Showing posts with label balanced art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label balanced art. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
How Many Friends Can You Manage?
UPDATE 1: Similar article regarding Dunbar's Number.
11/13/2009
British anthropologist Robin Dunbar suggests that the number of people with whom one can maintain stable social relationships is roughly one hundred fifty people. A stable social relationship is defined as one where an individual knows who each person is and how each person relates to every other person.
This got me thinking: With the rise of social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace, how does Dunbar's number apply to network-based social "communities"?
I have about three hundred "friends" on Facebook and roughly five hundred followers on Twitter.
Because I approve my Facebook friends, I have a working knowledge of who they are and some knowledge of how they link to my other friends.
My Twitter community is a completely different story. Other than a one hundred forty character biographic description, I know next to nothing about my Twitter followers.
Is the way we create relationships changing as a result of network-based social communities? Do we have too many "friends"? Can we effectively engage them all?
"People" by Lola Grace
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Related Random Thoughts
Twitter Likes and Dislikes
What Gordon Gekko Can Teach Us About Smartphones
The Perishable Mind
This got me thinking: With the rise of social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace, how does Dunbar's number apply to network-based social "communities"?
I have about three hundred "friends" on Facebook and roughly five hundred followers on Twitter.
Because I approve my Facebook friends, I have a working knowledge of who they are and some knowledge of how they link to my other friends.
My Twitter community is a completely different story. Other than a one hundred forty character biographic description, I know next to nothing about my Twitter followers.
Is the way we create relationships changing as a result of network-based social communities? Do we have too many "friends"? Can we effectively engage them all?
"People" by Lola Grace
Don't forget to sign up for Random Thoughts updates via email in the right margin.
Related Random Thoughts
Twitter Likes and Dislikes
What Gordon Gekko Can Teach Us About Smartphones
The Perishable Mind
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Wednesday Art: Lateral Movemement
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Unbalanced/Balanced
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Wednesday Art: Unbalanced/Balanced
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Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Wednesday Art: Odd Occurrence
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Untitled 20091008
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Wednesday Art: Untitled 20091008
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The Museum
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Wednesday Art: The Museum
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Lollipops
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Wednesday Art: Lollipops
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Weaver
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Wednesday Art: Weaver
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Panels
Monday, December 7, 2009
Life as Business
Do you run your life like a business? That's a weird question, huh? What I mean is: do you handle your finances, your time, your resources, your "people" (spouse and children) like you would if you were running a business?
I know this sounds cold, and maybe it is. But, if you consider the things that make a business successful - accurate finances, customer service, quality work/products - aren't these the same things that could make your life successful?
Pay your bills on time and live within your means. Take care of your spouse and kids to the best of your ability. And strive to be the best spouse and parent you can possibly be - make yourself better every day.
When you look at it this way, doesn't make sense to run your life similar to running a business?
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Friday, December 4, 2009
Mo Money, Mo Problems
"Possessions are a way of turning money into problems." - Brian Eno
Yet another quality quote from Bono's 14 November New York Times column. In our "if some is good, more is better" society, Eno's quote succinctly summarizes the overall problem.
It's difficult to get out of the spending cycle. We've created a society where our way of life - our economy - depends on Americans spending and accumulating.
We buy stuff to replace perfectly good stuff, only to throw perfectly good stuff away (which causes environmental problems), and buy more stuff. And that stuff is bought on credit, which many Americans can't afford to pay off. It's a vicious cycle.
It's hard to break the cycle because we all want. We want the best stuff for ourselves and the best stuff for our kids.
Maybe if we wanted a little less and appreciated a little more, life would be easier.
How much stuff do you need? Does that stuff really make you happy? Is that stuff really what is important?
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Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
What Really Matters
What do you see in the picture? Maybe a whale, truck, cream cheese tub, and a travel bottle of shampoo?
To a four year old these items are fifteen minutes of pure bathtub enjoyment.
I watched my daughter so completely focused on these objects in the bathtub that she was oblivious to the fact that she was almost hypothermic because the water temperature was dropping. Oh, and by the way, that cream cheese tub is not a cream cheese tub, it's a boat.
It's the holiday season, and watching my daughter derive so much pleasure out of those four simple toys helped set the tone for me for the rest of the season.
It's not about "Black Friday" and waiting in line for hours outside Best Buy to save $50 on a television.
It's about the simple pleasures in life. It's about watching your daughter completely enthralled with a whale, truck, cream cheese tub (boat), and a travel bottle of shampoo.
These are the things that make her and me happy. These are the things that really matter.
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Shiny With Bright Flashing LightsWednesday, November 25, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
Shiny With Bright Flashing Lights
I spent some time in a New Haven, CT BW3's recently and made an interesting observation. It's not an earth shattering observation because I think we are all aware of it. It was just one of those "aha" moments when something becomes perfectly clear.It was your typical BW3's: football on TV (I was watching my Michigan State Spartans implode against Penn State) and good wings.
But, this BW3's had another element: It had a gaming area with several large, shiny games with bright flashing lights.
My aha moment of clarity was this: If you put a large, shiny game with bright flashing lights in a bar, grown men will waste their hard-earned cash to play the game -- even if they have no earthly clue how to play it or hope to win at it.
Now mind you, this BW3's was near the campus of Yale, and it was the Saturday of the Harvard vs Yale football game, so there was (or should have been) a lot of brain power in the bar. Brain power that should have known better than to waste money on large, shiny games with bright flashing lights.
But, the allure of these games was too much for the male patrons. They had to test their "skills" against games (a large punching bag game and, what looked like, a large "poor man's" version of Tetris, to name a couple) that were probably unwinable.
To make matters worse, the punching bag game promised a free sixteen ounce beer to the person who broke the high score.
What does it all mean? I think it means that men are gullible, but I'm happy to say that I resisted the temptation to plug my cash into one of the large, shiny games with bright flashing lights. A moral victory?
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Did you ever wonder (the never ending phone call)...
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Friday, November 20, 2009
Appearance Is Everything
"Always be more than you appear and never appear to be more than you are." The above quote came from a 14 November column written by Bono for the New York Times. According to Bono, the quote was something German Chancellor Angela Merkel (she attributed it to her father) said during a conversation she was having with Bono and Bob Geldof.
I'm not sure if it's an original quote by Merkel's father, but it said volumes to me. Below are a few things that came to mind immediately when I read the quote.
Always be more than you appear...
- Don't believe your press clippings or your evaluations.
- Constantly strive to be better every day -- never be satisfied.
- If something is worth doing, it's worth doing well.
- Work as hard as you can always.
...never appear to be more than you are.
- A little humility goes a long way.
- Let your actions speak for you.
If more people prescribed to Merkel's fathers' school of thought the world would be a much better place.
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How About a Little Responsibility and Humility?
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Sprockets
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City Blackout
Monday, November 16, 2009
No TV? What to Do?
Do you watch TV on the Internet?I recently moved from North Carolina to the northern Virginia area. Just prior to the move my TV bit the dust. When I moved into my new home I had to make a decision: Buy a new TV, or not?
I opted not to get a new TV. I have been traveling quite a bit and didn't want to shell out two thousand dollars for the TV and another hundred bucks monthly for the cable service, only to not watch it.
I typically don't watch much TV, but I do like to watch sports on the weekends and some reality shows (I've been known to get sucked into Saturday Deadliest Catch marathons).
So, when I feel the urge to watch TV, or a movie, I have been resorting to the Internet. Most of what I want to watch is actually available on the Internet (it's still pretty hard to get streaming sports on the Internet, though).
I don't really miss not having the TV option. In fact, I find not having the TV option frees up a lot of time for more "constructive" things.
I think, eventually, we are all going to be watching TV in some form through the Internet. How about you?
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The Importance of Social Networking Tools
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