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Showing posts from March, 2009

NYT: Can You Pass a C.E.O. Test?

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From Corner Office - Can You Pass a C.E.O. Test? , featuring a Q & A with Greg Brenneman . Lots of interesting management/leadership insights which resonated for me, but I especially liked this perspective: "it’s important to talk to people about how we’re in a fundamentally different world. Ask the question, “If compensation isn’t going to be the same for a while, where do you get your fulfillment in life?” Certainly, work is a big piece of that and work is rewarding well beyond compensation. But faith, family, friends and hobbies create real balance. The conversation I’ve had with a lot of people, both in large groups and small, is make sure you have balance in your life and make sure that all your fulfillment doesn’t come out of economic gain. I’ve talked to a lot of people on Wall Street where their entire fulfillment came from the answer to, “Is my bonus bigger this year than last year?” Or, “If I worked 100 hours a week this year, can I work 101 next year?” It’s actually

Some Of My Favorite Photography Stuff

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Bayou City Farmers Market, Houston, March 2009 Had a long talk yesterday with a friend who is interested in taking the plunge and buying a digital SLR. I put together some notes for her about links and products I've found useful which I figured I'd share with all of you as well. As I said to her, I love talking and sharing photography, so let me know if you have any questions. Photography blogs: www.kenrockwell.com (I don't love his tone all the time, but he tends to zero in on what's really worth paying for. There's a Nikon link on his home page which will show you all his Nikon stuff. Photoshop Insider www.bythom.com (particularly good for Nikon stuff) http://blog.vincentlaforet.com/ (check out his video work - particularly a short movie called Requiem - as an example of what can be done with a digital slr with video capabilities B & H Photo - my favorite NYC camera store. Very good and very reliable - be sure you look for products with a USA w

NYT: Growing Up On Facebook

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I'm very interested in the process and journey of personal development, particularly the challenge of leaving behind old behaviors, mental maps, and self-definitions. I'm also interested in how that process plays out in interpersonal relationships, having observed how difficult it can be for other people to see you as the person you've become as opposed to the person you've always been (for them). Peggy Orenstein's article in today's New York Times, Growing Up On Facebook , touches on these issues and how they may play out at a time when we increasingly share the details (minutiae?) of our lives on facebook, twitter, blogs (!), etc.. Orenstein writes: college was my big chance to doff the roles in my family and community that I had outgrown, to reinvent myself, to get busy with the embarrassing, exciting, muddy, wonderful work of creating an adult identity. Can you really do that with your 450 closest friends watching, all tweeting to affirm ad nauseam your pres

Baking Bread

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Inspired by The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread and by Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking , I've been on a bread-baking tear. Pictured above is my first sourdough loaf, which was made completely from scratch (including making my own sourdough starter from rye flour and pineapple juice!). As is often the case, I've jumped in all the way and have become a regular customer at the King Arthur Flour shop online. Last weekend I also made pizza from scratch according to a recipe from Bread Baker's Apprentice with fantastic results. If you are interested in learning bread-making or just love reading beautiful cookbooks, check out Bread Baker's Apprentice.

Things I May Have In Common With Alex Rodriguez

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Image via Wikipedia Saw the physical therapist today for treatment of my ongoing leg/back pain. He thinks maybe it's time for an MRI and that I might have something called FAI.....just like Alex Rodriguez. From cnnsi.com: Expert: A-Rod's pending surgery necessary to prevent hip arthritis As finely tuned a baseball machine as Alex Rodriguez might appear to be, a critical part of his body's machinery has long been working its way toward malfunction. The cyst on his hip that was drained last week is not the problem, but simply a result of a deeper structural problem with the joint itself; one that has developed over years and resulted in a condition that is increasingly being recognized in both athletes -- and the general population -- as a common cause of chronic groin and back pain. According to a rough estimate by Rodriguez's surgeon, Dr.Marc Philippon, who has operated on dozens of pro athletes, perhaps 20 percent of people have a structural abnormality that can impair