pyrosarco

Today was a rather boring day.  I tried to get in contact with some people only to find that they had meetings or that they could not help me.  I resorted to calling, once again meetings.  So I decided that I was going to further my education process by doing some Photoshop tutorials.  I love looking at Photoshopped images online and really wish I could make some good images, so today has been very beneficial.  I just found a tutorial by Abduzeedo and dived right in.  Sometimes it is a challenge because I don’t know what they are talking about, but I fake it until I make it and this is what I got:

With that, http://abduzeedo.com/ is quickly becoming my favorite Photoshop tutorial site.

I was in church today.  And my mind was wondering.  Like it always does.  Maybe if I was good at skateboarding I would pull a double kick flip off the alter, or if it was covered in snow, try the rail with my snowboard, hey that girl over there looks really good, the minister is talking about something to do with Jesus, I’m really hungry, when is this going to be over, wait… is he talking about Indonesia?  Cool, I wish I could go there…

Today the sermon was all about mission trips and how they spread the word of Christ.  Yes, I am a Christian, but I have to agree with my father, at least a little bit when he said, “I don’t understand why we go over there and try and convert these people when they have a religion that is working for them already.  I wouldn’t be happy if someone came and tried to convert me.”  I mean, it makes a lot of sense.  I wouldn’t want someone coming up to me and trying to tell me the benefits of becoming Hindu or Buddhist.  Why are we going and medling in their lives?  It is one thing to talk to a friend who has lost their way, it is another to try and convert someone who already is happy.

But herin lies the problem.  In Christianity you are supposed to share the word of Christ.  Become “fishers of men” if you will.  You are supposed to go out and spread the word.  But to what extent?  No one put guidelines in the Bible that says, “Go out and talk to people who are willing to hear the message and are not already set in their ways.”

I don’t have a problem talking about religion with people who are naturally curious, people who I deem need guidance because of lack of religion, or people I’ve known for awhile and just want to argue about religion.  I wouldn’t have a problem going over to countries to do service projects–build houses, do physical labor, help out, whatever.  But I don’t want to go over and be like, “Hey, I built you a house.  Now listen to me grill you about Christ and what he’s done for you, for half an hour.”  I would be more comfortable with going over and building the house and then leaving some literature about what I stand for.  Sure through the grace of God, people will read it and formulate their own ideas.  I just gave the initial bump.

…maybe they will let me go and I could take photos of the projects, I want to get out of here early so I don’t have to wait in all the traffic, what was I watching on T.V. last night, where did my iPod go?, whoa someone is texting me, pass the offering plate, oh yeah I was watching SNL, wow that girl still looks good…

Tonight will be quite entertaining for sure.  My friend Eric Abruzzese, BurningLAN’s founder, director, admin, and just crazy guy, is hosting a LAN party.  There will be gaming on Xbox, PC, Wii, SNES, and maybe some other platforms.  We will be playing Unreal Tournament 2004, Halo 3, Gears of War, Counter Strike: Source, and a ton of other games.  So if your in the area, come check it out.  Details can be found at http://burninglanyork.com/, as well as future events.  Yes there will be food.

Above: Eric Abruzzese being the crazy guy he is.

Below: A computer harness for all your gear.

Above: Pretty nice server setup.

Yesterday I was having one of those days where things I wanted to get done, were just not happening.  There was nobody to blame but myself.  I was at the point of having a minor mental breakdown–I have had plenty of mental breakdowns over the past six months–when I took a step back.  I realized that I wasn’t going to get anything done and then I went and didn’t.  I came back to my computer last evening wanting to write about something but having no inspiration.  Then it hit me.  What if your environment helped and hindered your productivity? Immediately I knew that this statement was true–a messy environment leads to disorder and failure at moving quickly and completing tasks.  But what about a non-physical environment, what about the environment inside your head?

For the last 6 months I have been living out of a suitcase.  I would leave college and go home on the weekends to visit with my family and friends.  Each Sunday evening I would have qualms about going back to school; there was too much work, I wasn’t enjoying the classes I was taking, I didn’t understand some of the information they were trying to force feed me, and ultimately I was not having a good time being there.  This would build up, and build up, and I would become unstable and complain about it.  I was not able to cope mentally and that made me unable to cope physically.

Environment and [Mental] Productivity

The environment you expose yourself to physically must be neat; or at least organized in some fashion that you understand.  You don’t want to have all sorts of tasks lying around that make it hard to get things done.  Yesterday I had a lengthy list of things to get done: contact schools, look for a job, change cell phone area code, feed dogs, etc.  However I could not get these things done because I found myself too worried about the condition of my room.  There was laundry lying around because I didn’t have hangers.  I didn’t have hangers because my closet was already full with clothing.  A vicious cycle begins with overloading yourself with tasks to do.  If you try to put in too much information, your mental computer wont be able to handle it and in turn you will find your physical self helpless.  Therefore, by keeping and environment clean you will be more productive.

As for a mental environment, it needs to be small.   One can not deal with having a huge area to memorize, maintain, or think about.  For the last six months I was constantly living between home and school, I had two lives.  I had two rooms to memorize where I put things.  Two groups of friends to keep up with and manage.  Everything that used to be simple and straightforward became doubly hard because there was two of everything.  My mind could not take the mental expansion that was occurring.  Greek and Roman philosophers used to take a single favorite place, map it out in their minds, and then return to that place in order to memorize series of words, objects, lists, or whatever.  The point is that for you to be mentally stable you need something constant, and that constant functions better if it is small and and have personal meaning.

Increase Productivity By

• Keep areas neat or organized
• Doing tasks right the first time - this way you will not be thinking about how you could have done it better
• Do not overload yourself with tasks to do - being productive is not about how much you do, but what is worth doing
• Rid yourself of unneeded tasks or delegate them to others - however not your spouse or significant other because they will get mad if they have to clean up the books you threw on the floor
• Allot a small amount of time to get things done - this is called Parkinsons (when you give yourself less time to do something, you’re less likely to put off doing it.  Tim Ferris talks about this in his book the Four Hour Work Week - I recommend reading it for advice on productivity and streamlining, some of it is a bit radical)
• Keep your mental locations small -you will focus better and have a better memory

When visiting a college, everyone asks about the dorms or the food.  Here are somethings that should be asked, but often are not.  In many cases the parent may have to ask the tour guide or admissions person about these:

1. Health Care

Don’t just take it for granted.  Sure the school could be huge, and most likely they will have a docotor and nurse on campus.  However, some schools are small and may not have these facilities available to students.  Especially if the school is mostly a commuter college.  So be sure to ask what kind of health care is available to students.

2. Anti-Drug/Alcohol Housing

I was just at RIT and it is the first college that said they offer housing for students who are totally against drugs and alcohol.  The students make a pledge not to bring drugs or alcohol on campus and not to use off campus.  This is something worth investigating if you don’t feel comfortable around people who abuse substances.  I personally know someone who came into school clean, not having alcohol or drugs, but is now using both every weekend.  Parents, you will probably have to be the person who initiates this question.

3.  Teaching Assistants

Ask if the teaching assistants teach or if they are just used as helpers in labs.  Teaching assistants are just that, assistants; they should not be teaching.  In my experience, every time I have had a TA assigned to me to teach a class, I have learned less, become more frustrated, and had less questions answered because they don’t know what the professor meant by X in this situation or Y in that.  Get into a school that does not allow TA’s to teach, but to do research, help in class, field questions, and collect papers.

4.  Ask for more money

This is something you will have to do after you have been accepted at a college or university.  When you receive your letter of acceptance, some schools will include a scholarship package.  In many cases you will be blown away at how much money they are willing to give you.  It will bring many schools into the affordable range.  However, don’t be afraid to ask for more money.  A simple letter to the admissions office explaining why you deserve more money is usually enough.  Tell them about your good grades, all the extra-extra-curricular things you participated in, and most of all tell them what you will bring to their school–why you are deserving.  In many cases, just asking for more money will be enough.  I know someone who asked for more money and they just about doubled his scholarship.  It doesn’t cost them anything, and you gain a lot more.

5.  Cost to education ratio

This may sound weird and it isn’t something you ask the admissions people.  It is something you will ask current students and yourself based on observations.  Ask other students if they feel they are getting a good education for the price they are paying.  Ask them about the professors, do they let out before class is scheduled to be over?  Do the professors seem knowledgeable or do they just b.s. their way through the class?  Ask students about events that the school puts on.  What speakers does the school bring in, are there perks for students in the community?  After all part of the college education is learning and experiencing things that make us more cultured; these happen outside of the class room.  And after you have done this asking, ask yourself based on the information you have gathered and your experience: Is the cost to education ration even? or would I be wasting my money by coming here?

So there you have it.  Some uncommon things to ask when visiting a college.

I have a Moto Q running Windows Mobile 5, and it is a batter hog.  I mean seriously, my phone died once already today.  Granted the 100+ text messages I receive each day isn’t helping, but what am I supposed to since I need to contact people and they need to contact me?

Well, with some researc I found this app that will help anyone one who uses a smart phone (I think) or at least those of us that have one with Windows Mobile 5.  The program is called Candelight and it comes as a .CAB file.  You download it, install it on your phone, and then click on the icon to activate it.  Presto!  It dims your screen, instantly saving you battery life.

But on the other hand, I still have the problem of receiving a gross amount of text messages.  Everyday I receive well over 100 texts and my phone battery just cant keep up with it.  Part of the problem is the fact that I have a Moto Q, and that it is running a lot of other tasks at the same time.  My problem is really the vibrations.  One it is annoying, and two making parts move kills the battery.  To my knowledge, there is no way to turn off the vibration notification on the Moto Q.  I have tried going through the menus and researching it online to no avail.  Does anyone know of such a way to turn of vibration?  A hack, anything will do.

If not, is there someone out there willing and adept at writing .CAB files that would be willing to take a few minutes *ahem* and write a program that will install and give you options to control the vibrations of your smart phone?  Espcially in the case of a Moto Q running WM5.

Five and a half hours of driving from mid-state PA, and I finally arrived in Rochester.  On a trip that seemed initially to be wasted time and effort, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Rochester Institute of Technology could very well be just what I am looking for.

Finding the campus took little to no effort on my part, everything was well marked and the map they sent me had enough outside roads to make life simple.  First impressions: the campus looks a little bit boring, everything is made out of red brick.  As for the size, one could look at it and say smaller than Penn State University Park–maybe a third to half of the size–but perhaps triple the size of Lehigh University, or double that of Bucknell’s campus.

The campus is well maintained; everything looks groomed, the snow is out of the way, there are trees and brick walkways and courtyards if your into that sort of thing.  The buildings are also well taken care of.

The people in admissions were courteous and quick to help out with questions, guidance, or requests.  Be warned that if you are planning on visiting for anything dealing with design, people in the department will not meet with you same day scheduling.  On the phone they said the wouldn’t meet with me unless I had a portfolio for review.

There are a variety of majors to choose from.  RIT has a good engineering program, anything tech based, and it also scores with in the top 5% in the nation for business.  As for art programs, it also does them very well.  A search turned up RIT in the top 60 graphics design schools in the world.  I am looking at RIT for graphics design or new media.

Academic buildings are nice, maintained, well light, well used by students–there were plenty of kids hanging around outside of class–doors were open (open as in come into the classroom as well as unlocked, get in from the outside).  There seemed to be plenty of different labs for research by upperclassmen, as well as a plethora of computer labs–PC and Mac.  As for lecture halls the biggest holds 300 people and it was said that it is seldom used.  Large lectures of 80-100 people, and small classes depending on the major and class, of 20 people.   TA’s do not teach, but help with labs and field questions.

Recreational areas were well maintained and plentiful.  Division 3 sports except for hockey which is Division 1.  Nice pool, weight room, indoor track, indoor tennis, indoor soccer, basketball, etc.  Plenty of outdoor athletic fields, and just regular fields for the occasional Frisbee throwing.  Skiing/snowboarding does happen on campus occasionally, but there are mountains in Buffalo and Syracuse.  Buffalo gets more snow, but Syracuse has better mountains is what I heard.  I also heard that there is about 100 inches of snow on average.  (92.3 inches apparently, 11th in the U.S.) That makes me happy.

Students stay in mostly on campus housing.  There are plenty of options ranging from apartments that look like beach houses, to regular apartments, to dorms (the freshmen are required to live in dorms and take a meal plan), to off campus options in Rochester and the surrounding area.  Every dorm is connected by underground tunnels, this is very nice in my opinion.

Security is pretty low key but present.  There are blue boxes everywhere, campus police driving around, card keys to get into the dorms.  One notices while perusing the public safety pamphlet, that incidents of crime are fairly low and can probably be avoided by locking doors when leaving a room.  The campus is secluded and unto itself.  The public has to drive to get onto the campus because it is set just outside of the city.

After a visit, I would say RIT feels like Drexel University in Philadelphia, known for its engineering, business and art programs, meets Penn State University Park’s country side appeal while upholding both schools education standards.  You have the best of both worlds, the country side and a large city with in 5-7 miles from campus; Rochester has a little over 200,000 people.

Overall, I find the campus pretty, peaceful, well maintained, secure, and easy to get around and deal with.   I would say that it is definitely a possibility for me.

For years now I have been mooching off of the online world.  Just taking, taking, taking and never thinking of giving back.  Well now, I have made a step in the right direction.  I finally purchased some webspace and intend to begin learning like I should.

I have always blamed the fact that I have used post to hosts as my inability to or desire not to, try and create something good, or to learn more about the web, applications, and the design process.   In case you don’t know, post to hosts are sites like http://core-fusion.net that offer webspace to people who meet a monthly post requirement on their forums.  While it is good for people who just want to play around, develope small things, and teach their kids, it has been my experience that they are unstable and slow to respond to your problems.  Core-fusion was one of the better ones that I have used and would recommend it if you just want some free space.  Post to hosts like Roxr.com are now gone, probably due to legality issues.  I think Roxr was run by the same people who manage Rapidshare.

A few weeks ago, I had already promised myself that I was going to do this as soon as possible.  After a meeting with Alex Hillman and Bart Mroz, two of the three founding partners of Round3Media, I was even more excited and compelled to do so. They mentioned that I should be blogging like crazy, which I already realized, but I was having trouble adjusting to the fact that I would have to use some known CMS rather than something I whipped together myself.  I did, and still do recognize the fact that I am, at this moment in time, not capable of writing something flexible, manageable, automated, and secure enough that I wouldn’t have to use a CMS like WordPress.

With that in mind, and already having used WordPress before, I set out with that option.  So here I am.

What I want to do:

First and foremost, I want to learn.  Learn everything that I can.  I guess this leans on the side of take, take, take, again, but at this point it is necessary.

Secondly, I want to share.  Share things I find, what I am doing, where I am going, who I have met, what has been discussed, all so that the world can progress and grow around me and through others.

Finally, I want to give back.  I want to be able to mentor and/or be able to help people with furthering their learning and developing of ideas.  However, there are no promises in this category for the time being.

What I am most interested in learning about:

Graphic Design - color theory, typography, Photoshop, etc.
Web Design - Why pages are laid out a certain way, why the code works the way it does (I have experience in HTML and some CSS), best practice
Web Development - Writing applications for the web (this is probably furthest out on my timeline)
Photography - self explanatory

If you have resources, please share them with me through commenting.  That way others will be just as able to benefit from them.