Do Something Crazy
Sometimes we all gotta do something crazy…something that scares the ever living shit out us. We gotta do this so we know exactly who life will NOT turn out.
What I Love (and don’t love) About The iPad
I’ve had my iPad now for 4 days and here’s just a list of things that I love about this device.
- Ridiculously fast
- Native apps are actually good and useful
- Safari on the iPad is just as fast as Safari on my Macbook
- Everything just looks gorgeous on the screen
- Its something everyone can use (my 3 year old nephew loves Traffic Rush)
- Netflix streaming
- The keyboard is really easy to get use to (in landscape mode)
- Apple allows Amazon and B&N to make book readers
- Picture Frame Mode when I’m charging the device
- Bluetooth keyboard instead of buying a $70 keyboard dock
Ok just to be fair there are a few things I do not like about the device.
- Huge black bars when I go into landscape view on video playback
- The keyboard in portrait view is too small and uncomfortable
- “HD” apps are too expensive
- iBooks needs to be open to other than e-pub format
Failure = Success
I’ve pretty much fallen flat on my face with my rules for giving up laziness for lent. Rules are made to be broken, I guess. Out of 7 things I said I was going to follow, I’ve broken 5 or 6 of those rules. It’s not fun to fail at things. It always hurts a little, even if you don’t admit to it. And, in this case I’ve failed miserably and it kinda sucks to do that. In failing though there is a bit of success to be found.
In so many cultures, the oldest person is usually treated as the wisest. They are the ones who have experienced the most in life and have learned a lot about the world around them. They know a lot because they have either learned from others failures or have failed themselves. From that failure they learned something that can be passed on to someone so they do not make the same mistake.
Success, to me, is measured by the person who is willing to make huge mistakes and keep moving forward. It’s the person willing to fail at something so that next time they know exactly how to avoid those mistakes. If you aren’t willing to make mistakes, then you will NEVER become as successful as you would like to become.
I’m only human…and a little dancer.
Lazyness is a very hard habit to break. I’ve been on this experiment for a little over a week and I’m already slipping from my rules. There have been nights where I have been way too tired from the day and all I wanna do is sleep, so I don’t spent 15 minutes to clean up.
On the bright side, I haven’t touched fast food in over a two weeks and I’ve lost 5 pounds. So this whole experiment is not a complete loss.
But, I do need to refocus myself on the goal at hand and the rules I made for myself.
5 months ago | Tags: Lent Refocus life
Give It Up For Lent
Today is Mardi Gras (aka Fat Tuesday) and in tradition it is a time to indulge on your vices before Ash Wednesday (aka the beginning of the Lent season). During the Lent season, it has become a tradition to give up something during the 40 days building up to Easter Sunday and the resurrection of Christ. Over the years, I gave up silly things that I could go without because I’d never get exposed to them on a regular basis (i.e. ice cream or tea).
This year I want to do something drastically different for lent. I want to see if I can give up a characteristic for lent. For lent I am giving up laziness…yes you read it right LAZINESS!!
What is laziness you ask? Well laziness takes on different definitions for people. To me there things I do in my life that I consider lazy:
- Grab fast food instead of packing a lunch for work.
- Not exercising and replacing that with channel surfing on the couch
- When I get bored my go to thing is to play video games
- Avoiding homework/studying to the point where I work on things at the last minute.
- Cleaning up (dishes, doing laundry, general tidiness)
- Leaving at the last minute
There are a few things that I could have giving up for lent but I thought it would be a great idea to go after the source. I have written a list of rules for myself to follow during my time away from laziness. The rules are as followed:
- No fast food of any kind!!!
- Running at least 3 days a week (20 minutes minimum)
- If the washer/dryer is free I have to do a load of laundry if I have dirty clothes.
- If I work I have to be up at 6:30am and if I have the day off I can sleep until 8am. (Also, no snooze alarm)
- Going to study at least 2 hours a night at least 4 days a week.
- Spend 15 minutes every night before I go to bed to clean up.
- I am allowed to watch TV shows I currently am watching (i.e. House and White Collar) and podcasts (i.e. Diggnation, TRS, and Smodcast). But I am not allowed to use TV as my go to tool for boredom.
This is going to be an interesting experiment that I’m definitely going to accomplish but I’m very excited for the journey cause I know it’s going to be a tough journey. If you are giving up something for lent I wish you good luck.
Why The iPad Will Succeed
It’s been almost a week since Apple announced it’s newest revolution, the iPad. This product has been hyped as the second coming for tablets, also e-book readers, and personal computers. No one really knew what to expect because Apple is the most secure company when it comes to new products. When the iPad was announced, people were quick to judge what it did not have. People built so much hype around this product that the iPad was never going to live up to what people expected, but the iPad will still succeed.
The main reason why it will succeed is because Apple has made the price very appealing. At $499, the iPad comes with a 16 GB flash drive, surfs full web pages (flash excluded), a full color 9.7 inch screen, and is an ipod. Also, it’s an ebook reader that rivals the Kindle and the Nook.
Another reason is the App Store. It’s great that the iPad will play iPhone apps out of the box but when developers start making apps for the iPad people will see the potential the device has. One company that will make a big impact on the iPad is Square (squareup.com) and the idea that you can charge debit cards. You will see a lot of vendors/businesses using the iPad.
Finally, the iPad will interest people who don’t really need laptops. My parents use a laptop for email and farmville (I believe there will be a farmville app if there hasn’t already been one released). Other than that they only use the laptop for music and family photos. The iPad will be a perfect replacement for people who are looking for just a place to view photos, listen to music, maybe read a book, and check your mail.
Everyone has an opinion about the product but at this point we just have to wait until the end of March to see if this will become another revolution. I am definitely going to be line to get one when they are released and it’ll be my ebook reader. Until then I got some paper books to finish.
5 months ago | Tags: iPad Apple
People Won’t Pay For Something That WAS Free.
I’ve been reading news stories about services like Hulu and YouTube are toying with the idea of charging people to view their content. They, currently, are free services which are both being paid for by advertising either embedded in the videos or banners on the sides of the pages. If either site starts charging a membership fee to see their content then you will see a massive rebellion!! Hulu is a great place to catch up on shows you missed when they originally aired. YouTube is great to watch people do stupid things or find creative ways to display their talents. Both companies would be crazy to start charging people for content because they have offered everything for FREE up to this point. Come up with a creative way to make extra money (cause I know you make a ton already). Charge a fee to save shows or videos like a DVR or charge to see shows the day after they air. You gotta find a better way then to just close off things that were originally open and force people to pay to have that access. If either Hulu or YouTube does that then they are stupid and they will find out first hand when people go to new places or go back to pirating.
6 months ago | Tags: YouTube Hulu
Getting Away Changes Everything
I got back from Indiana yesterday and I already want to go book another flight or plan a road trip somewhere. There’s a feeling that you get when you get back from a trip that tells you only got to experience such a little part of something. It really makes you want to see what else is out there. I genuinely love traveling and going to experience things that you couldn’t in your hometown. Don’t get me wrong, I love New Orleans and the Saints (which I sadly missed a lot of the Cards game!), but New Orleans will go on without me for a few days.
When I get home I get a clearer sense of what makes me happy in life and what I want to do with my life. I know that I want to do and that obstacle of getting there seems more manageable. A feeling I didn’t have a week ago. Getting away changes everything because you get away from problems, stress, and the normal responsibilities for a little bit. It allows you to enjoy the basic things in life. To me those are love, laughter, and family.
I’m ready for my next outing, where ever that may be.
6 months ago | Tags: travel life
Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.
— Buddha
