Not much blogging lately

Wow, just realized I haven't done much blogging this year so far. Pretty crazy.

Let's see, what's been going on. Well a few things: Waterloo posted an awesome alumni article about me which was super kind and very encouraging. Then they sent me a sweet-ass free Waterloo hoodie. Talk about epic win.

What else. I've finally started watching the show "How I Met Your Mother" after literally years of my bro Alex telling me I should watch it. It was so freakin' awesome that I watched 6 seasons on Netflix in about 9 days, which is probably most of the reason why I haven't been blogging.

Also: work is busy (and awesome). And I'm starting to get researching for my trip to Peru/Brazil/Argentina this spring - it's going to be a fantastic trip.

Oh! Big news. I've been going hard at the gym on cardio training (elliptical, specifically) as well as eating much more carefully at home over the past few months. I've been making healthier dinner, trying out a few recipes, making my lunch sometimes and also buying dinner out or ordering in much, much less. This combination is all helping me lose weight in preparation for our Inca Trail hike in Peru this May. It's going to be such an awesome time and I really want to make sure I enjoy it as much as possible - so it's been a good motivator to get my act together and actually make some good changes to push me towards the weight loss goal. Good times. I'll be posting more as that progresses.

I've got another interesting lecture (or possibly 2!) coming up in the next few months. Once they are public I'll send out the details about them.

Oh, and it's tax time! That's always fun (no, seriously, I actually like it - although it's probably because I usually get a positive return) :)

I joined Twitter recently and I think that might be stealing some thunder from my blogging as well, I'm not sure. In any case I'm finding I don't have as much time for it as I used to, but maybe it's also because I just want to use it for different things now. This blog has definitely turned more into a "technology I like" and a "trips I've been on" blog. Hope you all continue to enjoy reading it in any case. :)

Wooooord,
Mike :)
PS We're getting dangerously close to 2000 posts. I'll have to post something cool for the 2000th one!

Testing Blogger connection to Google+

Fancy. Blogger is now connected to Google+. Testing: 1, 2, 3. :)

Malcolm Gladwell talks about social networks

Ironically, I'm blogging this. But I won't tweet it, Malcolm! :)

Very interesting thoughts here. It's cool to hear his perspective about this pile of social networking we've got ourselves into.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/malcolm-gladwell-the-quiet-canadian/article1522656


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Prof. Larry Smith's mind-blowingly awesome TED talk

My unbelievably EPIC Economics Professor Larry Smith spoke at TEDxUW last November. I thankfully managed to catch the talk on the live stream and it really gave me the confidence to "just be Jutan" during my own talk the week later, given how "Larry" this amazing talk truly is!

Larry Smith was my Econ 101 and 102 Professor at Waterloo and I don't think I've ever had a teacher that good - ever before, or ever again. His conviction and passion and skill on the stage is unmatched. It was so cool to see his performance in the short TED format and this is just a total knock out of the park. It instantly shot up my list of favourite TED talks. I just watched this again now for the first time since November, and it's just so, so, so, so great. What a great message, and what an amazing way to say it. At the end of the talk when he is speaking very softly... I bet you were hanging on every. single. word. I know I was!

Watch it, and share it. This is so damn good.

Inc: "Give Your Employees Unlimited Vacation Time"

Interesting article from Inc Magazine, the idea that having unlimited vacation time will attract the best possible employees. Very cool concept.

http://www.inc.com/joe-reynolds/give-your-employees-unlimited-vacation-time.html

George Lucas on The Daily Show: Red Tails

Check out Red Tails next Friday! Awesome movie, great story, and some epic air battles. An interesting and relevant history lesson and some great modern themes about tolerance.

Check out George Lucas on The Daily Show earlier this week.

The Daily Show
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Why our brains make us laugh

Food for thought :) http://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2011/11/20/why-our-brains-make-laugh/l0OWxVcnRpzfyIheFgab5N/story.html - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Steampunk GPS

Check out my buddy Brian's iPhone app, Steampunk GPS! Very slick visual style, awesome animation and a great and fun idea. Wicked. http://www.digitalmorsels.com/steampunkgps/ - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Video: San Francisco in 1955

Amazing amateur video of my glorious city in 1955!! So amazing. I love the cars, the signage on Market St at night, the amusement park on Ocean Beach. How cool! Check it out here! - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

My buddy Nick donating his hair to charity

My friend Nick Yow-Woo did an amazing personal project called "I've Never Done That", a YEAR-LONG (yes, 365 days) of once-a-day new experiences which he did and then blogged about. What an amazing feat.

As an epic finale, he donated his amazingly long hair to a hair donation charity. What a guy!

Check out his blog post here, it is just so awesome. Well done, Nick!