Wednesday, December 29, 2010

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?

Labels:

Monday, December 27, 2010

She is amazing!

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

Labels: ,

Saturday, December 25, 2010

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

Labels:

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

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.

Labels: ,