Malnutrition was rampant among the 18th century French armed forces. As Napoleon prepared for his Russian campaign, he searched for a new and better means of preserving food for his troops and offered a prize of 12,000 francs to anyone who could find one. Nicolas Appert, a Parisian candy maker, was awarded the prize in 1809.
Although the causes of food spoilage were unknown at the time, Appert was an astute experimenter and observer. For instance, after noting that storing wine in airtight bottles kept it from spoiling, he filled widemouth glass bottles with food, carefully corked them, and heated them in boiling water.
The durable tin can--and the use of pottery and other metals--followed shortly afterwards, a notion of Englishman Peter Durand. Soon, these "tinned" foods were used to feed the British army and navy.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Earliest known instance of Open Innovation
Friday, May 22, 2009
Journey of a Leader
The following parable gives some insights into the journey of a leader:
No Zen student would presume to teach others until he had lived with his Master for a minimum of ten years. Tenno, having completed his ten years of apprenticeship, acquired the rank of Teacher. One day he went to visit the Master. It was a rainy day, so Tenno wore wooden clogs and carried an umbrella. When he walked in, the Master greeted him saying, "You left your wooden clogs and umbrella on the porch, didn't you? Tell me, did you place your umbrella on the right side of the clogs or on the left? Tenno was embarrassed, for he did not know the answer. He realized he lacked awareness. So he became a student and labored for ten more years to acquire constant awareness.
(source: Discovery, story no. 100, insight publishers, Bangalore, India)
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Central principles of a spiritual life
- Living ethically
- Transforming emotions
- Redirecting emotions
- Training attention
- Refining awareness
- Cultivating wisdom
- Serving others
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
School of Ancient Wisdom
