The size of our universe (and wow the Sun is small)

These images show the size of our solar system in relation to some of the stars in the universe. The source seems to be the Observatory at the University of California, Irvine and is part of a teaching guide. The photos show the size of the Earth relative to the other

planets in our solar system, and then to the sun before comparing the Sun to some of the larger stars in the universe. In addition to the photos below, check the original post for information about the shape, size and temperature of some of the biggest things known to mankind.

Something I wrote for BahamasLocalNews.com. It blows my mind every time I see it.

Make your own iPhone ringtones

There are not many email subscriptions that I actually check but http://www.iphone4jailbreak.org/ is one of them. They usually post useful apps and tricks for the iPhone including the latest news on hacks and unlocks. They present their information clearly and consicely which I appreciate.

One of their latest posts about making your own ringtones for your iPhone is a good example. When I looked for info on this I had to search several forums to get a straight answer. Here they have it all laid out. 

So, search your iTunes library and get to customizing. I know iPhone has tons of awesome ringtones (bitter, sarcastic laughter) but you should at least know how to make your phone say “Gucci Gucci Louis Louis Fendi Fendi Prada . . . “

Click here to see the post and start customizing.

Randy Pausch’s "Last Lecture"; getting what you want AND being happy

Thirty seconds is enough to suck you into this video. In fact, if you haven’t taken an hour and sixteen minutes out of your life to watch this video you have missed something special. 

Pausch is an exceptional speaker and a first-class teacher. Even if I disagreed with everything he said I would have to admire the way he made his points. Luckily for me I agree with him wholeheartedly. 

I find that when you have a big idea you find yourself taking great pains to use small words so they don’t get in the way (or so I’ve heard from people who actually have them).

This gentleman had many big ideas and fulfilled so many of them. His humility, intelligence and most of all compassion should give us all reason to pause before we cry cynically to the heavens about the darkness in the world. For me he is a great lesson in the way giving to others ends up giving even more to you. And not in that syrupy way but in that concrete, “holy crap I’m lucky!” kind of way. 

The speech he is giving is for the school’s series called  The Last Lecture

The speech is given ten months before he died of liver cancer. He is married and has three children.

He said he can’t talk about his family because he will cry. 

Pausch is an atheist (yay!) which he sneaks into the speech without alienating anyone. 

The speech is about acheiving your dreams. Like most good speeches it involves real-world examples from his life. He is also very funny.

I challenge you to watch this without learning something about yourself and feeling good. Immediately followed by immense sadnes that this wonderful human is now gone. Best wishes to his family. 

He also talks about “Head-fake” learning; learning something you did not expect to learn when you are learning something else. 

“When you’re screwing up and nobody is telling you any more it means they’ve given up.”

“Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.”

“Brick walls are there to stop people that don’t want it badly enough.”

“Give someone enough time and they will impress you.” (usefull when they are pissing you off)

 

 

Gmail shortcuts – making Gmail soooo much easier

Using shortcuts in Gmail eliminates the biggest problem I have with Gmail, navigation. 

Without using the keyboard shortcuts there is a lot of clicking and I like to keep my mouse movements to a minimum. Thankfully Gmail shortcuts are easy to access and modify. 

To access the keyboard shortcuts go to your Mail Settings. They are in the menu under that gear wheel in the top right corner. 

Once you’re there make sure you have Keyboard Shortcuts turned on. Then click on the link to Keyboard Shortcuts. 

There you will see a list of actions and the keyboard shortcuts to activate them. Keep in mind that to use the shortcuts you need to be on the Gmail page but not in a text field. If you are in a text field and want to use the shortcut click on a blank section of the page. 

Some of my favourite shortcuts:

c – open the compose email window

/ – go to the search box

k – move from your current email to a newer one

j – move from your current email to an older one

# – move to trash

r – reply

f – forward

] – archive and go to previous conversation

[ – archive and go to next conversation

z – undo last action

s – star

Shift + c – This is my personal favourite even though it’s not listed in the shortcuts section. Open the compose window in a new window. So lets say you are reading your email and don’t want to navigate away but you just remember you need to send an email. Hit shift + c and it will open a new window where you can compose your email. 

If you would like to change the shortcut keys then just click on the letter and change it to the key you want to use. Just remember to hit Save Changes once you have modified your shortcuts. 

There is also an option to Reset Defaults in the bottom right if you want to change back. 

You can also set two shortcut keys for the same action by activating “Custom keyboard shortcuts” in the Labs section. That is another of the options under the main settings menu and one I strongly suggest you check out. It includes lots of ways to customize Gmail in ways you have not even though of yet. 

I switched from Outlook to Gmail as my main email station about a year ago. I had used Outlook for years and love many of its features but was tired of jumping through hoops when I traveled and reloading my email accounts when making major changes to my computer. 

With these shortcuts in hand I have never thought of going back. I managed six email accounts from Gmail including several domains. The best part is that no matter what computer I’m on my email info is always up-to-date. 

That is all. 

You were born programmed to be liberal or conservative

This very interesting video from Jonathan Haidt explores the concept that most of us care about five things:

1. Harm/Care
2. Fairness/Reciprocity
3. In-group/Loyalty
4. Authority/Respect
5. Purity/Sanctity

Most interestingly he considers why some of us only care about the first two and some of us care about all five. 

I’ll end with the same quote Haidt did which was awesome:

The Perfect Way is only difficult
for those who pick and choose
Do not like, do not dislike
all will then be clear.
Make a hairbreadth difference,&
and Heaven and Earth are set apart
If you want the truth to stand clear before you,
never be for or against.
The struggle between “for” and “against”
is the mind’s worst disease.

The 8th century Chinese Zen master Sent-ts’an:

Bonus stuff:

The site Haidt mentions to explore your morals is www.yourmorals.org 

The book that Haidt shows in the beginning is by the exceptionally awesome Steven Pinker, who talks about the book here

Some much longer stuff from Haidt from thesciencenetwork

$350 prototype turns the world into your computer

 

Click here if the video is taking forever as TED videos do sometimes. It will open a page with the video in a new tab.

For $350, they created a device that lets you to take photographs using your fingers and turn any surface – wall, your hand – into your monitor.

Apart from the amazing resourcefulness, the ways they have thought of using their concepts are brilliant and social. It definitely makes you consider how the vast amount of information that is available online may be accessed and used in moment to moment activities.

Imagine picking up a book and seeing book reviews projected onto the book. Or imagine picking up a product in the food store and instantly getting information such as how earth-friendly it is or whether there are any saturated fats in it.

You should stop reading now and watch the video if you haven’t already.

As the technology improves so will our uses for it. That works the other way around as well. Another TED presenter, Clay Shirky, said it especially well in his presentation (open in new tab):

“These tools don’t get socially interesting until they get technologically boring”.

One example is the way twitter is used in emergencies. As people came to expect constant text messaging capabilities they began using them to communicate things they never would have before with people they never would have before.

This means that a small group of us can act as eyes, ears and noses for all the rest of us. Where’s the first aid? What shelter still has space? What part of the city is dangerous? Using Twitter we can all find out at the same time. Almost as soon as one of us knows, all of us do.

The world is changing for the better not because we want it to, but because it’s just too easy not to improve things.

Have fun.

Review: The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss

When I first saw Tim Ferriss on TED, I immediately thought, “Here is someone doing the things I’m dreaming about.”

From facing fears to learning new skills and concepts, he seemed confident but not cocky and intelligent but not elitist. As I read through his blogsand found out about his book, The http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/ I decided that this was a book I had to have.

Here is a man who has learned more than a dozen languages, earned a Guinness record for Tango dancing and traveled to more cities than I have heard of (which says something about my geography knowledge I know, but he has been everywhere). Even better, he has often accomplished these things in record time.

I will probably post several blogs on Mr. Ferriss and his advice but I wanted to get something out right after I finished the book the first time. My feelings and thoughts will most likely change as I go over each chapter and step.

You should buy and read this book if you want to do any of the following:

1. Have more time
2. Work less
3. Learn more about the world around you and act on what you learn
4. Enjoy more things while having less things
5. Accomplish that really big dream you keep telling yourself is too big

Not only has he done these things, he gives clear instructions on how he did it and how you can, including mistakes. Plus he updates his advice on his website which has loads of additional info such as ‘How to Learn any Language in 3 months’.

For me, the most valuable advice has been on how to be effective rather than efficient and how to recognize which of your “important” responsiblites are just there so that you don’t have to do the things that really scare the crap out of you.

Although I have only begun implementing the ideas in the book (such as checking email no more than twice a day and quitting the multitasking nightmare) the lowered tension and increased optimism has changed every second of my day.

Go and watch his talk on TED, read one of his blogs or best of all buy the book.

With that last point in mind, I have to say that Ferriss is truly modern. As the technology on our planet grows and improves, we are learning that far beyond new ways to do old things, the internet, computers and electronic data will allow us to do totally new things.

Learning, using information and experiencing the world and each other is becoming more dynamic and Ferriss is at the head of the learning curve. Enjoy.

Naps work, caffeine not so much

Sara Mednick (her site) talks about her studies of the way people who nap perform better than people who don’t.

In this video of her talk Mednick shows evidence from a study of people who were tested at four points throughout the day.

Those who napped in the middle of the tests were able to concentrate better than those who did not sleep and that people who napped for 90 minutes did better than those who did for 60 minutes.

Finally, caffeine made people perform worse on tasks, especially when compared with those who napped.

The whole series Waking Up To Sleep on the science network is interesting and worth watching.

I love Vagina!

Awesome title, huh? Yeah, I mean it too. Think it’s scary? Most people fear this word as they fear the word penis (woohoo got it in there), but more on that another time.

Anyhow, I’m really here to big up Eve Ensler, who you have probably heard of from the Vagina Monologues. She also has this interesting movement called V-Day (yay girlies!).

Keep reading for more info and the video of Eve from www.ted.com.

So here’s the video:

This particular video is about security and insecurity more than vaginas (wow, both vaginas and vaginae are acceptable ways to make vagina plural. How did I not know all the ways to increase the amount of vagina?). Don’t worry though, Ms. Ensler still says vagina like a dozen times. She also makes some great general points about fear, women, change, personal security and heroes.

I love hearing from people who bust their ass in the real world, talk to real people and get dirty. Then they clean the mud and blood from these hard-earned lessons and put them on display for the rest of us. Selah!

This part  really stuck in my head:

“You can’t not know who you are so you cling to hard-matter identity. You become a Christian, Muslim, Jew. You’re an Indian, Egyptian, Italian, American, you’re a heterosexual or a homosexual or you never have sex or at least that’s what you say when you identify yourself.”

I love it! Hope you do too.

How to take an awesome photo . . . . . of Make-up.

Ever wonder how photos like the one above are created? How they make liquids pour through the air and bits of makeup to levitate?

In this case the image is a combination of several photos and the process used to create it is probably not what you would expect. It sure looked like fun though.

You can see the steps used to create it in a youtube video of the photographer’s team at work. Keep reading for the video link and more babbling.

It is easy to assume that there is a formula for good photos just as it is easy to assume there is a formula in every profession. Often, however, much of the skill comes from the ability to innovate while respecting tradition – Do something new but not too new.

The video below shows you one >photographer’s approach to a job, a shoot for the T. LeClerc make-up company. His name is Jean-Baptiste Guiton and his work is here http://guiton.online.fr/.

It was recently featured on my favorite photography site, www.strobist.com.

It looked like he had a decent budget for the shoot; his tools are good and he has plenty of help. More important to me though; everyone’s having a good time and the work is focused without being rigid. Take a look:

Since nearly every human being on planet earth will see a photograph at some point in their lives, it is useful to understand some of the ways images are manipulated to make people feel and/or act in a particular way.

In this case, the transition from the makeup elements to the packages is clear. The image has a clean, bright feel. The whole thing looks simple and carefree and breezy.

All the elements have a lot of detail – the bottles, the pours, the pieces of makeup. The makeups colors are rich and the texture looks smooth and creamy.

The reflection on the makeup at the bottom gives a feeling of space and dimension.

None of that takes into account the techniques required to imagine and produce this kind of image.

I imagine they had to make sure all the elements looked as if they were in the same type of environment and shoot frame after frame until the makeup pieces flew through the air just right.

It is funny how often a lot of work goes into making something that appears simple. I could do that all day, every day though and it looks like they could too.