Edison vs. Tesla

“If I find 10,000 ways something won’t work, I haven’t failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.”
Thomas A. Edison, Encyclopaedia Britannica

“Genius is one per cent inspiration, ninety-nine per cent perspiration.”
Thomas A. Edison, Harper’s Monthly, 1932

“If Edison had a needle to find in a haystack, he would proceed at once with the diligence of the bee to examine straw after straw until he found the object of his search… I was a sorry witness of such doings, knowing that a little theory and calculation would have saved him ninety per cent of his labor.”
Nikola Tesla, New York Times, October 19, 1931

Feedback loop failure

When I get things done, I feel good. When I don’t get things done, I feel bad. This is a feedback loop with both positive and negative reenforcement.

So why do I hardly ever seem to get things done?

I spent most of the weekend sitting on the couch or staring stupidly of piles of stuff that needs to get done, but taking no action.

Caught in the act

Sometimes in the afternoon I take a coffee break with my friends, which usually lasts 15-20 minutes. I haven’t gone in a while because I’ve been in so many meetings, so I was glad for the break today. We got talking, though, and were in the caf for 40 minutes.

When I got up to leave, I realized my manager was sitting at nearby table having a meeting, probably watching me slacking off the whole time.

D’oh!

Dammit

I’m getting tired of my neck hurting all the time. For a while it was kind of cute, but now the novelty has worn off, and I think I’m ready to stop experiencing it.

There are several potential culprits, all relating, of course, to ergonomics.

* Although my computer set up at work is pretty ergonomic, it could probably be tweaked.
* My steering wheel and seat don’t feel optimal in my car. My neck and shoulders get sore after long drives.
* I spend a lot of time sitting on a bar stool at my kitchen counter using my laptop. This is ergonomically wrong in a number of ways.
* My pillow isn’t very good. I’ve tried a couple others, but haven’t found a great one yet. Also, my mattress is a bit saggy in the middle.

I’ll have to play around with tweaking each of those items, see if I can’t eliminate the soreness in my neck.

Tev’s a big fat jerk

Sigh… apparently I’m a jerk. I didn’t mean to be one, but I guess I’ve been talking down to people at work.

What happens is when there is some confusion about what a system or process is supposed to be, I restate my base assumptions about it to make sure we are all talking about the same thing. That’s my perception, anyway. I guess what other people hear is me talking down to them, explaining something to them that everyone already knows.

Thing is, I’m not sure what to do. I guess fundamentally re-think the way I converse with others.

Sigh.

Stupid, stupid, stupid… I can’t even communicate properly.