Flicker Photo Cracks Me Up

Entitled "What's all the eggcitement about?", this photograph by Ariel Bariel Long cracks me up. For me though, it goes beyond the momentary click of the shutter. What I see is about an hour of set up — drawing the faces, drawing new faces because some didn't work out, staging the death in the frying pan, planning the angle of the shot, etc. The photo is the last frame of a one-hour video documentary. See it full size at Flickr.com

Tuesday Tooth Report

This week all my molars on the top right are shifting. My bite on that side is really off so that when my two jaws meet a funny crackling noise happens. It reminds me of being in the garden as a kid, wiping off a carrot that I'd plucked from the ground and chomping down on the still-lightly-sandy veggie. Slightly gritty but nothing to worry about!

Bizarro (Under Water) World

There are some bizarre looking critters under the waters. OddityCentral.com brings you a few here.

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

The beautiful is in nature, and it is encountered under the most diverse forms of reality. Once it is found it belongs to art, or rather to the artist who discovers it." — Gustave Courbet

Tuesday Tooth Report

I'm constantly, or, rather, my tongue, is constantly 'discovering' that teeth are in new positions. My tongue's 'memory' of my mouth is incredible! My tongue will say "something's a little different here" so I look in the mirror but can't see anything new. Sure enough, though, that evening, flossing around that tooth will be very different so something must have shifted. My tongue knows better than my eyes. ...Just one more of the interesting experiences of having braces!

Stuff Geeks Like

Lawnmower bike at the Maker Faire in San Mateo. Brilliant! As reported on by Guy Kawasaki on his blog.

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

The holy grail is to spend less time making the picture than it takes people to look at it." — Banksy, famous British artist

Tuesday Tooth Report

Obviously some large movement below the gums this week -- it seems that roots on the front teeth go all the way to the base of your nose. Who knew! Not only was there some major discomfort, I think it changed the way my nose drains. I suppose the shape of the upper jaw would have a significant affect on the structure of the sinus area. After several days of that discomfort, my teeth (and nose) seem back to normal.

AOP: “It’s the Insight, Stupid”

This week on Terry O'Reilly's Age of Persuasion...

"Bill Clinton’s electoral victory of 1992 owed much to a four word phrase created by advisor James Carville: 'It’s the economy, stupid'. It wasn’t an idea, or a slogan, but an insight. Join Terry O’Reilly as he shows why an insight is at the heart of modern persuasion, and how insights fuel great ideas, art, and inventions."

It’s the Insight, Stupid on AOP at CBC Radio One. Streaming audio; runs 27:30.

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

A sincere artist is not one who makes a faithful attempt to put on to canvas what is in front of him, but one who tries to create something which is, in itself, a living thing." —William Dobell

Tuesday Tooth Report

Finally my molars are starting to settle. This week, it's much easier to find teeth that connect so that grinding food is possible. Aesthetically, there is really only one tooth left to align. Functionally, my molars still need a lot of work to correct my bite. Still, I'm pleased with how quick this process is. Some days I can actually feel teeth moving. For example, two days last week the second-last teeth on both sides of my upper jaw seemed to have been pulled down from their socket. I have no idea if that's possible but both of them seemed to connect with their matching bottom-row tooth sooner whenever I chewed. You would think that moving something as hard as teeth embedded in something as hard as bone would be like moving mountains — not so. It turns out that bone it quite pliable — in my case, anyway!

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

I dream a lot. I do more painting when I'm not painting. It's in the subconscious." —Andrew Wyeth

Tuesday Tooth Report

The arrival of the square wire two weeks ago has really got things moving up top. Molars are in constant motion -- my bite has its challenges some days! Soft foods like lasagna are easier to chomp than, say, steak. The grinding motion is offline right now but I'm confident it's all worth it. My teeth look more aligned every day!

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

The creative process is a cocktail of instinct, skill, culture and a highly creative feverishness. It is not like a drug; it is a particular state when everything happens very quickly, a mixture of consciousness and unconsciousness, of fear and pleasure; it’s a little like making love, the physical act of love."
—Francis Bacon

Book Review — How to succeed in your home business

• Author: Larry Easto
• ISBN: 0-385-25516-0
• Publisher: Doubleday Canada Limited
• 168 pages, soft-cover, $16.95 CDN

The Globe and Mail describes this book as “useful for anyone thinking of starting a company”; I would add “… for ANY company — home-based or not.”

With the ultimate respect for the home-based business, Larry Easto, author, lawyer and business owner, places the smallest of businesses in a world context. Quoting notorious business book writers, Faith Popcorn (The Popcorn Report) and Taichi Sakaiya (The Knowledge Value Revolution), this well-read author likens home business to the “ultimate downsized business operation”. If big organizations are seen as bad, it follows that small operations will be seen as preferable alternatives.

Writing short chapters that focus on one issue at a time and break information into subtopics, Easto allows you to read his book in increments or by skipping to topics that are relevant to your current business situation. He knows the value of an entrepreneur’s time and he doesn’t waste it.

Containing information for any business at any stage in its life, this book features:
• Entrepreneur Test
• Start-Up Checklist (the most thorough I’ve seen)
• Client Service Tips (3 chapters dedicated to various topics in client service)
• Customer Satisfaction Questionnaires
• Understanding Financial Statements
• Networking How-To
• Developing a Business Plan
• Developing a Marketing Plan
• 7 Deadly Sins of Running Your Home Business
• 10 Commandments of Running Your Home Business

This little book with it’s unassuming title has big plans to make you more aware of all facets of your company than you’ve ever been before. “How to succeed in your home business” is for anyone, no matter what stage your business is at and no matter where it’s located — home or otherwise.

Tuesday Tooth Report

Yesterday was my first Dentist appointment since I've been going to the Orthodontist. I had my usual cleaning. The Dentist seemed pleased with how clean I've been able to keep my teeth even with all those brackets obscuring the process. If you're considering getting braces, be prepared for your Dentist to want to clean your teeth every 4-6 months rather than annually. It's extremely important to catch any problems early.

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

An artist should never be a prisoner of himself, prisoner
of style, prisoner of reputation, prisoner of success, etc."
—Henri Matisse

Tuesday Tooth Report

Yesterday was my third Orthodontist appointment. On the bottom row, we removed a hook and replaced it with a true bracket now that that tooth has been pulled close enough to the rest of them. Then the old wire was put back on. Up top, the old wire was replaced with a square wire. Those teeth are aligned enough now that it's time to begin working on my bite. Cold drinks are a no-no today! They shoot straight to the root of things. Eek!

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

Listen to the sound of my voice and you will know that I mean you no harm." —spoken by the character Chakotay in Star Trek Voyager, when trying to communicate with someone that didn't speak his language. Episode: Basics, Part II.

Tuesday Tooth Report

This week no pain to report. It's the week before a wire change so I imagine, as with last time, my teeth have finished moving with this wire. They tell me that next week's wire is going to be quite a bit thicker. Yikes!