Saturday, June 23, 2007

The end of the internet

Sometimes I wished it was true

The end of the internet

Friday, June 22, 2007

Things my kids won't learn in school

Years ago when I learned that I didn't need to sleep 8 hours a day, I also learned that there are lots of important things you don't learn in school. So when I was Stumbling on the internet, I found this article: 27 Skills Your Child Needs to Know That She’s Not Getting In School (bloggers just love making lists) and it lists lots of stuff I agree with. Here are some stuff I really want to teach my children well.

  • Positive thinking. While critical thinking is an important skill, it’s also important to have a positive outlook on life. Sure, things may be screwed up, but they can be changed for the better. Find solutions instead of complaints. And most of all, learn to believe in yourself, and to block out negative self-thinking.
    Now that's a skill I miss with a lot of people: the inability to think positive. I must say: I get better in that all the time
  • Motivation. Learn that discipline isn’t the key to achieving a goal, but motivation. How to motivate yourself, different strategies, and how great it feels to achieve a goal. Start them with small, easily achievable goals, and let them develop this skill.
    Work is not dull. It's all in your head.
  • Passion. One of the most important ways to be successful is to find something you’re passionate about, and do that for a living. Your child won’t know the answer at a young age, but you should show her how to find her passion and how to pursue it, and why that’s important.
There is also some stuff I have get get a grip on myself:
  • Be present. For some reason, this extremely important skill is never taught to us when we’re kids. In truth, the younger we are, the more natural this skill is. As we get older, we start thinking about the future and the past, and the present seems to slip away from us. Some skills for living in the present would go a long way.
  • Enjoy life. Kids don’t have much of a problem with this, but some awareness of its importance and how to do it, even as an adult, would be helpful. Set a good example of this, and your kids will follow.
  • Find purpose. Whether this is a higher religious purpose, or the purpose of making your family happy, or the purpose of finding your calling, having a purpose in life is extremely important. Teach your children the importance of this and show how to do it yourself.
  • Develop intimate relationships. The best way to teach this is to develop an intimate relationship with your child, and model it with your spouse or other significant other (within appropriateness). Teach them the skills for developing these types of relationships, talk about the importance of it, and how to get through the bumpy parts as well. There are bad times in every relationship, but with the right skills of communication, empathy and compromise, they can get through them.

Friday, June 15, 2007

Butchered

For those who haven't noticed: i had a few small warts on my hands. I tried to remove them multiple times, but wasn't successful. Since it's caused by a virus infection it should eventually go away when the immune system eradicated the virus. But I waited for a long time and nothing happened. So I went to the doctor knowing that removing the warts will not be painless. And man did that hurt.

Since the warts were relatively small the doctor chose for cutting instead of freezing the warts away. He gave me a way out to do only one hand or one finger, but I wanted them all gone. So I got 8 needles poked in my fingers (2 in each one). It was a bloody, painful mess, but I got rid of the larger warts. I just hope that the scars aren't that visible. I like my hands with those long, gentle fingers...