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Tuesday, June 26, 2007Type Of Thinking Or ThinkerFor many years, people used IQ tests to try and determine someone’s intelligence. However, some researchers believe that IQ tests do not take into account the fact that different people might think in different ways, and have different strengths and weaknesses. Many psychologists now believe that what we call intelligence can be subdivided into different categories, all of which can all be measured independently. Different kinds of thinking are needed to solve different problems. Here is an interesting quiz that seems quite relevant to this blog and its readers. What Kind of Thinker Are You? The quiz is short and fun, with an extremely detailed report in the end. You will be given a choice of two boxes, each of which contains a pair of words that describe a person's character. There are 18 sets of word pairs Like all personality tests, the results are not necessarily accurate but it only takes a few minutes to find out what kind of thinker you are – a bold visionary, cautious analyzer, charming extrovert or a warm people-person? Special thanks to Jeane Michelle Culp for sending the link to me in MyBlogLog via private message (all other messages with links that are not sent in private will be deleted immediate without being clicked). The rest of the post shows my result. CAUTION: It's really long! Description of the 4 Quadrants: Most people have some combination of all four styles, but with varying degrees of preference. One style will have a higher numerical score than the others, though two or more styles can have closely matching scores. The following paragraphs give a brief summary of each primary communication style: Left-brain Abstract (Analytic) thrive on careful analysis of all pertinent factors before making any decisions. Their thinking style is naturally systematic and detail-oriented, characterized by the pursuit of logic, predictability and discipline. They tend to stick to the rules and stay within the confines of their orderly world. When presenting information to this style, one should present a logically sequenced, rational explanation of the information and provide enough details and facts (historical or technical) to support one's argument. Right-brain Abstract (Synthetic) are visionary thinkers who look at the big picture and try to understand how things relate to each other. They are creative people who consider many options and abstract concepts when absorbing or presenting information and when making decisions. When presenting information to this style, one should provide the big picture first before getting to more specific points, include optional choices, and limit the amount of details. Left-brain Concrete (Conclusive) are action-oriented people who thrive on challenge. They focus on goals, meet deadlines, and demand immediate action. They typically avoid getting bogged down in details and want to go directly to the bottom line. They prefer short and easy action-items or conclusions. They are decisive people who want to get things done quickly and efficiently. When presenting information to this style, one should be concise, concrete, and sequential, sticking to the point and avoiding abstract ideas. Right-brain Concrete (Interactive) thrive on interacting with people and being the center of attention. They inspire others with their charm and warm personality. They can read other people very easily and use their intuitive skills to adapt effortlessly to changing situations. They are excellent at exciting and persuading others to follow their suggestions. When presenting information to this style, one should use a friendly, personal, conversational approach, use anecdotes, testimonials and other stories, and make them the center of attention. Your Communication Style: A Natural People Person. When you are walking down a corridor or a street, you like to greet or stop to speak to someone. People just love to talk with you about anything. That's because the positive energy that you give off during conversations develops an instant bond with everyone. You love to interact with people. It doesn't matter how many people there are or at what level you're communicating; you do it effortlessly. Conversation has been extremely natural to you your whole life. You have a wonderful sense of humor. When people are with you, they smile and laugh a lot. Whether it's telling a joke you heard before or sharing a spontaneous ad lib, you're naturally funny and entertaining. Your humor and ways of communicating are constantly creating situations that relax and motivate other people. Strategic Creativity. Unless people know you very well, they won't realize that you are quite capable of creating strategic plans, following intellectual pursuits and developing new, abstract theories about how things integrate or function. You're able to look at the whole picture, break them into discrete, unusual parts, and synthesize these into unique wholes or strategic plans. You thoroughly enjoy discovering creative options when thinking through difficult problems and challenging ideas. Motivating and Leading Others. When it comes to dealing with people and problems, you use a combination of intuitive and rational thoughts very successfully. Your positive, personal and intelligent ways of relating to people make them want to follow you during times of confusion and stress. It's when the situations are dynamic and need optional thinking and/or in-the-moment organization that you're able to step forward, take command and lead others towards successful outcomes. This is when your style of leadership becomes most effective. More at:http://www.thethinkingblog.com/2007/06/what-kind-of-thinker-are-you.html  
Addressing the 50th anniversary convention of his own denomination, the United Church of Christ, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois said Saturday that the religious right had “hijacked” faith and divided the country by exploiting issues like abortion, same-sex marriage and school prayer. But Mr. Obama said that religion has a rightful role to play in American politics, and he praised people of faith who he said are now using their influence to try to unite Americans against problems like poverty, AIDS, the health care crisis and the violence in Darfur. “My faith teaches me that I can sit in church and pray all I want, but I won’t be fulfilling God’s will unless I go out and do the Lord’s work,” he said, speaking before more than 9,000 people at the Hartford Civic Center in front of a red and black backdrop with the church’s marketing slogan: “God is still speaking.” The United Church of Christ prides itself on its inclusiveness of racial minorities, gay men and lesbians and people with disabilities, and its focus on social injustice. In 1972, it became the first mainline Protestant denomination to ordain an openly gay minister, and two years ago it passed a resolution in support of equal marriage rights for same-sex couples. Church leaders said that the speaking invitation to Mr. Obama was not an endorsement, and they asked audience members not to bring any Obama campaign buttons or signs into the convention center during his speech. The church’s president, the Rev. John Thomas, told the crowd that the invitation had been made more than a year ago, well before the senator declared his candidacy for president. Mr. Thomas said they wanted someone prominent who could talk about how to apply faith to politics. “It is also a recognition that he is one of ours,” Mr. Thomas said. Mr. Obama told the audience he had been a spiritual skeptic raised in no particular tradition. In his 20s, as a community organizer working with churches in Chicago, ministers there told him, “If you’re organizing churches it might be helpful if you went to church sometimes.” He joined Trinity United Church of Christ, moved by sermons by its senior pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., who runs a megachurch — with 8,500 members — in a denomination where many churches are country steeples-on-the-green with memberships of 100 or less. To conservatives looking to criticize Mr. Obama, Mr. Wright has proved a convenient target, with his Afrocentric worship style, trips to Cuba and Libya and pointed criticism of American foreign policy. The day before Mr. Obama announced his candidacy, he withdrew his invitation to Mr. Wright to speak at the event. However, Mr. Obama’s speech here was preceded by a videotaped introduction from Mr. Wright. The church president, Mr. Thomas, said Mr. Wright could not attend because he had a commitment to officiate at a wedding. Mr. Obama used his 45-minute speech to recall the church’s and many others’ proud history of involvement in the American Revolution and the abolition and civil rights movements. “But somehow, somewhere along the way, faith stopped being used to bring us together,” Mr. Obama said. “Faith started being used to drive us apart. Faith got hijacked.” He attributed this partly to “the so-called leaders of the Christian right, who’ve been all too eager to exploit what divides us.” Yet he said that in traveling around the country he had sensed an “awakening” of an interfaith movement of “progressives.” He received one of several standing ovations when he pledged that by the end of a term as president, “I will sign a universal health care bill into law.” And he received sustained applause when he called for closing the prison at Guantánamo Bay and withdrawing troops from Iraq. He said he would push for another effort next week to pass an immigration bill. He said that illegal immigrants must have a chance to “earn their citizenship.” Mr. Obama was preaching to a supportive but not totally uncritical choir. Nancy Wagner, of Spring Grove, Pa., said she liked his agenda but was left with “a little doubt” about his sincerity, “simply because I don’t trust politicians.” But Penny Selbee, a retired public health nurse, said: “I thought it was inspiring. How do you even choose what was the best part?” More at:http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/24/us/politics/24obama.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
There are bespoke suits. And then there are bespoke books. For the mogul who truly has everything, there's something new: a custom-made autobiography. For any where from a few grand to $100,000, Myspecialbook.com, a publishing company started a few years back by wealthy Argentines, will write, design and publish a book all about anyone who can afford it. The glossy pages will be filled with beautiful photos, personal letters and other mementos, artfully laid out to illustrate a life of wealth and privilege. The text will feature quotes and anecdotes from the subject's rich and powerful friends. Milton Pedraza, director of the New York-based research firm the Luxury Institute, recalls a well-known private-equity billionaire who was recently brought to tears after receiving such a birthday gift from his wife. "It's the story of your life, told by the people who love you," he says. "Can you imagine anything more personal? That's real luxury." The luxury industry sure isn't what it used to be. Forget haute couture handbags; those were commoditized years ago. Custom-made yachts? A dime a dozen in chic ports. Even the purveyors of luxury themselves seem a bit bored by it all—top designers craft clothes for discount stores, and high-end hotel chains nix frigid marble palaces in favor of beach shacks. After years of unprecedented global wealth creation—there are now some 8.7 million millionaires, according to the 2006 Merrill Lynch-Capgemini World Wealth Report. The rich hold some $33.3 trillion in assets, up from $16.6 trillion a decade ago. Meanwhile, the sheer proliferation of luxury goods has made them accessible, at some level, to many millions more. In an era in which anybody can go online to buy toiletries handmade by Florentine nuns, and the Louvre is opening a branch in Abu Dhabi, is anything truly exclusive anymore? The answer, of course, is yes; luxury, by its very nature, will always seek higher ground. But the luxury business is undergoing a radical change. For starters, its customer base is shifting dramatically, as wealth continues to spread to new parts of the globe. Luxury distribution is changing, too; online luxury, once an oxymoron, is now omnipresent. Meanwhile, members-only services for dining, travel, entertainment and retail are proliferating. Clearly, the rich want to be rich in private, with members of their own tribe. Most important, the nature of luxury goods and services themselves are evolving. Rather than flash, luxury consumers are now seeking discretion, special access, surprise, humor, even secrecy. They don't crave another pair of Jimmy Choos or a custom-made Bentley so much as the challenge of vying for an appointment at the Parisian jeweler JAR—maybe you'll get a slot that day, maybe not—or an invitation to a resort where they'll be entertained by rock stars and educated by Nobel laureates. Most of all, they want meaning, emotion and connection—witness the rise of "philanthropic travel," where visitors to ultraposh resorts in far-flung places might help build a school or launch a mini-foundation for water-sanitation projects in between beachcombing. It's not about keeping up with the Joneses, but about keeping up with the Gateses. Delivering the goods to ever more discriminating and demanding luxury consumers is requiring companies to rethink their entire business models, an evolution that is long overdue. More at:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19379104/site/newsweek/?from=rss
Looking to spice up your summer barbecues? Chef Jeffrey Starr kicks off the season with Sutter Home's Build a Better Burger competition, which celebrates the best, most original recipes for the juiciest and tastiest burgers. Get ready to fire up the grill with these easy-to-follow and delicious dishes, complete with their perfect wine pairings: Grilled California Avocado B-L-T Burgers with Caramelized Chipotle Onions Clint Stephenson, Friendswood, Texas 6 burgers INGREDIENTS Caramelized Chipotle Onions • 1 large sweet onion, halved and thinly sliced • 1 tablespoon Tabasco Chipotle Pepper Sauce • 1 tablespoon beef broth • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar • 1 tablespoon oil • 1 tablespoon crushed fresh garlic • 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar Point Reyes Blue Cheese Spread • 6 1/2 ounces light garlic-and-herbs spreadable cheese • 4 ounces Point Reyes blue cheese or other favorite • blue cheese, crumbled Burgers • 1 pound ground chuck • 1 pound ground sirloin • 1/3 cup minced sweet onion • 1/4 cup Sutter Home Zinfandel • 3 tablespoons minced fresh oregano, thyme, and basil • (any combination) • 1 tablespoon Tabasco Chipotle Pepper Sauce • 1 1/2 teaspoons spicy seasoned salt • Oil for brushing grill rack • 12 California avocado slices (prepare at the last minute, brushing with balsamic vinegar and sprinkling with • spicy seasoned salt before grilling) • 12 pre-cooked bacon slices • 6 soft Kaiser rolls (about 4 1/2 inches in diameter), split • Romaine lettuce leaves • 6 large tomato slices, about 1/4 inch thick DIRECTIONS • In a grill with a cover, prepare a medium-hot fire for direct-heat cooking. • For caramelized onions, combine onion, pepper sauce, broth, vinegar, oil, garlic, and brown sugar in a 10-inch nonstick skillet with a lid. When coals are ready, place covered pan on grill rack. Cook onion mixture for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are caramelized and most of liquid is evaporated. Remove pan from grill and set aside. • For spread, combine spreadable cheese and blue cheese in a saucepan; cover and set aside. • For burgers, place ground beef in a large bowl. Drizzle in onion, Zinfandel, herbs, pepper sauce, and seasoned salt; mix gently. Shape beef mixture into 6 round patties. • Brush grill rack with vegetable oil. Place patties on grill rack, cover, and cook about 4 minutes. Turn and continue cooking until done to preference. • Meanwhile, place saucepan with cheese spread on outer edge of grill rack to warm cheese mixture just until it reaches a very soft, spreading consistency. Remove saucepan from grill and set aside. • During final minutes of grilling patties, arrange avocado slices on a rimmed nonstick perforated grilling pan coated lightly with oil, and grill alongside patties for 1 to 2 minutes, turning as necessary. During final 30 seconds, add bacon slices to pan. When avocados are nicely grilled and bacon is crisp, remove from grill. When patties are cooked, remove from grill, stacking to keep warm. Place rolls, cut side down, on outer edges of grill to toast lightly. • To assemble burgers, spread a generous amount of cheese spread over cut sides of rolls. On each roll bottom, layer lettuce, tomato slice, beef patty, caramelized onions, grilled avocado, and bacon. Add roll top and serve. More at:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19401026/
More than six out of 10 people regularly commit crimes against the government, their employers or businesses, research suggests. Keele University researchers said it showed petty crime was rife among the middle classes and exposed the "law-abiding majority" to be a myth. Their poll of 1,807 people in England and Wales found 61% had committed one of a series of offences. They included paying "cash in hand" to avoid VAT and stealing items from work. The study found that around one-third of those questioned (34%) paid "cash in hand" to avoid taxation and about one in five (18%) had taken something, such as stationery, from work. Other findings included: * One in 11 had wrongly used identification for their own gain * 7% of those questioned had padded out an insurance claim to get more money * A total of 11% avoided paying their television licence * A total of 8% did not disclose faulty goods in second-hand sales * And 6% asked a friend in a bureaucratic job to bend the rules Of those who admitted to an offence, nearly two-thirds (62%) had broken the law on up to three occasions and 10% admitted to nine or more offences. The study's author, Professor Suzanna Karstedt, said: "Contempt for the law is as widespread in the centre of society as it is assumed to be rampant at the margins and among specific marginal groups. "Anti-social behaviour by the few is mirrored by anti-civil behaviour by the many. "Neither greed nor need can explain why respectable citizens cheat on insurance claims or in second-hand sales, and do not hesitate to discuss their exploits with friends in pubs." The study, of people aged 25 to 65, was published by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies at King's College, London.
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