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Author: matt

Owners vs Stewards

Owners vs Stewards

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When we take the radical view that all of creation is granted to us for a short time, that it is GIFTED to us, was created for us to live in, was handed to us by those that came before, and we will hand to our children and their children – then we start seeing ourselves as stewards, not owners. The difference seems subtle, but it is hugely counter-cultural – and hugely freeing.

This idea carries to all things, not just possessions like houses, money, jobs, the environment. It also means even our families. Instead of talking about ‘our/my children’, we instead see we are granted stewardship over our children until they become adults. This view requires we realize our children are unique people that do not ‘belong’ to us, but each is entrusted to us for a short time and has a unique path to God with gifts to give to others and creation. Our job as parents is to help them find that way. There is much sadness in our world because people believe children are somehow ‘theirs’ or expect them to fulfill parental desires and expectations – but not seen as amazing gifts granted to us to care for a short time.

This notion of stewardship is granted to us from the very moment of Adam and Eve – who were given ‘dominion’ over the rest of creation not to abuse it or use it however we wanted – but to be co-creators, co-stewards, with God. It is essential to any Christian view of our lives, the lives of others, our environment, the world, and the things we possess. Christ’ parables again and again talk of servants and stewards given temporary roles over another’s property, goods, and servants. If we can adopt this radical notion that everything that passes through our lives is something we are given stewardship over, not ownership, we can live not attached to the things we own, but with a gentle, freeing detachment.

Aliens: The Ride and How far we’ve come

Aliens: The Ride and How far we’ve come

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Hin Nya constructed an incredible virtual roller coaster which incorporates the haunting visual and auditory elements of the Aliens films in an insane 15-minute-long ride, built with the theme park simulator app Planet Coaster. Headphones recommended.

Not long ago, it would have taken whole teams to put together an experience like this – what a world we live in.

Step in the right direction?

Step in the right direction?

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Appears the pressure is being recognized by Facebook? Facebook said it’s making major changes to shift users’ news feeds back toward posts from friends and family and away from businesses and media outlets

“By making these changes, I expect the time people spend on Facebook and some measures of engagement will go down,” Zuckerberg wrote. “But I also expect the time you do spend on Facebook will be more valuable. And if we do the right thing, I believe that will be good for our community and our business over the long term too.”

Article here

Boxwars!

Boxwars!

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Boxwars is a humorous medieval-inspired set of events that’s given adults the chance to play using amazing creations they made of cardboard.

Participants get together to create a full range of battle gear using nothing but reclaimed cardboard and packing supplies. Originally devised by a small group of friends over drinks, Boxwars has grown to become a global phenomenon, with teams across Europe, Australia, the United States, and Japan.

“There are no winners. We like to say that if you’re in a Boxwars – then you’ve already lost.”

The Science of The Job Search

The Science of The Job Search

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Kushal Chakrabarti has  written this fantastic breakdown of the data behind the job hunt.

(Feb 2023 update: The original page, and website, appear to be gone. But you can find an archived copy on Internet Archive. The opportunity costs of college also is in the archive)

Getting a job you deserve is hard, yes. But, it’s not as hard as you think. Kushal Chakrabarti can prove that. Many folks think to get a better job they have to fundamentally change as a person, gain new skills, learn new habits, network for weeks, etc. Turns out, that’s not necessarily true. Instead, you should start where the data points.

Looking for the #1 most effective tip? Change the words on your resume for a +139.6% boost. You don’t even need to change all the words — it’s literally about changing the first word of each job achievement. On the other hand, look at what a second degree buys you: only a paltry +21.9% boost. It’ll cost you tens of thousands of dollars and years of effort for only a 20% increase, but you’ll get 6.4x more impact for changing a dozen words and takes you only a few minutes.

Here’s a summary of his points in order of impact:

  • Resume Tip: Start your job achievement sentences with (distinct) action verbs. [+139.6% BOOST]
  • Job Search Tip: Apply between 6am and 10am [+89.1% BOOST] – it gives you an +89.1% boost over your competition.
  • Job Search Tip: Apply in the first 4 days. [+64.7% BOOST] – Applying early gets you a +64.7% boost over your competition on average. (Although it can make up to an 8x difference for a single job application, most people aren’t applying at the worst possible time.)
  • Resume Tip: For most* people, you should add 15-20 skills, buzzwords, acronyms, etc. to your resume. This is associated with a +58.8% boost in hire-ability on average.
    • [*] There’s actually a really interesting effect going on here. There’s a clear, second sub-population of special folks for whom 30-40 skills, buzzwords, acronyms, etc. is the right number. More on that later.
  • Resume Tip: Don’t use personal pronouns in your employment section. Ever. People who used even one personal pronoun in their employment section (not the objective or professional summary section) had a -54.7% lower chance of getting an interview callback.
  • Resume Tip:Incorporate 1-2 leadership-oriented words every 5 sentences. Job applicants who used strong, active, leadership-words saw a +50.9% boost over the competition. Some of the words we detected as strong, active words:
    • communicated
    • coordinated
    • leadership
    • managed
    • organization
  • Resume Tip: Don’t mention more than once or twice that you’re a “team player,” “results-driven collaborator,” “supporting member”, etc. This is associated with a +50.8% hire-ability boost over the competition.
  • Job Search Tip: Apply on Mondays (+46.0% hireability boost). Don’t apply on Fridays or Saturdays.
  • Resume Tip: Every 3 sentences, use at least 1 number to demonstrate your (concrete) impact.Folks who did that saw gain a +40.2% boost over their competition.
  • Resume Tip: Name-drop a buzzword every 3-6 sentences. If you do that, you’ll gain a +29.3% boost over everyone else.
  • Resume Tip: Don’t list your graduation date if you’re older than 35. If hiring managers can’t guess your age, they can’t discriminate against you based on it. Sadly, ageism is real and the data supports it.
    The lesson, however, is that this is your inferred age. Hiring managers (subconsciously) guess your age based on your graduation date, how much experience you have, etc. If you don’t show your graduation date, they can’t tell how old you are. If you only have your most recent 2-3 jobs listed, they can’t tell that you started working in the 1980’s.
  • Job Search Tip: Except in rare scenarios, you should not go back to school for a 2nd degree just to improve your job prospects. When you factor in opportunity cost, you usually come out behind — it’s just not worth it. If you do go back, you will get a +21.9% hire-ability boost; but as we have seen, just updating your resume might get you far more than that. This is one of the lowest and most expensive in time and money ways of improving job prospects. One legitimate reason might be if you’re looking to switch careers, but get ready to start back out towards the bottom of your new field.