In need of a computer/phone free day!

I find that I constantly have the need to check my email, read various blogs, surf amazon for new books, text friends...I really need a day where I turn off my phone and computer! Can I do it?

She is amazing!

My brother showed me this video and I am loving her!! I love seeing musicians with unique talents.

Merry Christmas and TED

Merry Christmas! I can't believe how quickly this year has gone by! It didn't really hit me that it was Christmastime until last night!

I have been watching videos on TED. That is my new guilty pleasure. Last night I went through all the different categories and picked out all the ones that look interesting to me. I came up with 77 videos:

1. Dan Gilbert asks, Why are we happy?

2. Elizabeth Gilbert on nurturing creativity

3. Jamie Oliver’s TED Prize wish: Teach every child about food

4. James Cameron: Before Avatar…a curious boy

5. Conrad Wolfman: Teaching kids real math with computers

6. Eric Berlow: How complexity leads to simplicity

7. Stacey Kramer: The best gift I ever survived

8. Pattie Maes and Pranav Mistry demo SixthSense

9. Dan Pink on the surprising science of motivation

10. Pranav Mistry: The thrilling potential of SixthSense technology

11. Eric Giler demos wirless electricity

12. Gary Vaynerchuk: Do what you love (no excuses!)

13. Srikumar Rao: Plug into your hard-wired happiness

14. Daniel Kahneman: The riddle of experience vs. memory

15. Stephan Sagemeister: The power of time off

16. Philip Zimbardo prescribes a healthy take on time

17. Nancy Etcoff on the surprising science of happiness

18. David Pogue on cool phone tricks

19. David Merril demos Siftables

20. Martin Seligman on positive psychology

21. Matthieu Ricard on the habits of happiness

22. Carl Honore praises slowness

23. Dan Gilbert on our mistaken expectations

24. Malcolm Gladwell on spaghetti sauce

25. Rick Warren on a life of purpose

26. Patrick Chappatte: The power of cartoons

27. Peter Molyneux demos Milo, the virtual boy

28. Alwar Balasubramaniam: Art of substance and absence

29. Eric Whitcare: A choir as big as the internet

30. James Geary, metaphorically speaking

31. Scott Kim takes apart the art of puzzles

32. Beau Lotto: Optical illusions show how we see

33. Willard Wigan: Hold your breath for micro-sculpture

34. Golan Levin makes art that looks back at you

35. Rob Forbes on ways of seeing

36. Jay Walker’s library of human imagination

37. Jonathan Harris collects stories

38. A.J Jacobs’ year of living biblically

39. Alison Jackson looks at celebrity

40. Maira Kalman, the illustrated woman

41. Ze Frank’s web playroom

42. Nick Veasey: Exposing the invisible

43. Olafur Eliasson: Playing with space and light

44. Philip Rosedal on Second Life

45. Chris Jordan pictures some shocking stats

46. Vik Muniz makes art with wire, sugar

47. Theo Jansen creates new creatures

48. Ed Ulbrich: How Benjamin Button got his face

49. Zach Kaplan and Keith Schacht demo toys from the future

50. Brewster Kahle builds a free digital library

51. Dean Kamen previews a new prosthetic arm

52. Stephen Lawier tours Microsoft Virtual Earth

53. Jeff Han demos his breakthrough touchscreen

54. Marcus du Sautoy: Symmetry, reality’s riddle

55. Steven Strogatz on sync

56. Mathieu Lehanneur demos science-inspired design

57. Paul Debevec animates a photo-real digital face

58. Josh Silver demos adjustable liquid-filled eyeglasses

59. Karyy Mullis’ next-gen cure for killer infections

60. Niels Diffrient rethinks the way we sit down

61. Jan Chipchase on our mobile phones

62. Jeff Hawkins on how brain science will change computing

63. Jessa Gable: Our natural sleep cycle

64. Eric Mead: The magic of the placebo

65. Bobby McFerrin hacks your brain with music

66. Rebecca Saxe: How we read each other’s minds

67. Keith Barry does brain magic

68. Arthur Benhamin does “Mathemagic”

69. Larry Brilliant makes the case for optimism

70. Steven Pinker on language and thought

71. Michael Shermer on strange beliefs

72. Tony Robbins asks why we do what we do

73. Richard Dawkins: Growing up in the universe

74. Tom Honey on God and the tsunami

75. Heribert Watzke: The brain in your gut

76. Caleb Chung plays with Pleo

77. Einstein the Parrott talks and squawks

Back to reality

New York was absolutely amazing! It was a much needed get away and I enjoyed every second. Well maybe not EVERY second. I have an issue with crazy drivers and every shuttle or cab I got into in New York was driven by someone who clearly never learned how to drive properly!

Things you should not do when driving:
1. Read. The guy driving the shuttle from the airport to the hotel was reading notes and writing on his clipboard as he was driving! I think he spent more time with his eyes off the road than one the road. It is a miracle we made it to the hotel in one piece.

2. Drive on the lines instead of between the lines. I am not sure how it is safe to drive between the lanes. We got way too close to the cars around us. I think I closed my eyes after the first 5 minutes so I wouldn't have to witness the insanity anymore.

3. Slam on the breaks every 5 seconds. Maybe if he wasn't driving so close to other cars he wouldn't have had to slam on the breaks. I will never eat again before going on one of those shuttles. Actually, I don't know if I will ever take one of those shuttles again.

4. Honk at everyone around you. I am pretty sure that it was not the people around us who were driving poorly. I think our shuttle driver was confused as to why people were driving in their own lanes instead of in between like him. He was angry cause everyone was in his way.

To add to this list: the shuttle smelled like poop and I was worried that I would spend the weekend smelling like poopy shuttle.

Besides the horrendous shuttle ride and the questionable cab rides (which I will not get into right now), the trip was amazing. I got a ton of shopping done and got to walk all around my faviourite city. There is something magical about being in NYC. When I recover financially from my trip I will plan my next visit.