Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread I’m sorry. I know it’s Monday morning and you probably came here for some pretty pictures of food that you could glance at, and then move on with your day… and here I go thrusting warm, soft cinnamon sugar bread in your face. It’s not fair. I know it’s not fair. You don’t deserve this sort of torture. This bread hits all the comfort spots in my soul. I’m sorry and you’re welcome and I love you. Let’s start at the beginning. I did this all without the use of a stand mixer and dough hook. This dough can be made and left to rise , then refrigerated overnight for use in the morning. This is the dough just before it’s left to rise. After the dough has rested and risen for an hour, I knead it in a few tablespoons of flour. This is the part in the bread process where you can wrap the dough and place it in the fridge to rest overnight. I worked with my dough right away. I can’t even deal. I sliced the dough, vertically, into six long strips. After 30 minutes in the oven… oh man…. bread heaven.
How to Listen to the User and Hear the Experience Guest post by Demetrius Madrigal and Bryan McClain They are the founders of ActiveComm Labs, who specialize in user experience and human factors research. When someone is speaking, do you think about what the other person is saying, or do you think about what you are going to say next? At ActiveComm Labs, we are big believers in communication and what it can do to improve research. Our background in communication includes many years of research and training with hostage negotiators across the country. Through this training we learned the skills and techniques that negotiators use to resolve crisis situations and how to apply them in a research setting. This article will include contents similar to the training curriculum performed by hostage negotiators. Active Listening - Overview and Concept Active Listening consists of a set of communication techniques that were originally developed by psychotherapists as a way of getting their clients to feel safe and open up. Eye Contact Vocal Style
STUNNER - dan le sac vs Scroobius Pip Elements Of Twitter Style Twitter has become hugely popular and is only getting bigger. Some users don’t understand that the formatting and content of their tweets has a huge impact on how well or poorly they are received as individuals, and by extension, how likely they are to be followed. I participate extensively on Twitter with my personal account: @danielpunkass, and my company account: @redsweater. I have strong opinions about what works well on Twitter, and what doesn’t. Tweet Anatomy For such a simple format, there is an incredible complexity to the variety of tweets, and the metadata that go along with them. Mentions When referring to any person, product, or company that has an official presence on Twitter, include their @username organically in the content of your tweet. Never start a tweet with a @username, unless that Tweet is a reply to the user. @danielpunkass was at the meeting last night, and he told me some juicy gossip about @marsedit. I met Daniel Jalkut (@danielpunkass) last night. Replies .
Five Tips For Making Ideas Happen - Smashing Magazine Advertisement Creative types have a problem. We have so many great ideas, but most of them never see the light of day. Why do most ideas never happen? The reason is that our own creative habits get in the way. For example, our tendency to generate new ideas often gets in the way of executing the ones we have. Some creative people and teams are able to defy the odds and make their ideas happen, time and again. 1. Without realizing it, most of us have gradually adopted a “reactionary workflow.” To avoid this reactionary workflow, some of the most productive people I have met schedule what can be called “windows of non-stimulation” in their day. Another idea is to aggregate all messages in a central location. 2. Every project in life can ultimately be reduced to just three primary elements: 1) action steps, 2) backburner items and 3) references. Backburner items are ideas that come up during brainstorming or while on the run and that are not actionable but may be later on. 3. 4. 5. (al)
Faculty Survey Tracks Changing Perceptions of Libraries A new survey of U.S. colleges and universities has some troubling findings for libraries about their declining use by faculty, but also holds clues as to how they can maintain their relevance. The report of the results, Faculty Survey 2009: Key Strategic Insights for Libraries, Publishers, and Societies (PDF file), summarized the findings as: The survey of 3,025 faculty members in 2009 is the fourth conducted by Ithaka S+R over the past decade on faculty attitudes and behaviors, and the trend shows that “the library’s physical edifice and catalog have declined steadily as starting points for research. Scientists continue to be the least likely, at around 10%, to start their research in the library, with humanists, at about 30%, the most likely. Role as electronic hub In addition, two new roles that were asked about for the first time in the 2009 survey, teaching support and research support, “suggest unique opportunities for libraries to further develop campus relationships.”
UK | Magazine | The brilliance of creative chaos George Bernard Shaw liked the tidy approach Are we able to think clearly when surrounded by mess because chaos is inherent in all our minds, even those of the great writers and thinkers, asks Clive James. The great thing about this slot is that I can pontificate. But a wise pontificator should always remember that he won't solve a global problem in 10 minutes, or even do much more than usefully touch on it in 10 hours. There are two main reasons for that. The other reason is less obvious, because it lies within the nature of the pontificator. As I prepare this script, tapping away at the keyboard as Socrates might have done if he had owned a PC, it seems to me that my brain is at my fingertips, with all its scope and knowledge. It's in chaos. But let's start with the desk. Shambolic In the same vertically striped mug there are 15 other pens that do not work either. And that's just the mug. There are some prizes I would like. Force of nature Let me add that everything is well dusted.
Modern Hobo Code Modern Hobo Code The legendary "hobo code"was a set of covert markings used to warn other hobos about danger or to clue them into good situations. As times have changed, a new set of code symbols have emerged to alert other hobos to circumstances in modern America. Kids Halloween Candy Code | Home | Contact Rob | How Much is Inside | Pranks | Incredible Stuff | Science Club | Work from Home Overload December 30, 2008. 5 Ways to Reduce Social Media Distractions and Be More Productive Scott Belsky studies exceptionally productive people and teams in the creative world. He is the Founder and CEO of Behance, oversees The 99% think tank, and is the author of Making Ideas Happen: Overcoming The Obstacles Between Vision & Reality (Portfolio, April 2010). Those of us who are social media-savvy suffer from a burgeoning problem that constantly threatens our ingenuity. Every single minute, more "stuff" is being sent your way. What do you do with this deluge? For those of us with great ideas and bold goals for the future, reactionary workflow is a big problem. For the past five years, I've been interviewing super-productive leaders and teams — people at companies like Google, IDEO, and Disney, and individuals like author Chris Anderson and Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh. Many of the people I met have developed ways to combat reactionary workflow. 1. Once you open the door to communications overload, you could spend all day reacting to what's thrown at you. 2. 3. 4. 5. Conclusion
Tim O'Reilly Explains the Internet of Things The Internet of Things is the idea of a web of data provided by things like real-world devices and sensors. It’s something we’ve covered in great detail here at ReadWriteWeb because where there is data, there is a platform for services and mashups. When that data is intimately tied to our real lives off-line, that’s exciting. The Internet of Things offers a whole new world of opportunities for improved decision making, innovative services and (unfortunately) social surveillance. It’s loaded with implications to consider. Whether you’ve got 5 or 30 minutes to spare, check out the two following videos (one short, one long) that both do a great job of explaining where the Internet of Things is at and why it’s so exciting. Last week industry thought leader Tim O’Reilly, the man widely credited with popularizing the term Web 2.0, gave an opening keynote talk about the Internet of Things at his organization’s MYSQL conference. Above, from IBM’s Smarter Planet.
21 Most Strange and Creative Work done by Architects Part-1 Constructing a building takes time, money and man-power and, if a building is designed with new concept or design then it takes great amount of calculation, experience and innovation. I am sure many of you have seen some incredible architecture in your lifetime and many of you might be having dreams to watch some marvelous structures around the world. Today I have come up with some of the Most Creative Works done on Buildings from Around the World which will surely amaze you in a way. So here’s the Odd Stuff Magazine’s collection of Strange and Creative Buildings around the World. 1. Situated in Brussels, Belgium The Atomium was constructed in 1958 by architect André Waterkeyn. The Atomium, Architect by André Waterkeyn at Brussels, Belgium 2. Situated at St. Barcode Building St. 3. Blur Building, designed by architects Elizabeth Diller and Ricardo Scofidio is situated at the base of Lake Neuchatel in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland. 4. Cybertecture egg building in Mumbai, India 5. 6. 7. 8.
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