Tuesdays with Muerte

Which External Hard Drive? (Image Source ) It's time to purchase an external hard drive. Here are my needs: It must have USB 3.0 transfer speeds. It must be name brand, (preferably WD, Seagate or I-OMEGA). It must be under $150. *I'd like to purchase it from Costco.  Here are my wants: I want something large enough to hold all my other 1.5 TB of stored data so I can get rid of my other three 500GB, desktop hard drives. I want it to either be a  NAS (Network Attached Storage) , or wirelessly accessible.  That way multiple computers can read and write to it.  (e.g. I'd be able to stream media to my iPad from anywhere in the house.) I want it to be as inexpensive as possible. I couldn't find one hard drive that met all of my criteria.  So here are the three options that I like.  Each one is missing one of the aforementioned qualifications: WD My Book Live 2TB Personal Cloud Storage Drive  —Not a ton of space, nor is it really ch...

Yes, a dandelion because they are the flower of wishes. You blow that ball of seeds and the wind carries them to the one assigned to grant or reject. And it’s a good thing that it’s the dandelions who have this power because they are tough and sometimes you have to be tough to even remember that you have any desires left at all, to believe that even one could be satisfied, would not turn to an example of “be careful what you wish for, it might come true.” Maybe that’s exactly why there are so many of them - the universe gives us extra chances to keep dreaming. Each one an uprising, a burst of color in the cracks of our hearts, sunrise at an unexpected time, in an unexpected place. —Ellie Schoendfeld's “ Lucien's Birthday Poem " Context I ran across a reference to this poem while I was reading a text for a BYU evaluation class.  I was learning about how nature (and the universe) has a pattern of being adapt...

Okay, folks.  That last game was ridiculously easy for most of you.  (Everyone got it in within the first 2 or 3 quotes—even the kids.) So now, THE KID GLOVES ARE COMING OFF!  You want to go toe-to-toe with Bryan, the single man who has probably seen more movies than all 5 of you (who follow my blog) combined—here's your chance to truly prove yourselves.  Since this is only round one, I'll still be pulling punches. (e.g. If I were going all out, I would have only shown you the image of the goat costume below, instead of all three.  You'll have to ask yourself, "given the 90s fantasy hint from last week, would I have gotten it?"  That's the kind of mental pain I'll be bringing in weeks to come.) Rules: Pop culture references ONLY. (No cult stuff that only I have seen.) Nothing R-rated. (G — PG-13, including things like NOT RATED popular documentaries.) Let's start off by saying, I have to own it.  (This includes digital videos, but they must h...

Adam and Dog (2012) Full Short Animated Film Director: Minkyu Lee Oscar Nominated Short Click to reveal synopsis This hand-drawn animation explores the possible origins of the close-knit relationship of man and canine, for which Disney animation artist, Minkyu Lee, won the Annie award for Best Animated Short Subject. Lee created this independent film with friends from Disney, Dreamworks and Pixar. Click to reveal Moral of the story I think he's trying to say that even when God turns his back on you (hyperbole), your dog will still be there. (False, but moving all the same. A very accessible message.) *Read Interview with Minkyu Lee on Adam and Dog *See other Oscar-Nominated Shorts

Shawn Achor's book, The Happiness Advantage , outlines seven interventions you can do to adopt a more positive, grateful outlook in your own life.  If this sounds interesting, you might want to check out  Hapyr.com , a journaling website, based on Achor's research, that helps people permanently change their brain chemistry.  This begs the question, "will simply repeating these seven activities really make people happy?"  A look at Achor's research might give us a better understanding. Personal Example of Positive Psychology When I was with my family over Christmas break, we conducted an "informal test" on the effect of increased testosterone and decreased cortisol on human performance.  My brother-in-law was at a pivotal point during a team board game and needed to respond faster than my sister.  Before the trivia question was read, he called for a "time out," stood up, put his fists on his hips, stuck his chest out (like Superman minus...

I think laptop stands are invaluable! I want to buy an mStand , by Rain Design, to use with an external keyboard and mouse. The stand serves several purposes: Lifts the height of the display which makes working more comfortable. Helps cooling as you get lots of airflow around the laptop Gives you more desk space! I plan on resting text books in the gap between the base of the stand and where the laptop is elevated. Organizes cords and keeps them from falling back behind your desk. (Possibly the best reason), it keeps the laptop out of the way of drinks spillage. I'd feel a lot more comfortable eating and drinking around my MBP if it were safely out the way!

It's time for round 2 of a fun game I like to call, "GUESS THAT MOVIE CHARACTER!"  We played on this blog a couple of years ago ! To make this game fun: Read the quotes in order. (I tried to order the 10 quotes with the most difficult ones first.) When you think you know the name of the character, make your guess in the comment section below.  (Share how quickly you got it.) Then go back and check to see if you got the correct answer. The game ends Sunday, Feb. 24th, at which point I will post your replies and you can see how you all did. Movie Character Quotes: Quote #1 "It's true that Mavis and Sybil have ways that are winning, and Prudence and Gwendolyn set your heart spinning! Phoebe's delightful, Maude is disarming..." Quote #2 "You know, begging your pardon, but the one my heart goes out to is your father. There he is in that cold, heartless bank day after day, hemmed in by mounds of cold, heartless money. I don'...