Whistler Creekside by Tyler Ingram

As you may already know, every Wednesday I share a number of different blog posts that I have encountered in the preceding week. This is my small way of giving back to the blogging community, because no blog should exist in isolation; we’re all in this together. This week, I gathered up quite a varied range of posts, discussing everything from telecommuting to the vestibulo-ocular reflex in chickens.

Betshopboy is back to his running ways again, this time participating in the Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2010. This was only the second time ever for Betshopboy to run in a full marathon. He wasn’t able to reach his primary target for time, but his time in this race was a vast improvement over his maiden marathon, beating his old time by almost an hour.

Darren Barefoot is a little more random. He came across a couple of delightful little videos featuring a chicken head steadicam. Thanks to something called the vestibulo-ocular reflex, chickens are able to keep their heads in the same location and orientation, even when the rest of the body is moving about. It sounds kind of silly, but these videos are well worth five minutes of your time.

Tyler Ingram has got to be happy that ski season is upon us. While most other people are more inclined to visit Whistler Village, Tyler recently took the path less traveled by and stayed at Whistler Creekside instead. He gives us a tour of the Evolution Mountain Lodge, which offers ski-in, ski-out access to Whistler. Creekside is also far less crowded than the main Village.

Michael Zahora, who you might recognize from Dot Com Pho, shares a quick tip on how to keep your folders and files organized. Mike suggests that you use this naming structure: YYMMDD-shootname. For example, if I went to the zoo today, I might name it “101208-zoo.” I use a similar naming scheme myself. Freelancers need to stay organized, after all.

Lesley Chang asks a very simple question: Why telecommute? Many businesses assume that their employees are the most productive when they’re at the office, but this may not always be true. Thanks to meetings and managers, there is a lot of wasted time. The two cartoons illustrating what happens when you have a meeting right before and after lunch are particularly telling.

If you want to be included in a future speedlink, I suggest you follow me on Twitter and like Beyond the Rhetoric on Facebook. Message me accordingly on Mondays or Tuesdays and I’ll make a note of your URL. Cheers.