May 2013
1 post
“THE PERIODIC TABLE OF JAZZ”
– The Periodic Table of Jazz
September 2012
2 posts
August 2012
1 post
July 2012
1 post
June 2012
1 post
Naamsbetekenis
Leuk om een de Nederlandse betekenis van ‘Groenenberg’ te horen:
versterkte steenhuizen of stinsen als Groenenberg of Gronenborch, ook wel Gronebeke
Wat dan weer wel betekens dat de naam van Kasteel Groenenberg een beetje dubbelop is.
March 2012
2 posts
Fun & Games 2012 →
February 2012
2 posts
5 tags
The End of the world as we know it →
The end may come soner than expected…
7 tags
January 2012
2 posts
4 tags
November 2011
2 posts
4 tags
1 tag
The Future Of Work Is Play :: Articles :: The 99... →
Creative teams derive their pleasure from discovery - finding or combining elements to make something new. So of course, rushing toward a goal feels counter-intuitive to that. However, if you can pair some mystery/surprise with your goal (when we finish project A, management will unveil our next project, or the location of our after-party, etc.). Alternatively, creative teams often respond well...
October 2011
2 posts
4 tags
“Junkyard Golf
by BERNIE DEKOVEN
Listen to Bernie explain the so-called...”
– Junkyard Golf | DeepFUN See also his related book ‘Junkyard Sports: make sports fun again’
4 tags
Things to Think
About As you work with students to identify a game concept, brainstorm things they already like to do in the “real world” or things they fantasize about doing in imaginary worlds. The goal is to encourage students to think about what’s naturally “cool” or “fun” and encourage them to tease out a game concept from those starting points. One way to do this is to ask your students...
September 2011
1 post
“In onderzoeken zijn er maar weinig beroepen die slechter scoren dan de verkoper....”
– Ik verkoop alles, behalve mijn schoonmoeder
August 2011
5 posts
3 tags
“ANIJ (teasing)
More questions. Always the
explorer. If you stay long
enough,...”
– “Star Trek: Insurrection”: « A Perfect Moment in Time
“We do not stop playing because we grow old,
we grow old because we stop...”
– Kinderachtig kinderspel?
“Dhuey recalls that people would dread getting into an elevator with Jobs. If you...”
– Why Apple employees avoid getting in the elevator with Steve Jobs | VentureBeat
key improv skills
I was interviewed by a magazine journalist recently. Here are her questions, along with my (slightly edited) answers. What's the one key improv skill which could help anyone perform better at work? The key improv skill is called 'yes...and', which means accepting and building. The accepting part depends on listening carefully so you are clear what's being offered. Then - assuming you choose to accept ('Yes') - you build on that offer ('And'), so that all the people in the conversation are constructing something useful together. How does improv help you switch off the feeling of being self-conscious and help you access your creative self? What can you do to make this happen in everyday situations? Improv helps you access your creativity by removing a lot of the fear of being wrong. You get more confident to have a go, and see your contribution as a low-risk experiment. A good tip for everyday is to listen for what you can agree with in what others are saying, and respond positively by building on those parts of the conversation. Conversation is turn-taking, and you can choose how to play your turns. How is improv important in neutralising fear/anxiety? What tricks can you use to mimic that in a work situation? Improv is not really about tricks or even removing feelings of self-consciousness. It's about applying some of the on-stage skills used so brilliantly by performers in shows like 'Whose Line Is It Anyway' to everyday situations in which we interact with other people.
A friend of mine recently posted a picture of a QR code his eight year-old son made out of LEGOs. With no surprise, it WORKED!
June 2011
3 posts
REGRETS OF THE DYING
For many years I worked in palliative care. My patients were those who had gone home to die. Some incredibly special times were shared. I was with them for the last three to twelve weeks of their lives. People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality. I learnt never to underestimate someone's capacity for growth. Some changes were phenomenal. Each experienced a variety of emotions, as expected, denial, fear, anger, remorse, more denial and eventually acceptance. Every single patient found their peace before they departed though, every one of them. When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again. Here are the most common five:
1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me. This was the most common regret of all. When people realise that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made. It is very important to try and honour at least some of your dreams along the way. From the moment that you lose your health, it is too late. Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it.
2. I wish I didn't work so hard. This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children's youth and their partner's companionship. Women also spoke of this regret. But as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence. By simplifying your lifestyle and making conscious choices along the way, it is possible to not need the income that you think you do. And by creating more space in your life, you become happier and more open to new opportunities, ones more suited to your new lifestyle.
3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings. Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result. We cannot control the reactions of others. However, although people may initially react when you change the way you are by speaking honestly, in the end it raises the relationship to a whole new and healthier level. Either that or it releases the unhealthy relationship from your life. Either way, you win.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends. Often they would not truly realise the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying. It is common for anyone in a busy lifestyle to let friendships slip. But when you are faced with your approaching death, the physical details of life fall away. People do want to get their financial affairs in order if possible. But it is not money or status that holds the true importance for them. They want to get things in order more for the benefit of those they love. Usually though, they are too ill and weary to ever manage this task. It is all comes down to love and relationships in the end. That is all that remains in the final weeks, love and relationships.
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier. This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realise until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called 'comfort' of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content. When deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again.
When you are on your deathbed, what others think of you is a long way from your mind. How wonderful to be able to let go and smile again, long before you are dying.
Life is a choice. It is YOUR life. Choose consciously, choose wisely, choose honestly. Choose happiness.
“While badges and leaderboards can be effective tools in the modern workplace,...”
– Salesforce.com’s Chief Scientist on Why Gamification is the Future of Work
“‘Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and that play consists...”
– [ Nico Groenenberg (eyebidem) on Twitter
May 2011
3 posts
“the one about not playing with yourself (38:27)”
– The State of Games, Episode 8 – The One About Not Playing With Yourself | Dice Hate Me
“The goals of gamification are to achieve higher levels of engagement, change...”
– Gartner Says By 2015, More Than 50 Percent of Organizations That Manage Innovation Processes Will Gamify Those Processes
“‘A picture is worth a thousand words; a game is worth a thousand...”
– Spelmakers.web-log.nl: Baanbrekend boek: Why do games work?
April 2011
11 posts
Spreek.nl →
“Een mens lijdt dikwijls ‘t meest Door ‘t lijden dat hij vreest Doch dat nooit op komt dagen. Zo heeft hij meer te dragen Dan God te dragen geeft.”
Léon de Caluwé: ‘Games zijn een krachtig... →
Computers hebben de neiging dingen te verstoppen, terwijl je juist alles zichtbaar wilt maken. Van dingen die verstopt zitten, leer je niets. Ik denk dat de nieuwe generatie zich vooral aangesproken voelt door het praktische deel: zij willen dingen doen. Daarbij moet je wel altijd zorgen dat je soms onderdelen vertraagt, want dingen doen zonder reflectie heeft ook minder nut.
Game Design Aspect of the Month →
gamification should promote and encourage people to be who they want to be and to follow their dreams, It should help them understand what they say they want, and track their experience that will later be rewarded by real life jobs.
THE STORY COLLIDER →
All the Ants In the middle of his biggest production ever, game designer Nick Fortugno is confronted with the full reality of what it means to embrace chaos. Nick Fortugno ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Fortugno ) Game designer, artist, and teacher Nick Fortugno is a game designer of digital and real-world games, and a founder of Playmatics, a NYC game development company. Fortugno has...
“Organizations in general tend to be bad in measuring who their best employees...”
– Mario Herger, in SAP Community Network Blogs
“Hij verweet het Nederlandse boekenvak dat zij de markt aan Bol.com verspeeld...”
– Leon de Winter over internetboekhandel bol.com
seems L'lld better take a break...
Researchers agree. Frequent long hours can increase stress and touch off a host of health hazards, including insomnia and high blood pressure. Poor decision-making starts to creep in. And unlike your laptop, your system doesn’t have an internal fan to cool it down.
2 tags
“Naturally, when the spring semester began I was dreading “World Civ II”....”
– Muzzylane.com - Blog Post
1 tag
Gamification – a Small Play for Game Dynamics →
Think about when you were young and the games you used to play. Think about how you could creatively conjure a game from just about anything, the roles you and your friends would play, the rules that you would invent, and the mental energy that flowed into their creation. There were no limits for our imagination, our willingness to try and error, or collaborative energy between our friends. The...
“Op een bepaald moment moet je achterover leunen, een stukje wandelen, weg van...”
– Stop nu met kennis lurken, het doodt je creativiteit — SayEbusiness door Stan Lenssen
March 2011
4 posts
Next level gamification tijdens SXSW: "The Game... →
“Inception was the biggest film release in a long time, and audiences and critics...”
– 5 Amazing Things Invented by Donald Duck (Seriously) | Cracked.com
These 5 levels of 'maturity' somewhate remind me...
I am not sure wether to include this category in the “users” or not. At this point, you’re not a Facebook user anymore. You ARE Facebook. It’s not sure how someone can get to this point. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not really a lack of real everyday interactions, on the contrary, people with lots of friends tend to be willing to keep in touch with them at all time. 24/7. That’s the only way...
February 2011
3 posts
“We played business like it was a sport,” Welch said of his philosophy...”
– Jack Welch talks up innovation at Mabee Center forum | Tulsa World
“You know the violence in games, the language and all those issues are...”
– News: Bleszinski: Violent game critics ‘flatter’ industry - ComputerAndVideoGames.com
“When asked about his teammates’ reaction, Jackson laughed and said,...”
– Packers: Jackson knows Super Bowl may be his last game with Green Bay
January 2011
9 posts
“Email is a game of numbers where progress is measured by a single statistic -...”
– Night of the Living Unread | Hugo Liu’s Taste Blog
“[…] creative people I think are trying to… their lives and their...”
– Creative Types: Embrace Chaos | Malcolm Gladwell | Big Think
Emergent dynamics of biological systems in games →
Games were already used to explain science, but it seems science itself can also be used in games.
“Stories always tell of something that has changed, a person, a people, a place,...”
– What We’re Thinking | Axiom News 