Today I got to take part in an outreach with my church which had just over thirty people in attendance. We had a giant inflatable jump house and slide for the kids. We had lots of great food and desserts (cookies by Hamilton Bakery). As I watched the adults mingling and talking and the children running, laughing, and playing I realized how little this happens in my life. Obviously not that I need to throw cookouts more often, but how little I get outside of my house and truly connect with people in a non-business way. It kind of makes me think of that Toyota Venza commercial in my previous post. I may have 1000+ followers across my twitter accounts and several hundred friends on G+ and Facebook, but the small sphere of folks that I actually come to close relationship with is very small. Amongst those even, only a few get to see me in person so the degree of real influence over some drops even more. I realize that gathering around the watering hole is a social norm that has been ingrained since the days of cavemen. Sadly today’s watering hole is a Starbucks and… I don’t drink coffee. Guess I could drink tea.
Archive for blog
Project Delta: Video Memes
I do several presentations a month to educators and tech enthusiasts and always have a video in my back pocket to share with them. I talk about how in education when we deliver instruction to students it might be a good idea in the lesson to add a “brain break”. Just a quick funny video can add some humor and show students that teachers can be relevant.
Being on the cusp of the latest viral video is another whole realm of bleeding edge. It is now the fodder of dinner table conversation to pull out your phone and share a funny video… “You HAVEN’T seen the one with the kid and the paper?… you gotta see it!” Several people ask me how I get all my videos etc and I realize that it might seem like all I do is hunt Youtube for the next big thing. The reality is there are sites that do that hunting for me. Both are very aptly named: Todaysbigthing.com and bestofyoutube.com. You are welcome in advance for the loss of productivity you will induce by catching up on a random collection of awesome.
Project Delta: Superfluously Networked
I love social media as much as the next guy. I mean a good chunk of readers to this blog are directed so by Twitter, Facebook, or G+ of course (basically none by the RSS feed). I wonder though how this will affect the future. I wonder if we will be TOO connected. There are so many channels of communications sometimes I think there might be too much virtual sharing between us. Better yet there is not enough education with some to know how best to use the different forms of Social Media. I like one post I read on twitter that stated “some use twitter as a way to clear the mutterings that are in their head”. The reality going forward is that a generation of children are growing up thinking that connecting on Facebook is enough social interaction. In fact Toyota had a commercial recently that played on that generation difference perfectly.
Project Delta: Sharpening
When blades get sharpened parts get cut away, when someone gives advice it might cut too. Realize they’re just trying to sharpen you. – Me
I thought of this earlier today while working with some teachers. I was giving them some feedback about some work they did but in a few individuals eyes I felt like I just killed their puppy. Some others actually outright rejected my advice. It was a meager thing but then I acknowledged that often times I have had people give me life advice and I reacted similarly.
I thought of the analogy of a knife being sharpened, due to my affinity for blades I guess. The sharpening process for any tool is a destructive process. Metal is cut, sanded, ground, or even melted away to help sharpen a knife. There is no such thing as a naturally sharp knife. Even things in nature like a diamond have to be cut to refine the edge to a blade that can cut anything.
When a friend pours advice into your life, you really can be hurt but it might be sharpening you more than you realize.
Project Delta: Untitled ::UPDATED:: Thank’s Ms. Horton
I am not sure what to write. I just know I need to. I have to put thoughts down. I am always curious what writer’s block feels like, but I am not a writer (until now) and so never knew. I suddenly remember my eighth grade teacher Ms. Horton’s comments, “if you ever get stuck writing, just start writing about nothing and not being able to write and you will write!” She was a little crazy in the Ms. Frizzle sensibility. The teachers I had in my life were really formative to my character. I mean I am a teacher now. Wow. Ms. Horton was right! So I guess I want to write about my teachers. Teachers in general are so critical to your individual development. I mean the reality is that teachers are in children’s lives a lot more than their parents in some senses. Five days a week for several hours in the school day and then hours at home through assignments they are part of the development of young lives. Even if a student is homeschooled, then the education that he or she receives is crucial to their world view and personal ambition. I know that I am blessed that my parents partnered with the teachers to have a trifecta of influence between the teacher, mom, and dad. I know that I really appreciate it and as evidence to it, I gotta give a shout out to Ms. Horton for her advice umpteen number of years ago because from a blank page to a full article in no time flat.
Project Delta: Two guys walk into a bar…
Tonight I got to share some great jokes with some even better coworkers over some even more amazing food. It is always nice to laugh and share jokes back and forth. The aspect of tonight’s back and forth that was so intriguing was that most of the jokes told tonight were known by all. Hearing them again though and with some new embellishments made them all the more memorable. Add into the mix a highly educated waiter who had his own quips in between his service and it was an even better night. Lascivious and preposition were the words of the evening that helped start off every round of laughter. We were so raucous that some of the other patrons wanted to know what we were on about. The primary joy was celebrating Jenny’s birthday even though it definitely was not. Even that had its own joke because every single one of us had a different name according to the highly educated waiter, all because he couldn’t hear us well. I am very tired and going to wrap up but I knew I had to get some notes down about tonight just so in can remember in times yet to come. I think that this level of “journaling” is almost what Project Delta us really teaching me. At least that is what I’m getting…
Project Delta: Missed a day
I missed a day in my thirty day challenge to write at least one hundred forty words and interestingly I felt it.
I wish I would have written.
I was really excited about sharing some thoughts but now I missed that and truthfully can’t remember what I was going to say. I actually felt like I did a disservice to myself. I realize now how many times I have missed out on a thought or a concept that didn’t get materialized because of my lack of doing something. I think that the opportunity to take action or least of all write it down is something I should really change and something that others should do as well. We are such remarkable beings with such creativity and logic. It is one of the characteristics that truly separate us from the other animals around us. We should take advantage of that and act on them. If your start to rhyme words together write a poem. Take that doodle or sketch to the next level and make painting. String some notes together and make a song. How much creation must pass when we don’t take action and do something with it.
I considered going back and writing the post for yesterday, but now I think I will leave it blank so I won’t forget it and remember those lost thoughts.
Project Delta: Bonsai
Continuing with my plant trend from yesterday, today I got to spend some time working on my Bonsai tree. I have had this tree for just over six months and I have done some moderate “training” with it. I really liked the shape that it came in anyway so I wanted to let it grow naturally. One thing that it did lack was a good “landscape” to set the tree off. While clearing the full size trees from the back of my property yesterday, I found some swathes of nice moss that peeled up easily. Today I went back and collected some of the cleanest and weed-free moss sections to add to my Bonsai. It was very calming standing there working on the tree. Slowly adding more moss here and there as needed. I really enjoyed trying to make the little scene seem as if it were a full size tree in a little patch of green. I also had some nice tumbled rocks that I added for just separation.
The forty minutes or so that I spent working on that tree did really make me realize the calming nature of the activity. I can completely understand how Japanese bonsai masters could relax and just focus in on that activity. I even found myself individually picking out the moss so it stood in the same patterns. Either way the end result was awesome and I am glad I got to spend that quiet time just working on it.
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Project Delta: Dirt Under Your Nails
Today I had to finish clearing some trees off my property and really got to get my hands in the soil. I used to be in the garden all the time with my dad. Often times that gardening was not by choice, but instead a filial duty to my dad. As I grew I tended to avoid the gardens and yard work because of the “forced labor” I experienced when I was little. Getting back to it today though was very refreshing. I had started to do some indoor plants and minor herb/vegetable planting this year, nothing significant though. I realized that I had some amazing soil in the back of my yard and come spring time I think I might have a concerted effort at building out a good raised garden box to do some more industrious vegetables. I love that Project Delta One is already spawning ideas for Project Delta Seven.
Project Delta: Good Friends, Good Drive
Good friends are worth a drive. We have technology like Skype, Google Hangouts, and Facebook, which all deliver really engaging opportunities to connect over distances. I realized tonight though how valuable a good drive solidifies that friendship even more. Anna and I found out that some travelling friends of ours were just two hours away. Now to most people a two-hour drive might seem like a long way to go just for a dinner, but there was no denying the fact that we had to go see them. It was truly an awesome evening. On the drive up I was able to recall the last time we all hung out together. Remembering the funny stories we shared and then thinking of the stuff we needed to update them on. Dinner was of course a time to share even more stories. After dinner on the drive home we just laughed about the new jokes we made and our plans for next time. Especially as much as I use technology there really is a lot of value in just spending face to face time with good friends.
