Self-reinforcing Success
Posted by Qrystal on February 9, 2009 at 10:36.
Category: Life. Tags: goals, myself, procrastination, task-management.
A great weakness has been festering in me for too long now: I am very bad at completing things. I have great intentions, great directions, great plans, great ideas, but almost none of them get implemented. What’s worse is that each failure (perceived or actual) reinforces the mindset that causes it.
Cause [...] Continue Reading…
Relativity and Time Dilation
Posted by Qrystal on February 6, 2009 at 4:38.
Category: Concepts. Tags: light, physics, relativity, spacetime, teaching, time.
The fact that time isn’t consistent for everyone is a very troubling idea, and even physicists have a hard time learning about it initially. Imagine how difficult it was for Einstein to convince his peers about it originally! He didn’t even have the benefit of science fiction [...] Continue Reading…
Breathing as Therapy
Posted by Qrystal on January 30, 2009 at 15:17.
Category: Advice. Tags: health, relaxation, yoga.
To breathe is the fundamental human need, primal and immediate. Not only is it a calming feeling, breathing is highly portable. I can bring this sense of peace with me wherever I grow, so long as I remember to be mindful.
David Seah – The Air Prayer Hack
I’ve been trying [...] Continue Reading…
An End to Worn-Out Dogmas?
Posted by Qrystal on January 20, 2009 at 17:59.
Category: Miscellany. Tags: politics.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address – NYTimes.com
Is it any wonder that so many people worldwide absolutely love what Obama represents? [...] Continue Reading…
Research Paper MadLibs!
Posted by Qrystal on January 16, 2009 at 15:45.
Category: Life. Tags: humour, thesis.
PHD Comics: Abstract Mad Libs
I laughed out loud at the blank labelled “buzzword”. In the case of my thesis, the buzzword is “quantum gravity”. I’ve been encouraged to toss that word into grant applications more than once.
It’s not really a stretch, even though my thesis has nothing [...] Continue Reading…
Twitter as a hangout
Posted by Qrystal on January 8, 2009 at 16:54.
Category: Miscellany. Tags: twitter.
Twitter, as it turns out, is a bar. It’s a bar. It’s the local neighborhood bar/cafe thing where you hang out.
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Why do you hang out in your neighborhood bar/cafe thing? Because it’s your local. It’s your place. It’s where your friends are. It’s where you make new friends. It’s [...] Continue Reading…
Sometimes, I Bake Cookies
Posted by Qrystal on December 30, 2008 at 21:53.
Category: Life. Tags: food.
This Cookie Recipe from Recipezaar got turned into something quite different today. Instead of the coloured pineapple filling the recipe called for, I used the cranberry-orange sauce that was leftover from Xmas dinner!
The result: a shortbread-like cookie with a tart burst of fruit flavour, and a sweet finish [...] Continue Reading…
I Like Xmas
Posted by Qrystal on December 25, 2008 at 0:01.
Category: Concepts. Tags: beliefs, christmas, religion, xmas.
I want to be very clear about the fact that I mean no disrespect by my use of the word Xmas. I am just tired of the awkwardness of trying to balance my love of Christmas with my non-Christian spiritual beliefs. I was delighted to discover recently that Xmas [...] Continue Reading…
A Church of Realists
Posted by Qrystal on December 11, 2008 at 12:41.
Category: Concepts. Tags: reality, religion, society.
This church is all about where we are going[,] and [of] taking control of our own evolution. We believe in taking responsibility for our future by being realists and using reality to guide us in making important choices so that we can ensure that we grow the Tree of [...] Continue Reading…
Venus-Jupiter-Moon Conjunction
Posted by Qrystal on December 3, 2008 at 12:28.
Category: Miscellany. Tags: astronomy, beauty, photography.
My favourite photo of the Venus-Jupiter-Moon conjunction that peaked just a few days ago was this Astronomy Picture of the Day, which was apparently taken on my birthday! Please click through to read the description, as it has some good links with more explanation of the phenomenon.
The site [...] Continue Reading…