Survival At the Cost of Happiness

What would you do for your happiness?
When one is asked this question the general and typically answer is that they would do what they believe will make them happy.

Do you want to survive? Typical answer is yes, I want to survive.
What would you do for your survival? Typically answer is - anything to survive

So, what if your survival was at the expense of your happiness?

Ideally
Ideally, and commonly when people are faced with questions about living and happiness, they would answer that they would want to live happily. Their answer may also be somewhere on the lines of there's "no point to living if one is not happy/ miserable. However, there are some that would say that things change and that they will be happy.

Realistically though, I believe that when it comes down to it - we are hard wired to survive. Partially because I also believe that happiness is a state of mind. We may not be happy for a period of time for however long it may be... but to die or simply to not survive/living is a permanent end.


Just something to think about - since life is full of different colors and shades of colors and shades of those colors.


The Social Nerd

Technology's Influence on our Interpersonal Relationship

I'm a big fan of technology, but is it just me that notices that technology has led the sacrifice of real conversation?  It seems to also be affecting how relationships develop and I mean it in a rather negative way.

I know that technology has its advantages such as keeping in touch is easier, communication is faster, higher quality, and the immediacy of it is amazing compared to about 10-15 years ago. Especially with social media nowadays, connecting with people miles away is much easier to do.

People are now constantly on their phones even when they are with people. They feel the need to fiddle with their inanimate piece of hardware. Does it bother you guys/gals when you're with a few of your close friends and you're talking and they suddenly crank out their device?

It seems like they just do that out of habit or it has become a "something to do" and to get away from the awkwardness or something. Unfortunately, people don't seem to realize that by whipping out their device it's like saying "I'm here, but I want to be there...[talking to someone else]". Technological habit destroys the quality of a relationship. I know that throughout history society has changed its way of communication, but it is coming at the expense of a quality relationship. The lack of quality time spent together weakens a bond, creating shallow relationships.
 I understand and am fully aware that technology provides the time for us to compose ourselves in "writing" e.g. texting, chatting, etc and that we can edit and modify it. It's also not an immediate type of conversation - a response is not expected whereas in real-time communication we need to be on our feet - which requires 2 challenges  1.listening and 2.thinking.

Maybe it's just me -  but the side effects of technological advancements seems to hurt people in ways they don't even realize.

With technology that facilitates our activities making it faster - and these electronic devices that save time...then why is it that we don't have more time? but rather we seem to having LESS AND LESS time?

People don't seem to be using technology responsible - lack of tact.

Today's society is depressingly shallow.

-The social Nerd over and out! 

Life As A Sitcom

I have been watching The Big Bang Theory and really enjoy the sitcom. I would describe it as a super-nerdy, yet hilarious comedy show.

It got me a thinking..(hah what a surprise) about how life is actually quite similar to a sitcom.
So in The Big Bang Theory we have these super-nerds, they are all physicists and all have PhDs with the exception of one Howard and Penny.

What this sitcom tells us
1.Intelligence does not equate to wisdom and that being smart has its weaknesses and flaws.

2.Our society tends to value intelligence, cleverness, and wittiness, but in this show we see that those traits are not as desirable and that sometimes it is better to be the simple minded, average person.

3. We don't find the hypocrisy or cleverness in ourselves, but as an audience we quickly pick up on hypocrisy of the characters, their intelligence, and cleverness.

4. This reflects that we don't usually see our own faults but that others around us (the audience) can, because they are not part of the picture, or in this case not part of the show.

5. Despite Sheldon's social awkwardness, he is actually quite naturally clever in his remarks and actions - of course it is usually unintentionally.

It doesn't matter how intelligent you are, you are still human.
Unfortunately, most people take life a tad too seriously that they can't seem to enjoy their life and realize that it is just a big comedy, one episode after another. There needs to be some a variety of personalities among those we socialize with to expand our understanding of the world.

"Be The Leaf"

-The Social Nerd

Dropping the "L" Word

Love is not complicated, people make it complicated. Actually, people make several events, situations, and etc complicated for themselves.

A few events that seem to coincide kind of nicely in such close proximity (time-wise) that I couldn't help but take it as an indication that the universe wants me to think about it, and analyze it for my own personal growth.

The 3 Coincidences
1. The Friend
A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine telling me how her now ex-boyfriend told her he loves her and wanted her to say it to him too. She told me that she didn't say it because she didn't feel that way. I'm glad she didn't say what she didn't feel. That was roughly 5-6 weeks ago.


2. The Fiction Story
Recently, I read a piece of fiction about a relatively new couple that officially started their relationship. Both persons in the relationship were relatively mature despite their age. Nonetheless, they are still young and new in their relationship. The relationship prior to being official and open ...the boy shows clear indication of deep love for his soon-to-be girlfriend. The girl's love for him on the other hand was rather "ambiguous" compared to her boyfriend, that's not to say that she didn't love him. Anyway, he dropped the "L" word on her... and in the story, the author described her reaction as stunned, surprised, but also tremendously happy to know and hear him tell her that. Unfortunately, she didn't say it back, because of personal scars of losing loved ones that she wants to spare herself. So although, the story was not focused solely around that - it was definitely a glaring issue. The boyfriend was hurt at her lack of response, which manifested itself in confusion and obsession over her not saying it back to him; ultimately, he created further complications and strain on their relationship.

3. The Big Bang Theory.
Coincidentally (or not), I decided to catch up on watching The Big Bang Theory (a super-nerdy hilarious sitcom). Watching Big Bang Theory actually overlapped with day I read the fiction story - either on the same day or a few days apart, 3 days at most, definitely within the same week. There is this one couple in the show, Leonard and Penny that are dating. And in that one episode Leonard drops the "L" word on Penny. Penny's reaction was also one of shock, and she said "Thank you" to Leonard and... Leonard is obviously disappointed and hurt, so they both pretend like nothing happened and said good night to each other. Leonard is clearly distraught throughout the episode and make snarky remarks when talking to her that hints at the event when he proclaimed his love for her and her inability to say it back to him.

So these events happened close enough (especially the later 2) that I couldn't help but start to think about it. To be clear, in all 3 cases one person from the relationship dropped the "L" word and the other person couldn't say it back, but for various different reasons in each scenario. That was the main issue that created conflict. It just so happens that in each scenario, they were males.

Isn't "Love" just a word? A word to describe how we feel towards another? And if it's just a word to describe how we feel towards another then how we feel is how we feel and that is independent of how the other person feel towards us.
"I Love You" is not, and should not be contingent upon "I Love You Too" or the like. I can understand that it is probably very discouraging and painful when the other person that you have strong affections for not tell you that they also feel strongly about you.

I asked myself, what is the connection between the deal of saying "I love you" and "I love you too", (ironically...this whole not saying "love" thing is what causes conflicts and sometimes breaks up a relationship) Why do we feel that we are, in a sense entitled to having our partner say the same thing to us? What does my love for you and me saying  "I love you" have anything to do with you responding "I love you too"?

From my observation and deductive reasoning, I came to conclude that there is little to no connection - besides that the other person, to some extent like you. But that still doesn't answer why we feel so distraught when our partner doesn't say it back to us. Despite that there is no connection - our desire for our partner to say is *NOT* irrational.

I reasoned that we often mistake and confuse ourselves with our own growing affection and love for another as an indication of the relationship itself as growing and we equate that with how much our partner must feel towards us.

When we *expect* events to go a certain way, people to act or say certain things, we're setting ourselves up for some suffering. In all three instances, the boyfriend that wanted and became obsessive over his loved one to utter similar words actually either created a complications or further strain on the relationship.

Creating Our Own Demise.
In all 3 events, our desire (probably a manifestation of our fear and insecurity) generated problems for ourselves. We are making it difficult for ourselves.

Love is just a word, it's what we attach to the word that matters.

-The Social Nerd

Colors of Life is a Continuum

Life is full of Color

However, since a young age we were taught about right, wrong, good, bad, yes, no, evil, and well..good again. These overly-simplified teachings were meant to help guide us in making  decisions for ourselves. Evidently as we grew and matured we learned that life is not cut and dry and that life is very complex. We learn that life is not black and white, it is not just good or bad, right or wrong, or even a yes or no. But rather life is colorful, complex, has a continuum that colors go from one to the next, even black and white have shades going from black to white or white to black. Although life becomes more complex and situations become more sophisticated, that is what makes life colorful and beautiful. We also learn that without the bad guys, there wouldn't be any good guys.

The Hero In Each Story
Without a villain there would be no hero, or the need for a hero means that there is villain (note- the villain and hero I refer to may not always be in the form of a human) the need for "good" people means that there needs to have "bad" people. Not only were we only taught the simplified extremes, as a matter of fact we were told who the mean/bad guys and over time we learned to identify them in movies and stores. But because we were often taught the extremes of our lives and rarely ever the shades of colors, we find it difficult  polarize the colors - difficult to polarize our emotions, judgement, and reason. We were never taught how to identify, filter out, and separate the colors in our hearts from our brains.

Furthermore, not only were we not taught how to identify, and filter out our emotions, but also our own reasoning. And the reason for that is that like everyone else in this world we don't know how to explain nor teach that kind of concept and how to apply the technique, plus many of us (adults) are still learning and for some have never even gotten close.

Ever heard an adult tell you, "You'll understand when you get older"? That is what I often hear adults say when they find it either difficult to explain a concept or knowing how to express them in simplified form.
We were never taught how to look at life through another lens so it becomes incredibly difficult when we have to do it for ourselves.

The frequency that such situations occur in my micro-society is frequent enough that I've learned a lot from it from a young age. The intensity of these situations has range from weak to strong to ultra intense. Thus, it has refined and sharpen my skills in this area, but of course there is still so much to learn, because each conflict presents itself slightly differently.

1st. filter out between emotions and reason/judgement
2nd. filter out your own reason -Is it rational? Is the point you're trying to make sound? Is it relevant? Are there any fallacies?
3rd - filter out your own emotions - How do you feel? Why do you feel this way? Did I overreact? Did I react appropriately?

We are sometimes our own worst enemis


Colorize your thinking questions!
Do bad decisions make a bad person?
Is the best option always the right thing to do?
Is the "right" thing to do always the best option?

"The very thing that gives you pleasure today, will bring you pain tomorrow."

The Social Nerd

Living With Purpose Or Living In Fear?

How differently would we live if we knew the exact date, time, and how we would die?
Would we start to live with [more] purpose?
Be more daring and less fearful?
Or would we [continue] living in fear with the knowledge of our death haunting us or mortal fears?
Or would we live trying to alter a predetermined fate?
It is because we don't know how, when, and where we will die that we forget we are mortals, subjected to a universal, inevitable end fate..called "death"...
Remembering that we will all die at some point is a great motivator to push us to not just to exist, but to live.

-The Social Nerd

We are always getting ready to live, but never living

Yeah, I read the title from Lifehacker too. It makes me wonder if I've fallen victim to this ...conjecture?
I'm putting my own perspective to it.

Somewhat ridiculous...but it seems that people don't know what to do with their life, but rather what not to do with their life. Very few people actually know what they want to make of themselves. I have asked a few of my friends, younger, and a few years older and they seem to give me very similar answers. I have a few that have told me they don't know, others tell me their plans and goals of what they want to do, not necessarily what they want from their life. We all want something from our life, unfortunately we don't know what that something is, and often times we get so caught up with life that we stop searching for it.

I'm no statistician...
I don't have any numbers, evidence, or data to back up my claim...statistics...is simply another form of illusion for man to reassure himself that what he believes is "logical", by backing it up with numerous numerical data. I observe people, social interactions, document my thoughts, my "findings" if you will, on society and its overall pattern. Yeah, I'm aware that my observations have its limitations in that it is full of biases. I don't think I ever really recall anyone that when asked what they want from their life that they could give me a confident, definitive answer. Perhaps they are too afraid to admit that they have no flipping clue what they want to do.


Throw Me A Lemon....Because I Need Something To Do...
People that don't know what they want to do with their life end up settling, more or less, for whatever life throws at them. This is not saying that these people do not have any dreams, goals, or ambitions of their own, but rather on their journey to reach these goals they get swept by other unexpected minor journeys that often times overshadow their original objective. In other words, we lose sight of our original purpose for
treading a particular path. The light at the end of the tunnel needs to be in sight, be conscious to make decisions so that it takes you step closer towards that light.

From Business Trip to Pleasure Trip....to Tangent Trip
So you initially have a business trip that you need to take. Of course when you take this business trip you also meet new people, see new faces, explore new places, and perhaps encounter a different set of social norms. You are someone full of ambitions, career goals, potential to further improve yourself. hat you didn't expect was that you would meet someone during this business trip of yours and the two of you exchanged contact information. Well, one thing leads to another  and before you know it the two of you are in constant communication. Now eventually, you two dated and then married. Ok, so that was unexpected, but love happens? Love finds you in the most unexpected places, so that tangent is semi-acceptable. However, once you are married and settle down, it becomes more difficult to fulfill one's original goals and purpose. I originally thought about this because of the film "The Other Man" starring Liam Neeson and Antonio Banderas.

I gave this quick and simplified example to show that often times we don't know what we want from life and thus often times just let tangents happen to us and we forget about our initially purpose.

Sources
http://lifehacker.com/5878626/we-are-always-getting-ready-to-live-but-never-living

"I intend to live forever, or die trying"

-The Social Nerd

It is Disorder that Attracts Attention because it is Awkward and Intrusive.

Order is Never Observed. It is Disorder that Attracts Attention because it is Awkward and Intrusive.
An incredibly true statement! A fancy way of reminding us that we all want to stand out, but also want to fit in. One of life's conundrum is that as much as we want to stand out, we also crave to fit in with society. I totally stole this from lifehacker! Lifehacker has a short post on it so I'm just expanding on what I think it means.

Life comprises of many spectrums. Wanting to "stand out" lies on the far opposite end of "fitting in".
So there's gotta be some sort of balance. Yeah, sure, there are those that definitely stand out ...perhaps in a more positive, and then there are some that always fit in or stand out in non-pleasant manner. So something tells me there is balance, a sweet spot where standing out just in the right areas such as the right situations, for the right reasons, personality, and the behavior should naturally reflect, thus portraying a more desirable image.

The Trouble With "Fitting In"
Fitting in is overrated. Trying to fit in inhibits and limits our ability to think creatively, to act reasonably, and most importantly it hinders our ability to live with purpose. People that stand out have embraced what makes them unique and crafted those areas of their personality to into a more desirable image. I have met those that I find are very skilled at drawing certain qualities of themselves at will and they do it such an appealing way by concealing their true personalities, emotions while eliciting it from others.

The Trouble With "Standing Out"
I have also met those who also stand out very much, but how they stand out is a part their natural personality, they haven't crafted themselves effectively. They already have the natural personality of standing out, but because there is a lack of structure the standing out becomes somewhat of a deficiency. Uniqueness without structure and without the following: keen sense of awareness, sharp sense of judgement, tact, word choice, decisions, purpose ...would actually hurt us. An example would be when it attracts unwanted attention.

Personality, Speech, Conduct, ...Sense of Humor
The former can usually morph into almost any personality, reflecting a range of behaviors, adapt to almost any situation, with anyone with ease while radiating a pleasant personality. It is a personality that stands out just enough -  What I describe should not be confused with superficiality - which is shallow, undeveloped, more or less without purpose. I am not trying to endorse superficiality nor am I encouraging you to be someone you're not, but rather take a different perspective, it is refreshing.

I don't enjoy a lot of activities that most other people enjoy such as watching football, watching sports in general, or idle talk.

In high school every time friends got together it seemed that there was a need to do something, which the reason could be that with a larger group of people, for everyone to be included required an activity as oppose to just sitting, eating, and talking..

I am no expert in one area, but am an expert in knowing a little about a range of areas.

Hopefully, we will at least once in our lives create some sort of disorder because it reveals to us at the moment our natural being and our inner self that we've been subconsciously trying to control.

Sources
http://lifehacker.com/5881054/order-is-never-observed-it-is-disorder-that-attracts-attention-because-it-is-awkward-and-intrusive

http://goinswriter.com/jack-of-all-trades/

"Order Is Never Observed. It Is Disorder That Attracts Attention Because It is Awkward and Intrusive"
-The Social Nerd

When "Bad" Guys Make the Best Good Guys

Ever seen V for Vendetta?If you haven't, I strongly recommend it. Amazing film! I would consider it a modern day film version of what dictatorship would be and how one person can manipulate the system to rise into a position of dictator! Perhaps it's a "How Hitler Would Dominate in Modern Day". If you watch it or have seen it, then my description might make some sense.

A quick synopsis of the story without giving it away (I hope). It takes place in London where a dystopian society under fascist rule of a political party (don't recall name) basically lives in fear because religion, political prisoners and/or anyone that do not conform to party's system social norms are to be sent to concentration camps, experimented upon, and eventually exterminated. The party leader would often use the terms "a threat to national security" to justify his extermination of political "dissidents", religion, and other nonconformists. It was also his way of implanting fear and guilt in those that bought into his nonsense.

The Guy in the Mask ... is Awesome
One of the protagonist in the film, in which throughout the entire film wears this Guy Fawkes mask and the film never reveals his name, only that he is known as "V" which also happens to be roman numeral 5... he was in the 5th cell of this imprisonment. I assume it is symbolic since in concentration camps (or at least in Hitler's concentration camps) that one loses his/her identity and becomes associated with only a number and not a name and so this protagonist remains anonymous to the audience.

Even though in this particular film the protagonist actually acts as the inciter, the catalyst that drives the film...we enjoy not only the movie, but also gain insight from it. I, for one, also admire the character. A movie where, the "bad" guy makes the best good guy.

A for Amazing, A for Awesome, A for Anonymous.

This brings me to today's group of hackers, known as Anonymous. No, I wouldn't want them to be tracking me, but I must admit ... they live up to their cover name and a "face" that society has provided for them, which is the Guy Fawkes mask, same one that the character in V for Vendetta wears. Recently the feds want to crack down on online piracy with their SOPA and PIPA and probably some other online privacy bill either now or in the future. As the Feds crack down on online piracy ...results? Megaupload forced to shut down and the founder arrested! In retaliation, Anonymous attacks DOJ or so they claimed. Either way, hah!
Authorities and politics are recipe of corruption...justice is not objective.

Credit Is Given When It's Deserved
Anonymous may be participating in activities that hurt businesses, but I wonder if they mean to cause actual harm. In regards to retaliation to the online privacy, they are making a statement. "Our lives begin to tend the day we become silent about things that matter." - MLK. I'm glad there are still people out there actively fighting for what matters to them. Their method of fighting back/protesting may be breaking the law (laws are meant to be broken), they do it not only for themselves but several million others that more or less are incapable of retaliating in such a way. Must give them credit, they do make a more-than-satisfying job of being the appealing "bad" guy and the "good" guys looking like morons. They managed to break into companies and the Feds...still not caught. Group of anarchist like these are only seen in the movies...I'm glad I'm alive to witness a great group of rag tag hackers! They are for sure a very audacious group; well aware that they are breaking the law, managed not to gloat about their achievements (most suckers would gloat by now), because they know that they could potentially get caught if they aren't discreet.




Only common people have interest for common activities, the moment they gain a little recognition...is also the moment the start to put their wants before the needs of others or...their single need before the needs of many. They represent truer justice...I haven't yet to read anything, anywhere that paints anonymous in positive light. Which makes me wonder a little if it's because they are anarchist of the internet, challenging defense cyber-security. Aside from the Megaupload retaliation, there's also the Bank of America Foreclosure, and wikileaks.

At the very least, these hackers can die knowing they made a difference, knowing they truly lived, doing what they love, and fighting for what matters. That's a lot more than many can say they have done in their lifetime.

Just to further my point a little...think of Hitler, Castro, and even Stalin. Yes, these three leaders killed millions of people. However, they somehow managed to climb to power, maintain power and had millions of people, their country to believe in them and their system. They had other people participating in the execution of others, now that is one powerful combination of fear and persuasion!

"Megaupload was taken down w/out SOPA being law. Now imagine what will happen if it passes. The internet as we know it will end. FIGHT BACK." - Anonymous

-The Social Nerd

Life Is 10% What Happens To Me

If life is 10% what happens to me, then what's the other 90%?

 The other 90% is *how I react to it*. The whole and original quote is "Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it", discovered through lifehacker.com. Although, lifehacker has a short quotable article on it, I couldn't help but feel compelled to write about it here. It's a reminder to myself that attitude determines whether a situation can go down badly, a deal can be closed, a connection made, a friendship developed, an enemy discovered, or even the start of a business idea!

Often times when we fail or perform poorly we allow ourselves to be consumed by our critical self. We also allow undesirable outcomes to affect our decision-making, our spirit and motivation. Regardless of whether the outcome was in one's control or not, there's almost always something we can learn from it.


Traffic
 Most people hate sitting in traffic, especially for long periods of time. Actually, most people hate waiting for anything in general (like Zimbardo stated in his Time paradox). However, instead of being so cranky or snappy at other drivers or yourself, just enjoy the music on the radio, listen to the news, observe the number of cars and the drivers around you. If it really bothers you that much, perhaps you should take the next exit and take an inside road to get home. Inside roads tend to have more traffic lights and speed limits are much lower, but the wheels tend to roll at a steady rate than bumper-to-bumper traffic on the highway.

Shifting our Attitude
Recently, I have been trying to change my attitude towards common, micro-situations that would usually cause distress, anxiety, or irritation by viewing it as joke, but in most cases ... apathy. Trying to think that I don't really care helps me recognize that some things are out of my control or that it was my fault to start out with so I should figure where I went wrong. Our attitudes towards a situation or event is a reflection of how we feel at the moment of the situation, and thus further influencing our behavior in that particular direction. It's our attitude that either turns a bad situation right side up, or a big conflict into no conflict. Our attitude will ultimately determine how successful we become. By changing our attitude, we allow ourselves to view the world through a new set of lenses, enabling us to see the beauty and opportunities that we would otherwise miss.


Sources:
http://lifehacker.com/5873131/life-is-10-of-what-happens-to-me-and-90-of-how-i-react-to-it?tag=quotables


"We are always getting ready to live, but never living"

-The Social Nerd

The Zen Experience

Recently, I went off on a trip on my own without family for the first time. The weeks, and particularly days leading up to it were supposed to be really exciting. Usually the few days prior to the trip is when it's most exciting. For some reason, and for the first time I was actually only excited for brief moments. Excited when my friends who were going to be there with talked about it. However, as soon as the conversation went on to the next topic, I also found myself just as engaged and interested in the next topic of discussion. And when all conversation finally died down and I was back to doing my regular old activities, I took pleasure in that. My mind wasn't constantly on the impending trip that would be in 48 hrs, although it was looming, it was not distracting.

In the moment
It was such a great feeling, it allowed me to enjoy the moment, enjoy the here and now. I wasn't lost or carried away. Of course, the mind would wander to the thoughts of the trip, but it wasn't distracting.

When the Moment is Gone
I was already nervous, and excited, but the moment for it is over and now it is time to enjoy the present ...no reason to continue being excited about the future. Be excited and enjoy the future, when the future turns into the present.

I hope to experience more of these kinds of moments, where I was able to continue enjoying the present, a little of the future, while not let it distract me from the present.

"Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment"
-The Social Nerd

The Paradox of [My] Laziness

There happens to be somewhat of a direct relationship between laziness and efficiency. I discovered that my "laziness" actually pushes me to become efficient. It forces me to become creative, learn things, and discover newer, better, and faster methods of performing a task/set of tasks.

The Project
For example, I have a number image files in which the default name that was given to it when it was imported was IMG_0001, however, I would like to rename the files to ..."Beach Week 0001" etc. It would be quite painful to manually rename each files individually. Therefore, it got me thinking...there has to be a faster way of accomplishing this task. Of course, it's just my luck that at the time I learned the power of "scripting". I'm ashamed to say...I never knew that you can write a single page of code and have it automate tasks for you.

Scripting
When I learned of about automating tasks through scripting, I discussed my small 'project' to the script master. He uses groovy, utilizing the JVM. Anyways, I cranked out some pseudo-code for him in java. And within a few days, he wrote a groovy script that did exactly what I wanted it to do! The other awesome thing was that it was able to rename my files WITH SPACES!!! Even the script master had to ask me how that was possible...since apparently in batch scripting, it doesn't allow you to rename files with a space, you must provide an underscore instead. Groovy is very similar to Java...and I have programmed in Java...Stringing Strings for aesthetics was an "important" part when i first learned Java.

The script master, actually got me really into scripting because of his interest in scripting and how he views it as a hobby instead of a painful task. Although I have yet to write my own script....I hope to someday. I just need to figure out where and how to start writing simpler script.

WORK SMARTER NOT HARDER...!
Back to the original purpose of the post, the search for efficiency is a result of "laziness" or at least my desire to optimize productivity and increase my time's worth. This way, I can do more activities and learn new skills as I let my script automate the tedious, pointless, yet much needed tasks. Unfortunately, laziness has a bad rep. perceived as unintelligent, a ripoff, cheap, an undesirable trait, and while that's true for many; for me, it's not that. I don't want to do work (actually, I'd rather do things that interest me)...but since work is somewhat inevitable, let's try to do as little work as possibly while still completing your chores on time and with at least no less than satisfactory results!

The Tradeoff
Of course, the tradeoff here is that if you don't want to put in the manual abor, then you must compensate (or at least usually) with mental power.


In short,..... WORK SMARTER NOT HARDER!
I don't do it to line others' pocket or for business "others" ..I do it for myself, my family. Plus I enjoy finding better, faster methods of completing tasks #1 because then it allows me to do other activities and #2 I learned a new skill by finding that faster and newer way.


I should probably write a post on how I set up groovy, java, and setting the environment paths before I forget, heh!

"Efficiency is intelligent laziness"
-The Social Nerd

The Mathematic Discovery

This is just a quick post that documents another method for checking your multiplication. I learned this from my dad, and he learned from an old fashioned Asian teacher back in Vietnam. Anyway, I thought it was really useful and helpful, a much easier and "simpler" method than using division to check your work (or a calculator, like in today's world).

Ok, so I don't know if this method is an official one or that it has a name, but I call it the X method. And it works for me.

Sample
Problem   1 Both Single Digits
        9  
     x 3 
      27
So make an X, notice how the X has 4 spaces? (I can't draw or at least I don't know how to with this blog so I need to describe it). Well, we will write a number in each space, and I will show you how. So in the Top Space, we will call it Space A (the V part of the X), Space B is the bottom space, Space C is the right space, and space D will be the left space.

1. Take the factor, in this case 9 and write it in Space A and take the 2nd (which is 3) and write it at the bottom.
2. Now take top value (which is 9) and the bottom value which is 3 and multiple them together which would give you 27. (yes, I know at this point you are probably thinking that is stupid...that's not a "method" to checking your multiplication, but I assure you I am starting with a simple example, I will provide other more complex problems).

3. 27 is the numbers 2 and 7 right? so take the SUM of 2 and 7 = 9.....--> 27 ==> 2+7 = 9 and write that number in the right space of the X

4.Now take the product of the original problem which is 27, which is the number 2 and 7. Take the sum of 2+7 = 9.

5. You should now see that the right space(C) and the left space(D) are the same number. And having that they are the same number, it means you did your multiplication correctly.

Problem 2- 1 single digit, 1 double digit
      23
   x   3
      69

1. Take the first factor, in this case 23 and take the sum of its digits which is 2+3 = 5 and write it in Space A and take the 2nd factor, which is 3 and write it at the bottom Space B.
2. Now take top value (which is 5) and the bottom value which is 3 and multiple them together which would give you 15. (yeah, notice that it is different than the previous problem?).

3. 15 is the numbers 1 and 5 right? so take the SUM of 1 and 5 = 6.....--> 27 ==> 1+5 = 6 and write that number in the right space of the X

4.Now take the product of the original problem which is 69, which are the numbers 6 and 9. Take the sum of the two numbers....6+9 = 15. Since it is 15, you must first do a 1+5 =6 ..now write 6 in Space D (left space).

5. You should now see that the right space(C) 6 and the left space(D) 6 are the same number. And having that they are the same number, it means you did your multiplication correctly.

NOTE*- Notice that when I had a number greater than 9, I do the SUM of the two digits (e.g 15 --> 1+5 =6 instead of 15)? The reason is to keep the checking process simple and to prevent miscalculation with numbers. Of course you can keep the 2 digit number, but then you must do it for both calculations in space C and D. Keeping it 1 digit is easier.
Now let's do a bigger number and check for its correction

Problem 3 - 2 double digits           
            25
       x   17
          425


1. Take the first factor, in this case 25 and take the sum of its digits which is 2+5 = 7 and write 7 in Space A and take the 2nd factor, which is 17 so you take 1+7 = 8 and write 8 at the bottom Space B.

2. Now take top value (which you wrote down from the prev step 7) and the bottom value which is 8 and multiple them together which would give you 56.

3. 56 is the numbers 5 and 6 right? so take the SUM of 5 and 6 = 11, 11 is still >9 so you need to take the sum of 11 so....1+1 = 2 and write that number in the right space of the X

4.Now take the product of the original problem which is 425, which are the numbers 4,2,5. Take the sum of the three numbers....4+2+5 =11. Since it is 11 (which is greater than 9) you must take the sum of the two digits 1+1=2 ..now write 2 in Space D (left space).

5. You should now see that the right space(C) 2 and the left space(D) 2 are the same number. And having that they are the same number, it means you did your multiplication correctly.

__________________________________________________________________________________
This method should work for natural numbers, I don't know if they work any other realm of numbers e.g. integers, decimals etc. The method should also work for numbers in the hundreds, and thousandths place.

I know this seems to take a lot longer to do, however, the checking is much simpler, by keeping the numbers allowed when added to be no greater than 9, and thus easier to check compared to long division to check your math, but that's just me.

-The Social Nerd

Importing Tumblr Blogs to Blogger

I used to use Tumblr as my medium for blogging, but found out that Tumblr is not a good platform for my blogging needs. Of course, that is after I discovered this Google Blogger, and I like a lot more than Tumblr.

Importing over
However, I already have some blogs on tumblr that I would really like to import over to blogger, and I certainly didn't want to manually create one after another and having the dates out of place.

Googling
Therefore I googled up "How to import tumblr blogs to blogger" and one of the answer that popped up was "How do I move my blog and all its content from tumblr to blogger?", it described to me the steps I needed to take to import my tumblr blogs to blogger.

Steps to Import Blogs
Unfortunately, there is no direct way to import my tumblr blogs into blogger.
1. First, I had to export my tumblr blogs to a wordpress compatible xml, using this link
          tumblr2wordpress
then of course I downloaded the generated wordpress compatible xml file

2. Secondly, I had to import the XML file to the wordpress2blogger using this link
            wordpress2blogger
which then generated another XML file, but this one was Blogger compatible.

3. Thirdly, what I had to do was log into my blogger and then went to Settings->Other, and at the top there is a Blog Tools which has Import, Export, Delete Blog. Clicked on Import blog and chose the Blogger compatible XML file.
BOOM! My tumblr blogs are now imported to my blogger blog.

Sources:
Google Answers how to import tumblr blogs to blogger
tumblr2wordpress
wordpress2blogger

-The Social Nerd

How to Influence People: The Most Overlooked Secret | Goins, Writer

How to Influence People: The Most Overlooked Secret | Goins, Writer

3 Reasons to Travel While You're Young | Goins, Writer

3 Reasons to Travel While You're Young | Goins, Writer