Saturday, July 14, 2018
Looking Ahead
Many times we experience situations that are beyond our control. We can either have a certain feeling about it, or we can act upon it in a certain way, or both. For example, a few days ago, we had a leak from the roof at the audio room in Flickos. It wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but we still had to shut down all audio operations. I didn’t feel good about this, but I felt that this had to be this way to protect our equipment and customer projects. I then took this as an opportunity to revamp the room to make it more efficient. I would have preferred to do this under better circumstances, but I had to seize the moment. And that simple logical reason is what makes me different from some individuals. I’ve been talking to other people who for whatever reason would concentrate in the situation instead of what should happen next. I would say that for whatever situation you are experiencing, always think about an end goal, about the results, about how it should look, instead of how it looks.
Saturday, February 25, 2017
My first small business?
I have done some type of “small” business throughout most of my life. Before I was in high school, I had already opened a candy store in my house, I did VCR repairs, and traded video games for others. Later on, I dabbled with video projects, while having a full time job. But most of my ventures were not considerable enough to even report to the IRS. Now me and Inez have a store, and not to brag, it is busy. Time flies, and the projects never seem to end, no matter how hard you work in the day. I do hope that someday I can really get caught up, but just seeing the faces of customers, after discovering something that they have never seen before, is priceless. So here I am, hoping for the future, wish me luck.
Friday, December 21, 2012
Thinking about Newtown...
It has been a while since I paid any attention to this blog, and I wanted to write a few lines. This blog was written first as a requirement for a course, then as a reflection to my learning and as a repository to what I thought of others work. Fast forward a year and a half or so, and now I'm graduated from my program, and after a little search, got a new job with an upgrade to my salary, and I'm now helping to create a new wave of online courses for the government. These courses are to get people back to work as quickly as possible and not for training to harm others or something like that (I'm a pacifist).
Thinking along those lines, many of my past classmates were teachers, and I'm sure the Newtown tragedy has touched them very deeply also. I was specially shocked that most of the victims were from first grade, but somehow I know that from the moment they mentioned that the mother of the perpetrator was a kindergarten teacher. I'm sure many of the victims were part of her class the year before...
The big question then is, could this have been prevented? I heard about the proposal of putting guards in all public schools, and I thought to myself that it was a patch and not a real solution. We are always fixing things after the fact, and never preventing things from happening. Did everyone forget that the perpetrator was once a first grader himself? Could certain things in his life could have been changed and perhaps instead of shooting children, he would have been studying to be a great teacher himself? I would love comments from fellow teachers and hear their opinions on this matter.
The other day I heard someone say that if the teachers had guns, that the tragedy could have been minimized or prevented. I'm sure a lot of my old classmates would think this as stupid, and I'm not so sure if I want to send my kids to a trained killer (you have to train to use a gun effectively) that would kill with almost no provocation or remorse a young adult in front of children, and willing to have an O.K. Corral shootout in the classroom to boot, as I'm sure that it would have not ended with one shot. And let's say that a teacher hears shots in the school, gets a gun and as the perpetrator walks in, he gets shot and dies. What about that teacher that just shot and killed another human being? Do people really think that is a piece of cake to live with? I'm an Army veteran, so I know a little about having blood on my hands. The teacher will need therapy as a minimum. And would it have been better if the perpetrator have gotten therapy before he stole the guns from his mother, and shot her with them? Actually if you think about it, it was because a teacher did get a gun that this tragedy happened. Sure, let's give guns to all the teachers; lets see how many kids and troubled young adults steal those same guns to commit more murders...
Thinking along those lines, many of my past classmates were teachers, and I'm sure the Newtown tragedy has touched them very deeply also. I was specially shocked that most of the victims were from first grade, but somehow I know that from the moment they mentioned that the mother of the perpetrator was a kindergarten teacher. I'm sure many of the victims were part of her class the year before...
The big question then is, could this have been prevented? I heard about the proposal of putting guards in all public schools, and I thought to myself that it was a patch and not a real solution. We are always fixing things after the fact, and never preventing things from happening. Did everyone forget that the perpetrator was once a first grader himself? Could certain things in his life could have been changed and perhaps instead of shooting children, he would have been studying to be a great teacher himself? I would love comments from fellow teachers and hear their opinions on this matter.
The other day I heard someone say that if the teachers had guns, that the tragedy could have been minimized or prevented. I'm sure a lot of my old classmates would think this as stupid, and I'm not so sure if I want to send my kids to a trained killer (you have to train to use a gun effectively) that would kill with almost no provocation or remorse a young adult in front of children, and willing to have an O.K. Corral shootout in the classroom to boot, as I'm sure that it would have not ended with one shot. And let's say that a teacher hears shots in the school, gets a gun and as the perpetrator walks in, he gets shot and dies. What about that teacher that just shot and killed another human being? Do people really think that is a piece of cake to live with? I'm an Army veteran, so I know a little about having blood on my hands. The teacher will need therapy as a minimum. And would it have been better if the perpetrator have gotten therapy before he stole the guns from his mother, and shot her with them? Actually if you think about it, it was because a teacher did get a gun that this tragedy happened. Sure, let's give guns to all the teachers; lets see how many kids and troubled young adults steal those same guns to commit more murders...
Friday, May 27, 2011
Wk4 Reading: Blog Post to Tiffany Jones
Post to Tifanny
I like your comment about collaboration, and such a true statement it is. But I have seen that when people collaborate, they keep their groups to a small cadre of individuals, and are always afraid to expand and find new talents. I wonder if they also permit this in their classrooms and at their jobs. We should never stick to be complacent in working with the same individuals, Even if they are friends, we can look further and find those stars that will help us shine. All stars are different, some are warmer than others, some are farther or closer, and some are in the verge of collapse (super nova). But they still shine, and with the right gravities, they can help shine other stars (even though in space that would probably induce a catastrophe). So we should never stop finding more stars in our galaxy, and then we can go to other galaxies and find other stars that we normally don't think about as part of our universe.
I like your comment about collaboration, and such a true statement it is. But I have seen that when people collaborate, they keep their groups to a small cadre of individuals, and are always afraid to expand and find new talents. I wonder if they also permit this in their classrooms and at their jobs. We should never stick to be complacent in working with the same individuals, Even if they are friends, we can look further and find those stars that will help us shine. All stars are different, some are warmer than others, some are farther or closer, and some are in the verge of collapse (super nova). But they still shine, and with the right gravities, they can help shine other stars (even though in space that would probably induce a catastrophe). So we should never stop finding more stars in our galaxy, and then we can go to other galaxies and find other stars that we normally don't think about as part of our universe.
Wk4 Reading: Blog Post to Brenda McGee
Post to Brenda
I really like your two points, Thinking on what we can do something about, and to remember that the plural is stronger than the singular. Our perceptions are many times the main source of our pains (other than physical pain), and when we think we have been wronged, we in a sense self inflict pain to ourselves, many times without checking the veracity of those perceptions. This can lead to rancor and other feeling that may be wrongfully placed on others, specially loved ones. I've felt both sides of that coin and I have also vowed to never let my perceptions control my life. One thing that I always think about is how we as a species are very interconnected to each other, even akin to how ants or bees are. Once we forget how our decisions or lack of them affect everyone around us, we begin to accumulate a sort of mass hurt, or negative feelings that spread like a disease. I've seen people even hurt themselves after a long road of blocking themselves from others. We are complete social creatures and as such, we have to acknowledge the existence of others, and even check on what we do, as to not hurt or offend someone else, then we can have a better more peaceful life...
I really like your two points, Thinking on what we can do something about, and to remember that the plural is stronger than the singular. Our perceptions are many times the main source of our pains (other than physical pain), and when we think we have been wronged, we in a sense self inflict pain to ourselves, many times without checking the veracity of those perceptions. This can lead to rancor and other feeling that may be wrongfully placed on others, specially loved ones. I've felt both sides of that coin and I have also vowed to never let my perceptions control my life. One thing that I always think about is how we as a species are very interconnected to each other, even akin to how ants or bees are. Once we forget how our decisions or lack of them affect everyone around us, we begin to accumulate a sort of mass hurt, or negative feelings that spread like a disease. I've seen people even hurt themselves after a long road of blocking themselves from others. We are complete social creatures and as such, we have to acknowledge the existence of others, and even check on what we do, as to not hurt or offend someone else, then we can have a better more peaceful life...
Wk4 Wimba: Thoughts
I hate to hear myself, so I don't dare to listen to my part on Wimba, but I was surprised how smoothly I went on my presentation (even though it was a little unfamiliar to me). Because I'm thinking on doing some major changes to my action research, I still have a long road ahead on my presentation and my research statement. No one really asked me any questions related to my study, other than the teaching assistant, so I'm not sure if it is a truly valid position into thinking that online course development should be left to a team of experts (even though this might sound obvious) instead of the faculty member who is teaching the subject. I'm working on doing a continuation of the cycle process to collect more data. I really hope to finish everything on time before graduation time, as I already have all the preparations to go to Winter Park to graduate...
Wk4 Reading: Art of Possibility Chapters 9 – 12
The strongest warmth is usually the one that we can't touch; someone has to protect us from our own curiosity, right?
-- David Cheng
I really liked "Creating Frameworks for Possibility" mainly because, without a new framework, everything else would really stay the same. Have you ever lost something, like keys, and when you start looking you just concentrate in certain areas? Then you repeat the same areas you just finished looking, just wishing that the item would mysteriously appear? When we want a real solution to something, trying the same things will not work. Finding a new angle unrelated to past tactics usually gives better results, or at least doing something different will change our perspective enough to have a higher chance of success. In my first year in college, I lived in a rural area maybe 4 miles from the university, but where I lived was a remote rural area at the top of a small mountain ridge. Going up the mountain on foot was exhausting and dangerous, with no street lights or sidewalks. I didn't have a car, and my last class ended at 7:30pm. I had to depend on hitchhiking to get home (taxis had the area off bounds), and sometimes I had to wait for many hours to get a ride. But not ever had I a doubt that I would find a ride. My area of possibility was that no matter what, I would always find a safe ride, and I did for a whole year. I was sure that on the day I would doubt it, I would have to walk on foot on those dark roads, which over hung cliffs of thousands of feet. Even though this is an example of an internal possibility, I'm sure any of you could apply this to outside sources also. I'm ready for the new changes that will come after graduation... are you?
-- David Cheng
I really liked "Creating Frameworks for Possibility" mainly because, without a new framework, everything else would really stay the same. Have you ever lost something, like keys, and when you start looking you just concentrate in certain areas? Then you repeat the same areas you just finished looking, just wishing that the item would mysteriously appear? When we want a real solution to something, trying the same things will not work. Finding a new angle unrelated to past tactics usually gives better results, or at least doing something different will change our perspective enough to have a higher chance of success. In my first year in college, I lived in a rural area maybe 4 miles from the university, but where I lived was a remote rural area at the top of a small mountain ridge. Going up the mountain on foot was exhausting and dangerous, with no street lights or sidewalks. I didn't have a car, and my last class ended at 7:30pm. I had to depend on hitchhiking to get home (taxis had the area off bounds), and sometimes I had to wait for many hours to get a ride. But not ever had I a doubt that I would find a ride. My area of possibility was that no matter what, I would always find a safe ride, and I did for a whole year. I was sure that on the day I would doubt it, I would have to walk on foot on those dark roads, which over hung cliffs of thousands of feet. Even though this is an example of an internal possibility, I'm sure any of you could apply this to outside sources also. I'm ready for the new changes that will come after graduation... are you?
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