Wear Headphones Freely at Work, Speak Intelligently in Public, and Watch the World’s Hot Dogs
Wear headphones in the office to keep your frown on, learn about northernmost land-based activities during the Civil War, learn how to sound smart when speaking in public, and more in this first installment of Lifehacker’s Monday Brain Buffet.
Welcome to Lifehacker’s Monday Brain Buffet , a new series where we collect interesting, informative and thought-provoking podcasts, interviews, articles and other media that will teach you new things, inspire you and hopefully start your week with the right way. sole. Let’s start.
How to make wearing headphones more “acceptable” at work
This StackExchange thread is a little outdated , but it still contains helpful suggestions for people who might be working somewhere (as I once did) where trying to get some work done while listening to your headphones feels like detachment or isolationism – when you “ Not a team player ”because you’re better off focusing on listening to your own music (or nothing, for that matter) rather than the idle chatter of your inevitably annoying open-plan office. I’m sure you understand.
However, some people do think so, and even worse when they are your boss. This thread has some helpful tips, such as trying to resolve the issue ahead of time with your supervisor, mentioning to coworkers that they might interfere with you if it’s important while you are wearing them (and that they should be a sign that you are working, but not behind closed doors as it was), and of course, switch from big headphones to headphones that seem less imposing to those who might need your attention. [ via StackExchange ]
How to sound right in a TED talk
Look, I love good TED talks, but there is a certain rhythm to the TED talks and other informative talks that feels compelling and interesting, even if absolutely nothing of value is being said. You’ve probably sat in a session – perhaps paid for by your employer – with a “motivational speaker” where you walk away feeling energized, but damn if you could remember what was actually said, if anyone- it will ask you about this later.
This may sound silly, but watch the video here. Some of these airs, styles, and presentation techniques seem fake when cited as farce, but they can be especially empowering when you actually need to communicate something important. [ via SwissMiss ]
Northernmost land action in the U.S. Civil War
In 1864, a group of Confederate soldiers – more likely bandits, depending on who you ask – raided a very surprised city in northern Vermont called St. Albans. They surprised the townspeople, robbed three city banks, took a ton of money, blew up the city, terrorized the residents and rushed to the Canadian border where they came from. Suffice it to say that they didn’t actually get away with it, but the story of what they did get away with and what an otherwise odd episode in the history of the Civil War is worth listening to. Last week on the Futility Closet podcast . [ via Boing Boing ]
Controversial: How One Unlikely Debate Student Made History
Last week at RadioLab, Ryan Wash, a queer, black, first-generation college student from Kansas City, Missouri, joined the debate team at Emporia State University and in the process found himself in a world he felt familiar but excluded. its furious. However, instead of hitting the wall, he succeeded — and in the process changed the institution itself, challenging its preconceptions and its standards of who “belongs” and who doesn’t. This is a long but awesome listener. [ via RadioLab , thanks Henry ! ]
Hot dogs of the world
Lucky Peach is always a good read if you are interested in not only culinary tricks and trends, but also the food and culinary culture business, and I often come across interesting points that are not suitable life hacks that should get my posts. Like this guide to hot dogs around the world – it’s by no means complete (as it’s taken from a future magazine), but it includes some of the more interesting varieties, such as the always delicious Chicago dog to near-insane chaos. Maybe someone-eat-this-ok-I’ll-try-this is the American Kao Pad dog, served with sweet fried rice, ham, fried chicken, fried egg, and oh yeah, there’s a dog in there somewhere. Seriously, just check out the list. [ via Lucky Peach ]
Donald Trump’s business record
Donald Trump’s money story revolves not only around the “little loan” from his father and some strategic bankruptcies, although they definitely matter. On On Point last week took a while to actually find out where took money Trump as he does a successful businessman (spoiler, you have probably already guessed: not), and what were his successes and failures. In this media circus that seems to follow him everywhere, it’s interesting to look back in time and hear a little about how his empire grew and fell and how this nonsense started. [ via On Point ]
A year of time trouble for frame-by-frame sunrises
And finally, something to help you in your daily life – a German man equipped his camera to take pictures 10 minutes after sunrise every day for a whole year, and the result is the video above. It’s not so much “oh look, this is so inspiring,” but rather a subtle reminder of how amazing the world really is. Phil Plate, also known as the Bad Astronomer , explains in Slate what is happening:
The video starts during the 2015 spring equinox, March 21st, and runs until March 20, 2016. The sun rises strictly to the east, then every morning at high speed moves to the left (north). You can then see it slow down, stop at the June solstice, and then reverse southward (right). It slows down and stops again on the December solstice (note the snow on the rooftops!), Then turns around and moves north again. The weather is getting pretty bad, but you can still see enough to feel that the Sun moves fastest on the equinoxes and slowest during the solstices, as I said.
Yes, but the video itself? Shot with Raspberry Pi. [ via Kottke ]
That’s all for this week. If you have thought-provoking stories, interesting podcasts, eye-opening videos, or any other material that you think is perfect for this series, share them with us! You can send it to me by e-mail, leave it as a comment below, or send it in any way convenient for you. Your work may be in Brain Buffet next week.