Slap Me!

Just read an interesting article through LinkedIn, regarding multi-tasking. It's something I am constantly doing at work, being responsible for multiple roles in my day to day activities, and though it appears like you're productive if you're busy, the truth is that research proves otherwise. In a recent study by David Meyer of the University of Michigan, it's shown that switching tasks midstream increases the time to complete both tasks by as much as 25%, as well as increase the chance that you'll make mistakes.

Just as interesting is the reasons we tend to be busy and do all the multi-tasking. "Idleness aversion" has many roots, some being our inability to prioritize, some being the fear of failure by avoiding the true task at hand. So, to be more productive, one has to actually slow down and focus on the important task and avoid distraction.

Read the entire article here...
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-being-busy-makes-you-less-productive-dr-travis-bradberry

Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta go fix the door stopper on the staff lounge, then write a motorcycle policy, right after I stop in at a client's business to talk about some commercial liability insurance :)

photo courtesy of LinkedIn

Creepy!

Here's something that's just a bit spooky, just in time for Hallowe'en. Some have been 'modelled' to be such, but many are just vintage toys that have decayed a little, or were just creepy from the start. Hard to imagine any little girl wanting to cuddle up to some of these creatures. Yikes!

 

Definitely made up to be creepy

The dark eyes...

A bit too happy!

Decayed

So pretty

I'm not sure if it's the doll that's eerie, or the figure in teh background.

Artist Shain Erin did a series of 'mummified' dolls

Too real

I'm sure they were wonderful in their era

Gloriously cracked

I think of Hannibal Lector when looking at this doll

Body parts

As an added touch, the fly on top of the head!



More Shain Erin dolls

Creepy Places: Isla De Las Munecas

About 28 km south of Mexico City, on the Xochimilco canals, lies a small island known as Isla De Las Munecas ( The Island Of The Dolls). The story goes that a man living on this tiny island found the body of a young girl who had drowned and washed up on the shore. He buried her but felt badly and wanted to do something to make her spirit happy, so he attached a doll to a tree near her grave. It didn't feel quite enough, so he added more and soon became compelled to carry on, actively seeking out more and more dolls and placing them on the island in an effort to appease her restless spirit. The intention was a good deed but the overall effect, after years and years of adding to the collection and having these dolls and doll parts succumb to the elements, is just a bit eerie. Here's a series of photos shot during the day, and I'll leave it up to your imagination to think about what it would be like to stay there overnight, in the dark..... .

The greeting committee

This one has an eye on you

This one has no eyes at all!

Blue eyes...

El Senor Julian Santana Barrera found the drowned child

There's no official count but it is estimated that there are thousands of dolls ont ehisland

Runnnnn!!

"Baby On Board"

Even creepier

Makes me think of headhunters!

Creepy Places: Abandoned Insane Asylums

Just the words 'Insane Asylum' can conjure up some feelings of dread, especially if you've seen any movies like "Shutter Island" or "Session 9". Here's a few photos of some long abandoned asylums and institutions that you probably wouldn't want to wander around in after dark!

Is it the snow, or does this place just look cold and foreboding?

C'mon in...

What do you suppose they kept behind those heavy doors on the cupboard?

Makes me think more of an abattoir!

What treatments do you suppose they offered in this room?

More graffiti for an added effect

Pick a corridor, any corridor.

A little graffiti to emphasize the point.

What a surprise, the t.v.is dead!

Care for a ride?

Something about decay that gives one the heebie jeebies!! haha!

Creepy Places: Sedlec Ossuary, Czech Republic

Personally, I find this quite fascinating but many people are just plain creeped out by this Roman catholic chapel situated in the Czech Republic. The fact that the chapel houses the bones of 40,000 - 70,000 people is one thing, but the skeletal remains have been artfully arranged in various artistic shapes and that purposefulness seems to disturb some visitors. 

Most of the bones came from victims of the plague, as well as the Hussite wars, and were arranged by the 19th century woodcarver and carpenter, Frantisek Rint.

I wonder if anyone actually went to the trouble of counting the skulls

The 'chandelier"

Pretty eerie place

I wonder if it rattles in the wind

The bone gallery

Bones everywhere

Ontario

While visiting Ontario I had a chance to go to 'cottage country' and hang out with my family by the lake. Such a huge change of scenery from the high country of the Rocky Mountains to the Canadian Shield and all those lakes! Pretty awesome!

 

The colours are changing quickly

Looking out of the bay into Little Kenesis

The road in to the cottage is covered in leaves

Kayaking with my brother John, as some trees are changing colour.

Go Jays Go!

Got a chance to see a Jays game when visiting Toronto. Though we lost, it was great to be there and share in the excitement. I hope to be able to go back and watch more games, so let's hope they can pull off the win today, though they are down 3-2- in the 7th inning! C'mon Jays!