Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- New evidence for the Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis. Not exactly news for anyone who's listened to Randall Carlson and Graham Hancock on Joe Rogan's podcast.

- Seeking the Productive Life by Stephen Wolfram. Long read but interesting look at the life and technology hacks of one of technology's best known names.

- David Simon with a little inside baseball on how things work in Hollywood

- Interesting look at how Montana tamed the beast of high medical insurance costs.

- A conservative's wet dream

- Can Alzheimer's be detected decades before onset?

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- The lonely man with a gun. Russ Roberts on the Tree of Life shootings.

- 99 life hacks from a couple of years ago that still work today

- And people wonder why nobody watches the news anymore

- The Surprising Power of the Long Game

- Heh heh - Bad Lip Reading Major League Baseball

- USA is now the world's #1 oil producer for the first time since 1973

- This is eye-opening

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- The old trade routes and trade between Boston and China. Interesting history.

- That settles it. I'm never going to eat "artisanal cheese"

- And they say the Irish can drink

- Wow - Tesla unveils both a new Semi and a $250,000 super-sports car.Don't get too excited though as the Semi won't be available until at least 2019 and the sports car until 2020.

- This could be viewed as the argument for just drinking beer, relaxing on the couch watching TV instead

- Don't understand how these NHL players missed their opportunity to pet Charlie.

- Well ladies - that answers that question

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Louis CK Says it's true - it's all true. I guess that makes this picture less funny than he intended

- 4 laws of muscle or you are what you just ate

- RIP John Hillerman

- Interesting - Putin's Achilles heel

- Heh heh

- How the tax bill could hit college sports. I've long supported the idea that all college sports related revenue should be taxable.

- Let's not forget how creepy Joe Biden has always been

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- How to clear the data off your old phone before you sell it

- Nice shot

- Where the top American-made cars are manufactured

- Is Roger Goodell deliberately pushing the NFL leftward? By Jason Whitlock?

- And in a related story - Vin Scully says he will no longer watch another NFL game because of the Anthem protests. 

- I love these stories.

- Agreed - still the greatest tourism poster ever made.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Is China using fentanyl in a chemical / drug war against America? Disturbing.

- Tesla's solar roofs do look pretty impressive.

- What most successful people do before breakfast

- Heh heh

- How can it be a "lone wolf" when there's multiple people involved. And that one suspected terrorist is still at large should be bigger news.

On Reading

The above really hits home for me and that's OK. It's not a "problem" the above is just amusing. I do want to be a better reader though.

So I'm going to try and follow the advice of Arthur Schopenhauer on reading and books.

And I'm going to figure out what best work for me when it comes to this; How to remember what you've read. If you can't remember what you've read you've basically wasted your time. I have to work on this aspect of reading and I really agree with this observation:

As a general rule, people who love reading never, ever finish a crappy book.

It took me a long time to realize this. I was a stubborn Irishman and damn it if I started a book I was going to finish the damn thing. No longer and I'm a much better reader for the change.

Happy reading everyone!

The Wim Hof Method

I'm fascinated by Wim Hof and the Wim Hof Method. The mind-body benefits seem incredible but they're true.

To achieve a zen-like mastery of the cold, all you must do is submit yourself to controlled hyperventilation. Not panicky, gasping breaths, but strong, deep inhalations at a rapid pace (one second in) without a deliberate exhalation (allow some air to leave naturally rather than pushing it out). Fill your lungs and repeat this 30 times. Now comes the tricky part: without force, allow all of the air out of your body and then don’t breathe in again until you sense your body really needs oxygen. Complete another round, aiming to extend the period before you inhale. Then go again. 

On the final round, after expelling all the air from your lungs, Hof encourages participants to complete a round of press-ups. Not as a display of masochism, but rather to demonstrate the improved muscular endurance that comes from your body being engorged by oxygen – the essential fuel for exertion.

I'm guessing that by "press-up" they means "push-ups".

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Expiring vs long-term knowledge. Another argument for spending more time reading books and less time on social media.

- One of my favorite paintings

- If I lived in Spokane I'd so apply for this. I'd even let them call me Bill, Randy or Dave for the day.

- Another of my favorite paintings (and yes I am going to hell)

- Scott Adams on Kathy Griffin.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- But I thought the science was settled? Scientists argue Big Bang vs Big Bounce

- 10 lessons from Tim Ferris

- Charlie Munger: The Psychology of Human Misjudgement

- Interesting kettlebell workout routine

- Another workout routine from Outside Magazine

- While we are talking workouts - the secrets of Tom Brady's personal trainer

Good Advice

From the desk of Coach George Raveling

Successful People vs Unsuccessful People

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Interesting oral history style profile of Bill Belichick. In typical ESPN fashion though - all negative comments are anonymously sourced.

- Heh heh

- Garbage in - garbage out: what you spend timing reading changes your brain

- Nice profile on Hanley Ramirez and the changes he's made this season

- Heh heh

- Never thought of Chris Bosh as a Hall of Famer but this article changed my thinking

- 15-yard penalty for sexually suggestive act!

- The 21-day no complaint experiment. I might actually try doing this.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Cool - Blue Apron actually puts all their recipes online for free

- 11 unusual places to have a beer in the US

- Another example why hockey players are the best

- Another example of why Kevin Garnett is the best

- Now that you mention it...

- Why To-Do Lists are actually counter-productive

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

The Brian Williams mess is why I think some network should just go ahead and hire Strong Bad to read the news. That network would immediately have the highest ratings and compared to Brian Williams would lose nothing in credibility... I would so love to buy property from Zdeno Chara... Anyone else hear that NBC plans to change the name of the Nightly News to "Bryan Williams Slow Jams the Truth"?... Heh heh - I love the Left Shark... New England Church sign; "Whoever is praying for snow - please stop!"... The "Cathy" comic strip with Louis CK quotes - yes please... It would be funny if Australian Bee Gees were a disease and not a cover band. Please immunize your kids against Australian Bee Gees!... "No More" the NFL Domestic Violence partner is a sham... Gene Hackman turned 84 this week. Great actor but I can't watch one of his movies without thinking about how huge his head is. I mean gigantic... Heh heh - I scream, you scream... In modern dollars the ransoms paid to free England's King Richard the Lionhearted would cost over $2 billion (34 tons of gold)... Tolstoy's 10 rules for life... A reminder - in the NFL Alex Smith is a higher paid QB than Tom Brady... Interesting article on Billy Walters - the most successful sports gambler in history... Just 58 days till Opening Day...

Harry Potter's Recipe for Courage and Success

I like to take away wisdom or at least a better understanding of history from the books I read. That doesn't mean that I only read philosophy or history books. Take the Harry Potter series of books. Here's something I took away from the books - Harry Potter's recipe for courage and success - you can apply it to business or your personal life:

1. Prepare for the challenge
2. Surround yourself with support
3. Engage in positive self-talk
4. Focus on what is at stake
5. Take appropriate action

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Heh heh - Braveheart re-written

- Seven Steps to living a Bill Murray life

- How big the extinct Megoladon sharks were in scale

- Interesting cast additions for the final season of Justified

Top 5 - Rules for Daily Life

Here are 5 basic rules for daily life which if you follow will bring you happiness. Feel free to Google each rule for more edification. (Place Smiley emoticon here)

1. Say YES to life!

2. Do the work!

3. Don't be afraid ("I go before you always" Christians - "Fear is the mind killer" Sci Fi folks)

4. Don't be a dick!

5. Don't be a pussy! (Same link as above)

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- The new Cosmos trailer. Neil de Grasse-Tyson takes the place of Carl Sagan and it will be on Fox instead of PBS. Very cool.

- Jimmy Fallon, the Roots and Robin Thicke sing Blurred Lines. Very wholesome. I like this original version better (NSFW)

- Alexander Wilds stunning insect photography.

- Speaking of fantastic photography - the winners of the 2013 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest

- Laws for the Navigation of Life - These 22 "rules" are simply inspiring as is the author Peter Safar.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

- Andrew Jackson is thought of very highly by many but he did some truly horrible things. Should he be on the $20 bill? Should he be a liability for Democrats?

- Wow - how Killer Whales catch and eat much faster dolphins.

- Fascinating look at a great pilot, war hero and seemingly all-around great guy.

- Very cool picture of a Blue Heron with a snake rapped around his head and neck. (The snake would lose this battle.)

- Speaking of cool pictures - Jeff Bridges takes pictures on his film sets and they are just wonderful. HT Big Stupid Tommy

- Lowes uses Vine to make some very helpful household hints. The rubber band to get out a stripped screw is genius!