Mind Tricks

If your bored at work or just want some old-fashioned brain teasers, here you go:

Jedi Mind Trick

Math Brain Teaser

Air Force Fighter Pilot Test
- fighter pilots are supposed to last for 2 minutes!

How to get:
Your slob roomie to clean up after herself more often ...

Spray a bit of liquid all-purpose cleaner in the air right before she enters the skanky spot in question. A Dutch study recently proved that the faint smell of a cleaning product will spur people to start picking up the area around them. You can also prime her by squirting a little fluid in the bathroom sink before she goes in to use it.

And to support fellow bloggers:
Trick of Mind - new questions everyday.

California Scheming

Well, after a month off, we are at it again. We have moved states, vacationed in Mexico, graduated from law school, and - to no one's surprise - recharged the master planning batteries.
Summer always brings out the best in people - and for me it's making shit happen. Nothing is impossible, anything can be done, there is always one extra seat on a sold out flight.

So when my oldest and dearest friend called me yesterday feeling down and dejected about her summer work schedule, I naturally flipped on the scheming switch and we went to work.

Step 1: Analyze the Problem

Problem: CO-OP requires 350 hours of legal work in 11 weeks, 4 co-ops total to graduate.
Factors: Her office is only open from 8-5:30 M-F and can only work during that time.
Golden Snitch*: the secretary next to her comes in at 7:30 am!
Solution: Work M-TH 7:30 - 5:30 for 2 weeks, then M-W 7:30-5:30 = 350 hours.

*Note: In every situation, there is always a Golden Snitch - it is elusive, sometimes hard to see, but always the key to making the Scheme happen. No plan (or Quiddich Match) is complete with out it.

Step 2: Execution
Whether it be your boss, parent, friend, teacher or anyone else, schemes are only necessary when you are not in charge. So to make the plan come to life always involves a little people skills. Create a dialog that necessitates why your plan (ex: revised summer hours) are needed.

Tip1: Build on a truth; do not manifest deaths, diseases, or any other traceable and knock-on -wood type of event. It will spiral into a class 5 cyclone of lies before you know it and your cover will for sure be blown.
Tip 2: the less details the better - Need-to-Know Rule applies here. Remember: the devil is in the details, and in divulging too many details he will suck you down to hell.
Tip 3: Timing is everything. Present the idea when your boss is in a good mood, after you have just been praised, or when the office lulls. Be patient...

With a little effort, you too can have 4 day weekends to enjoy down at the Beach. Enjoy!

Please remember to always scheme responsibly.

Gloomy Sunday

I have a theory...people from the Northeast may get mad...

Boston is grey again today for about the 10th day in a row...completely depressing. The people are generally bitter and somewhat rude, and its rare that I seem someone who is very attractive. A friend of mine called them "grommet" people and its the perfect word. Just generally pissed off and unfriendly...perhaps because of the miserable weather and cramped conditions.

So why is it that people in California and Texas are so much better looking and friendlier, nicer, etc?

My theory is that when America was settled, the adventurous and cool people left the Northeast in search of something better- new frontiers. The boring, grommet-like, unimaginative ones stayed- thus their descendants are the grommet people we find here today. The pioneers all went west, perhaps this has something to do with natural selection...but without the less talented dying off- a kind of natural selection where the best and brightest moved on and the ones who could barely survive stayed and got more and more grommet-like over the years.

Thoughts?

The Joys of Procrastination

Oops...forgot to post this one...enjoy, math nerds!

Today is Friday, April 25th. I have successfully avoided law school for the last week and a half, busying myself with a trip to Mexico and finding anything I could sell in Mere's garage sale. Why is it that when I have the most to do school-wise, I focus on everything else?

In the next two weeks, I must write 2 20-page papers, complete a group project, write a mission statement (channeling Jerry McGuire), take an exam on how professionally responsible I am (I have been to two classes this semester), and complete a take home exam on International Business Regulations....what a joke.


Instead, I am spending my time organizing my gmail inbox, writing a blog, trying to figure out how to organize thousands of family photos, etc. Oh and lets not forget Twitter, Facebook, Scrabulous, Perez Hilton, Drudge, Neiman Marcus.com and all the other myriad sites I frequent each day in order to prolong the inevitable...

But this may be the worst...I have just unsuccessfully tried to complete this simple math problem 3 times until I finally got the answer...thats pathetic. And I don't think a JD is going to help me be smarter than a fifth grader on this one...take a crack people...

The challenge is on - can you open the spreadsheet?
This is a real 5th grade math problem. If you can open the spreadsheet,
you'll see that only a small list of people (older than 5th graders)
have gotten the correct answer. This is not a trick question.
This is a real math problem so don't say that a bus has no legs.


There are 7 girls in a bus. Each girl has 7 backpacks. In each backpack,
there are 7 big cats. For every big cat, there are 7 little cats.
Question: How many legs are there in the bus? (excluding Bus Driver)

Post your answers in the comment section...and the winner receives a special, super-duper prize....and no people, the answer is not 70.

2 - 7 - 7 - 5

Ash: would u not like to be on top of the world with our legs hanging freeeeeeee

i want to climb the Seven Summits
i want to take a NOLS mountaineering course
then climb kili next summer (or reverse order those bc dont need it)
then need aconcagua
denali
elbrus
cartenz pyramid
the one in antartica
and then stand on top of the world

Mere: This is what I do. This is just who I am. I can never be status quo or avaerage. I thrive on the edge....its like a compulsion, or a hunger that i try to ignore and feed little bits, but in the end always prevails and I must feast.

Joan, you have failed me. I sat your chair one day and went through this whole thing about how i didn't want to climb everest anymore, and that phase of my life was done....
Lies, all lies.

I am going to be living in the mountains, camping and loving life, and planning these trips and i just love it.

LOVE IT - love the edge.
I cant understand how i can love something that i actually try to hate and ignore

I say we save the big E for last, and climb it with respect and grace when we are 40. we will need at least 13 years experience to prepare...you only get 12, you old fart.

Ash: the thing is that people like u and i will never be satisfied with the vanilla, the plain, the mundane...

we must have these adventures and make these crazy, impulsive decisions or some part of our being will be denied and we will eventually blow up and break free

...it is our nature, my friend.

two best friends, 7 continents,
7 summits, 5 years

Squeaky Chairs and Soup

This morning I was supposed to wake up at 7:30, work out, work on an outline, get a paper together for my group, eat something and get to school early. Instead I snoozed for 3 hours, got up, got food, and am now in Natural Resource Law, utterly unprepared.

The beauty of the last week of school is that no one is prepared, so the awkward silences after the prof asks a question are many.

I sit here focusing on my soup and eating very small bites as not to finish it too soon.

This morning is a metaphor for the whole of my law school experience.

Oh wait, I'm starting to sound like Mere, like someone who is done with law school and graduating in a few weeks.

No my friends, no, I will be here another 14 days plus one year. Sitting in these squeaky chairs and focusing on my soup.

At the Core

I believe that a heartbeat is emotional, especially next to mine.
Perspective is there for the taking.
I believe in re-crafting songs. The best part of waking up is going back to bed.
I believe that the 1975 Saturday Night Live cast was supreme for one reason: Chevy Chase.
I believe Wickard was fundamentally wrong and history is brimming with ignored lessons. There is a bumper sticker for everyone.
It all comes down to a choice and with your choice comes a voice.
Trees really are better than Bushes.
I believe the coin misleads the quan.
Grey is certainly the liveliest color.
That Sex has no place in marriage.
I believe trekking up the West Basin Ridge opens more than your lungs.

I believe the Recco squawk
sounds the gate
leading my Lines to a
blurry whitewash fishtail
of undeniable peace.

Social norms have no place in a fucking vocabulary.
I believe in the delicious indulgence of all 31 flavors
and Shell Silverstein truly knew How High is high.

I believe in taking it to the grave.