Uplifting Lecture

This one made me LOL

Mt Pope Panorama

My brothers, Jeremy & Jesse, recently came for a visit and we had a great time (at least I did). One of the highlights was going for a hike up Mount Pope in Fort Saint James. I’d been wanting to make the hike since I moved here, but hadn’t made it yet, so it was the perfect opportunity. We had perfect hiking weather and we were the only ones on the trail, other than a couple of rock climbers we met on the way down. Here is a 360 degree panorama I stitched together from pictures taken at the summit. There are some other photos in my Flickr stream if you’re interested. Enjoy the view! I sure did.

Rethinking our Educational System

I love watching TED Talks, and recently I saw this follow up to one of my favorite talks. Ken Robinson talks about our educational system and how we need to change it. If you’ve got a few minutes, check out both talks below.

Schools Kill Creativity

Bring on the Learning Revolution!

Interesting Lecture

I recently listened to an interesting lecture: BYU Professor Bill Bradshaw on a Biological Origin of Homosexuality. I recommend it to anyone interested in learning more on the subject, specifically from a Mormon point of view. It’s about an hour long, so save it for a long commute or road trip. Cheers.

Cool Technology Video

Suck It, Internet

Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve written anything on the old blog.  When your wife becomes better than you at something in the tech world, which was previously your undisputed domain, it’s somewhat emasculating but not the end of the world.  However, once your mother starts blogging, too, it may be a sign that it’s time to find a new hobby.

I’m not sure if anyone is still subscribed here or still visits, but just in case, here’s an update on what I’ve been doing for the past 6 months:

Now that my masterpiece of time wasting is complete, I can finally move on to bigger and better things (I’m thinking of taking up knitting).

Bald and Beautiful

So, I got a new haircut this week.  I’ve always wanted to shave my head, so here is the result.  What do you think?  Can I pull it off?

All I needed was a good excuse.  For me that excuse came in the form of the youth halloween party, for which, I was told, costumes were mandatory.

Only sad part is that none of the youth have ever heard of the Blue Man Group.  Oh well.  I guess I’m already old and out of touch.

Update on Introverts

A few months ago, I posted an interesting article I found on introverts, of which I am definitely one.  That post has had a lot of traffic and I thought I would post a follow up to it.  I just ran across this list recently, titled “How to Care for Introverts.”  So, if you have an introvert in your life, you might follow these guidelines in dealing with him/her, or, inversely, at least you will now know how to piss him/her off by doing the opposite.

HOW TO CARE FOR INTROVERTS
• Respect their need for privacy.
• Never embarrass them in public.
• Let them observe first in new situations.
• Give them time to think. Don’t demand instant answers.
• Don’t interrupt them.
• Give them advanced notice of expected changes in their lives.
• Give them 15 minute warnings to finish whatever they are doing before calling them to dinner or moving on to the next activity.
• Reprimand them privately.
• Teach them new skills privately rather than in public.
• Enable them to find one best friend who has similar interests and abilities; encourage this relationship even if the friend moves.
• Do not push them to make lots of friends.
• Respect their introversion. Don’t try to remake them into extroverts.

Come on Home to Green River

Well, we just got back from our trip to Utah.  I have lots to write about, as it was a great, adventure-filled trip.  But, first I wanted to post these photos that Jeremy sent me.

Porter and Walker went on their first rafting trip, while we were in Utah.  We went with Grandma and Grandpa Hurren, Jeremy & Jesse down the Green River from Nefertiti to Swazeys.  They had a great time swimming in the river and rodeo-riding the rapids in Grandpa’s raft, but the highlight of the trip was playing in the mud with uncle Jesse.

When we finally made it home, this was the result: