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I recently saw this YouTube video being shared by some of my Facebook friends and found out that I still didn’t put it on the blog even though it has been in my ‘blog-bin’ for months now…shame on me as this is to be seen by all, powerful stuff by the late philosopher Alan Watts! 🙂

In the two minutes that the video lasts you will still be trapped in the future and its imaginary promises, right after you will rethink your life and understand that: “You can’t live at all, unless you can live fully now!”

PS. A version translated in dutch done by the ‘Vrije Denkers‘ can be found here.

Charles W. Eliot: “Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counsellors, and the most patient of teachers.”

Marcel Proust: “Let us be grateful to people who make us happy: They are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”

Mother Teresa: “Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier.”

Anonymous: “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus: “Nothing happens to any thing which that thing is not made by nature to bear.”

Sydney J. Harris: “An idealist believes the short run doesn’t count. A cynic believes the long run doesn’t matter. A realist believes that what is done or left undone in the short run determines the long run.”

How stubborn can one be? ROTFLMAO! 🙂

(perhaps the AHRQ can make use of Apple’s ResearchKit as announced yesterday! 🙂 )

Aristotle: “Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.”

Apple had its “Spring Forward” event today, and it has been THE event many looked forward to in order to learn more about the upcoming Apple Watch, Apple’s new (fifth) branch to the their family tree (next to Mac, MacBook, iPad, iPhone). Tim Cook on stage (Steve, you are missed!) had some more interesting products in his sleeve though, so next to a lot of self promotion and ‘oh gosh we are good’, there was a lot to cover:

– Apple TV: is exclusively supporting the new standalone streaming service HBO Now with access to a LOT of movies and series (including Game of Thrones) for $14,99/m. Also the price for the Apple TV change to just $69. Tim repeatedly mentioned that ‘this is just the beginning’, so expect more to come! 🙂

– ResearchKit: is a revolutional method to allow people to participate in medical research through their iPhone a game changer for medical research. The first five tests are built in, available from today, are to contribute in research done for: Parkinson’s, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, asthma, and breast cancer. I am not sure what to think of this, despite the disclaimer that Apple will not see your data, who knows on what corners data flows…ResearchKit is Open Source which at least shows that Apple is serious in contributing to Medical Research by allowing many parties in.

– MacBook: a new reinvented laptop with a 12″ Retina display, a separate product line next to the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. The thinnest (13.1mm at most) and lightest (900 grams) laptop of all with new keyboard, super thin display, Force Track trackpad, a fanless design, a 67% smaller logic board (allowing more batteries on board to give it an ‘all day’ battery life) and, only one (!) connector (the new USB-C standard, supporting HDMI, DisplayPort, VGA, power and more). All in all pretty awesome and available from April 10. (oh, and it comes in three colors; Silver, Space Gray, and Gold 🙂 )

– Apple Watch; last but definitely not least, more information on the upcoming Apple Watch, the ‘most personal device ever’. Well, I could say much about it, but you really should see it to understand that this very well may be a game changer for many. Despite the fact that I am not a watch person, it IS an amazing product which will allow you to use your phone (iPhone) less (and in the process avoid being dragged into the overwhelming world of the ‘internet in your pocket’ that the iPhone truly is…not a bad thing actually). I caught myself actually considering an Apple Watch…damn you Apple, how the hell do you do it, creating a need? Amazing! 🙂

For the real geeks, go watch the full  Keynote speech here!

Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect.”

Leo Burnett: “When you reach for the stars you may not quite get one, but you won’t come up with a handful of mud either.”

Reverend Sean Parker Dennison: “The ability to see beauty is the beginning of our moral sensibility. What we believe is beautiful we will not wantonly destroy.”

This commercial subtly tests the viewers attention, be ready for a surprise after you watched it! A pretty cool way to pass on a (commercial) message, well done Škoda! 🙂

John Ruskin: “In order that people may be happy in their work, these three things are needed: They must be fit for it. They must not do too much of it. And they must have a sense of success in it.”

Herbert Spencer: “The great aim of education is not knowledge but action.”

ROTFLMAO!! 🙂

Robert J. Sawyer: “General principles should not be based on exceptional cases.”

Seneca: “Most powerful is he who has himself in his own power.”

Solving Rubik’s Cube is one thing (and not everyone will succeed), but doing it blind-folded…in just over 21 seconds??? WTF!! Crrraaaaazzyyyy!