Oakfairy

‘He who is contented is rich.’ ~Lao Tzu

By Leo Babauta

One of the most important things I’ve learned in the last 7 years has been how to find contentment.

It’s been a long journey, but I’ve enjoyed it. I struggled with feeling bad about my body, feeling insecure about myself, doubting my abilities to make it without an employer, doubting myself as a writer, not believing I had discipline or the ability to change my habits.

And all this led to other problems: I sought happiness and pleasure in food, beer, shopping, distraction, TV. I procrastinated, I let my health get bad, I smoked, I was deeply in debt, unhappy with my work, never exercised, and ate lots of junk food.

Not a pretty picture. But if I’d never been in that place, I wouldn’t understand how to get out of it. And so I’m grateful I was there. I’ve learned a lot, about myself and about how to find happiness in who I am, what I have, who I’m with, what I do, and all that’s around me.

And now, I’d like to share that with you.

I’ve written a free book called The Little Book of Contentment: A guide to becoming happy with life & who you are, while getting things done. I share it with you today, in hopes that it will help a few of you, or maybe many, who struggle with being happy with yourselves and your lives. It’s a more common problem than you might imagine, and if I can help just a little, that would be amazing.

I hope you like the book.

Table of Contents

1. The Agreement
2. The Root of the Problem
3. The What & Why of Contentment
4. The Path of Contentment
5. Contentment Isn’t Doing Nothing
6. Comparing to What You Don’t Have
7. Watch Your Ideals & Expectations
8. Advertising & Fantasies
9. Build Trust
10. Love Yourself
11. Trying to Find Happiness in External Sources
12. Where Happiness Comes From
13. Finding Happiness Within
14. Our Reactions to the Actions of Others
15. Don’t Tie Your Self-Worth to Others’ Actions
16. Become Whole In a Relationship
17. Self-Happiness & Meeting Others
18. Jealousy of Others
19. Techniques for Self-Acceptance
20. FAQ
21. Conclusion
22. Summary of Action Steps

The book is uncopyrighted.

Download the Book

You can download the book for free in several formats:

• PDF version (406K) – right-click and select “Save As” to downoload to your computer
• Epub version (for the iPhone/iPad and other ebook readers) (84K)
• Kindle version (Note: To add it to your Kindle, first make sure your Kindle is connected to your computer via USB. Then, copy the downloaded file to the “documents” folder of your Kindle. It will appear on your Home screen.)
• Mobi version (have not tested)

Please note that you shouldn’t download this book unless you plan to:

1. Set aside an hour to read this book. Not put aside, but actually read it. Close everything else on your computer and give yourself an hour of undistracted time to read this book.
2. Put the method into action. Immediately.
3. Practice the skills daily, just a few minutes a day. In a short time, you should have some basic skills that help you to be content, less angry, less stressed out.

Questions & Answers

Q: How much does the book cost?
A: It’s free.

Q: Do you give refunds?
A: Yes.

Q: Can I read it on my iPad or iPhone?
A: Yes. Download the epub version, then drag into iTunes on your computer. Then sync the iPad or iPhone with iTunes on your computer, and the book should now appear in the iBooks app on your iPad/iPhone. Detailed instructions.

Q: When & how can I get it on my Kindle?
A: It’s now available for the Kindle! (Download here.) To add it to your Kindle, first make sure your Kindle is connected to your computer via USB. Then, copy the downloaded file to the “documents” folder of your Kindle. It will appear on your Home screen.

Q: What if I don’t want to commit to an hour of undistracted reading time, or putting it into action?
A: You shouldn’t download it. I’ve written this book for people who actually want to read it and use it.

Q: Who designed the book? It’s brilliant!
A: I know, right? I did, and I will admit my design skills are best described as “humble”.

So John Barrowman is really, really awesome. Anne and I got to spend a bit of time with him in Phoenix at the comic con, and he was simply wonderful.

At one point, Anne showed him the picture of her and me with Nathan Fillion, and told him the story from Ottawa Comic Con.

“We should do that, only I’ll hold you and Anne will look sad,” John said.

I made a noise like a tween meeting Bieber, and then this happened:

Yep. That happened. For real.

 

[imgur]

How to Combat the Afternoon Lull by Sarah Lazarovic
[website | tumblr | twitter]

If you've seen BBC's documentary series Africa, you've probably seen the gravity-defying "pronking" of the springbok. But there's nothing quite like these crazily jumping antelope to bring a smile to your Sunday.

Read more...

Okayyyy. I suppose I can.

Here are a few of my favorite Otis blergenfloofs.

thefrogman:

Feels good, man.

thefrogman:

Maybe if I start it with a scissors.

[original] 

But can you make Timecop without Jean Claude Van Damme? And if you can, why would you?

Read more...

thefrogman:

Simon’s Cat’s Box Guide No. II by Simon Tofield [website | twitter]

Sydney's Homebush Bay is home to many a broken and forgotten ship, but at least one of those derelict boats still houses a bit of life. The SS Ayrfield, long decommissioned, has a mangrove forest growing from its corpse.

Read more...

Om inte timmen var så sen skulle jag kunna göra jämförelser mellan ABC:s storsatsning i höst: Agents of SHIELD och Joss Whedons andra tv- och filmskapelser. Men jag nöjer mig med att säga att han hittat en ny Eliza Dushku i 22-åriga Chloe Bennet (Hailey i Nashville) och att den Whedonska humorn lyser igenom även i den här knappa treminuters-trailern. Yay för det!

Sen ser jag också med spänning fram emot hur Joss förklarar den återuppståndne Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg), som till synes dog pga Loki i Whedons utmärkta Avengers-film. Coulson bär ju liksom upp hela tv-serien, då den kretsar kring hur han sätter samman ett SHIELD-team som löser märkliga fall. Den som lever får se i piloten!

iOS: Buycott provides a way for you to keep up with which companies support the causes you support, instead of providing a list of companies to avoid.

Read more...

First thing’s first: If you wanted to get a signed copy of The Human Division and are not able to get to one of my tour dates, here’s what you do:

1. If you want it signed and personalized, order the book from one of the stores on my tour I have yet to visit and they’ll be happy to set aside a copy, which I will be happy to personalize to you (or whomever you wish to have it personalized to).

2. If you just want it signed, the better to sell it on eBay when I am smothered in a tragic kitten avalanche, then check with the stores I’ve already been to, they probably will still have signed books in stock. For example, Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore in San Diego has tons of signed Human Divisions, and after tonight, so will their Redondo Beach store, and so on. Alternately, my hometown bookstore, Jay & Mary’s Book Center in Troy, Ohio, has signed stock on hand and would be delighted to send one along to you.

Of course, if you can come to the signings, please do come to the signings. They’re fun. And I don’t want to be alone.

Second thing’s second: A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by a journalist who was doing a story about authors who have a book coming out on the same day as Dan Brown’s new book Inferno, presumably because it will be amusing to hear us wail and gnash our teeth about that particular juggernaut crushing our books. I wasn’t home when he called and he never got back to me about it, so I will not be in that article. But if I had been, what I would have said is this:

I am in fact entirely unconcerned. I have no doubt that Inferno will sell rather more copies than The Human Division, but I doubt seriously that it will take away any sales from my book; which is to say I doubt that someone is going to walk into a book store, see Brown’s book and mine, and have a great existential crisis about only being able to choose one or the other. There may be overlap between our audiences, but I suspect that the overlap we have would choose to get both.

This would be the place to say something snarky about Brown, but I have nothing snarky to say about the dude. I read one of his books; it was entertaining and I was entertained and if there was anything about the book that was supposed to be deeper than that it went right past me. Being cranky about a Dan Brown book not being high literature is like yelling at a cupcake for not being a salad; it’s really missing the point. You don’t want the cupcake? Don’t eat the cupcake. Apparently lots of people like cupcakes. They don’t care that you want them to eat salad. You eat salad, if it’s so important to you.

But beyond this, I suspect that the article this journalist fellow was writing might have been predicated on a zero-sum thinking, which is that the money spent on Dan Brown today takes money from other writers. It doesn’t actually work that way. There are a certain number of Dan Brown readers who read one book a year, and the book they read this year is his. Bluntly put, that’s not money taken from me or other writers because we were never in contention for that cash. There is the another category of Dan Brown reader, which are the sort of people who love to read books, and also read Dan Brown. Someone in that category is going to cruise through Inferno in a couple of days and be on to the next book — perhaps mine, perhaps someone else’s. The point is in this scenario Dan Brown doesn’t take money away from any other writer in any significant way, because people who love reading read a lot of books.

And then there’s a third scenario in which people who didn’t know they like to read, read a Dan Brown book, enjoy it and then say “what else is out there?” In which case Dan Brown just did me and every other author a favor, because now there’s a new reader to shop our wares to. This is one reason why you won’t hear me gripe about Dan Brown, or E.L. James, or Stephenie Meyer or [insert frequently maligned author here]. They don’t hurt my career, and have the potential to benefit it.

So good luck to Dan Brown on his sales today, not that I think he will need it. And good luck to me, too. I suspect when the day is over, both of us will be perfectly happy with how it’s turned out.

Grimm får fortsätta, jippie! Foto: NBC

Grundlistan har jag tagit från TVguide.com men sedan har jag lagt till kabel-tv-serier och uppdaterar med nya besked allt eftersom. Oki? Ser ni någon serie som fattas, hojta.
STÖRSTA SKANDALEN: SOUTHLAND NEDLAGT *landssorg*

FÖRNYADE 2013-2014 (i bokstavsordning)
2 Broke Girls (CBS)
The Amazing Race  (CBS)
American Dad (Fox)
American Horror Story (FX)
American Idol (Fox)
The Americans (FX)
America's Next Top Model (CW)
Anger Management (FX)
Archer (FX)
Arrow (CW)
The Bachelor (ABC)
The Bachelorette (ABC)
Banshee (Cinemax)
Bates Motel (A&E)
Beauty and the Beast (CW)
Being Human (Syfy)
The Biggest Loser (NBC)
Black Dynamite (Adult Swim)
Blue Bloods (CBS)
Boardwalk Empire (HBO)
Bob's Burgers (Fox)
Bones (Fox)
The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Brand X with Russell Brand (FX)
Breaking Pointe (CW)
Brickleberry (Comedy Central)
Californication (Showtime)
The Carrie Diaries (CW)
Castle (ABC)
Catfish (MTV)
Chicago Fire (NBC)
Children's Hospital (Adult Swim)
Comic Book Men (AMC)
Community (NBC)
Continuum (Syfy)
Copper (BBC America)
Cougar Town (TBS)
Covert Affairs (USA)
Criminal Minds (CBS)
CSI (CBS)
Dallas (TNT)
Dancing With the Stars (ABC)
Da Vinci's Demons (Starz)
Defiance (Syfy)
Drop Dead Diva (Lifetime)
Dr Who (BBC America)
Duck Dynasty (A&E)
Eagleheart (Adult Swim)
Eastbound & Down (HBO)
Elementary (CBS)
Episodes (Showtime)
The Exes (TV Land)
Face Off (Syfy)
Falling Skies (TNT)
Family Guy (Fox)
The Following (Fox)
Franklin & Bash (TNT)
Freakshow (AMC)
Game of Thrones (HBO)
Ghost Mine (Syfy)
Girls (HBO)
The Glades (A&E)
Glee (Fox)
The Good Wife (CBS)
Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
Grimm (NBC)
Hannibal (NBC)
Hart of Dixie (CW)
Happily Divorced (TV Land)
Haven (Syfy)
Hawaii Five-0 (CBS)
Hell on Wheels (AMC)
Hell's Kitchen (FOX)
Hemlock Grove (Netflix)
Homeland (Showtime)
Hot in Cleveland (TV Land)
House of Cards (Netflix)
House of Lies (Showtime)
How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FXX)
Justified (FX)
Key & Peele (Comedy Central)
The Killing (AMC)
King of the Nerds (TBS)
Kroll Show (Comedy Central)
Last Man Standing (ABC)
Law & Order: SVU (NBC)
The League (FXX)
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Lost Girl (Showcase/Syfy)
Louie (FX)
Magic City (Starz)
Major Crimes (TNT)
Masterchef (FOX)
Melissa & Joey (ABC Family)
The Mentalist (CBS)
The Middle (ABC)
Mike & Molly (CBS)
The Mindy Project (Fox)
Modern Family (ABC)
Nashville (ABC)
NCIS (CBS)
NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS)
Necessary Roughness (USA)
The Neighbors (ABC)
New Girl (Fox)
The Newsroom (HBO)
Nikita (CW)
Nurse Jackie (Showtime)
Once Upon a Time (ABC)
Orphan Black (BBC America)
Parenthood (NBC)
Parks and Recreation (NBC)
Perception (TNT)
Person of Interest (CBS)
The Pitch (AMC)
Portlandia (IFC)
Pretty Little Liars (ABC Family)
Psych (USA)
Raising Hope (Fox)
Rectify (Sundance Channel)
Revenge (ABC)
Revolution (NBC)
Ripper Street (BBC America)
Rizzoli & Isles (TNT)
Royal Pains (USA)
Scandal (ABC)
Shameless (Showtime)
Shark Tank (ABC)
The Simpsons (Fox)
Snooki & JWOWW (MTV)
Sons of Anarchy (FX)
South Parl (Comedy Central)
So You Think You Can Dance (FOX)
Strike Back (Cinemax)
Suburgatory (ABC)
Sullivan & Son (TBS)
Supernatural (CW)
Survivor (CBS)
Switched at Birth (ABC Family)
The Taste (ABC)
Teen Wolf (MTV)
Toddlers & Tiaras (TLC)
Top Chef (Bravo)
Tosh 2.0 (Comedy Central)
True Blood (HBO)
Two and a Half Men (CBS)
Undercover Boss (CBS)
The Vampire Diaries (CW)
Veep (HBO)
Vikings (History Channel)
The Voice (NBC)
The Walking Dead (AMC)
Warehouse 13 (Syfy)
White Collar (USA)
Wilfred (FXX)
Workaholics (Comedy Central)
The X Factor (Fox)

KOMMER TROLIGEN FÖRNYAS
American Idol (Fox) (Förnyad!)
Awkward (MTV)
The Bachelor (ABC) (Förnyad!)
The Bachelorette (ABC) (Förnyad!)
The Biggest Loser (NBC) (Förnyad!)
Bunheads (ABC Family)
Castle (ABC) (Förnyad!)
Celebrity Apprentice (NBC)
The Client List (Lifetime)
Criminal Minds (CBS) (Förnyad!)
Dancing With the Stars (ABC) (Förnyad!)
Defiance (Syfy) (Förnyad!)
Dr Who (BBC America) (Förnyad!)
Grey's Anatomy (ABC) (Förnyad!)
Go On (NBC) (Nedlagd!)
Hannibal (NBC) (Förnyad!)
Hemlock Grove (Netflix) (Förnyad!)
Kitchen Nightmares (Fox)
Last Man Standing (ABC) (Förnyad!)
Mad Men (AMC)
The Middle (ABC) (Förnyad!)
Modern Family (ABC) (Förnyad!)
Nashville (ABC) (Förnyad!)
The Neighbors (ABC) (Förnyad!)
The Nerdist (BBC America)
Nurse Jackie (Showtime) (Förnyad!)
Once Upon a Time (ABC) (Förnyad!)
Parks and Recreation (NBC) (Förnyad!)
Portlandia (IFC) (Förnyad!)
Project Runway (Lifetime)
Revenge (ABC) (Förnyad!)
Scandal (ABC) (Förnyad!)
Shark Tank (ABC) (Förnyad!)
Suburgatory (ABC) (Förnyad!)
Suits (USA)
Vice (HBO)
Warehouse 13 (Syfy) (Förnyad!)

KOMMER FÖRMODLIGEN LÄGGAS NED
1600 Penn (NBC) (Nedlagd!)
Army Wives (Lifetime)
Betty White's Off Their Rockers (NBC)
The Borgias (Showtime) (Nedlagd!)
Body of Proof (ABC) (Nedlagd!)
The Carrie Diaries (CW) (Förnyad!)
The Cleveland Show (Fox) (Nedlagd)
Community (NBC) (Förnyad!)
CSI: NY (CBS) (Nedlagd!)
The Family Tools (ABC) (Nedlagd!)
Fashion Star (NBC)
Golden Boy (CBS) (Nedlagd!)
Guys with Kids (NBC) (Nedlagd!)
Happy Endings (ABC) (Nedlagd!)
How to Live with Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life) (ABC) (Nedlagd!)
The Lying Game (ABC Family)
Malibu Country (ABC) (Nedlagd!)
Men at Work (TBS)
Monday Mornings (TNT) (Nedlagd!)
The New Normal (NBC) (Nedlagd!)
Nikita (CW) (Förnyad!)
Red Widow (ABC) (Nedlagd!)
Rules of Engagement (CBS) (Nedlagd!)
Southland (TNT) (Nedlagd!)
Smash (NBC) (Nedlagd!)
The Taste (ABC) (Förnyad!)
Touch (Fox) (Nedlagd!)
Up All Night (NBC) (Nedlagd!)
Vegas (CBS) (Nedlagd!)
Washington Heights (MTV)
Whitney (NBC) (Nedlagd!)

NEDLAGDA/AVSLUTADE
30 Rock (NBC)
666 Park Avenue (ABC)
1600 Penn (NBC)
90210 (CW)*
Alphas (Syfy)
Animal Practice (NBC)
Ben & Kate (Fox)
The Big C*
Body of Proof (ABC)
The Borgias (Showtime)
Boss (Starz)
Breaking Bad (AMC)*
Buckwild (MTV)
Burn Notice (USA)*
The Cleveland Show (FOX)
Common Law (USA)
CSI: NY (CBS)
Cult (CW)
Deception (NBC)
Dexter (Showtime)*
Dirty Jobs (Discovery)
Do No Harm (NBC)
Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 (ABC)
Emily Owens, M.D. (CW)
Enlightened (HBO)
Fairly Legal (USA)
The Family Tools (ABC)
Fringe (Fox)
Futurama (Comedy Channel)*
Golden Boy (CBS)
Go On (NBC)
Gossip Girl (CW)
Guys with Kids (NBC)
Happy Endings (ABC)
How I Met Your Mother (CBS)*
How to Live with Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life (ABC)
The Inbetweeners (MTV)
Jane by Design (ABC Family)
Jersey Shore (MTV)
The Job (CBS)
Kathy (Bravo)
The LA Complex (MTV)
Last Resort (ABC)
Life's Too Short (HBO)*
Made in Jersey (CBS)
Malibu County (ABC)
Merlin (Syfy)
The Mob Doctor (Fox)
Monday Mornings (TNT)
The New Normal (NBC)
The Office (NBC)
Partners (CBS)
Political Animals (USA)
Private Practice (ABC)
Red Widow (ABC)
Rules of Engagement (CBS)
The Secret Life of the American Teenager (ABC Family)
Smash (NBC)
Southland (TNT)
Touch (FOX)
Treme (HBO)*
Up All Night (NBC)
Vegas (CBS)
Wedding Band (TBS)
Weeds (Showtime)
Whitney (NBC)
Zero Hour (ABC)*

* = har ff avsnitt kvar att visa

And here is the very nice award they gave me there. It is interesting, and perhaps instructional, that the comment I got the most as I was showing it off was “wow, that would be an excellent award for murdering someone with.” Yes, I suppose it would be. Not that I have any plans to do that. Unless, of course, you piss me off.

I’ll tell you a story about getting the award. RT Book Reviews is a magazine that primarily but not exclusively reviews works in the romance genre, and so their Reviewer’s Choice awards are primarily (but, obviously, not exclusively) in the romance genre, which has a largely (but again not exclusively) female authorship. Correspondingly most of the Reviewer’s Choice Award recipients are women; of the thirty or so Reviewer’s Choice awards they gave out at the ceremony, I was one of two men accepting awards (the other being the male half of the “Ilona Andrews” writing team).

With that as preamble, one of the things they do at the RT Reviewer’s Choice Award ceremony is have male romance book cover models escort the award recipients to the stage; they walk them up the ramp in part to help pace the ceremony and keep it moving at a brisk clip — when one recipient was up giving the speech, the next would queue up, and so on (the winners were announced in advance so this was easy to do). On the side of ceremony room I was on there were two of the fellows, who would alternate walking up the award recipient.

When it was my turn to queue up, the two men looked over at me, wondering what they should do; my response was to signal to them that, hells yeah, one of them was going to walk me up. Because damn it, I was an RT Reviewer’s Choice Award recipient, and I wanted the full award winner experience. Which included being walked up to the stage by a hunky male romance cover model.

They both walked me up, each taking an arm. I felt very special.

Beyond that particular moment, I had a very good time at the RT Booklovers’ Convention as a whole. On a practical sense, it seemed a well-run convention — they had a book signing area, with well over a hundred authors of all sorts, that was extremely well run, enough so that I think other con runners should come to this thing to see how they do it. Likewise, I was impressed at how smoothly the awards ceremony went — there were a few dozen award recipients in total yet they got through the entire ceremony in just a couple of hours. As someone at the head of an organization that has its own award ceremony, I was taking notes.

I also have to say that I liked the vibe of the convention, which was (for the authors, at least) relaxed and fun. Everyone seemed to be having a good time and were happy to be sitting around, chatting and sharing notes. I’ll note that as RT is heavily focused on the romance genre — a field which, by the way, has significant crossover into the speculative fiction and YA genres (and often both at the same time) — the author and fan attendance skewed largely female; while men weren’t entirely absent (there were male authors and fans, and spouses of female authors and fans) they were relatively rare. In the evenings, I would be hanging out at the bar with other writers and friends and I would look around and every other person around the table would be a woman. And I would go, huh, and then go back into the conversation.

This is something that I think might be worth noting out loud: At a largely female-oriented convention, as a man, I was never excluded, resented or made to feel unwelcome. There were folks who were surprised I was there, but that surprise was always “Oh! Cool! You’re here!” rather than “Why are you here?” And that, of course, is a salient difference. No one questioned my reasoning for being there, or suggested, say, that I was a Fake Romance Boy, or quizzed me about who my favorite romance author was or if I could recite that author’s bibliography to their satisfaction. I certainly wasn’t skeezed on. On the contrary, people went out of their way to ask me if I was enjoying myself and to let me know they were glad I was there. When I admitted ignorance about certain writers or genre details they were happy to expand my knowledge, and they wanted to know more about what I did and my own experiences as a writer.  I met lots of new people and made new friends and in many ways it was one of the best convention experiences I’ve had in a long time.

This leaves wide open and hanging the question of why was it so easy for the folks at the RT Booklovers’ Convention, fans and creators both, to welcome a stranger of the opposite gender into their midst, while other enthusiast communities that skew male still have creators and fans who blow a gasket about women doing their thing in that genre. It’s not difficult to be welcoming and friendly. I wish the genres I am actively a part of could do as good a job of it as romance and the RT Booklovers’ convention did for me (and, I will note, the other men I saw at the convention).

So, in all: An excellent time with excellent people, and, hey, I got an award, too. Not a bad weekend at all.

comedycentral:

This was magical.

If you ever needed a reason to follow @TheDailyShow, this is it.

Here’s the original segment, in case you missed it.

In case you're thinking of celebrating Star Wars this Saturday as part of "May the Fourth," the Galactic Empire would like to remind you that any celebration in support of the Rebellion, Jedi, or any similar traitors is a crime.

Read more...

Great news lovers of sexy clone conspiracy theories and murder — the BBC America drama Orphan Black has been renewed with a 10-episode order! Celebrate by stealing your clone's identity!

Read more...

archiemcphee:

Alright Japan, now you’re just toying with us. Your relentless onslaught of weirdness and cuteness has us glued to our monitors lest we miss the next awesome thing you create or do. We’re putty in your hands. Now you’ve gone and made a series of photographs of cats dressed up as creative interpretations of sushi toppings, resting comfortably atop giant mounds of sushi rice, secured by enormous strips of nori. This one has pretty much rendered us speechless.

These “Sushi Cats” or “Neko-Sushi” are the work of Japan-based company Tange & Nakimushi Peanuts. Who needs to shower or go to work when there is stuff like this to see?

“According to the History of Sushi Cats video, the cats are a magical and historical creature that have been influencing humans since the beginning of time. Tange & Nakimushi Peanuts has released a mobile game app for iPhone and Android phones featuring the Sushi Cats. They also have an online store that offers photo prints, postcards and more (only available in Japan).”

Neko-Sushi is an extremely unusual life-form consisting of a cat on top of a portion of sushi rice. Although several references have come down to us through history from various researchers and witnesses, their existence is still shrouded in mystery and actual sightings remain rare.

There are several academics who have devoted their lives to the study of these creatures. According to a number of these, Neko-Sushi make use of gaps in space to come to us from an alternate dimension. Beyond these “gaps” lies the world of the Neko-Sushi in which, it is recently understood, lies the true identity of the cats that dwell with us here in the human dimension.

We can’t look away. It’s just too cute… too strange… too awesome.

Visit Laughing Squid for even more Neko-Sushi goodness.

owlturdcomix:

Grey: http://i.imgur.com/Kt10DXt.png

Purple: http://i.imgur.com/VHESTMl.png

I love everything about this.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation just released its annual "Who Has Your Back" report card, detailing the privacy policies of tech companies. Here's the rundown of who fights for your privacy in the face of government requests for your data—and who doesn't even bother.

Read more...

timgspears:

Window Socket - Kyuho Song & Boa Oh

So this is an absolutley brilliant idea! Just attach the plug on to a window and it will harness solar energy. A small converter will convert it into electricity which can be freely used as a plug when you are in the car, on a plane or outside.

Love this design and I really think it has a great potential.

Reheating meals in plastic containers in the microwave is something that most of us probably do, but over time those containers start to break down and leach plastic into the food. According to The Wall Street Journal, knowing when to throw them out is easy.

Read more...

The (oddly enough somewhat controversial) speech I gave about digital publishing to the Digital Minds Conference in London last week.

If you think I look sleepy or jetlagged, you are right…

If you're having trouble getting to sleep, the problem might not be in your head. In fact, it might be in your feet.

Read more...

I'm about to get as girly as this blog has ever been, guys, so fellas? Yes, you - I know you're out there! Yeah, look, unless you're a guy who likes reading about lady boobs and lingerie, you may want to skip this one. Although I promise to throw in some fun geeky bras every now and then, just to keep it interesting:



See?

Ok, so, the other night I was following a rabbit trail of web links - like you do - and I ended up on this fascinating Reddit forum about bras. And when I say "fascinating," I mean I stayed up until 3AM reading, because holy WOW how did I not know this stuff before?

You know how you always hear that something like 90% of women wear the wrong size bra? I'd heard that, too, but never thought much of it. Sure, my bra straps were constantly falling down and the wires were always jabbing me in the sides and I'd been convinced I was just shaped like a mutant for most of my life, but GOSH DARN IT I WAS ONE OF THE 10% GETTING IT RIGHT. Right?

Wrong.

Did you know that a bra's cup size changes with its band size? So a 34D's cup is a fraction of the size of a 40D's cup? This seems blindingly obvious now, but I promise you I HAD NO IDEA. I think I've just been programmed since my Barbie-playing days that D = ginormous boobs, so I never bothered to think beyond that.


More stuff I learned:

- There are something called "sister sizes," or bra sizes that hold equal amounts of mass. For example, a 34D is roughly equal to a 36C, in as far as how much boobage mass they will hold. Here's a handy visual guide of sister sizes, plus other band-to-bust ratios:


It took me about five solid minutes of staring at that graphic to make any sense of it, but once you get it, it's great info to have  - especially if you're in-between band sizes like me.

- If you bend at the waist to adjust yourself with the "scoop & swoop" method, you can INSTANTLY become at least a full cup size bigger. (Hit that link for some impressive, NSFW before-and-after photos.) I tried this, and I can assure you: it totally works.

- There are generally two kinds of breast shapes: full-on-top and full-on-the-bottom. If you're full-on-the-bottom like me, you may have been fooled into thinking a bra's cup size was too large for you, simply because it gaped at the top like so:


NOT SO. Some bras are simply made to fit full-on-the-top ladies, while others fit full-on-the-bottom or both shapes. Head over to Bras I Hate for the whole post explaining the two shapes, plus plenty of helpful visuals like that one.

This next one is one of my favorite bits:

- A lot of armpit flab and folds are actually breast tissue being smashed upward by an ill-fitting bra. Ditto for back folds. So a properly fitted bra could actually eliminate some or all of your arm flab and back folds. (Great example in the 3rd set of photos here.)

Here's the most important take-away, though:

- The vast majority of women are wearing bras that are too big in the band size, and too small (by far) in the cup size.

So after reading this excellent and easy guide for measuring yourself, I decided to measure myself. (It's just two measurements - easy peasy.) Then I plugged in the numbers to the bra calculator she links to and did a quadruple take. Then I went back and measured myself again because there was NO WAY I was the size it claimed. Then I did the numbers manually, using the graph in the same post. Same results.

After the third measuring & calculating I finally gave up and decided to just go bra shopping. The proof is in the pudding, right? (Or in this case, the padding?)

Ok, so now let's get nitty-gritty, girls. LET'S TALK NUMBERS.

For the past few years I've been bumping up my band size, even though my weight has been the same. I could tell something wasn't fitting, what with the wires jabbing me and the gore* floating off my chest, but since I've never had much in the tracts of land department, I figured the band size was the only thing I could increase. So, I went from a 36B to all 38Bs.

[*Technical term! That's the bridge between cups at the front. See? I told you I learned stuff!]

Today I brought home 4 new bras that fit me just about perfectly. They're way more comfortable than my 38Bs, and they look about a million times better, too. Guess what size they are?  

34D.

34 FREAKING D, you guys. And on some of those the cups are a smidge too small, but YOU try finding a 34DD at Ross or Marshall's. (The calculator actually tried to tell me I need a DDD, but since I'd have to order those online I think I'll start with these and reassess in a few months. According to the forum I might need a larger cup size then due to tissue migration, anyway.)

How did I go from a 38B to a 34D? Simple. I put the bra on, bent at the waist, and scooped and adjusted until everything was up front and in place. Then I stood upright and goggled at my new found acreage.

Believe it or not, I really was adjusting each time I suited up in my bras before - but not with the bending-at-the-waist, "scoop & swoop" method. That part is totally key. Turns out gravity is a powerful ally!

You're probably thinking I can't breathe in my new bras, or that they're tight enough to make a Victorian lady gasp. Nope! They're snug, sure, but I can easily fit several fingers under the band. I actually measure exactly 35 inches, so I have to wear the 34s on the last hook - but that's good! See, another thing I learned: you should always buy bras that fit on the *last* hook, so you have room to tighten them as they stretch out over time. Again, that seems so obvious now - so why wasn't I doing it before?!

(Because of the sister-sizes thing, I also picked up two 36C bras. They only fit on the tightest hooks, so they won't last as long as the 34Ds, but they're great for now.)

Another benefit of the smaller bands: there's not as much weight on my shoulder straps. I'm hoping that means the straps won't be falling down as much, although only time will tell.



Ok, ladies, so now it's your turn: Go measure yourself using this post as a guide. DO IT. Do it now!! Then go try on whatever bra size the post's calculator or graph tells you to.

When you first try the new size on, it will feel too tight in the band and too big in the cup. DON'T PANIC. Just bend and scoop, baby! YEAH! (Sorry. Austin Power's moment.) And don't be surprised if your cups runneth over once you straighten up again!

Believe it or not, I've only scratched the surface of bra anatomy, so you should really head over to that forum, A Bra That Fits, to explore and learn more for yourself. Check the sidebar for all the basics and more helpful guides like what I've listed here. Then go learn about tissue migration, shallow breasts, how to spot a proper fit, and all the rest! I'm telling you, there's at LEAST enough there to keep you reading 'til 3AM.

Oh, and if you're curious how John feels about all this, let's just say he's the one who told me I HAVE to write this post, as a service to all mankind. Ha! He was as skeptical as I was initially, but after seeing my new sizes he's allll smiles.

Please share your own experiences/knowledge in the comments, ladies, and let me know if that measurement system works for you! Also, HUGE shout-out to all the lovely contributors and moderators at A Bra That Fits. I'm not a Redditor, so I'll just say it here: You guys rock! Thank you!

myjetpack:

A book of my cartoons will be out next week!