Peaceful Driver Challenge

CHALLENGE

Drive defensively. Even if someone drives recklessly, just keep calm. When they honk at you, cut you off, or flip you off, just let it go. Smile at them and send them happy thoughts. DO NOT curse at all. Keep the peace and drive on.

This was a particularly difficult challenge for me. I've always loved driving, but I picked up some bad driving habits along the way. Over time, I've developed some unhealthy automatic reactions that I noticed I needed to change. I remember Lisa saying something like 'driving angry is like a poison that eats away at your organs while the other driver is happily driving along, oblivious to your pain.' It was relevant to me because I used to stress myself over reckless drivers. It was like I was telepathically asking them "How the hell did you get your license!?" while giving them the 'stare.' I'm glad I've changed. Now I love driving even more.

The Tree Thing

Here is a simple way to help keep yourself happy. Just do the three thing.

The Tree (3) Thing

1. When you wake up, name three things that you are thankful for.
2. Say three positive things about yourself.
3. Say three positive things about nature.
4. Say three positive things about someone else.
5. Before you sleep, name three things that you are thankful for.

Make this a daily thing. Make it a habit. Do the tree thing whenever you see a tree.

* Once you master this, you can easily mix or add 3 things on each step. For example, you can add three goals you want to accomplish on step 1.  


 



 

Parking Lot Challenge

CHALLENGE

Instead of trying to find the closest parking space, go farther down the lot. Park on a space with no cars to your front, left, or right, then walk to your destination. Log some extra steps!.



This challenge is easy on a sunny day. Sometimes walking a bit farther actually saves time from hovering through the parking lot, searching for a space that's closer to the store.

Stairs Challenge

CHALLENGE

Instead of taking the elevator, take the stairs. Do this every single time, whether you're only going one floor up or ten floors. Climb those stairs fast, maintaining proper posture.



I remember a co-worker, Clare used to only take the stairs at work --- and we worked on the 4th floor! I thought it was a little funny, but good for her if that's what she wanted to do! Well, I've been doing this challenge and I can totally see why now. If you live a sedentary lifestyle, this challenge can give you a quick boost of energy. You're going to log in some extra miles and build some serious calves. Skip that elevator, baby!

Apple Placement

APPLE, THE KING OF PRODUCT PLACEMENT

Does it matter where you’ve seen this logo? Yes. Yes, it does. Product placement is used by companies as a promotional tactic to expose consumers with their brands. It is a very effective way to present a company’s product because it is shown in a setting that customers are interested in. Apple is definitely the king of movie product placement. Consumers can easily recognize the apple logo and products in movies because of its simple, yet catchy design. Apple knows the value of promoting their products through product placement. Viewers can easily skip commercials, but they can’t avoid product placements.

When you watch a movie that is likely to do well in the box office, Apple made sure that you know what the stars are using. The company wants to bury the idea deep into your subconscious. I'm sure you've noticed when it comes to the big-name movies: There're Apples here, Apples there, Apples everywhere! They won't be doing it if it doesn't work, and it sure does work. In fact, I already expect it for the movies I watch and make it a point seek it out. It's become a sort of a game to me.

I encourage you to visit Brandchannel.com and read any of their segments covering this topic. There are articles covering not just Apple, but multitudes of other companies advertising their products. It makes for a good read. As an example, here is one of their amusing bar graphs showing Apple’s history of product placement (in percentage) of number one movies by the year:

 

The Future of Computers



*So I found an essay I wrote for a threaded discussion at my school. I wrote this on April 12, 2012 and entitled it "The Future of Computers."



          Beware: robots will take over the world. Well maybe not robots, but computers at least have already taken over in a sense. Whether we like it or not, computers are involved in almost every aspect of our modern lives. They directly or indirectly assist people with simple activities such as watching television, driving cars, and surfing the Internet. What is amazing is that according to Moore’s law, computer technology will continue to evolve at an incredibly fast rate, doubling the number of transistors in integrated circuits every two years. That is dramatic increase in a such a short amount of time – so how far will computer technology go in 10, 20, or even 50 years from now? To discuss this, we must first look at what we have at present and then we can speculate about the future.

          Among the driving forces of change are the industry leaders in the technological field. Google for example, released its Project Glass prototype, which provides people with augmented reality. This interesting product gives people an interface to check the weather, take pictures/videos, or surf the Internet using eye movement. Contact lenses would improve even more in the future as innovators will find a way to add more features with lesser distractions to the user. Apple’s Siri on their iPhone series acts like a personal assistant, managing simple tasks such as scheduling meetings or texting people through speech and voice recognition technology. This will soon be obsolete, as future technologies would become much more complex. There will be translation software in people’s phones that negate the need for human translators. Even tasks at home like making coffee, changing the thermostat temperature, and turning on the TV/computer will be voice activated. Microsoft is even experimenting with 3-D touch inter faces as seen in their Holodesk project. I can already envision holographic sales associates or 3-D products used for demonstration purposes at stores nationwide a few decades from now. AMD, Extreme Reality, Intel, and the other technological giants provide the much needed competition, which only helps to speed up the progression of computer technology.

          Companies compete for what people need and want. In retrospect, people have an unquenchable thirst for speed, power, and convenience. This is why I predict that the bulky laptops will be replaced by tablet computers in the near future. In turn, smartphones (or something better) will replace these tablets. It could be something as small and portable as a pen. The need for physical screens will diminish over time, as screens and keyboards can be projected mid-air or on any suitable surface. However, I believe that desktops will stay for a while because people want power. People want enterprise-level supercomputers in the comfort of their own homes. This is also why I believe that quantum computers will be commercially available and would be common in most households in around 20-40 years, just like how PCs are right now. Though these seem like bold predictions, I believe that these are all plausible. Year after year, there are several scientific breakthroughs that help with the advancement of computer technology. Year after year, concepts of old are being materialized in the present. What seems crazy back then is synonymous to reality now. So what is the future of computers in 10, 20, or 50 years? We can all speculate, but no one truly knows the answer. All we know is this: with computer technology, the sky’s the limit – and that’s what makes it exciting.


Sources:

Google Project Glass
http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2012/04/googles-project-glass.html

Apple Siri
http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/siri.html

Microsoft Holodesk
http://blogs.technet.com/b/next/archive/2011/10/19/microsoft-research-shows-some-fresh-thinking-on-nui-and-touch-interface.aspx

Quantum Computers
http://www.howstuffworks.com/quantum-computer.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17688257

THE LOAF RANT

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LOAF RANT - A Positive Review of the Life of a Filipino