- Retains Information: The term "in one ear and out the other" seems to apply to most children. Those who are a cut above when it comes to intelligence actually retain a wide variety of information and are able to recall it at a later time. An example from the National Association of Gifted Children (NAGC) is: "One six-year-old returned from a trip to the space museum and reproduced an accurate drawing of a space rocket he had seen."
- Wide Spectrum of Interests: Gifted kiddos display an interest in a wide variety of topics. They may like dinosaurs one month, space the next month, and so fourth.
- Writes and Reads Early: If your tot is a smarty pants, she may be able to read and write very early on and without having had any real formal teaching.
- Is Musically or Artistically Talented: Children who display an unusual talent for music and/or art are often considered gifted. Tots who can draw things to perspective, have perfect pitch, or display any other higher perception of forms of art usually fall into the gifted category.
- Shows Periods of Intense Concentration: Children are not known for their long attention span, but gifted wee ones are able to have longer periods of intense concentration.
- Has a Good Memory: Some gifted tots are able to remember things from when they were smaller. For example, a two-year-old may remember and bring up (unprovoked) an occurrence from when he was 18-months.
- Has an Advanced Vocabulary: A tot who's early to speak is not a sign of giftedness alone, but if your lil talker is using advanced vocabulary and sentences, then he or she may be as bright as you think. According to the NAGC, "Children at age two make sentences like: 'There's a doggie.' A two-year-old who is gifted might say, 'There's a brown doggie in the backyard and he's sniffing our flower.' "
- Pays Attention to Details: A gifted child has a keen eye for details. An older child may want to know specific details about how things work, while a younger child will be able to put away toys exactly where he got them from or notice if something has been moved from its usual spot.
- Acts as His Own Critic: In general kids are not too worried about themselves or others, unless their friend has something they want. Gifted kids are the opposite and are concerned with others, but are most critical of themselves.
- Understands Complex Concepts: Tots who are highly intelligent have the ability to understand complex concepts, perceive relationships, and think abstractly. They are able to understand problems in depth and think about solutions.
6/27/11
10 Signs Your Child May Be Gifted
Many a proud mama and papa have deemed their tot advanced or ahead of the game, but most babes are only geniuses in their parents' eyes. However, some tots actually are branded as gifted. Is yours? There are a few developmental guidelines that often indicate giftedness in children, so here are ten signs that your child may be headed to the head of the class.
6/22/11
10 Tips to Perfect Steak
Buy Dry Aged
Expensive? Yes. Worth it? Absolutely. Not only are you paying for a month of storage in a well-circulated cooler--where the beef loses up to 20 percent of its weight until it becomes as pungent as a wheel of cheese--you're getting meat with concentrated layers of flavor I could never create myself.
Let It Warm Up
Take the steak out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature about an hour before you cook it. Skip this step and the outcome will disappoint. As Rob Levitt of Chicago's The Butcher & Larder describes it: "The outside will be charred and the inside will be mostly gray meat with a little nugget of red in the middle."
Consider the Thickness
One-and-a-half to two inches is not some arbitrary measurement when it comes to hefty cuts like rib eye or New York strip. Rather, this thickness ensures that your steak will achieve the perfect char on the outside just as the interior reaches the ideal temperature.
Salt, Salt, and Salt Again
A few hours before you grill, lightly sprinkle both sides of the steak with salt; put it on a wire rack set on a rimmed baking sheet. The salt helps the cells retain water, guaranteeing juicy meat. Before placing it on the grill, pat dry with paper towels, and generously salt the meat again. (Use kosher salt; the bigger grains make for a superior crust.) Finally, pass some fleur de sel at the table to sprinkle over the sliced steak for more flavor.
Crack Your Own Pepper
Pepper not only adds an element of spice to steak, it also adds crunch. You want a combination of fine, medium, and big pieces. To achieve this, pour whole peppercorns in a resealable plastic bag and crush them with a heavy skillet.
Build a Two-Zone Fire
You want a hot side to sear the meat and a not-so-hot side to finish the cooking. If you've got a gas grill, that's easy: Keep one burner on low while the others go full blast. If you're cooking over coals, use your tongs to build a ramp of embers climbing up to one side of the grill to create high-low control.
Feel the Heat
How do you know when the coals are ready? Once the flames have died down and the coals are glowing orange, use the 2-2 rule: Put your hand two inches above the hottest part of the coals. If you can hold it there for two seconds--no more, no less--you're good to grill.
Control Flare Ups
Dripping fat + hot coals = scorched, carcinogenic steak. Don't use a spritz bottle of water to douse the flames; you'll kick up ash. And putting the lid on the grill won't smother the fire fast enough. To get that rib eye out of harm's way, gently slide it to a flare-free area with tongs until the fire subsides. (If you throw the meat around, you'll shake out more fat and start another fire.)
Use Real Charcoal
Hardwood lump charcoal burns hotter and faster than manufactured briquettes. It doesn't matter if you use oak or mesquite, as long as it looks like it came from a tree and not construction scraps. You want your steak to taste faintly of smoke, not chemicals.
End the Guessing
A temperature of 125 degrees means medium-rare. Instant-read thermometers guarantee you'll get it right. We recommend CDN's $8 version. (www.chefsresource.com)
Let the Meat Rest
Ten minutes of calm does wonders for a steak--no foil tent needed. Fibers relax. Juices spread. Colors are re calibrated and flavors retained. Think of it as a disco nap for protein. Remember: Patience is a virtue. You've come this far; do not squander porterhouse perfection.
Expensive? Yes. Worth it? Absolutely. Not only are you paying for a month of storage in a well-circulated cooler--where the beef loses up to 20 percent of its weight until it becomes as pungent as a wheel of cheese--you're getting meat with concentrated layers of flavor I could never create myself.
Let It Warm Up
Take the steak out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature about an hour before you cook it. Skip this step and the outcome will disappoint. As Rob Levitt of Chicago's The Butcher & Larder describes it: "The outside will be charred and the inside will be mostly gray meat with a little nugget of red in the middle."
Consider the Thickness
One-and-a-half to two inches is not some arbitrary measurement when it comes to hefty cuts like rib eye or New York strip. Rather, this thickness ensures that your steak will achieve the perfect char on the outside just as the interior reaches the ideal temperature.
Salt, Salt, and Salt Again
A few hours before you grill, lightly sprinkle both sides of the steak with salt; put it on a wire rack set on a rimmed baking sheet. The salt helps the cells retain water, guaranteeing juicy meat. Before placing it on the grill, pat dry with paper towels, and generously salt the meat again. (Use kosher salt; the bigger grains make for a superior crust.) Finally, pass some fleur de sel at the table to sprinkle over the sliced steak for more flavor.
Crack Your Own Pepper
Pepper not only adds an element of spice to steak, it also adds crunch. You want a combination of fine, medium, and big pieces. To achieve this, pour whole peppercorns in a resealable plastic bag and crush them with a heavy skillet.
Build a Two-Zone Fire
You want a hot side to sear the meat and a not-so-hot side to finish the cooking. If you've got a gas grill, that's easy: Keep one burner on low while the others go full blast. If you're cooking over coals, use your tongs to build a ramp of embers climbing up to one side of the grill to create high-low control.
Feel the Heat
How do you know when the coals are ready? Once the flames have died down and the coals are glowing orange, use the 2-2 rule: Put your hand two inches above the hottest part of the coals. If you can hold it there for two seconds--no more, no less--you're good to grill.
Control Flare Ups
Dripping fat + hot coals = scorched, carcinogenic steak. Don't use a spritz bottle of water to douse the flames; you'll kick up ash. And putting the lid on the grill won't smother the fire fast enough. To get that rib eye out of harm's way, gently slide it to a flare-free area with tongs until the fire subsides. (If you throw the meat around, you'll shake out more fat and start another fire.)
Use Real Charcoal
Hardwood lump charcoal burns hotter and faster than manufactured briquettes. It doesn't matter if you use oak or mesquite, as long as it looks like it came from a tree and not construction scraps. You want your steak to taste faintly of smoke, not chemicals.
End the Guessing
A temperature of 125 degrees means medium-rare. Instant-read thermometers guarantee you'll get it right. We recommend CDN's $8 version. (www.chefsresource.com)
Let the Meat Rest
Ten minutes of calm does wonders for a steak--no foil tent needed. Fibers relax. Juices spread. Colors are re calibrated and flavors retained. Think of it as a disco nap for protein. Remember: Patience is a virtue. You've come this far; do not squander porterhouse perfection.
6/15/11
6 Essential Skills Every Entrepreneur Should Have
There's no doubt that entrepreneurs have the passion and mindset to develop innovative business ideas. What they often lack are the skills required to effectively execute them.
Starting and building a company is all about leadership: formulating an idea, building a unique plan based on vision and experience, and forging a path over and through all obstacles. Yet the image of leadership in business is at an all-time low, according to national leadership experts, considering the political debacles, record business bankruptcies, and executive fraud cases.
If the country is to recover financially and politically, new leaders will have to emerge to fill the leadership deficit—new leaders who understand that leadership is a privilege, not an entitlement—according to executive coach Michael Schutzler, author of the book Inspiring Excellence: A Path to Exceptional Leadership.
Entrepreneurs are well positioned to become the new leaders, because they perceive problems as opportunities and have the mindset to innovate and execute. They have the required passion, perseverance, and work ethic. What they don't have by default are the skills required, or the relationships. These don't come automatically with the CEO title.
Schutzler's view of leadership is different than many academics and executive coaches, who feel that leadership is an innate character trait. He urges people to focus on developing a few key relationship skills, and I agree. Here are some key conclusions:
Leadership is a learned behavior, not a character trait. Good judgment, for example, is certainly a hallmark of exceptional leadership, but it isn't something you are born with. "More than anything, good judgment comes from listening," he says. It also comes from paying very close attention to every situation, and learning from it.
Listening is the most important skill for a leader. We need to pay attention to the words and actions of others while suspending judgment long enough to allow your intellect to catch up with your instincts. Why? Because as leaders, if we speak too soon, we shut off creation. We shut off contribution. We force the adoption of our ideas.
Communication and storytelling are skills that not everyone is born with, but are ones we can all develop. People on your team want to believe! They want to believe you know where we are going, or you will get us there even if you aren't sure of the exact path at this moment. They want stories that compare what they are doing with others.
Acknowledging contribution is necessary to sustain motivation during the hard times. It's not hard to do and doesn't require a lot of effort or expensive gifts. A thank-you note or peer recognition is enough most of the time.
Negotiation is a practical skill for every leader. It's often misunderstood to be the domain of clever deal makers. It's actually really simple: Make very clear requests for a promise, understand exactly what the promise is—what is being done, when, and what the standard of excellence is—and then check up on the status to make it happen.
Too many leaders are focused on personal ambition. He believes that we need leaders who use power as a tool for inspiring others to create a better future, not as a tool for retaining their position or perks.
The middle four points are the essential skills for great leadership, inspiring excellence, and building a successful business. They are easily practiced and serve as the foundation for successfully attracting talent, reaching consensus, making tough choices, and harnessing ambition.
Starting and building a company is all about leadership: formulating an idea, building a unique plan based on vision and experience, and forging a path over and through all obstacles. Yet the image of leadership in business is at an all-time low, according to national leadership experts, considering the political debacles, record business bankruptcies, and executive fraud cases.
If the country is to recover financially and politically, new leaders will have to emerge to fill the leadership deficit—new leaders who understand that leadership is a privilege, not an entitlement—according to executive coach Michael Schutzler, author of the book Inspiring Excellence: A Path to Exceptional Leadership.
Entrepreneurs are well positioned to become the new leaders, because they perceive problems as opportunities and have the mindset to innovate and execute. They have the required passion, perseverance, and work ethic. What they don't have by default are the skills required, or the relationships. These don't come automatically with the CEO title.
Schutzler's view of leadership is different than many academics and executive coaches, who feel that leadership is an innate character trait. He urges people to focus on developing a few key relationship skills, and I agree. Here are some key conclusions:
Leadership is a learned behavior, not a character trait. Good judgment, for example, is certainly a hallmark of exceptional leadership, but it isn't something you are born with. "More than anything, good judgment comes from listening," he says. It also comes from paying very close attention to every situation, and learning from it.
Listening is the most important skill for a leader. We need to pay attention to the words and actions of others while suspending judgment long enough to allow your intellect to catch up with your instincts. Why? Because as leaders, if we speak too soon, we shut off creation. We shut off contribution. We force the adoption of our ideas.
Communication and storytelling are skills that not everyone is born with, but are ones we can all develop. People on your team want to believe! They want to believe you know where we are going, or you will get us there even if you aren't sure of the exact path at this moment. They want stories that compare what they are doing with others.
Acknowledging contribution is necessary to sustain motivation during the hard times. It's not hard to do and doesn't require a lot of effort or expensive gifts. A thank-you note or peer recognition is enough most of the time.
Negotiation is a practical skill for every leader. It's often misunderstood to be the domain of clever deal makers. It's actually really simple: Make very clear requests for a promise, understand exactly what the promise is—what is being done, when, and what the standard of excellence is—and then check up on the status to make it happen.
Too many leaders are focused on personal ambition. He believes that we need leaders who use power as a tool for inspiring others to create a better future, not as a tool for retaining their position or perks.
The middle four points are the essential skills for great leadership, inspiring excellence, and building a successful business. They are easily practiced and serve as the foundation for successfully attracting talent, reaching consensus, making tough choices, and harnessing ambition.
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