John Drake

Things To Think

In Summary

Welcome!

[ Here's all the shit you can't do. ]

Can we have some money?

Fuel and Country

Saw a BMW with three stripes on the grill the other day. Wondered what it was. Turns out the first red stripe on the right is for Texaco, the American oil brand, who, I guess, partnered with BMW during the early days of M racing. The light blue stripe on the left is for BMW and the Bavarian region. The purple in the middle represents the partnership of those two things and allows for a nice transition between the two colors. Always cool when nice looking design has meaning.

Covering The Wrong Side

Sometimes you're so deep in it that it sets up the opportunity for an easy fake.

Here's Duke, thinking about the next set of plays, their strategies, their plans, as they open up the next round of play. So Louisville simply posts up on the opposite side of the court and Duke reacts to that--on the wrong side. 

A great example of thinking creatively.

A great reminder not to leave yourself open for an easy bucket.

Is It Actionable

This was funny, by Russell. A comical reminder that strategy can sound pretty, but it has to be actionable when you're not around.

On Never Stepping In The Same River Twice

Inevitably, we all inhabit a world of dissolving perspectives and ever-shifting views. The present is always moving, so from that vantage point the past constantly changes in appearance. That is on the grand, historical scale; but the same is true of our personal encounters with art, from the day to day. You can stand in front of Velazquez’s Las Meninas a thousand times, and every time it will be different because you will be altered: tired or full of energy, or dissimilar from your previous self in a multitude of ways. This brings to mind the famous fragment of Heraclitus: “You cannot step in the same river twice.”

I've often referred to the fact that we all are water and built to change our mindsets as life happens. I put up some simple, and rather silly, slides around that thought--in what seems like forever ago. Nice to re-flip through them this morning.

Water and You: The Importance of Change from John Drake

On The Word Of The Year

That's Oxford's word of the year. The Face with Tears of Joy emoji--also known as the LOL emoji. It comprised 20% of all emoji use in the U.S. and U.K. 

And then the I read this --> Though this marks a historic moment of recognition for the pictures plastered throughout tweets and texts, Oxford has not added or defined any emoji in their actual databases. Nor, says a spokesperson for the publisher, do they have plans to do so at this point.

Big words and show-off words are irritating. But a good word makes all the difference. Something that's immediately understandable and well-chosen for the situation. Glamorous, joyful, diabolical. And on.

A word of the year has an annual opportunity to unify around a thought. It also creates a running history of our times.

A few of the other words on Oxford's 2015 short list:

ad blocker, noun: A piece of software designed to prevent advertisements from appearing on a web page.

Dark Web, noun: The part of the World Wide Web that is only accessible by means of special software, allowing users and website operators to remain anonymous or untraceable

sharing economy, noun: An economic system in which assets or services are shared between private individuals, either free or for a fee, typically by means of the Internet.

There is an important story within each of these, symbolic of the year, and new to our vocabulary. And you could actually look them up and define them, using something from Oxford.

On Art As The Way You Do Your Work

Russell found this first.

'Art is the way you do your work' is one of the truest things around. Take pride in how you do what you do.

On Saying 'You Are Wrong'

Never say 'you are wrong.' Great article, and HT to Jamie.

On a different but related note, reminds me of that entertaining scene in 'Thank You For Smoking'. Another take on being wrong, and being right.

On Being Successful and Lazy

A recent study has demonstrated that the majority of ants are in fact sluggards. The study reports, 'Out of the ‘workers’, 71.9% were inactive at least half the time, and 25.1% were never seen working. A small fraction of the ants, just 2.6%, were always active during observation.' The report appeared last month in science mag Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology. Previous studies have postulated that inactivity might be temporary, with ants working in shifts dictated by circadian rhythm. But the new results show that the lazy workers stay lazy no matter the time of day. According to the team, this suggests that inactivity isn’t merely a break between tasks, but might be an important part of the ants’ division of labour.

So, successful and lazy can co-exist. Scientists just need to determine exactly how that's possible. 

HT --> Real Future. (I'm really enjoying all the subscriptions I have from TinyLetter.)

However, a recent study has demonstrated that the majority of ants are in fact sluggards. The study reports, “Out of the ‘workers’, 71.9% were inactive at least half the time, and 25.1% were never seen working. A small fraction of the ants, just 2.6%, were always active during observation.” The report appeared last month in science mag Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology. Previous studies have postulated that inactivity might be temporary, with ants working in shifts dictated by circadian rhythm. But the new results show that the lazy workers stay lazy no matter the time of day. According to the team, this suggests that inactivity isn’t merely a break between tasks, but might be an important part of the ants’ division of labour. - See more at: http://idler.co.uk/article/news-ants-dont-actually-work-that-hard/#sthash.ZOtp0exQ.XMaArjIS.dpuf

a recent study has demonstrated that the majority of ants are in fact sluggards. The study reports, “Out of the ‘workers’, 71.9% were inactive at least half the time, and 25.1% were never seen working. A small fraction of the ants, just 2.6%, were always active during observation.” The report appeared last month in science mag Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology. Previous studies have postulated that inactivity might be temporary, with ants working in shifts dictated by circadian rhythm. But the new results show that the lazy workers stay lazy no matter the time of day. According to the team, this suggests that inactivity isn’t merely a break between tasks, but might be an important part of the ants’ division of labour. - See more at: http://idler.co.uk/article/news-ants-dont-actually-work-that-hard/#sthash.ZOtp0exQ.XMaArjIS.dpuf

a recent study has demonstrated that the majority of ants are in fact sluggards. The study reports, “Out of the ‘workers’, 71.9% were inactive at least half the time, and 25.1% were never seen working. A small fraction of the ants, just 2.6%, were always active during observation.” The report appeared last month in science mag Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology. Previous studies have postulated that inactivity might be temporary, with ants working in shifts dictated by circadian rhythm. But the new results show that the lazy workers stay lazy no matter the time of day. According to the team, this suggests that inactivity isn’t merely a break between tasks, but might be an important part of the ants’ division of labour. - See more at: http://idler.co.uk/article/news-ants-dont-actually-work-that-hard/#sthash.ZOtp0exQ.XMaArjIS.dpuf