Do I write this post as a result of having finally finished reading War and Piece (Война и Мир)? Did I read the epic novel in spirit of my eagerness …
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Public speaking reflection
I’ve continued with public speaking conquests on two fronts: in the digital medium of a virtual Toastmasters club, and in the physical medium of my locally organized club.
In …
A modest little table topic
2018 has turned into 2019. 2017 was still the year a moment ago. 2020 is as surely to follow, and in but a few turns of tide, in but a …
On constructive conversations
Have you ever been on the receiving end of a conversation and felt drained, while your face gradually acquires a more grim and intense shape?
There is a constructive and …
Yearly assessment 2018
I surpassed the year mark since I started to actively maintain this blog. What has this milestone enabled? What lessons have I captured?
Initially, I didn’t have a particular …
Decisions, trees and cycles
I’ve been having recurring conversations with myself on the merits of past decisions; not necessarily my decisions, but the decision making process and analysis in general. There is nothing …
Public speaking club - continued
After the third rendition of the weekly public speaking club, I believe to have a fairly working structure. The first unofficial 30 minute warm-up facilitates an open discussion of our …
Assimilate vs adapt that language
How you’re psychologically disposed to that language will play a paramount role in determining your ultimate progress. Having said that, I’ll pose the following question. Do you wish …
What is this success in languages?
In language development, I consider factors such as degree of fluency, the speed of development, and the extent of naturally sounding vocalization. I would classify the above as simply your …
Fun with self-referential paradoxes and the halting problem
I want to explore a set of paradoxes that arise from self-referential problem formulations. I will then proceed to present the paradox in a more formal setting of computability theory …
Creating a public speaking club
In Curitiba, BR, Toastmasters clubs are scarce. Until recently, a few specialized TM clubs had existed. Now, even those no longer appear in the search.
While I had transferred my …
The elusive guttural ‘r’
I finally succeeded at voicing that infamous guttural ‘r’. It marks my greatest linguistic achievement in a while. You know the sound I speak of - the ‘r’ articulated entirely from …
Foz do Iguaçú and the value of experiences
I happened to spend a couple of days at Foz do Iguaçú last week upon my return to Brazil. The small city, situated at the triangular border with Argentina and …
Focus on the core, independent components
Suppose you have a challenge you need to address. See if you can identify the causality relationship from the root of the challenge to the goal. Represent it in the …
About not sure what
I’ve been entertaining a recurring thought about my arrivals in Brazil. Each time I return, just a tiny sip instantly triggers the immense pleasure found in the unmistakable taste …
A few words on programming yourself
Over breakfast I skimmed most of the book Mind Hacks: Tips & Tools for Using Your Brain, by Tom Stafford & Matt Webb. It explores the functioning of our brain, hearing, vision …
At a bunker
I always enjoyed taking meals in a basement. You could also call it a bunker. It need not be a glorified bunker either. It need not be a Bavarian beer …
Toastmasters from physical to virtual
I had to transition from my Toastmasters club in presence of impending travels. How was I to proceed with public speaking development, which I had adapted like a healthy sport …
Jazz tastes
My taste buds for jazz listening have become considerably spoiled. A classic bop composition no longer excites me in the way it used to. Too many chords. Too much rhythmic …
On the great purge, house plants, and enduring creatures.
Around the year 2009, I found myself aggressively simplifying, eliminating and organizing - mostly the first two, since upon the simplifying and the eliminating, there was little left to organize. I …
A few stoic ideas from an ancient text
Simple ideas have survived the test of time. Or have they? In my on-and-off attempts to read Marcus Aurelius, I’ve encountered much allusion to Stoicism, the same guiding principles …
On marginal value of books
I see several reasons for wanting to read a book.
- To learn new material.
- To be inspired.
- To be entertained by the content.
- To enjoy fantastically written prose.
The more …
An enhanced, but compact shell-command processor
Not long ago I devised an enhanced command processor in shell script, and called it exec-cmd. It might be the shortest (60-70 line) most-handy utility I had written, although shell …
How to practice improvised speeches for lazy folk, part 2
I created a routine to invoke the all-inclusive topic generator/speech recorder/logger, per the previous post using an exec-cmd command.
The routine requires
How to leverage a multi-language OS environment
If you’re a multi-language fanatic like myself, you want the ease of switching between languages in a variety of contexts. These include typing, spell-checking and interfacing with applications in …
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