Zenweezil » News

Jobs: Death is Life’s change agent

Zenweezil — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 20:42:48 +0000

“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.”

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

- Steve Jobs, 2005 Stanford Commencement Speech
(See full speech video here)

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10 years since 9/11

Zenweezil — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 16:24:57 +0000

It is hard to believe it has been 10 years since Sept. 11th. Back in 2001, Erin and I were both working at the Chronicle-Tribune and were part of a small, but extremely talented team of journalists. On that day, Erin and I had worked the previous night shift until 1am and I am sure I stayed up several hours afterward, so we were both fast asleep when the tragic events started unfolding in NYC. In fact, we were so zonked that we did not hear the phone ringing off the hook as the newspaper tried to get a hold of us. They then sent photographer over to wake us up and we didn’t hear him knocking on the door either. So he decided to climb through the window, which scared Erin out of her slippers. Interestingly, one-year later to the date, we were flying home from his wedding in KC.

Anyways, we spent the next week at the newspaper working hard to produce great coverage and special sections on the historic event. Erin designed some great front pages which we still have saved in the garage. My biggest contribution was a interactive CD I made that saved all the newspaper’s issues on the event as well as a photo gallery of the week and a list of victims put to music. The newspaper placed these CDs titled ”Day that Changed America” around town and sold them – donating the $6,500 profits raised.

Our work as journalists defined our experiences of 9/11. I read every bit of coverage that was pouring across the wires. I was extremely moved by all the amazing stories of heroism and survival, but they were far removed from my life. I did not think the next attack was coming in Marion, or fear much for how this was going to change the world. As a journalist, I thought of it more analytically, in that our government had failed to recognize that the terrorism that was already plaguing the world for decades would eventually come to US shores. That we had not done enough to put Osama down sooner, after the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center and the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole. The ensuing wars had a closer impact as I began to know friends and acquaintances that were going off to war.

But now, 10 years later, so much has changed in our personal lives. The biggest of course is the arrival of our girls. So if 9/11 were to happen today, it would be a much different experience. Even when Obama announced a mysterious late-night speech (which we later found out was for Osama’s death) – I was in Atlanta and the wild speculation of what the president was going to announce was frightening. All I could think of was that I was far away from my family – way too far away if this turned out to be a serious tragedy unfolding. So, now the anniversary coverage stories that impact me most emotionally are those of the 7,000 children that lost a parent that day. And those that lost their children, such as Allison Crowther whose 23-year-old son, Welles, worked as an equities trader on 104th floor of the South Tower. It was not until years later that she discovered that her son was the mysterious “man in the red bandanna” that had saved over a dozen lives as he bravely reentered the building at least three times to rescue people, before the tower collapsed on him and the firefighters he had joined up with for another trip up to rescue more people pinned by debris.

September 11th may not be the biggest US tragedy in terms of deathtoll, but it certainly has made a seismic shift in our culture and the way we see the world. Luckily, it is in hard times that heroism like the man in the red bandanna and the strength of character like that of the surviving families that perseveres.

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Nintendo CEO is awesome

Zenweezil — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 17:33:35 +0000

I already admired Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata for his impressive accomplishments, and for being true gamer and developer, rather than just a profit-driven businessman. “On my business card, I am a corporate president. In my mind, I am a game developer. But in my heart, I am a gamer.” (From speech at E³ 2005)

However yesterday, he became even cooler. After Nintendo announced the company’s first-ever quarterly loss, Iwata told shareholders that he takes the blame for disappointing 3DS sales and will cut his own salary in half. Other high-level executives will also see their paychecks slashed between 20 and 30 percent.

Now when is the last time you heard of a CEO take blame? How about one cutting their own salary?

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Space Shuttle blues

Zenweezil — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 04:42:09 +0000

I am a little saddened about the final flight of the Space Shuttle concluding today. I always wanted to see the spectacle of a shuttle launch, and even planned several trips over the years that were called off due to launch delays. I even kept an eye on launch dates and airline tickets for these last few missions. After 30 years and 135 missions, the remaining shuttles are headed to museums. They were originally expected to last only 100 missions over 10 years, so I agree it is probably time to retire them.

I have always been fascinated by space, I am sure mostly because of Star Wars / Star Trek. But regardless, I paid attention to the shuttle program from a very young age, here are some highlights:

I remember loving the fact that the first test shuttle was named Enterprise after good ole’ USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)
I had a plastic model of the Space Shuttle Columbia as a 7-year-old – given to me by my dad’s mother
Five years later, I was home from school on January 28, 1986, the day of the Challenger disaster. I was glued to the TV news coverage all day. Although, it does seem by the end of the day I wish I could watch something else (Probably Incredible Hulk or Dukes of Hazzard), but when you only have 3 channels and there is a national disaster your choices are limited
I was an online editor when Columbia was destroyed upon re-entry in 2003. I created some multimedia timelines and infographics for the newspaper’s online coverage of the tragedy.
I visited the Enterprise at the Smithsonian while in D.C. for some Web Development training in 2004.

So the big question, is what will become of our space program now that the shuttles are grounded? How many years will our astronauts have to hitch rides in 1960s-designed Russian Soyuz rockets until NASA can come up with something new?

Will it be the end of the space age? I hope not! But the way the US and world economy is right now, I could see it sitting on the back-burner for a while unless private commercial space efforts take a huge leap forward.

Will it truly shift its focus to deep space exploration? I hope so. The Shuttle program was designed as a re-usable orbital – basically just a cargo hauler to launch satellites and bring supplies to the International Space Station. So while it did that successfully and outlasted its predicted lifespan, it didn’t really push human expansion into outer space. Now is the time to think big and start sending humans deep into space. It might also be a good time to make an international space agency to pool our resources across nations for this grand human endeavor to ‘go boldly’, and so forth.

(By the way, if you think NASA was not completely successful due to the loss of two shuttles, I am not sure a 1.48% disaster rate is all that bad when you consider the bazillion things that could go wrong propelling a metal box 17,500 mph into orbit strapped to two giant rockets and 2.5-million pounds of explosives, then letting it fly for millions of miles through the thermosphere before bringing it back in for a safe landing. So hopefully with time, space travel will be as safe as modern airliners, in which the chance of fatal crash is one in 53,000,000, but for now I’d say they are doing pretty good.)

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Dust storm swallows Phoenix

Zenweezil — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 16:55:22 +0000

These time-lapse videos show a wall of dust over 1-mile high and 50-miles wide moving through the city of Phoenix, Arizona yesterday.

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Saudi women encouraged to drive today

Zenweezil — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 05:44:01 +0000

Saudi women are being encouraged to challenge the status quo and get behind the wheel today.

Though there are no traffic laws that make it illegal for women to drive in Saudi Arabia, religious edicts are often interpreted as a ban against female drivers. One female motorist spent more than a week in custody in May, supporters said.

The day is expected to be a test of wills — and authority — between police and the Women2Drive campaign being promoted via social media (Women2Drive on Twitter & Women2Drive on Facebook.)

Authorities stopped Manal al Sharif, 32, for driving a car on May 21 and detained her the next day. She said she was forced to sign a form promising not to drive again and spent a week in jail.

Al Sharif has not been charged, but the case remains open and she may be called back, according to human rights activist Waleed Abu Alkhair.

In an interview with CNN before her detention, al Sharif said she was determined to speak out.

“We have a saying,” she said. “The rain starts with a single drop. This is a symbolic thing.”

Strict segregation by sex means women in Saudi Arabia can’t travel without a male relative or take public transportation.

Source: CNN

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Scientists build an avian robot

Zenweezil — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 18:59:06 +0000

German technology firm Festo has created SmartBird, the world’s first robotic bird that simulates avian flight in all its glory. Simply amazing. Learn more at Festo.com

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Randy Quaid running from ‘Hollywood Whacker’

Zenweezil — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 15:06:58 +0000

The Randy Quaid crazy train has arrived in Canada, where he and his wife have requested refugee status to escape the clutches of a “Hollywood Star Whacker.” The Quaids believe they are being targeted by those that have already killed 8 of their friends including Heath Ledger and David Carradine. Woah.

Mel Gibson Rejected

On another crazy Hollywood note, Mel Gibson was dropped from his planned cameo in Hangover 2 because of cast members refusing to work with him. Good! Of course, Gibson is pissed and wonders why Mike Tyson was given a shot in the last movie, but not him. Well, maybe because Tyson has changed, where as no one believes Mel-Mel is ever going to be normal.

Read more here

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Vote Jimmy for NY Governor

Zenweezil — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 03:38:41 +0000

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Remembering the Great Soul

Zenweezil — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 04:29:11 +0000

Mohandas Gandhi is one of history’s greatest men. As the political and spiritual leader of India during the Indian independence movement he not only gained freedom for his own nation but also inspired non-violent civil rights movements around the world.

As a practitioner of Ahimsa, the non-violent lifestyle that believes harming any living thing has karmic consequences, Gandhi swore to speak the truth and advocated that others do the same. He lived simply and modestly. He wore the traditional Indian dhoti and shawl, woven from yarn that he had spun by hand himself. He ate simple vegetarian food and undertook long fasts as a means of both self-purification and social protest. But this simple man of peace was still a political powerhouse.

After assuming leadership of the Indian National Congress in 1921, Gandhi led nationwide campaigns to ease poverty, increase economic self-reliance, expand women’s rights, build religious and ethnic amity, end India’s social caste system of untouchability.

Among Gandhi’s honors was the name Mahatma or “Great Soul”, a perfectly fitting description.

Today is the national holiday in India celebrating his birth October 2, 1869 and also worldwide as the International Day of Non-Violence.

Here are some of my favorite Gandhi words of wisdom:

Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.
A ‘No’ uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a ‘Yes’ merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble.
A man is but the product of his thoughts what he thinks, he becomes.
A nation’s culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people.
A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.
Action expresses priorities.
Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are all in harmony.
An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.
An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.
Anger is the enemy of non-violence and pride is a monster that swallows it up.
Faith… must be enforced by reason… when faith becomes blind it dies.
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world – that is the myth of the atomic age – as in being able to remake ourselves.
I am prepared to die, but there is no cause for which I am prepared to kill.
I have nothing new to teach the world. Truth and Non-violence are as old as the hills. All I have done is to try experiments in both on as vast a scale as I could.
I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.
I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.
Healthy discontent is the prelude to progress. Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress.
In a gentle way, you can shake the world.
And my favorite:
Be the change that you want to see in the world.

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