There's so much noise

There is just so much noise.

Every day, everywhere I go, there is noise. Noise filling my ears, my head, my brain and my thoughts.

E.g. when sitting in my cubicle at work, there are so many people around me, talking and chatting, typing and writing, listening to music (which I only hear the baseline from their earplugs), drinking, eating, tapping their feet, and so on and so on.

Noise.

And outside, there are cars, airplanes and a big crane which makes a very cruel noise when lifting stuff that the workers there are going to hammer into place.

More noise.

And when going home, I can choose between the noise from the traffic, or I can choose to listen to music on my Muvo, but that will only block out part of the noise.
I need silence.
Silence.
Peace.


With all the technology available, why haven’t anyone invented earplugs or headsets which brings complete silence?

It can’t be that hard?

And, I don’t want something the size of an orange sitting on the sides of my head, I just want a nice little thing to stick in my ear. Preferably something which I can configure to say, e.g. “ok, now I accept phonecalls” (directly to the plug), or “ok, let conversations in” (preferably from people with pleasant voices.


I have, today, discovered a nice alternative while waiting.
I usually listen to the radio on my way to and from work, but that also gets pretty noisy sometimes.

But, today I discovered the music which is probably the nearest thing you get to silence.
At least, it feels that way for your soul:
Check out one (out of 140!) of the radiostations on Classical Webcast.

They “attempt to collect all live-broadcasting classical radio stations on the Web”, and I think they are doing pretty well.

Hopefully it works as well for you as it does for me: I now have a way to block the noise out, by bringing classics in  

Hola, ¿que tal?

Fenomenal!

I have just discovered CoffeBreakSpanish, and I love it!

One of my goals is to learn a new language, and I was wondering if I should:
a) “Re-learn” and become better in german
b) Learn spanish
c) Learn italian, as a friend has told me that’s the way to go

So, after pondering on this for a while, I it slipped out of my mind, and I ended up with alternative d (not on the original list): let it slide and put it off till later.


But that was before I discovered CoffeeBreakSpanish.

This site has free podcasts which seems to teach you all you need to know about the spanish language.

So far I’ve listened to session 1 & 2, which are very basic, but I’ve read ahead to see what the future podcasts has to offer, and it seems like there’s some great and (to me) pretty advanced stuff coming.


So, finally I’ve started on learning my fourth (1. norwegian, 2. english, 3. german) language, and I am very happy with it.

I also discovered a great online dictionary, WordReference.com, which might be of great assistance, since the podcasts doesn’t learn you have to spell the words you learn.

Actually, there is a premium membership, which hopefully gives you that as well, but I haven’t decided to buy one yet. I reckon I will though, because this was addictive :)


Hasta luego!! 

Fear of the Unknown.

We fear so much what we do not know, first of all the future.

No one knows what the future will bring, but we do our best to control it.


Losing control equals fear, and our brain relate fear to pain.

So, we automatically try to avoid ut, and regarding the future, we try to do what we know best, so that we avoid unknown situations which could bring fear upon us.

By repeating our old habits, instead of trying new things, we keep a feeling of safety, because we know what these habits will bring us.

Even if the habit is actually giving us an amount of negativity in life, they are safer than doing something new


To let go and seize the moment, is so much more difficult than not doing it, even if it brings pain not to do it. If you want to talk to another person, it can be harder to walk the steps over to her desk than to stay put at your own, even if the pain for not taking that walk is dreadful.


Why are we so afraid of the unknown?

Why do we stick to our old ways, even when they bring pain?


Because we relate to them as something we’ve done before, and even if that leads to sorrow, lonelyness and negative thoughts, breaking through is so scary that we choose the pain.

If you never try it, you'll never know.
Take that chance.
Break your habit.
Think new.
Just do it.
Trust yourself.
Have faith.


Love's Loopy Logic @ Psychology Today

DayDreaming

"Scientists believe daydreaming to be the brain's default setting" Reuters announces.

Phew.

Finally someone who takes my side ;)

The power of a smile

I've been reading in a great book lately...
It's nearly 80 years old, but the author, mr. Dale Carnegie, somehow managed to write down some everlasting truths which still apply just as they did back in the 1930s.
How to Win Friends and Influence People is an easy read, and in it mr. Carnegie writes down some facts about human interaction that are really obvious, but somehow we sometimes forget them.

I try to read a chapter every day. I first read through it quickly (like an ordinary book), and then I
go back and repeat them (with a pencil in my hand, ready to make notes and underline the important stuff).

Yesterday, I was reading about smiling. :)
The true, sincere smile which lights up our eyes, and which makes other people feel warm inside. It is so easy, and it can really change your day, and others' as well.

Try it tomorrow when you meet another person. The first person you'll probably meet, is yourself in the mirror. Do as Joe Hallenbeck (Bruce Willis) in The Last Boyscout, look yourself in the eye and say "smile you fuck". Or, just smile ;)

Just smiling alone actually gets you in a good mood. In a hospital expirement I heard about, they made ten people who suffered from depression smile for twenty minutes a couple of times daily. And their state actually changed, with no other input or stimulation. Just smiling (fake) made the brain happier, so the sincerity of the smile changed too.

If just a smile can do magic for you, imagine what it can do to another person you meet. Greet them with your warmest smile, and show them that you're happy to meet them. In doing so, you'll alter their state of mind, and they'll be glad they met you.
They'll also think warmly of you later, and they'll probably be in a better mood and feel better about themselves too. Can you achieve more in a day? :)

And another fact about smiling/laughing:
"When we laugh, endorphins (chemicals produced in the brain) are released, and those chemicals help us sense pleasurable events. when we feel good emotionally, it affects how we feel mentally and physically" (quote from ThunderGnome)

Here's some good links about smile and laughter:
Is Laughter the Best Medicine or Any Medicine at All? (Psi Chi)
Laughter is the Best Medicine (Richard G. Petty).
How to Win Friends and Influence People - Basic Summary.
.

Le Grand Content by Clemens Kogler

This you gotta see: Le Grand Content by Clemens Kogler  sdf.
Truly an excellent use of diagrams and tweaking effects to state a point.
Also, very simple and easy for the mind to absord, so it's a good example of a good presentation.

Also commented on: PresentationZen.com

P2P-television

Now would be a good time for some of the major media companies to look at new ways to reach audience.
With Janus Friis and Niklas Zennström (creators of Kazaa and Skype) using their skills and experience to develop a way to broadcast video using P2P network, the old fashion way is going to be old school pretty soon.

Joost, aka The Venice Project, will use the same peer2peer way of connecting computers for shared broadband as this guys have done with huge success before.
Instead of limiting the source of media to a huge server (which eventually will run out of resources/broadband when enough users connect), every user will share parts of the media to other users, thus making use of every bit available in every broadband cable around.

I believe this way of network sharing may be just the thing that jolts the larger media companies to think new.

I want to be able to search for programs which meet my requirements and interests, and immediatly be able to see them either on my computer, or on my tv.
Not just at home, but anywhere there's a wireless network available!

---
Visit Joost, aka The Venice Project
Read "Why Joost is good for tv" on Wired News asd
Read "Hands on with The Venice..." on Engadget
Read "Kazaa, Skype and now the Venice Project" on BusinessWeek

Some Blog-tools

I want to share some of the blog tools that got me started today, and which I find to be some great tools. I reckon these are just as valuable for the newbie as for the advanced blogger.

First, some starter guides I find valuable:
How to Evangelize a Blog by Guy Kawasaki
Blogging Starter Checklist by Rajesh Setty

Next, some really cool tools:
Veotag:
http://www.veotag.com
Example: Guy Kawasaki's The Art of the Start

iStockPhoto:
http://www.istockphoto.com

Technorati:
http://www.technorati.com


And I'm currently reading my self up on making a dime (without any readers yet, it's a little optimistic, but hey):
Guy Kawasaki's experiences from first year of blogging.

Getting Started

I got myself a Technorati Profile, which means, I'll be invading the blogmosphere any day now.

To let you know what I have in mind for this site, please refer to the topic:
Developing Me.

Getting Started
I know myself, but not nearly as well as I should. I have discovered that recently, and I am trying to change that.
I don't want to be a stranger to my own self! I want to feel fullfilment, I want to be complete, and I want to know why I am who I am.
I also want to know how I can become who I want to be, and how I can complete my goals. First though, I want to figure out what my goals are.

The last year or so I have discovered that I am not who I want to be anymore. I've felt like I've been drifting away from myself, so for the past month I've started my journey towards selv-discovery and realisation.

I've discovered alot. From who I was a couple a years ago, and compared to the future goals I had then, I was far from it.
My emotions are in unbalance, and not as positive as I'd like them to be.
My self-confidence level is far from as good as it should be.
My body doesn't look as good as it should.
My economy is better than it used to be, but think I can reach for more.
My relationship to friends and family is not good enough.

I will explain and explore all these "My's" in later posts.
I will try to make my goals clear, and use this as a tool to follow through.
Also, I will write down my experiences, so that others can use this as a tool for themselves.