This is a cool new hot activity.
Sprinting with a parachute on for added resistance.
Add in the hot, humid, summer sun burning down.
And you have yourself a decent exercise routine going on.
Hurry up and slow down.
You run yes, but the parachute says no.
Go! go!! go!!!
You’re almost over the finish line. 😉
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Merry-go-round and round.
Bobbing up and down, up and down.
Faster and faster and slower and slower.
Animal figures, colorful props, mirrors that reflect it all up.
Children smiling, children happy, what can be more satisfactory. 😉
(Credit Video: Andy Blumenthal)
Just wanted to say how impressed I was with the new Brightline train system in Florida.
Right now it goes from Miami straight to Fort Lauderdale and then to Palm Beach.
I took it between Fort Lauderdale and Miami and it was a quick 30 minute ride–no traffic yay!
The trains are modern and sleek, and the stations were automated, clean, secured with guards and scanners, and had a beautiful lounge waiting area (and they announce the train arrival like 10 minutes before it arrives).
Also, the staff was friendly and helpful, and they even came around with a food cart.
I understand they are adding additional stops for Aventura and Boca Raton.
I would definitely take this train again–way to go! 😉
(Credit Photos: Andy Blumenthal)
I love FANUC industrial robots.
They are made by a secretive company in Japan and they are #1 in workplace automation worldwide!
They have over half a million installed industrial robots around the world.
Their robots are on assembly lines making everything from “cars and smartphones to beverages and drugs.” They also are in Tesla and Amazon…so you know they are pretty much everywhere.
FANUC has customers in 108 countries supported by 263 service locations.
Their robots are made by…that’s right other robots…80% is automated.
These robots are strong, fast, and precise, and they can do dangerous work.
This company is the future of jobs, productivity, efficiency.
But of course, people are still the brains behind the brawn. 😉
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
So this is a new type of project management and it can be very effective.
It’s called (my name):
Shock and Awe Project Management
This technique is similar to the military doctrine of shock and awe that uses speed and overwhelming power to dominate the battlefield and vanquish the enemy.
In project management too, there are often naysayers, Debbie Downers, resisters, excuse makers, and people that lay down obstacle after obstacle to progress.
This invariably derails projects and causes them to fall behind schedule, go over budget, experience scope creep, not meet the genuine user requirements, and ultimately fail!
However, if you manage the project with “shock and awe” and set aggressive timelines, assign substantial and very good resources, and move the project full speed ahead, then you can similarly create a momentum to the project that enables it to overcome the “enemies of the progress” (i.e. those that don’t really want it to succeed or are too busying covering their own a*ses).
This approach is not advocating speed at the expense of quality nor is it calling for cutting corners or riding roughshod over people, but rather to the contrary, it calls for techniques similar to the military of moving with absolute focus, determination, efficiency, collaboration, synchronization, and overwhelming “project power” to ensure it’s success.
Projects, like battles, can be “won” by putting the right resources on the field and moving them to get quick wins in rapid succession (where the enemies of progress don’t stand a real fight) so that the projects get not only completed on time and within budget, but most importantly to real stakeholder satisfaction and the organization’s success.
(Source Photo: here with attribution to AlexVan)
Wow, just loved this new Aston Martin called the Valkyrie!
If I had a spare $2.6 million laying around that no one needed, I’d definitely get one of these.
1,000 horsepower, V-12 engine, and they fit the car to you, literally!
“It’s a carbon fiber rocket” with an assisted electric motor for the environmentally conscious.
Here’s a link to some awesome images of this gorgeous “hypercar” (which reminds me of Elon Musk’s Hyperloop and it’s a thousand time better looking than the Tesla).
Fast, futuristic, performance, stylish, and sleek as can be.
I almost want to photoshop a picture of myself in the diver’s seat with a huge smile on my face as I wave and say see you later. 😉
(Source Photo: Aston Martin)
Today we saw some “Alligator Wrestling.”
The guy said he doesn’t get paid anything–except tips–because if he’s on the payroll, no one would cover his disability insurance–ah, go figure.
The photos progress from the guy putting his hand in between the gator’s open mouth to his full head in the grasp of the gator’s jaws.
Maybe this guy was too sleek, because I think the crowd was disappointed that the gator (in captivity) seemed to be “losing”.
This is not what happens on the Discovery Channel, where all it takes is for the gator to lash out hard and fast–just once–and this guy in mince meat!
(Source Photos: Andy Blumenthal)
This human powered bicycle is so cool–and fast!
It is called the ETA (or “Banana Bike“) and is being designed by AeroVelo, University of Toronto engineering graduates and students.
These are the same folks that created the award-winning Atlas human-powered helicopter.
The ETA is expected to reach over 87 mph, thereby breaking the human-powered land speed record of 83.1 mph.
The bicycle mechanics are being enclosed in an egg-shaped aerodynamic shell and it will be powered by a single person doing the pedaling.
A combination of the movie Tron and the 1970’s sitcom Mork & Mindy, it offers the potential for an environmentally friendly way to get around town and some nice fat-burning exercise too. 😉
(Source Screenshot: here with attribution to BusinessWeek)
Brilliant video by Kendra Eash for McSweeney’s Internet Tendency.
It is made entirely with stock footage from Dissolve.
What is amazing is how with some great video, nice background music, and a soothing confidant voiceover–we can sell, or be sold on, just about anything.
The 10 Keys to influencing and selling anything, including B.S.:
1. Vague words that show progress (innovation, hope, motherhod, and apple pie–I’ll have some of that)
2. Beautiful footage and sounds (who wouldn’t want to be there type?)
3. High-technology and science (we can solve the world’s problems and make money, yippee)
4. Research and development (we’re investing in the future and you should invest in us)
5. Global and U.S. (we’re beyond borders, but still “made in…”, headquartered, or otherwise a U.S. entity)
6. Environmentally conscious (clean water, breathable, air, lush forests, who can argue with that?)
7. High-speed (movers and shakers, we don’t stand still, join us or be left behind)
8. Attractive people (this is for real human beings, human kind, we care about you!)
9. Diversity and equality (we love and help everyone–including you and your family)
10. Inspiring (we’re thinking big and bringing positive change–buy from us, support our cause)
Throw/superimpose any company, product, country, person, or cause on this video–and poof, you’ve got an awesome brand–whether you deserve it or not!
This is how we’re manipulated one brand at a time, hundreds of brands a day. 😉
Life is unpredictable.
Today, at the pool, someone collapsed.
Looks like a heart attack or something serious.
Most of the people at the pool are in amazing physical condition.
The young folks on the swim team are fast as hell.
The older people, many seem like they never aged and can do still perform adroitly.
I find the whole crew generally quite competitive and if you can’t keep up…you may even get shove to the side.
When I heard the whistle blow this morning, it was unlike the usual stop running or horsing around–this time is was long and shrill.
Everyone stopped and pulled to the ends.
Instead of splashing water, you could hear a pin drop.
Lifeguards started running. One ran back to the control center and I could see him through the glass window dialing quickly on the phone for help.
Another young women was getting help from the pool supervisor–the young one ran, the older one strode sternly to ascertain the situation.
People started swimming in the main pool again, while the collapsed man was out of sight around the corner in another pool area.
The floating lady water runners were kibbutzing about what happened and is he going to be okay.
Eventually the swimming continued, but even then, people were looking around and had those worried faces on.
There was a realization that even with the dozens of people there, this person could’ve been anyone–any of us.
The ambulance and fire truck rescue came, the stretcher was brought in.
I asked the lifeguard with concern what had happened to the man and he said in a monotone, almost practiced voice, “The ambulance is here; everything is okay.”
It sort of sounded like don’t anyone panic and shut the heck up.
Anyway, it was upsetting to see someone up early, getting themselves to the pool, trying to stay healthy and fit, and struck down at the scene, while trying their best.
I’m a little shaken and am still hearing the whistle in my head. :-0
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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