The Book of Shawn

Monday, November 29, 2010

The 7 Best Deep-Fried Turkey Disaster Videos [Video]

The 7 Best Deep-Fried Turkey Disaster Videos [Video]: "

Click here to read The 7 Best Deep-Fried Turkey Disaster Videos

Today's Thanksgiving, and a whole bunch of people are going to just toss a frozen turkey willy-nilly into a deep fryer, film the exploding fireball that results, and post it on YouTube. (For which we, of course, are very thankful.) More »

Alaska Leading the Way in Credit Card Debt (And Other Interesting Consumer Facts)

Alaska Leading the Way in Credit Card Debt (And Other Interesting Consumer Facts): "

Here's a riddle for you: What do most adults have even though nobody wants it and Alaskans have 30% more than average Americans? Consumer debt has become a part of the American dream for most with over $2,400,000,000,000 (yes, that's trillion) outstanding as of August, 2010.

This infographic by our friends at Credit Sesame puts it all into perspective for us, showing how much we owe, who we owe it to, and who owes the most. Three facts stood out as striking in this Infographic:

Alaska leads the way with around 30% more than the U.S. average.Demographics show that 50-59 year-olds are the heaviest in debt.Non-revolving debt is nearly double that of revolving debt (likely due to increased education expenses).

Very little of the information here paints a pretty picture.

Follow @FastCoLeaders for all of our leadership news, expert bloggers, and book excerpts.

Click here to enlarge

WikiLeaks Word Clouds: Iraq and Cablegate

WikiLeaks Word Clouds: Iraq and Cablegate: "

cablegate

WikiLeaks is all over the news at the moment, having pulled the veil off thousands of U.S. diplomatic and Iraq War communications. As we've done before, we looked at the data in a different way: By peeking at the words themselves.

WikiLeaks' latest data treasure trove includes hundreds of thousands of communications between diplomats and politicians in the U.S. and overseas, and while the full archive has only been shared with a select group of people, WikiLeaks has posted the whole shebang online for anyone to see--in slices. We grabbed hold of the first slice of data, dismembered it and looked at the communications ('cables' as they're quaintly called) and ran them through a simple word cloud generator. The results are powerful.

Guess what word is most on the minds of U.S. diplomats in 2010? Yup--Iran. 'Iranian' is prominent in the mix too as is 'nuclear,' which should explain the interest. Fascinatingly 'Turkey' is more prominent than 'Afghanistan,' possibly due to the country's key location in supporting U.S. and NATO operations in both theaters of conflict. 'Saudi' and 'Israel' make unsurprising appearances, along with the perennial diplomatic thorn of 'North Korea'. Diplomats are talking about 'missiles,' 'security,' 'information,' and 'programs,' 'technology,' and 'economic' matters. Is it shocking to see that 'military' as a word is used far more than 'peace'?

Of course, we're limited by the choice of data that WikiLeaks has chosen to share--and by the particular documents that it got its hands on in the first place, but the second most notable word in the image is a bit of a surprise: Russia. The nation, even in its crumbled super-power, no-longer Cold War state, has such a sway on global politics that it's position in support of global political moves against Korea, Iran and so on means it pops up in diplomatic communications all the time.

But what of the other enormous WikiLeaks treasure trove? The Iraq War Diaries consist of a huge text file many hundreds of megabytes in size, and are thus difficult to penetrate. So we grabbed a random fraction of the text, around 1% of the reports of daily goings on in and around Iraq during the war there, and ran them through the same analysis process.

It's a different story, of course. The Diaries are more mechanical than florid diplomatic communiques, and are all about simple 'reports' and 'updates' of what went on. They're also much more tragic. The word that stands out most, of course, is 'IED'--improvised explosive device. We know it's a threat to security forces in the troubled nation, but to see exactly how often it pops up in the reports is still eye-opening. It's the reason 'KIA' and 'WIA' (Killed/Wounded in Action) and 'casualties' pop up so often too. 'Contractors' is the other stand-out word, if you think about it: We expect to see 'tank' and 'weapons' and 'detonation,' but 'contractors' reveals how the war in Iraq has changed--proof positive that it's moved on from being a military affair into one that involves private security forces.

To read more news on this, and similar stuff, keep up with my updates by following me, Kit Eaton, on Twitter.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

10 Life-Changing Online Christmas Gifts for Married Couples

10 Life-Changing Online Christmas Gifts for Married Couples: "

Based on the popularity of last year’s 10 Awesome Gifts for Married Couples (newly updated), I knew I needed to follow-up with another super-useful and fun gift list for Christmas 2010. I also wanted to provide you with some unique ideas that (mostly) won’t be found just browsing around on Amazon.

So, I decided to put together a list of the top online resources for busy married couples. Whether you are shopping for your spouse or another married couple, I’m sure you’ll find something on this list that will be well-received as a meaningful gift that will help to improve the recipient’s life!

While you might not immediately think of a digital product as a great Christmas gift (after all you can’t gift wrap most of these suggestions), keep in mind that more and more people are consuming their information electronically. Plus, these e-books and other online goodness are delivered instantly, so they’re perfect for an awesome last-minute gift!

Without further ado, here are my Top 10 picks for 2010:

10 Great Online Christmas Gifts for Married Couples

10. Stripped Down

In this great book, Tony and Alisa DiLorenzo deliver a powerful look at intimacy in all areas of marriage, both in and out of the bedroom. In a uniquely candid way, they share their personal struggles and give us real, practical ways to improve the intimacy and closeness in our own marriage.

Go check out Stripped Down for yourself and choose between the e-book, audio book and even an autographed physical edition.

9. Your Life. Live It. Love It.

I think the subtitle of this super-inspiring book by Sherri Kruger really says it all: “Hundreds of ideas for focusing on yourself, your relationships and the little things in life.“ That’s exactly what this book provides, and it is delivered in an easy-to-read (and hard to put down) style.

Go check out “Your Life. Live It. Love It.” for yourself or read my review here.

8. You Need A Budget

When you think of an awesome Christmas gift, budgeting software may not immediately come to mind. However, I can tell you from very personal experience that building a budget and communicating about money is one of the best things that a couple can do for their marriage.

And You Need A Budget (YNAB) is the best software I’ve found for bringing this valuable tool to your family with as little pain as possible…you might even think it’s fun!

Go check out YNAB for yourself here or read my review here.

7. A Simple Marriage

This first book by popular relationship blogger Dr. Corey Allan really is designed to help married couples get to the core of their relationship and work to make it better. It’s less of a sit-down-and-read book and more of a workbook that will bring positive change to those that seek it.

You might also want to check out Dr. Allan’s newest e-book: Buck Naked Marriage: Strip Away the Unnecessary and Focus on the Bare Essentials

Go check out A Simple Marriage for yourself here or read my review here.

6. Regain Your Balance

In Regain Your Balance, Ali Hale offers real, practical advice to help you find the right balance and achieve all that you want for your life.

It has really helped me make better use of my time and feel more fulfilled in my life. It’s not a theoretical book, it’s a book of action and practical advice you can actually use. And I love that!

Go check out Regain Your Balance for yourself here or read my review here.

5. The Simple Guide to a Minimalist Life

Everything that Leo Babauta of Zen Habits writes is fantastic, and this book on minimalism is no exception. The sole focus of this book is to help you lead a happier, simpler life. If you like Leo, don’t miss our great interview on finding time for fitness (and MUCH more) over at Fit Marriage.

Also check out Leo’s other great e-books listed below along with his bestselling “real” physical book on productivity The Power of Less.

focus

Zen Habits Handbook for Life

Zen to Done

4. Love Everyday: Thoughts on Loving Amidst the Chaos of Life

Love Everyday is a totally FREE e-book that represents the collective talents of 27 of the best relationship writers on the web…and the planet. I was honored to be one of the editors and contributors to this project along with some incredible folks from a diverse set of backgrounds. This is an awesome resource, and more than 65,000 people have already downloaded it!

Go check it out for yourself here or read my overview here.

3. Kindle E-Books

Recently, Amazon made its Kindle e-book reader accessible to most folks when they introduced an awesome 6″ wi-fi enabled version for just $139! Of course, there are hundreds of thousands of great, affordable books to choose from from the Kindle store.

If you’re interested in rocking your marriage (in a good way), I’d recommend the classic bestseller The Five Love Languages. Don’t miss my exclusive interview with the author Dr. Gary Chapman.

2. Thrive90 Couples Fitness Program

This resource, which I’ve developed alongside super-fit marriage guru Tony DiLorenzo, will help you improve your physical fitness and enhance your family life at the same time. This 12-week, video-based exercise program was designed specifically for busy couples who want to get fit and build a thriving relationship in the process. With over 20 workouts that are all home-based and less than 30 minutes, you’ll finally be able to look and feel awesome while maintaining your busy life!

The Thrive90 program will be released very soon, and we feel there’s simply no better way for busy couples to start off the new year the right way. Sign up now for the Fit Marriage newsletter so you won’t miss the release announcement, and we’ll send you our exclusive audio program 7 Secrets to Look & Feel Awesome Without Wasting Your Precious Time Together… for free!

1. 15 Minute Marriage Makeover

The first e-course from Engaged Marriage will be coming very soon as well. The 15 Minute Marriage Makeover is designed to help you Refresh Your Relationship, Add Sizzle to Your Sex Life and Be Happier Together in Just Minutes per Day.

This is a guide designed for couples to work through together in less than 15 minutes each day. Over the course of several weeks, the lessons and practical exercises shared will lead to better sex and deeper intimacy, communication that counts, real romance for real busy couples, and new-found control over money for any couple.

Sign up now to be the first to know when 15 Minute Marriage Makeover is released (in a few weeks) and get a nice discount, too!

So, what can’t-miss online resources for married couples would you add to this list?

(photo source)

___________________________________________________

Thank you for being a subscriber!

Check out the original post and leave a comment on the blog here: 10 Life-Changing Online Christmas Gifts for Married Couples