Procrastinate Now!

DailyDad is a moderate procrastinator, according to a survey administered by Piers Steel, a psychologist at the University of Calgary.  Um, about that Christmas tree.  I promise we will get it soon.

Your score is 38 out of a possible 100

Moderate Procrastinator

You rank in the middle 50% in terms of procrastination. That is, when it comes to putting things off, you do so at times even though you know you shouldn’t. Likely, you are about average in conscientiousness and self-discipline. Probably, your work doesn’t consistently engage you or perhaps you are surrounded by a few easily available and more pleasant temptations. These temptations may initially seem rewarding, but in the longer-term, you possibly see a few of them as time-wasters. Though you likely still get your work done, you could probably do it sooner and experience less stress.

Read more background information at the “TierneyLab” blog on the New York Times.  The last paragraph includes a link to the test site.

Procrastinate Now! – TierneyLab – Science – New York Times Blog

No, use the baking dish that doesn’t look like a pie tin

K, who never seems to want to eat what M and Dailydad are having for dinner, decides she will prepare a package of Trader Joe’s short ribs (Dailydad would simply instruct K to starve, but M is a bit more indulgent).  The ribs were frozen so M instructs K cover them in water in a baking dish to thaw.  Simple enough.  A few minutes later Dailydad is summoned.  Apparently the ribs don’t fit in the baking dish and K is at a loss.  “That’s a pie tin?”, muses K,  “Then what is a baking dish?”  We believe K took and passed a basic cooking course in high school, but perhaps not.

Traveler IQ

Traveler IQ is a fun geography game virally spreading though the web (primarily via Facebook, I believe). It’s fun, educational, and a bit humbling (really, how many people know were Easter Island is located?). After a few warm-up games, DailyDad advanced half way through, before failing with a total score of 199,857.

Apparently you must play the Facebook version to retain your score, otherwise try it here for some less embarrassing practice runs.

Funny

Sometimes you just have to have the right name.

Not Making This Up: The chief operating and development officer of Yum brands, which includes Taco Bell, KFC, Long John Silver’s and Pizza Hut, is named Mr. Hearl. Mr. Hearl is retiring and will be replaced by Mr. Eaton. Seriously. [Wall Street Journal]

Funny

Good Eating

Good eating from Yahoo! Health. They even suggest candy for when the sweet tooth start aching (and not that crappy tasting dietary stuff), but, alas, they don’t mention Milk Duds.

The Picture Perfect Anytime List is a menu of the lowest-calorie produce, soups, sauces, condiments, marinades, dressings, dips, candies, desserts, and beverages available. Stuff your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer with them, and reach for them anytime. Feel free to go to the foods on the Anytime List when you want a snack or are planning a meal. Eat any amount of them for any reason. When the Anytime List becomes the core of your eating—in other words, the main dish around which you build your meals—you’ll have no trouble staying thin for life.

127 Foods That Fight Fat – Yahoo! Health

Read

Keep on Reading!

Harry Potter, James Patterson and Oprah Winfrey’s book club aside, Americans — particularly young Americans — appear to be reading less for fun, and as that happens, their reading test scores are declining. At the same time, performance in other academic disciplines like math and science is dipping for students whose access to books is limited, and employers are rating workers deficient in basic writing skills.

National Endowment for the Arts – Reading – New York Times

Mindful Exercise

I am running laps, I am running laps, I am running laps, I am running laps

photo by (and of) flickr user jimfrazier

The New York Times reports that simply being mindful of exercise increases its positive effect.

Simply by telling 44 hotel maids that what they did each day involved some serious exercise, the Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer and Alia J. Crum, a student, were apparently able to lower the women’s blood pressure, shave pounds off their bodies and improve their body-fat and “waist to hip” ratios. Self-awareness, it seems, was the women’s elliptical trainer.

Mindful Exercise – New York Times

DailyDad is very sad

 
(photo by flickr user Warm ‘n Fuzzy)

or I should be, according to this post on the web site LifeTwo.  From a study by David Blanchflower of Dartmouth and Andrew Oswald of England’s Warwick University:

For American men, they showed a definite U-shaped pattern with the average least-happy year age being 49.5

The good news is that I should be getting happier at some point.

Are You A 49 Year Old Man? Welcome to the Unhappiest Year of Your Life! | LifeTwo

Is that J jogging outside BC?

Google added “street views” for several more cities to Google Maps, including Boston. Coverage around BC is a bit spotty. They did not capture images on the campus itself; only along the main streets surrounding the campus. Interesting technology. Great to get perspective before venturing into an new neighborhood.

Here’s a link to the full map.

More alarm clocks

More alarm clocks.  Several look like they could wake the dead.  DailyDad likes the bacon alarm. 

The Carpet Alarm and Other Innovative Wake-Up Tools