Derek Sivers: “After 15 years of practice…”.
Derek, you do the same as you did for singing, and you will become a great programmer in 10.
Related: A great thread at Hacker News.
Category Archives: Friends, Family, Life
Rock Nightmare’s latest interview – Joey Z of Life of Agony
Dante’s blog is really taking shape. His latest interview is with Joey Z from “Life of Agony.
Are you past, present, or future oriented?
Our perspective of time drives how we perceive the now we live in and the decisions we make.
Watch (it’s only 10 minutes) YouTube: “RSA Animate – The Secret Powers of Time by Professor Philip Zimbardo”:
I can actually trace where, in different parts of my history, from living day to day sleeping on the train, to going to Chubb Technical Institute, to meeting Richelle, to becoming a Dad, my perspective has changed.
It reminds me of a short video I posted to my Facebook account I tripped upon earlier that is worth posting here again (2 minutes – watch it): YouTube: “The Unsettling Truth About Life”:
You can tell what orientation Alan Watts thinks we are all being distracted from.
Both of these are worthy of your time – thought provoking stuff.
Matt Linderman – “Mistakes happen. Character is revealed by how you handle them.”
37signals: Bad call, great apology. It should be something we all learn as children, that our culture should encourage, but somehow, that’s not the case, and so this speaks to us a special lesson.
YouTube: “Jim Joyce Tearfully Accepts Lineup Card From Galaraga”:
If you make a mistake, admit it. It doesn’t make you a mistake. By admitting it you can learn from it. Others can learn from it. And hopefully, there is growth.
Parenting while plugged in – don’t do it
I am guilty as charged and with Richelle’s help, changing my ways: NYTimes: “The Risks of Parenting While Plugged In”:
…children in higher socioeconomic homes hear an average of 2,153 words an hour, whereas those in working-class households hear only about 1,251; children in the study whose parents were on welfare heard an average of 616 words an hour.
Part of the reason the children in affluent homes she studied developed larger vocabularies by the time they were 3 is that “parents are holding kids, the kids are on their lap while the parent is reading a book,” Dr. Hart said. “It is important for parents to know when they’re talking to kids, they’re transferring affection as well as words. When you talk to people, there’s always an implicit message, ‘I like you,’ or ‘I don’t like you.’ “
NPR covers Mark Horvath’s Invisiblepeople.tv
I try and spend some time each week serving lunch at Project H.O.M.E.’s “Women of Change” with other fellow CIM Volunteers. I’m engaging some of the folks who work at Women of Change into possibly trying a project along these lines. I think Mark Horvath is onto something by sharing these stories as raw as he does.
NPR.org: “Former Homeless Man’s Videos Profile Life On Street”
Reference Links:
Thank you Flyers
Philly.com: “A Flyers Season of Thrills”
Dear Aunt Jeanette, love you, Shane
A dear friend to my Mom, and a source of many, many warm memories, my aunt, my Godmother, Jeanette Holohan, passed away Friday morning.
How exactly aunt Jeanette encountered Mom shortly after I was born was never fully outlined, they had talked a little bit about the job Jeanette had at the local grocery store in Fairview, NJ, and Mom just striking up a conversation with her out of the blue about something seemingly random. That sounded like Mom, ready to reach out to anyone and make a connection. And that sounded like Jeanette, ready to lend an empathetic ear.
Aunt Jeanette was a warm, loving soul whose friendship to Mom, during me and my brother’s earlier years, provided her with a kind of acceptance and understanding she needed during dark days. Mom loved her so much she made Jeanette my Godmother, and Dante’s and my aunt. Through the years she would talk of her in the way all timeless friends talk of each other, with that knowledge that here is that other person that really understands me, that really gets me. We each need that so much in life. Mom and Jeanette provided that for one another.
I have great memories of being over Jeanette’s, being babysat by her daughters, and having dinner. We lived down the block and all I wanted to do was to hang out there. Lena Horne, the Muppets, and spaghetti.
Life takes many twists and turns when you face the difficulties my Mom had so contact became sporadic. Richelle deserves credit for helping us re-establish a connection, which helped me reconnect her and Mom after she had stopped swirling after her husband’s death.
My thoughts and prayers are with her daughters and friends this morning. Their Mom left a huge impact in my life. I hope I’ve learned some major lessons from her. The power of the random connection, the importance of friends and unconditional acceptance, love and working to understand one another.
Her kisses, her hugs, her voice saying, “love you Shane, you be good to your Mom sweetie” will be with me till the day I die and I hope I am as good a friend as she was.
Love you too aunt Jeanette, miss you,
Shane
Go Flyers!
Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination are omnipotent. The slogan press on has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.
Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933)
Press on!
A poem and a place to donate for Memorial Day
Howard Hall: “remember to learn”
Craig Newmark: “ReMind.org: another small effort to help Veterans in a big way”
Thank you to those who put themselves in harms way for the lives we can lead.