The open source Tizen platform may only just be making its way on to wristwear, but Samsung has much bigger plans… in a very literal sense. The company is releasing a developer kit that will let you create apps for Tizen-based smart TVs, including…
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Google plans to spend over $1 billion on a fleet of satellites that will be used to provide internet to parts of the world that currently lack digital connections.
Following ASUS’ $799 28-inch 4K monitor from earlier this year, the Taiwanese tech giant has today unveiled yet another high-res display, but this time it’s aimed at semi-professionals instead of mainstream users. The new ProArt Monitor PA328Q is a…
It’s sometimes tricky to identify insect species, but it’s also important — you want to quickly find out whether you’re dealing with a disease-carrying threat or a harmless fly. That won’t be an issue once UC Riverside scientists get their audio…
Denon has revealed its take on home music streaming, HEOS by Denon, a Sonos-rivaling selection of wireless speakers that can funnel music from local and cloud sources. Initially arriving as … Continue reading
The day that is almost three years in the making has finally arrived and Samsung has unveiled the first ever consumer Tizen smartphone, the Samsung Z. Sporting rather decent specs … Continue reading
Welcome to “Game of Moans,” the weekly recap of “Game of Thrones” Season 4 that highlights all the moan-worthy, gasp-filled, OMG moments that litter the Seven Kingdoms. In other words, you can get a traditional recap anywhere, so here’s all the sex, bloodshed, and WTF moments (the good stuff) that went down this week:
(Spoiler alert for “GoT” Season 4, Episode 8 “The Mountain and The Viper.” Warning: Some images below show nudity and very graphic violence.)
We had to wait two whole weeks for “Game of Thrones” to return, but it was definitely worth it. “The Mountain and The Viper” delivered one of the best duels the series has ever seen, and it was so horrific you probably weren’t be able to sleep afterwards.
The Don’t-Mess-With-A-Wilding Moan
Ygritte may be a woman, but she’s as fierce as any Wildling when the thirst for blood is high. That brothel girl sure learned that quickly when she got a spear through her chest. But just when you think Ygritte is a ruthless killer to the bone, a tad bit of motherly compassion spills through when she lets Gilly and little Sam Jr. live. Ygritte, or shall we call her the Westeros Black Mamba?
The Sneak-A-Peek Moan
Grey Worm may not have his stones and/or pillar, but that doesn’t mean a gorgeous naked woman doesn’t catch his eye. And hey dude, you’re not fooling anyone. Missandei knows exactly what you’re looking at. Try taking a tip out of Littlefinger’s creeper book.
The Don’t-Trust-Anybody Moan
The poor ironborn at Moat Cailin fell for Reek’s impression of Theon (and what a great performance that was, up until he nearly lost it). Ramsay trampled through and slaughtered everyone in his typical gruesome fashion.
The GO-OBERYN! Moan
Everyone except Cersei and Tywin was rooting for Oberyn in this tense duel. The Viper is certainly a skilled fighter (or shall I say dancer, since those moves looked more like ice dancing with a spear) as he dodged and ducked the Mountain for most of the fight. It was quiet a spectacle to watch and the moment Oberyn knocked down Gregor Clegane was one of the most victorious of the season.
But then there was that moment, the moment we know all too well from movies and TV when the hero almost brings the villain to his death, but decides to boast for a minute. And then …
The Oh-No-No-NO!!!! Moan
… it was Oberyn’s downfall. A winning fighter can’t be an emotional fighter, and the Dorne charmer let his emotions get the best of him. Once The Mountain knocked him down it was clearly the end. But he didn’t just break the poor guy’s neck or slice his throat — he gave him the absolute grisliest, most horrific, most stomach-turning death we’ve ever seen on the series, and possibly all of TV (including the nightmare-inducing “Hannibal” deaths). Merely shoving Oberyn’s eyes into his head wasn’t enough — he had to squeeze his head until it literally exploded. Nasty. Horrifying. So, so depressing.
Some thoughts:
“Game of Thrones” airs on Sundays at 9 p.m. EDT on HBO.
If your child’s a doodler, it might be a good idea to pack some drawing materials when you travel. Otherwise you might end up like this unfortunate dad, who reportedly got stuck in a foreign country after his young son got creative with a pen:
According to Metro UK, the Chinese man pictured above was recently prevented from leaving South Korea after his 4-year-old son doodled all over his passport during a family trip.
The photograph of the doodled passport — together with a plea for help — was originally posted on Weibo, the popular Chinese social networking site, Metro reported.
This dad “can’t return to the country,” a May 16 Weibo post reads. “What is [he] to do? Please help.”
If you are going for a hike on the hill close to your home, you might be able to get that done on your own. However, if your goal is to climb the Mount Everest, you need to join a tribe that can help you become someone that can rise up to that task.
The right network provides you an unfair advantage. You can get a lot more done because you are now NOT alone. The right network is also the one where you equally contribute back to extend the collective power of the network for all those who belong there. If I have to summarize it in a short sentence – “the right network can help you accomplish more.”
Now, that’s a good background for me to make a point.
But, before that let me share a couple of conversations in the last few weeks:
The first conversation was with a long-time friend where we caught up on each others lives and then my friend asked me to explain one of my recent business decisions as he thought it didn’t make sense. I explained my rationale and he explained another way of looking at the same situation. Before we knew we were into heavy brainstorming on that topic. Long story short – together we arrived at something far better than what I could have done on my own. More importantly, my “repository of worldviews” got upgraded with this new conversation.
The second conversation was with one of my mentors. We were discussing one of my new projects. I was very proud of what I had come up with so far. Within a few minutes, my mentor made me think about repurposing what I had created to get a LOT more value out of it – again and again. My mentor had not just helped me with THIS opportunity but had provided me a new way look at ANY such opportunity in the future.
What was common among the two conversations?
It was that conversation’s ability to “make me a BETTER me.” It was the ability of the conversation to increase my capacity to think better. It was that conversation’s ability to upgrade myself.
The real golden network is one where you become a better person with conversations with the members of that network. It is not a club where you pay a fee and become a member. It’s a network that you invest and build over the years.
Here are three things to remember as you work through this network:
1. The capacity boost is a side benefit of the network
You don’t initiate, build and nurture these networks because you will benefit from them. The people here already make your life very special. The capacity boost happens as a side benefit. Once you understand this at the deepest level, you will start respecting the network in a whole different way.
2. You NEED to be vulnerable to make the most of this network
This is not a network where you wear your superman garb and behave like you are invincible. You may keep that image for one of those PR exercises. You won’t need it here. In fact, you NEED to have the exact opposite attitude – you need to be VULNERABLE. In other words, you need to bring your REAL you for your network to contribute to you.
3. You need to fulfill your OBLIGATIONS
What this network brings more than anything is a new THINKING. You are the best judge on what is the right price for that thinking because you KNOW the the VALUE of increased CAPACITY that thinking has brought in you. Every such gift to you creates a future obligation and it’s your responsibility to fulfill them.
Sometimes that gift comes from someone for whom there is nothing that you can do to help back because of where they are today. In such cases, your obligation is to pay it forward.
Samsung has been teasing a Tizen-based prototype phones for quite awhile now, but it has finally launched an honest-to-God Tizen smartphone: the Samsung Z. It’s Samsung’s attempt at a homegrown non-Android OS (first featured on its Galaxy Gear…
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
