Uncomfortable practice

"1. Do what does not come easy.

The key to deliberate practice is discomfort, and discomfort is generated by doing those tasks which are outside of your current abilities.

2. Manage energy to maintain productivity:

Better energy management allows for sustain sessions of intense practice, whereas many of us are normally inclined to simply slog away throughout the day, spreading our energy far too thin.

3. Avoid reactive behavior, work with an ideal in mind

In a sense, deliberate practice is hard not only in application but also for our ego. It hurts to fail, so we are often reactive in our efforts to simply “not mess up”, rather than proactively pursuing an end goal with a relentless force.

It may sound cheesy to say, “Don’t be afraid to fail,” but from the way that the benefits of deliberate practice operate, failure is something that needs to become the norm rather than a thing to be avoided: we can’t practice in areas of discomfort without messing up quite often."

Forget Flow – The Secret to Skill Lies in Discomfort - Expert Enough

Don't be afraid to fall when learning to ski comes to mind.. harder as you mature.

Blood rust

"“You can tell it’s blood,” he says matter-of-factly, “because ordinary rust turns the grinding water brown. If it’s blood rust it bleeds, it looks like blood in the water. Even 2,000 years old, it bleeds. And it smells like a steak cooking, like cooked meat. I’ve encountered this before with Japanese swords from World War II. If there’s blood on the sword and you start polishing it, the sword bleeds."

Blood, Sweat, and Steel: My Afternoon with the Ace of Swords - CW

New media

"The media’s role is changing and evolving as our behavior on the internet is changing. And the sooner we realize it, the better it will be; not just for media but also for the society it is supposed to serve.

“Twitter and (other) social networks are really good at this news thing for first 30 minutes and then everything goes crazy – speculation, rumors and the worse part is the role television plays in it all.” (#1)

“If you watch television and Twitter at the same time, you know how woefully behind television is, and that is when start to wonder, what the role of media is in this future where Twitter is the primary medium.” (#2)"

Hyper-connected, real-time news is a good thing — but so is accuracy - GigaOM

Functional Training

"Simple exercises with no-tech equipment (call them paleo or playground exercises, depending on how much fun they are) have long found disciples at niche gyms and in movements such as CrossFit.

"What’s the real logic in sitting or laying down to train your legs?” Functional fitness is “far more bang for your buck” because it works multiple muscles simultaneously, he said, providing better overall strength and mobility, and a higher calorie burn.

“Gyms are way out of the times if all they have is machines.”

The functional fitness zones also are a moneymaker for gyms, costing $5 to $6 a square foot, compared with some $50 a square foot when filled by machines.

“You look like you’re in a circus,’ ” Mr. Wall said people say to his wife when she does functional training workouts on her own at her gym. “To older people in particular, it just doesn’t look like they think exercise should.”"

Fitness Playgrounds Grow as Machines Go - NYT

Take my picture

Gold for Nerds

Nigel Farage visits Bulgaria

Get Britain Cycling

"Recommendations

• The Government should produce a cross-departmental Cycling Action Plan, with annual progress reports.
• The Government should appoint a national Cycling Champion, an expert from outside the Department for Transport.
• The government should set national targets to increase cycle use from less than 2% of journeys in 2011, to 10% of all journeys in 2025, and 25% by 2050
• Central and local government and devolved authorities should each appoint a lead politician responsible for cycling."

Get Britain Cycling Summary & Recommendations - pdf

4K Video

The C520 will also allow them to shoot differently. It can track the action more accurately and the stabilization allows the team to shoot with ultra-long zoom lenses.

The C520 will also allow them to shoot differently. It can track the action more accurately and the stabilization allows the team to shoot with ultra-long zoom lenses.

4K Helicopter Cam Ups the Gnar in Gorgeous Skiing Videos - Wired

Beetroot and Chicken

"I predicted at the time that this retirement was unlikely to develop into a permanent state of affairs. And I was right. As I headed home at the end of a ride a few days ago, I caught up with my pear-shaped friend on his old training bike. "I read an article about how you can ride for just 20 minutes three times a week and enjoy all the benefits of 20 hours of hard training, as long as you do exactly the right efforts," he explained.

"As someone with a lot of experience of high levels of fitness, I thought I owed it to science to get back on my bike and give it a go."

I couldn't help thinking that if a five-minute warm-up, three half-hearted 20-second sprints and a five-minute warm-down actually was the training equivalent of 20 hours' hard riding a week, the chances are that somewhere in the 150-year history of competitive cycling, someone would have noticed before now.

All the same, I didn't want to spoil it for him. It's just that I couldn't help it. "Is this going to be as successful as the beetroot and chicken diet?" I asked."

Dr. Hutch: the fitness regime - Cycling Weekly

Stuck in the muck

"Economics writers are always looking for signs of change, and we excitedly (sometimes too eagerly) leap to identify a new trend in the economy. But this time there isn’t one. Government is contracting, as it has in 10 of the last 11 quarters. The private sector is improving quickly enough to counteract that contraction and ensure that GDP growth is expanding — but not fast enough to spur the robust recovery that the country sorely needs."

The incredible stagnant U.S. economy - Wonkblog

Chemistry Sets and Mystery White Powders

"In the last five years, the market for legal highs has exploded. It's never been easier, or cheaper, to buy drugs online – but no one knows what's in them, or how dangerous they are.

"Mephedrone was the perfect drug, wasn't it?" Ramsey says. "Water-soluble, not that toxic, and a very effective stimulant. Enormously enjoyable, users say, and very profitable for the dealers. People absolutely loved it. Well, they still do, actually – Britain is awash with the stuff."

Ramsey was among the first scientists to discover the chemical formula of mephedrone and is as conflicted as any rational observer over drug prohibition. "You can't just have shops and websites selling [legal highs] to kids. But it is the anti-drugs legislation, in many ways, that has prompted this innovation."

After mephedrone was banned, the dealers who had got rich quick cast around for new legal drugs that might capture the nation's imagination – and money. By 2010, the underground online drug culture had gone mainstream. None of the subsequent concoctions has gained the popularity of mephedrone, but the change it effected – of people looking online for legal drugs – is now permanent. Its significance is still playing out.

There is a market for these drugs when other drugs aren't very good. If there were good-quality coke, weed and pills, I don't know how much of a look-in these drugs would get."

The hidden dangers of legal highs - Guardian

Fascinating, scary article.

The Making of The Dark Side of the Moon

Live on less

"In short, what are the main ways to live well on less?

Embrace challenge and shun convenience for its own sake. Ask, “Will this really make me happier in the long run?” about all life decisions. Realize that happiness comes from accomplishment and personal growth, rather than from luxury products. Seek out voluntary discomfort as a way to become stronger, rather than running from it. Develop a healthy sense of self-mockery, and acknowledge that you are a wimp in many ways right now (and only by acknowledging it can you improve). Practice optimism. And of course, ride a bike.

That’s pretty high-level stuff. If you just want the meat and potatoes: Live close to work. Cook your own food. Take care of your own house, garden, hair and body. Don’t borrow money for cars, and don’t drive ridiculous ones. Embrace nature as the best source of recreation. Cancel your TV service. Use a prepaid cellphone. And of course, ride a bike!"

Meet Mr. Money Mustache, the man who retired at 30 - WSJ

First Flight

"Two baby ducks leaving the nest and taking to the air for their first ever flight."

via Twisted Sifter

67 Years of Technology Innovation

Print

"Japan’s got big problems and I wouldn’t go near their economy or their markets with a twenty foot pole, but that doesn’t mean they’re on the brink of insolvency. Saying something that silly might make people think you don’t even understand the most basic institutional structures of the way their monetary system is designed. As for the USA, it’s the same story, but that doesn’t stop the mainstream media and politicians from constantly talking about how we’ve “run out of money”. It’s absurd. And this conversation about whether we “have the money” should just stop. It’s time to get past the basics and move on to the real discussion – the quality and efficiency of spending, how it’s impacting living standards and is it causing inflation?

I mean, if you had a printing press in your basement would you worry about your credit card bills?"

Japan Isn’t Bankrupt - Pragmatic Capitalist