JFK - the moon speech

We choose to go to the moon not because it is easy but because it is hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone and one which we intend to win!


Excellent, really!

New Planet Definition Enlarges Solar System

Being a planet used to be an old boys club with 8 or 9 members. It ain't so anymore.

The new proposed definition of a planet is: a celestial body with sufficient mass to assume a nearly spherical shape that orbits a star without being another star or a satellite of another planet. By this definition, the list of planets in order from the sun now reads: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Ceres, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto-Charon (considered a double-planet system) and the newly discovered and officially unnamed 2003 UB₃₁₃, otherwise known as Xena

Science & Technology at Scientific American.com: New Planet Definition Enlarges Solar System

Top Ten Signs You Bought A Bad Computer

Letterman's Top Ten
Top Ten Signs You Bought A Bad Computer

10.Runs on 200 "D" batteries. 9.In the morning you have to defrost it. 8.Runs on Windows '78 7.Box reads "Pre-loaded with hundreds of viruses!" 6. Tech support number is a Silicon Valley Applebee's. 5. For better internet reception, salesman includes pair of rabbit ears. 4. You move the pointer around by licking the screen. 3. It's made by IBN. 2. The mouse bit you. 1. When you tell it to print, it tells you to go screw yourself.

The seven ways that people search the Web.

The seven ways that people search the Web. By Paul Boutin - Slate Magazine

Snakes

I come from an environment where if yoy see a snake, you kill it. Here [at GM], if you see a snake you hire a consultant.

Ross Perrot

Seth's Blog: Advice for authors

With more than 75,000 books published every year (not counting ebooks or blogs), the odds are actually pretty good that you've either written a book, are writing a book or want to write one.

Hence this short list:

1. Lower your expectations. The happiest authors are the ones that don't expect much.
2. The best time to start promoting your book is three years before it comes out. Three years to build a reputation, build a permission asset, build a blog, build a following, build credibility and build the connections you'll need later.
3. Pay for an eidtor editor. Not just to fix the typos, but to actually make your ramblings into something that people will choose to read. I found someone I like working with at the EFA. One of the things traditional publishers used to do is provide really insightful, even brilliant editors (people like Fred Hills and Megan Casey), but alas, that doesn't happen very often. And hiring your own editor means you'll value the process more.
4. Understand that a non-fiction book is a souvenir, just a vessel for the ideas themselves. You don't want the ideas to get stuck in the book... you want them to spread. Which means that you shouldn't hoard the idea! The more you give away, the better you will do.
5. Don't try to sell your book to everyone. First, consider this: ' 58% of the US adult population never reads another book after high school.' Then, consider the fact that among people even willing to buy a book, yours is just a tiny little needle in a very big haystack. Far better to obsess about a little subset of the market--that subset that you have permission to talk with, that subset where you have credibility, and most important, that subset where people just can't live without your b"

Bryan Tracy - Quotes

• I've found that luck is quite predictable. If you want more luck, take more chances. Be more active. Show up more often.
• You have to put in many, many, many tiny efforts that nobody sees or appreciates before you achieve anything worthwhile.
• Perhaps the very best question that you can memorize and repeat, over and over, is, “what is the most valuable use of my time right now?”
• A major stimulant to creative thinking is focused questions. There is something about a well-worded question that often penetrates to the heart of the matter and triggers new ideas and insights.
• Practice Golden-Rule 1 of Management in everything you do. Manage others the way you would like to be managed.
• A clear vision, backed by definite plans, gives you a tremendous feeling of confidence and personal power.
• People with clear, written goals, accomplish far more in a shorter period of time than people without them could ever imagine.
• If what you are doing is not moving you towards your goals, then it's moving you away from your goals.

7 rules to ask questions

from Seth Gobin;s blog:

John Sawatsky of ESPN knows how to ask questions, and he thinks you don't.

You need to ask questions every time you interact with a consumer, a job applicant, a co-worker with a great idea or even someone sitting next to you during an interminable wait for the airplane.

I found John's seven rules in a search cache. Here's a summary of what doesn't work:

1. Asking a question with no query

Examples: "Your neighbors don't like you." "Some people think you killed your wife."

2. Double-barrelled questions

Like: "Is this your first business? How did you get started?" You're unlikely to get answers to both. One question at a time.

3. Overloading

Ask: short, simple questions. "What is it like to be accused of murder?"

4. Adding your own remarks

Again, this is not the time or place to say that you hate Chryslers... You're not being interviewed.

5. Trigger words

One famous example of this was when TV reporter John Stossell asked a pro wrestler about the "sport'' by volunteering this about the fighting: "I think it's fake." The pro wrestler hit him--twice. "Was that fake?" he demanded...

6. Hyperbole by the questioner

Overstatement typically causes the interview subject to counterbalance by understating...

7. Closed query (Yes or No question)

If the question begins with a verb, its most likely a closed question -- and will generate a one word answer.

The top 10 worst company URL

The top 10 unintentionally worst company URL
Everyone knows that if you are going to operate a business in today’s
world you need a domain name. It is advisable to look at the domain name
selected as other see it and not just as you think it looks. Failure to do
this may result in situations such as the following (legitimate) companies
who deal in everyday humdrum products and services but clearly didn’t give
their domain names enough consideration:

1. A site called ‘Who Represents’ where you can find the name of the agent
that represents a celebrity. Their domain name… wait for it… is
www.whorepresents.com

2. Experts Exchange, a knowledge base where programmers can exchange
advice and views at
www.expertsexchange.com

3. Looking for a pen? Look no further than Pen Island at
www.penisland.net

4. Need a therapist? Try Therapist Finder at
www.therapistfinder.com

5. Then of course, there’s the Italian Power Generator company…
www.powergenitalia.com

6. And now, we have the Mole Station Native Nursery, based in New South
Wales:
www.molestationnursery.com

7. If you’re looking for computer software, there’s always
www.ipanywhere.com

8. Welcome to the First Cumming Methodist Church. Their website is
www.cummingfirst.com

9. Then, of course, there’s these brainless art designers, and their
whacky website:
www.speedofart.com

10. Want to holiday in Lake Tahoe? Try their brochure website at
www.gotahoe.com

100 Best Novels

Here is a the list of the best 100 modern novels

The Modern Library | 100 Best | Novels

Constructive Performance feedback

Follow these six steps when providing constructive performance feedback

From TechRepublic

The purpose of performance feedback is to let team members know how they are doing and whether they are meeting your performance expectations. Performance feedback doesn't just mean telling people when they do something wrong. You want to make sure that you recognize when team members meet their commitments or do something great, as well as when they are not meeting your expectations.

In fact, telling people they are doing a good job is easy. You can recognize them with a simple thank-you. You can write them a nice e-mail or a memo. You can also praise a team member in front of others so that the feedback gets the added benefit of broader recognition.

On the other hand, when team members don't meet your expectations you should also provide performance feedback. It would usually not be appropriate to do this in front of others, or copy others into the feedback. Constructive performance feedback is typically better handled though a one-on-one meeting. When this type of conversation is appropriate, you can use the following steps.

• Plan. This helps you develop a framework for providing effective feedback. You should think ahead of time about the behavior that should be highlighted and how you can help the employee improve.
• Provide examples. Vague criticism fosters anxiety. Tangible examples are required to highlight the feedback. You do not need to provide dozens of examples. Hopefully, you can make the point with a couple representative observations. If you don't have examples, you cannot provide the feedback.
• Motivate. Use motivational techniques in the discussion. The employee is bound to be disappointed by the feedback. Look for opportunities to build the morale of the team member as well, so that he or she will be eager to improve.
• Sandwich. The project manager should start the session with positive comments, then get to the feedback and finish with positive, motivating comments. Many people think this is trite and perhaps obvious. However, it is still a valid way to proceed. If you can find some positive things to say, open and close the discussion by mentioning them.
• Allow time for feedback. The process needs to be a dialogue between the project manager and the team member. So, seek feedback from the team member and allow him or her to agree, disagree or provide his/her perspective. It is possible that he or she may have mitigating factors that you were not previously aware of.
• Set a timeframe for action and follow-up. The manager should document any action items, circulate them to the team member and ensure that they are completed. Before the meeting is over, the project manager and team member should also agree on a follow-up timeframe to check progress.

This type of discussion would be very appropriate for a manager to have with a team member. If this type of feedback does not change the person's behavior, you can have a second, similar discussion. However, ultimately if there are performance problems that cannot be corrected, the situation will need to be brought to the attention of the functional manager.

It is between you and God

Handwritten sign found on the wall of Mother Teresa's room:

• People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered; forgive then
• anyway.
• If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; be kind
• anyway.
• If you are successful, you will win some false friends, and some true enemies;
• be successful anyway.
• If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; be honest and frank
• anyway.
• What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight; build
• anyway.
• If you find serenity and happiness, others may be jealous; be happy anyway.
• The good you do today, people will forget tomorrow; do good anyway.
• Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough; give your best
• anyway.
• For you see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

10 Negotiation tips

1. Indifference (show you are not really so much interested in…)
2. Scarcity ("this is one of the few" or "the last...")
3. Authority ("...[someone important] said this is the best…")
4. Courage (appearing willing to take risks)
5. Commitment ( to the success of the negotiation)
6. Expertise
7. Knowledge (of the needs of the other part)
8. Empathy
9. Reward & punishing (they must feel that you can hurt them)
10. Investment of time and money

From Bryan Tracy