elegation’s posterous

el·e·ga·tion: being highly effective, yet simple  

The Bonfire Called Living [inspiration]

From my grandmother's blog..  She was ahead of her time.



[E]nergies we create with our minds as well as our bodies.  These thought waves can be measured electronically so we admit that there is actual use of energy with each thought.  In our society, as in most social structures, we are carefully programmed to accept certain thoughts as correct, simply because they are repeated over an over in action as well as words.  Ideas are as contagious as the common cold, and when they are accompanied by fear and worry, many mistaken ideas are accepted as truths.  These thoughts become deeply rooted in our minds, our bodies and our future.  When I stated in a previous column that today we are creating our tomorrows, I was referring to just that.

 
Liken your mind to a television set. Now turn off the old obsolete ideas of dreading and fearing the future and change the channel to ones called hope, anticipation and wanted plans for the future.  What you will be doing is directing your energies to the things you want instead of what you don’t want. Fear, dread and worry burn up precious body energies that could be converted and used to kindle the fires of creativity, love and joy.  How about adding your kindly thoughts to our wonderful bonfire called LIVING.

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Quick Add: Google Calendar [Elegant Design]

There is something fun, quick, and rewarding with google calendar's quick add feature.  It is the main way I add events, and I find adding any other way pretty tedious.


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Here are some keyboard

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In Pursuit of Elegance [book]

I read In Pursuit of Elegance: Why the Best Ideas Have Something Missing by Matthew E. May last week while on Vacation.


It started slow, but the ideas captured my attention, and the theme came together nicely by the final chapter.  I continue to see the concepts throughout my daily life, including symmetry, seduction, subtraction, and sustainability.


Intelligent Traffic Design
Filed under  //   book   design   elegance   fractals   matthew may   simplicity   traffic  

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Unintended Consequences in Health Care Reform

Atul Guwande in the New Yorker via Sean Khozin 

 
Providing health care is like building a house. The task requires experts, expensive equipment and materials, and a huge amount of coördination. Imagine that, instead of paying a contractor to pull a team together and keep them on track, you paid an electrician for every outlet he recommends, a plumber for every faucet, and a carpenter for every cabinet. Would you be surprised if you got a house with a thousand outlets, faucets, and cabinets, at three times the cost you expected, and the whole thing fell apart a couple of years later? Getting the country’s best electrician on the job (he trained at Harvard, somebody tells you) isn’t going to solve this problem. Nor will changing the person who writes him the check [Guwande]

Gawande likes the idea of having integrated healthcare delivery systems, like the Mayo Clinic, where salaried physicians work in multidisciplinary teams and there is fair amount of collective thinking. As the CEO of the Mayo Clinic told him, “When doctors put their heads together in a room, when they share expertise, you get more thinking and less testing.” [Khozin]

The current system drives some absurd behaviors and incentives.  I hope any upcoming reform builds within it, a way for continuous change.  Any future changes will have unintended consequences.  Fortunately, the fixes don't have to come all at once.  Unfortunately it is very difficult to drive any positive change in the current system.

photo via docksidepress 
Filed under  //   atul guwande   docksidepress   healht care   new yorker   reform   sean khozin   unintended consequences  

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CDC Confirmed Cases H1N1 Map [Swine Flu]

Interesting how Illinois and Wisconsin leapfrogged to #1 and #2 in numbers of confirmed cases.  I wonder if the are increased overall number of tests due to stricter protocols in clinics and hospitals in IL/WI.

via the Centers for Disease Control.
Filed under  //   cdc   centers for disease control   H1N1   illinois   swine flu   Wisconsin  

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Bon Iver: Blook Bank

via Jay Parkinson.

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Bon Iver, of Eau Claire, Wisconsin.  A mood altering/enhancing performance.  The folklore surrounding his album For Emma, Forever Ago is sometimes a guiding narrative of my current stage of life.  A coming of age story, starting to accept pains from the past and moving forward, stronger than before.  Each listening session seems to build on the previous and continues a journey of self improvement and simultaneous self acceptance.
Filed under  //   blood bank   bon iver   coming of age   eau claire   for emma   forever ago   jay parkinson   narrative   Wisconsin   youtube  

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Infiltration [flickr photo]

Photo via flickr user powerpig 

Filed under  //   Devil's Lake   flickr   flickr photo   infiltration   lego   powerpig   star wars   storm trooper  

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Google Chrome Video [Google]

Using google chrome is an enjoyable experience.  Its simple, clean, quick, and it works.  This video captures some of these feelings.

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via Lifehacker 
Filed under  //   design   efficiency   google   google chrome   lifehacker   web browser   youtube  

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Two More Suspected Cases North of Milwaukee [Swine Flu]

Updated map via pandemicflu.gov 

The slow and steady unfolding of the swine flu outbreak in Wisconsin...  Still no confirmed cases.

via the Wisconsin State Journal :


Wisconsin reported two more probable cases of swine flu Thursday, as Gov. Jim Doyle declared a health emergency, the state lab ramped up testing and experts said the danger lies in the potential of the virus to kill more than regular flu does.

The new cases are in young adults from Ozaukee County and Sheboygan County, north of Milwaukee, said Dr. Seth Foldy 


Filed under  //   cdc   outbreak   pandemicflu.gov   swine flu   USA   Wisconsin   wisconsin state journal  

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GTD: Setting SMART Goals [Productive Magazine Issue 2]

The second issue of productive magazine is out.  It essentially a free, online-only GTD focused publication.


The article on setting goals is interesting.  Dustin Wax writes:

SMART goals are easier to achieve
than dumb ones

SMART goals.
The idea of the SMART goal was conceived
by a business psychologist named George
Doran. SMART is an acronym, standing for
goals that are:
 
• Specific,
• Measurable,
• Achievable,
• Relevant, and
• Time-bound.

Image via newtrafficbuilder 
Filed under  //   dustin wax   goals   gtd   productive magazine   second issue   SMART  

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