The book is sad because you know Randy’s fate, yet he is optimistic and positive, not a drop of melancholy is etched in his writing.  His experience with terminal cancer and how he wants to be remebered to the world and most importantly to his children and loving wife is touching, to say the least.  His lecture was done in an auditorium with a quickly prepared powerpoint and an audience of students, friends, family, and co-workers.  It have been circularing around the internet and can be found here: The Last Lecture- YouTube

Randy Pausch writes about enabling your childhood dreams and how important it is to keep “dreaming” and “dream big.”  He also tells the readers about how you need to help enable others dreams as well.  I could not agree with him more.  Helping other people with their goals and dreams is something that I have been doing since childhood.  It just feels good.

He offers wisdom such as,

“When you see yourself doing something badly and nobody’s bothering to tell you anymore, that’s a bad place to be.  You may not want to hear it, but your critics are often the ones telling you they still love you and care about you, and want to make you better.”

I am also a vivid supporter of wikipedia and agree completely with him when he says in his book “Wikipedia is a perfectly find source for your information…”

My favorite excerpt from this book is a quote Randy gets from Seneca a roman philosopher which states: 

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity”

Since the professor was a computer scientist I was expecting the book to be a little more technical but overall the presentation is quick, effecient, and clear.  Randy says that the book was created for his family to remeber him after his passing.  There are a few funny parts where Randy is being sarcastic and the way he tells stories is really unique -like when he tells the story of him and his wife almost dieing in a baloon ride- which the way he tells the story is extremely hilarious.

Overall the book is inspirational to those who are wanting to learn more about enabling dreams, accomplishing goals, and dealing with terminal cancer.

After reading The Last Lecture I learned that Randy Pausch passed away on July 25, 2008, R.I.P.

Jon’s book, Winners Never Cheat, takes on corrupt business practices and teaches it’s readers that even in our modern times virtues like integrity, courage, honor, and respect are integral parts of a succesful business. It tells the reader that since childhood we all have a moral (subcouncious) compass that guides us, wether we listen to it or not is up to our councious selfs.

The book provides value to those those who are seeking to be genourous in their business practices.  It speaks briefly about business management and gives several childhood and young adult examples of what leadership should be.  Jon M. Hunstman seems like a very extraordinary person and it would certaintly be an honor to know him or anyone else from his family for that matter.  I purchased the book to read about Jon’s “3 R’s” of leadership; risk, responsiblity, and reliability.  I will say that the book was a little lacking in describing and talking about risk, which is the main reason I bought the book, but it covers the other two R’s perfectly.

The book goes on to say that trust is an invaluable  part of business and it warns that:

“Trust, should not be blind. Save blind faith for religion.”

What it meansby this  is that you should be aware of whom you give your trust too.  Don’t leave it up to chance and don’t give your trust to just anyone. When Jon speaks about trust he goes on to say that words are binding and that keeping your word is one of the most important actions that define great character.

In my favorite part, Jon speaks about philantrophy and how it is important for the individual to give back to his society.  He speaks about his genours contributions to multiple schools, hospitals, and organization that were created to find a cure for cancer.  He states that:

“Philanthropy is plain good business. [Because] It energizes a company.”

He goes on to say that one does not have to be rich to give.  That one of the most valuable things we can give is time.  

A notable excerpt from the book is a poem Jon quotes entitled “No Man Is an Island”:

No man is an island,
No man stands alone,
Each man’s joy is joy to me,
Each man’s grief is my own.

 

We need one another,
So I will defend
Each man as my brother,
Each man as my friend.

This book is recommended for those who are interested in ethos, business, leadership and those who want to learn more about the way Mr. Hunstman’s mind works.

She boosts reason as the highest human value and goes after those with superficial knowledge:

“Reason is the only objective means of communication and of understaning among men; when men deal with one another by means of reason, reality is their objective standard and frame of reference.  But when men claim to possess supernatural means of knowledge, no persuasion, communication or understanding are possible.”

As is Ayn Rand’s signature, she is always introducing her other projects in her current work. That is something to look forward to in her books.  She always explains her  ideas clearly and describes WHY she thinks that way.  Here is my favorite excert from her other book Atlas Shrugged:

“You seek escape from pain.  We seek the achievement of hapiness. You exist for the sake of avoiding punishement. We exist for the sake of earning rewards. Threats will not make us function; fear is not our incentive. It is not death that we wish to avoid, but life that we wish to live.”

In Philosophy: Who Needs It, she takes on many complex problems that have been plaguing humanity: false religion, goverment involvement in economics, government stiffling of individual freedoms, contradictory philosophies, wrong moral codes and plenty of other controversial subjects.  Even though she takes on these hard subjects she never loses her focus on explaing why objective thinking can be the solutions to these problems.

I will state that in her book Ayn Rand predicted the current economic state and blames it on too much government interaction with the economy.  Which logically I would have to agree.

Ayn Rand goes on to show that the current system rewards those who are lazy, unmotivated, and ultimately without integrity.  She brilliantly states:

“Whome would these men fear most, psychologically -and least, existentially?  The brilliant loner -the begineer, the young man of potential genius and innocently ruthless integrity, whos only weapons are talent and truth.  They reject him “instinctively” saying that “he doesn’t belong” (to what?), sensing that he would put them on the spot by raising issues they prefer not to face.  He might get past their protective barriers, once in a while, but he is handicapped by his virtues -in a system rigged against intelligence and integrity.”

The book is an excellent source for those who are interested in thinking clearly, objectively, and those interested in integrity and Ayn Rand’s philosophy.

I am sitting here in at a coffee house named the Jahva house and I am surrounded by joy.  I am waiting for my friend so that we can have a cup of Joe and talk about our favorite subjects.  I sit here and I can’t stop thinking about how great America is.  I wonder what it would be like if we didn’t get to enjoy freedoms such as a simple cup of coffee and freedom of speech. I thank God that I live in America, a country where we can enjoy incredible freedoms like the right to vote in a democracy.  I keep thinking…  America isn’t a race, it isn’t a color, it’s a reality, a great IDEA.  To be American is a CHOICE. For example, I was reading a post about how diverse America is and I found something that was very interesting,

“The story of the American people is a story of the world’s peoples. Throughout American history, hopeful immigrants have arrived to establish new lives. They came for many reasons. Some were fleeing oppressive regimes, seeking economic opportunity or simply pursuing personal dreams. Whatever the reason, each new arrival has made a contribution to the American mosaic.”

~ America.gov

This statement fits in perfectly with the understanding that I have about American people, for example Albert Einstein was escaping an oppressive regime in Nazi Germany because he was a Jewish German, and did not want to support such activities or worse, get killed.  Could you imagine if the Nazi fascists would have killed Albert Einstein?  What a tragic loss that would have been.  I also think about Nikola Tesla and how he immigrated from Croatia to America to follow his vision as a scientist.  He became a very successful inventor and kept his company in America.  On the same article there is another section which is also very interesting.

“Immigrants to the United States continue to find a land of opportunity both for themselves and for their children. The Economic Mobility Project, which profiles factors that make up the so-called American Dream, shows that the children of immigrants attain higher levels of education than their parents, and are even more likely to attain college degrees than the children of non-immigrants. Many experts contend that America is well placed to remain competitive in the world economy because it knows how to accept and integrate a diverse population.”

~ America.gov

I agree whole heartedly with those statements and I am humbled to be an American, thank God I was born here.  Don’t misunderstand me, just because I accept diversity does not mean that I do not hold a very strict standard for immigration policy in America.  I believe that those who break the law should be punished accordingly.

So in conclusion, to me, your not really American unless you choose to be. I choose to be American, a choice by which I gladly live.  The amount of diversity in America is becoming larger than any other countries’ diversity.  We have a large population of African-Americans, Caucasians, Latinos, and Asians and those are just the ethnicities.  I am willing to bet that we have an even larger diversity when it comes to religion and political views. The reason for this is we have more freedom to express those views and everyone is entitled to their own opinion even if it’s wrong.  That’s just one of the reasons America is so great, I didn’t even get into the subject of The Constitution, Democracy, Capitalism (one of my favorites), Justice, and Liberty. This post is only about the pursuit of happiness and that’s theTRUTH.

“In whatever arena of life one may meet the challenge of courage, whatever may be the sacrifices he faces if he follows his conscience – the loss of his friends, his fortune, his contentment, even the esteem of his fellow men – each man must decide for himself the course he will follow. The stories of past courage can define that ingredient – they can teach, they can offer hope, they can provide inspiration. But they cannot supply courage itself. For this each man must look into his own soul.”  

~John F. Kennedy

This book is a great read for those interested in politics, integrity, and courage.

Not alot of people know. Some do. In the year 2002 a discovery in Naica Mexico startled and captured the imagination of scientists. A cave of giant brown, red, white, & blue crystals was found.  Many ignored the discovery and others were simply unaware of it. It is my prediction that this discovery will lead to many other giant crystal caves in the future. 

The caves are known as the “Cave of Swords”,  ”Cave of Crystals” and the “Cave of Dreams” the combinations of these caves contain the largest crystals known to man and perhaps the most beautiful, some also call the cave the “Giant Crystal Cave” (National Geographic) 

I was curious about the location since my grandfather brought me a crystal from around that location.  (My Grandparents live 30 mins from the Naica Caves, and where there is plenty of underground volcanic activity.)  I’m going to say that I would like to team up with anyone that is interested and perhaps go explore the area.  (My friend TJ said we could hijack my dad’s FJ Cruiser and crash it trough the large Iron Doors protecting the cave.) Either way leave me a comment if you would like to know more about these crystals and this incredible subject. 

You can learn more about these caves by going to National Geographic or by going to YouTube.

Please DIGG this story if you like it. =D Thank you!

Reason, logic, and science. This is what I choose over religion and faith.  It might not be the most popular choice but it is the choice I choose to live by.  Why?  Because there is a self evident truth; that observation & experimentation are the keys that lead to success and progress. Just as some people make up their own hallucinations and beliefs.  I make my own ideas, and luck, and I won’t exploit that.

Now don’t get me wrong. One paragraph is all I need to express this subject. I am not agnostic or even atheist.  If I were to be called any type of religious stereotype it would probably be Christian. I was brought up in Christian fundamentals and I know that God exists, as I know the beauty of numbers do. So much for the subject of “religion.”

There are people through out history that I have true respect for and whom I truly look up to because of there choice of reason over ignorance, these men are my heroes, my inspiration, and my guidance. Some of my more modern heroes include Nikola Tesla, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Warren Buffet.  There are also a few historical men that I really look up to and whom are pillars in my fundamental ideology.  A few of my pillars include men like, Leonardo DaVinci, Aristotle, Alexander (The Great), Beethoven, Mozart, and Bach.  These men fought and defended everything they believed in. Men like these are what every man with a scientific & creative mind should strive to be like, I know I do. Now there are men that I admire because of there humility and non-violent teachings, these men include Jesus, Confucius, and Buddha. I am not ashamed to say that the scientific figures and inventors are my true heroes though.

 The rest of this blog will be based on self evident truths like reason, logic, and science and more interesting subjects like politics, technology, and economics. I always look at everything in a scientific and systematic method, that’s just how my mind works and that’s the truth.

It’s late and I’m feeling restless, so I am continuing my work on observing and understanding nature and the human condition.  Right now I am reading Wizard – The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla, as well as enjoying the late night TV show POKER after Dark.  Even though I feel restless my mind is quite clear  and responsive. I am enjoying my book and thinking about light, magnetic energy and planetary movements. 

I have been so obsessed with Poker specifically, Texas Hold’em that I’m thinking of setting up regular poker nights trough out the week.  Poker is hands down the best American card game ever invented,  and I’m all in with that statement.

Regarding my read, Tesla has to be one of my favorite historical figures of all time.   His work in physics, electro-magnetism, the AC poly phase system, wireless transmission and light are truly captivating.  It is incredible how trough proper theory and practice one man can make such an important and fundamental difference in so many fields.  His life’s work is surely one of my many unhealthy obsessions.