Archives for posts with tag: thinking

#48 How sitting up ten times daily can grow a tower of health

September 4, 10 //
0

It may be difficult to build a tower at once. Though to build one over two years is a realistic objective.

Building increased fitness each and every day by a modest amount of exercise is a simple process.

You don’t have the time to go to the gym/workout/exercise/whatever-else? I have found that, if I replace the time spent thinking about this with action, I can actually do a modest amount of exercise . The effect of the exercise rapidly accumulates over a number of days.

Why make the investment in exercise? The return on the investment is quicker recovery time if injured, and better ability to deal with the stresses of life.

The stomach muscles are responsible for many body movements and by doing at least ten sit-ups per day I enable the tower to grow daily.

After getting up in the morning I’ve only nine more left to do.

What will the future hold? Think about it.

January 2, 10 //
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Time has three dimensions, the past, the present, and the future.
The first of these, our past, is recorded in videos, photographs, print, inscriptions, and memory.
The second, the present, is a constantly flowing flux that is being played out to, and absorbed by, our senses.
What about the third, the future? What does the future hold? What will the world look like in say five, or ten years time?

If we could take a mental snapshot of humanity, a photo of our minds’ thoughts we’d see what is yet to unfold. For the thoughts of our mind now will become actions of the future.

For the thoughts of our mind now will become actions of the future.

Wide angle lens anyone? Just don’t think about cheese when the ‘photo’ is taken! ;-)

Pixeless Pixel Buttons

June 3, 09 //
1

We love Pixies!

We love Pixies!

On an obscure night in 2008 whilst creating a design using pixel buttons (which also go by the names of pixel badges, and antipixel, etc)  I thought “Wouldn’t it be a great idea if no pixels were used? Instead the button (or badge) is composed entirely by Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) code!”

Yeah, fantastic! My web fortune is upon me and I can retire in the lap of luxury!

In the sober light of day however, I find the idea is sooo fantastic it had been thought of  years ago (going back as far as 2002 I discovered). So I kept the day job.

Even so,  I’ve not yet come across CSS badges (pixeless buttons) that mimic the style of their pixel counterparts. This may be because no one has tried it, or more likely because my browser doesn’t  get about much. So I set about constructing a demo of a CSS badge (pixeless pixel button) that would look like a pixel button.

The CSS has ‘scope for refinement’ – which is a kinder way of saying it was a quick kludge.

Pixeless button examples in Firefox and Internet Explorer browsers

/*CSS code */
table.badge {
border-style:solid;
border-width: 1px;
border-color: #666;
font-size: 8px;
font-family: sans-serif;
color: #fff;
line-height: 6px;
background-color: #fff;
}
table.badge tr {
background-color: #888;
text-align: center;
text-transform:uppercase;
margin: 0px;
padding: 0px;
}
table.badge td.main {
background-color:#f60;
}

<!– html code –>
<table cellspacing=1 cellpadding=0 class=”badge” width=”88px” height=”15px”">
<tr><td class=”main”>px</td><td>free</td></tr>
</table>

Some examples I made earlier can be found here.

I refer to these pixeless pixel buttons as “Pixies” because it sounds cute, and is less likely to leave your tongue in a knot when saying it.

Other related sites:

www.pixelbutton.com – the pixel button website where you can create pixel graphics.

ZwahlenDesign, “Web Badges / Buttons” – the site containing CSS web buttons

http://www.antipixel.com/blog/archives/2002/10/22/steal_these_buttons.html – the original antipixel blog post

#5 Live 5 Minutes In The Future

February 25, 09 //
0

A simple fiddle of the knob, and you're in the future already!

A simple fiddle of the knob, and you're in the future already!

T – 5:00 and counting….

I used to have a digital watch for a Digital age, and perceived them to be superior to analogue watches. Modern digital watches are for modern times – or so the reasoning went.

…T- 4:00…

However, such a view was short sighted as analogue systems have a  benefit I much underestimated .

…T- 3:00…

You can see the scale as a continuous range. For example, on a watch you can see the future time lying ahead of the minute hand, and the past that lays behind it.

…T – 2:00…

Using this advantage, I’ve set my analogue watch five minutes ahead of the actual time.

…T – 1:00…

This continually conditions the mind to see five minutes into the future. It helps re-align my present actions so I’m in the correct place, or have done what I need to, when the time arrives.

…0:00 Time out!

#1 Sleep to dismount a vicious cycle

February 24, 09 //
1

Early to bed, early to rise. Makes a man healthy, wealth, and wise

Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.

“What does every man wish he had more of, but never knows when he has it?” says the Riddle.

“Sleep” replies the Answer.

I’ve come to think that battles of  “Morning commute rush” and “Groggy afternoon malaise” are won the night before, particularly in the time I go to sleep. The earlier the bedtime, the less likely the following morning would seem like a rat race, or the afternoon turn into a sleep-deprived stupor.

It is said the sleep hours before midnight are worth double those after, and I’ve found this has some truth to it.

However, there is a counter force that resists earlier bedtimes. Long work hours means there’s no evening to be had. So watching a late movie tempts to improve the work-life balance. Thinking laterally though, the long work hours may be shortened if adequate sleep is obtained the night before – as the better productivity results.

So the more sleep, the more likely this vicious cycle will get a puncture.