Paul Jacobson

Today two colleagues and friends are leaving the firm I work for.  I am really happy for them both because they have opportunities to leave here and at the same time a little sad because I wanna go with them! 

All the best B and D!  Chat to you soon.

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Ever wonder about life on other planets?  What would those creatures look like?  A group of scientists have come up with a few ideas based on a very clear picture of a hypothetical planet.  The end result of their work is a TV show called "Extraterrestrial" which aired recently on National Geographic (I am not sure where it aired though):

Flying whales, giant tree-like animals and "gulphogs" are just a few of the creatures dreamt up by a team of scientists whose mission was to imagine realistic forms that life on other planets might take.

The product of the group’s work–a TV special called "Extraterrestrial"–airs for the first time Monday night on the National Geographic channel. The show details a supposed planet called Aurelia, its habitable moon and their residents.

"Every detail of these aliens has been worked out," says the narrator in a preview of the show. "Height, weight, shape and interactions were all designed in minute detail."

So what is Aurelia like? Well, it orbits a red star, with one side always facing that star, and the other side bathed in darkness. The world’s dominant life forms are tree-like animals called "stinger fans" that, like plants, harvest energy from sunlight, but like animals, can move around and are often "shoving others for a prime position in the sun."

The stinger fans’ neighbors include the gulphogs–predators tall as giraffes. The "skywhales," on the other hand, are native to Aurelia’s moon. Its low gravity and dense atmosphere make it the perfect spot for their kind: bulky beasts with a wingspan of 33 feet.

Take a look at Missing Links for the links to the preview for the show as well as a gallery of images from the show.

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Could it be that George lied to us all when he said that "Revenge of the Sith" was the last one?  According to Tonight, he just may well have been fibbing after all:

Great news for Star Wars fans - a seventh blockbusting film is being planned for the series. Creator George Lucas has been secretly planning another movie and has already come up with the plot.

Lucas had previously said current movie Revenge of the Sith was to be the last. Now it appears he has changed his mind and is developing a prequel to The Phantom Menace.

A movie insider said: " George believes there are even more stories to tell.

"His latest idea would feature an almost all-new cast, apart from the Jedi master Yoda, who would be the hero of the new movie."

The film would be set 100 years before the current movies. Making Yoda, the tiny green Jedi master, the hero would be a popular move with Star Wars fans.

Thanks G!  There are very good reasons I am marrying you.  This is just one.

(via Tonight and Times of India)

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Petra Rankin makes a good point.  If you want to be successful in anything, keep doing the things that will help you achieve your goals.  Sounds pretty simple but how many times have you done the thing you need to do to achieve your goals only once, only to find that your effort wasn’t enough?

If you do not want to achieve your potential, then do something good for you – just once.

I saw this principle in practice today when I looked at the list of expert authors on ezinearticles.com Out of the almost 7,000 authors listed, only about 260 of them, or less than 4% had submitted more than 20 articles in total. 55% of authors had submitted only one or two articles!

Given that it takes time to learn the editorial guidelines, submission process and create an account, how do the majority expect to achieve any success?

This reminds me of Gary Player’s (a champion South African golfer) comments that the more he practiced, the luckier he became.

(via Achieving Our Potential (And Beyond))

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Here is quite a funny take on the pulpy romance novel covers of the past (I am sure G would appreciate this expecially):

I think a lot of us can agree that a large number of romance novel covers are pretty silly and are just asking to be ridiculed. So that’s exactly what I did. I bought a few of them at the used book store and got to work on them. The artwork almost writes its own jokes.

(via the [non]billable hour)

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