June 2015 Articles

A terrific article that describes the seven fried-dough varieties that make up our doughnut vernacular. Thanks to Ashley Deemer of Chasing Doughnuts for the tip!

At its most basic, the American doughnut is made from dough that is mixed, shaped, and fried. Depending upon the type of leavening agent, it may be kneaded and require time to rise before cooking. Unlike fried fritters in Asia or South America, the American doughnut is a sweet snack; after its time in the fryer, it is generally dipped in a dry or wet sugar mixture. It may also be glazed with chocolate or filled with a fruit jam, custard, or cream. Here now, the seven types of American doughnuts and where to find excellent specimens of each style.

An astounding 8,500 words by Chris Sacca, a large investor in Twitter, with his vision for Twitter’s future and addressing issues that he sees today.

I believe in Twitter. The company itself is improving, not worsening. The stock market doesn’t get that because Twitter has failed to tell its own story to investors and users. Here is how I think that story could unfold…

Jim Dalrymple writing for The Loop:

I have been reporting on Apple for more than 20 years now, and in all that time no product has had such an impact on my life as this little piece of hardware and software. I don’t say that for dramatic effect, it has had a profound effect on the way I live. As you will read later, this is the most personal review I have ever written…

This is where the review gets very personal for me. This is how I lost over 40 pounds using HealthKit and Apple Watch.

I am overweight. Not just a little, but a lot. I smoke, and have for most of my life, I drink, I eat every food that is bad for me, and I just didn’t care. I think a better way to put it is that I didn’t see a way out.

Apple does a very good job of promoting Apple Watch to marathon runners and other athletes that want to stay fit and maintain their perfectly sculptured bodies. I look at that and know I will never be them, so I move on. There are millions of people in my situation that have done the same thing.

About 10 months ago I went out for a walk. That started a transformation for me that I will never forget. A simple walk.

During one of these walks, I was thinking about life, listening to music and I just kept walking. I walked a long time, at least for me, and it felt good. It wasn’t strenuous really, just a walk–turns out it was a three mile walk and I started doing it every single day.

One day, I weighed myself and I had lost five pounds. I was shocked–I ate the same, but yet I’m losing weight.

Then I remembered this technology on my iPhone called HealthKit. It could track my steps, distance, weight and other information about my body. I started using HealthKit every day to see how different things would affect my weight loss and generally how I felt. Did I lose more weight walking in the morning or the afternoon? What foods made me gain weight? Should I skip meals and hope that helps with weight loss?

I hesitate to say I became obsessed, but I did become more aware of what I did and how it affected me, both physically and mentally.

I looked at every aspect of my life to see what a little change would do for me. I ate my very first yogurt in my life, and I like it. I challenged myself in ways that I never would have before with food and with exercise, sometimes hitting a limit and knowing that I’d gone too far. I picked myself up and started again, eventually breaking through that limit and many others along the way.

Christine Porath, an associate professor at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, in an op-ed for the Sunday New York Times.

I’ve surveyed hundreds of people across organizations spanning more than 17 industries, and asked people why they behaved uncivilly. Over half of them claim it is because they are overloaded, and more than 40 percent say they have no time to be nice. But respect doesn’t necessarily require extra time. It’s about how something is conveyed; tone and nonverbal manner are crucial.

Incivility also hijacks workplace focus…My studies with Amir Erez, a management professor at the University of Florida, show that people working in an environment characterized by incivility miss information that is right in front of them. They are no longer able to process it as well or as efficiently as they would otherwise.