Example of contrarian inspiration: Educating people to take insults less seriously. Lesson One: Sticks and Stones Will Break My Bones, But Names Will Never Hurt Me. OK, names can hurt, and reputations matter. So does accuracy. But a world that pretends we’re all wonderful isn’t. Isn’t accurate. Isn’t honest. Isn’t wonderful. We need to learn Read More …
Label reveals: “Energy used to make this product.” If A and B cost the same, would you buy the one that wasted less energy? Side benefit for jingoists: It’s probably the product made abroad that consumed the most energy, because of shipping. So home-made, local products would probably score the best. Of course, cynics might say: Read More …
And I don’t mean throw a fight. Now I’m not taking sides on the whole morality issue of whether pummeling another person senseless is a soul-enchancing sport. But if you want boxing to be more exciting, let’s up the action vs. dodging quotient. Enough of backpedaling ballerina stuff (entertaining only when done by Muhammed Ali did). Read More …
Interesting article recently in the NY Times, called “This Is Your Life (And How You Tell It).” Suggests an approach to straightening out one’s head where you examine the plot you’ve adopted for your life. OK, maybe it’s as simple as “Boy meets smart, kind and sexy girl, boy marries girl, boy and girl have Read More …
SPOILER ALERT: This post continues “What Was Lily Potter’s Trick?” [and is continued in “A Bloody Better Theory“]. Many have speculated that Harry’s scar is the final horcrux, or hidden piece of Lord Voldemort’s soul. How Harry got it, however, remains mysterious. We know from the Dark Lord’s own mouth that he was trying to kill Harry, not create a horcrux: “You all know that Read More …
Here’s another cartoon from years ago. Please credit Peter Mucha, if you use.
Just a thought. The mind has so many things on its mind. Amazing it keeps things sorted and related enough to trick us into thinking life’s not just chaos. So instead of a place like “the conscious mind,” we have mental filters that interfere with some files getting shared. You tell yourself you’re not upset, Read More …
The world as you see will be radically changed by the Flat-Screen Revolution. J.K. Rowling had it right: People will move in paintings and newspaper pictures. But take it further: Imagine how decals with moving images would make race cars even more of a visual riot. Billboards will move. Bumper stickers. (Once wrote a sci-fi Read More …
Here’s another cartoon I did years ago. Please credit Peter Mucha, if you use.
What’s this wrinkled, gnarled thing with an end that’s charred and hard? No, it’s not a dirty joke, it’s a microwaved hot dog. When the microwaves hit food, water molecules jiggle, generating the heat. But heated water molecules seek to escape, leaving edges of veggie burgers gritty and leftovers rubbery. So wrap that dog in Read More …
Gotta do more ideas that benefit lots of people right away, not just someday inventions and someday tweaks for benefitting society. (Will still do those, of course.) Have done some, such as: How to Solve Life’s ‘Picture Puzzle’ in Seconds Easy Action Plan to Begin a Business: Teach a Class How to Find Things: A Read More …
DON’T READ THIS if you don’t want to know what might happen in the next Harry Potter book. But basically, here’s my thinking: Lord Voldemort, we know, stashed pieces of his soul in places like an enchanted diary and a ring, so he couldn’t easily be killed. We also know that Harry Potter’s scar links Read More …
Here’s a win-win for charities and advertisers. It’s a site where companies get good publicity in exchange for matching contributions to charities. Plus it’s a way for philanthropic, benevolent souls to get more bang for their buck. Basically, works like this: Charities and companies with existing matching-contribution programs sign up, agreeing to link to the Read More …
Chris Anderson’s The Long Tail really got some Web ideas percolating in my brain. Example: The importance of user ratings to all sorts of mega-sites, from Netflix to Amazon. Netflix, though, could improve its reccommendations a bunch by having combo ratings for couples and families. As far as I can tell, although my wife and Read More …
Whoo-hoo, whoopdedamndoo! Every game show, the crowd and contestants are so pepped up, you’d think eyes would pop out and roll around the floor. How about, as a change of pace, Unenthusiastic Night or Unenthusiastic Day? (Unenthusiastic Week is too much to expect.) For one special occasion, you get morose and sullen and cyncial types, who shrug and Read More …