March, 2008

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19
Mar 08

Economic Stimulus Payment Calculator

The Economic Stimulus Payment Calculator is now online with checks starting in May.

The exact text of the bill is here, and the rationale is listed as:

As 2008 began, economic indicators suggested an increased risk of recession. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testified before Congress that quick action was needed to stimulate the economy through targeted government spending and tax incentives.[7] Facing an election later in the year, Congress moved rapidly to pass such legislation. In passing the legislation, lawmakers aimed to stimulate spending by businesses and consumers during 2008. They hoped that the targeted individual tax rebates would boost consumer spending and that targeted tax incentives would boost business spending.


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16
Mar 08

Porco Rosso by Hayao Miyazaki

The more I watch of anime director Hayao Miyazaki, the more I like his stuff. We recently watched his seventh film, Porco Rosso, which is “about an Italian World War I fighter ace, now living as a freelance bounty hunter chasing ‘air pirates’ in the Adriatic Sea.”

Given the crazy characters in other Miyazaki films, I found this Wikipedia note to be fun:

Porco Rosso is one of the few movies directed by Hayao Miyazaki in which the historical and geographical settings are clearly defined, and where most of the story could have happened in the real world.

Nice.

I’ve also enjoyed: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle (to name a few).


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15
Mar 08

Change Learning

On the Elegant Solutions blog, Matthew E May asks What’s a Leader to Do?

Here’s what I know to be true, because I’ve seen and experienced it time and time again, in work and in life: you can’t attack “change” and “culture” directly. Why? Because the full-frontal assault only makes us hold on tighter to the current ways. 

The only thing I’ve ever seen work as a sustainable pathway to true change is to foster a learning mindset. I learned that from Toyota, the ultimate learning machine. Learning precedes all performance improvement, even personal growth. Learning IS how we change.


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14
Mar 08

Silk and Wool Duo Felted Bowl

If you are in the market for a felted bowl, check out Secret Snowbird. New bowls all the time, the most recent is Silk and Wool Duo Bowl.

All vases and bowls by Secret Snowbird are hand knit, then felted. Featured in this bowl is thick black wool with a finishing touch of recycled silk stitching. Perfect for coffee tables, or landing strips, even a holding spot for a few apples. Not merely decorative, this bowl is designed to be nice and deep to accommodate more than just a pair of earrings.


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14
Mar 08

Productivity and Time

37signals posted a nice [Sunspots] this week … The scarcity edition. My favorite two entries were:

Busy vs. Productive
“‘Work smarter, not harder’ is one of the ultimate clichés. Like most clichés, few people actually do it. The busy outnumber the productive by a wide margin. Whether you’re a boss, an employee, or working for yourself, we’ve all had our treadmilling moments. Here’s the difference, from a geek perspective.”

Time is undervalued
“I don’t do things differently to be different; I do what works for me,’ she says. ‘To me, the commodity that we consistently overvalue is money, and what we undervalue is our precious and irreplaceable time…Theoretically, I could choose to trade artistic autonomy and pride in my work for increased income — say, by broadly licensing my characters to be used for television…I love what I do, I love the people I work with, I care very much about the value of the work I create, and I don’t need more money than I have. This is not revolutionary philosophy. It’s just common sense.”


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