What a great opportunity for those, then, kids to be able to interview Louis Armstrong. One of the Marsalis brothers observed that the great thing about Armstrong is that he could pop a quarter note and it sounded “right”. A lot of people try and make a flourish, but he had the ear for just playing the right note, even if it was a simple quarter note. I’ve never forgotten that.
Posted by mentalkibble on October 24, 2013
https://mentalkibble.wordpress.com/2013/10/24/blank-on-blanks-louis-armstrong-interview/
Just trying to help someone achieve something remarkably cool. If you have a chance, take a look at what she’s asking of folks in order to help her, too.
Thanks!
I posted a couple weeks ago my submission videos for Australia’s Best Job in the World contest. And yesterday was the big announcement forwhich applicants made the Top 25 qualifiers for each of the 6 available jobs. I had received and email the week prior from the Best Jobs people asking if they could use my Wildlife Caretaker video for media purposes, and I screamed when I read the email and quickly replied YES! They made sure to point out that this doesn’t mean I’ve made it to the next round, but I sure as heck felt like I did!
They announcement was to be posted on the Best Jobs website at 2pm PST – so I was anxiously awaiting on my computer when I arrived…
View original post 409 more words
Posted by mentalkibble on April 28, 2013
https://mentalkibble.wordpress.com/2013/04/28/i-made-it-best-jobs-top-25/
Robert Cotrell shares some great links
A short composition that is worth the reading for the links, alone, but worth the read for its own sake, too.
Posted by mentalkibble on February 16, 2013
https://mentalkibble.wordpress.com/2013/02/16/robert-cotrell-shares-some-great-links/
It sure is great that comment spam has such useful items as SEO and other tricks for all that nifty placement. How amazing to have random people, from the goodness of their heart, offer to set me up with all manner of improvement. I begin to see why people don’t always allow comments. 
Posted by mentalkibble on September 24, 2012
https://mentalkibble.wordpress.com/2012/09/24/such-helpful-spam/
The Apollo Program is the one thing that I would rather see more than any other historical event. But quite a few people didn’t want to see it at all. Somehow, after the myth making, we forget that Aldrin, Collins and the late Neil Armstrong actually had eggs thrown at them when they toured the country after landing on the moon. College students who upset at the expenditure of money took the time to show the astronauts how they felt about the program. And I remember my dad telling me that, within one week of the landing, coworkers had become convinced that it had all been staged. The story he heard was that it was in the Mojave desert. He laughed because he’d grown up in that part of the country and was *pretty sure* it hadn’t been staged in the Mojave. 😉
Nevertheless, some things quickly attain an historical patina of necessity that wasn’t seen at the time. I love The Atlantic even more for doing an article like this. It combines two favorite subjects, the Apollo Program and human beings almost pathological inability to remember things all that accurately. It’s like a perfect Reese’s Peanut Butter cup of journalism for me!
I know, it’s somewhat odd that I would enjoy this article as much as I do, as it’s not something that promotes the lunar landing. But there’s an ongoing fascination for me with pretty much anything associated with that event. And if it’s something that just doesn’t get much attention? Even better! Heck, here’s a link to the ladies who sewed the original space suits together. Too cool!
Posted by mentalkibble on September 18, 2012
https://mentalkibble.wordpress.com/2012/09/18/moondoggle/
From Skeptical Sports Analysis comes this intriguing piece. Highly recommended! Something else that I’ve been pondering, of late. Especially considering the numbers and kinds of posts one sees in a Facebook feed during this last couple of months to elections.
Posted by mentalkibble on September 17, 2012
https://mentalkibble.wordpress.com/2012/09/17/applied-epistemology-blog-entry/
I don’t live in California so I wouldn’t normally post something specific to that area. But I had to in this case. I saw this accidentally on the LA Times website. The quick take is that one of traffic cops hasn’t had a single complaint in 20 years. Since 1992, Deputy Simmons has been doing his job, writing tickets, dealing with the public in a highly challenging situation, and has had no complaints from the people he’s stopped.
Why has he been so successful handing people stuff they REALLY don’t want? Consider the following:
The motor cop described recently pulling over a particularly frazzled young man for speeding. “He was shaking like a leaf,” Simmons recalled.
He gave the youth some time alone, meanwhile scanning his driver’s license looking for small talk fodder. When Simmons returned to the car window, he changed the subject: “Your license says you’re 280,” he told the driver, referring to his weight. “You’re not 280.”
Almost immediately, the man about to be hit with a ticket was proudly telling how he’d lost 100 pounds through a strict regimen of swimming and healthy eating.
“All of a sudden the shaking is gone,” Simmons said at the station the next day.
Taking time to consider how to put someone at ease rather than escalating the situation? That’s a rare trait and one much to be desired. Even if this is only just a PR release, it’s still impressive when a police officer has people in court answering that they didn’t want to challenge the citation because, “The cop had been so courteous, the man said, that he didn’t want to cause him any trouble.” That says it all. Fun article and worth the read. 🙂
Posted by mentalkibble on September 11, 2012
https://mentalkibble.wordpress.com/2012/09/11/deputy-elton-simmons/
Okay, I don’t care that this isn’t going to happen anytime soon, if at all. Or that there’s a lot of issues associated with it. It’s a *thorium powered car*. …. With lasers. It’s the coolest thing I’ve seen all day long! Another link, in case more information is needed. Lasers? Thorium? Like Heinlein kind of thorium coolness? I’m in! (okay, I’m not completely sold on the issues of safety, but hey, right now it’s fiction and I’m indulging the memory of how cool it was to read Rocketship Galileo for the first time.)
Posted by mentalkibble on September 7, 2012
https://mentalkibble.wordpress.com/2012/09/07/thorium-power-car/
I got this link from Daniel Kuehn’s blog, Facts And Other Stubborn Things. He’s got a really interesting site that cross-links to many other sites covering economics, primarily. Anyway, he posted this one as it stuck in his head. I can understand why. I’ve been playing it repeatedly. Upbeat is good! Yea, I know, I’m the last person in North America to hear it.
Posted by mentalkibble on September 7, 2012
https://mentalkibble.wordpress.com/2012/09/07/matisyahu-one-day/
Go Sarah! I can’t say I agree with her politics, however, she did really well! This article in The Atlantic has a synopsis of some political figures’ running times. Like the article’s writer, I’m not pointing a finger at anyone who can run 26 miles, but there are going to be people who do this better than others. Personally, I’d rather do a century on a road bike, but to each their own.
Posted by mentalkibble on September 4, 2012
https://mentalkibble.wordpress.com/2012/09/04/paul-ryan-at-20-slower-than-sarah-palin-at-40/
mentalkibble 