The Yorkville Elite power speaker is awesome. I’ve had mine for about 10 years now and used it on many occasions. The sound is very rounded and clean. The stand-by noise is very low. This is a huge thing for me and is generally a good indication of quality. I hate the ssssssss sound that comes…
I was listening to some interesting podcasts on the subject of ketosis. Few of them touched on an interesting topic of response of cancer cells to chemotherapy. There are some interesting findings which indicate that fasting prior to chemotherapy helps with effectiveness of this treatment. Patients that fast prior to chemo (for period of I think…
Mink House Roast coffee is quite interesting. The beans are roasted my Moja Coffee. The flavor obtained in brewing can be very different with just small variations in amount of coffee grounds used. I brewed the coffee in a 32 oz Bodum French Press for 5 minutes, only varying the amount of coffee used. At…
Book notes on Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson <br /> Book about anticipating, accepting, and succeeding within a changing environment. The message is great and the book can be very helpful. The problem (in my opinion) is that the book is written like a kids story which can be its downside if presented to…
Notes on Suenos – El Salvador Got this coffee at the Revolver Coffee Shop on Cambie Street, Vancouver. Great little place. The coffee has tasting notes of light honey, almost like honey liquor or honey wine. When it cools down, the citrus come through. A very sweet red grapefruit finish. Nice sweet coffee Brew method: French…
Tiny parasitic flies named Apocephalus borealis cause maggots to explode out of the chests of bees, Alien style. The fly lands on a bee and places its eggs inside it through the cracks in the bee’s abdomen. Shortly after the bee starts to exhibit strange behaviour, like flying at night or in very cold conditions. Eventually the bee…
Book notes on The Speed of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything by Stephen M.R. Covey Book about impact of trust with respect to costs and ability to get things done. Tools on establishing trust, finding right language to use, noting behaviours that exhibit and build trust. Trust = Confidence; mistrust = suspicion Increased…
If you are playing a multi round (best of 3 or more) game of Rock Paper Scissors (RPS), there is a way to increase your odds of winning. To do this you have to choosing the right strategy. The strategy of choice is based on the following subconscious predispositions of people’s actions: If a player wins…
Winning With a Culture of Recognition – book notes (Quick read, short book, 4 chapters) Winning With a Culture of Recognition dives into the use of strategic recognition program to promote company culture and increase employee engagement. When incorporated into corporate management practices it can help reinforce desired behaviors out of employees, can help create…
Ever evolving short and simple list on staying healthy. Move every day. Stillness is death. “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” (Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto) Eat real while food. Stress your mind and body daily. Get enough sleep. Drink lots of water. More than you think. Get 2000 IU…
Book summary. (Not investment advice) Notes on Charles D. Ellis’ 1985 (1st) edition of Investment Policy. I borrowed the 1st edition of the book from my father in law. Currently Amazon is selling the 2nd edition of the book. Loser’s game is where the winner wins by making less errors than the loser. For example tennis or…
Ok, so I didn’t actually read the Crucial Conversations in full. I only skimmed the first and last chapters. I did however attend a two day seminar based on this book, graciously sponsored by my employer. Here are some of my takeaways. Conversations become crucial when stakes are high, emotions are running strong, and there are…
Recently I had to fire someone at work because of poor performance. It was not the most fun thing to do but it was the right thing. In the end it’s better for both of us. During the process I followed some guiding principles which made the process as easy as it could have been,…
Games can help prevent PTSD! “If you experience or witness a trauma, play a pattern-matching video game such as Tetris or Candy Crush Saga as soon as possible, ideally within the first twenty-four hours after the event. Play the game for at least 10 minutes. It may help to play the game again immediately before going…
Did you know that we can thank Norway for salmon sushi? Yes! Norway! Norway had an abundance of salmon and needed a market for it. Japan seemed like a good prospect because of their large fish consumption. Also, a piece of fish for sushi is sometimes sold for almost 5x of what that same piece…
This year and participated and won at NaNoWriMo. Here are guidelines I applied during the NNoWriMo month that helped me succeed in completing the challenge. Without these I would have failed. Write every day. No taking a break. It’s really easy to fall behind and playing catchup sucks especially if you’re struggling for ideas and…
Where Do Your Used Clothes Go? Some to charity, some to vintage stores, some get recycled, but most get shipped to another continent, such as Africa. At least that’s what I learned from listening to Planet Money’s podcast #502: The Afterlife of a T-Shirt. So why don’t all your donated Not all your used clothing…
I wrote a ‘novel’ this November during NaNoWriMo. The ‘novel’ was of questionable childish topic and likely even more questionable quality. But the topic of the novel is of little importance. It was the experience of writing that mattered. Here’s what I learned from NaNoWriMo: NaNoWriMo builds resilience. It’s like running a marathon. Sometimes daily. You…
Based on making many varieties of coffee from a plethora of roasters I’ve come up with simple guidelines which (95% of the time) result in a perfect cup. Below are steps for brewing a great tasting coffee quickly without a scale or super precise measurements. Equipment: 8 cup (34 oz) french press The little scoop…
WARNING: this is for people who want to totally nerd out about their coffee. The post is based on notes made from a Skillshare class “From Plant to Cup: Brewing an Amazing Cup of Coffee” presented by Michael Phillips from Blue Bottle. Their beans are goooood! Again, this is very nerdy. If you’re looking for a…