Category: Uncategorized
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The Gold Mine of Failure
One of the most useful office products in the world, the Post-It(r) Note, began as a total failure. A scientist at 3M was trying to brew up a batch of super-strong adhesive. One particularly miserable attempt produced a substance that could barely hold two pieces of paper together. It took four years for the company…
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Focus Ahead
A few years ago, my car’s rearview mirror dropped off the windshield and landed in my lap. Freaked out, I headed over to an autoparts store where they assured me it happens all the time, and sold me a kit to glue it back in place. But after I got used to the mirror’s absence,…
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40. Tao and Te
Tao is brought forth, as Te nourishes.Everything takes form,and is sha[ed by Nature. Tao and Te are part of everything.Tao and Te do not defer to anything.Nature is unconstrained and endures forever. Tao is made apparent by Te,as Te nourishes, increases, feeds, protects,and watches over Tao. To produce without possessing is Te.To nourish without expecting,to…
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Love In The Now
1. Love in the now2. Pat attention to others needs3. Understand tired4. Be aware of now5. Hope for change
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Musical Muse
A recent study on exercise and music had some curious results. It turns out that people who work out while listening to music temporarily increase their verbal fluency compared with those who work out in silence. Today, swing by the CD store (or music download site) and pick out a couple of disc that might…
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Re-breaking The Routine
One of the nicest side effects of a huge creative challenge like a monthlong novel is the way it breaks routine, altering the overly familiar time-tables of our daily lives. As you head toward the fourth week of the escape, you’ve likely created a host of new schedules and routines to help cram writing time…
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The Placebo Effect
Hippocrates, the philosophical founder of modern mediciine, inspired many good things, including an oath that makes doctors promise not to kill their patients. One of his lesser-known tips to doctors, though, is that doing nothing can also be the perfect remedy for some of their patients’ afflictions. Maybe you’ve come to see some aspect of…
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Dress The Part
The Billboard Liberation Front is a group of pranksters who monkey with high-profile billboards posted around the San Francisco Bay Area. The BLF’s intricate changes to the signs, done in fonts and colors identical to the ads they’re altering, often take place in broad daylight, yet the group is rarely caught. The secret: Members wear…
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Fair Days Ahead
Hey! You’re more than halfway done! If Week One was a crisp autumn and Week Two a brittle winter, then Weeks Three and Four are the kinds of mild springs and humidity-free summers that people pay California rents to enjoy. Good things are coming on teh winds, my friend. You’ll begin feeling them this week.
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The Squint
Painters seeking the proper light and dark tones in their works sometimes employ a powerful, affordable tool that is built right into the human skull. It’s called The Squint, and it requires you to stand aback from the work in progress and, well, squint. Why all the blurring? Because doing so lets you see if…
David Given Schwarm 