Modern Psychology Thanks to Cocaine?

Do you know Freud was an cocaine addict? (Of course, at that time, there was no such term. He just used it as a "performance enhancing" medicine.) I am reading the interesting book, "An Anatomy of Addiction", which focuses on Freud's cocaine addiction. To me one thing that really set Freud apart from other great psychologists was not how accurate his theories were (which they are often not), but how creative they were. Looks like he did get a strange Muse. Hmmm, suddenly "the Interpretation of Dreams" makes more sense to me...

First Week of My New Job Responsibility

Lately I was given the job responsibility of being the architect of a product line. Though being a software architect has been my goal for a long time, when I really got it, I found the reality was not quite I imagined. For example, I had always been a very hands-on software developer and I expected to write even more code when I became an architect. Well, turned out I would be spending more time doing code reviews than writing code myself. Also, creating power point slides had become a job requirement because I had to do presentations and "sell" my ideas. Finally, instead of motivating myself (which was hard enough), I had to motivate the whole team, with nothing but a vision.

So far these challenges had been fun and I didn't regret my decision, but I did learn a lesson: be careful what you wish for, you may get it.

My Favorite Ted Talk Lately

Especially the part she went to her therapist.

Damages - Best TV Series I have seen lately

It's actually more like "The Devil Wears Prada" - law edition. Glenn Close is impeccable as Patty Hewes, the devilishly manipulative lawyer boss. (She is such a character!!!) Rose Byrne is the innocent associate (poor tortured soul, but I still think she will become a new Patty, in her own way). Close's portrait of this powerful lawyer teaches me so many things about body languages and persuasions.

Attack of the Cat

I am having a lot of fun taking videos of Mitti using my smart phone. (It is my "best buy of 2011".) Now I seriously consider buying an entry-level DSLR with video feature (such as Nikon D5100). Or, should I wait for the D800 instead?

The Cat Who Enjoys Sun Bath

Mitti

Mitti likes to sit under the afternoon sun and the lighting is almost transformative. She looks pensive, thoughtful, instead of her funny looking usual self.

Miti Rubbing Chinchih's Shoes

For some reason, Miti was quite crazy about Chinchih's shoes. Every time she came to visit us, Mitty would "anoint" her things. It looks pretty funny.

Best Site to See Good Presentations - TED

Lately my work involved doing demos and presentations so I started paying attention on improving my presentation skills. Books such as "Presentation Zen", "Slide:ology", and "Resonate" helped a lot, but I found they were like "theories". You could learn from theories but it would still be hard to grasp if you didn't see a concrete example. (I know, that's why I am a software engineer who totally failed her college Physics classes.) And where to find the best presentations online? TED.

I found TED speakers were incredibly good presenters. Their talks spanned about 3 to 20 minutes, but short or long, they were all engaging and enjoyable. The topics were fascinating. The speakers were passionate, with wonderful stories to tell, and told them well. They used slides or videos, sometimes a lot of them, but their uses of presentation tools never overpowered the talks. From watching many of those videos, I came up with two conclusions. One, being passionate about your topic is highly infectious, its importance cannot be emphasized enough. Two, find out the most important thing you want your audience to remember and focus on it. Because if your audience can remember just ONE thing after the talk, it's worth it.