I have not had the opportunity to reply yet, know that the act of reaching out does a world of good to the recipient.

So ... My health is (mostly) stable, my weight is not, cortisol hormone levels reads like a seismic graph and arse scratching sessions are fewer and further between.

All said and done, I will be ok. I am ok.

And lest it was not obvious, I miss you all ... desperately so.

[Reposted from xntrek]

Truthful "All of the stress" Tuesday

I am on the verge of just blowing up. 

Truthful "All of the stress" Tuesday

I am on the verge of just blowing up. 

Truthful "All of the stress" Tuesday tag:stress, vent, tt, tears, fears,

I am on the verge of just blowing up. 

Apropos the last post ...

W.E. Gutman - Nocturnes: Tales from the Dreamtime

[Reposted from xntrek]

Apropos the last post ...

- W.E. Gutman, Nocturnes: Tales from the Dreamtime.

[Reposted from xntrek]

Why do you work?

A conversation with a friend and colleague today highlighted this question. 

We were discussing some of the organisational, financial and policy changes going through the company and I made a commonly cynical and flippant remark of "well, I'm here because my mortgages need me to be" to which he replied "If I was the owner of the company or indeed your manager, I wouldnot be happy with that answer"

On or off: the arguments over circumcision

While heading into work this morning, my partner had the radio tuned to 101.1FM and the presentors were talking about the topic for the "Can of Worms" episode this evening - "is it ok to circumcise your son?"

As part of the session, they had Guy Cox, Ph.D. on the show to talk about the health benefits of the procedure. The spiel he gave was interesting, not because of the information, but because he used nothing but the fallacious method of presenting the exceptions as the rule arguments as support.

Further, his arguments stem from an obvious case of bias confirmation as many of the citations he provided were from research that has shown to be flawed or otherwise since been disproven.

As far as I am concerned, , whether performed on a male or female, circumcision is mutilation. Period.

I never understood the religious view on it. If people are made in God's own image, then was the foreskin a mistake? If it is made in the image of god, then wouldn't cutting it off be succinct to sacrilage? 

However, I'm not religious, so I believe it is an evolutionary adaptation. Evolution created the foreskin for a reason. A reason that exists in most mammals and one that is not yet a sign of vestigal use. Some have used the appendix as a analogy for this argument, but unlike the appendix, the foreskin has not shrunk to a shadow of its former glory, nor does it lie there dormant. Thus claiming it is useless is also fallacious.

I wish people would get better informed of the realities of circumcision rather than allow old religious arguments, a desire to not be wrong about past decisions or the allure of business dollars to affect their judgements. Get informed about what the foreskin is there for (http://skinfore.blogspot.com.au/?zx=a2b3a2a56c0dfe45) and how it affects those that have circumcisions done (http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/moral-landscapes/201109/myths-about-circu... before feeling free to wax lyrical and spread further disinformation and opinions.

If nothing else, you may be better informed and you can at least be hoinest with yourself about your decisions rather than seeking to support them with false proofs and rhetoric.

[Reposted from xntrek]

I'm guilty of it ...

Sometimes people say or do things without thinking.

This can be due to a hundred different things … and for a hundred different reasons. It may come from a negative space … or from a positive space … but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t done without thinking.

I do it the most with my Mrs … but with a lot of friends in general, I find. 

I jump in with kind words.

I offer a different view, pampering, protection, assistance … “solutions”

I forget that people need to work that out themselves and that they did not ask for any of that …

I need to remember to just listen and acknowledge them.

Only offering anything else after they ask**.

It’s harder to do than say.

Even if you just want everyone to truly happy … maybe we need to let them find the sunshine by walking out of their own fire swamps.

 

--

* I wrote this on another blog about a week ago, but wanted to put it elsewhere for posterity and to remind myself

**As someone mentioned, "I would feel I wasn’t being there for them if I didn’t and yet most likely it is the wrong thing".

 

[Reposted from xntrek]

iPads, Droid Tablets and Cloud services

So, I've had the iPad for a few months now ... and all the previous annoyances have not gone away. Though, the killer app (Goodreader) is still the primary reason I haven't handed it to Ingrid and moved onto a Droid tablet.

A friend of mine did get the Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet I was considering. Using it, I did have envy. It feels solid. It has a wacom tablet screen and stylus that has pinpoint accurate drawing and writing recognition that is beyond expalnation to someone who has not had the pleasure of using the cintiq. It also has your "standard" finger and gesture abilities but with the added benefits of smarts like palm recognition. I can't rave on about it enough! Add Android 4 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and it really is something worth considering. 

In looking at both the iPad and Android platforms again it was time to reconsider applications and services. This led us to the http://alternativeto.net/ site to search for cross platform versions and services.

I also started thinking about the cloud based services I use and just wanted to put them down for posterity.

• Google App Services : why I use these is a no brainer really - with integrated Gmail, Google Talk, Calendar, Google Docs (now Drive) and other Collaboration apps all available at a touch.
• Cloud Storage : 
  • SugarSync : I was a huge fan of Dropbox, but SugarSync has stolen my heart. It offers more initial space (5G vs 2G) and has w configurable syncing, sharing and search options. This means that I can specify which files or folders are synced From and to my phone automatically, while still being able to access those files I choose to sync with other computers.
  • Dropbox : I still use dropbox, but admittedly it is primarily for applications and camera related requirements
  • Box.com : While it is possible to use box in the same way as sugarsync, it requires ugrading to the premium version, and i simply cannot justify the monthly cost. That said, having been lucky to gain a 50GB account, I tend to use it as a content distribution system, and in that function, it shines above the others. 
• Evernote : the next best solution for keeping all your ‘business’ in one place is Evernote. It is a simple app with the help of which you can record quick video clips, take pictures and make text notes taking advantage of the handset’s camera. It looks like a digital memory box and you can access it on the web or via a desktop client as well. I have also started keeping an eye on Clearly - an evernote extension to the Chrome browser on desktop platforms -- it could potentially replace "read later" applications if it goes cross-platform.
• The Chrome browser : A few years ago, I was using the Chrome to Phone and  Phone to Chrome apps between my windows desktop and my Android phone. Today, simply installing Chrome on all of my devices allows me to synchronise bookmarks, form data, tabs and even push pages to a specific mobile device. It has all but become a cloud based browser.
• XMARKS : Until recently, there just weren't any other simple way of syncing bookmarks across browsers and desktops. Xmarks makes it pretty damned easy across platforms. However, even after paying for a premium service, the mobile offerings have been lacking and with the advent of chrome's bookmarks synchronisation ... if a new update doesn't offer something new soon, it will be another relic.
• LastPass : The "last password you need to remember" password managment system that integrates across devices, browsers and is cloud accessible.
• CloudOn : I only recently discovered this - a cloud based MS Word, Excel and Powerpoint service that is not a "compatible" but an actual MS Office environment. It can also access google docs and a variety of cloud based storage.
• Pocket : Previously known simply as "read it later", it is very similar to instapaper or readability, but has the added afdvantage of being cross platform and free.

So, that's my list for now ... what else is out there that you'd recommend? Why do you like it/use it/recommend it?

[Reposted from xntrek]

They say there is always 3 sides to a story ...

That of one side, that of the other side … and then there is the truth.

I look at it a lot like looking at a maths problem.

We can gather the values of p(A) and the values of p(B) and we can then try to determine the probability of truth or p(T).

Now, sometimes you add 2 and 2 and get 5 … if you look closely, it may be because one or both were very large values of 2 … so, perhaps the p(T) is correct …

but it’s impossible for 2 and 2 to equal three because regardless of the smallness of the values of 2, it just cannot be computed that way.

So, while it may be true that we may never know the truth, with a little logic, we can spot the lies.

Never stop trying to spot the lies as you aim towards the truth.

[Reposted from xntrek]

Facing Mortality and the thoughts of the lessons it offers.

As some of you may know, my wife's sister passed away suddenly last month. We weren't terribly close - and perhaps therein is one of the great tragedies of it all, that at 44 years young, she left this plane of existence and in her place the vacuum of her existence highlighted the myriad of small things that left her estranged with her parents and distant from us and yet, in preparing to cremate her, we learned more about her and her life of the last 15 years in a few short days than in the actual 15 years of passed time.
My thanatophobia kicked in well and true - yet i managed to (mostly) hold it together for Ingrid and be there for her. However the whole event, along with my fears, depression and over analytical mind has brought out a few thoughts about how we live.
One of the many rules of life posts and posters I see are attributed to the Dalai Lama, and reading through them, some struck a chord.

The Dalai Lama is said to have stated that we should follow the Three Rs:

• Respect for self
• Respect for others and
• Responsibility for all your actions

However, I'd like to re-order these around because I don't believe you can respect yourself until you take responsibility for all of your actions and you cannot respect others until you can respect yourself.

Another item attributed to him is Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
I'd take that far further and state we should not let a little dispute injure any relationship. I think it is far easier to hold onto a perceived slight than to remember the true generosities.
Following that logic is another gem from the Dalai Lama - In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.
It follows the same logic as the previous item. It is far too easy to forget all of the good that has passed. No one is ever so happy with someone that they thank them and then continue to raise all of the good things they did in the past and profusely rain gratitude on them for past deeds. So why do we do it when angry? It is just another way to add small kindling together in an effort to create a bonfire to light up your argument where a simple candle would have sufficed.
Looking at our (lack of) relationship with my sister-in-law and her husband, I realised a few things that are important

• If you don't make time, there will never be timeLife is always busy. Always. If we don't want to wake up one day and say "we should have spent more time together" then you need to just plan to spend it. We now have a standing Wednesday night dinner with the Brother-in-Law, another set for Tuesday or Thursday with the parents, a Sunday night call to the in-laws ... sure it takes two to make an effort, but I guess we need to offer the branch first.
• Love is not without risk nor painThere seems to be some kind of fallacy that love is an all powerful, magical force and that it somehow will make things better. I think that in fact, what makes it magical is that we will make an effort to make things better because we love someone, regardless of percieved insults, injuries or pain they cause. 
• A compromise is something where both parties lose a little to gain a lot.If you are asking someone to give something up and you aren't losing something in the deal as well, then it's not a compromise, but blackmail. It really is as simple as that. If something is not important to you, then say so, don't use it as a beating stick.
• Deal with your own demons Your past is your past Don't blame others for the demons you see.It is easy to see demons in the actions of others. However, we forget that our past and our demons are just that -- with an eye of objectivity, the reality is that the other person isn't even aware of what your demons are and why they were triggered.
• Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.As per a few items already listed, if your first response is going to be angry, venomous or in any other way not calm and collected - perhaps silence is the best response until we've worked out what caused the reaction and whether we need to take another step or say anything at all. I recall the three rules of speaking at this point:
  
  •  
    • Does this need to be said?
    • Does this need to be said by me?
    • Does this need to be said, by me, now?  

I'm sure there are many others - but that's just a few of the things that have been rolling around the cavern that is my head ...
Until next time, remember to live a good, honourable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll be able to live it a second time.
[Reposted from xntrek]

Australia is a lucky country, run by second-rate people who share its luck.

- The Lucky Country by Donald Horne, 1964

I find it amusing that Australian Politicians picked up the phrase "a lucky country" and ran with it, flying it as a flag and misapplying it as a form of rallying cry ... yet anyone who has read the book can see it was used ironically. It was a comment of disdain. An indictment on Australia.
Australia never earned its democracy ... it simply went along with some British habits and has been reticent to cut the apron strings.
Australia has not created wealth using "clever" means derived from education, science, technology or other innovations.
Australia's economic prosperity is largely derived from its rich natural resources.
Our Agriculture accounts for 12% of the GDP and produces enough surplus to export feed for 60 million whilst still keeping enough food locally to feed a population twice our own size.
Our mining, oil and gas extraction directly account for ten per cent of Australia's Gross Domestic Product.
Australia seems to care and show less enterprise than almost any other prosperous industrial society - through its myopian attitude to the mining sector, the lack of support for its education, research and development sectors and a seeming acceptance of creating a future where it will be an unimaginative nation, mired in mediocrity and manacled to its past.
[Reposted from xntrek]

Things I hate and people I love ...

but it's far easier to fill your life with things than people.

People can satisfy the hole inside, but requires us to first be part of the filling of another's hole first. Things fill the hole inside like wearing sandwiches on your head fills the hunger, but things don't ask for anything ... though those that have the things ask for your blood, sweat and tears via token pieces of paper.

A far cheaper and more rewarding exchange people are, so why do we find it easier to collect things instead?

[Reposted from xntrek]

Feelings ... how do they work?

One of the weird things I noticed this last month, is that I find it easier to feel for other people than I do for myself. It's like part of me allows me to feel and cry for them - but when it comes to myself, no way buddy-o.

I don't know why. I don't even have anything more to add. I guess I just needed to externalise the thought and validate it.

I'm sure I'll keep overanalysing this in the back of my head for, well, ever.

[Reposted from xntrek]

"It's my belief and you should respect and accept that"

I was told this today. It was said with heartfelt conviction and sincerity. It was reinforced by another who stated that, indeed, I should do just that. However, they were not talking about the fact that either one of them believe in a God or a religion or some such.

No.

I was told that in regards to the fact that they believe homosexuality is “not natural” and that “to them” it is “wrong”.

Here’s an idea … No way! Get Fucked! Fuck off!

You may as well have said “my [culture and/or religion] believes in beating women and you should respect and accept that” or “my [culture and/or religion] believes in keeping slaves and you should respect and accept that” heck why not go for the trifecta and say “my [culture and/or religion] believes in obliterating any form of dissent!”

You want me to respect you? Fine, earn it … you want me to accept your spiritual or religious beliefs, no problem … but if you actually expect me to turn around and somehow allow you to be a hateful, discriminatory bigot and ignore the fact that it is something that is fundamentally morally wrong and reprehensible as well then you can expect a great big double-shotgun load of fuck no with a great big helping of “are you fucking kidding me you backwards fuck?” right in your face … and I don’t care how long we have been friends for.

Because, that’s my belief.

 

[Reposted from xntrek]

Beating my addictions ...

I look back at my peak days of using. In hindsight, it is easy to see the patterns. The self loathing. The slow but sure erosion of life. The destruction I was bringing on to myself. Each time I partook, it was an expression of self-hate. Self Harm. Suppression. Denial.

It doesn’t matter what the drug of choice is. It truly doesn’t. Some drink. Some snort. Some smoke. Some inject. Some pop. Some fuck. Some eat. Some cut. Some work.

I was (and still am) a multiple abuser. Binge Drinker. Smoker. Workaholic. Binge eater.

Each allows one to spiral. Each allows one to drown in the loathing, pity and float in the dark waters of depression as we kid ourselves that it deadens the pain or relaxes us or that it allows us to zone out.

I tried a great many things to remove these behaviours from my life.

Two things I learned:

1. You have to honestly want to do so.

It makes no matter what you do, how hard you try, the efforts you go to nor the support you have .. it will all be for naught if you are not ready in your heart of hearts, Period.

2. The only one you are accountable to, is you.

You can make oaths to your parents, loved one, gods of faraway places or the blue fairy … it means nothing. Nothing. Not because of faith or the lack of it. Not because you do not care about the oath. Not because you do not resect the one you made the oath to. It’s because the issue is about you and your self-loathing. Your lack of self-love. Your failure to accept yourself. How can you promise to uphold something to someone that you are not willing to hold yourself to? So that you have another reason to hate yourself when you fail yet again?

You are responsible for the way you see the reflection from the mirror.

Don’t kid yourself. There is more than one view flung back.

The view of you as a person. As a lover. As a friend. As a parent. As an offspring. As someone who can be loved. As someone who can be trusted … all of these aspects are in there. Some you can see and be proud of. Some of them you will avoid looking at or accepting. Some you will turn away from.

I know I have met my demons and managed to control some of my many abuses. Drinking. Smoking. The breakdown even helped (to some degree) to curb the working.

But now … I need to face the binge eater.

I started seeing a physiofitness therapist and a dietician ... but it's stiull a struggle. It is not as simple as "don't eat cookies" or "exercise more" ... Each addiction has its own set of demons. Each has different roots. Different rules. Each battle is different. But the aim is still the same – to be able to stand up to that part of myself.

In many ways, fighting one addiction, just makes it harder to fight the next one. You know the pain you will be facing and the hardships it will bring, and you are always far more comfortable with the devils on your back than the promised angels beyond the veil.

[Reposted from xntrek]

A poem about life and work ...

entitled: Ahh, grasshopper, you have taken the stones from the palm of life and realised the golden truth!

There are many buckets out there,
   We all think that it’s not fair!
That some are gilded in gold,
   Whilst some are tin and cold.
Yet when it is brightly lit,
   And closer you move to it,
A smell permeates the air,
   Strong enough to singe your hair!
Gold or tin or paper too,
   They are all filled with poo!

— xntrek.

11 more lessons and thoughts ...

Following on from my last post entitled "8 Life lessons from a not quite 40 year old" here are some more thoughts and philosophies I live my life by:

 

1. Make an effort to know more about the world  today than you knew yesterday

   I honestly believe that the more we learn, the more we do, the greater the world around us becomes. This is why I have always taken on an additional challenge to myself every year. 

   Whether it is through undertaking a course, picking up a new hobby, researching a topic I am ignorant of or a challenging project ... I am continuously attempting to stretch out my skills and abilities, my understanding and my knowledge. 

   I believe everybody should take on this basic attitude. Your mind is like any other part of your body -- it requires just as much exercise, practice and discipline as any other muscle or skill you wish to develop.
    

2. The power of knowledge is the illumination it brings
   
   You don't know what you don't know. Ignorance is not stupidity, but it is a set of blinkers. The only way to see and understand more, is to be exposed to more. Science, art, humanities, politics, philosophy ... each subject uncovers a new set of shadows, and each illumination expands to allow your mind to think new thoughts.
    
3. Actively try and lessen the suffering of others.
   
   There is rarely (if ever) any reward in enforcing, promoting or extending the suffering of others. So why be part of that? I never see any compelling reason for any of the acts of harm or hate others inflict, but can tell you that each individual act of compassion, each individual act of kindness and each individual act of simple attention and acknowledgement has provided a warm and loving spark. Every. Single. Time.
    
4. The promise of an external reward - current, belated or in some eternal afterlife - is no reason to commit an act - good or otherwise.
   
   I honestly believe that Good acts are a reward in themselves. Doing something for the recognition of others, for the collection of "karmic points" is misguided. Surely, if you are performing an act to check of an item on the list then you are no different than those who think that paying a priest will get them a free ticket to the pearly gates. Even If you believe in that sort of reward system, I’m pretty sure it doesn’t count.  
    
5. Do well by doing good. 

   It really is that simple.
    

6. Be honest with yourself about how you feel about someone.

   In the words of Michelle (inthefade): If you ever have even an ounce of doubt about a relationship, don’t think a commitment will ever erase that doubt. A ring does nothing to make the lingering voices in your head shut up and a marriage license does nothing to quell the doubts. Explore those doubts. Be honest with yourself and everyone else about them. 
    

7. Have the courage to live a life true to yourself - not the life others expect of you

   I speak of this as much from regret as experience. Look back on your life - regardless of your current age - and ask yourself: how many dreams have you fulfilled? How many choices have you made? How many choices have you avoided? How many opportunities have you grasped and how many have you squandered? See also the "Don't Settle" and "Don't Leap" of my previous piece.
   

8. Work Hard, but Play Harder.
   
   Don’t spend your life on lives on the treadmill of a work existence. Work is not your life. Your friends and family are. Missing parties, birthdays, anniversaries – these are not things you can re-schedule. You can’t re-do them “in lieu” and you can never make up for them with a Tax bonus. It is easier to do without a new TV than without an extra hug from your significant other. 

9. Recognise the gold that is in friendship

   Throughout our lives, we meet so many people. There are some that are beyond precious. Try and recognise them. Make an effort to keep them alive. We all get caught up in our own lives and it is so easy to then let friendships slip We will regret not giving friendships and loved ones the time and effort that they deserve. Remember that everyone misses their friends when they are dying.

10. Breath deep and take courage - express your feelings and share your thoughts

    The only thing one will regret more than being a workaholic, is being the quiet one who settled for a mediocre existence because what they thought and what was important to them was kept to themselves. Don’t let illnesses relating to bitterness or resentment be the cause of your lying on that deathbed.
    

11. Health brings a freedom you do not realise you possess ... until you no longer have it

    Look after yourself. The time spent in looking after your health is an investment in the future and in the ability to accomplish things you want to achieve.

 

[Reposted from xntrek]

the iPad - another month later ...

So, I thought I'd start noting the differences I find between the Android and iOS devices into a table. Now, my positives and negatives may not be yours, so do not look at this as a means of saying one is better than the other so much as listing the differentiators. I will continue to build this out as I go, and you are welcome to add to the list and categories by accessing the google spreadsheet here.

 

If you are looking to determine the right device for yourself, then other than my most important tip (go out and play with it!) my other sugestion is to copy this sheet and assign a category a weighting (e.g. 1 for not important and 10 for very important) and then provide each differentiator with a score of 1 for positives and 0 for negatives. multiply the differentiators by the weightings and add them all up to provide an overview of the device that is most likely right for you.

[Reposted from xntrek]

Thinking out loud...

I don’t often pull out my language cop card, I understand (well, accept is probably a better word there) the way people (mis)use the words that are so very clearly defined in the giant tome that keeps such knowledge - you may have heard of it, they call it a dictionary.

Ahem.

As I was saying … I accept that people utilise words in a way that is often not the original intent of the word. This, I understand, is due to previously hearing it in a changed state (through nuance, sarcasm or irony) or having in fact learnt the usage in an incorrect context or use (through ignorance or simplification).

All of that is to say, that sometimes people say things that pass on a sentiment that may not in fact be correct.

Take into consideration the term “A simple life”

A. Simple. Life.

Simple: Adjective: Easily understood or done; presenting no difficulty. (Synonyms: plain - homely - unsophisticated - naive)

Life: Noun; The condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional… (Synonyms: existence - lifetime - living - being)

Is this really what people are thinking about? Is thiis what they are really after? An unsophisticated existence? Living as a naive being? Perhaps, the phrase is wrong, perhaps somebody was lazy this one time and shortend the phrase? Let us compared it in a fuller sense:

A simple LIFESTYLE:

Lifestyle: Noun:  The way in which a person or group lives: “the benefits of a healthy lifestyle”. (Synonyms: way of life)

An uncomplicated way of life. 

This would make far more sense now, would it not? 

If that is the case, then some of the social assumptions and stereotypes must surely change? A simple lifestyle does not imply that the participant of such a way of life has an uncomplicated existence, nor does it imply stupidity or the presumption that any idiot can do that work.

This basic lack of language fidelity may very well be the cause of so much misunderstanding.

[Reposted from xntrek]

The iPad: A month in ...

So, I bit the bullet and bought the iPad - ordered it online so I even got my free engraving:

Not going to bore you with a long winded review - here's some points at the end of the first month.

Things I Hate:

• File management - or the complete and utter lack there of! 
• Inability to search for text within files
• The Keyboard and in particular its lack of cursor keys

Things that are Annoyances:

• Apps that fail to be rotation aware
• Apps that are marked as “universal” and are just the unmodified iPhone apps
• iTunes as the default management tool
• Lack of Adobe Air and Flash Support

Things I still Love:

• Power Management
• The Retina Screen
• The uniformity (mostly) of application aesthetics and functionality
• The killer apps that made me choose the ipad over the Android
  • the ones that make Social media consumption easy (Flipboard and Zite)
  • the one that makes non-DRM & PDF reading and annotation so easy (Goodreader)

 

[Reposted from xntrek]

My "had an iPad for 8 days" review of apps that are must haves ...

Yeah, I know ... somebody is late to the party ... also, seriously, 8 days?

It surprises people that as a versed IT consultant, geek, academic and self-confessed gadget junky that I didn’t buy the first or even second generation iPad.

The initial release just didn't do it for me ... basically, it was an iPhone in a larger format and without the phone function. The second gen version, once again, failed to add any real argument for buying it. In fact, Android tablets have been making a far better argument for the tablet over the notebook.

That said, a friend gave me his iPad 2 to use for just over a week. I am now about to purchase one.

Let's take a step back.

It started because I decided that against every fibre of my well nurtured and refined bibliophilia, I would invest in a handful of electronic books. I would never consider this for anything that was for the purposes of enjoyable and relaxed reading, but three volumes that I would almost exclusively utilise as reference materials were a good start.

The initial issues in regards to portability and the are-you-fracking-kidding-me software licensing and DRM restrictions aside, the inability to utilise and transport the files via my mobile (Android based) was getting too much, which is why Peter stepped in and offered me the iPad and the small army of applications that have grown around the concept of eBook reading and interaction.

Some of the frustrations are still with the aforementioned stupidity around trying to lock down the use to a point of the ludicrous (e.g. Cengage claiming that the ability to annotate digital editions makes derivative works possible, and is thus an infringement of their copyright) and I am still wary of that. There are also some things with the iPad itself that makes no sense to me - like the keyboard. Seriously? No cursor keys? What's with that? Why can't we replace the keyboard app? Most of the other things I could deal with ... but that keyboard was really starting to shit me.

Anyway ....

8 days was enough time to play with the device in full anger. I used it as my primary device throughout that time - and it really did become something that I could foresee filling the gap between my laptop and my phone. Further, I could see it actually taking over certain areas that I traditionally delegated to the laptop, such as researching papers, dissertations and other such materials.

So in 8 day a few apps did become part of my "I know I won't be living without" list ... this is them, and why.

First of all, the must have cloud apps:

• Evernote; Note taking and synchronisation manager.
• Dropbox; Cloud storage
• SugarSync; Cloud storage
• xmarks; bookmark synchronisation
• The google suite; Search, eMail, Calendar, docs, etc

... all are available under the iPad and all are must haves across any device. Period.

Flipboard – Pull in your Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, News and Instagram feeds and turn them into a beautiful Magazine-style format to feed your mind and your eyes. It's so brilliantly simple, it makes you wonder why no one thought of it earlier.

Goodreader - It turns out to be a really super flexible and robust PDF reader with rome really nice and advanced reading, annotating, markup and highlighting capabilities. The file manager, text editor, audio/video player, Safari-like viewer for Office documents were useful - but ugly as sin. However, it syncs with Google Docs, MobileMe, Dropbox and can browse the local network and my QNAP NAS store meant that it had a lot of value. An alternative I have been recommended is ReaddleDocs for iPad which is basically the same thing - but prettier. So, I have sent an email to both developers. Who's going to support Adobe Digital Edition eBooks first?

As for plain old useful eBook reader? BlueFire fit the bill nicely by organizing eBooks from libraries, independent bookstores and retailers into a single reading environment. It supports all current eBook standards (including the headache inducing ADE) and it was simple, efficient and I must say the support is outstanding with an enquiry regarding bookmark synchronisation and exporting answered in 12 hours with a "we are working on synchronisation for the next releae". Another simple reader was Overdrive Media Console, which also offered a multimedia capability and access to various eBook sources.

As I said, there is plenty of eReading apps. The only problem is where can I get the best price for a book? I couldn't figure out if there was a way to add the Google Books, Kobo, eBooks.com or bookdepository stores into most of the apps ... Maybe I'll send them all feature requests ...

WolframAlpha - When you need stuff that is comptational in nature, then Google is no longer the engine to turn to. For scientific data, mathematical equations, diagrams and more it has to be the Wolfram.

PubGet - One of the things I was evaluating was the ability to do research. Pubget delivers full text journal articles and allows you to read them as PDFs from collections such as PubMed, ArXiv, JSTOR, IEEE and more.

The Elements - If you think you've seen the periodic table, think again. The Elements: A Visual Exploration lets you experience the building blocks of our universe in a way you've never seen before. (Check out the video).

So ... my next taks are to see about matching the Android apps I have to the iOS ... and to not get myself trapped in a never ending draw something match off or have the night slip away as I battle titans in Infinity Blade.

Meanwhile - if you have any "must have apps" let me know.

I think this is why we never reach a state of equality.

They ask for equality but mean equity whilst others shout louder demanding entitled emolument for past wrongs all the while the rift expands between those that want it to be fair and equal, those that want reprisal and those that want the status quo further fracturing the argument and causing even more conflict than was originally in place.

[Reposted from xntrek]

The perfect job ...

I mean other than “paid a ludicrous amount of money to simply make up the numbers whilst having no requirements, deliverables or responsibilities” Is there such a thing?

What would yours be?

I don’t even know if mine would exist.

The things I am good at are things that seem to be things that people don’t seem to hunt. Like deductive reasoning, right-brain left-field thinking and being an all round goofball who just happens to think differently enough to see things in a way no one else around me seems to. I seem to be able to Identify synergies and make connections between seemingly disparate pieces of information. 

But there’s no call for a “brilliant thinker” on the job boards.

The things I enjoy and am passionate about are seemingly diametrically juxtaposed in the work force.

Teaching, consulting, agriculture, food, technology.

How do I even start to combine these into a job?

Let alone one that can pay the mortgages?

 

[Reposted from xntrek]