* older books and movies.... *

Reading · The 4-Hour Workweek

# 13 December 08

The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss

My Brother-in-law loaned me this book and he swears by it. Over coffee one morning this week he told me about the 20/80 principle; that 20% of your work leads to 80% of the outcome. That and other ideas are offered in this Lifestyle Design, work-smarter-not-harder, book. So far, so good.

Page 13 opens with the quote by Niels Bohr that, “An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field.” In light of my multiple failures at the DMV while trying to renew my motorcycle license, this quote made me much happier. Suddenly I’m an expert! My Dad couldn’t help but tell the barber shop today that I’d failed, twice, to renew the license. To divert their ridicule I brought up the question below, which we all enjoyed. Answer below the pic.

TWO-WHEEL MOTORCYCLE EXAMINATION
Directions: Study the handbook before you take the test.

You are being pursued by a police vehicle with its lights and siren activated. You have deliberately ignored the officer’s warning to stop and have sped away. During the pursuit a person is killed. You are subject to:
A. A fine of not less than $10,000
B. Imprisonment in a state prison for six years
C. Being jailed in the county jail for not more than one year

Lou, of Simpsons fame, enforcing motor vehicle code in Springfield.

B.

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Video · Bricks. Are you kidding?!

# 28 November 08

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FMF · Free Music Friday - Radiohead - The Tourist

# 27 November 08

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Watching · Crazy Colt

# 21 November 08

The cycling world is a strange place. At the top of most strange-types-of-cycling lists are usually cyclocross, downhill, and I don’t know, unicycling?

Well, BMX is at the top of my WTF cycling list. Case in point:

ps. Not trying to hate. Bikes for all. Four wheels move the body. Two wheels move the soul.

Crazy Colt Remix from Banned Vids on Vimeo.

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Watching · The Onion - Obama Undertakes Presidential Internship To Ease Concerns About His Lack Of Experience

# 19 November 08

”...and after lunch he authorized a covert military action against a suspected terrorist cell in Barcelona.”

Certificate of internship completion!

Obama Undertakes Presidential Internship To Ease Concerns About His Lack Of Experience

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Watching · Ever had a day like this?

# 18 November 08

Thought so. You know how this ends.

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Video · Changling

# 16 November 08

Went out to Changling last night. Since The Academy loves these period piece-type films, I’m betting this wins either Best Picture or Best Actress. Clint Eastwood rocks.

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Video · Help! Help! I'm being repressed!

# 12 November 08

For something completely different….. Need to burn 3 mins, 11 seconds?

“King of the who?... I thought we were an autonomous collective.”

King Arthur: I am your king.
Woman: Well I didn’t vote for you.
King Arthur: You don’t vote for kings.
Woman: Well how’d you become king then?
[Angelic music plays… ]
King Arthur: The Lady of the Lake, her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite held aloft Excalibur from the bosom of the water, signifying by divine providence that I, Arthur, was to carry Excalibur. THAT is why I am your king.
Dennis: [interrupting] Listen, strange women lyin’ in ponds distributin’ swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.
Dennis: Oh, but you can’t expect to wield supreme executive power just because some watery tart threw a sword at you.
Dennis: Oh but if I went ‘round sayin’ I was Emperor, just because some moistened bint lobbed a scimitar at me, they’d put me away.
Dennis: Come and see the violence inherent in the system. Help! Help! I’m being repressed!

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Watching · 007

# 8 November 08

Out the door to see Bond, James Bond.

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Watching · Daily Show - Pfriend or Pfoe?

# 1 November 08

Pt 1 Pfriend or Pfoe?

Pt 2 Quiz: Are You a Real American?

Moment of Zen: The Real Virginia

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Video · Redbull Rampage 2008

# 31 October 08

Whole Lee Shett!

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Video · Wassup 2008

# 27 October 08

Too funny

Remember the original?

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Watching · Saturday Night Live - Mark Wahlberg Talks to Animals

# 25 October 08

Everyone loves the Tina Fey/Sarah Palin skits. But at work we love the Mark Wahlberg talks to animals skits. Enjoy.

Segment 1, last week.

Segment 2, this week.

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Reading · From Great Game to Grand Bargain

# 25 October 08

Weekend reading

From Great Game to Grand Bargain
Ending Chaos in Afghanistan and Pakistan
By Barnett R. Rubin and Ahmed Rashid
Foreign Affairs, November/December 2008

Summary: The crisis in Afghanistan and Pakistan is beyond the point where more troops will help. U.S. strategy must be to seek compromise with insurgents while addressing regional rivalries and insecurities

BARNETT R. RUBIN is Director of Studies and a Senior Fellow at the Center on International Cooperation at New York University and the author of The Fragmentation of Afghanistan and Blood on the Doorstep. AHMED RASHID is a Pakistani journalist and writer, a Fellow at the Pacific Council on International Policy, and the author of Jihad, Taliban, and, most recently, Descent Into Chaos: The United States and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia.

Read it

or listen to it

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Watching · John McCain Prisoner of War

# 23 October 08

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* older books and movies.... *