I came across dating tips for shy guys by Toni Nova on Squidoo.com. I find it interesting partly because the tips are pretty much relevant not just for dating, but generally for you to succeed in your daily activities, especially if you are a shy guy. The examples that I am showing are in orange color.

Quote:
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"Quick dating tip #1... Get the skill, not the girl.
--->The most important thing when getting to know new people is to be sincere!!!

Most guys I know approach attractive women with a definite agenda in their mind.

They look at how hot she is and think to themselves, "Damn, that chick is fine... Look at those big melons. I'd sure like to get her digits, take her out on a date and then hopefully stick my head in between those things by the end of the night"

Or they think, "Jeez, she is hot, it's been months since I've had sex with someone else besides my right palm. She could end this miserable dry spell and maybe I could start spending my money on condoms instead of lotion and paper towels."

All joking aside, when a guy is too emotionally invested in getting a girl's number, taking her out or having sex with her, the woman he's talking to can smell his neediness from a mile away.

So here's my advice to you:

Since your trying to build your skills with approaching and talking to attractive women you should have only one agenda...

The next time you see a woman you're attracted to I don't want you to think about phone numbers, dates or sex.

Detach from all that for now.

Just think about her as an opportunity to gain a little experience and build up your skills with women.

And guess what?

She'll be able to pick up on your lack of neediness and it will make you much more attractive.

Plus, you'll be much more likely to go up to her in the first place because you're not putting any pressure on yourself.

And the more you approach women the more you WILL build your skills with them.

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Quick dating tip #2... Change the meaning of "rejection"
--->Very important. It will totally change your mindset. When you are rejected for something (friendship, job etc ), treat it not as if you are not good enough, but as your lack of marketing/presentation skills. Example, if you failed to get a job after interview, it does not mean you are not qualified, but your might not have successfully "wow" the interviewer. Improve on your self-marketing skills.

Back in the dfoays when I would attempt to talk to a hot woman and she acted cold, indifferent, rude or bitchy, it almost always made me feel like dirt.

I would take it personally.

I would start to draw some very disempowering conclusions from her response to me, like maybe I'm not tall enough, or maybe I'm not good looking enough.

And I know a ton of guys who do the same thing.

Are you one of them by any chance?

Here's why that is SO bad...

Your brain is a very sophisticated piece of machinery and it will always look to protect you from danger.

So if your self-worth is at risk every time you try to approach a woman then your brain will automatically look to protect you by coming up with rationalizations, excuses, delay tactics or anything else it can do to prevent you from talking to that woman.

So then what's the answer?

The solution to this problem is to "reframe" or change the way you look at rejection.

Keep this fact in mind:

When you approach a woman who doesn't know you from Adam and she "rejects" you, it's not YOU she's rejecting at all.

How could it be? She doesn't even know you, does she?

The only thing she is rejecting is the approach you made.

And so the only conclusion you should draw is that your approach is flawed and needs some work but YOU are not flawed at all.

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Quick dating tip #3... Make sure to warm up.
--->When going for job interview, make sure you warm up first either by striking a conversation with the reception desk person. You might get some helpful tips from him/her!

This is what I see a lot of guys do when they go out...

They walk into a club, bar, lounge or other type of social venue. They stand around with a serious look on their face looking like they're not having such a great time. Then when they see an attractive woman they try to quickly psyche themselves up to go up to her and say something.

This almost never works. Why?

Two reasons...

1. The odds are that almost every woman in the place has already noticed you. They saw you standing around, scanning the room to see where the party is instead of having a good time and being the party yourself.

2. You've been standing around quiet and in a state of low energy for an extended period of time. It's very difficult to just snap your fingers and go from zero to sixty in a couple of seconds and be social, upbeat and talkative.

So here's what to do instead...

Before you attempt to talk to any attractive women make it a point to talk to at least 5 or 10 other people in what ever venue you're in.

What do you say to them?

It really doesn't matter as long as it's light and up beat.

You can make funny comments about your surroundings or ask them questions then start little mini conversations with them and share a few laughs.

The bartender, waiter, busboy, bouncer, the couple standing by your right, the two dudes drinking a beer on your left, and the fat chick in front of you can all be used to warm yourself up and get in a talkative, fun and social mood.

Then when you do see a hottie in your proximity it won't seem like such a big leap to talk to her. You'll already be in a positive and talkative state and because women are highly intuitive she's most likely to pick up on that and find it all the more attractive.

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Quick dating tip #4... Choose the right arena
--->If you are a shy guy, best way to meet new people is through online (Facebook etc). You can easily expand your network of friends for hang out activities by getting to know friend's friends.

The first 3 dating tips I've given you so far, can be used in just about any kind of social venue like a club, a lounge or a bar.

But do you want to know what I think?

Of course you do. You wouldn't be reading this if you didn't.

I think those places aren't all that great for meeting women.

Sure, with the lights, the booze, the music and the sexy clothes women wear when they're out, you would certainly assume that you can meet a bunch of women, take them home and do naughty things together but how often does that really happen?

The truth is that there are much better ways to meet women. So do you want to know my all time favorite?

My favorite way to meet women is MySpace and Facebook.

In fact, if you know what you're doing you, me or any other guy can meet more women, on either one of these sites, any night of the week, then we could in a whole weekend of club and bar hopping.

There are hundreds of millions of women on these sites and the majority of them are single.

Because they are in the comfort of their own home, because dozens of other dudes aren't approaching them to hit on them, and because their nosy friends are there watching, these women are SO much more receptive to a guy who says the right things.

But here's the best part and why I have this listed as a dating tip for a shy guy.

MySpace and Facebook can be used as your own personal "flight simulator" for building your skills with women.

Let me explain...

You can shoot out messages to dozens of beautiful, young and single women in just minutes. And you can immediately start working on building your skills with starting conversations, building attraction, flirting back and forth, getting phone numbers and setting up "dates".

And you can do all of this without ever having to risk one single face-to-face rejection.

These sites are like a shy guys best friend. They give you a totally safe arena to work on your skills and meet a whole bunch of women in the process.

I definitely urge you to use them to your advantage.

One last thing...

I hope you found these dating tips for shy guys helpful and I think if you apply them you'll see some definite improvement but... we both know that reading one article isn't really going to be enough to help you have all the options with women you really want and deserve.

So to help you on your journey I'd like to offer you my totally FREE 7 part eCourse.

This eCourse is filled some of my best ideas for everything from meeting women onlineto... building attraction over the phone and of course to... several of my best seduction techniques for picking up women in person."

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via:
Squidoo.com (4 Quick Dating Tips for Shy Guys)





This is a follow-up post from the Barefoot Running article from May 2009. If you want to learn more about barefoot running movement and why it is gaining popularity/good for your feet, go back and read the previous article.

In the previous article, major shoe brands were not involved in the barefoot running culture. However, Nike has picked up the slack and introduced its "Free" brand to cater to those who are into barefoot running.

So far, Nike has introduced Free 3.0, Free 5.0 and Free 7.0 with the scale 0 = barefoot and 10 = fully padded. There is no way Nike will introduce a Free 0.0 as it means shoeless, which equals to zero profit for Nike.

There is an article from The Science of Sport regarding the direction that the running shoe industry is moving into.

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There is also a review from Today's Complex on Nike Free 3.0 II running shoe. Quote:
"
If you are looking for a shoe that is so light you barely know it’s there, the Nike Free 3.0 II is the shoe for you.

Nike has developed a line of shoes that are aimed at long distance runners who are looking for a high performance, light-weight running apparatus.

The version number (i.e. 5.0, 3.0) designates how close you are to running barefoot. The Nike Free 5.0 is closer to a full shoe than the Nike 3.0. The version scale runs from 10.0 (full shoe) to 0 (no shoe). The lower the version number, the closer you are to running without a shoe at all. This particular shoe is the second incarnation of the ever popular Nike Free 3.0.

I have read several articles recently that support evidence that runners that run without a shoe are less prone to injury long term. The study purports that running with typical running shoes can cause more injury due to the fact that the heel is touching the ground before the ball of the foot, and this can cause a disruption to various leg muscles.

After watching this video I was sold on the actual design of the shoe. I can appreciate the fact that the designers at Nike really got the sole of the shoe right. The sole is divided so that the actual shoe can flex with the foot during running, and the entire upper is made of a super lightweight mesh.

When I first took the shoes out of the box, I was literally amazed at how light they are. I held them up beside my New Balance 992(s) and they feel like half the weight. I then compared them to a pair of flip flops and felt this was a more accurate weight comparison.

The shoes feel advanced; I feel high tech wearing them because I can tell that these shoes are much more evolved. The sole itself fits the bottom of my foot better, and is much more natural. The shoe feels weightless on my foot, and is more like an advanced foot coating than a typical shoe.

Bottom Line:

If you are looking for a shoe that compliments the barefoot running experience and enhances your natural ability to run further without injury, then I would advise that you pick up the Nike Free 3.0 II. It is incredibly lightweight, very stylish and allows the foot to breathe properly. I can really appreciate the attention to detail in this design and highly recommend it for running, or even just walking in general."

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There is also another review from Urban Semiotic Nike Free 5.0 running shoe. Quote:
"I ordered a pair of Nike Free 5.0 shoes the other day and from the moment I put them on I realized

The whole idea behind the "Free 5.0" Nike's is that, even though you are wearing shoes, it feels like you are going barefoot. Nike pulls off that idea in a grand and incredible way.

Here's how: The 5.0 shoes come with two inserts: 5.0 and 4.5. You are supposed to use the 5.0 insert first because it has more padding for the balls and heels of your feet.

Then, when your feet are stronger, you put in the 4.5 soles that have no extra padding and then it really feels like you are walking barefoot.

I went right for the 4.5 innersoles because the 5.0 inserts felt like I was wearing regular shoes. I'm already big on barefoot so I felt my feet were strong enough for the 4.5s.

The 4.5s do make you feel as if you are walking barefoot.

Amazing!
how much better technology not only makes our minds, but our feet as well!
The Nike Free shoes are super lightweight.

There is no rigid heel cup to stabilize your ankle. In fact, the entire heel cup is feathery mesh that offers 100% no support and you wouldn't want it any other way. The key to the "barefoot" feel of the shoes is the special tread.

The tread has deep cuts in it and the sole is divided into lots of squares like a raw slab of tiny bathroom tiles without the grout, so any direction your foot wants to flex, the sole will bend to the will of your foot instead of your foot bending inside the rigid hull of the shoe. The feeling you have wearing these shoes is magical!

I was walking around Manhattan all day yesterday and I could feel the sidewalk beneath me as if I were walking barefoot. I could feel pebbles and stones and tar.

When I went up the stairs my toes could grab the edge of each step if I wished. I was stable. I was secure. I was, indeed, giddy!

The real magic seeps out when you're just walking around the house. Bye-bye flip-flops. Bye-bye filthy barefoot feel in a dirty apartment house garbage room. Hello Nike Free 5.0! Your feet don't sweat because the entire shoe is covered in ventilation. It doesn't feel like you are even wearing shoes. Nike Free 5.0 are made to be worn sockless.

I find that idea entirely gross because it is easier to wash your socks than to wash your shoes on a regular basis, so I always use socks. I think the fit and feel of the Nike Frees is better with socks.

Beware there are a lot of different "Free" styles out there from Nike. There are cross-training "Frees" that have an extra strap across the top of your foot. The women's version is frillier than the men's version I present here.

Remember, when you buy Nike shoes you go up a size from your regular shoe size. So if you normally take a size 10 shoe, the size 11 will fit you in the Nike realm. I like my Nike Free 5.0s so much I bought a second pair with mainly grey and a little bit of blue and I'll never go barefoot without shoes again!"

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via:
The Science of Sport (sportsscientists.com)
Today's Complex.com
Urban Semiotic.com


I came across this topic on reddit.com and there is another similar interesting talk on TED.com titled Barry Schwartz on the paradox of choice. Barry Schwartz is an American psychologist and he has written a book with the title The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less) and you can find it on Amazon or any bookstore.

There is a similar study by Sheena S. Iyenga from Columbia University and Mark R. Lepper from Stamford University titled When Choice is Demotivating: Can One Desire Too Much of a Good Thing? The results of the study can be summarized by the article Customers given too many choices are 10x less likely to buy.

There is funny comic strip that talks about choices at Daisy Owl.

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Example anecdote on this issue from reddit.
From user HardwareLust:
"I think it depends on what type of person you are. My gf and I are polar opposites on this subject.

She's not bothered by choices at all. If she needs something, she goes to a store, and chooses from what they have. So, for example, if we need a toaster, she'll go to Target and just buy whichever one has the prettiest box, or whatever and she's happy.

Me? Ha. First thing I would do is read all the reviews on every toaster ever made. Then, I would join a forum for toaster fans, and read about all the cool toasters, and what mods they have made to their toasters, what's the best bread to toast, etc. Then, I would endlessly search the internet for the best deal on whatever toaster it was that I wanted (assuming I've been able to pick one to begin with.) Then, after I buy it and get home, I endlessly ruminate over whether I made the right choice or not.

So, she needs a toaster, it takes her an hour, max. Me, it takes 6 months.

EDIT: Like take buying a car, for example. I've wanted a new car for the last 3 years, but I'm fucking paralyzed by all the data that must be taken into account on purchasing a car. Thank god my old one hasn't died yet. My gf's been through two cars already in the amount of time I've tried to decide on one!"

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From user combuchan also from Reddit:
"I was in the grocery store the other day to pick up some various cleaning supplies to finish the job in my place.

There was a special on Lysol toilet bowl cleaner. I have no brand preference and go by the cheapest per unit volume, so Lysol's buy-one-get-one-free special was a tantalizing prospect.

W T F

are there fucking five different varieties of Lysol toilet bowl cleaner?

I shit you not ... not yet at least, for I dare not ruin my work ... I must have spent 10 minutes trying to figure out which one to buy.

One clings more. One is super penetrating. One has bleach. One seems for hypochondriacs judging by the fact that it declared its murderous intents on two more pathogens than the other ones. How much time do they spend figuring this out? Will the other varities ultimately rule out my eating off it when I'm done because I killed rotavirus and not E Coli?

Would it be that hard for them to just make one that does all of the above so I don't have to stand there like a dumbass and figure out which one is best and why, incidentally, one of them costs 30 cents more than the others? The equal or lesser value proposition becomes ever more difficult in this case.

I was so angry and dejected.

Ultimately, I picked two of the bleach variety.

I picked outright chemical friendliness over something that might offer more cling action or make me less susceptible to reverse anal transmission of a fantastic variety of bacteria.

I'll never know.

Fuck you Lysol. You thought you were being consumer friendly with your specials and your variety, but my decision haunts me to this day. You almost made me spend 50c more a bottle on the one that was good for the environment.

For shame."

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Another talk by Barry Schwartz for Google.

via:
TED.com
Wikipedia.org (Barry Schwartz)
Amazon.com (The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less)
DaisyOwl.com (Daisy Owl - Cheese)




A very good website that provides history and analysis on Apple's release cycles for its products such as Macbook, Macbook Pro, Macbook Air, iMac, Mac Pro, Mac Mini, iPod shuffle, iPod nano, iPod classic, iPod touch, iPhone etc

You wouldn't want to buy a product when the line-up is going to be refreshed in another week. So go to MacRumors: Buyer's Guide to check out!

If you happened to have bought Apple's old line-up product, Apple has a price protection for 14 days after the purchase. So you can bring it back to Apple Store for upgrade or change for pretty much free (unless the new line-up is more expensive that the one that you have bought). Terms and conditions might vary with different countries.


via:
MacRumors: Buyer's Guide

A very interesting talk on the neurology by VS Ramachandran. If you have ever wondered how your brain works or curious about neurology research, you should spend 23 minutes to watch this video hosted by TED.

If you want to learn more about his research, there is a book by him- Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind.




via:

TED.com