going offline

Three Powerful Lessons I Learned When I Got Offline - a very good article about how to have a properly balanced life when it comes to online access. this is surely also something that can be applied at the workplace; how often don't we waste time by checking this and that without really needing to?

could slow typing be good?

I am wondering if it could be beneficial to be a slow typer - otherwise there might be the risk of typing faster than the thought can be formulated, which can either cause total nonsense to come out, or, in the worst case, a not-so-well-thought-out statement. obviously there needs to be a balance as being too slow might cause you to lose your train of thought. is there perhaps an optimal words per minute to thought ratio? that would be interesting to investigate...

I love this shot

it's just gorgeous:

(taken by Carmen B)

overnight success

from things we forget

I have wakened...

I have awakened in Thy shelter, O my God,
and it becometh him that seeketh that shelter
to abide within the Sanctuary of Thy Protection
and the Stronghold of Thy defense.
Illumine my inner being, O my Lord,
with the splendors of the Dayspring of Thy Revelation,
even as Thou didst illumine my outer being
with the morning light of Thy favor.
- Bahá'u'lláh

do smartphones reduce productivity?

the idea behind smartphones is to give people access to more data at their fingertips and allow them to do more things while on the road. but it seems that all they do is to... play angry birds?

there's great potential in the concept of having so much data and applications available, being able to write on the go, check news, mail, etc. but we get caught in the simple things that grab our attention.

I wonder if there's been any research on whether smartphones actually increase or decrease productivity, especially if they have free data...

me, me, me, me version 2012

it's time for my annual wiki-borna check! let's see if anything has changed this year :)
same as last year:

Borna, a town in Saxony, Germany

A part of Bahretal in the Sächsische Schweiz district, Saxony, Germany

Borna disease, an infectious neurological syndrome caused by the Borna virus

The Rabha name of Borna snakehead - an extremely rare species of snakehead

updated:

Borna of Croatia, a Medieval Slavic Prince of Dalmatia. This one has been updated to refer to Croatian given names, as there is also a Borna Rendulić, a Croatian hockey player.

removed:

A Persian word meaning "young." Can also be used as a name. The Persian diction is "بر نا"

new:

Borna language in the Democratic Republic of the Congo - which apparently might just be a misspelling of the language Boma

Borna language in Ethiopia - which goes by the names Shinasha or Boro