Make yourself uncomfortable. I’m really uncomfortable right now and I’m really happy about it because i’m in a totally new situation… and I’m learning a lot. – Jake Nickell
Jake Nickell – Never Stop Making Things
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It’s Official: I’m Obsessed with Pinball
I tend to obsess over things. Like REALLY obsess. I tend to build my life and ways I make money around my obsessions. Every few years another thing comes up that interests me and I have to learn as much about it as I can. Magic Tricks, Yo-Yo’s, Pro Tools, After Effects, Photography, Cinema 4D, Designing iPhone Apps, all came out of following random obsessions. Well, I think I found a new one.
About about two months ago, wile I was waiting for my laundry to dry in a San Francisco Laundromat, I put a few quarters into a Terminator 2 Pinball and ended up playing a couple hours until I beat the high score. That’s all it took. I am now obsessed in learning everything I can about pinball and becoming a better player. I learned about who designed pinball games, who makes them, how they are distributed, how they are cleaned, fixed, and transported. I’m also committing to play and practice at least 4 hours a week to learn how to become a better player.
Fleeting obsessions come and go for me, but it looks like this one is here to stay for a while. I’m even looking into purchasing one for home or for an office space and learning how to fix them myself. Mostly, I’m excited I finally have a hobby that doesn’t involve staring into a computer monitor all day.
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XTC: When You’re Near Me I Have Difficulty
✔ Restrained Guitar Solo Playing The Melody
✔ Key Change
✔ Weirdly Timed Outro
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Want To Be More Productive? Take A Cold Shower
The hot water heater busted where I was staying in San Francisco a few months ago. It was after a very sweaty run around the city, so I had to get clean. I knew an unintended cold shower was in my near future. So, I soaped up and jumped in. It was cold. Breathtakingly cold. Uncontrollable funny noises cold.
After I rinsed off, I noticed something happened as I stood there shivering and drying off. I felt alive! Better then I had in a long time. I felt like I could slay a dragon!!
So, I did it again the next day. I didn’t bother to call about the busted hot water heater. It was the weekend anyway, and I didn’t want to bug anybody about it (I was a guest after all). I just hopped in the cold water ready for the challenge. New day, same feeling. Ready to start the day. Ready to take on the world. Ready to do everything on my to-do list and more.
Monday came and they fixed the hot water heater, but that didn’t stop me. I was hooked. Crank it to cold, soap up and rinse off. I felt like I was in the army. Like if I could survive this, then the rest of the day would be easy.
Well, I have been doing this for a few months now and it’s effects haven’t worn off. The showers are still breathtakingly cold, but not miserable. I actually look forward to it. It’s better than coffee. It gets me in the right state of mind. In a state of control, not comfort. The perfect mood for making the world work for me instead of merely reacting to the world around me.
Here are a few notes if you want to try the cold shower for yourself
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Ben On Corporations and Steve Jobs
So, as people reflect on Steve Jobs’ legacy, surely one fundamental issue should be his attitude toward corporate purpose — with his devotion to customers, not shareholders, and his ability to withstand short-term pressures in the name of product excellence. – BEN W. HEINEMAN, JR.
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