Distractions

David Beckham touches himself so often in stadiums that it makes one believe he needs those gimmicks to "sell" his most valuable and lucrative product: David Beckham. It seems that his looks, body, semi-naked pics and provocative designer campaign billboards overshadow his once-brilliant soccer skills. Here are some visual proofs of the Brit's other talents. The picture in the middle is

Countless opportunities to waste time online have driven essayist and techie Paul Graham to an extreme solution: to disconnect completely. After trying various methods to reduce procrastination with online distractions, Graham writes: I now leave Wi-Fi turned off on my main computer except when I need to transfer a file or edit a web page, and [...]

Max Out Your Brain's Performance with Distractions [How To] Next time you need to quickly memorize a small piece of information, Wired suggests that you may actually have better luck retaining the information if you distract yourself.In 2007, researchers asked UCLA students to try to memorize a set of 48 word pairs (country: Russia, fruit: lemon, flower: lily, etc.). After studying the list, some students then had to sit through a slide show and view closely related material (flower: rose). Guess what? The distracted students performed better on subsequent recall tests.Photo by Gaetan Lee. According to the article, studying slightly different subjects from the one you want to learn makes your brain work harder to store the original information. Clearly this doesn't work with just a

Over on Freelance Folder there is an amazing post that talks about improving your productivity, and really it centers around reducing your distractions. Something that can be quite difficult, but also very important.I find myself struggling with this periodically because my office is at home, and currently so is my wife, but there are some great points in the article.Here is a sample:Work in a separate room if possibleLast year I moved to the sitting room to keep an eye on the baby while my wife worked on her computer; this was because the computer could not be moved around and I had a laptop. But soon it became a free for all situation; everybody in the house needed my attention or my counsel for everything.There were times when I could only achieve three to four hours of professional wor

Over on Freelance Folder there is an amazing post that talks about improving your productivity, and really it centers around reducing your distractions. Something that can be quite difficult, but also very important.I find myself struggling with this periodically because my office is at home, and currently so is my wife, but there are some great points in the article.Here is a sample:Work in a separate room if possibleLast year I moved to the sitting room to keep an eye on the baby while my wife worked on her computer; this was because the computer could not be moved around and I had a laptop. But soon it became a free for all situation; everybody in the house needed my attention or my counsel for everything.There were times when I could only achieve three to four hours of professional wor

OK, I know it is damn difficult to trade with an up bias these days with this entire media constantly projecting nothing but gloomy outlooks. Mentioned in “about popular bearish sentiment”, by the time the uninformed crowd has mostly got on board with downside partiality, not much more selling pressure exists in the near term future.Sticking to the Freaking PlanMy own strategy called for bullish trades this week, but I ended up making a lot less than I should have due to distractions from the media. Projections about the jobless report earlier today made it particularly scary. Yet if I had ignored it all and stuck to the plan, my return this week would have resulted at least twice as much.Bad Economic Report, Up Stock IndexSo we have a whole lot of people on the unemployment line accor

Oh how I wish I could get my self esteem back. I could get it back, but it's in the sh!tter. So if I could get it, it's all covered in sh!t and it'll take awhile for it to wipe it off. I'm hitting rock bottom now. So this is how it feels like. I've nowhere to turn to. I feel so abandoned. I got no one to talk to. There's no one to comfort me. Yeah yeah! Boo hoo! Make fun of me now! Say "You're just like an emo motherfcuker, motherfcuker!". I've lost my credibility to some people now and I couldn't get it back. Clearly, this is karma. And how I hate it. I do care what people see in me. If I don't like what they think of me, it's nothing I could do. I don't have to explain to them anything, rather I'd convey to them what I feel and would just stop there. I'm surfing my a$$ off in the interne

I am obsessed. Or maybe I am keeping my head wrapped up with Cella to avoid my writing. I know my posts here have trickled down to nothing. But, as they say, writing is like breathing . . . we writers need to write to live. I should be reading . . . but here is me.My house is one of its shitty states again. It's raining. Good news is that I've received some submissions for the journal. Of course, I would find my way back to it - I'm obsessed, remember? I got a submission call listed in a couple of good places. I still have a lot of work to do on the website. I am sitting here typing and too many "to do's" are racing through my head. I spent Saturday chaperoning a school band middle school's field trip. Tube water slides really suck when you're claustrophobic. Teenage girls are

Partying. Drinking. Dancing. Flirting. That’s how it goes, right? That’s how we distract ourselves when love hurts or when love’s lost.Loneliness. Anti-Social. Depression. Swollen Eyes. Regret. Sympathy—that’s the other side of the picture.Sleek black dress, dark crowded room, club lights, loud music and men. A woman would do a lot to get away from the person who holds her heart. In the arms of another man, she smiles… she dances. She pretends that she does not care, that life is all good and she is having fun.She dances until she is breathless. She dances until she realizes it's not working.Who is she kidding?It's a dangerous thing to fall in love, you know. It's a one way road with one hidden dead end. There are no exits and there are no U-turns. You are on it and that’s ju

Your cubicle might be where you have to do all of your work, but if you're anything like me then you know that's it's not always the best place for focusing on what you're working on. Whether it's the guy in the next cubicle with a cold, the girl across from you that thinks the person on the phone is hilarious, or your boss behind you yelling at somebody else, there are tons of distractions at work. Fortunately you can avoid all those distractions with some noise reduction headphones from Quiet Headphones and your favorite music. With the earphones that you'll get from Quiet Headphones you'll be able to increase your productivity and enjoy your favorite tunes at the same time. Before you know it, you're boss will be talking to you, but he won't be yelling. See if I'm not right. And if you are thinking about traveling, then the travel headphones will be perfect for keeping out the noise, letting you enjoy the trip.

Your cubicle might be where you have to do all of your work, but if you're anything like me then you know that's it's not always the best place for focusing on what you're working on. Whether it's the guy in the next cubicle with a cold, the girl across from you that thinks the person on the phone is hilarious, or your boss behind you yelling at somebody else, there are tons of distractions at work. Fortunately you can avoid all those distractions with some noise reduction headphones from Quiet Headphones and your favorite music. With the earphones that you'll get from Quiet Headphones you'll be able to increase your productivity and enjoy your favorite tunes at the same time. Before you know it, you're boss will be talking to you, but he won't be yelling. See if I'm not right. And if you are thinking about traveling, then the travel headphones will be perfect for keeping out the noise, letting you enjoy the trip.

It's sad when housework becomes the distraction that saves you from your homework. I've got a whole two pages completed. That leaves 3 more to go, at the very least. The really odd thing is I know my argument and where I'm going with what I have..I just don't feel like dove-tailing a bunch of relevant quotes together. This means I have done the dishes and washed/dried/folded several loads of

Can I be the only man who finds its distracting when their female boss bends down in front of them such that my eye line goes straight down their (fairly low cut) top and to their bra?I never thought I'd say this, but I'm gradually becoming a fan of modest dress around the office.(c) Hal Westhead 2007

I knew it would happen eventually, but I really thought I'd be a few weeks into the challenge before I failed to write anything at all. That's right. I got nowhere fast on the story last night. Although, in a feeble attempt to redeem myself, I did open the WIP and tweak a few sentences before heading off to bed. The problem started when I got home last night. Being Wednesday and therefore a

You know, everybody talks about how wonderful it is working from home. You don't have to deal with a boss. You don't have to deal with a commute to work. You don't have the expense of lunches out or gas or tolls. You don't have to punch a clock. I can go on and on about the advantages of working from home. But nobody ever talks about the distractions that you have to deal with when you're at home. You moms know what I'm talking about, especially you moms with little children who are still getting into everything. Seems like you can't get five minutes at the computer without having to deal with some crisis. Well, this article is going to show you how to cope with some of those distractions. I hope these tips help.For moms with little children who are too old to stay in a playpen all day and too young to know not to stick their fingers in the wall socket, I know, it's a constant chore keeping up with them, and quite honestly, I don't have a solution for you. I do however admire

Common sense would seem to dic tate that driving while talking on a hand-held cell phone or text messaging poses distractions that endanger oneself and others. But since such thinking is in too short of supply, a legislative remedy to this public safety issue is in order. Reps. Josh Shapiro, D-Montgomery, and Eugene DePasquale, D-York, have introduced related bills to ban driving while using hand-held cell phones and place a similar prohibition on text messaging from these devices. Drivers would be permitted to use hands-free cell phones. This isn't the first effort on this front, and previous ones have failed to gain a floor vote. Lawmakers Shapiro and DePasquale are optimistic the time is now right because of Democratic control of the House, the support of Gov. Ed Rendell and rule changes guaranteeing an up or down vote. It would be nice if pleas from law enforcement and traffic safety advocates to pull off the road when using hand-held cell phones were being heeded. But they are no

Do you like to speed up on your writing? One of the ways to do that is to eliminate distractions. Although this may seem difficult, it doesn’t have to be.  For instance, if you are a work-at-home parent, you can try sending your child to daycare, even if it is only one day a week.  You can also try working during nap times or even at night, after your child has gone to sleep.  The elimination of distractions is a great way to write quicker.  In fact, it is also known to reduce or completely eliminate the chances of developing writers block. Personally, I do most of my writing when my boy is in school for that three hours or when he’s asleep. It can be hard writing at the speed I want when he’s hopping around my home office!

Our reviewers were generally positive, if not terribly excited, about The Simarco Letters (and Other Distractions).CategoryScorePointsContent5.4538/70Writing5.643/5Web Design5.273/5Intangibles5.453/5Read Regularly2.733/10Frequency63/5Total53Percentile Rank: 29Some quotes from our reviewers:I was annoyed by the constant references to Splotchy - who is that? Some posts were very amusing, I like this guy's attitude - but some posts made little or no sense.Most of the posts made me laugh out loud. Others, like the Wednesday 15 didn't do much for me, but overall I liked the blog and would definitely go back.There is some quality stuff on here. Too many of the posts weren't meant to be funny (Top songs, etc.) to really qualify as a highly ranked humor-blog, but the funny posts were pretty amusing. I LOVE the official blog seal on the left sidebar. To many "F" words for me to be able to read it regularly at work.No need to change anything, it's really funny!I'll be keeping an eye on t

Your cubicle might be where you have to do all of your work, but if you're anything like me then you know that's it's not always the best place for focusing on what you're working on. Whether it's the guy in the next cubicle with a cold, the girl across from you that thinks the person on the phone is hilarious, or your boss behind you yelling at somebody else, there are tons of distractions at work. Fortunately you can avoid all those distractions with some noise reduction headphones from Quiet... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

I’ve never experienced heightened emotions tugging me endlessly in various directions consecutively the way I’ve been having them recently. Well, at least not since I was going through the worst ordeal back in high school. Of course, I was a completely different person then. More impulsive, less mature. But I still never expected this. Siguro tama na. Isasarado ko na muna hanggang sa makita ko na kara pat-dapat pa itong balikan. It’s really exhausting, and as much as I want to make things turn out okay. Circumstances prove to make me feel otherwise. I don’t want to be angry. I really don’t. I’m not an angry person. Right now, I just want to get a hold of myself once again, and do some efficient channeling. My best friend, Jazmine, tells me that I have faith in people easily. I do, and I like it that way. I’d also like to keep it that way. People have betrayed me in various ways and levels before, but that didn’t stop me to remain op

IN THE NEWS: According to World Magazine, there's a great butler shortage in Manhattan. The vice chairman of the International Guild of Professional Butlers said butlers are especially in demand for nouveau riche Wall Street millionaires. Apparently a good butler will cost you around $200,000 a year--but if they have a British accent, they can earn an extra $10-20,000.(Whoa. I think I picked the wrong career.)Now that my daughter's school has been out, I can barely read my crit partners work let alone do any writing. Every time I get on the computer, my daughter begs me to visit her Webkinz. (If you don't know what a Webkinz is, don't worry. You either don't need to know or you'll know soon enough)So I came up with the perfect plan. I would take my daughter to the playground and then I would be able to do some work there. Sounds good, right?Alas, wrong.The playground was large and maze-like. What was I thinking? In order to properly keep an eye on my child, I had to keep getting

What follows is an editorial by Peter John Cameron, O.P. (from the June 2007 issue of Magnificat) on distractions during prayer. Hat tip to The School of Mary. - - - - - -How do we deal with distractions in prayer? A distraction consists in any unwanted thought or image that invades our prayerful concentration, wrecking our attention. Distractions crop up in two forms: voluntary and involuntary. A voluntary distraction is a distraction caused through our own neglect by fantasizing, mulling on preoccupations, or by being lax about our recollection. When voluntary distractions become habitual, we become more predisposed to mind-wandering than to God-pondering. About these, Saint Thomas Aqinas warns, "To allow one's mind purposely to wander in prayer is sinful, and hinders the prayer from having fruit."Conversely, involuntary distractions are those mental disturbances that arise spontaneously. Saint Thomas Aquinas says that "even holy people sometimes suffer from a wandering of the mind

Sometimes it’s easy to get distracted. Sometimes the distraction can also be your inspiration. I honestly haven’t felt like doing art lately. I’ve been busy with church stuff these last few days and fielding tech issues for blogs I’m responsible for. Today, my dad called early this morning and had four adorable kittens that needed someone to take them in and try to find homes for them and suddenly I feel like doing another painting. Pictured is one of the little gray tiger striped kittens right after it’s bath. So what I thought was a distraction became an inspiration. Share This

I want to do lots of things on my shopautodotca seocontest site tonight. Well not really. I probably will start to work on my shopautodotca seocontest site like I did 20 min ago when I instead visited www.izzatz.com. I am so good at getting distracted, huh. Seems the longer the shopautodotca seocontest goes on, the less I think about SEO and the more I think about the fact that I don't want my site to just be another shopautodotca seocontest site and blog. So far, mission accomplished. Still #3 in Google and #2 in MSN for the time being. Hopefully I can come up with some super duper shopautodotca seocontest SEO idea. I think I have the basics of this whole SEO thing down okay. But see, there should be a school of SEO where you learn all the secrets. Maybe I need an SEO mentor? Does that exist?Today someone was all "Aren't you scared putting your picture on the internet like that?". That was funny for me because I don't wear a mask when I go outside either so why would I care about t

Thought I'd find myself a little distraction this afternoon.Stole this from Gigi Goes Gaga::Here are the rules:1. Open your library (iTunes, Media Player, etc.)2. Put it on shuffle.3. Press play.4. For every question, type the song that's playing.5. When you go to the next question, press the next button.6. Don't lie and pretend you're cool.7. When you're finished, tag some other people to do it. (I'm tagging all of you -- now go!)Okay, now let's see how great my iTunes is at doing interviews.Opening credits?Goodbye My Lover - James BluntWaking up?Bastard - Ben FoldsFirst Day of School?The Way I Am - EminemFalling in love?Losing Heart - Brandi CarlisleFirst song?This too shall pass - India ArieBreaking up?Go it Alone - BeckProm?Where Did You Go - Ashley Parker AngelLife?You're Where I Belong - Trisha YearwoodMental breakdown?You're the Good Thing - Modest MouseDriving?Terra Mezza - Suzanne CianiFlashback?Can't Break Her Fall - Mat KearneyGetting back together?False Alarm

Okay new favourite hobby besides the shopautodotca seocontest, finding cool expired domains! I am going to do a lot more of that when I am done the shopautodotca seocontest. My shopautodotca seocontest site has dropped! OH NO! Oh well, what can you do. I will trust that if I continue to work hard in the shopautodotca seocontest it will pay off in the end!Good luck everybody this week in the shopautodotca seocontest!From Shopautodotca Seocontest Participant Danielle ;-)

Ed Bouchette's column in the Post-Gazette today is entitled, "Tomlin's top priority: Eliminate distractions".To quote coach Tomlin:"You have nine radio shows and the next year you have 22 radio shows, you know what I mean? There are banquets and appearances and things of that nature. As a position coach, I'm getting compensated for making appearances and things of that nature, just stuff that goes with being successful. "That probably determines what happens in this league more than anything -- not how you deal with failure ... how you deal with success, man, defines you. The longer I'm in it, the more I believe it and embrace that.That being said, Big Ben crossed the 100,000 mark on his frequent flyer account with this appearance at Muhammad Ali Celebrity Fight Night XIII in Phoenix this weekend.To unofficially recap how Ben has eliminated distractions from his offseason:Bahamas: Michael Jordan Golf TournamentLA- Guest host "Best Damn Sports Show, Period"LA- Guest "Last Call with

What is it that distracts you? I’ve been a bit distracted lately by a desire to buy a car I’m in love with, the Nissan 300zx. after actually pursuing it a couple of times now I think I have finally convinced myself to forget about for now. I was planning on selling my current car which is a relaible and economical little thing for this sexy potential pain in the backside fuel guzzler. Buying one would set me back at least 6 months on my travel plans in exchange for driving a real car for once. My DistractionI’ve been battling with this for a while and asking myself “what will I get more out of?” of course I think travel. I imagine buying this car would give me a lot of satisfaction but if I died soon after would I be happy with how I lived my life? No. Quite simply owning any car no matter how impressive doesn’t count in my eyes to as an indication of how well I have lived. I imagine although I would probably be satisfied with the car I would be

A teen driving study, sponsored by Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and State Farm Insurance Company, asked teens what actions performed during driving were unsafe. You might be surprised by some of their answers.

It is simply not possible for government to effectively regulate the everyday activities of people.  This is nothing but another revenue stream of big government.  Put down the flute and keep your eyes on the road. And forget about sipping that cup of coffee on the way to work, or smoking a cigarette on the way home. In some states, it could soon be illegal — if it isn’t already. Emboldened by the passage of cell phone bans for drivers in some communities, states are turning their attention to other things that drive motorists to distraction. Vermont lawmakers are considering a measure that would ban eating, drinking, smoking, reading, writing, personal grooming, playing an instrument, “interacting with pets or cargo,” talking on a cell phone or using any other personal communication device while driving. The punishment: a fine of up to $600. Similar bills are under consideration in Maryland and Texas, and Connecticut has passed one that

Driving home from work tonight I stopped at a stop sign. The stop sign was located just before an overpass and in front of a y in the road. At the stop sign you can see clear down to the state highway below. Tonight as I stopped at that stop sign something captured my attention. It was a big mac truck all lit up from the front to the back. It looked so big and beautiful and strong in all of it's speeding glory. Paying such close attention to the truck I didn't notice a car coming around the bend at very high speed toward me and I started to pull out into the lane, catching myself just in the nick of time. This made me think about how easily we can be distracted and busy our minds thinking about things that we have no business thinking about. I mean sure the truck is a beautiful sight but that wasn't the time to be focusing on it. Which is kind of like the way people focus on silly things like winning the lotto or getting rich quick. Well, let me point out that first of all the odds

WardsAutomotive reports from the floor of [their very own] Automotive Interiors Show that electronics supplier Continental AG is in love with Vegas, baby. "What happens outside the car should also happen inside the car,” company rep Brian Droessler told the throngs. Huh? "The Internet in cars is coming," Droessler explains. "People want it.” So what about safety? "