I recently had the opportunity to take the StrengthsFinder 2.0 assessment and I thought I'd share my experience with people through the immense audience of my blog. My day job offered a free book to anyone who wanted one along with a group followup to discuss and learn from the assessment. The basic premise of StrengthsFinder 2.0 is that they have...let me just quote them:

Based on Gallup's 40-year study of human strengths, we created a language of the 34 most common talents and developed the Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment to help people discover and describe these talents.

Which basically means that they did a lot of interviews and compiled their results into a simplified list of categories (they call them 'themes') that describe people. The StrengtshFinder 2.0 assessment asks you a long series of questions and uses your responses to find the top 5 of the 34 themes that fit you. For reference, my themes and their descriptions were:

Relator: People who are especially talented in the Relator theme enjoy close relationships with others. They find deep satisfaction in working hard with friends to achieve a goal.

Ideation: People who are especially talented in the Ideation theme are fascinated by ideas. They are able to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena.

Futuristic: People who are especially talented in the Futuristic theme are inspired by the future and what could be. They inspire others with their visions of the future.

Empathy: People who are especially talented in the Empathy theme can sense the feelings of other people by imagining themselves in others’ lives or others’ situations.

Adaptability: People who are especially talented in the Adaptability theme prefer to “go with the flow.” They tend to be “now” people who take things as they come and discover the future one day at a time.

My first thought was that these were pretty much no-brainers as far as describing me. I have a small group of close friends. When I get an idea in my head that really appeals to me, I can keep coming back to it over and over for weeks. I love to think about what the future could hold for us and I'm concerned about how the actions we take now could affect the future. I don't like to see my friends, or anyone really, sad because I want to help, though often don't know how. My whole life outlook is based on going with the flow and not worrying about the things I have no control over.

In addition to these short descriptions, there is a long list of maybes and perhapses that are supposed to more specifically describe how each theme fits me. This section, unlike the descriptions above, will be different for everyone who takes the assessment. I thought these were pretty hit-and-miss as far as accuracy.

One of the things that we were asked to do before attending our followup meeting was to send our assessment to a few friends and ask them when they'd seen us exhibit the behavior described by our themes. I talked to my wife about it and she said that the first thing she thought of was cold readings, so lets talk about that. According to Wikipedia:

Cold reading is a series of techniques used by mentalists, illusionists, fortune tellers, psychics, and mediums to determine or express details about another person, often in order to convince them that the reader knows much more about a subject than they actually do. Without prior knowledge of a person, a practiced cold reader can still quickly obtain a great deal of information about the subject by analyzing the person's body language, age, clothing or fashion, hairstyle, gender, sexual orientation, religion, race or ethnicity, level of education, manner of speech, place of origin, etc. Cold readers commonly employ high probability guesses about the subject, quickly picking up on signals from their subjects as to whether their guesses are in the right direction or not, and then emphasizing and reinforcing any chance connections the subjects acknowledge while quickly moving on from missed guesses.

So basically they ask a bunch of questions and, based on the mark's responses and the reader's past experience, make statements that they think are likely to be correct. They also don't make those statements specific or conclusive, they leave them vague and tentative, allowing the subject to fill in the missing details that they couldn't possibly know because they're not really psychic; if they were, they'd already have won the lottery and collected James Randi's prize.

I took a longer look at the other 34 themes that the StrengthsFinder 2.0 offers and tried to decide, on my own and from the short description of each theme, how well each of the other themes fit me. Of the 34 themes, 5 were picked by the assessment that I mostly agreed with. I also picked out 9 that I'd have agreed with just as much. I could make an additional 13 fit me if I stretched a bit. Only seven of them would have been completely off the mark for me. For example, my world is not "best described by the order I create." This tells me that out of the 34 possible themes, there was a 79% chance that I would agree with any one theme. Maybe my Adaptability is just way way off the charts, but that seems like a stacked deck to me.

The StrengthsFinder 2.0 assessment and a cold reading both ask a lot of questions and they both give a lot of vague responses. On the other hand, what does a psychologist do? All three of these things seem to have the same potential of making the subject think more about their situation than they have in the past and gain a better understanding of themselves and their personality.

The problem I see with this approach (and talk therapy for that matter) is that it depends on self-assessment. Any time you're asked to come up with information about yourself, regardless of the method, it will be information that you already have. This information is also of questionable merit given that the information you have is generally information you believe to be true, rather than information that is verifiably true. For example, one person I know to be a poor communicator had the 'communication' theme in their top five. This person might communicate frequently, but never seems to communicate accurately.

My conclusions about the StrengthsFinder 2.0 can be summed up thusly: It could be useful, but take it with a grain of salt. If you're going to try to apply it to your life, talk to others about the results and see if they agree with your assessment. Other people probably know more about your behavior than you do and can provide more insight than a book written by people you've never met.

--Photo courtesy Ben Zvan Photography

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James May of TopGear got an amazing opportunity to see black sky without a rocket engine. It's 10 minutes long, but worth every second.

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This isn't as bad as what Northwest Airlines did when they were cutting jobs and salaries, but I just got an email this morning suggesting ways to save money.

Set up automatic withdrawal to your savings account. This is the simplest and most effective technique of all. If you set up $100/month to your savings account, you will save $100/month.

All I can say is that I hope Captain Obvious there isn't getting a raise this year either.

Update: I just read farther in and they have another great suggestion:

Check your local library for other learning opportunities that will help you and others in our New Economy.

I love how it's 'our New Economy' and not 'the crappy situation created by greedy capitalists abusing the system.'

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Gizmodo pointed out that there's a Google map of the swine flu pandemic. It's a little spooky.

View H1N1 Swine Flu in a larger map

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March is historically the snowiest month in Minnesota and it seems like Minnesotans have forgotten, or never learned, how to drive in snow. As a public service, and to keep myself from being frustrated by other drivers and scared as I'm walking to work, I thought I'd provide some really basic information for the masses. This is what I see all the time and it's the reason for all the backups getting out of parking lots and off of side streets.It's also just as valid anywhere else where there's snow, including Florida and the entire southern hemisphere.

Spinning your tires only makes your tires spin.

The basics: If you're sitting at a stop and the road is slippery. Don't give the car enough gas to spin the tires in the snow. If the tires are spinning, let up on the gas and let them grab some snow. If your tires dig out enough snow, they'll only reach ice. Ice is slipperier than snow.

The details: The coefficient of static friction is greater than the coefficient of dynamic friction. Here's a demonstration you can try at home.

You will need:

• A hard-cover book
• A ruler
• A second hard-cover book
• A small object that won't roll, let's say a deck of cards.
• Tape
• A notepad
• A pencil

1. Tape the ruler to the spine of the first hard-cover book. Do it gently, so you can remove it later.
2. Stand the book on end so that the ruler is sticking straight up with zero at the bottom.
3. Set the other hard-cover book on its back, against the spine of the first so the longest shortest edge touches the ruler
4. Place the deck of cards on the second book, touching the ruler.
5. Lift the edge of the book touching the ruler up to make a ramp. When the deck of cards slides down the ramp, make a note of how high the book was touching the ruler.
6. Put everything back where it was at the end of step 4.
7. Repeat step 5, only this time keep giving the deck of cards a tiny push while you're raising the book. You may need a friend to do this part for you. Again, when the deck of cards slides down the book, make a note of how high you had raised the top of the ramp.

Congratulations! You just found the difference between the coefficient of static friction (step 5) and the coefficient of dynamic friction (step 7.) The number you wrote down in step 5, when the deck of cards was sitting still (static) should have been bigger than the number you wrote down in step 7, when the deck of cards was already sliding (dynamic.) To put it another way, if the deck of cards was already slipping the ramp didn't have to be as steep for it to keep slipping. That means that if your tires are slipping on snow, the snow doesn't have to be as slippery for them to keep slipping. Therefore, if your tires are slipping, the best way to get more traction from them is to stop them from slipping. You can do this by changing the surface you're driving on (hard) or by slowing down the tires until they stop slipping (easy.)

Get out there and practice this. Once you get good at keeping your tires from starting to slip on snow and ice, you'll be asking why this isn't a requirement for a Minnesota drivers license. I know I do. And when you get good enough, even steep, icy hills will not be a challenge for you.

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I don't know how I managed to avoid this for almost 30 days. I guess it's been all over the Internet. They call it Bacon Explosion, and it's basically bacon-wrapped sausage-wrapped bacon. I hear it's a modified version of a "fattie" and apparently you can "smoke" it.

Neil Gaiman has a new movie coming out based on one of his books. He says the premier was last night and that it was very well liked by the audience. He's also posted a wicked awesome trailer for it that was shot in his front room on his blog."The greatest human invention is the humble button."

A list like this could never be complete without a link to the most recent science horror show. It never would have occurred to me to put a radio control on a beetle but... to each his own I guess. Next time you see a bug flying erratically, keep in mind that it could be carrying a bug.

And finally, I feel bad about how funny this editorial cartoon is. I don't have anything against Microsoft employees really. I just think their company should be stopped. Though I hear Windows 7 doesn't suck nearly as much as Vista. And it's hardly Hitlerey at all.

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The most notable thing I've done recently is photography. Sure, I've been to work, I've searched Monster.com, I've read Gizmodo, but are those really notable? I've been trying to schedule a shoot every couple weeks or so which basically means one between each Minnesota Strobist meetup.

Last year, I had a test shoot for a calendar page I am doing Friday. We're headding down to Research Triangle Park in North Carolina this weekend for the Science Online conference. One of the bloggers there has been asked to participate in next year's SkepChick calendar and I volunteered to be the photographer since there are financial considerations involved. Unfortunately it seems we may not end up with any models for the shoot, so there will probably be some compositing involved.

Last week, I had a shoot with one of my new favorite models, Rachel Grubb. She's making a name for herself in the horror genre and wants to bring back mod styling to replace the current resurgence of pin-ups. I supported that plan and we produced a good body of work from an afternoon in my studio. It was a good shake-down for the space I'm using on my third floor since it was the first time I had to accomodate a makeup artist. I need a tall chair and some sort of counter that won't interfere with the placement of my paper backdrop. Hana from UnVeiled did the makeup in a respectible 2.5 hours.

Last weekend was the Minnesota Stobists January 2009 meetup at Landmark Center in St. Paul. I have to give a big recommendation for using them for photography. We called ahead of time to make sure we wouldn't be stepping on anyone's toes by showing up with 30 photographers, 10 models and 2 makeup artists. They were absolutely fine with it. There were a couple rooms on the fourth floor that were booked for part of the day and there was a boy's choir that used the building as their greenroom prior to a show across the street but otherwise, we had the entire building to ourselves.

We met early at the Dunn Bros coffee shop on Wabasha. They were just as accomodating as Landmark. Probbly 15 of the photographers showed up there with 6 models and 2.5 makeup artists and pretty much took over half the store to do makeup. Most of us bought coffee or sandwiches or both, so they at least got something in exchange for putting up with us.

In other news. The Java blog engine is coming along slowly. Security is a problem, but not one that can't be conquered. I'm probably re-inventing the wheel, but there's always the possibility that I'll use rubber instead of stone. (Which makes a better wheel...) I still can't log in, but at least I can change my password.

If you want to have your mind blown, take a look at Manil Suri's explanation of infinity on YouTube. It got my mind going on breaking down arguments, but he was very kind to me when he told me I was wrong, not only explaning why, but letting me know that my questions would be put to good use in his next class.

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Not the best way to deliver packages: A UPS driver caught on camera performing the 30-yard package toss. Training for the 2012 Olympics perhaps? This honestly doesn't surprise me. I waited on a loading dock for 15 minutes once watching a driver throw monitors into his truck.

Fisher-Price, now with more virus: One of the many problems with quality control, not to mention a lack of attention to employee morale is spreading viruses. Not the germy kind, the computer kind.

Powered by Sun and Open Source magic: Need to run a Windows application on your Mac? Got a pirated copy of XP? (not recommended) Virtual box may be the free solution for you. It's not as advanced as Parallels or VMWare but that $0 price tag makes up a lot.

Finally: I saw a clip from Penn and Teller's show Bullshit over the weekend. I had to wind it back several times to try to figure out how the heck Teller was doing his slight of hand routine. I eventually got the idea, but there's no way I could pull off even something that simple as well as he can. Here's a clip with something even more impressive.

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One site that I like to read in large batches is Inexed. Like Engrish, it builds up and becomes funnier in larger chunks. I think this one is funny enough to share but, if it's not, go read more of them, then come back.

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Some people celebrate Christmas because they believe that it is the night that Jesus was born 2000+ years ago. Some people celebrate Christmas because it's what their family has always done.

Some people celebrate Winter Solstice because it is a holy day with that marks the return of the sun. Some people celebrate Winter Solstice because it is not Christmas.

I celebrate Christmas because I have the time off from work and it's an opportunity to spend time with people I don't often see. I celebrate on Christmas Eve with my step-mother's family and enjoy the company and relaxation. I celebrate on Christmas Day with my mother-in-law's family and enjoy the shared interests and, often, politics.

I celebrate Winter Solstice because it is the beginning of the deepest part of a Minnesota winter. I have had opportunities to move to warmer climates, but I like Minnesota. I like the cold; I like bundling up and taking on the weather. Sure, I look like I'm exploring Antarctica on my way into work in the morning, but that's something I would do if I had the resources. It bugs me a little when people complain about the cold yet continue to live in Minnesota; If you can't stand the cold, get out of the freezer.

On the other hand. I'm looking forward to biking again this spring.

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