Summer 2013 August 22

74/76 degrees this morning, still somewhat cloudy.

I realized this morning how much shorter the days are getting.  Like the frog in "gradually boiling" water, I didn't realize how much later the sun was rising.  I used to note the sunrise and sunset in my daily journal and maybe I need to start again to realize the passage of the seasons.  

Listening the the book "Willpower"  (I'm sure there are many books with that title, I'll check on the author), and learning some very interesting ideas, especially about the pursuit of "pleasure" and "happiness". 

I get my audiobooks from Audible and, as an Amazon.com company, they have the famous horrible customer service if you have a question or need help, so it is difficult to do anything other than "listen" to the book.  I can't really go back and listen to certain parts as I can with a CD due to limitations imposed by Audible which don't make any sense.

Anyway, the book has some interesting comments about why we always think "tomorrow" we we will have more time and why people get addicted to video games, eating etc.  (it's not that it brings you pleasure, it's that you always think the NEXT time will be pleasure and fulfillment).   I'm sure those are relatively common ideas, but I like the way the book presented it.  This will probably be one of those times when I get the physical book so I can review some of the specific ideas.

The book had one example of what had to be a highly unethical (if it had been done now) study that tied in electrodes to subjects brains and than allow them to "pleasure" themselves as much as they wanted.  People pushed the button so often they frequently even wouldn't eat and had to be forced to quit.  (This is a rough idea of it, I need to research this some more).  

Otherwise, life continues. It is so busy, I find myself multitasking too much.  For example yesterday I realized I was (at the same time):

-Eating breakfast

-Watching "Mad Money"

-Reading the "USA Today" web site

No matter how good I am at multitasking there is no way I could really maximize any of them.  Actually that is ok, as long as I realize I'm not really doing all three tasks well.  Obviously eating breakfast doesn't really matter whether I am effective or efficient.  All I want to do from watching "Mad Money" or reading USA Today (website) is get the highlights.

USA Today has the best website newspaper of any newspaper I have seen.  I never watch the videos (due to time limitations), but I like the way the stories are arranged, I can skip all the junk stories about sports, "celebrities" etc. and just read what I want.

Actually the Memphis Commerical Appeal has the best "e-newspaper" of them all, it is an exact replica of the actual newspaper and, unlike the New York times and Wall Street Journal, it is actually easy to navigate and read.  Really as good or better than the physical newspaper, although I prefer the physical newspaper.

When I am out of town, I always ready the Commerical Appeal on-line, but really don't have the patience to read the New York Times or Wall Street Journal on-line.  They are poorly organized and awkward.  

I was reading some City Manager comments on the City Manager section on "Linked in" and I was stunned at some of the comments in answer to a question about "a good City Manager is always in trouble".  Hopefully I misunderstood some of the comments or they were half-way joking.