Okay, scroll down on this Amazon.com listing of a wolf tee-shirt and look at the comments. I can't describe how happy they make me:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NZW3IY/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_dp
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Friday, May 8, 2009
What a great idea!
The world is full of wonderful ideas. Here are a few I've discovered lately:
http://images.google.com/imagelabeler/
This is brilliant way Google found to both entertain us and help their own company. I'll just paste below the description from their site:
"Welcome to Google Image Labeler, a feature of Google Search that allows you to label images and help improve the quality of Google's image search results. How does it work?
You'll be randomly paired with a partner who's online and using the feature. Over a two-minute period, you and your partner will:
* View the same set of images.
* Provide as many labels as possible to describe each image you see.
* Receive points when your label matches your partner's label. The number of points will depend on how specific your label is.
* See more images until time runs out.
After time expires, you can explore the images you've seen and the websites where those images were found. And we'll show you the points you've earned throughout the session."
http://inventorspot.com/
This is just a really fun website for anyone fascinated by the art of invention. I mean, I no joke just read about a zero gravity micro car, basically a remote control car you can drive along your walls!!! I kid you not. If that's not awesome, I don't know what is.
http://www.blogtv.com/
This isn't really a new, ground-breaking thing. I just felt like including it because earlier this week I watched one of my favorite authors (John Green) reading poetry and fielding questions over this service. The window on the left will show the live video feed of the person while anyone watching can talk in the chatroom on the right. I'm sure most of the shows are lame, but I know my author was entertaining!
http://www.hotel626.com/
This is by far one of the most elaborate and creative advertisements I've ever seen. The site was put together by Doritos and is only "open" from 6PM-6AM. Basically you're led through a frightening journey out of a haunted hotel. Thank you, Doritos!
youtube.com
Okay, I'm throwing this on the list because it's RIDICULOUS if you really stop and think about it -- we live in an age where you can pull up a website, do a quick search for just about any recorded thing on the face of the planet, and be watching it in milliseconds. This is absolutely insane!!!! We've already learned to take it for granted, but just stop for a second and realize how absolutely insane this is!!!!
We ARE the future. wait, what(?), that doesn't even make sense. But here's a simple test of how expansive youtube is --- have you ever done a search for a song you wanted to hear and NOT found both a studio and live version on youtube? Whenever I search and can't find anything I'm SHOCKED. Haha, just goes to show.
http://www.readatwork.com/
Here is a really cleverly designed website for, as the url states, a person to read while at work. Even if you don't read, click on the site real quick and appreciate the look of it... it's pretty cool. Right now I'm reading Emily Dickinson Poetry that looks just like a formal work powerpoint.
http://images.google.com/imagelabeler/
This is brilliant way Google found to both entertain us and help their own company. I'll just paste below the description from their site:
"Welcome to Google Image Labeler, a feature of Google Search that allows you to label images and help improve the quality of Google's image search results. How does it work?
You'll be randomly paired with a partner who's online and using the feature. Over a two-minute period, you and your partner will:
* View the same set of images.
* Provide as many labels as possible to describe each image you see.
* Receive points when your label matches your partner's label. The number of points will depend on how specific your label is.
* See more images until time runs out.
After time expires, you can explore the images you've seen and the websites where those images were found. And we'll show you the points you've earned throughout the session."
http://inventorspot.com/
This is just a really fun website for anyone fascinated by the art of invention. I mean, I no joke just read about a zero gravity micro car, basically a remote control car you can drive along your walls!!! I kid you not. If that's not awesome, I don't know what is.
http://www.blogtv.com/
This isn't really a new, ground-breaking thing. I just felt like including it because earlier this week I watched one of my favorite authors (John Green) reading poetry and fielding questions over this service. The window on the left will show the live video feed of the person while anyone watching can talk in the chatroom on the right. I'm sure most of the shows are lame, but I know my author was entertaining!
http://www.hotel626.com/
This is by far one of the most elaborate and creative advertisements I've ever seen. The site was put together by Doritos and is only "open" from 6PM-6AM. Basically you're led through a frightening journey out of a haunted hotel. Thank you, Doritos!
youtube.com
Okay, I'm throwing this on the list because it's RIDICULOUS if you really stop and think about it -- we live in an age where you can pull up a website, do a quick search for just about any recorded thing on the face of the planet, and be watching it in milliseconds. This is absolutely insane!!!! We've already learned to take it for granted, but just stop for a second and realize how absolutely insane this is!!!!
We ARE the future. wait, what(?), that doesn't even make sense. But here's a simple test of how expansive youtube is --- have you ever done a search for a song you wanted to hear and NOT found both a studio and live version on youtube? Whenever I search and can't find anything I'm SHOCKED. Haha, just goes to show.
http://www.readatwork.com/
Here is a really cleverly designed website for, as the url states, a person to read while at work. Even if you don't read, click on the site real quick and appreciate the look of it... it's pretty cool. Right now I'm reading Emily Dickinson Poetry that looks just like a formal work powerpoint.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Squelching a Funk
Let's talk about God's love for a quick moment; it's jealous, perfect, intentional, and never failing. I mean, seriously, He's passionately, jealously desiring to spend time with us. It shouldn't be complicated/difficult to feel loved-- He's never stopped loving us.
Yet every now and then we'll fall into a funk. I had the night off last night. I NEVER have the night off so I was pretty excited going into it. Would I do work? No! Would I start preparing lessons or research for papers or run errands? No!! I was going to bum around, play some video games or something, and get some rest.
But... going into the night I saw a couple couple's too many --- you know, the kind that are, uh, actually in love with each other. It's amazing how drastically a small trigger can throw off the next few hours.
Now fortunately I sensed the funk so did some things to snap me out of it --- for example switch gears, DON'T listen to sad music, find a good friend to talk to, etc. I tried cutting the funk off at the pass... and meh, was mildly successful.
Still, it shouldn't be hard for me to feel loved. I KNOW that God loves me, I've been blessed with years of Him making that love clear to me. But argh, somewhere along the way I picked up a lie that surfaces every now and then, a lie that says... well, doesn't matter what the lie says. What matters is that God's love is jealous, perfect, intentional, and everlasting.
Yet every now and then we'll fall into a funk. I had the night off last night. I NEVER have the night off so I was pretty excited going into it. Would I do work? No! Would I start preparing lessons or research for papers or run errands? No!! I was going to bum around, play some video games or something, and get some rest.
But... going into the night I saw a couple couple's too many --- you know, the kind that are, uh, actually in love with each other. It's amazing how drastically a small trigger can throw off the next few hours.
Now fortunately I sensed the funk so did some things to snap me out of it --- for example switch gears, DON'T listen to sad music, find a good friend to talk to, etc. I tried cutting the funk off at the pass... and meh, was mildly successful.
Still, it shouldn't be hard for me to feel loved. I KNOW that God loves me, I've been blessed with years of Him making that love clear to me. But argh, somewhere along the way I picked up a lie that surfaces every now and then, a lie that says... well, doesn't matter what the lie says. What matters is that God's love is jealous, perfect, intentional, and everlasting.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Finally the end of the week
I'm way too hard on myself. Can any of you relate to that? Blech, it's horrible. I've been so busy this past week --- and I've learned that I haven't done a great job at building margins into my life. If I'm not able to get work done during the regular hours of the day, I normally stay up a tiny bit later to complete the spillover. Usually that process keeps me afloat because I'll have a few days of recovery between every late night.
When an abnormally high amount of schoolwork or friends' issues begins to peak, however, suddenly that rare late night turns into every single night of the week. I find myself at 2 in the morning thinking, "I have to get up in 4 hours. How has this happened to me again??"
And the unfortunate thing about physical/emotional exhaustion in my life is that it leads to a whole mess of new problems: I'm much less forgiving to myself, I have less energy to give to others, I start mixing up the little details one is supposed to take care of.
Plus, compassion is infinitely harder when I feel like I've been drained of every emotion I've ever had or even thought of having. Anyway, I write this just to say we all need to build some margins into our lives. Who knows, maybe all of you are better at taking care of yourselves than I am at taking care of myself. But if not, if any of this post resonates with you, then shame on you(!) ;-) you need to ease up and psh, get some sleep.
When an abnormally high amount of schoolwork or friends' issues begins to peak, however, suddenly that rare late night turns into every single night of the week. I find myself at 2 in the morning thinking, "I have to get up in 4 hours. How has this happened to me again??"
And the unfortunate thing about physical/emotional exhaustion in my life is that it leads to a whole mess of new problems: I'm much less forgiving to myself, I have less energy to give to others, I start mixing up the little details one is supposed to take care of.
Plus, compassion is infinitely harder when I feel like I've been drained of every emotion I've ever had or even thought of having. Anyway, I write this just to say we all need to build some margins into our lives. Who knows, maybe all of you are better at taking care of yourselves than I am at taking care of myself. But if not, if any of this post resonates with you, then shame on you(!) ;-) you need to ease up and psh, get some sleep.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Grad Student
Good evening, all!
I know I’m missing out on some Saturday night activities out there (which definitely bums me out), but it was time for me to come home after my activities today: a nine hour class, driving around a bit, and now I’m home to get some more work done before tomorrow morning. The fun never ends. :-P
Which started me thinking about my classmates and how they’re all having long days. For example, I just dropped off a couple classmates at the airport so they could fly back to their respective homes. Yes, you read that correctly, I did say airport. Isn’t that insane!? These classmates of mine fly in for each and every single class (I know ASU students that won’t roll out of bed for a class that’s 30 seconds away!). In my mind that makes my classmates superheroes.
They’re committing a large amount of time and energy towards something they’re passionate about. It won’t make them famous… won’t make them tons of money (“wait, hold up, a life of ministry doesn’t lead to a ton of money?” the crowds gasp)… but they’re pushing themselves beyond the point of exhaustion because they know it’s something profoundly worthwhile.
These superheroes, they’re working hard because they yearn to get better at caring for the people God has placed in their lives. And it’s their drive/discipline that inspires me to work hard myself. Their love for Jesus encourages me to be intentional with my own priorities.
So it’s in their honor I share a few graduate student jokes I stumbled across recently (and by the way I can honestly say the below items are true for my own life, haha):
You know you’re a grad student when…
* you can identify universities by their internet domains.
* you are constantly looking for a thesis in novels.
* you have difficulty reading anything that doesn't have footnotes.
* you understand jokes about Foucault.
* you consider caffeine to be a major food group.
* you've ever brought books with you on vacation and actually studied.
* Saturday nights spent studying no longer seem weird. (hahaha! As evidenced by what I’ll be doing when I finish posting)
* the professor doesn't show up to class and you discuss the readings anyway.
* you appreciate the fact that you get to choose which twenty hours out of the day you have to work.
* you find taking notes in a park relaxing.
* you find yourself citing sources in conversation.
* you've ever sent a personal letter with footnotes.
* you are startled to meet people who neither need nor want to read.
* you have ever brought a scholarly article to a bar.
* you rate coffee shops by the availability of outlets for your laptop.
* everything reminds you of something in your discipline.
* you have ever discussed academic matters at a sporting event.
* there is a microfilm reader in the library that you consider "yours."
* you actually have a preference between microfilm and microfiche.
* you can tell the time of day by looking at the traffic flow at the library.
* you consider all papers to be works in progress.
* professors don't really care when you turn in work anymore.
* you have given up trying to keep your books organized and are now just trying to keep them all in the same general area.
* you have accepted guilt as an inherent feature of relaxation.
* you find yourself explaining to children that you are in "20th grade".
* you look forward to taking some time off to do laundry.
* you have more photocopy cards than credit cards.
* you wonder if APA style allows you to cite talking to yourself as "personal communication".
* you have a favourite flavour of instant noodle.
I know I’m missing out on some Saturday night activities out there (which definitely bums me out), but it was time for me to come home after my activities today: a nine hour class, driving around a bit, and now I’m home to get some more work done before tomorrow morning. The fun never ends. :-P
Which started me thinking about my classmates and how they’re all having long days. For example, I just dropped off a couple classmates at the airport so they could fly back to their respective homes. Yes, you read that correctly, I did say airport. Isn’t that insane!? These classmates of mine fly in for each and every single class (I know ASU students that won’t roll out of bed for a class that’s 30 seconds away!). In my mind that makes my classmates superheroes.
They’re committing a large amount of time and energy towards something they’re passionate about. It won’t make them famous… won’t make them tons of money (“wait, hold up, a life of ministry doesn’t lead to a ton of money?” the crowds gasp)… but they’re pushing themselves beyond the point of exhaustion because they know it’s something profoundly worthwhile.
These superheroes, they’re working hard because they yearn to get better at caring for the people God has placed in their lives. And it’s their drive/discipline that inspires me to work hard myself. Their love for Jesus encourages me to be intentional with my own priorities.
So it’s in their honor I share a few graduate student jokes I stumbled across recently (and by the way I can honestly say the below items are true for my own life, haha):
You know you’re a grad student when…
* you can identify universities by their internet domains.
* you are constantly looking for a thesis in novels.
* you have difficulty reading anything that doesn't have footnotes.
* you understand jokes about Foucault.
* you consider caffeine to be a major food group.
* you've ever brought books with you on vacation and actually studied.
* Saturday nights spent studying no longer seem weird. (hahaha! As evidenced by what I’ll be doing when I finish posting)
* the professor doesn't show up to class and you discuss the readings anyway.
* you appreciate the fact that you get to choose which twenty hours out of the day you have to work.
* you find taking notes in a park relaxing.
* you find yourself citing sources in conversation.
* you've ever sent a personal letter with footnotes.
* you are startled to meet people who neither need nor want to read.
* you have ever brought a scholarly article to a bar.
* you rate coffee shops by the availability of outlets for your laptop.
* everything reminds you of something in your discipline.
* you have ever discussed academic matters at a sporting event.
* there is a microfilm reader in the library that you consider "yours."
* you actually have a preference between microfilm and microfiche.
* you can tell the time of day by looking at the traffic flow at the library.
* you consider all papers to be works in progress.
* professors don't really care when you turn in work anymore.
* you have given up trying to keep your books organized and are now just trying to keep them all in the same general area.
* you have accepted guilt as an inherent feature of relaxation.
* you find yourself explaining to children that you are in "20th grade".
* you look forward to taking some time off to do laundry.
* you have more photocopy cards than credit cards.
* you wonder if APA style allows you to cite talking to yourself as "personal communication".
* you have a favourite flavour of instant noodle.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Online projects
Many of you know that my family just started a video blog we're uber-excited about: The Emphatics!
But ours isn't the only interesting project taking place through the great interweb:
* Postsecret
This weekly blog showcases the anonymous secrets people send in on postcards. The guy who started it just wanted to give his friends a way of anonymously getting something off of there chest... but the idea caught on so quickly that he now receives millions of postcards from around the world, has published several books of the secrets, and tours around the United States giving lectures on his project. Some secrets are sad, some are very profound, some are great just because of the artistic design --- but no matter what their appeal, they are always worth checking out.
* Brotherhood 2.0
Two brothers decide not to communicate except through video blogs for an entire year... and they don't mind if you watch them do it. I absolutely love this site. It began as a small challenge between two brothers and grew into a community of fans (who have their own social networking site). One of the brothers is a favorite author of mine, John Green. Click on the link and see why their project attracted so much interest.
* 1001 Journals
Though the project has changed a bit since it was first made, it's still a fun idea. Originally the person left 1000 journals across the country with a simple message in the front, "Move these books around until they're full, then send back to the included address." Some books came back quickly, others took years and years to be returned, some are still out there (or probably got destroyed). But the success of that initial surge of journals led to a more organized way of keeping community journals. Give it a quick peak if this kind of thing sparks your interest.
* Geocaching
All you need is a handheld GPS unit and you can join in the greatest scavenger hunt ever devised! Within 10 miles of where you're currently sitting are dozens, possibly hundreds of secretly hidden caches to discover.
* Bookmooch
The above link is just one of the many examples of sites popping up where the purpose is to facilitate a free, point-based exchange program. Basically, if you have a bunch of books lying around that you don't mind parting with, you can send them through the bookmooch system, build up points, and ask for books from others. I've seen other sites that use this same concept with video games, movies, etc.
Also, I've seen a similar trend of sites that use a free achievement/point system to motivate their users to contribute. Allpoetry is a good example for casual poets/writers, Sparkpeople is a BRILLIANT site to get people motivated to live healthier lives (it includes the most exhaustive recipe and nutrition tracking database I've ever seen, points awarded for reaching personal goals, a community aspect so you have others to share in the process with, etc).
But anyways, I just thought I'd post some of these links up in today's post because they show that there are a lot of really fascinating social projects taking place online these days. Paper newspapers are disappearing in place of online publications (will news aggregation sites lose out in the new legal battles?), music bands releasing their cds online for "whatever you feel comfortable paying" are proving to the music industry that new mediums can be successful, etc., the list goes on.
Have you guys seen any interesting online trends lately? Leave a comment if you'd like to share with all of us what you've seen :-)
But ours isn't the only interesting project taking place through the great interweb:
* Postsecret
This weekly blog showcases the anonymous secrets people send in on postcards. The guy who started it just wanted to give his friends a way of anonymously getting something off of there chest... but the idea caught on so quickly that he now receives millions of postcards from around the world, has published several books of the secrets, and tours around the United States giving lectures on his project. Some secrets are sad, some are very profound, some are great just because of the artistic design --- but no matter what their appeal, they are always worth checking out.
* Brotherhood 2.0
Two brothers decide not to communicate except through video blogs for an entire year... and they don't mind if you watch them do it. I absolutely love this site. It began as a small challenge between two brothers and grew into a community of fans (who have their own social networking site). One of the brothers is a favorite author of mine, John Green. Click on the link and see why their project attracted so much interest.
* 1001 Journals
Though the project has changed a bit since it was first made, it's still a fun idea. Originally the person left 1000 journals across the country with a simple message in the front, "Move these books around until they're full, then send back to the included address." Some books came back quickly, others took years and years to be returned, some are still out there (or probably got destroyed). But the success of that initial surge of journals led to a more organized way of keeping community journals. Give it a quick peak if this kind of thing sparks your interest.
* Geocaching
All you need is a handheld GPS unit and you can join in the greatest scavenger hunt ever devised! Within 10 miles of where you're currently sitting are dozens, possibly hundreds of secretly hidden caches to discover.
* Bookmooch
The above link is just one of the many examples of sites popping up where the purpose is to facilitate a free, point-based exchange program. Basically, if you have a bunch of books lying around that you don't mind parting with, you can send them through the bookmooch system, build up points, and ask for books from others. I've seen other sites that use this same concept with video games, movies, etc.
Also, I've seen a similar trend of sites that use a free achievement/point system to motivate their users to contribute. Allpoetry is a good example for casual poets/writers, Sparkpeople is a BRILLIANT site to get people motivated to live healthier lives (it includes the most exhaustive recipe and nutrition tracking database I've ever seen, points awarded for reaching personal goals, a community aspect so you have others to share in the process with, etc).
But anyways, I just thought I'd post some of these links up in today's post because they show that there are a lot of really fascinating social projects taking place online these days. Paper newspapers are disappearing in place of online publications (will news aggregation sites lose out in the new legal battles?), music bands releasing their cds online for "whatever you feel comfortable paying" are proving to the music industry that new mediums can be successful, etc., the list goes on.
Have you guys seen any interesting online trends lately? Leave a comment if you'd like to share with all of us what you've seen :-)
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Beyond Soda
I have a new love... and that new love is Pop the Soda Shop which is at McDowell and 74th Street. The entire store is filled with specialty sodas from around the world, most pretty bizarre. My kinda place.
Somehow Brent convinced me to split the cost of a Root Beer Keg. Sigh, haha. So now I can truthfully say, "I've bought a keg." What has this youth group done to me!?
This communist soda has got to be one of the funniest sodas in there. "There's a party in every bottle..." "A taste worth standing in line for..." "Lininade..."
Who wouldn't love that?
Here's a Japanese soda. Unlike the Leninade, this soda seems less gimicky, more genuine. I don't think it necessarily makes me an honorary Japanese citizen... but it certainly brings me one step closer.
And here's a soda that's really popular in Austria. Oompah?
Brain Wash, blue flavor. The kids insisted. Would they say why? No. Does that make me suspicious and scared? Of course.
The tamest scenario I'm imagining is that it will turn my mouth blue. But I honestly don't know...
If anyone finds out the dangers of this soda, contact me IMMEDIATELY before I drink it within the next 24 hours.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
OCD
Sigh, it's normal to spend twenty minutes clicking your alarm clock button until it feels even, right? If friends come over and slightly move the books on the bookshelf, it's normal to feel off until the books are straightened out again. To avoid pens with caps because you don't want people to notice how much attention you put into lining the cap up with the pen's lettering. To go to the restroom not because you need to go, but because you feel the compulsion to do one of your tics and you don't want to embarrass yourself. All normal, right? Oiy. Well anyway, here's a couple videos that mix funny with sad on the issue:
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