Category: Random Stuff (Misc.)

Everyone these days has their own email signature.  Email signatures are what the email tool of your choice leave at the bottom of every email, most of the time being your name and contact information.  The folks over at Smashing Magazine have a great article about the science behind the signature which I think everyone should take a look at if you are a geek like me who likes to see and analyze those different styles.

A farmer hears a knock at his door late one winter’s night. He opens his door, looks around and looks down and there, at his doorstep, is a snail. The snail says, “Can I come in, I’m really coooooold?” The Farmer says, “No, get outta here you stupid snail,” and kicks him across the garden. Spring comes, then summer then fall and before you know it, it’s winter again.  The farmer hears a knock on his door. He opens the door, looks around and sees that same snail from last year, who says, “What did you do that for?”

A hypothetical situation where 20 CEOs board a private jet and are told that the flight that they are about to take is the first-ever to feature a new technology: It is a crewless aircraft (no pilots or flight attendants). Each one of the CEOs is then told, privately, that their company’s software is running the aircraft’s automatic pilot system. Nineteen of the CEOs promptly leave the aircraft, each offering a different type of excuse. One CEO alone remains on board the jet, seeming very calm. Asked why he is so confident in this first crewless flight, he replies: “If it is the same software that is developed by my company’s IT department, this plane won’t even take off!”

I’ve talked about this several times in the past but I just heard about a website yesterday via a podcast I listen to on my way into work in the mornings called HowManyOfMe.com which displays the popularity of your first and last name.  I was glad to hear that 99.59 percent of people with the first name of Jeremy are male.

John Lee of Babbacombe, Devon, cheated the hangman’s noose three times in 1885. Sentenced to death for the murder of his employer, Lee survived because on each occasion the trap-door on the gallows failed to open, even though the mechanism was tested before and after and found to be in perfect working order. The authorities knew when they were beaten and Lee’s sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.

A “White Elephant” dates back to the ancient kings of Siam who wanted to punish courtiers without actually appearing to do so. Their ploy was to give the offender a rare albino elephant, knowing that it was an offer which dare not be refused. The poor man was therefore left with something he didn’t want and couldn’t afford to keep.

I haven’t blogged about this yet but I was cleaning the house today and had to break out the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to get some crayon off of one of Tyler’s chairs where he colors. Barbara, you were right they are great at taking crayon off of the plastic chairs.  Any way, I took the chair into the kitchen and saw the kitchen sink which has always been a little on the brown side even though it is supposed to be white.  I did a few quick wipes and instantly the water around it turned brown.  I scrubbed with it some more and the more I scrubbed the more white the sink got.  My old house had tile floors in the main entry way and all of the way back to the kitchen.  The magic erasers are great at cleaning the grout between the tile.  I’ve also used the erasers on the shower floor and they work wonders there as well.  So hopefully you don’t just take my word for it, go out and pick some up today!  After all they don’t call him Mr. Clean for nothing!

Kevin Rose released this picture the other night of an old sketchbook he “dugg out” (haha couldn’t help myself) of some initial Digg designs and ideas.  Where do you keep your ideas?

My son Tyler has started hitting and I think there are different ways to address the problem which is why I am writing this blog post.  Some say spank, some say to tell him no, some may hit back and some say to give him a hug.  My way of addressing it is to not react to it and then if the behavior continues to address it by stating “no hitting please, use your words” (God bless Nanny 911).  My concern is if you constantly react to him hitting he will learn hitting gets your attention which is negative reinforcement.  He is hitting because something isn’t going his way, he can’t express how he feels so he gets frustrated and hits, or he isn’t getting the attention he wants.

When people say “don’t hit daddy, hug daddy” that doesn’t accomplish much in my opinion because he didn’t want to hug in the first place, he wanted something else.  By saying no hitting every time he hits, I would be negatively reinforcing the action which doesn’t help him address what he wanted in the first place.  My method is to acknowledge the fact that he is frustrated, acknowledge I want to help, and finally tell him his reaction wasn’t appropriate but I still love him (which is where the hug could come in).  I don’t believe in spanking so don’t even recommend that.  What do you think is the best way to handle hitting?

The Paraty House by Marcio Kogan Architects

“Paraty House’s two reinforced concrete boxes, sit atop each other, connected on the mountainside of one of the islands of the colonial city of Paraty and Angra dos Reis (between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro), like two modern prisms between the large colossal stones of the Brazilian coast.

The residents arrive by boat. After stepping out onto the sand a metallic bridge positioned over a crystal-lined reflecting pool leads to a set of stairs connecting to the lower volume. This volume contains the living room, kitchen and service area. The continual internal area has a 27m span and huge glass windows to take advantage of the view of the sea.

The same entrance stairs also lead to the upper volume that houses the bedrooms. In the front part of the house, retractile panels of eucalyptus sticks protect the bedrooms from the sun. The areas that face the mountain have small internal patios with zenithal lighting, and use exposed reinforced concrete, which grants a striking texture to the walls.  The entire top of the house is covered with terraces, used as observation decks for the residents, and as a garden for sculptures, medicinal plants and edible herbs.”  >> See more photos here.

Source: http://www.contemporist.com/