Sometime back I wrote a post about BITSA and how we do ICT Literacy Drives in high schools around our university.

At Kapsabet Girls, I asked a young lady what she wanted to be wqhen she grows up. She replied:

“A pilot! Its always been my dream to walk the skies…”

She went on and on about how she’s admired the protocols and gadgets and the endless skies…all of which she had only seen on television and magazines.

I recently visited Moi International Airport in Mombasa. I was privileged to visit the control tower and the approach.  The activities at each of these departments reminded me of the little girl from Kapsabet Girls and it got me wondering: does she know how to be a pilot?

This question has bothered me for a couple of weeks now. I perceived it as a question the girl would ask:

“Excuse me, do you know how I can become a pilot?”

Each one of  us has a responsibility to ensure that the people around us have access to information and knowledge. Each one of our parents struggled to get us through school so that with the little we picked up we would make something sensible out of our lives. Our education, our access to knowledge has enabled most of us to get to where we are now…if not, we are able to plan for the future of our lives.

Give someone the same chance. Give someone access to information and knowledge. My dad always says:

“People will steal your phone, your blankets and your money…but they will never ever separate you and the knowledge you have gained”.

…I’m off to find that girl. Her future as a pilot depends on it…

Iseng-iseng jalan-jalan ke salah satu forum terbesar di Indonesia, kaskus.us, dapet bacaan kesehatan yang sangat menarik buat saya (mungkin juga buat Anda). Saat ini saya sudah mulai menjadi seorang pelupa, baik sengaja atau tidak . Lupa adalah manusiawi tapi ada kalanya sifat manusiawi tersebut tidak boleh muncul, beberapa diantaranya adalah ketika Anda duduk di kursi sebagai controller aktif, pilot yang sedang mengendalikan pesawat (kalo lagi yang lain gak dibahas disini ya ), dokter yang sedang menjalankan tugasnya, dan lain sebagainya. Misalkan sebagai controller yang sedang bertugas, Anda harus memerintahakan pilot untuk belok atau naik atau turun pada waktu yang sudah ditentukan (menggunakan rumus at or before, at or after, dsb. ) trus lupa, what will happen? You know the answer. Atau ketika pilot hendak mendaratkan bawaannya (pesawat maksudnya), trus lupa menurunkan landing gear, apa yang terjadi? Ya, headline koran besok adalah pesawat mendarat tanpa roda. Atau ketika dokter melakukan operasi (misalkan organ dalam perut) lupa mengeluarkan salah satu alatnya. Akibatnya pasti Anda tahu. Ya, yang sedang marak diberitakan belakangan ini, Malpraktik. Terkadang lupa yang manusiawi tersebut tidak lagi bisa dikatakan manusiawi. Untuk itu, Anda harus selalu optimalkan otak Anda. Caranya? Simak tulisan berikut.

Apakah Anda sering lupa nomor PIN atau password komputer? Hal itu mungkin disebabkan karena perubahan usia dan biasanya hal tersebut dialami oleh seseorang yang sedang memasuki usia 30 tahun. Untuk menghindari kejadian tersebut dan membuat otak tetap bisa bekerja secara optimal meskipun usia bertambah ada beberapa cara sederhana yang bisa Anda lakukan.

1. Olahraga

Lakukanlah olahraga secara teratur karena bisa mencegah penurunan fungsi otak. Tim peneliti dari Beckman Institute dari University of Illinois, Amerika Serikat mereview beberapa penelitian tentang hubungan olahraga dengan fungsi otak. Mereka menemukan bahwa aerobik bisa meningkatkan kerja otak dan menambah volume jaringan pada otak. Selain aerobik, berjalan juga cukup efektif mengoptimalkan kerja otak.

Tips : Berjalanlah minimal 3 kali dalam satu minggu selama 50 menit. Tidak hanya membuat badan menjadi sehat, kerja otak Anda semakin maksimal.

2. Sikat gigi
Menurut tim dari “British psychiatrists and dentists”, kesehatan gigi dan mulut berhubungan langsung dengan kesehatan otak. Hal itu diketahui setelah tim melakukan survei pada orang berusia 20 hingga 59 tahun. Peneliti menemukan gingivitis dan penyakit gigi lain berefek buruk pada fungsi kognitif otak seseorang di kemudian hari.

Tips: Sikat gigi setiap Anda selesai makan. Jangan biarkan sisa makanan menempel di gigi karena bisa memicu lubang pada gigi.

3. Bermain puzzle
Anda bisa menemani anak Anda bermain puzzle atau bermain puzzle sendiri. Dengan menyusun puzzle Anda merangsang kemampuan kognitif otak. Percobaan yang dilakukan oleh tim peneliti dari University of Alabama yang melibatkan 3.000 lansia pria dan wanita, menunjukkan bahwa setelah bermain puzzle selama 60 hingga 75 menit otak bekerja lebih optimal.

Tips : Saat waktu senggang, bermainlah puzzle atau mengisi teka-teki silang. Kegiatan tersebut bisa memberikan tantangan pada otak Anda. Agar suasana seru, ajaklah pasangan, teman atau anak Anda.

4. Meditasi
Tidak hanya mengurangi stres dan tekanan pada pikiran, meditasi juga meningkatkan kerja lapisan korteks pada otak. Hal itu diketahui dari penelitian yang dilakukan tim dari Massachusetts General Hospital. Penelitian menunjukan seseorang yang sering bermeditasi kerja korteks lebih maksimal dibandingkan yang tidak bermeditasi.
Tips : Meditasi baiknya dilakukan 40 menit setiap hari, tetapi Anda bisa memulainya dengan bermeditasi selama 15 menit sebelum berangkat kerja. Duduk dengan posisi bersila, pejamkan mata, ambil nafas dalam-dalam dan buang secara perlahan.

5. Musik/Seni
Leonardo da Vinci berpikir dengan cara menyeimbangkan otak kiri (seni–>musik dll) dan otak kanan (pelajaran)… cara ini lebih memaksimal kan kinerja kedua otak sehingga semua menjadi seimbang dan tetap fokus.

6. Pola Makan Yang Baik
Berilah otakmu makanan yang mengandung anti oksidan dan omega 3 untuk memaksimalkan daya kerja saraf… sehingga otak mampu meningkatkan kinerjanya sampai kebatas maksimal.

7. Menggali Ingatan
Lihatlah kembali album foto lama atau buku tahunan sekolah anda. Otak anda adalah sebuah mesin ingatan, jadi biarkanlah ia bekerja supaya tidak berkarat. Ketika mendapat informasi yang baru, usahakan untuk membuat kaitan dengan informasi yang lama… Jadikanlah sesuatu yang telah kamu hafal sebagai tempat bergantung dan terus diulang tanpa harus melupakannya. Caranya adalah dengan mengingat informasi secara terus menerus sehingga kita membangun bank memori di otak kita…

8. Kreativitas
Kemampuan kreatif seringkali membuat kita dapat mengolah dan mengadaptasi solusi dari satu bidang ke bidang lainnya, dan dari satu pengalaman ke pengalaman yang lainnya… sehingga otak akan terus ter-asah kemampuannya, Mempelajari dan mengulang atau melatih pelajaran dan keahlian yang baru dapat mengubah sistem organisasi di dalam otak… Latihan berkesinambungan membuat daya kerja otak meningkat dibandingkan dengan mereka yang tidak pernah melatih otaknya…

I was previously impressed with Jerry M. Goff, Jr.’s Thrill Crazy and Wanton Wench! and continue to be so with Tropic of Carla.  I have been amassing all his other books for future reading.

His novels aren’t perfect by any means, and have any number of flaws that many books like these do, but there is a certain assured quality of story-telling, mixed with good manly two-fisted hardboiled-ness typical of Merit/Novel Books, that tickle my noir funny bones.

Wanton Wench! was about a sea diving bum getting into some trouble because of a rich woman; Tropic of Carla is about a pilot bum getting into trouble because of a rich woman, Carla Lopez.  The narrator, Dino Shawn, muses on it:

I had been in boxes before, but never like this.  And all because of a beautiful woman with a fantastic figure.   But what the hell? I thought. Life without beautiful women and fabulous builds wouldn’t be worth living. I had no other choice but to do General Lopez’ bidding. (p. 81)

Dino had been forced to fly a fighter plane for a small banana republic dictatrorship, a fictional Latin American country, Tammara…

One day in an airport bar in San Antonio, Texas, 37-year-old Dino is having a few drinks and lamenting that there are no character flights for his small plane so he can make money.  In walks this Latina vixen, Carla, looking for a pilot.  She has found Dino.

Carla lives for the kicks and thrills — driving fast, jumping out of planes and not pulling her chute until 800 feet from the ground.  She is also a hellcat in bed, where se takes Dino only an hour after meeting him.  Dino is too pussy-struck to figure out he’s being played.

Flying to Houston to pick up a charter, Carla pulls out a .45 and tells Dino they are flying to Tammara instead.  She tells him she is married to the country’s dictator, General Jose Lopez, and they need a third pilot with air force training to fly a fighter/bomber plane, refurbished from the American Air Force.  The other two pilots are her and the General.  They intend to quash the growing rebel faction that are set on a coup by bombing the hell out of them.

Dino bas no other choice. Plus he’s being offered good money.  But he knows he will not leave Tammara alive, they’ll kill him when the job is done.

The General provides a palace “dancer,” Mena, to occupy his bed at night, forbidding anymore hanky-panky between his wife and Dino, even though the marriage is for show only — Carla is like Evita of Argentina: the people religiously love her, except for the rebels.  But Mena is a girl from the hills, with rebel contacts; she gives Dino information and plans to help him escape and plot the murder of the General and Carla, even if it means her own death — all for the cause of democracy!

A good adventure yarn, like a low-budget action flick for a once-famous flopped actor, say a younger Rutger Hower or Don Johnson.

Not a perfect book, and not as good as Wanton Wench!, but a fun read, an a good example of Merit’s list and Goff’s range.  Just as Wanton Wench! had deep details about sea diving, Tropic of Carla has the same details about parachuting and flying small planes, so much so that Goff must have been a pilot and diver, or knew them well enough.  The devil is in the details, they say, and makes these “sleaze” action books all the more…authentic, if that’s the right word. You buy into the situation, even if it is outlandishly illogical.

But anything can happen in the sleazecore universe…

I’m curious, now, about the more explicit novels Goff wrote for Neva/Playtime as “Jerry Lane.”  I have one: Call Box.

The KMers.org site was ready for beta launch last week in time for the KMWorld09 conference.  Today we launched the weekly #KMers twitter chat.   I would guesstimate that we had about 15-20 people contributing to the Twitter Chat which means we probably had that number again of lurkers.   Lots of quality information was shared and I believe that it was considered a success by all.

For many on the chat it was their first ever.  Yet, despite a few small hiccups, everyone seemed to get the hang of it very quickly.

The topic (Best Ideas from KMWorld09) was not ideal for a Twitter Chat because it is more about sharing knowledge nuggets than having a conversation.  Also, we had far more people who hadn’t gone to the conference and were looking for info than we had people who had gone to the conference and were sharing it.  Future chats will be much more of a deeper dive into one facet of KM per chat.

Here is the summary of the chat from my perspective:

Introductions:

• we discovered that most of the chatters had not been to KMWorld09 and many were new to Twitter Chatting

Thoughts about KMers.org

• @Elsua: Member section should link in a Twitter List
• @lehawes: pointed out that archiving of chats will be a plus
• several indicated that KMers.org login and TweetChat login (double) was confusing
• @andreamayer pointed out that we had a glitch with a post being wrongly attributed
• There were a few other small problems encountered by a few people during the chat

Goals for attending #KMW09

• @swanwick indicated he was there 1) to network 2) to launch KMers.org
• @StanGarfield said he was there to speak, serve on a panel, learn, and interact
• Tone of session: @swanwick indicated that it seemed hopeful.  Hopeful that e2.0 would be the opp for KM and SM to work together.

Sub-discussions throughout the chat

• value of life-narration: balance between inane tweets and over polished ones.
• value of and how to measure KM value
• video as a knowledge sharing channel
• Neats vs. Scruffies http://bit.ly/7jf1WC

Best sessions at #KMW09:

• the consensus was that @BillIves provided the best blogging coverage of the event
• @forgingthfuture found discussion of Personal KM fascinating
• @forgingthefutur felt that @StanGarfield had one of the best presentations http://bit.ly/5aSTeH
• there was general appreciation for 2nd half of @vanderwal presentation http://bit.ly/7G4XVo
• @swanwick liked @nancymdixon doing High Impact Storytelling: http://bit.ly/4FzUHO
• @StanGarfield favs McAfee, Dixon, Li, Lambe, Gilmour, VanderWal. O’Dell
• @StanGarfield enjoyed extracurricular dinner with 30 SIKM Leader CoP members – great discussions and personal interactions.

Ways to improve KMWorld

• @VMaryAbraham felt it was too expensive
• Several wished there was an online attendance package available for those who can’t travel
• @Swanwick shared an open letter to KMWorld organizers http://bit.ly/6aL73q

Future #KMers Topics

• @elsua: deeper dives on 1) Personal KM and 2) storytelling
• @SethHorwitz: mind/concept mapping (comparisons, strategies)
• @SourcePOV: review topic by topic here would be awesome; maybe even invite a few orig speakers?

Hi Blog readers,

Well today is Tuesday and I was on set on “Invazion Ireland” all day Sunday.I have just recovered today from being Vanessa White, an insane artist. I think she may have had a little too much coffee that day! You can imagine Vanessa now, if you picture someone that is ten times as hyper and annoying as me. “Invazion Ireland”, as I have mentioned in my last blog, is an Irish Sci Fi/Comedy pilot, written and directed by Ciaron Davies.
There are about 30 people working on this independent pilot and “Invazion Ireland” is living proof that there is a new energy in Ireland and a great pool of talent in this emerald isle.

Ciaron says of the project, “1950’s sci fi films came from an American paranoia towards the communists and now in these troubled times that we live in, science fiction needs a new injection of fear and mistrust……imagine “Dog Day Afternoon” and “Mork and Mindy” meets “District 9″ and has tea with “Monty Python”!It’s the ultimate hostage movie, the weirdiest sci fi drama, funnier then shit and its not even a film, its a fucking t.v. show…..It’s a comedy about martians invading our planet and working with us hand in hand in a peacefull manner but none of this is ever good enough for us.”

The scenes I was in were filmed in a house in Finglas. The five, very contrasting characters that live in the house are being held hostage by a blue alien from Mars, called Zelog. The talented cast includes Patrick Murphy, Ciara Bailey, Jenny Dixon, Gordon Mahn, Geraldine McAlinden, Tristan McConnell, Paul O’Byran, Rory Mullen, Diane Jennings and Ciaron himself makes a cameo in the pilot.

The photos below, were taken by Rita Marie Lawlor, the stills photographer on set.

From l - r (Ciara Bailey, Tristan McConnell, Patrick Murphy, Klara McDonnell, Paul O'Byran , Geraldine McAlinden

(l -r) Tristan McConnell, Rory Mullen, Geraldine McAlinden, Klara McDonnell, Patrick Murphy

Writer/ Director of the pilot, Ciaron Davies

I had so much fun working on this exciting pilot and can’t wait to film the rest of the series. You can expect to see a longer then usual trailer online in a few weeks. As Ciaron says, “We achieved the impossible, we risked our sanity, and we had a good laugh while we were doing it. Watch out, cause the aliens are coming!”

Signing off for now,
Klara x

Fostul pilot de Formula 1 Alain Prost va conduce modelul de competiţie Duster, produs de Dacia, la Trofeul Andros din Franţa, într-o cursă sportivă pe gheaţă, constructorul auto prezentând astfel în avanpremieră maşina asemănătoare cu primul SUV din istoria mărcii.

Dacia îşi propune să creeze astfel un efect de surpriză, prezentând în avanpremieră Dacia Duster, ale cărei linii prefigurează viitorul model 4×4 al mărcii, comercializat din 2010″, se arată într-un comunicat al Automobile Dacia.

Vehiculul de competiţie are caroseria din fibră de sticlă, un motor V6 produs de Alianţa Renault Nissan, cu o putere de 350 CP la 7.500 rotaţii pe minut şi amplasat în spatele maşinii, şi o cutie de viteze cu şase trepte.

Duster va fi cel de-al şaselea model al mărcii şi primul SUV Dacia.

A XX-a ediţie a Trofeului Andros va începe în decembrie. Competiţia este recunoscută drept una dintre cele mai dificile la nivel internaţional.

Alain Prost, născut în Franţa, are 54 de ani şi a câştigat de patru ori titlul de campion mondial la F1, în 1985, 1986, 1989 şi 1993.

El a participat, din 2003-2004, la fiecare ediţie a Trofeului Andros, competiţie pe care a câştigat-o de două ori.

Franţa este, alături de Germania, una dintre principalele pieţe de vânzare pentru Dacia, companie deţinută de grupul francez Renault.

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[ES] Galácticos.

Pilot sobre paper reciclat. Editat amb GIMP 2 + Microsoft Power Point. Inèdit.

Ritrovate alcune scene del secondo pilota che fu proposto – e non trasmesso – alla NBC. Saranno incluse nel Blu-Ray della terza stagione della serie classica.

L’episodio si intitolava Where No Man Has Gone Before. La versione originale che venne presentata alla Paramount si credeva perduta, ma recentemente è saltato fuori che un collezionista tedesco aveva acquistato le pellicole. Portate all’attenzione della Paramount, vengono ora pubblicate nella versione Blu-Ray del cofanetto della terza stagione, in uscita in USA il prossimo 15 dicembre.

Sebbene la trama sia quella che conosciamo — l’episodio andò poi in onda come terzo episodio — non sono poche le differenze. C’è tutto uno stile diverso nell’introduzione narrata con la voce di Kirk; musica diversa, uno Spock che sogghigna pur negando di avere emozioni umane — nonostante uno dei “suoi antenati” fosse una donna terrestre.

Eccone alcuni spezzoni davvero interessanti!!!

[via]

An image of Anna, the leader of the V’s, is projected worldwide as she talks about people joining together; the V’s are Tyler’s ticket to being a part of something big, egotistical newscaster Chad gets an exclusive interview with Anna.

Watch V Season 1 – Episode 1 – Pilot Online

I love the feeling when we lift off
Watching the world so small below
I love the dreaming when I think of
The safety in the clouds outside my window
I wonder what keeps us so high up

Could there be a love beneath these wings
If we suddenly fall should I scream out
Or keep very quiet and cling to my mouth
As I’m crying so frightened of dying
Relax yes I’m trying but fear’s got a hold on me

Yes, this fear’s got a hold on me
Yes, this fear’s got a hold on me

I love the quiet of the night time
When the sun has drowned in a deathly sea
I can feel my heart beating as I speak from
The sense of time catching up with me
The sky set out like a pathway
But who decides which route we take?

As people drift into a dream world
I close my eyes as my hands shake
And when I see a new day
Whose driving the same way
I picture my own grave
This fear’s got a hold on me

Yes, this fear’s got a hold on me
Yes, this fear’s got a hold on me

Floating neither up or down I wonder when I hit the ground
Will the earth beneath my body shake and cast your sleeping hearts awake?
Could it tremble stars from moonlit skies
Could it drag a tear from your cold eyes
I live on the right side I sleep on the left
That’s why everything’s got to be alive or dead

Yes this fear’s got a hold on me
Yes this fear’s got a hold on me

Haven’t seen the sun in weeks
My skin is getting pale
Haven’t got a mind left to speak
And I’m skinny as a rail

Lightbulbs are getting dim
My interests are starting to wane
I’m told it’s everything a man could want
And I shouldn’t complain

Conversations getting dull
There’s a constant buzzing in my ears
Sense of humor’s void and null
And I’m bored to tears

I’m bored to tears, yeah…
I’m bored to tears, yeah…

If you’re looking for an accomplice
A confederate, somebody that’s helpless
You’re gonna find, find yourself alone

If you’re looking for cut-throat
Singing above note, looking for a scapegoat
You’re gonna find, find yourself alone

Looking for sympathy
I can get you something
Something good, something good to eat

Haven’t had a decent meal
My brain is fried
Haven’t slept a wink for real
My tongue is tied

Lightbulbs are getting dim
My interests are starting to wane
I’m told it’s everything a man could want
And I shouldn’t complain

Conversations getting dull
There’s a constant ringing in my ears
Sense of humor’s void and null
And I’m bored to tears

I’m bored to tears, yeah…
I’m bored to tears, yeah…

Ah Ah Ah Ah Ahhh….

Hey you
So you never really found your way
Stay true
Did you ever make it through today

That when I think about a day without it
Everyday’s the same
You wish that you could find someone
But I’m the only one to blame

Can’t you see
I beg and plead
Cause when your eyes light up the skies at night
I know you’re gonna find your way back to me

No don’t
Don’t you ever let a piece of me down
Cause time won’t
Get back when I’m never around

When we live between so many walls
That I can barely breathe
You say that you just want someone
But I’m the only one you need

Can’t you see
I Beg and plead
Cause when your eyes light up the skies at night
I know you’re gonna find your way

If it’s me
That you don’t need
When the lights go out tonight I know
You’re never gonna find your way

Soon when I get you I won’t let you go
Oooh if I let you
You can take away all that I thought was wrong
And if you hear me there’s not much to say
There’s gotta be a better way

Can’t you see
I beg and plead
Cause when your eyes light up the sky tonight
I know you’re going to find your way back to me

Can’t you see
I beg and plead
Cause when the lights go out tonight
I know you’re never gonna find your way

If it’s me
That you don’t need
That when the lights go out tonight
I know you’re never gonna find you way
If you pace around the world ’til you’re with me
And when your eyes light up the skies at night
I know you’re gonna find your way back to me

My coworker, Grace, linked me to Daily Burn. It is a site that helps keep track of your body, nutrition, and workouts. I have always wanted to create my own workout logger site, but I never got around to it and this is far more convenient.

I  signed up for a few challenges. I am not sure what exactly they do, but they have given me some inspiration. First two: 1000 Pushups and Run 100 Miles. The 1000 pushups is going to take time. A lot of time. But, I really wanted to get better at doing them, so I figured: this will be the best time for me to work on them. The 100 Miles is really not much; I do about 2 a night. I don’t want to meet that in 50 days (that’ll be in forever!) so I am going to see about boosting it up and doing 3 or 4 a night.

I created the El Taco Workout. The name is very misleading, but it is basically the workout that I do every night. I would like to eventually add more to it, but I think this is a stable start. Maybe some other people will use my workout? Low chance, but here’s hoping!

Logging my food is going to be my hardest part. I am not an anti-logger – I am more than willingly to insert overly exaggerated figures, but I don’t think I’d be able to stick to it. Although, I can see myself eating a lot less to avoid having to log..

I hope this site helps a lot. Maybe I’ll go Pro and waste all of my money on it.

Luke Skywalker (Pilot, YF) – LEGO Star Wars 2 Inch Minifigure Review

Check Price Now!

Luke Skywalker (Pilot, YF) – LEGO Star Wars 2 Inch Minifigure Feature

• Released in 1999
• For ages 5+
• Minifigures may require additional processing time

Luke Skywalker (Pilot, YF) – LEGO Star Wars 2 Inch Minifigure Overview

Add this great minifigure to your LEGO collection!

Luke Skywalker (Pilot, YF) – LEGO Star Wars 2 Inch Minifigure Specifications

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Nov 23, 2009 14:30:03

HP MediaSmart Server EX495

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Pilot sobre paper reciclat. Editat amb Microsoft Power Point. Inèdit.

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[ES] - Es una lástima que decidieras dedicarte profesionalmente a la cocina, porque tenías un futuro muy prometedor como figura del futbolín.

Pilot sobre paper reciclat. Editat amb Microsoft Power Point. Inèdit.

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[ES] - ¿Y estos a qué juegan? / – Vete tú a saber, será futbolín americano.

Pilot sobre paper reciclat. Editat amb Microsoft Power Point. Inèdit.

…is on its way to me! This is a pen that I have wanted since I first saw the exquisite photos  of it in a review written by the FPN member Pinarello -  that you’ll find if you click here. I got the opportunity to buy it – used – for a real good price. I have a very restricted pen budget at the moment, but this opportunity was too good to pass, so I jumped on it. Another special pen from Pilot. Not much of bling – just shape and a special design – by a French designer – Juliette Bonnamour. I think she has succeeded very well in creating a pen that feels Japanese – shape oriented, aesthetic, functional simplicity – with a twist of her own. Very special. Maybe not as special as the M90, but hey! my heart (the section with a material and profane focus)  is big enough to cherish more than one pen. I really look forward getting this pen. Please USPS and Swedish Posten – be swift and efficient!

After starting out with a heavy overweight of German pens – mostly Pelikans – I have gradually began to realize that the countries (design spheres) that manufacture pens with a design that often appeals to me – by different reasons – are Italy and Japan. I love Italian pens for their saucy, glossy, elegance. Smart rascals.  I love Japanese pens for their shape awareness, perfection, functional simpleness and grace with the M90 as their modern icon and the Nakaya pens as their traditional representative. Of course there are many variants and exceptions – but when I think of Italian of Japanese pens at their best – the essence of the best of their design cultures – it is those things that I think of. When I feel rich sometime in the future I shall buy myself a Nakaya. Preferably with a little dandelion painted on it.

Photos are not by me – they are linked from Pilot Europe. These official photos don’t make them justice in my opinion – check the photos in the review mentioned above if you want to get a feel of it.

It is Thanksgiving week. I have school tomorrow (technically today) and Tuesday and then I am off until next Monday. I just did my night-time run in my pimsols which has as much support as.. something that does not have a lot of support. Too lazy to think of an analogy. My right foot hurts and I really want to read Atlas Shrugged. However, if I do not try to organize my life now, it will be a mess for the next week.

To-do list:

• Finish Atlas Shrugged
• Contact Guidance Counselor about colleges
• Finish and submit college applications (Friday?)
• Meet quota for work (by Tuesday?)
• Restart workout regimen
• Write government thesis for Literature

What’s up with the workout? Don’t think I stopped. I didn’t. I just can’t do it every day. My stamina has, oddly, decreased and I have not been able to do as much. I have decided to ease up on the weights and running for a week and will only continue to do them Monday through Friday. I will be able to sleep like a baby on weekends. But, that also comes at an expense: no Starbucks on weekends.

Oh, and, note to self: Don’t eat a lot on Thanksgiving. You will regret it. Kind of like last night’s dinner. (defense: eggplant parm, c’mon, you can’t not eat that shit.)

“ Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.” I think that life becomes better as we experience more shit in our lives. Bad shit, good shit, its still shit. Some people say that their life sucks, some say theirs don’t. I really think it depends on the day, the mood that you are in. One day your life sucks, the second day your life is the best thing you ever had.  I think life is  like flying an airplane. Where you are the pilot and the airplane is the life. The training to become a pilot, is the bad shit and good shit experience that builds up our personality, that builds up how we see things, the essence of our life. The experience we get from life, should cover up how to start the airplane, and how to fly it. Its just a never ending fly ride to a finite destination that is decided by our choices, however it always has a end.  My point is.. be aware of what you are doing, how it affects you overall as well as your surrounding. Be this good pilot, fly the airplane as good as you can, till you reach its destination. Why be sad when you can be happy?

Αλλά εμείς μόνο με τον Σάσα!

Και για να ακριβολογούμε με τον Johann Urb που παίζει στο 2012 το ρόλο του super duper wow hot ρώσου μπράβου – πιλότου Sasha που κακό χρόνο να χουν οι σεναριογράφοι πεθαίνει άδοξα πριν προλάβουμε να δούμε κάτι από όλα αυτα που φανταζόμαστε ότι εχει. Δυστυχώς ο 32χρονος Εσθονός με καταγωγή από το όχι και τόσο, αν και για πάρτη του αναθεωρώ, Ταλίν είναι παντρεμένος από το 2007 με μια καμήλα επ’ ονόματι Erin Axtell η οποία προφανώς και χαίρεται τη βαρβατίλα και την καύλα που αναδύει ο σύζυγος. Και στα δικά σας παληκάρια…μ’ ένα καλό παιδί σαν τον Johann.

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