This week’s Manival is being hosted at iamhusband.com. Make sure to go check it out for some great man articles written by some exceptional writers. While you’re there give it a stumble. Here are a few of my favorites from this week’s Manival: 10 Ways to Improve Your Marriage While It’s Raining @ simple marriage Do Nice Guys Finish Last? @ 7P Productions

I’m seeing a lot of design portfolios with titles like “Beyond Imagination” or “Passions” or “Reflections” or “Curiosity.” With all these vaguely conceptual names, it’s like taking a nauseating stroll through Macy’s perfume department.

By Philip BrewerWhenever I write a post about energy, I point out that we know it's possible to have a high standard of living while using less energy--people in European countries do, so it must be possible.  That always draws comments from people who say that things are different here.  When it comes to opportunities for saving energy, that's simply not true.

After almost three weeks of wandering around Thailand, eating amazing food and getting some alone time with my lovely Eva, I’m back on Guam and back here at Zen Habits!

What is the difference between a career and a job? Trent at The Simple Dollar recently suggested the following dichotomy: A job is something you do simply to earn money; a career is a series of connected employment opportunities. A job has minimal impact on your future work life, while a career provides experience and learning to fuel your future.

When you hear the word “futon,” your back probably starts to ache a bit. I’ve spent the night on some rough futons in my day. My brother used to have one that felt like sleeping on a giant sack of potatoes. So when we downsized our home and looked for sleeping options for guests we wanted to find a futon that was comfortable and functional.

A few days ago, I interviewed Carrie and Danielle – and they just did an interview with me. It was a lot of fun. It’s always interesting to see how different people pose questions about happiness. Everyone comes at it from a different angle and emphasizes different aspects. *

“He who trims himself to suit everyone will soon whittle himself away.” ~ Raymond Hull ‘Be yourself!’ This is a common piece of advice, often given before an interview or a date or some other occasion when we need to impress. Sounds like a strange piece of advice, though. How could you not be yourself?

Watch the short video above (you can watch two more like it here and here). At first, you think, that proves it. If cell phones can make popcorn kernels pop, the claims that cell phones cause brain tumors must be true (read here for nonspin background on this possibility). The industry denials, the video seems to confirm, are just spin.

Each Thursday we ask whether you think a certain object or subject is manly. Make sure to check out past Is it manly? polls. Now for this week’s question: Is cooking manly? Vote. Discuss. n Is cooking manly? Yes No View Results

Photo: stock photo “When it comes to love, you need not fall but rather surrender,surrender to the idea that you must love yourself before you can love another. You must absolutely trust yourself before you can absolutely trust another and most importantly you must accept your flaws before you can accept the flaws of another.“ ~ Philosophy: Falling in Love

When we were in England last year, I came to love the quiet secluded spaces I found in certain parks and gardens. It occurred to me that if I were creative, I might be able to create such a spot on our property.

By Xin LuToday my friend showed me an article about a Toyota engineer who died from overwork. Apparently the 45 year old Japanese man was working 80 hours of overtime a month for two months and finally his heart gave out. It is a sad example of a person who chose his job over his life.

By now we have all heard about job recruiters using Google to search for ghosts in your closet.

I was recently reading How to Get Out of Debt, Stay Out of Debt and Live Prosperously by Jerrod Mundis, an interesting book that sorely needs an updated edition (it was originally published in 1988 - I’d happily review an updated edition), but has at least a good handful of interesting concepts inside.