How I REALLY Feel About Religion
August 16th, 2008 § 3 Comments
Perhaps I’ll make a video version of this one day…
Whilst taking my morning shower I was thinking about religion and how I feel about it. Well, not so much how I feel about it (I’m very comfortable with my feeling/understanding of religion in general) but how to express this feeling to others in a way that… wouldn’t upset them too much. I thought I came up with a really good metaphor (or analogy, I get the two confused. 
)
Anyhow here’s the thought:
Religion is the continued propagation of an idea like Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny, for adults.
Boom. Nice and simple. Can you think back to when Santa was “real”? What if there was an organization whose main goal was to make sure everyone on the planet got presents on Christmas? That’s what religion is for a number of beliefs/ideas.
Now this is where I save myself from anyone countering my thought. I won’t say which (false) beliefs are being propagated by whom (except for [Scientology, they're TOTALLY BALLZ]), what I will say is that it is (or should be) up to the individual to discover what is “right” for themselves (with guidance here and there.) [Some] Organized religions fucks up this process with smoke and mirrors getting adults to continue to believe in an adult version of Santa Claus.
Analogy vs Metaphor
Thought I’d do a google search and sort this all out. I think it’s too early for me to try to understand [the #1 page for the search term "analogy vs metaphor"].
Google Educators (and How I found It)
August 14th, 2008 § 1 Comment
[Google Educators] looks pretty funking badass. Seeing as I’m going to be the technology dude at a school this year I’m glad I “stumbled” across it. I’m sure I’ll be writing about Google Educators more in the future if I end up using it (and I probably will since I’m all a Google Fanboy and all. )
Randomness Isn’t So Random
This story you’re about to read is a pretty good reflection of how my life works. My life looks pretty random at times, but it really isn’t. Observe…
Today’s journey of random started with a comment on [my most recent Vlog.] The comment fits into this story quite well because it actually had nothing to do with the Vlog. Here’s the comment:
Did u watch [Zeitgeist] yet?
I actually have. Seeing that prompted me to do a Youtube search to see if there were any videos out there with people talking about the movie (I’m thinking about making a video commenting on the movie.) That led me to a video from Google that looked pretty interesting (and it was, [a guy talking about branding and whatnot at a conference titled "Zeitgeist".]) After that, I ran around Google’s Youtube channel page a little bit and ran into this video:
Teachers and Principals Talk about Google Docs
Anyhow, the moral of this story is… I’m not exactly sure, but it has something to do with “keeping your eyes open.” Because I knew the school I’m going to be working for was looking for a solution like this and had that in the back of my head I was able to spot it. To illustrate the point I’m making watch this video:
Drinking Juice Naked
August 14th, 2008 § 1 Comment
So… I got back from my morning run and was about to jump in the shower and I say to myself “Oh! I didn’t eat breakfast yet.” So I make myself a bowl of cereal. I decide to wash down the cereal with a nice glass of Roundy’s Grapefruit Juice and mostly do when BOOM! Spillage all over me.
What makes this blogworthy to me is I NEVER spill stuff like that. I mean Juice EVERYWHERE, all over me and the floor. I found it interesting that I happened to be naked at the time AND about to get in the shower. What if I had just gotten out of the shower, got some nice stuff on and then BOOM!
I wonder if my motor skills decided to take a break because they knew I was naked and about to get in the shower and there wasn’t much to risk… Science may one day answer that question for me.
Milwaukee’s Brew City Brand
August 11th, 2008 § 1 Comment
I have a story. It’s a cool story. When I FIRST got the idea for making a T-Shirt I did a Google search and found the [Brew City Online] website. When I saw it I said to myself “THIS is the place I must get my T-Shirts printed.” My heart was set on it. I had no idea how I was going to make that happen, I just knew that that’s what I wanted.
Half a year later I’m running around through the Brew City Brand office with my Flip looking like an asshat. Dreams do come true. 
Brew City Brand
I had no idea how large of an operation the Brew City Brand was. I guess I never really thought about it either… I initially thought they were a shop at the [Grand Avenue Mall] and that was it. They are actually a lot more than that. They do the shirts for [Summerfest], the [Milwaukee Art Museum] and have even had some shirts in [Urban Outfitters.] They’re like t-shirt ninja-pimp-paladins or something. Awesome.
This is just a teaser blog post and video. I’m going to make another trip down there some time in the future to do a more detailed video tour for you guys. 
What Else in Milwaukee?
I mentioned doing “Milwaukee Monday’s” on my Youtube Channel. I don’t know how well I’ll stick to that schedule, but the point was that I’d be doing more videos (at least one a week) about Milwaukee. Could be a person, place or thing. What do YOU want to see?
The Palm Supermemo Chinese Databases
August 3rd, 2008 § 8 Comments
I put my HEART AND SOUL into these things so… That has made me reluctant to post them online over the years. I also have/had plans to make some UBER COOL Chinese learning software based on Supermemo and… well not necessarily these databases, but what I learned from making and using them.
When I say heart and soul, allow me to explain…
I am (or have been) diagnosed with bipolar. During my first year in Taiwan I was… pretty manic and used a lot of that energy for studying Chinese. I entered these flashcards into my palm via the PC or the palm itself, one by one for hours a day probably lasting… I don’t know how long. At home, on the subway, etc.
Anyhow, there are MUCH faster ways to create databases like these now, but… Well, if you have any questions about how to use these or whatnot, leave them in the comments and I’ll edit this post. I guess what I want now is recognition. If you end up using these databases and love them the way I did (and do) give me a pack on the back with a comment or something. I wanted to get some shit setup and sell them (and finish them first ) but… ah well. Just buy me a beer if you see me out.
Oh yeah. Another reason I never made them “public” is because they’re kind of unfinished so… Well, just know that they’re beta. (But still VERY awesome.)
Links:
[The Supermemo Website]
[Palm Version of Supermemo (that these databases work with)]
Note 2: The charge for these is feedback. I think there is NOTHING better than supermemo (for some people) for learning a language after my experience with Chinese.
Without further ado….
