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Nov 2010 Punching

2 minutes of me punching a bag.

Recorded to enable deconstruction of technique—feel free to leave any guidance / advice.

Simple Headphones Holder

simple headphones holder

My MacBook Pro headphones holder.

Try it.

Zen And The Art Of Punching

Punching is an art.

A physical expression of control and movement. An inward exploration of channeled aggression.

Here’s the three biggest things I’ve learned from strapping my hands in the past couple of years:

reduce the form, increase the function : once you have the basic biomechanics of a punch down the aim is to concentrate the movement to its barest elements whilst intensifying the impact;
learn, unlearn, relearn : it’s essential to adopt the constant ‘amateur state of mind’, relearning everything you know again and again as you deconstruct your actions and hone new patterns of motion;
cultivate balance : a left jab starts with a solid right heel, a right cross begins with the pivoting left foot, sounds counter-intuitive, but all part of the karmic order of punching.

If you’re a puncher what have you learned?

Image credit and related post: Paradox Punch

Check out Lydia Bates and her Sticky Date Rice Pudding recipe… why? I challenged her to make a pudding for someone like me (who doesn’t do wheat, dairy, refined sugar)—full back story on her blog post.

Ingredients:

Pudding rice (about 1oz per person)
Rice milk (about 1/2 pint per person, and you could, of course, replace it with soya milk, or cows milk if you prefer)
Coconut Cream (about 15g per person, or ‘a good squeeze’ out of one of the Pataks sachets)
Tamarind Paste (1 teaspoon)
Honey (2 teaspoons)
And a handful of dates, chopped

Instructions:

1. First, soak the dates in some hot water for a couple of minutes, then drain the water away
2. Now combine all the ingredients in a saucepan, bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the liquid has been absorbed, the rice is cooked and you are left with a pan of sticky gooey yummyness

Thank you Lydia, will definitely give it a try.

iPad Keynote Remote : A Proposal : Part 1

ipad keynote app

So here’s the pitch:

“I will put up £500 of my own money (and invite others to donate also) in an attempt to find someone to develop a bluetooth app/clicker/remote for specific use with the iPad and Keynote app.”

I’m after two things:

*iPhone / iPad whizz-kid / developers who fancy a challenge, PLUS
other speakers who also have this issue and want to pool some money together to make this a more attractive proposition to be made

*By the way, it doesn’t have to be an iPhone app, just something that works as a clicker with iPad / Keynote over bluetooth AND the solution needs to be done without jailbreaking any device. Why? Well, much of my living is made through speaking at conferences and other events. My weapons of choice :

MacBook Pro / Keynote—to make my presentations (and me) look slick
Motorola SLVR / Salling Clicker—used in combination to provide a bluetooth clicker and connection because:
- the infra-red clicker you get with the Mac has insufficient range for someone like me who wanders the stage when talking (as I don’t do lecterns or scripts) plus anyone in the audience could use theirs to forward my slides
- sometimes the audio / video setup is at the side or back of the stage / venue and therefore the bluetooth connection between the Mac and SLVR gives a range / stability the infra-red could never offer

During my recent stateside trip I bought an iPad (it is glorious btw) but it has one HUGE flaw, its lack of capacity for using any type of remote for the Keynote app (and it’s not just me asking for this pretty obvious piece of functionality). If the missing piece could be found then speakers all over the world could rock up with this fantastic piece of kit and plug and play.

I’ve already laid out the case for the use of bluetooth and not just the existing wifi connection (especially as some venues I speak at don’t have wifi) and I know bluetooth pairing can be achieved between iPhone and iPad as the 2Screens iPhone app plus the 2Screens iPad app demonstrates this.Plus Apple also allows bluetooth pairing with it’s wireless keyboard—maybe some clever peeps could ‘hitch a ride’ using this same ‘profile’?

There’s also a call (in other discussions online) for the iPad screen to support speakers notes, this is neither a priority or concern of mine as don’t use a script, therefore, not something which is needed under this brief.

If you’re interested in either tackling this problem or pledging some money towards finding a solution then leave a comment.

Ofcom has told TalkTalk to stop trying to collect any non-existent debts, including the use of debt collectors and threats of legal action. People must be refunded if, since 1 January 2010, they have paid bills that should not have been levied. And credit ratings agencies must be told to repair any damaged credit histories.

If you’ve been affected, check out my two previous posts below for how to respond and complain.

UPDATE 23.11.2010: Another Ofcom investigation launched.

UPDATE 28.02.2011: TalkTalk and Tiscali pay £2.5m refunds for bogus bills