Oh man, this thing made me LOL! I ❤ XKCD!
PS: As with all other XKCD comics, you’ve gotta read the sub-text. Click on the image to get the original comic.
Category: Random Musings
Path to Success
I have to say that I totally agree with what the picture says. I often have no idea where I am going to end up at the end of the day. However, that doesn’t keep me from trying hard to point my trajectory upwards. Sometimes, I’m on a roll and sometimes, everything just seems to fall apart.
But I keep trying!
Ultrabook: Samsung
Although my laptop is still working well enough for most intents and purposes, I have started to shop around as I intend to get myself a replacement laptop next year. If I do end up getting a new laptop next year, it would be an Ultrabook.
At first, I thought that I would get the Dell XPS 13. So, I went to the show-room to give it a try. The device seems to be a good buy except that it lacks a built-in card-reader and has no video output to speak of.
I need the video output due to the nature of my work. I do a lot of presentations and if I get the XPS13, I would need to buy a DisplayPort adapter to output to VGA.
More pressing is the fact that I also use my laptop as a desktop replacement. So, I need a HDMI port to stick a monitor to in order to quickly convert my laptop into a desktop. I have grown accustomed to this work-flow over the last few years. So, I will need a HDMI port as well.
Less troubling is the lack of a card-reader but it would definitely come in handy during travels, when all I cart around are my DSLR and my laptop. I like to download all the photos that I’ve taken at the end of the day to serve as a backup and also to free up space on my SD-cards as I shoot in RAW. This could always be solved by buying an external reader, but that just means having to carry around another device.
Therefore, I find the Samsung 5 series of ultrabooks more suitable – they have both a built-in HDMI and a card-reader, though they still lack a built-in VGA. I think that asking for one is a bit of a stretch as the female D-port size itself would be prohibitive for an Ultrabook.
That said, I think that I might hold-off on an Ultrabook purchase for a bit while the different manufacturers figure out how to make the next-generation of Ultrabooks. For now, a small upgrade to my laptop might be enough to keep it running for a while more.
PS: Goodness knows I’ve earned it!
Works vs Life
Some people wonder why I choose to work all the time. I pula wonder why don’t people choose to work all the time.
The reason often cited is that we must have Work/Life balance i.e. one must not spend all one’s time working to the detriment of our Life. However, my question is – what is this Life that other people seem to talk about. To many people, Life means stuff that happens outside of work. This seems to be a definition by elimination.
To me, Life means to live, and I can only live if I am emotionally fulfilled. It just so happens that my Work does fulfil my emotional needs in so many ways. I feel frustration and anger when things don’t work out and fill happiness and triumph when my creations work out well.
What I fail to understand is why people are willing to put up with Work that they have no love for, in order to be able to live Life outside of work.
However, maybe the answer is just as simple as this – I do not like my Life outside of Work or maybe, I just find more joy in Work than in Life.
Hmmmm.
Related articles
- 10 tips for a better work-life balance (simplybusiness.co.uk)
- Silicon Valley: Work-Life Balance Is For Losers, Not Closers (forbes.com)
- You’re thinking about work-life balance all wrong (hippoland.tumblr.com)
- Getting the work/life balance right (blogs.abc.net.au)
- Work/Life Balance: A 2-Way Street? (themarlincompany.com)
4Minute
There’s something about this K-Pop group – 4Minute. I can’t quite place my finger on it.
Un peu je ne sais quoi.. peut-etre pas.
Maybe I should buy their album.
Life Experiences
As a very wise man once said, “a man is the sum of his actions, of what he has done, of what he can do, nothing else.”
Unfree Time
I’ve resigned from my teaching job at the university. I’ve rather enjoyed my two years there but I feel that the place is starting to shackle me.
Teaching is a demanding job that calls on a significant amount of commitment. At the same time, Law school is getting serious and I really need to commit a lot of time there as well. Last but not least, I feel that I have been neglecting my business the last one year.
So, it was merely a reassignment of priorities. There are only 24-hours in a day after all and I had to decide where to allocate that time. In order to avoid starvation, I’m going to have to make more effective use of my time next year.
Incidentally, I’ve also decided not to run for the IET committee. Several people have been asking me to stay on as the treasurer. A friend reminded me a couple of weeks ago that I should steer clear of a messiah complex, and I should!
And this has the added advantage of giving me some extra time to pursue other adventures.
Yeay!
PS: I think it’s time that I actually accomplished something with my life. I should really stop mucking about.
Sybreon Ones Nought 