I am currently building a new site which will be ready soon.

In the meantime you can follow me at the usual online places to stay updated on my (slow) progress:

It does mean that this blog you're reading about is serving it's final duties...
It has served me well, despite being neglected & left to virtually gather dust for most of the past year.

Hopefully with when the new site & blog are released into the wilds of the Internet, it will give me the boost to bring you bigger & better blogging goodness!?

So Check Me Out @ :
ALDAKILA.net | Wonderings of a Geek Wanderer

So Tell Me America - What's Happened to you now?

Waterstones to rival Amazon Kindle with own e-reader

Posted by Luke Johnson on Fri 9 Sep 2011

Waterstones has set a release date for its own e-reader device as it targets the Amazon Kindle

Following the success of the Amazon Kindle and the decline in physical book sales high street retailer Waterstones has announced it is to launch a dedicated Waterstones e-reader next year.

Looking to emulate the popularity of the Kindle and taking note of the move by US book retailer Barnes & Noble which released the Nook, Waterstones’ Managing Director James Daunt has confirmed the company’s own e-reader will hit stores in 2012.

"We in Waterstone's need to offer you a digital reader which is at least as good, and preferably substantially better, than that of our internet rival, and you will have a much better buying experience purchasing your books through us," Daunt announced.

Whilst specifications of the upcoming Waterstones’ e-reader have yet to be revealed Daunt stated that the project was “well down the planning line” with a Spring 2012 release date being pencilled in.

Could a Waterstones e-reader really challenge the market dominance of the Amazon Kindle? Let us know what you think via the T3 Twitter and Facebook feeds.

Via: BBC
 

15 July 2011 Last updated at 10:10

Phone hacking: News International chief Brooks quits

Rebekah Brooks: Resigned after weeks of pressure

Continue reading the main story

Phone-hacking scandal

• New era for politics and media?
• Q&A: Phone-hacking scandal
• Timeline
• 'Watergate-scale' scandal

Rebekah Brooks, chief executive of News International, has resigned, the company has confirmed.

Her departure follows days of growing pressure for her to step down as the phone hacking crisis grew.

In a statement, she said she felt a "deep responsibility for the people we have hurt".

She was editor of the News of the World when murder victim Milly Dowler's phone was hacked.

Ms Brooks said she wanted to "reiterate how sorry I am for what we now know to have taken place".

Her statement went on: "I have believed that the right and responsible action has been to lead us through the heat of the crisis. However my desire to remain on the bridge has made me a focal point of the debate.

"This is now detracting attention from all our honest endeavours to fix the problems of the past."

Should have happened long before now!
(so what has Murdoch promised her is the question?)

crawlway

“short film I made, about traveling through hidden places in the city”

Posted 18 hours ago

By Ross Dickson

Also...
http://fuckyeahglasgow.com

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fuck-Yeah-Glasgow/218107348216234

: other #FYGlasgow (F**k Yeah Glasgow) Web Presence

Welcome to the Caledonian Mercury

January 22, 2010 by Stewart Kirkpatrick ·

Ne quid false dicere audeas, ne quid veri non

We are proud to welcome you to the Caledonian Mercury, Scotland’s first truly online newspaper. The Mercurius Caledonius was Scotland’s first print newspaper, founded in 1660 by Thomas Sydserf. We have revived its historic title because we lay claim to the great Scottish tradition of journalistic innovation.

We seek to revive Scottish journalism by using the internet rather than railing against it. The Caledonian Mercury stands for intelligent reporting, informed analysis and raising the standard of debate in Scottish life. It also seeks to return journalism to journalists and is a platform to display the work of selected specialist writers – freed from the demands of filling space, toeing the line and “feeding the beast”.

We believe that there has never been a better time to  be in the business of journalism, never a better time to find fascinating stories and never a better time to be part of a conversation with our readers. The internet frees us from machine media and brings us closer to the people who inspire and consume our writing.

As you may deduce from our name and masthead we are not ashamed of our Scottishness. We have no time for the cringing pessimism that characterises so much of our nation’s life today. No, we are proud of Scotland’s history and traditions. At the same time, we are confident about its future and secure in its role in the modern world. For us Scotland is only truly herself when she is outward looking and inventive.

The Scottish cringe did not invent the telephone, RADAR or the television.  The principle of “Ah kent yer faither” did not give birth to ideas that Enlightened the world. It is with that in mind that we have unveiled this very different newspaper. It is radically different from what has gone before. That is no accident.

We will not pretend to cover every story. We shall certainly avoid chasing after what has been done elsewhere. Instead we shall focus on the areas of our writers’ expertise, freed from any diktats from the Editor’s chair. And instead of following the pack we will seek out our own path. Our purpose is to provide in-depth and unique coverage of specific areas of Scottish life. Our print edition will not be daily or weekly and will celebrate the debate we hope our writing provokes.

This newspaper is an experiment in the evolution of media. It is a statement of belief in a better public life. It does not fear the possibility of failure and instead relishes the prospect of change.

Most importantly, it holds dear the pledge of its antecedent: “To assert no falsehood and to hide no truth.”

Share and Enjoy: -->

Interesting Endeavour...
I don't read hard copy newspapers any more (for many years in fact) except the odd @iPaper at 20p.
Curious how this on-line & Scottish "paper" does....

And is it economically sustainable or even necessary in today's "instant news" age?

Easter Craft fair, raising money for Cat Register and Rescue. 20 stalls full of handmade goodies, from jewellery to stationery, cakes and knitted daleks?!?

Also fantastic glass and wood works. Get your caricature painted by Arttoon!

£1 entry for adults, kiddies go free, ALL door money goes straight to the charity.

16 April 2011 Doors open at 11, we close at 4.

Event address:
St Stephens Church hall 260 Bath Street, G2 4JP Glasgow, United Kingdom

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=171887532859493

Source: facebook.com & fuckyeahglasgow.com

"Fuck Yeah Glasgow is a site dedicated to sharing all things great about Glasgow, Scotland."

FYGlasgow is always looking for submissions of Glasgow related content from our followers & beyond…

e.g: If you have, or have seen, any good pics, video, links, stories, music, events etc relating to Glasgow OR anything of your own…

It doesn’t have to be something profound/wonderful/spectacular… just please submit it to the site & we’ll check it out…

As long as it relates to Glasgow of course! :-)

{Not all content is original, where possible attribution has been given. We will add attribution where missing or remove content if requested by the content owner.}

FACT 1 – HIV infection is on the rise with an average of 400 people diagnosed each year for the past 6 years.

FACT 2 – More people than ever are living with HIV; over 3800 people living in Scotland are diagnosed as HIV positive.

FACT 3 – People with HIV still experience stigma and discrimination because of misunderstandings and prejudice about HIV.

FACT 4 – Over the past year Scotland's clinics saw 3254 individuals for HIV treatment and care.

FACT 5 – There is no cure for HIV and although treatments can be effective, the condition remains a serious and complex public health challenge.

FACT 6 – Almost one fifth of people with HIV are presenting late for treatment, leading to a significantly lower life expectancy than those who are diagnosed early.

FACT 7 – The majority of new cases of HIV are transmitted through unprotected sex.

FACT 8 – Men who have sex with men are at an increased risk of HIV however transmission through heterosexual sex is on the rise within Scotland.

FACT 9 – In 2010, nearly 40% of new cases of HIV diagnosed in Scotland, are believed to have been contracted within Scotland.

FACT 10 - HIV treatment is highly cost effective and can enable people to live relatively healthy lives reducing the burden on the NHS and allowing many to continue in employment and make a real contribution for themselves, their community and the economy.

For more information on HIV and HIV in Scotland contact HIV Scotland:

Web: www.hivscotland.com
Email: info@hivscotland.com
Tel: 0131 558 3713

Scotland's HIV organisations are speaking out on behalf of people living with HIV and calling for increased investment for prevention, testing and treatment of HIV from the next Scottish Government.

As a MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC you can support our manifesto by writing to your candidate.
Follow this link for an example letter : (http://hivscotland.com/UserFiles/template%20letter%20for%20manifesto%20(word%...

Candidate's name and contact details can be found at : (http://hivscotland.com/index.php?controller=Default&action=NewsDetails&id=148).

(You can also use this example letter by putting in your postcode at http://www.writetothem.com/ and confirming your constituency to contact your candidate via email).

FACT 1 – HIV infection is on the rise with an average of 400 people diagnosed each year for the past 6 years.

FACT 2 – More people than ever are living with HIV; over 3800 people living in Scotland are diagnosed as HIV positive.

FACT 3 – People with HIV still experience stigma and discrimination because of misunderstandings and prejudice about HIV.

FACT 4 – Over the past year Scotland's clinics saw 3254 individuals for HIV treatment and care.

FACT 5 – There is no cure for HIV and although treatments can be effective, the condition remains a serious and complex public health challenge.

FACT 6 – Almost one fifth of people with HIV are presenting late for treatment, leading to a significantly lower life expectancy than those who are diagnosed early.

FACT 7 – The majority of new cases of HIV are transmitted through unprotected sex.

FACT 8 – Men who have sex with men are at an increased risk of HIV however transmission through heterosexual sex is on the rise within Scotland.

FACT 9 – In 2010, nearly 40% of new cases of HIV diagnosed in Scotland, are believed to have been contracted within Scotland.

FACT 10 - HIV treatment is highly cost effective and can enable people to live relatively healthy lives reducing the burden on the NHS and allowing many to continue in employment and make a real contribution for themselves, their community and the economy.

For more information on HIV and HIV in Scotland contact HIV Scotland:

Web: www.hivscotland.com
Email: info@hivscotland.com
Tel: 0131 558 3713

Scotland's HIV organisations are speaking out on behalf of people living with HIV and calling for increased investment for prevention, testing and treatment of HIV from the next Scottish Government.

As a MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC you can support our manifesto by writing to your candidate.
Follow this link for an example letter : (http://hivscotland.com/UserFiles/template%20letter%20for%20manifesto%20(word%...

Candidate's name and contact details can be found at : (http://hivscotland.com/index.php?controller=Default&action=NewsDetails&id=148).

(You can also use this example letter by putting in your postcode at http://www.writetothem.com/ and confirming your constituency to contact your candidate via email).

Friday, January 21, 2011

If You Still Can’t Discipline Yourself After Reading This Article, I Swear to God I’m Going to Scream

Life is not a Nike commercial.

Being told to “just do it” is not enough.

If it was, you would have “just done it” by now.

BURN THIS INTO YOUR MIND: Self-discipline requires hard and consistent mental, physical and emotional labor.

It is not the path of convenience.
It is not a glamorous way of living and working.
It is not something most people are going notice about you.

But.

As I learned from self-discipline strategist Rory Vaden, “Those who learn to deal with discipline gently and persistently (eventually) flip a switch that they can never turn off.”

And that’s when discipline turns into freedom.

Let’s explore a list of strategies to help you sink into self-discipline:
1. Commitment is the offspring of values. If you can’t discipline yourself to do something every day, there’s only one explanation: It’s simply not that important to you.

People always make time – not find time, but make time – for what matters to them. That’s how commitment works: It deletes distraction. It makes you wake up early. It turns habits into non-negotiables. When you’re committed, you drop everything and get to work. Every day.

The hard part is telling the truth about your current level of commitment. And if you’re having trouble with that, here’s an exercise you might try: Write down a list of the five things you’re most committed to. Then open your calendar. See if your life agrees.

If you’re not happy with the result, either find something else that is important to you and commit to that, or take the current thing that isn’t important to you and reframe it as – or reconnect it with – something else that is. How will you use commitment to open the door to discipline?

2. Bait multiple hooks. If you inherited five million dollars tomorrow, would you invest all of it in one stock? Of course not. You’d diversify it across several accounts. That way your portfolio would have a stronger foundation, making it less vulnerable to external conditions.

This same principle applies to creative professionals who have trouble disciplining themselves. Personally, I’m always working on about fifty things at once. Because in my experience, attacking multiple projects simultaneously has several advantages.

First, it prevents burnout. That’s what happens when your creative efforts are more diversely deployed: You don’t give yourself the chance to get sick of something and abandon it.

Second, by varying your creative endeavors, you establish thought bridges, subconscious connections and unexpected integrations between seemingly unrelated ideas. And as a result, you start to notice natural relationships and structures in your work you never would have seen by working on a single project.

Ultimately, this approach relaxes the process and helps contribute to greater consistency in your body of work. Are you willing to allocate your creativity attention to multiple endeavors?

3. Build a portable creative environment. A real artist can be creative any time, any place, with any tools. That’s the mark of a master: She shapes her immediate surroundings to feel in harmony with the small slice of the universe in which she finds herself.

As I learned in Beyond Boredom and Anxiety, “Whether the conditions in which they find themselves are luxurious or miserable, geniuses manage to give their surroundings a personal pattern that echoes the rhythm of their thoughts and habits of action. Within this environment of their own making, they can forget the rest of the world and concentrate on pursuing the muse.”

What are your portable creative environments? What enables you to enter into the creative flow at the drop of a hat? Have these on standby at all times. You’ll discover that by keeping alternative workspaces ready to go with transportable lightning rods tailor made to your tendencies, you’ll feel more in control of your surroundings.

That way, when inspiration comes unannounced, you’ll be ready to pounce. Can you do what you do anywhere?

4. Discipline derives from the wellspring of why. Willpower is overrated. If you want execute what matters most – every single day – you need to tap the reservoir of whypower.

Here’s the reason: When you actively cultivate the purpose driven nature of your work, discipline becomes a non-thought. What was once a desire becomes a habit. And what was once a habit becomes a non-negotiable. A positive addiction. Just something you do.

That’s why I’m able to write for seven hours a day, every day: Because I keep a list of one hundred reasons why I do what I do, in my wallet, and I read it to myself every morning. That’s your challenge: To become a walking translation of stunning clarity of purpose. To pinpoint the deepest motivations behind what you’re trying to discipline yourself to do. Find that, and you’ll have no problem slogging it out every day.

Remember: Daily bread without daily meaning tastes like daily crap. How are you fueling your discipline with a firm why?

5. Cultivate a more acute sense of resistance. Part of self-discipline is learning how to override yourself. That means becoming a master of your disinclination. That means discovering what frustrates your ambitions. And that means not allowing yourself the indulgence of saying you’re too busy.

Here’s the reality: The problem isn’t decreasing productivity – it’s diluted priorities. And you will lose the discipline game if you fall victim to what’s latest and loudest.

My suggestion: Extinguish whatever distractions seduce you. Drown out the world’s chatter and find the energy that urges you forward. And for the love of David Allen, stop performing minor tasks that engulf you in pointless, trivial action.

Instead, create around the constraint. Take the energy you’ve been burning on creative avoidance and redirect it to help you execute what matters. What’s your system for stamping out redundancy?

LOOK: It's not my job to convince you to be more disciplined.

It’s hard work that nobody undertakes but you.
It’s unspectacular work that nobody notices but you.
It’s inconvenient work that nobody appreciates but you.

But discipline does mean freedom.

Freedom to be, freedom to do and freedom to have – pretty much anything.

I think it’s worth it.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How discipline are you prepared to be?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “49 Ways to become an Idea Powerhouse," send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Entrepreneur, Mentor
scott@hellomynameisscott.com

Never the same speech twice.

Now booking for 2011!

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!

Labels: approachability, approachable, commitment, every young leader should know, how to stay rare, make a name for yourself, make a case for yourself, scott ginsberg, stick-to-itiveness

1 Comments

1 Comments:

At 5:28 AM,  maureen@makingitallfit.com said...

Scott:

You had me at the title! Thank you for the great reminder that self-discipline equals freedom. I am off to write my list of why. Everyday I ask myself this question because luckily I didn't have to start a career at 45 but my why is my whyny. Now I get it.

This is just what I needed today, thank you!

 

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