Wisdom Without Zealotry - Lack of Awarness of Surroundings

There are a few steps to bettering yourself:
1. Knowing yourself;
2. Knowing your goal;
3. Knowing where you are at now compared to your goal;
4. Knowing what you need to achieve your goal; and
5. Moving to your goal.

I have realised over time, and particular during the holiday season, that many people have no idea about the special asterisk in steps three above: awareness of their surroundings. It is the key to not being an ass in life. You see a great example of this when shopping. People know they want the things on a list, acknowledge that is the goal, know where they are, how to get to the places they need to get to and go to them. They do not see beyond the pinprick circle of vision they have in front of them. They do not know that they are blocking the isle with their cart. They do not know that they are blocking traffic. Don't acknowledge the world around them.

It irks me because part of any journey to a destination is the journey itself. Sure the end goal is important but how you get there is as, if not more, important. Its how you made the decisions, the sweat, the learning and helping along the way. People can be so focused on the goal that they miss that and therefore miss the lessons along the way that can improve yourself.

When travelling with my spouse or on my own, I generally have an itinerary and try to stick to it. I also incorporate a little fudge factor. This is not to exclusively be ready for any difficulties that may arise but also to look around as I'm getting to the next place. To live in the moment and see what can be seen. Experience the wonderful world around me.

Therefore, the next time you are heading to your goal, try to be more aware of your surroundings. Not only will those around you be more appreciative as you go on your journey but you will also learn and experience more. You might just be suprised what you see.

Teamwork In Mission Impossible

After watching the first season of Mission Impossible, from 1966-67, I was impressed by the format and solid stories. It dealt with fears and dangers of the time: Biological/nuclear warfare, dictators, Nazi resurgence, cold war, organised crime...etc. They did reuse sets from film and television and sometimes redressed the same sets for several episodes, with different set dressing. Each episode has at least two things that do not go according to plan. Overall it was great fun with some standout episodes.

The thing I liked a lot about the series was the teamwork between the characters and this is the focus of this post. So here are things I've learned (or already know but was reinforced) about teamwork from Mission Impossible:

1. Everyone has their part to play that contributes. No matter the seemingly insignificant act of what some of the characters do, it adds to the team's success. It could be turning on a recording, driving a car, impersonating someone on the other end of a phone, swapping an object for another one...it all contributes.
2. Nothing is impossible with the right people, but you have to know your people. The main leader of the group has a portfolio of agents that he can call upon. His main crew are his standbys, the ones who have their specialities but also are quick studies. He also has others for their particular talents or skills. The reason he can come up with a plan is that he knows what everyone can do and not do. Knowing your team means knowing your capabilities and making the seemingly impossible, possible.
3. Plans are useless but planning is indispensable: This quote by General Eisenhower during WW2 was to illustrate how plans never survive first contact with the real world. Planning, however, means you have backups in case the original plan goes awry. The team in mission impossible stack the deck on their side by orchestrating situations and circumstances based on what they know of their target and people in general. With these setups they can accuratly predict the outcome. They use many of the confidence tricks that scammers and scheisters have used for millenia. Things do go sideways in the show but each character has a backup story or action that gets them out of trouble and still contributes to team success. This comes from going over a plan and thinking of all the ways it could go wrong, something they hint at in the show. Going over plans also builds teamwork and reinforces team goals.
4. You are never alone in a team: Often members of a team are operating independently from one another but each of them know their other teammates have got their back. There is never any doubt or hesitancy. That comes from having confidence in each others abilities and the plan. It comes from everyone knowing the plan.

So there are a few things I've learned or was reinforced, from watching classic Mission Impossible season one.

Postcard of the Interwebs - 16 Dec 2016

Questions to Ask Before Giving Up: Stressed or depressed? Follow some of these helpful hints

Map of Ancient Rome: An excellent map of ancient Rome and its colonies.

How Blood is Manufactured Redefined: I love science and how it continues to explore and rediscover how things work...like blood in this article.

18 Things Mentally Stong People Do: Totally agree and I have to make a few tweeks in my own life.

Google Hints: Some ways to refine your searches when using Google.

Illustrated Guide to Law: Basic and clever explanation of law. Its USA based but still covers the fundamentals well.

Kitchen Conversions: Excellent way of illustrating what is equivalent to what for cooking.

Alter Ego Brown Butter Chocolate

I like really good chocolate and try to buy fair trade chocolate as much as I can. When I saw this flavor, I had to get it...Alter Ego's Brown Butter dark salted organic chocolate.

It was wonderfully delicious. Their chocolate is very creamy and well churned. The brown butter taste kicks in once it starts melting in the mouth. I also like great chocolate like this becaus eyou only need one or two squares and you are satisfied. I'd buy it again.

Postcard of the Interwebs - 04 November 2015

Anti-Climate Change Study: Interesting article on scientists who investigated studies arguing against climate change and the common errors they found. An article about knowledge of climate change by Exxon and Mobil in 1977 is here.

When we talk to ourselves, we really talk to ourselves: An article on how the voices we hear in our heads is linked to the speech centres of the brain.

Asking Questions: A great little cartoon on questions.

Ten Commandments of Rational Debate: Something to keep in mind before saying or rebutting something silly.

Healthy Meal Combinations: Exactly what it says.


Do-it-Yourself Camera:Ditto

General Cooking Tips for Spice combinations: Ditto ditto

Bizarre Lisbon

Here are some of the bizarre and strange sights around Lisbon.

It is either a warning about pickpockets or that a long haired person with a blade on their hand will be chopping people's heads off.

Creepy.

Danger. Dinosaurs will eat your trolly!

These guys are wearing Mason polo shirts and matching hats. They were taking pictures and looking at their phones at a couple of places with masonic symbolism.

Imagine this guy rooting through your garbage!

Maria Catita Again!

We liked this place so much we came back again. We started with what they call cabbage soup which is actually kale soup.

 Then it was the rice with seafood in stewed hotpot style.

 We would eat here often if we lived in Lisbon. Best restaurant in town but hope to try other places once we are back again.

Lisbon's Underground Roman Tour

For three days a year, people can book an appointment to visit Roman catacombs under Lisbon's streets. In order to prepare for this, staff for the city museums use pumps for the month prior to get as much water as possible out. We were alerted to this by a Portuguese friend of ours and through trial and error managed to book an appointment.

This is the entrance to the catacombs. You have to wait when trolleys are going by.

 Its a tight fit and water still trickles around here and there.

 Archaeologists have determined that the purpose of this structure was to prevent the sinking of buildings above it. This area of Lisbon, in its early early days, had a river running nearby this location. Phoenician ruins have been uncovered under Roman ones in the area. Structures like these were built by the Romans throughout their empire, near river sources, so that water running underneath this structure and moving around earth would evenly affect the structure above it. Thus the structure above would remain intact.

 Ahhh, you say, why is there water in it now? As the city changed and developed over time, several wells were sunk over the city. The wells going into this Roman structure had much cleaner water because it contained the rain water and not the river or ground water. They were also reported to have healing powers for the body and eyes. Well, after the 1755 earthquake, this structure was discovered in the rebuilding. It was noted, drawings made and then closed up. Because of the structural damage, water began to seep in. Eventually the wells going to this structure was closed up and forgotten.

 You can see the residue of how high the water normally goes.

 For people expecting art or imposing ancient ruins, this is not the tour for them. For engineers, historians or people amazed at the ways civilizations make improvements that better the people they represent then this is the place to visit. But only three days a year. I was impressed.

Donairs in Lisbon

I don't know where this place was but it had the best donair meat I’ve ever had.

Also had the fullest glasses of house wine we've had on this trip. Not great wine but lots of it.

So good. Om nom nom.

Lisbon - Bank of Portugal's Museum of Money and the Wall

There is a city block in downtown Lisbon that houses the bank of Portugal. Inside they are making a museum of money, but its not open fully yet. Below is their concert hall and presentation room where the church of Sao Julio used to exist.

This is the entrance to their museum of currency. The little safe to the left holds a gold bar that you can lift. As I've read and seen on shows, gold is really dense and it was hard to lift with one hand.

While renovating they discovered something from Lisbon's past, the wall that King Denis built to protect Lisbon from pirates and attackers in the 13th century. Many other artifacts were discovered and are on display. The wall, like many other things in Lisbon, was heavily damaged in the 1755 earthquake and was built over and forgotten.

Quinta da Regaleira - Grottos

The estate has four entrances to the the interconnecting grottos that run underneath the estate. Bring a flashlight for some areas.

 There are two water entrances with paths to the tunnels.

 There are two open areas in the tunnels with circular stairs going up.

Quinta da Regaleira - Grounds

This walkway goes along the wall at the entrance to the estate.

 This is the cafeteria. The food was good, but expensive and slow. You can also see ads for the shows that are put on in the grounds.

Quinta da Regaleira - Inside the House

There is a sequence of mosaic animals in the front entrance, the most striking of which was this duck. Carvalho Monteiro was an admirer of symbols, masons, alchemy and the Rosicrucians as well as the Templar Knights.

 The hall of the kings and queens of Portugal was his billiard room. It has small portraits of them along the top.

Quinta da Regaleira - Outside the House

The Quinta da Regaleira is one of Sintra's most interesting and eclectic estates. Carvalho Monteiro bought the estate in 1892 and with renown architect Luigi Manini, redesigned the four hectare estate in neo-manueline style. Construction started in 1904 and was completed in 1910. It was acquired by the township of Sintra in 1997 and was opened to the public in 1998. It was, in my opinion, the best castle/estate to see in Sintra...but they were all pretty incredible.