abberdab.

"People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it..."

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 21:06:23 -0400

“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying ‘no’ to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I’m actually as proud of the things we haven’t done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying ‘no’ to 1000 things.”

- Steve Jobs, WWDC 1997

Saying no is actually saying yes to other things…

(h/t Aaron Zuchhold)

Little Face (@Capitoline Museum) (Taken with instagram)

Sat, 24 Sep 2011 16:53:17 -0400

Little Face (@Capitoline Museum) (Taken with instagram)

Damp and dew-dappled. (Viewed from the inside of my tent.)

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 10:10:23 -0400

Damp and dew-dappled. (Viewed from the inside of my tent.)

One of my favorite summer garden things. They smell heavenly!...

Sun, 31 Jul 2011 22:53:45 -0400

One of my favorite summer garden things. They smell heavenly! (Taken with instagram)

The Gods’ Own Ruler (Taken with instagram)

Sat, 09 Jul 2011 17:56:18 -0400

The Gods’ Own Ruler (Taken with instagram)

Basil(s), Sage, Strawberry, Mint (Taken with instagram)

Sun, 26 Jun 2011 21:21:48 -0400

Basil(s), Sage, Strawberry, Mint (Taken with instagram)

Spring! I spy a ladybird… (Taken with instagram)

Sun, 01 May 2011 21:23:12 -0400

Spring! I spy a ladybird… (Taken with instagram)

Cute, cute, cute — Nash Metropolitan (Taken with instagram)

Sat, 30 Apr 2011 13:30:58 -0400

Cute, cute, cute — Nash Metropolitan (Taken with instagram)

Don’t blame the typewriter for the misguided...

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 00:06:10 -0400

Don’t blame the typewriter for the misguided double-space-after-a-sentence convention. (Reading Bringhurst) (Taken with instagram)

In love with the sky today. (Taken with Instagram at New Seasons...

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 01:12:51 -0400

In love with the sky today. (Taken with Instagram at New Seasons - Arbor Lodge)

"Too many people harbor the misguided belief that humans are motivated solely by biological urges and..."

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 18:07:00 -0500

“

Too many people harbor the misguided belief that humans are motivated solely by biological urges and by carrots-and-sticks. Those two drives matter, of course. But we’ve neglected that humans also have a *third* drive — to direct our own lives, to get better at stuff, to make a contribution.

Here’s an example. This weekend somebody’s going to be practicing the clarinet — even though it won’t get him a mate (the first drive) or make him any money (the second drive.) Why is he doing that? Because it’s fun, it’s interesting, it’s meaningful. Because the act is its own reward.

[…]

Stop treating people like horses and start treating them like human beings. Instead of trying to bribe folks with sweeter carrots or threaten them with sharpen sticks, how about giving them greater freedom at work, allowing them to get better at something they love, and infusing the workplace with a sense of purpose? If we tap that third drive more fully, we can rejuvenate or businesses and remake our world.

”

- Are you indispensable? | Daniel Pink (Tipped off to this gem by @bobulate, thanks!)

"The current belief that everyone must now be an inventor is too often interpreted to mean that no..."

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:56:38 -0500

“The current belief that everyone must now be an inventor is too often interpreted to mean that no one need any longer be a workman.”

- Thomas Maitland (T.M.) Cleland, in February 1940, responding to the end of the so-called avant-garde era of experimentation, delivered at a meeting of The American Institute of Graphic Arts in New York City in an address entitled, “Harsh Words.” (via bobulate)

"Pointing out that stuff sucks is not edgy or dangerous anymore. Everyone knows what sucks. What’s..."

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:48:39 -0400

“Pointing out that stuff sucks is not edgy or dangerous anymore. Everyone knows what sucks. What’s better is to find the stuff that is amazing and hold it up.”

- Patton Oswald
Ray, Austin L. “Anger Management.” Paste Sept. 2009: 34 - 37.