NYLF Good to Know

Great Free Language Lerning Tools Collection

2007-08-17T11:20:00.000-07:00

If you want to learn a language you may want to check out the link collection at Mahalo. For example German. I like that they are referring to Prinzen videos, they pronounce very good in their songs. How sweet a song praising bicycling?

2007-08-12T08:50:00.000-07:00

Never Eat Alone author Keith Ferrazzi asks: What are some basic things you wish you had started doing as a teenager to really boost your career and your life?

He got some good answers (skip over the self-promotors ;-). Example:

TRY MANY THINGS--GET INVOLVED

1.Decide what you want, what you REALLY want.

2.Decide if you are willing to pay the price to achieve it.Everyone must pay the price.How bad do you want it?

3.Pay the price.

Remember the Four Agreements: Always Do Your Best, Don’t Make Assumptions, Be Impeccable with Your Word, and Don’t Take Anything Personally.

Good reminder. Have to work on these.

Wired: Education 2.0 resources

2007-08-10T07:24:00.000-07:00

Wired is listing the top resources for Education with a community component. It is part of a whole week of education tools posts. Check it out.

Online Education Free

2006-07-22T18:25:00.000-07:00

Online Education Free: "Getting an Education Online for Free"

Nice list of resources for your own education. I didn't know that Berkeley is offering their courses as webcasts. Excellent.

Streetbikes...

2006-07-11T23:07:00.000-07:00

If you like streetbikes go here: Streetbikes

Faster Firefox

2006-07-11T15:52:00.000-07:00

Use Mozilla Firefox? Download the extension FasterFox from this site: http://fasterfox.mozdev.org/. It noticeably increases web browsing speed. (Note: Does not increase Downloading Speed)

Great Game

2006-07-11T15:45:00.001-07:00

This is a great game that no one in the world knows about. It works with all computers (Macs, Linux, and PCs) and is FREE! Its called BZFlag. It is a multiplayer capture the flag game with tanks that can also jump. Various flags around the world give your tank special abilities, such as being able to shoot a laser. Its becoming more and more popular in the Mac room at NYLF/TECH 2006, and you should try it too.

Go to BZFlag.com.
For Macs and Linux go here.

AN INTERESTING FACT ABOUT THE HUMAN MIND...

2006-07-11T15:45:00.000-07:00

Don't delete this because it looks weird. Believe it or not, you can read it. I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdgnieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid -- aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer inwaht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? Yaeh and I awlyas thought slpeling was important.

A neat Java Applet.

2006-07-11T15:42:00.000-07:00

This is a pretty neat little calculator that I wrote and put online. It is distinguished from the Windows Calculator by the fact that it can handle multiple-operation problems, whereas the Windows equivalent cannot. (It is supposed to look like a T83, minus the more advanced functions such as trig.)

disclaimers: Needs Java plugin to view, will have to close a few pop-ups upon entering web-page (free websites at their best... or not), I haven't added the ability to designate a number as negative yet (albeit the calculator can give negative answers, subtract, etc.), on occasion the response will lag (because it is in a web browser, which sometimes isn't responsive).

Haven't found many bugs yet, save entering a negative number in the aforementioned manner. And fractional exponents. I think. (Might have to do with the way it is entered into program, which I can explain.)

Have fun and let me know if you like it!

21 ways to get laughs at walmart

2006-07-11T15:41:00.001-07:00

21 Ways to Get Laughs at Wal-Mart (You'll Get Kicked Out of K-Mart for These Antics):
Set all the alarm clocks to go off at ten minute intervals throughout the day.
Put M&M's on layaway.
Walk up to an employee and tell him in an official tone, "I think we've got a Code 3 in Housewares."
Tune all the radios to a polka station; then turn them all off and turn the volumes to "10." Challenge other customers to duels with tubes of gift wrap.
Make a trail of orange juice on the floor, leading to the rest rooms.
Move "Caution: Wet Floor" signs to carpeted areas.
Set up a tent in the camping department; tell others you'll only invite them in if they bring pillows from Bed and Bath.
When someone asks if you need help, begin to cry and ask, "Why won't you people just leave me alone?"
Look right into the security camera, and use it as a mirror while you floss your teeth.
Take up an entire aisle in Toys by setting up a full scale battlefield with G.I. Joes vs. the X-Men. Ask other customers if they have any Grey Poupon.
While handling guns in the hunting department, suddenly ask the clerk if he knows where the antidepressants are.
Switch the men's and women's signs on the doors of the rest rooms. Dart around suspiciously while humming the theme from "Mission Impossible."
Set up a "Valet Parking" sign in front of the store.
Sit on a chair and read a book for hours.
Hide in the clothing racks and when people browse through, say things like "pick me! pick me!!" When an announcement comes over the loudspeaker, assume the fetal position and scream, "No, no! It's those voices again!"
If the store has a food court, buy a soft drink; explain that you don't get out much, and ask if they can put a little umbrella in it.
Go into the dressing room and yell real loud..."Hey, we're out of toilet paper in here!"

This is a funny email i just got....read it.

Since so many people are interested in making video games...

2006-07-11T15:41:00.000-07:00

Go here.

www.gamedev.net

James Bond rocks

2006-07-11T15:39:00.000-07:00

HARMSWAY
(bursts out in a laugh)
The only difference between a
psychopath and a genius, Mr. Bond, is
the degree of success.

James Bond: Tommorow Never Dies

Cool movie

If World War 2 was an RTS...

2006-07-11T15:38:00.000-07:00

This is a pretty funny link...it is basically the text seen if WWII had been an RTS.

2006-07-11T15:37:00.000-07:00

i found a good game where you can take out all of your anger on bush, kerry, Napoleon, or a tellitubby interactive buddy

Interested in Robotics?

2006-07-11T15:35:00.000-07:00

As a part of the F.I.R.S.T. Robotics Organization, I would like to inform others about the program. It is a international organization that was founded by Dean Kamen, the inventor of the Segway. The Acronym F.I.R.S.T. stands for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. There are programs for many age levels, expecially high school students.

The F.I.R.S.T. website is www.usfirst.org. My Team's website is www.RockyMountainRobotics.com. Come take a look and find a team in your area!

~Neill

MySpace?

2006-07-11T15:34:00.001-07:00

There has been a growing dilemma in the cyberworld. That dilemma is of the growing popularity of MySpace. I will address some of the issues it raises in an unbiased examination of it.

Before we begin let me put this out there, I do have a MySpace account and no, I do not check it everyday. The last time I checked it was like... long ago. My personal preference is blogger, but the rest of the post will be a (mostly) unbiased test.

------------------------------------------------

Test 1: Safe to use (Blogger definetly wins)

Spyware and Adware has been a growing concern among people who surf the internet. It can drag your system down and potentially get personal information. The reason it is such a big concern is because it isn't illegal like viruses are. In this test I will scan my computer and remove any spyware it has, and then I will surf myspace for a while and do another scan.

Results of the first scan:

No Spyware or Adware.

Results of the second scan after about an hour of only myspace surfing:

I had to say, the results suprised me, normally on a week of regular internet browsing (no myspace) I might get like 15 tops... 23 is a record and after only an hour of myspace browsing.

Test 2: Ads (Blogger wins)

Blogger has no ads, in fact, if you do like me and host your own blog you don't even have the nav bar at the top.

Other ads include political bashing like this one:

Test 3: Content (Neutral)

The content of the profile is up to the individual who creates it, and it can be good or really bad. While that is also true for blogger, it is more prevalent and easier to see on MySpace.

Test 4: Interactiveness (MySpace wins)

You can have a community on blogger, it just takes more work than on myspace, thats the reason so many people use it. Also, on myspace you can leave generic comments instead of leaving comments on each blog. MySpace also has a profile page where you can put stuff, unlike blogger. You can invite friends, send private messages, make bulletins, create events and other things on myspace. MySpace has definetly got blogger beat on an easy community.

Conclusion:

In the 4 tests, Blogger came ahead twice and Myspace once, with one tie. Sure, you can interact and comment, but at the expense of your computer becoming infected? You can do all that stuff in real life or on blogger, or the phone... the possibilities are endless.
Should you use myspace? That's a personal question you need to answer yourself

-Phill

Answer me this, and I will give you a cookie.

2006-07-11T15:34:00.000-07:00

Precondition: Assume God is real.

"If God can do anything, can he create a rock so heavy that he cannot lift it?"

Faith in Your Leadership

2006-07-11T15:33:00.003-07:00

For the people who dream of become leaders: A true leader is someone who has complete faith in themselves and what they believe in, whether it's a cause, an idea, or even a religion. If one were to lose their faith, they would not be leaders, for if they can't believe in themselves, all thats left is faith in someone else and/or their beliefs (excluding religion). These people without full faith are known as followers.

Teen Age Years

2006-07-11T15:33:00.002-07:00

Teen age years are like an hour glass were the top part is youth and the bottum part is Maturity. The squeeze on eachside is made by parents, teachers and other influences that make us in to the adults we are. The pressure that is made by this squeeze is the sand fighting to get to the other side. The part were we dont want to grow up or we want to grow up now is made consistent by the steady flow of gravity.

Ryan

heh

2006-07-11T15:33:00.000-07:00

i win

This is really great ...

2006-07-11T15:22:00.000-07:00

Check this out because it is a good site: Future Salon

24 hours of solitude best for brain development

2006-07-10T10:47:00.000-07:00

The Edge is one of the most interesting pages for deep thinkers. They yearly ask a question that gets answered by high regarded people from different fields. In 2006 it was: What is your most dangerous idea. I like the answer from LEO CHALUPA:

"My dangerous idea is that what's needed to attain optimal brain performance Â with or without prior brain exercise Â is a 24-hour period of absolute solitude. By absolute solitude I mean no verbal interactions of any kind (written or spoken, live or recorded) with another human being. I would venture that a significantly higher proportion of people reading these words have tried skydiving than experienced one day of absolute solitude."

The Power of Clarity by Steve Pavlina

2006-07-02T07:52:00.000-07:00

Steve Pavlin about the importance of setting goals: "First, you must decide exactly what it is you want to accomplish. Most people never do that in their entire lives. And secondly, you must determine what price you'll have to pay to get it, and then resolve to pay that price."

Steve Jurvetson: What value do you most cherisch?

2006-07-01T18:30:00.000-07:00

Ross Mayfield askes 4 questions and I like Steve Jurvetson's answer to
"WHAT VALUE DO YOU MOST CHERISH?:

Playfulness. I cherish the child-like mind. I celebrate immaturity. I try to play every day. At work, I expect to fail early and often.

Oh how often we forget the ease and beauty of play. Favorite state of mind.

Carpe diem

2006-06-23T18:06:00.000-07:00

Carpe diem : The most famous filmic use of the phrase was in Peter Weir's 1989 film Dead Poets Society, wherein the saying was used pivotally. The first time it is used in the film is when Robin Williams' character gives a short speech to his English class:

"But if you listen real close, you can hear them whisper their legacy to you. Go on, lean in. Listen, you hear it? — Carpe — hear it? — Carpe, carpe diem, seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary. "

Very inspirational. Check it out if you have not seen it and make your life extraordinary.

How to discover your life purpose in about 20 minutes

2006-06-21T12:39:00.000-07:00

Steve Palvina writes an excellent personal development blog. Here an example: How to discover your life purpose in about 20 minutes:

"If you want to discover your true purpose in life, you must first empty your mind of all the false purposes you’ve been taught (including the idea that you may have no purpose at all). So how to discover your purpose in life? While there are many ways to do this, some of them fairly involved, here is one of the simplest that anyone can do. The more open you are to this process, and the more you expect it to work, the faster it will work for you. But not being open to it or having doubts about it or thinking it’s an entirely idiotic and meaningless waste of time won’t prevent it from working as long as you stick with it — again, it will just take longer to converge.

Here’s what to do:
1) Take out a blank sheet of paper or open up a word processor where you can type (I prefer the latter because it’s faster).
2) Write at the top, “What is my true purpose in life?”
3) Write an answer (any answer) that pops into your head. It doesn’t have to be a complete sentence. A short phrase is fine.
4) Repeat step 3 until you write the answer that makes you cry. This is your purpose. "

Try it out.

When the student is ready the teacher will come

2006-06-09T15:29:00.000-07:00

The success of Dirk Nowitzki in the Basketball playoffs can be traced back to his second father German trainer Holger Geschwindner.

From a good to know perspective is this quote: "He's ready to learn and he's listening". Not only: When the student is ready the teacher will come, but also leaving the ego at home and taking the advice and work with it.

Another excellent insight:
Their first Christmas together, Geschwindner gave Nowitzki a saxophone.
(He's switched to guitar since losing some teeth early in his NBA career.)
Geschwindner later took Nowitzki to see the opera "The Marriage of Figaro,''
adding that Nowitzki left the theater singing the songs.
"I know from my experience and my job that 30 percent of intelligence, how you move, can come from music,'' Geschwindner said. "It's just to learn the tunes, different mentalities.

Wow music is just fascinating. Also by working on different skills of yours, you become a more well rounded person.

Interactive part of the session

2006-06-06T17:50:00.000-07:00
First thing I did when the students came in last year to the session was signing them up to be coauthers of this blog. You can check the profiles that they set up in the right hand navigation.

Once I introduced them to the concept they blogged about things that are good to know for their fellow students. Rat even posted one entry when he was home again. That really made me happy.

NYLF Wikipedia Entry

2006-06-06T17:36:00.000-07:00
There is an entry about NYLF on the Wikipedia. I don't think the entry really does the event justice, but I think the students that have participated should write what it really is about.

In the hope to make some NYLF students aware of this interactive session, where you learn about things that are good to know when growing up and how to collaborate/express yourself online, I added a link to this blog in the external links section of the entry.

Come Alive Session 2006

2006-05-22T17:51:00.000-07:00
Guess my session last year wasn't all bad. The National Youth Leadership Forum for Technology (NYLF) has asked me to do an interactive one this year again.

Instead of just doing a presentation I invited the participants to create their own blog posts right here.

Date and time of this year's session is: July 13 at 2:45pm - 4:15pm

I thought about what my theme should be and I came up with:
Come alive! derived from the following Harold Whitman quote:
Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.' (Harold Whitman)
Love that.

Pleae come forward with suggestions and ideas that help young and old to come alive.

Your Life is already Artful - Make it Art

2006-04-30T05:47:00.000-07:00
Quote-A-Day: Daily Good News From CharityFocus.org: "I see your life as already artful, waiting, just waiting and ready for you to make it art. --Toni Morrison "

Mark Zorro

2006-03-18T08:11:00.000-08:00
There was a time when I was reading AlwaysOn and one member stood out: Mark Zorro (free subscription needed). He often had really deeper comments and posts then most.

In his signature he had something like: Mark Twain was not Mark Twain and Mark Zorro is not Mark Zorro.

I love his approach, create your own figure and post your thoughts freely as a means to get clarity and deeper insight that you are not able to do if the posts are connected to your real name.

He even had a blog called One. Its target:
One Line of Thought
One Line of Happiness
One Line of Connection
One Line for Nothing
One Line for Everything
He just posted one line thoughts that he had during the day to see where it takes him.

Now he has logged off, or at least he is exploring life not through Mark Zorro anymore. That phase is over, has done its purpose. He has moved on. Good for him.

I am convinced that through Mark Zorro he found out a lot about himself. Things he didn't know before about how he wants to live his life versus how all the others wants him to live his life.A very valuable insight.

CharityFocus: Helping Others Help Others

2006-03-11T07:49:00.000-08:00
One of my favorite sites on the Internet is Quote-a-Day. With one positive news/inspiration every day it really makes a difference.

CharityFocus: Helping Others Help Others: "Inspiration of the Day:
'All of a sudden, I was kind of flapping one arm,' Renner said. 'The next thing I knew, there were three racers in front of me.' At the 2006 Winter Olympics, Sara Renner broke her ski pole. A cross-country skier without a pole is like a hockey player without a stick, or a canoeist without a paddle. Renner had invested her life to be in this position; she had her tyroid removed after being diagnosed with Graves disease six years ago. She had pressed on, and at that moment it was all slipping away - the dream, the work, everything. She watched other skiers go past her, utterly helpless to keep up. And then something miraculous happened. A 'mystery man' standing near the course handed his ski pole to Renner. That mystery man was Bjoernar Hakensmoen whose Norwegian team was knocked off the medal stand as Renner won the Silver medal. Hakensmoen sportmanship is dubbed as the defining moment of the 2006 Winter Olympics.
[ more ... ]"
I am sure Bjoernar Hakensmoen can look into the mirror with pride every morning. Something I strive for and fail and strive for again too.

Dilbert: Humor Formula

2006-01-01T10:54:00.000-08:00
Make someone smile or even laugh is one of the greatest gifts you can give. Super successful cartoonist Dilbert has a formular for great humor. Fire at least on two of the six cylinders: Cute (as in kids and animals), Naughty, Bizarre, Clever, Recognizable (You've been there), Cruel and you will succeed.

The Dilbert Blog: Humor Formula

I wrote on this topic more extensively in my book, The Joy of Work. So IÂll just give you the highlights here. The core of humor is what I call the 2-of-6 rule. In order for something to be funny, you need at least two of the following elements:

Cute (as in kids and animals), Naughty, Bizarre, Clever, Recognizable (You've been there), Cruel and you will succeed.

via Jeff Nolan

Creating Passionate Users: Career advice for young people?

2005-12-15T17:23:00.000-08:00
There is a couple of good career tips for kids.

Best Quote: Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs are people who have come alive.

- Harold Whitman
Source: Creating Passionate Users: Career advice for young people?

Changing Politics is Hard

2005-11-07T00:04:00.000-08:00
Changing Politics is Hard: " Micha Sifry was the eCampaign manager for Andrew Rasiej bid to become the number two man in New York politics: Public Advocate. They run an open source political campaign: We had three over-arching goals for this campaign: 1) that we could push into the public debate some big new ideas about reinventing municipal government, fostering civic engagement, and the value of getting everyone an affordable highspeed Internet connection; 2) that the right way to run for office is to be as open, transparent, people-centered, small-donor-based and network-driven as possible (building on the experiences of various 2004 campaigns); and 3) that reform-minded individuals, groups, writers, editorialists, bloggers, and institutions, along with locally-focused civic activists, would find all of this refreshing and inspiring and they would rally to our banner and help amplify our message. This is where the potential of new technology lies and where also some of my hopes for positive change are rooted. Unfortunately they didn't manifest this time and Micha Sifry has an excellent post mortem sharing his perspective. * Tech “community” a fiction? ...But the fabled tech community turned out to be mostly a fable when it came to actually embracing Andrew’s campaign and setting aside time to spread its message. Yes, about 100 local and national bloggers lin"

When the student is ready ...

2005-10-15T22:11:00.000-07:00
... the teacher will come. It is one of my favorite sayings and so true. When you are ready for a new lesson and start to listen, the teacher will be there to show you the way. Often times that teacher is even yourself.

Try it. Be still. Listen.
(I should do that more often too :-)

Rhythm Is It

2005-09-19T22:14:00.000-07:00
Rhythm Is It is a great movie following three teenagers from the fringe of German society over 6 weeks of dance classes culminating in a performance of Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps played by the Berlin Philharmonic.
Some take aways from it:
'You can change your life in a dance class!' Royston Maldoom. The movie shows that it is true. It looks like for the first time most of these kids are really challenged. Roy is a great teacher. It's eye opening how he leads the kids and especially the boys to dance.
Discipline is everything, he says, but the discipline that comes from within will really carry you.
You can influence your behavior by changing your posture. (I should hunch less :-)
Be ready for change. There is always something bigger that needs you just around the corner :-)
Go and see it.

Better Stay Healthy

2005-08-15T14:26:00.000-07:00
Telegraph | News | Happiness is being well-off with poor friends: "... physical health was the best single predictor of happiness ..."

The Education of Henry Adams - Wikipedia

2005-08-14T08:10:00.000-07:00
George Gilder said in his presentation at the AlwaysOn Conference that Henry Adams is the first one to write about Accelerating Change in his excellent Book
The Education of Henry Adams - Wikipedia.

The beauty is, the text is old enough to be out of copyright, so you can enjoy an electronic version thanks to Project Gutenberg.

How different the world would be if copyright was only 14 years as originally crafted in the Copyright Act of 1790.

Home at last :D

2005-07-07T13:04:00.000-07:00
Well, as much fun as the forum was, I can truly say that I am very, very glad to be home. After learning so much and meeting so many new people, many of whom I consider good friends now, I am looking forward to a time of reflection and relaxation. I hope everyone had a safe trip home, and that all the NYLF students had as much fun at the forum as I did. And out of all the things that I learned, I am going to post just this one: I really, REALLY, do not want to have a career in software (lol).

Thanks ...

2005-07-04T08:56:00.000-07:00

The 90 minutes with all of you in the computer room was a lot of fun. I have more respect for teachers and the job they do an a daily bases :-)

Thanks for all the interesting Good To Know links and stories that I would not have stumbled upon without your posts:
Enigma: "Man is the dream of the dolphin"
The crude humor of happytreefriends
Robot Man that lead me to a story about Bipedal Octopus. Jaron Lanier when presenting at the Future Salon said the only reason why Squids are not ruling the world is because they don't have a childhood, a time where the knowledge is transferred from the previous generation to the next beyond what is happening in biology.
Peanut Butter and Life is profound look at life.
many more
I created this blog to give you first hand experience in how easy it is to express yourself. This is your Blog now. Use it to share what you find Good to Know with your fellow NYLF students and the world.
Don't forget how fortunate you are that you could take part in this 10 day event. Give some of that fortune back. Think about how you can share the things you learned with others. Let us know about your efforts here.

special thanks to Joe and Rat who came up afterwords and personally thanked me. Made my day :-)

Happy 4th of July, Mark.

P.S. If you want to be added to the contributor list of this NYLF Good To Know Blog send me an email to markfinnern [at] yahoo [dot] com.
P.P.S. The replacement suggestion of the spell checker for markfinnern is marzipan. How nice is that?

Strong Bad E-mails

2005-06-30T16:14:00.001-07:00
About 2 times a month, there is a new e-mail... you should try watching them.
http://homestarrunner.com/sbemail.html

bye bye for now!

2005-06-30T16:14:00.000-07:00
ok, i think he is winding down now... wonder when dinner is? anyways, tootles for now.

Hitch your wagon to a star

2005-06-30T16:12:00.001-07:00
This is a really random quote that I felt i should post. It means to live life to the fullest and never underestimate your strength, knowledge, and ability to succeed. I live by this very quote:

"Hitch your wagon to a star" ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Game Junkie

2005-06-30T16:12:00.000-07:00
In Cincinnati, there is a privately owned game store called Game Junkie that all my friends and I hang out at. They have very relaxed policies there and we are all good friends with the employees and the owner. We go there just to hang out, drink Bawls and play games we don't even own.

Profiles

2005-06-30T16:10:00.001-07:00
Everbody who actually takes the time to post something here should also take the time to update their profile. At least add your first name, or some interests, and a picture if you can. It takes no time whatsoever.

What is an enigma?

2005-06-30T16:10:00.000-07:00
In every colour there's the light.
In every stone sleeps a crystal.
Remember the Shaman, when he used to say:
"Man is the dream of the dolphin".

Hastings

2005-06-30T16:06:00.000-07:00
My favorite store in the world is hastings. Its kinda like an FYE or something. Y'know, w/ books, music, movies, coffee, anything in the media. Its my place to hang out. I view it as a physical representation to the internet.....so much information, so many ideas to be had, so much inspiration sitting in one room that the possibilities are endless....almost frightens one. I love it. Check out places like this in your area. They're there, just look for 'em and never limit yourself again.

Strange Things...

2005-06-30T16:05:00.000-07:00
I really couldn't think of anything to post, but I thought this would possibly be interesting for a few people if only for a matter of seconds. Click Here

any happy tree friends fans?

2005-06-30T16:03:00.000-07:00
just wondering.... funny stuff. you can watch it at happytreefriends.com. warning, twisted senses of humor only! cartoon animals meet their doom!! hilarity ensues!! the link has arrived!

tech talk #13 FOREVER!!

2005-06-30T16:01:00.000-07:00
lol, #13 gonna win it all! GO #13!!

First Post!

2005-06-30T15:57:00.001-07:00
The charismatic/enigmatic folks at mediawave (my local video store) have always been great people whom I admire very much, for their comical take on life, and the customers in their very store. They are in fact so awesome, that the sheer amount of hilarity that ensues when small children cause a disturbance in their store has been known to blister ones retinas. their blog can be found at http://www.mediawave.blogspot.com.

It has always reminded me of the movie clerks, in which two witty employees of a local convenience store/ movie rental store converse over the misadventures of their customers.

find below two of my very favorite quotes, this one is from Jordan.

"I wanted to beat the hell out of those kids, my god. GET CONTROL OF YOUR KIDS OR GET OUT OF THE STORE YOU JACKASS."

and this one is from drew.

"I wanna punch fat kids"

Robot Man

2005-06-30T15:57:00.000-07:00
Dr. Robert J. Full and his team of colleagues have discovered a way to create 6-legged robots... they study insects! They study the way that they move. They also study how geckos can climb.

Click here to see his work.

Also try clicking here to read a CNN.com article about Full's work.

BLOG!!!!

2005-06-30T15:56:00.000-07:00
Ya, um... it just kinda had to be done ya know. You can't have acommunal blog without someone typing things in all caps every now and again.

Nae saian luume'
Oio naa elealla alasse'
Lissenen ar' maska'lalaith tenna' lye omentuva

It has been too long
Ever is thy sight a joy
Sweet water and light laughter till next we meet

Elvish is cool

We Rule (with pictures)

2005-06-30T15:55:00.000-07:00

Tech Talk group #31, Enough said

on the topic of web comics....

2005-06-30T15:54:00.000-07:00
a buddy of mine from back home likes to draw and animate and whatnot. his comic is at http://fail.keenspace.com/. check it out if you feel like it...

hey look at the exit sign!

2005-06-30T15:52:00.000-07:00
it's green! and lights up! wHoA!

WOOT WOOT!

2005-06-30T15:50:00.000-07:00
lol, online speak 4eva! WOOTS for life!! VV :D

LOLOLOLOL

2005-06-30T15:49:00.000-07:00
LOLOLOLOL OMG MAD PROPZ TO ME DUDE OMG I R LE AGRE OMG OMG OMG WOOT OMG OMG I R ONLINE I RULE OHNOES ONLINE ROFL LOLOLOL LOLOL OMG POST POST I R POST STUFF LOLZ. OMG OMG AZN LOLOL. WOOT ROFL HAX OMG MAD HAX 1337 h4x omg woot.

It is good to know that, y'know, online talk is terrible. I mean just look at it. Then look at me. Compare the obvious difference. As you can see I am far superior to any online speak behavior. Anyways, I'd advise all mortals to y'know, avoid using such speaking behavior, especially in real life, because that's just plan silly, sheesh. AIM is y'know incredibly popular and is obviously corrupting our speech. We must put a stop to many online terms especially like, mad propz... that's just weak yo. And AZN who came up with that? that sucks, its detrimental to society. Science has proven that such spelling as AZN will lead to the destruction of every living being on the planet. This is similar to fossil fuels which should also be avoided because it is evil. Solar power is a far more superior solution, kind of like myself. The superior solution, man that is so cool.

A Tip for then Blogger Within...

2005-06-30T15:48:00.000-07:00
If you ever need some media our anything else for that matter to just Blog about I suggest downloading a web browser called Firefox. This will give you easy access to a thing called XML.

Basically this lets you recieve feeds, or links, to constantly updated information such as the 'Latest Headlines' or 'New Images'. Just check out the help sections and you can start checking out a daily dose of whatevertheheckyoufeellikelearningabout.

I suggest a spoonful of sugar to help the media go down.

Web Comics

2005-06-30T15:44:00.000-07:00
An increasingly popular trend on the web today is the rise of many web comics. Many web comics deal with the field of technology and video games. I have three personal favorites: Penny Arcade follows the shenanigans of Gabe and Tycho in their everyday geek lives. VGCats by Scott Ramsoomair follows the exploits of two cats and their experiences with video games. Finally, Digital Purgatory, a collaboration between Scott Ramsoomair and Nix Karcel, gives an interesting view of the life of two IT guys working in an office building full of less than intelligent computer users.

Picture of NYLF Bloggers

2005-06-30T15:43:00.000-07:00

random funnies...

2005-06-30T15:41:00.001-07:00
funny stuff a friend gave me....

If a schizophreniac threatens suicide, is it declared a hostage situation?
Duct tape is like the force, it has a Light side and a Dark side and it holds the Universe together.
Save a tree. Eat a beaver.
If you choke a Smurf, what color will it turn?
Some people hear voices... some see invisible people... others have no imagination whatsoever.
9 out of the 10 voices in my head agree that i'm sane.
If history is bound to repeat itself, bring on the beheading.
That which doesn't kill you... will probably try again.
The 50-50-90 Rule: anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90% probability you'll get it wrong.

The Media and You

2005-06-30T15:41:00.000-07:00
Lately the media has contained numerous reports on the current events in the world, some very true, others embellished upon. Whenever I read the newspaper, or watch the news for that matter, I always keep in mind this quote by Mark Twain:

"It has become a sarcastic proverb that a thing must be true if you saw it in a newspaper. That is the opinion intelligent people have of that lying vehicle in a nutshell. But the trouble is that the stupid people--who constitute the grand overwhelming majority of this and all other nations--do believe and are moulded and convinced by what they get out of a newspaper, and there is where the harm lies."

(Found on http://www.twainquotes.com/Newspaper.html)

Seth Godin's 20 Things

2005-06-30T15:39:00.000-07:00
Seth Godin listed 20 things that are good to know when growing up.
First 5 here:
1. How to type.
2. How to speak in front of a group.
3. How to write clear prose that other people actually want to read.
4. How to manage a project.
5. The most important lessons from American history.

Peanut Butter and Life

2005-06-30T15:38:00.003-07:00
My friend once told me that he felt that his life was like a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich, only that, after he had spread the peanut butter on the bread, there was no jelly in the fridge. He felt that his life was missing a key part of it, and that he had no idea where this part was, or if he did know, how he should recognize it. I guess life is like that sometimes. We all try so hard to achieve happiness, either through our work or studies or personal relationships that, sometimes, we miss out on a part of it. I've often felt the same way that my friend has, and have always wondered what it was that life was missing. After considering it, I assume that, life is only missing the things that we let it miss. My friend never searches for what his life was missing. Only complains that he's missing his jelly. After several personal changes in my own life, I have felt compelled to constantly search, whether internally or externally, for what I may be lacking. I haven't found it yet. I may never find it. But a life where I at least search for what it is I need seems better than only waiting for it to come to me.

The World in A Nutshell

2005-06-30T15:38:00.002-07:00

MURPHY'S OTHER LAWS

1. Everyone has a photographic memory. Some don't have film.
2. He who laughs last, thinks slowest.
3. A day without sunshine is like, well, night.
4. Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.
5. Back up my hard drive? How do I put it in reverse?
6. I just got lost in thought. It was unfamiliar territory.
7. When the chips are down, the buffalo is empty.
8. Seen it all, done it all. Can't remember most of it.
9. Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't.
10. I feel like I'm diagonally parked in a parallel universe.
11. He's not stupid -- he's electroencephalographically challenged.
12. She's always late. In fact, her ancestors arrived on the "Juneflower."
13. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted and used against you.
14. I wonder how much deeper the ocean would be without sponges.
15. Honk if you love peace and quiet.
16. Pardon my driving, I'm reloading.
17. Despite the cost of living, have you noticed how it remains so popular?
18. Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.
19. It is hard to understand how a cemetery can raise its burial costs and blame it on the higher cost of living.
20. Just remember if the world didn't suck, we'd all fall off.
21. The 50-50-90 rule: Anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90% probability you'll get it wrong.
22. It is said that if you line up all the cars in the world end to end, someone would be stupid enough to try and pass them.
23. You can't have everything. Where would you put it?
24. Latest survey shows that 3 out of 4 people make up 75% of the world population.
25. If the shoe fits, get another one just like it.
26. The things that come to those that wait may be the things left by those who got there first.
27. Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat all day drinking.
28. Flashlight: A case for holding dead batteries.
29. The shin bone is a device for finding furniture.
30. It was recently discovered that research causes cancer in rats.
31. Everybody lies, but it doesn't matter since nobody listens.
32. I wished the buck stopped here, as I could use a few.
33. I started out with nothing, and I still have most of it.
34. When you go into court, you are putting yourself in the hands of 12 people who weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty.
35. Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak

IT Conversations

2005-06-30T15:36:00.000-07:00
Best Podcasts around for IT stuff: IT Conversations

Skating to where the puck will be

2005-06-30T14:10:00.000-07:00
I stole the title of this post from John Robb a friend of mine writing an interesting blog from the East Coast. Originally Wayne Gretzky said it when asked why he was such a good hockey player.

Things that are going to be big in a very short time: Personal Fabrication or in Multiplayer Online Game that creates their own worlds: Second Life

Mission to Mars

2005-06-28T21:14:00.000-07:00
Just saw the schedule of the NYLF event (unfortunately it is not online).

My session is in paralell to :
Human Missions to Mars: Planning the Trip of a Lifetime

I think that is not fair. Mission to Mars is of course so much cooler than making sure you have the pointers to find your fullfilling life.

How many people will actually go to Mars? How many will go out of my session and have created a post to share with everyone? Hopefully Everyone.

Perspective

2005-06-27T20:21:00.000-07:00
Not everyone has a straight forward life growing up. Get a different perspective by getting to know people and their stories beyond your own school the area you grow up or even the US.

Chasse a friend of mine is helping out kids in a poorer Daily City neighborhood. With her help they created little videos of their life. Check them out, they are coming from the heart.

Here is a little selection: Video One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, All.

Biggest Fear

2005-06-26T00:04:00.000-07:00
Traveling a lot lately I have seen Coach Carter twice. It is a bit sappy and painted a bit thick for my taste. There too, only after they have their day job school on an O.K. level were they allowed to follow their passion basketball.

Carter asked them over and over: " What are your biggest fear?". Until one student comes back and says:
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most
frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented,
and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your
playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about
shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant
to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is
within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own
light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we
are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
I thought: Wow, that is deep. That can't come from the authors of the movie. Turns out it is from a speech by Nelson Mandela and was originally written by Marianne Williamson. [Correction: Nelson Mandela never used the quote.]

P.S. Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for over 40 years. He came out of it and didn't have an Axe to grind, that puts him up there with the saints. His autobiography Long Walk to Freedom is available on the internet and very inspirational:
When I walked out of prison, that was my mission, to liberate the oppressed
and the oppressor both. Some say that has now been achieved. But I know that
that is not the case. The truth is that we are not yet free; we have merely
achieved the freedom to be free, the right not to be oppressed. We have not
taken the final step of our journey, but the first step on a longer and even
more difficult road. For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but
to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. The true test
of our devotion to freedom is just beginning.

School as Day Job

2005-06-25T11:33:00.000-07:00
When I asked for good recommendations for this session Tim Freeman linked to Paul Graham's talk What you'll whished you'd known. I think it is excellent. Read it. The thing that stuck in my mind was treat School as Day Job:

If I had to go through high school again, I'd treat it like a day job. I
don't mean that I'd slack in school. Working at something as a day job doesn't
mean doing it badly. It means not being defined by it. I mean I wouldn't think
of myself as a high school student, just as a musician with a day job as a
waiter doesn't think of himself as a waiter. [3] And when I wasn't working at my
day job I'd start trying to do real work.

Do the necessary things to be good in school and focus the rest of the time on what you really want to do. It's a great mind set.

Learners

2005-06-22T22:51:00.000-07:00
Quotes I stumbled over at my friends' Accelerating Times:

"In a time of change, it is learners who inherit the future. The learned find themselves well equipped to live in a world that no longer exists." — Eric Hoffer"

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you did not do than those you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. Give yourself away to the sea of life." — Mark Twain

Time

2005-06-21T22:32:00.000-07:00

There are ~ 31,557,600 seconds in a year. Life expectancy in the US is ~ 77 years which are 924 month or 28,124 days or 674,982 hours or 40,498,920 minutes or 2,429,935,200 seconds. You are about 13 years old your 410,248,800 seconds have already passed never to come back.
Troy Gardner's email signature is:
How you live your seconds, is how you live your days, is how you live your life.
Are we putting our seconds to good use? How should we live our seconds? We make choices every day.
My personal goal is to live a rich and fulfilled life. My choices are guided by the following principles (and I don't claim that these are the right ones for everyone):
Active over passive: Play ball instead of watch ball.
Live versus canned: Go see a rock concert versus watch one on TV.
Create versus consume: Bake a cake instead of buy a cake.
Together with friends or family versus alone.
For a good cause.
These are only guiding principles. Sometimes it is great to relax and just get entertained by good movie alone, but make it a conscious choice. Reflect every day about how you spend your time and what to do better the next 86,400 seconds.

Links to Good To Know Things

2005-06-20T16:33:00.000-07:00
If there are things that are good to know, that help you grow up, and aren't we all still growing up? Please post a comment.

The Students and I will greatly appreciated it. If you want to be added as a contributor write that too and I will send an invitation.

On the 30th of June I will present as many of these tips as I can cram into 40 minutes and the rest of the 1.5 hours I want the students themsleves to post their own tips for their peers.

I am really courious about how this will play out.

Inspired by the Greats

2005-06-20T11:04:00.000-07:00
Read biographies of people that have achieved something big. Even better listen to tell it in their own words. One of the best examples is Steve Wozniak the force behind the Apple II. Listen to it from IT Conversations Brilliant in hardware as well as in software. His stories are really eye opening. (Others I like a lot: SIMs inventor Will Wright and Dough Engelbart there is also a video of his Future Salon presentation available on the Internet Archive)

Get inspired not discouraged by these exceptional biographies, they have tones of tips on why they got where they are now: Passion for what you are doing and discipline to really make it happen are only two of them.

Young Achievers

2005-06-16T21:20:00.000-07:00
Even being young, you may be more capable then you think

There are examples in the history where amazing leadership was shown already in a very early age. Example is Admiral David Farragut who was a naval officer during the American Civil War.

When only 12 years old, he was given command of a prize ship taken by USS Essex, and brought her safely to port.

Flow

2005-06-14T06:24:00.000-07:00
Flow is a very interesting concept. And as usual Wikipedia to the resuce if you want to make yourself familiar with it:
With flow the psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi names the feeling of complete and energized focus in an activity, with a high level of enjoyment and fulfillment.

Although with the day to day living I often forget this, but FLOW is my target state of being. The thing I strive for being in. If you are in flow, you are fulfilling your own potential.

7 Habits

2005-06-13T18:45:00.000-07:00
Steven Covey has studied highly effective people and distilled the essence in this book: 7 Habits of highly effective people.

Here they are with links from Leadership U:
Inside-Out
A New Level of Thinking
Overview
The Seven Habits -- An Overview
Habit 1
Be Proactive: Principles of Personal Vision
Habit 2
Begin with the End in Mind: Principles of Personal Leadership
Habit 3
Put First Things First: Principles of Personal Management
Habit 4
Think Win/Win: Principles of Interpersonal Leadership
Habit 5
Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood
Habit 6
Synergize Principles of Creative Communication
Habit 7
Sharpen the Saw: Principles of Balanced Self-Renewal
Inside-Out Again
Final Thoughts

Use Flashcards

2005-05-24T15:19:00.000-07:00
Make it easy and fun to memorize stuff at FlashcardExchange. Create Flash cards or use the ones that others have created for you. Love that they offer the memory game with it. You can also download it to your PDA. Sweet.

If only I could upload pictures, so I can work on improving my name recognition.

National Youth Leadership Forum Group Blog

2005-05-24T14:28:00.000-07:00
For this year's National Youth Leadership Forum this is a Group Blog that will be populated during the session run by me Mark Finnern.